Those time travelers that year

True darkness has descended.

660. The Fall of the Goddess of Magic

The darkness, representing the abyss, spread, and all the emotions that came from the heart were transformed into food for the darkness, devoured by the abyss. Then, the 'virus' rooted in the hearts and souls of those spellcasters erupted at that moment.

Just as everyone was stunned by the appearance of the twilight sun in the sky, screams rang out. Thousands of spellcasters scattered throughout the city screamed in agony. Regardless of their age, the amount of magical equipment they carried, or which spellcaster system they belonged to—whether mage, priest, warlock, or druid—they were all the same at this moment.

Throughout the city, all spellcasters except the voters were engulfed by the erupting 'virus' at that moment. A black, sludge-like substance emerged from their bodies and began to multiply without restraint. These unfortunate souls were the first to be consumed by the black sludge.

Caught off guard, before the cheering crowd could even react, the proliferating black mud began to writhe as if it were alive, transforming into gaping maws with sharp teeth, waving tentacles, and twisting limbs, launching an attack on those around it without hesitation.

This sudden disaster sparked countless disturbances, in every corner of the city. Whether it was a tavern, a school, or even a palace where negotiations had lasted for half a month, wherever there were spellcasters, this disaster erupted.

Chaos engulfed the entire city in just a short time.

Even when the guards regained their senses and charged at the black mud monsters, it was to no avail. Not only were they unable to fight off these monsters, but they were also torn apart and crushed in an instant. Moreover, once killed, these soldiers would immediately wither away, turning into decaying undead and rising again.

Roars, explosions, screams...

Silvermoon City, which had not experienced chaotic wars for hundreds of years, was now plunged into despair of slaughter and destruction.

This city, brimming with magical arts, was incredibly vulnerable at this moment.

However, the magic lock that enveloped the entire city, the very foundation upon which it depended for survival, not only failed to reverse the situation but also began to collapse. As a chain reaction, the city's magical network began to twist, and chaotic primal energy suddenly erupted throughout the city.

To make matters worse, black snowflakes began to fall from the sky, snowflakes that looked like volcanic ash, falling one after another, carrying the same deadly curse.

All magic has gone out of control here. Even the most powerful mages, unless they have reached legendary status and studied how to use primal energy for spellcasting, cannot cast a single spell in this city now.

Warriors, rangers, thieves, mages, priests... at this moment, these professionals are no different from ordinary people, the only difference being whether they have the ability to live longer.

The crowd was in a panic, gripped by fear and despair. The residents, who had long enjoyed peace, could only scream and flee for their lives in this situation.

Unfortunately, they couldn't escape. Outside the city, at the edge of the city walls, a layer of dark gray fog, visible to the naked eye, sealed off the entire city. That thin fog, like an invisible wall, blocked all attempts to escape the city.

Unable to leave, unable to escape, and nowhere safe anymore... except for a campfire burning with the fires of dusk, riots and killings are taking place throughout the city.

However, from another perspective, the vast magical network that covered the sky and the earth began to shake and groan—the magical network was losing control.

As long as they were in the prime material world, no matter how far away, all spellcasters sensed at this moment that a great riot had broken out in the magic network in the Northlands and Silvermoon City. Just as before, when the goddess of magic fell, the collapse of the magic network had begun.

'No……'

A woman's scream rang out from an angle inaudible to mortals. Accompanied by fluctuations of divine power, a certain consciousness attempted to stop it all—more precisely, to prevent the collapse of the magic network.

But at that moment, a crimson light shone forth, striking the consciousness that was trying to save itself from a distant dimension.

"I, Old Sun, have already said that the connection between heaven and earth must be severed, and the gods are not allowed to personally interfere in the mortal realm, otherwise—death!" The arrogant voice echoed, ruthlessly severing the consciousness's intentions and blasting her back.

"How dare you, how dare you!!!" Faced with the highly likely collapse of the magic network and the danger of falling, the consciousness called the Goddess of Magic, rather than Midnight, cursed.

