Luna panted as she walked the last few steps to the door of the Hall of Radiance on the fifth floor of the Mage Tower. It took far more time and stamina than Luna expected to climb up the cramped stairs used by the people who were not eligible to use the elevators, but now that the elevators had turned into rubble, Luna had no second choice to try to activate the magic sense.

The arrival of the Third Great Demon Tide exceeded everyone's expectations, and the way it made Luna completely desperate. It's not just the Magister who has lost his powers, but all the devices in the Mage's Tower that rely on magic have lost their functionality. The magic elevator falls from the corridor, making a mess of the bottom floor of the Mage Tower. The mana water supply system also lost its function, and the self-water supply that had never stopped in the mage tower was gone. The apprentices and attendants who lived on the upper floors of the Mage Tower had to move to the third annex outside the main tower for a while, and along the way to the Hall of Radiance, Luna encountered many familiar faces. The expressions on those faces were surprisingly consistent.

Alarmed.

and despair.

"Rest assured, I've already felt signs of mana activation at the Fire Festival, and I'm going to activate the mana induction now. This is a critical time for the Mage Tower, so please trust me. ”

Luna said the same thing to everyone, as if she had chosen to believe it herself. Even if she clearly knew that the gap she felt when Archmage Luke released the forbidden spell had long since disappeared without a trace after the end of the Skyfire Meteor.

"Lord Luna, this is the Hall of Radiance, everything needed is ready, I'm waiting outside the door, if you need anything, you can tell me at any time."

Luna is accompanied by Emma Brewster, a former student of Archmage Luke and the academic director of the Mage Tower. Unlike Brooklyn Arquette, she chose to keep Brewster's surname after failing to activate the magic sense as a token of her loyalty to Luke. Luke also admired her and gave her the position of Head of Academics, giving her full responsibility for apprenticeship development and recruitment.

"I see, thank you, Mr. Emma."

"Don't thank me, only you can save the Mage Tower now, Brooklyn is very courageous, but fighting for power is not her forte. The things she is tossing about now can only help you buy some time at most, and they can't change our fate. ”

Emma Brewster's tone was very calm, and she reached out to close the door, giving Luna a final message.

"When Archmage Luke activated the magic sensor, he didn't use the activation circle, so as long as you work hard, I'm sure you can."

"Really?"

Emma, who had already closed the door, did not answer Luna's words. The vast hall of light was filled with only Luna herself, and the pyroxene embedded in the magic circle. The glow of the pyroxene sconces that have been lit for a long time exudes a pure light, which is carefully selected from the finest colors of pyroxene produced in various places. These expensive ores, which can be sold for kilograms at auction in small places, are only lighting equipment for the mage tower.

Luna paced her breathing, banishing Luke's dead eyes from her mind for a moment. She subconsciously rubbed her hand on the robe on her body, hoping to wipe off the bloodstains, but she didn't remember that she had washed her hands cleanly. The Hall of Radiance on the fifth floor was so high above the ground that Luna couldn't hear the sound of the ground even when the windows were open, and she had no way of knowing the outcome of Brooklyn's plan.

Now, the whole world is left with Luna herself.

She stepped forward slowly, and quickly found the flow of the circle on the ground, she came to the activation point of the circle, crouched down, and placed the magic control bracelet on her wrist above the activation point, but she did not feel the familiar vibration of the past.

Like all the circles in this mage tower, the magic circle that assisted in activating the magic sense has also been disabled.

Luna sighed softly, took out the Book of Ludacis from the bookshelf next to her, walked to the center of the circle, flipped to the page with the meditation guide diagrams, memorized them in her mind, and closed her eyes.

In order for an apprentice magician to activate the magic circle, it is best to touch the string in the dark through meditation in an environment with abundant magic around him. After the Second Great Demon Tide, the mana in the air converges on the pyroxene, and the activation of the mana sense can only be assisted by the magic circle. A large amount of mana is released and fixed in a small area of air through a magic circle to increase the probability of the apprentices activating the magic sense.

It wasn't the first time Luna had done this, her eyes were closed, her whole body relaxed, and all her attention was focused on the picture. Teacher Emma said that Master Luke didn't rely on the magic circle back then, and he had just experienced the forbidden spell magic up close, and there was no reason why he would fail.

