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With Dane's strength, he should have been able to easily kill his opponent while controlling the Knights' Circle Formation!
Erwin was absolutely certain.
After all, he had personally witnessed that sword technique of light, powerful enough to overpower at least two great demons, in the Dragon Hidden Mountains!
I have personally witnessed the crucial sword strike that, with the heroic bearing of Mino and divine skill, severely injured the Second Demon Strategist!
Since the user is Dane, the opponent's strength is definitely more than that.
Looking at Dane's effortless demeanor, Erwin had a vague intuition that the other party was actually holding back some strength during the battle!
"Why... why didn't Lord Dane just kill that demon with a single sword strike..."
The doubts in his heart grew deeper and deeper, and Erwin even wanted to speak up and ask Dane directly for confirmation.
Right there, he caught a glimpse of the regret on Dane's face!
Suddenly jolted, Erwin's eyes widened, a realization dawning on them:
"It's us... who are holding Lord Dane back!"
……
A sacred light emanated from the top of the round tower.
Compared to the violent commotion at the other three city gates, the towering round tower in the eastern part of the capital appeared incredibly calm and serene.
They seemed to be detached from the fighting, as if they were indifferent to the world's strife.
Just like the owner of this round tower, who was known as the "morning star of the kingdom," a steadfast elder who had never been deterred or faltered by any disaster in the past century.
The round tower, shrouded in layers of soundproofing arrays, was tranquil and peaceful, with no sound emanating from it.
"Astra's judgment was indeed correct."
Ota stood on the watchtower of the east gate, looking at the calm and peaceful round tower inside the gate, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Instead of hiding deep within the palace, this charismatic king chose to personally guard the East Gate on the day of the blessing!
Together with the "Mage Matrix," composed of seasoned mages trained by the Mage Tower, they form the last line of defense!
"If we hadn't stopped those demons in time, the capital would probably be in terrible chaos by now, catching us completely off guard."
Otta closed his eyes, recalling the arrangement of the three city gates, and felt somewhat at ease.
"Pope Tonk's awakening time is too short and he may still be too inexperienced, but there will definitely be no problems with Saintess Lena and Dane."
The king looked on with satisfaction at the dark and silent magic tower:
"With these four lines of defense protecting us, the enshrinement ceremony will surely proceed exceptionally smoothly."
at the same time.
The interior of the round tower.
The goddess's resonance echoed endlessly above their heads, and the air trembled slightly.
On the platform, the robes of the high priest, symbolizing wisdom and tranquility, began to tremble.
Lak's face was deathly pale, and he stared in utter terror at the hero on the protective platform, his horrified voice echoing throughout the round tower:
"—Thirty-seventh floor?! How is she still alive?!"
Chapter 278 The thirty-seventh floor is merely the limit of the data, not her limit!!
When the protective energy displayed on the round tower detection array reached the fifth level, Lak was secretly thrilled.
The fifth layer of curse has reached the point where it could "poison" a cow to death!
When Shana's protective energy reached level ten, Lark was overjoyed.
A ten-layered curse is enough to turn a highly talented human warrior into a cripple with only three levels of holy power!
When the blessing energy reached fifteen layers, Lak had already opened the champagne halfway through the match.
A fifteen-layered curse is enough to paralyze someone, rendering them bedridden and stripping them of all human functions!
However, when the protective energy level reached level twenty, the nature of the situation changed slightly...
"How is this going……"
A faint unease welled up in Lark's heart.
He opened his Arcane Eye again and observed Shana, who was still crying out in pain. There was no doubt that the curses containing dark power had entered Shana's body without leaking out.
Moreover, this time he had no intention of leaving the curse in Shana's body at all, but instead used it as a detonator to forcibly detonate the fire-attribute holy power within Shana's body.
With such a dense concentration of dark power now filling the opponent's body, it should explode by now, right?
Lark's heart skipped a beat. He lowered his head, staring intently at the still-rising energy scale, and murmured:
"Detonate it! Detonate it!!!"
Cold sweat gradually soaked the mage's robe on his back. Under Lark's terrified gaze, the protection energy rose another level, reaching the twenty-first level!
Twenty-two...twenty-three...twenty-four!
"No, this is impossible..." Lak opened his mouth wide, looking at the cool girl on the intensifying table with a look of horror, as if he were really looking at a bomb.
Each jump in the energy scale was rapid and brief, but for Lark, it felt as long as the changing of the world.
