“Knock, knock.” Arthur's fingers lightly rapped on the heavy wooden door, producing a clear and loud knock.

“Come in.”

Pushing open the door, he entered a circular room with a height of 5 meters. The huge dome was decorated with a sparkling crystal lamp, and the flame inside the lampshade shone on the crystals, scattering dazzling, colorful light. Opposite the door on the other side of the room is a large, sturdy pine table. Behind it, an old man with a white beard is resting his chin in his hand as he looks at the table: on parchment, a quill is writing something briskly. When he has finished, the quill flies into the inkwell, and the old man still keeps a watchful eye on the parchment without saying a word. After a long time, he suddenly remembers that someone knocked on the door a moment ago. He immediately looked up, and it was only then that he realized the young man across from him had been waiting silently for a long time. The old man's eyes were full of approval and affirmation.

“So, you are... hmm, let me see... oh yes, Arthur, Arthur Hope, from the Hope family.” The old man rummaged through the messy pile of files on the table and found a parchment file, which he quickly skimmed through. Then he got up, walked around the table and came to Arthur. His gold and white robes of holiness showed his noble status, and the magic wand at his waist was inserted into an exquisite leather sheath, the base of which was inlaid with a deep red hexagonal philosopher's stone, sunk deep into the wooden staff. There was a faint golden glow on the surface of the wand, circulating in a specific pattern, like blood flowing through capillaries. A wand of such high quality was extremely rare in the entire country.

“Yes, Your Excellency the Archmage, I have come to report for duty today! From today, I will be a member of the glorious Magic Patrol!”

The archmage looked at him, his eyes showing a look of expectation, and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Good boy, very spirited, go and report for duty.” He twisted the ring on his hand and stamped his seal on the parchment, handing it to Arthur.

“Thank you, Your Excellency the Archmage! It is an honor to meet you!” Arthur spoke loudly, raising his voice and looking straight ahead.

“Okay, okay, don't be so nervous. The picket team is usually my personal bodyguards, and you will see me a lot in the future. Okay, go to the lobby and report.”

“Yes!” Arthur respectfully looked straight ahead, bowed, and turned to leave. It was his first time meeting the country's top leader, and he was still very nervous.

Arthur entered the elevator shaft and descended slowly on a huge platform of floating rocks. It took a full minute to descend from the top of the tower to the ground. The tower where the Grand Magician was located stood on a huge plain, and it seemed that the entire Glory City was just the foundation of this tower. The top of the tower pointed straight to the sky, as if it wanted to compete with the mountains in the distance. At the base of the tower is the parliament, which is tens of meters high and covers an area of nearly 1,000 square meters. The parliament is home to the various departments of the empire's most powerful authorities. Walking out of the parliament and turning to the east, you will see the Magic Patrol Hall right next to it.

“Report! New recruit Arthur reporting for duty!” Arthur straightened up and saluted as he entered the door, shouting.

The entire lively hall instantly fell silent, and everyone's attention was focused on the burly young man at the door.

“Come, come over here!” A burly middle-aged man greeted him as he sat with three others on the right side of the hall. This was Winston, the captain of the picket team. He was wearing a fitted leather suit of light armor, with a mid-level wand at his waist, inserted into a leather sheath, the tip of which was wrapped in protective iron plates. This was the standard equipment of the picket team.

“Hello!” Arthur respectfully bowed.

“Say hello to the captain! Hahaha, this is our captain Winston!” Reinhardt, the deputy captain, teased. It seems that the atmosphere in the picket team is still very relaxed.

“Yes, hello captain!” Arthur raised his voice and bowed again.

“Okay, relax, we're all family now. Hannah, Hannah, come here for a second. Show Arthur around and collect your equipment. You arrived a month before him, so you'll be the only new recruit this term. You'll be spending a lot of time together, so you might as well get to know each other.” Winston called over a girl, about 20 years old, with a pretty face.

“Yes, Captain!” The girl ran over and stood next to Arthur, giving the captain a light bow. Arthur, however, was still looking straight ahead, his face serious. He gave the girl standing next to him a slight glance with his eyes. Although he couldn't see her face, he could see her well-proportioned figure. The lightweight female leather armor didn't fit her, but rather clung to her body. Even indoors, you could see how soft and silky her pink hair was. There was also a unique body odor that was characteristic of girls that didn't fit in with this picket team full of men's sweaty stench. Although it was faint, it still penetrated Arthur's nose through the smell of leather.

Arthur was staring at her in a daze when Hannah turned her head and smiled at Arthur, “Hello, my name is Hannah, Hannah Science. I arrived a month before you, so you can call me an older sister.”

It was only when she turned her head that Arthur could see Hannah's pretty face clearly. Her big, sparkling eyes were clear and flawless, her slightly reddened lips were crystal clear and shiny, and her skin was full of moisture and as pliable as a piece of paper. Every inch of her skin overflowed with the breath of youth.

Arthur looked at Hannah in a daze. The few people at the table were also a little stunned by the scene. They didn't realize that Arthur, who looked burly and strong, was actually such a dumb little boy. He was smitten by Hannah just on their first meeting.

“Captain, you didn't give the lamb to the wolf, did you? I can see his saliva dripping,” Reinhardt whispered teasingly as he leaned over.

“Hahahaha...” Everyone suddenly burst out laughing.

Arthur then noticed his faux pas and blushed. He gave a standard left turn, still looking over Hannah's head and straight ahead, and said loudly, “I'm recruit Arthur, sir. Hello! Please advise!”

“Hahahaha...” Everyone froze for a moment and laughed even louder.

Hannah and Arthur walked side by side through the hall to the playground at the back.

“Arthur, I'm so glad I have a friend in the same year. I've only been here for three days too, so I'll tell you everything I know about the picket.”

“Yes, Hannah, sir! Thank you...” The resounding shout echoed across the playground, and the attention of the entire playground was focused on the two of them.

“Okay, Arthur, keep your voice down! There's no need to be so serious. We're all going to be comrades in arms in the future, so relax, relax, and take a deep breath...”

“Uh, yes, yes, Officer Hannah... Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...” Arthur lowered his voice and took deep breaths. Hannah burst out laughing. Watching her laugh, Arthur also started to chuckle.

The management all worked on the second floor of the entrance hall, and around the playground were the dormitories and canteen for the team members, as well as the equipment section. “Come, I'll take you to collect your equipment.”

“Hey Hannah, how are you getting used to wearing armor for the first time?” A wiry man with unkempt hair in the equipment section greeted Hannah enthusiastically. It seemed that she was very popular with the picket team.

“Very good!” Hannah straightened up and twisted her wrists. To Arthur, every movement she made revealed lightness and beauty.

“This handsome guy is Arthur, our new partner! He just reported for duty today, and I'll take him to get his equipment!”

“Hello everyone! I am...” A booming voice resounded through the equipment section, startling everyone. Hannah elbowed Arthur's firm stomach with her elbow, which caused her elbow to ache.

“Oh, oh, oh, hello everyone, I am Arthur, please take care of me.” Arthur, like a big, docile cat, instantly wilted, which caused everyone to laugh heartily, looking at Hannah with an expression that said, “I get it.”

“Come here, big guy,” said the disheveled man, as he placed the leather armor on the table. It was standard issue armor, with the inscription ‘Freedom to Stretch’ engraved on the inside and ‘Self-Repairing’ on the interlayer. He reminded her to top up the rune fluid every six months under normal circumstances, and immediately after a battle. This is your staff. Then he took out the standard combat staff issued to the pickets.

This was the first time Arthur had received a real battle wand. The council had put a lot of thought into the design in order to effectively control battle wands.

The wand was about the size of two palms, about that long, and the length of the part that stuck out of the hand was modeled after a dagger. Together with the circle of simple resistance runes engraved at the top of the wand, it could effectively prevent unnecessary damage to the wand during battle. The runes on the battle magic wand are more complex than those on the teaching magic wand. The runes for space force, heat force, electric force, and light force revolve around the wand once, and are carved along the bottom to the top of the wand surface. The rune slots are filled with rune fluid. Depending on the caster's magic composition, the wand will construct magic with different powers and effects. Each time a spell is cast, it consumes rune fluid from the rune slot, which is different depending on the difficulty and power of the spell's construction. For example, a simple fireball spell can fire 20 fireballs the size of a fist in a straight line. If you control the trajectory, the rune fluid will continue to be consumed, and you can only control one fireball for about a minute. If you increase the size of the fireball to the size of your head, you can only fire 5 fireballs in a straight line. Therefore, you must construct your magic reasonably in battle to prevent the situation where the rune fluid runs out and the magic cannot be fired.

Each time the rune fluid is used up, you must insert the wand back into the holster. The holster is filled with a gelatinous substance that is rich in rune fluid. The inside of the holster is inscribed with runes for rapid recharging, which is completed the moment the wand is inserted into the holster. A normal combat holster can fully recharge an empty wand 20 times. Therefore, it is not so much the wands that are controlled by the council as it is the rune fluid and the gel. Without rune fluid, the wand is powerless.

There is a small raised circle of sharp spikes near the thumb that holds it. When binding the wand for the first time, press hard to force out some blood, and the wand will be bound to the caster. Every time a spell is used, the wand must be activated by pressing the thumb on the spikes to force out some blood, which also sets up an identification mechanism for the wand, further strengthening control over it. Therefore, the legal possession of a combat wand almost represents the highest power under the council.

Arthur took the wand in his hands and looked at Hannah, who smiled and nodded at him. He pressed hard on the circle of spikes, and the philosopher's stone glowed a blood-red light. The rune fluid in the rune slots was activated, glowing with different colors as it slowly flowed through the slots. The faint golden glow from the archmage's wand at his waist was the sign that the rune fluid had been activated. It seemed that his wand was always in an activated state.

“Let's go, I'll apply for a training ground for you. Thanks, Andrew!” Hannah smiled and said goodbye to the dishevelled-looking man, leading Arthur to the training ground.

“Do you want to compete!” Hannah smiled slyly, as if she was sure of victory.

“Compete in what?” Arthur looked at her blankly.

“Ah, let me see, we'll compete to see who can hit the moving target more! Just 20 fireballs, a floating target 50 meters away, the speed set to maximum, about the same speed as an assassin who has cast a lightening spell on him! How about it, the loser buys the latest magic candy!”

“Well, that's not a good idea... I have a big appetite...” Arthur looked sincere, as if he really would eat Hannah up if he won.

“Hey, you, are you still planning to eat her? Oh no, who said I'd lose! Let's do it, I'll go first!”

She said, and started the moving targets. Her expression became extremely serious, and her eyes vigilantly watched the targets in the distance. These targets were extremely fast and moved in an irregular manner, often changing direction without warning, and were actually much more agile than a human. Therefore, to hit them, the speed and trajectory stability of the fireball were extremely demanding, so generally people would reduce the size of the fireball and reserve more consumption for trajectory control and speed increase.

Hannah shot. Sure enough, the fireball shrank to the size of an egg, broke the sound barrier, and flew out of the top of the wand, leaving only the sound of the air being torn apart behind it. “Pop, pop, pop...” The sound of the fireball hitting the target rang out one after the other, and 14 of the 20 moving targets shattered in response.

