"Ancient Darkness, the lost magic of the Eternal City!"
The old professors of the Academy immediately widened their eyes beneath their hoods, looking in shock at the scene unfolding before them.
They could hardly believe their eyes, displaying expressions more distraught than if their mothers had died, as though they were witnessing the end of the world.
Ancient Darkness, the magic that had once plunged the sorcerers of the entire Eternal City into despair, even known as the forbidden art of sorcerers, had reappeared in the world.
Because once this spell was cast, it could form a dark vortex, attracting and distorting ninety-nine percent of sorceries and incantations below the divine level.
In other words, ever since this spell came into existence, sorcerers could no longer fight each other with magic.
After all, no matter how a spell was cast, it would ultimately be absorbed and distorted by Ancient Darkness, resulting only in a close-quarters brawl.
Rather than that, it would be better to simply give up fighting to avoid wasting energy.
"Roar~~~~"
A terrifying dragon roar echoed throughout the Academy. Smarag transformed into a giant dragon, flapped her wings, flew into the sky, opened her massive maw, and spewed out an incredibly hot lightning breath.
"Ahhh ahhh ahhh~~~~"
Endless golden lightning poured down like a torrential rain. Every bolt of lightning contained extremely high destructive power, instantly obliterating the outermost Academy sorcerers in swathes.
Countless screams rose and fell as their bodies turned to ash beneath the dragon's roar, leaving behind only wisps of smoke drifting upward.
With just this one move, Smarag nearly annihilated dozens of Academy sorcerers.
Seeing this, the surrounding sorcerers' formation instantly collapsed, and they scattered, fleeing deeper into the Academy.
"Don't destroy my Academy. We're here to conquer it. A little slower is fine; we have all the time in the world!"
Xiao said calmly while continuing to cast Destruction Emperor Waves, condensing one golden lightning spear after another and impaling the fleeing sorcerers around him.
Only those sorcerers who chose to kneel and beg for mercy did Xiao spare.
Although these individuals were not powerful, they were good prospects and still had some value, so they could be taken in for his own use.
"Oh~~~~"
With a long cry, Smarag sped forward like a bolt of lightning, instantly shattering the morale of the Academy sorcerers.
They fled in terror in all directions, desperately trying to escape this sudden disaster.
However, Smarag did not relent. She transformed back into human form, picked up a one-handed axe that had fallen to the ground, its heavy blade emitting a chilling aura.
She rushed into the Academy at high speed, pursuing the sorcerers who were fleeing everywhere.
Meanwhile, Xiao stood quietly in place instead of following Smarag deeper into the Academy.
Instead, he focused on collecting the scattered Grace and Runes from the ground.
Although Xiao himself could not directly use these Runes, he deeply understood their value.
Runes, as the crystallization of the Golden Order, could directly enhance one's power and provide comprehensive upgrades, naturally making them incredibly precious treasures.
Since Runes were the common currency of the Lands Between and could be used to purchase any desired items,
Xiao felt it was time to let the natives of the Lands Between experience the power of currency warfare.
It was foreseeable that as Xiao collected more and more Runes in the future,
the Grace that Golden Fundamentalism could reclaim would gradually decrease.
If the recovery rate could not keep up with the release rate, the Erdtree would inevitably decline.
At that time, Xiao would seize the opportunity to introduce his Law of Death and gradually erode the Golden Order, eventually replacing its position.
At the same time, he could also discover some of the sorcerers' Remembrances from the fallen Grace.
These Remembrances contained the magical memories of the sorcerers during their lives. Xiao could obtain their wisdom and power by absorbing these memories.
Xiao continuously explored every corner of the Academy while invisible suspended wires were quietly released, helping him thoroughly scour all the Grace and Runes here.
During this process, Xiao not only gained a large amount of valuable magical knowledge and magical items, but also obtained the enormous Rune wealth accumulated by the Academy over many years.
All the gains were carefully stored within the Cyber Dimension by Xiao and organized together with the data from the Blood Clan World.
Afterward, Xiao continued forward, heading directly toward his destination—the Raya Lucaria Grand Library. This place not only housed knowledge from all across the Lands Between, but also imprisoned the Full Moon Queen, Rennala.
However, when he arrived at his destination, two familiar figures appeared before him—Carian Knight Moongrum and Smarag.
Moongrum was blocking the entrance, preventing anyone from entering and disturbing the Full Moon Queen's work.
Meanwhile, Smarag was suffering from various flashy parries, only to be repeatedly struck down by Moongrum's signature technique: Carian Grandeur.
"Awooo~~~~"
Faced with such a miserable situation, Smarag roared angrily, yet continued to be struck aside by the shield, remaining trapped in impotent rage.
As the chief guard of the Carian Queen, the Carian Knight possessed extremely powerful strength.
Smarag in human form was as powerless as a playful child before him, allowing him to remain completely at ease throughout the battle.
Of course, the Carian Knight always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor toward ladies, which was their consistent style. Therefore, after parrying and causing Smarag to lose balance, he did not directly execute her, but continued to toy with her in battle.
"That's enough, Smarag. You are no match for this knight!"
Xiao said to Smarag, who was still relentlessly charging forward.
"Yes!"
Although unwilling, Smarag quickly halted her assault and retreated to Xiao's side.
"God of the former law, leave this place. The Queen no longer concerns herself with worldly affairs and will not interfere in your disputes!"
Moongrum raised his shield, gripping his Carian Knight Sword, and warned Xiao.
"Is my name already so famous?"
Xiao was somewhat surprised. He had only just entered the Lands Between, yet even people secluded within such deep halls already knew of his existence.
"The leaves carry tidings. Therefore, Queen of the Dusk-Eyed, your theft of Destined Death, assassination of Godwyn the Golden, destruction of Golden Order Fundamentalism, and ultimately the shattering of the Elden Ring have long since become public knowledge!"
Moongrum explained solemnly. Through the messages carried by the leaves, he clearly understood just how adept this Queen, who had failed in her struggle against Marika, was at hiding herself and how cunning she truly was.
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