ã€ŠTravellers - An Isekai, Cultivation Fantasyã€‹


 Chapter 1: Unexpected Events

    ¡°Are you ready Drake?¡± asked Steve Mainsburn.

    ¡°Of course, I am. This is what we have been working towards for over ten years!¡± Drake Ludwan replied.

    The duo were standing inside a medium-sized glass chamber. In front of them was a large array of buttons, levers, and other control mechanisms on a desk. On the sides were large monitors showing graphs and numerical data. Through the front glass window, one could see a gigantic, metallic structure standing tall and majestic.

    ¡°If this actually works, it could transform the world!¡± Steve yelled excitedly.

    He was not exaggerating. The two were physicists building a nuclear fusion reactor.

    Nuclear fusion is a method of making energy using the same process that occurs in the cores of stars. If the process could be successfully utilised, it could replace all other sources of energy in the world, including fossil fuels and other renewable energy, resulting in a revolution.

    Many scientists have tried to build nuclear fusion reactors before but none of them were successful. However, Drake Ludwan and Steve Mainsburn were world-leading experts and geniuses of their generation despite being relatively young in their early thirties. They pooled their knowledge and worked together for over many years to take a completely new and innovative approach, which resulted in the current situation.

    After all that preparation, they were finally going to start the reactor. At once, they would find out whether all their efforts were going to be fruitful or a complete waste.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it,¡± Drake replied. His right hand was hovering over the start button as warm sweat trickled down his back. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and adrenaline pumped from his chest, making his breathing rough.

    Steve laid a comforting hand on his shoulder while placing his other hand next to Drake¡¯s.

    They pushed the button together.

    Immediately, loud ringing and various other sounds were emitted from around the room as energy gushed to the centre of the metallic building with an unstoppable force. Things were relatively calm where the two were located but they knew that inside the reactor, the temperatures were rapidly surging to reach the same level as the inner cores of stars.

    The two were hurriedly staring at monitors, quickly processing the information shown through various graphs, charts, and indicators.

    ¡®Yes! It is working!¡¯ Drake thought.

    But he knew better than to rejoice so soon.

    There were still too many variables and unknowns. Even the slightest miscalculation of some small quantity could have a chain reaction that affected everything and they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.

    They could only hope for the best.

    The reaction proceeded rapidly and soon, they could hear deafening sounds created by the start of fusion.

    It was now or never.

    Both Drake and Steve tightly held their breaths, not even daring to blink. If they didn¡¯t know any better, they would want to directly march into the structure to see the reaction for themselves.

    ¡°Hold on what¡¯s happening!?¡± yelled Steve.

    An indicator on a particular screen turned red, but soon the same thing started happening on other screens until a wave of red engulfed the entire room.

    ¡°The energy levels are too high!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, that¡¯s not good! We must get out of here!¡± screamed Steve in fear.

    This was the worst case possible - the reaction had gone out of control!

    The reactor was built to protect against such a situation so there shouldn¡¯t be any danger inside the glass chamber, but they still had to evacuate for safety reasons.

    The two didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and they rushed to the door. However, they suddenly heard a deafening sound.

    BOOM!

    Small cracks appeared on the metallic building and rapidly expanded to cover the whole structure.

    BOOM! BOOM!

    The cracks began widening and white light spilled out.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    Those last few explosions sealed the deal. The whole structure simultaneously melted and broke apart.

    ¡°AAAAHHHHH!¡± screamed Drake and Steve.

    The surrounding temperatures soared uncontrollably. They felt like they were standing on the sun.

    BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!

    In the next instant, not just the metallic structure or the glass door, but their entire research facility exploded spectacularly, resulting in a large gas cloud that shot up into the sky.

    All the buildings within a one-mile radius completely melted and disintegrated, those within five miles were demolished by fierce winds. Any individual lucky enough to be away from this death zone was deafened by the sound or blinded by the unbelievably intense light.

    It was like the whole world changed in an instant.

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    ¡­

    ¡°Aaaaah!¡± gasped Drake, sitting up in a panic.

    He vividly remembered the terrifying explosion.

    What went wrong?

    It was not supposed to go that way. He had painstakingly calculated everything over countless days and nights. It was reviewed by his friend Steve, and many other trusted colleagues ¨C so what could have happened?

    His mind began working at lightning speed, trying to deduce what the error was. But quickly, he stopped and asked himself the most basic question.

    ¡®Where am I?¡¯

    Drake was standing in a completely white room with no walls. He was standing on an empty, white platform that stretched onto infinity.

    ¡°Oh hello!¡± came a voice from behind.

    Drake immediately shook, caught by surprise. He turned around so fast that he tripped and landed on his bottom. But surprisingly, there was no pain. Confused and afraid, he could only look up towards the source of the voice.

    In front was a lonely desk filled with various documents. Behind it sat a middle-aged man who was also dressed in white. Even his short, scruffy hair was white.

    The man stared at Drake with a curious gaze and started speaking with a smile.

    ¡°Welcome to the afterlife. I¡¯m sure you have many questions, so I will try my best to-¡± he stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence and had an unexpected change in expression. His smile vanished and he continued with a grumpy tone, ¡°Oh who am I kidding? I¡¯m not in the mood for this. I don¡¯t really care if you have any questions or anything about you really,¡± he said plainly.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the gist of it - you died. Normally we, the Orion Immortals, will not care about a random soul. However, you are somewhat special, as your soul has the ability to retain memories and skills through different lives. Those who possess this ability meet the minimum criteria to try to become a member of our organisation. But first, you must pass a few tests.¡±

    ¡®Huh? What? I¡¯m dead? How am I here if I¡¯m dead? What tests?¡¯ Drake wanted to ask all those questions but the man continued without giving him a chance to speak.

    ¡°So, I will send you to a different world now, one based in¡­ argh¡­ I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t really care. I¡¯m just going to send you to a new world now. You can go there and if you give an acceptable performance, we can discuss things further.¡±

    Saying that, he then immediately raised his arm towards Drake.

    Drake felt an overwhelmingly attractive force pull his body towards the man¡¯s hand. Drake wanted to resist but he couldn¡¯t. He did not even have time to process anything the man said.

    ¡°Wait! Please wait! I just want to know-¡± Drake was going to ask one of his million questions, but the man gave him no chance. He caught Drake by his neck and his eyes flashed with a brilliant golden radiance.

    ¡°Bye!¡± he whispered.

    Drake felt a formless energy wash over him as he rapidly shrank and drifted into the distance.

    The last thing he saw was the indifferent eyes of that eccentric middle-aged man.

    ¡­

    On a land far, far away.

    A vast ocean was under the ferocious assault of a terrifying storm. Dark clouds gathered and thunder rumbled through the air. The winds pushed against the water, making them form chaotic waves.

    Deep below the ocean surface, a shark demon swam hurriedly. Its underwater cave was destroyed by the storm and it could not do anything. Helpless and filled with rage, it decided to come to its favourite hunting ground.

    A few dozen meters in front, the demon spotted a reef swarming with fish of all sizes and colours, lighting up the entire ocean surface. If anyone from Earth saw their appearance, they would be in awe of their beauty.

    Yet the demon saw nothing but food and a way to release its anger.

    ¡°ROOOAAARR!¡± the shark demon roared with fury, brazenly announcing its arrival.

    At once, the entire ocean surface trembled and fell into chaos. Schools of fish darted away in all directions.

    As the fish fled in fear, the demon descended like a dark god. It opened its mouth and sucked in a huge gulp of water, reeling in a large chunk of the fish population. The schools of fish were mercilessly torn apart by its vicious fangs.

    But the demon barely considered that a starter.

    It looked towards a large whale that was swimming much faster than the other fish and was the furthest distance away. If it were facing any other opponent, they would be helpless against its speed.

    However, a cold glint flashed in the shark demon¡¯s eyes as it dashed through the ocean, instantly appearing in front of the whale - it was time for the main course.

    The whale cried and retreated with terror. The shark demon laughed as it opened its mouth wide to chomp down ruthlessly.

    At this moment, from not too far away, an eerie laughter resounded across the ocean.

    ¡°Hehehehehe! Hehehehehehehehe!¡±

    The laughter was so loud, and the voice so booming that it created winds which swept through the surrounding water, creating currents that disrupted the movements of the fish.

    One of the currents formed in the same area as the shark demon and pushed it aside like a pile of trash.

    The shark demon felt humiliated!

    Who would dare to attack it in its own territory?

    ¡°I have finally created the primal energy core!¡± yelled the voice, laughing even more loudly.

    Furious, the shark demon turned towards the voice and charged.

    First, its cave was destroyed by a storm and it couldn¡¯t do anything. Now when it tried to eat, it was attacked in such an unexpected and bizarre manner.

    The demon could not care less about anything else anymore. It just wanted to tear the perpetrator to pieces to vent its pent-up fury.

    The owner of the voice was covered in black robes. They were holding onto a jade box as if it were the most precious thing in the world. As the shark approached from the side, they slightly turned to face it, revealing the wrinkled face of a lady.

    Despite seeing a powerful demon charging at her, she was completely calm. In fact, her lips curled up into a cruel smile and she whispered to herself.

    ¡°Not bad! A fifty-thousand-year-old tyrant class demon shark is delivering itself to me. I might as well help myself then.¡±

    She waved her hand in a small circle and the surroundings immediately changed. The water in front of her warped into a humanoid figure holding a trident.

    It looked like a person made completely out of water!

    The shark was surprised to see such a change, but it was too late to stop its momentum.

    However, it wasn¡¯t scared.

    Its body was incredibly tough, so normal weapons could not even scratch it. It was extremely confident in its defence.

    However, in the next instant, the humanoid figure disappeared. The demon¡¯s momentum came to an abrupt stop and the humanoid figure suddenly appeared behind its back.

    There was a trident pierced through the shark demon¡¯s mouth and pointing out of its neck.

    The demon was frozen.

    It tried to move its eyes to look at the trident, however, it was too weak to do even that.

    Its eyes lost their light and rolled backwards. The humanoid figure retrieved its trident and the shark demon floated limply in the water.

    This legendary demon that had once ruled a part of the ocean for tens of thousands of years had now died in such an inexplicable manner!

    ¡­

    In the same world, on the central part of the continent of Jin, there existed the Holy Kingdom. The western part of Jin was covered by the expansive Beast Woods, filled with dangerous demons and onis. To the northwest of the Holy Kingdom, bordering the Beast Woods, there was the small village of Jain.

    Inside one of the houses in that village came the cry of a newborn baby.

