Azure Scepter

Page 93

A dwarf guard, clad in rusty brass steam-powered armor, with a long beard flowing like rags, and wielding a long axe.

A noblewoman wearing a yellowish-white feathered hat, a rotten black haori, and holding a fan to cover her face.

A little girl with dreadlocks and a brown bandage wrapped around her face.

Each dwarf was a shadowy figure, stained with blood, and clearly not a living person.

Vague and indistinct!

A faint, mournful cry drifted through the air.

Trier sensed the guidance in his mind and narrowed his eyes slightly.

We must get past these shadowy dwarves blocking our way.

He raised his lantern, its flickering, deep blue light making the dwarves' faces appear even darker, their bloodlust growing stronger, and Trier's murderous intent intensifying.

To deal with so many Shadows, it's better to use Sunfire Blast.

As his thought arose, a leaden sense of oppression slowly enveloped the entire arena, and the chilling coldness instantly overshadowed the gloom of the dwarven shadows.

Here, Trier is at the level of a powerful demigod lich, capable of rendering these undead creatures powerless with a single thought.

The shadowy figures of the dwarves in the stands were stunned.

"Get out," Trier snapped coldly.

Time seemed to stand still. As Trier's voice spread, the sound waves seemed to have a dispersing effect. The shadowy figures of the dwarves shrieked and scattered in all directions. Some even trembled wildly and were unable to move.

[The intimidation was successful.]

Trier slowly stepped forward, and the several immobile shadowy figures screamed hysterically. A few moments later, they exploded into ashes with a "bang"...

[Warning: Fear Aura activated]

The intimidation has caused severe psychological harm...

[Target is dead]

[XP+800]

The intimidation has caused severe psychological harm...

[Target is dead]

[XP+600]

The azure blue message flashed past the corner of his eye, and the shadowy figures of five dwarves were terrified!

Trier stopped in his tracks, finding the whole thing rather absurd.

How can auras of fear cause psychological harm?

Wait a minute, there are so many Shadows, at least four hundred of them, and they're all running away right now, completely unable to fight back—they're all walking experience packs!

Trier's killing intent surged like molten lava, and even his eyes brightened.

My thinking is limited. Since my strength here is comparable to that of a demigod lich, why not grind some experience? As everyone knows, this kind of place lacks everything except monsters!

However, those shadowy figures fled at an astonishing speed. Just as Trier was about to throw out a Sunfire Blast to clear a path, they all vanished without a trace...

The voices of the dream realm demigods suddenly rang in his ears.

"How did you do that? These monsters that linger on the edge of the collective dream and the dream realm have no consciousness at all!"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

“Where did they go? Tell me, quick!” Trier said anxiously.

"Are you one of those madmen obsessed with slaughter in the bottomless abyss?" the crowd asked in horror. "They've all escaped! Weren't you seeking revelation through the prophecies of the dream world? Why are you slaughtering them?"

"Seek out powerful enemies, without distraction; these monsters should not exist in this world!"

"This is the depths of the collective dream; once they escape, you'll have a very hard time catching up with them."

Trier leaped onto the stone bleachers, his boots slamming through the slippery moss and crushing a charred skull.

"Clap."

Trier sighed and looked around helplessly. The shadowy figures that had been eyeing him menacingly just moments before had all fled.

The dwarven stone arena stands are circular in shape. At the southernmost end of the circle is a box with a purple curtain hanging over it, and directly above the top of the box burns a blood-red sun.

The sun shone with a blood-red and scorching light, but it was surrounded by a ring of solidified blackness, as if it had been eclipsed.

The black, purulent scar, resembling the sun, dripped straight down, congealing into a ladder-like structure at the top of the private room.

Trier stopped and looked at the strange sun. The next moment, his eyes lit up.

That wasn't the sun, but a Balor Flame Demon sealed inside a spherical piece of solidified fat!

"Heh, do you know how this dwarf city was destroyed?" the crowd asked.

Trier ignored him, took a deep breath, and began preparing the spell sequence and chain of unexpected spells.

Great Disintegration Technique—Dissociation Technique—Death Finger.

The Calamity of Enslavement—Hellfire Ray—Implosion.

