Chapter 1021: Chapter 1020: Oblivion Power

Amber said she "caught" a Typhon outside the castle.

However, the word "caught" was not appropriate—in fact, the individual appeared openly before the castle’s guards, revealed her identity, and walked into the hall cooperatively.

A tall, black-haired woman in luxurious black maid attire was brought before Gawain. Gawain was certain he had never seen this person anywhere before, but he knew that anyone appearing before him at such a crucial moment was certainly extraordinary—even if she seemed to be just a court maid.

"She appeared suddenly in front of the guards and claimed to have been sent by Emperor Rosetta Augustus to meet you," Amber reported from the side, "She somehow walked through the entire blockade on foot..."

Gawain nodded, looking at the black-haired lady: "What is your name?"

"Diana, serving the Augustus Clan as a maid," answered the black-haired woman with an extraordinarily calm gaze fixed on Gawain, "My master sent me to see you."

Her demeanor was far too calm and relaxed for someone claiming to be a "maid," which piqued Gawain’s curiosity, but even more so was the mission she was tasked with: "What did Rosetta send you to do?"

"Nothing," the woman claiming to be Diana replied calmly, "My master instructed me to appear before you, leaving everything else to your judgment."

"Nothing..." Gawain’s pupils slightly contracted; he seemed to understand something but then frowned at her, "So, you are Rosetta Augustus’ ’signal’ for me... But this is still too risky, even if you do nothing, this signal itself is too risky..."

"It doesn’t matter," Diana shook her head calmly, "As long as I don’t speak unnecessarily, I won’t enter the gods’ sight—because I have no heart."

"No heart?" Gawain looked at her with some confusion, just as he was about to inquire further, a low, thunderous hum as if rolling through distant clouds interrupted him and caught everyone’s attention—a sound from the eastern skies. The officers near the window instinctively turned to the direction of the sound, and soon, the changes in the world from the direction of Winterhold unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

Beams of light pierced the darkness brought by the snowstorm, and under the eerie starlit sky, at the center of the main peak of Winterhold, over a dozen peaks had Magic Flame Columns rising to pierce the heavens and the earth. Powerful magic tore apart the gathering clouds, disturbed the edges of the snowstorm, and triggered large-scale lightning displays high in the sky. At the base of these peaks, on the vast plains and hills, a "giant net" made of magic veins began to light up bit by bit!

Amber, looking into the distant splendor, finally discerned something from the trajectory of the light veins—that was where the Typhon forces were gathered along the defensive line! It was the giant net formed by the connection of the tens of thousands of Transcendents’ encampments!

She widened her eyes and quickly turned to tell Gawain her discovery, but before she could speak, a violent flash suddenly emerged from afar: among the peaks where beams of light had emerged, the beam on one of the peaks suddenly doubled in size. A brilliant sphere of light ascended from there, accelerated along the beam toward the sky, and after a few seconds of delay, the sphere pierced the already ragged cloud layers and, almost vertically, plummeted toward the storm at the center of the plain, striking the place where the War God had descended!

With a Transcendent’s sight, Gawain saw the scene in the distance more clearly than anyone else. He watched the sphere ascend, watched it plummet into the storm, explode mid-air, shredding the snowstorm’s veil. The blinding light streamed down like waterfalls, scouring the earth. After a brief shock, he finally recognized what it was: "That’s... Annihilation Seed?!!"

He abruptly turned towards the woman named "Diana," who calmly met his gaze: "Yes, the Annihilation Seed—we spent many years recreating this ancient magic."

"Do you really think you can kill a god with just one ’Annihilation Seed’?" Gawain was taken aback and questioned, glancing instinctively at the distance, and as expected, from within the dissipating storm and waning light, a majestic figure began to emerge bit by bit.

Diana’s unhurried voice came from behind him: "Clearly, it’s not enough."

...

Raging waves of white light exploded like a flood in the air, tearing and neutralizing the miracle of the snowstorm in the face of the magic storm, creating vast cavities. The Annihilation Seed raised a horrifying wail between the plains. After a brief delay, a mushroom cloud rose into the sky—rock vaporized instantly, a hurricane blew distant soil and snow into the air, and a visible shockwave rippled out from the place of the War God’s descent as its core.

