Surviving The Fourth Calamity

The Archmages of Sia Tower find Nicolson’s world hard to accept.

When a power is created by creatures of order, no matter how evil they are, their actions must follow a certain pattern.

Therefore, if Demons massively invade a world, even if they can initially hide their presence, they will inevitably leave traces... unless they achieve success before being exposed.

But any world targeted by Demons will not be ordinary.

Their vision is extraordinarily keen!

Just like in the past, the homeland of Toril Elves, the Supreme Forest, had a Demon Portal controlled by Six Fingers, which was called Hell Fortress.

In other words, the ones initially targeting them were the Demons.

Though the Demons’ methods are evil, and they have devastated several Elf Kingdoms, as long as there are strong-willed Elves, they can establish defensive lines and gradually reclaim lost territories.

Then, the Demons were overthrown by the Abyssal Lord who had been watching them closely, Grazt, who enjoyed scheming even more than Demons.

Demons are skilled at using endless time to erode human resistance and willpower, yet they are not adept at securing final victory in prolonged battles.

Even knowing their weaknesses, they cannot change their nature.

The Demons scorn the battle style of Demonic forces, which is either a total victory or complete annihilation.

If your life is gone, why fight? For whom do you fight?

In the environment cultivated by Demons, Sia Mages established their own dark and somber order, completely unable to comprehend the chaos of the Nicolson Faction.

They absolutely cannot understand why Mages—be they High-level, Intermediate, or Low Rank—would fight over some convoluted situation where your son is my grandson but belongs neither to my family nor yours.

The key issue is, that esteemed Ninth Ring Archmage plunges into his airship, acting as if oblivious to anything else.

The rare moments he emerges, he urges the chaotic crowd below to hastily build his Magic Tower.

The most unbelievable part is, despite having just been in total conflict, they could all simultaneously stop and respond to Nicolson’s command, then resume fighting after the Archmage turns away... continuing the construction of the Magic Tower amidst the battle.

The people of Sia Tower nearly feel their heads about to explode from watching.

Does Nicolson really dare to live there?

That Magic Tower is being constructed during the chaos of war! Many people are simultaneously engaging in Spell warfare while piling stones there!

Those stones must be affected by some Magical Energy!

How can anyone carve Magic Arrays on the above?

Who knows which stone might be flawed!

Yet Nicolson just moved in, and quite comfortably so.

On the day he moved in, as Koyl remarked, there were more Sia Tower Mages hiding in various corners to watch the arrival of the Tower of Dark Enigma Rute Squad for the first time than there had ever been.

Even the clouds in the sky weren’t enough.

It’s uncertain whether Sia Tower expected Nicolson’s main tower to collapse on the very first day.

Although Koyl doesn’t know how Nicolson managed it, he is well aware that outwardly foolish but inherently very clever.

Though Rute often puts a bias on the scale, Nicolson also competes evenly with the Kamente Tower decked with supporters, sometimes falling slightly behind, making Rute’s help valuable.

Hill actually speculates a bit that Nicolson’s temperament somewhat resembles those famous Mad Mages of Toril.

If anyone truly believes they are mad, it’s them who are really foolish.

They merely glimpse different timelines of the same aspect of destiny, then confuse them with the current moment, leading to incoherent speech and eternally calling others by the wrong names.

Nicolson isn’t that formidable, yet Gilbert’s memories indicate that occasionally when he’s beside Rute, he exudes that kind of aura.

Especially the content of his words... Gilbert doesn’t understand, but Hilbert has his own assumptions.

Nicolson, rather, suits living in such a Magic Tower where Magical Energies intertwine together... and do so in an unintentional, completely coincidental manner.

Mages specialized in prophecy greatly enjoy complex energy reactions.

Such a place minimizes the influence of the Power of Destiny: once you step into the river of destiny, escape becomes difficult.

Even unwillingly, they will be disturbed by fragments of destiny.

However, if the atmosphere is too chaotic, even destiny’s mighty hand will be unable to discern his location for a time: especially those merely shallowly or lightly touched by the destiny river.

Many Prophecy Mages with limited capabilities prefer residing in chaotic border towns, primarily for this reason.

They may not necessarily understand the principle, but as Prophecy Mages, they certainly know what kinds of places minimize the chance of being tormented by destiny.

Not everyone wants to see their fate clearly... Especially those whose abilities are stronger can feel that their future is something only a mad person embraces.

