The sun is high

Common sense told Xiuge that the terrifying sound and vibration just now was probably not caused by ringing the bell at all.

Judging from the scale of the vibration, it was more like some kind of amazing explosion, or something else...

Xiuge couldn't be sure what happened, but he could feel that the panic that had been suppressed in his heart was completely released with the terrifying vibrations and sounds. This time, Xiuge could completely feel the panic. A strong sense of crisis spreads along the narrow, closed underground waterway in front of me, as if all the fears stored deep in the memory are being forcibly dug out at this moment, and when these emotions are displayed in the mind one by one, it brings It's an involuntary shudder.

Shuge's guess was right.

In the central square of Salem City, the towering bell tower that had witnessed nearly three hundred years of stability suddenly began to tremble after the eightieth bell rang. Almost everyone caught the strange tremor, but Before they could react, a vibration from beneath the ground and a sound that almost tore the sky apart hit the center of the square.

The convoys that had entered the square stopped immediately, and the Law Committee enforcers guarding the surrounding area held their breath because they discovered that the magic pendulum they carried with them was moving crazily in an extremely abnormal state. Shaking, their shaking posture and frequency are so weird that the pendulums shaped with magic crystals don't seem to capture the fluctuations of magic at all, but more like being forcefully moved towards them by a transparent palm. Pull in different directions.

However, before people could take the next step, changes occurred beyond anyone's imagination.

There was another terrifying explosion.

Just like the legendary huge volcano located in the cold north erupted, the entire central square, or in other words, the entire city of Salem "jumped".

The protective ceremony site set up by the Law Committee near the bell tower suffered the most brutal impact in the world. The protective power that should have been extremely reliable completely collapsed in an instant. The spellcasters responsible for monitoring and maintaining the ceremony suffered from the rupture of magic power. Amid the symptoms, they collapsed to the ground and let out painful wails.

"Bell Tower! Bell Tower!"

Someone shouted in the chaos, and more people raised their heads and looked in the direction of the bell tower. In the next moment, almost everyone at the scene witnessed the extremely shocking scene.

The ancient and huge central bell tower began to shake violently, and then it fell towards the square like a building block kicked by a naughty child, mixed with a large amount of dust and masonry fragments.

Prince Hawid and Princess Sitting in the vehicle witnessed all this, as did Putlin and his companions who were hiding in the edge area of ​​the chaotic crowd.

Although Putlin and others had been told before that "magnificent scenes" beyond ordinary people's imagination would happen in Salem City today, when all this really happened in front of these passionate young people, they still couldn't help but Opened his mouth.

However, the collapse of the bell tower was still only the beginning.

The violent shaking made it difficult for people to stand still, and the panic made people panic and choose their way out. The scattered bricks and stones smashed into the crowd like arrows and cannonballs...

Putlin and his young companions nervously hid in the pre-selected store. They were surprised to find that the emblem that the middle-aged scholar distributed to them before setting off actually revealed an astonishing magic at this moment. Effectively, a layer of translucent "shield" emitting gray-white light acted on their bodies. Whether it was dust or gravel, even other people who accidentally bumped into them while running had no way to have any impact on them. .

They looked at each other, and then simultaneously reached into their pockets and grasped the weapons that had been prepared.

That was a crystal gun, or a new type of firearm similar to a crystal gun.

It has an extremely sophisticated mechanical structure, special metal bullets, and extremely complex weird runes engraved on the gun body.

"Can we do it with just a few of us and a few guns like this?"

Putlin breathed rapidly, this question emerged from his mind again.

However, the moment this thought flashed through, the emblems worn on their chests and arms began to glow faintly, and the flash of hesitation and confusion was completely erased by the power of magic.

"When the smoke clears, you can set off."

That's what the middle-aged man said.

So Putlin and his companions walked out of the store and ran toward the other end of the square through the dust.

…

The place where the clock tower originally stood is now an extremely exaggerated pit. It seems to go straight into the ground, and it seems to be only connected to the waterway system buried underground in Salem City... It is pitch black there and nothing can be seen.

Under the current circumstances, the armistice celebrations could only be terminated, but the chaos in the city seriously affected the speed of the evacuation of the distinguished guests. Prince Hawid and Princess sat nervously in their extremely well-protected vehicles, amidst the escorts and With the soldiers clearing the way and protecting them, they began to slowly evacuate towards the way they came.

The surroundings were too chaotic. Countless people were injured by the disaster, and countless civilians fainted on the spot because of too much panic and fear. Now everyone here is trying their best to stay away from the former central square, in order to be able to Reaching a safe place as quickly as possible, they pushed and screamed, unable to listen to what others said, and had no time to pay attention to whether they stepped on others.

In this case, the prince's motorcade occupying the main road became the biggest obstacle. Soldiers, police officers and the princes' personal guards tried their best to block the civilians who were forced to approach the motorcade. Some of them were mages. They even wanted to use magic to separate the chaotic crowd. However, the more they did this, the more the chaos on the road intensified, and the slower the convoy moved.

"That's enough!"

Prince Hawid saw the chaos in his eyes. He looked around from the car window and then roared angrily: "Tighten the team and let the civilians pass!"

"Your Highness?"

"Listen to my orders! Otherwise we will only be delayed here longer!"

The guard of the River Valley Mage in the car gritted his teeth, but he also knew that the prince's judgment was not wrong at this time, so he immediately conveyed the order, and the guards who were fighting against the chaotic crowd immediately began to stabilize After retreating, the magic used by the casters to forcefully separate the crowd was also removed.

