Black Hearted Mage

"So many history books have been destroyed that I can barely even understand the three reliefs about the Ludwig family. No, there are four reliefs, and there's one on top!"

Keynes threw several illumination spells upwards, and the fourth relief revealed its true appearance.

"Magic originated in the Western Continent. The first demon invasion occurred over 13,000 years ago. At that time, a huge red magic pattern appeared in the sky. A few days later, the demon, like a flaming meteorite, passed through the magic pattern array in the sky and fell into the lava lake of the volcano."

The old Keynes smiled as he looked at the people from the Saint Laurent Empire. His eyes revealed a depth and wisdom, as if he had seen through everything.

"Do you know? The Holy Mountain of the Vatican was destroyed 13,000 years ago, but it rose again more than 2,000 years later. And the first thing they did was to destroy all the history books to make people forget that history." Keynes said slowly, his voice carrying a hint of vicissitudes and emotion.

"However, there is one person who will never be forgotten. His name is Raven Ludwig, a true hero. The Holy See was at its peak, enjoying immense glory, but it was this hero who overthrew the Holy See and put an end to its ambitions."

Cairns continued, "The first demons that invaded were tens of meters tall, burning with flames. It was this hero who stepped forward and used his own power to slay these demons, thus protecting our world."

Upon hearing this, everyone present fell into deep thought. The name Raven Ludwig was completely unfamiliar to them. Even someone as knowledgeable as High Priest Paul had never heard of it. The name seemed to have been buried by time.

"Keynes, you're making this up!

The high priest was furious. He glared at Cairns who was wearing a gorgeous robe.

"High Priest, if you are not blind, just look up and take a look at the relief above. Our magic guild has records from more than 10,000 years ago, and we have also preserved the photo stone of the Pope at that time. The Pope practiced necromancy in order to gain eternal life. If there was no agreement between the two parties, we would have announced it to the public long ago!" Keynes said with a sneer.

Looking at the fearless great magician, the high priest seemed to remember something, his face turned ugly, and then he shut his mouth obediently.

The relief above his head recorded Raven's deeds, which were basically the same as what Keynes described, but no magician could still understand the magic patterns and arrays around the relief.

The veteran magicians from the three factions put aside their differences and petty grudges, quietly discussing how to break through the stone wall. The priests and pastors could only look around, tapping the stone wall gently with their staffs, trying to find the hidden passage.

After a long time, dozens of fire mages were assigned their tasks. They planned to work together to destroy the magic pattern array, and then break through the stone wall to search for treasure.

The priest began to cast a buff spell on the magician. Although it didn't do much, it was better than nothing. The magician cast a magic shield on himself, and the priest and the priest retreated.

The fire magicians chanted spells one after another, and at Keynes' command, they cast high-temperature fire spells almost simultaneously at the magic pattern array on the wall of the stone hall.

"boom!"

"Boom!"

……

A series of violent explosions shook the entire stone hall.

However, when the high temperature dissipated, the magicians found that the magic pattern array was still functioning intact.

"How is this possible?" Keynes said in disbelief with his eyes wide open.

At this moment, the magic pattern formation changed. On the originally dark and smooth stone wall, purple oval concentric lines appeared. These lines ranged from small to large, constantly flashing with dreamy and colorful light, dazzling the eyes.

With a loud bang, a black stone door suddenly fell, making a heavy crash, completely sealing off the already small stone hall. This sudden change terrified the people present. They didn't know what was going on, and their hearts were filled with fear and confusion.

Just as these people were panicking, a huge figure, all ablaze with flames, appeared before their eyes. The figure gradually became clearer, revealing a humanoid creature composed of elemental flames, which slowly emerged from the magic pattern formation.

"There are quite a lot of people who need to take part in the trial!" Its voice was low and hoarse, like a demon from hell.

This humanoid creature was incredibly stout and tall, clearly over four meters tall. Its body burned with blazing flames, emitting a powerful aura. However, surprisingly, its flames didn't seem to bring any warmth, and the surrounding air was actually somewhat chilly.

"Damn it, why are there bastards from the Vatican here?"

The flame man's tone was filled with anger and disgust. He roared loudly, shaking the entire stone hall and even the ground. Many people in the stone hall screamed in fear. The magical creature they faced was too powerful.

"Quiet!" The flame man suddenly shouted, making everyone's ears buzz. Its burning eyes swept across the crowd, making people dare not look directly at it.

"Listen carefully, I am the guardian here and I am responsible for presiding over this trial." The voice of the Fire Man was majestic and irresistible.

"You must follow my instructions, or you will face the consequences." Its gaze fell on the door on the left. "The left door is for Grand Magicians; the middle door is for high-level professionals; the right door is for low- and mid-level professionals. Don't go through the wrong door. Going through the wrong door is cheating, and the only result of cheating is death."

The three magic doors in the stone wall opened, and the tall fire man stood silently, waiting for everyone's action.

A number appeared on the dark, smooth wall, constantly changing, its value gradually decreasing. A tall figure composed of the element of fire watched the number shrink and then produced a battle axe condensed from the element of fire.

Everyone who entered the stone hall was forced to accept the trial mission. They divided themselves into three teams and walked into three magic doors respectively.

"You bastards of the Holy See, don't even think about leaving Master Jerry's territory alive!"

The figure made of elemental flames laughed loudly, and then the three magic doors were closed by it.

Shortly after sunrise, in the tent area west of the ruins, a well-fed Caesars had changed out of his pajamas and donned a dark blue robe. He sat in his tent, meditating. Mornings and evenings were his training times. Because he was so young, Old Roman only allowed him to meditate for an hour, though the little fellow would add some time for himself.