Yes, there is no reason to fail.

——————————

Brooklyn wore a slim-fitting maxi gown and stood two-thirds of the way to the east gate of the Mage Tower. Wyatt Revoroli, the captain of the Mage Tower Guard, stood beside Brooklyn in a dark blue cloth shirt. The two of them faced east, looking at the flags that were getting closer and closer in the distance.

"It's coming, are you all arranged?" Brooklyn didn't look back, the summer wind blowing across her cheeks, bringing up a few mischievous strands of hair.

"It's all arranged, don't worry, our young man has never treated the emperor as a human being", Wyatt's voice was faintly excited and uneasy, "but I didn't tell them about the Magister, and they didn't ask. ”

"It's right not to say yes."

Brooklyn replied briefly and fell silent. She never worried about the courage of the mage tower guards, and with the support of the Magister, these people never knew the word fear. She was worried about the capabilities of these soldiers in the Guard. Unlike the front-line troops who have been fighting on the border for many years, the soldiers of the Mage Tower Guard have never fought against an opponent of the same level and equipment, and no one in this country dares to challenge the dignity of the Magister, and naturally no one dares to challenge the dignity of the Mage Tower Guard.

"Here we are."

With Wyatt's whisper, the east gate of the Mage Tower in the distance slowly opened, and the luxury car with the royal badge and the huge entourage walked straight to the two people waiting outside the Mage Tower. Brooklyn carefully identified the visitors, confirming that they were all maids and guards who usually traveled with the emperor, and she also saw the queen's car, which followed closely behind the emperor's car.

"It seems that it is really here, and Lord Luke's name is still good." Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief, and subconsciously touched his cloth shirt, "If you can wear armor, it will be more reassuring." ”

"Your guards haven't worn armor for many years, and suddenly wearing armor will definitely show the stuff, I'm the same as you, don't complain."

Brooklyn leaked a word through her lips. Wyatt nodded, waving his hand to signal the guards behind him to stand in a welcoming formation. They raised their steam spears in their hands, muzzles pointing upwards, and waited for the emperor to arrive.

The huge car stopped at a distance of twenty meters from the two of them, and the attendants helped the queen from the car behind, and then followed the queen to the front car, and carefully helped the emperor of the Ankenrein Empire, Paul Gibson out of the carriage.

Wyatt waved his hand again, and the guards standing on either side of him began to fire their guns into the air, and the guns rang out in unison.

Perhaps as a sign of respect, Paul wore the most formal and elaborate gown, and the crown that Archmage Luke had given him. He straightened his clothes a little under the wheel and smiled and waved at Brooklyn and Wyatt.

"It's now."

With Brooklyn's order, the guards who were about to release the third welcome salute lowered their guns, and the guards standing behind the two drivers in escort form also took out their steam rifles. The three teams of mage tower guards in front of and on either side of the chariot formed a death triangle, surrounding His Majesty the Emperor Ankenrein and his party in the center of the triangle.

No hesitation, no waiting for more instructions. The determined guards pulled the trigger as soon as the tactics were in place. After a long period of training, the platoon guns fired by them seemed to have only one shot, but the officers, attendants and royal guards who fell in the rain of bullets proved the power of these bullets with their own lives.

Maybe the attack was too unexpected, or maybe the guards of the Mage Tower Guard were really well-trained, and less than a minute after the first volley of guns came the second volley, then the third, the fourth. The dense gunfire completely drowned out the moans and shouts of the targets. Brooklyn seemed to see what His Majesty the Emperor was shouting at her, and she seemed to see the Empress, her former apprentice classmate, Jeanne de Beaumont, shouting something to herself. But those don't matter, on such a major issue as the survival of the Mage Tower, the love of former classmates is not counted at all.

It wasn't until nearly twenty shots rang out that Brooklyn slowly raised her right hand. The guards saw her movements and stopped shooting.

"Check the corpses, and leave no one behind."

Brooklyn's voice was still cold, and Wyatt, the captain of the Mage Tower Guard, arranged for half of the men to remain on alert, while the other half began to rummage through the corpses and replenish their guns. The red evening sun shone on the corpses, staining them all with a layer of blood.

