Chapter 162: The Void Does Not Shy Away from A Challenge
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
His first success meant that the rest of the six runes posed little problems to Baiyi. Yet when he finally finished inscribing the last rune on his parchment, a roar of ovation erupted from the Void.
His previous work in the Steppe Barbarians’ kerfuffle didn’t even earn this high of a praise. Obviously, in the eyes of the Walkers, the current task was a proper challenge for Baiyi. It was an undertaking that only a man with the highest dexterity in mana-manipulation could do. He could hardly use his naked eyes throughout the process and could only rely on the sensitivity and accuracy of his mana to beautifully accomplish the objective.
That actually exhausted way more mana than casting Forbidden Spells.
Baiyi completed his objective skillfully despite that, and he managed to do it without any semblance of fatigue. When the Fifth Voidwalker was being serious, very few things could stump him.
The rest of the work no longer require any mastery. Baiyi just had to record the arrangement of the rune complex as well as the physical materials used for its construction for his own future use. He would need the extra information to replicate the barrier. Even if the strength of the barrier was middling at best, it made use of the biggest advantage of the entire runic system, which were its convenience and secrecy.
It might be useful in the future, Baiyi thought as he started studying the materials of the runes. The moon was reluctant to offer its light, however, and Baiyi had to use a Lumos spell.
"Hmm. Is the paint made from Phantom’s Dust and Banshee’s Tear?"
Phantom’s Dust was an intermediate material similar to the more common Ethereal Dust, a substance for mana conservation. The edge that Phantom’s Dust possessed however, was that it conserved mana better as well as provided better stealth, masking the energy vibration of the combined material better. Meanwhile, Banshee’s Tear, not actual tears from a real banshee but water from a unique spring, was a type of spring water that contained a considerable amount of mana but with very weak magical pulses released.
A combination of Phantom’s Dust and Banshee’s Tear, without a doubt, created excellent stealth for a spell.
But why is there an odd white glow on the runes? Baiyi noted.
"Oh, that’s Shadow Fiend’s blood, alright," The Devil answered. "A feeble fiend like that survived through craftiness in the abyss. Their blood provides instant stealth if used on your body, but it’s incredibly sticky and hard to remove… Damn it, why do I always get the feeling that these feeble fiends are always so terribly powerful? Like that Burning Fiend! Flames covering every part of its body… He can also release Ravage three times in a row…"
I see that you’ve relapsed into your gaming addiction, Baiyi replied quietly to himself.
Now that he knew all the materials the merchants had used, he finally understood how they’d managed to surreptitiously stacked the runes by combining the three major stealth substances with a solvent into a secretive paint. They then used that paint to draw the runes on something that was similar to the stickers and post-its on Earth and paste them onto their targets and voila!
Jimmy Jr. probably used that technique on the tea cup, too.
Of course, that was all just conjectures. Baiyi was still missing a lot of details, like how was a commoner able to use runes so easily? It seemed like he would need more time to figure that part out.
In addition to that, those three materials weren’t cheap either. Those materials were not easily found. Why would they use such an expensive and rare material on a remote, harmless town? Was Godsfall a cult of made up of rich people where they have to pay a lot to climb up the ranks or was there an even darker secret?
Baiyi really wanted to capture a few captives for interrogation but inscribing the runes had taken a lot of time. He had no doubt that the caravan had long escaped.
If he continued to pursue them, he might just endanger Mia.
Baiyi decided to wait until the sun rose. He would bring Mia along with him to pursue them and it would be a perfect chance for her to earn some battle experience. After all, a caravan with a convoy couldn’t possibly travel so quickly that two flying sorcerers couldn’t even catch up.
Now all he had to do was to destroy the runic complex. If the barrier was not taken down, it might cause a flood, damaging the crops. The barrier had cut through an important river the farmers had used for irrigation. Water had been building up upstream ever since the barrier had blocked the river’s flow…
At that thought, Baiyi sliced through the core rune hidden in the well using his mana.
But when he turned around expecting to see a job well done, he froze.
The other runes were still lit in that sinister red glow even though the central rune, the one that acted as their power source, was eliminated!
His Psychic Energy shot up to the sky and he found the invisible dome still intact. The runes were still working!