“Hoo...” Hannah let out a long breath, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She tilted her face up and smiled smugly at Arthur, “What about it, your turn! Oh, yes, I want the new strawberry-flavored magic bunnies!” She said this, and began to daydream about the sweets she was going to eat. “That candy is super interesting. You have to eat the candy as soon as you tear open the wrapper, or the bunny will run away immediately! Don't say it's too expensive, of course, with rune fluids being so precious these days, not many people want to use magic to make candy, so it's considered a luxury. But, but we made a bet, right! If you really don't have enough money, I can lend you my salary for this month...”

Before Hannah could finish speaking, there was a loud noise of several explosions, and 20 targets were knocked down. Unlike Hannah's magnificent and exaggerated sound of fireballs flying and hitting, these sounds were very small. It was only because there were 20 sounds almost at the same time that they overlapped and became similar to Hannah's sound of fireballs hitting.

What happened? Hannah looked at the distant targets that were emitting black smoke, stunned for a long time, and looked at Arthur and said slowly, “How did you do that?”

“Huh? You didn't see it? Well... shall I try again?” Arthur stood there scratching his head.

“Mmm-hmm-hmm!” Hannah nodded vigorously, and then started the moving target again. She saw Arthur raise his wand and about to fire.

“Wait, wait, I mean, you're not going to add rune fluid?” Hannah was even more surprised.

“Yeah, I've probably used up 3/10, so I can do it about two more times. You... get ready, I'm going to start.”

This surprised Hannah even more. The target was also a kind of power test prop. A fireball smaller than an egg could basically not hurt the target, just as it could not cause damage to the enemy in actual combat. If his fireball was faster, it must be smaller. If it wasn't reduced in size, then why did he consume so little rune fluid? Hannah turned her head and looked at the shooting range.

Seeing that Hannah was ready, Arthur's eyes flashed as he pointed his wand forward. In the span of less than half a second, all 20 targets were hit in order, from left to right, as far as the eye could see. This time Hannah saw clearly that the 20 targets were also hit in order, but the intervals were extremely short, and the fireballs hit almost as soon as the human eye swept past them, so the sound seemed to come from all at once. And the fireballs were all the size of an egg, which was enough to make the moving target react. But the biggest difference from normal fireball spells was that they didn't fly out of the top of the wand, but near the target.

“What a technique!” Hannah's expression changed from shock to surprise. “Arthur! You're amazing! I've really hit the jackpot with you as a partner! I mean, as a partner, can you tell me a little bit about it?”

“Huh? A little bit? You think a little bit will be enough to understand?”

“...If you can't chat, we don't have to chat. Otherwise, no matter how loud you are, I don't want to talk to you. Are you going to talk or not!” Hannah was about to raise her elbow and hit Arthur, but suddenly remembered that the last time she hit him, her elbow hurt like hell, so she pretended to do it.

Arthur looked blankly at Hannah, who had directed and acted in the performance for half a day, and scratched his head. He said, “It's very simple. Just use space force to control the fireball to generate in front of the target, which eliminates the need for flight control and consumption, so it can save a lot of rune fluid. It's just a bit mentally taxing, which is about the same as controlling the trajectory of the fireball.”

Hannah was stunned. “Arthur, you're a genius!” she exclaimed, and once again the attention of the entire playground was focused on the two of them.

“Wait, Arthur, genius... ‘Arthur The Genius’? You're ‘Arthur The Genius’ from Empire Magic Academy? Arthur Hope?”

“That's me... Although I don't really like that name, it's too showy...” Arthur gave a wry smile and scratched his head.

“Oh my goodness, I'm going to faint, hold me up. You're ‘Arthur The Genius’ who is famous all over the country? Top of the class in everything, became a teaching assistant after one semester of studying magic construction, and became a lecturer in the fourth year! ‘Arthur The Genius’ who became a teacher at the top Empire Magic Academy before graduating?” Hannah couldn't stop talking, excitedly.

Arthur scratched his head embarrassedly. “Ah, it's me...”

“Ahhhhh...” Hannah exclaimed, ran off to the equipment section, and then came back with a pen in her hand, exclaiming, “Ahhhhh...”

“Arthur, please sign this for me! I'm your number one fan! Sign here, on the leather armor on your left breast! Write your name! And draw a heart!” Hannah puffed up her chest, pointed with her right finger, and then froze for a moment, suddenly blushing.

“No, no, no... Sign my left wrist! The inside of the wrist armor.” Hannah shyly turned her head away and held out her hand to Arthur.

“Okay... Okay...” Arthur was embarrassed by Hannah's antics and blushed. He awkwardly pinched Anna's arm with his left finger while he signed his name on the wrist armor with his right hand.

“Draw a heart!” Hannah still couldn't bring herself to turn her blushing face.

“Hannah, I told you to take him to get his equipment, but you caused a commotion in the entire playground!” Captain Winston appeared behind the two of them with her arms folded, looking down at them.

“I mean, there's nothing wrong with falling in love in the ranks, but this is only the first day, and it's just too young!” Reinhardt teased.

“No, no, no, Captain, do you know who he is? He's Arthur!”

The captain froze for a moment, and then burst out laughing, “Of course I know he's Arthur!”

“No, no, no, what I mean is, Captain, he, he's ‘Arthur The Genius’, ‘Arthur The Genius’ frosm the Empire Magic Academy!”

The captain froze for a moment, his expression showing some shock. “You're ‘Arthur The Genius’?”

“Well... I don't really like that name,” Arthur said, scratching his head sheepishly.

Winston and Reinhardt looked at each other, and then he grabbed Arthur by the arm and dragged him towards the dining hall. “Young man, you've hidden yourself well! Our team has found a gem! Throw a welcome party for me tonight, and let's get drunk!”

“Oh oh oh!” There was a sound of jubilation on the playground.

The noise continued until late into the night. The illuminated crystals in the courtyard slowly lit up, and the giant Floating Rock Magic Seal in the sky emitted a faint blue glow. Together with the bright moonlight, it illuminated the picket compound. Under the moonlight, the pickets drank heartily, occasionally throwing Arthur into the air.

“It's good to be young,” the archmage smiled as he looked down from the tower.

In the Empire, farming, animal husbandry, and general manufacturing are all open to business and research and development, but some core industries, such as the mining and circulation of rune fluids, the mining and circulation of philosopher's stones, the engraving of runes, the research and interpretation of new runes, and the manufacture, circulation, and use of any enchanted items with runes engraved on them, are strictly controlled. The task of the Magic Patrol is mainly to target illegal magic transactions and the anti-magic Black Tech Cult that occur in the country.

“Okay everyone, meeting!” Winston's loud voice exploded in the hall as he walked up to the podium. Arthur attended his first mobilization meeting of the picket against the Black Tech Cult three days after starting work. Recently, the mobilization meetings have been held more and more frequently, as if the parliament is about to take some action.

“The activities of the Black Tech Cult have become increasingly rampant in recent days, and the flyers have even been distributed to the door of our picket!” Winston waved the flyer in his hand.

“They could rely on the magic of automatic writing, but they want to study the evil art of printing! They could create metal with the rune spell, but they want to study alchemy to purify it! They could achieve projection with light force runes, but they want to rely on...what...let me see...lenses!”

There was a burst of sniggering from the audience.

“Don't laugh, be serious! Don't think the claims of the Black Tech are harmless! Their dark hands have threatened the lives of the citizens of the Empire!”

The audience fell silent. Winston's stern gaze swept over each member of the team.

“Our medical spells are so advanced that almost all diseases can now be cured with Floating Rock Magic Seals! This type of medical and combat magic seal has been promoted worldwide! However, they use alchemy to research medicines, privately cultivate herbs, practice alchemy, and create powders that have very serious side effects if ingested! If there is no suitable candidate, they will even mobilize the followers of their church to test the drugs! This is absolutely insane! Such an evil cult must be resolutely and completely eradicated forever! Stand firm in the truth!”

“Stand firm in the truth! Stand firm in the truth!” The team members in the audience shouted in unison.

Arthur and Hannah also waved their arms, but the slogan was not as loud. Arthur quietly looked down and asked Hannah, “What's the deal with the Black Tech Cult?” Hannah whispered back, “I'll tell you during the patrol.”

Winston raised his hand, and the chanting stopped abruptly. “Recently, the Archmage will officially order a general attack on the Black Tech Cult, and all branches across the country will close down at the same time. The level of secrecy for this operation is top secret. If there is any leak, there will be military punishment! Starting today, Assault 1, 2, and 3 Squads will use assault, suppression, and arrest as simulated targets for practical training in teams of two. Training time will increase from 2 hours to 6 hours per day, and after one week, night training will be added! The team leaders have received their orders!”

“Yes!” the team leaders replied at the same time.

“Okay, that's all for today. Everyone wait for further notice. The team leaders will come to my office to discuss the training arrangements. Dismissed!”

Hannah hurriedly walked out of the hall, and Arthur chased after her. “Hannah, what's wrong?”

Hannah stopped, put her hands on her knees, bent over, took a few deep breaths, then looked up at Arthur and smiled, “Nothing! The hall is stuffy, and the sweaty stench is making me a little short of breath. Come on, let's go on patrol and I'll tell you about it.”

Arthur was a little confused, but followed her. “So what's the deal with The Black Tech Cult?”

Hannah said seriously as they walked, “We didn't really get to learn much about this religious group at school, and I only got to know a little bit after I came here and started attending the explanatory meetings. It's a cult that preaches magic is a lie created by the council to maintain their rule. They were just conducting some research on a small scale, so it didn't cause much of a stir and they didn't have many followers. To be honest, their methods for achieving the same goal are very primitive and crude. Magic can do so much more now, and it's really not wise to go head-to-head with it.”

“However, recently their followers have suddenly increased, and the reason is this.” Hannah pointed to the Floating Rock Magic Seal in the sky.

“You mean the Floating Rock Magic Seal healing technique mentioned at the meeting just now?”

“Mm,” Hannah nodded. “As you know, although the Floating Rock Magic Seal's healing techniques are almost omnipotent, the cost is extremely high, and not everyone can enjoy them. It is basically the daily elixir of the rich and the lifelong dream of the poor. Up until now, the world has not opened up this medical resource for everyone to use fairly, and I think it has something to do with the mining of rune fluids.”

“So, what you're saying is that even though the drugs of The Black Tech Cult may have side effects, there are still people at the bottom of society who are willing to take the risk?”

“Alas, yes...” Hannah felt a little sad and sorry, but Arthur sensed more than she showed, after all, Hannah was usually so lively and cheerful. He followed Hannah's gaze and looked at the Floating Rock Magic Seals in the sky.

There were now one or two giant Floating Rock Magic Seals floating near every large city in the empire. They hovered about a hundred meters above the ground, and each one was made up of one to three huge boulders. These boulders are completely black, varying in size and shape, but each formation is about the size of a castle. If you look closely at the outer surface of these boulders, you will see many spherical structures exposed, like small pieces of honeycomb taken from a beehive. You can imagine that they all come from a larger deposit. Below each formation is a huge floating rune that emits a faint blue light, which is especially dazzling at night.

Arthur's hometown did not have a Floating Rock Magic Seal. He had only heard about it and had not seen it until he arrived in Glory City. Its huge, dazzling form greatly impressed him. The Floating Rock Magic Seal here is as large as a small castle covering thousands of square meters. Sometimes when the sun shines, its long shadow can cover hundreds of houses. When it is not on a healing mission, it slowly rotates around the perimeter of Glory City and takes about three days to return to its original position. Although its black color is a complete mismatch with the overall elegant style of Glory City, which is dominated by gold and white, it makes it seem more like a simple, low-key but loyal guardian, silently guarding the city.

