Dear Broom Knight.

Chapter 776 The Unusable Divine Artifact
Almes certainly didn't think Bowen was unworthy of using this divine artifact.

But as he just said, if an artifact full of otherworldly aura, whose original owner is already dead, keeps appearing around, it can easily cause a chain reaction.

Although the existence of Chista is enough to prove that this artifact has not been used by anyone else, it was probably collected by a certain archmage from the beginning.

These so-called arcane mages from Netheril were actually resentful of each other deep down.

Each of them thought they were stronger than the gods.

The reason they were willing to serve Amannata as their master was twofold: firstly, the so-called laws of the sun god were very suitable for decorating their image, gilding and inlaying jewels on certain dirty things; secondly, Amannata himself did not love the world of Toril and was indifferent to everything.

Therefore, even if he saw some of the arcanists' little tricks, he could remain silent as long as the money to keep them quiet was enough.

AO always thought that this kind of guy was the most useful, and wouldn't reject his experiments because of some emotions, but at the same time... Amanata was also someone else's helper.

Everyone knows that AO is the loser in this matter.

He was too confident.

So much so that he was blinded by the combined forces of Death God Jergo and Nine-Faced Dragon God Aio, and in the end, he could only watch as the world turned into a state beyond his control.

If the first goddess of magic were still alive, and the invisible opposing forces between the silver moon and the dark night were still present, there would be absolutely no chance for any other god in Toril to rise to prominence.

Over hundreds of thousands of years, most of the gods had become indifferent to the world, but then AO began to ask them to care for humanity.

What nonsense!
Those who truly cared for humanity would have all died long ago because of his despicable methods, wouldn't they?
Those who remain are the kind of people who wouldn't let pity or sympathy cause his experiment to fail.

As a result, he suddenly asked them to cherish humanity?

Having heard plenty of contemptuous complaints from Tagi about Toril's mess, Almes would never allow himself to have anything to do with it.

Even if Chista truly meant no harm, it won't work.

Given AO's personality, he would take immediate action once he detected even the slightest sign of trouble.

He was extremely wary of anyone or anything related to Taiji, and would do everything in his power to get his hands on them.

However, Armies is clearly on a new path now, and AO cannot and is unwilling to stop him.

That would be an absolute, irreconcilable feud.

He wanted to bring Armies back to work, not to make an enemy of him.

He has learned from those past lessons.

He estimated that Tyre was not someone he was too afraid of, but someone like Armes... the former divine office of this Greek god was enough to prove that he was a more terrifying fellow than Cyrek.

One Syric is enough for AO to barely hold on.

Even if you offer double the amount again, he won't be able to handle it!
It's not that we can't completely get rid of them; isn't the Goddess of Magic a prime example?
But he will have to pay the price for it himself.

AO spent a full 100,000 years trying to find a suitable goddess of magic... and in the end, all that remained was an otaku who had been trained by the undead.

He already understood very well what it meant for things to go wrong, and forcing things would only lead to bad results.

That little bit of stockpile was enough for him to deal with Shirek.

If it were him... ha~
Armes was quite confident in himself in this regard.

He did make a do-or-die choice, but that doesn't mean the sunken boat won't become a ghost ship.

Although that can no longer be considered him, it fulfills another of his goals: to accompany Zeus forever.

Almighty never does anything he will regret.

It will only make others regret it.

That old guy AO, although he has no morals or character, his perception is really sharp!
Moreover, he seemed much more pragmatic than the AO he knew.

It seems there's a new kind of composure: if you can do it, do it; if you can't, get out.

Could it be because of those undead?
Toril couldn't change him in millions of years, but the undead did it in twenty?
Has the Slate of Fate really exploded this time?

But Armes still doesn't intend to gamble his future on AO's conscience; he will simply stay far away from things like Toril.

Not to mention, it even made this thing glow and radiate warmth around me!

But Armies couldn't stop his father from taking the mask and giving it to Bowen!

Doesn't Bowen deserve it?
You can tell from Ezra's attitude that they've wanted to destroy this artifact fragment for a long time.

It's just that I can't do it.

It's quite possible that Bowen sold himself to this fragment in order to save Ezra... but there's a huge difference between using and deeply binding.

Once someone chooses to burn their own soul power to drive the artifact fragments, their soul becomes almost inextricably linked to that thing.

The result of violent dismantling is the complete shattering of the soul.

If it's not dismantled, then the soul will naturally become fuel for the artifact fragments.

