From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 521 The Joint Struggle Against the Killing Clan
In the world of Toril, even the highest gods can fall.

In the past, the wars between the gods were always unknown to mortals, and their battles were always conducted in a manner that transcended the perspective of mortals.

Until the "Year of Turmoil," a major event that occurred in the Pantheon completely changed the relationship between the gods and brought mortals closer to the gods.

Because of the loss of the Tablet of Destiny, all the high and mighty gods were banished to the mortal realm by the supreme god, Aio.

During this period, many gods were trapped in the bodies of mortals, resulting in a loss of one-tenth of their original strength. Many gods who had never had a similar experience perished due to accidents, while many mortals used this opportunity to realize their ambitions and successfully ascend to godhood.

It was during this process that Baal, the god of murder, began his work of constantly producing offspring.

He left offspring on the continent of Faerûn not to strengthen the church of the god of murder, nor to plot any conspiracy, but simply to prepare a plan for his own resurrection in advance of his death.

The Baal children, scattered throughout the continent of Faerûn, will one day be affected by the blood of slaughter within them, and will fight each other relentlessly with their blood relatives until only one Baal child remains on the entire continent of Faerûn.

When this last son of Baal dies, Baal, the god of murder, will be able to reclaim all the divine power scattered within his offspring, freeing them from the shackles of death and once again making the infamous name of the god of murder resound throughout the entire continent.

In short, Baal's resurrection plan is to put his children in a battle royale, using a kind of "poisonous insect" fight to determine the winner, and then use the winner to complete the resurrection.

When Chalm, the son of Baal and a hero of Baldur's Gate who had tried to break free from the influence of the Father God, died a hundred years ago, Baal, the god of murder, had already returned from the dead.

The Supreme God's plan that took place at Baldur's Gate is His first gift to the world of Toril after His return.

The many Baal's Sons appearing in the Murder Tribunal today are actually just echoes of the past created by Crimson Olin through murder rituals, and cannot be considered true Baal's Sons.

But after they die, the other Baal sons within the ritual area will draw power from the dead, just as Chanem killed all five Baal descendants a hundred years ago, gradually gathering the soul of the god of murder.

Following the fall of the fire giant Jagasura, other dead soon appeared on the battlefield.

She is Amelisa, the priestess of Baal, a heartless woman.

As a spellcaster and an ambitious schemer, the wicked Amélisa's goal a hundred years ago was not to resurrect Baal, but to usurp the souls of all Baal's sons and replace Baal as the new god of murder.

It must be said that, due to the influence of Baal's bloodline, the proportion of ambitious and mentally ill individuals among his descendants is unprecedentedly high. However, these echoes of Baal's sons, awakened from the blood pool by Orin through a murder ritual, did not fully inherit the original's power.

Therefore, the fire giant Jagasura is like a headless, muscular monster, while the wicked Amélisa is like a merciless spell-casting machine.

Unfortunately, she had only recited a short section of her incantation when the dagger of evil intent pierced her chest.

With the help of the Drow Paladin's magical longsword, which shimmered with the power of oath, the wicked Amelisa was instantly cleaved in two from head to toe, turning into a pool of foul-smelling blood.

Separated from the adventurers by the force field wall, only the Echoes of Baal's Sons remained: the Drow Elf Matriarch Sylvanas and Elasera, the first of the Five Clans to die.

Both of them were half-elves. One was as agile and swift as the wind, while the other was a master of poisons and schemes. Now, after being strengthened again, they were able to counterattack while defending themselves, and seemed poised to break out of the encirclement.

Half-drow Senna met the silver sword of the Githyanki warrior Lyezal head-on with her dagger; the death of the fire giant Jagasura had greatly enhanced her power. As she retreated, Senna unleashed a wave of blood from the ground, crashing head-on into the adventurers.

No one knows how many toxins and the grief of the tragically deceased have mixed into the filthy blood on the ground, and no one wants to experience it for themselves.

Gale held his staff horizontally in front of him, chanting obscure and profound incantations. A bluish-white blast of freezing air burst forth from the staff held between his hands. The cone-shaped blast of freezing air, mixed with ice crystals and waves of blood, collided and instantly erected another incongruous red ice wall in the hall of the Murder Tribunal.

