Azure Scepter

Page 154

After Noy finished casting his various buff spells, Trier summoned a Death Knight, handed it five mana storage stones, and then led it into the secret chamber. He slowly closed his eyes and focused his attention on the undead.

"Tap, tap, tap..." The dull footsteps echoed in the stairwell, and the decaying chainmail clanged.

The Death Knight felt neither fear nor tension; it simply moved downwards with precise and calm, like a machine.

Although the undead weren't nervous, Terry, who was watching from behind, was on high alert, since this passage was the best place to ambush them.

And because this place is located deep in the dream realm, Trier's spellcasting ability has been greatly enhanced. He can cast spells directly through the medium of the Death Knight. Therefore, he maintains a high level of focus in order to be ready to cast spells at any time to support this unfortunate scout cannon fodder.

However, Trier was disappointed; the Death Knight made no progress and entered the deeper underground space without any obstacles.

A fierce wind howled, and a scorching, unsettling red light filled the entire space.

At this moment, Trier finally saw the true face of that terrifying spell, which was at least a legendary spell—in this vast and boundless "square," there was no caster at all, and there was no one there at all. There was only a huge, complex, and extremely complicated ritual circle!

This ritual array was extremely complex, with a length and width exceeding three thousand meters! Dense lines combined to form one precise module after another, and these modules were then integrated into the entire giant array with even more complex logic. The entire array was nested layer by layer, operating seamlessly, and its end could not be seen at a glance.

All the lines shimmered with a faint red light, but even though the light from each line was not very bright, all of this light combined to look like a large lake formed by the aggregation of magma.

Even Trill, the ultimate master of ritual spellcasting, couldn't help but feel a little shocked at this moment.

He subconsciously controlled the Death Knight to get closer to observe the ritual, and then he discovered that the ritual seemed to be quite ancient - he saw many obscure and long-obsolete ritual components, such as the "enrichment of magical winds" part, which even used an inefficient version of the cyclical screening combination invented by the Smorans more than nine hundred years ago.

“This thing has been running for almost 900 years, conservatively speaking… That’s outrageous,” Trier thought. “I need to take a closer look and see what it’s actually used for.”

With this thought in mind, he cast a flight spell on the Death Tomb Knight, allowing it to fly into the air and overlook the enormous, unbelievably massive ritual.

The ceremony is generally arc-shaped and can be divided into more than forty parts. Of these, only about ten parts that determine the operating conditions are still in operation, while the other main functional parts are not yet in a triggered state.

“This is a cursed ritual,” Trier thought. “It’s a condition-triggered one.”

However, the next moment, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly—at the edge of the ritual array, he saw a dark, solitary figure!

Trier immediately took over the body of the Death Knight and then charged directly at the shadowy figure.

With the divine blessing of the legendary priest Noy, the Death Tomb Knight's already impressive physical attributes became even more exaggerated. Although he still couldn't compare to Trier himself, he was close to being a legend.

With a sudden kick, amidst a deafening sonic boom, the Death Tomb Knight's massive body vanished abruptly, then reappeared beside the shadowy figure as if by teleportation, and immediately slashed down with his sword!

The sound of air being cut was mixed with the hum of metal, and the gleaming blade illuminated the dark figure—

The shadowy figure was clearly intelligent; it was visibly startled, and the runic greatsword flashed with light, instantly dispelling the darkness that seemed indelible upon it.

A huge clump of worms suddenly burst through the light and pounced on the Death Knight's face!

The true form of the shadowy figure was actually a miniature aggregate of gluttonous insects!?

The worms tore at the Death Knight's armor, their wet bodies writhing desperately. The sticky, cold, itchy sensation, along with the discomfort of foreign objects invading his nasal cavity, traveled directly into Trier's brain.

Even through the barrier, Trier felt a genuine sense of nausea.

