"Here we go again, I wonder what the cause is this time."
Some, looking up anxiously, the leading mages, after a discussion, decided to set up camp right here in this spacious underground hall and wait for rescue.
Along the way here, they had left special secret technique marks. As long as students got close enough, their Pamir identity cards would automatically read the messages within the marks and send out a signal to alert them.
This way, they could gather as many of the remaining students who were still alive as possible.
With the students Anvis had led joining, the total number of students gathered had already exceeded ninety-three percent of the total.
And those with the most noble identities had all converged here, merely waiting for the empire to dispatch Ninth Rank powerhouses for rescue, and then they could quickly evacuate all the students.
However, he still couldn’t make contact with the academy’s upper echelons outside.
What on earth was happening outside? Could it be that even those of the Ninth Rank couldn’t shake the ruins’ protective barrier?
Were the previous tremors caused by their attacks?
As the lead mage was worrying in secret, the many students were still rather optimistic.
Being not so aware of the situation, in the hearts of most students, given their importance, the empire absolutely couldn’t abandon them, and rescue was just a matter of time.
What they were not quite aware of was that it was precisely because they were too important that the other two empires were also eyeing them eagerly.
If things didn’t go well, the chance of survival for everyone present, including the leading mages, would be the same.
To a Ninth Rank Professional, just one Rule Magic spell coming down, and everyone present would understand what is meant by ’all creatures being equal’...
Oh—except for the royal family and the descendants of a few other major nobles, and a handful of Children of Destiny, everyone else is equal.
Nevertheless, a small fraction of those who had received enough information and who could truly see the full scope of the situation maintained a silent stance.
To tell these students the truth not only wouldn’t help the situation but would likely lead to widespread panic, so it was better to let them maintain their current naive optimistic mindset.
Sitting casually on one side of the hall, Anvis didn’t choose to enter a portable Alchemy house but simply sat on a protruding rock, remotely sensing what was happening with his clone.
This place seems to have been an underground plaza in the Ancient Era, part of a residential area, with the top mimicking natural lighting with magic, and the space expanded greatly, easily accommodating thousands of people to stay.
Fiona was sitting beside him, holding a kitten in her arms, looking worriedly at the many students present.
As a member of Olivendi, she was also clear about the current situation, and Anvis hadn’t concealed anything from her.
"Brother, are we going to face danger?"
Pulling Anvis’s hand somewhat anxiously, Fiona’s lake-blue eyes looked at him with the gaze of a small animal lacking a sense of security.
"Don’t worry, Fei, our situation isn’t actually particularly dangerous."
Shaking his head gently, Anvis appeased her with a calm expression. The steadiness in his voice unconsciously calmed the girl’s emotions.
"Currently, the ruins are protected by a protective shield. This prevents father from coming to our rescue, but it also prevents the enemies from entering here.
And once the protection is broken, father will undoubtedly teleport over immediately, leading us out..."
"So, what if the enemy just uses an overwhelmingly strong attack to destroy the entire section of the ruins we are in?"
However, no sooner had Anvis finished speaking, someone nearby suddenly interjected.
The siblings both turned their heads to look, realizing the person was Hillin from the Yiter family.
Although she was clearly aware of the dangerous situation at hand, she seemed unconcerned on the surface.
"That’s impossible, please do not make such exaggerated assumptions, Miss Hillin."
Anvis shook his head and gently pinched Fiona’s lace-gloved little hand, calming her down.
"This relic has withstood Ninth Rank for so long, that even if the outer protective shield is cracked, there must be some defense internally when faced with attacks. As long as we wait patiently, rescue will surely come—"
"Hehe... is that really what you think, Lord Anvis?"
Hillin covered her mouth with a smile, her silvery eyes fixed on Anvis’s face as she took a sudden turn in her conversation.
"You possess an impressive Clone Secret Technique. But I wonder... the one standing before me now, are you the real body or a clone?"
"Of course it’s the real body."
Glancing at the girl whose smile resembled that of a sly fox, Anvis’s expression remained unchanged.
"Also, I trust in the Empire, what about you, Miss Hillin?"
At that moment, the entire relic’s hall trembled once more, and the amplitude of the shaking was clearly stronger than the previous two times.
The lighting at the top of the hall also suddenly darkened, flickering violently a few times before stabilizing again.
After a moment of silent eye contact with Anvis, whose presence showed no flaws, Hillin also seemed somewhat uncertain about his true situation.
"...Alright then, Lord Anvis, I hope your good words come true."
Gazing deeply at him, Hillin slowly walked away.
At this moment, on the sea surface surrounding the relic, people from the three major forces had entered a state of tension, ready to spring into violence.
The cause of it all stemmed from the Church Court force that arrived second.
Upon assessing the current situation, Yogesen from the Church Court didn’t say a word and directly targeted the center of the relic’s protective shield, activating a Divine Punishment Crystal Stone.
Unlike the dimension cutting’s ultimate penetration and destructive power, the effect of the Divine Punishment is to assimilate everything at the point of impact into pure radiance.
The Holy Scripture once recorded, "God sent the Judgment Angel to earth, and this angel with a Holy Spear of Radiance, purified the world of darkness."
To purify all filth of the world with the sanctity of light is very much in line with the luminous doctrine of the Church Court.
At the point of impact, a speck of starlight suddenly lit up, then rapidly expanded, assimilating everything into a world of pure light. Sacred chants, faint yet audible, swirled in the air, as if heralding the divine arrival recorded in myth.
The entire relic trembled violently, as an astonishing amount of Magic Power surged from the depths of the relic, madly contending with the force of Divine Punishment.
When all the radiance had faded, the relic looked as if a colossal creature had nibbled away a portion of it, leaving a huge semicircular gap.
But in front of everyone, at the gap, dark blue magic crystalline structures suddenly began to grow rapidly. Like flesh regenerating from a wound, they reconstructed the city’s structure at an astonishing speed.
"Do you really want to start a war now, Yogesen?!"
Faced with Yogesen’s sudden attack, people from the Empire’s side were immediately outraged.