33 Sea Fortress

A powerful ripple of qi blasted the dust away revealing the bull-like silhouette to be Lord Turnbull! His face was seething of rage, as the metallic qi manifested around him forming the shadow of a powerful bull. He was wearing a strange but unassuming dark purple crystal around his neck. He raised his head as he roared, "Brave Soldiers... stand at attention!" His words were strange, almost as if his words were truth itself; a description of reality...

Immediately a powerful war cry of acknowledgment rang out from the forest, from what could only be assumed to be hundreds of soldiers. Lord Turnbull raised his fist into the air shouting, "Advance!"

THUMP! THUMP!

A pulsating thunderous sound rang through the trees as the army marched forward; a complete turn-about from its previous lackluster arrival and even more abrupt retreat. It was almost as if Lord Turnbull's words had slashed off their cowardice and replaced it with power and courage, just like he had spoken.

Amidst, the ominous marching sounds the soldiers gradually revealed themselves. All of them were wearing eery dark-metallic helmets made of a strange qi extremely similar to that surrounding Lord Turnbull. With their faces covered by the ominous helmets, they gave off an inhuman and fearful presence, completely different from their initial aura.

Even Lieutenant John and the few soldiers that had remained previously had joined up with this monstrous army, easily mixing in with ominous metallic helmets of their own.

And just like that Zhen Shi and the rest who had just been freed from a siege situation were pushed back into one once more. Seeing the powerful aura and the ominous nature of this army led by a Soul Deification cultivator, Zhen Shi muttered out with a grimace, "Well there goes your attempt at chasing them away. Now they're back, angrier and creepier..."

Myne had been in a rather strange mood since the arrival of Lord Turnbull, with his eyes focused on his neck. But he couldn't help but grimace at Zhen Shi's words as he spoke out, "Well, at least you'll get to see my powers now."

But his face grew serious as he mentally sent out, "The fear-inducing effects of the bewildering formation should've lasted much longer. It appears that this bull-like fellow has an understanding of Würds and used it to raise morale and put the soldiers under his strict control."

Zhen Shi sent back in curiosity, "Würds? Is that what proclamators who shout out and use edicts to fight use? In fact, I've met one. He was only of the foundation establishment stage and still blocked this flame," as he manifested in one hand.

Myne eyed the hellish-fire in curiosity for a moment but grimaced as he replied, "Proclamators? Is that what people call it now? I guess the name is fine, but cultivators cannot exercise the würd before reaching Soul Deification." He frowned in thought as he continued, "Perhaps, they form a pact with true-blue Würd Wielders or maybe even totemic divinities to harness a flicker of the power of the actual Würd. Otherwise, it'd be impossible..."

But their interesting conversation came to an abrupt stop under Vivienne's stern voice, "Can you two please discuss this some other time? For example, when we aren't surrounded by a Würd empowered army?"

Myne and Zhen Shi grinned in embarrassment as they focused on the advancing army...

But before they could do anything else, Hao Lei shouted out while putting Laura, who had been shaken at the sight of the ominous army, behind him, "Greetings, Lord Turnbull. Forgive me for being blunt, but what are you doing?" He continued while gesturing at the roof, "These fellow disciples are guests of the Lyon family and were accepted by our Lord himself. They will be your competitors in the appraisal competition. Your actions attempting to eliminate them before the competition are very suspicious."

Lord Turnbull grunted causing the shadow of the bull behind him to solidify further, but spoke out rather calmly, with a malicious grin, "Of course, I'm aware that these three are the competition of the Turnbull family. But that does not make them privileged to engage in crime. According to Hall Law, I handle these matters in Leslie's absence. And you... may leave now," finishing with a stern glare.

Hao Lei flinched at his powerful gaze. Nevertheless, he walked forwards while speaking out, "Lord Turnbull, I'm afraid that I must disobey your order. Since you wish to exert your influence unjustly, I have to interfere."

Lord Turnbull grimaced in displeasure. He wasn't afraid of Hao Lei despite them being at the same cultivation level. In fact, he could take care of that old man easily. But unlike the three disciples, Hao Lei was an elder of the Market Hall. Attempting to harm or kill him in public would be very difficult and annoying to explain later on. So with a frown, he waved his hand at the pavilion while saying a single word, "COME!"

Immediately the door of the pavilion banged open as a red figure was dragged out by a hand of faint silver aether covered in strange inscriptions. The figure that was being dragged out was Will O'Dale. He was still covered in red energy while furiously struggling to escape Myne's restrictive formation.

Seeing this, Myne sneered as he waved his hand causing the formation talismans to glow brightly. Under the power of the glowing formation, the silver hand was melted away... causing Will O'Dale to fall on to the ground just a few steps away from the pavilion door. He continued to struggle against the binding.

Seeing his Würd manifestation broken so easily, Lord Turnbull narrowed his eyes at Myne.

Despite this, he pointed at the bound Will O'Dale and said while looking at Elder Hao Lei, "Hao Lei as you well know, Will O'Dale, is a subordinate of the Turnbull family. And yet he is being held captive. These individuals are criminals. Or at the very least I must confirm the truth. Will you stop me from exercising the law? And will you and your family bear the consequences?" with his eyes ending dangerously on Laura.

