Boom!
Deafening thunder echoed in the sky. Doctor Schneider, who was chatting with Mr. Alan Madison and Mr. Prisia of the Guiding Moon in the banquet hall on the first floor of the mansion, looked out the window in confusion:
"Is it going to rain? Why were there two consecutive lightning strikes?"
The Letter-based Ring術士 of Cerces also looked out the window in confusion:
"Is there a High-Ring Sorcerer fighting nearby? I was really startled just now."
The light of the thunder did not spread into the garden. The Lakeview Manor garden under the Moonlight remained so tranquil and beautiful. Leia, Dorothy, and Princess Margaret, standing together, also turned to look in the direction of Schluch Lake after hearing the thunder:
"When I was a child, I was actually very afraid of thunder."
Leia whispered to Princess Margaret. The princess naturally sensed that something was wrong with the two thunderclaps, but she couldn't show it in front of ordinary people, so she pretended not to care:
"Miss Louisa, do you know Mr. Hamilton very well? Could you please continue to tell me about him?"
The blonde Writer nodded, and the red-haired princess showed a strange smile.
"What is that?"
On Lake Heart Island of Schluch Lake, Miss Jialinna asked Miss Sylvia in the mist. The two stood together on the shore of Lake Heart Island, like everyone else here, watching a huge silver-white long spear, like a pillar of heaven, appear in the thick fog. The crackling lightning filled the two Witches with fear.
Under their fearful gaze, amidst the terrifying thunderclap, the silver long spear was thrown out, but fortunately, the target was not them. After the explosion ended, the Duchess murmured amidst the ringing in her ears:
"Sunlight Gun?! Yiluna isn't containing it in the city tonight—"
She immediately shook her head:
"No, it's not the Sun, it's thunder. That's not a Sunlight Gun, it's a Lightning Spear. Miracle - Lightning Spear."
Having understood this, Miss Jialinna's expression gradually returned to normal:
"Witches above, which unlucky soul will face this strike head-on? And the first thunder, Sylvia, wasn't that what you once mentioned—"
"I don't know either—"
Miss Sylvia was gasping for breath. She had also watched the astonishingly large Lightning Spear being thrown into the lake. The thunderous roar was almost comparable to the thunder that had just erupted from the clouds.
The perceptions of the two High-Ring Witches were so keen that they naturally realized the astonishing power contained within that thunderous long spear in the night sky:
"This power... Is there a third Thirteen Ring Sorcerer in Tobesk?"
Currently, the Orthodox Church's Thirteen Ring Sorcerer in this diocese is only the Creation Church's Steel Right Hand and the Sun Church's Sunlight Greatsword. The former specializes in machinery, while the latter is a close-combat master. Although the Sun Church has many Ring術士 skilled in lightning Miracles, the Sunlight Greatsword is not proficient in them.
"No, it seems to be more than just Thirteenth Ring, this power... Is this beyond Thirteenth Ring? A Demigod?"
The black-haired Witch's breathing became a little rapid as she squinted at the opposite bank of the lake:
"But how can this be? What exactly happened by the lake?"
The Lightning Spear, thrown with full force, caused the corpse itself to evaporate. The jumping silver-white electric light lingered on the water for a long time. Xia De, who fell from the air, closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then stepped out, appearing beside Tifa in the nearby mist.
Although the location where Xia De and the Cultists fought was not far from where the two ladies fought, they had been completely unaware of each other until then.
"It's me."
Xia De, who suddenly appeared carrying the cat, startled Tifa, but she relaxed when she saw Mia.
The attack, which was almost at point-blank range just now, also startled Tifa and Miss Pa Wo. But Miss Pa Wo recovered faster than Tifa. She first noticed Xia De's appearance. As the first lightning bolt condensed in Xia De's hand, almost without any hesitation, the Truth Society's Six-Ring Arcanist disappeared directly into the lake, leaving only a broken scarecrow falling towards the lake, then sinking to the bottom.
Tifa waved her hand, and the scarecrow in the water flew into her hand:
"keeper-level relic 【Pavlov's Substitute Scarecrow】."
The Maid Captain said softly. Xia De, holding the Lightning Spear, nodded. The effect of this relic was not even spatial movement, but a similar 'exchange' effect. But he knew that the two sides would meet again sooner or later. He was very curious about this lady; her displayed personality and methods of doing things seemed so normal within the Truth Society, and her escape speed was truly astonishing. Xia De had barely seen her before she immediately disappeared.
