Someone glared at Murphy, a German man.
He stood up and pushed his wine glass over. "What if I don't drink?"
As he spoke, he pulled a wand from his left sleeve and held it up.
It seemed that Murphy wasn't the only one who knew to carry an extra wand.
"This guest, I still advise you to think carefully," Grand Duke Ivan said.
"There's nothing to consider, I won't be threatened by you!"
Ivan took a sip of his wine and placed it on the table. "Sophie, I'll leave this to you."
After saying this, the Grand Duke left the scene, along with his son, Lars.
The man in military uniform stood on the stage. "The Grand Duke didn't make himself clear, so I'll repeat it. Drink this wine, take your things and get lost, or... die here."
"You dare to attack us, you know I am..."
The German was about to say something more, but suddenly, the air beside him twisted for a moment, and a knight in armor wielding a greatsword appeared behind him, raising and then dropping his sword.
"Crack," a fine head rolled to the ground.
"Wh-who is this?!" The envoys panicked, but the armored knight had already disappeared.
Even Murphy was stunned.
What kind of magic was this?
Could that knight also be some kind of "Ancestor Spirit"?
Sophie spoke again, "Leave, or die?"
"I'll drink, I'll drink..." someone immediately caved in, picked up the wine glass and gulped it down. "Let me go."
Sophie actually didn't make things difficult for him. He was even sent off with a package by a servant.
Then, one of the envoys' figures flickered, but suddenly he knelt on the ground.
Sophie looked at him, "Trying to run away? Don't you know that besides the Sky Street Terrace, it's impossible to use spirit realm traversal here at the mountain top?"
Spirit realm traversal, in fact, was the term used by Suvian wizards for spatial transfer techniques like "Phantom Shift."
To protect the royal family and prevent the palace from being invaded at will, near the top of Arkaim, except for the specially left out "Sky Street Terrace," spatial transfer was forbidden. Ivan's residence was also in the restricted area.
Seeing no escape and the only choice being to drink the wine or die, the remaining people finally gave in. Even if the wine was poison, they drank it and were subsequently sent away.
After a while, only Murphy was left in the courtyard.
"What's your choice, Mr. Murphy Darkholme?" Sophie asked.
"I don't like being forced to do things," Murphy said.
"Is that so?" Sophie didn't persuade further, "That's a pity."
As soon as he finished speaking, an armored knight appeared behind Murphy and swung his sword.
But Murphy had anticipated this and turned around instantly at the appearance of the knight. His fingers extended into claws, stabbing out like a javelin and piercing through the knight's neck.
His other hand grabbed the iron head and twisted it, decapitating the knight.
He looked at the blood in his hands. "So, not a spirit. A living person?"
But if spatial transfer was restricted, how did he appear behind him?
A phantom technique?
A phantom technique without any hint or sound?
Impressive.
"You really are different," Sophie said. "They said you killed Alexei, I didn't quite believe it, but you're indeed not like ordinary wizards. Where does this ability for partial transformation come from?"
Murphy had no intention of idle talk. He transformed into lightning and appeared behind the speaker. He reached out to grab, but the figure in front of him flickered and disappeared, giving no feeling of hitting anything solid.
At the same time, an odd color flashed at the edge of his vision. He instinctively stretched out his hand, "Armor Shield!"
"Bang!" A greatsword smashed on the pale golden light shield. It was a knight, half of his figure as if still hidden in nothingness, the other half showing a chaotic color under Murphy's quadrachromic vision.
The knight retracted his sword and disappeared after the missed strike.
Murphy transformed into lightning and reappeared a distance away. "Bang!" Another sword chopped at his previous position.
Another knight!
But before he could be surprised, another fist came out of nowhere. Murphy immediately flew into the air, dodging the attack.
He understood.
The courtyard was filled with invisible knights!
But why knights and not...
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he saw a flash of light below. He immediately used the Armor Curse again, blocking a wind blade that came from nowhere.
Damn it, playing dirty, huh!
A bunch of old sneaks using invisibility cheats!
But why is this phantom curse so strong? It doesn't even reveal itself when attacking?
No matter, he could always go all out and clear the field if needed.
He had been waiting just for his pre-cast period to end. In the next instant, countless sparks of lightning lit up in the sky. These were the lightning crows he had hesitated to release.
They formed an array in the sky, synchronized with Murphy's will. The next moment, magic tuning was completed. His eyes turned to a golden hue, and thunder surged around him, "Thunderstorm!"
He was still below. If he used spells like Avada, he wouldn't be able to withstand it. But using lightning, which he was immune to, was much more convenient for clearing the field.
The originally bright moonlight was immediately covered by heavy clouds, followed by rolling thunderbolts falling like countless lightning arrows.
However, the scene of lightning striking everywhere that Murphy had envisioned didn't happen. The next moment, those lightning arrows were all blocked by a thin, transparent barrier a hundred feet above the ground.
"Boom!" Thousands of thunderbolts exploding like a hundred suns rising simultaneously lit up the night brighter than the day.
The deafening explosion almost made Murphy go deaf.
The Wall of Saint Peter!
Damn it!
He hadn't forgotten this thing, but he had already tested it. The lightning crows could completely pass through this barrier, even living beings could, so there was no reason electrical charges couldn't, right?
But it actually stopped the lightning.
What kind of logic was that?
"Is this the move you used to kill Alexei?" Sophie's voice rose again from below. "Indeed a terrifying power, but no attack can break the Wall of Saint Peter. Here, you can't use that move."
Attack?
So, the barrier can also judge whether something is an attack?
Should he try Avada?
Forget it, Murphy gave up the idea of clearing the field directly.
This Wall of Saint Peter, according to them, has existed since the city was built, at least a few hundred years old. Its defensive capability is probably ridiculously strong, and even using an "Avada Annihilation Cannon" might not work. And that kind of attack, he could only perform once.
He should keep such a trump card for now. In case of an unexpected situation, he could use it as a last resort.
Restricted by the big move, with enemies hiding in the dark, the situation was a bit troublesome. And why did it feel like this person knew him very well, as if waiting for himn to show up?
"Did you prepare in advance?" Murphy asked, puzzled.
"Do you think Felipe Carlos was lured away by Lady Yaga?" Sophie looked up at him. "Just as Lady Yaga was distracting him, we also wanted to hold her back, didn't we?"
"If not for this, we might not have been able to kill you."
Realization dawned on Murphy. They had anticipated his arrival and prepared accordingly. This wasn't just a simple trap; it was a well-orchestrated plan targeting him specifically. He had walked into a battlefield tailored to neutralize his strengths.
This revelation made him reassess the situation. His usual methods of overpowering his opponents were rendered ineffective here. The Wall of Saint Peter was a formidable barrier, not just in its physical defense, but also in its ability to discern and nullify attacks. It was a strategic deterrent, designed to contain and counter powerful magic like his.
Murphy understood that brute force wouldn't be enough. He needed a different approach, something more subtle and tactical. He looked around, analyzing the environment and the hidden threats. The invisible knights were a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. He had to adapt, change his strategy, and find a way to turn the tables.
His mind raced through possibilities, spells, and tactics. Murphy knew he had to be swift and precise. Every move would count in this high-stakes game of magical cat and mouse.
The game was on, and Murphy was ready to play.
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