Although it was attacked by the Gluttonous Insects, the Death Tomb Knight, which Trier had personally created, could not be killed so easily. The next moment, Trier took the initiative to activate the Death Tomb Knight's defensive design.

In an instant, the death wind inside the Tomb Knight transformed into cold, ghostly blue flames. The runes engraved on the decaying armor flickered in turn, and then the blue flames suddenly erupted!

The gluttonous insects on the Death Knight screamed and turned to ashes, while the bursting flames illuminated the gluttonous insect aggregate in the darkness.

At this moment, the gluttonous worm aggregate was no longer a surging, twisted worm, but had transformed into a young male half-elf with silver hair, pointed ears, and a flesh-and-blood staff in his hand!

“Leave now, and I may spare you, Trier,” the man said in a strange tone that sounded like the hissing of an insect. “Otherwise, I will devour you, and you will become nourishment.”

Upon seeing the half-elf's face, Trier was stunned.

Who is this half-elf?

How come this is completely different from my own reasoning?

Shouldn't there be an angel loyal to Saint Seir hiding here? Why is there a half-elf made of worms here?

Could I be mistaken? Is there no connection between the shadowy figure and the ambush?

Wait, this person looks somewhat familiar...

As Trier's thoughts raced, the silver-haired half-elf slashed down with his flesh and blood staff, and a massive swarm of gluttonous insects surged forth once more. This time, however, the terrifying and disgusting insects began devouring each other. In less than half a breath, the enormous swarm had transformed into twenty identical silver-haired half-elves!

"Give up, join us." The twenty half-elves chanted in unison, their unsettling hiss echoing through the air, making the entire atmosphere seem to buzz.

Those miniature gluttonous insects were not ordinary swarms at all; they were actually all part of this silver-haired half-elf, who was the swarm itself!

“Special Legendary Advancement, Lord of the Swarm.” Trier thought to himself, staring at the other’s handsome face.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Trier's mind like lightning, and he remembered who this silver-haired half-elf was!

The opponent is Koria, the frontline commander of the Radiant Church at the Demon Rift front!

But why is he here? Shouldn't he be a master of trickery, a paladin turned sorceress? How did he become the lord of the swarm?

Countless questions surged through Trier's mind like a storm.

At that moment, three identical silver-haired half-elves, wielding greatswords made of flesh and blood, charged fiercely at the Death Tomb Knight; while another three silver-haired half-elves picked up flesh and blood longbows and had already drawn their bows; the remaining fourteen silver-haired half-elves each began to cast different spells.

Massive Disintegration, Hell Sphere, Death Finger, Hellfire Ray...

The absurdly high intensity of the spell made the magical winds here even more violent, the magic circle on the ground suddenly accelerated its operation, and the dazzling crimson light shot straight into the sky. Even Trier himself, standing outside the secret room, could see this dazzling red light.

“No rush, let’s test their skill level first.” Although Trier was surprised, he was not nervous. He casually threw out an Implosion spell as a starting probe.

However, the next moment, Trier's pupils shrank slightly, and he was completely taken aback.

The twenty incredibly ferocious silver-haired half-elves stood frozen in place, and then their flesh and blood exploded like fireworks!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang..."

Amidst a series of explosions, the previously rampaging ritual array suddenly ceased its activity, and the dazzling red light vanished completely.

--what?

Trier couldn't help but feel a little confused.

He died like that? Are you kidding me?

He then immediately brought up the combat information panel and began to look at it.

[You have expelled "Possible Faces - People of the Future", XP+500]

[You have expelled "Possibility Face - The Unseen", XP+600]

[You have dispelled "Possibility Face - The Regretful Person", XP+100]

[You have dispelled "Possibility Face - Hungry Man", XP+50]

All twenty information prompts were "possible aspects," and some of the possible aspects gave even less experience points than the Blood Plague Walker.

He scrolled to the bottom of the message and saw a bombshell announcement.

