High Above

"Dead in... the South China Sea..."

Looking at the pair of eyes that had been looking at him tenderly in the past, Isengard couldn't understand the meaning of the other's words for a while, and could only mutter and repeat: "The last...chance?"

But he wasn't really stupid after all, the boy understood in just an instant: "Uncle, what do you mean... you want me to fake my death?!"

"right."

And Patrick put his hands in the pockets of his jacket, as if he really had no intention of fighting: "If you are outside, you must die... at least you must lose the potential to advance."

"But here—Ethan, you can die, but you don't have to die."

"On the contrary, you can gain freedom by dying."

--really.

At this moment, Ian had somewhat understood what Patrick, or rather, the Ellen family thought.

Patrick's actions like this obviously cannot be really just his own thoughts... The Marquis may not know, but Marquis Ellen himself definitely knows!

Patrick is just a knife in the hands of the Marquis, and he can easily take out his own knife - that's why the other party is so contradictory. It seems that he doesn't want to kill Ethan, but he goes all out to kill him, leaving no room for him!

Patrick, there must be an irresistible handle in the hands of Marquis Ellen!

"Uncle, do you mean that someone wants to harm me?"

If it was Isengard in the past, when he heard Patrick's words at this moment, he might be greatly relieved and happy that his uncle didn't really want to kill him-he was so naive.

However, after going through many things, he gradually understood these so-called 'sophisticated people'.

Isengard wasn't really stupid, it's just that he didn't need to think about these trivial details that meant nothing to him in the past.

Therefore, the blond boy who also guessed something took a step back.

He said bitterly: "And the identity of that person is our Ellen family... Yes, even Dad can't resist?"

"It can make my father unable to resist, so I can only deal with it in this way...Could it be grandpa..."

When he said this, his voice was so dry that it was difficult to continue to speak the next words.

"Ha ha."

Patrick didn't admit it directly, he just chuckled, and then looked at Ian: "Ethan, you may not have heard it, but I believe, Ian, you must have heard what I muttered to myself before."

"indeed."

He admitted bluntly: "It's your grandfather. Yisen is the emperor of the empire, His Majesty Axel, our guardian of the land."

"but why?!"

Isengard suddenly raised the volume, his voice was trembling, but he dared to speak out: "No matter what the reason, I have always been in the imperial capital - no matter what my grandfather wants to do to me, he can do it long ago?!"

"If grandpa really wants to harm me, how can I leave the imperial capital and come to the South China Sea..."

After saying this, his voice became smaller.

For Isengard had found the reason.

"He needs me to become stronger." Yisen murmured to himself, he raised his hand, staring at his fingers that were dyed several colors by various alchemy materials: "He needs me to grow...growth in the real sense, Going through many things...to become stronger, to meet his requirements..."

Just relying on piles of resources, the third energy level may be the limit. To advance to the fourth energy level, what is needed is a transformation of the mind, light body, and a condensation of one's own heart and soul.

Under the care of Teacher Gesai and Uncle Patrick, it is not difficult to come to the South China Sea to capture a crystallized dragon by himself, at least he can hold his own life.

Not to mention, failure is also a form of growth...

"What exactly does Grandpa want to do to me?"

Raising his head, the lake-green eyes of the blond boy were flickering with flames of variable light and dark. He gritted his teeth, and even the dark metal inscription under his left eye began to brighten.

Patrick said nothing.

He waited patiently for Isengard to think for himself, to find the answer himself.

The man just looked at his nephew gently as always.

Even, with a little expectation.

And just when Isengard gritted his teeth and calmed down slowly.

Ian and Patrick, who turned his head, looked at each other from a distance.

Ian makes an export type.

【echo】.

Patrick's pupils dilated slightly. He didn't expect Ian to know this word.

"How did you know?!"

He even took a step forward excitedly, causing Yi Sen, who was still frowning in thought, to raise his head and look at his uncle warily.

It was just a momentary gaffe. In the next moment, he realized that this was a trick to deceive himself.

After a few breaths of calm, Patrick quickly thought of the possibility.

"White People, yes, yes, you are that branch of White People..."

He was a little stunned, and then laughed without a smile: "Haha, yes, that's how it was. The reason why the Black King dealt with the Ciehalorvo family was because of this——because of the echo!"