Within the Pantheon, all the powerful gods rose to their feet, their immense divine power surging as they charged towards the golden-armored figure blocking their path. With the blade already at their throats, these gods could no longer remain passive.

Now, with the goddess of magic's demise a disaster, I might be next. If I don't retaliate now, I won't even have a chance to fight back.

At the same time, the three powerful gods on the other side also stood up and stood with the monkey, facing the attacking gods together.

A crimson dawn shone from the sun goddess Amannata as she confronted the Lord of Nature and the Earth Goddess. Not only did she single-handedly block the two powerful deities, but she also gave the two scoundrels a sound beating. On the other side, Ilmat and Hall joined forces to hold off the remaining medium-level divine power.

With his remaining immense divine power, the monkey laughed and swung his golden cudgel, sweeping it out with the force of a thunderbolt. "Hahahaha, come, let me, Old Sun, see how much power you feudal beneficiaries have accumulated over thousands of years!" Golden-red flames burned, radiating a terrifying battle intent far surpassing that of the god of war, as the monkey, with an arrogant laugh, intercepted all the forces hurtling towards him.

The Pantheon, which had been quiet, was once again engulfed in battle.

But it was all in vain; even the united efforts of all the gods were futile. The network of faith was severed, and the connection with the mortal realm was blocked. The remaining divine power in the Pantheon was no longer comparable to that of the Monkey King, and it was even gradually falling short of that of the three other gods.

As for the outcome, that was destined.

At this moment, only a small number of gods coldly observed the battle within the Pantheon. The young God of Death watched as the goddess of magic cursed her march towards destruction and fall, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately did not rise to offer his aid. Behind him, Jaeger placed a hand on Cranvor's shoulder, making it clear to the young God of Death the attitude of his teacher and friend.

"It is the goddess of magic, Mystra, who is about to fall, not the mortal mage Midnight." Jaeger's aged voice echoed in Krenvor's ears. "You cannot stop it."

“…I understand,” Kranvor replied somberly.

661. The music started.

"What a lively fight!" Sitting cross-legged by the campfire, Charles looked up at the dark sky, watching the remaining gods in the Pantheon of another dimension make a desperate last stand as the goddess of magic fell. He sighed, "What a pity, it's useless. No matter how hard you try, you can't turn the tide..."

"...Everything is already set in stone. According to the way of cultivation, this is the destiny set by Heaven. You scum who don't understand fate are destined to enter this calamity and turn to ashes." Completely disapproving of those who resisted, Xia Er withdrew his gaze. They couldn't defeat the monkey; the gap was too vast. Parasites residing in the world and monkeys transcending even a world were worlds apart.

Even if it was just an avatar created using a single monkey hair, it was still beyond the capabilities of these gods. Even if they unleashed their full power and unlocked their genetic potential at this moment, it would be of no use. The ten-thousand-foot-tall monkey's true form was still waiting for its fate; no matter how much it struggled, it was destined to perish.

As if history were repeating itself, whenever a momentous event occurred, the Goddess of Magic would die. With the fall of the Netheril Empire, the Goddess of Magic was dragged down with her. During the Holy Calamity, the Goddess of Magic died again. In short, only the death of this bitch signifies the beginning of a new era. Therefore, after silently mourning for this bitch within a bitch for 0.000000001 seconds, Sharl could only let this causal relationship rest in peace.

Anyway, this time, it's completely clean and thorough, so what's the point of karma anymore!

Meanwhile, in Silvermoon City, the abyss that erupted and spread from the city began to erode the entire urban environment. Shadows, death, and silence gradually enveloped every corner of the city, and those infected by the abyss either became corpses on the roadside or were resurrected as undead.

Fewer and fewer lives are left alive; instead, the dead are corrupted and consumed by the abyss.

Of course, even now, in the ruined Silvermoon City, resistance still remains. The main resistance exists in the palace in the eastern part of the city, as well as in the various temples and shrines throughout the city.

Unfortunately, the magic network is collapsing, or rather, the goddess of magic's control over it is crumbling. The flames within each layer of the magic network are rapidly eroding the goddess of magic's control, and with each layer crumbling, the goddess of magic's divine rank is forcibly lowered by one level.