The chaos on the streets was immediately relieved to a considerable extent, and some poor people who were trampled to the ground were finally rescued by others...

There are faint signs of the return of order. The solemnity is limited to this area, but it is enough to make people feel at ease.

The young princess clutched her husband's hand worriedly: "My dear, we are in danger now."

"Their situation is more dangerous than ours."

Prince Hawid whispered: "And if these people don't wake up, we won't be able to get out. If we leave this car, our own lives will be lost."

"I'll listen to you."

The princess nodded. She turned uneasily and looked towards the square behind the car, only to see that it was also a mess. People with gray faces or bloodstains were constantly running out from there or working together to carry the wounded. out.

She saw a few young people running out from the edge of the square. They looked equally nervous, and they hurriedly chose the widest but most chaotic road.

Then, her eyes turned to the building nearby, but she happened to see the second-floor window of a certain store being pushed open, and then, a figure holding a long crystal gun emerged from it...

"Harvid!"

She instinctively exclaimed, but before she could finish her voice, loud gunshots came from all directions.

Almost instantly, many of the protective rituals engraved in the luxury vehicles were triggered, and layers of magical light and shadow lit up on the car body, so the first round of crystal bullets shot from different angles hit this layer of protection. Turned into useless powder, as the mage's personal guard introduced before, the shooting of the crystal gun has no effective effect at all. Under strict defense, these weapons can easily penetrate steel and crush the human body. But it can only create commotion and noise.

The guards' counterattack began immediately, and the gunmen dressed as businessmen, civilians and even guards immediately suffered huge injuries, and the scenes of their bodies, limbs and even heads exploding caused a new wave of panic. This time, The commotion of the crowd could no longer be contained.

No one noticed that among the extremely chaotic crowd, several figures covered with magical protective light were struggling to move towards the direction of the vehicle. Finally, several young people wearing traditional costumes of the Kingdom of Deland squeezed out of the crowd. came out, and the first moment they appeared, they took out the weapons that looked like handguns and pulled the triggers towards the vehicle.

At the moment he pulled the trigger, Putlin felt that the passage of time had completely stopped.

He felt that his breath, his blood, and all his thoughts seemed to be injected into the gun in his hand - as if there was a huge whirlpool there, trying to swallow up everything in him, and fly out from the muzzle of the gun. The bullet became the condensation of all this.

The bullet, with its dark light, easily penetrated the huge magic-strangling silver shield in the hands of a strong guard, and then penetrated into his chest. As a result, the dark energy attached to the bullet eroded in an instant. Devouring all the vitality of the loyal guard, the bullet continued to fly forward. All the magic protection rituals set up seemed to have lost their effectiveness in front of it, and even the secret devices installed in the vehicle were useless. Under the influence of the strange disorder, it failed...

So, the bullet finally hit the transparent car window.

Just like the vicious kiss thrown by the devil from the abyss.

Blood filled the broken car windows, and women's pitiful cries and screams tore the air. However, several more bullets were shot from the guns in the hands of the young people, and with the last bullet shot, Pu Trin was surprised to find that his strong arms seemed to have shriveled up, his strength began to drain away, and his soul seemed to be called by some distant and strange voice and was about to leave his body.

He could no longer hold the weapon in his hand.

The moment he let go, the protective ritual covering his body finally collapsed. Under the collision of an angry soldier, Putlin fell to the ground like all his companions. He heard the bones in his body There was a shattering sound, but he no longer felt any pain.

At this moment, this young, impulsive and passionate young man finally realized that the moment he pulled the trigger, he seemed to have sacrificed his future and life...

"Is this really what I want? What have I done?"

In a flash of clarity, this idea popped up, but before he had time to think about it carefully, the chaotic sounds around him were already rolling over like ocean waves, and his last trace of consciousness completely disappeared into the oppressive darkness.

Prince Hawid is dead.

With my beloved wife.

The special bullet that could penetrate the magic ritual successfully penetrated the bodies of the prince and princess, and the dark power that existed inside quickly took away their life, making their bodies become shriveled and thin in an instant. , like a mummy that has been exposed in the desert.

The mage bodyguard responsible for personally protecting the prince was completely stunned, and his brain, which contained countless magical knowledge and practical experience, was completely blank. However, at this moment, a strange sound suddenly came from the center of the Bell Tower Square.

Sharp, short, and irregular.

Just like the harsh whistle blown by the strong wind through the small gaps and holes...

So he raised his head and looked towards the square.

I saw that in the smoke that had begun to gradually dissipate, there seemed to be a huge black shadow swaying back and forth. It looked like it "drilled" out from the ground of the square. It looked like smoke. It was like flowing liquid, and as the weird shadow continued to change, harsh sounds came one after another.

Compared to the blurry scenes seen by people in the distance, the scenes seen by the soldiers and Legal Committee enforcers staying within the square were even more frightening. They saw the mass hidden under the cracks in the ground. The shadows followed the potholes and came to the ground little by little.

They were flowing and squirming, and some spellcasters who were closer could see that there were even many vague wreckage and shadows wrapped and floating in these disgusting black viscous liquids. It looked like, Those seemed to be things that existed in the sewers.

The bodies of rats and snakes, filth, human remains...

All the filth that any living person instinctively hates seems to be gathered in this dirty black slime.