Azure Scepter

Page 60

Upon hearing the sound, the goblin froze in his lunge, and his face suddenly turned very pale.

"Fool, don't light a fire! The vampire monster is still tracking us. Here, your finger." The illusionary sound continued, this time a low, hoarse female voice.

At this moment, the temple guards' faces also turned very pale. Even those who had been maliciously transformed into dogs showed obvious disgust on their dog faces.

"Who cares, they're too fat. Hey, Jorge, bring that bearded dwarf over here, eat her heart, it's still beating."

"No, please, my husband and I are just merchants—Torrag's Hammer, you... ugh..."

"Hahahaha..." The goblins' sharp and joyful laughter rose and fell.

"Joler, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up! Are you looking for some fun? With this disgusting thing?"

"Shut up, stop pointing fingers at me." The modified illusionary sound spell paused. "Don't forget who rescued you—we still have enough food, so put down those disgusting things! We're not those cold-blooded, insane necromancers."

"Why should I? You bastard, let's duel!"

At this moment, Trier observed the goblin's expression—the goblin Joller had completely stopped in his tracks, his pupils constricted, as if he were lost in some terrible memory.

The old mage did not take the opportunity to cast a spell; he was silently watching the goblin with his empty eye sockets.

It seems that the scene depicted by this illusionary sound spell is not purely a figment of the old mage's imagination.

"Joler, wake up! This is his evil witchcraft! Don't fall for it!" the barbarian woman cried anxiously.

—The hum of metal being drawn from its sheath, the threatening growl of a ghoul.

"Watch out!" Yole shouted angrily from within the illusionary sound spell.

The sounds of flesh being torn apart, the goblins' shrill screams, and the deep, powerful chanting of spells.

Trier noticed that the illusionary sound spell had suddenly stopped—the spellcasting syllables in the illusionary sound had been replaced by the old mage's real spellcasting syllables, and the goblin was completely unaware of this, still in a state of confusion similar to a nightmare.

The move to unleash a human immobilization spell after the ring upgrade is a wise one, Trier thought.

The human immobilization spell can completely paralyze the target. If the old mage succeeds, even without casting any other spells, he could kill the unhelmeted goblin with just the dagger in his hand.

"Are all mages this insidious?" Noy thought to Trier.

Trier did not answer because the silencing effect of the Illusionary Sound spell had been dispelled.

"Let me go, mage, please, I'm innocent," the goblin who ate dwarves begged.

The old mage in the illusion sneered, "Did you spare those unfortunate merchants?"

"You cheated?!" The goblin suddenly realized what was happening when he heard the spell still playing!

"Pfft!" The sound of a dagger slicing through a throat came from the illusion.

The goblin seemed to awaken from a dream. He suddenly threw out his dagger, and without even looking, his left hand flashed like lightning, slashing down at the head!

The dagger struck the old mage's charred robes, then fell to the ground as if it had hit a stone—but this still interfered with the old mage's pronunciation!

The goblin's fist, carrying a powerful gust of wind, slammed into the old mage's right elbow as he cast the spell, while his right knuckles viciously lashed out at the mage's throat!

“The goblin lost,” Trier thought. “The real spellcaster’s hand isn’t his right hand; that’s fake. The old mage’s spellcaster’s hand was his left hand, hidden behind his back. The goblin couldn’t stop him in time. This old man is really talented in spellcasting combat.”

As the syllable was completed, the goblin's figure suddenly stopped as if he had been electrocuted.

The outcome has been decided.

As the last syllable falls, the earth goblin will become a lamb to the slaughter.

But the next moment, Trier was surprised for the second time.

The old mage voluntarily canceled the spell that had immobilized the humans, and a satisfied smile appeared on his withered lips.

"Is he crazy?" Noy asked incredulously.

Trier still didn't answer, but this time it was because he didn't know either...

The goblin, now freed from his restraints, howled like a mad beast and punched the old mage in the face.

Time seemed to slow down. Trier could clearly see the goblin's bulging muscles contracting and pumping. A tremendous force rose from the goblin's feet, ascended from his spine, and, amplified by the twisting of his waist, poured into the old mage's nose through his fist.

Twisted, deformed, broken, dented!

A large cloud of blood mist suddenly burst forth, and the withered mage flew out like a rag doll. A full half second later, the old mage spun around and crashed into the corpse demon, with large clumps of blood and blood foam slowly flowing from his mouth and nose.

"Good, well done." The dying old mage barely managed to sit up and forced a smile. "Come on, let's end all of this."

"Why?" the goblin asked stiffly.

The old monk sneered, "Enough talk, let's get started."

The mage's gaze remained unwavering, and the coldness emanating from it even surprised Trier.

The goblin froze, turned his head to the side, and then turned it back.

“No,” the goblin said, his eyes darting away.

"Are you afraid?"

The goblin's voice trembled: "You've won. A verdict is a verdict."

"Ha, this kind of ruling is going to draw blood. Logically speaking, none of us have won yet."