Now, the control of the first nine layers of the magic network has been broken, and the tenth layer and beyond, which were sealed off, are under fierce attack and will be doomed sooner or later.

In this situation, spellcasters in Silvermoon City suffered heavy losses. The chosen ones, in particular, could still cast spells using the power of 'Silverfire,' but once the Goddess of Magic completely fell, their fate would be the same.

However, it seems that the voters are not the only ones in this city.

Just as Xia Er was patiently waiting for the goddess of magic to fall so he could start organizing the magic network and upgrading it into a network and a WIFF, an aura of divine power erupted in the palace and temple areas of Silvermoon City.

"Huh? A saint here?!" Slightly taken aback, Charles looked over and said with a hint of surprise, "...Hiding here, so confident? Well! Not wrong, those chosen ones of the goddess of magic can't possibly make a move. On the contrary, relying on the Enchanted Lock is almost foolproof—if only the goddess of magic wouldn't refuse to upgrade the WIFF..." Muttering to himself, Charles casually snapped his fingers. Accompanied by a wisp of grayish-white mist, a knightly order of two hundred appeared.

“Go to the palace and see off those chosen ones and the saints—since the goddess of magic is going to die anyway, they might as well go together; the whole family should be together.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the knights drew their greatswords and daggers and disappeared into the shadows of the city, speeding away from the palace where battles were constantly erupting.

"Then there's the temple area. These saints are really kind! Did they go to all this trouble to come and give me extra food?!"

"Well then, it would be too polite to be so formal..."

Two enormous figures appeared after the departing knights. One was a gigantic treant with a withered body covered in pustules. The other was a giant wielding a massive cleaver, its body ablaze with flame-like patterns.

"You go to the temple district and wipe out all the rebels... and you all come with us." Black wolves, black-armored warriors wielding giant blades, knights with axes and shields, blazing fire demons... the figures of the Ciel's retinue appeared here, and then they took their steps and dispersed in all directions.

"Destroy those saints, destroy those chosen ones, and plunge all beings into darkness and the abyss." Watching his followers rush off one by one into different corners of the city, Charles said softly, "And, at this moment, there must be music—"

"—The Dawn, the music starts!!!!!!!!!"

"Since it's also Silvermoon City, then using this song for the funeral is perfectly appropriate!"

The somber music began to echo throughout the city, like the howl of the dead, or the chanting of ghosts, praising death and depravity.

"Night spreads across the blood-red fields..."

"The dim moonlight cannot illuminate or dispel the death..."

……

Nobles and commoners, warriors and mages… no matter their former positions or races, none of it mattered at this moment. The dead roared, echoing the music that played on and on.

Meanwhile, the relatives of the musicians had already arrived at the designated killing ground.

On the eastern side of the city, several voters, accompanied by powerful guards, were desperately holding their ground. Now, with the magic network affected, only those voters who still wielded the 'Silver Flame,' and the legendary mages who knew how to utilize primal energy, retained a degree of spellcasting ability. Besides them, there was another person—an old man in a grey robe, wielding a wooden staff that radiated divine light.

He is Azus, the god of mages, and a servant of the goddess of magic. However, even with his lesser divine power, he could not escape the calamity and was forced to fall into the prime material world, hiding in Silvermoon City. As the god of mages, even in his current saintly form, he still retains powerful spellcasting abilities.

Under his divine power, a domain of order enveloped the entire palace, resisting the rampant encroachment of the abyss. Then, together with several chosen ones, he used magic to defeat the swarming undead and even more monsters born from the abyss.

But that was all—the first recorded preacher stopped casting his spell and stared in horror at the knight who had emerged from the darkness.

Wearing triangular helmets, tattered armor, and ragged cloaks, two hundred knights appeared outside the palace, one holding a greatsword and the other a dagger. Their features were shrouded beneath their helmets, revealing only empty eyes, while the lead knight's eyes gleamed with an unsettling blood-red light.

