Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 919 - 919: Vynars' Trial

Boom!

The deafening thunder echoed continuously in the air. Dr. Schneider, who was holding a wine glass and chatting leisurely with Mr. Alan Madison and Mr. Plisha "Guiding Moon" in the banquet hall on the ground floor of the mansion, looked out the window in confusion:

"Is it going to rain? Why has there been thunder twice in a row?"

The correspondence circle sorcerers of Xerxes also looked towards the window in confusion:

"Could there be a high-ring sorcerer fighting nearby? I was really frightened just now."

The glow of lightning did not spread into the garden; the Lakeside Manor Garden under the moonlight remained so tranquil and beautiful. Lecia, Dorothy, and Princess Margaret, who were standing together, turned to look in the direction of Lake Schluch upon hearing the thunder:

"When I was little, I was really afraid of thunderstorms."

Lecia whispered to Princess Margaret, who certainly sensed something strange about the two successive thunders but couldn't show it in front of ordinary people, so she pretended to be indifferent:

"Miss Luisa, do you know Mr. Hamilton well? Could you continue telling me about him?"

Miss Blonde Writer nodded, while the red-haired princess showed a strange smile.

"What is that?"

On the heart of Lake Schluch, Miss Galina asked Miss Sylvia in the mist. The two of them were standing together on the lakeside, just like everyone else there, looking at a gigantic silver-white spear appearing like a celestial pillar in the thick fog. The lightning made the two witches tremble with fear.

With looks of terror, and amidst the terrifying thunder, the silver spear was thrown, but fortunately, the target was not them. As the booming stopped, the Duchess murmured amidst the ringing in her ears:

"Sunlight Gun?! Didn't Iluna contain it in the city tonight..."

She shook her head immediately:

"No, that's not the sun, it's thunder. That's not the Sunlight Gun, it's the Thunder Spear. Arcane Technique - Thunder Spear."

Understanding this, Miss Galina's expression gradually returned to normal:

"Witch above, who could be so unlucky to face that strike directly? And the first thunder, Sylvia, was it not the one you mentioned before?"

"I don't know either..."

Miss Sylvia gasped heavily; she too saw the enormous and astonishing Thunder Spear being cast into the lake, the explosion of thunder almost matched the terrifying thunder that echoed from the clouds earlier.

The perception of the two high-ring witches was so keen that they naturally realized the amazing power contained in the Thunder Spear beneath the night sky:

"This power... Is there a third thirteen-ring sorcerer in Tobesk?"

Currently, the thirteen-ring sorcerers of the True God Church in this parish were only the Church of Creation's "Iron Right Hand" and the Sun Church's "Sunlight Greatsword"; the former specialized in machinery, while the latter was a melee expert. Although many Sun Church sorcerers were proficient in arcane lightning techniques, "Sunlight Greatsword" was not skilled in this.

"No, it seems to be more than thirteen rings. This power, is it beyond thirteen rings? Demigod?"

The black-haired witch breathed somewhat quickly, squinting towards the opposite lakeside:

"But how could this be, what really happened by the lake?"

The full-force strike of the Thunder Spear evaporated the very body. The jumping silver lightning on the water surface lasted for a long time. Shard, who descended from the sky, closed his eyes to perceive, then took a step, appearing beside Tifa in the nearby mist.

Even though Shard's battle with the cultist was actually not far from the two ladies' battlefield, surprisingly they hadn't detected each other's presence before that.

"It's me."

The sudden appearance of Shard carrying the cat startled Tifa, but she relaxed upon seeing Mia.

The attack, which was almost right at their doorstep, also frightened Tifa and Miss Pavo. But Miss Pavo recovered faster than Tifa, noticing Shard's appearance first. As the first thunder gathered in Shard's hand, without any hesitation, the Truth Society's six-ring sorcerer vanished from the lake surface, leaving a broken scarecrow falling towards the lake, subsequently sinking to the bottom.

Tifa swung her hand, and the scarecrow in the water flew into her hand:

"Keeper of Secrets Level Relic [Pavlov's Stand-in Scarecrow]."

The Head Maid said softly, while Shard nodded, still holding the Thunder Spear. The effect of this relic wasn't even spatial movement but something like "exchange". But he knew there would eventually be a chance to see each other again, curious about the lady's personality and methods, as she seemed so normal within the Truth Society, yet her speed of escape was indeed astonishing. Just as Shard caught sight of her, she vanished instantly.