These Floating Rock Magic Seals are essentially giant runes that combine healing and combat. Complex runes are spread across the entire base of the giant stone array, and from a distance, all that can be seen are the thick rune lines, each of which is as wide as a street. However, it is said that if you look closely, there are even smaller runes nested within each rune, so this giant rune can often support the realization of more detailed and grand spells. And it is precisely treatment that requires meticulousness, while war requires grandiosity. So through this Floating Rock Magic Seal, not only can certain physical injuries and illnesses be cured, it can also contribute tremendous combat effectiveness when defending the city. It can be said to be the most comprehensive magical item developed by magic so far.

Arthur thought for a moment and asked, “So what do you think?”

Hannah looked at Arthur in shock and was unable to speak.

“What? Is there a problem? I just simply want to ask, what do you think?”

After a long while, Hannah said somewhat happily, “I didn't think you would ask me such a question. Right now, no one is willing to think about it or admit it... Of course, I don't mean that I want to admit them. But what they are doing, I think, seems to be done with no malicious intent. I don't know if their drugs are effective, and I don't know how many people have lost their lives because of their drugs, but I know that without their drugs, many people will die.” She became a little sad when she said this, but then she said firmly, “At the same time, I also know that they have not obtained legal permission, and this behavior is indeed illegal, and it has caused chaos in the current social operating system.”

As he listened to her words, Arthur fell into deep thought. Hannah looked at him with a little more expectation in her eyes.

As night fell and they returned to the dormitory, Arthur was still thinking about this issue. In fact, the reason he was able to become a teacher in the magic construction class was precisely because his way of thinking about problems was never the same as anyone else's. This ability to think independently set him apart from others and also allowed him to contribute more to the advancement of magic. However, this independent thinking, within controllable limits, is motivation, and within uncontrollable limits, it is likely to become resistance. If some of the research directions in the Black Tech Cult are correct, and if some of the results can inspire him... But this research itself is illegal and forbidden...

Arthur fell asleep with this conflicted feeling. This conflicted feeling continued, accompanying his training, accompanying their orders to depart, and accompanying their arrival at the headquarters of the Black Tech Cult to begin their suppression mission.

The Glory City Magic Picket is responsible for suppressing the headquarters of the Black Tech Cult, while the branches of the cult are suppressed by the branches across the country. The headquarters of the Black Magic Sect is located in the mountains, and it is said that it has just been relocated to this area recently because of the need to research medicine. The headquarters' medicinal herb plantation is on a platform halfway up the mountain, and it looks no different from an ordinary plantation. Local farmers are carrying out routine maintenance. There is a hidden cave near the plantation, which leads directly to a natural cave. The cave is located on the southern ridge, and the most special thing about it is that the top of the entire cave is open to the sky, making it look like someone has vertically punched a huge hole in the mountain. Compared to the nearly 1,000 square meters of interior space, the cave is not very deep, so sunlight can reach the ground even at dusk. The church built simple wooden houses around the walls surrounding the cave, in an orderly manner like a council. There are various departments such as the Alchemy Department, the Medicine Department, the Mathematics Department, the Astronomy Department, etc. It is said that there are more branches in other regions due to talent.

“Captain, all teams are in position,”

Winston glanced at Reinhardt and said through the voice stone on his wrist: “Attack!” Only the team leaders and Winston were equipped with these voice stones, which allowed them to coordinate and communicate at any time to deploy battlefield resources.

The battle plan formulated by the picket team was for Assault Unit 1 and 2 to be responsible for the surprise attack. All team members, in groups of two, would quickly descend from the air along the walls and land on the ground, and suppress the departments assigned to them respectively. Assault Unit 3, assisted by the levitation spell of the support team, would land on the square in the center of the cave and suppress the other scattered personnel. The remaining members would block other escapees at the exit of the plantation.

Once the order to move was given, each team quickly carried out their plan. However, to their surprise, in the cave, which had just been filled with noise and voices, only some church members on the square were suppressed by Assault Team 3, who had not had time to resist, while Assault Teams 1 and 2, who had rushed into the huts of each department, did not see a single person. At this moment, when all members of Team 3 had landed in the cave, Winston suddenly realized that this might be a trap.

“No, retreat quickly! Each team evacuates on its own, and the support team applies floating magic to all members!”

However, before the support team could cast floating magic, three wooden boards, like camera shutters, rotated and protruded from the top of the cave. The three wooden boards were hidden in the gaps around the top of the cave and looked only as wide as the palm of a hand, so they did not attract enough attention from the picket during the initial reconnaissance.

“We've fallen into a trap!” Hannah shouted as she looked up, being the first to notice the changes at the top of the cave. As everyone looked up, the three crescent-shaped wooden boards rotated, instantly blocking the top of the cave and turning it into a ceiling like a bamboo basket, with only a few rays of sunlight shining in. The only opening to the outside world was now also closed by a heavy stone door.

The picket, confident in their possession of the battle wands, had crushed any enemies in past operations and had never thought that they would fall into an enemy trap like this. They panicked for a moment.

At this moment, Hannah shouted, “The ceiling is made of wood, let's burn it with fireballs!” At this moment, everyone noticed that it was indeed a wooden ceiling. If it were a metal ceiling, it would not have been able to rotate so quickly and easily to block the top.

“Whoosh...” One fireball after another soared upwards, lighting up the cave. The followers, who had been pressed to the ground, immediately struggled free and ran towards the nearest wooden house. Arthur noticed this and immediately drew his wand, using space force to set tripwires under the feet of the followers within his line of sight. However, the sparks from the ceiling still interfered with his vision. In just a moment, more than half of the followers had taken refuge in the wooden houses. This made Arthur even more certain that there was an escape route inside the wooden houses.

For now, The Black Tech Cult had not yet attacked them, but only trapped them. This was their best chance to track them down along the escape route. He was about to turn and report to Henry, the leader of the assault team, when he saw everyone looking up in surprise. The wooden ceiling was completely intact.

A huge fireball! Hannah shouted, and she shot a giant fireball from her wand. The fireball was over a meter in diameter and slowly flew upwards. This shot used up all the rune fluid in the wand. Everyone followed her lead and shot giant fireballs one after the other.

“Hannah, stop it! Everyone, stop it! Stop it!” Arthur's shouts were drowned out by the loud explosion of the giant fireball colliding with the ceiling. When everyone stopped again, only about half of the rune fluid in the holster was left.

Arthur looked at the ceiling and saw that the wooden ceiling was still intact! At this time, however, the surrounding wooden huts began to catch fire due to the splashing flames. For a while, the cave was filled with flickering flames.

“Everyone, stop! Don't panic, we haven't been attacked yet! Captain Henry, listen to me. The enemy hasn't counterattacked yet, and it seems they don't have many countermeasures. This is a good opportunity for us to pursue them. We shouldn't continue to use up our rune fluid. I've observed that there may be escape routes in the wooden houses. Please allow Assault Teams 1 and 2 to continue searching for escape routes in their respective wooden houses as planned. Team 3 can try to put out the fire.” Arthur's ability to adapt to the situation was still very strong, and his psychological quality was much better than Hannah's.

The team leaders of each team glanced at each other and nodded. They had just been quietly observing during the previous barrage. Even if they had joined in, their contribution would have been minimal, and so they had basically not used any of their rune fluids. “Agreed! Assault Teams 1 and 2, follow orders and search the houses in each department as planned, checking for escape routes, and then report back. Assault Team 3, start putting out the fire!”

Hannah looked at Arthur, her face full of anxiety, panic and apology. “Arthur, I'm sorry, I was so impulsive. It's all my fault...”

“Hannah, pull yourself together, let's go and finish the job,” Arthur said, pulling Hannah up and quickly joining in the action. After all, the pickets had been working together for a long time and their cooperation was smooth. In a matter of minutes, they had finished putting out the fire. The members of each group shouted at the front doors of the wooden huts: “An escape route has been found on the rock face. Please give instructions.”

“It seems they intend to trap us and escape... Let's go after them!” Henry shouted in the center of the square, and at his command, the three assault teams quickly dispersed and joined the members of each team.

Just as the members of Team 3 were running towards each cabin, white smoke suddenly billowed out of the escape passages of each cabin. The wind pressure was extremely high, and it quickly spread throughout the entire cabin. One group of team members panicked and, fearing that there would be another attack from the passage, released fireballs into the passage. The white smoke quickly exploded and set the entire cabin on fire. Fortunately, their leather armor had damage repair capabilities, which helped them withstand the explosion, but they were also blown into the square. The white smoke escaped from the cabin and spread along the ground to the square. Two teams of team members were unable to dodge in time and inhaled the white smoke, instantly falling unconscious. The other teams of team members were forced back repeatedly by the white smoke, and they retreated to the center of the square.

“Everyone quickly use space force to form a barrier!” Arthur shouted as he reached the center of the square while thinking on his feet. He protected Hannah with his body and stood on the outside, so that more than 20 team members formed a circle and used space force to project outward, while the team members on the inside projected upward. In this way, the space force formed a hemisphere around them, temporarily isolating them from the white smoke.

“We expect to be able to hold out for about two minutes, after which we need to switch people, and we need to replenish the rune fluid. There can't be any gaps, or the white smoke will leak in,” Arthur said to Henry, turning his head. At this time, the white smoke outside had slowly risen from the ground to chest height, and the sphere created by the space force was like being immersed in a sea of milky white smoke.

“Team 2, get ready to switch at any time depending on the situation,” Henry ordered. The remaining members who had not released their magic inserted their wands into their holsters. Each caster was followed by at least one reserve member, a team that was worthy of its reputation for close cooperation.

During the pause, Arthur thought quickly and said, “I suggest that the members with more than half of the rune fluid remaining use space force to create a whirlwind upwards. There are still gaps in the ceiling, so it might be possible to roll some of the white smoke out!”

The other team leaders nodded in agreement. “How many of you still have more than half of the rune fluid left?” Only five of the people casting spells, apart from Arthur, raised their hands.

“Good, the second group of people will immediately replace the teammates who raised their hands earlier. You few step down and gather in the centre to work with Arthur to cast the cyclone!” The teammates behind these people quickly activated their space force and positioned themselves behind Arthur's space force, ready to switch at any time. “3, 2, 1, switch!” The several people quickly stepped back, and the operation was seamless, with hardly a hint of white smoke leaking in.

Arthur stood in the center and said, “Everyone split into two groups. The first group will cast space force with me. The three of us will face in different directions. Be careful to control it so that it doesn't mix with any heat force or electric force or light force, and maintain a steady consumption. Watch me demonstrate.” With that, Arthur released a demonstration in front of him, like a giant fan.

“The three of us will rotate three times simultaneously and gradually rise upwards. I will guide the trajectory. The second group will repeat our trajectory after our space force rises upwards. Team leaders, please stand by to prevent any unexpected situations.”

Everyone nodded and automatically split into two teams.

“Ready, 3, 2, 1, release. Follow my lead.” Arthur guided the space force as it spun in the air, like three fans whirling in a sea of clouds, creating a gust of wind. After three revolutions, the space force gradually rose, driving the white smoke to spin and climb, as if being sucked up by a tornado. At this point, the white smoke was already nearly 2 meters thick, completely covering the barrier created by the space force.

