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Chapter 493: The Sage

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Seeing that Nika was thinking hard but still couldn't find a clue, Lucien hurriedly cut him off. "It's the power of the earth. We call it gravity."

"Power of the earth?" Nika was still very confused. In this world where everything was still in the rudiment, even the concept of the four elements earth, fire, wind, and water was not yet proposed.

Lucien nodded. "The power of the earth attaches us to it and keeps the stars, the sun, and the moon revolving. Birds have to keep flapping their wings to resist the power and fly freely…"

As he was speaking, Lucien cast Gravity Chaos, making the gadgets on the operation desk rose into the air and then suddenly drop.

Nika threw a random monster's heart up into the air and watched it fall down to the ground. After the muffled sound of the pile of flesh hitting the floor, Nika repeated to himself, "The power of the earth…"

The boy's eyes opened big in surprise. "Sir, are… are you a wise man, too?"

The boy's voice dragged Nika out from his own thoughts, and Nika stared at Lucien in great enthusiasm. "Can you explain it to me in detail? And how did you break up the pattern…"

"We're in a hurry. I'll leave some books to you later," said Lucien, pointing at Natasha's injured left arm. "Mr. Nika, do you know a kind of blood-red flowers that can catch small animals?"

Having no idea how people in this world call Bloody Family, Lucien described its appearance to Nika.

Nika was slightly stunned. He frowned and said, "are you talking about the Gronin Flower? Aki, fetch one for this gentleman."

The boy named Aki hurriedly walked to the storage room next door.

Nika finally noticed that both of the visitors were injured. He calmed down a bit and asked, " are you here for cures?"

"No. I know magic," Lucien shook his head. "I just need the flowers to make some potions."

"Magic?" That was another new word for Nika.

Lucien slightly raised his chin and smiled. "That's how the power you have is called."

Nika remained silent for a while. In his eyes, the visitor was beyond mysterious.

Natasha, who was feeling fatigued from the injury, was just smiling and listening to their conversation.

Aki, at this time, had come back with a big red flower in his hand. Lucien saw the flower and took it over from Aki. He turned to Nika and asked, "this is the flower I'm looking for. Mr. Nika, can I borrow one of your spare rooms?"

As a sorcerer, Lucien always carried his alchemy hut with him.

Nika was not good at socializing. When he heard Lucien's words, he quickly nodded, completely forgotten that the flower belonged to him. "Aki, go and find them a spare room."

Lucien put his right hand on his chest and bowed lightly. "To show my appreciation, I have some gifts for you, Sir. Please give me enough parchment rolls or papyrus."

Nika shook his head. "You're my guest. I should help you. I don't need gifts, but later we can discuss…"

"The gifts are books about magic." Lucien cut him off.

The look on Nika's face abruptly changed.

"Aki, go and grab all my parchment sheets here!"

"Ha, Lucien, you sorcerers can be really straightforward sometimes, in a cute way," Natasha commented through the telepathic bond, laughing. "Just like that that you've never kissed a girl yet because you've spent all your time in your lab, haha!"

Seeing that his teacher was in such an elation, Aki, although he did not understand what magic was, also became very excited. He dashed for the study and then came back with a pile of parchment sheets almost as tall as him.

"From Magic Basics to Model Construction, The Significance of Modelling, Basic Magic Geometry, Element Equations behind Magic Formula, Basic Element, Low-rank Meditations, Basic Alchemy…" Lucien produced a long list.

Every time Lucien finished replicating a book, Nika read out the name. His eyes lit up with great excitement light the bright stars in the night sky. His body slightly trembling, Nika had completely forgotten everything else in the world, except for only the names of the books.

Lucien copied the elementary level books in his spirit library and translated them into the Baburian version. He said to Nika, smiling, "when you finish reading all of the books, you can organize and simplify your own knowledge and gain a deeper understanding."

Lucien was going to lead Nika to the Congress of Magic. After all, Nika was such a genius.

"Thank you, thank you!" Nika kept repeating the same words. Just from the names, he could figure out the value of these books. Then Nika said to Lucien a bit shyly, "sir, what about the power of the earth you just mentioned?"

Lucien thought it for a while. Seeing that there were still lots of parchment sheets left, he put his hand back on the pile again and copied another three books for Nika.

"These three books… One talks about theories of gravity and provides better calculation tools, one is a classic work in electromagnetism, and one introduces the latest theoretical system of Element and Alchemy. Although you won't be able to understand them in a short period of time, reading them will help you build your knowledge system from a higher perspective, so your theoretical framework will be more complete."

"Math Principles in the Philosophy of Magic, Electromagnetism, New Alchemy…" Nika could not move his eyes away from the three books.

Aki had got lost with the piles of books on the desk. He asked excitedly but also confusedly, "what are they, Sir?"

Before Lucien and Natasha left for the spare room, Lucien asked. "Mr. Nika, do you have any iron ores that look like crystal here?"

Lucien hoped that he could also fix his Holm Crown rings, so he could be more prepared for what was coming for them.

"I do! Take as much as you want!" Said Nika without any hesitation, who had already started reading one of the books.

…

The sun sank in the west, inside the castle had become darker and darker.

The door of a guest room opened with a creak. Lucien and Natasha walked out full of energy.

"Your left hand really behaved itself for the entire afternoon. I hope the rest of the six days are all like this." Natasha joked.

In the past several hours, Lucien made the potion called Heart of Sun, removed the cursing toxin from their bodies, fixed his Holm Crown rings, and partially fixed Natasha's armor called the Violet Guardian.

Lucien replied on purpose, "it's always very peaceful before a storm arrives."

"No worries. I am on full alert." Natasha pulled out Pale Justice to show that she had fully recovered.

At this time, Nika pushed his door open and dashed out. Rather exhausted but thrilled, Nika said to Lucien with a book in his hand, "although there are lots that I don't understand, I have felt the profound knowledge and the great value in the books. My distinguished guests, please tell me, where are the great sages Derrick Douglas, Edwyn Brook, and Lucien Evans? I have to find and follow them!"

Natasha burst out laughing. Lucien cleared his throat a bit as his protest.

"You can understand some of it?" Lucien was surprised. Although he knew that Nika was very gifted and talented, it was still hard to believe that Nika can understand part of the three books without having any foundations previously.

Nika rubbed his hands against each other, and his face flushed slightly. "Just a tiny bit. I first read some of the basic books and understood the terms, and then I turned to the three books. Also, I've been thinking of some of the questions discussed in the books. Now I finally understand what element, atom, gravity, and lightning are!"

"I see." Lucien nodded. Nika definitely had a very good foundation for learning magic, it's just that he had never touched upon the theoretical section. Then Lucien switched the topic. "Sir, do you know any special spots nearby?"

Lucien hoped to know more about the northern mountain range so that they could hide from Demigod-lich more easily.

Nika hardly talked to people, so he was basically following Lucien's words to keep the conversation going. "Special spots? Well… I'm not sure what kind of special spot you're looking for, but I know a valley down below a nearby cliff, where many dangerous creatures live. The skin on the door was found there…

"… If you go over the mountain, you'll see a very creepy forest. I'm not able to spread out my spiritual power there. Besides the forest is a very, very big lake. And it's incredibly deep. There's a secret cave at the bottom of the lake that is connected to the other side of the mountain. I found it when I was hunting a water creature.

"Behind the dark forest, there's a valley filled with greyish white fog. Ghosts and specters cry in the valley all the time. So far I haven't gone into the valley yet. I dare not."

Nika tried his best to recall the places he had been to.

Lucien and Natasha listened to him carefully without cutting him off. When Nika finished, Lucien said to him, "thank you for giving us so much information. You can take the books with you and find a man named Rehau in the Metarin oasis in the eastern desert. Rehau will lead you to an organization that studies magic jointly, an organization built by the sorcerers around the world. When you get there, you will have a better environment for studying magic."

Nika knew what a sorcerer was after reading the introductory books. He nodded hard. "I can't wait. By the way, are the three sages still alive?"

Lucien simply nodded and was about to leave with Natasha. At this time, Nika finally realized that he never asked the mysterious visitor's name. "My distinguished guest, may I know your name? When I arrive at the oasis, who shall I refer to?"

Nika remembered scarcely that the groups for sharing books in the nearby area required a referrer.

Before Lucien replied, Natasha grinned and said, "his name? His name's Lucien Evans."

Nika was shocked. He suddenly lost all his words.

At this time, Lucien and Natasha had flown out of the castle.

…

Only a tint of dark red hung over the horizon. The early stars were hiding within.

"I think that the creepy valley that Nika mentioned is Death Valley, the previous divine realm of the Lord of Underworld. It's also the origin of the Solna River, and where Alterna and the mysterious existence from the World of Souls fell." Lucien introduced briefly.

"Then we have to go and check it out," said Natasha seriously. "We can probably find something to fight against Demigod-lich. We can't keep hiding."

"What a pity that you're not yet able to pick up the Shield of Truth, or we'd have no worries at all." Lucien joked.

Natasha glared at Lucien. "I have to be a gold knight to be able to pick it up. Also, legendary items are as scarce as the legendaries. There's no way that we can find another now."

Basically, except for the few top legendaries, most legendaries or countries only had one to two legendary items.

The breeze coming through the tree branches was rather refreshing. However, it somehow felt too quiet, unusually quiet.

Something suddenly occurred to Lucien, and he asked, "when was the last time we spotted the specter servants sent by Demigod-lich?"

The look on Natasha's face changed. "This morning."

"Go!" Lucien suddenly tensed.

Chapter 494: The Great Danger

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Right now, both Lucien and Natasha dared not to fly. If they flew close to the trees, they would be blocked by hills and tree crowns, which would slow them down and delay them even more; if they flew high up in the clear sky, they would easily be spotted.

After casting Advanced Speed on himself, Lucien was moving almost as fast as Natasha, who was a radiant knight. They flashed through the dark forest like two streaks of shadow.

As they were running, a burst of bright light exploded in front of Lucien's eyes. He lost his sight for a couple of seconds because the light was so unexpected and dazzlingly bright.

