Black Hearted Mage

The cleared ruins were deserted, with only a dozen or so tents in the distance looking somewhat isolated. There wasn't even a single guard to be seen around the ruins, which left the people who had rushed over feeling very confused and puzzled.

Just when everyone was scratching their heads, the Mage Alliance finally took action. They sent two magic apprentices to the underground entrance of the ruins, put down the tables and chairs, and erected a two-meter-high sign.

This news quickly spread throughout Violet City. The unusual behavior of the Mage Alliance puzzled those eager to enter the underground ruins. As time went on, more and more people gathered here, eager to see what had happened.

When an adventurer in the crowd asked the two magic apprentices, he received the following reply: "The Mage Alliance will charge gold coins based on the number of people. Regardless of profession, anyone who wants to enter the underground ruins will need to pay one hundred gold coins. You can stay in the ruins for as long as you want, but if you want to enter again after exiting, you must pay another one hundred gold coins!"

This news immediately caused an uproar. Many expressed dissatisfaction with the Mage Alliance's actions, believing them to be excessively greedy. Others believed the Alliance had the right to decide how to manage the ruins and argued that charging a fee was reasonable. After all, clearing the debris from the ruins had required hundreds of men and dozens of vehicles for transportation, taking nearly a month to complete.

The two apprentices remained unmoved by the crowd's doubts. They simply sat there quietly, awaiting the crowd's decision. Those willing to pay could enter the underground ruins without issue; those unwilling or unable to afford the fee could only watch from behind. For a moment, the entire scene was at a standstill, and the atmosphere grew tense.

The Magic Guild's spies brought back new information, and Keynes frowned slightly, lost in thought. For the wealthy Magic Guild, a hundred gold coins meant nothing. He was puzzled by the fact that neither the Mage Alliance nor the Northern Tower had entered the ruins immediately.

"Send two stalkers in to investigate first. Tell them to be as careful as possible and not touch anything in the ruins!"

Keynes frowned, wondering whether he should send someone in. He paced back and forth, thinking for a long time, and finally decided that it would be safer to send someone in to investigate first.

Meanwhile, while the Magic Guild was still hesitating, the Royal Mage Corps of the Saint Roland Empire and the people sent by the Roland Empire's great nobles had already made up their minds. They paid gold coins at the entrance of the ruins without hesitation, ready to rush in first.

"Teacher, those people's armor looks like it's made of gold!" Young Caesars was watching curiously in the tent area.

A large group of people gathered at the entrance of the ruins. Some of them wore white robes with gold edges, some wore gold and red robes, and more of them wore glittering golden armor.

"Kaesas, you must remember that these people are from the Saint Laurent Empire. Their armor isn't actually made of gold; it's simply magic steel plated with a layer of gold. Furthermore, the Saint Laurent Empire has a law that states that anyone with a dark attribute will be mercilessly tied to the stake and burned alive!"

"How can they be so unreasonable!"

Hearing Old Roman's explanation, Caesars was very angry. He possessed a dark talent, and according to the laws of the Saint Laurent Empire, he should also be tied to the stake.

"The Saint Laurent Empire is a country that shouldn't have existed in the first place. It was the former Vatican that colluded with the nobles of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire was at its weakest, they forcibly divided the eastern part of the continent!"

As Old Roman spoke of these things, he was faintly angry. He was a member of the royal family of the former Roman Empire, and he knew some things much better than ordinary people.

"Boy, the old man wearing a red robe inside and half armor outside is the current high priest of the Saint Laurent Empire. He will die here this time."

"Teacher, how did you guess that?"

"Because even if he comes out alive, I will kill him with my own hands!"

Old Roman looked towards the ruins. Two or three hundred people had already entered the underground ruins one after another, and there were nearly a hundred more people waiting to enter.

"Teacher, the people from the Magic Guild haven't come yet!"

"Don't worry, they'll come!"

The crumbling castle ruins above ground seemed shattered by time; in stark contrast, beneath them lay the pristine remains of the underground. Upon entering the lower level, the sight was breathtaking—pristine white marble shone brightly as if daylight under the magical lamps. Beyond the exquisitely ornate architecture, the wooden furniture stood out. Despite thousands of years of age, it remained pristine, as if newly crafted.

Faced with such a flawless sight, the members of the Saint Laurent Empire's Royal Mage Corps couldn't help but harbor suspicions. They worried that the castle's ruins might be an elaborate hoax. Consequently, several magicians unearthed various magical instruments and began meticulously examining the furniture.

"How's it going? Have you noticed anything unusual?" a high priest wearing a golden robe and golden armor asked anxiously. His eyes were fixed on the busy magicians, waiting for their answers.

"High Priest, these pieces of furniture have truly survived over five thousand years. The relics shouldn't be fake. They're so well-preserved here. Marble can't be used to draw magic circles. Anything valuable should be on the next floor!"

"Damn it, those nobles from the Roland Empire have all gone ahead, let's catch up with them!

While the magicians of the Saint Laurent Empire were concentrating on fiddling with those sophisticated magical instruments, the nobles of the Roland Empire had already disappeared. They seemed not to be interested in these furniture, but had other purposes.

After realizing this, the people of the Saint Laurent Empire felt heavy-hearted. They began to doubt whether this operation could truly achieve the desired results. However, since things had come to this point, they had no choice but to move forward.

After leaving behind a dozen people to continue the search, the rest of the group hurriedly rushed towards the main passage like a group of people on a forced march. Their pace seemed a little flustered, as if something had made them eager to leave this place.

