Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 190 The Wizard Council Enters
Ray Barton swung his sleeves violently to shatter the holographic star map, and the flying magic fragments turned into drops of dark blue blood in mid-air.

The shadows of the Eastern Mountains and the Southern Swamps were still flickering in the corners of the wall, but he stared intently at the flat grassland where the Western and Central regions met, as if he could see through the magical images the army of the Western nobles ready to go.

"The rebels in the east are nothing but a scabby mess!" He kicked over a jewel-encrusted stool, sending the emerald tumbling to the ground and shattering into dust. "The pirates in the south can barely chew mud in the swamp!"

The crystal chandelier shook violently amidst the roar, casting his distorted shadow on the huge map marked with the "Four Central Provinces." "Only the Western Territory. This undefensible plain is like a sharp blade hanging at my throat!"

Chief Speaker Soros's bony fingers brushed across the border on the map, his purple pupils rippled strangely. "Your Highness is absolutely right. The distance between the Western Territory and the Central Territory is vast. Although the new defense line between the Western Territory and the Central Province is not yet complete, the Knights Guild was able to gather tens of thousands of knights within half a month. Their potential should not be underestimated."

He tapped his wand, and a projection of the Dragon Slayer Spear suddenly popped up. "More importantly, the Dragon Slayer Spear has already appeared. The Bauhinia Organization must have been connected to the Pavel Continent. We must fight quickly. By the time the Star Gate opens, it will be too late."

Ray Barton's pupils suddenly contracted: "Are you talking about those legendary star gates?"

"That's right." Thoros laughed hoarsely, revealing half of his face, covered in tattoos of incantations, from beneath his hood. "Once the stargate opens, powerful figures from the Pavel continent will arrive. However," he condensed a cloud of dark green poisonous mist from his fingertips. "The Wizard Council has been researching new spells to contain the stargate."

"Did it succeed?" Ray Barton narrowed his eyes, knowing the old fox's plan very well.

"Of course, but the price is a bit high."

Soros's answer made Ray Barton's eyes narrow slightly.

"What price?"

Thoros's bony fingers tapped lightly on the table. "The magical mineral veins in the post-war Western Territory, and the Gatekeeper. I need his blood to complete the forbidden transformation ritual."

"Yes." Ray Barton slammed his dragon crystal scepter down on the word "West Territory." The runes blazed, charring black holes in the map. "But I want your wizard army out in full force! The poisonous mist that can corrode city walls, the spells that can burn entire forests for months." His voice suddenly dropped to a hissing sound like a venomous snake. "Use the most brutal means to show the West Territory who truly rules the empire."

Suddenly there was a loud thunder outside the window and heavy rain poured down.

Ray Barton stared at the towers of the Imperial City, faintly visible in the rain, his nails digging deep into his palms. "Once we've dealt with the Western Territory, those clowns in the Eastern and Southern Territories will be nothing but grasshoppers after autumn."

Thoros bowed in the shadows, his bony claws emerging from beneath his hood quietly weaving a web of death that would envelop the Western Territory. "I am willing to serve Your Highness at his service. Tomorrow, during the lunar eclipse, the first group of wizards will infiltrate the Western Territory. This war will surely be a bloodbath."

On the night of the lunar eclipse, thick, inky clouds obscured the sky, and the twilight forest at the border of the western and central provinces was distorted in the magical light.

The "Hand of Judgment" troops, composed of 300 elite members of the Wizard Council, were moving quietly. They were wearing white robes engraved with runes, and their pupils flashing under their hoods were like green will-o'-the-wisp. The magic books and magical instruments they carried with them glowed ominously in the night.

In the center of the army, Mora, an elder of the Wizard Council, raised his wand, and the dark moonstone inlaid on the wand suddenly lit up: "Speed ​​up! The power of the lunar eclipse is about to reach its peak, and we must reach the heart of the Western Territory before dawn." Before he finished speaking, the ground suddenly shook, and countless vines broke out of the ground, wrapping around the ankles of the wizards like living things.

"It's a dark wizard!" A young wizard screamed. Just as his wand condensed a fireball, a black shadow instantly pierced his chest.

Eerie laughter rang out from the woods, and dozens of dark wizards with skull symbols embroidered on their black robes emerged from the shadows. Their faces were covered with twisted spell tattoos, and the bone staffs in their hands emitted a disgusting stench.

The "Hand of Judgment" quickly formed a formation, and Mora's wand drew complex rune trajectories, and a dark blue magic barrier rose instantly: "These are the bastards of 'Whisper of the Dead' and 'Fallen Angels'! Beat them to death!" The magic of both sides collided violently in the forest, and purple lightning and green poisonous mist intertwined, making the entire forest look like purgatory.

A dark wizard waved a bone staff and summoned dozens of rotting giant wolves.

The wolves' skin and flesh were rolled up, their bones were exposed, and green ghost fire was burning in their eyes.

The wizards of the "Hand of Judgment" cast spells one after another, and ice cones and flames flew together, tearing the giant wolf into pieces.

But soon, the dark wizards summoned new monsters from the corpses, and the battle became stalemate.

Mora's pupils suddenly contracted, and he felt a powerful magical wave coming from deep in the woods.

"Be careful! Their leader is coming!" Before he finished speaking, a blood-red beam of light shot up into the sky, and a black wizard in a blood-red robe came walking in the air.

His face was hidden by a hood, and the scepter in his hand was inlaid with a beating heart on top, emitting a heart-pounding aura.

"I am Kane, the Grand Elder of the Fallen Angel School," the dark wizard's voice seemed to come from the Nine Netherworlds. "How dare the Wizard Council lay hands on the Western Territory? Today will be your burial place!"

Cain swung his scepter heavily, and a huge crack appeared in the ground. Countless skeleton soldiers crawled out from the ground. At the same time, bloody rain fell from the sky, corroding the magic barrier of the "Hand of Judgment".

Mora gritted her teeth and pulled out a crystal engraved with ancient runes from her bosom: "Activate 'Wrath of the Lunar Eclipse'!"

Three hundred wizards injected their magic power into the crystal at the same time, and the crystal burst out with dazzling light, forming a huge lunar eclipse magic circle.

Countless blue beams shot out from the magic circle, enveloping the skeleton soldiers and dark wizards.

Kane sneered, and the heart on top of the scepter suddenly expanded, transforming into a huge blood-red vortex. "Just you? Break it!"

The blood-red vortex swallowed up all the beams of light and swept towards the "Hand of Judgment".

Seeing that the situation was not good, Mora shouted, "Split up and break out!" The wizards cast teleportation magic one after another, trying to avoid the attack.

At this moment, another powerful wave of magic came.

This time, the one who appeared was the leader of the "Whisper of the Dead" organization - the lich Falken.

His body was translucent and floating in the air, with a huge skull embedded on the top of the staff in his hand.

"Kane, don't forget our agreement. No one from the Wizard Council can be left alive!" Falken's voice was as creepy as nails scratching glass.

(End of this chapter)