Translator: TransN Editor: Meh
There was no sun in the Months of Demons, which was something that had not changed for thousands of years.
The sky was always like a gloomy dark curtain where the snow was invariably flying and swirling in the wind. People barely noticed the difference in the weather other than the intensity of the snow. Like the weather today, that only one or two occasional snowflakes drifted down might be regarded as a sign that the snow had stopped. Most of the time, the white snow would swarm the entire sky, the heavy fall of snow would float and cover the whole land at all times.
Therefore, this white light was particularly eye-catching under such a background. The moment it broke out of the earth, the glow brightened the surrounding snow in an instant, as if the entire gray world was lit up slightly.
Phyllis could not help but hold her breath.
Her gaze was fixed on the light in this moment when everything seemed swift and yet slow.
As the light dimmed quickly and turned into an orange fireball, the ground 1,000 meters away from the wall was rooted up!
This was not an illusion. She clearly saw the flat snowfield rising upwards and forming a soft arc as if the land under the snow was not made of soil and rocks, but made of water that could randomly change its shape. At the top of the arc, the red fireball was rising as if it wanted to get rid of the shackles of the earth.
It succeeded! The next scene happened almost in the blink of an eye. Smoke and clouds of dust and flames erupted from the ground and tore the curved surface into pieces! The fireball skyrocketed, along with billows of black smoke rising tens of meters high, spreading a high wall that almost obscured the original light of the sky in Phyllis' vision. Both the cages and demonic beasts turned into ashes in front of the fireball. By then the earth-shattering roar came to her ears, making her tremble and her heart thud.
"Boom! Boom!"
Suddenly, the earth shook!
Phyllis subconsciously clutched Agatha, to whom she moved her lips and wanted to say something but was blocked by the coming airflow. The people on the city wall also reeled from the blowing and did not come to themselves until a long while later. They, stunned by this scene, had forgotten to cheer and applaud. The only thing they could do was look up at the rising wall of smoke.
"Is this... Key?"
Swallowing, she had never thought that common people had mastered such a terrible force nowadays. Even a Senior Demon could not survive in such a turbulent underground fire.
The red sun was dimming, leaving only a few scarlet flames looming in the dark smoke, but the billowing smoke had shot up to midair as if it connected the clouds. The specks of dirt and demonic beasts' pieces that had been blown up into the sky now dropped like a rain of blood and dirt in the surrounding snowfield.
Looking at this scene, Phyllis finally understood where Agatha's confidence came from.
With this earthshaking power, common people would even have the opportunity to contend with brutal demons.
But she still could not understand why Roland Wimbledon would call it art.
"Was the explosion art?" She wondered.
...
Retnin was completely intoxicated by the cold wind that was filled with the smoke of gunpowder. The boom of the blast thoroughly awakened his desire.
This was chemistry!
This was the real chemistry!
He looked to his companions beside him, the former Chief Alchemist of King's City, Rayleigh, along with Archer, whose eyes, he noticed, were shining with the same light, which was irreconcilable with their aging looks. He vaguely remembered that last time he showed this kind of radiance was when he was enrolled in the Alchemic Workshop as a disciple at the age of 10.
Retnin felt that he finally found the goal to which he would devote his whole life.
That was to attract everyone's attention like the sun,
only chemistry could help him achieve this goal!
Unfortunately, he was nearly 50 years old. How nice it would be if he had seen this scene 20 years earlier and understood the real power of chemistry ahead of time, which was not flames and fumes given off from the burning of rough snow powders but the purer light and heat.
Fortunately, he finally knew it.
Looking at the stunned astrologers beside him, Retnin could not help smiling.
Since then, the lore of Sage would only record one name, while the other would soon be forgotten completely.
He wanted to let everyone experience the power of explosions, to make them praise the greatness of chemistry!
He could not hold back his urge to start more experiments. He had so many chemically explosive plans in "Intermediate Chemistry" to try.
"What are we waiting for?"
"Let's apply for a lab from Kyle Sichi."
"That's what I'm thinking."
The three alchemists spoke out their ideas and suggestions at the same time.
Retnin gave the column of smoke that lingered in midair one last look and then walked swiftly towards the laboratory.
...
"Now do you understand why I want you to stay in Neverwinter?" Edith fumbled Cole's head.
The latter was silent for a long time before asking in a husky voice, "For this?"
Clearly, he was really frightened by the formidable force of the explosion, with his face still being pale and one hand clutching his sister's arm.
"For no one can withstand Roland Wimbledon." Edith said slowly, "The aristocrats, though holding their titles and lands, mean nothing compared with this kind of power. He would make a kingdom in any way he wants it to be. When he ordered the abolition of the nobility, those aristocrats should have handed over their lands and rights. But it's a pity that most people still haven't realized it."
Although she regarded it as a pity, the Pearl of the Northern Region showed no expression of pity, rather she showed a feeling of gloating.
Cole Kant pouted his lips. "We... are aristocrats too."
"But we're no longer titled aristocrats." Edith said, taking her younger brother to the edge of the wall. Now that people were gradually leaving the city wall and the area had become much more spacious, Cole could clearly see the dark burned ground far away as if it had been ploughed severely. Edith continued to say, "Aristocrats are respected for their wealth and power, not the pieces of land under their feet, which means the nobility won't truly disappear. Just like this plain, whether its surface is broken or neat, snow-covered or grassy, its nature won't change. Neverwinter is the starting point of the new era. If you want to be an aristocrat in this era, you have to integrate yourself into the new rules set by His Majesty."
For a moment, Cole felt he had seen and not seen the point at the same time, but he still nodded under his sister's commanding manner accumulated over the years. "I'll stay here and no longer argue for going back to the Northern Region."
"That's right. Don't you think it's far more interesting in exploring new rules and new forces than running pieces of immutable land?"
Cole looked up at her sister's pretty profile.
Her long hair was blowing, like the silkiest satin, in the northerly wind. Her long, narrow eyelashes tilted up, accented with her elegant curve of nose and lips, giving a sight of unspeakable beauty.
The only thing that puzzled him was the flush on Edith's face, something that women would have when they were excited.
"Is my sister interested in the skyrocketing column of smoke?" Cole doubted.
Cole turned away his eyes, hiding his doubt deeply in his heart.