Ch. 481..490
Chapter 481
Silence.
The reactions of the warriors were mixed.
On one hand, they were happy that they had such a powerful warrior on their side.
But on the other hand, they felt a cold shiver when Jerald had ordered the execution of not only the surrendering Mages but even the warriors.
These warriors had been their comrades just one hour ago.
Nearly everyone knew each other, and now, these warriors had died.
Yes, they had fled to the enemy, but their lives had been on the line.
Staying here would have seemed like a death sentence.
But a good portion of the warriors also felt vindicated. These traitorous warriors had been willing to leave their former companions to fight for themselves!
They deserved death!
Up on the walls, Mervin glanced at Shang with a smile, but when he looked at Jerald, his expression turned to concern.
He had never seen Jerald this angry and cold before.
"The enemy's forces have been eradicated," Jerald proclaimed as he turned to the warriors again.
"Now that they have been weakened, it is time to claim what is ours!"
"Today, we will take back the Empress Cobra Zone!" Jerald shouted with a heroic voice.
"And to achieve victory, I have something for each and every one of you!"
At that point, 65 books appeared above Jerald, and each book hovered over to one of the warriors.
The warriors looked with surprise at the books, and they opened them.
A couple of seconds of silence passed, after which the warriors exclaimed in shock.
This was possible?!
"This was the last present of the first Dean of the Warrior Academy, my dear friend George," Jerald announced. "He has created this technique, but it hadn't been completely finished. I have finished it in the last decades, and now, it's time to take revenge for him!"
At that moment, something appeared beside Jerald, and he grabbed it.
It was George's spear!
Some of the warriors recognized the spear. After all, George had been a legend to all of them. Sixty years ago, there had been only a single True Path Stage warrior, and every warrior knew about him.
All of the True Path Stage warriors standing in front of Jerald were over 100 years old, and they all remembered George's legend.
"For too long have I needed to keep the true cause of his death a secret, but now, I can finally tell you all!"
After that, Jerald recounted George's last moments inside the Empress Cobra Zone, and he didn't hide the truth.
He told all of them about the ugly reality that was George's death.
The warriors grew furious when they heard that, and their eyes narrowed.
They could accept that George had lost to a High Mage in a fight, but they couldn't accept the despicable manner in which he actually died.
"Learn the Weapon Flying Technique. You have an hour," Jerald ordered.
The warriors immediately opened the books again and read through them.
The concepts weren't easy to grasp, but all of the present warriors were experienced True Path Stage warriors. Comprehending the technique in an hour was possible for them.
Jerald had kept the Weapon Flying Technique hidden until now, specifically because he knew that some warriors would flee to the enemy. If the Skythunder Kingdom performed Mind Reads on the warriors, they would know about the technique.
In fact, none of the warriors had known anything about their battle plan until now for exactly this reason.
While the warriors were comprehending the technique in silence, Jerald assigned new positions. After all, many powerful warriors with illustrious positions had left.
The two most powerful warriors, Mervin and the general of Jerald's army, would command half of the army each. Originally, Mervin was not in a leadership position since he wasn't interested, but since the third most powerful warrior had left, he now had to step up.
The general of Jerald's army was the very officer that had protected Shang during his first Day of Chaos.
His name was Perov.
Below Perov and Mervin were all 63 True Path Stage warriors, and there was no squad leader or something like that. They would all directly follow the commands of Perov and Mervin.
If necessary, the two of them could name temporary squad leaders for missions.
Shang received a separate role. His authority would be on the same level as Jerald's, but he wouldn't control the army under normal circumstances. He would leave everything for Mervin and Perov, but he could take control if he wanted to.
The three High Mages also left their isolated building and joined Shang.
Without the Magic Circles, they couldn't refill Shang's life energy and Mana, but they could still keep the augmenting Spells on him active.
The three Mages received authority above the normal True Path Stage warriors but below Mervin and Perov, but that also wasn't really important.
The three Mages would follow Shang most of the time.
About an hour later, all the warriors had comprehended the Weapon Flying Technique, and they were ready to go.
Jerald handed out additional Communication Crystals to everyone, which would replace their old ones.
The soldiers could contact Mervin and Perov, while Mervin and Perov could contact the soldiers, Jerald, and Shang.
Shang could contact everyone.
Mervin and Perov left 15 of the weaker but more experienced warriors in the Storm Eagle Zone in case something happened.
The others would join the assault.
At that moment, Shang left towards the northeast with the three Mages following him. He was traveling at barely 100 kph, which was slow enough for the Mages to follow him without needing to use Mana Step.
They kept the augmenting Spells on Shang active all the time in case there was an emergency somewhere.
If Shang left their location, his augmenting Spells would be able to keep running on their own for a bit more than five minutes.
That would give him enough time to reach any place inside the Empress Cobra Zone.
Of course, Shang wasn't planning on attacking anything right now. He was only here in case something went wrong.
While Shang and the Mages traveled toward the northeast, the warriors all jumped on their weapons.
Due to their terrifying fighting instincts, they very quickly got used to keeping their balance while their weapons were flying around below them.
Flying like this cost some Mana, but they could keep flying for several hours without any issues.
Mervin and Perov flew in front of their respective units.
Then, they gave the order to charge.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
50 warriors shot into the sky, past the layer of clouds above the Empress Cobra Zone.
Everything in the Empress Cobra Zone seemed as peaceful as always.
Yet, no one had any idea that a proverbial rain of arrows had just been launched at the Empress Cobra Zone.
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Swamp Lake City was the biggest city in the Empress Cobra Zone.
There was already a heavy cloud of fear above the city since the war between the Skythunder Kingdom and the Storm Eagle Zone started today, but the citizens were somewhat confident that the forces of the Skythunder Kingdom would stop the traitorous Duke Whirlwind.
There were three High Mages inside the city today just to make sure that no leftover warriors from the Storm Eagle Zone damaged the city.
Of course, the High Mages weren't very powerful. There was one Early High Mage and two Initial High Mages. One had to remember that the force that had attacked the Storm Eagle Zone represented some of the most powerful High Mages in the entire Kingdom. A mere defensive force of a random city couldn't compare, even if the force had been strengthened.
The High Mages were talking to each other via their Spirit Senses, and they were making bets on how long the Storm Eagle Zone could hold out.
These Mages were used to dangerous situations, and this bit of danger today wasn't something that fazed them.
Suddenly, all the Mages looked at the sky, and their eyes widened in terror.
Just now, they had felt over 20 True Path Stage warriors falling toward the city at incredible speeds!
They almost couldn't believe what they saw with their Spirit Senses!
The Mages immediately communicated with each other.
What were they supposed to do?!
They could deal with some warriors, but not with over 20!
In just an instant, there were three different opinions from three different Mages.
Flee!
Surrender!
Fight to the death!
The Mages immediately fell into a heated argument. Luckily, communication via Spirit Sense was several times faster than communicating with words.
"I don't care what you decide! I'm outta here!"
And then, the only Early High Mage fled towards the north.
Since the Mages could see the warriors, the warriors could also see the Mages, and they saw that one of them had fled.
Over ten of the warriors stepped on their weapons again. Until now, they had been in a freefall.
Their weapons used the force of the fall and redirected it towards the side, making them shoot after the Mage.
The other two Mages watched the strongest of them leave with horror.
