Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 90: Too Many People
"That’s not necessarily true." The red-haired youth shook his head, his expression solemn. "I heard that during the operation to encircle the Hand of Deep Resentment, this Pei Ze killed a Drinker and a Legendary Knight colluding with heretics, one after the other, in a single night. If that’s true, his strength can’t be underestimated."
The black-haired youth scoffed. "You actually believe a rumor like that?"
"How could a Third-level Wizard Apprentice who was just promoted not long ago possibly kill a Legendary Knight?"
"And even if he did manage to kill two Legendary Knights, he must have used some kind of special means—either potions or a powerful, consumable Magic Item!"
At his words, the other Wizard Apprentices from the Shadow Academy all nodded in agreement.
They also refused to believe that a first-year student could defeat a Legendary Knight in a fair fight. After all, the idea was simply too inconceivable.
Even Meng Wei, widely recognized as the top student of the Shadow Academy, couldn’t have accomplished such a feat in his first year.
The red-haired youth shrugged and looked over at the silent, blue-eyed youth. "Meng Wei, what do you think?"
Meng Wei glanced in Pei Ze’s direction and said flatly, "I’m not interested."
Whether the rumors of Pei Ze killing a Legendary Knight were true or false was meaningless to him.
There were at least twenty or thirty Wizard Apprentices present who possessed the strength to kill a Legendary Knight.
But among them, only two—Sang Fan and Su Shouhai—were opponents truly worthy of his attention.
As for the others, they were no cause for concern.
Just then, Meng Wei’s expression shifted, and he looked up ahead.
"They’re here."
The others reacted, following his gaze.
There, on a patch of ground a hundred meters away that had been empty just moments before, three white-robed Wizards had appeared.
Soon, the others also began to notice the Wizards’ arrival.
The once-noisy mountaintop quickly fell silent.
Everyone stared intently at the three Wizards, their expressions a mix of nervousness, solemnity, excitement, and anticipation.
Among the three Wizards, the one in the lead was tall and wore a silver mask that covered the left half of his face. On the exposed right side, there was no eyeball in his socket; in its place was the face of a silver pocket watch.
Its minute and hour hands were still slowly ticking.
The masked Wizard scanned the crowd, an eerie smile suddenly appearing on his face.
"There are too many people."
Before the confused Wizard Apprentices could figure out what he meant, the masked Wizard suddenly opened his mouth and let out a shriek.
The sound was piercingly sharp, instantly echoing across the mountaintop.
Pei Ze felt as if a steel needle had pierced his eardrums and stabbed into his brain. The pain made his vision go black, and he stumbled back two steps, nearly fainting on the spot.
"Banshee’s Wail!"
Pei Ze immediately recalled a famous spell.
This Magic was created to simulate the cry of a banshee. Those affected would suffer damage to their Spirit at best, or die at worst. Its power was immense.
THUD! THUD!
All around him, the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground sounded one after another.
Amid the terrifying shriek, numerous Wizard Apprentices’ eyes rolled back into their heads, and they collapsed unconscious without so much as a whimper.
In less than two seconds, more than half of the Wizard Apprentices had fallen.
After another two or three seconds, the piercing shriek finally stopped.
Pei Ze shook his head, struggling to clear the dizziness. He looked around and was stunned to find that fewer than a hundred Wizard Apprentices were still standing.
"Get these overconfident fools out of here!"
The masked Wizard sneered and waved his hand.
Immediately, a group of soldiers hurried up from below the summit, hoisted the unconscious Wizard Apprentices onto their shoulders, and carried them away.
The Wizard Apprentices still standing watched this scene in silence, their expressions complicated.
Clearly, that "shriek" had been the first stage of the trial, intended to weed out the weaker participants who were just trying to slip through the cracks.
And the effect was remarkable. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
More than four-fifths of the participants were eliminated on the spot.
This was especially true for the Wizard Apprentices from the Mercenary Corps and Adventurer Groups; they were completely wiped out, with not a single one left standing.
Those still on the mountaintop were now essentially the elite of the elite.
Pei Ze sighed to himself.
