I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

"Ouch, why did you push me?"

After being pushed away, Sonia was about to question them when she observed through her magic vision that a humanoid creature had just fallen to the spot where they had been standing.

The thing was on all fours with its head turned to one side, displaying a posture that a normal human could never do.

My eyes told me this was human, but my reason denied it.

But after thinking it over, I still felt that my life was more important.

She swallowed back the words of complaint that were about to come out of her mouth, put on the rattan armor in the dark, and took out a few bottles of holy water from her spatial ring, throwing them in the direction of the thing.

The bottle shattered upon hitting the ground, and holy light burst forth.

The light lasted for less than a moment before it was devoured from the edges by something and went out in an instant.

Sonia was stunned, then pulled out two more bottles and threw them, with the same result.

The holy light left no trace in the darkness, as if it had never existed.

I had just heard Sherry say that there were monsters that were not afraid of holy light, and then this happened.

No, is that right?

As a staunch mystical warrior, Sonia firmly believed that the dosage was insufficient, so she decided to go all out.

Unexpectedly, Ji Tian, ​​who had accidentally splashed holy water all over his trouser leg, waved to interrupt him, "Don't throw it away, it's useless."

From the other side of the banquet hall, Theodore's voice came from the darkness: "Everyone gather around me, I'm casting a magical shield."

A pale silver light membrane spread from the center of the banquet hall, enveloping those nearby.

The shield itself does not emit light and only provides protection, but the outline of the Magic Vision allows everyone present to perceive its presence.

The noise gradually dissipated within the protective barrier, and the nobles huddled together, tentatively identifying each other.

Shirley leaned closer to Ji Tian and asked:

"Master, why are people falling from the sky?"

"These people are monsters in disguise, but so far they don't seem to be aggressive. We should have come to a place with strange rules and legends."

"Strange tales of rules? I feel like I've heard them somewhere before..." Shirley said with a puzzled look followed by excitement. "That's right, you told me a similar bedtime story before! But I've forgotten the details."

Ji Tian sighed and rubbed his forehead, deciding that once he returned to the sect, he would definitely give a proper lesson on online novels to prevent the sect's disciples from becoming online novel illiterate and potentially being left behind by the times.

But that's a story for another time; he eventually began to explain again:

"Simply put, there's a set of rules that must be followed, and violating them will trigger certain consequences. Even ordinary people can figure out the patterns by observing them. It's been a long time since I've solved a problem using super intelligence."

Before leaving, Ji Tian first cast a protective shield around his father-in-law's family, and then said to Elena and the others:

"Stay close to me."

The four people left the banquet hall through a side door.

The darkness in the corridor was even greater than in the banquet hall, blurring even the outlines of the magic realm.

Ji Tian walked at the front, kicking open every tightly closed door he passed.

Shirley followed behind, trying to discern a pattern as they walked: "Is it getting dark? Are the lights broken?"

"Anything else?"

"And...did all these people fall from the sky?"

"Anything else?"

Shirley was silent for a moment: "That's all."

Ji Tian didn't urge her, and continued kicking open the next door.

Sonia suddenly spoke up, "We can unleash magic that generates light, but no light appears, and holy light can't be cast either. This means all light is being suppressed. The mannequins falling from the sky resemble the royal guards, which suggests they're trying to create the atmosphere of the palace being breached..."

"Furthermore, Hero, even though there might be servants hiding near the banquet hall, you could have knocked on the door before entering. What was the purpose of kicking it down?"

Ji Tian kicked open the next door:

"Since all these rules are so bizarre, who's going to knock on the door if they're a decent person?"

Shirley belatedly turned her head and noticed Sonia following in the group:

"Hey? Sonia, what are you doing here?"

Sonia adjusted the collar of her rattan armor, her face beaming with excitement:

"Something interesting is bound to happen if I stay with you guys, and besides, your master didn't kick me out, did he?"

However, there was also a reason for him to be concerned about his own life, since his brother Victor was not a good person.

Shirley looked at Ji Tian, ​​and seeing that he didn't object, she didn't ask any more questions.

A series of rapid, choking breaths came from the end of the corridor.

Ji Tian quickened his pace and kicked open the last door. Behind the door was a small guard room. Several spare standard longswords hung on a wooden shelf against the wall, and a drawn sword lay on the floor.

A guard stood in the center of the room, his hands tightly gripping his own neck, his eyes bulging, his face flushed, and his tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth.

His fingernails dug into his flesh, and his breathing grew fainter and fainter.

"It seems we've triggered a strange rule. Let's see if it's a death sentence."

Ji Tian stepped forward, grabbed the Imperial Guard's two wrists with one hand, and twisted them outwards.

Two crisp sounds of dislocation.

The Imperial Guard's hands went limp, and he knelt on the ground, panting heavily, his lips slowly returning to their normal color from bluish-purple.

"Th-thank you... I almost..."

"What did you just do?" Ji Tian crouched down, his gaze sweeping over the unsheathed longsword on the ground.

The Imperial Guard, catching his breath, answered haltingly:

"When I realized all the lights were off and I heard screams, I instinctively drew my sword... then my hand wouldn't obey me, I started pinching myself, and I couldn't let go..."

Ji Tian picked up the longsword, looked at it, and put it aside.

He grasped the guard's dislocated arm, and spiritual energy seeped into his palm, putting the joint back in place.

As soon as his arms regained their mobility, the guards immediately raised their hands again and uncontrollably reached for his own neck once more.

Ji Tian grabbed his wrist again and twisted it outwards.

Two more dislocations.

"It seems to be a persistent pattern."

But just now, someone drew a sword in the banquet hall. Why didn't they immediately stab themselves?

Ji Tian drew the holy sword from his waist.

Nothing happened.

Ji Tian sheathed the holy sword and gestured with his chin toward Shirley and the others:

"You step back five paces. Oh, and you too, soldier."

Sherry and the others obediently stepped back.

Ji Tian drew his sword again.

Sure enough, the moment his right hand gripped the hilt and pulled the sword out a little, he couldn't help but feel the urge to strangle himself. Ji Tian suppressed the urge, put his hand down, and sheathed the sword.

"Drawing the sword when there is no one within a five-meter radius will trigger this pattern. If there are people, the pattern will not hold true because of the presence of 'witnesses'."

Sonia peeked half her head back from the doorway: "So you were unharmed when you drew your sword in the banquet hall because there were people around?"

"right."

The four told the guard to go to the banquet hall for refuge and to tell him the pattern, since the door had been kicked open and he could get through even if he couldn't use his hands.

The darkness in the corridor remained thick.

Ji Tian walked in front, and when he kicked open the lower door, a short gasp came from behind it.

"Waaaah! Don't kill me!"