Azure Scepter

Page 130

"why?"

The guard muttered to himself in a weak voice.

Half a breath later, he lost all life. His cloudy eyes remained fixed on the Star Tower in the upper city, and in the last moment before he lost consciousness, he vaguely glimpsed a massive, dizzying vortex.

Lightning surged wildly through the dark clouds, and with the massive blood sacrifice, a magnificent vortex of dark clouds and lightning gradually gathered at the top of the Star Tower.

Within the vortex, lightning, dark clouds, and even space itself were spinning at high speed. As if stretched to the limit, everything was mixed with blood, and everything was smashed into golden particles in the pulling, then swirling, colliding, and recombining.

Beneath the vortex were several smaller vortices stacked together like pomegranate seeds. After a few breaths, the smaller vortices formed an extremely unstable portal.

Oris looked ahead with some nervousness.

"boom!"

The portal exploded the next instant, and a thin, bald man burst out at the last moment.

The bald man was covered in blood, wearing only tattered hemp clothes, and his leggings were almost completely torn to shreds.

Large raindrops fell on the bald man, but before they touched his tattered burlap clothes, the raindrops were swirled away as if they had encountered an invisible barrier.

This is an extremely rare and legendary monk.

The legendary monk was a renowned adventurer's team leader, whom Saint Seir had hired months ago to travel to the Abyss to monitor Lady Bloodthorn's movements in order to ensure the plan went smoothly.

As Saint Seir resolved to eliminate Lady Bloodthorn, the team that had been lying in wait for several months received a new mission.

"Where are the others?" asked the otherworldly attendant beside Oris.

The bald man raised his head, revealing a pair of deep and focused eyes.

The monk said in a deep voice, "Lady Bloodthorn has discovered our surveillance."

The otherworldly divine servant fell silent.

Needless to say, being discovered in the Demon Lord's territory is basically a death sentence.

"That mission..."

“Lady Bloodthorn is gathering her demon army; she will descend upon the Material Plane,” the monk continued. “We will join the battle—this time not for reward, but for revenge.”

"Us?" The otherworldly attendant frowned. "Weren't the others all dead?"

The monk shook his head, then pulled a hideous, shriveled troll head from his belt.

The moment the troll's head touched the water, it immediately came back to life. In just a few seconds, it swelled from a head into a writhing ball of flesh, and then, under Oris's gaze, it writhed and shattered into a tall and burly troll.

"Haha, that was close, I almost died." The barbarian troll chuckled, gripping its fangs tightly. "The succubus is quite something."

“Then stay here. That wicked demon lord will descend here,” the otherworldly servant said in a deep voice. “He is doomed, for the light is with us.”

"Boom!"

As the otherworldly attendant spoke, the spinning speed of the enormous vortex suddenly increased. The shredded golden light particles seemed to transform into a viscous liquid like mercury. In the next instant, towering flames all flew towards the vortex, and a strong tremor swept outwards in all directions from the Star Tower as the center.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still. Every statue of Saint Seir in the city was bathed in a golden halo, and these inanimate stone carvings seemed to come alive. At the same time, everyone on the Tower of Stars felt as if they had gained unparalleled power.

—In gaming terms, at this moment, they all gained a temporary priest rank and some special feats.

Meanwhile, half of the lower city on the east bank of Raven's Black River melted like butter under the scorching heat. In a fraction of a second, an enormous, invisible hand, so large it blotted out the sky, emerged from the vortex and slowly reached out toward Oris.

This is divine touch in the literal sense.

In an instant, Oris's hair withered, then his eyeballs rapidly dehydrated and shriveled, his muscles disintegrated and melted as if touched by leeches in salt, his bones cracked under the strain, and then his skin...

The legendary monk stared in disbelief at Oris, who had turned into a pool of blood.

As a legendary adventurer with extensive experience, he had always looked down on the Church of Radiance, which claimed to be fair and just. However, the scene before him, which was even more bizarre than a demon sacrifice, was still far beyond his comprehension.

However, in the next instant, the blood coagulated back into a human shape.

The next instant, the golden vortex dissipated, and before anyone knew it, Oris had risen again from the blood.

At this moment, Oris's short, stocky body exuded a gloomy and imposing aura, and even the hideous, centipede-like scars on his face suddenly revealed an indescribable charm.

For some inexplicable reason, the legendary monk even felt that the other party's charm was comparable to that of Lady Bloodthorn.

Several otherworldly servants knelt down in fervor, one of whom, who had spoken with the legendary monk, even wept with joy.

