Knight and Wand

Chapter 316 Is This Still China?

Ines kept crouching and hiding between the pillars not far from Leon.

Although she was in danger, she did not feel panic or fear. The wonderful sense of security made Ines quietly look at Leon's back as he bent over and investigated everywhere.

Glancing sideways, she looked around the usually deserted Holy Sword Courtyard.

The environment filled with dim lights seemed like a dreamlike alien dimension. The ground beneath her feet emitted a faint glow, outlining winding light patterns. Ancient and mysterious runes flowed slowly along the magic patterns like the trajectory of stars. Even though she was not proficient in magic, Ines could feel the incomparable exquisiteness and depth from the complex patterns.

Leon was looking for clues in this magical structure and discovered that the magic circle under his feet was not a single piece, but two layers.

Below was the familiar style of complex Lorelit magic, with its surging magical light seeping out from underground. Just by probing, one could feel that the structure was unfathomable and deep underground. It was definitely not built overnight, and was likely built by the distant ancient Orlandon people.

However, the magic array engraved on the surface was obviously newly added, because the last time he came here, he did not see any traces of magic arrays around.

The magic that was suspected to be arranged by Mette and others was connected to the huge and complex secret ritual system in the palace, but it did not appear to be activated, as if its effect had been interrupted after running for only a period of time.

Is this the direct cause of everyone in the palace falling into a coma?

That would be troublesome. If this method was not a "lasting effect" but a one-time one, then even if he destroyed the magic circle set up by Mette and Vizmara, the people in the palace might not wake up immediately.

Realizing that the original idea would not work, Leon gritted his teeth and thought hard about other countermeasures.

Only two minutes after he landed here, he could already faintly hear the loud noises of the walls outside collapsing or being pierced.

Apparently, Mette and the others did not take a detour. The two warlock masters were crossing the complicated corridors of the back hall and chasing them towards the Holy Sword Courtyard.

Leon suppressed his anxiety, raised his head and looked around at the magical light patterns emerging from the ground. His mind raced, and his thoughts became clear.

In the first encounter, the spellcasters intercepted by the Dread Mountain Bear had obviously just broken in from outside the palace.

This means that their actions tonight have actually just begun.

But Mette and Vizmara had obviously sneaked into the palace early in the morning, otherwise it would be impossible for them to draw such a complex magic formation in just one night to connect the ancient magic structure under the Holy Sword Courtyard.

The palace is so huge. If the two of them can sneak in and spend a few days to do it without anyone noticing, why should they let their accomplices stay far away from the palace before taking action?

If there were accomplices helping in the beginning, couldn't they have left people here to guard the magic circle and sent people deep into the palace to search for royal members?

If that happened, he wouldn't even be able to find Ines, and she might have fallen into the hands of the sorcerers.

Leon understood that unless, Mette and Vizmara could not guarantee that spellcasters other than the two of them would not be affected by tonight's methods.

Therefore, the sorcerer's accomplices must stay outside the palace to avoid the indiscriminate impact of this magic.

So what if we start it again?
Leon looked back and found the particularly conspicuous array core located in front of the stone base of the Holy Sword of the Sun.

The surface magic pattern group there obviously functions as a port for inputting magic power.

Start it, activate it.

Once again, the power that paralyzes everyone's consciousness is activated. If one is lucky, the enemy that invades the palace at this moment will be knocked unconscious by the same effect!

Leon ran to the front, squatted down, and observed and analyzed.

Several magic patterns surround the stone base of the Holy Sword of the Sun. The pattern traces extending from the front of the holy sword are connected to the "big circle" at the core of the ritual. The lower part of the big circle is connected to a relatively small hexagram "small circle" through the trajectory of fixed magic power flow.

The upper and lower sets of magic arrays have roughly the same structure, and are nested together in harmony.

This is most likely not a spell that can be performed by one person.

Leon's heart sank, and he was a little annoyed that Corvis was not around, but he had no choice and had to try.

"Your Highness, stand in the big circle with the pattern!" Leon turned around and shouted.

Hearing the urgent order, Ines hurriedly ran in obediently.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" the girl asked worriedly.

"You can't help me, but remember, no matter what, don't leave the circle under your feet. Maybe you can avoid being affected by magic there." Leon warned seriously. He didn't dare to bet whether Ines could withstand the second magic shock.

After saying that, Leon slammed the end of Gungnir heavily on the ground beneath his feet. The floor solidified by the magic circle made a hard crisp sound, and the vibrating magic light path spread from the end of Gungnir and connected to the formation set up by Mette and others.

Leon took a deep breath, calmed down, and followed the operating logic of this ancient magic secret ritual. He activated the activation terminals located in different corners of the entire magic circle in sequence, lighting up the activation courts in the ritual science under his feet one by one.
However, the next moment, he felt a huge suction force penetrating his heart. He opened his eyes wide, feeling something was wrong. With a chill on his back, he tried to pull out the wand, but he felt as if his body was as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if he was frozen in time and space, unable to move at all.