    ¡°Wuah!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a boy!¡± cried a male voice in joy.

    ¡°Congratulations my lord. You have a son!¡± an old midwife spoke in a polite tone as she held a bloody child in her arms.

    Unable to wait, the father quickly, but carefully, took hold of the baby boy in his own arms.

    Unexpectedly, however, the boy immediately stopped crying.

    In fact, it was looking at its own hands and at the face of this large man with a curious and intelligent gaze.

    The father was surprised but also slightly worried at the sudden change in the baby¡¯s attitude. He questioningly looked towards the midwife who replied with a slight nod to assure that everything was alright with the baby. The father relaxed and bent his head to the baby¡¯s forehead to give a light kiss.

    No one could have predicted what the baby¡¯s true thoughts at that moment were.

    ¡®It seems¡­ I have been reborn!¡¯

 Chapter 2: Birthday

    Seven years later¡­

    ¡°Happy Birthday Drake!¡±

    Inside a grand hall lit with countless candles, a little boy with short, thin hair was dressed in clean, dark blue robes. He was standing behind a wooden table, on top of which was a large birthday cake.

    Drake Reynard was none other than the scientist Drake Ludwan who had been reborn into this world after dying in the nuclear explosion. Now, at seven years old, he possessed an ordinary, but innocent-looking face. His most striking feature was his dark eyes which had a sharp, wise gaze.

    His oldest brother Elwin Reynard was fifteen years old. He was now standing to the right of Drake, wearing blue robes as well and smiling warmly. Elwin had short, emerald hair and light blue eyes, just like his mother June Reynard.

    His second brother Hazezel Reynard was twelve years old and stood to the left of Drake wearing a plain black shirt and trousers. Hazezel playfully ruffled Drake¡¯s hair as he thought about how quickly Drake had grown.

    Not only could his brother walk after just a few months of being born, but he learnt to read when he was just a one-year-old and started teaching himself history, geography, and everything else! After another few months, he could also talk fluently.

    It was as if the only thing limiting his growth was the fragile body he was in. Drake was a genius whom everyone loved.

    Finally, on the opposite side of the table was Astoria Reynard. She was also twelve years old and was the twin of Hazezel Reynard. She had beautiful blue eyes, fair skin, and dark, shoulder-length hair, and was wearing a pink dress.

    Drake glanced around himself.

    His mother died soon after giving birth to him due to many problems that arose during the delivery. Hence, she wasn''t here now. Despite that tragedy, he could tell how much everyone here loved him, and he also felt the same.

    Back on Earth, he had a wife and two children that he still loved and missed. But he also knew that that life was over now. The last seven years had helped him to move on from his past on Earth while helping him embrace his new life in this world.

    Guess time really does heal all wounds, he thought to himself.

    His previous family would have also mourned for his death and moved on. Or at least, he hoped that they did.

    Drake didn¡¯t know about the true scale of the explosion that he had caused. He imagined that more people would have died than just Steve and himself, but he thought that at a maximum, their whole research facility would have blown up. Never did he imagine that half of the country was caught up in the disaster, and that the news of his exploits had shaken the whole world.

    If he knew that, he would have guessed that his family had passed away in that same explosion.

    Even though he had moved on, he still had many questions. The biggest was about that strange, middle-aged man he had met after his death - the Orion Immortal, as Drake liked to call him. Although Drake had left within a few minutes, the encounter left a lasting impression on his mind.

    Drake could remember every word that the man said that day and had analysed it for many years. However, nothing made much sense to him.

    How could he give an ¡®acceptable performance¡¯ in this world? On what grounds were they assessing him? Who was assessing him? The man didn¡¯t even ask if Drake wanted to join their ¡®organisation¡¯ before he sent him to do the ¡®tests¡¯, which Drake figured had something to do with this world.

    Drake had constantly ruminated over those events countless times in his mind but couldn¡¯t find a reasonable explanation.

    For a while, he thought that the whole thing might have been a hallucination, a dream, or maybe some strange experiment he signed himself up for, or was forced to undergo by the government, or maybe even some aliens!

    However, after experiencing this world and his life over the years, he had to come to terms with the fact that everything was indeed, very real.

    The only thing he was mildly hoping for now was that maybe some of his family, or even Steve, might also get reincarnated into this world, after their death. But Drake knew that even on the slim chance that that happened, he would most likely not be able to find them. It was more like a wishful thought that he had in order to make it easier for him to come to terms with everything and start his life anew.

    In this world, one was considered an adult at fifteen years of age. Seven years was the equivalent of becoming a teenager on Earth, so it was a huge milestone in a person¡¯s life.

    Hence, they celebrated the grand occasion.

    But of course, given that he was thirty-two years old when he died in his previous life, he was actually one of the oldest in this room.

    Drake looked at his perfectly round, chocolate cake. It was filled with various decorative designs and looked delicious. He slowly picked up the knife and started to cut the cake.

    Cheers echoed across the room as his father, siblings, guests, and even the servants started celebrating. The whole house was filled with joy as an orchestra started playing some traditional music.

    Drake finished cutting out a few slices and he gave a piece to all his family members. They also took the initiative to feed Drake a small piece in return.

    After the initial partaking of the cake, his father, as the chief of the village, sat on the main seat in the hall. Next to him was Elwin, followed by Hazezel, Astoria, and finally Drake. Many guests approached Drake one by one to pass on their wishes.

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    These people managed many internal affairs of the village. There was a head for agriculture, trade, hunting, healing, and the academy that would teach the village¡¯s youth. These five elders were the backbone who helped Drake¡¯s father maintain peace and order in the village.

    Drake hadn¡¯t interacted with them much before, but they were all introducing themselves in a pleasant tone. Drake welcomed them warmly and talked with them about all sorts of things. He understood, even more than his siblings, about how important these people were and how much they helped his father. So, he was very grateful and extremely courteous towards them, which left everyone with a good impression of Drake.

    ¡°I feel like you were just born yesterday! I can¡¯t believe that you grew up so fast¡­¡± sighed Hazezel once they got some space from the others.

    The four siblings were gathered together.

    ¡°It is only natural for people to grow up,¡± Drake replied casually while watching a dance performed by a group of beautiful women.

    This world¡¯s dancing was very different to what he was used to on Earth, but it was great, nonetheless.

    The siblings chatted for a while and the party progressed smoothly. After nightfall, the guests started leaving one by one. Eventually, only their family and the servants were left, who were tidying up.

    ¡°Come here Drake, I would like to introduce you to someone,¡± called Holt.

    Drake was inwardly excited - this was what he was looking forward to the most today. He hurried towards his father who was standing at the gate.

    Outside the gate, in front of them, stood a young boy who was no taller than Drake¡¯s brother Elwin. He had fair skin and was wearing a brown, hooded robe. As soon as he lowered his hood, silver hair half the height of his body draped down his back. But the feature which immediately caught Drake¡¯s eyes were the boy¡¯s sharp, pointy ears.

    Drake was surprised and confused at his young appearance and seeing this, his father laughed heartily, ¡°Oh Drake, you are still too young! You haven¡¯t seen the world yet. Meet Ray Dragmoor. He¡¯s a genuine elf. Despite his looks, he is eighty years old. He will be your magic tutor.¡±

    There were two main differences between this world and Earth.

    One was the existence of intelligent, non-human races, such as elves.

    The second was the existence of magic.

    When Drake saw this elf boy and heard the word ¡®magic¡¯, he couldn¡¯t help but get excited. He was from Earth where there was no magic, so being able to use magic was akin to becoming superhuman to him.

    Drake had seen his father use magic once, two years ago, and was left awe-struck. Till then, he had no idea that human beings could use magic. Sure, the Orion Immortal most likely also used magic to reincarnate him into this world, but Drake didn''t know if that man was human, and everything happened so quickly that he also didn¡¯t experience it properly then. But when he saw his father use magic two years ago, his mind was truly blown.

    That was a story for another time, but ever since that day, Drake had pestered his dad to teach him magic. However, his father told him that not everybody could use magic. Holt was the only one in their village who could, and that was the main reason why he became the village chief. Whether or not someone could use magic and become a mage would only be revealed when they reached seven years of age.

    Drake was quite disappointed to hear that. So, Holt tried to comfort him by giving him a lot of books about magic and cultivation, since he knew that Drake loved to read. Being more curious about magic than anything else, Drake lost himself in those books over the last two years, studying the theory of magic, while anxiously awaiting his birthday. Now that that day had arrived, all of Drake¡¯s excitement burst forth.

    He couldn¡¯t wait to begin!

    Although it was rare for people to be able to use magic, Drake had a special identity ¨C he was a reincarnator!

    Even that unfathomably powerful Orion Immortal had taken an interest in him. So, in his mind, Drake thought there was a good chance he would be able to use magic.

    Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he finally burst out, ¡°Thank you so much for coming! My name is Drake Reynard and I kindly request you to teach me magic!¡±

    The boy, Ray, looked at Drake with his cold, ocean-blue eyes. However, his response was not friendly.

    ¡°Humph! You are asking me to teach you magic when we haven¡¯t even tested to see if you have formed a mana core yet!¡±

    To do magic, one needed to be able to use ¡®mana¡¯ which was present everywhere. Mana was the essence of magical power, and it operated under the principle of like attracts like.

    When a person was born, they would have no mana in their body ¨C a mana void. The world¡¯s mana would flow in to fill up the mana void. As it did so, the person¡¯s body would refine the world¡¯s mana into their own unique mana. The unique mana would then repel the world¡¯s mana, slowing down the influx of the world¡¯s mana.

    Over time, if sufficient unique mana was refined, it would collapse into a mana core. The mana core would then allow the person to collect and refine more mana in the future. It was an essential tool to be able to use mana.

    The time taken to form a mana core varied, but seven years was a benchmark. If a person didn¡¯t form a mana core in this time, it was very unlikely that they ever would for the rest of their life.

    Drake was slightly taken aback at Ray¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± hesitated Drake. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please test me first¡­ Master Dragmoor!¡± replied Drake. He wasn¡¯t sure how to address him properly.

    Ray''s expression slightly eased upon seeing the boy¡¯s polite attitude. Unlike the other people at the birthday party who were courteous and nice to Drake, Ray was under no such obligation.

    The elves were part of an independent village to the northeast of Jain. Their villages had a cooperative relationship due to their proximity, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had to be nice to them all the time.

    Elves lived far longer than humans, and it was guaranteed that all elves would form a mana core and be able to use magic. He therefore felt a sense of superiority to this little, unknown human boy.

