Chapter 696: The Reason for the Battle

Chapter 696: Chapter 697 The Reason for the Battle

Mordo, who had studied magic with the Sorcerer Supreme at Kamar-Taj for decades, had long considered it his home.

As a senior figure in Kamar-Taj, Mordo had a love-hate relationship with Stephen, who had joined later and appeared suddenly.

His ‘love’ stemmed from the fact that the Sorcerer Supreme had finally found a successor to his mantle, and Kamar-Taj would undoubtedly gain another pillar of strength in the future.

His ‘hate’ was due to Stephen’s exceptionally outstanding magical talent, as he had mastered magic in just over half a year that other wizards might take a lifetime to learn.

This talent was enough to make Mordo envious.

If Stephen’s sudden disappearance earlier had caused Mordo concern, when Stephen reappeared unharmed before him, a surge of inexplicable anger rose in Mordo’s heart.

He even attributed the destruction of the two Sanctums to Stephen.

“Listen to me, Mordo, this isn’t the time to be angry. Kaecilius has gathered a large number of zealots, intending to destroy all the Sanctums to release the dimensional demon Mordor…” Stephen didn’t dwell on Mordo’s hostile attitude. He once again explained the troubles the Sanctums were facing to him.

The situation was urgent; the defensive barriers of two Sanctums had been destroyed, and now only the Hong Kong Sanctum’s barrier remained intact.

If that too fell, it was not hard to imagine that the world would be plunged into the shadow of the dimensional demon Mordor.

In other words, the most important thing now was to stop Kaecilius and his followers from further destroying the Sanctums.

As for assigning blame, that could definitely wait.

“Impossible, how could it be Kaecilius? He has no reason to betray the Sorcerer Supreme and Kamar-Taj…” After hearing Stephen’s account, Mordo immediately expressed his doubts.

Kaecilius, as the honorary Senior Disciple of Kamar-Taj, was the closest person to Ancient One.

His status was undeniable; he was a beneficiary of the system.

Moreover, he had a good reputation within Kamar-Taj.

Considering all this, he had no motive for betrayal.

“I’m sure. It was Kaecilius who destroyed the two Sanctums earlier. The Mordor zealots with him even ambushed me, leaving me severely wounded…” Stephen spoke again, trying to convince Mordo.

However, it had little effect, and Mordo remained firm in his belief.

From a personal standpoint, when Mordo first entered Kamar-Taj, it was the then Senior Disciple Kaecilius who guided him through the basics of magic.

In this situation, Mordo was unwilling to believe from the bottom of his heart that Kaecilius was an evil person who wanted to destroy the world.

“Stephen, you’re right, I did choose to collude with Mordor. But haven’t you considered the reason for all this?” Just as the atmosphere grew awkward, Kaecilius, leading a group of zealots, reappeared in the New York Sanctum through a portal.

Victory was within reach, or perhaps it was vanity. Kaecilius, who had already destroyed two Sanctum defense networks, was like certain psychologically twisted criminals who return to the crime scene after committing a crime to observe the situation.

He even went further.

Kaecilius swaggered back and unhesitatingly confessed his guilt.

“Why?” Mordo looked at Kaecilius’s calm demeanor, which somewhat overturned his worldview.

He couldn’t accept the fact that Kaecilius, who was like an elder to him, was truly a villain.

In his heart, he even hoped that everything Kaecilius had done was due to manipulation or being controlled by something.

Unfortunately, his hopes were destined to be dashed.

Due to the successive deaths of his wife and daughter, Kaecilius had completely devoted himself to darkness.

The true motive for Kaecilius’s betrayal was his discovery that the respected Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, had secretly been absorbing dark energy to maintain her immortality.

The loss of his loved ones made Kaecilius fear death.

And Ancient One, despite having a way to grant immortality, had not shared it.

This led to the thought: if you do something, I’ll do something even bigger.

It was similar to: if Ancient One can secretly absorb dark energy for immortality, why can’t I join Mordor for immortality and power?

“Ancient One is not as righteous as we perceive her to be. She has lived for thousands of years by absorbing dark energy; in fact, she is the biggest traitor in Kamar-Taj…” Kaecilius didn’t hide anything, then he tempted, “Mordo and Stephen, join us. As long as Mordor is released, we can also gain immortality and greater power, just like Ancient One.”