"Impossible! … Unless—" His body soared into the sky, then circled around the townsquare. His eyes caught something that confirmed his worst suspicion. A mana channel was connected to the runes from outside the barrier, which was supplying power to the rune complex!
"Is this…" The Scholar’s voice was just as horrified as Baiyi’s. "Is this an Empire Complex?!"
An Empire Complex is a formation complex large enough to cover an empire, hence the name. The barrier was created from an amalgamation of numerous sized L formations. It required so much money, time and resources that there was only one recorded use of it in history.
And that was during the late Ancient Rohserlian Empire, after the death of the Archmage. His successor commanded its construction, and it took 10 years, uncountable Rohserlian craftsmen and sorcerers, and a hefty expense of materials the empire could get their hands on.
When the project was completed, it was formally called 'The Defender of the Empire', it was so magnificent that the name of the complex was recorded in history while the emperor who brought it to life was overshadowed.
The apocrypha suggested that it was built after the passing of The Sage-Emperor of the Magi because the Ancient Rohserl Empire feared that their neighbors had only been sheathing their spears and swords waiting for the day they could take revenge. Out of fear of retribution, the successor, according to the apocrypha, decided to construct a protective complex at the cost of their treasury.
And in retrospect, it wasn’t just at the cost of the treasury, it was even at the cost of the people and the materials. The empire's days was numbered even with a gigantic dome above their heads. Scholars had pretty much settled the debate on why there was only one Empire Complex throughout history, and that was because only the Ancient Rohserl Empire had the money, money that the Sage-Emperor of Magi amassed from his long career of destroying potential enemies (and their families) armed with The Book of Servitude and an appalling ton of Forbidden Spells, to construct it.
No one alive could possibly witness this marvel—
Baiyi had just witnessed this marvel.
This time they were constructed using runes, yes, but it was still enormous and part of a larger complex.
Baiyi did not fully comprehend the entire complex of runes but at least he understood the caravan’s actions a little better now. They had chosen a town full of common, simple, ignorant folks and had set it up as quickly as they could. They were wary of the mastery of spell that Baiyi had displayed, so they had sent assassins after Mia. Because with Mia gone, Baiyi would have his hands tied.
It was possible that when Baiyi had easily removed their eavesdropping runes, it forced them to speed up their plans. The failure of those five assassins also prompted them to immediately activate the barrier…
And without a doubt, those merchants must have realized that Baiyi had found another part of their secret, the fact that their runic complex was only part of a whole.
What are you cultists going to do next? Send stronger assassins after Mia? Or send in the big names from your cult, T. Cruise sounds like a big name for a warrior, and have a mano a mano with me?
No, the larger question is... What do you guys need an Empire Complex for?
Frankly, I thought I was facing the Church themselves, Baiyi said half-jokingly to the Walkers.
Their ability to construct such a gigantic complex had forced Baiyi to reevaluate his opponent. Godsfall was way more powerful than he had estimated.
"Fine by me, anyway. It’s high time this peaceful life gets a little excitement added in," Baiyi smiled to himself, sighing in a mix of relief and anticipation. He had already expected the worse since removing the eavesdropping mark on the teacup, so now that it was all confirmed, he felt liberated.
Voidwalkers don’t go around causing troubles, but if troubles knock on their door, they’ll gladly face them with a grin and an assured ending.
Plus, Baiyi rated the cult’s danger level as "Level O"— not for Omega, but Obnoxious. Any problem that could be solved by good old fists were not big matters. Besides, no matter how strong they were, those people still wouldn’t dare to flick a single hair on the a pastor’s head, because the Church represents the light and order, backed by an actual powerful God.
What do you cultists have?
Baiyi was just about to destroy the entire complex by snuffing out every single runes when the 'excitement' he was talking about arrived.
Right outside the town, a strange ripple rolled in, forcing him to stop his work.
It was a ripple that could only be caused by a shift in space. That meant a Realm portal or a crack in the realm had just been formed. Judging from how chaotic the vibration was, it was unlikely that it was something that was orderly and systematic like a portal, so it was most likely a crack.
And only one type of animals loved entering realms that way— the beasts from the Abyss.
Baiyi turned to the Devil in the Void and chuckled. Hmph? I hope I’m not included in your family reunion.