yasinovel Chapter 100 The Sacrificial Array in the Watchtower
Chapter 100 The Sacrificial Array in the Watchtower
Chapter 100 The Sacrificial Array in the Watchtower
The closer one gets to the watchtower, the more obvious the signs of battle become.
They encountered two more small skirmishes along the way, both involving scattered Ash Ring apprentice patrols, which the three of them quickly dealt with by working together.
However, he never encountered a large-scale enemy force, which made Rolin feel somewhat uneasy.
The enemy has captured the watchtower, so why not send more people to guard the outer perimeter?
Finally, Watchtower No. 7 came into view.
It was a stone tower built on a relatively flat mountaintop, about seven or eight stories high. At this moment, the tower was damaged in many places and showed signs of smoke and fire. The observation crystal at the top of the tower was shattered, and the tower door was wide open, with only darkness and silence inside.
There were many corpses scattered around the tower, including gray-robed apprentices of the Shadow Raven Tower and apprentices of the Ash Ring wearing dark red-trimmed robes.
The scene was brutal, clearly indicating a fierce battle had taken place.
Baha circled overhead, reconnaissance, and relaying messages:
There were several signs of life and energy within the tower, but they were all weak and scattered, suggesting no large-scale enemy gathering.
The energy fluctuations at the top and base of the tower are slightly stronger.
"Something's wrong! It's too quiet!"
"The occupying side should not be so lax."
"There might be a trap, or—their main force has already evacuated with important items, leaving only a few people to clean up the mess and set traps."
Heinz whispered.
"Go in and take a look, but be extra careful."
"Roland, can your magical pet sense traps?"
Lina tightened her grip on the short sword.
Lorin communicated with Bach, and the Dark Silver Eye had a good understanding of energy traps.
Baha lowered the height and carefully scanned the tower and entrance area.
A moment later, Bahamut sent a message:
Inside the tower gate and at the entrance to the first floor staircase, there are several hidden energy fluctuation points, suspected to be trigger trap runes.
There were also faint energy disturbances in some rooms inside the tower.
"There are traps, and more than one."
Rollin informed his teammates of the approximate location that Bahamut had scouted.
"I'll handle these."
Heinz walked to the tower gate, but instead of entering directly, he carefully used his staff to point at the energy fluctuations from a distance.
The tip of the staff emitted a cold, analytical magic that slowly enveloped it.
After a while, he nodded: "It's a simple fire trigger and acid trap. The trigger mechanism has been temporarily frozen, but it can only last for a few minutes."
"We need to act quickly."
The three quickly entered the tower.
The first-floor hall was in a mess, with overturned tables and chairs, bloodstains everywhere, and numerous dents on the walls from magical attacks.
Following Bahamut's guidance, we avoided several hidden traps that had not yet been triggered.
As you climb the stairs, you can see signs of battle and scattered corpses on each floor.
Occasionally, one or two injured Ash Ring apprentices might be encountered hiding, but they were quickly dealt with.
They went up to the fifth floor and finally discovered the anomaly.
In the central room of this floor, a complex dark red magic circle about three meters in diameter was carved into the floor. At the center of the magic circle were the corpses of several Shadow Raven apprentices. Their blood seemed to be guided into the patterns of the magic circle, making the entire magic circle emit an eerie light and a strong bloody smell.
Beside the magic circle stood two Ash Ring first-ring wizards, dressed in dark red robes, whose auras were clearly much stronger than the apprentices they had encountered before!
They were holding staffs and maintaining the operation of the magic circle, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.
In the iron cage in the corner of the room, there were four or five wounded and dying Shadow Raven apprentices. They looked like prisoners who were likely to be used as materials for the next step of the ritual.
"Sacrifice Array!"
"They're using our people for some kind of summoning or enhancement ritual!"
Anger flared in Lina's eyes.
Heinz's face also turned extremely grim: "We must stop them!"
"Judging by the complexity of this magic circle, once completed, the summoned creatures will definitely be difficult to deal with!"
Two enemy wizards also discovered the intruders.
One of them immediately stopped maintaining the magic circle, and the light of the magic circle dimmed slightly, but did not stop.
He turned to face the doorway, his staff bursting into flames.
"The Shadow Raven scum, they've come at just the right time!"
"Your souls and blood will become the best sacrifice for the Spirit of Ember!"
He grinned maliciously, waved his staff, and several fireballs the size of human heads shot towards Roland and his two companions!
The other wizard sped up his chanting, trying to complete the final steps of the magic circle as quickly as possible.
The battle erupted instantly!
Heinz stepped forward and slammed his staff on the ground.
"Ice Barrier!"
A thick ice wall rose instantly, blocking the fireball's path.
Boom boom boom!
The fireball struck the ice wall, bursting forth with a large amount of steam and shattered ice shards. The ice wall shook violently, but successfully blocked the attack.
Lina moved with lightning speed, leaping out from the side of the ice wall and aiming her twin swords straight at the wizard who was maintaining the magic circle.
We can't let him finish the ceremony!
The wizard who unleashed the fireball tried to intercept Lina, but Roland's attack arrived instead.
Large-area spells were not used to avoid accidentally injuring prisoners in the corners.
It was still a precise stellar energy ray, but this time, it attempted to incorporate a trace of the subtle chaotic erosion characteristics brought by the dark purple energy from the [Myriad Stars Vortex].
The stellar rays had a strange color with specks of dark purple starlight, and they were moving faster and seemed to have increased penetrating power.
The enemy wizard erected a shield of fire.
The ray struck the shield, but instead of being completely blocked or deflected as usual, it seemed to carry a corrosive quality, stirring up violent energy ripples on the shield, and a trace of chaotic intent tried to invade the opponent's mind along the energy connection.
The wizard grunted, his flame shield flickering. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes; he clearly hadn't expected such an attack to also include mental interference.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Heinz's Ice Spike and Lina's Quick Attack arrived simultaneously.
The wizard maintaining the magic circle had to stop chanting and wave his staff to release a ring of fire to force Lina back.
Meanwhile, the wizard who unleashed the fireball was caught between Rolin's continuous ray interference and Heinz's ice spikes, struggling to defend himself.
"Destroy the magic circle first!"
"Roland shouted, while continuing to suppress the fireball wizard with the modified star rays, preventing him from having a chance to support his companions or complete his spells.
Heinz understood, and turned his staff toward the dark red magic circle on the ground, gathering powerful frost energy.
"Deep freeze!"
A biting chill enveloped the magic array, attempting to freeze its energy flow and blood-like patterns.
The wizard maintaining the magic circle roared in anger, trying to stop it, but Lina held him tightly. Her short sword was like a venomous snake, targeting his spellcasting gaps and vital points, forcing him to constantly defend.
Crackling sounds filled the air as the blood on the surface of the magic circle began to congeal, the dark red light rapidly dimmed, and some key rune lines began to crack under the extreme cold.
"No!"
The two enemy wizards let out unwilling roars.