Halsin, transformed into a giant bear, shook off the shards of ice from his skin, roared, and stood upright, greatly increasing the power of his two hammer-like bear paws with his own weight.

Even a heavily armored knight completely encased in an iron canister would only be smashed into a pancake by a raging cave bear whose size difference is too great.

Unfortunately, the enemy standing before the Archdruid was Elasera, the half-elf ranger known as the Swift One.

Like a gentle breeze across the water, Elacela dodged the bear's paw that was accompanied by a fierce wind, and as she leaped to the side, she drew her bow and shot an arrow, aiming it directly at the spellcasters in the back row.

The heavily rusted black arrow was covered in bloodstains, clearly indicating that it could cause dozens of secondary diseases and toxins to wounds, and no one wanted to get hit by it.

However, Shadowheart, who was responsible for providing support in the midfield, had just deflected the boulder thrown by the fire giant Jagasura with her shield and was now unable to move again. The dual-wielding druid Jahira was also temporarily unable to fight due to injury and poisoning, not to mention the demonic sorcerer Will.

The Border Blade has always been a lone wolf, and he focuses more on offense than supporting his teammates. How can he effectively protect the ranged spellcasters in the back row?

So the task of controlling the situation fell to Ivy again.

Suddenly, the giant gem at the top of the mithril staff burst into a dazzling light. A gust of wind rose from the ground inside the sealed and airtight Murder Tribunal. The cloaks and robes of the mages fluttered in the wind, and most of the arrows flying in the wind were crooked and deviated from their original trajectory.

This is a fifth-circle alteration spell that manipulates the wind, changing the direction and force of wind over a vast area. Enemies facing the wind head-on will suffer a movement penalty, while allies facing the wind will receive a movement penalty. However, regardless of the wind direction, all ranged attacks within the wind field will be considered disadvantageous, meaning the lower of the two dice will be used.

Focusing on killing efficiency, Irasera aimed at the spellcasters' heads. Compared to the torso, such targets were obviously more lethal and, of course, more difficult to hit. As a result, the sudden change in the wind force indoors caused all the arrows fired by the Swift One to deviate from their course.

Since entering Baldur's Gate, Ivy has been in a state of alternating [Air Elemental Summoning] and [Earth Elemental Summoning], and his manipulation of the wind element has become more flexible and varied. The summoned gales no longer simply blow in one direction, but can dynamically coordinate with the adventurers' attacks.

The Trident of Champion Wind, which returned to Karak's hands, also erupted with a burst of air elemental magic. When it was thrown out again, the resulting thunderous explosion had a larger range and greater intensity.

Even if a nimble swiftman dodges the trident's blade, he cannot avoid being injured by the subsequent thunderous explosion.

The moment Elacela's movements faltered, the melee ranger Minsk saw an opening. He let out a frenzied battle roar, raised his greatsword and slashed upwards, combining it with the three bursts of magical energy that Will fired, aiming straight for the Swiftman's head.

But the sparks from the clash of weapons prevented the Echoes of Baal from suffering further losses.

The other Baal's Sons, who had been blocked on the other side of the Force Wall spell, have broken through the barrier and joined the battle.

In the hands of a skilled warrior like Salofok, the heavy two-handed greatsword was like a giant python raising its head to attack, while the broad blade was like a heavy shield, always able to intercept the Leatherman's straight attacks at just the right moment.

As an old rival from a hundred years ago, Sarovok, who had just joined the battle, immediately faced Minsk, the big-mouthed ranger he hated the most.

Ivy used her arcane vision to confirm who had dispelled her Force Wall spell. In any battle, the enemy's spellcaster should be the first target to be eliminated.

The hands of the half-blue dragon Abazigo still retained the magical aura of alteration magic. It was because of the death of the wicked Amelisa that Baal's son, who inherited the dragon bloodline from the blue dragon, was able to regain a stronger spellcasting ability. With the disintegration spell, which is the nemesis of force wall spells, he dispelled the invincible barrier and restored the terrain of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, High Duke's advisor, Floric, finally completed his first spell since the start of the war, a universal spell beloved by all the Evoking Barbarians—Fireball.

Blazing flames exploded around Abazigo, who was far from the battlefield. To avoid his spells affecting his teammates, Floric chose the safest opponent, but this was also the least efficient approach.