As the Saint Laurent Empire descended to the second level of the ruins, they immediately noticed a dramatic change in their surroundings. The once bright light had dimmed considerably, and the pristine white marble walls had been replaced by pitch-black rock. Although the magic lamps remained the same brightness, the entire space felt completely different.

This sudden shift felt unsettling, as if they had entered a whole new world. Darkness and the unknown enveloped them, making every step fraught with danger and uncertainty. They couldn't help but worry about the challenges and difficulties they would encounter next.

The passage wasn't very long, but it wasn't very short either. After walking for a while, they finally reached its end, where they saw a small black stone hall. The nobles of the Roland Empire were standing before a pitch-black stone wall, seemingly observing something.

"Don't push, you bastards from Saint Laurent, there's no way out here!"

Suddenly, the person who was looking at the stone wall in front shouted. He felt someone behind him was pushing him hard. If they pushed any further, they would be stuck to the stone wall.

However, despite this, the people at the back continued to push forward. Nearly five hundred people were crowded into this small stone hall, making the originally narrow stone hall suddenly become extremely crowded.

"Why is there no road?" A puzzled voice came from the crowd.

"Half of the people should retreat. There are reliefs and magic patterns on the stone wall. If you want to go in, you must open the magic door here!" someone shouted.

The two sides began to negotiate and finally decided to ask everyone except those with magic professions to leave this small stone hall to leave enough space to view the reliefs and magic arrays.

Only about forty people remained in the stone hall, of which only six or seven were magicians from the nobles' side. The rest were from the Saint Laurent Empire, half of whom were priests and pastors. Priests and pastors didn't understand magic patterns and formations, but their status in the Saint Laurent Empire far surpassed that of magicians.

Before him lay a pitch-black, smooth stone wall, adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs. Even more striking were the lines of the magic runes weaving through it, winding like snakes, a dazzling display. Even for seasoned magicians versed in magic runes, it posed a formidable challenge; even glancing at it was exhausting.

"These are irregular and deformed magic patterns. They are very profound. It seems that the magic pattern arrays on the three stone walls are all connected together!"

The old wizard on the noble side was proficient in magic runes and arrays, but faced with such a complex and mysterious magic runes and arrays, he was now in trouble and felt helpless.

The old magician frowned as he looked at the magic array before him, shaking his head and sighing, "It's simply too complicated, completely distorted, no longer a regular magic array. I simply can't understand it."

Another old wizard beside him was also confused and asked helplessly, "Old Gad, can we find a way to cut off the magic circuit of the magic pattern formation? This may stop it from functioning."

After hearing this, Old Garde shook his head grimly and said, "No, we have no way of determining the specific function of this magic array. If we arbitrarily interrupt the magic circuit, it may lead to unexpected consequences."

The two exchanged glances, each feeling a surge of helplessness. Then, Old Gard suddenly had an idea. He turned to the people behind him and said, "Let's wait for the Saint Laurent magicians to share their opinions. Let's see how good they are and whether they can solve this mystery."

The magicians of the Saint Laurent Empire were also at a loss when faced with the extremely complex magic array.

"Everyone, these black stones are black steel rocks deep in the earth. They are harder than magic steel. I really don't know how the Ludwig family mined and processed them thousands of years ago. We can't understand the magic patterns and formations, so we can only forcibly cut off the magic circuit!"

The leader of the Saint Laurent Royal Mage Corps, a veteran mage proficient in magic runes and arrays, was not embarrassed or ashamed by his inability to understand. Instead, he was remarkably frank and open-minded. Faced with the mysterious underground ruins before him, he unhesitatingly admitted his confusion and sought answers from others.

"How do we cut off the magic circuit? This is a tricky problem."

Old Gard frowned, a hint of anxiety etched in his voice. He was well aware of the strength of the Black Steel Rock, and even more so, that destroying the magic array within the ruins would be no easy task. Furthermore, there were over a dozen main lines of magic flowing through them, each one representing a complex magic array.

"We must cut off all magic circuits at the same time before we can break through the stone wall by force." The Saint Laurent wizard leader's eyes flashed with determination, as if he was ready to face the challenge.

"So, which method should we choose to cut off the magic circuit? Use magic melting or physical cutting?"

Old Gard glanced at the crowd, anticipating their responses. He knew this was a crucial decision, crucial to the success or failure of the ruins exploration.

"Wait!"

At that moment, a discordant voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned to look, only to see over twenty figures in magic robes slowly enter the stone hall. Leading the way was none other than the Magic Guild's Grand Mage, Cairns. His presence heightened the atmosphere.

"Gad, Piccolo, it's been ages since we last met. When are you coming back to the Magic Guild? And this High Priest Paul, you're incredibly brave, actually daring to leave the Saint Laurent Empire. Old Roman from the North Tower is just outside. It might be difficult for you to return to Saint Laurent!"

The high priest wearing half-body armor suddenly felt his eyelids twitching and his heart was filled with uneasiness.

"I didn't kill his students, so why should he stop me?"

"Hey, you didn't kill his students, but assassins from the Court of Arbitration did visit the Roman family. Don't deny it, because those assassins were interrogated by the Magic Guild. The Saint Laurent Church's trick of framing us has been exposed!"

Keynes' face was filled with a smile, but his heart was filled with anger. The assassins sent by the Church of Saint Laurent had disguised themselves as guards of the Magic Guild, intending to kill the descendants of old Roman and frame the Magic Guild.

High Priest Paul's expression shifted rapidly, from anxiety to confusion to resentment, and finally, a touch of madness. Keynes completely ignored him, now gazing at the intricate magic circle and observing the exquisite reliefs.