“Arthur...” Henry wanted to talk to Arthur about the next step, but to be honest, they had no other way out.

“I know, our barrier can only support us for another 6 minutes at most. The white smoke has thinned a bit, but there's no sign of it weakening yet. We're also gambling on external rescue and the dissipation of the white smoke. If we don't have a solution within the next 6 minutes, I'm afraid we're really going to be trapped here,” Arthur whispered.

At this time, about 10 minutes had passed outside. The team leader, deputy team leader, support team, and other team members responsible for blocking the exit at the plantation base had long since gathered at the top of the cave entrance. At first, when they saw fireballs being used inside the cave to attack the ceiling, they also used fireballs to attack the ceiling from the outside in an attempt to attack from both inside and out, but they didn't expect the ceiling to remain unscathed. And this place was in the middle of the mountains, far from the Floating Rock Magic Seal, so they were afraid that they would not be able to get stronger fire support. While they were hesitating, white smoke began to billow from the cave. Seeing his teammates trapped below, Winston, in a moment of desperation, jumped directly onto the ceiling. Fortunately, the wooden planks were thick enough to support his weight.

“Boss! Hurry, cast the levitation spell!” Reinhardt ordered the support team, and then immediately jumped down as well.

“Boss, what are you going to do?”

“Since burning it won't work, let's find a way to cut it open!” Winston stood in the centre of the ceiling, on the uppermost plank. As it was crescent-shaped, a small section cut off near the centre would reveal the next layer. He drew his wand, and a palm-length, three-finger-width flame condensed at the tip. “Seven parts heat force, three parts electric force, I'll show you what I'm made of!” Winston said, holding the wand in both hands as if it were a flaming knife, and slashing at the edge of the plank. He pressed the flame knife with the weight of his entire body, and the heat force and electric force melted the wooden board at the same time, making a crackling sound. The oil on the surface of the board gave off a sickeningly Ugghy smell of burning, and black smoke billowed out. After about a minute, the layer of oil on the side was finally completely melted, and the flame knife only needed to cut through the resistance of the oil on the two remaining cross-sectional surfaces. After another minute or so, the flame knife had already cut half a meter long, and it looked like it was about to cut to the other side.

“Damn it!” Winston stopped the wand and kicked the small part of the plank that was still attached, knocking it askew. The film of oil on the surface was still attached, but it didn't matter, the next layer was already visible. Without thinking, he jumped through to the next layer. Just as he was about to do so, the white smoke from below shot up from the center. Winston had seen earlier that the white smoke would explode when it encountered fire, so he hurriedly avoided the smoke and ran towards the edge of the ceiling.

“This is bad. Go up and get the support team and the other members!”

Reinhardt used his space force to create an air helmet around his head to shield him from the white smoke, and then jumped onto the ceiling. He showed the others how to do the air helmet, and then a group of more than 20 people gathered on the second ceiling.

“It seems that the situation downstairs is pretty bad. We have to try to rescue them all at once. Now, the 20 of us form a circle. Seven parts heat force, three parts electric force, condensed into a palm three fingers wide,” he said, demonstrating. “You use the heat knife to directly cut the ceiling. At first, it may take close to a minute for the blade to melt the wood. Be patient and keep operating. No one cuts a small piece of the edge. The 20 of you form a circle and as soon as the wood is cut through, you immediately move on to the next layer and continue cutting. Act immediately, time waits for no one!”

There are now only two layers of ceiling boards left, and each layer will take nearly two minutes to cut. The team members in the white smoke below still have about five minutes to last, and in principle, they will be able to escape unscathed. However, The Black Tech Cult has not promised them that they will wait until the five minutes are up before acting.

So at this moment, six groups of figures appear from the white smoke.

These people were wearing leather jumpsuits that were simply sewn together, but it was clear that there were hardly any gaps. The outside of the leather was coated with a shiny, thick layer of oil that looked like the oil on the ceiling boards and was also fireproof. Since this layer of oil was sticky and hard, their movements looked very stiff. However, this also meant that they were very confident in their ability to attack, as they did not need to dodge or run away. This also occurred to Arthur when he saw them.

These people wore masks on their heads, and their eyes were covered by a long, pointed structure that jutted outward from their chins, like a raven's beak, making them look eerie and terrifying.

They moved in twos, slowly approaching the isolation sphere. The person in front held a strange device, while the person behind carried a large bag on their back and a pipe about the thickness of a bucket in their hand, connected to the backpack on their back by a hose. The person behind followed right behind him. When they encountered the “fan” created by Arthur, they hesitated for a moment. One of them reached out and placed his hand in the path of the fan, but he was only gently pushed away. Seeing this, the others felt at ease and walked forward. In fact, space force can be condensed into a more solid form, just as Arthur tripped over the fleeing followers. However, this is very energy-intensive, so generally speaking, space force is used in conjunction with other forces to construct magic. But obviously, in this sea of pale clouds, they could only rely on space force to fight these followers.

So the three team leaders rushed to the edge of the isolation sphere and released various forms of space force at the six groups of followers approaching them. Whips, stakes, and spears, condensed into solid forms by the space force, were sent flying at the three groups of followers. But only the stakes knocked the group of followers back a few steps, the spears couldn't penetrate their leather armor, and the whips caused no pain. Seeing that they could not defeat their opponents, the few people changed the form of the space force, forming a rope-like shape like a tripwire. This form was effective, but it would continue to consume rune fluid, so they didn't want to use it either. The tripwire formed by the space force directly wrapped around the feet of the six groups of followers. These 12 people fell to the ground, but by this time they were very close to the isolation sphere.

So they finally launched their attack. The people behind them began to continuously shake the cranks on the backpacks of the people in front of them, just like starting an old diesel engine, and the backpacks made a roaring sound. The people in front pressed the pipes in their hands against the isolation sphere. As a result, different attack methods were launched from the groups of pipes, some of which were blinding white lights that made the picketers unable to open their eyes, while others were huge suction forces that messed up the airflow around them. The most useful of these was the sound-like vibration. Although the space force blocked the air flow, the vibration still passed through the isolation ball and continued to intensify inside the sphere. This gradually made everyone feel dizzy and Uggh, and the team members outside the sphere who were maintaining it did their best to resist in order to maintain the stability of the spell.

Seeing that the sound waves were effective, this group immediately extended their arms upwards. Seeing this, the other groups slowly retreated, while at least ten groups slowly surrounded them from all sides, seemingly armed with sonic weapons.

At this time, Captain Winston had just cut through the second layer, and the team could still hold out for at least three minutes. But it was too late. Even though the team leader immediately set the tripwire for them, the followers still crawled to the isolation sphere and more than ten sonic weapons were fired at the team members at the same time.

The space force magic disappeared, and a white airwave instantly rushed into the isolation sphere, knocking all the team members unconscious.

After another two minutes, the captain finally cut through the third layer of the ceiling. He originally wanted to get all the dozens of team members out as soon as possible, so he tried to cut the hole as big as possible. Who knew that it would delay the best chance of rescue. Seeing the last ceiling cut through, the wooden board fell with a loud noise. Winston was about to jump down first, but then he saw the sea of clouds on the ground suddenly turn into a sea of fire. A huge heat wave rose into the air, and it flew all 20 people through the hole. At the same time, the three layers of ceiling were rapidly opening

“No!” Winston yelled as he was blown away, staring at the surging fire.

But in fact, The Black Tech Cult was still quite merciful. As soon as the isolation sphere disappeared, they stopped releasing smoke and started pumping in fresh air, so the white smoke near the ground had already begun to gradually disperse upwards. And the negative pressure created by the explosion sucked in more fresh air from all the escape routes. The fresh air pushed the white smoke to continue billowing upwards, and the removed ceiling gave the smoke a direct outlet for rising, increasing the speed of the fire column. Most of the team members were lying on the ground, so the explosion actually occurred above them. Although it looked very loud, and it seemed as if a huge pillar of fire had shot up into the air throughout the cave, in reality it was just the dust rolling upwards that burned, and it burned out in a matter of seconds.

Instead, the bottom of the cave, near the ground, was not seriously damaged. They did this just to buy themselves a little more time to escape.

The support team used levitation magic to quickly search for their teammates and escape from above! The fire pillar disappeared before the ceiling could be fully opened. After Winston gave the order, more than 20 people fell from the edge of the ceiling into the cave, without hesitation, taking everyone from the top out of the cave.

“Boss! Arthur and Hannah are gone, but the rest of the team is safe for now!” After taking a headcount, Reinhardt realized that only the two of them were missing.

“Strange, what good would it do The Black Tech Cult to capture them?” Winston pondered as he looked into the cave. “It looks like they've already escaped. Is it a tunnel?”

Winston jumped down, and Reinhardt followed suit. They looked around carefully and were convinced that the only escape route they had found in the wooden house led outside, but the entrance had been covered with a thick stone door. Even if they could blow the door open, they didn't know which of the dozen escape routes would lead them to the two of them.

“Damn, we've been set up. Let's go back to the city and rest!” Winston and Reinhardt then gave up on the search and rescue.

Two kilometers away, there was a hidden outlet to an underground river that flowed slowly along the mountain range towards the plains. This underground river ran directly underneath The Black Tech Cult. Several small wooden boats floated downstream, carrying more than 30 people dressed in herdsmen's clothing. On the last boat, there were piles of various leather armors and masks with long bird beaks.

Soon, the boats drifted to a makeshift dock, and the people on board disembarked. In the middle of the group, a burly young man was carried by the others, followed by a woman wearing the same clothes as him. The two of them stood out in the midst of the simple herdsmen, dressed in dark brown leather armor. There were two horse-drawn carts at the dock, which took the people to the village in the distance. The large windmill in the village was spinning, and the smell of malt wafted in the air.

Arthur gradually woke up and found himself lying in a wooden hut. The hut was clean and tidy, with nothing superfluous or decorative except the bed he was sleeping on, a small table and a chair. He suddenly came to his senses and remembered that he had last fainted in the cave, so the first thing he did was reach for the wand around his waist: sure enough, it was no longer there. There was some noise outside the door, followed by a knock, “knock, knock.”

A man like a caretaker pushed open the door, stepped aside, and an elderly man walked in. He wore a pair of intricately carved glasses, his gray hair neatly combed back, and simple linen clothes. Although the style was simple, they were clean and tidy, and the cuffs folded up were the most complicated decoration on the clothes. He walked with a straight back and a leisurely pace. Although a kind smile was on his face, he still gave off an air of authority.

This man might just be the bishop of The Black Tech Cult.

Arthur slowly sat up alertly, his muscles tensing as he braced himself for any sudden developments.

“Relax, my boy.” The old man walked over to a chair opposite the bed and sat down, making himself look non-aggressive, but he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands crossed in front of him, and his eyes intently surveying Arthur behind his glasses. It was clear that the old man was very interested in him. This scrutinizing gaze did not make Arthur feel disrespected, but instead made him feel the old man's frankness and sincerity.

Arthur slowly relaxed his guard. The old man said, “You should have guessed my identity already. I am the bishop of what you call The Black Tech Cult, Merlin. I'm sorry that this is how we first met. We mean you no harm, or rather, we mean the Empire no harm. We just wanted to have a chat with you. You are a pleasant surprise to us. If what my daughter said is true, I think you might be the one to re-open the bridge of communication.”