Natasha, however, was made immune to the bright light by her blood power. She changed her direction in midair and jumped at a big tree nearby.

The early evening stars had been dyed with red by the setting sun. In the warm hue stood an alluring beauty in a long, white robe.

It was Asin, the God of Love and Beauty! Natasha instantly recognized who she was.

Without any hesitation, she wielded the sword in her hand, an unreal crevice that seems to not belong to this world appeared with the movement of the sword and directly whacked the light of the dusk star into two.

Before the defense shield was destroyed, Asin's body dimmed and was about to integrate into the darkness.

However, before Asin disappeared, Lucien had activated a magic spell with his spiritual power. An invisible wall appeared on the shadow. Asin hit the wall and bounced back. Then Natasha's sword cut Asin's throat open.

There was no blood coming out, only a thick cut. Against the power of Pale Justice, the two defense spells activated were torn open like a thin piece of paper. When Asin's head fell onto the ground, her body also quickly perished.

In the Life Ritual, Asin had already died and become an undead creature manipulated by Congus and was therefore unable to ward off Pale Justice, which was at the legendary level when swung against an undead.

Bits of God's Glory drifted out from Asin's body and attached to the cracks in Natasha's armor. Meanwhile, the rotten body had lost its power and turned into Asin's original look — a centaur.

Natasha was very surprised, but it was not the perfect time asking why. She came back to Lucien and said, "let's go. Asin tried to stop us even when he knew it would be a great risk. It means that Demigod-lich is already nearby!"

Asin's domain included that of tracking and hiding, that's why Lucien and Natasha did not find out that they were being followed. If Demigod-lich was still far away from them, Asin, who still had a little bit of intelligence remaining, would not reveal Her presence in front of Lucien and Natasha.

Lucien's sight resumed. He turned around and was ready to head for the dark forest over the cliff.

Suddenly, bitter crying and howling approached them. The atmosphere instantly became overwhelmed with the aura of death. Water and life force started to leak away.

Demigod-lich was here!

Lucien and Natasha realized it at the same time. Natasha swiftly turned around and help Pale Justice straight up in front of them to block the fatal sound waves brought by Demigod-lich's Howling.

In the crying and howling, birds within the radius of two hundred meters fell down to the ground one by one, their bodies already partially decayed before they even touched the soil.

Pale Justice lit up. Its light was warm, soft, but determined. In the horrible and sharp howling, the sword trembled fiercely, as if the power had reached its limit.

Facing a legendary over a thousand years old, an experienced sorcerer with endless spells, there seemed to be absolutely no chance for them to win at all. To die in peace would be a blessing from the God of Truth.

The dangerous power came closer and closer. The distance between them would soon be less than two hundred sixty meters!

Lucien, at this time, took a step forward and lifted his left hand. Dazzling moonlight came out from his hand, and black flame twined around it.

"En?" Accompanying the voice, white light of life force and pure moisture joined together, and they formed a wall of defense dazzling in green and grey light.

Lucien's left hand fiercely hacked downward, but nothing happened.

He immediately turned around and dashed. Through the telepathic bond, he shouted to Natasha.

"Run! Out of the three hundred meters range, then we may still have hope!"

Lucien just made Alterna temporarily stopped suppressing the power of the mysterious existence in the World of Souls, pretending that Alterna was ready to fight to frighten Demigod-lich.

Lucien could only use this method once. Although it would work if Lucien simply let Alterna out, in the end, Lucien would still die from the mysterious existence's pieces losing control. Unless there were no other choices, Lucien would not turn to this last plan.

Understanding how urgent the situation was, Natasha immediately pulled out the sword and caught Lucien up. She was faster than Lucien, so she grabbed Lucien's arm and dragged him to run around the cliff.

Under the great pressure, Natasha was running even faster than she thought she could. In the darkness, the two figures became two almost invisible shadows.

The angry voice came from far behind, advancing very quickly.

"I'm going to turn both of you into corpse servants!"

The concrete colors of black, white and grey extended out and covered Lucien's body. This was the consequence of Alterna temporarily let go of the pieces.

Fortunately, Natasha was prepared for this. She grabbed Lucien with her left hand and kept running for their lives as fast as she could.

When the long mountain road ended, in front of Natasha there were two options: On her right-hand side was the dark forest, while on her left was the extremely deep lake that Nika mentioned. Meanwhile, the horrible power approaching them from behind was closer and closer.

According to Nika's words, the lake was at least four to five hundred meters deep. She slightly slowed down and cut off the dull colors on Lucien with her sword. Then, she pulled Lucien together with her and jumped into the lake.

The world suddenly became silent. They sank fast in the water.

Not yet reaching the radiant knight level, Lucien was not able to move or breathe easily as he wished underwater. He also dared not to cast Sea Cloak, as Demigod-lich might sense the magic waves.

Natasha took a glance at Lucien and pulled him in her arms. Then her lips attached to that of Lucien and infused fresh air into his mouth.

Lucien had no time to taste the kiss at all. He was sinking fast with Natasha.

Pointing at the cliff, he gestured to Natasha that there was a slant limestone cave.

Under his black cloak, Demigod-lich stared at the two paths and came into a dilemma. He cast a couple of spells but none provided a solid answer. He was rather pissed: In this bloody world, the ultimate range covered by his spiritual power was about only two hundred meters. Even with those investigation spells, the figure could only go up by around a hundred meters.

After one day of tracing, he already knew that Lucien's track of destiny was unusual and that Natasha was shielded by the power of Alterna, so he did not waste his time on casting prophecy and horoscope spells.

However, as a legendary sorcerer, Congus the Demigod-lich was by no chance a fool. After a while of thinking, Congus sent out his Devourers, Dead Giants, and mummies to the dark forest to search for Lucien and Natasha. Meanwhile, Congus himself flew to the lake and cast the spell above the lake.

"Toxin of Filth."

Suddenly, the waves in the lake turned pale and the color quickly expanded. Fish floated to the surface of the lake, half-rotten.

The lake gurgled as if it was boiling. A shadow huge as large as a castle surfaced. It was a giant monster with a dragon bloodline!

However, it had also gone rotten!

Underwater, when Lucien and Natasha saw the slant cave, both of them were very encouraged.

However, at this time, Natasha noticed that the color of the lake was turning pale very fast. The nearby algae and weeds were all gone, together with the fish. Surrounding them was the sheer silence.

"Go!" Natasha yelled through the telepathic bond.

Swimming for their lives, their speed had reached their physical limit.

When they were almost there, the muddy paleness had also arrived.

Natasha, at this time, grabbed Lucien's arm and pushed him into the cave when Lucien was totally unprepared.

Meanwhile, she turned around and pulled out Pale Justice against the death power.

The power of the sword divided the paleness into halves. Pressing against the sea cliff with her left hand, Natasha turned over and jumped into the cave.

"Watch out!" Lucien hurriedly cast a spell and stopped the paleness in the shape of disgusting tentacles from catching Natasha.

As soon as Natasha jumped out from the water in the cave, she also turned around and hacked her sword at the pale tentacles.

With joint effort, they finally got rid of the filthy paleness. However, Natasha's armor, the Violet Guardian, had been severely damaged. There was even a hole in the back.

Natasha had never had such a dangerous experience before, and she now felt extremely exhausted. But she knew that they could not stop here as they have not escaped from the danger yet. She forced herself to move on and said to Lucien,

"Keep moving. We'll be safe on the other side."

"Will you?" A cold voice came from the front of them.

Demigod-lich emerged from nowhere in his black cloak.

All their efforts ended up to be in vain. For a second, both Natasha and Lucien had lost all their hope.

However, desperation only existed for a blink. After a brief communication through the telepathic bond, Natasha picked up her sword and swung it at Demigod-lich.

"Life Depri…" Congus knew that Pale Justice was extremely powerful to specters and could actually injure him, so he was very cautious. He was ready to kill Natasha with one single strike.

However, Natasha suddenly disappeared from where she was. Congus lost his target, while Lucien was holding Sun Staff inlaid with the big gem on the top.

"A ninth-circle maze… interesting…" Congus sneered. "But you're on yourself now."

He was ready to confine Lucien using Spirit Confinement.

Lucien begged in desperation. He seemed to be in a demented state.

"All you want is to kill me, right? You want Alterna and the pieces, right? Come and get them!

"But please let her go. She has nothing to do with this. She is implicated because of me, and, yes, she's a descendant of Her Excellency Hathaway!"

Congus was a bit amused, as he was a bit surprised to see that Lucien, who was praised as always remaining well-mannered and calm, had lost all of his dignity. "For this very reason, I won't keep her alive. If they know, Hathaway and that old bastard Lord of Storm would find every possible way to kill me."

Congus stared at Lucien and continued. "What a pity. You could have the chance to become a grand arcanist, and your achievement could exceed my students', or even mine. But you overestimated yourself. Your involvement in the World of Souls and the fact that Maskelyne gave you his amulet are doomed to kill you."

In Congus' eyes, Lucien had completely lost all hope.

Lucien burst out into tears. "Let her go! I give you all you want! Alterna, and the pieces!"

What happened next slightly shocked Congus: Lucien's right hand suddenly grabbed his left arm and directly pulled it off from his body. The white bones and red flesh formed a sharp contrast, astonishing by the sight.

"You want it? I give it to you! All!" Lucien cried out aloud and threw his left arm at Congus.

Had Lucien totally gone mad?

Although feeling it quite unexpected, Congus did now lower his alert. Using Mage's Hand, he caught Lucien's left arm in great caution.

At this time, the left harm burst out dazzling silver light and the colors of black, white and grey quickly extended. The colors instantly infected the mage's hand and then completely enveloped Congus.

All the exaggerated looks and emotions disappeared on Lucien's face. Calmly, he lifted up Sun Staff and pointed it at the void.

Natasha's figure emerged in the air. Without any hesitation, she wielded Pale Justice and hacked it directly at Demigod-lich!

Chapter 495: Reward

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The long sword looked ordinary, radiating a soft but determined glow. As the silver-purple in Natasha's eyes became pure crystal-clear, two illusory splits that looks as though they could split the world apart suddenly appeared on the blade. In a mere second, the sword had reached Congus' head.