The Early High Mage had a chance to flee, but they didn't!
As soon as they saw him flee, they agreed.
Surrender!
They jumped down from the walls, deactivated their Mana Shields, and fell to their knees, their hands held up in a surrendering fashion.
The few True Mages that were in the city watched all of this with confusion.
What was going on?
And then, the warriors arrived.
BOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOM!
Their heavy bodies landed outside the city, leaving humongous craters behind.
A True Path Stage warrior could survive such an insanely fast fall without any issues.
The True Mages and citizens looked with horror at the warriors that had transformed the outside beyond the walls into craters.
Their fighting spirit immediately left them.
Several warriors landed around the High Mages, but they didn't attack them.
Instead, they pointed their weapons at them in a threatening manner.
The High Mages didn't dare to move.
The other warriors entered the city, killed everyone that resisted, calmed down the populace, and assumed control.
Obviously, the citizens were in a panic, but the warriors kept shouting that everyone that stayed where they were without attacking anyone would be fine.
Of course, a couple of citizens still fled in panic, but the warriors killed them.
Orders had to be followed.
It didn't matter who fled.
If someone fled, they were put to death.
Eventually, the city fell into a terrified silence.
Over 100 people died when they tried to flee, scaring the remaining citizens into compliance.
It seemed cruel, but this decisiveness and cruelty actually saved more people than it cost.
One had to remember that this was the Empress Cobra Zone.
If everyone that tried to flee were allowed to flee, the remaining people would realize that they could also flee and would follow.
Eventually, probably over 50% of people would have fled…
Right into the deadly swamps of the Empress Cobra Zone.
Just a random Pest Cat could kill hundreds of normal citizens.
The Empress Cobra Zone was deadly for normal people, and they could only live inside the settlements.
A couple of minutes later, an additional group of ten warriors returned to the city.
This was the group that had gone after the Early High Mage, and they had returned after killing him.
A High Mage could move at incredible speeds in short bursts, but that consumed a crazy amount of Mana.
In a long chase, the High Mage would be caught by a warrior.
If necessary, warriors could move at their full speed for hours on end.
During these minutes, the Mage had reached the border of the Adamantite Behemoth Zone, but he was very quickly killed after that.
There were no guards between these Zones since they all belonged to the same Duke.
Most of the warriors in the second group joined the warriors in the city, while Mervin, who had been in the group, went over to the High Mages.
The High Mages realized that this warrior was more powerful than them, and they knew that he had to be the leader of this terrifying force of True Path Stage warriors.
One of the warriors reported everything that had happened to Mervin, and he nodded with a smile, giving his thanks.
He walked over to the Mages.
"You can stand up," he said with a polite voice.
The two Mages looked at each other with nervous eyes and complied.
Mervin smiled and nodded. "Good. Our policy for every High Mage of the Skythunder Kingdom that didn't resist our advance will now take effect."
"Both of you will undergo a Mind Read performed by Duke Whirlwind personally. He will then decide what to do with you."
The two Mages looked nervously at Mervin.
Obviously, they were scared of having all their dirty secrets brought to light.
"You will do no such thing."
At that moment, everyone turned to a seemingly empty spot when they heard the voice of a woman echo throughout their minds.
An instant later, the space on the spot warped, and someone stepped out.
It was a younger woman with long blue hair and blue robes.
Beside her was a Focus with four Amplifiers, representing a truly powerful High Mage.
When the warriors felt the power of this new Mage, they had to take in a deep, terrified breath.
They immediately knew who that was.
Just now, the warriors had taken control over the entire city, but with the appearance of only one person, the control had been completely taken away from them again.
"I am willing to talk with Jerald about joining his Kingdom with every Mage serving me, but I will not allow the minds of my people to be read!" she said with a strict voice.
Her aura engulfed the entire city.
If she willed it, all the warriors would be turned to corpses in less than 30 seconds.
She had that power.
After all, she was a Late High Mage.
While the warriors looked with terror at the High Mage, Mervin only held his polite smile.
"Duke Torrent. We've been expecting you," Mervin spoke politely.
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Duke Torrent wasn't surprised when Mervin said that they had expected her. She was the ruler over these surrounding Zones, and it would be foolish not to expect her to appear in one of them.
But Duke Torrent wasn't very worried about their preparations. After all, she hadn't come here to fight but to negotiate.
"I want to speak with Jerald," Duke Torrent demanded. "I am willing to sign a contract that binds me to his side, but I am not willing to undergo a Mind Read."
Mervin only continued smiling politely. "Please wait a moment."
Mervin took out a Communication Crystal and activated it.
In comparison to the normal Communication Crystals, this one directly connected to someone's Spirit Sense, making it impossible for anyone in the vicinity to overhear the conversation.
Mervin contacted Jerald and reported everything to him.
A couple of seconds later, Mervin put the Communication Crystal away again.
"I'm sorry, but Duke Whirlwind will not be directly negotiating with you."
Duke Torrent's eyes narrowed.
She was a Late High Mage, and if she so chose to, she could lay waste to every single person here!
This was obviously a sign of disrespect from Jerald.
"I will," a dark voice spoke from behind Duke Torrent.
Duke Torrent's eyes opened widely, and she blinked away with Mana Step.
Then, she looked back and noticed that a black figure was standing at the spot where she had just been.
Right now, the black figure was looking at Duke Torrent, but she couldn't actually see the person behind the armor.
This made her feel like she wasn't actually meeting gazes with a human but with some sort of otherworldly machine.
She took a deep breath as she looked at the black figure. "I presume your word equals Jerald's word, Count Sword?" she asked.
Shang wasn't surprised that she already knew about him.
The Council obviously had some sort of way to glean what had happened during the battle. They probably already knew about Shang's power and his identity.
"It is," Shang answered slowly, "and I assume you are here under orders of the Council?"
"Partially," Duke Torrent said. "Originally, my orders were supposed to be to gauge your power, give feedback to the Council, and then assault you with a force powerful enough to kill you."
"However, I'm not as blind as the Council. I know Jerald, and I know that he wouldn't have declared this war if he wasn't confident in claiming victory. I've known him for a long time."
"If Jerald is confident in his chances with the mere forces he has right now, his chances will skyrocket even more if he has my assistance. I don't know if he can win against the Council in a direct battle, but I am powerful enough to distract one of them during the battle, giving him an edge."
"There is no reason for me to stay at the Council's side. I know who is going to win this war, and it isn't the Council," Duke Torrent spoke emotionlessly.
"I have 24 High Mages loyal to me, and I will bring them with me."
Shang looked at Duke Torrent for a while longer. "And what are your demands for such grand help?"
Duke Torrent wasn't sure if Shang was sarcastic or not. "I am willing to sign a magical contract with Jerald with our lives on the line."
"I will follow all of Jerald's orders without question as long as they are not obviously meant to severely injure or kill me for the next 50 years. I will also hand over all the command of my forces to him and anyone he deems fit to command them. If I break the contract, I will die."
"In return, neither I nor any of my High Mages will undergo a Mind Read, torture, or interrogation by the orders of Jerald, you, or whoever commands your armies. If Jerald breaks this contract, his life will also be forfeit. Of course, he is free to read through the contract to verify what I just said."
"These are my demands."
These terms were actually pretty good.