——What’s going on???

Leon's face turned pale, and his body felt as if it was connected to a huge black hole that was draining away his magic power.

The boiling magic elements amplified by the Neti cards didn't even have time to be converted into magic power, and they rushed towards the magic circle like a flood.

Intricate patterns, one after another, lit up, the light shot up into the sky, and there were thousands of magic court activation terminals under his feet, which gradually became dazzling from dim, and began to construct the ceremony along the structural links - in just a dozen seconds, Leon felt a severe dizziness and his magic power was exhausted.

He couldn't even maintain the presence of Canis in the distance. The magic under his feet drained all the energy in his body in an instant and began to rapidly drain the physical magic that maintained his life.

His mind was blank, and Leon relied on his instinct to resist the soul-tearing force, trying to maintain his drowsy consciousness.

The ground shook, and a huge scaly snake raised its head and jumped over the wall. Mette jumped off the snake's head and landed in the courtyard.

After seeing Leon's overconfident behavior and state, Mette couldn't help but burst into laughter:

".I thought you were going to come here for something. Lord Leon, it turns out you were going to commit suicide. The scale of the grand ceremony under your feet is so terrifying, how dare you activate them all at once? You are even braver than the great magician of Atias, hahahaha."

Another figure leaped into the courtyard. It was Vizmara. He just frowned, raised his wand silently, and chanted a spell, turning the elements surrounding the wand into dazzling magic bullets with surging magic power, vowing to kill the opponent as soon as possible.

Mette also put down the tip of the wand, and the whirlwinds intertwined and condensed into a cone: "Let me see if your trick can resurrect yourself, - go to hell!"

Watching the trajectory of death closing in on his chest, Leon inevitably died in the center of the magic array, unable to speak or move.

Foreseeing the end of being torn into pieces by the magic bullets and wind, he became ruthless and completely gave up the instinct to resist the power under his feet.

Blood, organs, brain... all the magic elements that keep the body functioning were madly injected into the magic array.

From what the other party said, it seemed that only a part of this ancient magic had been activated before, but where was that part?

As the magic power was extracted, Leon's spirit instantly entered the vast magic network beneath his feet, wandering among the complex microscopic magic patterns, searching eagerly at lightning speed.

Which part is it? Which part is it!?
Outside the courtyard, the flowing magic power and spiritual consciousness passed through the huge magic net that covered the earth and the entire space and time.

Faint rays of light lit up in every corner of the palace in an instant without anyone noticing.

But Leon's consciousness inevitably fell into coma as his life force dried up.

The jet-black hair rose and fluttered, with wisps of fluorescent light helping it grow. Suddenly, the black hair suddenly grew rapidly.

Witnessing the final moment of the magic bullet and storm, he heard the rhythmic movement of solid rock breaking.

light.

The incoming attack magic was submerged in the light barrier, and a dazzling light suddenly spread from behind him.

From the perspective, the whole world came to a standstill, and time and space seemed to be shattered and disintegrated.
In the end, I only heard Ines's cry.
------

The warmth of the sun gently caresses your face.

Leon felt exhausted all over, unwilling to move at all, clinging to the comfort of deep sleep.

He tossed and turned with his eyes closed, the tip of his nose was tickled by the ends of the hair. Leon wanted to scratch it, but he was too drowsy to do it, so he just instinctively hugged the sweet and soft little body in his arms and rubbed it. Why is the bed so hard today?

Unconsciously, his hands habitually became restless and began to grope up and down the body in his arms.

"Oli." Leon was whispering intimately.
Ok?
The feeling of the palm wrapped around it made him confused for a moment, wondering why it was a little smaller than usual.

“!——!!”

Leon frowned as he heard a cry of surprise.

This voice is familiar, but it's not Olivia's.
and many more.

Not Olivia?!
".LeonLeon~Wake up!!"

Hearing the low voice with a tone of embarrassment, helplessness, and shame, Leon suddenly woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw clearly who the girl in his arms was.

Looking at Ines with a blush on her face and looking embarrassed, Leon was stunned.

"I*--!!"

He quickly let go of her embrace as if he had been electrocuted, and moved away quickly in shock.

There was a bang.

Still in shock, he bumped into the wall behind him. As soon as the back of his head touched the edge, Leon quickly stopped the movement with his strong reaction ability and avoided getting hit by stars.

The memories quickly came flooding back to my mind, along with the fatigue and pain all over my body, and the burning pain on the soles of my feet.

Leon paused for a moment and looked around vigilantly.

?

where is this?
The deserted palace hall was gorgeous and grand. The sunlight shining through the glazed tiles and skylights was dazzling. The huge dome was covered with epic murals and towering columns stood in the hall.

And what he had just been lying on was naturally not Avalon's bed, but a smooth stone floor with intricate patterns.

Ines, who was lying on her side, stood up from the floor, her cheeks flushed as she smoothed the hem of her skirt that was lifted up behind her.

