Chapter 362
Eivass: I bestow upon you a trial.
“The punishment in a ritual tends towards elimination,” Eivass said slowly, one hand supporting the Book of Law as all eyes watched him. “Just as a priest’s punishment of the undead, also known as ‘dispel.’ The original meaning of this word was banishment, because people believed corpses were impure and inherently capable of birthing undead. Killing a sinner couldn’t definitively end this sin—it had to be made to disappear forever.”
The Book of Law floated above Eivass’s palm. With his other hand, Eivass pointed at the open pages, where a highly complex ritual array rose and suspended itself. This ritual array, stored within the book, meant Eivass didn’t need to inscribe it on the ground himself; he simply needed to provide it. The book also provided the “first” ritual for each use, meaning Eivass didn’t require materials for the first ritual he performed from the book each time.
Currently, Eivass had obtained a total of five rituals. He decided to use one to execute Wolfram and completely remove the threat.
“Therefore, I will eliminate you completely, Wolfram,” Eivass declared. “And you will agree to it yourself.”
Wolfram’s face was flushed from the gravity. His silent pupils were full of irony.
“Don’t rush,” Eivass said slowly. “Listen to me—”
“—Do you believe in your own will and courage?”
As he said this, he glanced at Merlin. Seeing Merlin’s keen interest, Eivass knew he had already recognized which ritual this was. So, Eivass directly announced, “This is a ritual personally designed by the Great Philosopher. He left a final path for mortals who cannot possess wisdom but still desire it. It allows even those who possess nothing but courage to gain wisdom.
“I will blind your right eye, sever your right hand, and pierce your heart. I will sacrifice your entire life and soul, offering you to your future self; the current you to the next moment, and the next moment to the one after that—this sacrifice is based on the power of the Ring Heavenly Envoy, it is an infinite cycle. You yourself are a great mage, you should be able to read this ritual. You will see all the mysteries of the World—all knowledge, all secrets will flood into your mind. The longer you can endure, the more wisdom you will gain.
“If you can endure for nine days and nine nights, you will obtain all the truths of the World. You will directly become an Apostle of the Great Philosopher, gaining power comparable to a Heavenly Envoy. But if you cannot endure until then, your soul will be annihilated under the cyclic pressure of the ritual. This is the knowledge the Book of Law has given me.”
Eivass looked at Wolfram and said calmly, “You’ve heard it too. Merlin stands with us. Under his watch, you cannot revive or reincarnate through your previous schemes. Of course, you can also choose to accept death and see if the Bear Heavenly Envoy will accept you. You can also choose to accept the trial. Merlin will tell you if this trial is real.”
“This is indeed real.” Hearing that he was involved, Merlin leaned in and said solemnly, “I swear in the name of the Great Philosopher that this ritual is true. And Eivass has missed nothing—in fact, someone has already passed this ritual, obtained all the truths of the World, and become an Apostle of the Great Philosopher. And he himself was a Giant… and is currently the Apostle worshiped by those Northern Giants.”
Merlin’s words were true. That Apostle’s name was “Odin.” Because he was the only one who passed the Great Philosopher’s trial and obtained the world’s truth, he, like the Great Philosopher, remained silent and was one-eyed. Because of this, he usually existed as the Great Philosopher’s shadow, and some people even conflated his existence with legends of the Great Philosopher.
“Those Northern Giants have been searching for this ritual, but they could never find it. And now it is in my hands,” Eivass declared. “I bestow upon you Odin’s trial. If you agree, blink twice; if you disagree, blink once.”
Wolfram was silent for a moment, then blinked once. But after a slight pause, he blinked again. Eivass knew then that he would not refuse. The reason was simple: Wolfram was old and had achieved nothing. Supreme Heaven despised deserters and prisoners, encouraging the courage of fighting to the death without retreat. He had been imprisoned since his youth, only escaping a few decades ago. In his entire life, besides being imprisoned, he had done nothing. To obtain the power to escape, he had even changed his profession to a restricted Path of Authority. After escaping, he had been trying to establish the Noble Red Society, but ultimately, nothing came of it.
In the original timeline, the Noble Red Society had constantly caused trouble for Avalon, even destroying Avalon—although it was the Star Antimony people’s conspiracy, the Noble Red Society was a crucial pawn in it. If based on the original purpose of “pleasing the Bear Heavenly Envoy” and “avenging the Avalon people,” the Noble Red Society had actually achieved basic victory. At least, Wolfram himself had achieved victory. But due to Eivass’s interference, the Noble Red Society was like a clown. They had accomplished nothing and were now about to be completely eliminated. Even if Wolfram could escape, he probably wouldn’t have time to reorganize a new Noble Red Society. If he could obtain the Book of Law or a Sacred Entity, that would be a great achievement. But now…
Eivass merely gazed into his eyes and saw Wolfram’s fear. He feared being disdained by the Bear Heavenly Envoy. He feared becoming a useless, powerless wandering soul. Even knowing it was a trap, he would never give up again. Or rather, because Eivass, in front of him, proposed this “offer with the risk of death but enormous gains if successful,” he could absolutely not refuse it again. Because if he refused now, it would be tantamount to choosing cowardice. The Bear Heavenly Envoy would still be disappointed in his soul. Even if he passed the trial, he would be bound by the Great Philosopher for knowing too much. Regardless of the outcome, the result had already been determined when Eivass proposed this option.
