Soul of Burning Steel

The black mist of the box of Erebus is indeed extremely resistant to spells. This has been confirmed in the underground ruins of the Beast King's Court. When the underground fog spreads, except for a small number of special spells, Basically any mage can't stop its spread, so everyone has to pay some price and seal it in a white crystal box that isolates all negative energy.

Where did that weird anti-magic power come from? This is indeed a mystery. The second research group of the Imperial Association of Royal Mages has been trying to solve this problem after applying for the right to study the box of Erebus. Unfortunately, there has been no result for several months. Their only achievement However, it was discovered that positive energy and holy light, which have the ability to purify, can slightly curb the spread of the black mist, and to some extent weaken it a little.

But no one would know that the black mist would be 'angry' because of the holy light.

Fog will be angry? It sounds weird to say this, but it is the truth.

Starfall 833, one early summer night, on the Avenue of Truth in the imperial capital, around the Mage Association, the black sea of ​​fog was raging furiously, swelling as if boiling, and the layer upon layer of undulating black waves seemed to have life. Slapping towards Robzek's direction.

This wave is full of momentum, and the power contained in it seems to be able to shatter the entire street. The piercing sonic boom produced by the tearing of the atmosphere keeps echoing in the sky of the imperial capital, disturbing countless sleeping people

"Good guy."

Robzek narrowed his eyes slightly. The paladin's body and spirit had already been tempered to an extraordinary level in the long-term battle and meditation. At the moment when the sea of ​​fog boiled, he was ready to deal with the attack. The wave of fog hit at supersonic speed, and the extreme-level paladin took a serious step forward. He raised his left hand, and the sacred rune was spinning in his palm.

"shield."

As soon as the concise and powerful voice fell, a silver-white semicircular light curtain rapidly spread out around it, covering Robzek and the street behind him.

【Holy Word Barrier】

The moment the black wave hit the mask, it was bounced off by the fiery light. The counterattacking holy light shattered the black mist, and the violent shock wave spread in all directions, knocking out the surrounding houses and streets. There are big pits, and the hexagonal grid supported by runes emerges layer by layer on the surface of the mask, making it appear indestructible.

"Let those city guards evacuate quickly! This is not a place for them to stay!"

Inside the mask, the old mage loudly issued orders, ordering those ordinary people who were still staying around to evacuate as soon as possible: "Block the nearest three blocks, and send someone to notify Nostradamus and His Majesty!"

——When these two make a move, no matter how weird the black mist is, it will be completely resolved.

Several other mages did not hesitate after hearing this command. They immediately went to evacuate the crowd and used spells to notify Nostradamus. Seeing this, the white-haired mage's face relaxed a little, but there was still a trace of bad feeling in his heart. premonition.

The loss of control of the box of Erebus was just like the demon sacrifice incident last time. It was a serious mistake. The demon incident led to the relegation or reassignment of several high-level officials of the city defense army and the imperial guards. The Mage Association's mistake this time caused greater losses than the demon incident, and the punishment it received will undoubtedly be greater. Maybe several team leaders will be dismissed, and the association's budget will also be cut.

But the reason why the white-haired mage is worried is not because of this. He is not in the second group. The opponent's mistakes have nothing to do with him, and even the punishment will not be heavy. That strange and divine song that came from the

That was not a real voice, but a spiritual echo that resounded directly in his mind, and the voice that could cross the will barrier of a golden peak archmage and appear in his heart is definitely worthy of vigilance.

"Yee-la, ee-la-la"

As if following what the old mage thought, a small but clear singing came leisurely from the black mist. Robzek and the old mage widened their eyes at the same time. What is born.

"What's that sound—"

Before he could finish his puzzled words, the spirit of the paladin who was maintaining the barrier of the holy words suddenly went into a trance. He felt a strange voice whispering in his mind. This voice seemed to come from far away, trivial and fragmented, it Intermittent, as if telling, and as if praising, this singing should be part of a sacred hymn, but it can't make people feel at ease, only distorted, dizzying and nauseating.

Because of this reason, there was a slight error in the operation of the holy light that should not have occurred, and there was a gap in the flawless silver-white mask.

And the black mist that had been scattered by the holy word barrier suddenly exploded, and it suddenly crossed the mask with gaps and penetrated into it, and both Robzek and the white-haired mage seemed to be petrified, and they were crushed without any resistance. it swallows.

