Defensive Magic Array

At that moment, Adolf happened to look toward Professor Pempes as well, only to see his eyes fixed straight on Chen Cheng, as though there were something on Chen Cheng that could stop all this.

But after thinking it over, Adolf could not recall Chen Cheng having anything that could deal with this crisis.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Adolf asked:

"Why are you staring at him, you old bald fool? His insides are still a mess.

"Even if he can use Super-class Magic, he can only manage one strike at most, and the magic he releases will not surpass Gold Rank."

Adolf had thought Pempes wanted Chen Cheng, this wild card capable of using Super-class Magic, to make up for the gap left by the two of them.

But had the old fellow lost his mind and forgotten that Chen Cheng was still injured?

And even if he truly were not injured, at most he could stir up a few waves in this crisis with the Super-class Magic he could use, before being slapped dead on the beach.

At that moment, Wisdom Shield also looked toward Chen Cheng, because he knew Professor Pempes was not thinking what Principal Adolf had assumed.

He remembered what had happened in the professor's laboratory before. Perhaps that was the breakthrough they needed for this crisis.

As the lord of the entire territory, he had thought it over again and again, and the only possibility he could think of was the Variable Magic Chen Cheng had previously demonstrated to them.

With the three men in the room staring at him like that, Chen Cheng's heart pounded wildly.

He had also guessed what Professor Pempes wanted to say. If not for the contract, perhaps the professor would have spoken long ago.

And honestly, he had thought of his Variable Magic long ago as well. But others might not know its limits—how could he not?

His Variable Magic looked like a magic that could handle anything, but its latest iteration had only reached Gold Rank, and it was still unstable.

Because of the injuries inside his body these past few days, any further iteration of Variable Magic had remained nothing more than an idea. He had not had time to conduct experiments in the Sea of Magic at all.

To face this crisis, his Variable Magic could not collapse the moment it was used. It had to keep operating for at least a hundred cycles before it could be considered adequate.

Only then could they hold Hui Dun City and free up Adolf and the others to find that alchemist.

Yet faced with the earnest, expectant looks in front of him, Chen Cheng finally gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Um... Principal, perhaps I really do have a way... it's just that this is somewhat..."

Before he could finish, Pempes cut him off directly.

"Don't rush to say that yet. Old fellow, this matter is of grave importance. I want you to use your spiritual will and swear a poisonous oath right now.

"You will never reveal a single word of what Brown says or does next. Otherwise, you will fall forever into the Sea of Chaos, and your soul will be burned day and night by the fire without end."

Pempes showed no courtesy at all to Adolf, his friend of half a lifetime, and directly demanded that he swear the poisonous oath first.

This was also a form of protection for Chen Cheng, offered by Pempes as the one who had proposed this matter.

The oath Pempes demanded Adolf swear was exceedingly vicious. Moreover, Pempes was the only one here whose strength matched Adolf's. Even if Adolf tried to play tricks, Pempes would quickly notice.

Chen Cheng did not speak up to stop him either, because after studying and discussing matters with the professor over the past few days, he had gained a deep understanding of the magical world of this world.

This had nothing to do with trust. It could perhaps be called a form of protection for Principal Adolf, because if Adolf ever inadvertently revealed this matter, it would be a catastrophe that blotted out the sky and covered the earth for both him and Chen Cheng.

As the head of an academy and a Platinum Rank mage, Adolf had traveled across the continent in his youth. Naturally, he knew that certain secrets could not be known by others.

Seeing the resolute looks in Pempes and the others' eyes, he knew this matter was extremely important—at the very least, extremely important to Chen Cheng.

Although Chen Cheng's social status was merely that of a slave, Adolf did not look down on him because of his talent and his relationship with Melinda. Instead, he was very interested in what method Chen Cheng could produce.

Adolf said nothing more. Using his spiritual will, he communicated with the being he feared most deep in his heart, then swore that vicious oath.

After the oath was made, Adolf felt the being he feared most resting upon the tip of his heart. If he did anything that violated the oath, the oath he had sworn would come true.

Then, just as the oath stated, he would fall forever into the Sea of Chaos, his soul burned day and night by the fire without end until his death.

Pempes did not take shortcuts either. He then took out a high-grade magical item—the Scrying Crystal—and examined Adolf inside and out. Sure enough, he found the oath mark between Adolf's soul-brows.

This meant Adolf had sworn a poisonous oath through the being he feared most. The moment he dared violate it, the oath would immediately take effect, and Adolf's fear would prevent him from speaking of what he knew.

Then his consciousness would fall into the Sea of Chaos, and his soul would be burned to death by the fire without end.

It could be said that Adolf was deeply sincere. Because his oath had connected with the being he feared most, there was no possibility whatsoever of the matter leaking out.

After seeing Pempes nod, Chen Cheng revealed a trace of apology.

"I'm sorry, Principal. My method may overturn some of your understanding, and having you swear this oath is beneficial to both you and us."

Adolf had just faced the fear in his heart head-on, and his face was still somewhat pale.

However, he waved his hand.

"It's nothing. As long as we can deal with this crisis, an oath is of no importance."

Chen Cheng took a deep breath, then began giving Adolf a general explanation of why he could use Super-class Magic without dying.

There was not enough time for Adolf to understand all of it now. Chen Cheng merely needed to tell him of the wonders of his Variable Magic, and how it overturned the conventional magical world's understanding of magic.

