Advent of the Archmage

Chapter 560: The Beastmen’s Combat Form (1/3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“No, no, no!”

Dazed, Avatar found himself in the middle of Mara City. He was surrounded by crazed Beastmen whose bodies were dripping with green pus and covered with scars that had sprouted white hair.

They tore towards him, green mist issuing out of their mouths as they roared. They looked even more savage than the wild beasts of the plains.

Avatar was forced to cut down his own people with his obsidian sword, but their number was overwhelming. They were threatening to tear him apart and eat him alive.

“Why are there so many of them? Is Mara City doomed? And what about the grass plains?”

In a panic, Avatar began cleaving his way through the ravening mass of Beastmen towards the city gates.

To his horror, he realized that his strength was rapidly depleting as he cut down many of his fellow Beastmen. He had used up all of his strength when he finally got to the city wall.

His arms were now sore, and his legs felt like lead. It was like wading through a mire. But there did not seem to be any end to the swarm of infected Beastmen. The streets teemed with them like ants swarming out from their nest. The Beastmen surged towards him, ready to sink their fangs into his flesh.

With what was left of his strength, Avatar leaped up onto the city wall. He was ready to leap down and flee for his life. However, as he got onto the wall, what he saw plunged him into despair.

The same infected Beastmen had spread far across the grass plains. There was no end to them.

“Is this real? Are the Golden Plains done for? Is there no hope for my people?”

“Hahaha!”

Avatar heard shrill laughter from behind him. He turned around and saw that in a shadowy corner of a street stood a couple of slender figures with long, pointed ears.

It was the High Elves.

Sensing his gaze, one of the High Elves spoke with a sharp voice, “Hahaha, you’re all going to be extinct quite soon, Beastmen!”

“Avatar, you’ll die as well. Your people will feast on your corpse until not a single bone is left.”

The crazed Beastmen dashed towards Avatar, who was now too fatigued to put up a fight. In an instant, he was submerged in the torrent of infected bodies. Amid the chaos, he could only flail his arms about, but it was useless. He roared in pain as one of the Beastmen bit into his neck.

“Argh!!!”

He sat up. He immediately realized that something was wrong. There were no Beastmen or High Elves anywhere around him. Only a warm fire crackled happily near where he sat. A metal pot was hung from a metal stand above the fire, and there was a figure sitting near the fire. The figure seemed human. He was holding a skewer of a dead rabbit that was cooking above the fire. At that moment, the delicious aroma of cooked meat filled the air.

The place was dark. A full moon shone down from the night sky. There were thick clumps of reeds around them. A night breeze was blowing, but thanks to the fire, Avatar did not feel the least bit cold. There was something soft beneath him. Avatar looked down and saw that a thick bearskin had been laid out beneath him on a pile of reeds. A thick woolen blanket covered his body; it appeared to be woven by human hands.

Avatar tried to get up, but as he moved, there was a piercing pain in his arm. His entire body was also extremely weak. Everything seemed like a dream to him.

He felt his neck and was relieved to find that there was no wound on it.

While he was still trying to process his surroundings, he noticed that the human figure was approaching him. In his emaciated state, Avatar could not see what he looked like, especially when the figure had his back to the fire. Avatar could only see the cooked rabbit in his hand. The aroma of food now wafted close to him. Suddenly, the Beastman’s stomach growled. He was starving.

“Here.” The person handed the cooked rabbit over to him.

Without thinking twice, Avatar took it and began stuffing himself with the rabbit. It was delicious. The rabbit’s skin was crisp, its flesh tender. There was also a hint of spice added to it. Avatar had never tasted anything like it.

Within ten minutes, he managed to devour the entire 20-pound rabbit. All that was left were the rabbit’s thigh bones. He had swallowed down its smaller bones together with its flesh. Still, Avatar was not completely full.

Once food had entered his stomach, Avatar felt a surge of energy and strength return. He turned to the figure and asked, “Who are you? Why did you save me?”

The man’s aura was powerful, perhaps even more powerful than Avatar’s. But it was gentler, almost inoffensive. Avatar had never felt such power before.

The man chuckled. He took a few steps and let the glow of the fire illuminate his face.

“Master Link, is that you? Why are you here? How long have I been sleeping?” Avatar was so surprised by Link’s presence that he could not help but fire multiple questions in quick succession at him.

Link did not attempt to hide the truth from the Beastman. “You’ve been asleep for half a day. As for me, I’ve come to the Golden Plains to discuss the matter of the Army of Destruction. As you probably know, the Storm Warlord has joined the Army of Destruction, so I thought maybe I could solicit your aid in the matter. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen to Mara City before I could even meet you?”

Avatar was not averse to helping Link. He was on good terms with him after all. In the last few years, the Beastmen and Ferde had done a lot of business with each other. Avatar’s people had imported all kinds of magical weapons from Ferde. Said weapons had played no small role in Avatar’s unification of the Beastman tribes.

Hearing Link mention Mara City, Avatar quickly asked, “Master, how much do you know about what’s happening in Mara City?”

“A lot. I’ve been doing some investigations. When I saw the High Elves attacking you, I finally understood what was happening.” Link knew that Avatar was going to ask him about Mara City. He was also prepared to leverage this to form an alliance with Avatar.

Avatar’s face was grave. “I want to know.”

Link nodded, ready to share what he had learned. “Before saying anything, I should remind you that I’d only just arrived near Mara City a few days ago. Everything I’m about to tell you is merely what I’ve deduced from my observations, and there may be some discrepancies between my deductions and the actual truth. In other words, you don’t need to believe everything I say.”

Avatar nodded, somehow even more confident that what Link had to say would be true.

Link began telling him what he had learned. Only one insignificant human Dark Magician had a hand in this, which would not be enough to incur Avatar’s wrath towards the whole human race. Link then told Avatar about the High Elves and the Army of Destruction, the real culprits behind everything. He did so in detail to stoke the fires of Avatar’s hatred towards both sides.

Of course, Link chose his words objectively. He did not let his emotions sway the way he spoke.

Though Avatar was never in the habit of showing his feelings, when Link was finished, he could not help but punch at the ground in frustration. He said through gritted teeth, “How cruel can those High Elves be!”

Katyusha, the fallen angel, and Stormlord Parmese of the Army of Destruction had targeted Avatar. After all, he was a Warrior, and he had never backed out from a fight. Even if he lost that fight, Avatar could only blame himself for not making adequate preparations and letting the enemy take advantage of his weak points.

But the High Elves had targeted the ordinary folk of the city with such an insidious method that threatened the Beastmen’s very existence. At that moment, Avatar wanted nothing more than to tear those three High Elves to shreds.

Just then, a sweet aroma drifted from the broth in the pot that was still cooking above the fire. Link activated the Magician’s Hand and poured the broth into two silver bowls. One floated towards Avatar, the other towards himself.

Link took a gulp from it. The taste was rich and thick. Once inside his stomach, a feeling of warmth and fullness spread over his body. He let out a sigh and said to Avatar, “Don’t think too much about it. Your body’s still weak. Let your hatred and thirst for vengeance simmer in you. Your recuperation is top priority right now. Try some of the snake soup that I made with cobra meat. I learned how to cook it from another master. It’s perfect for restoring you to your full strength, especially when you’ve only just had your body cleansed of all that poison.”

Avatar nodded and drank some of it from his bowl. His eyes lit up. Despite how hot the soup still was, he drank all of it in huge gulps, including the snake bones that had been left to stew in it. In the blink of an eye, he had even gobbled up all the snake meat in the soup.

Link shook his head as he watched the Beastman swallow everything down. All the trouble he had gone through to make the snake soup had gone down the drain just like that.

When he was done eating, Avatar placed the silver bowl beside him. He then struggled to stand up and began practicing his combat forms.

Link knew that Avatar was trying to regain his full strength, so he did not interrupt what he was doing. Link rolled up the sheets and put everything else away in order to clear out a wider space for Avatar to practice his forms.

Link then watched as Avatar moved.

At first, Avatar went at a slow pace, as his arm’s injury had greatly affected the fluidity of his movements. Gradually, a dim red light began radiating from his body, especially from the wound on his arm. As the red light grew brighter, his movements began picking up speed.

Gradually, Avatar began losing himself in his movements. Though his eyes were open, they were not focused on anything. His movements were guided entirely by instinct, fluid like flowing water.

Link observed the Beastman’s movements intently. He was a master himself in the art of combat, and his senses were also as acute as any other combat master. Even though Avatar was only practicing one form, Link could sense his breathing rate, the movement of every muscle and the flow of Savage Power in Avatar’s body.

Link recognized the form that Avatar was doing—it was called Soul Furnace, and it was a highly valued combat form of the Beastmen. The idea was to turn one’s body into a furnace and one’s soul into tinder. In the duration of the Soul Furnace, a Beastman’s body would be able to recover from any injury twice as fast and even strengthen their bodies at the same time. Besides that, the synergy between soul and body would be greatly improved. Constant practice would also help boost one’s battle instincts.

In other words, this was the Beastmen’s trump card, just like the High Elves’ World Tree and Ferde’s Sunlight Power.

One could develop both physical and spiritual strength through the practice of this technique. However, even though Link understood the form’s movements, he could not grasp how he should bring out his spiritual strength through those movements. Link simply watched Avatar practice for his own pleasure.

Two hours later, Avatar ceased all his movements. He put his arms down and let out a long breath.

His forehead was beaded with green drops of sweat. It contained the rest of the poison that Link did not manage to remove from his body. Avatar waved his arms. He could now move normally.

He turned to Link and said, “My injuries have almost healed completely, and I’ve regained most of my strength. I take it that you’re able to grasp the form that I was practicing, Master Link?”

Link nodded. “Looks simple enough.”

Avatar laughed. He took out a book whose cover was made from pelt and said, “This form can only be performed by those with Savage Power. It’s not really a big secret. Everything you need to know about letting your spiritual energy flow in your body as you practice it is all in this book. You can take a look at it if you like.”

Seeing how curiously Link had observed him, Avatar did not mind sharing such knowledge with him. It was not as if Link would be able to execute the form anyways.

Link took the book. As soon as he opened it, a message popped up before him.

Soul Furnace

The Beastmen’s Battle Technique

Quality: Level-19

Description: Body, mind, soul, all coalescing together to form a warlord’s path to ascension.

(Note: The road to becoming a god of war!)

Link jolted in surprise. Before, he probably could not pick this up, but now, the Realm Essence in his body had allowed him to ignore all racial limitations imposed on techniques like this one. He could now master even the Beastmen’s prized battle technique!

Chapter 561: Perfect Dawn of Magic?2/3?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Accepting Avatar’s battle technique book, Link flipped through without changing his expression. Half a minute later, all the content was ingrained in his mind.

After finishing, he returned the book to Avatar, commenting, “Very good battle techniques. However, it’s too restrictive. Even a Beastman would need absolute talent to accomplish it, right?”