Jerald would gain a Late High Mage and 24 additional High Mages for basically nothing. He simply wasn't allowed to dig into their pasts.
A proper magical contract couldn't just be messed with or broken. This was something created and enforced by two willing parties, and both parties had enough experience to write solid contracts without loopholes.
What Duke Torrent had said only counted as the basics of the contract. Obviously, there would be clauses regarding confidentiality of information and similar things.
At that point, it wouldn't even be necessary to read anyone's mind to ascertain their loyalty. After all, they would be bound by the contract.
If winning the war was the main goal, this offer would have zero downsides and many upsides.
It was purely beneficial.
"So, you don't want to be persecuted for anything you have done or ordered in the past. Is that correct?" Shang asked.
"This is how war works, Count Sword," Duke Torrent said. "I know that my offer is more than acceptable, and I know what I can ask for."
"And if I refuse?" Shang asked.
Duke Torrent wasn't fazed by the question. "Even if you somehow got the power to kill me, you wouldn't be able to stop me from leaving or killing several of your warriors. You might be powerful, but I am confident in my speed. I will be able to flee after taking a good chunk of your warriors with me, and then, we'll see what happens from there."
"What will it be?"
By now, the nervousness of the warriors had returned again.
Count Sword might be able to rival the Duke, but they couldn't.
Any stray Spell from such a powerful High Mage would kill them in one hit.
In a way, Duke Torrent currently had about 20 True Path Stage warriors as hostages while negotiating with Shang.
Additionally, her offer was amazing.
They would gain so much power by simply not investigating the past of all the Mages and the Duke.
Depending on the power of the High Mages, this could result in doubling the effective power of the Storm Eagle Zone, and that didn't even include Duke Torrent herself!
Count Sword acted as the representative of Duke Whirlwind. Therefore, he had to act according to Duke Whirlwind's priorities.
Duke Whirlwind would never refuse such an offer.
Right?
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Shang only looked at the distant Duke Torrent.
"For winning the war, it would be stupid not to accept your offer."
"However, accepting your offer would nullify half of the reason why this war even started in the first place."
Duke Torrent narrowed her eyes. She definitely didn't like what she was hearing.
"We want the warriors to finally have a place where they can thrive, but that is only half of the reason."
"Duke Whirlwind is a human just like all of us, and as a human, he has his own desires."
Shang slowly took out his sword.
"And his greatest desire right now is revenge."
Duke Torrent immediately started to cast several Spells.
She had never expected that they would refuse her offer, but she was still ready to act.
The warriors felt like their end had arrived.
They would die to Duke Torrent today.
However, Shang wasn't worried.
He couldn't receive any healing or Mana right now, but all his augmenting Spells were still active.
His speed, power, defense, thinking speed, perception, regeneration rate, life energy storage, and Mana storage were still boosted.
Fighting against an average Late High Mage would very likely result in Shang's death normally, but this was not the case with the current Shang.
As soon as Shang readied his sword, his surroundings started to distort and transform.
The air, water, and earth around him started to fall into pieces and transform into pure Mana.
All of this took a while to describe, but Shang had actually already shot forward as soon as all of this happened.
SHING!
Shang released Shock, but this time, there was no black streak.
Shang had activated his Domain of Entropy, and he generally only used that during one situation.
In an instant, Shang arrived in front of Duke Torrent.
His speed was far faster than Duke Torrent had anticipated.
Nevertheless, she had already readied one of her personal Spells.
Water drops gathered around her body, and an instant later, green wind surrounded them.
BANG!
The water droplets exploded outward at speeds that could only be achieved by using a Concept from the Wind Element.
SSSHHH!
Yet, the droplets between Shang and Duke Torrent vanished as soon as they reached Shang.
Below Shang's armor, his body began to deteriorate.
Then, Shang slashed forward.
Sword was already burning with black fire.
Shang was using Silence from the get-go!
Shang couldn't allow Duke Torrent to kill any of the warriors here, which meant that Shang had to kill her in an instant.
Duke Torrent's eyes widened when she saw that her Spell had failed.
How?!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Five rapid explosions occurred around her, and her mind briefly stopped as she felt over 40% of her entire Mana vanish!
How was it possible for an Initial True Path Stage warrior to unleash such devastating power?!
She immediately activated Mana Step, but the Mana that left her body to create the Spell also vanished in an instant!
She couldn't comprehend what was happening right now!
Shang unleashed another five attacks, and Duke Torrent fell into a panic.
She used several Mana Steps in quick succession. Whatever was stopping her from unleashing Mana Step must have some sort of limit or cost associated with it!
BANG!
At that moment, Duke Torrent left with an explosion. By using so many Mana Steps, she had created a humongous Mana Step that took her over five kilometers away.
Shang had not interfered this time.
Shang's body had already atrophied to a horrifying degree, and his skin had already vanished below the armor.
If he stopped this many Mana Steps, he might not be able to continue fighting.
Duke Torrent had moved so far away that she couldn't feel Shang anymore, but Shang could still feel her due to his gigantic Spirit Sense.
Shang readied his sword, which had turned into a short sword by now.
SHING!
Shock!
Shang released three Shocks and arrived in front of Duke Torrent in less than a second.
Duke Torrent had been prepared to flee, and her Focus had already readied another Spell.
A powerful beam of concentrated water supported by the sharpness and speed of wind shot directly at Shang.
SHING!
Shang released his last Shock to arrive behind Duke Torrent, making her Spell miss.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Then, Shang released Anger as he deactivated his Domain of Entropy.
CRACK!
The sixth attack destroyed Duke Torrent's Mana Shield, and Shang immediately slashed her Focus to the side, turning it into fragments.
Duke Torrent could only look with horrified eyes at Shang.
She couldn't accept reality at this moment.
Shang dropped his sword and lunged forward.
His body barreled over Duke Torrent, throwing both of them to the ground.
Shang was above her, and his right arm was gripping her throat tightly.
At that moment, Duke Torrent felt a powerful force come from Shang's right hand, and she felt her body atrophy as her life energy was siphoned out of her.
She tried to screech in terror, but Shang's grip on her throat made it impossible.
She could only look with terrified eyes at the image in front of her eyes.
Since Shang's Domain of Entropy had destroyed his skin, blood was now seeping out from all the little holes and crevices of his armor. Even the eyeholes of his armor were leaking blood onto Duke Torrent's body below him.
Duke Torrent had never been this terrified before.
To her, it felt like an eternity had passed.
She felt herself vanishing.
She felt like she was being eaten by some kind of demon.
Her death was so close.
And then, the absorbing force receded and vanished.
Yet, the grip on Duke Torrent's throat was still tight, stopping her from saying anything else.
For several agonizing seconds, the terrified Duke Torrent only looked at the bleeding eyeholes of the black armor above her.
Then, more seconds passed.
This moment so close to death but not actually dying was agonizing for Duke Torrent.
The uncertainty.
If Count Sword wanted to kill her, he could have killed her already.
But he hadn't killed her.
"Your death is certain," the black armor above Duke Torrent spoke in a cold and raspy voice.
She couldn't react to these words.
She was just in too much horror.
"But the manner in which you die and the fate of your loved ones is not certain."
By now, Duke Torrent could process some of these words, and these words terrified her.
At that moment, two light footsteps echoed throughout the swamp around them.
