It felt so good to be close to the witch!

With this suspicion surfacing in her mind, Ais became increasingly cautious.

Upon stepping onto the deep silver metal platform, the concentration of magic in the lake water suddenly increased dramatically. As the Ice Witch, Ais could vaguely feel a burning sensation on her skin.

Keep in mind that she is currently in a "Grand Elemental" state. If she feels scorching hot, the temperature here must be over a thousand degrees.

Strangely, despite the high temperature, the lake water did not boil but remained in its original state.

Perhaps it's the effect of this sealing array?

After observing the eight giant metal pillars, Ais turned her gaze to the small, deep red crevice in the center of the platform.

The intense crimson color prevented Ais from seeing what lay beyond the crack, but considering the surrounding landscape and the information that Star Lake only exhibited unusual activity during the Fertility Festival, she made a deduction in her mind.

This giant metal pillar sealing array buried at the bottom of Star Lake, perhaps because it has existed for too long, or for some other reason, will have "sealing cracks" appear starting a week before the annual Harvest Festival. The closer to the Harvest Festival, the larger the "sealing cracks" become, and the "sealing cracks" will not close again until the Harvest Festival is over.

The anomaly of Star Lake was caused by the magic power leaking from the "sealed crack".

Presumably, the Second Prince's target, the unknown magical item that Roy mentioned, is located behind this "sealed rift"!

Chapter 76 Try

Beneath the lakebed and atop the platform, the deep red fissures shimmer with an eerie light, like a corner of hell unfolding before one's eyes, sending chills down one's spine.

Ais stopped a meter in front of the crimson crevice.

It wasn't that she didn't want to move forward, but at this distance, the magical impact of each pulse from the crimson rift had become so strong that it was enough to affect her "Grand Elementalization".

If she continues forward, she will likely be forced out of her "Grand Elemental" state by the terrifying magical impact.

The magic emanating from the crimson rift seemed to have an exceptionally strong effect on the non-physical state of "elementalization".

With this thought in mind, Ais considered it for a moment and then transformed her left index finger from elemental form back into a solid, fleshy form.

The lake water within the sealing array contains an extremely high concentration of magic, but for Ais, this level of magic is not enough to corrode her body.

After her left index finger returned to solid flesh, Ais could feel that the impact on her finger was significantly reduced. If the impact force of "Crown Elementalization" was 100, then after returning to solid flesh, it was only about 20.

Although it is unclear why this is the case, in order to get closer to the Crimson Rift, Ais had no choice but to withdraw from "Grand Elementalization" and turn her whole body into solid flesh and blood.

More than a hundred meters below the lake surface, coupled with the influence of the sealing array, even a Golden Knight would not be able to sense her presence, so there is no need to worry about being exposed.

A deep blue magical glow enveloped Ais's body.

The temperature here is over a thousand degrees. Without magical protection, even if her current physical condition is comparable to that of a gold knight, she would suffer severe burns. After all, a gold knight is still human, and the structure of the human body makes it naturally difficult to withstand high temperatures.

The sudden drop in magical energy greatly reduced Ais's stress.

She approached the deep red crevice and gazed intently at it.

The edges of the deep red crack were irregularly shaped, a shape that instinctively conjured up in Ais's mind the image of an object expanding due to excessive internal pressure, which then caused it to crack.

Without realizing it, Ais fell into deep thought.

How do I get inside this thing?

How can a flesh and blood body pass through a cut smaller than the palm of your hand?

It's impossible, no matter how you think about it, it's impossible.

If it were in its elemental form, it would be fine, but the problem is that the elemental form needs to withstand too much impact, making it impossible to get close, let alone pass through.

After thinking for a while, Ais raised her hand, and a deep blue ice sword took shape in her hand.

She decided to try the "physical opening method" to see if she could pry the button open a bit more.

She knew absolutely nothing about sealing formations, so there was no need for her to humiliate herself by searching for flaws in the seals.

The ice sword attempted to pierce the crimson crevice, but upon contact, the crimson crevice seemed to vanish like a reflection of the moon in water, passing directly through the ice sword without touching anything.

what? !

Ais's pupils contracted slightly.

The magic emanating from the crimson rift was undeniably real, yet the rift itself seemed like a mirage—visible but intangible.

Is it the effect of the sealing array? Or is it due to the special environment here?

After trying a few more times and confirming that she could not reach the crimson crevice, Ais released the ice sword from her hand.

She stood before the deep red crevice, observing for a long time.

Suddenly, she discovered a strange phenomenon.

The size of the deep red crack is gradually increasing over time.

Although the increase is not significant, probably only around 1% proportionally, it is indeed expanding.

Does this mean that once the crimson rift widens to a certain extent, outsiders will be able to pass through?

With this thought in mind, Ais observed for a while longer before turning and leaving.

We've gathered enough intelligence. Instead of wasting time here, let's take the intelligence back, discuss countermeasures, and then take action.

Returning along the same route, Ais arrived at the area where the pale red fish had previously lived.

A considerable amount of time had passed since Ais left, and the pale red fish that had fled in panic swam back because the "danger had disappeared."

Knowing the "warning" nature of these pale red fish, Ais reached out and froze a large number of them before they could escape—about a hundred or so.

