267: Chapter 267 The Crystal Mist Disperses! The Entire Audience is Shocked! The Ritual is Replaced!

Outside Gino City.

Wizard Hurley suddenly opened his eyes.

He clearly sensed an extremely vast and pure amount of blood energy surging into the Seal of Andalas Strife.

The level of that blood energy far exceeded that of an ordinary person, carrying the lingering charm of laws unique to a Sky Knight.

His heart subconsciously felt joy at first—

A Sky Knight has fallen! This meant the accumulation progress of the wizard array would leap forward significantly.

But immediately, a sense of unease surged into his heart.

If it were before, he could have unhesitatingly concluded that the one who fell must be that Count Golden Flame.

After all, Duke Witton was a veteran Sky Knight; his Black Prison Thunder Dragon Breathing Technique was incomparably domineering, and his combat experience was extremely rich. Dealing with a young Count in his early twenties should have been effortless.

But now, he dared not be so certain.

He raised his head and looked toward the battlefield in the sky, shrouded in icy white mist, with some trepidation.

The mist slowly dispersed.

The first thing that caught his eye was a corpse falling from high altitude.

The corpse was wearing familiar dark gold armor, with a shocking, gaping wound on its chest.

Wizard Hurley recognized it at a glance—

That was Duke Witton!

Boom—!

The corpse slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

And high in the sky, the crystal mist completely dispersed.

A figure stood quietly in the air.

It was Count Golden Flame... Rowan!

Wizard Hurley's face turned deathly pale instantly.

How is it possible...

Duke Witton... is dead?!

That Sky Knight who had dominated the battlefield for decades... just died like that?!

By this time, the war outside Gino City had stopped at some point.

Everyone looked up, staring blankly at the figure high in the sky.

Vanessa stood on the city tower, watching this scene, and whispered: "My Lord..."

Garuvi leaned on her long sword, looking at the figure in the sky, the hatred and murderous intent in her eyes replaced by a complex emotion at this moment—

There was shock, there was relief...

Duke Witton could be said to be the culprit who caused her father's death!

If she had relied only on herself for revenge...

At this moment, Wizard Hurley also recovered from the shock. He took a deep breath and decided decisively:

"Mason Tudor, prepare to break through!"

"I will hold him back!"

"Although that guy killed Duke Witton, his consumption must be immense; he is already at the end of his rope!"

"This is our last chance!"

Upon hearing this, Mason retracted his gaze from the figure in the sky and nodded, his expression grim.

He didn't ask further.

He knew that every second was precious now.

Wizard Hurley did not hesitate any longer.

His hands moved rapidly, forming magic seals.

With the blood energy from Duke Witton's fall as a foundation, just adding a little more... would be enough to summon the true balance of blood!

He closed his eyes and began chanting the spell.

As his magic seals shifted, a strange red light began to radiate from the battlefield.

Then—

Miserable wails sounded one after another.

On the battlefield, the soldiers suddenly clutched their heads and collapsed to the ground in pain.

Blood began to ooze from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses; they bled from their seven orifices, their faces twisted in agony.

Their bodies seemed to be drained of vitality by some invisible force, their skin rapidly shriveling until they became nothing but skin and bone.

One after another.

Rows of soldiers fell.

Blood drifted out of their bodies, transforming into wisps of scarlet airflow that converged toward the wizard array in the sky.

Rowan looked down, his pupils constricting sharply.

He hadn't expected—

The enemy wouldn't even spare their own people!

And it seemed they had already planted a trap within these soldiers.

His eyes narrowed. Although he didn't know exactly what the enemy was planning, he didn't intend to just watch them complete the ritual without doing anything.

The Winter Sword was unsheathed again.

An ice-blue sword light, condensed to the extreme, sliced through the sky, striking straight at Wizard Hurley's location!

Just as the sword light swooped down—

Wizard Hurley looked up suddenly, a touch of determination flashing in his bloodshot eyes.

He did not dodge.

He knew—

He had to buy time for Mason.

He gritted his teeth, and all the magic power in his body was extracted without reservation.

The crystal ball at the top of his staff shattered in response!

"In my name—Bind!"

A hoarse, low shout.

In the void beneath Rowan's feet, countless dark green rune chains suddenly appeared.

Those chains writhed like living things, making a clanging metallic sound as they coiled around him from all directions.

Rowan frowned and retreated rapidly.

But the chains were faster, like maggots on the bone, chasing him relentlessly.

He swung his sword to sever several, but more chains swarmed up, wrapping around him layer by layer.

He exerted more force; the chains vibrated violently but still remained unbroken.

"Cough, cough..." Wizard Hurley coughed violently, black blood clots overflowing from the corners of his mouth.

His face had turned deathly pale, almost transparent:

"Your Highness... hurry... I cannot hold on... much longer..."

Mason did not answer.

He had closed his eyes.

Just then.

Hum—!

The sky over the battlefield suddenly dimmed for a moment.

It was as if an invisible curtain had fallen from the heavens, blocking the sunlight and shrouding the world in a deep, dark red.

Then, a phantom of a balance appeared!

It was a massive balance, cast entirely from an unknown dark red material, with blood-colored patterns flowing across its surface like living creatures.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to It.

A tray hung from each end of the balance, with a ring of fine spikes embedded along the edges.

And at the bottom of the trays, a blood-red moon was carved, coldly overlooking everything below.

Wizard Hurley vomited blood again.

His expression was hideous, and the Seal of Andalas Strife began to spin violently.

Countless streams of blood energy descended from the sky, turning into scarlet rivers that poured endlessly into the tray on the left side of the balance.

As the blood energy was injected, the blood moon at the bottom of the left tray began to fill.

Correspondingly—

The left tray began to sink slowly, while the right tray tilted high.

The balance tilted significantly.

In the void, an ancient and grand will emanated from the balance, enveloping the entire battlefield.

Mason closed his eyes, his body trembling slightly.

He suddenly heard a low whisper.

The voice was extremely distant, as if it came from the depths of endless time and space, echoing in his mind.

Ancient, cold, devoid of any emotion...

There was no specific language, yet he could clearly understand the meaning—

"Substitutor... what... do you need?"

Mason's lips moved slightly, and he gave the answer almost instinctively in his heart:

"Heal all injuries... and... break through to Sky Knight!"

As soon as his thought finished.

The blood energy in the left tray began to be consumed rapidly, and the blood-colored full moon at the bottom began to transform into a crescent moon.

The balance also began to slowly return to level...

Suddenly, at one moment, the balance leveled completely.

A voice sounded directly in Mason's mind—

Substitution achieved!

The next instant.

A surge of indescribable, massive energy poured out from the right tray of the balance, turning into a pillar of blood-colored light that descended from the sky, enveloping Mason entirely.

Mason's body shook violently.

He felt an unprecedented power surging through his limbs and bones.

The law damage he had suffered from failing to break through to Sky Knight began to heal rapidly!

He felt the battle qi in his body surging like boiling magma, autonomously launching a charge toward the realm he dreamed of!