The vital part of a lich was not its heart and neck. Only by damaging the head, where the soul resided, could one effectively injure a lich.

Under the weight of the "Pale Justice", streaks of transparent cracks appeared in the boring mix of black, white and grey. Two needle-like red spots were revealed underneath.

Puff… It sounded like the sword just hacked onto a piece of rotten wood. All the emergency defense spells were rendered invalid by the power of the mysterious existence in the World of Souls.

"Ah!!!" A bitter and piercing shriek burst out.

And Natasha was directly blown away by the power. Blood came out from her eyes, nose, and mouth.

This was not Demigod-lich's Howling, but the spiritual power waves released by Congus in great fury. Although with Pale Justice's protection, Natasha was still severely injured. Meanwhile, Lucien suffered even more from the great power. He felt beyond dizzy, and there was a strong taste of blood in his mouth.

"Good… Good!" Congus's furious voice seemed to come from far away.

Both Lucien's and Natasha's hearts sank for a second.

Was Congus still "alive"?!

Suddenly, Congus's black cloak split from the middle. The white skeleton inside collapsed to the ground and decayed instantly. The smell stank badly.

On the skull, two deep cracks appeared, under which warm holy light twinkled.

Then with a crispy sound, the skull cracked open. The smaller golden skull in the middle also bore undescribable unreal injuries.

Without the protection of the defense spells, this one single strike was almost as powerful as the power of Alterna to Congus.

Pale Justice, the terminator of all evils, was a legendary weapon at this moment!

The silver moonlight seized control over the mixed colors of black, white and grey, preventing it from spreading out.

"I will be back. You'd better come up with some better tricks! " Congus proclaimed in a voice was full of viciousness.

The golden skull broke into three pieces and clattered on the ground, while Congus' soul slowly faded from the scene.

"Even with this he still isn't entirely dead! Liches, no, sorcerers are so troublesome!" Natasha complained half-jokingly in a finally relaxed mood.

Lucien was already lying on the ground, unable to move. He felt that his neurons twitched under the sharp pain. However, he felt such ease in his mind. Despite the cost, they had defeated Demigod-lich!, Although he had been stuck at the accidence of the legendary level for hundreds of years, he was still a true legendary sorcerer! Without a doubt, they were very proud of themselves.

"Among… Among all the sorcerers, necromancers are the hardest to… to kill." Lucien gasped through the sentence due to the great pain. But after he pulled out a tube of Water Song and drank it all, he felt better. Then he continued. "But we nailed it! Now Congus has to go back to the main material world for his resurgence using his phylactery since he had used up his most convenient backup last time. This means we'll be safe for at least one day."

Natasha stood up and carefully brought Lucien's left arm to him. "We can get ready by making the most of the day. Then as long as we can stay alive for one more day, given that the pieces can behave themselves like today, granny Hathaway and the Lord of Storm shall be arriving. By the way, can you put this back?"

"I'm not a radiant knight," said Lucien. But he still stood up slowly and took over his left arm. Pressing it against the cut, the flesh and nerves started growing, and the bones were covered in a layer of dim white light.

Carrying the Saint Badge given by Ell, Lucien was as strong as a grand knight. Plus his blood power, the magic potion Water Song, and the power of Alterna, although he could not fully recover, Lucien could still roughly put the left arm back. However, the pain and the torturing itch from the growing of flesh were so intolerable that Lucien had to bite his lips very tight to stop himself from crying out loud.

At this time, a cold hand touched Lucien's face, soothing his pain while delivering great willpower.

Natasha frowned slightly, but she joked deliberately to distract Lucien. "You finally get to know how I felt when there was a hole in my lower abdomen, huh? A grand knight can quickly recover, but it's an awful torture."

Beads of sweat covered Lucien's forehead, but were then gently wiped off by Natasha. A few minutes later, Lucien finally managed to force a smile and replied, "I couldn't tell by then. You were even discussing how to barbecue your own organs."

"Hehe, do you want me to cook one for you now?" Natasha grinned. Seeing that Lucien now felt much better, she asked. "How's Alterna right now? Is your arm growing back okay?"

Lucien nodded. "Alterna just released the control, so the pieces of the mysterious existence had a chance to recover a bit. Without my blood power and spiritual power, Alterna might not be able to always stay in control. If that happens, we probably won't be able to escape to a three-hundred-meter distance in time."

Then Lucien tried to move his left arm and estimated. "I can lift it and do some simple actions, but not the complex ones, not to mention the delicate gestures for casting. I have to use a Necromancy rite to fully recover."

Natasha felt relieved knowing that there wouldn't be any permanent injury left in Lucien's arm. Like a victor, she lifted Pale Justice and said in good spirit, "although we haven't fully killed Congus, I'm sure I'm the first level-seven knight ever who managed to kill a legendary during direct combat! That's awesome! Absolutely awesome!"

She paced around full of excitement, her face flushing slightly.

"This's the adventure I long for! A friend that knows me well, powerful enemies, dangerous fights. If I can go back alive, this is gonna be a memory of my lifetime!"

"Me, too," said Lucien seriously, staring at Natasha's lips, "but we'd better not pursue this kind of fight all the time, or we'd die sooner or later."

"Of course, if it wasn't because of you, I would have gone back to Varantine's area directly." As the future top leader, Natasha understood how important it was to keep herself safe. She arrived in Erdo this time on her own because she had previously received Hathaway's message that Lucien went missing. Thus, she had purposefully picked the commission to explore and investigate the space, so that she could search for Lucien in the area controlled by the Church, where Hathaway and the Lord of Storm were not suited to enter.

It took her two months before she found Lucien on the remote Erdo peninsula.

Natasha then added in excitement. "I'm gonna put this on record in my family history. Descendants of my family will regard me as a real knight with great bravery and determination, and they'll know that she has a sorcerer friend."

After a short pause, Natasha smiled at Lucien. "I'm also gonna put on record that beside defeating Demigod-lich, she also took away the first kiss of a grand arcanist. Well, I'm sure you'll become a grand arcanist in the future."

She expressed her positiveness towards Lucien's future achievements. At this time, thinking positively gave her the confidence to face the even greater danger coming for them the day after.

They had to equip themselves with hope to face desperation.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lucien smiled and asked carefully. "Don't you feel… ugh.. disgusted when kissing a man?"

Natasha rubbed her chin and thought about it carefully, but then she said a bit confusedly, "I thought I would, but it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Maybe it's because you are my best friend, or maybe it's clean as that was your first kiss."

She smacked her lips, as if she was trying to recall how the kiss felt.

Lucien had to admit that Natasha's masculinity was still impressive to him. Meanwhile, he was quite happy about it because this was good progress between Natasha and him.

"Alright, let's go and check the Death Valley out," said Lucien. "We'll try to see if there's a way to keep us safe."

"Okay." said Natasha. She wiped off the blood on her face and grabbed Lucien's arm.

Before they left the cave, they saw something shining dimly on the ground.

"What is it?" Natasha approached it and found that there was an ancient-style ring hiding underneath the rotten golden skull.

Lucien's eyes suddenly lit up. " All the rest of Congus' magic items were destroyed under Alterna's strike. And he didn't return to the main material world and his demiplane after that, which means this is a…"

"Legendary item!" Both of them exclaimed at the same time full of wild surprise.

Lucien walked closer to the ring but did not touch it. He explained to Natasha.

"Many magic items have creepy powers. Take my magic robe as an example, I can hide my soul in it and then wait for a body to occupy when someone tries to take away the robe. The ring may be Demigod-lich's only legendary item, so we have to be careful. Protect me with Pale Justice; It is a legendary item when it comes to defence against soul attacks or curses."

Natasha nodded. She pulled out the sword and grabbed it tight.

Lucien calmed himself down and cast Identification on the ring.

Chapter 496: Congus Ring (A Longer Chapter)

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"? ? ?"

Lucien didn't know how he should react when he saw the identification result. The Identification spell yielded no information at all. He figured that it was probably because the ring was much more powerful than his current level.

"What is it?" Natasha noticed the change in Lucien's expression.

Since there were only the two of them here, Lucien did not hide his feelings.

Lucien nodded. "I'm trying to analyze it. Watch out for me. If anything goes wrong, cut off the connection between the ring and me immediately."

"Be careful." Natasha held her sword tight and stood beside Lucien.

Lucien spread out his spiritual power and carefully touched the simple black ring with it.

Suddenly, Lucien's spiritual power was dragged into an illusionary land. He stood on the lifeless earth covered with cracks and under the gloomy sky. Surrounding him were clusters of dried grass and greyish-white rivers. However, the white sun in the sky radiated a strong life force.

On the barren land, graves and black tombstones were everywhere. Many of them were slanted or broken. There were so many of them that they looked like clusters of short bushes on the deserted land.

However, the scene revealed a completely different picture in Lucien's eyes. The tombstones, the graves, the rivers, and the filthy clouds connected with each other in a way that was too complicated even to him. The complicacy of the structure exceeded that of any spell structures that Lucien had ever seen, and even merely looking at it made Lucien feel dizzy and weak.

Lucien first ruled out all the illusionary images and then started analyzing it bit by bit. The work was hard, but Lucien was not aiming at figuring out the whole structure but only knowing the function of the ring.

Casting Identification from time to time, half an hour later, Lucien finally figured out where the control core of the ring was.

Withdrawing his spiritual power, Lucien said to Natasha exhaustedly, "I need to take a fifteen-minute break now. Then I'll stimulate the control core of the ring and activate the spiritual imprint left by Congus within. You seize the chance to wipe it off using Pale Justice."

During the past three years, Lucien had been working on many cutting-edge math problems with the arcanists from Tower including Levski, therefore, the legendary-level structure within the ring was not completely out of his comprehension. He was actually able to use some smarter ways to crack it. However, because of Lucien's lack of Necromancy knowledge and his relatively low level, although he had no problem with math, he still had to refer to violence. But with the adequate support of his knowledge, using violence would be much easier now.