With the Thunder Spear still in hand, he sensed the arrival of the Sage-Level Relic [Trial Island of Lost Vynars] using his divinity overflow state. The divinity-enhanced perception allowed "her" to immediately acquire information about the relic and pass it to Shard:

[After landing on the island, you need to find the stele in the central part of the island through the mist, and after a powerful attack on the stele, the content of the trial will appear.]

This mimics the process of ancient heroes undergoing trials, but presently, it appears that the sorcerers who have landed on the island have yet to find the island center's stele:

"I'll help them!"

Gazing at the mist-covered center of the lake, the silver-white Thunder Spear glittering with electric arcs in Tifa's eyes left a striking light trace in the air.

Lightning drilled into the mist, and as Tifa wondered what Shard was doing, a dull sound came from deep within the fog, as if something heavy had fallen.

Within moments, whether the sorcerers on the island, the sorcerers on the lake, or the sorcerers in the Lakeside Manor, all the "another me" of the sorcerers within a 3-mile radius centered on Lake Schluch transmitted the same message:

[Vynars' Trial: Find the unseen "person" in Tobesk Region.]

The fog gradually dissipated, and Heart Lake Island was slowly disappearing; Miss Galina, engulfed in the mist, looked towards Miss Sylvia:

"You got the message too, right?"

"Yes, it seems that thirteen-ring sorcerer initiated the trial."

"Thirteen rings... Let's get out of here."

The Duchess held Miss Sylvia's hand.

"Where to?"

"To find Shard, I roughly know what's happening."

Miss Sylvia calmed her emotion:

"Alright."

She also held Miss Galina's right hand tightly, then took a step forward. The surrounding scenery blurred, then cleared again. The two witches took a deep breath; Miss Galina stood on the lakeside, turning back to look once more at the gradually disappearing heart island, before entering the woodland with Miss Sylvia.

Thunder left traces by the lake, but those traces were quickly vanishing, with high-ring sorcerers from the church approaching, hence they didn't stay longer by the lakeshore.

With their sense of their apprentice, the Grand Witches moved forward in the dark garden, soon arriving at the hedge maze illuminated by floor gas lamps.

The sound of two pairs of high heels on the gravel path, bypassing towering hedges, disturbed countless young couples whispering in the shadows.

Finally, in the depths of the hedge maze, they found Shard and Tifa sitting on a bench under the moonlight, laughing and chatting.

Though many things happened at Lake Schluch a few hundred meters away within just ten minutes, inside the hedge maze remained exceptionally tranquil, tempting one to sit down, holding hands with a loved one and whispering softly.

Shard held Mia in his arms, his face full of smiles. Tifa had her hands clasped together somewhat awkwardly, placing them on her maid's skirted legs, her face slightly flushed, and eyes filled with a bit of shyness.

The gas lamps were on the opposite side, so only the moonlight illuminated the carved stone bench upon which they sat. Even knowing other matters were more important, the two witches couldn't deny that this scene was indeed worth appreciating.

"Alright, alright, no need to perform in front of me."

Miss Galina broke the romantic atmosphere of the serene night, striding forward cluelessly:

"Shard, don't tell me, while Sylvia and I were at Lake Schluch, you were here flirting all along."

She doesn't give Shard a chance to speak:

"If you two really stayed here for half an hour, Knight, I don't believe you'd remain gentlemanly and do nothing… well, I believe you might, but I don't believe Tifa would do nothing. My maid wears lipstick, yet you have no marks on your face or lips; what are you putting on for me here?"

She scoffed a little and reached out to pull Shard up:

"Earlier, that [Thunder Spear], was it you who threw it?"

The dark golden eyes so close stared at Shard, who blinked. He had just brought Tifa here and didn't expect the two witches to catch up so quickly. Since he anticipated Miss Galina would figure it out, he wasn't flustered at this moment:

"Yes."

Miss Galina revealed an expression of 'as expected':

"Just like last time?"

This refers to the Lakeside Manor in late summer; that's why she guessed that the earlier strike was thrown by Shard.

"Yes, I can sometimes use this power."

The witch snorted, naturally knowing Shard was lying. But she had promised not to pursue this matter further, so she didn't. She had rushed here to confirm that no new Thirteen Rings Sorcerer had emerged in Tobesk; a mysterious Thirteen Rings arising would be truly troubling:

"Does your power usage require it to be at the Lakeside Manor? You didn't display this power in the Dark Realm crisis; how come you could use it here?"