There weren't many pale red fish living here, less than two hundred in total. After keeping thirty or forty as "fish fry," Ais melted all the frozen pale red fish into a round ice block the size of a human head and held it in her hand.

Then, she lightly touched the ground with her jade-like feet and headed towards the lake. During this process, her body entered a state of "Grand Elementalization," and the ice puck in her hand was also covered by "Grand Elementalization," concealing its presence.

On the shore of Star Lake, Robert, the Golden Two-Star Knight and Bloodstained Fortress, stood in the shadows. Several hundred meters away in the dense forest, several figures could be seen indistinctly.

However, neither side, which remained on high alert, realized that right under their noses, someone had ventured deep into Xinghu Lake to investigate, and then swaggered away.

After a long while, two of the three shadow crows soaring in the night sky flew away silently, leaving only one with sharp eyes staring down below.

……

Inside the courtyard of the Blackrock Lord's mansion.

Roy, Lilia, and Shanika sat on a stone chair, looking at the "black and white projection" constructed from shadow magic.

From the perspective of Shadow Raven, Star Lake was completely silent, with no one in sight.

Clearly, even the strange shadow creatures could not observe the Grand Ice Witch Ais in her "elementalized" form.

The "Grand Rank" of witches is a very peculiar rank.

The path to becoming a knight's extraordinary skill progresses from low to high: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Although there are significant differences between them, the path generally presents a step-by-step progression.

But witches are different; they don't have such detailed power classifications.

A witch's strength is greatly related to her innate talent and total magical power at the time of awakening.

A witch with supportive talents and low total magic power might struggle even to defeat a Bronze Knight.

A witch with powerful talent and a high total magic power, like the Ice Witch, can easily crush a Silver Peak Knight with a little training.

The "Grand Rank," as the first clearly defined realm reached by witches after awakening, offers a power boost far exceeding what others can imagine.

The knight's advancement from Silver rank to Gold rank represents a terrifying increase in strength, but it is still far inferior to a witch's advancement to Grand Witch.

Therefore, an ordinary Golden Knight would not be a match for the "Grand Witch".

Inside the courtyard, Roy, who was gazing at the black and white projection, seemed to sense something and turned to look to his side.

At the entrance of the courtyard, the crimson moonlight flowed like water. A graceful young woman in a deep purple dress, with silver light in her eyes, stepped forward, holding an ice ball that emitted a hazy icy mist in her hand.

The Ice Witch Ais has returned.

Chapter 77 Miss Ais, let's go into the room.

"Miss Ais, you're back so soon!"

Upon seeing the aloof young woman at the entrance of the courtyard, Roy exclaimed in delight.

Beside Roy, Lilia and Shanica also showed a hint of joy in their eyes.

Both women were aware of the current situation in Blackrock Territory and knew that the key to breaking the deadlock lay in the magical items sealed beneath Star Lake.

"I'm sorry, I was unable to retrieve the magical item."

However, the Ice Witch Ais's next words poured cold water on Roy and his companions.

Roy's expression froze slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "Miss Ais, can you tell me what's going on beneath the center of Star Lake?"

"This is exactly what I was going to tell you." Ais walked to the stone table where Roy and the other two were sitting and sat down, placing the hazy ice ball she had been holding on the table. Then she spoke in a clear, cold voice:

“Around Star Lake, there is a knight whose battle aura is far stronger than that of a peak silver knight. He should be a gold knight. Further away, there are several silver knights hidden.”

"Beneath the center of Star Lake lies a massive sealing array."

"It consists of eight huge metal pillars, each one meter in diameter and nearly twenty meters high, and a dark silver metal platform."

"In the center of the sealing array, there is a deep red crack about the size of a palm. The reason for the abnormal magic power in the Star Lake is the powerful fire element magic power that periodically surges out from this deep red crack."

"The magical item should be located behind the Crimson Rift."

"I tried to force open the Crimson Rift, but I failed."

"This deep red crevice, though visible to the naked eye, seems to exist in another dimension, untouchable."

"Through observation, I found that the deep red crack is gradually widening over time. Considering that the lake water gradually returns to normal after the annual Fengrang Festival, I roughly speculate that the deep red crack expands more and more as the Fengrang Festival approaches, reaching its maximum size at the time of the festival, and then closing after the festival."

The information about the many stars and lakes revealed by the Ice Witch Ais shocked Lilia and Shanika, and also made Roy's expression gradually become serious.

A mysterious sealing array, an untouchable crimson rift...

All of this made Roy's mind seem to flash like lightning, instantly connecting all the information he had obtained in the past.

Without a doubt, the Second Prince's goal from beginning to end was the [Arrogance Source] magical item sealed by a mysterious sealing array beneath the Star Lake in Blackstone Territory.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to offend Soros, a high-ranking official of the empire, the border guard, and the Duke of the Frontier who held military power.

But in reality, would Border Duke Breton Soros really be unaware of the mysterious sealing array beneath Star Lake?

That's possible, but unlikely.

As one of the top super noble families in the empire, if a border duke's control over his territory were this weak, he would probably have been overthrown long ago.

Blackrock Territory was originally the territory of a border duke, but it was granted to the old lord of Blackrock Territory, who had made outstanding contributions in the previous imperial war, and was Roy's original father.