Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1023: Cult’s Army

In the western outskirts of the city, several mysterious figures wearing dark robes suddenly made their presence known.

It was as if a deep and ancient veil of concealment had been shed away, and the moment it did... the boundless and overbearing strength of these figures radiated outward, seemingly making the ground tremble.

Moreover, these figures were never on land to begin with. No, they levitated in the air, coldly gazing down at the city of Ravenfell that sprawled before them.

The moment they appeared in the skies, several Magi guarding the city walls, the vast majority of them being at the Mana Foundation Rank, paled almost immediately.

They felt a chill crawl down their spines, and it felt like someone had viciously gripped their hearts, causing them to be unable to breathe.

At once, all of them faced these mysterious Magi, and when they laid eyes on them, they instantly knew...

Mana Core Magi!

This was the peak of strength in this world, their existences so hallowed that Magi would spend their entire lives without having met one.

Yet now... four of them hovered in the air, each one of them radiating boundless hostility and bloodthirst.

The Mana Core Magi of the Cult of Bones had finally appeared!

***

Beneath the grand city of Ravenfell lay an ancient, sprawling complex of sewer tunnels. These were build along with the founding of the city hundreds of years ago.

These tunnels were used for water management and waste disposal. Through the ingenious fusion of engineering and magic, the sewer system worked independently.

Only minor maintenance work was required once or twice every decade. But due to this very reason, the sewer complex had been abandoned and forgotten by the vast public.

But now... something stirred in its depths.

The Cult of Bones had long since infiltrated these tunnels. They had also been previously used by the people working for the Duskfall Couple, as well as the members of the Red Fists.

Now, the main force of the Cult slithered through the darkness like rot beneath the surface of the city.

Unseen and unchecked, they begun using the forsaken labyrinth as a staging ground, moving weapons, gathering forces, and positioning themselves for an all out siege on the city above.

Of course, to go unnoticed, the Cult had had great assistance from the traitors of the city. Otherwise, it would have been nigh impossible for them not to draw any attention.

What was once a forgotten part of Ravenfell’s past... had become the underbelly of its looming destruction.

When the signal was given, countless explosions erupted across the five districts of the city. Gaping holes tore through the manholes and sewer gates scattered throughout Ravenfell, and from them...

The Cult’s army began to rise.

It was important to note that Ravenfell had six sprawling districts, yet the explosions only occurred in five of them.

The Cult seemingly left the last district untouched, and this was not by chance.

After all, the sixth district was Corvid Quarter, and the Cultists had grand plans for it...

***

In the coastal waters, a dozen galleons suddenly materialized out of thin air, the same way the Mana Core Magi had earlier.

These were vast, towering ships with black sails and hulls that groaned like ancient beasts of prey. Their sudden arrival churned the waves, sending ripples toward the shore as startled seagulls took flight in a chaotic frenzy.

Each vessel flew the same eerie banner... a white skull wearing a black crown.

From the decks of these ships, Magi clad in dark robes and armor stood in grim silence, staring toward the looming city with cold purpose.

Yet, the madness and the bloodlust in their eyes could not be hidden.

The magic that cloaked their approach faded like morning mist under the gradually setting sun, revealing a fleet carrying hundreds of cultists.

It almost seemed as if they hadn’t sailed the vast Galestine Ocean, but instead teleported right into enemy territory!

And high atop Ravenfell’s coastal watchtowers, the Magi stood with telescopes and scrying crystal balls in hand, scanning the sea.

The sky was clear, the waves were gentle... until they weren’t.

The Magi froze, their eyes widening. They suddenly saw a dozen ghostlike silhouettes that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

Within seconds, the massive galleons surged into existence, their dark sails billowing with unnatural wind, their hulls cutting through the water with ruthlessness.

Although the Magi stationed at the watchtowers knew that there was a great possibility that the city would be attacked while the tournament was going on, they still hoped that that wasn’t the case.

And now... everything changed.

Those galleons had to be carrying at least a thousand Magi in total!

Without wasting another breath, one of the guards scrambled for the alarm bell, yanking the chord with frantic urgency. A deep, sonorous clang rang out, echoing through the cliffs and the streets.

But amidst the thunder of explosions, their warning may have been drowned out.

At once, panic erupted.

Ravenfell had been surrounded.

From the sewers below, and now... from the sea.

***

In the dark slums of the Corvid Quarter, where decay clung to the broken walls and the air was thick with the stench of rot, something suddenly stirred... something that had been in the making for the better part of a decade.

Within a crumbling, forgotten house, lay a corpse. It belonged to an old man who must have died because of a lack of nourishment for the body. Things like these were quite common in the slums.

But something about this corpse seemed... odd.

Because it suddenly twitched!

First, it was the finger. Then the hand. With a sickening crack, the body convulsed upright like a puppet yanked by invisible strings.

His—no, it’s—milky and lifeless eyes snapped open.

The door to the shack creaked open with an eerie groan, and the thing that had once been a man stumbled out. Its skin was cold and flaking, parts of its face barely clinging to the bone.

Then, it lifted its head to the sky... and let out a shriek. It was a sound that curdled the blood of all who heard it.

And then, it lunged forward, its mouth opening ravenously.

A woman walking the street barely had time to scream before the creature pounced on her, its shriek devolving into guttural snarls as it dragged her to the muddy ground.

And from the shacks and houses around...

More doors began to open.