Although it didn't consume much, it still...

Of course, the benefits are also great, and for many people it is even a dream come true... The connection with certain laws will become closer, and even as a scholar, one will be able to use certain types of spells with the same ease as a professional mage.

Just like not using a scroll as a medium.

While scrolls provided scholars with a way out, they also perfectly suited their role as intermediaries: profiting from both ends, and profiting immensely from both.

It not only consumes the scholar's spiritual power, but also devours the magical power mobilized by spells and incantations.

Therefore, the scroll spells used by scholars not only have longer wind-up times but are also less powerful. Bowen, this fragment, is relatively small and doesn't possess many special abilities, but its healing capabilities are indeed quite strong.

Armes remembered seeing Ezra when he was a child, with half of his flesh missing from his back, only to be healed by Bowen in just two or three minutes.

He was quite worried at first.

After all, such rapid recovery usually comes at the cost of one's own life force.

Although Ezra, as a level 16 Grand Knight, still has a long life ahead of him... but those Grand Knights who died young, didn't they think the same way, which is why they died?

However, Bowen's healing techniques seem to be particularly pure.

It's not some kind of counterfeit divine magic at all... Many so-called sacred spells of the church are actually just stimulating the life force of the human body itself.

When they use it themselves, they are protected by divine power! They don't need to fully restore themselves to their best condition; just being able to move is enough.

Furthermore, they would consume holy water to replenish their vitality.

However, the gods of this world are quite frank about such matters, and they will clearly state what kind of divine magic they possess and what level of life potion from the Earth Church is needed to replenish a basic healing spell.

But sometimes, it's not something you can just add to whenever you want.

When someone truly holds a high position of power, how many fatal injuries can they sustain?

When you're young and striving for success, you don't have that kind of money.

It's better to borrow the life of the future than to die now.

Even someone like His Majesty Travis struggled immensely to obtain the Fruit of Life, and only managed to do so with the help of the White Dragon King's intimidation!

Bowen chose to use his own future to fill Ezra's life.

Armies had witnessed those things firsthand, so he would never say anything like... just a follower.

Those two were partners who would share life and death.

Since Bowen is qualified to obtain the artifact mask, Armies will not stop him for his own sake.

But since his mother said so… Armies tilted his head slightly… It seemed that it was just his father’s wishful thinking.

If Bowen wanted it himself, his mother wouldn't have said that.

There has always been a tacit understanding between her and Bowen.

After all, they were both people Ezra cared about and loved, and they wanted Ezra to be better. Even if there were conflicts, they would resolve them secretly... without letting Ezra know.

Ezra was not truly ignorant of everything.

But he wisely kept silent about it, staying away from any potential conflict.

Fortunately, their relationship isn't the typical mother-in-law/daughter-in-law dynamic.

They only occasionally collide because of their different priorities, so they can achieve balance at a certain point.

Of course, the question of who benefits more by giving in still needs to be resolved through debate.

We can't let one person always suffer losses.

As the ultimate beneficiary, Ezra's right choice was to keep quiet.

Over time, such confrontations will naturally lead to some tacit understanding.

A glance was enough to understand how to solve the problem.

The fact that Bowen could publicly deny it like this must mean that he himself had no interest in this artifact... Given their relationship, he wouldn't be hypocritical enough to hide his true feelings.

Moreover, the Countess came over when Ezra spoke, which clearly indicated that the two had already finished their conversation.

As for Ezra... Ezra had become accustomed to standing at the forefront, fighting for the interests of everyone.

His people were usually ranked first, then Bowen and the Countess, then Pearl and Armies, and even the few knights who had followed him for decades were ranked higher than Armies.

In addition, although Ezra would respect Armies's ideas, Armies was still his son, and he felt it was more appropriate for Ezra to say certain things himself.

But after being trained for a long time, Ezra was able to understand the lady's implied meaning.

So, even though he was somewhat unwilling, he stepped back and didn't bring it up again.

He just looked at Bowen with a 'why not' expression.

Even if that artifact will affect Almes, so what?

The child is still his child, but it's clear he's about to fly away.

Pearl is going to the River Styx; Armies will probably soon begin his path to godhood.

In the end, only the three of them remained at Hamilton Castle.

When Armies returns, Bowen can simply go out for a stroll, right?

Hamilton's territory is so vast that once he completes his tour, Armies will be free to leave.

Bowen shook his head in distress.

How could he explain this to Ezra, who was ignorant of the law?

(End of this chapter)