In the game, every Beastman player tried for the Soul Furnace battle technique book. However, the book was not enough by itself. They had to fulfill many strict requirements. This was expressed by a set of practically impossible missions that had to be completed alone under three tries.

If the player failed at the third try, the book would disappear.

According to calculations, of all the lucky Beastman Warriors who could receive the Soul Furnace book, only 20% could successfully pass the test and learn the technique.

If the game was this difficult, real life would be worse.

As expected, Avatar looked proud after Link said that. Link had read too quickly, so Avatar thought his comment was a bit too rash. However, anyone liked hearing praises. Chuckling, he said, “You’re right. Only three people in our entire race have learned this battle technique—Holun, Parmese, and I. Right now, I’m the best.”

Link had to admit this point.

In the later stages of the game, Beastman King Avatar was the undisputable top Warrior. He was a legend amongst legends and had even injured Nozama, Lord of the Deep, forcing him to retreat back to the demon fortress.

It was completely true to say he was the best.

As for the Soul Furnace battle technique, Link had taken a look and determined he could learn it. But if he wanted to learn it fully, it would be difficult. To reach Avatar’s level would be practically impossible.

Not only did the practitioner need Savage Power, but they also had to have unshakeable and courageous will. They had to do things according to their heart, unaffected by anything else.

This was the path to a true and pure Warrior.

And Link was a Magician.

A Magician had to be flexible and agile. A powerful Magician couldn’t forget their original intention but should use any method possible. In order to reach their goal, some white lies were alright, but this would betray their heart. This was the opposite of a Warrior. If Link forced himself to learn it, he would probably distort it.

But even though he couldn’t learn this battle technique, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t use the wisdom in the book. To a Magician, everything had a pattern and could be learned and used. This included battle techniques.

The Soul Furnace seems to fit with the Soul Stamp of the game system. The two are different but have the same function. They both stamp power onto one’s soul. If I can truly grasp the Soul Stamp, my spell-casting ability will truly follow my heart’s wishes. My speed will really rival battle techniques, and I’ll be powerful enough to destroy everything… I need to grasp this power as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Link grew excited.

One must know that all current spells, regardless of whether they were mortal or Legendary, required a Magician to use their own power to build the structure and activate the outer force by shaking the structure to attack.

This was extremely powerful but lacked in speed. This shortcoming was especially obvious after entering the Legendary level.

There were two reasons: Firstly, Legendary spell structures were very complex. Even if a Magician was experienced, the spell-casting speed would still be restricted.

Secondly, the power after a Legendary spell structure reverberated was different from a regular spell. Regular spells used the power of the Firuman realm, while Legendary spells took from the Sea of Void. This was hundreds of times more powerful than the former.

Firuman was actually submerged in a little “bubble” in the Sea of Void; they actually overlapped. Technically, this shouldn’t cause a delay. However, the laws of Firuman rejected the Sea of Void, thus causing the delay.

Due to these two reasons, a Legendary Magician’s speed was much slower than a Legendary Warrior. If the Warrior got close, especially if they were an Assassin, the result would be tragic. The Magician would barely be able to fight back.

This was why Link practiced martial arts to protect himself.

This was the only solution though. If Link could solve the problem using a spell, he would rather do that. Now, Link saw some hope in solving this shortcoming through the Soul Furnace.

These thoughts all flashed through Link’s mind in an instant. Then he heard Avatar sigh. “A pity that I lost the broadsword.”

Avatar was depressed. His obsidian broadsword wasn’t the best, but it had been with him for more than a decade. He was used to it, but it was forced out of his hands when he blocked the vine. It was probably left in Mara City.

Unexpectedly, Link waved at a long bag by the campfire as soon as he finished speaking. The bag flew to Link’s hand, and he pushed it towards Avatar. “Open it.”

When Avatar took the bag, he already got the feeling. “Is it my broadsword?”

Link smiled in reply.

Excited, Avatar unwound the cloth, ring by ring. Slowly, a reddish black blade appeared. It was the same color as his obsidian blade, but it was much smoother. The spine of the sword was sturdy and ancient-looking, while the blade was sharp and bright. It shimmered when Avatar moved it. The nicks on the blade were gone too.

At closer inspection, Avatar saw many faint gold runes on the sword. He didn’t know what they were for, of course, but they were very detailed. They fit with the overall style of the sword too. When the cloth was entirely unraveled, and the sword was completely out, Avatar subconsciously held his breath.

It was also a black obsidian sword, but his old one was like an ugly rod in comparison.

When he grasped it, he was even more pleasantly surprised. It felt like the sword was connected to his blood, like the sword was an extension of his arm. He swung it a few times and discovered the weight was just right. It whistled as it cut through the air; it was impressive as a dragon’s low roar.

“How did it change so much?” Avatar didn’t want to let go.

Link smiled. “It’s your old sword, but I made some small adjustments. When you were unconscious, your arm was still bleeding. I used some of your blood for a blood refining method. I’m sure you felt that it could understand you, right?”

“Indeed.” Avatar’s eyes were glued to the sword without leaving for even a second. He caressed the sword gently as if it were his lover.

With a sword like this, he was confident in using many of the tricks that he couldn’t before. His power could triple at the very least.

After appreciating it for a long while, Avatar suddenly said, “I can feel that it has another special power.”

“You’re very sensitive. That’s right. It can cut through the causal ring… Uh, it’s for fighting the Spear of Victory. That’s the Naga’s weapon. I think that you must have felt how dangerous it is, right?”

Avatar nodded. He had the feeling that if the Naga used her spear, he would definitely be dead. That was why he used all his might to make sure the Naga couldn’t fight back.

Link chuckled. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Oh… Thank you. I owe you a life and a weapon… But I need to ask something of you.” Avatar lowered his head. It was hard to say because he really owed too much.

Without needing him to say anything, a crystal vial appeared in Link’s hand. There was dark red liquid inside it.

“What is this?”

“The antidote. I stole a potion from that Dark Magician and spent a whole night studying it to create this. A drop can cure a regular man.”

Avatar’s mouth fell open. He didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he said, “I will personally lead my elites to the Orida Fortress after this!”

Link had already done so much for his race. In return, there was no reason for the Beastmen to reject the alliance. Repaying in gratitude was the honor of the Beastmen!

Link was happy that his goal was accomplished, but he couldn’t show it. Calmly, he said, “There’s no hurry for the alliance. Right now, we have another challenge to face. You must recover to your peak as soon as possible.”

“What challenge?” Avatar was shocked.

Link smirked. “It’s those High Elves. They revealed their identities and have become your top enemy. After I saved you, they used a magic seal to lock this area.”

With that, Link pointed at the moon. “Look at the moon. Doesn’t it waver every now and then?”

Avatar looked and saw that it was true. Not only was the moon wavering, the air around them would ripple like water too.

“That’s the magic seal. It’s 30 miles in radius, and we’re inside. If we break through it, they’ll use a portal to appear by us within three seconds.

Avatar was shaken. “They’re going to make us die with the secret?”

Link nodded. “Not only that, they even temporarily allied with the Army of Destruction to increase efficiency.”

Before, Vance and Elin had said that the High Elves might very possibly break past their bottom line, but he didn’t expect them to go to this extent.

Right now, they had six enemies. Though Avatar had greatly wounded the three from the Army of Destruction, the High Elves had impressive healing techniques. They were probably mostly recovered by now.

Link wasn’t there match at all. Even if he could kill some, it would be over for him too. However, if he added Avatar and his new sword, Link was 80% sure they could wipe out the enemy.

The fury Avatar had just repressed flared again. Gripping his sword, he gritted his teeth. “Good, very good. I was looking to cause them some trouble!”

Chapter 562: The Nine O’Clock God of Moonlight (3/3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The grass plains, nighttime

The caravans hastily made their way back to Norton Kingdom, but something unexpected happened. Around three in the morning, a mercenary ran back to his leader from the road up ahead. He seemed terrified, as if he had just witnessed something inexplicable.

“Leader, there’s a problem up front.”

The mercenary leader, Milo, looked a lot better than before. The symptoms of his poisoning had all but disappeared. He had also regained most of his strength.

Hearing this, Milo’s brows furrowed. He looked around and said in a low voice, “Don’t say it out loud, we don’t want this to get out.”

He feared that this would instigate panic among the merchants.

In a low, hurried tone, the mercenary said, “Leader, there’s something blocking our path in front. It’s wide and invisible, but it seems like a wall. A really big wall.”

Milo widened his eyes. Being more experienced than the ordinary mercenary, he had an idea of what they were up against. “Probably a magical barrier one of those masters had erected. Something big is happening right now.”

Milo felt powerless in the face of all this. In comparison with the masters of the continent, his power was simply inconsequential like a pebble in front of a huge rock. If the rock decided to roll over him, he would simply be ground to dust under it.

Knowing that there was nothing anyone could do about this, he went to the Red Earth Firm’s chief and explained the mercenary’s discovery to him.

The chief was a merchant and an ordinary person who had heard and seen much in his travels as well. When he heard Milo’s account, his face went pale. He was silent for a while, before he finally said, “What do you think we should do, Milo?”

Milo had already figured out what their next step should be. He said, “We are definitely no match for these masters. The only thing we can do now is not get caught in the crossfire. I’ve heard that when two Legendary masters clash against one another, the shockwave they send out can spread across more than ten miles. Anyone caught in that area will be disintegrated in an instant. I think our best option would be to find a low-lying place to hide for now. It would be even better if we could find a cave. We’ll hide inside it and then cover its entrance with a pile of reeds. This way, we’ll have a higher chance of weathering the coming storm.”

The chief did not have anything to add to this. He found Milo’s suggestion reasonable. “Alright then, we’ll do as you say,” he said.

Milo began making arrangements. Before long, the mercenaries scattered out to find suitable hiding spots. The merchants were all anxious about this, but it did not seem like they were in any immediate danger at the moment. Their caravans continued moving forward on their path.

After trudging on for more than 3000 miles, everyone saw the transparent wall that the mercenary had just described. It was soft to the touch. However, the wall hardened as soon as pressure was applied to it. No matter how anyone tried to push against it, the wall did not budge an inch.

Everyone was able to see the other side of the wall, but there was just no way to walk through it. The entire thing was surreal.

There were shouts and cries of terror amid the merchants. However, most of them did not speak a word. Their faces were all pale as they braced themselves for what was about to happen.

Milo remained in the caravans. This at least gave some sense of security to the merchants. The mercenary leader did not appear as uneasy as the rest. He seemed confident in the solution that he had come up with to survive the coming storm. Milo’s presence was the only thing keeping the caravans from descending into total panic.

As everyone waited silently for the mercenaries to return with a report on their surroundings, suddenly, three flashes of green light appeared in the sky.

They hurtled towards the caravans at an unimaginable speed.

At first, the flashes of light streaked past the caravans overhead without any intention of stopping. However, they suddenly turned back and landed before the merchants in the form of three hooded figures.

One of them walked through the crowd towards Milo. The figure observed him from tip to toe and then asked, “You’ve encountered the poisoned Beastmen. You were poisoned, were you not?”