"Captain Moore!"

"Lord Robzek!"

The other mages and the church knights who had just arrived from a residence not far away, and were ready to support, saw this scene and exclaimed in unison. The young man named Vera who had just used the communication circle to inform Nostradamus The mage looked angrily at the black mist that gradually calmed down after engulfing the two of them, his face was full of surprise and uncertainty.

The white-haired mage known as Moore is the leader of the third research group of the Royal Mages Association, and is also his mentor. The old man has the strength close to the extreme. It is absolutely impossible to defeat a golden peak archmage so easily.

The church knights on the side were even more surprised. Robzek's strength was stronger than Moore's, and he was in the realm of extreme intent. Moreover, as a paladin, his resistance was definitely higher than that of mages of the same level, but this time The two of them were engulfed by the black mist without any resistance at the same time, which is simply inconceivable.

Even the army of monsters in the Plaguelands couldn't do this.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the other side of the street. It was the sound of the surrounding people hastily evacuating. Thousands of residents of the imperial capital were roughly awakened from their sleep. The mages used spells to semi-force these people to leave their own land. Habitat, away from the dangerous black mist.

And under the protection of several church knights, a beautiful woman with platinum-blonde long hair and eyes covered by black eyepatch also came near the Avenue of Truth. After getting rid of the confusion caused by Robzek being engulfed by the black mist, these knights who had found their backbone again quickly came to the side of the long-haired woman.

"Master Saya!"

A knight who saw the paladin fighting with the black mist and being engulfed bowed to the nun named Saya, and he reported in a low voice and concisely: "Lord Robzek fought the black mist and failed unexpectedly. Now Engulfed by it, whereabouts are unknown!"

"I know."

A soft and ethereal voice sounded, Saya nodded slightly, and calmly replied: "Maintain the scene well, don't let the black mist spread... Robzek is fine, his fire of life is still burning, and it is stable as usual."

"yes!"

After receiving the order, several church knights quickly went to the edge of the black mist. At this time, most of the people had been evacuated. Apart from the black mist, only empty houses and streets full of potholes remained on the entire Avenue of Truth. Teaming up with each other, assuming a magic circle, although it is very likely that it will not be useful, but it can be delayed for a while.

At the same time, Saya turned her head silently. She looked in the direction of the black mist. Although her eyes were covered by blindfolds, it seemed that this could not stop the woman's sight. Looking directly at the calm black mist, the nun's expression changed slightly: "It's not a mortal existence...the box of Erebus, what's inside..."

And with the waves in time and space, this is what Joshua and Nostradamus saw when they came near the Royal Mages Association.

A huge and strange black mist occupying most of the block is entrenched in the center of the street. It is hundreds of meters long and tens of meters high. Although it seems to be a mist that can be blown away, it is actually Bottomless dark energy aggregates, but what is surprising is that neither the warrior nor the old mage sensed any obvious negative energy reactions.

Around the fog, more than a dozen church knights and mages from several associations joined forces to block it and the surrounding streets. They were setting up a formation to block the black fog within a certain area.

"……a bit big."

Nodding slightly, Joshua had to admit that the sea of ​​black mist in front of him was indeed a little bigger than he imagined. He frowned and said, "I thought no matter how exaggerated it was, it would only swallow a few houses. Master Si, this is no longer just a level of experimental error."

——This is simply an experimental disaster!

"...what a disgrace! Where's the Hasselblad?!"

And Nostradamus was stunned for a while after seeing it. He was very familiar with the terrain around the Mage Association, and he knew at a glance that the black mist had completely wrapped the entire Royal Mage Association—by Joshua. When outsiders saw such a scene, Nostradamus, who is the president of the association, was a little embarrassed. Immediately, the old mage angrily reprimanded loudly: "This old bastard has caused such a big trouble by himself. But disappeared?! Shame, quit the association as soon as possible! And where are the Moors? At this point in time, he should be in the association, why is there no one there!"

"Let me deal with such a big mess, what's the use of you!"

And a young sorcerer who was constructing the formation map noticed the sound behind him. When he looked back, he was so shocked that the staff in his hand fell off, but he couldn't care about these for the time being. The young sorcerer immediately moved towards The position of Nostradamus came running.