Withering Spell - Banshee's Howl - Heart Grasp.

Although Trill was busy loading spells into the spell sequence and had no extra attention to pay attention to the crowd, the crowd continued to explain with great interest: "Eraf was built on the ruins of an ancient dwarven city. In the past, that underground dwarven city was the pride of the dwarves of the Dark Lands, and people called it the Shining Forge."

"The forging skills of the Shining Forge Dwarves are unparalleled in the world and are known throughout the entire Material Plane. Even I have heard of the steam-powered weapons they have forged."

"However, when they wanted to further improve their forging skills, these arrogant little creatures actually attempted to enslave a Balor Fire Demon as the furnace fire!"

"In the end, the Balrog broke free from the dwarf king's enslavement, and it slaughtered and destroyed everything with its flames, and the magnificent city inside the mountain was eventually reduced to a dead land."

"The dwarves' hatred and fear of the Balrog have merged into a monster that is both real and illusory. Isn't that interesting?"

Trier breathed a sigh of relief. He had already prepared the spell sequence to deal with the Balrog. Hearing the words of the crowd, he nodded slightly.

For most of the Prime Material Plane, Balrogs can be considered a natural disaster that no human can withstand; once these demons appear, the casualties are bound to be heavy. Actively summoning Balrogs is basically tantamount to suicide.

Human-controlled areas like the Demon Rift and places like Eraf now are special locations where large forces are concentrated, and do not fall into the category of "most places".

According to Trier's perception, the Balrog sealed in the sky was much weaker than the Balrog that Edith had nailed to the ground last night, but even such a Balrog was enough to destroy a dwarf city single-handedly.

Trier walked briskly down the stands toward the southernmost box, where more and more charred skulls were being displayed.

"Hey, where are you going?" the others quickly stopped him. "Isn't this unnecessary? That's just a phantom of a fire demon formed from the resentment of the dwarves. There's no point in killing it. Hurry up and go find the revelation!"

“A paladin’s oath comes from the heart. Even if it’s false, I will still destroy this monster,” Trier said in a deep voice.

After all, experience points are real.

"You...can you defeat it? You don't have any magic storage stones here. Why don't you try using ritual magic?" the crowd sincerely suggested. "I'm currently sealed, so I can't help you."

“Faith will pave the way for me,” Trier replied casually.

When Trier pushed open the box door and reached the very top of the box, he finally stopped.

Beneath the pus-filled blackness of the sun formed by the Balrogs, a headless dwarf corpse knelt. A blazing, runic decapitation sword was plunged into the dwarf's chest.

The flames melted the exquisite plate armor on the dwarf's corpse. The boiling, molten iron clung to the dwarf's charred remains. His gauntlets had been burned through, and his blackened bones were barely covered by a layer of shriveled, rotten skin riddled with holes.

It is worth mentioning that the dwarf is holding two enormous chainsaw swords with exaggerated shapes, which are humming and spinning under the power of a steam engine.

Trier stepped forward and, near the headless dwarf's body, found a head wearing a golden crown, with bloody tears streaming from its eye sockets.

"The dwarf king, filled with regret," the dream demigod mocked. "His greedy decisions ultimately led to his doom."

At this point, the tone of the crowd suddenly changed.

"Why don't you reconsider? The corpse in front of you was a legendary warrior in life, but he ultimately perished together with that Balrog."

"If you die, everything will be over!" the crowd earnestly advised. "I don't want to remain sealed away!"

Chapter 187 Another Prophet

“No need to worry,” Trier replied indifferently. “It’s quite common for dwarves to destroy themselves. This city isn’t the first, nor will it be the last.”

“What you’re about to do is even worse than what the dwarves did; at least they had a fully armed guard,” the crowd sneered.

“Losevier is far more dangerous than the Balrog. Wouldn’t it be even crazier for us to go after it?” Trier retorted.

The others fell silent, seemingly choked by Trier's words.

Trier picked up the dwarf king's head, twisted his waist, and threw it directly into the arena.

His head slammed into the ground with a loud bang, shattering into countless fragments, and the blood-stained crown fell among the decaying bricks.