The guards of the tower patrolled around the tent. They wore brown composite leather armor, some carried bows and arrows, some held giant blade guns, and the rest held one-handed axes and shields.

The guards are generally very tall, with dark skin, high brow bones, big mouths and thick lips. They are all northerners who have guarded the tower for generations.

Caesars was lost in meditation, quietly absorbing the magical elements around him. Suddenly, the entire ruined area trembled slightly. Although the vibration was not strong, it was enough to wake him from his meditation.

Caesars quickly opened his eyes, a hint of caution and confusion flashing across them. He took a deep breath and quickly walked out of the tent. When he arrived outside, the scene before him shocked him.

The underground entrance to the ruins was filled with dust and chaos. A powerful gust of air erupted from the ground, carrying immense force. With the blast, figures were thrown into the air, appearing half-dead and in a state of disarray. After tracing graceful arcs through the air, they fell heavily to the ground twenty or thirty meters away.

"Wow!"

Caesar couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes wide open, staring at the scene in disbelief. "I've seen fountains in the tower gardens, but I've never seen one that sprays people!" He said excitedly, as if he had discovered a new world.

Caesars watched with great interest as hundreds of people were ejected from the underground ruins, falling one after another into a spectacular pile of people. Their bodies twisted, some groaned in pain, and others fell unconscious. Caesars couldn't help but shake his head and sighed, "This is really interesting!"

"Kaisas, let's go over and see what's going on. An old fellow from the magic guild is in such a miserable state. His magic robes are all torn, and his eyebrows, beard, and hair are all gone. I almost didn't recognize him!"

Old Roman smiled cheerfully and looked into the distance with interest.

"Teacher, they're all basically the same. Their hair has been burned off, and they're all bald!"

"That old guy is different. His head is really bald. It looks shiny!"

Old Roman led Caesars toward the crowd, followed by the burly Trum. The crowd was still emitting steam and smoke, and as they approached, they could smell the aroma of barbecue, tinged with a strong, burnt odor.

"The Great Fire Mage of the Magic Guild was nearly cremated. No one would believe it if I told anyone about it!

Old Roman took out the photo stone and recorded the miserable appearance of these people.

"Damn it Roman, you did it on purpose. You didn't go down because you knew it was so dangerous down there!"

"I did it on purpose, but I didn't force you to go down. Caesars, come and see if the top of his head is shiny."

Caesars squatted down, and the bald old wizard was pinned underneath, unable to move below the neck.

"Teacher, his head is so shiny, like a well-oiled waterproof leather boot!"

"Yes, this old fellow has bad intentions and is always thinking about doing something bad. How come there are no priests or pastors from the Saint Laurent Empire?"

Old Roman searched around the crowd, but he really didn't see anyone from the church.

"He's dead! The church's high priest was the first to undergo the trial, and he was burned alive, burning to the point where not even a bone was left!"

Keynes spoke with some horror. This was something he would never forget.

"The first stage of the trial was a test of defense. After the High Priest activated the Holy Shield, a small white flame fell on his head. The defensive shield was burned through, and he was ignited like a candle. Then he burned from head to toe, leaving not a trace of ashes!"

Keynes spoke with a look of horror, his body shaking unconsciously, as if he was still immersed in the horrific scene. Another great magician from the Magic Guild was also pale as paper, clearly also extremely frightened.

"What a pity! His storage ring must have been burned!"

At this moment, Caesar suddenly said something unexpected, which shocked the two great magicians. They did not expect that Caesar would not care about the life or death of the person, but would care more about the other party's storage ring.

Cairns stared at Caesars with wide eyes, muttering to himself, "Who on earth is this little guy? How could he be so cold and heartless?" But he didn't dare ask any more questions. After all, the old Roman in front of him was unfathomable.

"Teacher, it seems that no one from the Holy See has come out. Can I take some loot from them?"

Caesars asked cautiously, pointing with his little finger at a group of people on the ground. These people seemed to have lost the ability to resist and had become lambs to be slaughtered.

Kaisas thought that if he could get some precious magic crystals or magical items from these people, it would be a huge gain. However, he didn't know whether Old Roman would agree to this request.

"Boy, you're too late. We have nothing left. After we failed the test, our storage rings were taken away by a tall flame man!"

Keynes was so angry that he wanted to laugh. A six or seven-year-old baby actually wanted to take advantage of others, and did it so blatantly.

Old Roman frowned and remained silent. He had a vague feeling that the trial mission in the ruins was not as simple as he had imagined.

The figure in the robe continued to ask, very curious about the reason: "Why did it take your storage ring?"

Keynes sighed and explained, "Because we are not from the Ludwig family, we must pay a price for accepting the trials. The trials here are all extreme, and almost no one can pass them. Old Roman, please get someone to get me out!"

Keynes looked at the people on top of the crowd, most of whom were in a coma. He had no choice but to put aside his pride and ask old Roman for help.

Old Roman turned to look at Trum and asked, "Trum, can you get him out?"

Trum grinned and said, "Of course I can, but I'm afraid I'll tear him in two!"

Keynes's expression changed, and he quickly shouted, "Stop pulling!"

Trum laughed out loud: "Don't worry, I won't act arrogantly. I'm just trying to scare you."

Keynes breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then why don't you do it quickly."

Trum took out a thick totem pole and thrust it into the ground. Elemental energy began to rapidly gather around the totem pole. With a huge tremor, Cairns, with his head bare, was pulled out.

"Ouch, he's naked!"

Keynes was about to express his gratitude when the baby's tender voice made him despair. He didn't have a single piece of cloth on his body, and old Roman was still recording with the photo stone.