Chapter 504 330: The Cold and Warmth of Human Relations

"For fuck's sake, just get to the turning point already, will you?" The Lord couldn't help but be drawn in.

Filo, who had been unhurriedly preparing to wet his throat with a cup of tea, saw the Lord raise his righteous iron fist. He hastily gulped down the tea, smacked his lips, and continued, "His Majesty later dispatched a Palace Mage proficient in the 'Spirit Seeking Technique' to assist them. They finally found that Attendant in the Yas Civilian District."

"To everyone's surprise, the person was actually a member of the Chaos Cult, a spy embedded in Talisi."

"And somehow, the Yas Civilian District in Gonda had been infiltrated by those lunatics. The residents there all believed in the Chaos Cult; most of them had gone mad."

"No wonder it's been nothing but the sounds of fighting and explosions outside for the past two days, not even stopping at night. How can these old bones of mine take it?" Master Fu Jin sighed. His face was worn with fatigue, his eyes full of exhaustion and weariness—a clear picture of sleep deprivation.

"Lord Levi is still in such high spirits, though." He looked with envy at the energetic Lord.

Even though the Lord hadn't slept a wink these past two nights, constantly pacing his room and tinkering with who-knows-what, he was still full of vigor, showing no signs of having stayed up at all.

'Never mind the fact that my constitution is beyond that of a normal person, I also cultivate the 「Holy Word Treasure Manual」. Isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to be a bit more energetic?' With his current constitution, it wouldn't be a big deal even if he didn't sleep for half a month. The only reason he still slept every night was purely out of habit.

As for the last two nights, he was naturally too excited about the one hundred and twenty thousand Gold Coins he'd won to fall asleep.

The Lord had originally thought he'd make eighty or ninety thousand at most. But unexpectedly, after the nobles witnessed his sword strike firsthand, they all conveniently forgot about the bet. So, Levi was just safeguarding the Gold Coins they had wagered, which they could retrieve anytime they remembered.

"Indeed. Tens of thousands have died in just these few days." Filo sighed. This Prince was surprisingly patriotic and concerned for his people. "The Chaos Cult only has a dozen or so official members, but they've managed to convert tens of thousands of followers. To exterminate them, we even had to sacrifice more than ten Griffin Knights, and over a hundred thousand poor, innocent civilians were affected."

"Thinking about it, it's a good thing those guys left some traces behind. Otherwise, with no evidence to be found, you really would have been the scapegoat, my Lord."

"I suppose I've truly seen how treacherous the world can be." The Lord shook his head. "Once a man becomes famous, he's bound to be targeted. I'm not sure if they were trying to frame me and spark a conflict with Talisi, or if they had some other motive, but they damn near succeeded."

"What a vicious plot," exclaimed Masha, the Divine Maiden who had never witnessed such human wickedness. "It's a good thing Her Eminence Cariss arrived in time to clear your name, Lord Levi."

"Indeed," Levi nodded in deep agreement.

'If the history books had embellished this incident, my name would have been infamous for millennia.'

"But this whole affair is still full of mysteries." Leiden adjusted his monocle, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Sir Rillo was a Magic Master, after all—and renowned as the foremost expert in Magic. How could he have been unknowingly placed under so many malicious spells?"

Magic was his greatest area of expertise. Logically, it should have been impossible for him not to notice anything at all.

"The Palace Mages and the Clergy from Talisi reviewed the scene afterward and believe there are three reasons." Filo was about to take a sip of tea but found his cup empty. Mier, serving as the Lord's personal apprentice knight, immediately stood up to refill it.

"Thank you." The Prince nodded slightly, took a sip, and then held up three fingers. "First, Sir Rillo happened to be attempting a breakthrough to the Legendary Realm. The insight into condensing his Arcane Core came so quickly and suddenly that, in order to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he didn't even have time to ask someone to stand guard for him."

"Second, the Attendant from the Chaos Cult possessed a Magic Item called a Dark Erosion Crystal. To Lord Levi, this kind of Magic Item is as laughable as a toy, but to Mages, it's an unimaginable poison."

As if afraid the others wouldn't understand, Filo went on to explain what it was. "This Dark Erosion Crystal can cause the active Magic Elements in an area to become placid, or even frozen. It imperceptibly affects a Mage's perception of the Elements, and it's nearly impossible to resist... Generally speaking, it can be used in national wars to achieve a sort of localized anti-magic field."

"Even a Great Magic Master can't handle it?" the Lord asked indistinctly, opening his mouth to receive a segment of orange peeled by Heather.

The reason he had brought this Zor Priestess to Gonda was that she was very sensible; he hardly ever had to lift a finger to get something to eat before she had already fed it to him.

"Generally, they can't," Filo nodded.

"HISS..." Everyone from High Cliff Castle sucked in a sharp breath in unison, making their own indelible contribution to global warming.

To this group of magic-illiterates, talk of anti-magic and elemental perception was useless; they didn't understand any of it. It was far more direct, simple, and clear to say that even "Legendary Powerhouses" couldn't withstand it.

"Mages observe the world through their souls and spirits," Filo said. "This crystal can imperceptibly slow their souls, which dulls their senses. Coupled with the fact that it also makes the surrounding Magic Elements inert, the result is that, from their perspective, nothing has changed at all. But to an outsider, these Mages would seem no different from a Magic Apprentice."