After seeing the young mage, Nostradamus looked a little better. When the other party came to him, the old mage asked seriously: "Vera, what's going on? You reported it to me. At that time, it didn't say that the black mist had spread to such an extent! And where is your mentor Moore?"

"Master President! This, I don't know either!"

Although the young mage was a little nervous and flustered, his report still had logic: "I was conducting an experiment with my instructor, but suddenly there was a huge cracking sound of crystals in the second laboratory underground. The instructor felt that something was wrong, so he The experiment was terminated, and I was asked to go out and have a look, and the result..."

"The fog is creeping in, isn't it?"

Interrupting Vera, Nostradamus turned his head to look at the black mist, his eyes narrowed, his expression vaguely scary: "Hasselblad, he must have violated the experiment regulations, that's right, the time limit is coming soon, don't come out again As a result, his prestige will plummet—short-sighted fool!"

"Go on." He nodded slightly, motioning Vera to continue.

"Yes!"

Swallowing, the young mage recounted what happened next. For example, Moore summoned all other mages who were still in the association to terminate the experiment, evacuated quickly, and took the lead in stopping the spread of the black mist, but due to the black mist His anti-magic power had little effect, and at the same time as the situation deteriorated, Robzek, the leader of the church mission, arrived to help Moore temporarily suppress the black mist.

Speaking of this, Vera's expression was puzzled and puzzled: "It is obvious that Mr. Robzek has completely suppressed the black mist, and the holy light does have a restraining effect on it, but the black mist suddenly erupted. Mr. Ke launched a counterattack—then, the two of them were engulfed in the black mist as if they were petrified!"

The last narration was somewhat vague, and the tone of the young mage seemed to be doubting himself. He even felt that what he saw was a hallucination, but both Nostradamus and Joshua, who was listening silently, could understand it, because This is indeed a very inconceivable thing, no one would have thought that a paladin at the extreme level and an archmage close to the extreme would fall in the hands of a strange black mist.

And there is no resistance.

——This thing is a bit powerful.

Joshua nodded thoughtfully. He turned his head to look at the calm sea of ​​fog, thinking that the ability of this thing was not quite the same as the corresponding powerful monsters related to fog in his memory. Those monsters Although powerful, but definitely not to this point.

But just such a glance made the soldier look stunned for a moment, as if he had discovered something, then his expression changed slightly, and he looked solemnly at the bottomless darkness.

On the side, the communication between Vera and Nostradamus continued. After confirming a few details, the old mage took a deep breath: "The mist with life... It seems that we are all wrong, Erebo The Casket of Si is not a box containing the sacrificial relics of ancient races, but a container similar to the phylactery of a lich, carrying a part of the life of the ancient being sacrificed—the evil thing.”

When talking about evil, Nostradamus paused for a moment, but in the end he gave this definition in a firm tone: "It caused great damage, and even caused the association's second group, the third group leader, and Casualties of Robzek, head of the church mission, which can be destroyed if necessary."

"No."

A soft voice sounded from behind the old mage: "They are not dead, neither Captain Robzek nor the mages you mentioned are dead, their fire of life is still strong, it's just covered A shadow."

Surrounded by several knights, the woman with long platinum hair walked slowly towards Nostradamus, Joshua and the others. Her eyes were blindfolded, but her face was facing exactly where they were. This woman Shaking his head slightly, he said: "Although this mist is weird and highly corrosive, it cannot kill those strong people so easily. If we act quickly, we can still rescue them."

"...Gladden Monastery, Sister of the Second Fighting Brotherhood, Saya."

Recognizing the other party's identity, Nostradamus didn't do too much politeness. Now is not the time to pay attention to etiquette. He said directly: "The head of the church mission, Robzek, has also fallen into the black mist, but Judging by your expression, you don't seem very worried."

After a pause, the old mage changed his words again. He frowned and asked seriously: "In other words, do you have any solution to the current situation?"

Nodding slightly, the nun named Saya was about to speak, but she suddenly turned her head and looked at the side of the old mage.

No, to be precise, turn all your attention to...

I accidentally opened Civilization yesterday... My fault, I shouldn't think that I can play Civilization for a while after writing the detailed outline...

I will revise it for a while, this chapter is 4500 words, it is still yesterday, try to write another chapter