And at this moment, just when Brooklyn thought she had won this crucial game, the two huge carriages from the royal family exploded with a bang, and the upper part of the carriage's four sides of the carriage was violently pushed away and thrown to the ground, revealing the dense muzzles inside.

"The mentor is on top."

Brooklyn only remembered to utter those four words before her consciousness was shattered by the louder, denser gunfire. When she calmed down, she found that she had been pinned to the ground by Wyatt.

"My lord, I'm sorry for the danger here."

Wyatt apologized briefly, removed the steam spear from his back, and began firing at the two wagons. The soldiers in the two carriages wore heavy metal helmets and armor of illegible colors. The armor wasn't as shiny as the usual armor of the Royal Guards, but instead had some battlefield scars and smoke.

It was a soldier of the First Division of the Third Army in the Western Theater of the Ankenrein Empire, the unit of the Royal Guard Captain Tony Russell, and the ace unit of the Ankenrein Western Theater.

As these soldiers suddenly joined the battle, the situation in which the Mage Tower Guards had the advantage began to tilt rapidly. The first to suffer were the soldiers who were mending their guns on the corpses on the ground, followed by those who stood in a triangular position. The natural difference in the defensive equipment between the two sides determined that this match-up was unfair from the start. The bullets fired by the mage tower guards were partially blocked by the steel-lined baffle in the lower half of the carriage, and some were bounced off by the heavy armor. Only a small number of enemies are lucky enough to be damaged. But those in armor did not show any cowardice even if they were wounded, and they maintained their formation, harvesting the lives of the mage tower guards in a heinous exchange.

Hearing that there was a shootout, more of the Mage Tower Guards began to concentrate here, but they had not been informed of the decapitation before, and many of them had not even had time to refill their steam packs. At the same time, more teams broke through the east gate of the Mage Tower, which was the receiving force that had already been arranged outside the Mage Tower, also from the First Division of the Third Army in the Western Theater.

"Stop."

Brooklyn, who was lying on the ground to observe the situation, raised a hand, although it was a little desolate, but it was extremely decisive. The surviving soldiers, who had long since lost their ability to resist, breathed a sigh of relief, knelt on the ground, and raised their steam rifles in the air. The tin cans hiding behind the carriage also stopped, and waited until their follow-up troops had taken control of everyone present before they moved out of the way, revealing His Majesty the Emperor standing behind them.

Paul Gibson.

His Majesty the Emperor stepped out of the carriage and walked slowly, surveying the towering mage tower as he went. It took him a few minutes to walk up to Brooklyn, his eyes in line with the Master Tower Director.

"So, I guessed right." Paul Gibson spoke, with a hint of excitement in his tone.

"You guessed it," Brooklyn didn't show weakness, she straightened up, looked up, and looked at the man taller than herself, "But Luna is still in the tower." ”

Hearing this, Paul frowned, "Activate the magic sense? ”

Brooklyn nodded, and said no more.

"But if it's really the third great demon tide, can she still activate the magic sensor?" Paul smiled slightly, holding the glove in one hand and gently slamming it on the palm of the other hand.

"But what if not?" Brooklyn's eyes narrowed, "What would you do if the Archmage of other countries was still around?" ”

Paul's expression stiffened, and his actions today were far beyond boldness, so to speak, madness. But he was right, and Luke Brewster had a problem. However, he was not as sure as he seemed about the cause of this.

"How long will it take her?"

"It depends on how much time you have."

Although the plan failed, there was still a threat in Brooklyn's words. If Luke Brewster's loss of magic is just his problem, then Paul Gibson not only can't touch them, but also tries to help them hide it. Otherwise, the enemy he faced would no longer be the young soldiers of the Mage Tower Guard, but the strong enemies of the other five great powers with the Magister Array.

And all of this depends on whether Paul Gibson dares to bet that this is the third great magic wave, and all the other magic masters have lost their magic powers.

The two men standing facing each other were silent for a minute, and Paul Gibson put on his gloves.

"I'll give you a day, and if Luna can't activate the mana sense, I'll take over the Mage Tower."

With that, he didn't look at Brooklyn and turned and walked to a new car. The twilight of the setting sun stretched his shadow long, casting it on the corpses in that place, like ghosts dancing in the light.