Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hilbert wasn’t just going to let a bunch of people create havoc over his head.

Although the Puppet Falcon stopped attacking Delphus, it never ceased its surveillance on them.

So, when that beautiful, rainbow-glowing Gem of Chaos was taken out by Delphus, he was somewhat startled.

However, Hilbert’s first reaction was to have the falcon focus on the Eighth Ring Mages behind Delphus.

Although the pale-faced Male Mage who just spoke seemed suspicious, Hilbert thought the other finely dressed and somewhat delicate-looking Male Mage he was whispering to was more suspicious.

How should I put it... Asmodeus’s inherent pride would make him never ask questions in such a humble tone, even when possessing others.

Of course, it’s not that he couldn’t do it, but it depended on whether those people were worth it.

And whatever he’s trying to see by hiding on Delphus’s side, it’s definitely unrelated to this pack of homeless dogs.

Asmodeus wouldn’t be unable to find a way to avoid situations where he had to act lowly with minions, Hil doesn’t think he would personally come forward.

So, the one Eighth Ring Mage more likely to be him, compared to the female mage beside who was always coldly observing, would be the one whose outfit was even cleaner and more neatly groomed, always having someone in front blocking his line of sight in the crowd... If Delphus turned around to get rid of someone, the first person they’d see would certainly not be him.

Anyway, with Russell and Carpenter being absolutely safe, Hilbert himself was not afraid of this so-called Gem of Chaos... Indeed, this artifact could cause tremendous damage to Order’s creations, but breaking through his defenses was impossible.

That is unless it was filled with Dimogogan’s entire animosity, specifically targeting Hilbert’s existence.

Hilbert never cared about probabilistic damage.

And since Gilbert’s Magic Tower from the side confirmed he himself had no issues, the destructive weapon from Hainarson’s Archmage didn’t affect Hilbert personally, and others found nothing strange either.

Hil couldn’t understand how that Hainarson created a chaos-exclusive Gem of Chaos with the Hand of the Order Archmage, but he could save his questions for later reflection.

He was genuinely curious about Asmodeus’s reaction upon seeing his subordinate openly brandishing a Gem of Chaos, one of the Abyss’s most iconic Strange Objects.

Even just a hint of being moved, Hil would feel the brain cells he’d expended in recent times were worthwhile.

This time, Hil’s ticket money was indeed well spent.

Asmodeus probably just suddenly came over to take a look... Maybe something from Glaysia made him uneasy.

And choosing to possess this Neutral Faction Mage aligned with his usual style.

The Lord of Hell enjoys observing his subordinates from slightly connected yet different vantage points.

After all, Asmodeus already had his eyes among Glaysia and Fengo... His frequent reports sometimes even caused preconceived biases.

But seeing from another angle might reveal some flaws.

Such intrigues were undoubtedly second nature to Asmodeus, and Hil’s ability to guess this stems from his fondness for watching spy dramas.

Though he never had the insight to devise such tactics, upon seeing the results, he could match them to a template.

This time, Asmodeus genuinely experienced what it meant to have an unexpected surprise.

Caught off-guard at the least expected moment, the sudden shock made the identity-unknown mage’s face change instantly.

The Gem of Chaos was always a ’Disaster Star’ for Asmodeus, who represented the Dark Order yet lacked luck.

It does proportional damage to Order creatures.

But when its destructive power reaches an unsolvable level, there would certainly be another weakening mechanism.

That is to say, its damage might also be proportionally... with a twenty percent chance of failure.

For an existence like Hil, that twenty percent is tantamount to nothing; never would it be used.

However, for a being like Asmodeus, who could never count on luck, that twenty percent might as well not exist.

His chance of failure, well, if the opponent were Six Fingers, there might be a slim possibility... Despite Dimogogan’s notoriety, the Curse of Misfortune effective on Abyssal Demons didn’t afflict him as much as it did Six Fingers.

But Asmodeus was unwilling to admit that his own bad luck was heavier than Six Fingers’ lot.

He tends to think it’s the result of his high degree of fusion with the Darkness.

In some sense, that’s not entirely a lie... Shaer’s luck wasn’t great either.

After all, negative Laws seldom provide positive benefits.

