How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 83 Royal Representative

First District, Governing Council Hall.

The magnificent building stands tall, its exterior a typical example of the tall Gothic style.

The massive stone pillars are carved with dragons, symbolizing absolute loyalty to the Nord royal family.

Inside the council chamber, the huge conference room was divided into front, middle, and back areas.

The three seating areas at the very top are particularly eye-catching.

The first area is occupied by the masters of the mage tower.

The tower masters, including the High Dome Tower and the Ash Tower whom Kane had met before, along with several other tower masters, were conversing in hushed tones.

The second area represents the city guards.

In Nord, to highlight the martial tradition of the nobility, the army is deeply integrated with the noble system, and many sons of great nobles have settled there.

Therefore, this region also represents the military power of the nobility in a certain sense.

In the third area sat representatives of other important forces, including the Night's Watch and the Lamplighters.

The judge who had examined Kane and his colleagues were also included.

Behind these three front rows are hundreds of other seats, where representatives of the city's chambers of commerce and ordinary nobles are seated.

But at this moment, everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn to the person in the center at the very top.

A middle-aged man dressed in a silk robe, with a gentle demeanor. His own strength was not outstanding, only at the second rank.

However, his status as a representative sent by the royal family to manage the war city granted him supreme authority.

The royal representative's eyes flickered slightly, and he coughed lightly.

"The proposal regarding the regular sweeping of the Drow descendants in the Darkwood has been reviewed and concluded."

Now, let's move on to the next topic.

The noisy discussions quickly subsided in the council chamber.

The royal representative stood up, his voice carrying clearly throughout the hall:

"Recently, a series of events have occurred in Shantar, which you should all be aware of."

First, underground forces massacred hundreds of civilians in "Rat Hill" in the Seventh District, engaging in the sale of human organs...

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of snickers rippled through the audience.

In the eyes of these high-ranking individuals, the slums of the Seventh District were nothing but a filthy quagmire, and the lives and deaths of those ordinary people were utterly insignificant.

Only a few people feigned pity, but their eyes remained completely unmoved.

"Please be quiet and observe a minute's silence for the victims."

The royal representative gave the order in a solemn voice.

Everyone remained silent as instructed, their faces displaying a perfunctory solemnity.

One minute later, the royal representative raised his hand to signal the end of the meeting and continued:

"The second thing happened in the fourth district."

An unnamed club, secretly controlled by a demonic cult, murdered dozens of mage apprentices.

Upon hearing this, many people's expressions changed, and their gazes turned towards him.

The fourth district is already within the inner city, and a mage apprentice—with just one more step—can become a formal spellcaster.

The status of a formal spellcaster is sufficient to enter this council hall.

The royal representative said gently:

"Next, please have Your Excellency, the Chief Judge of the Night's Watch, explain in detail."

In the third area, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance stood up.

His gaze swept across the entire room, and the previously faint sounds vanished instantly, with fear appearing in the eyes of many.

As the "white gloves" of the royal family, the Night's Watch has dealt with countless people in the open and in the shadows, and the rumors, both true and false, have long made ordinary people tremble with fear.

The presiding judge spoke slowly and deliberately:

"This matter was first discovered by my thirteenth Night Watch squad... The details are as follows..."

As he recounted his story, many people's expressions changed, especially in the Mage Tower area.

Many tower masters displayed different expressions: some were fanatical, some were indifferent, and some had shifty eyes and unfathomable thoughts.

After the narration was finished, some people couldn't help but change their expressions and started discussing among themselves:

"How is that possible? That so-called 'Sacred Mark Ritual' can actually change the aptitude of a mage apprentice who had no hope of advancing and allow them to complete their advancement?"

"That necromancer Flynn who killed the city guard captain... so that's how he gained his power?"

"Could this ritual and potion... be used by us to train more spellcasters?"

The scene gradually became noisy and the order became somewhat disordered.

The presiding judge remained calm and made no comment. The royal representative gently tapped the gavel beside him.

"quiet."

The moment those two words were spoken, the council chamber fell silent again.

The royal representative spoke slowly, his tone still gentle, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority:

"Why don't you all see for yourselves the origin of that so-called 'Stigmata Ritual'—bring it up."

boom.

Heavy footsteps approached from afar, and more than ten members of the ruling council's guard, clad in heavy armor, slowly pushed a wooden cart into the room.

A demon was tightly chained to the wooden cart.

It was six feet tall, with a hunched back, a short and stocky build, but extremely thin, and its deathly pale skin was rough like dried corpse skin, without any elasticity.

It has a pair of long, pointed cat ears on its head, a short snout protruding forward from its mouth and nose, and its mouth is full of serrated, sharp teeth that seem capable of easily tearing flesh apart.

His murky, yellowish-red vertical pupils were filled with violence and resentment.

"Oh my god...it's a demon!" someone exclaimed in a low voice.

"How wicked, filthy, and filthy..."

"Kill it!"

This once invincible ghoul is now covered in wounds.

"Untie its mouth."

The royal representative gave instructions to the heavily armored warriors.

"Yes."

The guards responded and removed the gag from the demon's mouth.

The ghoul's eyes darted around a few times, then it let out a wicked, hoarse laugh:

"Humble humans... the abyss will eventually devour you... you have no chance of winning..."

But when its gaze fell upon the face of the royal representative, it paused for a moment almost imperceptibly.

But the guards quickly stuffed the instruments of torture back into its mouth, silencing all sound.

After a brief silence, someone suddenly spoke in the mage tower area.

A necromancer dressed in black robes stood up, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism:

"Your Royal Representative, would you be so kind as to hand over this demon's corpse to us? The Necromancer School can make the most of it."

"absurd!"

Another elderly monk countered:

"It should be handed over to our School of Bewitching and Control. With the help of drugs and suggestion techniques, we can brainwash it enough to make it obedient enough."

The sounds of arguing rose and fell, until suddenly a chilling voice rang out: "What if... there are even more demons?"

The speaker paused, then added, "After all, before the ceremony, it was just an ordinary person."

This statement is like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil.

The gazes of the crowd suddenly turned fervent.

For many spellcasters with extremely low moral standards, exchanging the soul of an ordinary person for a powerful demonic body is a tempting prospect.

Whether used as experimental material for the Necromancer school or manipulated with mind control spells, it's a sure-fire way to make money.

It is important to understand that training a mage apprentice to become a formal spellcaster requires several years or even more than a decade of time and resources.

However, the demons transformed by the Stigmata Ritual can form combat power in a very short time.

Although they were interested, no one publicly expressed their opinion.

All eyes were once again focused on the royal representative.

"Please be patient, everyone."

The royal representative raised his hand to quell the commotion, his voice remaining gentle.

"Next, let's ask those who experienced this firsthand to provide us with some details."

boom!

The doors to the council chamber were pushed open, and Kane followed Reed, Serena, and Hans as they slowly walked into the center of the chamber.

Countless gazes instantly focused on them—curious, inquisitive, scrutinizing…

The royal representative on the high platform spoke gently:

"This demon was captured by a joint squad of the Night's Watch and the Lanternmen."

On behalf of the Royal Family, I thank you all for your contributions to the Kingdom.

He stood up, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.

Reed and the others returned the greeting, and Kane also bowed.

The royal representative smiled and said:

"The specific details have already been explained by Your Excellency the Presiding Judge."

But I have another question—one that I imagine many mage tower owners are also concerned about.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd:

"If you don't take the final potion after completing the Stigmata Ritual..."

Will the ritual performer not be transformed into a demon, but merely have their aptitude altered and gain enhanced abilities?

Kane frowned slightly—this was the worst-case scenario he had anticipated, and it had finally been brought up.

Even with numerous side effects, a ritualist is still essentially a "human" if they do not take the ultimate potion.

For the Nord Kingdom, which craves power, this is not an unacceptable price to pay.

He pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and said clearly:

"Your Excellency, please allow me to state: In an age when the gods have retreated, we should be even more vigilant."

Behind this stigmata ritual, there remains something we cannot comprehend.

"He who gazes into the abyss will be gazed into by the abyss. And this... is exactly what the cult of demons desires."

The royal representative's gentle expression remained unchanged.

Reed gently tugged at Kane's sleeve and shook his head slightly.

Kane understood his meaning and took a half step back.

The royal representative nodded: "We understand."

His gaze calmly swept across the entire room as he continued:

"The Night's Watchman has a point. But what if the ritual is performed... by someone other than a Nord?"

"Not Nords?" Kane's eyes narrowed.

The royal representative slowly said:

"The annual Darkwood Sweep is about to begin. This time, we will capture even more Drow descendants."

Why not let them... bear the cost of this ritual?

Kane's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately understood.

After the Underdark was overrun by humans, the descendants of the drow elves became exiles.

Every year, the Nords sweep through the Mirkwood, ostensibly to eliminate potential threats, but in reality, they slaughter the descendants of the Drow and weaken their race.

This time, the royal representative's intention was to use these Drow descendants to test the Stigmata ritual.

To verify whether this power can be controlled.

"Could it be... that history is destined to repeat itself?"

Kane felt a deep unease creeping into his heart.

In the original historical trajectory, it was the city of war that abused "possession potions" and carried out large-scale stigmata rituals.

Consuming the lives of ordinary people to mass-produce demonic beings.

With the encouragement of the Necromancer and Bewitching schools, they even formed a legion of second-tier demons, achieving a brief but significant victory on the battlefield.

This successfully inspired the other five countries to follow suit, each forming their own "demon legions".

But as he said: He who gazes into the abyss will eventually be gazed into by the abyss.

They thought they had the demons under control, but in the end, the demons descended on a large scale and completely spiraled out of control.

The arrogant mages and rulers could no longer control this violent power, ultimately leading to the destruction of this war-torn city.

This is just the beginning of a chain reaction.

The Kingdom of Susas, the Silver Alliance, the Free Cities, the Covenant Alliance... many kingdoms have fallen into turmoil due to out-of-control demons.

The "Year of Turmoil" thus arrived, and the material plane he inhabited was consequently torn apart.

"We cannot allow this to happen again."

Kane's gaze swept over the dying ghoul in the prison cart, and over the various expressions on the faces in the council chamber.

"I need a more suitable plan to prevent this from happening."