    One of the businesses between the villages was that the elves would send someone to test for the mana core on the seventh birthday of every child in the village. If the child had one, the elf would also help nurture them. Then that person would become part of the strength that defended the villages from the Beast Woods.

    ¡°Hmph! Follow me!¡± said Ray, before walking ahead at a brisk pace.

    Drake and Holt immediately trailed behind him and by this time, his siblings had also caught up.

    Ray led the family to a nearby well. It was in the front yard of their mansion. Drake stood on one side while Ray was standing on the other.

    Ray gathered his mana and raised his hands, making them glow a bright white colour. He brought his palms together and the light became even more intense.

    Suddenly, Ray opened his palm and a white light shot out of his hands. The light circled in the air above Ray before condensing into a miniature figure in the shape of a fairy, before everyone.

    The fairy was small and glowing in white radiance. It pressed its hands onto the walls of the well and the water level immediately rose up. Water mixed with mana shot up a few meters above the well before turning and flying onto Drake¡¯s head.

    Drake expected this.

    He had long since known about this ceremony. Drake was as excited as he was when he was going to press that button to test out that nuclear reactor.

    Of course, that ended up in failure, but he could only hope that this time would be different.

    The water crashed onto his head, completely drenching him head to toe. For a moment, no one could see Drake, there was only a column of water which quickly crashed onto the floor, making the surroundings wet. Soon, the water flow stopped, and Drake was revealed.

    Specifically, there was a small, dim purple light shining underneath his navel.

    ¡°This¡­ Drake! My son! You¡­ you have formed a mana core!¡± cried Holt.

 Chapter 3: First magic lesson

    Holt could no longer control himself and he started exclaiming in joy. Elwin, Astoria, and Hazezel all also rushed forward to congratulate and praise Drake as well.

    The whole family was overcome with joy!

    Although they all knew that this boy was a genius, it was still quite rare for a human to form a mana core. None of the siblings had formed one, so they didn¡¯t have high hopes for Drake either.

    Ray himself had a complete change in expression.

    He initially didn¡¯t have much hope either but now that Drake had formed a mana core, his sense of superiority mostly vanished as they were both mages now. However, he still looked at Drake with slight disdain and gave an exaggerated cough to calm everyone down.

    ¡°So, it seems you have indeed formed a mana core,¡± he said out loud. ¡°However, your aptitude is really poor.¡±

    Drake was slightly confused. He didn¡¯t know how Ray could detect his aptitude yet, but it was Astoria who asked the question.

    ¡°Um¡­ can you explain what you mean? What is an aptitude?¡± she asked innocently.

    Ray laughed and spoke with a hint of condescension in his tone.

    ¡°As you all hopefully know, the mana core is the energy centre that can collect, refine, produce, and control mana. Aptitude is how many mana cores you form. You have formed one mana core which is the minimum required to cultivate and is also the most common aptitude, especially for humans. It is rare for people to be born with multiple mana cores, however, without that aptitude, it is also very hard to progress in cultivation.¡±

    ''Only one mana core!?''

    Drake was speechless. He died and reincarnated into another world! His life sounded just like the protagonist of some story. Shouldn¡¯t he be blessed with God-like powers?

    Drake felt cheated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry son,¡± Holt comforted with a smile as he went in to hug him. Stroking his head, Holt said, ¡°Aptitude is not the be-all-end-all of cultivation. How fast you cultivate will also depend on the cultivation technique you use, pills that you take, any fortuitous encounters you have, how much effort you put in, and so on.¡±

    ¡®That¡¯s true¡¯ thought Drake, many factors could affect the speed of a person¡¯s cultivation. ¡®There might also be ways to increase your aptitude,¡¯ he thought to himself. Though he didn¡¯t know any such methods, maybe as he learnt more about magic and cultivation, he might be able to figure something out.

    In any case, Drake had the mind of an adult. He had faced numerous difficulties in his previous life. He knew he should be happy that he was able to use magic at all. Thinking so he calmed down and gave Ray a deep bow.

    ¡°Master Dragmoor. Thank you for your assistance. When will you start teaching me magic?¡±

    Ray sized him up carefully, wondering if this student would be any good. After a while, he replied in a high and mighty tone, ¡°I will begin instructing you from tomorrow. My teaching methods are strict, so you better prepare yourself!¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡± laughed Holt. ¡°Mr Dragmoor is an esteemed guest of our family. Until you finish your education, he will be staying in our best guest room and all his needs will be taken care of. Everyone, please welcome Mr Dragmoor!¡± Holt said to the rest of the family, still overflowing with joy.

    Holt was becoming old, so he wanted to prepare an heir to take over as the leader of the village. As the eldest, he preferred Elwin. Elwin was very talented, strong, and kind-hearted but he was also quite na?ve and wasn¡¯t a mage. Though he tried to meet his father¡¯s expectations, Holt couldn¡¯t help but worry about what kind of a leader he would be.

    However, with the appearance of Drake¡¯s extraordinary talent, as long as he supported his brother, he knew that the family would do very well in the future. So, he couldn¡¯t help but be filled with joy at finding out that his young boy was a mage.

    A servant immediately walked to the front and politely led Ray to his room. As he left, his siblings continued congratulating him. Along with feeling happy for Drake, they all also felt relieved.

    Since none of them had formed a mana core, if even Drake didn¡¯t form a mana core, then once Holt¡¯s reign was over it would be extremely hard for their family to remain in power. This was especially true if a member of another family formed a mana core, then they would immediately have the power to contest for the position of the head of the village. If they succeeded, then the Reynards would have to live a completely different lifestyle from what they¡¯re used to now, making them all quite worried for their future.

    Hence, having another mage would now finally secure their family¡¯s status within the village, as well as increase the entire village¡¯s military strength, helping them resist the demons and onis in the Beast Woods, and give them more negotiating power with the other villages.

    Drake thanked them, but he wasn¡¯t really in the mood. He was tired after the long party, and slightly disappointed with his aptitude. However, that didn¡¯t reduce his excitement for being able to learn magic.

    He just wanted to sleep and rest now, so that he could start learning magic as soon as possible the next morning.

    The next morning.

    ¡°Hiiiiya! Hiya! Hiyaaa!¡± Drake repeatedly shouted as he swung his mini sword left and right.

    There was more than one way to fight, and the sword was a common weapon. From the age of five, Holt assigned the top swordsmen of the village to instruct all his children on swordsmanship.

    Zhao Gaumond was the head of the village¡¯s hunters. Most of his time was spent organising hunting parties and actually hunting demons and onis in the Beast Woods.

    Every morning, he would spend an hour instructing Drake on his swordsmanship. Then Zhao would leave to attend his normal duties while Drake continued his practice. Zhao would later return at the end of the day to evaluate Drake¡¯s progress.

    Drake was now doing practice swings and occasionally, Zhao would give a comment about posture, footwork, etc.

    Drake hated this part of the morning. He hated physical activity in his previous life and that carried over now as well. Though he understood the importance of maintaining your physical health, now that he knew he could use magic, shouldn¡¯t he try his best to improve in that instead?

    As if reading his thoughts, Zhao Gaumond shouted a response.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted! Even though you have formed a mana core, you must still be physically strong. What if you run out of mana? Will you leave yourself completely vulnerable?¡± he asked.

    Zhao Gaumond could tell that Drake was putting in less effort than normal and it wasn¡¯t hard to guess the reason.

    Drake nodded. He agreed with him, but he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to care much. He wanted to begin his magic training.

    Zhao sighed, ¡°That¡¯s enough Drake. You can stop for today. Have a break, eat some breakfast, and go meet Master Dragmoor. He¡¯s waiting for you in the back garden.¡±

    Drake excitedly dropped his sword and sprinted to the garden.

    Zhao looked at Drake¡¯s receding figure and sighed exasperatedly.

    ¡®He¡¯ll understand one day,¡¯ he thought, before leaving Drake to start his first magic lesson.

    Drake quickly had his breakfast before meeting up with Ray.

    The young-looking boy was still dressed in that same brown robe. He was sitting in a chair placed next to a table underneath a garden umbrella while reading a book. Upon hearing Drake¡¯s footsteps, Ray glanced up at him with his deep blue eyes. A gentle breeze made his long white hair dance in the wind, making him appear wise and profound.

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    ¡°Drake¡­ huh,¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°At least he seems excited.¡±

    Drake gave Ray a deep bow before standing respectfully.

    Ray was pleased with his demeanour and gestured for Drake to sit. As soon as he sat down, Ray went straight to the point.

    ¡°What do you know about cultivation?¡±

    Drake thought for a moment about what he had read in books. He collected his thoughts and answered earnestly.

    ¡°I know that a mage cultivates magic power. They collect the world¡¯s mana, refine it into their own unique mana, and store it in their inner realm. Then-¡±

    ¡°What is the inner realm?¡± Ray interrupted during his explanation.

    ¡°The inner realm¡­ is like a small dimension that exists within a person¡¯s soul. It houses the mana core and the mana it produces,¡± Drake answered.

    ¡®Not bad¡­¡¯ Ray thought to himself. ¡®He seems to have read up on the basics.¡¯

    Ray nodded in response, looking pleased, before saying, ¡°Good! Continue.¡±

    ¡°Once you have formed a mana core, you need to learn to cultivate it,¡± Drake began. ¡°The basis of any cultivation technique is simple. You need to use your own unique mana to slowly chip away at your mana core. The core will soon reform and be more powerful than before. Once the entire core has been reformed, the mage achieves a qualitative breakthrough and their cultivation advances through a minor stage. The minor stages are early, middle, late, and perfect.¡±

    Ray nodded with a slight smile and Drake continued.

    ¡°After crossing the perfect stage, the mage¡¯s cultivation advances by an entire realm. The realms start with a rogue mage which is a person who has just formed a mana core. The mana core in that case cannot produce its own mana, making them a mage in name only. After that is the true mage realm which is when the mana core starts producing its own unique mana. Then we have warrior mage, grand mage, mage king, and mage emperor realms.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all correct,¡± Ray said, but then added something. ¡°The only exception to the above is the rogue mage realm, which has no minor stages. As soon as you temper and reform your core once at the rogue mage realm, you will reach the true mage realm.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true,¡± Drake agreed. The rogue mage realm was slightly unique as the mana core couldn¡¯t produce any mana on its own, so it was weak and easy to temper, without any minor stages to cross.

    ¡°Do you know what happens when you cross a realm?¡± Ray asked, wondering how much Drake had read up.