Miss Sylvia, standing aside, was unaware of the events Shard had experienced, suspiciously looking at Shard, who had a cat perched on his shoulder, then suddenly widened her eyes:

"Late summer's Lakeside Manor… Shard is a God Summoner?"

"Of course not."

The red-haired Duchess and Shard simultaneously denied, the former giving a warning glance at the man in front of her, telling him not to speak:

"He has his unique power but can't wield it at will. If he were a Thirteen Rings Sorcerer God Summoner, would you have discovered him in Huntington City?"

Miss Sylvia thought for a moment and felt Miss Galina's words made a lot of sense. She certainly had questions, but now wasn't the time for them. Besides, she'll be staying in Tobesk for several weeks, ample time to learn about Shard's affairs.

Tifa also stood up at this time, softly greeting Miss Galina, then consciously standing behind her.

The witch, a bit relieved, finally had the mood to tease her maid:

"Tifa, I had you accompany Shard for cards, and it seems you're not content with just playing cards."

"Mr. Hamilton's card games are truly marvelous."

Tifa murmured, the four turned to return to the Lakeside Manor mansion; soon, the church would come.

Miss Maid whispered to the two Grand Witches what had happened earlier; she hadn't seen Shard capture the "Wrath's Divine Punishment," hence she only described in detail the matter of the "Sage's Glowstone" and "Keeper of Secrets" as spoken by Miss Pawo, then directly jumped to Shard throwing the Thunder Spear, initiating the trial of the Sage-Level Relic [Trial Island of Lost Vinales].

"The first trial, find the invisible person."

Miss Galina nodded; the four walked out of the hedge maze, Miss Sylvia lightly flicked her right hand, and no one could see their figures or hear their voices:

"More than one Circle Sorcerer has heard the sound; I suspect every Circle Sorcerer in this region heard it. This incident, involving Apna Library and Truth Society, couldn't be hidden. Indeed, those two bolts of thunder earlier were even more shocking than what followed."

Since she mentioned it, Shard softly asked:

"Hmm… was the commotion I caused big just now?"

"Of course."

The Duchess seemed amusedly frustrated, slowed down her pace, turned to look at Shard:

"Arcane Technique [Thunder Spear], right? I've never seen such an exaggerated Thunder Spear; what grudge did that cultist have against you for you to use such force against them?"

"They tried to harm my cat."

Shard stroked the cat he was holding, appearing justified, and Miss Galina's mouth twitched as she looked at the handsome face of the young knight illuminated by the gas lamp beside the path:

"Sometimes I'm truly curious, if you were to choose between sleeping with your cat or with a wonderfully figured lady, which would you pick?"

"Actually… Lecia indeed had me choose."

Shard promptly spoke, hoping to avoid further slander.

"You chose the cat?"

"How could that be?"

Seeing Miss Galina still wished to speak, Shard hurriedly changed the topic:

"Were there many Circle Sorcerers who saw those two [Thunder Spears] just now?"

"Indeed, I think even blind Circle Sorcerers could 'see' them."

Miss Sylvia beside also nodded:

"Yes, it was too over-the-top."

"Hmm…"

The four approached the mansion, the lights suddenly brightened. Now back in the area of brightness, Lake Schluch seemed distant, akin to returning from wilderness to the civilized world.

Together, they walked along the garden path back to the Lakeside Manor mansion:

"Am I… strong then?"

Shard hesitated for quite some time before asking quietly, while the "her" in his heart laughed.

Miss Galina turned to look at him, the gas lamp lighting made the witch so close beautiful, even her reproachful gaze was full of charm:

"Of course you're strong, that's nearly beyond Thirteen Rings level power; what kind of strange question is that?"

She casually pulled out the pink veil from Shard's jacket pocket and tossed it to him:

"If you want me to acknowledge your power, Knight, by etiquette, I give you the veil."

She said laughingly, stuffing the veil Shard had drawn from the "Lucky Red Box" at the banquet's start into his hand. And with Miss Galina's voice falling, the long-awaited response finally appeared beside Shard:

[Outlander, you have successfully demonstrated your power at the banquet.]

"Absorbing divinity to prove power, that's truly not easy."

Shard exhaled deeply and then noticed Miss Sylvia secretly watching him from the side.

Curious, Shard looked at her, thinking the witch had something to say, only for her to avert her gaze, leaving Shard somewhat baffled.

But regardless, divinity once more flickered with brilliance in Shard's soul. Everything tonight was worth it.