Silent Crown

Chapter 213 Small Episode 2

Smoke permeated the heavy darkness and no one knew what had really happened. They could only feel that all attacks were pointless. In the end, even the phantom beasts seemed to have become lost and could not find Ye Qingxuan. In the vicinity of Symphony No. 8, smoke continued to spread and covered the entire place.

The manticore paced outside the smoke. Sometimes, it would pounce, but it never succeeded. The enemy was like a slippery fish. It would always miss or brush shoulders with him.

It seemed that failure was only a matter of time, but he stood at the edge of danger without falling. It looked as if he was trying to ensue a time out, but it was taking too long. Slowly, the spectators grew numb. They no longer had any worries; instead they began animatedly discussing how long the Eastern guy could last.

But to Banner, this situation was horrible. Now, no matter what music score he used or how he controlled the manticore, it was all ineffective. On one hand, the beastly side had been awoken. After the beast lost its master’s control, its reaction speed was affected. But on the other hand, it was because the enemy was truly too tricky. And this guy…when did he become a Modifications musician?!

He had not used a complete music score, but his wrist and technique, as well as the smooth and casual posture, were all so fierce and awe-inspiring. Banner no longer had any thoughts of immediate victory. He had sunk into this unexpected stalemate and his fighting grew more panicked. And the opponent seemed to know his moves like the back of his hand. Banner’s well-planned actions were easily countered, as if Ye Qingxuan was…playing with a kid!

"How much longer are you going to hide for?!" Banner growled. "Get the f*ck out!"

The music score in the alchemy equipment around his neck was activated. It created a gale, blowing the heavy smoke apart. As the smoke spread, the world grew dark again, making one feel the urge to sleep. What the hell was this?

In the stands, Ludwig waved his hand and grasped a wisp of smoke. It floated past his nose. It smelled pungent, with a tinge of hidden Soma wine, which was exactly what he had predicted.

"He purposely made Banner lose his reasoning." Ludwig sighed. "…This is the Incense of the Lost."

Volatile substances, combustion agent, borneol, bovine marrow, incense, Suma wine, white orange wood, green salt…Summoning musicians had found inspiration in Indian spices and created this formula after decades of experimentation.

It was the best narcotic and hallucinogen to beasts. It was like opium for humans. It would make the crazed beast become confused with slow reaction speeds. Its abilities would weaken and sink into extreme fatigue. Just like how a cat would become excited with catnip, a snake would become drunk with dogwood…this was the beast’s nature. When a phantom beast lost its musician’s total control, and its beastly nature gained the upper hand, it meant that it would be controlled by its nature. If it was unable to receive its owner’s clear orders, it would become drunk. It would be a miracle if the beast did not get into the way, let alone cooperate with the musician. Furthermore…

"This is your fatal weakness, Banner." Ye Qingxuan’s voice floated over in the darkness. "Indeed, you’ve become an official musician, but what’s the difference between an official musician that only has strength and an upgraded student?"

Yes, this was Banner’s fatal weakness. It was just how Ye Qingxuan had practically no experience in face-to-face combat. No amount of sublimation rituals, heart mark inheritance and Deva sensing could make up for Banner’s lack. He had no experience in using his power. Personal experience could never be replaced by coaching, learning, and reading. It was something that came from failures and defeat. Those that had never lost before would not know what was the most important in battle.

Furthermore, something as large as the manticore was too much for Banner. Indeed, it was the phantom beast passed down through generations of the Adrian family. It was also very powerful, but it was too powerful. In fact, even an official musician would have difficulty controlling it.

For a musician with barely any experience, this situation was like a child playing pretend. The Adrian family was too impatient and gave it to Banner too early. This strong power was enough to be a terror in the schoolyard, but was not much for his enemies, especially when he faced someone who made a name for himself in downtown by using sneaky attacks like Ye Qingxuan.

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s voice, Banner felt silent. A spider web of purple veins bulged across his pale face.