"You can find a way to stimulate it? It's a legendary-level ring." After knowing that Lucien did not get any feedback from Identification, Natasha's previous excitement faded away. Sometimes, a legendary level item did not bring one good fortune or power, but spelled a disaster, especially when the difference between the levels was too big.

Lucien smiled, although his face still looked a bit pale. "Why not? Come one, I probably can become a grand arcanist before turning thirty. I can at least roughly figure out a legendary structure."

In front of the woman he admired, every man would try to show off his capability, no matter how old he was.

"When I first got to know you, I didn't realize you were this smart. Honestly speaking, every time when I saw you guys playing with those numbers and shapes, I was always very impressed, although I can't quite understand." Natasha rubbed her chin and changed her tone as if she was talking to a junior. "But be careful, as I was told that overstraining your brain would make you turn bald."

Natasha did receive a full set of magic apprentice curriculum when she was young. Her mother taught her pretty much about everything except for meditation, including spell-casting, math, geometry, Element, Electromagnetism, Force Field, Astrology. Her mother hoped that Natasha could become a profound noble lady.

In other words, Natasha had at least a high school diploma if it had been in today. Besides, she also knew history, fighting, coat of arms, and manners very well.

Lucien was a bit amused. "You think a sorcerer can't deal with alopecia?"

"Well… I think you're right, but lots of nobles are worrying about it. Maybe you can help. It's always your motivation, isn't it? To benefit the public using magic." said Natasha.

The topic of their conversation kept drifting like all the time.

When Lucien first mentioned his ambition in front of Natasha, his words impressed Natasha greatly. Although as a top noble, Natasha could hardly fully understand the lives of the ordinary folks, there was no doubt to her that there was a lot of money for the nobles to dig in for in Lucien's idea, and the country could also thrive from it.

Evans Hair Tonic? Lucien thought to himself.

But he wasn't a big fan of the product name at all. He shot a glance at Natasha and then shook his head in great determination. "Enough. Let's start."

Natasha was quite content that her joke caught Lucien again. So she got more serious and held the sword tight again.

Lucien took a deep breath and again extended his spiritual power onto the ring. This time, his spiritual power did not just stay on the surface, but suddenly dived in, heading for the horrifying clusters of tombstones.

Then, based on his rough understanding of the place, Lucien came around the defense on the outside and then directly headed for one of the ordinary black tombstones.

A red line of epitaph suddenly appeared on it:

"This is the best place for confinement, as everyone will eventually be confined in this small coffin."

A name was inscribed underneath — Congus.

The scarlet words started distorting, turning into horrifying monster mouths, and they instantly tore Lucien's spiritual power apart into pieces. Behind the gravestone came out a blurry specter. Its eyes were shining in jade-green light.

"Now!" Lucien said aloud to Natasha through the telepathic bond. He was in agony as his spiritual power was suffering from the bitter impact.

This was the best chance!

Natasha was well prepared, and she fully trusted Lucien. Following Lucien's instruction, she hacked at the ring.

Greyish-white smoke was released from the ring, and it sounded like that the cluster of smoke was crying. However, under the power of Pale Justice, the smoke quickly disappeared.

Now the black ring looked very dim. The gloss on it earlier was now gone.

Lucien took some time to recover from the pain and started leaving his spiritual imprint in the ring. Meanwhile, Natasha kept staying alert in case there was a further trap left by Congus.

As soon as Lucien finished leaving the imprint, suddenly, the ring started sucking in Lucien's spiritual power like a huge vortex. Within seconds, pretty much all of Lucien's spiritual power had been drained. He had to turn to his Holm Crown ring, Origin, to get out the extra spiritual power that he saved earlier.

Meanwhile, Lucien seized the chance and turned the black hole in his cognitive world to the front, facing the huge spiritual power vortex! The two holes were like two suction pumps rivaling against each other!

The black hole finally distorted the entire space. The speed of Lucien losing his spiritual power suddenly slowed down. Then Lucien heard something snapped, and the suction from the ring instantly disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Asked Natasha concerned, seeing that Lucien's entire face had turned very pale.

Lucien sighed. "I did leave my spiritual imprint in it, but this ring is not something that I am able to use right now."

Then Lucien shared the information of the ring with Natasha through the telepathic bond:

"Congus Ring, level-one senior-rank legendary item. The wearer has to be close to the ninth circle, or he would be drained up of all spiritual power and turned into an idiot.

"The qualified wearer will be immune to all the magic spells from the first to eighth circle, immune to Confinement, Shadow Killer, Energy Drain, Command, and Banshee Howling. Also, the wearer will have a good defense against legendary-level spells in the field of necromancy and illusion, even if they are cast by a top legendary.

"The wearer's physical fitness, life force recovery speed, and physical defense will also be improved by to levels, reaching the limit of that of a gold knight. Meanwhile, there is also an extra level of magic resistance improvement up to level-two legendary, and the wearer will be immune to any toxin and disease spells lower than the legendary level, as well as some cursing spells based on necromancy power.

"In addition, the wearer is automatically cast with Advanced Invisibility (4th circle) and Advanced Speed (6th circle), unless the wearer chooses to deactivate them. Every day, the wearer can cast Confinement (9th circle) for four times, Undead Scourge (9th circle) for three times, and Time Stop (9th circle) for two times.

"Meanwhile, the ring contains horrible magic power that gives its wearer the ability to cast unimaginable legendary spells. The wearer will be able to cast Spirit Confinement twice a day, Demigod-lich Howling twice a day, and Undead Rampart once.

"This is a super powerful ring made by a formidable demigod-lich!

"Both death and confinement frighten people.

"Congus".

Natasha remained silent for a while and then sighed. "This is such a powerful ring. If Congus had chosen to use Time Stop, that would have been the end of us."

"I don't think so." Lucien shook his head and pointed at his left hand. "I have two demigods inside of my body. Although neither of them could fight directly, their mere presence can make me immune to many spells, including Time Stop. Congus for sure already knew about it."

The ninth-circle spell, Time Stop, only slowed down time-lapse within a small region. It was not for completely pausing time.

Natasha nodded, and then she sighed. "What a pity that you can't use it… I thought we'd have much hope surviving in the next day and a half."

"We can't, but someone else can. As long as we can find a target close to the ninth circle and control him, we can make him wear the ring for us. Then problem solved," said Lucien seriously.

Natasha's eyes lit up. "That's right! Especially that the false gods here in this world are not as powerful as those of the same level from our world! So the target you're talking about is…?"

"Ell, the Lord of Redemption." Lucien already had the answer.

Then he took out the crystal ball and started searching for Ell's whereabouts.

However, the crystal ball yielded no result at all. It never happened before.

Lucien frowned. "Something's wrong with Ell. I missed something."

"Try Francis. Maybe he's still around Ell." Natasha suggested.

Lucien nodded and started casting again. Then after a short while, Lucien suddenly looked up and said to Natasha, "Francis is very close to us! Maybe he's right in the Death Valley!"

Horoscope could not provide the exact location of Francis, but it's results were enough for Lucien to make a preliminary judgment based on it.

"Although we don't know what they're planning, it could be a chance for us," said Natasha. Then she turned to look at the ring, and disappointment was still in her eyes. "If we could use it, no matter what plan we take, it will be much easier."

Lucien smiled. "There are two ways to reach the ninth circle."

"What do you mean?" Natasha lifted one of her eyebrows.

Lucien continued. "First, your spiritual power will have to reach the ninth circle, but this isn't possible right now. So there's another way around: to have a fully substantialized cognitive world."

"So you are saying…" Natasha started having some clues.

Lucien nodded. "When I came up with New Alchemy, my cognitive world already reached close to the eighth circle. In other words, my arcana level is higher than my magic level."

Although one's arcana level came from the accumulation of arcana credits, therefore it seemed less reliable compared to the magic level, but to some degree, it reflected the level of one's cognitive world.

"But this still takes time. You don't have time to do research right now, do you?" Natasha asked.

Lucien picked up the ring and asked Natasha to go with him.

When they came out of the underwater cave and to the other side of the mountain, Lucien found another hiding cave and said to Natasha in a low voice.

"I don't have time right now, but I've been working on my research for long enough."

As he was speaking, Lucien took out piles of files from his pouch and said, "these are data collected by Mr. Douglas with regards to the satellites and the questions he came up with. For the past three years, I've been working on solving them."

"That's why when you called me, your voice sounded so close and clear, right?" Natasha recalled. "And when I asked you why you didn't answer."

"Yes." Lucien nodded seriously.

In the past three years, Lucien had been working with Levski and other arcanists on the Evans Geometry, which brought them lots of problems that could only be solved by tensor analysis. Therefore, Lucien had been working hard on deducing the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity.

Although Lucien had not progressed much in the latter, the former had already been almost ready!

The past three years of planning, accumulating, and waiting should finally fruit now!

Lucien unfolded his alchemy hut and started developing his paper under Natasha's curious stare.

"On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and Mass-energy Equation."

Outside of the cave, the sun had completely set down..

Chapter 497: Time and Space

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

It was rather cold in the mountains at night. The summer heat had gradually faded away. When the light breeze found its way into the cave, both Lucien and Natasha felt very refreshed.

Natasha watched Lucien spread the parchment roll in great curiosity. Lucien activated the magic circle, turned on the crystal light, and picked up the quill-pen.

It wasn't her first time seeing an arcanist writing a paper, but she never knew that an arcanist could focus on developing his paper in such an environment and such a dangerous situation. Lucien always surprised her.

Holding her breath, Natasha watched Lucien finish writing down the title of the paper and start working on the introduction.

"The paper is developed on the basis of the relativity principle and the principle of the constancy of light velocity. Therefore, the preconditions are as follows:"

Howling of beasts came from distance.

And louder howling followed. Together, they sounded intimidating.

Natasha was a bit startled, then she murmured to herself, joking. "When night arrives, it is the beasts' and animals' turn to start their day."

She was a big fan of Arcana Voice, which was recorded and sent to her by Lucien, and learned quite some new collocations and expressions with the radio programme.

Natasha then tried to follow Lucien's deduction. She wanted to see how much she could understand.

