Chapter 992: Act 165 – The War Slate: Dragon Skin XI
Crimson blood soaked the gray slate in the darkness, flowing forward along the sword-carved grooves. The blood was not absorbed by the soil and dust; it seemed to have been given life, slithering like a snake between some powerful lines. The black magic circle was soon filled with the bloody liquid, and the white chant rose in pitch.
A dusty, gray scroll flew out of her hand, lifted by an invisible magical force and suspended in mid-air. The ancient parchment gradually unfurled, rolling down along the direction of the wooden shaft until it touched the ground. The scroll was filled with ancient characters and intricate patterns. Brendel could not recognize the characters either, but he knew it was a high-level ceremonial magic scroll.
One of the main features of ceremonial magic was the ability to cast spells in advance, preparing most of the ceremonial steps and materials in the form of a magic circle. Almost ninety percent of the steps for this spell had been prepared in the ritual scroll, and White only needed to complete the final step. Otherwise, with her abilities, she wouldn’t be able to independently cast a high-level magic spell. The value of this ritual scroll was no less than that of a Spirit Scroll. Given that she should have another Spirit Scroll based on her earlier comments, Brendel couldn’t help but marvel at this woman’s substantial background.
As the scroll flew from White’s hand, she let out a low cry and pointed a finger. An invisible ripple shot from her fingertip, striking the pile of rubble in the center of the hall. The rubble collapsed with a thunderous sound, revealing an altar beneath. Upon seeing the altar, Brendel suddenly understood why Sir Roslin had previously warned him to stay away from there—not because of the War Slate, but because his wife was sealed underneath it. Witnessing this scene, he couldn’t help but think he was unlucky.
The altar before him was made of marble and sculpted into a hexagonal shape, its cross-section cut at an angle, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, etched with some sealing incantations. The gray altar appeared to have a long history, its surface badly damaged and covered in scars and dirt. The damages ranged from new to old; some looked like they had been caused by an archway crumbling down, while others were indiscernible.
Once the altar was exposed from the rubble, the entire hall resonated with the high-pitched incantation from White, buzzing in response. Brendel furrowed his brow, while Scholar Baijia appeared unfazed. Andrigraphis raised her head, as if she could see the invisible lines of magical laws in the air, her eyes reflecting a glint of silver. After a moment, a vague shadow suddenly arose from the altar, and Brendel could vaguely discern that it was a woman—dressed in a long black gown, her face shrouded in sorrow, looking just like Lagsis.
At this moment, a book materialized above White’s head, its cover black and the text shimmering. Brendel immediately recognized the shape of the Book of Mavikart; it was clearly a counterfeit version of another Book of Mavikart, which left him rather astonished. Amann had long since turned to ash, and his counterfeit Book of Mavikart had turned into a pile of worthless debris after absorbing experience. Yet this woman had somehow obtained another one; her ability was truly astonishing.
Seeing this scene, his wariness of White deepened. She possessed power, cunning, wisdom, caution, and patience—all qualities to be feared—yet she insisted on using them for villainous purposes. The atmosphere in the circular hall changed immediately with the appearance of the Book of Mavikart. Aside from Brendel and Baijia, who remained motionless, even Sir Roslin tightened his bony hands around the hilt of his sword. The Book of Mavikart, as an ancient evil artifact, emitted a terrifying force even from a counterfeit, enough to make this holy knight feel instinctively repulsed; Andrigraphis and Medephis had serious expressions, ready to take action at any moment; Himelam, holding her staff, stood behind Brendel, secretly protecting her Lord.
But White didn’t even glance at them. She furrowed her brows, clearly finding it difficult to complete this step. “All-encompassing principles, the ultimate form of all things, in unity, in extremity—by your name, I temporarily borrow your power.” Suddenly, she let out a low roar that didn’t resemble her voice, the tone imposing and cold, echoing like thunder in the hall. Brendel felt he had heard this voice before. Just then, the Book of Mavikart above White began to flutter its pages without wind, black energy strands extending from it, wrapping around Lagsis’s soul in the center of the hall.
Roslin’s undead let out a low growl upon seeing this, raising its sword and slashing at it.
“Stop!” White’s voice returned to its hollow and raspy state as she shouted, “If you don’t want her to completely perish!”
Roslin paused for a moment. In that instant, the black energy strands completely enveloped Lagsis, forming a black cocoon suspended in mid-air.
The undead knight gazed at the cocoon, flames flickering in its eye sockets. It turned around, looking inquiringly at White. “Do not be anxious,” White replied.
The undead knight hesitated for a moment before retracting its great sword with a grunt, still guarding beside the cocoon. The atmosphere in the hall became slightly eerie, with the War Slate hanging high above, illuminated by the sunlight streaming down from the domed ceiling. Below the slate, several figures surrounded a massive light cocoon, which pulsed, as if nurturing life. No one spoke, and the only sound in the darkness was White’s chanting incantation.
At this moment, Brendel felt someone tap him from behind. “She’s activating the power of the Book of Mavikart,” Baijia wrote with her fingertip in his palm. Although this message was lengthy, they seemed to have a telepathic connection, and Brendel immediately understood her meaning. She continued, “It’s not just to extract the power of the Dark Pearl.” Her hand was icy, and her fingertip smooth, stirring something within Brendel, prompting him to lightly grasp her hand, indicating he understood.
Baijia then ceased reminding him, discreetly retracting her finger. Brendel felt the sensation vanish from his hand and couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.
However, he had no doubts about Baijia’s warning. The woman before them, Madara, was not so simple. The circumstantial intricacies she had navigated to reach this point clearly indicated careful planning; she would never undertake useless effort. Since she had done so much, she must have a considerable degree of confidence. If he felt confident at that moment, it would undoubtedly be a path to his demise. Therefore, even without Baijia’s reminder, he knew what he had to do.
