"Number One, received!" "Number Two, received!" "Number Three, received!"
Following the old man's command, three distinct voices immediately emanated from the emerald-green metal bracelet.
"Begin extracting the wraiths! The ritual begins..." The old man's voice was flat, yet carried a bone-piercing chill.
At the same time, virtually every Star-rank powerhouse in Transas City felt a sudden coldness grip their hearts.
"This feeling?"
"It's a Wizard World's magical array! And it's a necromancy array specifically targeting wraiths!" Leilin, Gilbert, and the others immediately recognized this distinctive fluctuation.
Emma looked at the gruesome scene of flesh and blood flying across the square and couldn't help but smile bitterly. "This environment is ideal nourishment for a necromancy array!"
A Morning Star level confrontation would cause tremendous damage to the surrounding environment even when both sides deliberately held back. What's more, this was the Sacred Morning Star Festival — not only had local residents gathered, but representatives and their retinues from various regions, along with tourists, had packed the entire city to bursting. The square in particular was a sea of people, and now all of them had been turned to pulp.
Plenty of high-ranking officials and nobles had already perished, so naturally, no one was paying attention to the commoners.
"It's likely the Wizards of Thunder of Jupiter!" Leilin transmitted telepathically to Gilbert and the others while engaging a fire elemental beast that resembled a two-headed hound.
The creature before Leilin was a colossal flame hound standing two stories tall, its body covered in steel barbs, its savage gaze piercing through its skull as it fixed Leilin in its sights — like the three-headed hellhound of myth.
It was a member of the opposing delegation, its energy intensity already at the peak of the Third-level. As a result, Leilin appeared to be in a very "dangerous" situation, barely holding on with the support of several teammates.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the square, Gilbert and Emma had already slipped over to Leilin's side. Three Morning Star powerhouses formed a small squad — appearing as if they had gathered by chance — and surrounded the two-headed flame hound in the center.
Such ad hoc squads were numerous throughout the square, and at this point, hardly anyone was paying attention to Leilin's group.
Burns was the exception, of course!
"Shike! Did you see that?"
Even in the midst of such chaos, loyal officers kept Shike protected at the center, and Burns stood right beside him.
"That Lei is obviously suspicious! Two nobles near him — a count and a viscount — were both high on our initial investigation list. Moreover, Locke has also identified the origin of that person as questionable..."
"Let me think! Let me think..." Shike pressed his hand to his forehead with a headache. At a time like this, he was far more worried about his father. As for this Lei fellow? That was a trivial matter — as long as his father was still alive, nothing was unsolvable!
"What is that..."
Just as Shike was about to make up his mind, the necromancy array set up by Thunder of Jupiter finally activated in full.
A dark green radiance erupted from the ground, forming a strange ring-shaped symbol in midair as masses of phosphorescent green light shone down.
"It's the sigil of the Möbius Ring! They're here too!"
Shouts erupted across the square, plunging it into even greater chaos, especially as large numbers of the Fire Feather Clan discovered that the emerald ring of light in the sky was draining the energy — and even the flesh and blood — from their bodies!
Wisps of black mist seeped from a noble's body. Before he could even notice anything wrong, he had already collapsed to the ground, his face frozen in an eerie expression, his body shriveled and desiccated.
Nobles of weak strength died one after another under the bizarre Möbius Ring array. Even experts who had cultivated the Fire Feather Art beyond the eighth level felt their internal energy draining away ceaselessly.
"We can't just keep waiting!"
Several Fire Feather Clan members at the peak of the ninth level exchanged glances and charged into the air. Blazing flames formed behind them, coalescing into the massive phantom of a fire phoenix.
Bang! The flames collided violently with the emerald light, but the result was that the Fire Feather warriors were sent flying backward, spraying blood as they went.
"You're not up to it! Let me handle this!"
Before the Fire Feather warriors could hit the ground, a pair of powerful hands caught them. Wisps of eerie black mist rose from the hands but were burned away by flames.
"Garrison Commander!" The Fire Feather warriors recognized the newcomer — it was the garrison commander of Transas City — and immediately saluted.
"Mm!" The garrison commander was a man of few words, with smooth platinum hair. His originally handsome face was now bristling with killing intent.
"The Möbius Ring! Those rats who only know how to hide in sewers and darkness — it seems the lesson we gave them by destroying their headquarters wasn't enough!"
The garrison commander let out a cold snort, and a powerful Star-rank Field erupted from his body. He shot up into the air, sending a red streak of fire lancing toward the warped emerald ring of light.
Bang! Bang! Bang!