Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Without any politeness, he drove Yuel away, and only after Yuel teleported away did Orbeck show a pleasant expression.

Constantine, no longer displaying his usual arrogance, had even given up smoking and followed closely behind Obek. However, Obek was somewhat displeased by Constantine's behavior, though he didn't show it on his face.

Obek stepped in front of the crowd and said, "Those with doctoral degrees and research experience, stand to my left. Those who are confident in their intelligence and can pass the test, stand to my right. Those with neither, get out! Dragon Academy doesn't accept such idiots!"

Oubek's words caused a huge uproar among the crowd. They never expected that even magicians would have to consider their academic qualifications.

Fitz then raised his hand in the crowd, trying to get Obek's attention.

"Sir, I haven't received my doctorate yet, but I'm already studying for it. Should I stand over there?"

"Being a doctoral student barely avoids the category of mentally challenged individuals, so you can stand on the left. If you don't pass the later tests, you'll leave Dragon Academy just like those mentally challenged ones!"

Following O'Beck's advice, Fitz quickly pulled Simmons to stand on the left.

After Orbeck stated his requirements, only Fitz and Simmons could barely reach the Doctor's level. The others hesitated, wondering if they had the intelligence, since even the smartest people in S.H.I.E.L.D. were barely above the level of mentally challenged in Orbeck's eyes.

Wanda and her brother were also caught in a dilemma. After escaping the war in Sokovia, the two worked for Baron Scottra. As the only ones who responded to Pierce's operation, they were sent out this time because the Baron had too few eligible men under his command.

"Stand on the right."

Suddenly, these words reached Wanda's ears. Wanda looked up in surprise and looked at Constantine, but received no response.

"Stay calm, don't panic, go."

Under Constantine's guidance, Wanda, pulling Pietro along, carefully joined the crowd on the right.

After a long time, everyone finally chose their direction. A large number of people remained in the central government; they were people who had neither doctoral degrees nor confidence in their own intelligence.

Surprisingly, Oubek, who always talked about his intelligence, didn't target them. Instead, he looked at those who were trying to sneak into the right side to make up the numbers.

"You bunch of idiots with an IQ below ten, you not only lack any wisdom, but you can't even see yourselves clearly. Dragon Academy doesn't need these fools!"

Chapter 125: Shooting Through the Great Road

No sooner had he finished speaking than Obek waved his hand, sending those charlatans rolling out of the line.

These people rolled uncontrollably on the ground, eventually forming a ball of people that landed at the back of the line.

After cleaning up, Orbeck looked at Constantine behind him, took out a ring and a scroll from his pocket, and handed them to Constantine, saying in a voice only the two of them could hear, "This is a new spellcasting tool I modified based on the sling rings of those arcane mages. With the power you provide, it can link Dark Soul and Earth. The scroll contains spells I extracted from arcane mages, some of which are quite valuable. With your intelligence, you should be able to learn them immediately!"

After the exchange, Obek led the two groups up the steps and onto the Shooting Avenue.

Constantine kept an eye on Orbeck and his group as they left, while quickly scanning the spells on the scroll and practicing them on his ring.

All anyone saw was sparks flashing between Constantine's fingers. No one dared to approach and ask questions until Obek disappeared at the end of the avenue. A giant in a black robe walked up from below and sat at the end of the avenue.

Feeling he had practiced enough, Constantine stopped his trick and looked at the remaining people.

Seeing Natasha remain among the group, Constantine asked in surprise, "Why didn't you go with them?"

Upon hearing Constantine's question, Natasha replied with some surprise, "Am I qualified? I don't have a doctorate, and I'm not very confident in my intelligence."

"That's intelligence, not IQ. Intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand objective things and to use knowledge and experience to solve problems. As long as you're willing to learn and your ability and cognitive level are sufficient, that's enough. Besides, you can already use wolf bone ash, which is also the foundation of magic."

Constantine's explanation enlightened Natasha, and just as she was about to descend the steps to follow Obek, Constantine stopped her in front of the steps.

"Now it's another test, I'll take you there later. Let me deal with these idiots first."

Having said that, Constantine began casting the spell. Constantine used one hand to form a mudra to fix space, and with the other hand, he drew circles in space.