    Drake thought for a moment and then replied. ¡°Breaking through each realm increases the amount of mana one can store and the speed of production of mana. However, the mana core would also become stronger, making it harder to temper, and therefore, making cultivation slower.¡±

    ¡°Good, good,¡± Ray replied, smiling a little more. ¡°Do you have any questions on that then?¡±

    ¡°Not about that, but I do have a different question master Ray. Could you explain a bit about how mages use their mana in real life?¡±

    Drake already mostly knew the answer to this, but he still wanted Ray to clarify the details.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Ray replied calmly. ¡°Mana is used to summon artifacts and spirits. Artifacts are physical items, such as swords, shields, spears, etc, which can be summoned and used in battle. Spirits on the other hand are different. They are creatures made purely out of mana.¡±

    Drake listened intently and nodded along.

    ¡°Spirits are used to cast spells; am I right master Ray?¡± Drake asked, remembering what Holt told him one day.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. There are many spells in the world such as fireball, wind blade, etc. Each spell has a unique rune associated with it. When mana is poured into a rune, it will transform the mana into that spell. Spirits are always born with runes engraved on their bodies whilst artifacts can either be summoned with runes directly or have runes slowly engraved into them after they are summoned. They can both have at most ten runes and are classified into ten ranks, depending on how many runes they have. True mages can summon at most a rank one spirit, warrior mages can summon at most a rank two, and so on.¡±

    Drake took a few moments to digest all this information. It was very similar to what he had read before, but there was something that had always bothered him.

    ¡°Master, does that mean mage emperors can summon at most a rank five spirit?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ray responded. His smile waned and he seemed slightly annoyed, as if he was answering a stupid question.

    ¡°Then how can a mage summon higher ranked spirits and artifacts? Are there realms above the mage emperor realm?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ray replied, looking into the distance. He paused for a moment and continued slowly, ¡°Once a person reaches the peak of the mage emperor realm, they can ascend to become an immortal.¡±

    ¡°What is an immortal?¡± Drake asked excitedly. He didn¡¯t read much about them.

    ¡°Something that you will never become,¡± Ray replied coldly, turning back.

    Drake immediately lost his smile.

    Ray sighed.

    ¡°I just want you to accept the truth. You need a minimum of five mana cores to be able to attempt immortal ascension. The vast majority of people are not born with so many mana cores, so they can never become immortals. Immortals also rarely interact with mortals so there is not much that is known about them. All we know is that they are incredibly powerful.¡±

    ¡°If you work very hard, you can become a warrior mage, and there¡¯s a chance that you¡¯ll become a grand mage by the end, so that¡¯s all you need to worry about.¡±

    Drake hung his head, feeling helpless, but the figure of a middle-aged man in an infinite-sized room flashed before his eyes. That man, the Orion Immortal, clearly used magic to forcibly reincarnate Drake into the world.

    However, he didn¡¯t summon any creatures ¨C could he have been an immortal mage?

    Orion Immortals¡­

    They were clearly an organisation of some sort, but just who were they? An organisation whose members have control over life and death, spanning over multiple worlds. What do they want with Drake? Even if Drake somehow passed this ¡®test¡¯, was it a good idea for him to try to join them?

    Drake was silent for a long time.

    Ray gave him time to accept his reality, the sooner he came to terms with his aptitude, the better. It was better to face the harsh reality than live in a fantasy dream.

    ¡°What cultivation realm are you at, master?¡± Drake asked curiously, wanting to change the topic.

    ¡°I am a perfect-stage warrior mage,¡± Ray replied matter-of-factly.

    Same as father¡­ although he is only middle stage, Drake thought.

    Then Ray¡¯s expression changed, and he added, ¡°There is only one grand mage in our surroundings, and that is my master Myra Wan. The greatest elf!¡±

    Ray¡¯s eyes shone brightly as he thought of his master. Given his young appearance, he looked like a little boy who was excited after just seeing some celebrity.

    Drake found the sudden change quite amusing, but he still responded respectfully.

    ¡°She sounds amazing, Master Dragmoor!¡±

    Ray looked quite pleased with himself as he repeatedly nodded in agreement with a wide grin. But he soon changed his expression and turned serious again.

    ¡°Very well, I will teach you some different cultivation techniques. You can try to see which one is suitable and begin cultivating¡±.

    As Drake described, cultivation just involved the repeated tempering of the mana core. In the rogue mage realm, he had to absorb the world¡¯s mana and refine it personally, whereas in all other realms, the mana core would automatically do that to produce mana, allowing him to focus solely on tempering the core.

    The process of absorbing the world¡¯s mana, refining it, and tempering the core, can be approached in a myriad of ways. These different ways were called cultivation techniques.

    Ray took out several scrolls and asked Drake to see which one suited him. Drake wasn¡¯t sure how to decide but he just picked a scroll at random and opened it.

    A huge amount of information entered his head, but none of it made sense. Within a few seconds, it turned painful, and Drake slapped his hands against his ears and screamed.

    ¡®Hmph. Looks like he couldn¡¯t handle that,¡¯ Ray thought to himself.

    Whilst some cultivation techniques were better and could help a mage cultivate faster than others, not all would be suitable for everyone. If a mage tried to use a technique that wasn¡¯t suitable for them, then cultivation would be incredibly slow, if not impossible for them, even if it was a really good cultivation technique.

    Hence, one had to find a balance between a good cultivation technique and a suitable one.

    Ray closed the scroll and spoke with a slightly condescending tone again, ¡°That was the best cultivation technique I had at hand. But it seems to be too much for you, so don¡¯t worry about it. Since this wasn¡¯t suitable, then¡­¡± Ray hesitated and picked out three scrolls and handed them to him.

    Drake opened the first one. Although it wasn¡¯t as bad as the previous technique, this one also rejected him. The second one was also not suitable.

    Ray was at a loss as well; he didn¡¯t think his disciple¡¯s aptitude would be so bad.

    Drake reached out for the last scroll.

    ¡®If this one doesn¡¯t work as well, I can only try those cultivation techniques. However, they are really poor quality so I hope this works,¡¯ Ray thought to himself.

    When Drake opened this scroll, a huge amount of information flowed into his mind again. However, this time, it was soothing and pleasant, like he was drinking water, but the water was actually information.

    After some time, Drake learned the basics of this cultivation technique.

    It was called ¡®Return of Spring Arts¡¯, and this was clearly the one most suitable for him.

    ¡°Thank you, master Ray, this one seems great!¡± Drake said cheerfully.

    Ray nodded and took the rest of the scrolls back.

    ¡°Okay. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me.¡±

    Drake thought about the cultivation technique and asked some more questions which Ray patiently answered. After instructing him for a while, Ray left him alone and closed his eyes, forgetting all about Drake.

    Cultivation was a long and lonely path. It mostly came down to Drake¡¯s own efforts. Ray¡¯s main role was to instruct him on his cultivation technique and answer questions. At the right juncture, he would finally start teaching him summons.

    However, it was still a little early for that. Now, Drake had just formed his mana core. He was not even in the true mage realm yet.

    Drake was silent as he reminisced over everything he learned.

    Taking a deep breath, Drake sat cross-legged on the grass and closed his eyes to enter a meditative state. His attention focused on a tiny spot below his navel where the mana core was.

    After that ceremony yesterday when the mana core was revealed, he felt a searing hot pain in that spot. Once the mana core stopped shining that pain also went away. However, he could now use the memory of that pain to locate his mana core.

    As Drake focused, his consciousness was drawn into another space. It was completely dark as if he was in the vacuum of space. There was absolutely nothing here except a small crystal-like object - his mana core.

    This was his inner realm where the mana core was located. When he gathered mana, it would also be stored here.

    Drake took deep breaths again, trying to calm his mind and stop thinking about everything else. It was not easy to calm his thoughts, it took him about an hour before he got into a good enough state of mind to begin cultivation.

    Finally, he activated the Return of Spring Arts that Ray taught him and began to use his mana core to gather mana into his inner realm and refine it.

 Chapter 4: Signs of a Storm

    Unexpectedly, Drake was extremely slow at first.

    He could hardly ¡®feel¡¯ the mana around him, which made it hard to collect. Once he did collect it, most of it would just return to the environment on its own refusing to stay in the inner realm. Only less than one per cent of the mana he collected would stay in the inner realm.

    Drake kept trying and trying but soon became very frustrated. His frustration made him lose concentration and break his cultivation technique. This made him suffer backlash and he started coughing.

    Backlash occurred when someone doesn¡¯t perform a cultivation technique or summoning properly. This would cause the mana that was being used to temper the mana core or summon something, to suddenly go out of control and cause internal damage, creating a backlash.

    Luckily, he wasn¡¯t using any advanced techniques, so the backlash wasn¡¯t too great.

    Drake looked at the sky. Unknowingly, a few hours had passed.

    Ray was sitting behind him reading a book. He saw Drake suffer backlash, but he didn¡¯t mind it as if it was something he expected.

    Drake was very annoyed with himself for losing concentration, but it was very difficult to build the focus again.

    So, he instead asked Ray, ¡°Master Dragmoor, when I gather mana, most of the energy escapes back into the environment. Is this normal?¡±

    Ray looked up at him and laughed, ¡°Of course! The world¡¯s mana is repelled by the unique mana of your mana core. It doesn¡¯t naturally like to enter your body. How could cultivation be so easy? Welcome to the first and biggest hurdle of cultivation! Haha¡±

    Ray laughed heartily as he remembered the day when he encountered the same problem. He too was frustrated. Then the figure of a middle-aged woman appeared in his mind and he broke into a smile.

    ¡°Only a genius like my master will be able to cultivate with no backlashes from the very beginning.¡± Ray nodded repeatedly as if he was agreeing with himself.

    ¡®What¡¯s up with him and his master?¡¯ thought Drake, but then decided to ask something else.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m being impatient, but for curiosity¡¯s sake, I want to know. When do you think I will be able to use mana for my first summon?¡±

    Ray stopped laughing and his expression became serious, ¡°That completely depends on you boy. Think about the backlash you feel now. If a similar mishap occurs when performing a summon, the pain would be far worse. I will not let you attempt any summons until I¡¯m satisfied with your progress!¡± Ray¡¯s tone was firm.

    Drake had expected such a response, so he didn¡¯t mind. He was not a rash individual either and knew he couldn¡¯t rush these things.

    Ray¡¯s expression then changed. ¡°Of course, if you are like my master, then you can start attempting summoning within a few months. After practising for just a few weeks, you will be able to succeed with your first summon. If you are like my master that is!¡± Ray beamed with joy as he talked about his master.