Duke Torrent's Spirit Sense was still working, and she saw what had just happened.
Duke Whirlwind had just landed beside the two of them, and he was looking at her with the coldest eyes she had ever seen in her life.
For several seconds, he only looked apathetically into Duke Torrent's terrified eyes.
"Sophia, Bryston, Kerrington, Lucia…"
Duke Torrent's terror reached even greater heights.
Duke Whirlwind had just recited all the names of her family and friends!
"Will you let your crimes be their crimes?" Jerald slowly asked.
"Will you accept death for your punishment, or will you force yourself and all your loved ones into a fate worse than death?"
"Will you let me read your mind and die with dignity, or do you want to doom your family and friends into an eternity of torture and suffering?"
Jerald only looked with unending apathy at Duke Torrent.
"Which will it be?"
"I'm not above killing innocent people anymore."
"That mindset died together with my son."
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Jerald waited for half a minute before putting his hand on Duke Torrent's head.
He attempted to read her mind, and he succeeded.
For the next five minutes, Jerald only remained silent with his hand on Duke Torrent's head.
Then, he pulled it back.
"You've offered me valuable information," Jerald said coldly.
Then, something appeared in his hands.
It was George's spear!
Jerald put the spear to Duke Torrent's head while tears rolled down the sides of her head.
She knew that she would die.
She didn't want to die!
But, at least…
"You don't need to worry," Jerald said. "Your loved ones will soon join you."
At that moment, Duke Torrent's eyes widened in horror.
CRACK!
The spear pierced through her head, killing her instantly.
Shang let go of the corpse's neck, and his head turned to Jerald.
"I lied," Jerald said with a sigh. "I don't plan on doing anything to her loved ones."
"I just wanted her last thoughts to be as horrible as possible."
Shang nodded and slowly stood up. "What did you find out?"
"I know now who is responsible for George's and Mattheo's deaths," Jerald said.
Shang's eye shone below the bloody armor.
"The Council made the decision for both, just as expected. They ordered Duke Torrent to get rid of both of them. I'm not surprised that she refused the Mind Read this fervently."
"Duke Torrent gave the specific orders to two different High Mages. The one that killed George is called Ralay, and the one that killed Mattheo is called Ugna. Both of them are part of Duke Torrent's people."
"Ralay is currently guarding the main city of the Deepwater Shark Zone, and Ugna is in the Northern Ice Wyvern Zone."
"With Duke Torrent's death, we killed the middleman. Now, we only need to kill the two agents and the Council. After that, our revenge will be complete."
Shang nodded. He could finally put a name to the person that killed George.
"Should I deal with them right now?" Shang asked.
Jerald nodded. "When they hear of Duke Torrent's death, they will immediately flee. We can't waste any time."
At that moment, Jerald threw George's spear to Shang, who caught it.
"George deserves his revenge. You should take out Ralay as quickly as possible."
After that, Jerald transmitted a description of Ralay to Shang.
"Before you leave, I have something else," Jerald said.
"Is it about the thing we've feared?" Shang asked.
Jerald nodded.
"It is as we thought, but we were already prepared for that eventuality," Jerald said. "Susan has already heard about your power, and she realized that she can't muster enough power to kill you without the Council interfering."
"Most of the Dukes are at crucial positions on the frontline, and if she moves even one of them, the Magic Purity Kingdom will launch a devastating offensive."
"She is fighting a war on three fronts, and losing one of them means her death."
"Because of that, she decided to forsake her bright future and become an Archmage immediately."
Shang nodded. They had expected such a development.
"How long?" he asked.
"It will take her three months, which is shorter than expected," Jerald said. "I expected six to twelve months, but three months should also be enough."
"We have to achieve victory within three months, or we will have to face an Archmage, and we both know that I'm not powerful enough to fight against Susan while she is an Archmage."
Jerald looked deeply at Shang. Surprisingly, even in Jerald's current state of mind, Shang could still see genuine concern in his eyes.
"This is your last chance to back out," Jerald said. "I can directly assault the Council personally, and I have a chance at victory. The only reason why you are part of the plan is to save me from that danger."
"However, if Susan reaches the Archmage Realm, you know what you would need to do."
"If you were to flee the five Kingdoms right now, she wouldn't be able to find you, and I would assault the Council."
"But if you stay here, we have to win within three months, and if we can't win in that timeframe, you have to sacrifice something."
Shang took a deep breath.
If Susan reached the Archmage Realm, Shang would need to unleash Entropy and sacrifice something.
It was a risk.
Shang could directly flee without any risk, or he could risk part of himself to help Jerald.
Three months.
That was all the time they had.
"I'll remain," Shang said. "It's not only you that wants revenge, but me as well. Not only because of what happened to all the people I know but also because of myself. The Council has suppressed me as well, and I don't like being suppressed."
Jerald managed a weak smile. "Then, we are in this together."
Shang nodded. "We are."
For several seconds, none of the two said anything.
"Then, I will proceed with the next step," Jerald said.
Shang nodded. "I hope it works."
"It will," Jerald said with cold confidence. "I've been in this political game for far too long, and I know how everyone acts."
"Not everyone is like the Council, and not everyone supports what they do. There are still a few powerful High Mages out there that don't want to see the warriors being suppressed."
"Right now, they are afraid of joining since they believe that we will lose."
"But things will change very quickly when we are in a favorable position."
"Sometimes, when someone's life is on the line, they don't decide to bite back but decide to fall in front of you with their belly up."
Shang nodded again. "I hope so."
Jerald nodded back and took to the skies.
Shang cleaned up his bloody armor and ran back to the city. By now, his Spells had worn off, and he needed them renewed.
Shang carried George's spear in his hand as he traveled to the three High Mages.
At that moment, Shang looked towards the northeast with a shining eye.
"You will get another portion of your revenge in just a couple of minutes."
George's spear didn't answer.
486 Chapter 486
Shang and the Mages traveled to the northeast for several minutes.
The Deepwater Shark Zone was adjacent to the Empress Cobra Zone, and it was also the place where Duke Torrent's mansion was. Of course, most of her belongings were in her Space Ring, which Jerald had taken.
There wasn't a lot of stuff in her mansion.
When they arrived at the Deepwater Shark Zone, they saw a gigantic lake, nearly 100 kilometers wide.
The city Shang was looking for was in the north of that Zone.
Shang got his Spells renewed once again and took to the sky. For today, he would use George's spear to fly.
Shang traveled high into the sky and stopped above the city.
From such a height, no one would be able to see Shang, and he was also outside Ralay's Spirit Sense.
However, Shang's Spirit Sense was much bigger, and he could see everyone.
'Ralay and two additional Initial High Mages.'
Ralay herself was an Early High Mage.
For a while, Shang looked at the city and created a plan to attack.
Eventually, he took out some ore, and Sword entered its Saber State.
Then, Shang took a deep breath and focused.
Up in the sky, he stood silently on George's spear.
Then, he angled George's spear so that he faced diagonally downward.
He pulled his Saber back and closed his eye.
He had to rely on his Spirit Sense for this one.
SHING! SHING!
Shang released two rapid Shooting Stars at different angles.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Then, Shang accelerated downward by releasing several blasts.
The Shooting Stars were still faster than him by quite a bit.
Mere moments later, the three High Mages in the city looked upward.
