The path of a wizard is a ladder that progresses step by step.
During the apprenticeship stage, wizards focus on accumulating knowledge, studying scriptures, and exploring the subtle fluctuations of energy factors.
Once you have stepped into the threshold of becoming a formal wizard, you can use this knowledge to manipulate energy factors and unleash true witchcraft;
As for the Morning Star Wizard, he went a step further and began to touch the deep rules of the world, using the power of rules to weave spells and guide miracles.
But the level of the Huiyue Wizard has already surpassed the scope of "rules"!
That is another existence.
A field based on common sense and comparable to a "miracle".
Among the many floating cities in the Nightmare Rift, only the Mechanical City is regarded by His Majesty the Brilliant Moon as a truly trustworthy city of hope.
He left behind many mysterious methods, which were secretly sealed deep in this steel city.
The Lord Mayor of the Mechanical Capital, who truly controls this city, naturally inherited that heavy "legacy".
So, when Sel destroyed a city with one finger, he uprooted the surrounding cities and turned them into dust in front of countless Morning Star wizards.
The Lord Mayor of the Mechanical City seems to be sitting and waiting for death, but in fact he has been trying to find a way to activate the forbidden method left by His Majesty Huiyue, trying to fight for a chance of survival!
But the question is, which one is the real "trump card"?
Even as the city lord, he found it difficult to identify every mysterious mechanism left behind by His Majesty Huiyue. He could only try them one by one and take his chances.
Fortunately, he succeeded when there were only two cities left!
A dazzling light quietly bloomed in the silent metal ocean, as bright as a falling star!
After receiving the order, powerful warriors such as Warhammer Master and Mechanical Puppet Wizard withdrew from the front line and returned to the Sea of Metal.
Then, the metal sea that had been expanding wildly and changing like a fluid began to slowly reconstruct, gradually piecing together the familiar yet unfamiliar mechanical city.
However, unlike in the past, the surface of the city was now covered with layers of inky black sticky substance.
Those are the "cursed marks" left after the battle with the Dark Sea of Cyre.
They cling to metal components like maggots on the tarsal bones, corroding the connecting paths between the metals and greatly reducing the combat effectiveness of the entire city.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The reconstruction of the Mechanical City was not silent, but shook the world like the awakening of a giant beast.
However, the most eye-catching thing was the faint glow that quietly emerged on the surface of the city.
They are weak and fragile, like a breeze blowing across the water, but they carry an indescribable pressure of rules that makes the world speechless and the soul tremble.
Even such an inconspicuous glimmer of light made even someone as unruly as Sel suddenly change color!
His eyes were serious, no longer showing the carefree and joking attitude he had before, which treated the Morning Star Wizard like dust.
It seemed as if what they were facing was no longer a ruined city, but a reviving god!
His voice was low and suppressed, as if he was recalling something, but also seemed to be afraid:
"...The power of the brilliant moon."
A thin and fragile force like moonlight quietly enveloped the sky above the Mechanical City.
From the moment the city lord activated his trump card to the moment this glimmer of light appeared, it all happened in a flash.
Even Sel had no chance to stop it, let alone interfere.
He stood quietly on the edge of the dark sea, with black matter surging and wriggling under his feet. It was as sticky as mud and emitted a disgusting stench.
Swarms of black insects crawled around him, spitting out long, slender tongues. Every time they crawled over the ground, they left a trail of shimmering slime, as if corroding the track of reality itself.
Meanwhile, the Mechanical City in the distance seemed to be bathed in holy light.
That thin ray of light, as gentle as moonlight, pure and flawless, covered the steel city, forming an extremely strong visual impact with the surrounding darkness.
The next moment, Sel's mind moved slightly.
The dark sea under his control suddenly boiled!
Countless dark and sticky substances gushed out like a volcanic eruption, carrying a heart-pounding corrosive smell, and rushed towards the Mechanical City with a roar.
Compared to the casual punch he used when he fought with the city lord before, the attack at this moment increased by more than ten times!
This is exactly why he fears that "moonlight".
That is not ordinary power, that is Huiyue's majesty.
“Swish!”
The moment the sticky dark waves hit the light, it seemed to encounter some invisible barrier.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly fragile moonlight did not fluctuate at all, but the dark substance did.
After contact, it makes "hissing" and "hissing" sounds as if it is burned by flames, and continues to melt, peel off, and evaporate.
At this moment, it seemed as if holiness washed away filth and justice purified evil energy;
It is like a spring breeze blowing on the snow, gentle but ruthless, quietly melting away all the darkness.
Sel's face darkened, and a rare solemnity appeared in his eyes.
