Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe and his companions had been cautious.

Knowing that the Four Pillars Cult was the enemy, they had always stayed far away from the Four Pillars Prison; they had planned to retreat half an hour early; they hadn’t fully trusted the words of the Mercury Trojan Horse…

But what they hadn’t anticipated was that the Mercury Trojan Horse hadn’t deceived them in their actions, nor had she concealed any crucial information.

She had deceived the sky.

The cult’s camp outside the city used a Miracle to alter the celestial phenomena, leading the city’s people to believe that it wasn’t yet dark.

Stripped down, it was just a trivial scheme, but it brought disaster upon Ashe and his companions.

On reflection, Miracles that briefly changed the weather weren’t rare; whether it was the Blood Moon, the Gospel, or Senlo, there were meteorological sorcerers specifically trained to adjust the weather, otherwise, the main conflict in Senlo should have been about resources, not religion.

Although Senlo was a wasteland of the apocalypse, it wasn’t lacking in food, as greenhouses could be seen everywhere. Even if the fantasy creations within had failed, the seeds and other such things were still there. After two hundred years of slow adaptation and learning, Senlo hadn’t returned to the prosperity of the Gray Fox Divine Era, but yielding tens of thousands per acre was still no problem; otherwise, the various cults wouldn’t be desperately buying “Infant Incubators” to boost their troops.

On the other hand, with an unending source of food and no shortage of origins, the fact that Senlo’s cults hadn’t restored civilization or seen a population boom indicated how intense their usual wars were.

Faith is the wheel of history, and death is the wear on the axle.

Ashe and his companions knew well that the main theme of Senlo was life at dawn and death at dusk; they also knew that the Mercury Trojan Horse was unscrupulous. Why did they fall for it this time?

Because the price paid by the Mercury Trojan Horse this time still exceeded the limits of Ashe and others’ imaginations-it was four sanctuary sorcerers capable of Divine Hosting!

Even if one had left early, three still remained in place!

At this point, Ashe and his companions naturally wouldn’t doubt whether there was a Silver Lantern in the Three Pillars Prison-if the Mercury Trojan Horse went to such lengths just to trap Ashe, that would be like making a bridal gown for the Silver Lantern, handing over her Tactile Throne on a platter!

Upon calculation, it still seemed like a profitable trade: three sanctuary sorcerers for the deaths of Ashe, Silver Lantern, Igor, Harvey, with Tamashi as a bonus, three for five, a glorious victory.

But the problem was, the enemies of the Mercury Trojan Horse weren’t just Ashe and Silver Lantern, but also the Qinyi Alliance!

The Qinyi Alliance, with its many cults combined, was inherently stronger than the Four Pillars Cult, but their mutual internal sabotage, like the princes of the eighteen states, had given the Four Pillars Cult a chance to grow and strengthen.

In the Four Pillars Cult, there were only eight sanctuary sorcerers in total, including the Mercury Trojan Horse herself. With three dead here, it was akin to losing half of their high-end combat power. The Qinyi Alliance, already eager to move, would surely take this opportunity to invade now that the Four Pillars Cult was greatly weakened.

The actions of the Mercury Trojan Horse were like cutting off her own arms, giving the Qinyi Alliance the confidence to unite and invade!

But soon, Ashe realized his misunderstanding: why did he think the Mercury Trojan Horse cared about the life and death of the sanctuary, or the size of the Four Pillars Cult’s territory?

Was it because the Mercury Trojan Horse never let sanctuary sorcerers confront the Silver Lantern directly?

Was it because in the ‘Plan to Eliminate the Silver Lantern’ proposed by the Mercury Trojan Horse, she often ensured the safety of the participants?

Was it because the Mercury Trojan Horse had acted so normally that everyone almost forgot that she was not only a rebellious ambitious figure but also a… Dark God Tactile!

“I don’t know if Tamashi has ever told you, but I never lie.”

The abyss engulfed the city like a torrent, and the Mercury Trojan Horse deliberately kept her flight height above Ashe and others, looking down on those poor souls about to be swallowed by the Dead City: “But I don’t lie, I only lie to the dead.”