After all, the advisor's job is to provide advice to the High Duke, not to fight on the front lines of the battlefield. So it is quite normal for this woman, who has been navigating the political arena of Baldur's Gate for many years, to be less combat-ready.

The adventurers who also noticed the appearance of enemy spellcasters were not only the mage characters in the back row, but also the drow exile Minsara, who was on the front line of the battlefield.

After joining forces with the evil spirits to take down a person, Mingsala planted his longsword in the ground, his eyes wide with rage, pointed at the enemy, and loudly announced his enemy.

As a paladin bound by a vow of vengeance, Mingsara gains an unimaginable advantage when fighting her enemies. If this heavily armored paladin were to get close to the half-dragon spellcaster, even Abazigo's scales inherited from the blue dragon would be unable to stop the magical longsword imbued with the holy power of his vow.

After all, the Supreme Slash never wastes words, nor does it give the enemy a chance to say anything unnecessary.

However, the Echo of Baal's Sons who rejoined the battle was not just the half-dragon Abazigo.

There is also a monk named Balthazar. Although he shares the same name as the necromancer advisor of Katheric Som, they are not actually the same person.

In his lifetime, as a warrior monk who honed his mind and body, Balthazar had always resisted the blood of Baal within him. The murderous impulses emanating from the gods tormented him, ultimately leading him to make a startling decision.

He was determined to eliminate all influence of the god of murder on the continent of Faerûn!
To achieve this goal, he decided to kill all the Baal's sons on the continent of Faerûn, and then commit suicide to end the malevolent bloodline of the god of murder.

For Bal, who was already hosting a chicken-eating contest for his children, his unfilial son, Basazar, was completely wrong in his goal, but right in his process and result.

It's a pity that Balthazar was not strong enough, otherwise the God of Murder would have been fully resurrected a hundred years ago.

The agile and physically powerful monk leaped high and clung to the stone pillar of the Murder Tribunal to avoid the violent explosion caused by the fireball spell.

As the Drow Paladins charged with their longswords raised high, the monks, who had been hanging upside down from the rooftops, launched an attack from the sky.

The relentless punches bypassed Elise's magical longsword and pounded against the drow elf's adamantite heavy armor. The force of the punches even left bruises on the fully armed and muscular body.

This was the second time on the same day that Minsara had been attacked with something capable of penetrating her adamantine armor. The last time, she was used as an impromptu melee weapon and slammed against a wall; this time, she was struck by a monk's bare palms, an attack that pierced her defenses.

Anxiety and anger offer no advantage, a fact Minsara knows all too well.

Her opponent's attacks were as swift as thunder, and her movements were as agile as a breeze. Apart from deliberately creating openings to lure the enemy in, she had no choice but to wait for her teammates' support.

Minsara believed that DOOM would not disappoint her. This resourceful mage could always provide magical support at the right time, which was worlds apart from those spell-wielding barbarians who only knew how to get themselves into trouble and hurt their teammates.

The stirring music suddenly drowned out all the sounds of weapons clashing, magic exchanging, battle cries, and curses on the battlefield, giving Minsara a jolt. She knew very well that DOOM was not only a skilled spellcaster but also a highly skilled bard. However, after entering Baldur's Gate, he spent more and more time researching and less and less time playing music with his companions around the campfire.

A bard's performance can boost morale and bring unexpected benefits to the entire team. Minsara was well aware of this, but what she needed right now wasn't morale, but a way to decisively cripple the enemy. Magic with effects like imprisonment was the help she desperately needed.

Just as Minsara couldn't help but turn around and seek help with his eyes, the floor tiles covered in blood suddenly loosened, and a large number of thorny vines sprouted from the ground, tightly wrapping around the nimble feet of the monk Balsazar.

Minsara couldn't help but curse, "Too slow! Harpist! Is it your old bones that are starting to ache again?"

"Is this how you say thank you? No wonder drow find it hard to find love and friendship on the surface world." Having lived in Baldur's Gate, a place that can only be described as a cesspool, for over a hundred years, Jasera's verbal skills are perhaps the fastest-improving and the only skill that hasn't gradually declined with age. After taking control of the situation, she immediately brandished her dual swords and advanced towards the enemy in front of her, launching a verbal attack on her teammates' weakest points.

(End of this chapter)