Of course, Baijia’s magical mastery far exceeded his; she could accurately discern what White was doing, while he could only rely on intuition and his understanding of her to infer her possible subsequent actions.
At this moment, a surge of powerful energy emanated from the counterfeit Book of Mavikart in the circular hall.
Before everyone’s eyes, an invisible force lifted White off the ground, suspending her in mid-air. Though half of her face exposed beyond the shattered mask remained pale, the golden light in her eyes had regained its vigor. She sighed deeply before pointing at Brendel. He frowned slightly, suddenly feeling the blood within him seem to ignite, as if it would turn to steam and burst forth, but in an instant, it all felt like a mirage, calming back to normal.
“Eh?” White was momentarily taken aback, her expression turning grim.
“I see,” Brendel certainly would not regard his bodily anomaly as an illusion: “Boiling Blood Technique.” This was White’s other branch of power. He had long heard of a branch of evil Druids who could manipulate life and the power of water, and here, water included blood. Knowing that blood consists of 75 percent water, if that portion were evaporated, a person would be no different from a dried corpse. This was White’s power that she had never publicly displayed before—a hand that gives life and a hand that takes it. The Lord of Life and Death—thus came the title of the Grim Reaper, Juka.
Unfortunately, since he knew she was a Druid, he had prepared for this. Druids were a branch of the druidic magic users; how could they only cast necromantic spells? Moreover, this woman was always meticulous; how could she forget to carry fresh blood for sacrificial purposes? Thus, when she proposed to use his blood for the blood sacrifice, he was already prepared for this. Baijia had once obtained the silver lineage of the Bud people in her previous life; before she left, there was no more outstanding spellcaster among the players than her. It was too simple to guard against her magical tricks, especially since he had Andrigraphis beside him, a true master of blood magic.
“A vampire?” At this moment, White finally recognized Andrigraphis’s identity and realized where she had made a mistake. “You, a dignified human, actually consort with the undead!” she scolded, almost exasperated.
This statement left Brendel feeling quite helpless, thinking that perhaps no one had less right to say this than her. She was the undead lord of Madara, yet she was in such a cozy relationship with humans; what right did she have to accuse him? It was just like allowing state officials to start fires while forbidding the common folk from lighting lamps. However, he did not intend to waste words with this woman; her flip-flopping was entirely within his expectations. He drew the already prepared Earth Sword and leaped toward White, suspended in mid-air.
At the same time, the undead Lord Roslin finally reacted. Though he had to let White seek a way to free his wife’s soul, it didn’t mean he would favor this woman. In fact, from his perspective, he admired Brendel more. He knew Brendel’s agreement to let White take the Dark God’s blood was a significant concession and could not tolerate this woman pulling any tricks before him. He was furious and let out a roar as he swung his sword toward White in the air.
However, White already understood that if her one strike failed, she would have no other chances. In truth, she was already quite weakened, relying solely on the power supplied by the Book of Mavikart to support her spells. But such power was not meant to be sustained. She knew all too well why the Book of Mavikart was called an ancient evil artifact. Unlike Amann, who was foolishly immersed in power without a way out, White was shrewd and rational. Upon realizing her strike would not land, she immediately retraced her hand and cut off her connection to the Book of Mavikart.
A black hole expanded behind the undead knight, and she sighed, glaring at Brendel like a venomous snake. “The next time we meet, it will be your death, human.”
Brendel immediately understood that she intended to use the power of the Book of Mavikart to open a portal to escape, but he would not give her that opportunity. At this moment, he had already resolved to kill this woman. With a flash of his figure, he unleashed the Flash Sword and the power of the space element, teleporting straight to where White was within arm’s reach.
White snorted coldly, and a circle of black waves emerged before her. But Brendel had long anticipated that she would be prepared. His body shattered like an illusion upon colliding with that protective shield. “Queen Wind Nine Stellar!” White, having realized what Brendel was using, turned pale.
Brendel had accurately calculated White’s intents. This woman had been attempting to lure him into her traps all along, using herself as bait to draw his attention, setting numerous traps in front of him. Although he wouldn’t be in life-threatening danger if he fell into them, it would give her time to take the Dark God’s blood and escape.
At this moment, as Brendel swung his sword, severing the energy strands in mid-air, White abruptly lost her connection to the Dark God’s blood and her original advantage.
This meant she was left with two options.
Either abandon the Dark God’s blood and leave immediately through the portal, or forfeit her chance to escape and stay behind to seize the Dark God’s blood.
In Brendel’s mind, there was a glimmer of hope that this woman might choose to stay. Otherwise, if she escaped, it would pose endless trouble. This time he had won because he knew her better than she knew him; if she truly regarded him as a serious enemy, then he would feel like the hunted.
He didn’t want to live in constant danger, especially with others by his side. This woman operated without scruples and could strike at anyone around him at any moment.
However, Brendel also knew that this hope was quite slim. Given White’s character, she would definitely prioritize her own safety. If she couldn’t obtain the Dark God’s blood, there would be other opportunities. Still, if she chose not to leave, she might end up losing her life here. He believed this woman wouldn’t fail to see the weight of her decisions.
But just as he thought this, he was shocked to see White resolutely sever the opening of the portal and charge directly toward the light cocoon in the center of the hall.
“You damn human!” White muttered through clenched teeth, her golden eyes ablaze with fury as she said this. It could be said that at this moment, she had truly fallen into a rage.
Seeing this, Brendel was stunned, his mind racing with just one thought: had this woman gone mad?