The eyes of the two Initial High Mages opened wide in shock.
BANG! BANG!
However, Shooting Star was just too fast for them to react, and both Shooting Stars punched through their bodies and exploded.
Luckily, no people were beside them.
They hadn't even been able to use a Mana Step or Mana Shield.
By using Shooting Star from such a great distance, its power was several times weaker than normal. It wouldn't even be enough to injure an Initial True Path Stage beast.
However, Mages had fragile bodies, and it was still far more than enough to kill an Initial High Mage.
Both Mages died instantly.
Ralay looked with horror as two of her friends died, and she immediately activated Mana Shield.
That was when Shang entered her Spirit Sense, and she looked over.
When she saw the black armor, her face turned to terror.
Duke Torrent had informed her of Count Sword, and she knew that she couldn't win a fight against him.
SHING!
She immediately used Mana Step to flee, but Shang shot after her.
He used several Blasts to make him shoot toward her. That was far faster than using the Weapon Flying Technique.
Ralay used over eight Mana Steps in rapid succession before using another six to shoot in a different direction.
The first eight had taken her eight kilometers away, while the other six took her another six kilometers in another direction.
Her opponent would believe that she would continue running toward the north, but she was actually running toward the east now.
This maneuver cost her nearly 80% of her Mana reserves, but she had escaped.
Of course, she didn't know about the size of Shang's Spirit Sense.
With Shang's current speed, it only took him five seconds to enter her Spirit Sense again.
Ralay used more Mana Steps. Thankfully, five seconds had been enough to recover a lot of her Mana.
By now, she had entered the Zone northeast of the Deepwater Shark Zone, the Cloud Serpent Zone.
Sadly, Shang reached her even faster this time.
Instead of continuing to run, she decided to fight.
She didn't have enough Mana to escape Shang's Spirit Sense anymore.
By now, Shang was blasting forward on the ground, and he was a bit slower than before, but not by much.
When he was within a kilometer of Ralay, he pulled his Saber back.
Then, he threw it.
BANG!
Star Shatter!
Star Shatter immediately destroyed her Mana Shield, and Shang used Shock to arrive beside her in an instant.
Ralay released a Poison Bolt that had been prepared by her Focus, but Shang easily sidestepped it.
CRKSH!
An instant later, a spear pierced through her chest, with Shang holding its shaft.
"Look at the weapon," Shang slowly said.
He actually didn't need to order her. She already looked with horror at the weapon that had pierced her body.
She recognized it.
Then, Shang moved the spear upward with enough force to bisect her vertically.
She was dead.
For some seconds, Shang only looked at the corpse.
"Only the Council is left now," he told the spear.
Of course, he also had to deal with Ugna, who had killed Mattheo, but the spear probably didn't care about that.
The spear didn't answer.
Shang grabbed Ralay's Space Ring and destroyed the corpse.
Then, Shang turned around and ran back to the border of the Empress Cobra Zone.
There were more people he had to kill.
After returning to the Empress Cobra Zone, Shang and the three Mages traveled toward the northwest.
A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the three-way border between the Empress Cobra Zone, the Adamantite Behemoth Zone, and the Ice Wyvern Zone.
There were still no guards near the border.
Shang got his Spells renewed and took to the sky again.
He flew towards the Northern Ice Wyvern Zone and arrived at his destination three minutes later.
This was a newly built city, and Ugna was defending this place on his own.
The Skythunder Kingdom didn't have many High Mages to spare.
Shang made Sword return to its Saber State again.
Then, he shot Star Shatter at Ugna from seven kilometers away and blasted after it.
"Mana Shield!" he transmitted to Ugna with an urgent voice.
Ugna grew confused, but when he felt an impossible power come towards him at insane speeds, he followed the command and activated Mana Shield.
CRACK!
Star Shatter broke through the Mana Shield, and Sword pierced through the ground beside Ugna.
Ugna only looked with terror at the attack that had just consumed all his Mana.
Then, the sword began to hover and suddenly shot toward his torso.
CRKSH!
Ugna looked in terror at the Long Sword piercing his body.
Suddenly, he felt a powerful pull, and the Long Sword pulled him toward the sky.
Whenever he tried to use Mana, the Long Sword released some Darkness Mana that completely broke his concentration.
Two seconds later, he suddenly felt a powerful hand grab his throat, and he looked at the black figure in front of him.
'Far easier to make them waste all their Mana instead of chasing after them,' Shang thought.
Shang pulled Sword out of Ugna and used Darkness Absorb to keep him weak and helpless while taking away the Space Ring.
Then, he pulled him towards the Empress Cobra Zone.
Ugna couldn't even say anything due to all the terror and pain he felt.
Eventually, they landed in a seemingly random place.
However, they weren't alone.
Jerald was here as well, and he looked at Ugna with rage-filled eyes.
This was the person that had killed his son!
This was why Shang hadn't directly killed Ugna.
Shang threw Ugna forward, who landed weakly in front of Jerald.
The eyes of the two of them met.
One was filled with rage.
One was filled with terror.
487 Chapter 487
After a couple of minutes, the horrifying screams of the High Mage stopped.
Jerald stood up and stepped away from the desecrated corpse. He cleaned his robes of the blood and looked at Shang.
"The next phase of the plan needs another two hours of preparation. For now, I only need you to stay with the three High Mages. If we need you, someone will call you."
Shang nodded.
He knew the plan, and he knew that the next step was crucial.
Shang walked away and entered Swamp Lake City.
As he walked through the streets, he saw many uncertain and terrified commoners. The assault had only happened two hours ago, and they were still uncertain about what would happen to them.
Yet, they were not the ones that had to be afraid. Jerald didn't care about them.
The ones that had to be afraid were the True Mages.
A True Mage already counted as someone quite powerful in the five Kingdoms, and many of them were already decision-makers.
Right now, all of the True Mages in this town were put into magical restraints that made it impossible for them to cast any Spells or use their Focus.
They were all waiting in terror.
Over 100 True Mages were currently waiting in front of one building with fear. All the True Mages in the entire Empress Cobra Zone had been gathered in this spot.
Inside the building were five of Jerald's Inquisitors, and they would read the minds of all the True Mages.
Of the True Mages that entered, only about 60% came out.
The other 40% had been killed.
The Inquisitors judged the True Mage's past actions and gave one of four different judgments.
If a Mage had actively been going against the warriors without only following orders, they were put to death.
If a Mage had only followed the orders and carried them out dutifully, they would be put to work for 50 years, after which they would be free.
If a Mage did their best to screw up the orders to kill the warriors, declined a couple of them, or just showed kindness to the warriors they were sent to kill, they would be allowed to join as a citizen, which meant that they were completely free.
Jerald and the Inquisitors knew that they couldn't expect everyone to put the lives of the warriors above their own. Sometimes, refusing an order could result in the Mage going to prison, the frontlines, or directly being executed.
The crux of the matter was if they supported the war against the warriors or not.
On very rare occasions, a Mage might have even helped the warriors secretly. Maybe they helped one of them flee? Maybe they purposely acted like they didn't find the warrior? Maybe they warned them beforehand?
These kinds of Mages were allowed to join Jerald's army, of course only if they wanted to. They would also receive payment, referrals, and maybe even a title.