The voice was clear as a bell. It was female.

Milo wanted to ask who they were, but for some reason, when the figure before him posed her question, he could not seem to control his own body. He nodded and said, “Yes, I was poisoned, but then I was cured.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. There was a sudden beam of moonlight from the sky, and then I just got better,” said Milo.

“Moonlight?” repeated the hooded figure strangely. Suddenly, she stabbed Milo’s arm with a thorn before he even had time to react.

Fresh blood stained the thorn’s tip. The figure gave it a lick and then went silent. Ten minutes later, she said, “I need to borrow something from you.”

“What… what do you want?” Milo felt that something was wrong.

“I’ll need to borrow your lives for a bit. Of course, none of you are in any position to refuse.” The figure waved a hand. All of a sudden, a faint green mist appeared above the caravans in the air.

Without warning, the mist descended on everyone. The merchants began coughing uncontrollably in it. Ten seconds later, the green mist faded. There was now a hint of green on the faces of all 300 people in the caravans.

“You’re now all poisoned. Two hours from now, you’ll lose all reason and meet the same fate as the poisoned Beastmen you’ve encountered before. What you should do now is pray that the same beam of moonlight will appear once more and cleanse you all of the poison in your bodies. What’s done is done. There’s no use getting angry at me. Attacking me will only quicken the spread of the poison in your bodies. Now pray.”

When she was finished, the figure stepped out of the crowd and returned to her companions. The three of them then turned into flashes of green light and zipped back into the sky.

Back on the grass plains, everyone sat on the ground despondently. Their faces were all ashen as they contemplated on their fates. Even Shallie, who always had a smile on her face, was stunned. She sat absently beside her father, unable to comprehend what had just happened to them.

“Father, why did she have to do such a thing? We didn’t even do anything to her,” said the girl to her father, Olan.

Olan chuckled bitterly. He looked at his daughter with a pained expression. He never thought that they would meet their end so soon. He should have never brought her along with him.

“Father, why?” asked Shallie.

Olan shook his head miserably. “Maybe it’s because… it’s our fate to die here.”

Shallie fell silent. After a while, hope welled up in her. “Father, do you think God will come and save us?”

“God?” Olan was taken aback by her question.

“Yeah, he saved Milo and Eyre before. If he could do it before, he’ll definitely do it again for all of us! Definitely!” Shallie was unwavering in her belief. She waved her arms about excitedly as if trying to keep her spirits up.

Suddenly, she thought of something. Shallie climbed up on a horse’s back and shouted, “Everyone, there’s no need to panic. If God knows what’s happened to us, he’ll definitely come and save all of us. But right now, what we should do is pray to him so that he’ll be aware of our plight!”

Hearing this, the caravans began to show some signs of life.

In times of hopelessness such as this, any shred of hope, no matter how faint it might seem, was worth holding on to.

However, someone asked Shallie, “But we don’t even know the name of this god. How do we even know who to pray?”

“He’s definitely the God of Light.”

“You can’t say for sure. The God of Light has never performed a miracle outside the walls of a church. Also, the power we saw before didn’t look like his divine power of light.”

Shallie did not expect such a contradiction to be pointed out. However, she managed to think up a response. “His power resembles moonlight, and the miracle we witnessed took place at nine last night. So maybe we should call him the Nine O’clock God of Moonlight?”

Everyone was speechless at this.

But Shallie did not care. She knelt on her wagon and began praying. “Oh benevolent and merciful Nine O’clock God of Moonlight, you are the light that drives out the darkness from this world. Here I pray that you may guide us through these troubling times. Before you I kneel, a humble servant promising to spread your deeds far and wide, and offer you my entire being.”

It did not matter if her prayers went unanswered, nor did she care if she was doing it right. Shallie simply knelt there, praying for salvation again and again.

At first, she was the only one praying. Soon enough, some of the people followed her, including the mercenary leader Milo. He hesitated at first, then knelt on the ground and began praying in a low voice.

He did not copy Shallie’s prayer word for word. He simply prayed inwardly, Lord, you’ve saved me before. I hereby swear that for as long as I live, I’ll not be swayed by temptations of the darkness in my path and remain an honorable Warrior. Now, I’ve once again fallen into the same pit. If you still think I’m worthy of being saved, I beseech you, help me out one more time.

The mercenary Eyre was even more straightforward. He prostrated himself on the ground, crying, “Lord, save me!”

Gradually, the people in the caravans began kneeling and praying.

All their prayers were born out of a sincere desire to be saved from their current predicament.

Behind a clump of grass, the three High Elves, Katyusha, the fallen angel, and Stormlord Parmese quietly observed what was going on in the caravans, somewhat troubled by this.

Katyusha whispered, “What’s this about the Nine O’clock God of Moonlight? He can’t really be a god, can he?”

The fallen angel whispered weakly, “Pointy-ears, this better not be a part of some elaborate scheme. If there’s a god involved in this, you three will also be in trouble!”

No matter how strong a Legendary master was, they were nothing more than ants before a god. Normally, gods rarely interfered with the affairs of Legendary masters due to how much power they needed to spend to descend to the mortal plane. However, they had been known to make exceptions, especially when any one of their chosen disciples were harassed by an outside party.

There was another word for this. It was called suicide.

For instance, the God of Light was widely acknowledged to be a kind deity. However, he had meted out divine punishment twice in recorded history. Each time, at least one master was on the receiving end of the God of Light’s divine stick. Of course, what these masters did was unforgivable. In their folly, they had attacked a holy city and paid the consequences for their actions.

There were two types of divine punishment, and they both needed some sort of medium.

If there was an altar, a god would simply need to appear on it. If there was none, said god would infuse his divine power into one of his disciples. In that moment, he or she would be in possession of unimaginable power so that they could carry out their god’s will.

The possibility that one of the God of Light’s favored disciples was in the midst of the praying merchants troubled the High Elves and the others. The girl who had first started praying seemed like a potential candidate.

Under normal circumstances, Legendary masters and gods were bound by an unspoken rule to mind their own businesses.

Ariel was beginning to grow suspicious. All the hints she had gathered pointed to a Legendary master who might have been responsible for curing the poisoned humans back then, but there was no evidence suggesting the involvement of a god.

She had also felt Legendary power that was extremely pure and concentrated. It was beyond the limits of a typical Legendary master.

A chill ran down her spine at the thought of this.

As they watched on from their hiding spot, unsure of what to do next, Link and Avatar had reached the caravans.

Seeing the fervently praying merchants, Avatar asked curiously, “What are they doing? And who’s the God of Moonlight?”

Link did not know whether to laugh or cry as he saw what was going on. He explained, “I secretly saved two poisoned mercenaries back then. They must have mistaken what I did for a miracle.”

“Well then, can you sense where they are now?” Avatar decided not to pay any heed to the praying merchants and mercenaries. With Link’s help, he was now at full strength. Right now, he was raringly waiting to exact his revenge on the High Elves.

Link nodded. “I can feel them.”

“Where?” Avatar was now gripping his obsidian sword.

“Wait, I need to set up a magic seal to protect these people first.”

“We may reveal our location to them,” said Avatar. They were vastly outnumbered, and giving themselves away would mean losing the element of surprise.

Link nodded. “I know, but they’re still my people. I can’t leave them unprotected.”

Avatar decided not to say anything else. He remembered the tragic scene he had seen in Mara City. He understood what Link was trying to do.

At first, I thought he was like all the other Magicians, conniving and obsessed only with his ambitions. I never knew he would be just like me. Avatar seemed to finally understand Link as a person.

Chapter 563: Is it Really God’s Punishment?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Golden Plains, night

Ariel studied the merchant caravan in the distance. Getting an idea, she gestured at the others. Look at the caravan. The air seems off.

Elovan and the others looked over. They really did see that, under the silver moonlight, there were some strange ripples in the air around the caravan. These ripples were very fine. Because the caravan was close to the magic seal, one would think that that was the reason if they didn’t look carefully. However, they realized something was wrong after Ariel’s reminder.

Of these six Legendary figures, the three High Elves led by Ariel were Magicians while Katyusha’s group were Warriors.

The three Warriors saw that something was wrong but couldn’t figure out where the opponent was from this. Thus, they turned to the High Elf Magicians, waiting for their conclusion.

Ariel said to Elovan and Milose, “You two protect me. The opponent has very strange power. It’s hidden. I must put all my effort into tracking him.”

She didn’t trust the three from the Army of Destruction. She only trusted her own race.

Elovan and Milose stood to either side of Ariel. Their Natural Power surged into their wands made from the World Tree into the preparatory state.

Seeing that they were ready, Ariel gestured at Katyusha. If I successfully track the opponent’s position, I’ll point him out. Be ready to attack!

Katyusha didn’t like these three young High Elves, but they were cooperating, after all. They’d also treated her group’s wounds and hadn’t done anything tricky. She would manage to trust them this time. She nodded, showing her agreement.

After preparing, Ariel composed herself. She took out the World Impaler and added Natural Power into the magic sword. After half a second, the sword tip glowed and buried into the air.

An instant later, the World Impaler peaked out of the ground near the caravan. After that, a strand of faint Natural Power poured out of the sword. Disappearing into the ground, it entered the grass surrounding the caravan.

The biggest advantage of Natural Power was that it could fuse perfectly with the plants in Firuman. It had a perfect cover in places with dense vegetation. This was something that no other race’s power could rival.

After the strand of Natural Power entered the grass, it started sliding. There were very slight ripples during this, but they were absorbed by the grass. No one noticed.

A short while later, the Natural Power reached where Link and Avatar were hiding.

While Link was focused on setting defensive runes for the caravan, Avatar gripped his obsidian sword. He kept his eyes wide, staring at the place Link had pointed out in high alert.

The enemy hadn’t reacted yet, so he didn’t do anything. However, he couldn’t feel the Natural Power sneaking up at him at all.

Just as the Natural Power was three feet away from him and about to touch his body, Link reached out and pushed Avatar slightly to the side.

A snake-like tentacle of Natural Power slid past centimeters away from Avatar without touching anything.

Avatar was shocked. Natural Power was very subtle, but he was surprised that it was to this extent. He could obviously feel the change in power around him. As soon as Link touched him, he reacted immediately. Without any hesitation, he stepped aside, following Link’s push.

His martial arts skills were practically flawless, and he had perfect control of his body. Even though he was huge, his movements were as light as a feather. He didn’t disrupt anything when he dodged.

He was like a large buffalo that had the agility of a cat. One couldn’t help but be amazed at the sight.

Less than half a second after the first tentacle of Natural Power came, another came. Link was still setting up the runes, but he tapped lightly, and Avatar sensed it. He moved lightly, following Link’s direction. He moved at a speed and distance that was just right to avoid the tentacle.

After that, a dozen tentacles passed by him. Link moved Avatar around as if he were a puppet on strings.

To avoid the intrusive tentacles, Avatar had to make a lot of weird movements too. For example, he had to leap in the air and then spin three times. After landing, he had to go on his tiptoes, arch his back, move his hips with a hand on his pelvis, and much more.