Merlin looked at Eivass and couldn’t help but gasp. This child… is truly a bit ruthless.
“Hehehehe…” Eivass let out an unidentifiable laugh and placed his hand on the Book of Law. The ritual array shone with an even more brilliant purple light.
“Then I shall bestow upon you the trial,” he said in a low voice, the purple radiance turning to azure. The ritual’s power turned the Giant Prince’s right eye and right arm into nothingness—just as Eivass had first said, the ritual “eliminated” them as offerings.
“—I beseech the Great Philosopher, the God of Sacred Number Four, the God who Sees All Truth, the Silent God!” At this moment, Eivass grabbed Sherlock, who had been standing beside him, by the back of his neck and loudly recited, “I preside over Odin’s trial!” The power of the Book of Law skipped all complicated steps. A storm erupted around Eivass. His mana poured out rapidly, and even the mana within Sherlock was continuously drawn out by the ritual.
The next instant, the sky began to darken. The thunderclouds that had just dispersed reappeared, and a fierce wind raged. A single azure eye lit up in the dark clouds. It glanced at Eivass and Sherlock, then at Merlin standing in the distance. Finally, it turned its gaze towards the inverted giant. The next moment, a bolt of lightning struck! The deep blue lightning, like a spear, pierced the Giant Prince’s heart!
The Giant Prince’s eyes widened. Veins bulged on his face, and countless deep blue runes moved across his skin. Infinite deep blue radiance overflowed from the depths of his pupils. He trembled violently, struggling fiercely—even though his mouth was sealed, a muffled roar of anguish was trapped in his throat, emitting from his nostrils. His skin instantly turned red, then purple. Crackling azure light, like an electric current, moved around him—this was the Great Philosopher transmitting all the mysteries he knew to him.
But this state only lasted a brief two minutes. After two minutes, the Giant Prince seemed to break some balance—his body began to swell abnormally, like the joints of a gout patient. It started in one or two places, then spread across his entire body in dense protrusions.
“It’s over,” Merlin sighed. “How disappointing… I thought he would at least last until tomorrow. A self-sacrifice seeking wisdom, yet resisting the truth being injected into his brain… how ridiculous. Wouldn’t that break the infinite cycle of the ritual? He overplayed his hand…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Giant Prince swelled up like a balloon. Then, the azure spear crackled and disappeared. The swollen mass of flesh began to collapse inwards, shrinking. Eventually, it turned into nothingness.
“What a pity,” Eivass’s lips curved slightly. “And also… as expected.”
The dark clouds dissipated. In the end, the eye in the sky, within the dark clouds, even glared fiercely at Merlin, causing Merlin to chuckle and hurriedly take off his hat to salute the sky. But in Eivass’s vision, there was an unprecedented feast—he saw that the sky was filled with white light spots. They flowed like a river towards Eivass, entering his body. The surge of experience this time was so great that Eivass directly felt a sense of being “full.”
[Killed a Fifth Tier Extraordinary, gained 2000 Free Experience.]
This way, Eivass could confirm that Wolfram was indeed dead. The experience he dropped was even double what he should have normally received—this should be proof of his complete annihilation. Eivass even saw some scattered light spots dissipate. There were still about a seventh left, not many in number, but it still made Eivass feel regretful. That was probably because he could only absorb so much Free Experience at once.
But… Eivass looked at Merlin. He wanted to confirm something. Merlin, who had become obedient after being glared at by his boss, was now like a student who immediately became lively after leaving the principal’s office, twirling his hat in one hand and asking with interest, “And then? Are you going to perform a ritual now to confirm your ‘transcendence’ and thus increase your power?”
Merlin hadn’t seen those light spots in Eivass’s eyes at all. So that’s how it is. Eivass now felt confident. The fact that he could obtain “experience points” seemed to be invisible even to the Apostles of the Pillar Gods.
“No need,” Eivass said with a smile. “I’ve already obtained it.”
“Oh, really.” It seems he doesn’t want to perform for me, Merlin thought. That’s reasonable. He glanced at the dim yellow amber village around them and replied casually, “Since that’s the case, I will be leaving. Don’t worry about the current situation—when you wake up tomorrow morning, everything will be back to normal. A village solidified by Amber herself will not be destroyed for such a simple reason.” Merlin chuckled and put on his mage hat.
“Mr. Merlin! Do you know anything about the contracts here?” Haina, seeing Merlin about to leave, couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of contract did the ancestors of Eagle Cape Village sign… for this situation to occur?”
“That’s not something you should know just yet, Miss Haina,” Merlin said gently. “When the time is right, I will tell you. —Because I was the witness to the contract of the people of Beheading Valley back then.” With that, he nodded slightly at Eivass and disappeared in a flash of azure light.
Update complete! Although it’s a bit late, it’s an update of over six thousand words, meow! The plot for Eagle Cape Village has ended, and we’re heading back to Glass Island!