“Because this way, there is no need to mend the gaps in lies afterward, nor to deal with the consequences of the lies.” She continued: “Reality proves my caution is meaningful-over so many years, I’ve only made a mistake once. Although it was because of that one time that I created a nightmare I am eternally fearful of.”

“Lies must be concluded with death.” She said: “I finally don’t have to fear losing the favor of the Four Pillars, nor will I hear the sound of knives sharpening at night again.”

Harvey wasn’t indulging her, directly materializing a ghostly claw to grab her. The Mercury Trojan Horse did not resist, instead, her face bore a slightly mocking smile, as if asking Harvey whether he hadn’t eaten.

Igor glanced at the completely darkened sky: “Do you have a way to save your sanctuary sorcerers?”

“No way, if there was a way, it means you also have a chance to survive. I never doubt the judgment of the Four Pillars, Ashe and Silver Lantern are definitely human Miracles who can survive any perilous situation.” The Mercury Trojan Horse chuckled: “You might be worrying about how to deal with me, but I am equally troubled about how to deal with you.”

“As long as you and Silver Lantern are completely dealt with, then what’s there to regret sacrificing a few sanctuary sorcerers?” She stated: “When the prophecy spoke of Silver Lantern infiltrating the City of No Disasters, I knew this was my best opportunity.”

“Although the power of the Four Pillars Cult is immense, it’s not enough to annihilate you and Silver Lantern, not to mention you could potentially become Tactile, stealing my authority.”

“I should thank Silver Lantern for being so obedient.” The voice of the Mercury Trojan Horse grew softer: “Perhaps she also realized that although the Four Pillars Prison can last for 30 minutes unattended, because it is a rootless source, she only needs a momentary burst to easily break the prison… She thought this was just another probe, another encounter.”

“You all think the same, you don’t believe this is the final battle, nor do you believe that catching Silver Lantern is possible. You are not underestimating the enemy, but rather you understand the enemy’s strength too well and believe in your own power.”

“You have been strong for too long, you have forgotten the way of the weak.”

Ashe said: “Why do you speak as if you are the weak?”

“I have always been weak,” the Mercury Trojan Horse stated: “The kind of weak that cannot survive without relying on others… That’s why I became a Tactile.”

Her body shuddered slightly, her voice breaking: “The Dead City is about to be completely sealed, my Tactile cannot extend here… So, goodbye everyone.”

She turned to Raven: “Tamashi, do you have anything you want to say to me?”

“Yes,” Raven spoke: “But I will save it for the next time I appear before you. If possible, I’d like to say it while stepping on your face.”

“I see…” The Mercury Trojan Horse smiled: “Then to celebrate, I’ll apply a face mask tonight.”

“Farewell, Raven Annihilation.”

Seconds later, the mockery and pride in her eyes vanished, replaced by fear and panic.

Igor approached her, using some Miracle to determine, the Con Artist shook his head: “That’s not the Mercury Trojan Horse.”

Ashe watched the surroundings cautiously: “She said the seal of the Dead City would prevent her Tactile from extending here… Indeed, if it were possible to observe or even control those inside the Dead City from afar, its secrets would have been deciphered by sorcerers long ago, not remaining an unsolved mystery.”

“But she has already deceived us once, this might also be her lie, we can’t dismiss the possibility of her coming again.” Harvey handed the female sorcerer to Raven with a very smooth and natural motion: “Here.”

The necromancer wouldn’t deliberately facilitate Tamashi’s revenge, but he wouldn’t hinder Raven’s venting either. Ripping apart the skin that the Mercury Trojan Horse had descended into was naturally something Raven, with deep-seated hatred, would relish.

The female sorcerer didn’t beg for mercy, didn’t talk tough, just looked down at her chest. But her slightly trembling shoulders made Raven silent for three seconds.

Yet, Raven still slowly raised his hand, gently pressing it on her head. Everyone knew that with just a bit of force, Raven could easily tear apart all the tissue and organs in her brain, leaving mostly a whole corpse apart from the bleeding from all orifices.

“Wait.”

The speaker wasn’t Ashe, nor Raven, nor Harvey.

Igor flew in front of the female sorcerer, lifted her chin, brushed the hair from her face, and stared into her brown eyes, “What’s your name?”

“Gwen.” Her voice trembled: “Gwen Morningstar… but now just Gwen.”