Avatar was annoyed, but he had to follow Link’s orders. It was like performing a weird dance under the moonlight.

He had to make sure Link would keep this a secret. If people found out that the Beastman king did all these weird things, they would dislocate their jaws laughing.

On the other hand, Ariel was deep in thought as she focused on searching. She could feel that the opponent was somewhere nearby, so she repeatedly checked that place. But strangely enough, she just couldn’t find any trace of him time and time again.

After a full ten minutes, she was still fruitless.

At this time, she was forced to retract her Natural Power. Otherwise, she would use up too much power and affect her fighting later.

Retracting the World Impaler, Elovan asked with a gesture, How is it?

Ariel shook her head. I can’t find him, but I can feel he’s less than 2000 feet away!

Beside her, Katyusha pursed her lips with some disdain. She wouldn’t say anything though. Gesturing, she asked, What do we do now?

The opponent was putting runes in the air around the merchant caravan. Clearly, they were getting ready to fight. Since Ariel couldn’t find where the opponent was, there was no reason for them to stay here now.

Ariel was silent for two seconds. As soon as she was about to speak, the situation changed.

There was a soft sound in the air around the merchant caravan. Then the strangeness in the air disappeared. Other than the whistling wind and the merchants’ prayers, the plains grew abnormally quiet.

He finished the magic seal.

He’s going to attack!

But does he know where we are?

The six gestured speedily, trying to find a solution.

The seconds ticked by, but they couldn’t reach an agreement. Ariel finally couldn’t take it anymore and said out loud, “Stop arguing. This Magician is powerful. He knows where we are! Get ready!”

Everyone flinched and then got into defense mode, waiting for the hidden enemy to attack.

But what happened after that was unexpected.

Near the caravan, a pillar of silver light, like moonlight, appeared. It was more than 15 feet in width, and so tall one couldn’t see the tip. More terrifying was that it didn’t rush up from the ground—it descended from the sky.

It was as if a hole opened up in the boundless void and watery light flowed out to somewhere on the plains.

Seeing this, the merchants were shocked. A moment later, they fell into ecstasy.

Shallie excitedly cried, “There really is a god of moonlight. He responded!”

“We’ll be saved!”

Mercenary leader Miro sighed deeply. He’d been on one knee earlier, but now, he knelt fully. Placing his hands on the ground, he murmured inwardly, God, you saved me once again. From now on, I will be your most loyal slave. I am your sword, and your will is my glory!

On the other hand, Ariel’s group all gulped, shivering.

This power was too pure and subtle. Other than the silver glow, no aura seeped from the pillar of light. Right now, the six felt that this beam was so obvious, but it seemed to exist in another realm. They could only see it without sensing it.

“F*ck. Is this really god’s punishment?” The fallen angel gaped at the brilliant silver moonlight. He could feel his hands shaking. His newly-recovered wound was hurting again.

Ariel didn’t know either. She just swallowed subconsciously. It was as if she’d angered some horrible existence today. Before she could speak, she heard Katyusha say, “What if we retreat?”

She could tell from the sight that they weren’t a match.

As a servant of the God of Destruction, Katyusha had some knowledge about divine punishment. The God of Destruction had used the same method to pour power into a sacrifice or a messenger’s body.

In that case, there was probably a god’s messenger nearby. This nameless god had poured his power into him.

From the look of things, there would probably be a terrifying god’s messenger coming after them in a while. If they didn’t escape now, they would have no chance later.

“But we’re six people. There’s probably just one god’s messenger. Maybe we have a chance?” Storm Warlord Parmese wasn’t satisfied.

But just then, Ariel felt something was wrong. The scene looked scary, but it just didn’t feel right.

Like…a god’s punishment shouldn’t be like this.

She didn’t feel the danger of being in a hopeless situation. As a Magician, gut instinct was important, but she didn’t feel the relative danger… What did this mean?

A thought popped up in her mind. What if this is a farce to divert our attention?

Chapter 564: A Complete Defeat (2/3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Back in the game, Ariel was the most promising magical prodigy among the new generation of High Elves. In the later stages of the game, she was even on par with the most gifted character in the game, Eliard.

Feeling that something was off, Ariel quickly produced a tree seed in her hand. This was the seed of the High Elves’ strongest combat puppet, Golden Tree Spirit.

The Golden Tree Spirit, commonly known as the vine devil, and the Black Gold Tree Spirit were two sides of the same coin. Though they were both formed from barbed vines, their colors were different.

The Black Gold Tree Spirit was, as its name implied, black and usually used offensively. Its barbs were highly poisonous. On the other hand, the Golden Tree Spirit was golden and used defensively most of the time. Its barbs were extremely solid and could interlace with one another to form a defensive mesh.

At that moment, Ariel did not know where her enemy would strike from. Instinctively, she decided to go the defensive route and took out the Golden Tree Spirit’s seed.

Legendary-level Nature Power flowed into the seed. When jade green light shone out from the seed, she quickly threw it down to the ground. When the seed hit the ground, it began taking root immediately. Shortly after, countless barbed vines broke through the seed’s husk.

The vines intertwined with one another, forming a tight net around the three High Elves. Due to the urgency of their situation, Ariel had left the other members of the Army of Destruction out in the open to deal with whatever was out there.

At that moment, a black shadow sprang out from a clump of grass nearby.

A fiery red light swirled around the figure’s body as it appeared. It let out a roar as it swung its dark red sword down at them.

“Die, High Elves!’

It was the Beastman King Avatar!

Avatar was able to get up close enough to them to execute an ambush while they were distracted by the moonlight that Link had produced.

With all his strength, he came at them with his unique skill: Wild Battle.

In an instant, the blood red dazzle from Avatar’s blade bloomed like a lotus flower in all directions, with his body as its center. All three High Elves and the others were immediately enveloped inside the burst of light!

The light was akin to the plow of a Grim Reaper, violently loosening the soil it touched. Destructive damage would be inflicted upon those standing on the soil it touched.

The attack had caught them all by surprise.

With their lives on the line, the only thing Katyusha, the fallen angel and Stormlord Parmese were able to do was to block the attack with all their might. They were unable to dodge it; they had already missed their chance to do so.

Sounds of metal clashing against one another rang out in quick succession. Energy rippled out from the points of impact, which blew up a powerful storm and uprooted the grass around them.

The clash of weapons and the resulting storm were so intense that they would blow away an ordinary adult standing a few hundred feet away from the vortex.

Dust flew about in the air, blocking out the starry night sky and moon. Everything went dark in that moment.

However, when the storm was about to hit the caravans nearby, it mysteriously died down.

In front of them, the wind howled like restless phantoms. However, the wind was no more than a quiet breeze as it reached the caravans a few feet away from the action. The only thing that everyone could see from there was the occasional rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning produced by the clash of weapons.

Shallie was first to notice this. She shouted, “The God of Moonlight must be protecting us!”

“Lord, thank you for your protection!” shouted someone in response.

This time, no one doubted a single word Shallie said. Way too many things had happened tonight. This deity had evidently performed miracles to protect them from all manner of misfortune. This much was irrefutable.

On the other side of the plains, the battle raged on.

Even at their full strength, Katyusha, the fallen angel, and Parmese could not entirely block the Beastman king’s onslaught. At that moment, their wounds had only begun to heal, and they had not even regained their strength completely. In their currently weakened state, their chances of coming out of this alive grew ever slimmer.

Katyusha was now covered in cold sweat and screaming inwardly at the hopelessness of her situation. She did not even have the time to activate her Thorn of Fate skill. She sensed that she would be done for at any moment.

As the storm raged on, she saw the fallen angel from the corner of her eye desperately trying to block Avatar’s attack. His chest had already been slashed open. Blood poured out profusely from his wound.

Katyusha suddenly leaned to one side and retreated behind the fallen angel.

The fallen angel was too busy deflecting the rapid glimmers from Avatar’s sword that he did not notice Katyusha retreating behind him. He began to retreat as well while blocking the incoming attacks, but before he could even take half a step back, he sensed that something was wrong. There was someone blocking his way behind him.

Katyusha did not deliberately block off his retreat. But under such circumstances, a moment’s hesitation could mean life or death.

He reacted immediately. “Get out of my way, Naga!”

At that moment, the fallen angel was caught between the storm of sword glimmers in front of him and Katyusha, who had blocked off his retreat behind him. The only thing he could do was continue keeping the sword glimmers of death away from him as long as he could.

As long as he continued blocking the attacks, there was still a chance he would be able to make it out of this alive. Otherwise, he would be cut to ribbons.

He tried to block off the attacks with all his might, but reality was a cruel thing. In the span of a second, the fallen angel had blocked at least 30 attacks from Avatar. However, the sword glimmers did not let up, and he had already exhausted most of his strength.

An instant later, the sword attacks sliced through the fallen angel’s body, turning it into mincemeat.

Stormlord Parmese met the same fate as the fallen angel. With his nimbleness greatly affected by his injured leg, Parmese’s body was instantly chopped to pieces by Avatar’s onslaught.

The whirlwind of sword glimmers lasted for three minutes. Two Legendary masters of the Army of Destruction had been torn to pieces in it. On the other hand, Katyusha had hidden behind the fallen angel and was able to escape with her life.

The three High Elves fared better than the rest of their party.

With the power of the Golden Tree Spirit’s seed, Ariel was able to erect a sturdy vine barrier, but the barrier only lasted for one second.

In that one second, the sturdy Golden Tree Spirit was instantly ground to fine dust by Avatar’s sword glimmers. However, before the attacks reached them, Ariel and the others were able to set up a powerful magical barrier.

Under the magical barrier’s protection, the three of them scattered, safely evading Avatar’s attack.

Avatar had used up all of his strength in his attack. He had faced six Legendary masters on his own and was able to slay two of them. This was a feat worthy of recognition throughout the continent.

But his enemy had no intention of leaving him alive even after accomplishing such a feat.

After managing to survive Avatar’s ambush, the three High Elves and Katyusha proceeded to carry out a counterattack against him.

In an instant, Katyusha’s Thorn of Fate, Ariel’s World Impaler, Elovan and Sonya’s Black Gold Tree Spirit all came at Avatar at the same time.

All four them surrounded the Beastman King, blocking all his escape paths.

The Beastman was simply terrifying. His sword attacks had made everyone fear for their very lives. After escaping his onslaught by the skin of their teeth, their first reaction was to kill the Beastman immediately before he could do any more damage.

However, Avatar was laughing.

He made no attempts to defend himself. The Beastman King simply remained in place, laughing at the attacks that inched closer and closer towards his body by the second. As he laughed, a white light suddenly engulfed his body. He then faded away like a mere mirage.

A moment later, all four attacks converged on the same spot at the same time, but their target had vanished into thin air.

Ariel shouted urgently, “Careful, it’s an extremely powerful teleportation spell. The one who’s not yet revealed himself is a Spatial Magician!”

She then began to readjust her body, ready to intercept the Spatial Magician’s attack.