[Warning: You have banished all possible aspects, you have severely damaged the One (Aspect: Future Coria), and you have gained 1 point of divinity]

[Warning: You do not yet possess true divinity; you cannot currently obtain the additional benefit from 2 points of divinity.]

Chapter 298 Conspiracy

Looking at the information panel, Trillen felt a little overwhelmed by the information, but after thinking for a moment, he immediately understood.

The swarm of miniature Taotie insects in the ritual array were imposters; while the cluster of miniature Taotie insects in the hall were the real Taotie insects, as can be seen from the kill logs on the information panel.

In terms of ability, everyone is fully capable of doing this here.

First, according to Fusada, the underground mirror city of Wirth was formed from the remains of the Many, and the basement of the city hall is the node connecting there. In addition, the city hall has now been dragged into the depths of the dream world, so even though the Many are sealed, they can still exert some influence.

The reason why the other party can summon the so-called "face" is directly related to the name "Zhong Zhe". "Zhong Zhe" means "many people" as the name suggests.

As a demigod of the Dream Realm, unlike Fusada, His power and will are a spiritual aggregate composed of many different beings. In Trier's previous life, and even among the players, there was a rumor that the One is the Dream Realm demigod closest to a true god, and His will can span the present and the past.

In the Demon Rift region, the master of deception who served as the former commander of the Radiant Cult, upon reaching the end, has a certain possibility of transforming their existence into an extremely powerful dream realm essence. In other words, they may become part of all beings in the future. Perhaps this is why it is called a "possibility aspect" rather than a "face."

But what is the purpose of the crowd doing this?

Trier fell into deep thought again.

A moment later, he realized the truth of the matter.

The group deliberately disguised themselves as a swarm of gluttonous insects, clearly to mislead others. This misleading was undoubtedly preparation for future communication, so if nothing unexpected happens, the other party will definitely try to contact them proactively soon...

Of course, another possibility is that the other party hopes to hide something through this astonishing event; perhaps there is something extraordinary behind that extremely terrifying ritual array.

With this thought in mind, Trier immediately shielded the entire secret chamber, blocking any possible spying. He then regained control of the Death Knight and began searching carefully within the ritual array.

After searching for about ten minutes, he actually found something unusual in the lava lake in the northwest.

The lava lake is not actually filled with lava, but rather with a layer of illusion so realistic that it is hard to believe. Beneath the illusion lies another hidden ritual.

"Beneath the secret chamber lies another secret chamber; beneath the ritual lies yet another ritual—he's a master of nesting dolls," Trier thought to himself.

The newly discovered hidden ritual, a ritual involving a soul attack, completely neutralized the massive magic circle in front of it—only now did Trier vaguely understand the true purpose of that extremely large and complex magic circle.

From a macro perspective, although the giant magic array appears to be structurally complete, its main function is actually "energy gathering." It works by first "detonating" a spell that can generate enough magical winds, and then using this spell to geometrically spread and concentrate the generated magical winds into a hidden small magic array—somewhat similar to using a nuclear fission bomb to detonate and trigger a hydrogen bomb.

In short, this hidden ritual is the real source of power. Although the effect of this ritual is currently unknown, it is also an incredibly powerful ritual that is absolutely capable of affecting divine beings.

As the saying goes, great strength can produce miracles, and quantitative change can lead to qualitative change. Even if this ritual is just a fireball spell, its exaggerated power is enough to blow half of Wilt into the sky.

Trier fell silent for a moment, and then a clever idea suddenly popped into his head.

Regardless of what the others intend to do, they can try to reverse the roles of the ritual's caster and the recipient. This way, no matter what the other party does, there is a high probability that they will end up shooting themselves in the foot.

With this thought in mind, after confirming once again that all prying eyes in the secret chamber were blocked, he immediately began to modify the ritual...

The following evening, in a room somewhere in the Golden Palace in Wiltshire.

Trier sat alone in a chair, gazing out the window.