After the first part in which Lucien had some difficulties in progressing, he started to write faster and faster. Lines, formulas, and equations flowed out of his quill-pen like a river. Natasha felt a bit dizzy chasing the lines, so she immediately shook her head and looked up. Her eyes caught the profile of Lucien's face under the light. The serious and devoted look on his face made him rather attractive.

Her left hand holding her right elbow and her right hand rubbing her chin, Natasha looked at Lucien carefully. From time to time, she said to herself in a low voice.

"What a pity…"

...

In an oasis in the eastern desert, a building complex floated in the air like a palace.

Among the buildings, the one that took up that most space was a Church with a tall cross in the front. In the back of it was a study decorated very simply, and in the study was the Pope, Benedict II who looked like an ordinary old man wearing a soft hat. He was reading the information sent back from all patrolled areas while taking a sip of his black tea from time to time.

Suddenly, Benedict II's right hand trembled. The white teacup fell from his hand. But when it almost hit the ground, it seemed to be caught by the wind and flew back to Benedict II's hand.

Slightly frowning, Benedict II put down the teacup and walked to the window. Staring at the starry sky, he felt his breath a bit heavy.

He did not know what had just happened. But he knew it was something big.

He took a deep breath and then took out his staff. He prayed in a low voice, seeking for an indication from his God.

But he received no answers. Benedict II wondered if a fight just took place between Alterna and the existence in the World of Souls.

...

To the east of the stormy ocean, along the coast were a number of magic towers.

In one of the magic towers, Douglas, the Lord of Storm, and Hathaway were discussing their next step. The Lord of Storm just came back from his search which had proved in vain. Meanwhile, Oliver and Thanatos were searching in the marsh in the east, chasing after a legendary-level false god. The false god itself was a black dragon, somehow worshipped by some human beings and other dragons, and thus reached the legendary level because of the power of faith. Acclaiming itself to be the Dark Dragon Lord.

Hellen the Witch of Iceland and Hathaway just had their duty shift. The former had returned to Allyn to safeguard the headquarter.

"Don't worry too much, Fernando. No news is good news." Douglas comforted the Lord of Storm.

The Lord of Storm disputed, hiding his true feeling. "Why would I worry? Lucien's always hiding so many secrets and research outcomes. He's the biggest trouble himself!"

"If there's no bigger story behind, Lucien should be safe," Hathaway commented briefly.

In Hathaway's eyes, Lucien's intelligence and resourcefulness should be able to keep himself intact.

"But if there is one…" said Fernando gloomily. His red eyes opened big. Outside of the magic tower, dark clouds started gathering because of Fernando's anger.

They were grand arcanists. Grand arcanists did not believe in coincidence. Facing all the things that had happened, they already had some rough ideas about what was going on.

As they were talking, Douglas seemed to sense something and looked out of the window. He saw that on the other side of the magic tower, the sun was slowly rising. The morning glow dyed the ocean red.

The view was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. However, in Douglas's eyes, the ocean now looked like a horrible blood pool.

"What happened?"

"It's good, but also not good…"

As an expert in Astrology and Force Field, Douglas could even rival the Prophet in making a prophecy.

Both Fernando and Hathaway looked out of the window. They had no idea what just happened, but they somehow felt contradictory feelings of oppression and freedom in their hearts.

...

Natasha did not get bored at all watching Lucien working on his paper, instead, she actually found this to be entertaining. After a while, she looked around, feeling a bit confused. Somehow, she felt that space and time were changing.

The paper became longer and longer. Lucien's good effort in the past three years was now driving his cognitive world one step further, a vital step!

Lucien's cognitive world started emerging around him. In his cognitive world, there were stars orbiting fast, rays shooting out, elements radiating and releasing particle flows, and all of them were experiencing a series of wonderful changes. It seemed that the forever= isolated river of time in his cognitive world suddenly started interacting with space, energy, and all kinds of matters. They were integrating into each other!

A silent storm was forming in Lucien's cognitive world, and the power of the storm was formidable. The structure of time and space in Lucien's cognitive world had completely deviated from the frame and description set up by Douglas and Brook. His cognitive world was getting closer and closer to the truth of the world and was now more complete.

When the deduction almost came to the end, Lucien's cognitive world had finally been fully substantialized!

Lucien did not stop here. He then turned to work on producing the mass-energy formula.

It did not take long. Lucien took a deep breath and wrote it down.

"E=mc^2"

Bang! As soon as the simple but profound formula settled down on the parchment, the element light spots in Lucien's cognitive world split over and rejoined each other. The procedure released formidable power and pushed the other reflections in this cognitive world to the margin.

Bang! At her first glance, Natasha could feel the great power of destruction and booming vitality the formula had. But when she tried to take a closer look at it, the feeling was gone.

Bang! A mushroom cloud rose up from the union of elements, within which there was an extremely complex but still incomplete structure.

Bang! Somehow Natasha turned to look at the entrance of the cave. Against the small piece of sky she could see, an illusionary blazing sun suddenly appeared. Meanwhile, all the beasts' howling had returned to silence.

Bang! The Pope also saw the white sun in the sky. Its intimidating power and light overwhelmed the light of all the stars in the sky.

Bang! The grand arcanists' sights slightly froze as they looked towards the seaside, where the new sun rose up to the left of the orange morning sun!

Bang! Ell could not help raising his right hand to block his eyes. Somehow, he was a bit afraid of the new sun.

But after Natasha's one single blink, the sun had disappeared. It was still very dark outside, the burning sun was nowhere to be seen.

The howling resumed, but now the beasts were crying in fear.

Benedict II blinked. When his eyes opened again, the stars were still bright and clear in the night sky, as if what had just happened was only an illusion.

Benedict II's eyes stared at the far side of the sky. He remained silent for a long time. Even he did not understand what just happened. He felt that his heart was thudding heavily.

In the magic tower beside the ocean, Douglas asked, half out of curiosity and half out of worry. "Did anyone just crack the secret of the sun? But why did we also see it? The half-substantialization of one's cognitive world can indeed affect the real world, but that was too much…"

The half-substantialization of one's cognitive world which affected the real world was a sign of reaching legendary.

Hathaway shook her head. "Might now be legendary. Remember this world is different, the strange things constraining spiritual power."

Douglas nodded in agreement. Then he looked at Fernando who did not say a further word. "What is it, Fernando?"

The Lord of Storm rubbed his brows. "I think it might be Lucien. I gotta find him as soon as possible. Now he might be on his way to destroy the world."

As a loyal listener of Arcana Voice, Fernando had learned quite a few of trending phrases.

"It is possible." Hathaway nodded. "But we don't know where he is."

"At least we know he's still alive." Douglas comforted them.

...

Natasha saw Lucien put down his quill-pen. She asked gently. "Has your cognition word substantialized?"

"Yup, should be able to put on the ring now," answered Lucien, who was still feeling the changes in his cognitive world.

Natasha released a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "what are those formulas about?"

"Basically, they are proving that time slows down when you move approaching the speed of light. Meanwhile, space contracts, and mass increases. So when something's moving very, very fast, clocks run more slowly, and an object's length is measured to be shorter…" Lucien tried to explain them as simple as possible. "And energy can be converted to mass and mass to energy."

Natasha knew some basics about it, but she was now still more than confused and shocked, "They are related? But… but shouldn't time and space be independent from each other? Technically speaking, space and time should just be… you know, measurements…"

Before Lucien tried to explain further, she hurriedly said, "put it more simple, please."

Lucien thought to himself for a while and then said very seriously, "to put it simple, mass is energy, energy is mass; time is space, and space is time!"

The howling of beasts from afar became more and more bitter.

Chapter 498: Prototypes of Magic

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Natasha's lips twitched. She wisely ended the topic. Such missions whose brief introduction was already dizzying enough were best to be left for the arcanists to understand.

She eyed Lucien up and down and asked half curiously and half concernedly, "What else have you achieved except for the substantiation of the cognitive world to the ninth circle? I'm told by both Grandma Hathaway and my mother that when similar research results were made, the cognitive world would interact with the corresponding mechanisms in the real world and yield different magic models. Considering the great noises you caused just now, you must've invented a few new magics, right? Are they about time and space, mass and energy?

The changes of the cognitive world was a main sign that marked the advancement of high-level sorcerers. Half-substantiation corresponded to the senior-rank, substantiation corresponded to archmage, and half-solidification and influencing the real world with projections corresponded to legendary.

"I gained two prototypes of legendary spells, about how mass could be transformed into energy." Lucien understood that they were the incomplete magic structure of fission and fusion. On the other hand, while his cognitive world about the structure of time and space had also changed, he lacked theories that could directly work on them. The best he could do was to optimize the spells such as Time Stop to make them simpler and easier to learn. In order to achieve the legendary spells that could really control time and space, he would have to wait until the general theory of relativity or quantum theory was released.

However, Lucien was the only one who could've obtained the structure of fission and fusion, the two legendary spells, because he was the one who proposed the model of the atomic nucleus and the decay. He was aware of the two phenomena and the chain reaction. If it were anybody else, even if they had deduced the energy-mass formula, they would've needed to learn the relevant knowledge first and made breakthroughs in corresponding research in order to have interaction.

Natasha was immediately attracted. "Legendary spells? No wonder… Lucien, what are you planning to name them?"

The invention of a legendary spell was always difficult. Seeing it with her own eyes gave her a feeling that she was witnessing history, particularly when the inventor was only in his twenties.

"Evans' Little Boy? Lucien's Big Ivan?" Replied Lucien casually.

According to the incomplete magic model, the fusion magic currently required top legendary in order to be constructed within the soul without hindering his usage. The more familiar he was with it and the deeper his knowledge was, the more powerful it would be and the fewer requirements there would be. However, even after he completely grasped it, it had to be released by a sorcerer that's at least at the level-two legendary level through the remote projection spells, magic extension, magic delay and the cooperation of refined materials.

The fission magic, on the other hand, should be able to be constructed by a level-one legendary, after it was fully analyzed through relevant experiments and magics. If there were refined materials, it would be possible for a ninth circle to perform it, too. Thinking about that, Lucien couldn't help but fantasize. "I wonder if the fusion magic will turn into helium flash or gamma-ray burst when it is beyond the demigod level. That will definitely be world-destroying…"

Hearing the two names, Natasha immediately grimaced at Lucien's groin. "I don't think the two names are very good. They seem to be implying the two different states of the same object. You may want to change them."