At that moment, she did not know that the Spatial Magician was Link himself. Due to the fact that the power she had sensed was different from Link’s, Ariel only assumed that it had come from some unknown master.

Just as she shouted her warning, the Magician’s attack came towards them at a frightening speed that they could barely even react to it.

All four of them had come at Avatar in unison a moment ago, ready to kill him where he stood. Though they had sensed the Magician’s attack, they were unable to pull back their attacks and readjust their bodies in time.

To a Legendary master, the length of time to readjust one’s body in anticipation of an enemy’s attack was usually no more than a tenth of a second. It was a skill ordinary people could not hope to master. Even among Legendary Magicians, it was extremely difficult to grasp as Legendary spells required time to prepare.

Logically speaking, their enemy could not possibly follow up a teleportation spell with such a powerful offensive spell so soon.

But the person they were up against was Link. Though his spells never hit hard, they were fast.

“Not good!”

Warning bells were now ringing in her head. Without hesitation, Ariel cast Moonlight on herself. She would not be able to survive her enemy’s attack. Her only option now was to flee.

But her movements were still too slow. Avatar was indeed frightening; his flurry of slashes back then had given them no room to execute a counterattack. But the person they were now facing was a hundred times more frightening than Avatar.

Just as her Moonlight spell’s protective layer began to take shape, a seemingly normal steel sword appeared behind Ariel out of thin air. With a swift stroke, it pierced directly through her heart.

Ariel’s body trembled. Her eyes widened. Her heart had been stabbed. At that moment, her internal energies were in a state of chaos, unable to put up any resistance against foreign energies.

Shortly after, a rush of spatial power spread from her wound across her entire body. She was instantly turned into a spatial statue, frozen completely on the spot.

At that moment, she was neither dead nor alive.

The sword then disappeared. It reappeared in another corner and struck Katyusha. She trembled at the moment of impact. Her heart was also stabbed, and her internal energies were sent into disarray.

Spatial energy flowed out from the sword and easily locked her in place.

Seeing that Ariel and Katyusha were immobilized by the sword, Elovan and Milose quickly tried to escape by dissipating into flashes of light.

But the two of them were no match for Link.

With two short hums, two sword tips appeared out of thin air and stabbed the High Elves’ light forms at the same time. Elovan and Milose were forced to return to their physical forms. They fell out of the sky and landed on the ground, throwing up blood.

As they were in their light forms, there were no visible wounds on both High Elves. Still, the integrity of their bodies was damaged. For a short period of time, they would not be able to fight back.

Link had landed the finishing blow on all four of them as they came at Avatar. Though his method was a bit underhanded, it was still a means to an end. The High Elves had a long history of fighting dirty anyway, so Link had no reason to feel shameful for his actions.

Once Link had subdued all four, he strolled out of his hiding spot towards them.

Elovan and Milose were still conscious. When they saw Link, their eyes went wide like saucers. They had no idea the one who had ambushed them was Link himself since the power they had felt from him before was so different from the Magician who had attacked them.

Despite knowing that there was a Magician hidden somewhere in the vicinity, they had decided to attack Avatar in full force.

A normal Magician’s attack was usually preceded by some obvious sign. It would also not come as quickly as a Warrior’s. At that moment, all four members of the Army of Destruction were confident that they would be able to react to it in time.

They did not expect to be ambushed by a Master Magician who was also well-versed in the martial arts.

Elovan asked, “Link, do you really want to start a war between Ferde and the Isle of Dawn?”

Milose added, “If you kill us here, are you not afraid that the Isle of Dawn and the Army of Destruction will join forces against Ferde?”

Link smiled faintly. “Of course I’m scared. That’s why you three are still alive.”

The two High Elves looked at each other. Link had admitted that he was afraid of the Isle of Dawn’s retaliation, but still the smile did not leave his face. He did not look at all afraid. Anyone looking at him then would be chilled to the bone.

Remaining silent for a few seconds, Elovan finally asked, “What do you want?”

Chapter 565: Direct Breakdown from Torment

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Golden Plains

Before Link could answer Elovan’s question, another voice rang out. “Of course we’ll kill you all to avenge for my race!”

It was Avatar, the Beastman king.

He’d used up almost all his power in the last attack. Now, panting heavily, he dragged the obsidian broadsword as he slowly walked out of the grass.

“You pointy-eared elves from the Isle of Dawn will do anything for your goal. We are thousands of miles away from the Isle of Dawn but still angered you somehow. Now, you’ve lost. I’ll make you taste the most horrible punishment in this world!”

When he finished, he was already beside Elovan and placed the sword on the elf’s neck.

The skin on Elovan’s neck twitched, but he still kept staring at Link. “Ferde Lord, don’t forget that your territory is less than 500 miles from the Isle of Dawn. You won’t be able to keep this a secret. You will be declaring war on the Isle of Dawn!”

Avatar scoffed. “This has nothing to do with Ferde. I’m the one killing you.” With that, he looked at Link. “Master, will you stop me?” he asked coldly.

Link shrugged. “I want to because that High Elf is right. This may very possibly spark a war between Ferde and the Isle of Dawn. But seeing our relationship, I can’t force you to listen to me.”

Knowing that Link agreed, Avatar chuckled. He applied pressure, and his blade turned, glinting. With two sounds, Elovan’s hands dropped from his body.

Avatar’s cutting style was very unique. Rather than using the blade’s sharpness to cut off the hands, he used the reverberations of the sword’s body to forcefully rip the hands off the wrists.

It was impossible to imagine how painful such a method could be!

“Ow! Ahh!”

Elovan had wanted to show his courage, but his eyes almost popped out of their sockets immediately. A gurgled cry left his throat.

Beside him, Milose heard it and shivered. He yelled to Link in panic, “Ferde Lord, stop this Beastman!”

Link shook his head and gazed at Milose. “When Ariel chose to use the lives of the human merchants to force me out, there was no more room for negotiations.”

With that, Link turned around, not wanting to see the tragic scene anymore. He focused on casting the antidote spell for the merchants from thousands of feet away.

From here, one could see beams of silver moonlight falling from the sky and entering all of them, driving away the poison.

They were all regular folks with the most powerful only at Level-4. Link didn’t use more than ten points of Realm Essence for each person. There were around 300 people, so it only cost around 3000 points. With his current power recovery rate, he recovered fully within half a minute.

The entire process only took a minute.

During this minute, he kept hearing Elovan’s distorted cries. He just pretended not to hear them. When he finished and turned around, he saw that Elovan’s body was practically shattered. Avatar had ripped off his limbs by each joint. Now, his one arm lay scattered on the ground in 20-some pieces.

He wasn’t dead though. Seeing Link turn around, he immediately cried, “Lord! Lord! I’m begging you to forgive me. Please forgive me. This is all Ariel’s idea. I’m just a follower, really. Please, save me…”

At the end, he actually started crying.

Beside him, Milose’s eyes widened at this. He couldn’t say anything. During this, Elovan suffered physically, while Milose suffered psychologically with every second. He knew that once Elovan was tortured to death, he would be next. He almost went crazy when he thought of how this cruel fate would befall him.

Often times, being tortured wasn’t the scariest. The worst part was the waiting.

This was worse for High Elves. Since birth, they’d lived on the peaceful Isle of Dawn. They mostly came to the mainland after having powerful abilities. Though they’d experienced some things, they were very rarely at a disadvantage. They’d never had emotional trauma. Even if they’d gone through hardships, they’d just grow a thicker skin.

Faced with this bloody scene, that skin had cracked. Elovan had broken down, and Milose was close.

By now, Avatar was tired from it all. He’d been exhausted originally and now broke Elovan’s arms and legs into dozens of pieces. Panting heavily, he paused.

Seeing Elovan’s teary and snotty face, a large portion of his anger was gone. He stabbed his sword into the ground and rested against it. At the same time, he scoffed coldly.

“I thought you were powerful, but I guess you’re just some kids.”

He glanced at Link. “Alright, I’ve vented my anger. Master, how do you prepare to punish them?”

Link had already thought of it. Seeing how Elovan had broken down, he got another idea. Of course, he couldn’t say it aloud now.

He pointed in Mara City’s direction. “They released the poison and have infected almost the entire city. Thankfully, the poisoned Beastmen haven’t spread out due to the surrounding magic seal. We must cure them promptly, but it’s too slow with the two of us. We need their help.”

Curing the poison was the most important task at hand.

Avatar was instantly enlightened. He hit his head in annoyance.

“I cut off this guy’s hands and feet. Now we have one less person. It’ll slow us down!”

“It’s alright. Broken bones can be reconnected.”

Avatar didn’t believe this. “They can be reconnected?”

So Link started using the Magician’s Hand. First, he collected all the pieces of limbs and arranged them in the right order. Next, he used the Magician’s Hand to connect them in the right shape.

Then, Link took out the Song of Tomorrow magic sword. He drew runes in the air around the arm. He was so fast that the sword tip just quivered and countless runes lit up in the air before sinking into the body parts.

Something miraculous happened. When the runes entered the arm, the bloody marks at the cut faded, faded, and finally disappeared. The skin just melded together like that.

But that wasn’t all.

Link didn’t stop and kept drawing runes. When he stopped after more than ten minutes, Elovan’s hands and feet had recovered their original appearance. The only difference was that one could see many faint magic veins on the skin.

After that, Link said, “Stand up and try walking.”

Elovan cautiously stood up. He stretched his arms, shook his feet, and walked around. Then he said to Link, “Lord, there are no more problems.”

As a fellow Magician, he was familiar with this spell. Technically, it came from the flesh magic puppet spell of the High Elves. However, Link’s spell for making magic puppets had been developed to another level. He’d added many of his own innovations too. For example, his feet and hands felt just like the original. This was something the High Elf spell couldn’t do.

Of course, there were still side effects. The biggest one was that he couldn’t add Natural Power to his extremities anymore. After influence from great power, his power might even stop working.

Avatar made noises of appreciation. He’d fully witnessed the power of Magicians today.

As a king, today’s experiences made him realize how important magic was. A race that didn’t know magic might be eliminated, but his race barely had any Magicians.

My race must have our own Magicians, he thought. Shamans aren’t enough. Otherwise, if something like this happens again, would I have to ask for help outside again?

On the other hand, Link obviously didn’t know what Avatar was thinking. Looking to Milose, he asked, “What about you? Do you need King Avatar to pick apart your limbs and then come help or help now?”

Milose scrambled up from the ground. “I’ll help now. I’ll help now.”

“Oh, you’re very smart.” Chuckling, Link said, “Then let’s start.”

Chapter 566: Do You Think It’s Safe?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Plains

The four hurried over to Mara City.

Elovan and Milose were at the front. Link and Avatar followed behind them. Link was empty-handed while Avatar had Ariel and Katyusha’s statues in each hand as he walked beside Link.

The four were extremely fast. Three minutes later, they stood before the sturdy dirt wall of Mara City. Here, Link told the two High Elves, “Let’s start.”

