Chapter 603: Alibi

When Parras was attacked and forced to land, Lei En was watching Ouroin Master instruct swordsmanship at the edge of the training ground of Jin Gang Fort base.

Clang clang…

The longswords clashed, emitting a metallic ringing.

Wei Lien, Xikalius, and Anweila teamed up; their progress was rapid, yet they were still being one‑sidedly beaten by Ouroin.

The fight grew intense; Ouroin's strength and speed suddenly surged, and a single sword thrust forced the three back.

The three stared at each other; the battle had only just begun.

"Master?" Wei Lien asked, puzzled.

"First, come here." Ouroin sheathed his cross‑shaped longsword, pulled a crystal‑shaped magical badge from the cuff of his white robe, its surface bearing the Supreme Council emblem, now glowing with vivid red light.

The others' expressions grew solemn.

Only Lei En understood what was happening: this was the Empire's Holy Soul Wizard's remote‑communication "Kemi Tis Badge," also a symbol of Supreme Council membership, which he had seen his teacher use before.

The badge can emit three different colors—white, blue, and red—representing varying levels of information and matters.

White indicates ordinary messages, privately exchanged between Holy Soul Wizards; they can be replied to, or ignored if one chooses.

Blue signifies an important proposal requiring a vote, necessitating participation in the projection meeting.

Red denotes the most urgent situation!

Whenever the Kemi Tis Badge flashes red, it means a major incident has occurred in the Empire; the magical badge continuously alerts Holy Soul Wizards to retrieve the message immediately.

Ouroin grasped the badge, a surge of information entered his mind, and his expression instantly shifted—first shocked, then bewildered, finally sinking into deep doubt.

He turned his head toward Lei En by the training ground, a faint glint flashing in his eyes.

Lei En's face remained impassive.

The information conveyed by the Kemi Tis Badge was clearly sent by Duke Hong Shi; Lei En did not dare to hope that a single out‑of‑control Titan engine explosion could kill Holy Soul Wizards above Thirty-level, Reslin perished in the blast, and Hong Shi Duke would surely survive.

However, he also did not know what had become of ParrasFloatingCity.

Normally, when researching Titan engines, he only dared to insert purified source crystals weighing a tenth of a pound for experiments.

For this attack on Parras, he prepared three Titan engines, each loaded with one hundred fifty pounds of source crystal—the limit of what his current Titan rune knowledge allowed. Adding more crystals would prevent the rune array from converting all of them to energy in the brief interval, resulting in an incomplete explosion and wasted crystals.

The energy released by the instantaneous explosion of one hundred fifty pounds of source crystal exceeded the Nine-ring Technique.

Lei En had calculated beforehand that the blast power would lie between Nine-ring and Ten-ring; if Duke Hong Shi did not intervene, it would be sufficient to destroy the Iola Core.

Without the Iola Core, Parras would not crash immediately.

As long as no enemies continue to attack and disrupt Duke Hong Shi's control, Fu Kong Cheng can safely land using reserve energy stored in the massive rune array, without causing catastrophic casualties.

However, without the Iola Core, Parras would find it difficult to take off again.

This is not much different from a crash.

He had only just become enemies with Duke Hong Shi less than half a month ago, and ParrasFloatingCity was already heavily damaged—suspicion was too great.

Lei En could foresee that Holy Soul Wizards receiving the magical transmission now would certainly doubt themselves, including his teacher.

His expression was calm.

Without guessing, he knew that Ouroin Master was discerning whether the figure standing before him was genuine or a shapeshifted impostor.

"Master?"

Lei En pretended to be bewildered, walked over and asked, "What happened?" His face was also tense as he stared at the badge emitting red light, showing an expression that revealed he understood its implication.

"Bad news."

Ouroin relaxed his gaze, then chuckled, "But for you, it should be good news."

Lei En remained confused.

Ouroin did not withhold details, speaking softly, "Just now, ParrasFloatingCity was attacked by an unknown enemy, forced to land in the southern outskirts of Urgel City, and Kerlstone was also seriously injured."

"Ah..."

Wei Lien let out a gasp.

Xikalius and Anweila, along with the Extreme Warriors and Lance‑wing Knights watching the sword duel on the training ground, were all shaken by the news.

The forced landing of a floating city has occurred only twice in Empire history, each time a major event that shook the Empire.

Today marked the third!

Lei En was also startled by the news, his eyes widening.

Immediately, his expression turned delighted, a grin of schadenfreude appearing, and he hurriedly asked, "Master, did Parras only make a forced landing? Not a crash?"

"No," Ouroin shook his head, "According to Kerlstone, the floating city's control chamber was breached, an attempt was made to destroy the Iola Core but he stopped it. However, the control rune array was damaged, so the floating city could only make an emergency landing and must await repair of the array before taking off again."

