Chapter 43: Wait, You Bastard, You're Going to Charge In Again?!
Before everyone's eyes, a black pillar of light rose from the ground, piercing straight into the sky. It tore through layers of clouds and mist, broke through the dark canopy of heaven, and opened a small 'hole' within the world itself.
—And beyond that hole, the aura of another world surged forth violently.
At that moment, the violet-haired female mage lost the ability to speak. As a mage, she could naturally sense the aura pouring out from the hole. Driven by her instinctive curiosity, the Countess even used her mental power to probe it in the first instant. And precisely because of that, that pure chaotic evil force dealt a massive blow to her spirit.
"Damn it, where did such a powerful force come from…"
The moment after her probing attempt, Verdani felt a lightning-like force counterattack her, striking straight into her brain. Under the extreme stimulation, she immediately knelt on one knee, clutching her forehead, her face twisted in pain.
If it weren't for the fact that her spirit had grown further recently due to overusing magic, that distant mysterious force might have directly crippled her soul just now.
The Countess gasped a few times, staring at the black pillar of light. She gripped the gray wooden staff in her hand tightly, then slowly stood up, grinding her teeth as she said, "I know my territory well—there are absolutely no ancient ruins or powerful natural wonders here… So why is there suddenly such a violent anomaly? Where is this power coming from? What exactly is behind that hole?!"
Of course, it was another world—a world completely corrupted and occupied by an Evil God.
Standing at the edge of the city wall, Joshua, along with Brandon who had rushed over to support her, both knew the answer. But now was not the time to explain it to Verdani. At this moment, both of their expressions were grim.
In fact, there could never be just one space-time rift connecting two worlds. Take Moldavia, for example—within a single territory, there were as many as three such rifts. They had all been completely sealed four hundred years ago by the legendary mage, Brandon's ancestor. Even if Wild Gods occasionally emerged from the world on the other side, they couldn't break the seal on the Mycroft Continent's end.
But the anomaly before them was exactly what ancient texts described as a space-time rift fully opening—the hole in the sky and the pillar of light were merely reflections caused by space-time forces, while the passage on the ground had surely already opened wide, unleashing an endless tide of Wild Gods.
"Although I guessed there was a space-time passage in Moldova's Black Forest, I didn't expect it to enter a fully open state so quickly… Joshua, how is it in your territory?"
Muttering to himself, Brandon immediately turned to look at the black-haired warrior, his tone urgent: "And the fortress—quickly, go check on it!"
Joshua naturally understood what he meant. The other was worried that the three space-time gates in Moldavia might have opened simultaneously. He shook his head and said, "No need, everything is normal. I just contacted them."
Before setting out to investigate the Black Forest, Joshua had already contacted Moldavia's main city. The result was that everything was normal—the fortress's small chapel and the main city showed no unusual activity. Not only were there no magical beasts in the Black Forest, but the sky was also clear for miles, and the blizzard had stopped for several days, completely unlike a typical winter.
It was through this observation that Joshua confirmed a mysterious force was manipulating the wind and snow deep within the Black Forest, diverting snowfall from other places to concentrate on the Moldova Fortress alone. He now shared this speculation with the two people before him.
"We think so too. However, relying solely on the power of that ice butterfly could never achieve the level of controlling the entire Northern climate… Combined with this anomaly here, it seems that black dragon hasn't been idle these past few days. It's done quite a lot."
Feeling the surging chaotic aura, Brandon couldn't help but tighten his grip on his sword hilt, suppressing his anger as he said, "Damn it! If only we weren't so few in number and lacked the initiative to attack, how could we have given it time to prepare! But fortunately, this opening is relatively small; more powerful beings can't get through yet. There's still a chance."
The violet-haired mage's spirit was still in turmoil. Listening to the conversation between her partner and the black-haired warrior, she felt a blur of confusion, sensing there were many things she didn't know. But she had no energy to dwell on such questions now. Verdani shook her head and used all her strength to calm the waves stirred up in her mental sea by the chaotic force's counterattack.
*Why have I been having so many mental shocks lately…* Sighing inwardly, after calming down for a moment, the Countess felt her mental sea had stabilized considerably, though she was still a bit dizzy. Still, she could stand on her own now. Brandon also released his supporting hand at that moment, walking to the edge of the city wall to stand beside Joshua, gazing into the Black Forest.
"As for me, I don't think there's too much to worry about. This passage is clearly just forcibly opened by an external force."
Meanwhile, after observing for a while, Joshua's view differed from the blonde swordsman's. Staring at this seemingly spectacular black pillar of light, his gaze had already returned to calm.
In his past life, he had witnessed the opening of space-time rifts countless times. As an experienced warrior, he could easily see through the essence behind this anomaly: "If my estimate is correct, it will collapse on its own soon. In such a short time, not many Wild Gods can get through."
But it wouldn't be long before the real full opening.
As soon as he finished speaking, just as the warrior had said, the black pillar of light suddenly twisted and trembled, then, like shattered glass, directly scattered into countless specks of magical light and collapsed. The dim sky canopy also dispersed at the same time, and the sunlight it had been blocking appeared before everyone's eyes like a golden sword, plunging straight into the center of the Black Forest.
The anomaly vanished, the space-time gate closed, and the chaotic aura immediately dissipated, as if it had never existed.
And at that moment, the sound of orderly footsteps came from the entrance passage of the city wall. Brandon turned to look and saw many knights and soldiers forming ranks, arriving from afar.
Although the blizzard and fierce wind were still raging, pressing down so hard that people could barely lift their heads, as soldiers, having witnessed such a world-shaking anomaly, they would never cower at home.
Accompanied by a very rhythmic sound, squads of city guards arrived at their posts. They opened the doors of the armory from beneath the snow, hauling out alchemical cannons and enchanted heavy crossbows, with ammunition continuously being transported up. Without waiting for orders from their lord or commander, these experienced soldiers prepared themselves for any enemy on their own.
"Report!"
A knight in armor, with dark skin and puffy bags under his eyes—clearly indicating he hadn't rested well lately—walked up to Verdani and shouted loudly, "The city guard is ready for battle!"
The violet-haired female mage nodded approvingly and praised, "Very good. Maintain vigilance. The enemy should appear soon. The first wave will be fierce. You are permitted to use the newly arrived special ammunition!"
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, the knight responded loudly, then immediately turned and walked back to coordinate supplies: "Those in the back! Bring up the cloudburst bombs those alchemists bragged about! Let's give those beast whelps a real taste of pain!"
The city wall immediately fell into a flurry of intense activity. At the same time, a clear, elegant voice suddenly rang out.
"Master…"
Ying, who had been keeping quiet all along, suddenly spoke. She approached Joshua and said in a low voice, "I sense a large number of Wild Gods appearing in the center of the Black Forest ahead. The count is over fifteen hundred."
After speaking, the silver-haired girl thought for a moment and added, "No omissions. I can track any Wild God that appears within my vicinity. This is one of the functions I was created for. Accuracy is guaranteed."
"Not bad. That's actually good news. I was just worrying that when I charge into the Black Forest later, with so many frenzied beasts, I might run out of stamina halfway through."
Hearing this news, Joshua nodded in satisfaction. Standing on the ice and snow of the city wall, the corners of his mouth curled up, and his gaze was as firm as iron: "But now, with so many recovery gift packs suddenly appearing, I have no worries left at all."
"Wait, Joshua, what did you say you're going to do?"