“Your...daughter?” Arthur looked puzzled.

“Come in,” said the old man, looking out the door.

Hannah appeared in the doorway.

Arthur was first shocked, then angry. He stood up abruptly, clenching his teeth and saying, “Hannah, so, you've been lying to me! All of our teammates have been killed because of you!”

“No, Arthur, you've got it all wrong. The captain and the others are all safe and sound!” Hannah hastily explained. “I...I never meant to harm any of you...” She lowered her head in distress.

Although Arthur was straightforward, when he saw the girl he liked in tears, he couldn't help but calm down and sit down calmly, believing Hannah's words for the time being.

“Let me explain, Hannah,” said the old man, turning around, taking Hannah's hand and patting it, leading Hannah behind him, then sitting up straight, placing his hands on the armrest. He looked at Arthur with a little more admiration. Then he spoke slowly and explained:

“First, let me introduce you to the Black Tech Cult you mentioned. As you should know, our real name is the Science and Technology Cult. It is not us who are hostile towards each other; the Black Tech Cult is a name imposed on us to make the people resistant.”

“Because of the information and economic blockade, our cult is not wealthy, so it has always been located far away from the main city. But that is not a problem. We have always used the power of nature to help those people whom the council cannot spare the time to help. They support us financially and are also our devoted followers. Our sect believes in the power of nature. Unlike the magic system, we believe that the same effect can be achieved without using runes and rune fluids, although the process is cumbersome and the quality is not good. But the good thing is that these results can be continuously improved and improved.”

“For example, when people get old, their eyesight becomes blurry. To solve this problem, we commonly use magic mirrors like this one,” said Merlin, taking off his glasses, pulling out a circle from his breast pocket, and then clicking it into the socket of his right eye. He then rubbed his finger twice along the edge of the frame. “This is a medium projection light force mirror, and it fits my eye perfectly. Now, take a look at this.”

Merlin took off the circle and put on the glasses with the lenses again. The lenses did not seem to transmit light very well, and the glasses and face behind the lenses looked slightly distorted. Of course, after all, this was a convex lens.

“Look at this. We call him glasses. This one embedded in the frame is called a convex lens. It is made of something called glass, which is fired. It is thick in the middle and thin on the sides. I can also see the world clearly using it. Of course, its light transmission is not as good as a light force lens, and it is a bit greenish, but these are not enough to offset its advantages.”

“No rune fluid?” Arthur said in shock.

“That's right, my boy, try it.” Merlin took off his glasses and asked Hannah to hand them to Arthur. Hannah handed him the glasses and looked at him carefully, as if she wanted to see if he was still angry with her. Arthur, on the other hand, was completely absorbed in the glasses in her hands and didn't notice at all, which made Merlin laugh.

“But I can see perfectly well with my own eyes,” Arthur said.

“Well, you can use him to observe the palm of your hand. Hold it not far above your palm and look at it through the lens.”

“Wow, this is...” Arthur was full of surprise like a child, seeing a magnifying glass for the first time.

“You should see, my boy, that through this thing called a glass, the things you see are magnified.”

Arthur nodded vigorously and kept using the lens to observe various things, from his palm to his leather armor, pants, and bed sheets... as if he was afraid that he would have to give the glasses back at any moment.

“So, in your opinion, if this is a lens of light force, what are its shortcomings?”

“There are many shortcomings,” Arthur muttered as he observed, “First, the object you see is severely distorted at the edge of the lens, which requires adjusting the intensity of the light force around the perimeter. Second, as you said, the lens is not transparent, and it has a color cast, but these are not problems with light force. Finally,” he said, reaching out and flicking the lens, “I don't know how strong this lens is, but it's more complicated than the light force lens, so it should be more easily damaged... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize if this prop was valuable, I hope I didn't damage it.” Arthur now seemed to have completely forgotten that he was in the enemy's base camp, completely immersed in his analytical thinking about the matter.

“Hahaha, you really are a clever and interesting child. Try these on.” Merlin took another pair of identical glasses out of his bosom and asked Hannah to pass them to Arthur. The lenses of these glasses were a bit thicker.

Arthur took the glasses in his hands, puzzled, and fiddled with them. Then, with a sudden realization, he looked up in surprise and asked, “Mr. Merlin, how did you do that? Objects viewed along the edge of the lens are hardly distorted anymore!”

“As you said, the image at the edge of a convex lens is distorted, which we followers of optics call image aberration. It can be corrected by improving the manufacturing process of the convex lens. Take a closer look at the lens in your hands,”

Arthur picked up the glasses and examined them closely: “Isn't one side of the lens convex and the other side flat? How does that correct the vision?”

Merlin smiled at him and told Hannah to collect the glasses. Arthur looked displeased, and Hannah playfully stuck out her tongue at him, as if to say, “You're father's command, I can't disobey,” before snatching the glasses away. Arthur had completely forgotten that he was in the enemy camp at this point, as if they had once again become the happy couple.

“There's more interesting things in the optics department. If you're interested, you can come with me to look at the different departments later. The important thing is that we can not only do without rune fluid, but also adjust the tools through our own means.”

Arthur looked at Hannah thoughtfully. He was beginning to believe that the Tech Cult might have a different theoretical system from magic, but that was about it.

“So, if the convex lens just now is made with the upper half flat and the lower half convex, it is also possible, right?”

“Huh? Why would you want to do that?”

“My parents also use light force glasses, but they told me that they usually only use them when looking at things close up, and they don't usually need them when looking into the distance. That's why the current light force glasses have a single lens for each eye. But if the top of the lens is flat and the bottom is a convex lens, wouldn't that mean you could use the same glasses to see both far and near?”

Merlin looked at Hannah and smiled, “Arthur is really a good candidate. His way of thinking is really suitable for research.” Then he looked at Arthur and said seriously, “After looking at the glasses, you should have a general idea. Most of our inventions and research are harmless. We are committed to finding ways from nature to accomplish things that only magic can do. Although these methods seem crude now, they have a bright future. They can be continuously upgraded and improved, and can be replicated at any time to attract more people to further research. If one day, not just the Floating Rock Magic Seal, but also our medicine can help cure some diseases, it will be a great blessing to mankind!”

Arthur nodded slightly in agreement. He frowned and asked, “So why is the Empire targeting the Tech Cult?”

Merlin looked a little helpless and sighed, saying, “Because we've moved their cake. Let's say the Floating Rock Magic Seal. To you, it's a symbol of the Empire's greatness, and it's helped countless cities set up their medical and defense systems, right?”

Arthur and Hannah both nodded.

“But it's also brought huge benefits to the Empire, and most of those benefits are in the hands of the Grand Magician Mordred. You should know very well how magical artifacts work. Just think, how can you activate a magical artifact as large as the Floating Rock Magic Seal?”

Arthur shook his head in confusion.

“To activate a magic seal of this level, you need to use the magic book personally written by the Grand Magician. It is said that in every city with a magic seal, only the highest leader can control the magic book, so it is only natural that you don't know about it. The pages of the magic book are made of parchment, and the inscriptions on the paper are very unique and one-off. Because it is difficult to engrave inscriptions on parchment, the magic book cannot be refilled with rune fluid. Instead, the runes are written directly on the book using rune fluid. Therefore, each time the magic book is used, these runes are consumed. Once the runes are gone, they have to be purchased from the Empire. Therefore, the Empire not only continuously exports the Giant Floating Rock Magic Seals to the world, but also controls the limited supply of magic books.”

“But because of this monopoly, more injustices have arisen. Hannah should have told you that recently, due to the development of medicine, we have more followers. And the reason we developed medicine is precisely because each city with a Floating Rock Magic Seal is gradually raising the price of treatment. The Grand Magician raised the price of the magic book, and they passed the burden on to the people.”

“Our pharmaceutical division has many followers, and their family members have not been healed in time and have passed away as a result. Their passion for drug research and development is higher than anyone else's, and very often they are in too much of a hurry. As soon as the experiments on the mice are complete, they go and take the drugs themselves, so there have been many dangerous situations. But even so, they still hope to succeed in developing the drugs sooner rather than later. It is precisely because they understand human suffering better than anyone else that they are more willing than anyone else to bear this suffering alone sooner, as long as their efforts can alleviate even a little of the injuries and illnesses caused by the unfairness in the world.”

Arthur listened thoughtfully to this and nodded in silence. Being a man of integrity and kindness, he easily understood the intentions of the Tech Cult.

Merlin stood up and said, “Arthur, in that case, come with me and see for yourself. Then he slowly walked out of the house with his arms folded. Arthur hesitated for a moment, and when he saw Hannah following Merlin expectantly, he stood up and followed. ”

Opening the door was the outdoors. It seemed that Merlin had not locked him in a prison-like place; this room was just for rest. This was a simple village, with natural paths formed between the houses. As they walked through the village, the people around them respectfully greeted Merlin, who smiled and nodded in return. They followed the path up to a large tree at the top of the hill. Its trunk was so thick that about ten adults could not wrap their arms around it if they held hands, and its canopy covered hundreds of square meters. Most of the middle of the village was under its protection, and the house where Arthur had just been resting was on the outskirts.

The village is divided into several areas according to the research departments. Merlin pointed as he slowly walked around the tree and showed Arthur: “This area studies mechanics, which corresponds to the space force in the magic system. This side is thermodynamics, which corresponds to heat forces. This side is electromagnetism, which corresponds to electric forces. This side is optics, which corresponds to light forces. This is alchemy, which corresponds to more complex changes in matter, but not as precise as magic. There is also a part of biology here. Finally, this is mathematics.”

“Mathematics?” Arthur had never heard of it before.

“Yes, it is a research field that developed along with the other divisions, and naturally separated from them. In fact, their research objects do not even directly utilize or transform the natural world, but they can predict and explain some phenomena and guide the further development of research in various divisions.” Merlin's words made Arthur's eyes light up.

Merlin looked at him and slowly walked in the direction of the biology department, saying as he walked, “In the past, Mordred always looked down on our research direction, ignoring us at best, and simply imposing a financial blockade. However, in recent years, due to the huge benefits of the Floating Rock Magic Seal, our drug research and development is likely to greatly affect his interests in the future. Therefore, I have noticed that his attention to us is increasing, to the point where he wants to destroy us. So I let Hannah infiltrate as a new member and keep us informed. The place you previously thought was headquarters was just one of our herbal cultivation bases that we deliberately exposed. Our real base is here.”

As they spoke, they walked into a simple courtyard. After entering the wooden house, the three of them sat down. The room was simple and unadorned, no different from the living room of an ordinary family.

“Arthur, after watching the whole way, do you think we are a cult opposed to the empire?”

Arthur was silent for a long time, and then said lightly, “I once imagined that after I graduated, I would continue to teach at the Imperial Academy and continue my research at the Magic Academy of the Council. However, in reality, although I was called ‘Arthur The Genius’ because of my unique understanding of magical constructs, I was thrown into the picket team. Although I tried hard to find my place there, that was not my destiny. I don't know if I can go back there after hearing and seeing all this today, but I don't think what is going on here is wrong, at least not malicious. He looked up, his eyes shining. If, I mean if, I don't have to be a picketer, if I can stay here for a while, maybe, I can learn more and be of more help to you. I believe the world can still improve! The pursuit of truth should be objective and inclusive!”