The High Elves were scared of Link now, so they were very obedient. Since Link wanted them to detoxify the poison, they started casting spells immediately. They were responsible for the poison, so they were much more efficient than Link.

The two Legendary High Elves released a fog spell together that covered the entire city. The light of this spell swept over Mara City like a broom and cured all Beastmen within. Even those who had been badly poisoned and had gone insane recovered as well. The only side effects were that they were weak and needed to rest for a while.

The recently-cured Beastmen touched their heads, standing in place dazedly. They didn’t know what had happened. After a while, shocked cries came from all over. Clearly, people were scared by the corpses scattered on the ground.

Of course, these were all unimportant details.

Seeing that there were no major problems, Avatar urged, “Many people escaped outside the city. We need to cure them too.”

Elovan and Milose both nodded. Natural Power surged within them; they were about to turn into light and fly out to cure the poisoned.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Avatar reminded, “Don’t think about escaping. Your Princess Ariel is still in our hands.”

Hearing this, Link smiled. He pointed at the two and two tiny dots of light sank into them. “Remember,” he said, “this is a curse.”

The two High Elves shuddered involuntarily. Then, without a sound, they transformed into emerald light and split apart to find and help the individual victims.

Avatar watched them leave from the city wall. “What do you plan to do with them?” he asked Link.

“What do you mean?” Link asked in return.

“Of course I’ll kill them one by one. They’re disgusting, especially the three High Elves. I wish I could chop them up to feed to the dogs!” Avatar huffed. But after he said that, his tone changed and he looked to Link. “However, you did more to catch them, so you can decide how to punish the captives. I’ll agree with whatever you decide. But to be fair, you should also give me the equivalent reimbursement.”

This was indeed fair, and Link agreed completely. Smiling, he said, “In that case, I want all four. They will be important bargaining chips in my battle with the Isle of Dawn.”

Killing them directly was satisfying, but other than venting his anger, there weren’t any practical benefits. As a lord, he couldn’t choose this option.

If these four were still alive, Ferde would gain greatly either by holding them hostage or using them to exchange with the Isle of Dawn.

With that, Link looked to Avatar and asked, “So, Your Majesty, what would you like to receive from me?”

Avatar sank into deep thought.

Before, he knew that magic was powerful, but he’d always thought that the Beastman Shamans were enough. He’d thought that they could fight against Magicians. But after today, he discovered that when a spell reached a certain point, a Shaman would be helpless.

Divine spells were powerful, but they were actually still the weakest ones. They weren’t a match for the truly strong at all. Thus, Avatar discovered that the Beastmen needed true magic.

Thinking of this, Avatar said, “My race needs Magicians—Beastman Magicians who truly belong to us. But you know that we have no magic foundation, so I need Ferde to provide tutors for us.”

“Oh?” Link looked at Avatar a bit strangely. “Magic is a very difficult study. If you want it to be effective, it will take at least five years. During this, a Magician’s tuition is at least 5000 gold coins…”

Avatar shrugged. “I need to train at least 200 Beastman Magicians. Just follow what you said and let them study for five years. As for tuition… We don’t have money. Just count it as the benefits I got from this time.”

Link chuckled wryly. “That’s one million gold coins suddenly. Your Majesty, you’re really asking for a lot… I can only train 100, no more.”

“Master, you received four Legendary fighters this time,” Avatar insisted. “You can’t buy this with money. Two hundred, no more, no less, no discussion.”

Link thought and gave in a little. “Here, let’s not talk about the specific number of apprentices and only discuss the specific cost. In five years, I’ll prove one million gold coins for Beastman apprentices to study magic until you use it up. As for how many students you wish to send, you can choose.”

This suggestion was not bad. Avatar calculated in his mind and thought it was cost-efficient. This way, he could send many Beastmen with magic talent to Ferde. He could spend more money on those who were better talented and less on the others. His race’s coffers weren’t completely empty. If the one million was used up, he could still pay some ten thousand coins. By then, he would use his own money to support the extraordinarily talented.

After a few years, his race would have their own Magicians. It wouldn’t be much in the beginning, but with the seed planted, it will grow naturally.

Thinking of this, Avatar had already agreed to Link’s suggestion. But since they were discussing conditions, he still had to ask for more. “One million isn’t enough. At least 1.5 million.”

“One point one million, nothing more.” That was 10,000 more gold coins and could feed so many mouths. Link obviously wanted to give less if possible.

“One point four. I won’t do it if it’s less!” Avatar gave in a bit, but he wasn’t stupid.”

“1.15.”

“1.3.”

“1.15.”

“1.25… ah, you’re scamming me.”

“Okay, then 1.25 million.”

“1.3!” Avatar huffed.

“Alright, alright,” Link acquiesced. “Let’s take the average. How about 1.27?”

Avatar was still annoyed, but if they really kept arguing, it was just the difference of a few ten thousand. Beastmen were naturally coarse, and he was too lazy to argue anymore. “Master, then let’s do 1.27 million. But I think you’re better as an evil merchant.”

Link laughed loudly. “Okay, after I return to Ferde, I’ll send Magicians to choose some talented youths and take them to Ferde. All travel costs will be on Ferde. What do you think?”

“That’s better. But can’t adults go learn?” Avatar didn’t want to send children. These guys didn’t have set personalities yet. If they lived in somewhere like Ferde for too long, they might not want to come back.

Link chuckled and shrugged. “Adults are fine, of course, but their bodies are set already. The various magic training won’t be very effective. Their minds are set too and lack creativity. Even if they can learn spells, they won’t become very accomplished. Your Majesty, if you fear that the children will forget the plains, you can send Warriors to teach them the traditions.”

He made sense. Avatar thought hard and couldn’t find any problems. He finally nodded. “Good. Let’s do that.”

Coming to an agreement, the four Legendary captives now belonged to Link.

After that, the two started talking about the alliance and went through another round of bargaining. Finally, Avatar agreed to take 100,000 elite Warriors northward. The requirement was that the humans must provide all food needed and 10,000 sets of equipment equal to what Norton’s official soldiers had.

Undoubtedly, this was a huge cost for the humans, but they desperately needed Beastman power. Link gritted his teeth and agreed.

Done with that, the two stayed at the city wall for another hour. Then Elovan and Milose hurried back.

“How are things?” Link asked.

Elovan quickly replied, “Everyone is cured, and the rivers are cleaned. No one should get poisoned again.”

Avatar glared. “What if someone does?”

Elovan hurriedly took out a big bottle of dark red potion. There was around a liter. “Your Majesty, this is the antidote. You just need to put a drop in a bowl of clean water and have the poisoned drink it. They will recover fully.”

Avatar accepted it, satisfied. He pointed at Link. “Okay, you don’t have anything to do with me anymore. You two are the Ferde lord’s captives. He’ll punish you.”

Hearing this, Elovan and Milose were relieved. This was great. That Beastman was too barbaric and illogical. It was much easier to deal with Link. From what they knew, Link didn’t torture captives. If they went with him to Ferde, they could definitely live well. Then, when the Isle of Dawn heard of what happened, they would rescue them.

They would be able to escape this place.

The two immediately went to Link’s side, staying away from Avatar.

Avatar looked at them with scorn and sneered. “Little lambs who aren’t even fully grown, you’re lucky you’re alive!”

With that, he said to Link, “Master, I’ll go arrange the soldiers now.”

“Go. I must return to Ferde too. Say hi to Holun for me.” Link smiled. Holun was a warlord, but he had a candid personality and was easier to communicate with than Avatar.

Avatar could feel that Link was happier when he mentioned Holun. “I will. He always talks about you.”

Link nodded. White light flashed around him. Under this light, Link, the two High Elves, and two statues disappeared together. An instant later, the five appeared tens of thousands of miles away.

Here, Link’s face darkened, and his lips curled up. Sneering, he looked at Elovan and Milose. “Gentlemen, you think you can return to the Isle of Dawn now, right?”

Chapter 567: Conquer Some, Destroy Some

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Woo, woo. The wind on the plains at night was like a ghost’s wail. The moonlight was ghastly pale in the sky, illuminating the world with cold light and turning it into a ghost region. All the animals were quiet because of the seemingly repressive atmosphere. There was no noise.

After Link uttered that phrase, Elovan’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes flew to Link, and then he lowered his head, gripping his World Tree magic wand. “Lord,” he mumbled, “how do you prepare to punish us?”

Milose hadn’t been tortured, so he was in a better state of mind than Elovan. It had been many hours since the horrible torture; he’d recovered greatly. Hearing Link’s words, he inhaled sharply. “Link, you’re the lord of Ferde. You can punish us if you think we’ve committed something bad, but you should still consider the interests of Ferde, right?”

Link nodded. “You’re right. I indeed must consider the interests of Ferde. That is why I can’t let you return to the Isle of Dawn.”

“You want to kill us?” Milose paled.

“That’s not the best plan.” Link shook his head. With that, he smiled at Elovan. “If I remember correctly, you’re from a commoner family in the Isle of Dawn. Your father is a minor official while your mother died while giving birth to you. That is why your father has hated you since your birth. He thinks you’re the physical incarnate of bad luck, is that right?”

Elovan nodded silently.

His background wasn’t difficult to investigate. Once he entered the Legendary level, it was like entering the spotlight. Anyone who wanted to know his past only had to spend some money. Link was the lord of a wealthy territory. It was extremely easy if he wanted to know these things.

Reminded by Link, Elovan couldn’t help but think of his past. When he was little, he would be beaten and punished by his father for no reason. At eight years old, he was forced out of his home. No matter how he cried and screamed, it was to no avail.

If the old Magician in the village didn’t adopt him, if he didn’t display high magic talent, he would definitely be part of the Isle of Dawn’s lowest class.

Seeing Elovan sink into deep thought, Link turned to Milose. “As for you, your bloodline isn’t that pure. You have a tinge of human of blood given by your great-grandmother. Because of that, you’ve always been marginalized. It doesn’t matter how excellent you are…In reality, this is the same for your father and grandfather, right?”

This hit Milose’s weak spot. He also lowered his head in silence.

Mutt!

Scum!

Get out of the Isle of Dawn!

These were the phrases he’d heard the most. Whenever he had a conflict with someone else, High Elves would insult him, either to his face or behind his back. Whenever he heard these words, it would feel like someone stabbing his chest with a knife. It felt horrible.

Then Link gazed at Princess Ariel’s spatial seal statue and smiled. “Look at this one, the noble elven princess. She isn’t as powerful as you two, she isn’t as skilled as you two, but just because of her status, she received the powerful World Impaler. Look at the magic bracelet on her wrist and the beautiful magic robe on her body. Tsk, so enviable.”

With that, Link suddenly turned to the wand in Milose’s hand. “Hmm, you actually treasure a wand made from a twig. The Mana inside that wand is as messy as a pile of trash.”

That really hit Milose hard. Even though they were all from the World Tree, the branches had different qualities too. His wand indeed had the lowest quality of the four Legendary Magicians. His hand retracted subconsciously, hiding the wand that Link had insulted.