The Lightning Spear in his hand did not dissipate. Relying on his divine overflow state, he sensed the sage-level relic 【Lost Vinars' Trial Island】 that had descended here. His perception, enhanced by divinity, allowed "her" to almost immediately obtain the relic's information and transmit it to Xia De:
"After landing on the Island, you need to find the stone tablet in the center of the Island in the mist. After a strong attack on the stone tablet, the content of the trial will appear."
This was an imitation of ancient heroes passing trials, but currently, it seemed that the Ring術士 who had already landed on the Island had not yet been able to find the stone tablet in the center of the Island:
"Let me help them!"
His eyes looked towards the center of the white-mist-covered lake. The silver-white Lightning Spear, with arcs of electricity jumping in his hand, left a dazzling streak of light in the air in Tifa's eyes.
The crackling electric light drilled into the white mist. As Tifa wondered what Xia De was going to do, a muffled sound came from deep within the fog, as if something heavy had fallen.
The next second, whether it was the Ring術士 on the Island at this moment, or the Ring術士 in the lake, or the Ring術士 in Lakeview Manor. Centered on Schluch Lake, all Ring術士 within a 3-mile radius, their "other selves," all transmitted the same information:
"Vinars' Trial: Find the invisible 'people' in the Tobesk area."
The mist gradually dispersed, and Lake Heart Island was slowly disappearing. Miss Jialinna in the mist looked at Miss Sylvia:
"You got the information too, right?"
"Yes, it seems that the Thirteen Ring Sorcerer activated the trial."
"Thirteenth Ring, let's leave here first."
The Duchess held Miss Sylvia's hand.
"Where to?"
"To find Xia De, I probably know what happened."
Miss Sylvia calmed herself:
"Okay."
She also tightly held Miss Jialinna's right hand, then took a step forward. The surrounding scenery blurred, then became clear again. The two Witches took a deep breath. Miss Jialinna stood on the shore, looked back at the gradually disappearing Lake Heart Island, then entered the woods with Miss Sylvia.
The thunder left traces by the lake, but those traces were rapidly disappearing, and the Church's High-Ring Sorcerer were approaching, so they did not linger on the shore.
Relying on their perception of their apprentice, the Great Witches walked through the gloomy garden and soon arrived at the hedge maze filled with floor-standing gas lamps.
Two pairs of high heels stepped on the gravel path, bypassing the tall hedges. The sound of their hurried footsteps startled countless young people whispering in the shadows.
Finally, in the depths of the hedge maze, they found Xia De and Tifa sitting on a bench under the Moonlight, chatting and laughing.
Many things happened in the Schluch Lake, a few hundred meters away, within a mere ten minutes, but the hedge maze was exceptionally tranquil, making one want to sit down and whisper something to their beloved girl, holding hands.
Xia De held the cat, a broad smile on his face. Tifa, on the other hand, clasped her hands together somewhat awkwardly, resting them on her lap in her Maid Captain dress, her face slightly flushed, with a hint of shyness in her dark brown eyes.
The gas lamps here were on the other side, so only the Moonlight illuminated them on the carved stone bench. Even though they knew other matters were more important, the two Witches had to admit that this scene was indeed worth appreciating.
"Alright, alright, no need to put on a show in front of me."
Miss Jialinna walked over with big strides, unromantically, and immediately broke the ambiguous atmosphere of the quiet long night. She said with a somewhat annoyed chuckle:
"Xia De, don't tell me that while Sylvia and I were at Schluch Lake, you two were flirting here the whole time."
She didn't give Xia De a chance to speak:
"If you two really stayed here for half an hour, Knight, I don't believe you'd be so gentlemanly as to do nothing. Okay, I believe it, but I don't believe Tifa would do nothing. My personal Maid is wearing lipstick, but there are no marks on your face or mouth. What are you two acting out in front of me?"
She scoffed, reached out, and pulled Xia De up:
"That 【Lightning Spear】 just now, you threw it, didn't you?"
The dark golden eyes, close at hand, stared at Xia De. Xia De blinked. He had just brought Tifa here and didn't expect the two Witches to catch up so quickly. Since he had already anticipated that Miss Jialinna would guess, he wasn't flustered at this moment:
"Yes."
Miss Jialinna showed an 'as expected' expression:
"Just like last time?"
This referred to Lakeview Manor in late summer, which was why she guessed that the strike just now was thrown by Xia De.
"Yes, I can sometimes use this power."
The Witch snorted, naturally knowing Xia De was lying. But she had promised not to press the matter, so she didn't pursue it further. She had rushed over earlier to confirm that no new Thirteen Ring Sorcerer had appeared in Tobesk; an unknown Thirteenth Ring, if truly existing, would be a headache.