Then Arthur hesitated for a moment, his eyes darkening, “But I don't really understand all those interests and entanglements, and I don't know if I'm right or wrong in thinking this way.”

“As I said at the beginning, you are a pleasant surprise to us. Hannah was originally an informant who would make it easier for us to avoid being tracked down by the pickets, but you unexpectedly became partners with her. From Hannah's description, I feel that you have a kind heart and an objective mindset, and you may be able to understand us and even become a new bridge for us to communicate with the Empire. This has caused me to change my plans at the last minute and invite you here. Arthur, if you want to go back, it's not too late, but you have to think carefully. If you stay, going back may not change Mordred. But if you want to seek the truth and make a greater contribution to the world, I welcome you to join us.”

Hannah saw that Arthur was silent, so she said, “Father, let Arthur go back and think about it. I respect his decision, and it will take some time.”

Merlin nodded in agreement, and Hannah sent Arthur back to his quarters. That night, Arthur thought a lot...

The next morning, Arthur went to Merlin's place early. “I've thought it over, Mr. Merlin, and I'm willing to join you. If I can contribute to the Empire, I'm sure they won't harm me.”

Merlin looked at him approvingly and nodded slowly. “I hope we've made the right choice. As for your family, I'll have Hannah try to find out if they're willing to understand and accept it, and I think you can see them more often.”

“Okay, this is the necklace I've worn since I was little. With it as evidence, my parents should believe it. But Hannah, will you never be able to go back to the picket team?”

“Yes, I think if I go back like this, they will definitely be on their guard. Besides, when the two of us disappeared, we were carrying two battle wands. If I go back, I might have to return the wands and switch positions. The wands are still useful here, and there is also some rune fluid obtained through other channels.”

“Well, that's settled then. I hope you'll find what you're looking for here, Arthur. Follow me.”

Merlin turned and led Arthur into an inner room with a huge opening in the floor and long staircases leading down. There were small platforms on the walls with white columns standing upright on them, with flames flickering at the tips. This was Arthur's first sight of a candle.

“Follow me, and I'll show you the research departments.”

“So, you're all underground? No wonder the village above looks so ordinary!” Arthur said in surprise.

The underground passageways were very wide and branched off in all directions, like an improvised air-raid shelter. Once you actually walked inside the passageways, candles were a rare sight, and silver mirrors were more common. It turned out that each room had a skylight near the ground, with a large number of reflective mirrors installed, which also served to ventilate the room. This was an eye-opener for Arthur.

As he toured the various departments, he was more and more grateful for his decision to take the plunge and give it a try. It had opened his eyes to a whole new world. In the optics department, he saw a thin sheet of glass with glass beads stuck to it. With this simple device, he was able to see tiny creatures. In the biology department, he saw herbs being cultivated for use in alchemy. In the alchemy department, he saw a combustible liquid that supported research in the thermodynamics department. So he decided to systematically learn about all of these things. He and some children of followers began to take classes in each department.

Hannah went to Arthur's hometown. After bringing a token to his parents to express her purpose, they eventually chose to believe her. His father went with her to the headquarters of the Tech Cult, saw that Arthur was safe and sound, and returned home to report the good news. From then on, Arthur maintained the frequency of going back to see his parents once a month, and spent the rest of the time studying the knowledge of the Tech Cult. In two years, he had assimilated the knowledge of various branches and proposed many innovative suggestions and research directions. He had become Merlin's right-hand man and the Church's genius, and Arthur's name was once again spread.

Of course, during these two years, the Empire's siege of the Tech Cult became more and more frequent, and branches all over the place were gradually destroyed, and followers gradually moved closer to the headquarters. However, the Tech Cult itself did not want to gain recognition through struggle, so it was almost on the receiving end of the beating. However, correspondingly, since the headquarters had not yet been discovered, Arthur still had plenty of time and energy to study and explore during this period. After familiarizing himself with the knowledge of the Tech Cult, he also devoted some of his energy to studying the connection between magic and this knowledge. He believed that most truths in the world should be interrelated. Since no one had previously undertaken this kind of interdisciplinary exploration, this research quickly made astonishing progress.

As his knowledge base grew, he naturally associated the rune fluid with blood. Since some flat, round discs could be seen in blood, what would be observed in rune fluid? He used the glass ball in the middle of the clamp to observe a drop of rune fluid. He found some particles that shimmered with a faint light. Although they were much smaller than the discs in the blood, and it was still unclear what they were, at least it proved that there were also some small things in rune fluid. Since these particles were so small, perhaps they were harmless to the human body? He conducted an experiment with mice, mixing rune fluid into their drinking water, one drop, two drops, until finally he used the rune fluid directly instead of drinking water. The mice still showed no signs of discomfort. Although he still did not know the specific mechanism or composition of the rune fluid, the fact that it could be drunk was already a fact.

While researching the rune fluid, he also researched the runes themselves. He had heard that the runes in the Floating Rock Magic Seal were nested, which meant that they were two-layer runes that could release more detailed and powerful magic. So he tried to carve double runes with the help of a convex lens. He made a slightly thicker magic wand and carved the lines of the original power rune thicker and flatter. Then he carved 10 thinner lines of other power runes in each power rune line. He wanted to verify whether his thinking was correct. All that was missing was the activation method. Could he graft the self-made wand onto the original one?

With a trial-and-error mentality, Arthur disassembled the battle wand. He found that the philosopher's stone at the bottom of the battle wand was removable. He originally thought that the philosopher's stone was embedded in the wand as a whole, but after disassembling it, he found that there was actually a small metal claw on each of the hexagonal edges of the philosopher's stone. When he first removed it, Arthur curiously touched the tiny metal claws with his fingers, but they were so sharp that he accidentally cut his finger. When the blood came into contact with the metal claws, the philosopher's stone suddenly glowed faintly red, as if it had been activated. This amazed Arthur. Could it be that the spiky protrusions on the wand were there to provide blood for the philosopher's stone? He tried to make a small hole in his homemade wand near the claw of the philosopher's stone, so that blood could drip in. Sure enough, the philosopher's stone was activated.

It seems that if the wand is damaged, as long as the philosopher's stone is still intact, Arthur can make another wand to repair it. Through his own research by disassembling it, he actually learned the process of making wands, which was regulated by the council. Although no rune was added to restrict the user, and the overall appearance seemed to be relatively rough, with the help of the Tech Cult, he did come into contact with some of the essence of magic.

He experimented with the self-made wand, and not only did the magic it released last longer and more smoothly, but he could also manipulate it more finely. In the past, the manipulation of light forces was simply a matter of projecting a bright image to blind an enemy, or using light signals to communicate. Light force magic was more commonly used in production and entertainment. Now, with the help of his self-made wand, he wanted to try something more magical. He looked at the candle and tried to use the wand to disperse the candlelight in front of his eyes. A black area appeared in the direction he was looking at the candlelight! He then tried turning his head to the left, directing the light from the right into his eyes, and then, like a mirage, he saw a small image of the candle in front of his eyes. He tried again, and he could even see behind his head. He had literally become a chameleon! And all this did not make him feel too tired. It seemed that the multiple runes really gave finer control over magic, and did not increase the mental stress on the caster.

However, before he could continue his in-depth research, his peaceful life changed.

Arthur and Hannah had gotten together a year after Arthur joined the guild. Sometimes, when Arthur was busy at work, Hannah would go home to his parents' house to say hello. Arthur's hometown was a ways from Radiant City, and it wasn't a big city that was closely monitored, so there was no problem with this kind of action. But as time went on, more and more branches of the Tech Cult were destroyed, and the scope of the picket's searches expanded to include small cities like Arthur's hometown. That was the day Hannah went missing after returning home on Arthur's behalf. Apart from the voice stone, there was no other means of instant communication in this world, so after waiting for three days, Arthur decided not to hesitate any longer and went home to search for Hannah. After bidding Merlin farewell, he set off with his battle wand and three bottles of rune fluid.

When he was only a few kilometers from his hometown, he saw familiar leather armor: it was the magical picket team. It turned out that they had already patrolled to Arthur's hometown. He hid behind a tree and waited for them to pass by before going home, but heard some surprising news.

“Has the woman been taken back?”

“She was taken back early. She was arrested the day after she was captured and taken back to headquarters. I heard that she was a traitor who defected three years ago and joined The Black Tech Cult. The captain was overjoyed when he heard that she was arrested and immediately had her taken back.”

“Why do you think she's here? We haven't found any branches.”

“Who knows? Just do what the boss tells you to do and don't ask questions or think too much.”

As he watched the two men walk further and further away, Arthur pondered: It seems that my parents have not been exposed yet. The most urgent task now is to go to Glory City to find out what's going on. It seems that Hannah has been taken back. Although she is a traitor, Captain Winston is a man of honor and righteousness. For the time being, she should still be safe.

So Arthur returned to the city, rented a horse, and rode for five days to return to Glory City, a place he had not been to for three years.

Three years had passed, and Glory City had become even more magnificent. The city walls seemed to have lost their defensive significance, draped as they were in gleaming white and gold wall paint. The exaggeratedly large gold ornaments on the battlements announced to all visitors their wealth and power. The city gates were more than 20 meters high, and the giant crystals embedded in the gates refracted the sunset onto the road at the gates, giving people the feeling that it was an unparalleled honor just to be able to enter Glory City.

Perhaps due to their confidence in controlling magic, and the fact that the headquarters of the Magic Picket Team is located in the city, the checks entering the city are not strict, so that Arthur did not need to change his clothes and no one recognized him. Of course, having spent most of the past three years in the laboratory, he had long since transformed from a young boy into a bearded uncle, and there was no need for makeup at all.

However, as soon as he entered the city, he was attracted by a poster on the wall: three days later at noon, in the square in front of the parliament, the traitor Hannah from the Magic Patrol will be executed. Stand up for the truth! Resist Black Tech!

“What? So she wasn't at the headquarters of the picket! Where should I look for her now?” Arthur was anxious as the sun was about to set.

At that moment, someone patted him on the shoulder. Without thinking too much, he turned around to look back. As he turned his head, he suddenly remembered that he was sneaking in and should not be recognized. Oh no! He was startled and was about to run away when he suddenly heard the man shout, “Arthur, I know where Hannah is. Follow me!”

He knew that voice all too well. It was Andrew. Back when they were on the picket line, Arthur and Andrew had become fast friends because they shared the same interests. He never would have thought that Arthur, now looking like an old man, would still be recognized by him.

Arthur looked back. Andrew's face was covered by a scarf, and he was dressed in plain clothes. He looked around warily, gave Arthur a sign to follow him, and hurriedly ran into an inconspicuous alley next to them.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then followed him into the alley. Walking to the end of the alley, Andrew looked around, pulled down his scarf and said,

“Arthur, old friend, I don't have time to catch up with you. I'm not going to turn you in, I'm here to help you. A few days ago Hannah was captured. At first we all thought you two were dead, but her capture means that you two are traitors. Captain Winston brought her back to find out what happened and to defend her, but she was taken away by the archmage that night. Winston took her to the high tower himself to protect her, but the archmage sent him back. I think Hannah is still being held there. If the operation is only tonight, I thought you would come, but I didn't know exactly when, so I kept waiting here. Luckily, I've waited for you!”

“Arthur, my old friend...you...are alive, that's really good...” Andrew began to sob. Arthur hugged him gratefully after listening to him out.