A gigantic portal, shimmering with orange-yellow sparks, appeared beneath the feet of the group of people defined as mentally challenged.

Snowflakes were falling on the other side of the portal, and some people even saw the weapons they had abandoned earlier, as well as those who had left beforehand.

The mentally challenged people were instantly lifted into the air and fell into the teleportation portal, crashing onto the snow-capped mountain opposite, causing a chorus of gasps.

After expelling the mentally challenged, Constantine closed the portal and began another test.

"Alright, you have two choices now. One is to do what I did and choose to pledge allegiance to the King of Souls, receive his blessing, and gain another equally powerful force. The other is to pass the test of life and death and become a hunter. It's worth mentioning that I don't know how hunters are trained, and I've never even seen them. I'm just mentioning it because Dragon Academy has a partnership with these guys."

Constantine's words plunged the rest of them into deep thought: should they acquire the power that was within reach, or explore the perilous path ahead?

Clint made the first choice, and just as he was about to take the first step, he saw Natasha giving him meaningful glances.

Clint received the S.H.I.E.L.D. communication code through the rhythmic movement of his eyes.

'No, choose, one'

The others had no access to information about Constantine, but Natasha had truly witnessed and understood it. Constantine had once said that the King of Ghosts' blessing would grant him unparalleled luck, even allowing him to do whatever he pleased, but after death he would have to work for the King of Ghosts.

Even Constantine couldn't avoid selling his soul like this, so it was even more difficult for Clint.

So, to prevent Clint from being disturbed even after his death, Natasha stopped Clint's actions.

However, Grant Ward and some others chose this path, preparing to pledge allegiance to the King of the Dead in order to gain power.

After everyone had made their choices, Yuel, carrying a stone shield, appeared out of nowhere and slowly walked towards the group.

"Now that you've made your choice, come with me. The Black Church of Londor is the King of Souls' greatest support. I hope you will all dedicate yourselves to the King of Souls."

Yuel, leaning on her cane, led those who had made their choice down the cliff in another direction. There, a portal to the world of painting in Ariandel was set up. There, under the tutelage of the Yulia sisters, they would become people who would dedicate everything to the world of painting and to the King of Souls.

All that was left was Clint and a couple of cannon fodder to make up the numbers.

Constantine pointed to the blast-out avenue held by the giant judge and said, "This is your first test. Just cross this avenue. But be careful, people will die."

The three cannon fodder seemed to be working together. After discussing their plan, they rushed down the stairs one after another.

Looking at the empty avenue, as they stepped onto the middle of the stairs, the giant judge on the other side of the avenue raised his hands.

At the summons of the giant judge, groups of orange figures appeared on the avenue. These figures, dressed in Void Knight attire, raised their great bows and aimed at the three.

The one running in the lead passed right through a knight's phantom; the orange figure posed no threat to him. This led him to believe that the phantom was fake, perhaps Constantine was just trying to scare him.

However, as the knights aimed at them and released their bowstrings, a barrage of black arrows shot towards the three of them.

A hail of arrows flew accurately toward the three of them, and the guy in the lead took the first volley of arrows with his body.

The Void Knight's arrow struck the cannon fodder and exploded. The powerful impact and penetration turned the unfortunate fellow into a bloody mess and minced meat.

The two cannon fodder behind, seeing the power of the first wave of arrows, quickly lay down. The arrows crisscrossed above their heads and shot backward, exploding into clouds of smoke on the stone walls and bricks.

The two men, with arrows hanging from their heads and the Void Knight nocking and aiming, hurriedly moved toward the stone tablet on the main road.

Fortunately, the stone tablet provided some protection. Although the Void Knight's arrows blasted deep craters around them like an RPG, they still failed to harm the two.

Just as the two were observing the Void Knight's firing intervals through the gaps between the stone tablets, two skeletons stood up on their own behind them.

The skeleton, still wrapped in branches and vines, silently approached the two after placing its skull back in place with the other hand while holding a curved blade in one hand.

The skeletons, one in front and one behind, were the first to raise their large swords and cleave a hapless fellow in two from head to toe.

