Furnace Academy, underground laboratory.

"It's just... This?"

The little wizard lying on the table asked in a trembling voice, his eyes as blue as the dome seemed to be about to overflow with tears, and his expression seemed to be that of a believer who had witnessed a miracle.

It was an octagonal-shaped silvery-white metal placed in the center of the velvet cushion, which seemed to shimmer even in the shadows, smooth and clean like a mirror, and more like an opaque crystal.

"Mithril is the purest Mithril to be refined. The alchemist standing behind her looked a little proud:

"There are only two alchemy academies in the entire empire that have the capacity to forge them, and the Forge Academy is one of them. ”

"It's beautiful......"

Ain's eyes were like seeing a girl with delicate jewels, and he only sighed in a low voice: "I have never seen such a beautiful Mithril in Lothair, or even in Ebolden, such a piece should weigh more than two pounds, right?"

"Three and a half pounds, that's right. It's notoriously difficult to refine, even the dwarves can only get one-fifth of the Mithril from the purest raw ore, and ours is far less technically advanced, and a tenth is an extremely rare achievement. ”

The alchemist nodded helplessly, as if he remembered something, and couldn't help but sigh: "Plus the church obstructs, so it's ......"

The alchemist, who suddenly woke up, quickly shut his mouth.

"So what?" but the little wizard had already heard.

"Well, it's nothing—you know, it's a rare metal that depends entirely on trade with the dwarves. The alchemist had no choice but to reply: "Coupled with its neutralizing power on the void, it can have a strong suppression effect when used properly, so the church has been restricting the flow of Mithril into the hands of other principalities, especially wizards." ”

"Since the seventh generation, the Church of the Holy Cross controls almost half of the Mithril in the Empire, and they still ......"

"Are they still?" said Ain, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"No, it's nothing! I didn't say anything, you didn't hear anything!" The alchemist's face was covered with cold sweat, the smile on the corner of his mouth became more and more stiff, and he stared at the little wizard with wide eyes: "Did you hear that... No, no, no, you didn't hear anything, we just ... Just a few of the ... Academic issues!"

"Are you okay?" Ai Yin, who got up, looked at the cold sweat that kept dripping from his forehead, and wanted to step forward worriedly, but was dodged by the alchemist, so excited that he couldn't help himself:

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"But you do look sick, maybe... Is it because the lab isn't very ventilated?"

"Yes, you're so right! I have to rest for a while, I can't always stay up late, hahaha......" The alchemist laughed embarrassedly twice, and the trembling alchemist picked up the Mithril in the box and stuffed it directly into Ain's arms: "This, this is my collection; I gave it to you, how about it as a souvenir of your visit to the Crucible Academy?"

"No, it's too valuable!" the little wizard looked at him in surprise and shook his head, "Three pounds of Mithril, I probably won't be able to afford such a heavy piece in my life!"

"You underestimate your talent, Lord Ain Rand!" the alchemist shoved into her hand, "Otherwise, you will take it as a testimony to our friendship, how about a precious gift?" ”

"Okay, Lord Ain Rand? It's for me, please!"

....................................

"A knight's sword mixed with Mithril? is worthy of the Holy Cross Church, could it be that every knight of the church who makes an oath has one?"

As he asked, the black-haired wizard kept retreating, calculating the distance between the two of them, and the first drop of cold sweat had already fallen on his forehead.

Loren, who should have expected it a long time ago, realized that it was really his own negligence that he had not noticed the abnormality of the opponent's weapon, which made this battle extremely difficult.

The Bright Silver sword only lasts for a maximum of ten seconds at a time, and then cools down once - in this short moment, he will lose all means of counterattack, and can only dodge as much as possible except to keep his distance.

As for high-level spells...... The other party will not give himself this chance, and the spell can only be cast with the "spellcaster" in his left hand, but as long as he shows his left hand unsuspectingly, the guard knight can turn it into blood-spurting rotten flesh with a single sword!

The Guardian Knight seemed to sense something, and pounced on the black-haired wizard even more desperately.

Damn it!

The gray-blue sword bloomed again, and at the moment when the sword was raised, the sparks suddenly exploded in front of his eyes, and the black-haired wizard with wide eyes suddenly swung away the guard knight's long sword, and squatted down violently and swept away!

Bright Silver passed by, the guard knight didn't seem to be used to fighting without armor, the moment of dodging was noticeably slower, and the swept sword shredded the overcoat, and blood gushed out.

Golden opportunity!

Loren, who seized this moment, rushed forward directly, completely with the momentum of going and no return!

The momentary flaw made the calm guard knight also appear in surprise for a moment, but a moment of distraction had already made Loren within three steps, and he could only raise his sword with one hand to meet the enemy at this moment.

"Bell ——!"

The long sword full of crumbles held up the bright silver sword, and the guard knight between the flames did not have time to breathe a sigh of relief, and suddenly shook his whole body.

Loren slashed with his sword, and it was his right hand!

"I'm sorry, sir. The corners of Loren's mouth, who pounced like a fierce beast, grinned, and his left hand opened suddenly, and he slapped the guard knight in the face:

"Force Impact!"

"Bang ——!!!!"

The knight flew upside down like a cannonball, collapsing four shelves in succession, and the roar and smoke cleared, and the rag-like figure collapsed in a pile of crates and collapsed shelves, and there was a large blood stain on the ground.

Loren didn't chase after him directly, his first goal was not to kill the knight, but to find out who the people who came with him were, what their purpose was, why they were in the Crucible, and why they knew about Nidhogg......

All in all, he must know the truth, if only to end the killing of the Centurion at Ebolden, and with the worrying possibility of that.

What's more, he couldn't get up for the time being just because of the amount of bleeding, his ribs were at least half broken, and his spine and other bones would not be intact.

Replaced by Loren himself, it would be too easy to break a few ribs with a "Force Impact" with his face, and he would have to be crippled if he was not half dead.

cough cough cough ......

The knight of the Guard, who had fallen in a pool of blood, coughed up blood and struggled to clench the knight's sword in his hand, even if it was knocked out of place, it didn't make him let go a little.

Did I lose?

That's right, my own negligence in the bottom of my heart has made the sword in my hand dull - it's not that it's not sharp enough, it's that my sword swing hand is slow.

And his current survival is only because of the other party's pity.

Why......

Why would a Knight of the Church, who made a vow of the Sword of Oath, lose to a faithless, blasphemous wizard?!

The time of this moment seemed to be infinitely extended, and the black-haired wizard walked towards him step by step, the bright silver in his hand was still playing with the sword flower, and there was no thrill of victory in his dark pupils, as if he had just done a very ordinary thing.

So that's how it was... Was his self-righteous raid only expected by him?Loren Turin, I can finally understand why Lord Farnesis thinks so highly of you, even that he thinks you as his enemy.

Because you're that dangerous!

You are not an ordinary wizard, you are a true blasphemer, the most terrible enemy of the Holy Cross!

"It's... This guy?!"

Loren froze in place, his expression stunned, staring intently at the figure who had struggled to get up from a pool of blood.

How strong is this Guardian Knight?!

The solemn-looking knight of the guard knelt on the ground, held his sword in both hands, and prayed in a low voice:

"Holy Cross......

My sword is your verse, and my blood is your praise;

Listen to my prayers,

To the blasphemers who do not believe in God......

Lower the ——!!!! of punishment"