Yet as the shroud of the shockwave slowly faded, the towering figure reappeared before everyone, standing firm like a mountain.

An invisible gale swept the plains; the giant clad in iron-gray armor stood silently in the crater formed by the Annihilation Seed, a layer of iron-gray halo flowing over his body, unmarred armor lay beneath.

Then, it slowly raised its head and looked in the direction of the "troublesome ants."

Beneath that hollow helmet lay no flesh, only a mass of chaotic and frenzied glowing matter flickering in its surging depths, devoid of any trace of reason or compassion.

It turned towards the Typhon forces’ encampment. After a brief delay, it strode towards Winterhold’s main peak, and with each heavy step, the earth began to tremble, the magic in the air boiled like flames. Many insects and beasts hiding deep underground managed to escape the Annihilation Seed’s torrents of fear, but as they surfaced, they were stripped of their vitality and transformed into twisted, horrifying carcasses. Massive swathes of plants bent to the wind—their escape from the magic torrent due to distance meant nothing, for under the Mad God’s pressure, they rapidly withered and died.

Emperor Rosetta Augustus stood before the illusory wall in the Hall of Mysteries, vividly displaying the terrifying scene from afar—a giant in iron-gray armor striding forward, as a cold war machine toward the direction of Winterhold, with death as the banner and army behind him. Flames spawned in his wake, all life was swiftly reaped.

Not far away the Communication Crystal flickered, transmitting the Mage Sentinel’s report: "First attack was ineffective! Visually confirmed no damage to the target! Target is advancing toward us!"

Rosetta’s face remained unchanged: "Continue, fire the second shot."

As his words fell, above another peak near Winterhold, a white beam swelled, a massive sphere of light arose from the peak’s array. After a brief delay, the sphere once again fell from the sky, the iron-gray giant enshrouded by the explosion’s shockwave and mushroom cloud once again.

Meanwhile, across the vast lands of the Winterhold Area, among those tented camps and sentries woven with strands of magic light, sharp shrieks suddenly erupted above a Mage Corps’s encampment. The surging impact from the magic turbulence assaulted the encampment’s protective facilities—the ordinary, precise defense devices appeared fragile and useless against the mighty ancient magical craft of the Gondor Empire. The surge pierced the camp’s barrier instantly, countless arcs of electricity like a massive wave washed over the entire encampment.

Hundreds of lower-ranking Mages and their Escort Knights fell one by one, some collapsed into a deep coma from the exhaustion of magic power, others directly perished on the spot.

The magic network covering the Winterhold defensive line thus dimmed noticeably, while out in the front line, the mushroom cloud born of the Annihilation Seed’s explosion continued to dissipate rapidly.

The mountain-like giant leisurely emerged, with heavy steps, it pushed slowly but steadily towards the mortal defensive line.

Several Gryphon Scouts took to the air nearby, trying to circle the giant for observation—but two of the Knights inadvertently got too close—or perhaps the unfortunate gryphons succumbed to the terror pervasive in the air. They, along with their masters, lost control and hurtled toward the giant, smashing into its iron-gray armor like bugs on a bell tower.

The surface of the armor, which seemed to be made of metal, suddenly rippled in layers, as two Gryphon Knights and their mounts seemed to melt into the armor, leaving only a rust-like stain on the spot.

Half a second later, even that stain disappeared completely.

The voice of the sentinel came from the crystal: "The second attack was ineffective, the target is undamaged! Continuing to approach our defensive line!"

Emperor Rosetta gazed calmly at the image projected on the illusion wall: "Continue."

A third sphere of light rose, corresponding to another section of the defense line suddenly falling into darkness.

A massive mushroom cloud once again ascended to cover the sky, shrouding the giant once more in a thick curtain, yet the heavy footsteps echoed again from the depths of the explosion cloud—the ground was still trembling, and with this terrifying tremor, that iron-gray massive figure strode out boldly!