It was pouring rain outside. Dark clouds obscured the last rays of the setting sun, and the murky rain pounded against the windows, the chill seeping slowly into the room through the glass.

"Something's about to happen," Trier muttered to himself.

Since transmigrating, whenever there is a downpour, it seems that the hidden huge contradictions will be directly intensified. Whether it was the final battle in Beaver Town or the massacre of Eraf, it seems that nothing good will happen whenever it rains.

—Although the entrance to the underground mirror city of Velert has been found, organizing an effective attack requires gathering intelligence and then organizing the appropriate attack sequence. Trier has delegated all of this work to Noy and Edith, and it will probably take another one to two days to complete the task.

Trier had planned to use this time to talk to the surviving moneylenders and gather any possible information, but considering that the others might come looking for him at any time, he temporarily abandoned the plan.

Suddenly, the faceless statue that he had kept sealed in the room began to tremble on its own.

"Just as I thought," Trier thought to himself, "This thing is practically a cell phone..."

He first erected a "mental barrier" to prevent his thoughts from being detected by others, and then he grabbed the faceless statue.

The voices of the crowd rose and fell in layers throughout the room.

“Trier, there is something I must tell you,” the man said slowly. “The underground mirror city of Wilt is where my remains once were. I can still vaguely sense what happened there. Just yesterday, I sensed you, and an extremely powerful being.”

The first step to telling a clever lie is to tell the truth first. Trier thought to himself.

“Yes, I found the entrance to the underground mirror city of Wilt yesterday.” Trier tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, speaking insincerely, “I encountered a very special swarm of ultra-miniature gluttonous insects, and behind these swarms of gluttonous insects should be a powerful spellcaster who has attached his will to them.”

After a moment of silence, the group said quite seriously, "That's definitely not a swarm of Taotie insects; it's definitely someone in disguise."

"Why do you say that?" Trier offered a way out.

“The gluttonous insects will devour everything. If that really is a gluttonous insect, then the missing city hall would have been completely devoured long ago. They don’t just eat flesh and blood—rocks and steel are all on their menu.”

“No matter who that person is, they’re just reinforcements that Fusada and Loseville have brought in.” Trier pondered for a moment, then deliberately changed the subject. “There’s no point in thinking about these things. Just take the steps to invade Mirror City and take out Loseville and Fusada.”

First, offer a way out, then dismantle it, using this tug-of-war to expose the flaws in the group's defenses.

“That’s not the case!” the group said in a deep voice. “Yesterday I sensed a very familiar power, and I know the true identity of that unknown spellcaster.”

"It was you, how could you not know?" Trier thought to himself.

“He is the frontline commander of the Radiant Cult in the Demon Rift region of the Prime Material Plane,” the group continued. “I know him. He is a master of trickery who stands at the pinnacle of mortals, and he is very close to his true transformation—a master of trickery can completely disguise himself as a swarm of gluttonous insects.”

Trier pretended to be deep in thought.

"You mean, other saints from the Radiant Cult have intervened?"

"It's even more noticeable than black ants on snow!" the crowd exclaimed in dissatisfaction. "Trier, you've become too slow. Stop hesitating; being caught in a dilemma is the most dangerous thing. We don't have much time left; we must speed things up!"

"So what do you think we should do?" Trier emphasized the word "we".

"This is very strange. No matter who the newcomers are, they should not be familiar with the Southern Duchy, but now their actions are unusually powerful and decisive. They even went directly to the entrance of Mirror City to set up an ambush, which is very unusual."

The crowd hinted.

"There may be a causal link between the Duke's death and this matter. After all, without intelligence support, even if the gods of the Radiant Church personally descended to the Prime Material Plane in the form of saints, it would be difficult to do things so perfectly."

The crowd's analysis was quite objective, and their words were sincere, but unfortunately, Trier had an information panel...

"Luckily, I have an information panel," Trier thought to himself. "Go ahead and try to outsmart the air."