Pempes and Wisdom Shield, standing nearby, also vouched for Chen Cheng. There was no time left to demonstrate Variable Magic to Adolf again.

What they needed now was to gather Hui Dun City's reserves of Mithril and Magic Crystals.

They would use Mithril to draw a long-range, combinable Super-class Magic within the academy, then use the pure, attribute-free Magic Energy within the Magic Crystals as a temporary energy source to rapidly drive the magic into activation.

Of course, to truly draw this enormous magic, they would need not only the magical knowledge of Pempes and the others, but also to mobilize the academy's instructors and have them draw each strand of this Super-class Magic's runes in Mithril.

What Chen Cheng needed to do was draw his Variable Magic at the end, allowing this magic to break through the limitations of rank and inscription material and truly take shape.

Finally, he would need to remain stationed in the academy and keep the Variable Magic from collapsing.

It was a bold and risky move. If Chen Cheng made even the slightest mistake while maintaining it, Hui Dun City would be blown into the sky by this enormous Magic Array with no safety measures before the alchemist even attacked.

If this had been before, Adolf and the others would never have agreed to such a plan. But now, they could only gamble either that the alchemist was a good person, or that Chen Cheng could keep this Magic Array running for more than three hours.

Naturally, between the two, they chose to gamble on Chen Cheng lasting three hours. Even if the city exploded, someone would survive in the end.

But wherever the alchemist passed, not even chickens or dogs would be left alive.

Before Adolf could go out and mobilize the entire academy, Governor Tofis had already rushed to the principal's office and knocked frantically at the door.

Wisdom Shield rose and opened the door, only to see the miserable-looking, sweating Tofis crying out in distress.

"Lord Count, this is terrible! The messenger guards we sent out have returned with Como's deputy commander.

"Como's legion was attacked by an undead legion last night. All three thousand men were wiped out. Only this deputy officer and a few attendants managed to break through."

The destruction of Como's legion struck heavily at the heart of the young count. Within his territory, the military force consisted of Como's legion, along with the small numbers of knights and guards under the various nobles.

And Como's force alone accounted for more than half of their total military strength.

They had not even seen the enemy yet, and their resisting force had already been cut by more than half.

Judging by the alchemist's methods, those dead soldiers had likely been turned into an undead legion by the alchemist by now.

Now that Como's legion had been destroyed, the nobles who actually possessed larger numbers of knights and guards were all within their own territories.

At present, aside from the city guard numbering fewer than a thousand, he had no soldiers left to use.

"Very well. It seems we have little time left. Without enough soldiers to defend the city, we can only rely on your method, Brown.

"At the same time, we must contact Governor Modornik and have him send powerful reinforcements... while also guarding against the crisis after Hui Dun City falls."

Wisdom Shield said through gritted teeth.

Hearing all this in the office, Adolf and the others wore grave expressions. It seemed they could only gamble on Chen Cheng holding out for three hours.

Chen Cheng was extremely nervous as well, because he was not very confident in this. But when he thought of the alchemist commanding the undead legion to slaughter all of Hui Dun City, he clenched his fists.

With a wave of Adolf's hand, a scroll flew over from the bookshelf in his office. He opened it and began explaining.

"This is a defensive Magic Array Diagram I obtained thirty years ago while traveling the continent, from the ruins of the old capital of the Thornflower Empire.

"I originally intended to use it for the academy's defense, but the rank of this Magic Array is too high. To inscribe and use it, the Mithril-grade bearing material it requires would cost an astronomical sum."

"We must immediately dismantle this Magic Array Diagram, hasten to inscribe it within the academy, then use your Variable Magic as a connector to activate it and protect all of Hui Dun City."

Adolf looked at Chen Cheng.

After opening the scroll, the others saw an incomparably complex Magic Array Diagram. It clearly stated that this Magic Array's defensive power was enough to withstand attacks even from an Epic Rank mage.

This Magic Array had once been one of the outer defensive Magic Arrays of the Thornflower Royal Capital.

Everyone's gaze turned toward Chen Cheng, because to truly activate this Magic Array on ordinary flooring, they would need his Variable Magic.

After examining it, cold sweat immediately broke out across Chen Cheng's forehead. Honestly, this Magic Array was too advanced. He could not understand many of the Magic Runes within it at all.

But that was not the most important issue. What mattered most was that he discovered that even if they could dismantle this Magic Array, actually activating it would require not only an ocean of magic power, but would also cause the ordinary flooring inscribed with the Magic Runes to explode the instant it could not withstand the influx of magic power.

As more and more cold sweat appeared on Chen Cheng's forehead, Adolf and the others grew increasingly uneasy. In the end, Wisdom Shield was the first to break the silence.

"Brown, can this Magic Array be inscribed and activated?"

Chen Cheng swallowed.

"As long as it can be dismantled, it can be activated.

"But at the instant it is activated, the entire academy may explode from the powerful influx of magic power, and the Magic Array will not last longer than a quarter of an hour."

The three of them truly felt as if they were riding a roller coaster, plunging and soaring through one rise and fall after another.

Just when the three believed they were already trapped in certain death, Chen Cheng spoke again.

"However, if we only need to defend the entire city, and want it to last longer while retaining its defensive nature, then I think we can subtract from this Magic Array."

Upon hearing that, Wisdom Shield was like a drowning man clutching at a life-saving straw. He immediately asked:

"How do we subtract from it?"