CHAPTER 615: Blind Faith

"Forget about finding the attackers for now. The most important thing right now is to protect the pillars of the empire below us." From the murderous look on Han Shuo's face, Ayermike Cotton could tell that he was about to find the attackers who were using the forbidden light magic and finish them all off.

However, if Han Shuo were to leave right away in search of the casters, then there would be one less powerful shield to protect those in the plaza below. From all the signs he had gathered, the forbidden magic of 'Radiant Blast' should be used by several experts of the Church of Light together. Even Ayermike Cotton was not completely certain that he could protect everyone on his own.

"Exactly. Let's protect the people below from the power of the Radiant Blast." Han Shuo snapped out of his fantasy after hearing the reminder. He was in no hurry to find and destroy the aggressors of the Church of Light.

There was something about this subject that really puzzled Han Shuo. His consciousness had an extremely wide range. Logically, under normal circumstances, he should be able to pick up at least a trace of these invaders. He had focused all of his attention on tracking down the troublemakers as soon as he spotted the anomalies with the element of light above the plaza. However, most unexpectedly, he couldn't detect the whereabouts of those aggressors. This situation was obviously quite strange.

"What's going on? Why has the sun suddenly become so bright? It makes me dizzy and uncomfortable."

"Yes, for some reason I'm absolutely suffocated. Could it be that a downpour is coming soon?"

In the square, the unsuspecting nobles raised their heads and looked around, their hands shielding their eyes from the sun. Although most of these high-ranking people had little to no experience in magic or martial arts, they could still sense that something was wrong.

As for those experts with extraordinary cultivation achievements, they could faintly sense the danger from the abnormality of the elemental light energy. However, since it was the top experts of the Church of Light who were using the 'Radiant Blast' magic, most of these people couldn't give a precise explanation for the irregularity they felt.

Something's wrong," Lawrence, the King of the Lancelot Empire, though poor in martial arts, could sense danger in the suffocating atmosphere around him.

"I don't know why, but for some reason the element of Light has suddenly become very active," Amyes, one of the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle, cultivated in the elemental energy of Light and was a Light Grand Magus. His eyebrows were furrowed. From the circulation of the Element of Light, which he was most familiar with, he sensed a hint of danger.

"Your Majesty, there may be danger. Shall we evacuate Your Highness from the area?" Candide walked over to Lawrence and suggested the idea with a bow.

Lawrence raised his head to the bright sky and hesitated for a moment. His eyes began to search the crowd for Han Shuo's figure. When he turned a full circle and discovered that Han Shuo was not among the dense crowd of people, he came to a decision. His years of seemingly blind faith in Han Shuo seemed to have an effect at this moment. Lawrence simply put on a smile and replied in a calm voice, "It's alright. With Bryan here, we shouldn't be in any danger. The ceremony is not yet officially over. As the most important guest, how could I leave early?"

Candide was rather astonished to see Lawrence smiling, completely unafraid. But at the same time, Candide nodded inwardly in admiration. He thought that this king of his was indeed extraordinary. Earlier, Candide had seen Ayermike Cotton and Graeae arrive at the square. He felt quite at ease, as he had a rough idea of the strength the two possessed. Besides, since there was no clear indication of what was happening, he did not continue to urge Lawrence to leave.

When Han Shuo had recommended Pegasus and Graeae to Candide, he had given him a rough idea of the level of strength the two possessed. With Han Shuo's guarantee, he believed that the two should be as powerful as he said. Although Candide did not know Ayermike Cotton's true identity, he had heard Han Shuo describe Ayermike Cotton's strength as being slightly above that of Graeae and Pegasus. Therefore, he was quite confident in their safety.

Radiant Blast was a forbidden magic that covered a large area. It used the element of light to create an intense radiance that rained down from the sky, vaporising any living thing in its path.

Normally, the more destructive the magic, the longer it'd take to work. This forbidden magic, known as Radiant Blast, was no exception. Perhaps the attackers were aware of how formidable Han Shuo was, as they had deliberately brewed the spell for much longer than any ordinary spell. The radiance beaming down from the sky grew brighter by the second. It had gradually become so intense that the people in the square were almost unable to open their eyes.

As every inch of the surface was covered in blazing light, and the square seemed to be bombarded directly by the sun, those nobles who had been rather unperturbed began to show signs of nervousness.

The students from all the schools of the Babylon Academy of Magic and Strength, who had come with their teachers, were in a panic. They couldn't help but make a lot of noise.

