Serinda walked through the kitchen and came to a side hall. Her maid Nina was there with a nervous look on her face. Like Serinda, she was also wearing a shirt and pants that were convenient for movement. Seeing Serinda appear, she breathed a sigh of relief, hurried over, and handed a small bag in her hand to Serinda.
"Are you ready?" Serinda opened the bag and checked it, then tied it around her belt.
Nina nodded vigorously and replied, "Let Bailon go. He hates the Imperials the most. I just provoked him a few times and he screamed that he wanted to teach them a lesson."
"One person is not enough."
"He has several partners who will come one after another whether Bailon wins or loses."
"Well done, I hope they can delay it long enough for us to go."
Serinda and Nina left the side hall quickly. Because of the dinner, most people in the castle were gathered in the banquet hall, and they didn't meet anyone along the way. After a while, the two of them arrived at the guest room area upstairs, and finally stopped at the door of Xiao Chen's room.
"Stay at the corner. If there's anyone there, send them away." Serinda took out the spare key to the door and inserted it into the lock...
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The atmosphere in the banquet hall was getting more and more heated. Although the wine and ale were not strong, some people had already started to get drunk. People with red faces were shouting or singing loudly, and some even pushed each other because of a disagreement.
Roger was responsible for protecting Xiao Chen, so he didn't drink too much. He ate his fruit while keeping an eye on his surroundings. At this time, he noticed that several people dressed as soldiers stood up at the opposite table and walked slowly towards him.
The first person was tall, muscular, with a square face and sharp edges. He walked to Roger with his belly bulging and his hand on the hilt of his sword. He looked down at the people present with a pair of sharp eyes. Roger recognized him as Bailon, one of the Earl's knights, and one of the best swordsmen in the castle guards.
"Imperial man, I hear you always bragging about the power of the empire? This book and that book, and you seem quite proud of it?" Bailon's voice was as loud as a bell, full of momentum.
"I'm just stating some facts. Apart from anything else, which ancient history book was not written by scholars of the empire? How many famous books in the world were not written by literary masters of the empire? I really can't be said to be bragging about these things." Roger responded to the other party's provocation calmly.
Bailon snorted and waved his hand, saying, "Why would we warriors talk about history books? Only the sissy imperial people think about these things. Swords are what we should compete with. I've been itching to compete with you in the training ground these days. Do you dare to compete with me today to cheer the adults up? Haha!"
The soldiers following behind him burst into laughter.
As soon as these words came out, the faces of the imperial people present changed color. For a soldier, these words were already considered humiliating. Even Ye Zi and Shi Hao couldn't listen to it anymore and glared at Bailong.
But Roger's face remained calm. He stood up. Although he was half a head shorter than Bailon, his aura was not weaker at all. He said in a deep voice: "I am just a weapon in the hands of Lord Xiao Chen. Only he can wield me. No matter how much you say, it is meaningless to me. However, whether the imperial people are sissy or not, this sword of mine can tell you that it has drunk the blood of seventy-five royal ** people in the hands of an ordinary imperial person."
"Damn you Imperial dog!" Bailon gritted his teeth and gripped the hilt of his sword, staring at Roger intently, as if he was going to draw his sword and chop him down in the next second. The other warriors behind him also shouted loudly, as if they were going to rush up and eat Roger alive. The war between the Empire and the Kingdom had been going on for many years, and almost every warrior's family had someone who died on the battlefield. Even though there had been no major wars in recent years, hatred had already dissolved in their blood.
At this time, Shi Hao stood in front of Roger, holding a Type 54 pistol in his hand. He said coldly to Bailong and others: "There are only Xiao Chen's guards here, no imperial guards. You'd better think carefully before you do anything. Any use of force will be regarded as an attack on the Black Mountain magician."
"Little thing, you don't even have the fighting spirit, and you dare to make a fuss in front of me?"
Shi Hao pointed at the pistol in his hand, then aimed at Bailong's head and said, "I don't know if you have heard of a guy named Kadis. It is said that he is the most powerful horse thief king nearby and has some kind of blood fighting spirit. But in the end, I still shot him dead."
At this time, the others also held their weapons, and they were about to unsheathe their swords. Even Xi Luo took out a small dagger and held it in his hand.
Byron was suddenly startled. The situation suddenly went out of control. He knew that the earl had just reached a series of cooperation with the magicians, and he did not want to see the earl fall out with the magicians' followers. He suddenly felt that he was in a dilemma.