"It is indeed... the power of the brilliant moon."
He was no stranger to that kind of power.
He received the gift from the dark goddess Shar.
The inky black tide and the countless evil insect swarms were all sources of dark power controlled by him, allowing him to easily crush any sixth-level Morning Star Wizard.
However, he has not yet stepped into the true realm of Huiyue.
It's not insurmountable.
In fact, his contract with the goddess had already been completed. With just a thought, he could truly step into Huiyue and set foot in the realm beyond the rules.
But he didn't.
There are two reasons.
First, this "power" comes from that crazy civilization.
Even he had to digest and refine it carefully, otherwise it might backfire on him and lead him into an uncontrollable abyss...
The second one is the real reason why he has not crossed the line yet.
He was wary of the Wizarding Council's gaze.
The realm of brilliant moon is the peak level of level seven and above. It has long been out of the control of mundane laws and has touched upon a higher level of power.
Once he truly sets foot on Huiyue, his body will naturally release the Huiyue fluctuations belonging to a seventh-level existence.
The emergence of such power will surely alarm the world formation that covers the entire wizarding world!
That formation was set up by the Wizard Council with the efforts of several generations. It was a terrifying existence specifically used to monitor the fluctuations of high-level creatures in the entire plane.
It sleeps in the laws of the world and patrols the heavens.
Once it senses new fluctuations in the Brilliant Moon, it will directly inform the top leaders of the parliament, and those His Majesty the Brilliant Moon who truly stand at the top of the wizards will be the first to know.
By then, Hesel would no longer be a "trouble" in the Southern Territory, but would be regarded as a dangerous existence that threatens the order of the entire region!
Now, although he and the radical faction of the Meteoric Council have stirred up trouble and attracted the pursuit of the Wizard Council, he has not yet touched the real core group of people.
To be precise, it was only the Southern Branch of the Wizarding Council that took action.
After all, the parliament headquarters, located in the core area of the wizarding world, is responsible for the operation and coordination of countless civilization plans. How could it easily take action for a sixth-level Morning Star wizard?
The reason why the Southern Region branch has launched many clearing and incorporation operations is simply because the radicals' various inappropriate behaviors in the Southern Region over the years have already touched the bottom line.
Countless attempts to test the edge and covert expansion finally led to a purge.
But this is far from being truly angry.
Even in this context, the Wizarding Council only mobilized limited manpower to set up targeted blockades, hoping to completely recruit or eliminate him.
However, once he stepped into Huiyue, even if he was calm enough and not eroded by the power of that crazy civilization, even if he was lucky enough to maintain his self-awareness.
In the end, it cannot be hidden from the perception of the world formation!
By then, what will be waiting for him will no longer be a law enforcement team sent by a branch in the Southern Region, but one real His Majesty the Brilliant Moon after another!
Even though he is no longer an ordinary person, he is very likely to be smashed to pieces by a palm in an instant and turned into ashes.
Sel was silent for a moment, then chuckled.
"But...this is enough."
His eyes slowly swept across the front, the mechanical city covered by the holy moonlight.
There's no need to take any more risks.
Of the ten great cities in the Nightmare Rift, nine have sunk, and only this one still stands, barely surviving, in the dark tide.
But he didn't care.
There is no retreat and no reinforcements. The capture of this last city is just a matter of time.
"Anyway... they can't escape."
Searle snapped his fingers lightly.
“Pah.”
This is an understatement.
The next moment, countless dark and sticky substances shot out from all directions, like a black tide erupting, twisting, intertwining, entangled and merging in the air.
They dragged out nerve-shaking hisses, like whispers from the abyss, echoing in the wind.
In an instant, an extremely huge black net was woven in the air.
It slowly descended, like the falling night, slowly pressing down from the sky, firmly imprisoning the entire mechanical city!
That layer of light as holy as moonlight still covers the surface of the city, quietly guarding every piece of metal, every rune, and every wizard in the city.
But that was just protection after all, not counterattack.
But at this moment, the dark power released by Sel was not an attack in the ordinary sense, but an oppressive cage formed by absolute number and concentration!
Those dark and sticky substances continued to aggregate and multiply, eventually forming a huge dark sphere that blocked and wrapped the entire city in an all-round and no-dead-angle manner.
It was a prison of exile.
At this moment, the mechanical city seems to be isolated from the world.
The light was blocked, information could not be transmitted, and all external communications in the city were cut off.
Even if this moonlight protected the city from destruction, it could only protect itself, nothing more...
Sel stood high in the sky, his jet-black robe fluttering in the wind, his eyes as deep as the night sea.
He knew that all of this, including the power and status he possessed today, was not obtained in vain.