Of the 100 Mages, around 40 were directly killed, around 35 were put to work, around 22 became citizens, and only three of them received rewards and status.
Was it wrong to punish someone for only following orders?
That was debatable…
On Earth, that is.
In this world, power ruled. If there were two powerful beasts in a fight and a hunter had to attack one of them, they could only hope that they attacked the beast that would lose the fight.
Because if they didn't, the hunter would die.
"I don't care about your reason. You went against me, and for that, you deserve death."
That was the general ideology of this world.
In comparison to the True Mages, the Adepts and Apprentices were ignored. Even if they harbored hatred for the warriors, it wouldn't matter. They couldn't have done too much harm with their power, and by only leaving the pure leaders alive, the pack would eventually adapt to reflect the same mentality.
And if they didn't, the leaders would be the ones cleansing them.
What about the warriors that hated Mages and tried their best to kill every Mage they could find? After all, it wasn't only the Mages that hated the warriors.
If there were Mages that hated warriors to such a degree that they would kill every warrior they saw, there were also bound to be warriors that did the same but against the Mages.
What happened to them?
Nothing.
Was this hypocritical?
Yes.
So?
It didn't matter.
The warriors were Jerald's people, and he wouldn't persecute them as long as the Mages they killed didn't belong to Jerald.
Of course, now that some Mages were part of Jerald's territory, these warriors were not allowed to touch them without a very good reason.
In short, the Mages were not allowed to vent their hatred on warriors, but the warriors were allowed to vent their hatred on Mages, as long as these Mages didn't belong to Jerald.
Naturally, the warriors that were mentioned here weren't at the True Path Stage. The commanders knew what was important. They wouldn't allow their most powerful warriors to act like bloodthirsty savages.
Shang stepped past the building and stopped at a random place in the city.
No one dared to interact with him.
For the next two hours, Shang only waited while talking to the three High Mages beside him.
And then, it was finally time.
Everything had been prepared.
The war had only started around five hours ago, but over 20 High Mages of the Skythunder Kingdom had already been killed.
And now, the next part of the offensive would take place.
But this part was not a physical attack but a mental one.
20 True Path Stage warriors gathered in front of Jerald, and he handed each one a Space Ring.
After that, he gave his orders.
The warriors quickly went into formation, jumped on their weapons, and flew away.
Shang watched them fly away with an interested gaze.
'I wonder how effective this will be.'
Shang knew a lot about fighting, but he wasn't involved in politics or planning an entire war.
The only thing he could rely on was his personal power, and this part of the plan didn't need Shang's power.
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After the warriors took to the sky, they split up into four groups.
One group went to the northeast, one to the north, one to the northwest, and one to the west.
They reached a height of eight kilometers and continued flying for a couple of minutes.
The groups were entering the Deepwater Shark Zone, Adamantite Behemoth Zone, Northern Ice Wyvern Zone, and Ice Wyvern Zone.
As soon as the groups entered their respective Zones, they took out the Space Rings they had received from Jerald.
SHING!
A huge stack of papers floated around them. Even though warriors weren't Mages, their minds were still powerful enough to levitate some letters.
And then, the warriors scattered the letters across all four Zones.
Every warrior had received 5,000 letters, and they would distribute all of them. That was 25,000 letters per Zone.
With such a vast amount of letters, it would become impossible to bury their contents.
The High Mages in the Zones didn't even feel the warriors pass over them since they were outside the range of their Spirit Senses.
They only saw several letters slowly floating down.
Of course, the Mages immediately inspected the letters from afar to make sure that there wasn't a malicious enchantment on them.
There wasn't.
With their Spirit Senses, the High Mages could read the letters while they were still several kilometers above the ground.
All the High Mages read them, and the reactions were mixed.
Some of the High Mages became white in the face with horror and immediately destroyed all the letters they saw.
Some High Mages only looked at the ground in uncertainty and fear.
Some High Mages became shocked and looked at their colleagues.
Some of them looked at their colleagues with fear.
Some of them looked at their colleagues with cold gazes.
Even though many High Mages tried to get rid of all the letters, they had been scattered across the entire Zone.
Many commoners would read the letter they found in front of their door, in their fields, on the streets, or just anywhere.
It was impossible to bury its contents.
Its contents would spread across the Zones and even across the entire Kingdom.
The letters were all identical, and they had multiple parts.
The first part spoke about the Storm Eagle Zone's triumphs.
They had killed five Mid High Mages, 14 Early High Mages, and eight Initial High Mages without losing a single person in the Fourth Realm.
This already terrified many Mages, and some of them even refused that this could be real.
Then, the next bombshell dropped.
Duke Torrent had died, and Duke Whirlwind had read her mind.
The next part spoke in detail about what Duke Whirlwind had learned, including the Council's plan of making their Head reach the Archmage Realm.
But the next part was even more shocking.
It was a plan of assault with dates and times!
Tomorrow at 12 pm, the Storm Eagle Zone would attack the Deepwater Shark Zone.
The day after, at the same time of day, they would attack the Ice Wyvern Zone.
The day after, the Northern Ice Wyvern Zone.
Then, the Adamantite Behemoth Zone.
Every day, Jerald would conquer one more Zone.
Many Mages thought that this was some kind of scheme.
No one would tell their opponent what they were going to do beforehand, right?
However, the letter wasn't over yet.
The next part spoke about what would happen to the inhabitants of the conquered Zones.
Everyone beneath the Third Realm was allowed to join Jerald's territory as a citizen without being inspected or questioned.
Everyone in the Third Realm would need to have their mind read by an Inquisitor.
The letter detailed what criteria someone was judged by and what the punishments were.
The next part of the letter was also its last part.
It spoke about the High Mages.
Jerald had read Duke Torrent's mind, and he knew the names of all the High Mages that belonged to her and what they had done.
Every name was individually listed with an added comment.
Julian: May join as a citizen without undergoing a Mind Read.
Herald: Will undergo a Mind Read, and if nothing surprising comes to light, will be put to work for 100 years.
Stanner: Will undergo a Mind Read but will very likely receive the title of Baron and a voluntary job as an officer in Duke Whirlwind's army.
Karmen: Will be put to death.
It named all the High Mages in this manner.
Then, the letter ended.
Even though the letter was supposed to alleviate the citizens' fears, they were still afraid of the war.
What if they died in the crossfire?
But that actually didn't matter.
The targets of these letters were the High Mages.
The High Mages that had been judged to be executed grew terrified, angry, and distanced themselves from their comrades.
They were afraid that their comrades would leave and betray them.
They grew incredibly suspicious of their previous comrades and became hostile.
The ones that had been judged to be put to work had lost expressions on their faces.
They, obviously, didn't want to be put to work for such a long time and lose all their wealth and status.
Most of those High Mages decided to fight against Duke Whirlwind's forces, but the previous group still suspected them with hostility.
The ones that had to undergo Mind Reads but were most likely safe felt either terrified or felt a complex mix of emotions.
The ones that were terrified knew that Jerald would find their secrets, and they would most likely die.
The ones that felt a complex mix of emotions felt this way due to the decision they had to make.
If they decided to resist and join their comrades, they would most likely die.
If they decided to go to Jerald's territory, they would be able to survive and continue living their current life, but they would be leaving their comrades behind.
Yet, most of them didn't trust the contents of the letter.