“Thank you, my good friend! It's a good thing you were waiting here, I will definitely rescue Hannah!”

Andrew wiped away his tears and said, “If you can escape tonight, escape from the city through the north city gate. My younger brother is on patrol tonight, he knows your situation and will help you!”

“Andrew, I don't know when we will meet again after this. I will never forget the kindness you and the captain have shown me! Thank you!”

Arthur took a step back and solemnly bowed to Andrew. He gave Andrew one last look, then without looking back, he headed straight for the council tower.

It was already evening, and he wandered around the council hall, looking for opportunities. Perhaps it was because Mordred was a great magician that there were not many guards at night. He looked up at the towering tower. At the time, it had taken him almost a minute to ascend the tower using the floating rock platform. If he had to climb up this time, he didn't know how long it would take. The important thing was the consumption of rune fluid. He still had three full rune fluid pouches in his hands, but there was almost no place to stop and replenish rune fluid during the climb, and he had to control the consumption of rune fluid. Climbing definitely won't work. He has been in the laboratory for three years and has long since stopped exercising. I'm afraid that even if I can reach the top of the tower, I won't have the strength to make it.

If only I could reach the floating rock lift... But how can I avoid the patrols? Arthur desperately thought about all the knowledge he had learned.

“Maybe...” He found a secluded corner and placed a small stone on the ground. First, he set up a layer of space force, then added light force to control the light around it.

“Very good!” Within just a few seconds, Arthur had created a perfectly invisible screen of space force. From his perspective, the small stone was completely invisible, and there was only a vague shadow on the ground.

Indeed, once you understand the refraction of light, you can use magic to achieve invisibility! But that wasn't enough. He could be seen from a different angle. “Set up another screen!” Finally, he set up five screens, like a small box with no bottom, to enclose the pebble, so that it was completely invisible from every angle.

“Okay, now enlarge this screen and remove the part above your head.” Using his battle wand, he set up four invisible screens in front of, behind, to the left and right of himself. In this way, no one could see him except from above. He estimated the magic power consumption and estimated that it could last for about half an hour. That was enough!

He cautiously walked down the street, maintaining his invisibility. A man walking his dog came his way, and he plucked up the courage to walk over to him. Obviously the man was looking straight ahead and didn't see him at all, and walked straight past. It was his dog that noticed the vague footprints on the ground, and kept staring at his feet until the two of them passed each other, and his shoulder lightly bumped the man. The man thought he had touched a tree branch or a bird, and stood still for a long time looking around. It seems to be working.

He simply walked straight towards the council hall. He walked carefully along the walls and indeed no one noticed him. In this way, in about three minutes, he successfully boarded the platform of floating rocks and lifted the spell.

“So far so good, the rune fluid has hardly been used at all,” thought Arthur, and as he saw that the platform of floating rocks was about to reach the uppermost level where Mordred was, he again covered himself with the screen of invisibility. This floor was simple. A few meters in front of him, descending from the platform, was the door to Mordred's office, guarded by only two guards. He slowly walked down the platform. The guards did not see him, but noticed that the platform was empty, which was not normal, so they cautiously and slowly walked towards the platform. Taking this opportunity, Arthur used his space force, and the force was like a huge fist that quickly and heavily hit their jaw, causing a mild concussion. It seemed that these two poor guys would not wake up tonight.

Arthur turned and entered his office. It was actually an apartment, with an entrance hall supported by eight huge, carved, gilded white marble columns that held up the high ceiling. Mordred often held social banquets here. To the left was Mordred's living room, to the right near the door was his study, and at the end of the hall was his office. Arthur carefully approached his office door and heard the rustling sound of a quill pen writing on parchment. It seemed that he was still working.

So where was Hannah?

He turned and walked softly towards the study, opening the door. In the dim light, he saw a figure bound hand-over-hand to a chair, head bowed, the prison garb hanging loosely around its body.

“Hannah!” Arthur gasped, running over to her and kneeling down to untie her ropes. The ropes were hard to untie, and Arthur could smell blood. He raised his hand and saw it was covered in blood in the moonlight. The ropes had been soaked in blood for a long time.

He quickly untied the ropes and helped Hannah to lean against the wall by the window.

“Arthur...?” Hannah opened her eyes slightly, flapped her dry lips and managed to say a few words.

“Hannah, I've come to save you. Let's find a way out of here.” Arthur was about to rummage through his bag to find her some water when Hannah whispered, “It's a trap.”

At that moment, the door was pushed open and the figure of the archmage, stretched long in the light from the hall, extended from the doorway to their feet.

“Oh? No big fish, just a little turtle? If it isn't ‘Arthur The Genius’, who has been hiding for the past three years. Why didn't Hannah's damned father come with him!”

Hannah weakly turned her head, her eyelids lifting just a crack, glaring fiercely at Mordred.

Arthur quickly got to his feet and drew his battle wand, protecting Hannah. “Archmage, I respect you, but why are you doing such a cruel thing? We don't mean you any harm.”

“Well... let me ask you first, why isn't Merlin here? Aren't you together?”

It seems that the archmage also knows Merlin. Arthur was shocked, but there was no time to think about it. He didn't want to complicate things, so he carefully replied, “We didn't come together.” Seeing that Mordred didn't believe him, he added, “I came from my hometown and didn't return to the The Tech Cult along the way. I don't know if His Excellency Merlin has come.”

Mordred stared at Arthur for a long time. “Well, it seems that you have no reason to lie. With Merlin helping you, you might have a better chance. Although getting rid of you means nothing to me, come out and let me see how much you've grown in the past few years.”

Mordred turned and walked back towards the hall. Arthur fed Hannah a few sips of water, placed the glass on the ground, and said with a smile, “Don't worry, my princess, your prince will be back soon to take you away.” After saying this, he rose majestically and walked towards the door, leaving Hannah sitting in the corner with tears in her eyes and feeling helpless.

“Arthur, you may be wondering why you reported to the picket line and why I still remember you after all these years,” said Mordred, standing in the hall with his hands behind his back and pacing slowly. “Because this country doesn't need geniuses, just like Merlin.”

“I have known him for a long time, more than 50 years, and I still occasionally remember the time when we were in school together and were called the Twin Stars. But the value we created was nothing compared to the current bounty of magic!”

“He can't see the glorious future of magic. He can't see anything, and he just keeps on poring over his jars and pots and doing his tinkering. Why does he need to do research when he can just think about it and make it happen? Look at him now, poor and struggling to support himself. What has he got? If he'd been allowed to lead the development of magic, would there be an empire? Would there be a Glory City? Would we be standing here, talking at the top of the world?”

“This empire doesn't need geniuses, just me. I alone will be enough to develop magic to its limits, and I will soon become the king of the world for eternity. And you don't need to break through or cross boundaries, that will only lead to more conflict and instability! You just need to run well on the path I have set out for you, just obey and submit to me, and I will ensure that you live a life of wealth and glory!”

Mordred became more and more excited as he spoke, straightening his body, spreading his arms upwards, looking up at the dome as if he wanted to embrace the whole sky.

“Therefore,” he said, twisting his head around and looking at Arthur menacingly, “I cannot possibly allow you to teach at the Imperial Academy, nor can I let you continue your research at the Magic Academy of the Council. Like every batch of talented students, I will not give you the opportunity to shine. The world can survive with just one of me!” Mordred said, his eyes glowing with greed.

“So, for such a superficial reason, you suppressed the teaching of technology and even planned to kill Hannah?” Arthur drew his wand from his waist. It seems that the archmage has been thinking this way for decades, and even Merlin has not been able to convince him.

“Oh no, my children, killing you is as easy as pie. Your lives are no different from those of the people down there, worthless. What's important is Merlin. I want the world to know that his ideas are wrong, and that the ways of the Tech Cult are twisted and evil! The world can only believe in me!”

“You're crazy.”

“Haha... Crazy? Anyone who wants to live forever and be at the top of the world is crazy! Who cares? History belongs only to the victors! Be my stepping stone!”

Mordred reached for his wand from his waist, raised his hand and flung it forward, and in an instant, bolts of lightning raced towards Arthur! Before Arthur could raise his wand, a breeze appeared in front of him, and all the lightning flashed once a meter in front of him and disappeared.

“Oh?” Mordred looked at him coldly. “It seems you've figured out quite a bit. I'm really interested in your methods, and I'd like to chat with you sometime, but not now!”

A dozen ice cones rapidly condensed around Arthur, each the length of a palm and sharp as a dagger. As they formed, Arthur thought they would shoot at him like fireballs, so he quickly cast an invisible screen and rolled to the right and below, preparing to dodge the ice cones. However, the rear ends of the ice cones suddenly burst open, and the steam propelled the ice cones out like bullets. Mordred had captured Arthur's direction of evasion and used space force to draw several trajectories in the air. The ice cone on the left even changed direction directly, plunging toward Arthur's head.

Arthur reached out to block, but one of the ice daggers pierced his wrist through the gaps in his leather armor. Fortunately, it was not deep enough to injure the bone. This block made him confused, and he released the invisible screen. He pulled out the ice dagger with all his strength, creating the invisible screen again and sprinting up. Mordred had only seen invisibility as a technique for the first time, so he could only wildly bombard his original position with fireballs, but before he could take a few breaths, Arthur had already rushed to his front.

Arthur shot a powerful ray of light from close range, blinding Mordred's vision. Mordred immediately released several streams of electricity, levitating from the ground, which had been his favorite form of defense since he was young. But Arthur was already very close to him, and he dodged around to his back. The space force formed a rope in Arthur's hands, with the ends in Arthur's hands and the middle section around Mordred's neck. He pulled back hard, and Mordred lost his balance. He quickly disarmed the lightning behind him and fell heavily to the ground. Arthur ran up and kicked away the wand in his hand.

It had only been half a minute since Arthur pulled out the wand. Perhaps Mordred was really too old, and he had stayed away from combat longer than Arthur.

Mordred touched his neck and coughed as he supported himself on the ground. Arthur said to him, “It's over. I know I couldn't convince you, but you are still the Empire's great magician and have contributed a lot to the world. I still respect you. If you like, I will convince Merlin to come and see you together. If you agree, we can contribute our research results and work together for the progress of the world.” As Arthur spoke, he walked over to him, knelt down on one knee, and held out his injured left hand, ready to help Mordred up.

Mordred lowered his face, panting heavily, looked up at Arthur, hesitated for a moment, and took his hand. Arthur pulled him up with all his strength, and looked at him with a smile, as if he were still the respected archmage he had first met.

Mordred smiled back and placed his right hand on Arthur's shoulder. “Good boy, you really are...” he said, raising his left hand as if to put it on Arthur's shoulder and chat with him. But halfway up, his hand shot forward slightly and grabbed his wand.

“You really are still too young!” Mordred said with a sneer, and the wand instantly shattered in his hands. Arthur was stunned. He couldn't understand why the wand didn't just snap or get snatched away, but shattered. Just as he was in shock, Mordred grabbed him by the neck and lifted him straight up, as if he were lifting an apple.