"Tsk tsk, what a pity..." Lei En said, his face full of regret.

He truly felt regret, not pretended.

Although he had been mentally prepared, hearing that Reslin failed to destroy the Iola Core still seemed a great loss. The Iola Core accounted for more than half of the floating city's value; destroying it would truly cripple Duke Hong Shi and maximize the spoils.

"Hmm..."

"Should we wait until Reslin revives, then sneak over to scout, see if there's another chance to strike, and blow it up again?"

Lei En weighed the thought in his mind.

However, there should be little chance; Duke Hong Shi, having taken a loss this time, will not leave the control chamber lightly before the rune array is repaired. If his whereabouts are discovered, it would be a death sentence.

That works too; it would keep Duke Hong Shi bound inside the floating city for years, leaving him no time to meddle elsewhere.

After a few more years, who will end up with the deer is still uncertain.

Lei En showed no concealment of his delight, rubbed his hands, and curiously asked, "Master, who attacked Parras?"

"Kerlstone didn't say; they probably haven't figured it out," Ouroin replied with a somewhat playful tone.

"Um..."

Lei En's smile faded, he pretended to be late to realize, and helplessly said, "Master, you don't think it was me, do you? I don't have that ability; when Parras was attacked, I never left this training ground."

Half an hour before Reslin acted, he had deliberately taken a seat at the sidelines to watch.

These days he often watches battles, so it isn't abrupt at all.

"I trust you, but the other Holy Soul Wizards don't." Ouroin Master nodded; he also didn't think Lei En could evade his sight.

The Lei En before me is undoubtedly genuine.

Many wondrous techniques can create duplicates or avatars—such as Illusion Technique, Projection Technique—doing many tasks in secret. Yet these spells are eight‑ring or nine‑ring, with many restrictions; they usually possess only half the body's power and cannot stray far from the body.

Lei En is only a legendary Mid-stage Wizard, and a combat wizard at that, making it hard to master duplication spells.

Even if he had a duplicate, its strength would be far below the original.

Lei En himself struggles to assault Parras with such devastation, let alone his duplicate.

This matter is absolutely unrelated to Lei En!

It must just be a coincidence.

"Master, you must vouch for me." Lei En pleaded, "I do have a grudge against Duke Hong Shi, wishing he'd be taken down, and I don't want trouble, but I truly didn't do this. Please tell the Supreme Council that I've been by your side all day."

"Alright."

Ouroin Master did not decline; he instantly channeled soul energy into the Kemiatis badge, transmitting a message to the other Holy Soul Wizards.

Nearby, Weili En and Xikalius and the others stared in amazement.

Lei En actually holds a grudge against Duke Hong Shi!

What's going on?

Weili En's heart fluttered a few times, instinctively wanting to stay farther from Lei En, regretting having gotten too close lately. After all, he's one of the Empire's three great powers; Lei En has Master Anxiwodasi backing him, so there's no need to worry, but his own family's luck won't be as good.

If Duke Hong Shi were to vent his anger, the Logus family wouldn't even have time to cry.

Xikalius, Anweila and the others quickly accepted it; for them, no matter who the enemy is or how powerful, they will never retreat.

Lei En gave them a smile, soothing them.

Soon the badge reacted, flashing white light intermittently.

"Master, how is it?" Lei En saw Ouroin had received the information and hurriedly asked, "What do the Holy Soul Wizards say?"

"Rest assured, they've already understood," Ouroin said with a calm smile, nodding, "I vouch with my reputation that the attack on Parras wasn't yours. Though my ties with the Holy Souls are average, they will still trust my word."

Lei En felt ashamed; if this were exposed later, Ouroin Master's reputation would be ruined.

But he dared not show it.

His face was full of gratitude as he sincerely said, "Thank you, Master."

"It's a trivial matter," Ouroin waved his hand, "It was never your concern; even without my testimony, they could grasp the point with a little thought."

"What's Duke Hong Shi's reaction?" Lei En asked again.

"He gave no reply."

Ouroin suddenly frowned, looking at the magical badge in his hand, and said oddly, "Your teacher also didn't respond."

As Lei En's teacher, Anxiwodasi is the one who should clear his suspicion.

Lei En's heart tightened.

The teacher knows Reslin's existence, apparently already suspecting, even concluding that he himself is the attacker of Parras.

"The teacher might be pondering something else," he said calmly, "Master, I'll return to Weizelan to meet the teacher and clarify face‑to‑face."

"Go ahead," Ouroin, without doubt, tucked away the badge and let everyone continue practicing swordsmanship.

Lei En instantly teleported back to Ge La Mo Gen, then again to Weizelan's high tower.

Upon entering the tower's top hall, he saw the teacher standing there before him, expression odd, as if waiting for him to arrive.

Being dragged out… the pressure keeps mounting…

(End of chapter)