    ¡®Does he have some weird complex?¡¯ Drake wondered, before deciding to ignore him.

    Drake calmed himself down and took a deep breath. He slowly started building his concentration again before activating the Return of Spring Arts once more.

    A week later.

    In the village meeting hall, Holt Reynard was seated at a table with several others. Drake would recognise one of them as elder Zhao Gaumond, who was the head of the village¡¯s hunting groups, and also his swordsmanship instructor. He was among the strongest in the village after Holt himself, but unlike Holt, he ventured into the Beast Woods almost every day and was constantly on death¡¯s door, giving him a dangerous aura.

    Zhao was a tall, strongly built male who always wore tough battle armour. His armour carried a few scratches and dents, but looked polished and well-maintained. None of the blemishes would severely affect its durability. Though he was almost fifty years old, his well-built physique made him look like a man in his thirties.

    On the right side of Holt sat Myra Wan, she was the head of the elven village, and Ray Dragmoor¡¯s master. She sat with her eyes closed, wearing a flowing white gown, exuding a wise and graceful aura. Despite her actual age being close to five hundred years, she only had slightly wrinkled skin, with a middle-aged appearance. She looked very good for her age.

    Behind Myra were her two female attendants, dressed in the attire of an ordinary maid. Next to her sat Byron Zumond, who was an old man carrying a cane, with white hair and a long beard. He was the head of the village Leon to the southwest of Jain. Due to their proximity, these three villages often interacted and tried to maintain good relationships with each other.

    ¡°The demons are really becoming uncontrollable!¡± the person who spoke was another man from the Leon village. He was a village elder with similar responsibilities to Zhao Gaumond.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Zhao agreed grimly. ¡°Recently, the demons have started becoming more and more aggressive, and even the outskirts are becoming far more dangerous.¡±

    ¡°What could be the cause?¡± Holt asked. ¡°What have your investigations revealed?¡±

    Now it was Myra¡¯s turn to move.

    She took out a large scroll and unravelled it on the tabletop. It was a detailed map of the section of the Beast Woods close to their villages. Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn towards an area of the map, which had been circled in red.

    ¡°There seems to be a concentrated outflow of demons and onis from this region,¡± she spoke slowly. ¡°Something there is causing them to leave their territory and scatter wildly. This is causing various forces to clash and engage in combat. The wounded can no longer stay in the deep parts, so they flee to the outskirts, causing them to become more dangerous.¡±

    ¡°As time progresses, the number of demons being evicted from their territories is only increasing and doesn¡¯t seem to be slowing down whatsoever. If this continues, I estimate that in around two years, even the outskirts might get filled up. After that I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it but everyone knew what was on her mind.

    If there was not enough room in the woods to house the demons and onis, they would naturally turn to outside the woods, and attack their villages. Hordes of demons could start attacking their villages directly. This would cause them major losses, if not make the villages extinct.

    Onis were a race that mysteriously came into existence a million years ago. They lacked intelligence but had great strength. They were categorised into classes depending on their strength: servant class, warrior class, commander class, tyrant class, and nightmare class. Additionally, each race of oni had a unique ability. If one ignored this ability, then their strength was equal to a mage at a similar realm, but including it, their strength was often greater.

    Demons were ordinary animals who were corrupted by the onis¡¯ aura and transformed physically and mentally into powerful, ferocious beasts. They were categorised into classes in the same way. Onis were rarer than demons, but they were always stronger than a demon of the same class due to their unique abilities.

    Although demons and onis reproduced rapidly and were very aggressive, they were also territorial, so they wouldn¡¯t leave their areas under normal conditions. As long as others did not infringe on their territory, they wouldn¡¯t needlessly bother other races, except those that they preyed on. Therefore, many other races which were weaker than them, could survive alongside them.

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    However, now, something was causing these demons to leave their homes. This spelt bad news to all these villages and the lives of everyone within.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on exactly, but we have to find out,¡± declared Holt.

    Everyone wanted to find out, but the only way to do so was to personally investigate. But who in their right mind would volunteer to go?

    There was only one area marked on the map, but it was deep in the territory of the woods. If there were no obstructions at all, a one-way trip by foot would take two weeks.

    But this was the Beast Woods!

    They would have to be careful to avoid the territories of powerful monsters. Despite that, they will likely have to engage in many battles every day, and therefore also have to take breaks. Additionally, the Beast Woods were huge, covering roughly thirty per cent of the entire continent! Their maps only charted a fraction of the outskirts, so only half of the distance to the marked location was actually mapped in detail. They didn¡¯t have information about the rest of the path.

    Considering all of that, it could easily much longer for a round trip.

    That was assuming everything went smoothly.

    The outskirts were just home to small animals. If anything, weak servant class demons might occasionally be spotted, but it was the safest part of the Beast Woods. Afterwards, more powerful servant class demons and onis would quickly start appearing. Beyond that point, warrior class onis and demons would start showing up, and going even further, one was likely to encounter commander class demons and onis! That was the zone in which the area was marked!

    The only people in their villages who could face commander class demons were people like Myra, Holt, and a few other of the villages'' elders, but they couldn¡¯t leave their villages for so long and go personally.

    Holt inwardly sighed. He knew the thoughts these people had. Of course, he too did not want to go. It would be best if someone else volunteered. He had a family to take care of¡­ but who didn¡¯t? Everyone had families. But if they didn¡¯t do this, then the consequences in a few years would be unimaginable.

    Myra didn¡¯t sit back down yet. She looked at everyone in the hall one by one. They all averted their gazes, ashamed to look at her eyes.

    ¡°There is only one solution,¡± she said aloud. ¡°Each village will put together a small group of three of their best and most experienced hunters. In one month, the group from each village will meet up here before making their way to this spot,¡± she said as she pointed to the marked region.

    None of them wanted to risk sacrificing the talented people of their village. There was no guarantee that the result of the investigation would be helpful.

    What if the problem was something that couldn¡¯t be fixed?

    If some tyrant or nightmare class oni had shown up in those areas and was scaring away the rest of the onis and demons, not only would the expedition group be in great danger, but even if they made it back, what use would such information be?

    Even if the three villages worked together, defeating a tyrant class demon was beyond them. They could only abandon the villages and start over somewhere else.

    But no one could disagree now. Either way, this had to be done. They needed to know what the cause was, at least to decide whether to stay and fight or run. If anyone objected, they would be seen as a coward and would damage their relationship with the other two villages.

    So, although everyone thought about it, no one mentioned anything. They could only helplessly nod.

    Afterwards, they began discussing who the best people to send were, what tools they should be given, what route they should take, what supplies to give them, and a lot more details.

    This was a dangerous mission and many things had to be considered. Not only that, but they had to make sure that all three villages were making equal contributions and weren¡¯t trying to leach off the others.

    After several hours of a tense discussion, the meeting was finally adjourned.

    Holt respectfully saw all the guests out before heaving a huge sigh. He couldn¡¯t help but look towards his mansion.

    In the garden of that mansion, his son Drake was putting all his efforts into cultivating. If Holt didn¡¯t take such risks now, was it not akin to risking his children¡¯s future? If the village got attacked, would Drake not be in danger? How could he consciously put his children in danger?

    Although he loved everyone in the village, he would rather send out a few people on this mission and risk sacrificing them, than risk anything happening to his entire family.

    This should not be the thoughts of a village chief. A village chief should be impartial, but¡­

    Screw that! I am first and foremost a father, Holt thought to himself.

    He would prioritise his family.

    Later that night.

    ¡°Father I must go!¡± yelled Elwin, standing in Holt¡¯s room.

    He had just heard the situation from Holt and immediately asked to go. Of course, Holt sternly refused.

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Holt stated plainly. ¡°It is too dangerous, and you are too young. I will not let you go no matter what!¡±

    What a joke! He was trying so hard to suppress his regret of sending out precious villagers on such a dangerous trip because he was glad that doing so would protect his family.

    Now his own son wanted to be on this expedition! How could he ever live with that? It was impossible.

    ¡°But father! I am already proficient with the sword. I have gone on various hunts and raids; I have even fought against servant class onis. I have grown so much ¨C you should know! If I don¡¯t go, how can I broaden my horizons? I am supposed to lead this village in the future am I not? What will the people think if I sit safely in the house while they risk their lives? Would they really accept such a coward as a leader?¡± Elwin stated one point after another in hopes that something would make his father change his mind.

    But Holt was just as adamant as him.

    ¡°It is precisely because I know your skill that I am saying you are incapable of going on this trip,¡± Holt replied plainly.

    Elwin was taken aback.

    Holt had never had anything but praise for Elwin yet now, that same Holt was saying that Elwin was not good enough.

    Wasn¡¯t this a blatant lie?

    Elwin was furious, but how could he argue if his father refused to acknowledge him?

    ¡°AH! Father if you don¡¯t let me go, I will never forgive you!¡± he screamed, before storming off to his room.

    ¡®You can hate me, but I would rather you be alive and hate me than be dead,¡¯ Holt thought to himself as he watched his son slam the door shut.

    Meanwhile, Astoria was reading through a book in the village¡¯s treasury.

    She secretly watched Drake begin his cultivation journey. When he suffered a backlash, she wanted to go and help him, but didn¡¯t know how. If she had also formed a mana core on her seventh birthday, she could have guided her brother and helped him cultivate. But she couldn¡¯t do that now.

    Despite being his big sister, Drake was always smarter and more talented than her. There was nothing she could ever do to help him, which made her feel like a failure. In fact, he was the one who was always helping and looking after her.

    ¡®But not today¡¯, she thought. ¡®There is still something big sister can do for you.¡¯

    Cultivation was a long and arduous journey. In fact, purely cultivating non-stop was inefficient. There were various elixirs, pills, and other such resources which could help in a person¡¯s cultivation.

    Some pills could temporarily boost cultivation speed, while others could help recover from backlash, heal injuries, recover mana, improve their ability to sense the mana around them, and so much more.

    Astoria placed the book down before picking up another one and skimming through the pages.

    The number of pill recipes recorded in the village treasury was small, and all of them were hard to make from scratch due to the required ingredients being hard to find around here.

    The elves actually made most of the pills that were regularly used by the villages, but they were expensive to buy. So, the few pills they had were in the possession of Holt and some other high-ranking elders for their use.

    The moment she saw that Drake had formed a mana core, she made up her mind to find a way to obtain some useful pills for him. This was the only thing she could do to help.

    That¡¯s why she was in the village treasury now, looking through the various pill recipes they had recorded. However, as expected, none of them would be easy to make en masse.

    Sigh¡­ it seems I only have one choice.