Those who leave their cult naturally could no longer use the cult’s surname. Theoretically, followers of the Four Pillars Cult should all change their surnames to Four Pillars, although the Four Pillars don’t seem to have the habit of being a father.

Igor asked: “What was your position in the Four Pillars Cult?”

“Proxy.” She said: “A direct institution under the Throne, responsible for overseeing local administrative situations and… responsible for the descent of the Throne’s will.”

“So, you know a lot of the internal affairs of the Four Pillars Cult?”

She didn’t answer, nor did she deny. Igor straightened up and said: “Harvey, let her go. Since we’ve broken with the Mercury Trojan Horse, we should also understand the enemy’s Intelligence… I’ll be responsible for extracting her secrets.”

Ashe blinked, suddenly spoke harshly: “No! What if the Mercury Trojan Horse descends upon her again? There’s no need to carry this hidden bomb, let’s kill her now and be done with it!”

“I am her jailer, she is my prisoner. If the Mercury Trojan Horse descends again, I will be responsible for killing her.” Igor calmly stated: “I can judge whether she is Gwen or the Mercury Trojan Horse.”

“Do we need a whole person to interrogate secrets?” Harvey said: “At least her limbs are unnecessary, right? Eyes and nose seem a bit excessive, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ashe chimed in: “We don’t lack healing methods, why not disable all her capabilities first, then heal her after we leave? Besides, followers of the Four Pillars Cult are all crazies, if we don’t let them taste pain, how will they willingly spill secrets?”

You guys are really enjoying this, aren’t you… Igor felt a headache coming on, too lazy to argue with them, he just stared at the mist claw, a sword chant echoed in the air, and then Harvey’s mist claw was shredded. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Gwen’s waist, stating: “You are now a prisoner, understand?”

Gwen silently nodded, unfolding her golden and silver Twin Wings to follow behind Igor.

Igor wasn’t truly interested in interrogating any Intelligence, they just saw that Raven couldn’t bring himself to act on the ‘temporary skin where the Mercury Trojan Horse was no longer present.’

If the Mercury Trojan Horse were still there, Raven wouldn’t hesitate; but with the Mercury Trojan Horse gone, Raven hesitated.

If he really wanted to kill, he would have already shaken Gwen’s brain to pieces, not slowly raising his hand like a fairy tale villain.

But Raven couldn’t actively let Gwen go, not just because of the ‘Black Crow Announces Death’ principle, but also because he couldn’t let the Mercury Trojan Horse know he could be merciful.

A brutal and cruel Raven could make the Mercury Trojan Horse wary, a merciful Raven would only make the Mercury Trojan Horse laugh in her dreams.

Thus, the role of the good guy had to be played by Ashe and the others, and using the reason of ‘interrogating Intelligence’ was the most appropriate. They talk terrifyingly as if they would break Gwen’s legs if she tried to escape, but it was all just to give Raven a reason not to act.

In reality, as long as Gwen left quietly without disturbing anyone, everyone would deliberately pretend not to see her.

At this moment, not far away, the Three Pillars Prison finally collapsed, and three sanctuary sorcerers soared into the sky. Upon seeing Ashe and the others, they rushed over immediately.

“Your Excellency, wasn’t there supposed to be more than half an hour until nightfall?”

As they approached and saw Gwen, they immediately realized that Mercury Trojan Horse was no longer there, and with panic in their eyes, they asked, “Messenger, did Your Excellency leave any message? Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here right away!”

“You’re sanctuary sorcerers, stop deceiving yourselves,” Igor sneered. “Your Excellency Mercury Trojan Horse decided to have you three buried with us and Silver Lantern to completely resolve the issue. Aren’t you honored to be the cornerstone of her great cause? When she becomes infamous, she surely won’t forget your contributions!”

The sanctuary sorcerers were shaken. They weren’t fools; they had already suspected the truth.

Now, rushing over to find Mercury Trojan Horse was nothing more than hoping for an impossible miracle.

Only one of them roared, “You’re lying! She must have a way to leave the Dead City. Hand her over!”

As he spoke, he raised a fox-shaped Demi-God, clearly intending to perform a Divine Hosting transformation. Ashe immediately revealed his transformation belt, inserting the Transcendent Demi-God card, ready to fight them!