"I thought paladins would admire people who stay at their posts until death," the crowd seized the opportunity and immediately retorted.

Trier chuckled, "To be precise, it didn't leave its post even after death. If we pull the sword from its chest, this dwarf can continue fighting the Balrog in the sky. I'll use the Great Disintegrate spell to destroy the decapitating sword on its chest, as well as the seal imprisoning that Balrog..."

Everyone was completely stunned. After a long while, He asked, "Great Disintegration? You're going to release that Balrog and this dwarf? Are you insane? You weren't this reckless before..."

“That’s more efficient,” Trier explained patiently.

"You're insane, absolutely insane! You're simply..."

Before he finished speaking, Trier silently raised his left hand.

The moment he raised his left hand, the entire arena visibly darkened, as if shrouded in a thick fog, and in an instant, a chilling wind of death howled and gathered.

In the deep sky, the winds of death had somehow gathered into rolling, leaden-gray clouds. In just a few breaths, the clouds spread across the entire sky like drops of ink in water.

Trier gave him a gentle squeeze.

The magically created clouds instantly thickened, transforming into a solidified darkness, like the deep, cold undercurrents of the ocean. Guided by Trier's power, the raging winds of death transformed into howling, furious waves, like millions of vengeful spirits struggling and swirling, converging into a tornado-like vortex.

A violent surge of purple thunder roared and exploded at the eye of the storm.

And at the bottom of the vortex is Trier.

The crowd dared not utter another word.

Trier pressed down gently with his palm.

The dark clouds surged violently, and countless thunderclaps boomed in the sky. The surging coldness transformed into tangible, chilling blades.

"Crack!"

A soft sound, like glass shattering, came from the air.

Under the extremely compressed winds of death, even the space constructed by the collective dreamscape developed some cracks. Through the white cracks, resembling glass shards, the lush jungle scenery of the dream world could be vaguely seen.

A dragon from the Dream Realm stood at the edge of the crevice, curiously looking in this direction. The moment it saw Trier, it let out a scream and fled into the jungle at top speed.

Ignoring the fleeing dragon with its bulging neck, Trier looked up at the sky.

The "sun" in the sky, composed of fire demons, suddenly brightened a bit. The deep black ring had now unfurled into black wings that blotted out the sky, and scorching sparks fell to the ground with the dull flapping of the wings.

The spark struck the north side of the stands, instantly melting the broken stones into lava, with scalding gas hissing as it rose.

"Hmph..." The resurrected fire demon exhaled a long puff of steam from its nostrils.

Meanwhile, the runic decapitation sword stuck in the dwarf king's chest was also reduced to dust by the Great Disintegration spell.

The naked, headless dwarf king, covered in burns, rose again, clenching his fists, which were also covered in grotesque burns, and pointed them once more at his former enemy.

Suddenly, Trier glanced down at his feet.

In the sands of the arena, a bespectacled succubus stared at herself in disbelief. She had been carrying a "guiding lamp" made from a human skull, but now, the lamp had been reduced to dust by the aftershocks of the Great Disintegration spell.

Her "advanced invisibility technique" was also destroyed by the aftershocks.

Trier frowned slightly. He recognized the succubus before him—the bespectacled succubus he had killed with a spell counterspell the previous night.

How did she get here? Shouldn't she be in the abyss waiting for her soul to recover?

“Be careful of Trill, this succubus comes from the past of the Prime Material Plane.” The group cautiously warned, “According to the timeline of the Prime Material Plane, it also made a dream prophecy about Lady Bloodthorn’s vessel a few months ago. Due to the effect of the sympathetic law, you encountered it.”

Trier did not respond to the crowd. Without any hesitation, his cold gaze immediately locked onto the succubus.

He then extended his right index finger and pointed it at the succubus—since she was making a dream prophecy, she couldn't possibly dodge, so he only needed to aim slightly.

A finger of death!

"Boom!" A purple thunderclap rippled wildly, illuminating the entire arena.

The storm formed by the winds of death howled, and in the next moment it swept down like a mountain collapsing, turning into a thin, deathly red ray.

A deathly red ray pierced the sky and struck the succubus's eye in an instant.