Link chuckled. “You can hide the wand, but you can’t hide your robe. Your robe…tsk, it’s only for an elite Magician, right? I thought Legendary Magicians should wear the Wild Robe that Sonya and Elovan have. Why are you wearing a Natural Robe? Did no one tell you or did they not make it for you yet?

Milose’s face reddened. Link was right. Of the five new Legendary Magicians, only he was still wearing a Natural Robe. It was difficult to make a Wild Robe, so only one was made per month. He was last in line.

This wasn’t that bad, but after Link pointed it out, he felt humiliated.

“No, it’s just not my turn yet. It’s not—”

“Oh, it’s not your turn yet. So why are you last?”

“I…” Milose couldn’t reply. He knew the reason—it was because of his bloodline.

After that, Link turned to Elovan. Even though he had a pure bloodline, he didn’t have a powerful family. His treatment wasn’t any better.

“You’re wearing a Wild Robe, but it just feels weird for some reason. Oh, they really slacked off when making it. Look, you also have the Natural Guidance spell, but your guidance rate is only 70%. Ariel’s is 98%. Compared to hers, yours is just a rag.”

“Ariel is a princess,” Elovan refuted weakly.

“Oh, she’s a princess. A princess is so high-class!”

Here, Link suddenly undid the spatial seal on Princess Ariel. Time started acting on her body again. Link had stabbed her heart. A strong figure wouldn’t die from it, but it was still a heavy injury.

Once the seal was undone, Ariel collapsed onto the ground. Her body was limp and powerless.

Link cast a dragon recovery spell for her, managing to heal her wound and keep her alive. However, she still couldn’t move. Any movement would cause extreme pain.

She scanned Link, Elovan, and Milose. Link had a cold sneer, Elovan looked downtrodden and weak, and Milose’s face had a fury that even he didn’t realize he had.

Ariel was smart. She knew immediately that things would go bad now. These two High Elves would probably turn towards Ferde.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she felt her tongue go numb. Something restrained her. Other than “ah,” she couldn’t say anything else.

Link activated the Magician’s Hand, and Ariel’s World Impaler flew to him. Then he gave it to Milose. “Take it and stab Ariel’s chest in one move!”

Milose gaped. He reached out but didn’t dare accept the World Impaler. “No, I can’t. I can’t do that. I’ll die!”

If he did it, he would never be able to turn back and return to the Isle of Dawn.

Link scoffed. “Oh, so you can live if you don’t do it?”

Milose winced. He looked up at Link to see that his hand was already on his sword. He knew Link. He knew Link had top-tier swordsmanship and magic. With their close distance, Link could kill him and Elovan in an instant.

They wouldn’t even be able to fight back.

Should he die now?

Or kill Ariel, join Ferde, and fight for a chance to live?

It wasn’t even a choice.

Trembling, Milose took the World Impaler. Grasping it with both hands, he moved towards the struggling Ariel.

“Ah, ah, ah!”

Ariel screamed with her eyes wide open. Her movements were too big and opened her wound many times. Link was forced to heal her a bit so she wouldn’t die halfway through.

Finally, Milose got to Ariel and pressed the sword tip to her chest… Then he relaxed his hold. Due to gravity, the sharp sword pierced Ariel’s chest, nailing her to the ground.

Link recorded this entire process with a Memory Crystal.

After Milose was done, he said to Elovan, “You too. Stab her.”

Elovan had already given up. He was willing to do anything to live and was more resolute than Milose. He walked over, yanked out the World Impaler, aimed at Ariel’s heart, and stabbed down.

“Uh.” Ariel twitched violently. Grasping the sword hilt, she gaped at Elovan.

Now, she realized that her tongue wasn’t restrained anymore. She could speak. Voice rough, she said, “Why?”

It could be said that Milose had been forced, but Elovan had done it without hesitation. He’d decided on joining Ferde.

Elovan didn’t reply. He pulled out the World Impaler and turned to Milose. “Milose, I belong to Ferde now. What about you?”

The sword in Elovan’s hand dripped with blood as he spoke. It was as if he could kill Milose if needed too.

Milose had no way back. He stepped forward, grabbed the World Impaler, and raised it. He stabbed through Ariel’s forehead, nailing this talented High Elf princess to the ground.

Then he said, “Me too.”

He’d thought it through.

Technically, Milose was a half-elf. He knew that Ferde had a half-elf with a high position too. That guy was called Eliard.

Since Eliard could accomplish that, why couldn’t he? In Ferde, he had opportunities that he would never have in the Isle of Dawn!

Link chuckled. He waved, and the World Impaler jumped out of Ariel’s forehead. Her corpse ignited too. It burned to ashes in the fire and blew away with the wind.

Link could control Milose and Elovan, so he chose to take them in. Princess Ariel was a top talent. She hadn’t matured fully, but she would definitely become a terrifying Magician in the future.

Link wasn’t confident he could control someone like that, so he chose to destroy her.

He still had one more captive—the Naga, Katyusha.

He’d thought of a way to deal with her too. However, he didn’t have the needed method of control. For this, he had to return to Ferde and brainstorm with the core Magicians.

“Alright, my companions, let us return to Ferde. Once there, you must change your appearance and identity for safety.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Elovan and Milose saluted to Link.

Chapter 568: Ferde Lord, Prepare to Pay

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

One day later, Link brought Elovan, Milose, and Katyusha’s statue to Ferde’s border. By now, Elovan and Milose’s appearances had changed greatly.

First of all, their pointy ears were gone. Link had used a flesh magic puppet spell to round them and change their faces.

High Elves were all very attractive. Even Milose, who was plain amongst High Elves, was above average amongst humans. Now, they looked completely like common men.

If not for their Natural Magic auras, no one would be able to tell they were High Elves from their appearances.

When they got to the border, Link cast a transmission spell to avoid alerting the soldiers. Under white flashes, the group appeared within the main Mage Tower.

Just as the two High Elves steadied themselves, their hearts jumped. They sensed the magic aura coming out of the Mage Tower. It was majestic, deep, and heavy. They felt like they were facing an unshakeable mountain.

Before, they didn’t think much of human Mage Towers by instinct. With their magic knowledge, they thought that they would definitely be at the top level. They obviously couldn’t beat Link, but they could still be second or third.

Now, they weren’t as confident.

Even more shocking, it wasn’t just the Mage Tower that looked majestic. The entire Scorched City was shocking. It was filled with a warm aura like sunlight. It was strange.

This “sunlight” was omnipresent in the Mage Tower and outside in Scorched City. Especially to the north of the city where the sunlight aura was abnormally dense—they could even feel the heat.

Sunlight was warm, but when an immense amount of warmth was gathered together, it would become a sun with unlimited power. There was a sun like that burning in the northern part of the city!

Shock was written in Elovan’s features. He asked without thinking, “Lord, what’s with the north?”

The Isle of Dawn had always paid attention to Ferde, and they thought that they were knowledgeable in Ferde’s basic situation. However, they couldn’t sense this aura. From the outside, nothing special seemed to have happened other than the new buildings they’d built.

But now, he saw an entirely different Ferde in the Mage Tower.

“The military camp is in the North,” Link said, chuckling. All of Ferde’s power was covered by the Mage Tower. The only place they could see the entire city was in the Mage Tower.

“Military camp?” Elovan flinched. He seemed to understand something and was instantly shaken. Not only did they need a lot of people to create such a convergence of power, but they also needed many strong figures. They needed at least 5000 soldiers over Level-6 to create a scene like this.

If they had 5000 Level-6 soldiers, it meant that Ferde now had an entirely new type of power.

He’d interacted with Eliard before and felt the pure and warm aura inside the other. At that time, he’d only thought that Eliard was the exception. He didn’t think that Ferde’s power had reached this level.

At first, he thought he’d only won a chance to survive by joining Ferde. Now, things seemed much better than he’d expected.

Judging from Ferde’s current display of power, they still weren’t a match for the Isle of Dawn. It didn’t mean they had no chance though. Plus, humans had a great population. This was a huge potential. After a few years, Ferde’s power would reach an unthinkable level.

Originally, Elovan had been forced to join Ferde. Now, he saw huge hope. With this hope, he was practically willing to be loyal.

Then he turned to his companion Milose. The other was clearly thinking the same thing. When he turned, Milose had also turned towards him. He saw shock and respect in Milose’s eyes.

During this time, Link had still been walking forward. The two followed in his footsteps until Link stopped before a magic portal door.

“It’s Evelina’s Mage Tower up ahead.”

Evelina was the first High Elf to join Ferde. Elovan and Milose had been scared, but after hearing Evelina’s name, they became calmer. At the same time, they also had complicated feelings.

Link never admitted that Evelina was in Ferde, but everyone knew, so Elovan and Milose didn’t find this surprising.

After opening the portal door, the three stepped in. The scenery changed and they reappeared in a hallway of a totally different style.

The two walls were made of wood with flowing veins. There was the fragrance of wood and grass in the air. A long-tailed green robin perched on one of the lights on the wall. After seeing them, the robin said with a feminine voice, “Welcome, welcome.”

The decorations were completely elven.

Another part of Elovan and Milose were reassured. Link continued leading them all the way to Evelina’s room. Then he knocked on the door. “Master Evelina, are you here?”

The reply came quickly. “I’m here, Lord. What’s wrong?”

At the same time, the door creaked open. Evelina was sitting before a large table, her hands were playing with an Ethereal Crystal. She was making Ethereal equipment.

“I’m sorry. You worked hard these days, but I found two helpers for you.” Link moved to the side, revealing Elovan and Milose behind him.

Seeing them, Evelina felt for their auras and was horribly shocked. “Elovan, Milose, why are you here?”

The two High Elves felt awkward. They didn’t know what to say.

Link felt like he was extra here and left Evelina to take care of everything. “I think,” he said, “it’s better for you three to talk amongst yourselves. I’ll go rest now.”

As soon as he finished, white light flashed around him, and he disappeared from the room.

Evelina pushed down her shock and waved, closing the wooden door. Then she used the Magician’s Hand to place two chairs across the table.

“Sit and tell me what exactly happened.”

Milose and Elovan walked up. Milose was still reserved as before while Elovan was always the leader, so he was the one to speak this time as well.

“I…” He opened his mouth but then realized that he didn’t know what to say. He had some worries. He was afraid that if he said too much and Link heard, he would bring trouble.

This often happened on the Isle of Dawn. There wasn’t any torture or punishment, but if you said the wrong thing, you would be banished to the fringe of society. You wouldn’t be respected your entire life because the Isle of Dawn didn’t lack talents.

It was useless even if they reached the Legendary level because there were handfuls of youths that had the same potential. Within three months, there would be at least five Magicians who would reach the Legendary level.

Evelina had lived in the Isle of Dawn for many years. She obviously knew Elovan’s worries. Waving her hand, she said, “Don’t worry. No one will eavesdrop. You can speak freely with me.”

Milose was shocked. He couldn’t help but say, “The Ferde lord trusts you that much? What if we plot betrayal?”