Soon, flames enveloped them. Starting with the red-eyed knight at the head, the twilight flames licked the bodies of every knight who emerged from the shadows and darkness.

The killing began.

662. Suren died from an unknown area-of-effect attack.

However, Argus, the god of magic, truly deserves his reputation as the first preacher of magic and the strongest mortal. Although his divine role encompasses wizards, sorcerers, and spellcasters in the general sense, it's clear he's unlikely to garner much faith. Yet, he remains a lesser deity, wielding power over powerful realms such as illusion, knowledge, magic, order, and incantations.

Facing the charging Farron Knights, Azus roared and plunged his old staff into the stone bricks beneath his feet. Blue arcane fire began to burn on his staff, spreading down into the ground.

A more powerful shield, brimming with divine power, appeared and swiftly enveloped the entire palace. Under this shield, the undead transformed by the infection were gradually obliterated within the domain of order, turning to ashes. Moreover, this shield firmly held back the charging Farron Knights.

The rapidly swung flaming blades struck the protective barrier, producing a crisp ringing sound. This was a strike powerful enough to sever a dragon's head in one blow, and there were over two hundred greatswords here, but even with the torrential rain of sword light sweeping across, they could not break through the barrier created by Azus.

Conversely, Azus, the god of magic, is also not having an easy time.

With his cane planted on the ground, he coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with gold when the Knights of Farron attacked the shield. He had to use his cane for support to avoid falling to the ground.

"Quickly, these guys possess divinity; each one is practically a demigod. I can't hold on much longer..." Azus, leaning on his staff, coughed up blood as he shouted to the chosen ones of the goddess of magic behind him. Even among lesser deities, Azus was among the strongest. The once-powerful mortal mage, even after his ascension to godhood, still retained remarkably sharp insight.

At first glance, Azus realized that the attacking knights were not right, and decisively used his remaining strength and life to support this powerful shield.

That's precisely why the Knights of Farron didn't break through the defenses and slaughter everyone immediately. The mortals inside were no match for these 'monster' knights; even the chosen ones could only barely handle one or two.

However, there were two hundred Farron Knights outside, a force powerful enough to tear apart any weak god. Even someone like Azus, who was almost at the peak of weak godhood, would be no match for him, let alone someone who was merely a saint.

Hearing Azus's anxious shouts, the chosen ones immediately reacted. Relying on their 'Silverfire,' they still possessed powerful enough spellcasting abilities even in this dire situation. Using almost cheating methods, these chosen ones easily united and effortlessly sorted out the chaotic magical energy.

Subsequently, with the combined efforts of these voters, a legendary spell was formed in a short time and detonated by these voters within the Order of the Farron.

Legendary spell - Annihilation Singularity

A miniature black hole appeared in the center of the Knights of Farron, and then a powerful traction force erupted.

As one of the few truly powerful spells capable of harming deities, the Annihilation Singularity is renowned among legendary spells. In terms of destructive power, almost no known legendary spell can surpass it.

Of course, you have to understand how terrible it is for a miniature black hole to appear.

A real black hole is an unsolvable disaster, while an annihilation singularity, a greatly reduced version created on the spot, is powerful enough to harm even a god.

However, even the annihilation singularity that exploded failed to harm the Farron Knights as expected. Under the pull of the explosion, the flames on the Farron Knights suddenly intensified, and they burned fiercely like human torches.

Two hundred Farron knights, in the light of the First Flame, these knights who shared the same soul began to transform from a group into a whole, all their power linked together, and they withstood the pull of the Annihilation Singularity.

"Not enough!" Seeing the Knights of Farron forcibly resist the pull of the Annihilation Singularity by relying on their inherent characteristics, the Mage God Azus shouted, "Their power is rising, hurry..."

The voters, witnessing this, turned pale. Their combined efforts to unleash a powerful legendary spell in a short time had taken a toll on them. But it wasn't enough; the annihilation singularity had a limited lifespan and couldn't expand indefinitely like a true black hole.

Gritting their teeth, the voters joined forces once again, using the power of the silver flame to mobilize and organize magical energy.