The others also looked over in surprise and curiosity, wondering why the scrying mirror was making noise.
When the middle-aged man saw this, his face imdiately changed, and he fled toward the door without a word.
But before he could escape a few steps, Edward directly froze him with a Petrificus Totalus.
As the man remained in a rigid posture, his face filled with terror, Edward snorted coldly, then turned to Mayor Grae and said, "This person harbors ill intentions and is very suspicious. I'll leave him to you, Mayor Grae, for interrogation."
"Uh… alright!" Mayor Grae was also taken aback by this scene, but he quickly nodded.
He had also noticed that for those who were eliminated earlier, even if they were disloyal, the scrying mirror only emitted a faint glow.
However, this person not only made the scrying mirror blaze dazzlingly bright but also caused it to emit frantic warning cries. This indicated that he was not only disloyal but filled with malice, so much so that the scrying mirror itself reacted violently.
The appearance of such a malevolent person in Bree City, and his success in passing the first two rounds of assessnt, was clearly unusual.
As the Mayor of Bree City, Grae naturally had a duty to take responsibility.
So, he temporarily put aside watching the assessnt, pulled out his wand, waved it to conjure chains to bind the man, then levitated him out of the room to be handed over to the militia for detention and later interrogation.
By the ti he finished handling the matter and returned to the assessnt site, the evaluation had just concluded.
Among the remaining people, no one else caused the scrying mirror to give frantic warnings like before.
But looking at the dwindling number of successful candidates, Mayor Grae felt even more depressed.
Because out of the original two hundred and forty people, only one hundred and twenty-two remained after the third round of elimination, nearly half had been cut.
For the five hundred Wizard slots, Bree City now accounted for only one hundred and twenty-two, which was too great a disparity.
He could only hope that the number of people in Hogsade would not be too different from Bree's, otherwise he wouldn't know how to face Lord Sylas.
After the three rounds of assessnt were completed, Edward declined Mayor Grae's invitation and went to Hogsade through the fireplace to conduct the sa three rounds of assessnt there.
As for the one hundred and twenty-two people who passed all assessnts, they were inford that they had secured a Wizard slot and would proceed to the Castle on the chosen day to acquire magical abilities.
Among these people, a large portion were militian, as well as elders like Barliman Buttercup, and more than a dozen won and young girls.
Especially those dozen or so won, who were particularly eye-catching.
In Middle-earth, especially in human society, the status of won was not high; they were dependent on n for their existence, much like in the dieval era.
And these won, who were able to stand out from tens of thousands of people in Bree City and beco part of the final one hundred and twenty-two, were enough to make many look at them with newfound respect.
Mayor Grae even treated these successful candidates with equal respect in both tone and attitude.
After all, although these people were currently ordinary, they would all soon beco Wizards, an honor enough to command respect.
Edward also set up three trials in Hogsade to select Wizard candidates.
Perhaps it was because it lay at the foot of Weathertop, close to the Castle and to Lord Sylas himself, where residents could more frequently witness the wonders of magic.
Compared to the people of Bree City, the residents of Hogsade yearned for magic even more deeply.
Therefore, the number of participants in the assessnts was far greater and more enthusiastic.
In the first round of the fire wall trial, nearly three thousand people successfully passed, the figure was almost double that of Bree City.
In the second round, the willpower trial, more than five hundred people successfully passed.
And in the third round, the loyalty test, two hundred and eighty-seven people passed.
Mayor Luke already knew the number of successful candidates from Bree City. Now that his own city had more than double Bree's count, and that his daughter was among them, he burst into laughter.
The total number of Wizard slots from both cities was now four hundred and nine, still short of the target five hundred by ninety-one.
However, one must not forget that under Lord Sylas's command, besides these two cities, there were also the Wild n of Isengard.
Following Lord Sylas's instructions, Edward went once again, this ti to Isengard through the fireplace, to conduct the sa three rounds of assessnt for the Wild n.
Finally, one hundred and thirty-one Wild n passed the assessnt.
Thus, the total number reached five hundred and forty, already exceeding the previously stipulated quota.
Edward returned to the Castle and reported this to Lord Sylas.
Sylas didn't mind the excess at all; he was extrely satisfied with Edward's work.
After three rounds of rigorous screening, the remaining candidates were all elites, possessing courage, willpower, and, most importantly, unwavering loyalty to him.
Such elites, after undergoing transformation, would all beco Wizards loyal to him.
So Sylas simply waved his hand, gathered all those who had passed the three rounds of assessnt, brought them to Hogwarts Castle, and began performing the bloodline fusion ritual to transform them into Wizards.
As for the issue of exceeding the number and the shortage of dragon blood, Sylas stated that there was still Frost Dragon blood left unused, and if necessary, he could go to the Dragon Farm to draw fresh blood from the dragons there, afterward feeding them blood-replenishing Potions to recover.
Moreover, besides dragon blood, Sylas also considered using other parts of the dragon as substitutes, such as dragon at. Though the magic power it contained was not as pure or potent as dragon blood, the difference could be made up for in quantity.
After all, he had so many dragon corpses that he could never exhaust them all.
When the more than five hundred chosen individuals gathered at Hogwarts Castle, Sylas personally took charge of the n, while the won were entrusted to Arwen.
Following the principle of "ladies first," Sylas had Arwen lead the won to the "Pool" to undergo fusion with dragon blood.
The won from Bree City, Hogsade, and the Wild n who passed the assessnts numbered nearly a hundred.
Facing the beautiful and gentle Lady of the Castle, none of the won could feel jealousy or fear.
Arwen was like a kind and serene goddess, treating everyone equally, overlooking no one, radiating a gentle aura that soothed even the most anxious hearts.
Under her guidance, the won slowly shed their hesitation, removed their garnts, and one by one stepped into the scalding, churning blood pool.
Although they had once experienced the pain through the illusions of the earlier assessnts, truly imrsing themselves now in the magma-like, blood-red Potion was a tornt beyond words, the agony of tendons being pulled and marrow being extracted, the sensation of their very blood being burned and replaced.
But even under such suffering, these won clenched their teeth and endured, refusing to yield even if death awaited them.
Almost all of them had faced hardship and oppression all their lives; their spirits were tempered like steel. Their determination surpassed that of many n.
For them, this was not just a ritual, it was a rebirth. If they succeeded, they would no longer be powerless or looked down upon; they would rise above their suffering and command the power of magic itself.
Arwen stood beside the Witchcraft Pool, watching their struggle, and her heart filled with compassion. A soft, silvery light, like starlight over still water, began to flow from her body as she whispered an ancient Elvish prayer.
"May the Valar bless you… and take away your pain."
Bathed in the gentle light, the won's faces slowly eased. The unbearable pain dulled, and their expressions softened into peaceful sleep, as if wrapped in a divine dream.
Soon, each woman beca encased in a blood cocoon, suspended between death and rebirth.
The hall fell silent, the only sound the faint bubbling of the crimson pool.
Arwen waited patiently, her calm gaze never wavering. There was no trace of haste or worry, only quiet faith, her presence as gentle as moonlight over snow.
Finally, one by one, the blood cocoons began to tremble. Cracks spread across their surfaces, and then, like butterflies breaking free of chrysalises, the won erged.
Their eyes shone with new brilliance, their skin radiant, their movents graceful and assured.
They had been reborn, no longer re mortals, but true Witches.
Reviews
All reviews (0)