“My lord…” he cried out excitedly.

Oris, or rather the incarnation of Saint Seir, quietly shook his head, then looked up at the sky and slowly uttered his first words.

"It's time to stop."

He gently extended his left hand, and the next moment, the dark clouds vanished.

The rain stopped.

Inside the glass-domed lobby of the Lighthouse Grand Theatre.

The magnificent golden dome is made of tens of thousands of glass panels. At this moment, each panel shines with brilliant golden light, and thousands of rays of light flow from the gaps between the glass panels, then gather at the top of the scepter in Vercingetori's hand.

A sphere of light gathered at the top of the scepter, and at this moment, the holy light was as dazzling as tens of thousands of suns, and everything in the hall dissolved in the holy and blessed light.

As the Christian guards at the bridgehead slaughtered the fleeing crowds and engaged in fierce fighting with Oris's men, he finally felt the pervasive wind of death that clung to this place.

From this perspective, he felt as if he had glimpsed the essence behind the world. Countless causal connections were intertwined and twisted like ropes, forming one intricate chain of connections after another, and everything in the material plane was also affected by the magical wind.

He saw the shattered Iolum longevity spell within him, saw its intricate forms pointing towards the distant heavens, and saw new, faint connections slowly forming...

One of them points to Livitt, the vessel of the demon lord, who is bound to the top of the dome.

"It's done! I'm almost there..."

Even someone as resolute as him couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation and excitement at this moment.

All his schemes, all his forbearance, and all his flattery will be rewarded.

If the ritual succeeds, he can continue to live for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years!

He slowly raised his head, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

However, just as his smile was about to fully bloom, the glass dome exploded.

"boom!"

The glass shattered suddenly, and a storm rushed in through the gap, with thousands of glass shards falling like arrows—and a pure white Pegasus charged down!

It's Edith and that damned elf Fytia!

Vercingetorius was stunned.

In that all-seeing perspective, he didn't notice the Pegasus at all, nor did he notice Edith and Fythia on its back!

Chapter 255, Second Movement: Vercingetorie, Persuasion, Elimination of Evil

When Edith dismounted and finally faced Vercingetori, she was surprised to find that there were very few people there.

Apart from himself, Feudia, and Livitt who was tied to the dome, there was only Vercingetori in the entire magnificent hall.

At this moment, Vercingetorli appeared extremely emaciated. His withered skin hung like rags on his broad joints, and his sunken eye sockets and collapsed nose made him look like a corpse demon that had just been resurrected from an ancient tomb.

However, his eyes were exceptionally bright, as if all the flesh and blood in his body had turned into fuel.

Although Vercingetorius was shocked to see Edith fall from the sky, his expression remained unchanged.

Vercingetori had intended to summon the Death Knights outside the door to swarm him and hack Edith to pieces, but when he caught sight of the Holy Avenger in Edith's hand, he abandoned the plan.

Although Edith is naive and foolish, her fighting ability is genuine. Rather than solving the problem by force, it would be better to persuade the other party to agree to the sacrifice.

With this thought in mind, Vercingetori took the initiative to step forward. He slowly spread his hands to indicate that he had no hostility, and a peaceful smile slowly appeared on his face.

"To rescue Livitt?" Vercingto asked calmly, in an aging tone.

Edith was stunned. She had thought that Vercingetori would deny it in every possible way, but he directly and frankly admitted it.

She pursed her lips, then nodded slightly.

"Auris is massacring the city, and people must cross the Raven Black River Bridge to escape, but your men are refusing to let them pass. If they don't hurry..."

Vercingetorie sighed with compassion, then interrupted, "I once heard a wise man say that if we have to face two different degrees of harm, we should choose the one that is less harmful."

“Not letting them cross the river is a necessary sacrifice, just like Livitt’s sacrifice. If people were allowed to cross the bridge, the people on the west bank would also die under Oris’s sword. And if Livitt had not sacrificed herself, then we would all have died.”

"Hypocritical sophistry." Futia sneered, gripping the bowstring. "You old, mortal religious fanatic, put away your twisted logic! You sacrificed Livitt just to prolong your own life!"

“This is not contradictory.” Vercingtorli’s tone became more amiable. “Wise elf, aren’t you curious why the saints of the Radiant Pantheon would ignore the Blood Plague crisis and even stand idly by while the city of Oris was massacred?”

Before the other party could think, he preemptively said, "Because the Prime Material Plane is governed by the Azure Law, no form of divine power can remain stably in the Prime Material Plane for an extended period of time, otherwise it will be greatly weakened."