    There was one pill that was easy to make and widely used - the Zenith pill.

    It could help a cultivator immediately get into a state of high concentration and maintain it for a long time while also improving their ability to sense mana. Especially for those starting their cultivation journey, this could save a lot of time.

    However, the only problem was that this pill was only produced in the village of Leon. They not only kept the recipe to themselves, but they also never sold the pill to outsiders.

    ¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t try to get it,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    There were some maps on a shelf that gave her directions to Leon. She quickly took one map and left the treasury.

    Quietly, Astoria packed some supplies and left a note in her room saying that she was going on a journey. She told her family to not worry and that she would be back soon.

    Astoria knew that her father wouldn¡¯t let her go on her own if she asked, but this was something she felt she had to do, so she left anyway.

    As Astoria silently sneaked out under the cover of the night, Hazazel was standing under the shadow of a large tree in the garden. He watched Drake cultivate several metres in front of him with a contemplative look in his eyes.

    At this moment, a loud thunder boomed across the sky and rain started pouring, making his short black hair slightly wet and fall in front of his eyes. Lightning flashed and lit up a portion of his face, making him appear like a villain.

    The rain and thunder broke Drake¡¯s concentration and forced him to stop his cultivation technique improperly. Drake coughed as a drop of blood flowed down his cheeks before being washed away by the rain.

    Ray advised him to go inside and cultivate, however, Drake found that this place was great in helping him sense the mana around him. Mana wasn¡¯t evenly distributed everywhere, some places had thicker mana so cultivating there would be easier and faster.

    He spent a few minutes recovering from the backlash before sitting down, closing his eyes, and beginning to cultivate again.

    ¡®Drake¡­¡¯ thought Hazezel. ¡®How far will you go?¡¯

 Chapter 5: Elwins determination

    The next morning, inside a tavern.

    Drake liked to take a break from cultivation by going for a walk in the streets, frequenting restaurants and taverns, and occasionally interacting with the public. Holt allowed him to leave, provided he was accompanied by guards, who were standing behind him now.

    Drake was enjoying his breakfast when he heard a cry.

    ¡°Mommy, I don¡¯t want to eat!¡± cried a baby boy.

    ¡°You have to! Otherwise, how will you grow up properly?¡± the mother asked as she held a spoonful of rice close to the boy¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Then, will you tell me the story of the Seraphim?¡±

    ¡°Again!? How many times do you want me to say it?¡±

    ¡°Please ma! Just one more time!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll tell you.¡± The kid became excited and started eating.

    ¡°Once upon a time, over a million years ago, the entire world was ruled by the Seraphim. They were a proud and majestic race, with wings as white as snow, and carried incredible powers.¡±

    ¡°What happened to them?¡± asked the kid excitedly.

    ¡°Then, the evil god Raksha descended and started killing everyone!¡± she said, making a scary face.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± the boy cried. ¡°And then what?¡±

    ¡°Then, the Seraphim united all the races and kingdoms under them to wage a huge war. More than half the world¡¯s population died, and many strong cultivators were killed before they finally defeated the evil god. But in his anger, he cursed the world by creating onis that plague our lands to this day!¡±

    ¡°What are onis ma?¡±

    ¡°Something that you should always run away from!¡±

    ¡°Bu-¡±

    Drake lost interest in their conversation. But he had heard that story a lot since coming to this world.

    A million years ago was when the Great Calamity happened. It destroyed a huge chunk of the world¡¯s population, and the oni races started appearing afterwards.

    There were originally eight races in the world, including humans. But after the Great Calamity, ten oni races appeared.

    These races possessed an inborn hatred and aggression towards the native races. Wherever they went, their dark aura would corrupt normal animals from ants to elephants, bears and wolves, physically transforming them and infesting them with the same hatred for humans. Ordinary animals transformed by their dark aura became extremely powerful and were called demons.

    There wasn¡¯t a lot known about the details of the Great Calamity, or how the world used to be before that, however, it was a key turning point in the history of this world.

    Finishing his breakfast, Drake went back to the front yard of his home to start practising his sword swings, movements, and postures. Zhao Gaumond could not come today as he was busy trying to organise the expedition party. As usual, his heart wasn¡¯t in it, and he practised half-heartedly.

    After some time, Holt walked out and began correcting and instructing him.

    Unlike on normal days, however, just as Holt approached Drake, Elwin came out of the house as well.

    ¡°Father wait!¡± he shouted across the yard.

    Holt was surprised.

    Normally at this time, Elwin would be preparing for his private lessons.

    This world had less of a priority on academics, however, they were still important. Normally, upon reaching five years old, the children would start their lessons on those subjects and continue till they graduated, while also learning mana cultivation, swordsmanship, etc simultaneously.

    Of course, this was only because they were the village head¡¯s family. A commoner would be hard-pressed to find any education at all, and simply learn whatever trade they could from their parents.

    Only the children who were part of the upper class would be given a formal education. Out of these, only the village head¡¯s children were given private tuition at home, the rest went to the academy.

    Given Drake¡¯s identity as a world-class physicist in his previous life, even at a young age, his academic knowledge was in a league of his own compared to the rest of this world. The maths they taught was extremely trivial, and the same was true for most other subjects.

    On the very first day, after confirming Drake¡¯s almost supernatural intelligence, his teacher said that he needed no further education in those topics. The only thing he was taught was history and geography, which he also quickly grasped and became really good at.

    As a result, he had a lot of extra time, that enabled him to learn more about cultivation and such, despite not actually starting yet. The books about cultivation were limited, but they were enough to keep Drake occupied and gave him a decent knowledge of the basics. On top of this, he spent some time learning the local geography, maps, legends, and other useful information.

    At this moment, Elwin was carrying a long sword in one hand, but in the other, he was carrying another sword. Holt¡¯s sword.

    Holt normally wouldn¡¯t take it out unless he was going for a fight, but Elwin had brought it now. Holt was puzzled as to what his intentions were when he saw Elwin throw his sword at him.

    ¡°Father! I challenge you to a duel!¡± he shouted.

    The birds sitting on a nearby tree fluttered away in fright. No one spoke for a moment.

    Holt was the head of the village. If someone challenged him to a duel, he would have to fight with everything he had to maintain his reputation. But how could he go all out against his son? Holt didn¡¯t find this situation funny.

    ¡°Listen, Elwin. Go back inside now,¡± he replied coldly, arms folded.

    But Elwin didn¡¯t budge. He unsheathed his sword and got into a fighting stance.

    ¡°Father, I will attack you in five seconds and I won¡¯t hold back. You better prepare yourself. If I win, you must let me go on the expedition.¡±

    Elwin immediately started counting.

    ¡°One!¡±

    Drake was unaware of the conversation they had last night or the situation in the Beast Woods yet, so he was completely taken aback to see his brother, who was normally respectful and loving towards his father, display such an attitude now.

    It wasn''t just him. Elwin had yelled very loudly, causing Hazazel and Ray to also come spectate. They were equally confused but knew better than to randomly speak out in this tense atmosphere.

    ¡°-four, five. Here I come!¡± Elwin screamed as he pounced at his father.

    Holt didn¡¯t even pick up his sword yet as he didn¡¯t think that Elwin was serious. However, now, Elwin was approaching him without any mercy, his sword aimed right at his heart.

    Holt sighed.

    ¡®So, it has come to this,¡¯ he thought. But he knew better than to stand around in a daze when being attacked.

    Holt stomped on the edge of the sword, and it bounced into his hands. He quickly unsheathed it and met his son¡¯s charge. The two clashed, sword clangs resounding across the garden.

    Elwin¡¯s feet blurred and he slashed at his father at lightning speed. Holt easily blocked the strikes with his sword. Elwin aimed for his neck, but Holt ducked while aiming a kick at Elwin¡¯s head from the other side. Elwin stepped back before instantly pushing forward and punched Holt in the chest. Holt couldn¡¯t react in time and was thrown back.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Holt was dumbfounded by the power behind that punch.

    ¡°You¡­ when did you cultivate the steel body?!¡±

    Elwin replied by charging again, his face was blank.

    Holt was confused but he didn¡¯t have time to think now. He changed tactics and started to reveal some of his true skills. He started blocking less and counterattacking, before changing to a full-on offensive.

    Drake was awestruck.

    Apart from mana cultivation, you could also cultivate your body and make it stronger. People who cultivated this way were called martial artists. Just like how mages absorbed the world¡¯s mana, refined it, and used it to temper their mana cores by constantly breaking it down and rebuilding it, a martial artist would break down and rebuild their own skin and bones, making them stronger little by little.

    Unlike mana cultivation, everyone could cultivate martial arts provided they found a suitable cultivation technique. However, the process was extremely painful and dangerous and required strong determination and willpower to pursue.

    The cultivation of martial artists was also broken down into five realms: tempered body, steel body, undying body, shadow body, and astral body, and each had early, middle, late, and perfect stages as well.

    The strength of a martial artist who had cultivated a particular body was similar to a mage in a corresponding realm, or a demon in the corresponding class. Holt, who was forty years old, had only cultivated the undying body, whereas Elwin had already cultivated the steel body at fifteen!

    They exchanged moves so quickly that the vibrations and wind from their impact pushed Drake off his feet. Ray Dragmoor placed a hand on his shoulder to stabilise him while watching the battle intently.

    Elwin emitted dense killing intent. Each of his stabs and cuts was aimed at Holt¡¯s vital points. It was as if he was facing a mortal enemy, not his father.

    Holt was surprised again and again. Elwin¡¯s blows had become stronger and stronger over time. Elwin had been holding back at the start but after realising Holt¡¯s skill, he now came at him with everything he had.

    Holt was once again on the defensive, and Elwin kept pushing him back. Holt saw a boulder behind him so he retreated to the side. But this opened up a hole in his defence, allowing Elwin¡¯s kick to land on his face. Holt was thrown back several meters but Elwin didn¡¯t stop. He jumped into the air and aimed his sword at his heart. Holt couldn¡¯t dodge midair and could only use his sword to deflect it.

    They both landed on the ground explosively, raising a huge dust cloud.

    Drake and Hazezel couldn¡¯t see anything, but Ray was stunned.

    ¡®Since when was Elwin so powerful?¡¯ thought Ray. Ray was at the perfect-stage steel body along with being a warrior mage, so he could clearly observe what had happened.

    After the dust settled, Drake also understood Ray¡¯s surprise.

    Holt was lying on the ground with Elwin¡¯s sword buried in his shoulder, causing him to bleed all over the grass and turn them red.

    Elwin was panting heavily.