Lucien was immediately embarrassed. It was indeed as expected of "gentleman" Natasha. He waved his hands and said, "The magic model is still incomplete. Let's consider the names later after they are completed."

"Okay. I'll come and help you name one of the legendary magics. I'm very good at words!" Natasha decided to take over the interesting job, although she was kind enough to leave one of the names to Lucien. "Right, what kind of magic will they be like?"

Lucien briefly described them. As she listened, Natasha couldn't help but turn around and look at the dark night outside. In shock, she remarked joyfully, "Perhaps, you will be given titles such as God of Sun, or Eternal Scorch."

"I don't that I can achieve it even if I advance into the level of the God of Truth…" Lucien replied frankly and continued to influence Natasha's religious stance, trying to make her God really retreat to the spiritual domain. It was a long-term, arduous job that concerned his future happiness. Lucien did not intend to let go of it.

Natasha thought carefully for a moment. "The power of God's Arrival was far from the ultimate view that you just described. However, it might have been because the power was reserved and controlled accurately. What a shame. Your 'Little Boy' is still incomplete, and we do not have magic materials of sufficient purity and quality. Otherwise, we could establish a magic trap that is a curse on the surface and a nuclear bomb below. Then, chances are that we could kill the Demigod-lich one more time with the cooperation of the Congus Ring.

For now, she referred to the magics with the names Lucien randomly came up with.

"Things will never go as smoothly as we imagine. Also, although my cognitive world has turned substantial, my spiritual power is still in the seventh circle, and I am still a half-seventh-circle sorcerer who hasn't constructed the seventh-circle magic yet. My spiritual power from the ninth circle is not so close. Even though it is significantly improved because of the influence of the two demigods, I estimate that my spiritual power will reach the eighth circle at best a week later. It will take years before I advance into the ninth circle.

Lucien evaluated his status objectively without any frustration. He said with a smile, "Our original purpose was to put on 'Congus Ring' to increase our chances of survival. Since the purpose has been fulfilled, there's nothing to regret."

Although it was possible that Congus' head would explode if the paper was directly 'thrown' to him, Lucien believed that Congus must've learnt the lesson that he should not read or pick up Lucien's stuff carelessly after suffering two setbacks.

While talking, Lucian put on the black, iron ring that had vintage stripes.

The moment it touched his flesh, it started to absorb Lucien's spiritual power crazily. As his spiritual power quickly faded away, his cognitive world began to slightly shake, but the substantiation space and projection rapidly increased his spiritual power and slowed the flow.

After a few seconds, the crazy absorption slowed down. The black surface of the ring lost the previous dimness and emitted cold, weird metal colors.

Lucian moved his body and exclaimed in surprise, "Magic resistance, healthy, physical defense and the other qualities that 'Congus Ring' improve can coexist with the effects of other magic items, provided that they do not surpass its upper limits. This is truly a 'divine item'!"

In such a way, even if Lucien did not transform, he would have the magic resistance of the eighth circle and the body quality of a level-five knight.

"Also, it nullifies and weakens a lot of magics." Natasha observed 'Congus Ring' in amazement.

Lucien shook his head with a smile. "Nullification does not always work and can be avoided. For example, the hostile spells may target the environment instead of me and then hurt me by the changes in the environment. Also, after I put on the ring, I cannot cast magic defense below the ninth circle on myself. However, the spells prepared in advance will not be affected. So, it will depend on the actual circumstance whether or not to wear the ring."

"All in all, you can perform the legendary magic now. We will not be as helpless as before when we are faced with Demigod-lich again. Where are we going next?" Although it was only midnight, and there was still one day left before Demigod-lich arrived, Natasha knew very well that the better prepared they were, the more hopeful they would be.

Rubbing the ring, Lucien said, "One legendary magic will be enough to drain the power of the ring itself, as well as my own spiritual power. Therefore, we have to find the best opportunity. Now, let's go to the Death Valley to 'find' Ell."

"Didn't you already put on the ring? There's no need to catch Ell again, is there?" Natasha was somewhat confused.

Lucien smiled. "Something is wrong with Ell. We have to investigate it in case of any accident. Also, it is exactly because I have put on the ring that we need to catch Ell. Demigod-lich couldn't have seen it coming that I could substantialize my cognitive world or put on the ring so quickly. Then, if he sees us together with Ell, who do you think he will be wary of?"

Because Alterna and mysteries existences from the World of Souls were attached to him, Lucien was bold enough to make plans about trapping a legendary sorcerer. Otherwise, it was possible that Demigod-lich already sensed the danger the moment he settled his plan, like the Lord of the Undead.

"How cunning of you." Natasha observed.

"Alright, let's go." Lucien retreated to his alchemy table and his paper. He was about to start walking, when he thought of something else. "Natasha, you mentioned that I caused rather great noises?"

Natasha nodded affirmatively. "When you wrote the paper, there was a feeble feeling of time-and-space change around. By the time you were almost done, a new sun rose in the dark night outside, scorching and terrifying. The monsters and beasts were so scared that they are still crying at present. Although it lasted only one or two seconds, I'm certain that it was not an illusion."

"How did it happen?" Asked Lucien in surprise. Didn't such a phenomenon indicate the half-solidification of the cognitive world, which was starting to affect the real world? But he was still far away from legendary.

Interpreting his understanding to her, Lucien looked at Natasha in confusion, hoping that she could shed her insight.

Natasha looked at Lucien helplessly. "I'm terrible at such things. Well, perhaps it's because this world is unique. After all, even the spiritual power and the willpower are suppressed."

"Perhaps…" Lucien considered the possibility but did not think it through. In the meantime, he noticed the brilliance of Asin's godhood on Natasha's left arm. His lips cramped, but he decided not to remind her and simply wait for it to die away.

Natasha, on the other hand, noticed Lucien's eyes. She turned her head and looked at her left arm. "Is this God's Glory?"

"You can see it?" Lucien was even more surprised.

Natasha blinked her eyes, having no clue why Lucien was so surprised. She said innocently, "I can see it all the time, and so can other people. What's wrong?"

"That can't be right. In the main material world, people without special methods or items cannot see God's Glory." Lucien believed that Natasha was not lying to him. Then, Ell provided the laurel box at the beginning only because Francis, Jacob and the rest of them could not touch God's Glory, not because they could not see it?

"Perhaps, it's because this world is idiosyncratic." Natasha proposed the same reason. She was really not good at such things.

Lucien paced back and forth. "The idiosyncrasies of this world… God's Glory, according to my hypothesis, is the amalgamation of special electromagnetic waves. Then, how can they be seen by untrained people?"

Suddenly, Lucien had an epiphany. "Perhaps it's because the magnetic field of the body and soul of the intelligent creatures of this world are slightly different from that of the main material world. It makes their power of faith stronger and easier to disperse. Also, because the fake gods in this place do not have specific doctrines and rituals, the special electromagnetic waves that is 'power of faith' mostly leak and spread out in the air, causing severe electromagnetic contamination that suppresses the spiritual power which is also likely to be an electromagnetic wave. Does it mean that the release of willpower is also based on electromagnetic waves?"

"By the same logic, because the special electromagnetic waves of different 'frequencies' are all over the place, godhood will 'interact' with part of them, resulting in the brilliance. That's why it can be seen by ordinary people. When my cognitive world changed, it reverberated with certain electromagnetic waves in the outside worlds and caused the anomalies."

"However, what about the projection and interaction of the real world, and what about the new magic models? Perhaps, my previous guesses are just part of the truth but not the whole of it."

Looking at Lucien's meditative look and hearing his murmur, Natasha comforted him with a smile, "It must be the mysteries of the highest level and cannot be figured out all of a sudden. Let's take our time. We can find intelligent creatures and study the differences of their magnetic field later."

"Yes, Demigod-lich is what matters most right now." Lucien stopped thinking and hinted at Natasha to leave for the Death Valley together with him.

At this moment, Natasha laughed like a fox. "I thought of something. Asin, that 'God of Love and Beauty', seemed to have been a male centaur in the past, as proved by his dead body. However, after he melted part of godhood, he turned into a beautiful lady."

While talking, she rubbed 'God's Glory' on her left arm, although she could not feel anything.

"No random thoughts." Lucien looked at her solemnly.

Natasha cackled and said, "Am I such an inconsiderate girl? The godhood conflicts with your cognitive world. How can I use it when it will harm you? Huh, I need to ask Grandma Hathaway to build an extraordinary item with the godhood. Do you think I should make an earring, a ring, or a belt, a tiara, a long skirt?"

"A longsword." Replied Lucien emotionlessly.

Natasha asked in surprise, "Why?"

"A longsword forged with the godhood of a senior-rank fake god can only be wielded by a radiant knight or a talented ordinary knight. Therefore, nobody will take it away by mistake." Lucien continued emotionlessly.

Natasha chuckled and said, "that works too. How do you think it should be named?"

Lucien thought for a moment and suddenly said in amusement. "It will be the Sword of Contract and Victory. When the young man draws the longsword, his fate is changed."

Then, ignoring Natasha's confusion, Lucien walked out of the cave.

Chapter 499: What You Want Is What You See

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

When they approached Death Valley, both Lucien and Natasha found it hard to believe their eyes. The valley in the darkness lost the gloom and scariness that it was famous for in the tales. It was covered in a mist, and the devastating cries of ghosts were gone. Indescribable tranquility was spreading out, making the intruders reluctant to disrupt the deepest sleep. Also, as they looked at the horizon, they could vaguely see the mild and sacred brilliance from the valley.

"Is this the Death Valley?" Natasha looked back at the cold, creepy forest to make sure that they were not in the wrong place.

Frightening roars were still echoing in the forest now and then, suggesting that the dead slaves of Demigod-lich were still searching for Lucien and Natasha.

Lucien shook his head. "This is exactly Death Valley. It seems that something is really wrong with Ell. I'm going to sneak in for reconnaissance with The Eyes first. We cannot break in recklessly."

