Chapter 296: Breaking the Array

Pruis wasted no time and immediately captured Max’s soul.

He skipped the usual interrogation process—directly torturing the soul was the most efficient way to extract truthful information.

In the Land of Dawn, necromantic magic was strictly regulated. Ordinary people couldn’t use it freely without facing severe punishment.

However, Pruis was one of the few “licensed” necromancers, legally permitted to use certain necromantic spells.

Even after Max was captured, the protective golden wizard array around the building remained active.

“Minister, the magical lock on the attic seems to be connected to the array inside. I didn’t take any risks,” Shaquel reported.

Pruis thought for a moment. The array couldn’t be tampered with lightly—triggering it could lead to disaster.

“I’ll call Helag. I remember he’s a wizard array specialist,” Pruis said, realizing that they had a ready-made expert on hand to handle the situation.

Helag had been observing the entire operation from the inn across the street and had already noticed Pruis and his team’s movements.

“Helag, we need you to take a look at this wizard array and see if you can break it,” Pruis messaged him.

“I’ll be right there,” Helag replied.

When Helag arrived at the attic, Pruis, Shaquel, and a few others were standing at the door, studying the magical lock.

Usually, when they encountered such array-related issues, they would call someone from the Wizard Array Association to handle it.

But since Helag was a member of the association, they decided to let him give it a try.

If Helag couldn’t solve it, they’d call in the association experts.

“Helag, you’re here. Can you break this magical lock and the array behind it?” Pruis asked.

“I’ll give it a shot,” Helag nodded.

He didn’t make any promises but was willing to try.

No matter how powerful a wizard array was, its essence was a combination of various runes.

There were two main ways to break an array: one was to seize control of it, similar to the attack on Blackrock Valley, where the enemy tried to take control of the array.

The other method was to render the array ineffective, stripping it of its original function.

Breaking an array required a high level of expertise because most arrays were mature and structurally stable.

To break an array, one had to be extremely familiar with its rune structure and then make adjustments to destabilize it.

But this wasn’t as simple as randomly altering a rune.

Many arrays had defensive mechanisms, like the one in the attic.

If it detected external interference or an attempt to break it, the array would automatically trigger, reducing the entire three-story building to ashes.

To break this array, Helag needed to bypass the defensive structure without triggering it and disable the array’s functions.

Since the array’s core was inside, he couldn’t directly see the rune structure.

The usual process involved finding a suitable rune structure from the outside, observing it step by step, and using the observed runes to infer the complete structure.

The more complete the inferred structure, the higher the chances of finding a vulnerability and successfully breaking the array.

But Helag didn’t need to do all that.

“Deep Blue, scan and analyze the rune structure of this array.”

“Task created. Scanning and analyzing…” Deep Blue’s environment detection capabilities made it immune to the array’s magical barriers.

It could directly scan the array’s core and reveal the complete rune structure.

After a short while, a diagram of the array’s rune structure appeared before Helag’s eyes.

He studied the diagram and quickly identified a defensive rune structure.

There was also a small section of runes connected to the magical lock, indicating a sensory link between the two.

If someone tried to forcibly break the lock, it would trigger two arrays.

One array seemed to notify Max of the intrusion, allowing him to activate the array’s defense system and trigger the entire array.

If Max didn’t respond within a minute, the array would automatically activate.

To break the array, Helag first had to deal with the defensive structure and the trigger mechanism.

“Deep Blue, detect the optimal entry point to break the array,” Helag commanded.

This was where Deep Blue excelled.

While human calculations could be prone to error, Deep Blue could process fixed information structures with perfect accuracy.

A few seconds later…

“Breakpoint detected. Entry points are marked on the diagram.”

Before Helag’s eyes, Deep Blue highlighted several entry points on the array diagram, along with the appropriate runes to use.

“Minister Pruis, I’m ready,” Helag said confidently.

Pruis glanced at Helag’s expression and saw the confidence in his eyes.

Trusting Helag’s judgment, Pruis didn’t question him further.

“Everyone, step back and prepare for defense,” Pruis instructed the others.

Shaquel and the rest quickly left the area.

Although Pruis trusted Helag, he wasn’t taking any chances and had the others leave just in case.

Pruis himself, however, stayed behind.

He remained not only because of his confidence but also to protect Helag.

If anything went wrong, Pruis would be there to ensure Helag’s safety.

Moreover, as the Minister of City Defense, it wouldn’t be right for him to leave while his subordinate took the risk.

He had to stay—it was a matter of principle.

Seeing Pruis standing by his side gave Helag a boost of confidence.

Pruis was clearly backing him up, so even if he failed, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

A second-level wizard was more than capable of ensuring his safety.

With that reassurance, Helag set to work.

He double-checked Deep Blue’s analysis, reviewing the logic and finding no issues.

Then he began.

Gathering magic in his hand, Helag condensed a rune and embedded it into the magical lock.

Using the entry point Deep Blue had identified, he began the process of breaking the array.

The first step went smoothly. The array remained stable, with no signs of triggering its defense mechanism.

Helag continued his work at a steady pace, carefully embedding one rune after another into the array, gradually altering its structure.