What if Duke Whirlwind only did this to split their forces and make them fight against each other?
They wouldn't trust these letters and would stay with their comrades.
…At least, that was the initial plan.
Over the next couple of hours, all their previous comrades looked at them with hatred, suspicion, and accusations.
They called them traitors!
In a big city in the Ice Wyvern Zone, it even went so far that three High Mages killed two other High Mages.
These three High Mages had been judged to be executed, and the other two could join Jerald's camp without any issues.
The two Mages had still decided to help their colleagues, but the paranoia of their colleagues was so great that they were killed.
In other cities, the angry and suspicious High Mages basically did their best to drive the other High Mages away.
Of course, that wasn't their intention.
They were simply so stressed, panicked, and angry that they had to vent their emotions somewhere.
In the next twelve hours, another two High Mages died, and two High Mages managed to flee to the Empress Cobra Zone.
Of the 18 High Mages left in Duke Torrent's former group, four had been killed, and two joined Duke Whirlwind.
Now, there were only twelve left.
The letters had shown their effect.
This part of the plan had proven to be a great success!
489 Chapter 489
A full day passed, and it was finally time to assault the Deepwater Shark Zone.
The letters hadn't lied about Jerald's plans for attack. He would attack the Zones as described at the described time.
Shortly before 12 pm, Shang took to the skies by flying on Sword.
After some minutes, Shang scanned the entire Deepwater Shark Zone, except for the deep depths of the lake. After all, the Skythunder Kingdom was their enemy, not the beasts. Shang also doubted that the Skythunder Kingdom would have some kind of ambush planned while being at the bottom of a lake. The risk of accidentally having to fight a powerful beast at the bottom was too high.
Even if the beast were killed, everyone outside the lake would notice the battle most likely.
After scanning the entire Deepwater Shark Zone, Shang only saw a single Initial High Mage, and the Mage was just standing in front of the biggest city of the Deepwater Shark Zone with a worried expression.
High up in the air, Shang summoned a Communication Crystal. "Mervin, Perov, there is only a single Initial High Mage stationed in the entire Zone, and she's just waiting in front of the city. I'm unsure of her intentions."
"Affirmative," Perov answered. "My unit will take it from here."
Shang put the Communication Crystal away and simply stayed in the air.
By now, his augmenting Spells had already faded, but he didn't need them right now.
After a while, Shang saw several warriors enter his Spirit Sense. They were charging towards the biggest city while the other warriors swept through the surroundings of the huge lake.
Eventually, the group of warriors and the Mage entered each other's Spirit Sense.
Then, Shang saw the warriors suddenly halt, and he furrowed his brows.
The warriors only stood there and waited.
Obviously, the Mage and the warriors were talking, but Shang couldn't think of any words that would halt the assault of this group of warriors.
After some seconds, Shang saw one of the warriors take out a Communication Crystal.
The warrior looked at the Communication Crystal for a couple of seconds before putting it away again.
Then, everyone continued waiting.
The Mage continued standing in front of the city while the warriors continued standing a couple of kilometers away from her.
Shang had no idea what was going on.
Two minutes passed.
Then, Jerald arrived, and Shang's eyes narrowed.
What could possibly bring Jerald to this place? Just showing up to a battle could create suspicions that he secretly interfered in the battle.
It was very dangerous for Jerald to be here.
While the other warriors waited in the distance, Jerald stepped closer as he took out some form of shining golden crystal.
Shang recognized the crystal since he had used a similar one in the past.
It was a Magic device that allowed Mages to record the surroundings, similar to a camera. Shang had used the crystal back then before he made the Adamantite Behemoth annihilate Duke Mithril's home.
"I am Duke Whirlwind," Jerald said to the crystal with a severe tone. "As you can see, I am currently standing between my army and the enemy."
Jerald moved the crystal around to show the current state of affairs.
"I have not gotten involved, but I have been summoned here by the sole defender of Startrade City."
Jerald showed the distant Mage to the crystal.
"It is currently 12:02 pm, and we have not yet launched our attack due to a concerning matter."
"The Council created a diabolic scheme to frame me for an atrocity."
Shang raised an eyebrow when he heard that.
Jerald stepped forward and closed in on the enemy Mage.
The Mage only looked at the crystal with enraged and pained eyes.
She had definitely made a decision that was not easy to make, based on her expression.
"Please introduce yourself. This will be proof of the Council's horrible and horrifying plan," Jerald said.
"Countess Conny Deepsea," the High Mage said with a stressed voice as even some tears gathered in her eyes.
Jerald nodded. "You were the one that summoned me, correct?"
"Correct," she answered.
"Why have you summoned me?"
"Because I can't take it anymore," she whimpered. "I've worked so long for the Council. I have been loyal, and I have performed my duties with all of my will and loyalty."
"Yet, they have chosen me for this horrible mission."
Jerald nodded. "And what is your mission?"
Conny took a deep breath.
"To blow up Startrade City and blame it on you."
Shang took a deep breath as he looked at the city.
This was a major trading hub, and there were over 20,000 people living there!
"How was the plan supposed to go down?" Jerald asked.
"I have received a very powerful Magic Circle, and I have planted it below the city. It is hidden by many cloaking Spells, and it is impossible to find it without very closely examining the entire city."
"It will explode as soon as I leave from the vicinity of the city, when I die, when my mind is read, or when I manually trigger it."
Jerald nodded. "And what did they do to convince you to do this? After all, you would not survive this mission."
Conny broke down into tears.
"They have my husband and my two children. They are willing to foster them into powerful members of the Skythunder Kingdom if I go through with this mission."
"They didn't mention what would happen to them if I were to decline the mission, but I know what they were implying."
"If I were to refuse, all of us would die."
Jerald kept holding the golden crystal. "And why did you decide to inform me about this?"
"Because I don't trust the Council anymore!" Conny shouted with a desperate and furious voice.
"I have neither supported nor hated the warriors. I don't care what happens to them!"
"However, I can acknowledge that they have helped us in the past, and without their support, we might have already become the Magic Purity Kingdom."
"But as soon as the warriors gained the potential to threaten them, they immediately treated them like enemies!"
"It didn't even matter if the warriors wanted to rebel or not!"
"Just because they had the power, they became the targets of the Council's suppression and hate!"
"I don't care for warriors, but after seeing what the Council has done to an integral ally, I can't trust them anymore!"
"Would they really leave my family alive?"
"What if my family found out the secret of my death and searched for revenge?"
"As soon as the warriors became a threat, the Council attacked them, and I fear that the same might happen to my family."
"I fear that they will just kill my family regardless of if I complete the mission or not."
"That is why I have called for you."
"I don't care which side wins!"
"I don't care if you kill the Council or if you get killed by the Council!"
"I just want my family back, and you're the only option I have left!"
Conny fully burst out crying at this point.
"I only want my family," she whispered.
Jerald continued standing in front of Conny with the golden crystal.
"Where is the Magic Circle located?" he asked.
Conny gave the precise location to Jerald.
"It will be difficult to deactivate it since it's surrounded by a Magic Circle that notices other presences. If anyone at the Fourth Realm gets within 50 meters of it, it will explode."
"That won't be a problem. We have a way to deal with it," Jerald said.
A second later, Shang landed in front of the city.