"Is your use of power limited to Lakeview Manor? You didn't display this power when the Darkness Domain was so critical, so how can you use it as soon as you get here?"
Miss Sylvia, standing by, didn't know what had happened to Xia De. She looked at Xia De, with the cat standing on his shoulder, suspiciously, then her eyes widened suddenly:
"Lakeview Manor in late summer... Xia De is a Summoner?"
"Of course not."
The Red-haired Duchess and Xia De denied it simultaneously. The former gave the man in front of her a warning look, telling him not to speak:
"He has his own special power, but he cannot use it at will. If he were a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer Summoner, how could you have discovered him in Huntington City?"
Miss Sylvia thought for a moment and felt that Miss Jialinna's words made a lot of sense. She naturally still had questions, but now was not the time to ask them. Moreover, she would be staying in Tobesk for several more weeks, so she had plenty of time to learn about Xia De.
Tifa also stood up at this moment, greeting Miss Jialinna softly, then consciously stood behind her.
The Witch, now slightly relieved, finally had the mood to tease her Maid:
"Tifa, I asked you to accompany Xia De to play cards. It seems you're not satisfied with just playing cards."
"Mr. Hamilton's card game was truly wonderful."
Tifa said softly. The four turned to return to the Lakeview Manor mansion; the Church's people would be arriving soon.
The Maid softly described what had just happened to the two Great Witches. She hadn't witnessed Xia De seizing the "Wrathful Divine Punishment," so she only described in detail what "Miss Pa Wo" had said about the "wise man's stone" and the "Keeper," then directly jumped to Xia De throwing the Lightning Spear and activating the trial of the sage-level relic 【Lost Vinars' Trial Island】.
"First trial, find the invisible person."
Miss Jialinna nodded. The four walked out of the hedge maze. Miss Sylvia gently shook her right hand, and then no one could see their figures or hear their voices:
"More than one Ring術士 heard the sound. I suspect all Ring術士 in this area could hear it. This time, the Apner Library and the Truth Society won't be able to hide anything from anyone. Of course, those two thunderclaps just now were actually more surprising than what happened afterward."
Since she mentioned it, Xia De asked softly:
"Hmm... Did I make a lot of noise just now?"
"Of course."
The Duchess seemed to be laughing out of exasperation, slowing her pace and turning to look at Xia De:
"Miracle 【Lightning Spear】, right? I've never seen such an exaggerated Lightning Spear. How much hatred do you have for that Cultists to use such power against them?"
"They tried to harm my cat."
Xia De stroked the cat he was holding, looking as if it were a matter of course. Miss Jialinna's mouth twitched as she looked at the handsome face of the young Knight, illuminated by the gas lamps along the path:
"Sometimes I'm really curious, if you had to choose between sleeping with your cat and sleeping with a beautiful girl, which would you choose?"
"Actually, Leia actually made me choose."
Xia De immediately said, wanting to avoid further slander.
"You chose the cat?"
"How is that possible?"
Seeing that Miss Jialinna still wanted to speak, Xia De quickly changed the subject:
"Were there many Ring術士 who saw those two 【Lightning Spear】 just now?"
"Of course, I think even blind Ring術士 could 'see' them."
Miss Sylvia, standing by, also nodded:
"Yes, that was truly exaggerated."
"Hmm..."
The group of four approached the mansion, and the lights suddenly brightened. Now back in the light, Schluch Lake suddenly seemed very far away, giving a feeling of returning to civilization from the jungle.
They walked together along the garden path back to Lakeview Manor mansion:
"So am I very strong?"
Xia De hesitated for a while before asking softly. "She" in his heart let out a laugh.
Miss Jialinna turned to look at him. Under the gaslight, the Witch, close at hand, was so pretty, and even her displeased gaze was so charming:
"Of course you're strong. That's power almost beyond Thirteenth Ring. What kind of strange question is that?"
She casually pulled out the pink scarf from Xia De's jacket pocket and threw it to him:
"If you want me to admit you are powerful, Knight, by custom, I bestow this scarf upon you."
She said with a smile, placing the scarf Xia De had obtained from the "Lucky Red Box" at the start of the banquet into his hand. And as Miss Jialinna's voice faded, the long-awaited reply finally appeared in Xia De's ear:
"Outsider, you have successfully proven your strength at the banquet."
"It's really not easy to prove strength by absorbing divinity."
Xia De let out a long breath, then noticed Miss Sylvia secretly looking at him from the side.
Xia De looked at her curiously, thinking the Witch had something to say, but she shifted her gaze again, which made Xia De feel a bit bewildered.
But in any case, divinity once again shone brightly in Xia De's soul. Everything tonight was worth it.