The deal between him and the dark goddess Shar was completed on that soul-shaking golden scale.
It was a mysterious ritual whose essence even he could not fathom, a contract called "equivalent exchange" by the dark goddess Shar.
According to the dark goddess Shar herself, she is a firm "practitioner of equal exchange."
In that transaction, she gave him the opportunity to rise to the top:
A powerful force that is polluted and dangerous but enough to help him break through to the realm of Huiyue.
In exchange, Searle offered his loyalty.
From that moment on, he no longer belonged to himself.
He would carry out orders for her, open up territories for her, and dedicate his faith and soul to her.
Until the contract ends, the scale will be balanced again.
Sel slowly closed his eyes, and the scales symbolizing fairness and justice appeared in his mind.
At this moment, the two ends of the scale are still far apart. The end belonging to the dark goddess Shar is hanging down heavily, while the end belonging to him is still hanging high in the air, floating unsteadily.
He is not free yet.
Only after the value is returned in equal amounts and the equal exchange is truly completed, can he overturn the shackles, break free from the control of the gods, and regain his freedom.
Until then, he can only keep giving.
Just like now, conquer the Nightmare Rift and continuously dispatch wizards and apprentices into it.
All of this was just to help the Dark Goddess Shar find something and some clues...
"Now, the Nightmare Rift is the home of our Meteorite Council..."
Sel withdrew his gaze, his eyes were deep, and his tone was calm and almost indifferent, as if the large-scale destruction of the city just now was just an insignificant part of the plan.
"Let's go and see what the Wizard Council, the Furnace Stone, and the Seven Sacred Towers will do next."
As soon as he finished speaking, two Morning Star Wizards slowly descended from the sky and hovered behind him respectfully, without saying a word, with solemn expressions.
One of them was the Spirit Eye Wizard who was secretly controlled by Lin En.
At this moment, in the pale and empty eyes of the Spirit Eye Wizard, Lin En's consciousness was watching quietly, taking in everything.
The mechanical city was not destroyed, the moonlight emerged, and Sel retreated... all these twists and turns were deeply engraved in Lin En's heart.
"...What exactly is that ray of moonlight?"
Lin En sat in the secret room of the Temple of Life, thinking silently, recalling the scene he had just witnessed "with his own eyes" through the Spirit Eye Wizard.
Originally, he also thought that the ten major cities in the Nightmare Rift would be completely destroyed today, and the Mechanical City would only be a victim sooner or later.
But to everyone's surprise, at the last moment, a ray of moonlight like a veil emerged.
It looks as light and thin as a cicada's wing, as if it will break at the slightest touch, without any power;
But it was this glimmer of light that blocked Sel's full-strength attack that swept across the sixth-level Morning Star Wizard!
What surprised Lynn even more was that Sel did not insist on destroying it completely, but instead chose to retreat, which was rare.
He spared no expense, using the power of pollution to construct a dark blockade to seal off the Mechanical City rather than destroy it.
This is no longer just a "concern", but a fear.
"That moonlight...is definitely not simple."
Lin En murmured in his heart, his expression becoming more solemn.
He remembered clearly that in the battle between the city lord and Sel, both sides used the power of rules that only sixth-level wizards could control.
The aftermath of the collision of rules alone was enough to frighten the surrounding Morning Star wizards and cause the world to be in turmoil.
And through the perspective of the Spirit Eye Wizard, he also clearly felt the terrifying power of that level, as if the entire space was shaking as if it was about to be torn apart.
It was the first time that he felt the powerful strength of a sixth-level Morning Star Wizard at such close range, and it was also the first time that he understood the huge gap between himself and that level.
However, just after such a great battle in which the power of rules roared and intertwined, that "moonlight" appeared abnormally.
No disturbance, no pressure, and no fluctuations in the laws.
Just like an ordinary drop of water falling into the deep sea, it appears silently, but triggers the stillness and retreat of all forces.
Lin En recalled the feeling at that time. At that moment, he felt nothing.
There are no fluctuations of psychic energy, no surges of rules, and even basic traces of witchcraft and energy factor fluctuations do not exist.
The moonlight just existed so quietly, so quietly that it made people feel cold in their hearts.
It was unreasonably quiet.
“…There’s absolutely no sense of oppression, nor any unique aura.”
“But it was this that stopped Searle and made the darkness retreat.”
Lynn murmured softly, his brows furrowed slightly.
The calmer it is, the more bizarre it is. The more traceless it is, the more incomprehensible it is.
It was as if this was beyond Lin En's current level of observation. Even though the moonlight appeared there, he didn't understand why... (End of this chapter)
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