“Mordor promised me.”

Yes, Kaecilius’s return this time, besides showing off, was also to recruit more allies.

After all, at this point, the war between Mordor’s zealots and Ancient One was inevitable.

More allies meant more strength.

“You’re lying, the Sorcerer Supreme couldn’t possibly turn to darkness for immortality…” Facing Kaecilius’s invitation and ‘confession,’ Stephen’s reaction at this moment was somewhat similar to Mordo’s earlier.

He couldn’t accept that the venerable Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One was actually a hypocrite who feigned righteousness.

“Heh!” Kaecilius wasn’t surprised by Stephen’s reaction. After a scoff, he looked at Mordo and asked, “Mordo, what do you say?”

Kaecilius’s return this time wasn’t just about turning Mordo and Stephen.

Eliminating them would also serve the purpose of weakening Ancient One’s forces.

So, no matter how the two chose, or what the outcome was, for Kaecilius, who was already prepared for war, there was no loss.

“I also don’t believe the Sorcerer Supreme is the kind of person you describe. If I have the chance, I will personally seek confirmation from her…” Having experienced so much in one day, Mordo’s mind was in turmoil.

However, he still held to his principles and said, “Now, Kaecilius, the most important thing you need to do is to come with me to see the Sorcerer Supreme.”

“Explain to him why you destroyed the Sanctum’s defense network.”

Well, at this point, Mordo still hoped in his heart that all of this was a misunderstanding.

“Unfortunately, you’ve both made the wrong choice!” Kaecilius, who still needed to destroy the last Sanctum defense, didn’t have that much patience or time now. He waved his hand, commanding the zealots behind him, “Attack!!!”

Instantly, orange-red offensive and defensive magic illuminated the entire New York Sanctum.

Fortunately, the three wizards Mordo brought this time were all old wizards, plus Stephen, a magical genius.

Although the zealots’ momentum was greater, they truly couldn’t break through Mordo and the others’ defenses for a while.

“Useless!”

Seeing the situation fall into a stalemate, Kaecilius cursed, then joined the attack.

Having absorbed a large amount of dark energy, he immediately sent the three old wizards, excluding Mordo and Stephen, flying with a single move.

Then, he once again pushed Mordo and Stephen back, step by step.

As the battle intensified, the entire New York Sanctum trembled.

Boulders rolled, and dust flew.

It felt as if it could collapse at any moment.

To prevent the aftermath of the battle from further damaging the New York Sanctum, Stephen ultimately used [Mirror Magic] on Kaecilius and the zealots.

Compared to various flashy spells, the [Mirror Dimension], though ordinary, allowed the user to enjoy a home-field advantage in the alternate space it created.

At the same time, it was also equivalent to a sealing spell, capable of effectively trapping enemies.

From these two points, Stephen’s choice of magic was not wrong.

However, he still underestimated Kaecilius’s power.

Blackened and three times stronger, Kaecilius, who had already embraced darkness, was no longer what he used to be.

“You’re far from being able to trap me with the Mirror Dimension!” Kaecilius, guessing Stephen’s intention, waved his hands, infinitely extending the area of the Mirror Dimension.

This caused the virtual scenery within the Mirror Dimension to further affect the real world of New York City.

Stephen was afraid the battle would affect the New York Sanctum, so Kaecilius deliberately went against that, expanding the scope of the conflict even further.

As a result, the topography of New York City’s streets in the real world suddenly changed under the influence of magic.

Countless buildings began to tilt, and the ground cracked open with huge fissures in the trembling.

Cables, trains, roads, houses… all suffered varying degrees of damage under the influence of powerful magic.

Coupled with the shouts of alarm from numerous ordinary citizens, the streets of New York City instantly plunged into chaos.

Evidently, Stephen, who had originally intended to reduce losses by using Mirror Magic, seemed to have botched it.

“Mike!!!” While controlling the Mirror Dimension to prevent further expansion and desperately trying to repair New York City’s terrain, Stephen called for backup when he was overwhelmed.

However, he received no response…