"However, the material plane is also an extremely important place for the provision of faith, and it is also connected to various sub-planes. Therefore, the saints must also control this place, and thus, they need agents."

These secrets, casually uttered by Vercingetorie, struck Fytia's mind like a hammer blow, leaving her speechless for a moment.

To Vercingetori's disappointment, the naive Edith remained expressionless.

Vichingtoli paused for a moment, then revealed a compassionate, godlike expression.

"And I am the representative chosen by the saints."

—This is a lie. The saints of the Radiant Pantheon have not yet reached a consensus. Only a few ambitious saints have chosen Vercingetorie. But at this moment, he spoke with absolute certainty.

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and his peaceful demeanor was slowly replaced by a rather oppressive aura. He coldly looked at Livitt, who was tied to a pillar above her head.

“If I die, no one can stop Oris’s madness,” Vercingtorli shouted. “Levitte, do you think your life is more important than so many others?”

“Look ahead!” He swung his scepter violently. “If you don’t sacrifice yourself, they will all die! The city will fall, blood will be spilled, and everything will be destroyed in flames. Are you willing to be a selfish person, Livitt?”

Livitt, covered in wounds, fell silent.

Vercingetorius’s gaze grew increasingly unfathomable; he saw wavering in Levitt’s flickering eyes.

“If you are not willing to sacrifice, I will not force you,” he said softly. “Sacrifice is sacred and noble precisely because it is voluntary. Livitt, are you willing to sacrifice?”

"I...I..." Livitt's pupils slowly dilated and contracted. Her mind was in complete chaos. At this moment, she inexplicably felt that what the other person said seemed to make some sense.

Perhaps I should have died thousands of years ago; my survival until now is merely a matter of luck. If only I could ignite people's hope like a match...

"Don't listen to this old man's nonsense!" Futia shouted quickly, "He's lying to you!"

Vercingetorie sighed again, then turned to look at Fytia.

“Fodia, you’ve always been prejudiced against me.” Vercingetori lowered his head earnestly. “But it’s all just prejudice.”

“If I die, Losevie’s plot will succeed, and when she succeeds, her ambitions will not be limited to the Kingdom of Olko.”

He paused for a moment, then took another step forward.

"Not only will the Kingdom of Orco perish, but all the human kingdoms will also be plunged into disaster. Once the delicate balance is broken, all the ambitious people in the world will be eager to act. At that time, the whole world will be plunged into disaster, and the elves will not be able to escape unscathed."

"Fodia, do you really want your hometown to be plunged into disaster?"

The Pope raised his head and looked earnestly at Fauci.

“That’s utter nonsense, your reasoning is completely invalid…” Futia retorted, but her tone unconsciously lowered a few decibels.

Feudia wasn't stupid; she knew the other person's reasoning was full of slippery slopes and fallacies, but when Vercingetorius actually brought up something she cared about, she wavered.

“Trier received divine inspiration from the Radiant Light, and I received enlightenment from the Sage of the Sunset.” Vercingetorie’s face revealed a confident smile. “Look at this, Fydia.”

Fythia subconsciously looked at the object in Vercingetori's hand.

It was a crown-shaped emblem made of mithril chains, and the five emeralds on the emblem shone with a captivating light.

Futia recognized the emblem. This emblem was possessed only by core members of the Church of the Sunset Sages, and there were no more than five such emblems in the entire world.

In any case, this kind of thing should not have ended up in Vercingetorie's hands.

“The Sage of the Sunset is a pagan god, but He conveyed a divine message to me to prevent the elves from suffering calamity,” Vercingtorli coaxed. “Fodia, what do you think?”

Fatiya was completely speechless. She looked worried and then slowly put down the bow in her hand.

Vercingetori's smile grew even brighter. The most difficult to deceive, Faudia, had already fallen into hesitation, and now, only the most naive and foolish Edith remained.

Vercingtoli walked up to Edith and then frowned slightly.

Edith still held the sword in her hand.

“Your Highness Edith, I wonder if Lord Trier has taught you the language of the Tisla fairy?” Vercingtoli asked.

Edith remained silent.

“In the Tisla fairy language, Edith is simply the reverse of the pronunciation of Losevie,” Vercingtoli said. “In Losevie’s schemes, you were born to be a sacrifice.”

At this point, Vercingetori glanced briefly at Edith.

He had expected that the princess would be disoriented upon suddenly learning this terrible news, but her expression remained unchanged, as if she had known about it all along.