"Goodness gracious! These, these seem to be the signs you would see before the release of the forbidden light magic, Radiant Blast!" Voigtlander, the Dean of the School of Light Magic, had been suspicious from the start. It was only now that he suddenly remembered some information about the 'Radiant Blast' from an ancient scroll he had recently studied. He screamed.

The vast majority of the crowd was frightened out of their wits by Voigtlander's scream. Not all of them were experts with unshakable minds who could stare death in the face. They all knew what forbidden magic meant. Voigtlander, as the Dean of the School of Light Magic at the Babylonian Academy of Magic and Strength, would certainly not talk nonsense in such a setting. That was why most people lost their heads when they heard those words.

"Oh my God... Oh my God... Forbidden magic..."

"So I'm going to die here? Damn it! I shouldn't have come here. Now I'm so dead!"

"Your Majesty, please evacuate now. This really seems to be the forbidden light magic Radiant Blast..."

All kinds of voices of panic and hysteria rang out in the square. Some of the students who lacked experience in the real world and some of those cowardly nobles were screaming and yelling. They were frightened to the point of losing their minds.

However, the Lancelot Empire was a nation with an extremely rigid social order. Since their King Lawrence was present and had not yet left the place, even though some of them were wailing like ghosts and scared to death, they just stared at Lawrence impatiently, not daring to escape before he did.

"Your Majesty, from all the signs and changes in the environment, this must be the forbidden magic of Radiant Blast. This forbidden magic has been brewing for such a long time and its power must be extremely destructive. Doesn't Your Majesty think it's time to leave and seek shelter?" Amyes, one of the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle, approached Lawrence with a calm and collected face and gave him his advice.

By now, Lawrence was also feeling a little scared. But with so many of his ministers watching, Lawrence did not show his fear and kept his cool. He asked Amyes, "If this really is the forbidden light magic, Radiant Blast, then it must have a huge range. Do you think we can escape from the blast zone in such a short time?"

Amyes was stunned. He forced a smile, shook his head, and replied, "If this is indeed the Radiant Blast, I doubt very much that we will be able to escape even if we flee now."

"Well, never mind. Since escaping would be pointless anyway, let's just stand here and wait." Lawrence pretended to be calm and smiled.

"Don't worry. With Bryan here, nothing will happen to us," Fanny, who had just claimed her position as Chancellor, stood on the stage, confident and smiling. It was as if she wasn't worried at all.

"Yes. If that brat is here, this place is definitely safe. You bunch of cowards, what are you afraid of? You might even get killed if you run away from this area where Bryan can watch over you." After witnessing Han Shuo's power, Firenze now had blind faith in Han Shuo, just like Fanny. He looked at the cowards with disdain and mocked them.

After hearing about Lawrence, Fanny and Firenze, those who wanted to escape became hesitant. When they saw how calmly the three of them stood their ground, they decided, after much deliberation, to stay behind as well. However, they were still trembling and had no certainty of their fate.

They gasped, "The sky is getting dark! As the adults pondered their decision, a small cry of surprise rose through the air.

As the crowd raised their heads and looked, they saw that the bright sky was suddenly covered by layers of dark clouds. These dark clouds looked as if they had been made of squid ink and had blocked out the bright, brilliant light coming from the sky.

It was as if a giant painting of the night sky had been unrolled, turning the sunny afternoon into a pitch-black midnight.

While this unusual phenomenon was taking place in the sky, a sinister, eerie aura enveloped the square. Several bloody radiances were released and merged with the dark clouds. They seemed to change the properties of the layers of dark clouds, making them even thicker and more solid.

"Bryan has made a move. Don't worry, we'll be fine." Lawrence was so relieved when he saw the bloody rays in the sky that he just had to shout it out.

Having befriended Han Shuo for many years, Lawrence had long been aware that Han Shuo cultivated an extremely mysterious martial art in addition to necromancy magic. Lawrence was one of the few who had seen him use his demonic arts. Therefore, as soon as Lawrence saw the bloody aura, he became certain of his suspicion and knew that Han Shuo had taken action to protect them from the aura.

"That's right. Bryan has taken action," Candide calmed the crowd. He too let out an obvious sigh of relief.

Those with close ties to Han Shuo and those who had seen Han Shuo strike were all greatly relieved. They blindly believed that Han Shuo could neutralise the threat of the forbidden magic that was targeting them. However, most of the nobles and disciples who didn't know Han Shuo so well were not so confident. They looked around anxiously, ready to flee for their lives at any moment.

Han Shuo, who had been defending the Clock Tower with Ayermike Cotton and Graeae, sensed that the Radiant Blast spell had matured. "It's coming! Get ready!"