Thus, when the Lord of Hell encounters potential threats, he escapes first, which in part relates to Demon Lords throwing Chaos Gems or similar potent Strange Objects upon sight.

And the faster he fled, the more of these strange objects the Great Demon from the Bottomless Abyss had to prepare... If he couldn’t act immediately, Asmodeus would have long disappeared without a trace.

This complementary spectacle is very vivid in the elves’ inherited memory: after all, they too can create the Gem of Chaos.

However, because this thing requires some materials from the Evil System, the Grand Elven Mages of the Kind Alignment are reluctant to do it themselves.

But they don’t mind buying a few from neutral and chaotic mages to hide on themselves.

After all, for the elves who tend to be heedless and easily lose themselves in praise, besides the dark Zholar, the devils are the most likely to ruin them.

The elves indeed have a deeper enmity with the Zholar, but... they are the least willing to fall into the hands of devils.

Though it sounds absurd, this is the elves.

However, at this moment, Hilbert, the main target of Delphus, not only seemed quite leisurely but was also very interested in watching others’ jokes when a particular mage quietly took a step back, almost standing next to a female mage who rarely showed herself.

In front was that pale male mage, and beside him, there was now a Ninth Ring Shield he could pull in front of him at any time, which seemed to finally set his mind at ease, as he knocked on the black pearl ring on his hand.

The pale male mage focused for a few seconds before softly asking, ”Archmage Delphus, what is this strange object of yours?

Such a large diamond is rare indeed!”

Even while holding the diamond, Delphus still hesitated a bit: the conditions for using this treasure are stringent, and it can only be used three times.

But the people behind him can only be used but not trusted; Delphus absolutely dared not exhaust all his mana.

Although he has many premium mana potions from Sia Tower, these potions, if taken when mana is depleted, regenerate rather slowly.

Moreover, they cannot be consumed consecutively.

But it would take at least two bottles for his mana to recover to a normal level.

Therefore, although he boasted, Delphus still hesitated whether to really use it.

”Oro Cardenas,” he murmured somewhat absentmindedly, ”Yeah, although the relationship between the Tower of Despair and the Tower of Dark Enigma is complex, they have no relation with the Defense Tower.

Ruth... that guy is full of cunning, won’t tell everything...”

Then he immediately stopped his speech, glancing around in a bit of confusion.

Finding no issue, Delphus couldn’t help but shake his head: he probably had been hit too hard today, almost saying aloud the information he had just learned.

He looked at the fist-sized colorful diamond in his hand and solemnly said, ”This is the Order Jewel.”

Hilbert and the male mage who lingered to the edge nearly blinked simultaneously.

The one who named the Gem of Chaos made for the Demon Lord, and popularized by chaotic mages, as Order Jewel really had a sense of humor.

”As long as it’s a protective array of magic towers in our world, the Order Jewel has an eighty percent chance to directly break it,” Delphus said proudly, ”At the same time, it releases a golden fire wall that burns everything.”

”Huh?” Hilbert, who had been tilting his head listening to the jokes, couldn’t help but stand up... why does it sound like Scorching Radiance?

No wonder, the jewel in his hand was dancing with chaotic light, yet it was so colorful.

Hill suddenly understood why the Archmage Hainarson of the Defense Tower, who was clearly of the Orderly Camp, could create such a legendary-class strange object like the Gem of Chaos, which can only be made by the Chaotic Faction!

Moreover, he even comprehended why only Hainarson could learn this method of production.

If anyone in the Defense Tower belongs to the Neutral Faction, it would undoubtedly be Hainarson.

Sometimes, while someone can stay untainted when emerging from the mud, finding another path from evil requires a long journey of the heart, or even some unexpected blow.

And the Hainarson Clan, with a relatively high baseline, indeed nurtured the most neutral mages.

Even so, the mutated version of the Gem of Chaos he learned did not include force field magic like Chaos Protection.

But for devils, the damage caused by combining these two spells is the greatest.

Delphus suddenly gritted his teeth and activated the Great Diamond in his hand in a flash.

”Eh?” The male mage hiding to the side made a surprised sound... He had been pondering what had happened to lead to such an incredible result, not expecting the previously hesitant Delphus to actually make a move.

Wasn’t he just torn between choices?

What blinded him?