"It's you bastards who brought the echo out of the ancient ruins...Let me guess, does your family think that's the way to immortality?!"

Staring at Ian's indifferent expression, Patrick didn't care about the boy's hostility.

He raised his head, stared at the shining light on the top of the sacrificial ground, and said with emotion: "The Black King, despised by the world as a tyrant, has done so many good deeds in his life, even the Ciehalorvo family who discovered the 'echo' And leave your line in Port Harrison..."

"He won't even kill people, is he really father and son with Axel, a bastard?!"

"uncle!"

Isengard couldn't help but said: "What exactly are you talking about? Can't you tell me the answer directly?!"

"If you really want me to live, why don't you tell me the details? If you really want to kill me, why don't you do it now?"

"It's very simple."

In response to Isengard's questioning, Ian took a step forward and stopped the blond boy behind him.

He raised the heavy iron sword in his hand, and confronted Patrick calmly: "He is still hesitating whether to kill you or not—what he said just now is indeed true, at least ten seconds ago he didn't want to kill you."

"But right now, he's struggling."

"At the end of the day, Patrick." With a hand behind Ian's back, Ian made a 'flee' gesture to Isengard who was still hesitating.

Frowning tightly, the blond boy turned his head without hesitation and ran away towards the passage.

He promised Ian that he would obey his orders no matter what.

What's more, the confrontation like this now is dangerous, and he needs to find reinforcements immediately.

As for whether Ian can stop Patrick alone...

He can only believe it.

Patrick's attention was all focused on Ian just now, and the nephew who was still communicating with him before he didn't realize it at the first time turned around and ran away, which was unbelievably decisive.

He even moved his body slightly, creating the urge to chase after him.

But Ian also took a step forward, the bladeless sword flashed, and a strong sense of danger stopped Patrick.

"At the end of the day." The white-haired boy said flatly, "You're just a half-baked fool."

"Whether it's friends, students and bosses; uncles, nobles and courtiers—you are all half-baked, and you are all hesitating, unable to make a final decision."

"Now, Isengarde is no longer here, you can tell me clearly without any scruples."

Turning his head, Ian glanced at the learning machine on the ground from the corner of his eye.

He said solemnly: "What is the connection between the 'echo' you mentioned...and this incomparably precious 'learning machine' of pre-epoch civilization?"

The silence lasted for a while at the sacrificial place.

The blond nobleman took several deep breaths before suppressing his anger or gratitude, and calmed down.

"...Didn't you already guess it?"

He sneered, with an inexplicable pity: "Learning machine? It's really a good name. Maybe in the pre-epoch civilization, it was really just a tool for learning knowledge."

"Although it is not the true form of the echo, but with your ingenuity, Ian, can't you understand what this evil facility that can imbue 'someone's memory' to 'others' can be used for? ?"

Ian narrowed his eyes and clenched the sword in his hand.

——Indeed, he had guessed it a long time ago, but because of the memory of the earth, he really couldn't understand why someone would do this...or even be able to 'think' like this.

To use the sacred things that are used to pass on knowledge to do... such boring and uninteresting profane things.

"I'm really a half-baked guy, why aren't you? You're so smart, but you don't want to think about the ugliness of human nature."

The words were sarcasm, and Patrick's voice became heavy and solemn. He pulled his hand out of his jacket, and the electric current surged, picking up the mirror-like shell of the learning machine on the ground.

The man used the shell as a mirror to reflect his own face, and then pointed it at Ian, so that the white-haired boy could see his slightly deformed face clearly from the metal mirror.

He laughed and said, "Look, this is the 'mirror surface'."

"Although there is some distortion, it's just that the material of the 'mirror' is not good enough. If there is a perfect mirror, wouldn't it be exactly the same inside and outside?"

"And 'echo', in a sense, isn't it a mirror of sound?"

Saying so, he crushed the metal lens in his hand and let out an ear-piercing whistle, which echoed layer upon layer in the hall.

The blond nobleman stared at the boy in front of him: "Naturally..."

"That is, the mirror of memory."

Noticing that Ian's expression gradually became solemn, Patrick's tone became more wild: "Yes, 'echo' and 'mirror' are two taboo technologies originating from pre-era civilizations—a complex To engrave everything, to reverberate everything one person has, together with thoughts and memories, in another place..."

"The law of eternal life!"