    ¡°He¡­ he won?¡± Drake and Hazezel gasped. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes.

    Holt was on the ground and looked at his son panting for breath, his forehead filled with sweat. He saw his emerald hair and blue eyes. They were not filled with the pride of a victor, but sorrow and desperation.

    Holt could tell that Elwin didn¡¯t enjoy this even one bit. But looking at him now, he was reminded of someone else.

    His true love, June Reynard.

    She too was a fierce warrior. Elwin resembled her so much he could not even distinguish their figures for a while. But then he sighed. His son had grown so much already.

    But that¡¯s precisely why, I must show him how dangerous the world is!

    Drake could feel the mana in Holt¡¯s body thrown into disarray. A huge amount of mana spiralled out of Holt¡¯s body and covered it with a formless mist.

    Holt¡¯s wound stopped bleeding. He grabbed Elwin¡¯s sword with his palm but it could not even scratch his skin.

    Elwin was dumbfounded, ¡®What was happening?¡¯

    Holt pulled the sword out of his shoulder and the wound immediately healed. He then swung the sword with all his might and Elwin was thrown into the air. Elwin¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t stop even when he crashed through a tree and landed heavily against a boulder, coughing out blood. Holt stood up like nothing happened and stared intently at Elwin.

    ¡®That¡¯s more like it,¡¯ Ray thought, satisfied. He knew very well what the gap between steel body and undying body was. Holt had been going easy on Elwin from the beginning.

    Drake was dumbfounded. But then he recalled something and understood what was happening.

    When a martial artist cultivated the undying body, their bodies would be so infused with mana that a layer of mana would form on the surface of their skin. This mana layer could heal ordinary wounds and also formed a natural defence. Despite how thin it looked; ordinary weapons could not even pierce it.

    Since Elwin wounded him before, Drake realised now that it was because Holt had allowed it and didn¡¯t fight seriously.

    Elwin stood up using his sword as support, coughing again and again. His hands and legs trembled but his eyes were more determined than ever.

    He grabbed the sword with both hands and rushed towards his father once more. This time, both of them were giving their all. Their movements were so fast that Drake¡¯s eyes could not follow along anymore.

    Only Ray was able to observe the battle and told Drake and Hazezel what was going on.

    Drake was in awe once again. He had never seen his brother fight before. He had heard about his brother''s exploits during hunting. The other hunters called him a child prodigy, the genius of the Jain village, and so on. Even Zhao Gaumond, who was harsh and strict with Drake and everyone else had nothing but praise for Elwin¡¯s martial arts.

    Despite this, Drake had never thought much of his brother¡¯s fighting skills. After all, he was still just fifteen years old which was young in his mind. He knew martial artists had powerful bodies, but this was the first time he was observing what that meant.

    Holt was attacking mercilessly. It was Elwin on the defensive now. After Holt started using his true strength, each of his blows carried terrifying might. Even though Elwin blocked them, they sent reverberations through his very bones.

    However, he couldn¡¯t lose. He had to prove himself to his father, otherwise, how could he have the face to lead? If he didn¡¯t go on that expedition now, he knew that no one would respect him.

    At the very least, Elwin knew that if he was in the position of a commoner and saw the village head hiding in his own house while letting others risk their lives, he would have no respect for such a leader.

    Both father and son exchanged blows after blows.

    Hazezel was watching with a complex gaze. He didn¡¯t know who to support in this situation. So like Drake, he simply admired the show.

    Soon, Elwin was at his limits. He accidentally let one of Holt¡¯s punches through and it ruthlessly knocked the wind out of him. Elwin gasped for breath, but Holt didn¡¯t give him any time to recover. He pivoted on his right foot and kicked Elwin¡¯s face with his left. Elwin was sent flying and the sword dropped out of his hands.

    It was his loss.

    Elwin laid there on the ground, panting for breath as he stared at the sky.

    Is this really the best I can do? Can¡¯t I even beat some old man?

    ¡°Humph!¡± Holt snorted. ¡°With such little ability, you really want to go on such a dangerous mission?¡±

    Elwin really had no comebacks now. He was the loser so there was nothing he could say. He had to accept the result.

    Holt buried his sword on the ground, turned around and walked towards Drake.

    However, Holt stopped midway. After a pause, he spoke slowly.

    ¡°Go to your room and recover from your injuries the best you can. You will need all your strength if you want to survive in the expedition.¡±

    Elwin¡¯s heart sank at first, it took him a moment before he realised what his father meant.

    Holt was allowing him to go!

    Elwin was flabbergasted. Why the sudden change of heart?

    ¡°Father I¡­¡± Elwin wanted to ask but Holt interrupted him.

    ¡°Go away before I change my mind,¡± he waved his hand dismissing him.

    Elwin got up weakly, procured and sheathed his sword and used it as a cane to make his way back.

    While Elwin left, Holt didn¡¯t move. He was just contemplating whether he made the right decision.

    Yesterday he was certain that he wouldn¡¯t let him go. But today, as they fought, he understood a little more about his son.

    First and most importantly, Elwin had undeniable skill. Despite his age, he had cultivated the steel body. So only commander class demons and onis would pose a real threat to him. From a purely objective perspective, it would make him a good choice to go.

    But more than that, as they fought, he could feel his son¡¯s anger and conviction. He was desperate to prove himself, to gain not only his father¡¯s acknowledgement but also the villagers and most importantly, himself.

    To be a leader and make decisions that could affect the lives of thousands was not an easy task. One needed a great deal of confidence in themselves. He knew that Elwin still didn¡¯t have that confidence.

    If he didn¡¯t let Elwin go, then that feeling of inadequacy would never go away, and he would always think he was not good enough. That insecurity might let others take advantage of him. He was by nature an innocent soul, if he gained another weakness on top, then even if he was the strongest martial artist in the village, he would still be a weak leader.

    Holt couldn¡¯t have that.

    Although it was risky, it would be a great opportunity as well. Moreover, he had clearly proven that he had the skill to undertake that risk. So how could he still stop him?

    Was he not scared anymore? Of course, he was. He was terrified that once Elwin left, he wouldn¡¯t come back. If that came to be, then he would not be able to live with himself.

    But¡­ if for his own peace of mind, he denied his son an opportunity, his heart¡¯s true desire, and cursed him to a life of insecurity, wasn¡¯t that worse? Wasn¡¯t that extremely selfish? How could he do that? That¡¯s why he decided to take this gamble.

    It was all up to Elwin now.

    Wrapping up his thoughts, he walked towards Drake.

    ¡®Drake¡­¡¯ he thought. ¡®Oh, how heavens have blessed me with such talented children!¡¯

    Both Ray and Hazezel also walked towards Holt and Drake with inquisitive looks on their faces. Holt sighed and told them everything.

    Ray was quite worried at first, however he soon realised that the elven village was the furthest away from the Beast Woods. So even if the worst happened and the demons attacked, they would likely suffer the least.

    Also, the elves were slightly stronger than humans and their village was protected by the powerful Myra Wan.

    ¡®My master is undeniably the greatest, strongest, the most powerful, and the most intelligent living being in the surroundings, no - the world! With her, nothing could go wrong!¡¯ thinking so, he nodded to himself and calmed down.

    As for the other two villages, Ray didn¡¯t really care too much about them.

    Drake on the other hand was extremely worried.

    This was his second chance at life! He didn¡¯t want to die prematurely again!

    He was also worried about Elwin. However, seeing that fight just now, he was more confident that, at the very least, Elwin should be able to escape with his life from most demons and onis.

    Hazezel also became extremely worried about the future. But he knew he couldn¡¯t do anything and just felt helpless.

    Ray left as Holt started instructing Drake again. Hazezel was also about to leave when they heard an urgent cry suddenly came from the door.

    ¡°Chief! Please have a look at this!¡±

 Chapter 6: Martial arts

    ¡°Chief! Please have a look at this!¡± a maid shouted.

    She was running across the lawn holding a note. She quickly arrived and passed the note to Holt.

    It was the note left by Astoria before she left.

    Holt read it and became extremely confused, before being filled with worry. What had gotten into her? Where did she randomly go?

    Many questions popped into his mind but he immediately dismissed them. They didn¡¯t matter now.

    Holt dropped the note and dashed into the manor. He summoned some soldiers and had them organise a search party to look for his daughter. For all he knew she could be in danger. He was already endangering one son; he could not bear for anything to happen to his precious daughter for no reason.

    Please be safe¡­ he thought to himself.

    By this time Drake and Hazezel had also picked up the note and read it. They were equally puzzled and worried. However, there was nothing they could do. They both felt helpless, they were still too young and weak.

    Hazezel left and Drake calmed himself down.

    ¡®She¡¯s not stupid,¡¯ Drake thought to himself. ¡®As long as she doesn¡¯t go near the Beast Woods, she¡¯ll probably be fine.¡¯

    Thinking so, he started practising his movements again.

    After some time, Holt finished giving orders and left the mansion. He walked back to Drake, trying his best to stay calm and not worry.

    ¡°Drake, you are already seven years old now. You have been practising swordsmanship since you were five, it is time for you to learn proper martial arts as well.¡±

    Drake knew this was coming. Just like how most people began cultivating mana at the age of seven, it was also a good time to begin martial arts cultivation. Both Elwin and Holt also practised basic swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat from the age of five, and at seven years old, they picked a martial cultivation technique and began cultivating it.

    Unfortunately, there was no martial cultivation technique in the village repository that was suitable for Astoria and Hazezel so they could not cultivate anything.

    This was a common situation. As with mana cultivation, there were an uncountable number of cultivation techniques that martial artists could use, but not all would be suitable for everyone.

    Drake nodded in response.

    Holt took out nine different scrolls.

    ¡°These are the best martial arts cultivation techniques we have, see which one suits you. If none of them does, I can bring out more, but they will be less effective.¡±

    Drake looked at the scrolls one by one.

    Although they were rolled up and he couldn¡¯t read them, he could sense the mana that they were infused with. All of these scrolls were infused with a great amount of mana, some of them rejected him and some of them were neutral.

    Drake¡¯s eyes were drawn to one particular scroll. The mana around this scroll was the densest by far, but it was also flowing towards him as if there was something in Drake that was tugging at it.

    He took that scroll and opened it up. Immediately, the mana of the scroll burst forth. Images appeared in his mind of a shadowy figure sitting in a meditative pose while absorbing the world¡¯s mana. The mana was flowing through the figure torrentially, creating blue streak lines in the otherwise dark body.

    A huge amount of information flooded his mind as he learnt the essence of this cultivation technique. After a long time, Drake opened his eyes.