Nicholson is likely one of those people who certainly doesn’t want to get involved with the Power of Destiny related to the Sia Tower.

Based on Hill’s observations, his spiritual power as a Ninth Ring Mage should more than suffice for his almost apprentice-level prophecy of destiny.

In the Tower of Dark Enigma, he should not need to expend much spiritual power on this aspect; all his abilities are used to torment his subordinates. Occasionally, when inspiration strikes, Nicholson would quickly find Ruth, hoping the other could help calm his mind.

But if he inadvertently encountered the fate related to Deities in the Sia Tower, he might indeed go mad.

Therefore, he chooses such an environment to live in, and Hill actually thinks he is quite wise.

However, Hill also felt a bit puzzled: The reason he knows the secrets of the Prophecy Mages—things they only feel but never express—is because he possesses the knowledge of Elven heritage.

And the heritage he has received might not even be known to those Elf Royalty who claim to have the purest bloodline.

Hill sometimes only discovers that the knowledge suddenly flashes in his inherited memories after encountering an event.

Hmm... when he first sensed it, he was actually a bit nervous: That is, the other half of the Elven God King’s bloodline might be related to Deities who hold the power of destiny.

Of course, it certainly won’t be Tai Ji.

After all, Hill couldn’t guess the true identity of the other party, but he was fairly certain about the real gender, nine times out of ten.

However, whenever encountering such moments, Hill would quickly shift his attention, completely avoiding thinking about this matter... If that being truly is a Deity wielding the Power of Destiny, just thinking about matters related to them might attract their attention.

After all, he does have a connection with them.

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The Mages of the Sia Tower aren’t forgetting to plot against Ruth’s side; rather, firstly, they can’t quite comprehend the relationship between Rosero of the White Faction and that Aislin.

Rosero is definitely not someone who acts on his own accord, so his every move must be under the direction of the Master of Sia Tower.

Previously, when the Tower Master was still in seclusion, engaging in borderline activities without getting caught in the act wouldn’t incur post-settlement from Sia.

Of course, the stakes couldn’t be too high.

But if such actions considered rude or offensive were taken when she resides in the White Tower, the audacity to show even a slightly displeasing expression towards the White Tower would be met with suppression. It goes without saying how sensitive Sia is.

However, it’s not that others in the Sia Tower aren’t aware that it’s not the indulgent and intoxicated powerful Tower Master who’s truly sensitive.

Instead, it’s the attention-seeking White Robe.

Betraying an idiot, in exchange for temporary indulgence, combined with unexpected rewards, is enough for them to feign laughter as lamentation.

Death is not involved, but the severity would determine whether that whip strikes, regardless of rank or faction.

Knowing that the Master of Sia Tower has thoughts about Aislin, most people tend to bypass the matter.

It is telling that Rosero is willing to intervene for Aislin to warn the Ninth Ring Mage of the Neutral Faction... it suggests that the machinations behind are terrifyingly intricate, none dare to articulate.

Moreover, the story around Nicholson is simply too intriguing.

Accustomed to orderly lives, Mages find such an intriguing tale irresistibly piquing their curiosity.

Besides, even if one would want to start with Nicholson’s side, one needs to find a clue!

They first have to figure out whose child this is and which house eventually took them away... Otherwise, any sinister plots or schemes, if misaligned, would be useless!

Deaths are common, but when the target isn’t what they intended, it’s aggravating.

Moreover, if eventually, they end up eliminating someone they intended to use, that’s even more troublesome.

Those whose attention was captured are mostly Human Mages.

Meanwhile, those with special statuses... the Black Robe all have their attention on ’Aislin’.

Reaching this point, they can’t help but notice the aura of Glaysia on ’Aislin’.

Yet, she’s evidently not.

With the false mask on, Aislin exudes an essence... If they didn’t know that Glaysia dislikes having offspring, they would have suspected whether the Lord of Hell has a third generation.

Even Fengo hesitates somewhat.

He knows that Glaysia orchestrating this Aislin is definitely aiming at him.

Although monitoring this world is partly a reason... Glaysia would naturally justify it as the main reason.

But everyone knows, Glaysia wouldn’t care about this world.

Over such a long time, if this strategy had truly benefited Bisozeya, then... the statue perpetually standing at the world’s center, its feet on certain important remnants, should show some divinity response.