The girl took a deep breath to suppress the anger she had just felt, stood up from the floor, tightened her coat around her, and ran to Leon's side with her boots clacking on their feet, looking around.

"Where is this place, Leon?" Ines asked in confusion.

Leon shook his head, stood up with the help of the wall, and looked around the palace hall he was in in silence, equally confused.

Ines saw the confusion on the other person's face, put aside her doubts for the time being, and asked with concern: "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm a little tired, but it's okay. Don't worry, Your Highness." Leon came back to his senses, lowered his head and smiled awkwardly, and responded.

He could only blame himself for being annoyed by Olivia's terrible sleeping posture. At this moment, he could only tacitly not mention the unintentional offense just now.

After saying that, Leon turned his head, focused his attention back on his surroundings, and looked at the sunlight outside the glass window.

It was still late at night, but now it was daylight, but where were Mette and Vizmara? Were they the ones who had brought me and Ines here?
Thinking that he might have lost consciousness in front of the enemy, Leon's heart tightened and he quickly raised his right hand to try to sense Gungnir.

A flash of lightning jumped from his arm. Feeling that the ancient magic weapon was still beside him, Leon quickly gave up his plan to summon the magic spear.

He touched the inner pocket of his chest again, and the boiling heart that had returned to the state of the Neti card was still on his body.

From this point of view, he was probably not captured by Mette. If the enemy had captured him, they would definitely search him. Moreover, he and Ines were now free to move and not bound by any shackles.

Besides, this magnificent huge hall doesn't look like a prison cell.

Ines looked around, and suddenly pointed at the altar at the end of the hall and whispered in surprise:
"Is that a statue of Ilaril?"

Leon looked in amazement, and sure enough, under the holy sun in the distance, stood a huge statue of the prophet.

The architectural style of this palace hall is so familiar, but unlike Orland, this place is obviously the holy place of the Holy Sun Church, and the specifications are quite high.

"It looks like the temple of the Holy Sun Cult. Your Highness, do you remember how we got here?" Leon asked in confusion.

Ines frowned and thought for a while after hearing this, then shook her head helplessly: "I only remember you standing in front of me, and Mette and Vizmara chased after me, but you just stood there without any reaction. Then I heard a clacking sound behind me, and then a burst of white light. I don't know anything, and I just woke up just now."

There was a pause, and Ines felt her face getting hot, so she tried to stay calm and stop talking at the right time. There was probably no need to say how she was rubbed awake afterwards.

Leon nodded seriously. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the corridor at the side.

With a frown on his face, he cautiously pulled Ines.

"Someone is coming! Hide first."

He pulled the girl and quickly hid behind a statue on the side of the hall.

Because he was so tall, he had no choice but to put his arms around Ines, trying to overlap them as much as possible to hide their bodies.

Ines lay on his chest, her fingers tightening Leon's shirt, her eyes flickering, not knowing what she was thinking, she held her breath silently and remained quiet.

Leon pricked up his ears to listen to the echoes and conversations coming from far away and gradually getting closer outside the statue behind him.

"High Priest, His Majesty is here for the last leg of his pilgrimage. I think his attitude is to test the church." An old voice seemed to be giving a worried reminder to someone more noble.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty is just showing his attitude to those wavering lords and winning the hearts of the nobles. I personally pushed him to the throne, and I believe he will not let the church down." A steady and confident middle-aged voice responded.

Your Majesty? The Church? The Archbishop? Put on the throne? .
Listening to those people talking in the familiar yet unfamiliar Ferru language, Leon's mind became even more confused.

What's going on?
What happened to me and Ines?

Wait silently for the footsteps to fade away.

Only after hearing the door open and close and the footsteps in the hall disappear did Leon let go of Ines and walk out of the statue.

Ines held back her strange feeling and raised her head hesitantly to test, "Their accent is not that of Orland."

Leon pursed his lips and nodded: “I know.”

He understood Princess Ines's unspoken confusion.

Because in the conversation just now, the accents of those people were very similar to his own, they were most likely Serians.

"No matter where this is, let's find a way out first."

Leon looked at the corridors in the corridor. Based on his experience in the Battle of Rolandar and the Avalon Temple, he pulled Ines' wrist and quickly looked for other exits.

He didn't dare to walk out the main door like those people.

Judging from the size of this temple, there must be church guards outside the door.

And now he was in dishevel, with bare, blood-stained feet, and accompanied by a girl in a nightgown wrapped in an outer coat. As soon as he walked out of the door, he would definitely be caught on the spot as a suspicious person who had trespassed into the sanctuary.

You know, he is still a spellcaster. If he really ran to the territory of Serrian somehow, it would not be considered a "friendly" place for mages. Especially at this moment, he did not have any documents proving that he was the Marshal of the Holy War Alliance, the Baron of Avalon of Orland, and Leon Pendragon.

(End of this chapter)