However, nothing happened.

Ashe didn’t transform into the Transcendent Hell Mad Dragon Knight, and the other didn’t perform a Divine Hosting of the Four Pillars. The other two also had drastic changes in their expressions, quickly taking out their own Demi-Gods, only to find them motionless, as if they had turned into mere toys.

Does the Dead City’s night mechanism seal Demi-Gods?

However, their spellforce and spirits were still functioning normally, and only the Demi-Gods were sealed, which didn’t significantly affect them.

“Hand her over, or you’ll still be-” The Cult sorcerer was engulfed in flames, “doomed!”

He reached out and grasped the air, and a black flame spiral greatsword shot up from his hand, slicing through the entire night! His flames weren’t black, but by combining the Spatial Sect and Fire Sect, each flame could burn space continuously, making the light of the flames unable to pass through the spatial cracks!

Undoubtedly, if the body touched these black flames, they couldn’t be extinguished. They would devour all enemies just like burning through space! Even when attacking a Sanctuary, the black flames could cling to the outside, continuously consuming spellforce, and if the sorcerer moved, it would consume even more spellforce!

Miracle: Void Flames!

The other two sanctuary sorcerers also acted immediately, coordinating with the fire spell Sanctuary to attack Ashe and the others!

One of the sanctuary sorcerers cupped his hands around his mouth and blew gently, releasing chaotic winds and pale gray gas. If the Sanctuary was hit by the winds, countless ripples would accelerate spellforce consumption; if the Sanctuary touched the pale gray gas, it would cling to the outside, obstructing vision!

Miracle: Wicked Winds!

The last sanctuary sorcerer held a spear. Unlike the other two, he simply thrust forward silently.

Then, he unleashed a barrage of blood-red spear shadows, like a hailstorm engulfing Ashe and the others!

Miracle: Blood Blossom Scene!

It was evident that these three Cult sorcerers were battle-hardened combat sorcerers, each possessing miracles targeting Sanctuaries, aiming to deplete, obstruct, and imprison the Sanctuary’s existence!

The strength of a Sanctuary lies in its ability to perfectly convert spellforce into life force, allowing the sorcerer to be nearly immune to all damage until the spellforce is exhausted. Whoever depletes the opponent’s spellforce first wins!

Facing the fierce assault of black flames, winds, and spear shadows, Ashe quickly ascended to evade while throwing a short sword to the ground. Then, he summoned the ‘Heart Sword’ and swiftly drew a circle in front of them, leaving a circular sword mark!

The next moment, a warm yellow circular barrier suddenly appeared in front of them. Even though it was immediately torn apart by the black flames, winds, and spear shadows, it quickly repaired itself, reducing the intensity of the three sanctuary sorcerers’ attacks by 90%!

This was the new miracle Ashe created under the guidance of the Sword Princess, combining the “Heart Pen,” “Sword Body Barrier,” and “Single-minded Devotion: Love Sword”-the “Heart Wall”!

No matter what pattern he drew, it could serve as a medium for the “Sword Body Barrier” to form a defensive wall, and the enhancement effect of “Love Sword” also applied to physical miracles-something he discovered accidentally when he used a “Love Sword” on a Substitute. With the support of Prismatic spellforce, all spirits could exert a three-wing effect, making the “Heart Wall” stronger than a Sanctuary, yet consuming less and recovering quickly, making it a perfect defense against attacks!

While Ashe defended, the Con Artist and necromancer launched their counterattack.

Igor focused on the three sanctuary sorcerers, and the air erupted with the sound of swords clashing, creating ripples on their Sanctuaries!

Miracle: Visualization Overlap!

In Igor’s vision, the area around the Cult Sanctuaries wasn’t empty but filled with hundreds of ‘Ashes’ attacking them, hence the sound of sword clashing and the ripples on their Sanctuaries.

This was the attack method of “Visualization Overlap”: the Con Artist, through regular visualization, preset a template of “Ashe attacking,” and when needed, overlapped it with the real enemy, turning visualization into reality and creating the effect of ‘countless Ashes attacking the enemy.’

Some might wonder, why not visualize a more powerful template?