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Hao Lei was speechless. He wanted to help Zhen Shi and the rest, but he couldn't put Laura and his family at risk. Especially when he wasn't sure of their innocence...

Zhen Shi immediately spoke out in defiance, "What the hell? Will the Red attacked us first! And later he was affected by a divine curse which probably originated from you!"

His words caused Hao Lei to frown in confusion and thought. Still, he spoke out, "Lord Turnbull if what they say is true, then the fact that Will O'Dale is your subordinate makes it even more suspicious. Perhaps you sent him over under your orders. So that he would be captured, giving you an excuse to arrest them!"

Lord Turnbull ignored Hao Lei and stared at Zhen Shi in anger with a tinge of surprise at his use of the divine curse being found out. But he wasn't that worried, proving the use of a divine curse was next to impossible. So he confidently spoke out, "Lies! Do you dare slander a manager of the market hall?" while allowing his spiritual pressure to be exerted at full force on this 'annoying' soul formation cultivator.

Zhen Shi pursed his lips in amusement while stealthily activating . With the scales and feathers appearing under his clothes and the additional strengthening of his soul he easily brushed of the spiritual pressure, causing Lord Turnbull to raise an eyebrow in displeasure.

Nevertheless, he turned to Hao Lei, "I expect you'll do the right thing and allow me to arrest these criminals, or else..." This caused Hao Lei to grimace, despite the words from Zhen Shi he couldn't over-rule a Manager. Nevertheless, he spoke out in his last attempt at defiance, "Very well, Lord Turnbull, but I will be observing the proceedings. I hope you are aware of the problems that would arise if they are harmed without justification," and grew silent unable to stop Lord Turnbull.

Lord Turnbull proceeded to ignore his words while gathering power into the shadow of the bull behind him. He sneered in his mind while thinking, "Observe? Fine, go on. But who can blame me for a small but 'deadly' series of accidents? After all, I am a Turnbull and it would be too late by then..."

But Zhen Shi wasn't going to be silenced and he was about to speak out for their innocence and the unfairness of this situation... He was influenced by the exertion of proper justice back then in the market road and had subconsciously believed that it would always be so.

But he was halted by Myne. Myne spoke out grimly, "Lord Turnbull, it appears that despite what we say you'll attack us... So allowing ourselves to be arrested will be disastrous..."

Zhen Shi grew silent, gradually understanding the truth in Myne's words. He realized very clearly now, that 'justice' is only exerted by those with power. So he silently manifested his bow and increased while keeping the bestial aura hidden.

On the other hand, Lord Turnbull grinned slightly almost as if in agreement with Myne's words. He hurriedly raised his hands causing a torrent of aether to rush into the shadow of the metallic bull behind him, causing it to grow more and more real. At the same time, this energy empowered the soldiers and the ominous helmets covering their heads.

Laura stared at Hao Lei pleading with her eyes to help them. But Hao Lei shook his head helplessly. Laura grimaced but thought out in prayer, "Elder Brother, don't die! I didn't get to trick you into taking responsibility yet!"

????????????

Myne flicked his hand sending a ring and a strange package at Zhen Shi. Zhen Shi grabbed the ring with one hand while unwrapping the package with the other. He couldn't help but grin in excitement at what it contained; it was a quiver of exactly 100 arrows. All of them seemed to be very powerful and Zhen Shi could even sense a strange formation etched on to each of the pitch-black arrowheads. It was very unique and probably would've been hidden from his weak senses had it not been for the strange sense of familiarity he felt from it. Even when he used his appraisal skill all he got was .

Myne spoke to him mentally with a grin, "A small gift from your big brother. It isn't much, I just made it for fun... but they are all grade 4 arrows." His grin turned into smug one of deep pride as he continued, "You definitely aren't strong enough to use them at full power. However, as mages, despite our failure at comprehending primordial chaos we did make some progress in our research. The formation inscribed on them is the result of all the progress we made collected in a single place. If I guessed correctly it... should react very well with you!" finishing rather uncertainly and scratching his head.

Zhen Shi had been feeling rather touched at this sudden gift. Despite Myne saying that he made it for fun, he could guess the truth. He was sure that these arrows and the inscription of this formation into each arrowhead would have been extremely hard work, especially when Myne had to complete it within the few weeks since they had met.

However, his feelings were ruined by how he finished his words, causing Zhen Shi to hurriedly send back, "What do you mean 'Should'? These won't end up trying to stab me like your furnace spirits right?"

Myne raised an eyebrow as he sent back with great interest, "Wait... so your furnace spirits tried to stab you? Weren't you acting all high and mighty just because your knife had no holes in it? And now you tell me you were actually attacked by a bunch of imps!" while struggling to hold his laughter.

Vivienne who was also listening in couldn't help but smile. However, the relaxed atmosphere they had going on, caused Laura and Hao Lei to be confused and Lord Turnbull to be extremely angered...