Then, Lucien took off 'Congus Ring' first and cast many defense and alarm spells on Natasha and himself. Then, he took out the crystal ball and rubbed it, allowing it to spit out a dark meatball the size of a thumb, which had deep wrinkles all over the surface.

The meatball suddenly opened, revealing a pale eye that was filled with black lines. Then, it split into nine and melted into the darkness while they flew towards Death Valley.

Lucien, on the other hand, followed them with Natasha and hid themselves in the hollows in the cliffs not far away from Death Valley. The spiritual power was severely suppressed in this world. Even the reconnaissance magic like 'The Eyes' had been greatly shortened.

The unusual darkness inside the crystal ball was gone and replaced by the view that The Eyes saw. They were sneaking into Death Valley from different angles.

"Is that…" Pointing at a certain part inside the crystal ball, where a ghoul-like creature more than two meters tall was entering Death Valley cautiously without any knowledge of The Eye behind it, Natasha asked, "… Congus's spectral slave?"

"It should be. Considering the time elapsed, they must be done searching the woods. Also, Congus is still in the main material world and cannot remotely command them. Well, it is a Soul Catcher." Lucien slightly frowned.

Natasha did not know the monsters as well as Lucien did. She asked curiously, "A Soul Catcher? It sounds rather intimidating."

"Yes, it is a weird and strong spectre. Don't be tricked by its ghoul-like appearance. Look at what is below its rotten abdomen." Lucien explained gladly, reminding Natasha that she should not underestimate such creatures in the future.

For a better view, Natasha leaned on Lucien without any reluctance. Her perfume could be smelled clearly, which made him blush slightly.

"There are three tiny but vivid faces on its ribs. They are in obvious pain." As The Eye changed direction, Natasha finally saw the front side of the Soul Catcher.

Lucien pointed at the abdomen of the Soul Catcher. "Those are the souls of the creatures it has killed. Since there are three prisoners, it means that it is a Soul Catcher that has mutated, equaling to the senior rank. Those souls can bring it enough energy to use abilities similar to magic. It can be regarded as a caster of the same rank who is good at Necromancy and Illusion. When it is attacked by magic, the magic effects and the damages of certain types will be transferred to the three souls. Until the three souls are destroyed, the Soul Catcher will be utterly unaffected, and the enemy's magic will be rendered useless."

"Of course, the magic in the category of physical attack works much better on them. For knights, the most important thing is not to mistake them for ghouls or to be hurt by their magic-like abilities."

Dimples appeared on Natasha's face. "They are indeed weird. Let The Eye follow it and see what changes it will bring to Death Valley."

Lucien would've done the same thing even if she hadn't said so. He already asked one of The Eyes to followed the Soul Catcher quietly.

Inside Death Valley, the exuberant vines blocked the starlight, making the place dark and silent.

As the Soul Catcher and The Eye moved deeper, the darkness was thicker and thicker, and fewer and fewer things could be seen on the crystal ball. Finally, all the nine scenes fell into complete dark, as if they were caught in the unusual nothingness created by extraordinary forces.

Lucien tried to power The Eyes, but his command had no response from anything. The nine Eyes seemed to have been completely melted into the darkness.

Suddenly, a gentle light arose on the crystal ball, illuminating the Soul Catcher. It was fighting an angel who had a pair of wings in the back. Ahead of them was the realm of light that looked like dawn.

It was not until then that Lucien realized that six of the nine Eyes had been lost. Apart from the one following the Soul Catcher, only two passed the darkness ahead.

"An angel? What is this place exactly?" Natasha exclaimed in the telepathic bond.

Lucien hurried to control the other two eyes to change their directions, circumvent the battle, and move deeper inside.

The Soul Catcher was rather strong, and it did not take long before it killed the 'angel'. It intended to press on, only to be surrounded by more and more angels. There were even many Virtues and Cherubim that had four wings. However, their arrival only made it easier for Lucien's Eye to sneak in.

The view of The Eyes became clearer. Natasha's scarlet lips opened and shivered beyond her control.

It was a beach gently patted by waves. On the beach, pure souls were playing distant and yet pleasant hymns with harps and other musical instruments, while they let out devout and magnificent prayers:

"Praise the Almighty Lord, praise the omniscient and omnipotent Savior…"

The whole beach was enshrouded in sacred brilliance, as if it were in the middle of a cluster of light. Far away from the beach, there was a city with twelve gates, which had the same length, width and height, and which was decorated with agates, jades and other gems. Above the city, there seemed to be six similar divine domains, and the same merry scenes could be found in four of them.

The two floors on the top were beyond the sight of The Eyes. However, both Lucien and Natasha could guess what was in them.

"Blasphemy! This is the greatest blasphemy! Who has duplicated Mountain Paradise?" Natasha was never too obsessed about the content and theological knowledge on the church classics. That was why she could be influenced by Lucien and live in peace with him. However, the blatant mimicry stimulated her piety and made her feel that the builder was full of maliciousness.

"You are one, and everyone. You are the moment, and forever…"

The hymns and prayers came over through the crystal ball. Lucien slightly frowned. Even the prayers and rituals in the Saint Truth's Cannon had been copied, too? What did Francis want? Did he really want Ell to be a 'duplicate God of Truth'?

Got to say that it's rather creative… Lucien secretly complimented, but when he turned around, he discovered that Natasha was so infuriated that her hands were shivering. However, since Lucien was still in danger, and the most important enemy right now was the Demigod-lich, she did not indulge herself but held back her anger.

Lucien was more or less moved. He couldn't help but extend his left hand and grab Natasha's left hand that was not holding the sword, pressing it gently to give her warmth and comfort.

Natasha subconsciously retreated her left hand, but she soon understood what Lucien meant. Her eyes turned gentle, and she slightly nodded her head, hinting that she was alright. When her hands stopped shaking, she slightly exerted her strength and withdrew her left hand.

Apart from the dance and the escape, it was the first time that Natasha and Lucien had held their hands. Both of them fell into a brief silence, thinking about their own things.

At this moment, a man in a white robe, with six pairs of illusionary wings on his back, appeared above the crowd of angels. He slashed down with his sword, turning into a black hydra that suppressed the Soul Catcher. It seemed that the senior-rank spectre would be killed shortly.

"Francis did this?" Natasha was aware that Francis was once Ell's follower, but she did not expect that he would become a counterfeit Seraph.

Lucien hurried to prove his innocence. "To obtain intelligence, I once transformed and blended into Ell's church. I ran into Francis there. He was adept at theology and had been alluring Ell to be the God of Truth. This Mountain Paradise must've been fabricated under his instruction."

As for his participation in the deception when he hoped to learn about the growth of the God of Truth from close up, it must not be learnt by Natasha!

"It's him! Isn't he a night watcher? How could he have committed such blasphemy?" Natasha tried to hold back her shock.

Lucian was equally shocked. "He is a night watcher?"

Before, Lucien had been too anxious when he was hunted to ask Natasha why she would cooperate with Francis. The man was a night watcher of the South Church? He was more like a blasphemer than Lucian, the Fallen Angel at the nineteenth on the Cleansing List!

Natasha nodded seriously. "At first, I did not know that he was a night watcher. Danniel, the Fire of Purification, and Masada, the cardinal, did not know it, either. However, when Francis spoke to them in private, he seemed to have offered certain tokens that won their trust. Then, they told me that Francis was the 'Thinker', who ranked the twelfth among the night watchers. He is a mysterious night watcher who only has a code name."

"It was said that he was deployed to the North Church as a spy. For that, his name appeared on the Cleansing List. He was another man of mysteries whose files were kept confidential."

"Did he really betray and join the North Church? No. The North Church couldn't have tolerated such blasphemy, either. Did he have another identity?" Lucien smelled the scent of a double spy.

Natasha shook her head. "In any case, whatever his purpose is, such blasphemy must be punished. After we are really out of danger, or if you decide to attack Ell, I will execute him in person."

However grave… Lucien secretly wiped his cold sweat, only to discover that Natasha was looking at him in a fake smile. "You once joined Ell's church. You must've contributed to the blasphemy, didn't you?"

Lucien was about to deny it, when Natasha said solemnly, "Don't lie to me."

Thinking for a moment, Lucien confessed to the role he played, the 'efforts' he made, and his purpose to study the mysteries of the gods. "… I did not hold any ill intentions. It was all meant to study the truth of this world."

"I know that you've been trying to influence me," Natasha suddenly sighed, "Perhaps because my attitude towards the Lord was affected by my mother and Grandmother Hathaway in the first place, I did not attach much importance to the Cannon and the Doctrines. The Lord is more like a cornerstone of chivalry. Therefore, I can accept your arcana studies. Perhaps, the Lord will completely turn into a spiritual symbol for me in front of your research results and the undeniable facts, but not now. I have my own boundaries. I hope that you can respect me. You are free to do whatever you want in private, but don't let me see it."

Lucien promised very solemnly, "Okay."

After the communication, both of them seemed to have dropped some burdens. They continued observing the 'Mountain Paradise' in Death Valley.

Suddenly, the black, white and grey on Lucien's left hand spread out, consolidating him again.

Under the influence of Alterna up ahead, the frequency of the pieces falling out of control seemed to be growing.

Solemnly, Natasha slashed Lucien with Pale Justice. After three slashes, the monotonous colors were broken and recalled. In the meantime, The Eyes were swallowed by the holy light when they lost Lucien's control.

"Let's evacuate first," Lucien proposed, "We haven't figured out what is wrong with Ell yet, and this divine domain is his home field. We cannot attack recklessly. At least, we need to draw him out."

Because the magics on Congus Ring worked on the outside world, Lucien feared that it would lose the cover of Silver Moon Alterna, which would raise Demigod-lich's wariness and make him realize that Lucien could use the ring. Therefore, Lucien intended to 'catch' Ell via other magics.

Hardly had he concluded his sentence when someone flew out of Death Valley. It was exactly Ell, whose target was Lucien and Natasha!