Twenty-five...thirty...thirty-five!!
Upon reaching the thirty-sixth level, Lak finally realized that what he had filled Shana's body with was definitely not an explosive... This entire thirty-plus levels of transformed dark magic was enough to burst a Great Demon!
With the next flash of light, Lak completely lost his composure:
"—Thirty-seventh floor?! How is she still alive?!"
After the initial rough and uncomfortable drilling, the pitch-black ripples reached the depths of the body, penetrating that sacred barrier, as if returning home.
Shana was indeed in great pain, but she was experiencing a bittersweet joy.
"So much, such concentrated power! The resonance with the goddess... can it even transform dark power...?"
A light gradually appeared in Shana's eyes.
It's as if the energy in the body was originally just in a gaseous state. With the entry of more external energy, the power, which is more than ten times greater, is gradually concentrated, solidified, and slowly transformed from a gaseous state into a liquid state, and even a solid state. An incomparably powerful force comes from the dark side of the body.
"My lord, I have a feeling that something is not right."
At that moment, Darkfrey's voice echoed in his mind:
"It's one thing that these resonant ripples of power haven't affected your holy power, but even now, they haven't formed any protection within your body."
"Eh?"
Shana's high spirits came to an abrupt halt.
She was a little confused and said, "But I feel like the energy in the dark side of my body is almost full, it can't hold any more!"
Right now, she even felt that the power in her body was a little too abundant. Not to mention speaking, she dared not relax her muscles in the slightest, otherwise the power might suddenly go out of control as her body relaxed!
At first, she thought it was a side effect of the intensive care unit.
“That’s the problem.” Darkfrey’s voice sounded slightly flustered:
"The goddess's resonance will not cease until the hero has reached their limit and the blessing has formed within them, but now, my lord—"
"There's absolutely no protection within your body..."
"What?!" Shana's ruby-like eyes widened in surprise.
Her face flushed red as she realized that the dark power was indeed still filling her body. A feeling of swelling, like a balloon, gradually came from deep within her body. Her eyes glazed over, and a thought flashed through Shana's mind.
"I won't, it's really going to explode, isn't it?"
On the intensive care unit, Shana's eyes revealed deep despair.
On the stage, a deeper despair clouded over Lark's eyes:
"It's not over yet—"
"The thirty-seventh floor is just the limit shown by the protective platform, not her limit!!!"
……
Outside the Magician's Round Tower.
Ota stood on the lookout tower, received the message on the communication channel again, and spoke to confirm:
"Mage Matrix, has it detected any trace of the Great Demon?"
From his vantage point, he could see countless mages dressed in jet-black robes, like stars surrounding the magician's tower, their magical energy shimmering and circulating among them.
The Mage Matrix, a magic circle that is not often used when arranging a large number of mage forces, has two functions that are irreplaceable.
One is a "detection" ability that is even more precise than a monitoring array. With the magic power of a large number of mages linked together, no great demon can escape the detection of the mage matrix in the vicinity.
Even the Shadow Demon, known for its eerie and invisible nature, is no exception.
As long as her magic appears in the space of the Mage Matrix, that is, in the area centered on the Mage Tower and covering a small part of the eastern district of the royal capital... the Mage Matrix can lock onto her instantly.
"Your Highness, no trace of magical infiltration has been detected." The voice of the leading elite mage came with a hint of relief:
"It seems those demons' target isn't Shana the Hero: the blessing ritual is about to end, and even if those great demons appear around the matrix now, they won't be able to break through the matrix and cause damage in a short time..."
"I understand, but don't let your guard down with the Mage Matrix until the very last moment!"
"Ota commanded sternly."
However, after ending the call, his tense expression relaxed a little.
The second and final function of the Mage Matrix is very simple: protection!
The ultimate defense, composed of countless mages and comparable to the magic array of a royal palace, is solely focused on defensive isolation!
However, unlike the magic stones that power the magician matrix, it is supported by the immense magical power of countless magicians.
Ota's goal was simple: no matter how the demons tried to sabotage the blessing ritual, he just had to hold on! He had to buy enough time for the blessing to complete!
All those conspiracies will be resolved with the intervention of the Supreme Chief of the Magician's Tower, the Holy Archmage Lakten.
"Although Chief Lark rarely takes action due to his age, how could he sit idly by when humanity faces a crisis?"
Thinking of this, Ota revealed a genuine smile: