Volume 4: The End of the World Chapter 14: Green Guardian
"But how is it possible..."
"Shh, don't talk yet."
William interrupted Ebony's words, then raised his hand and touched the door made of tangled tree roots, his fingers moving along the pale green life runes engraved on it.
"This thing looks a bit like a modified [Green Guardian] barrier magic... Who set it up?"
Feeling the life magic surging at his fingertips, William asked softly.
"My priests worked together to arrange this."
Ur replied in a low voice, his face looking a little anxious.
"The priests of the Emerald Province actually use modern magic under the Star Law system? I thought you would be very resistant to this."
William asked with a little surprise.
【Green Guard】 is a sixth-tier spell of the life system. According to the evaluation system of the Star Law, only master-level magic casters can use large-scale enchantment magic. The effect of this spell is to build a shield to protect creatures within the range based on the surrounding life breath. The richer the nearby life breath, the stronger the shield.
This spell was engraved at the root of the World Tree , relying on what might be the strongest breath of life in the entire Vic Continent. The strength of the barrier of this sixth-order spell is probably stronger than some eighth-order or even ninth-order legendary spells, reaching the threshold of divine magic.
"Flaror defeated us with human magic. In order to fight her, we have to try any power we can... Besides, the prototype of the spell "Green Guardian" originated from the lost ritual magic used for sacrifices by the forest elves. If we trace back to the source, we are the legitimate heirs of this series of spells. It was the human wizards who plagiarized and destroyed our past heritage. And we have also sworn an oath to only use magic that originated from Ravenwood."
Ebony replied immediately.
"No wonder there are so many redundant prayer runes and symbolic totems..."
After hearing this explanation, William said with a subtle expression.
The modern magic system - even the modern magic system under the constraints of the Star Law - is the product of the systematic, logical, and highly abstract integration of classical witchcraft, ritual magic, and power, as well as the unique personal understanding of the magic caster.
In simple terms, classical witchcraft and ritual magic look like huge difference engines, complex and primitive, but you can see the specific process of each operation step. Modern magic systems are like highly integrated integrated circuits, which look simple and clean, but in fact most of them are encapsulated in black boxes.
As for the spell engraving form of [Green Guardian] in front of me, how can I describe it?
William looked at the procedure, his brows furrowed so much that they almost disappeared.
This technique is like performing calculations on a differential engine controlled by an integrated circuit, or using another example from the past world, it is like using redstone circuits to build a virtual machine in "Mi".
At least this attitude is worthy of praise.
And to be honest, the ultimate output of magic still depends on the scale of magic that can be leveraged. And this strange spell, relying on the support of the World Tree, actually works very well...
Modern magic is more personal, and although its conversion efficiency is much higher than that of classical magic, it still uses personal magic power. This means that modern magic often has a limit to the scale that mortals can achieve.
In contrast, classical magic, which relies on the collective support of faith and myth and can directly act on the underlying laws of the world, is extremely rigid in its execution and almost impossible to improve or optimize, but the phenomena caused by a large-scale ritual are often of the level of natural disasters.
To some extent, it is hard to say whether respecting the past or pursuing the new is the correct direction for the development of magic.
“Those are the amendments we make based on the traditional rituals.”
After hearing William's complaints, Ebony immediately said seriously.
I see. This logic is the same as "AK47 is Satan's sorcery and blatant heresy, but if a priest carves a cross on the AK it is no longer heresy."
William, who had figured it out, nodded in understanding, but the expression on his face made Wu Mu inexplicably feel as if he was being severely despised.
However, William did not continue to dwell on this topic, but spoke directly:
"I see... Then based on your superficial understanding of this spell, I need to remind you that in addition to creating a barrier, the [Emerald Guardian] spell also has a very special effect."
"What effect?"
"I'll explain this later. Let's go in first."
As William spoke, he raised his hand and took out a white magic medium made of jade from the space crack that suddenly opened up beside him.
"Ah? Are you going in now without explaining first?"
The other party suddenly kept the secret, which made Wu Mu feel uncomfortable, so he asked quickly.
"You have to look at the real situation. A dry explanation won't make it feel real."
William replied.
Helpless, Wu Mu had to say:
"Then... I will start this spell first. Please retreat there..."
[Green Protection] uses the roots of the World Tree as its power source . Due to its huge magical power, it will cause a considerable impact of magical power leakage in the surrounding area when it is activated.
But before he could finish his words, William, who was standing by, knocked the magic medium in his hand on the door.
The emerald green life magic flowing above the gate was instantly absorbed by the white jade staff.
At the same time, the technique that had been successfully constructed by Ebony's group of priests after a long time and effort became ineffective in an instant.
"It's too much trouble to unravel the spell, so let's just leave it like this for now."
After doing all this, William turned around as if nothing had happened, looked at the stunned Ebony and spoke calmly.
"You...you give this technique to..."
After looking at the spell on the door again and confirming that it had failed, Wu Mu asked with a slight stutter.
William waved the white jade magic medium that emitted a faint green glow, and the door made of tangled tree roots automatically retreated, revealing the scene behind the door.
The [Green Guardian] barrier that was strong enough to directly resist the bombardment of legendary spells was instantly eliminated by the opponent's light tap. This scene challenged Ebony's understanding of magic and made him stunned for a moment.
"Ah, don't worry. I just used the [Spell Taker] to graft the magic source of the spell. I didn't destroy the main body of your barrier magic spell - after all, it will be useful later."
William said as he inserted the magic medium named [Spell Taker] into the ground.
Wu Mu then noticed that the trickle of life magic that had been transmitted from the roots to the gate barrier was now grafted onto the white jade magic medium. As the magic power flowed in, the faint green light emitted from the magic medium began to slowly deepen at a speed that could be detected by the naked eye.
After William finished explaining, he walked in without caring about Ebony's reaction.
Ebony took another deep look at the magic medium William had inserted at the door, then gritted his teeth and followed in.
The underground space formed by the tangled tree roots was not dark inside, because orange lamp holders were floating everywhere in the air. The things glowing in the lamp holders were not candles or flames, nor were they expensive magic crystals, but insects with cold blue light at their tails. In Ravenwood, where the use of flames was not allowed, these glowing insects were the main source of light for the forest elves at night or indoors.
"You just said there are forty-three undeads inside. If we just walk in openly, will we really not be attacked by them directly?"
After entering the hall, Ebony, who was leading the way, asked this.
The forest elves have a deep hatred and fear for the undead that bring corruption.
In response, William asked a strange question:
"Have the people you rescued ever attacked you for no reason in the past?"
"Of course not. They are resistance fighters. I saved them. How could they attack me?"
Ebony replied automatically.
"Then it won't happen now either."
William answered calmly, and then added:
"At least not until they discover their true nature."
"What's the meaning?"
Wu Mu asked hesitantly, but before he could finish his question, a loud voice interrupted him.
"Master Ebony! You are finally back! Did you bring any supplies this time? We are almost finished with the dried venison and the blue berries used to feed the lamp worms. If you had come back a few days later, I am afraid we would have been left in the dark."
A forest elf boy ran out from a sentry post formed by tangled tree roots and rushed towards Ebony with an excited look on his face.
However, when he saw Ebony and William behind him halfway through his run, he immediately stopped.
"Lord Ebony, who is the human next to you? Is he the one you rescued from the Duke?"
The forest elf boy looked at William with a vigilant look and asked.
"ah……"
Wu Mu first glanced at the young man, then looked back at William beside him, and explained in a panic:
"Ah...he is..."
"I am the person that Ebony rescued from Floralo. She sentenced me to death because I supported the independence of the forest elves."
William answered calmly, then turned to look at Wu Mu beside him and said:
"Is that so?"
Wu Mu came to his senses and immediately followed William's words:
"Yes, yes, that's it."
"Your Excellency the Duke is actually willing to kill even humans now? This is too scary... But as a human being, you support the independence of the forest elves, which is really remarkable. My sir, we will be like-minded comrades in arms from now on! Don't worry, I won't treat you differently just because you are a human!"
The boy who seemed very enthusiastic and familiar said with great surprise. He even patted his chest as if to make a promise.
But soon, his expression darkened again.
"But Brother Solo will definitely not welcome humans to join our cause. He doesn't trust any humans. You have to pay attention to him when the time comes. Please don't get angry. He is actually a very nice person."
"I'll talk to Solo."
Wu Mu said so, and then took advantage of the other party's excitement, turned to William and asked in a low voice:
"Is this what you said, there are forty-three undead in there? But it's fine as usual. Did you make a mistake just now?"
At least, Wu Mu did not sense the slightest trace of the corruption that is unique to the undead from this young man. As a listener to the teachings of the "Great Mother", he still has this kind of vision.
William did not speak, but looked at the young man in front of him with a smile, and said to Wu Mu in his mind using the [Voice of the Soul]:
+Do you remember the other special effect of [Green Guardian] that I just mentioned? +
The voice that suddenly echoed in his mind scared Ebony.
In the past, only the teachings of the Great Mother would suddenly echo in my mind.
After realizing that it was William who was speaking, Ebony nodded slightly to show that he remembered.
+Another effect of [Green Guardian] is to significantly slow down the decay of all corpses within the barrier.+