Chapter 500: Relief

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"No bait is needed. He's already out." Natasha was smiling in the telepathic bond, obviously making fun of Lucien's 'prophecy.'

Ell was still wearing a crown of olive flowers and a white robe, but he appeared more hallow and tranquil. Holy light was vaguely flowing on his skin, and seven floors of Mountain Paradise were reflected in his eyes, making him even more sacred and solemn.

Holding a longsword as dark as ink, he lunged at the two of them. Stinky, decayed fluids were dropping from the sword, only to be absorbed again by a mysterious force in circulation.

"He had been seeking to absorb the godhood in the fields of death and moon. It is possible that he was tempted by the pieces of the mysterious existence of the World of Souls and decided to check it. Such fake gods are susceptible to the attraction of clergy and godhood, to the point that they may lose their sanity." Although Lucien said that, he still found it odd. Ell was almost killed by him last time and was barely able to put up any resistance. Why was he charging at Lucien so confidently when he saw them again?

Lucien hurried to cast spells such as Bull's Strength and Bear's Endurance on to Natasha.

By the time Ell entered the range, Natasha wielded her sword and sprinted at him, and Lucien simply performed 'Advanced Dispel Magic'.

Ell, who was about to use Command, immediately saw the light on his body fading away, like blossoming fireworks. The two spells that he cast on himself in advance were immediately broken. In the meantime, Natasha had already flown to his front. Pale Justice was slashed down, raising an illusionary slash that could cut any material.

In haste, Ell raised his sword and blocked Pale Justice, only to be blown back by Natasha, losing his balance. He was too overwhelmed by the violent attacks to perform divine powers.

Lucien, on the other hand, activated the magic model unhurriedly. As his greenish eyes flashed, Ell immediately felt that his magic resistance plummeted. Therefore, the seven floors of Mountain Paradise in his eyes suddenly radiated, as if it were arriving at the real world. Bathed in the holy light, Ell grew significantly stronger, which led to the changes in the environment. The darkness ebbed, and the light surfaced again. Holiness and solemnity spread out, suppressing all the evil forces.

"Semi-illusory willpower frontier? Ell has advanced into a gold knight?" Lucien and Natasha exclaimed through the telepathic bond at the same time.

After three consecutive clashes, Natasha was forced to step back in midair. Then, Ell looked at Lucien with his sacred and pure eyes. "I command you to die…"

Before he finished the spell, Ell vanished into nothingness, because Lucien raised his right hand, which grabbed a scepter where a huge gem was embedded.

The bright, holy willpower frontier around was gone. Darkness embraced everything again.

"He is stronger than before, but he hasn't reached the level of a real gold knight. I can resist him." Natasha hurried to inform Lucien of her discovery."

Lucien slightly nodded. "He should be able to borrow the power of the divine domain within a certain range. No wonder he was bold enough to come out. However, the ability to use the power of the divine domain beyond the divine domain in itself suggests that Ell's capabilities are close to a gold knight. It seems that he has received abundant 'power of faith' after combining the God of Sun, the Mother God of the Earth, and other churches."

While talking, Lucien set up magic traps in specific locations according to Maze. At this moment, another shadow flew out of Death Valley, with six wings on its back. Surrounded by lightning, he had come to aid the 'Great God Ell'.

"The God of Thunder and Lightning, and now the Angel of Thunder and Lightning?" As the distance between them was shortened, Lucien recognized the bald, muscular male.

Solemnly, the Angel of Thunder and Lightning waved his wings and tried to stop Lucien's operation, but out of the blue, he vanished into thin air, too.

Observing Lucien perform Maze consecutively, Natasha remarked in amazement, "How marvelous magic is! You will never be scared of being outnumbered."

After setting up the magic trap, Lucien did not wait for the weird maze to end on its own but raised the Sun Staff to release Ell.

Ell seemed to have given up the idea of cracking the Maze. He was focused on enhancing himself with divine powers, but out of his expectation, Lucien canceled the maze after deploying only one trap. He was rather lost for a moment.

Black tentacles suddenly rose from the ground to the sky, entangling Ell. The elemental magic seemed to be from nature and was not under the suppression of Ell's divine willpower frontier. Also, the tentacles seemed immune to the damage of many different types.

In the meantime, Natasha lunged forward and stalled Ell whose activity had been limited, not giving him any chance to react.

Lucien's black eyes became fuzzy, and Ell was stunned where he was. In the next moment, Lucien stepped forward, and the light of intelligence in Ell's eyes was weakened to the minimum. He was like a beast that lost the ability to think.

Due to the Congus Ring and the substantiation of his cognitive world, the time cost for Lucien to cast spells had been reduced again. When he performed magic below the sixth circle, it was almost close to when he was wearing the fake Davey's Robe.

"It works really well to deal with fake gods who are prone to godhood through Distraction and Retardation." Lucien flew to the front of Ell, who had been controlled by Natasha. His eyes became deep and dark. At a closer look, one would also notice stars spinning in sophisticated, captivating traces.

Ell grunted, and his eyes gradually became clear. However, he looked more respectful than ever. He said in a low voice, "At your service."

"Very good." Lucien nodded his head and gave 'instructions'.

"I feel that fake gods are rather easy to deal with. If it were a level-eight radiant knight who had a semi-illusionary willpower frontier, your Distraction and Retardation would've been weathered through by their willpower." Said Natasha half in confusion and half in amusement.

Lucien nodded and replied, "fake gods are terribly formidable in certain aspects, but their weaknesses are just as significant. For example, I cannot deal with Ell with magic in terms of Necromancy, Earth or Hypnotization. Those aspects are the focus of his clergy. So, most of the effects will be diminished, if not nullified. Also, since the battlefield is in Death Valley, the illusionary magics will also be suppressed by the divine powers, and it is not so easy to make them work."

Pausing for a moment, Lucien whispered to Natasha through the telepathic bond, "It is rather strange that we have taken him down without running into any danger, particularly when we expected that something was wrong with Ell beforehand."

"Wasn't it caused by the divine domain that's a duplication of Mountain Paradise? Perhaps, your astrology just now was inclined to the Lord. That's why you found nothing." Natasha offered her opinion, but she was not certain about it, because Lucien was the expert in this regard.

Lucien decided to try again. He took out the crystal ball and performed astrology again. This time, when the sky of fate was displayed inside the crystal ball, Ell's Host Star of Destiny was clearly revealed.

"Did I really foretell the God of Truth just now?" Lucien shook his head in confusion. Looking at Ell who showed no anomaly under his control, he said to Natasha, "Perhaps what you said is true, but why did Ell's fate overlap with the God of Truth's inside the divine domain?"

"It was not an overlap but a deviation of your prophecy." Natasha disapproved it quickly. If she acknowledged the overlap, wouldn't she be acknowledging that Ell was the God of Truth or His incarnation? That would've been a heartless satire and blow to her belief.

Lucien stopped wondering. "Let's go to the divine domain and try again. We can also kill Francis by the way and make arrangements to deal with Demigod-lich."

…

Inside Ell's divine domain, the Soul Catcher had already been killed, but Francis was already gone.

"So vigilant? No wonder he could be a spy in the North Church, and his name could be found both on the rank of night watchers and the Cleansing List." Natasha gnashed her teeth. Then, she found a secret spot with Lucien, where they performed astrology behind Ell.

"His Host Star of Destiny becomes fuzzy. Is it really because of the divine domain?" Frowning, Lucien looked at the fuzzy light spots inside the crystal ball. Then, he began to consider how to deal with Demigod-lich. "This divine domain that duplicates Mountain Paradise suppresses spectres badly. Demigod-lich will be greatly weakened here, and Ell will be boosted to the peak of a gold knight. Therefore, this will be the best battlefield to deal with Demigod-lich."

"Okay. We will attract Demigod-lich in the front, and Ell will 'ambush' him from the back. When Demigod-lich is distracted, you will deal with him through legendary magic." Natasha proposed a rough plan.

Lucien said solemnly, "We have to control the timing accurately. Otherwise, there will be no way for us to resist Demigod-lich's magic except for 'Barrier of the Dead'. In such a way, everything will be exposed. Therefore, we have to rehearse repetitively."

"Also, Demigod-lich has Magic Trigger, Magic Order, and other magics on him. It will be highly unlikely to kill him with one legendary magic. We have to set up traps or magic circles that can disrupt the effects of Chaos Teleport, Shadow Jump, Blink, Shadow Well and other magics. Then, we will hide them with the power of the divine domain."

Since he did not know which of those magics Demigod-lich had selected for life-saving purposes, Lucien could only take random guesses according to the magic book based on his level. As a result, the preparation work was too tedious to be completed in one day. Therefore, Lucien chose a few most likely magics according to his prophecy and his experience.

Looking at Lucien preparing the magic traps wholeheartedly, Natasha rubbed her chin and said, "I finally understood what my teacher meant by saying, 'don't ever fight a prepared sorcerer'."

"This can only slightly increase our chances. The legendary are too strong to be taken down just by preparations in advance. Besides, we still have to lure him to come to the divine domain without getting killed." Lucien heaved a sigh.

Natasha raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I thought we were going to wait for him to come to this place."

Lucien shook his head and said, "he'll be alarmed if so. We'll circle the Death Valley according to this route. The moment our zone of activity is suppressed, we will return to the valley."

While talking, Lucien squatted down and drew a map on the ground, illustrating the importance of positioning.

After he was done, Lucien rose and said, "Now, let's rehearse with Ell first in case we are caught unprepared."

The wind blew over and wiped the arrangements on the ground. Lucien sighed, "I hope none of them are used in the end, because it will mean that we did not run into Demigod-lich and successfully hid ourselves for the last day and a half. That's what I'm hoping for most."

"So am I. However, only by making full preparations can we ever be greeted by such luck." Natasha patted Lucien's shoulder in a smile. Then she asked in the telepathic bond, "Right, why did you secretly control the Angel of Lightning and Thunder through Command just now?"

Looking at the holy light and listening to the hymns ahead, Lucien replied in a smile, "In case of accidents."

…

A day later, when it was almost midnight, the ever-rising howls in the dark forest came to an abrupt halt, as if the place had become a hell of death and silence.