Fortunately, by this time the Earl, Xiao Chen and Li Jia had already walked down from the main table.
The count stood between the two groups and said in a joking tone, "Byron, you troublemaker, are you challenging others again? When will you change your bad habit of eating shit like a dog?"
"My lord, you cannot describe the challenge a knight is about to issue in this way. Challenges have always been sacred things." Bailon replied.
"No, I'm not challenging you. I'm just talking about the idiots who are going to ruin this dinner." The Earl shook his head helplessly and said, "Sir Xiao, I have a lot of crude guys here who have nothing in their heads except fists. However, their pursuit of fighting is worthy of recognition. How about letting them compete? Just treat it as an entertainment program to liven up the meal."
"Roger. What do you think?" Xiao Chen asked.
"A knight never avoids a challenge. Please give me this chance." Roger said seriously.
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Xiao Chen's room was not big. After a quick search, Serinda soon found a box that Xiao Chen had stuffed under the bed. It was a black trolley case, and in Serinda's opinion, it was as exquisite as the other tools of these magicians.
The outer shell of the box was made of something called "plastic". There were three rotating digital locks near the handle of the box, which blocked the zipper of the box. It was not difficult for Serinda to open a lock of this level. A magic that enhanced her perception would allow her to distinguish the sound of the lock turning. However, the real trouble was the magic runes all over the surface of the box. Based on Serinda's limited knowledge of magic circles, these nested magic runes included multiple effects such as reinforcement, alarm, attack, energy absorption, and magic resistance. At first glance, they were the work of a high-level alchemist.
However, since she came prepared, Serinda would not be stopped by these dead things. She untied the bag around her waist and took out a roll of gauze, a few dark golden crystals and two bottles of powder in crystal bottles, one red and one black.
She spread the gauze on the floor of the room, which was two meters square. On it was a complicated magic circle painted with light red and light black paint. There were also small handwritten notes in many places, such as how to control the strength and how to manipulate mental power.
This is a tool used by many alchemists and magicians to draw magic arrays—the magic array blueprint. The lines and annotations on it indicate how to draw the magic array, which can help those who are not proficient enough to draw the right magic array. The material of the tulle is the star silk, which is very magic-friendly. It can maximize the effect of magic materials and eliminate the interference of impurities in low-grade materials. The tulle has also been soaked in the water of the magic crystal pool and coated with magic lizard saliva, which can stabilize the operation of the magic array. Therefore, using such consumables to draw magic arrays can greatly increase the success rate, and also allow magic knights like Serinda to have the opportunity to use arrays that are beyond their level. However, such array diagrams are often made by high-level alchemists and are very valuable. Only aristocratic families like the Arias family can afford them.
Before preparing to take action, Serinda had studied the formation many times and even drew it out of thin air once or twice. However, to be on the safe side, she still took out the formation blueprint that she treasured at home.
After reviewing the drawing method of the entire formation in her mind again, she opened the crystal bottle of red powder and carefully poured it on the position of the red line on the blueprint of the formation. Her movements were slow, but her hands, who practiced swordsmanship every day, were very steady. After pouring the red, she followed the same method and poured the black powder on the position of the black line, and then placed eight dark golden magic-forbidden crystals on the eight corners of the magic formation. The magic-forbidden crystal is a very rare crystal. Unlike the elemental crystals that provide corresponding magic energy, the magic-forbidden crystals are used to suppress the surrounding magic effects. And this formation can greatly enhance their power.
Serinda used her mental power to ignite the contacts of the magic circle. The red and black powders quickly turned into light bands, and then linked the magic-forbidden crystals together.
The magic-suppressing formation is complete.
Serinda picked up the suitcase and placed it in the center of the formation. Soon, the magic words engraved on the suitcase began to flash rapidly. Then, their flashing rhythm became slower and slower. After three or four minutes, the magic words had become very dark and were completely suppressed by the formation.
Serinda dragged the box out of the magic circle. She had about half an hour to do anything with the box before the magic runes on the box absorbed the free energy in the air and restored its function.
"Li Jia, I'm sorry. I've seen how confused you have been these past few days. It must be Xiao Chen who rejected your request to lend me the treasure. But the secret of your becoming powerful may be my only hope for pursuing greater power. I hope this box will contain the answers I want, and then everything will pass unnoticed, which will be good for everyone." Serinda said secretly in her heart.
She cast a "soul perception" magic on herself, increasing her five senses, and then began to fumble for the combination lock on the box.