A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 311 Battlefield Among the Ruins

Under the dim yellow sky, there were rows of crooked and dilapidated walls.

This place is even more desolate than the deep-sea diving zone. At least around the holy site, there are some deep-sea behemoths constantly swimming around, but here there are only endless building ruins.

They ventured deeper into the ruins, both following Rorschach, whose map had a point that kept glowing, indicating the presence of a crack.

Upon closer inspection, many walls bear the marks of sword and knife strikes, as well as splattered blood.

As they passed a corner, they saw words smeared in blood on the wall. Although some of the plaster had peeled off, they could still make out the words: "In the name of the Duke of Protector of the Nation".

As you continue walking, similar marks become more and more frequent, as if the area had been the site of battles: charred marks, brick walls shattered by artillery shells, and scattered crates.

Caroline had never seen these scenes before. She was exploring from the core area into the ancient ruins area, so what she saw were old castles, works of art buried in the dust, and so on. On the other side, there was also a battlefield.

Benedict recalled the history he knew: "Istani once had a protector, also known as the Executioner. He could lead the kingdom to victory against enemies on El Isle, on the sea and on the continent, but at the same time, he was just as ruthless when his sword was pointed at the members of the kingdom."

The rest of the story goes that after the Duke of the Protector's death, everyone feared the emergence of a second ruthless executioner, so they formed a parliament and welcomed back the King as the head of Istani.

The parliament at the time was naive, thinking that since they had invited the king back, the king should listen to the members of parliament and obediently act as a puppet.

"Everyone thought the era of terror was over, but then the Queen and Parliament clashed over power again. As a result, her knightly orders once violently dissolved Parliament and established the 'Round Table Conference' composed of representatives from the twelve knightly orders as the upper house, while the subsequent parliament became the lower house. Now some people are hoping to return to the era of the Duke of the Protectorate. Ha, but it's just wishful thinking."

There was a flag on the street embroidered with a burning lion. It was majestic, with a mane of blazing flames, a wide-open mouth revealing sharp fangs, and the ground beneath its feet was also ablaze.

As fierce as a lion, as destructive as a scorching wind. This is the banner of "Burning Lion," one of the twelve knightly orders.

"Queen? How long ago was this history?" Has Istani always been ruled by women? Istani has always been isolated from the continent, and the royal family never makes visits. People on the continent know very little about the royal family's lineage.

"Two hundred years? No, it's not that long ago." Benedict was also somewhat puzzled. In his upbringing, the "Queen" was the "Queen," the only one. Even the resistance wouldn't question her rule over Istani.

Is the historical queen the same person as the current "Queen of Purity"? Impossible, there aren't any individuals living that long these days. Benedict shook his head, as if trying to shake off the chaotic thoughts.

Rorschach offers a different version of history: "Originally, the Knights were twelve legions under the Duke of the Kingdom, fighting for many years both internally and externally. After the Kingdom of Istani was completely stabilized, the past glory and spoils were no longer enough for the Knights. So, when the Duke of the Kingdom died, they enthroned the Queen as the ruler of the kingdom, achieving a restoration of monarchy. In return, the Queen effectively divided the kingdom among the twelve Knights and placed the Round Table above the council."

"Nonsense! The Queen's return was a choice made by the Parliament, a fact consistently recorded in history books and poems. Otherwise, wouldn't the kingdom have always been dominated by violence?"

"Isn't that right? Especially when those councilors are neither gracious nor spellcasters, and haven't yet amassed enough power." Rorschach didn't want to argue with Benedict, so he shrugged. "I only heard this secondhand after entering the Shadow City. If you say it's wrong, then it's wrong."

Caroline didn't participate in the argument; she just stared at Rorschach without saying a word.

Rorschach picked up the dusty "Burning Lion" banner; its flagpole was broken, but he found a shattered crystal at the top. Clearly, it was more than just a battle banner; it had been imbued with magic or divine power.

Energy was injected, and a lion's roar erupted. However, the crystal was immediately shattered by the magic that had been injected again after hundreds of years, and the broken rod exploded in Rorschach's hand.

"It seems to be a spell circle with an 'invigorating' effect, and it might also have an intimidating effect on enemies." The spell was not fully cast, only producing a brief sound. After sensing the fluctuation of magical power for a moment, Rorschach immediately released it, tossing the artifact, which had been damaged a second time, aside: "The Knights don't have these things anymore. At least they're at the level of holy relics."

They continued on their way, but then an unusual sight appeared—a suit of armor that had been easily torn apart, and scattered remains not far away. Upon closer inspection, bite marks could be seen on the bones.

Something opened the armor like opening a can of food and then "enjoyed" the "delicious" contents.

"It seems the historical site isn't as deserted as it appears?"

"Hey! Who are you people? There are obviously bastards around. Didn't you see my fallen brother? Get back in the wings!" Just as the three were observing the dead body, a loud shout rang out from behind. It was another fully armed soldier. Seeing a man and a woman holding an elf hostage, he immediately changed his tune: "Oh, sorry, you're the warriors who captured the bastards."

"?" Benedict looked puzzled. So the "bastard child" was me?

"If you want the reward, just kill it and cut off its ears. If you don't do it now, it will transform." The armored soldier, sword in hand, approached the pitiful, weak, and helpless Benedict step by step.

Rorschach stepped forward, standing between the two: "My name is Heisenberg, and this lady Caroline and I are mages. We have captured the abomination and are preparing to conduct research." After saying this, to prove himself, he summoned a ball of light that floated into the air.

"Knows [Light Spell] = Caster," the armored warrior nodded after the assessment was completed. "James, trainee knight of the Burning Lion Knights. You must control this bastard; once it falls into corruption, eliminate it immediately."

"Okay." After saying that, Rorschach waved his hand, and Benedict immediately found himself tied up and unable to speak.

Damn it! He could only curse Rorschach in his heart, but before he could say it, his temples suddenly felt like they were being pricked with needles.

The three continued to follow the indicated dots on the map. The knights seemed to be on the same route as them and followed behind after collecting the remains of their comrades. As they got closer to the sealed rift, more and more knights appeared, and the collapsed and broken buildings were requisitioned as camps. Looking inside, there was even a blacksmith's shop where weapons were being repaired with clanging and banging.

"Stop!" Just as they were about to enter the camp, Rorschach and his group were stopped by the guards, and James stepped forward to explain on their behalf.

"But bastards cannot be brought into the camp, and neither can those who haven't yet fallen!" The sentry's attitude was firm.

Just as Rorschach was about to take some action, a loud lion's roar suddenly rang out from the camp. Before the sentry could finish shouting "Enemy attack!", countless pitch-black monsters emerged from all around the camp. Their faces melted into a mass, and they leaped and climbed between the walls and the ground on all fours, with flamboyant tentacles emerging from their backs.

They charged to the camp's defenses, and several arrows struck the lead one. The other monstrous offspring stopped charging and instead growled, their whiskers trembling.

From Rorschach's perspective, the magic in the environment trembled slightly, and the abominations seemed to be communicating with their tentacles.

"This is what a bastard is? How could humans compare me to a monster?" Benedict, bound and unable to speak, cried out in his mind.

Rorschach glanced at the "captives" and said using the [Communication] spell, "Didn't you see how long and pointed their ears are? Just like yours."

(End of this chapter)