“…” Trier noticed that the goblin clenched his teeth so tightly that the wound on his neck began to tremble.

Suddenly, the earth gnome Joel let out a long sigh, then slumped to the ground as if his soul had been ripped from his body: "By Saint Seir, I...I...I..."

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and roared at the top of his lungs, "I forgive you!"

The earthbill warrior, as tough as iron, shed tears; warm tears mingled with blood and dirt, flowing onto the ground.

The old mage sighed, his empty eyes looking at Trier.

Trier, abandoning his previous nonchalant attitude, nodded quite seriously to the old mage and the goblin.

"it is good."

[Your righteous actions are exceptionally consistent with the paladin's oath "To atone for evil," increasing your justice saving throw bonus by 1 point. Current saving throw bonus: 5]

P.S.: I'm finally almost done writing about visiting graves, QWQ

Chapter 118 Follow-up

When Trier returned to the church above the laboratory, it was already dawn.

The morning light was bright, and a warm ray of light shone through the stained glass windows into the church hall. A half-elf priest stood before the statue of Saint Seir, praying quietly. Golden light illuminated the statue's eyes, and wisps of dust slowly settled within the beam of light, adding a sense of tranquility to the dilapidated church hall.

"May you protect us from the plague," the half-elf whispered. "May this turbulent time pass quickly..."

Suddenly, the door to the basement was pushed open, and the half-elf priest instinctively turned his head to look.

He saw High Priest Noi, who had asked for lodging at dusk the previous day, and the paladin who had accompanied him!

"By the Radiance, why are you here?!" He was extremely surprised and involuntarily took two steps back.

The judge's voice came from deep within the stairwell: "Relax, relax, he saved our lives, don't be nervous—please give them some divine healing."

As the judge's hoarse voice rang out, one after another, the church guards, covered in wounds, entered the hall. Blood dripped from their gaping wounds, instantly staining the once pristine church, accompanied by a pungent stench of negative energy.

The half-elf priests were familiar with this pungent, acrid smell. Since the outbreak of the Blood Plague, this odor, a symbol of death and decay, had been omnipresent. Strangely, all the temple guards looked at the paladins with undisguised reverence.

These killers, skilled in torture and slaughter, never even show this expression when praying to Saint Seiya! Even that arrogant and cruel vampire seems completely subdued.

"What on earth happened?" he wondered to himself.

The priest glanced quickly at the strange paladin.

He thought the other party would never notice, but the moment his gaze shifted, the paladin seemed to sense it and immediately turned his head, their eyes meeting.

What a coincidence, the half-elf priest thought.

This was no coincidence. Trier's perception had reached an extraordinary level, and these probing gazes were as obvious to him as gleaming knives.

He ignored the pastor's gaze and turned to look behind him.

The temple guard, who had been turned into a dog by a mass Poisonous Polymorph spell, had been restored by him using a ritualistic "Dispelling Spell." In game terms, because the caster's level was too high when he cast the Poisonous Polymorph spell, it took him quite a while to dispel it.

He tried five times before he could barely turn all the guards who had been turned into dogs back to normal.

Trier did not choose to kill all the temple guards who discovered his laboratory, but instead chose to help them break the curse. This was not because he suddenly had a change of heart, but based on rational considerations.

First, he has retrieved the legacy he left in the lab. There isn't much left inside, so even if the location is exposed and searched, he won't lose anything.

Meanwhile, his laboratory was located beneath Saint Seil's church, so its location was already exposed, making it pointless to silence the temple guards. After all, although he was much stronger now, it was unlikely that he could directly storm into the divine realm and kill Saint Seil before the gods fell from their divine kingdom due to the upheaval of the Azure Laws. Therefore, he had no need to inflict unnecessary bloodshed.

Secondly, he has regained the laboratory's legacy. With the large number of high-quality undead he left behind, as well as an astonishing number of storage stones, he already has the basic ability to protect himself even in the face of the current perilous situation. Therefore, he is not really afraid of the news being leaked. From this perspective, he is fearless.

In a sense, with these magic storage stones, his spellcasting ability in a short period of time is no different from that at his peak.

Finally, while tracking the temple guards, Trier overheard that Vercingetori had sent them. Although Fythia found some evidence in the shrine in Beaver Town that pointed to Vercingetori as a cultist, Trier remained skeptical.

He turned his head to look at the Holy Symbol of the Church of Radiance in Noy's hand.

In the original history of The Azure Scepter, Vercingetorius was a man known for his integrity and benevolence. However, he was not a bishop, who was influential or legendary, but merely a local priest with very average abilities.

In the early stages of the undead outbreak, the residents of the southern duchy were terrified. Perhaps to appease the people, the helpless duke announced that the plague was brought by non-human alien races, and therefore he ordered the arrest and execution of all non-humans who remained there.

Vercingetorius refused to carry out the Duke's orders. When the knight in charge of the execution arrived in his area, Vercingetorius hid an elven bard who was staying there in the parish, but the knight soon discovered the elf.