Elovan had the same suspicions. In his opinion, Link had said he would leave, but he must be hiding in the shadows. He would eavesdrop on them to see if they were honest. This was common on the Isle of Dawn.

Evelina covered her mouth and chuckled. “Betray? Do you dare?” she asked in return.

“I was just saying. Don’t take it seriously,” Milose explained hurriedly. He was afraid too.

Evelina shook her head. “Don’t worry. This isn’t the Isle of Dawn. Here, no one has the time to eavesdrop. As for grouping together to plot betrayal, it’s even more impossible. The system within the Mage Tower makes it impossible.”

“Oh, what do you mean?” Elovan was interested.

Smiling, Evelina raised her voice slightly and said, “Lily, explain to these country bumpkins.”

Lily was the Mage Tower’s tower spirit. As soon as Evelina finished, a gentle female voice said, “A strict surveillance system operates within the Mage Tower. All magic items must be on record. All Magicians, including manager Master Link, who use magic items, will be recorded. By checking the flow of items, one can deduct the user’s intentions. If someone uses too many dangerous items, the Magician will be marked as a ‘dangerous figure’ and be placed under more scrutiny. If…”

Lily’s explanation was very detailed. The system was strict and had no loopholes at all. It was clearly complicated, but because most steps were run by the tower spirit, it was actually quite simple in reality.

When Lily finished, the two Magicians were mostly clear.

Smiling, Evelina said, “See? The system ensures that you can’t do anything big. Even if you discuss for your entire life, you won’t have the weapons.”

Without the help of magic equipment, a Legendary Magician might not even be the match of a fully-equipped Level-9 Magician. They wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“But I can still stab the lord in the back when we work together. He can’t prevent a sudden accident, right?” Milose asked.

Evelina nodded. “Indeed, he can’t prevent it. But let me ask again, do you dare?”

Elovan and Milose met eyes and shook their heads.

Elovan’s reaction was even more obvious. When Evelina asked, he shuddered slightly. He’d thought of the torture on the plains again. He never wanted to be reminded of that painful experience ever again.

They really didn’t dare.

The more one interacted with Link, the more terrifying he became. It seemed that his magic would improve a lot whenever they met. They had no clue what power or tricks he had.

Just the thought of fighting him appearing in Elovan’s mind scared him, let alone actually doing it.

Evelina casually pushed the Ethereal Crystal to the side of the table and brought over a cup of elven honey tea for her old companions. “You two were most likely forced to join Ferde,” she said. “I’d love to know what Master Link did to make you so obedient.”

Elovan and Milose fell silent. After a long while, they started to speak at the same time and then stopped again. Finally, Elovan murmured, “He made us kill Princess Ariel.”

“What? Ariel died?!” Evelina was shocked.

The two nodded and then remained silent.

After a long while, Evelina sighed. “Now, Firuman will have trouble again.”

Almost at the same time, in the palace on the Isle of Dawn, a High Elf messenger brought a confidential letter to the queen. She opened it and paled drastically, unable to even grip the paper. She tottered unsteadily and leaned against the wall.

“My daughter!” she murmured, tears rolling down her shining cheeks.

She had three children—two daughters and one son. Milda was the eldest daughter, and Ariel was the second. Now, Milda was somewhere in Aragu while Ariel was dead. All of this had to do with Link.

Ferde Lord, prepare to pay! She turned and sped to the High Elf Elder Council.

Chapter 569: There’s Somewhere This Magical in the World

Ferde Mage Tower

Evelina started planning the treatment of her two brethren after communicating with Elovan and Milose.

She was now a core Magician in the Ferde Mage Tower. Her authority was second only to Link, and also she had the powerful tower spirit Lily’s help. She could do all this by herself.

After a flurry of activity, she gave two identical plain metal rings to the two elves.

“Put it on.”

“What is it?” Elovan took the ring and studied it carefully. No matter how he looked, the ring seemed ordinary. There weren’t many runes on it either. It was just like a normal metal ring.

But Ferde’s magic equipment was quite famous. They were known for their fine appearance and stable power. Why did they give such a plain magic ring?

Milose couldn’t believe it. He flipped it around, trying to find something from the ring.

Evelina smiled. “No need to look. This is just a regular ring. It’s known as the Ferde Black Ring, used to show your status in the Mage Tower. The only good thing about it is that it has Level-10 ordinary authority. It lets you use a portion of Level-10 magic power within the tower.”

“Ordinary authority? Level-10 magic power? What’s that?” Milose asked. While speaking, his eyes went to Evelina’s hand.

Evelina also had a ring, but it was made of precious Thorium and had a crystal red gem. Fiery light flowed through the entire ring. It was beautiful.

Compared to hers, their black rings were like trash.

Touching her ring, Evelina said proudly, “Mine represents my status too. However, mine is called, ‘Master Magician’s Burn Mark.’ It has the complete Level-10 authority. It can activate some Level-11 defensive spells, a portal spell of at least five miles, and a Level-11 Destructive Beam. In Ferde, only the lord’s ring is more powerful than mine.”

Milose was jealous. “What’s the use of a complete Level-10 authority?”

“Use? Of course it’s useful. For example, before you accumulate enough magic points to upgrade your ring to the Master Magician level, I’ll be in charge of your power…”

Elovan heard one word. “Wait, wait, you said you could upgrade the ring? How?”

Unexpectedly, Evelina stretched and drawled, “I’m tired now and don’t want to talk anymore. If you want to know, ask the tower spirit, Lily.”

As soon as she finished, the door creaked open. She picked up the Ethereal Crystal on the table and started making magic equipment again.

She was obviously telling them to leave.

Milose was annoyed. “Evelina, what are you doing? We’re—”

Evelina’s expression changed. “Watch your language, Magician,” she said coldly. “This room is my private territory. Even the lord has to knock and receive my permission to enter. Now, turn around, leave, and go back to your room!”

Milose was furious at her attitude. But before he could speak, he heard footsteps. Turning, he saw Elovan. The other elf was hurrying towards the door as if he had something urgent to do.

But what could he do? Milose was curious and hurried after him. He thought of Evelina’s words about upgrading the ring and magic points… Wait, Evelina was so arrogant now because she had the Master Magician’s Burn Mark. Could he also achieve that level by following her method?

Could he become a core figure of Ferde—someone truly in the top class?

Thinking of this, Milose’s heart started pounding. Elovan had left the room and was about to disappear from his vision. Feeling urgent, Milose didn’t feel like arguing with Evelina anymore. He followed Elovan out of the room.

Watching the two disappear at the end of the hall, Evelina shook her head. Two more Magicians will become obsessed now.

She closed the door and focused on making Ethereal equipment again.

Since Ariel was dead, the Isle of Dawn would definitely get the news. They wouldn’t let it go. Ferde must accumulate more power!

As for whether they would win or not, Evelina was absolutely confident. The process would be difficult, but Ferde would definitely win in the end. Even Ariel, who she’d thought would never fail since childhood, had died in Link’s hands. Who else in the Isle of Dawn was his match?

On the other hand, Elovan had returned to his room.

This room was on the fourth floor of the Mage Tower. It wasn’t big or small. It was around 120 square feet and was equipped with all the necessary furniture.

According to what Evelina had said, as long as he didn’t disturb Ferde’s safety, everything in the room belonged to him. Even the lord had no right to forcefully search him.

Evelina shouldn’t lie to him. The Ferde Lord’s actions when entering Evelina’s room earlier had proved her words.

Thinking of this, Elovan was slightly reassured. As a High Elf suddenly becoming a member of the enemy and entering their Mage Tower, he was understandably anxious. Now, he had a private place that belonged to himself. It wasn’t big, but it helped relax him greatly.

After closing the door, Elovan composed himself. Following what Evelina had said, he found the portal to the signet in the room. It was on the wall, on the pendant of a pretty woman’s painting.

He pressed his ring against the gem and asked, “Lily, are you here?”

The profile floated out of the wall and expanded into a realistic three-dimensional image. She had a gentle motherly smile. “I’m here, aster.”

Elovan was intrigued and circled the image. He found that, if he didn’t witness it being made, he wouldn’t be able to tell that this wasn’t a real person.

Such a detailed illusion, he praised inwardly. The gentle woman made him comfortable. “I want to know everything about magic points and upgrading the ring,” he said.

“Understood. Please listen carefully…”

Lily started reciting the specific rules for upgrading in the Mage Tower. She was very detailed. Of course, because they were simple rules, it was also boring.

However, Elovan listened seriously, not letting a single word pass by.

He was a commoner and had no background in the Isle of Dawn. He went through the levels purely by virtue of his talent. This entire way, he’d experienced all the good and bad of humanity. He couldn’t explain the feeling to others.

At first, he thought all of Firuman was like this. At first, he thought the Isle of Dawn was a peaceful heaven. Even though there were bad parts, it was 100 times better than the messy mainland. But now, he suddenly realized that there was a place as miraculous as Ferde.

The lord was actually willing to give his authority to a tower spirit. He was actually willing to create rules to restrain himself. This was incomprehensible, but it made Elovan feel a burning desire inside.

As Lily explained steadily, that desire burned hotter and hotter. After a full hour, Lily finished, and Elovan worked to compose himself.

“So you mean I can upgrade my metal ring into the Master Magician mark, enter the top level of Ferde, and become a core Magician?” he asked softly.

Lily nodded. “Of course. You only need sufficient magic points.”

“Then please give me missions!” Elovan said immediately. He couldn’t wait any longer.

He knew Ferde was wealthy and had a great amount of precious magic material. He knew that Ferde’s enchantments were very advanced. The Golden Rune Workshop’s fame had surpassed the Isle of Dawn. He also heard that Ferde’s alchemy was unique in its attainments. Recently, they also created a useful potion. They seemed to be catching up to the Isle of Dawn.

All in all, Ferde wasn’t much weaker than the Isle of Dawn. If he could become a core Magician in such a magic paradise, he could receive much more than struggling in the Isle of Dawn!

In that case, why should he still think about the Isle of Dawn?

In that case, why shouldn’t he work on moving forward?

“Thank you, Lily,” Elovan said. “Show me the missions available for my level.”

Now, he didn’t have any unwillingness left. He was completely willing to stay in Ferde.

In the other room, Milose was feeling similarly. Because of his bloodline, he’d been discriminated against much more than Elovan. Now, that didn’t exist anymore. He immediately found the motivation to advance.

At this time, Link and Eliard were in the main tower. They faced the Katyusha’s spatial seal statue.

“No, this is too hard. Her soul is very powerful—more so than most of us. We can’t wipe her memory without damage, let alone add command orders using hypnotization.” Eleanor shook her head. She couldn’t do it.

Link had wanted to wipe Katyusha’s memory and add the command order used for magic puppets. This way, she would become Ferde’s battle puppet.

Katyusha was a Warrior genius and had the Spear of Victory. She was a fatal weapon. If Ferde could use her, the territory would have another ace card.

“Then we’ll think of a way,” Link said. No matter how hard something was, they’d just have to think of a solution.