Chapter 67: The “Meteor Incident”
Flora’s Holy Light spell illuminated the jar Dallan had used. The elf’s head within smiled in relief, mouthed a silent “thank you” in Elven, then turned to ash and vanished.
“Now, I need you to cast Spirit Chains on everyone who witnessed our battle,” Abyss said to Flora, nodding approvingly.
Flora understood immediately and began chanting softly.
A wave of holy energy rippled outward from her, reaching Golden Griffin City and its surrounding areas, several kilometers away. Invisible chains latched onto everyone, unnoticed. And it didn’t stop there. The Spirit Chains continued to extend, branching out from those in the city, reaching further and further: some across the continent, others to nearby towns and villages. By the time Flora finished chanting, these invisible chains had formed a vast network, encompassing the entire world.
Spirit Chains, a high-level Divine Art, was often used in wartime to link designated individuals, allowing the effects of magic and Divine Arts to be transmitted between them. An ordinary high-ranking Divine Arts user could link dozens or even hundreds of people. Flora, however, was different. If she wished, she could connect every intelligent being on the entire continent.
This time, her target was everyone who knew about the battle that had just taken place outside Golden Griffin City. Regardless of how they learned about it, as long as they possessed this information, they would be linked, without exception.
Flora winked at Abyss, signaling that she was done.
Abyss began chanting an obscure incantation. Powerful magical energy emanated from him, effortlessly bypassing Golden Griffin City’s supposedly impenetrable defensive barrier, silently influencing everyone connected by the Spirit Chains network.
…
“Huh… Why did our city barrier activate?” a mage apprentice asked, blinking in confusion, looking at the old mage beside him, who was channeling his mana into the city’s magic crystal nodes, maintaining the barrier.
The old mage glared at his apprentice. “I thought I told you not to drink those stimulating potions to stay awake. They damage your brain! You’re so flustered you can’t even remember what just happened? A meteor suddenly fell from the sky and crashed into the uninhabited outskirts. We activated the barrier to protect the city from the impact. Instead of asking pointless questions, go make me a cup of tea. And hurry up!”
The apprentice, suddenly enlightened, scurried away. The old mage grumbled, continuing to stand by the magic crystal, lamenting the decline of the younger generation.
The mages who had been levitating in the sky, maintaining order, seeing no further meteors falling, dispersed. The old mage even saw several large figures slowly descending towards the Imperial Palace—the royal elite, the Western Empire’s trump card, the Griffin Knight Guard, composed entirely of young noble Dou Warriors of sixth-tier and above.
The royal family had mobilized the Griffin Knights just for a few meteors? Even though they spent a fortune on mages, they still didn’t trust their abilities. The old mage shook his head, inwardly complaining.
“Alright, alright, everyone go home. The meteors have stopped falling!” Guards patrolled the streets and alleys, one hand on their swords, the other holding their helmets, banging them together to create a clanging sound. “The magic barrier will protect everyone. Disperse!”
After a brief moment of confusion, the city’s residents dispersed. Some had wet themselves in fear, and laughter erupted throughout the crowd, mocking those who had been scared witless by a few meteors. This incident would become a source of amusement for years to come.
The Chief Mage, still hovering in the sky, frowned, wondering why he had been so flustered that he had flown up to maintain order. It was just a few meteors. If necessary, they could simply launch a spell to shatter them, and the city barrier would catch the debris.
“Ah, the older I get, the more things I worry about,” the Chief Mage sighed, returning to his tower with his hands clasped behind his back.
Most of the mages withdrew, leaving only a few young mages or capable apprentices to maintain the city barrier at its minimum level.
No one noticed anything unusual. Even those who received news through magical communication only remembered that Golden Griffin City had narrowly avoided being struck by meteors.
The few who recorded the incident in their journals tore out the relevant pages and burned them, unable to explain why. They simply felt an inexplicable aversion to those pages.
…
“That’s it?” Leona asked incredulously, watching as the seven layers of Golden Griffin City’s protective barrier deactivated one by one, leaving only a thin layer remaining.
“Thanks to your dramatic entrance from the sky. That impact was so convincing that it took minimal effort to manipulate their memories,” Abyss said with a smile. “It’s much easier than making them forget everything. Otherwise, I’d have to come up with another story to fill in the gaps in their memories.”
Leona glanced at the massive crater created by the magical bombardment. It did resemble a meteor impact.
“Unfortunately, we can’t sleep in the wilderness tonight. Let’s find an inn in the city,” Abyss said, looking at their extinguished bonfire with regret. “Ah, it’s so peaceful and spacious out here.”
“You made a noble Imperial Princess sleep in the wilderness with you for days!” Leona said, kicking Abyss. She immediately realized the ambiguity of her words and blushed, turning away and wrapping Abyss’s cloak tightly around herself.
“Are we leaving tomorrow?” Flora asked, clumsily trying to fold the tent.
“Ugh… I don’t want to go grave robbing with a pervert who’s only interested in dead people…” Leona grumbled, kicking a stone.
“We’re not leaving tomorrow. Princess Helen still needs our help with one last thing,” Abyss said, helping Flora pack up the tent and stuffing it and the blankets into the Magic Catfish’s gaping maw. “We’ve done our part, but let’s see it through to the end. According to reliable sources from my undead friends, a few daring nobles in Golden Griffin City seem to be up to no good.”
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