Blood splattered everywhere, covering the nearby companion in blood. The skeleton behind caught up and raised its knife.

Seeing his companion instantly turn into two people, the survivor finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted at Constantine, "I give up, let me go!"

Chapter 126: Clint's Trial

Just as this surviving cannon fodder was screaming, a new portal formed beneath him, and he fell into it. The skeleton's greatsword grazed his scalp and struck the air, leaving only his long hair.

The last survivor left Ringed City. Constantine looked at Clint and said, "Do you really still want to take on the challenge? If you just say you're leaving, you can safely return to Earth immediately, or even go directly to New York City."

Having witnessed the power of the Void Knights on this road, Natasha couldn't help but worry about Clint.

"Clint, forget it. You still have a wife and children. They need you!"

Natasha tried to persuade Clint to change his mind and stay away from this dangerous path by using his family as leverage. After all, others had already explored it, and the consequences were appalling.

However, Clint shook his head at the anxious Natasha, stopping her from continuing.

"I'd like to give it a try. I'm an archer myself, so I should be able to dodge the attacks of other archers. Is it enough for me to just cross this path?"

While confirming the mission with Constantine again, Clint began to take deep breaths, trying to get more oxygen into his body so he could run faster.

“Pass by crossing this avenue and touching the giant judge sitting at the very end.”

Having received Constantine's accurate reply, Clint refrained from uttering another sound to avoid further exhaustion, and immediately stepped onto the stairs, rushing towards the main road.

As they reached the middle section, the Void Knights revealed themselves, drawing their bows and shooting arrows at Clint.

Faced with the incoming arrows, Clint did not blindly rush towards the stone tablet in front of him to block the attack. Instead, he flipped and jumped down to the right from the middle of the stairs.

The arrow shot towards Clint the instant he jumped down, but was blocked by the steps. Crouching down beside the steps, listening to the continuous bombardment from above, Clint waited patiently.

As soon as the bombardment stopped, Clint dashed out like a rabbit, heading straight for the stone tablet. He timed his run perfectly, hiding behind the tablet and avoiding the arrows.

However, Clint was still not at ease. The gruesome deaths of the two unfortunate men were still fresh in his mind. Carefully avoiding the skulls under his feet, Clint scooped up the two skulls and held them in his hands.

This is where Clint took a gamble. Seeing that the skeletons were cannon fodder who only attacked after attaching their heads, Clint bet that the skeletons wouldn't attack on their own since they didn't have heads.

The skeleton slowly assembled itself, holding a large sword in one hand, while its other hand kept groping around its head.

'Where did my head go? Where is my head?' If it could speak, the skeleton would definitely ask this question.

Clint, having won the gamble, followed this plan, moving among the stone tablets. First, he found skeletons, took their heads, then hid behind the tablets, waiting for the Void Knights to shoot. The only downside was that having several skulls on his body made movement a little inconvenient.

Until Clint arrived beneath the platform where the giant stood.

This platform has only one path, consisting of a staircase of about a dozen steps.

Clint threw the skulls he was holding into the distance with all his might and launched his final charge.

He took two steps at a time and arrived below the platform. The Void Knights who were shooting arrows also revealed themselves. Just as Clint's head could make out the platform, he mentally sentenced himself to death.

A small group of Void Knights appeared on the platform, drawing their bows and aiming arrows in his direction. Now he was targeted by arrows from both sides.

"I'm an archer, I'm the best archer! There's always a chance, there definitely will be!"

Clint, constantly encouraging himself, gritted his teeth and charged upwards. He felt reassured after just one glance at the platform's overall layout.

'There is indeed an opportunity; this is not a dead end.'

There was a stone tablet on the platform, which could serve as cover.

Without thinking any further, Clint rushed into the stone monument shelter.

Listening to the sound of arrows hitting the stone tablet outside, Clint stared at the giant's position, waiting for the three waves of arrows to pass before rushing over.

'Three waves of arrows, this is the second wave, the third wave... where's the third wave?'

Unable to hear the sound of the third wave of arrows, Clint cautiously peered between the stone tablets, but what he saw left him completely dumbfounded.

A phantom figure wearing armor with two elytra on its head and carrying an enormous hammer was walking towards him.