Shang had his Domain of Entropy, and he could deactivate the Magic Circle surrounding the explosive Magic Circle with it.
The Mage continued crying.
Shang turned to Jerald and the Mage and approached them.
He stopped in front of them.
Jerald looked at the Mage. "You have done a great service to humankind as a whole today," he told the Mage. "I will publicize this recording. I don't think that the Council has killed your family yet, and if your family suddenly disappeared, it would prove what you have said to be true."
"What are the names of your husband and two children?"
"Joran, Leticia, Maer," she said through tears.
Jerald nodded and looked at the crystal.
"Joran, Leticia, and Maer Deepsea. Let's all hope that the Council hasn't yet killed them."
The Mage continued crying.
"Today, Conny Deepsea has saved 20,000 people. I will accept her as a citizen in my new Kingdom due to her contributions, but she still has to pay somewhat for her actions in the past. Because of that, she will have to work in the Storm Eagle Zone, but only for ten years. After that, she will join us as a fully-fledged citizen."
"Are you glad that the 20,000 citizens are now safe, Conny?" Jerald asked.
Conny only nodded without looking up.
Jerald smiled and looked at the crystal again. "To all the people in the Skythunder Kingdom, you now know the true face of the Council!"
"Decide if you truly want to join them or not!"
The crystal pointed at Shang again. "We can call ourselves lucky that Count Sword was here with his unique power to stop Magic Circles."
"With the Magic Circle diffused, the citizens managed to survive!"
At that moment, Conny noticed that something wasn't right.
Earlier, it had sounded like Duke Whirlwind was confident in Count Sword's power, but now, Duke Whirlwind was talking like they had already diffused the Magic Circle.
Then, the golden crystal was deactivated.
BANG!
Shang exploded forward and wrapped his hands around Conny's neck.
Her eyes opened wide in terror.
The Mana and life energy inside her were vanishing!
She couldn't do anything!
490 Chapter 490
After a couple of seconds, Conny lost consciousness.
However, Shang didn't kill her.
"Good work," Jerald said.
Shang looked at Jerald. "Are you sure she was lying?" he said.
"I've been in this political game for long enough, and I can feel when someone is being deceptive."
"90% of what she said was probably the truth, and there probably is a Magic Circle in there with a lot of power."
"However, I think that she uttered two lies."
"Detonating an entire city would be too risky and unbelievable. It would be very difficult to frame us for the destruction. After all, we would have no reason to. The common people might believe it, but the experienced Mages wouldn't believe it. They would know that all of this seems suspicious."
"Because of that, I'm certain she lied about what manner of Magic Circle is in there."
"I don't think it's a large-scale explosion, but a focused release of destructive energy."
"The Council has many ways to gather information, and they probably also know that you have some sort of power that helps you in dealing with Magic."
"And exactly that is what they bet on."
"They want you to enter since you would seem to be the best person for the job."
"Their plan wasn't to frame us but to kill you."
"They know that you are the most important piece in this war. If you die, we have no chance of winning the normal way."
"The second point where she lied is probably her trust in the Council."
"I'm certain that what she said about her family is true, but I think she didn't bet on us. Instead, she trusts the Council to let her family live after she accomplished her mission."
"You would enter the city, go to the Magic Circle, and she would detonate it remotely."
"Her family would be safe, and she would have accomplished her mission."
Shang took a deep breath.
This plan was truly devious.
Even he had fallen for it.
He would have entered the city to deactivate the Magic Circle, but he would have died during the process.
Luckily, Jerald was very experienced in these sorts of things.
"Of course, I could also be wrong, but I doubt it," Jerald said.
A second later, Jerald cast a Spell, and some Natural Mana entered Conny's head.
"This will ensure that she stays unconscious during all of this."
Then, Jerald took out the golden crystal again. "Shang, please enter the city."
Shang knew what Jerald was planning, and he slowly walked to the city.
The golden crystal activated again and recorded Shang entering the city.
After that, Jerald deactivated the crystal again.
Then, he smirked as he put the scene he had just recorded between when Shang had landed and when he approached them.
Like this, it would look like Shang landed, entered the city, came out, and approached them.
Jerald entered the city together with Shang.
He wasn't supposed to get involved, but if the Council decided to intervene softly by creating a powerful Magic Circle, he would also softly intervene by accompanying Shang.
The two of them reached the house under which the Magic Circle was located and got rid of the house.
A couple of seconds later, several Magic Circles were revealed, and when Jerald saw them, he smirked.
"Abyss Cometh," Jerald said. "That's the Spell that has been stored here. It's one of Susan's most powerful offensive Spells."
"Even I would lose nearly 70% of my Mana if it hit me."
This meant that Shang would die without a doubt.
His armor didn't matter against such a powerful Spell.
"But it seems like I was right," Jerald said. "Abyss Cometh is a very powerful Spell, but it only encompasses a very small area."
"Want me to deactivate it?" Shang asked.
Jerald looked back at the distant warriors.
A couple of seconds later, the warriors left until they were outside Jerald's Spirit Sense.
"I told them that the specifics of your power need to remain confidential," Jerald said.
"I'm 80% sure that you can deal with the Magic Circle, but 80% is lower than 100%, right?" Jerald said with a smirk.
Then, Jerald activated Mana Shield.
"Just wait here."
Jerald slowly floated towards the Magic Circle as Shang watched, and when he was just ten meters away from it…
TCHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
An intense, black flame shot out of the ground and encompassed the surrounding 15 meters. It sounded shrill and ethereal.
In a way, it sounded like the ghost of a huge circular saw cutting through metal.
After just half a second, the black fire vanished, and Jerald was revealed.
"Very powerful," he said. "It actually managed to consume 80% of my Mana."
"Seems like Susan has been working on her Darkness Concepts."
The surrounding 15 meters had vanished, but the house on top of the Magic Circle had been wide enough that no other house had been affected by it.
Jerald floated back and landed beside Shang. "You got rid of the Magic Circle," he said.
Shang nodded.
After that, the two of them turned around and exited the city again.
They stopped beside the unconscious Conny, and Jerald woke her up.
Conny slowly regained consciousness, and her eyes opened in shock and horror.
She immediately jumped up, looked at her surroundings, and activated Mana Shield.
Then, she noticed that her connection to the Magic Circle had been broken, and her eyes opened in horror.
She immediately noticed that Shang was beside her, and pure terror and sorrow entered her eyes.
She had failed!
Her family!
No!
"Count Sword dealt with the Magic Array," Jerald said with a smirk. "Aren't you happy?"
Conny only looked with shock and horror at Jerald.
She could tell by his smirk that he knew exactly what her real plan was.
"It seems like you have no other choice but to trust me now," Jerald said. "After all, we have the recording, and the tragic retelling of your story will be distributed over the entire Kingdom."
"Even the Council will believe that you have betrayed them."
Conny couldn't formulate a proper thought.
"For the record, I do believe the thing about your family," Jerald said, "And I do believe that you have accepted this mission for their sake."
"But the recording will do the trick. The Council can't afford to kill your family like this, even if they believe that you have betrayed them."
"Even more, if you were to run to the Council and tell them about the truth, they would just kill you and frame it on me."
"But I don't need to kill you."
"After all, I am the only person that can reunite you with your family."
"You're stuck with me now if you like it or not," Jerald said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.