The melody halted before it began abruptly once again. It was the same symphony piece, but the melody was completely different from before. It was much grander, with brewing wildness. It had jumped directly from the first movement to the fourth?!

"Banner! Don’t force yourself…" Cullen gasped. "Fully playing the symphony is out of your control."

"Shut up!" Banner’s voice was like grating metal. "I want to crush them. I must…"

Under the coherence, the melody grew in intensity! A storm wind swept through as the melody surged once again. Another layer of dark clouds appeared in the black sky above the field. The layers of clouds were like frozen ice cubes with a charcoal gray color. But lightning flashed through the layer of black clouds. The faint electricity illuminated the giant figure hidden within. The gradually condensing and swimming shadow was like a humongous sea creature hidden in the deep sea. It appeared slowly out of the darkness, spread its wings and roared! It was a dragon’s roar.

The fourth movement of Symphony No. 8 was referred to as a thunderstorm by the composer. It originated from the legend of the Dragon of Disaster. The giant dragon rode in the sky, spread its wings and brought about darkness. When it flapped its wings, it would bring a destructive thunderstorm. Calling forth the dragon’s shadow was the fourth movement’s power.

The dragon’s roar was like thunder, making his own teammates pale. Even if they put their strength together, it would still be difficult to disrupt the sea of aether. Only resonating with the world could create that influence.

Even if they could only resonate with the sea of aether, this was still a Resonance level music score! Banner’s joints cracked under the pressure of the aether’s reactionary force, but rather than stopping him, it drove him even wilder.

An average musician would probably have broken down or gone unconscious under this huge pressure, but Banner was still fine. The manticore roared beside him. Its body became a bit smaller as it took some of the backlash from Banner.

The biggest advantage of the School of Summoning was not their human wave attack or their strange phantom beasts. Their most basic strength was in their extraordinary resilience against pressure. Unlike musicians from other schools who fought alone, they were able to share their psychological stress with the demons in their minds. When they reached the Scepter level, they could even have the phantom beast take fatal injuries for them. It was as if they had multiple lives. In the East, these musicians were given names such as "the cat with nine lives," Nekomata, and "seven-headed snake." But their enemies probably would not be so lucky.

Seeing that Banner was about to reach the climax without any care, Cullen thought of the consequences and gasped, "Banner, what are you doing?"

"Shut up! I don’t need you!" Banner spun around and glared at Cullen. His eyes were the same sharp emerald as the manticore’s eyes. He had been eroded by the beastly nature.

The realization dawned on Cullen, but it was already too late. He no longer had the strength to speak. All of his energy was put into fighting against the melody’s pressure. As strength brewed in the clouds, the shadow of the dragon grew more consolidated and the pressure on the players grew as well.

Everyone trembled and forced themselves to endure the sharp headache. They used all their energy to maintain the melody. If they succeeded, they would only become sick. But if they stopped the coherence right now, the backlash of the music theory was enough to shatter their perception. The lightest consequence would be getting sent to the emergency room of the Whitechapel Hospital!

As the pressure grew, some were already at the brink of collapse, but suddenly, a new melody joined this chaotic music score. It entered the coherence like a savior at the most critical moment. The arrival of this new force lightened everyone’s load. They let out a breath of relief, but they did not know who had helped them.

The melody fit perfectly with their frequency and reacted to their sudden changes, melding into the resonance. It took away most of the pressure and even then, the person did not seem to be losing control. The coherence technique was quiet and stable, and the melody flowed like water without a bit of hardness. It was flawless!

Overjoyed, Cullen looked over with his perception. He had never realized that there was such a genius on his team. This skill was something that others could only dream of. The man had saved the entire situation at the most critical moment. He had practically held up the sky and parted the sea! But when Cullen found the source of the coherence, he was completely flabbergasted.

Wait, wait a minute…what was this? Was it a hallucination? Had he suddenly teleported to some weird parallel universe? Was the history department fighting within themselves? The one who completed the music score at the most critical point and relieved everyone’s stress, pushing the history department to the point of no return…Was Charles?