Arthur watched him with a red face while pondering his response in shock. It seemed that he had underestimated his opponent. Although he didn't know why, Mordred was more dangerous than he had imagined, and he must do his best to defeat him! He had to act quickly before he ran out of breath! He drew in his stomach, wrapped his legs around Mordred's outstretched arms, grabbed his wrists with both hands, hooked one leg around his upper arm, and used the three points of contact as support. With all his strength, he kicked his other leg at Mordred's chin. Even the strongest neck will produce a concussion if it is kicked with full force by an adult. While Mordred was reeling and unsteady on his feet, Arthur seized his middle finger and wrenched it open. The sudden pain caused Mordred to relax slightly, and Arthur took advantage of the situation to break free and scrambled to the wall. He didn't just want to get away from Mordred, but also to grab the wand he had kicked away!

Mordred felt a little unsteady and, as he stumbled, he fell to one knee. He supported himself for a moment, shook his head vigorously, and looked around the hall for Arthur's whereabouts, but he couldn't find him.

“Arthur, come out, come out, wherever you are, you coward! You've been hiding for three years, but now your woman is hurt like this, are you still going to keep on hiding?” Mordred was trying to provoke Arthur into coming out by talking him into it. But for some reason, Arthur did not move. Mordred paced while provoking Arthur with his words. When he reached the door to his office and still hadn't seen Arthur, he became impatient. He raised his hand above his head, palm up, and a huge fireball appeared in his hand. It split violently into dozens of small fireballs, which crashed around the room like crazy. The huge blast sent the door to the elevator flying off.

The entire hall trembled slightly, and some debris from the dome also fell. Obviously, Mordred didn't want to cause excessive damage to his own palace unless it was absolutely necessary. “Arthur, you don't stand a chance. You've seen the gap between us. Come out and surrender. Obey and take me to Merlin, and I'll spare you and Hannah the crime of disrespect!”

Arthur slowly walked out from behind the pillar furthest away from Mordred. His left arm hung limply, without any leather armor, and blood dripped from his fingers.

“That's right, Arthur, surrender obediently, and wait here with Hannah for Merlin to come over, so we can catch up on old times. Hahahaha...” Mordred laughed arrogantly.

Arthur ignored him and raised his injured left arm. Instantly, countless sharp daggers formed from electric force and wrapped in space force, wildly stabbing towards Mordred's upper body, each move deadly. Mordred was stunned by this sudden scene and frantically twisted his upper body, but the daggers still pierced his holy robe to shreds. While Mordred was busy dodging, Arthur's eyes flashed, and with a push of his right hand, a huge force of space force hit Mordred's lower abdomen, and as his lower body slid backwards, Arthur's left hand tightened and pulled, and another force of space force slammed forward behind his head. Mordred was knocked by these two forces of space force, spinning 90 degrees from a standing position, and his entire body became face-down. Arthur ran towards him, clenched his fists, raised his arms back, and then hammered down from above. Mordred felt like he had been hit by a giant pair of hands, and he fell to the ground motionless. He could even faintly hear bones breaking.

Arthur didn't hesitate. He sprinted to his front, rolled over and sat on his back, and pulled hard with both hands towards the back of his neck.

“Nooo…”

However, instead of turning around to stop Arthur, he pointed his finger at a stone pillar. He clenched his hand, and the stone pillar shattered, or rather, the surface of the stone pillar cracked. A fierce black wolf was lying at the base of the pillar. As the cage was broken, he slowly opened his eyes.

This sudden change took Arthur by surprise, and Mordred took the opportunity to roll over and escape Arthur's control, kicking Arthur over onto the ground with a single kick. He waved his hand, and the black wolf pounced.

This wolf was already close to the size of an adult lion. It still retained most of the characteristics of a wolf, but if you looked closely, you could see that its front paws were connected to its body by bat-like wings, and its ears stood tall and forward like those of a bat. It was hard to imagine what kind of creature could escape in the middle of the night in the jungle. It lunged at him with its mouth wide open, its two rows of teeth as sharp as a shark's, like gears, as if any creature would be shredded in an instant. Arthur couldn't think, and rolled to avoid it. The black wolf missed, but instead of turning around, its tail came down from above, leaving several deep scratches on Arthur's left arm. It turned out that there were several bone spurs at the end of its tail, each as sharp and strong as its claws. It seemed that the tailbone had mutated.

Arthur calmly observed him. He glanced in the corner of his eye and saw Mordred slowly standing up with his hand holding onto another pillar. It seemed that there was also a creature like this there. If the black wolf was defeated by him, perhaps Mordred would release this guy. “So...there are 7 more?”

Just as he glanced at Mordred in the corner of his eye and pondered this, the black wolf pounced. He was too late to dodge, so he subconsciously put his hands up to protect his head and crouched down.

The black wolf was about to leap over his head. At that moment, Arthur had a flash of inspiration, and formed a sharp hand blade of space force along his forearm, wrapping it in electric force and extending it upwards. Taking advantage of the black wolf's leap, it cut into the black wolf's chest with a pop. The inertia of the Black Wolf's forward lunge caused his left hand to fly backward, so he slammed his right hand against the left arm, raised it high above his head, and slashed forward with all his strength. The Black Wolf was disemboweled, collapsed behind him, and after a moment of struggling, stopped moving.

Mordred was a little surprised. He looked at Arthur, who was panting and covered in wounds. Arthur didn't have the energy to think of a strategy at the moment. He fell to his knees, his right hand supporting his body with difficulty. He was a little dizzy from the blood loss and strenuous exercise. Mordred saw the situation and left the pillar, as if he didn't need the animals' help anymore.

“Arthur, I'm really curious. How did you find out?” Mordred regained his composure, looking as noble and majestic as ever as he walked, scrutinizing the man with the philosopher's stone embedded in the back of his hand. There were still a few faint traces of the rune on his forearm, but they were hidden by the blood, and it was almost impossible to see the shimmering light of the rune fluid.

“I also...just discovered it recently. Fortunately, you didn't walk towards the pillar on my side. As you walked with your back to me towards the office door, I saw the philosopher's stone on the back of your neck, and I was convinced that this is how you cast magic with your hands. Haha, why didn't I think of this earlier? According to your personality, you would definitely provide the empire with technology that you no longer need.”

“Well, yes, you even thought of writing the runes on your body like in a magic book.” Mordred examined Arthur's left hand, which was weakly propped up on the ground, with interest, as if Arthur was no longer a threat to him at all.

“But this method is still very inefficient, and I stopped using it a long time ago...” As he spoke, he paced towards the floating rock lift. “I've always said that magic is unpredictable and will only fulfil the wishes of its most understanding and faithful followers! But there are so many mediocre people in this world, who can never fathom the true meaning of magic. They either take too long to understand, or they want to go down a different path. Either way, to me, they are all just voices that hinder me. In this world, there is only one ultimate magician – me! Forever and ever, I will rule this world!”

He said this and walked out of the hall. The bright moonlight shone on his tattered robes, which still looked glorious. He enjoyed the image of himself becoming sacred, noble, and not to be desecrated or questioned.

Then he reached out and grabbed at the air, and Hannah was pulled by an invisible hand by her hair. She struggled with all her strength, while being dragged from the study and towards Morredre.

“No! Hannah!”

Mordred sneered and threatened, “But you, Arthur, you are truly special! You are neither stupid nor blasphemous towards magic. I believe that given time, you can help me so much! Hurry and beg for your life, and not only will I spare your little girlfriend's life, I will allow you to rise to the top of the world with me!”

“You're dreaming!” Arthur wiped the corner of his mouth. He knelt on the ground, raised his right hand and clenched it, and a great power from afar grabbed Mordred's neck.

“Oh?” Mordred sneered, and suddenly a thick arm shot out from his right shoulder, forcibly breaking the invisible hand. Then, a second, third, and fourth arm shot out. Mordred now had three arms growing from each shoulder. In addition to his original right hand, which was holding Hannah's hair tightly with space force, each hand was floating different elemental magic. His long hair and beard slowly floated under the aura surrounding his body. Although he was wearing a holy robe, his posture at the moment looked very similar to those fierce gods and monsters in the myths and legends.

“I didn't think you knew. Drinking the rune fluid, even I only discovered it not long ago. But as I said, the path of magic is unfathomable. With your understanding, you are no match for me!”

Mordred said, as his five arms threw various spells at Arthur non-stop: fireballs, lightning balls, ice cones, raining down on Arthur like a storm. For a moment, the entire hall was illuminated by the flashes of lightning from the various spells, and Mordred's figure outlined a hideous silhouette on the wall. Hannah was lifted into the air, and with all the strength she had left, she could only open her eyes wide and watch helplessly as Arthur was mercilessly attacked by Mordred.

Arthur had regained some of his strength after the previous rest, but it was not enough to support him in moving his body. He knelt on one knee and used his space force to change the trajectory of the magic flying at him while thinking about tactics. However, Mordred did not intend to give him time to think. Various spells were chaotically hitting around him, and the splashing stones kept hitting and cutting his body, so Arthur could only respond with all his strength. In just a few breaths, Mordred unleashed hundreds of magical attacks at him. When he stopped, it was a long time before the smoke and dust around Arthur slowly dispersed. By this time, Arthur was covered in wounds, with flying stones and magical injuries all over his body. The blood from the wounds gushed down his body, staining his entire person blood red. Even kneeling on one knee now would take all his strength.

“Arthur, what, still not going to change your mind? You can learn so much more by following me,” Mordred said as he slowly walked towards him, kicking up dust behind him with every step. He waited very patiently for Arthur to catch his breath and answer him.

By the time he reached Arthur, Arthur had just regained enough strength to speak.

“Why don't you follow me, and maybe you'll learn something. For example, the air we breathe is called air!” Arthur said, suddenly clenching his right hand. An invisible force suddenly appeared and snapped like a mask in front of Mordred, covering his nose and mouth. Air was constantly flowing out of this invisible mask, a phenomenon that had not yet been recognized in those magical times: a vacuum. It was the vacuum that had initially isolated Mordred from his lightning attack.

Mordred was terrified. He struggled desperately, shaking Hannah off and pulling with all six hands on the mask, but it was no use. He could not breathe. Soon his eyes bulged and his lips turned purple from the negative pressure and lack of oxygen. His mind began to slow down. With his last conscious thought, Mordred used his fingers as a knife to pierce the windpipe just below his neck, hoping to draw in at least one breath of air into his lungs. But Arthur then clenched his left hand again, and the air began to escape from the wound once more. Mordred's actions only accelerated his suffocation.

Arthur clenched his hand until Mordred fell to the ground, convulsing, and after a long time, there was no sign of life. The philosopher's stone on the back of Arthur's hand also turned ashen and now looked like an ordinary stone.

“Hannah!” Arthur tried to get up but fell to the ground after taking two steps. He stumbled over to Hannah and picked her up.

“It's okay, Arthur, I can still... hold on...” Hannah smiled, then twisted her head and looked at Moradred, who had already fallen to the ground, and asked, “The Archmage... what happened to him?”

Arthur shook his head sadly and said slowly, “I had hoped that perhaps the Archmage and I could still communicate, but now it seems that there is no chance...”

The bright moonlight shone quietly, just as it had the day Arthur had first joined the picket. The Archmage lay on the floor, the moonlight reflecting off his tattered robes and still looking resplendent. After all, he was the great man who had single-handedly built the Empire of Magic. Many years later, Arthur often wondered if Mordred had been willing to sit down and talk, and if he hadn't threatened Hannah, whether he and Hannah could have sat with the archmage and Merlin, raising their glasses in the moonlight.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in the world...