Palin Winterhold stood atop a high mage tower, watching through another set of surveillance devices the giant that was continuously approaching Winterhold. This learned and brave combat Mage leader felt his heart pounding fiercely. He had never experienced such tension, fear, or even despair as he did today—even without mental pollution from the gods, the immense pressure made him feel slightly suffocated. Watching the giant advancing relentlessly, he clenched his fist tightly, only to realize his palms and the backs of his hands were drenched in sweat.

Three Annihilation Seeds! Three times! Even the most robust human-built fortress could not remain unscathed after experiencing such terrifying magical bombardment successively, yet the giant... its steps did not slow down in the slightest!

Palin Winterhold knew what Annihilation Seed was; he had personally participated in the analysis and decryption of this ancient magic and completed its final phase. It was a dreadful power from the Ancient Gondor era, which could only appear in this world when powered by the magic of the Well of Deep Blue. Yet now, Typhon’s mages could rely on unique group casting techniques and vast magic supplies to recreate it in the world.

Each Annihilation Seed comes at a great cost, draining hundreds or thousands of transcendents, burning priceless crystals and gems into powder, and possibly claiming many lives. It’s a weapon that’s not "cost-effective" for use in actual combat. When it was completed, many mages even thought with disappointment that it was hardly usable in practical combat. But now it’s been brought out to accomplish a task that must be finished regardless of the cost, but... can it truly be accomplished?

A sound of swallowing came from beside him; Count Winterhold knew it was some nervous mage officer’s inadvertent sound, but he didn’t have the slightest thought of criticism or reprimand at this moment. He just stared intensely at the scene projected by the Magic Projection, staring at that giant’s figure.

Suddenly, his gaze froze on a particular part of the giant’s body.

Near the giant’s shoulder armor, on the surface of the armor near an arm, there was a very inconspicuous black mark—it was so unobtrusive that at first, Palin Winterhold thought it was merely some dirt, but he quickly realized: How could there be dirt on a god?

That was a crack! A real and true crack!

The shield of the god can be pierced!

Palin Winterhold felt his breathing suddenly become rapid, and not far from him, the Mage responsible for observing and reporting already stepped in front of the communication crystal, reporting with a trace of tension: "The third time... the third attack was ineffective, the target was not..."

"The attack was effective!" Count Winterhold rushed to the communication crystal like a gust of wind, nearly knocking the reporting Mage Sentinel out, "Your Majesty, the third attack was effective! A crack has appeared on the target’s armor—its shield can be breached!"

He reported with excitement, and from the other side of the communication crystal responded a second-long silence and a calm voice: "Continue."

...

The image presented on the illusion wall was interfered with by magic power, but after a moment, the interference dissipated, and the giant that continued advancing reappeared before Emperor Rosetta Augustus.

At the giant’s feet, the "scar of war," filled with death, blood, and flames, had already spread to the edge of the Winterhold defense line.

Yet the giant was not without damage—the crack in its armor was indeed there, although inconspicuous, the crack truly existed.

Rosetta squinted his eyes slightly.

Today is the day of the new calendar.

Today’s gods... are not invincible.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly echoed out of thin air, saying very inappropriately: "On the surface, it seems like there’s some progress... but it appears your reserves of ’good cards’ are not enough to intercept it before it completely destroys the defense line."

The illusory starlight surged in the Hall of Mysteries, and a hollow eye floated in mid-air, watching Emperor Rosetta.

"What was that spell you used... ah, it indeed has some power, but ultimately it’s still a bit lacking. Is it a bit far-fetched to expect only these setups to destroy a god?

"And by the way... this image of a giant god really is the War God... it seems different from what I remember..."

"Is it crazily twisted into this image? Truly pathetic, to succumb to madness is indeed such a pitiful thing..."

Emperor Rosetta Augustus seemed oblivious to the murmuring beside his ear from that eye. He merely gazed steadily at the mage projection before lifting his head again, casting a glance towards the western sky.

"The fourth attack is effective, Your Majesty, the target continues to be damaged, but there’s still no sign of weakening—the target is beginning to approach the first warning line!"

Rosetta withdrew his gaze and looked towards the magic illusion projected on the wall in front of him.

"Continue."

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