Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 442 Eternal Oath
"It's up to you guys now."

The lord said this, but before Shadow Fiend could say anything, Viconia, who had been pre-arranged, raised a question:
"The current situation is a bit precarious. The original plan was to rely on the Night Lady's Altar as the central core to absorb the power of the Shadow Plane to stabilize and control the gap, turning it into a controllable Shadow Gate."

"But judging from the current situation, the size of this rift and the speed at which the shadow power dissipates are incomparable to those ordinary dimensional rifts. To entrust this place with a holy altar is really giving me too much credit."

The woman spoke with neither arrogance nor servility, her attitude was sincere, and her words were reasonable and well-founded. She was a truly objective person, and most people would have been moved by her words and deeply understood her difficulties.

After all, what they said was true. Completely closing the gap according to the original plan was not realistic. As a second-best option, they set up a Shadow Altar to harmonize and calm the primal power from the Shadow Realm in order to quell the disturbances of the Shadow Demon Network and the instability of the space.

While this method of using someone else's strength against them is certainly clever, the central figure responsible for coordinating and controlling the flow and transformation of energy in between, namely Pastor Shar, is not having an easy time. The current situation is more troublesome than expected, and the other party's complaints are to be expected.

"It's really tough on you to balance the turmoil of the Shadow Demon Network on one hand and suppress the flow of the Shadow Source on the other."

The monk seemed thoughtful upon hearing this, as if he had a new plan. Wiconia, seeing this, was secretly delighted, but outwardly appeared to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It would be best if you could understand. My own strength is indeed insufficient to handle this level of conversion node, but if a powerful shadow creature can serve as the energy conversion hub, then things are not without hope."

"What you say makes sense. Very well, it's approved."

The mage nodded upon hearing this and pointed in the direction of the Shadow Demon. Before the drow could control her facial expressions to avoid revealing anything such as a smirk, what the mage said next almost made her jump.

"Did you hear that, Nevin Moore? The operation of the dimensional stabilization device is now up to you."

"It is my pleasure to serve you, Your Excellency Chanem."

Shadow Fiend bowed respectfully, then glanced at Viconia, his gaping maw bursting with flames, his smile filled with ill intent in the latter's eyes.

"That's probably not appropriate. After all, he appeared in this plane as a summoned creature. How can he take on the responsibility of maintaining the Shadow Gate, which requires a long-term and stable operation?"

As expected, the female drow retorted, only to be met with a half-smile from the mage.

"You don't need to worry about how to maintain the Shadow Fiend's existence. The Eternal Covenant in the Conjuration tree is enough to solve this problem. You just need to focus on constructing the Shadow Gate."

"I still think that having the cooperation of the original shadow creatures of the film world would give us a better chance of success."

Viconia tried hard to maintain her opinion, but unfortunately, she didn't have the power to speak.

"Grasp? What are you implying?"

The mage's gaze darted back and forth between the drow and the shadow demon.

"Are you implying that my magical skills are insufficient to accomplish this, or are you questioning Nevenmore's ability to manipulate shadows?" Having said all that, knowing she couldn't change anything, Viconia shut her mouth, squeezing out a "As you wish" through gritted teeth before saying nothing more.

The mage took out all the necessary materials and resources from his storage bag and slowly and steadily began to set up the magic array.

With each circuit inscribed and each core node successfully constructed, after several hours of painstaking work, the Eternal Oath Ritual was finally declared initially complete. Arcane light, symbolizing the smooth operation of the magic array, emanated from the six smoky crystals at the apex of the six-pointed star formed by the inner ring, illuminating the Shadow Demon at the center of the array.

"How are you feeling, Nevin Moore? Is anything unusual?"

The flames rising from the person being questioned by the monk swayed with the rhythm of his arm movements, revealing the turbulent emotions within him.

"Ah, yes, that's the feeling, manager."

Shadow Fiend's distinctive aria-like tone became increasingly pronounced, making each sentence sound like it was three sentences long:
"Just like the connection between us when we first stepped onto the battlefield of ruins and the meteorite crystal, my thoughts and consciousness have anchored here. I think as long as I don't go too far, as long as the Shadow Flame body that carries my consciousness still exists, then I can stay here for a long time."

"Yes, Nevinmore has escaped that damned cage. I am free!"

Letting the Shadow Fiend vent his joy, Zhang Yuan turned to the Drow and instructed her:
"Next, we need to set up the energy conversion array. However, the altar where it is based will take a while to complete. Let's clean up the battlefield first and come back tomorrow."

The latter nodded in agreement and led the other Word Bearers to take stock of their spoils. It was not a small amount; the remnants of mid-to-high-level shadow creatures, such as Ghost Embers and Shadow Crystals, were worth some money.

Of course, the real culprit was the body of the giant insect Nightshade. Although it was badly damaged, it was fortunately killed by the Sunfire Beam in one blow. If it had been burned to death by the Holy Light and the Shadow Flame, there probably wouldn't have been much left.

But things are different now. What does it mean to have a high-level demon that is more than ten meters long?
The armor made of Shadowhide is a high-grade magical equipment second only to Shadow Dragon Armor. Its unique chitinous mixture and snake scale-like structure make it almost as strong as dragon scales, making it the best choice for wanderers.
Shadow essence extracted from flesh and blood, shadow orbs that may be conceived within the body, more than twenty sharp and sturdy claws comparable to the chelicerae of the Sword Spider Queen, and so on.

However, the cutting and processing of superior materials is also a technical task. Just transporting this big guy out of the castle took the mage a lot of effort.

The storage bag was already quite full, so after some maneuvering and even clearing out many less valuable items to temporarily store in the underground palace, they finally managed to stuff the giant worm inside.

As for the creation of magical items, that will have to wait until he returns to the academy. Not to mention the necessary processing equipment and auxiliary materials, with Zhang Yuan's current alchemy level, processing materials from flying dragons and sword spiders is already the limit. If he were to dabble in a small treasure trove like the Giant Insect Night Shadow...

Even Pigsy eating ginseng fruit couldn't be more extreme than this.

The next morning, Master Zhang, along with Viconia, Tybion who was acting as their assistant, and a dwarf stonemason, returned to the castle's underground palace to begin constructing the altar and the corresponding energy conversion ritual.

The construction of the Shadow Gate can be slowed down a bit. After all, the giant insect Nightshade previously occupied this place, and its lingering influence makes it unlikely that any foolish shadow creatures will come to seize the territory in the short term.

Thank you to Wanliutongyuan, Baochao Shuilongrou, WYT1, and Brother Ayi for your monthly ticket support! Thank you!

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(End of this chapter)