There are two reasons: first, if the sorcerer doesn’t know the template well, the damage will be significantly reduced. For example, Igor could visualize a dragon breathing fire, but the effect would at most roast a Lala Fatty; second, if the real template becomes stronger, the effect of “Visualization Overlap” will also enhance, meaning if Ashe’s combat power increases, Igor’s miracle will become even more formidable.

Ashe is the only person Igor knows who is willing to showcase his strength without reservation, and Ashe’s upgrade speed is as absurd as Tamashi’s combat power. Using him as a template is both the only choice and the best choice.

While Igor was unleashing his power, Harvey had silently merged with Alice, transforming into a non-living, non-dead Ghost King.

His body, though cold and fiery, still yearned for the moment of burning out.

His right hand turned into a massive skeletal dragon head, then spewed forth a black-green tide of decay!

Partial Dragon Lich transformation!

Although Harvey hadn’t fully unlocked the penultimate troop type of the “Ghost King Shackles,” the ‘Dragon Lich,’ he could already apply partial limb attachment in combat. The Dragon Lich is a sanctuary-level troop type, and its ‘Decay Breath’ is comparable to the Golden Flow Water, causing everything to age rapidly!

The Cult sorcerers took the damage from Igor and Harvey with their Sanctuaries, their expressions grim. Ashe focused on defense, while Igor and Harvey attacked, each expending one portion of spellforce; whereas they had to both attack and defend with their Sanctuaries, expending two portions of spellforce.

Although the calculation wasn’t that straightforward, and the outcome was uncertain, given that Ashe and the others had only recently ascended to Sanctuary level and likely had limited spellforce, everyone realized that fighting wouldn’t yield much advantage.

So they retreated to a safe distance, exchanged glances, and the fire spell Sanctuary said, “Return the messenger to us.”

Not hand over, but return. This wording indicated they wanted to reason, not fight.

Igor almost immediately wanted to agree, as they didn’t really need Gwen and were looking for an opportunity to get rid of her. Now that the fire spell Sanctuary needed an excuse to back down, they could also discard this burden they picked up. Why not?

However, Gwen still hid behind Igor, clutching his sleeve tightly. Though she remained silent, this time she looked up and stared at the Con Artist, her gaze reminding Igor of those dirty stray cats and dogs.

I don’t like pets… Igor instinctively looked at Ashe, only to find Ashe quietly watching him.

The team’s diplomatic rights had always been held by Igor, and Ashe would listen to him on such matters.

No, Igor thought, when he didn’t immediately make a decision and looked at Ashe, he was actually seeking the Cult Leader’s support to shift the responsibility.

So… it’s all Ashe’s fault.

In Gwen’s anxious gaze, Igor grabbed her arm and firmly said to the fire spell Sanctuary, “This is our captured prisoner and intelligence source. We can’t just hand her over-when Mercury Trojan Horse broke with us, we were already in a hostile state, and you still want to take our spoils?”

The fire spell Sanctuary, hot-tempered, seemed ready to fight again, but the wind spell Sanctuary stopped him. “If we’re going to fight, let’s leave the Dead City first. It’s been so long, and there’s been no other movement. Maybe there’s still a chance to leave-“

“There is movement,” Harvey said. “The Sanctuary effect has disappeared.”

Everyone was stunned, realizing that although they had erupted into battle earlier, it hadn’t triggered the time-slowing effect of the “Sanctuary.”

Though danger hadn’t immediately descended, unease lingered in their hearts. Ashe and the others immediately flew towards the city outskirts, while the three fire spell Sanctuary sorcerers exchanged glances and followed from a distance.

Soon, they reached the edge of the Dead City and encountered an invisible air wall-they couldn’t break through no matter how they flew.

The sanctuary sorcerers naturally didn’t believe it, trying various miracles to break through the barrier. Even Raven tried the Grey Fox Blade, but to no avail.

Ashe touched the air wall, finding it not ‘hard’ but ‘slippery.’ When they flew towards it, they didn’t crash into it like mosquitoes on glass; it was more like encountering a smooth slope and sliding back.

This sensation reminded Ashe of the slope at the end of the Golden Flow underground during Nightfall…

“Right,” he realized immediately, “where’s Silver Lantern?”