Oblivious to this, Zhen Shi grimaced at his slip up while hurriedly asking, "Fine then. What does this ring do?" He could've used the appraisal skill to find out but had asked directly just to change the topic.

Myne's smile died down as he calmly answered, "Well, you know how weaker cultivators have a limited range of spiritual sense? That ring will enhance the range of your spiritual sense and even allow mental communication with those who have similar rings over much wider distances," while showing his hand with a similar ring on. Vivienne smiled as she revealed her hand with a similar ring as well.

Zhen Shi nodded while eyeing his ring and admiring the powerful formation which would allow the enhancement of the spiritual sense. But of course, he couldn't make much sense of it, yet! Suddenly, his eyes widened as he felt that he glimpsed something else... indescribable. But despite observing it further he yielded no more results. As such he gave up, calmly putting the ring on his index finger and hung the quiver of arrows on his back.

Zhen Shi turned his head at Lord Turnbull but flinched since he suddenly sensed a powerful blast of qi heading towards them. But before he could even react, Myne waved his hand causing a golden dome covered with formation talismans to appear around them.

BOOM!

A light explosion that sent the pavilion shaking rang out as the formation dome blocked the attack. The formation was littered with cracks as it exploded. Despite this Myne grinned calmly while eyeing Lord Turnbull and spoke out, "Why would you attack so suddenly? Were you afraid of being unable to beat us... or did the COW just lose her patience?"

Despite the ominous situation, Zhen Shi and Vivienne couldn't help but grin. Even Laura smiled lightly.

Lord Turnbull grimaced at the insult to the bull apparition behind him. He had only sent that attack as a warning since he was unhappy with the dismissive attitude of these three disciples. But now he was truly angered as he roared out, "FIRE!"

Immediately the hundreds of soldiers surrounding the pavilion obeyed his command. They unsheathed and brought out different weapons ranging from swords to axes and lifted them simultaneously in a rather ominous and inhuman manner. Powerful globes of multi-colored energy formed at the tips of each of their weapons, pausing for just a single moment, to gather power.

Instantly, each of these globes exploded in fiery light and were propelled sky-wards at rapid speed leaving streaks of different colors up in the sky. Suddenly Lord Turnbull clapped his hands together causing the globes to explode in another burst of light which instantly empowered them. The powerful globes of power reached the maximum height of their projection in a single instant.

And in the next instant, they swerved downwards under the effect of gravity leaving a magnificent arch of hundreds of colored streaks up in the sky... like a stunning mystical rainbow.

In a few instants, beauty was painted upon the sky. But to Zhen Shi and the rest, it brought a terrifying sense of danger and urgency. The rainbow had a strange mesmerizing effect that had brought Zhen Shi into its thrall, leaving him defenseless for just a moment.

Fortunately, during those few instants, Myne had been unaffected and had been throwing out tens of strange bronze globes into the air. Each of the globes exploded, bringing out formation talismans, formed from a strange colorless qi as if they had been stored within each globe. Strangely these talismans were formed from a qi rather similar to Myne's original time law.

Instantly they linked up in a complex manner that even Zhen Shi, who had hurriedly escaped the mesmerizing effect due to the sense of danger, had difficulty comprehending. The majority of the talismans surrounded the three of them up on the pavilion roof. Instantly the formation talismans combined, forming into a series of thick powerful walls, revealing a majestic fort built from silver-grey bricks. It should've been out of place with the golden pavilion just below it, but strangely enough, it wasn't.

The remaining formation talismans settled at a level below the top of the fort.

Suddenly Vivienne who had been silently standing behind Myne smiled happily. She was unaffected by the mesmerizing rainbow of colors above. Under the amazed eyes of many, she calmly stretched her hands forwards and placed them on Myne's back. He couldn't help but grin as he felt her reassuring hands on his back, sending forth her thoughts and understanding.

Just as her hands touched his back, the remaining formation talismans linked together in a complex manner and stabilized forming a mysterious sea. The sea surrounded the fort forming the image of a sea-fortress!

An old fort standing the effects of time in solitude as a lifeless sea rolled in timeless waves below it. A heart-wrenching image appeared amidst this formation, causing all the onlookers, even the soldiers under the effect of Lord Turnbull's würd, to stare at it in awe and surprise.

A powerful wave of qi spread out, as the image settled down and the formation was fully formed.

The colorful orbs of death descending from the sky collided with this wave, but only moved slightly as if it moved through a sea-wave. Nevertheless, the small movement caused a huge blemish on the curving arch forming the rainbow; as it now had a small bump which was rather out of place.

Zhen Shi stared on in amazement while trying to comprehend this amazing formation from within the fort. Almost immediately, the colorful orbs landed onto the grey-brick walls.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out as each orb exploded in a blast of color, just below the even more colorful but crooked rainbow, which was still rather odd-looking due to the sudden bump in the arch. On the other hand, despite the ongoing bombardment, besides the occasional shake, the grey fort was completely fine.

The sea-fortress bravely stood on against the colorful explosions, just like it had survived the trials of time...