To cover the elf's escape, Vercingetorius clashed violently with the knight. In the chaos, the knight smashed the priest's head with a punch, and the elf took the opportunity to escape the pursuit.

Several versions later, the succubus player who inexplicably became a paladin after accidentally sucking the life out of a serial killer encountered the elven bard by chance. After failing to charm him, the two began to talk.

Upon learning that the succubus had traveled to the rebuilt Kingdom of Orco, the bard commissioned her to retrieve the remains of Vercingetori. At the end of this quest, the bard gave the succubus a magical item called "Vercingetori's Finger Bone." Because it could provide a total of 6 additional fourth-circle spell slots, almost every player had heard of this item—and the long-dead Vercingetori became a household name among players.

"In short, at least in the original history, Vercingetorie should be considered an honest and reliable person. People may change, but they won't fall to the other extreme." Trier thought to himself. "From another perspective, because of my past intervention, his fate has changed dramatically. He most likely knows me and has a positive attitude towards me."

"However, we cannot rule out the possibility that while I helped him, I also exerted some kind of control over him. From a cautious perspective, he might harbor resentment towards me because of this control—but in that case, I don't need to worry, because he is unlikely to make any rash moves against me. After all, he didn't take any action when I had amnesia, which means that in this situation, his fate is highly tied to mine."

"In conclusion, it is worthwhile to establish contact with Vercingetorie."

Trier glanced almost imperceptibly at the judge.

"The Radiant Cult is full of all sorts of monsters and demons," he thought to himself. "Praise Radiant."

P.S.: Just a filler chapter! I'll try to keep updating.

Chapter 119 The Devil's Advice (Part 1)

A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, and tender green leaves fell into the rapids of the Waal River, splashing up a spray of water that rippled like white crystal pillars.

Water droplets splashed onto the shore and happened to touch the hem of a semi-transparent white skirt; however, the water droplets simply passed through silently.

"I never imagined that there would be any earth goblins in the world who could think rationally," Noy, now a bound spirit, joked. "This is even more surprising than you killing a legend."

The next moment, she changed her tone: "However, it is still a lich after all, and it can be resurrected."

Trier stopped and stood silently looking ahead.

The warm midday sun of early spring lazily pierced through the fir forest, casting a hazy glow over the undulating hills on the western edge of the St. Sergius foothills. As he gazed into the distance, amidst the birdsong, he seemed to see the iconic, towering white dome of Erlav, a symbol of the city, appearing at the horizon where the earth met the azure sky.

He laughed and said, "Don't worry, the drought lich has lost its ability to cast spells, it poses no threat."

—A mage can be a madman, but he can never be a fool. Although the Drought Lich is legendary, it is now incapable of casting any spells because its intelligence and perception have been absorbed too much by its notebook.

Moreover, Trier is now emboldened.

He turned his head and looked behind him.

The hills were covered in lush grass, but amidst the verdant ravines, putrid blood flowed, and bits of flesh littered the ground. Headless corpses lay scattered haphazardly beneath the fir trees. Amidst the crimson hue, milky-white, moonlit corpse demons silently reaped the last resistance of the plague-infested zombies. They devoured the infected like waves, and in the chilling light of their swords, not even the translucent maggots characteristic of the plague-infested were present.

The attack was swift and efficient; the zombies wandering the main road were utterly powerless to resist. They were like candles struck by a gale, extinguished silently.

Since he had to bring the 115 undead from the laboratory with him, Trier chose to proceed along the main road. For the sake of experience points, Trier did not avoid the uncontrolled horde of wandering corpses, but instead eliminated all the Blood Plague walkers blocking his way.

“Judging from their clothes, they must have been pilgrims from Gedlan in their previous lives.” Noy sighed. “Earlier, the group we encountered were mercenaries suppressing a riot, and the group before that were fleeing farmers—we’ve already fought three battles in about two hours. It seems that the main road to Eraf-Riftooth Valley has been completely blocked by the undead.”

"Master, we need to hurry, or the people controlling these zombies might realize what's happening."

Trier remained calm: "There's no need for that. No one can sense the battlefield just by relying on walkers, and there are no ghosts on the road—by the time they realize something's wrong, we'll already be there."

He planned to return to the foothills of Mount Saint-Sel. On one hand, he wanted to reunite with Fythia and the cowardly dragon Olius; on the other hand, he planned to find a place close to Eraf to temporarily store his undead army.

After all, leaving the undead army directly beneath the church was somewhat unsafe—the church's location was impeccably chosen, which hinted at something suspicious. Considering Saint Seil's watchful gaze, Trier had ample reason to believe that this newly ascended deity was aware of the situation.

However, the time traveler was unaware of the other party's role in the entire undead catastrophe.

"Clap!"

The upper half of a zombie's head, spurting blood and brain matter, flew over the treetops and landed straight at Trier's feet.

Trier raised his foot and crushed the plague maggots crawling out of the corpse's nostrils.