He had guessed the Dawn Council might take measures to filter out some people, but he hadn’t expected the screening to be so harsh, eliminating more than four-fifths of the participants right then and there.
And with such a swift and decisive method, no less.
Pei Ze was lost in thought. ’But that probably wasn’t a real Banshee’s Wail. The power of a Nine-Ring Spell isn’t that weak.’
’If it had been a true Nine-Ring Spell, no Wizard Apprentice would likely be left alive.’
’The Magic the masked Wizard just used must have been a weakened version based on Banshee’s Wail.’ fгeewebnovёl.com
Before long, all the unconscious Wizard Apprentices had been carried away, and the mountaintop suddenly seemed much more spacious.
The masked Wizard scanned the area, nodded in satisfaction, and with a casual wave of his hand, a two-meter-tall Light Gate materialized before everyone.
"This is the entrance to the maze," the masked Wizard said flatly.
"At the very center of the maze are three Rainbow Gemstones. Any apprentice who obtains a Rainbow Gemstone and holds onto it until the seventy-two-hour trial period ends will earn a spot in the competition."
"During the trial, the use of potions, Scrolls, external puppets, and consumable Magic Items is forbidden."
"After the trial begins, everyone will receive a Teleportation Ring. The ring is enchanted with a Teleportation Technique. Activating it will instantly transport you out of the maze and back here, but that also means you have forfeited the trial."
"Now, everyone enter the maze in order, one person at a time."
After explaining the rules, the masked Wizard gave no one time to react and immediately declared the trial had begun.
The crowd exchanged glances, but soon someone stepped forward from their midst and walked toward the Light Gate.
Pei Ze also began to move, following the line into the Light Gate.
Before long, all the Wizard Apprentices had disappeared behind the Light Gate. The mountaintop was suddenly empty, leaving only the three Wizards.
The masked Wizard waved his hand casually. The Light Gate instantly disintegrated into countless motes of light. Guided by an invisible force, the motes shot skyward like arrows, then exploded high above, releasing shimmering halos of light that wove together to form an immense light screen.
The apprentices waiting eagerly on the mountainside immediately noticed the light screen’s appearance. They all craned their necks to look up at the sky, their faces filled with excitement.
"It’s finally starting!"
"About time! I was getting so impatient."
"I wonder what kind of trial it is."
"Look, images are appearing."
To everyone’s astonishment, individual panels began to appear on the light screen high in the sky.
The center of each panel showed a single figure.
They were none other than the Wizard Apprentices participating in the trial.
However, someone soon noticed that something was wrong.
"Huh? Why are there so few people?"
"It’s true. I definitely saw four or five hundred people on the summit just now. How come there are fewer than a hundred now?"
"Where did everyone else go?"
The crowd burst into confused discussion.
Just then, an apprentice suddenly exclaimed, "Someone’s coming down the mountain!"
Everyone quickly turned to look and saw a group of soldiers carrying people down from the summit, rushing down the mountain with surprising speed.
"It’s the people who were in the trial!"
"What happened? Why are so many of them unconscious?"
A curious apprentice hurried forward to stop one of the soldiers and, after asking a few questions, quickly learned what had happened on the summit.
As the news spread, an uproar erupted through the crowd.
More than eighty percent of the participants were eliminated before the trial even officially began? What kind of move was that?
In that moment, the crowd gained a much deeper understanding of just how strict the trial was.
"Good thing I didn’t go. Otherwise, I would’ve been completely humiliated by now."
Gu Lin patted her chest, an expression of relief on her face.
She had previously considered going just for the fun of it, treating it as a training exercise for herself.
Now, it seemed lucky she hadn’t acted on a whim and signed up. Otherwise, she probably would have been one of the people being carried down the mountain.
That would have been so embarrassing!
"Speaking of which, where’s Pei Ze?"
Gu Lin muttered to herself as she searched the light screen for a glimpse of Pei Ze.
The words had barely left her mouth when she heard a soft snort from beside her.
She turned her head, rolled her eyes at Yin Guang, and said, "Hey, can you not be so petty? That whole thing was ages ago. Are you still holding a grudge against Pei Ze or what?"