    Holt was surprised. ¡°This technique definitely suits you,¡± he said, but had a strange expression on his face.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with this technique?¡± Drake asked puzzled.

    Holt shook his head.

    ¡°This is the Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Art. It is the cultivation technique used by the founding ancestor of the village over a thousand years ago. He was¡­ a mage emperor,¡± Holt explained.

    Drake was shocked, he had no idea about this, but Holt continued.

    ¡°It is an extremely powerful technique but no one has been able to use it after him. It seems to have a strong resonance with your mana. So, I am pleasantly surprised that¡¯s all.¡±

    Drake was speechless. Maybe my true talent lies in martial arts instead of mana cultivation.

    Either way, he had to cultivate both for the time being before specialising in one.

    Martial arts cultivation was extremely painful and dangerous. If you absorbed too much mana, you may accidentally break down more of your body than intended, resulting in severe, often irrecoverable injury. In the worst case, you could even die.

    However, with pain comes gain. When one cultivated properly, martial artists were very powerful.

    Still, Drake didn¡¯t care much for power. Previously he never liked the idea of risking his life just for trying to cultivate and gain more power. But given the strange occurrences in the Beast Woods, Drake had an ominous feeling in his heart. He had to become powerful so that he could at least protect himself and those around him.

    Hazezel left Drake and started walking down the yard. Out of the four siblings, both Elwin and Drake were the most talented in their own ways. Hazezel and Astoria were average in most things. However, Hazezel used to have a problem which even most of his family didn¡¯t know about.

    No one except Drake.

    He thought back to a year ago, when he was eleven years old, and Drake was six. Drake had saved Hazezel from almost permanently destroying his reputation and the trust that his family and peers had in him.

    That too, would be a story for another time, however that incident left a deep impression on Hazezel¡¯s mind.

    He was grateful to Drake and happy for him, but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little¡­ jealous. Jealous that he wasn¡¯t as talented as his brothers.

    ¡®Little brother,¡¯ he thought to himself. ¡®How times are changing¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    At this moment, a young girl carrying a small backpack was trekking through the grassland. From the direction she was headed, one could deduce that she was going to the village of Leon. This girl was of course Astoria.

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    ¡®Drake¡­¡¯ She thought. ¡®Please wait for me, I will do this!¡¯

    ¡­

    After receiving the martial arts cultivation technique, Drake went to find Ray Dragmoor.

    He was in the garden, sitting in his usual spot underneath the umbrella. Ray was cross-legged on the ground and didn¡¯t seem to notice his arrival. Drake hesitantly stopped when seeing this as he didn¡¯t want to disturb his master and make him suffer a backlash.

    However, he didn¡¯t have to worry as Ray soon opened his eyes slightly without suffering any backlash.

    Drake was wondering how he could be so in control but figured that he could also do it with enough practice.

    ¡°You seem to have something interesting in your hands,¡± Ray said slowly with half-closed eyes.

    Drake looked at the scroll in his hand and replied, ¡°Father gave me a martial arts cultivation technique. It¡¯s called the Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts.¡±

    Ray''s expression didn¡¯t change at all, he just closed his eyes and continued cultivating but his voice echoed in his ears.

    ¡°That is no ordinary cultivation technique. Be careful when you cultivate it.¡±

    Drake bowed to Ray before taking a seat. He cleared his mind and started concentrating.

    He wanted to cultivate the Return of Spring Arts for some more time first. Martial cultivation was more painful and dangerous than mana cultivation. The cultivation technique he had chosen seemed extraordinary as well. Therefore, he didn¡¯t want any mistakes to occur when cultivating it.

    He first wanted to cultivate mana to improve his concentration and willpower and just get used to cultivating before beginning to cultivate martial arts.

    Thinking this, he calmed down once more and cleared his mind. This process still took him over an hour.

    Finally, he began cultivating the Return of Spring Arts.

    ¡­

    The route to reach Leon was safe as most of the demons and onis nearby all resided in the Beast Woods.

    So, Astoria made quick progress. By sunset, the clouds started drizzling, but Astoria reached the village.

    Her blue, hooded cloak was drenched. She had slightly drawn her hood back, revealing some of her gorgeous black hair which quickly became wet. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at the gate.

    It wasn¡¯t too large and surrounding it was just some wooden fence. At the gate, two guards in plated armour were stationed. Some people often entered and exited at will, they were those who worked in the surrounding farms or had left for hunting.

    She was tired from carrying her heavy luggage all the way so she took a deep breath before walking forwards.

    One of the guards was half asleep while leaning against the gate. The other guard looked around with the utmost boredom, showing that nothing interesting ever happened here. He gave a passing glance to Astoria and held his hand out. He was asking for the entrance fee.

    Astoria knew this as it was collected in her own village as well. Apart from licensed farmers and hunters, people who crossed the gate would have to pay one bronze. It was like a toll.

    After taking the money the guard didn¡¯t spare her another glance. Astoria had prepared a range of lies and excuses to deceive the guards if they asked for her background but unexpectedly, it was very easy to enter this village.

    Generally, people always stayed in their own villages. Only some people like Ray, or those with high statuses like village elders would leave and interact with other villages. So, the guard would have assumed that Astoria was from Leon.

    Astoria entered the village to find quiet streets with shops closing for the night. In fact, people were hurrying away before the rain became stronger. The shops here just sold everyday items ranging from food, clothes, accessories, kitchenware, weapons, and so forth. There was no way she would find the pill recipe here.

    This pill recipe was developed by the village leader of Leon from three generations ago. Not only was it useful for mages cultivating mana, but it was also useful for martial artists for the same reason. As a result, this pill was extremely popular from the moment it was discovered.

    After beginning the production of the pill, the number of high-quality martial artists in this village also started increasing which increased their military might. If not for the fact that Jain village had existed since long before Leon, they might have even surpassed Jain in terms of military strength.

    Naturally, this pill and its recipe were a very closely guarded secret of the village. The other villages had asked them for it, but they sternly refused. They didn¡¯t even sell them the pills as someone might be able to reverse engineer the recipe using it.

    She had no plan on how she was going to obtain it.

    ¡®First thing¡¯s first, I need to find a place to stay,¡¯ she thought to herself, and started to look for the nearest inn.

    The maps she had on hand only showed the route to the village and not the inside. She was hesitant to ask people as it may reveal that she wasn¡¯t from the village. So, after an hour of mindlessly walking around, she finally arrived at an inn.

    At this point, she was completely drenched as the rain had reached its peak.

    Many people were walking around, laughing, drinking, arguing, and sometimes even fighting. However, she ignored all of them and directly went to the innkeeper to book a room.

    It was worth mentioning that in this world, the currency was just bronze, silver, and gold coins. One silver was worth one hundred bronze coins, and one gold was worth one hundred silver coins. For two bronze coins, one could stay at a basic inn for a night, and for five bronze, they could stay for a whole day, all meals included. In other words, one and a half silver was enough for one person for a month.

    She booked a room for a week with all meals included, paying thirty-five bronze in total. After this, she didn¡¯t immediately leave. She was hungry so she ordered dinner from the innkeeper and sat at a table by herself.

    Some people noticed her and were glancing at her curiously. They were all locals and didn¡¯t know who she was. But judging from her looks and outfit, she didn¡¯t appear like a commoner.

    Astoria ignored their gazes and had her meal while also trying to eavesdrop on the nearby conversations, wondering if anyone was talking about the Zenith pills. However, she had no luck.

    So, she quietly retired to her room after eating.

    The room was very shabby, with creaky floorboards and one window, next to which was a bed, a table and a chair. There was a shared bathroom on the outside for her to use.

    After her long journey, Astoria was very tired.

    She changed out of her wet clothes into some clean pyjamas and immediately fell asleep on the bed. It was nowhere near as comfortable as her own bed, but she was too tired to complain.

    The next morning, Astoria woke up refreshed. She quickly brushed her teeth, got dressed, and headed down for breakfast.

    While eating, her ears picked up an interesting conversation.

    ¡°Hey, did you hear what happened last night?¡± a burly man asked his yellow-haired friend.

    ¡°Hear what?¡± the yellow-haired man replied.

    ¡°Jin Tong won against the Dave!¡±

    ¡°What? The Dave who has already cultivated the perfect stage tempered body?¡±

    ¡°Who else? That Jin Tong is really unbelievable. He should have already cultivated the middle-stage steel body now. He only became a martial artist recently, but he has already surpassed Dave who is his senior. Such progress is unheard of!¡±

    ¡°Sigh... We should be glad. Our village has yet another genius. We should go past the dojo this afternoon, maybe we can catch a glimpse of this Jin Tong. I really want to know what he looks like.¡±

    ¡®Dojo?¡¯ Astoria wondered.

    If there was a dojo, there must be many martial artists there. So, there might be some zenith pills too. She might even be able to get her hands on some!

    Thinking so, she finished her breakfast and quickly left the inn.

    Astoria closed the door and looked at the relatively quiet streets and realised something. She still didn¡¯t know any directions!

    ¡®It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just wander around and explore the village. I should be able to find it eventually.¡¯ Making up her mind, she walked away from the inn and turned down an alley.

    Suddenly, two men approached her from behind.

    ¡°Hey, miss, you seem lost. Is there anything we can help you with?¡± one of them asked.

    Astoria was startled and she immediately turned around. One was tall and skinny and the other was small and fat. They were both drunk and wore ragged clothes.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± the fat man continued with a rough voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can ask us anything and we¡¯ll definitely satisfy you!¡± he chuckled while looking at Astoria with a lecherous gaze.

    Astoria was only twelve years old, but in this world, it was already old enough to get married, similar to the Middle Ages on Earth.

    She felt disgusted and immediately stumbled backwards.

    ¡°Ah thanks for your offer, but I¡¯m fine!¡± she forced herself to hold back her disgust and avoid saying anything rash so as to not anger them. She immediately turned around and started walking away but they quickly jogged to catch up.

    The tall man pulled her backpack, forcefully stopping her.

    ¡°Wait! There¡¯s no rush. We were ju-st having such a ni-ce conversa-tion!¡± the man hiccupped. He was extremely drunk.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s rude to leave so suddenly like that!¡± the other one grumbled.

    They were both approaching very close to her now and she could no longer remain calm. She immediately started running. However, they were both much older and faster than her and they soon caught up.

    One of them pushed her from the back and she fell on the floor.

    Her mind churned and her heart was in turmoil. She had grown up in such a safe environment, that she didn¡¯t know how dangerous the world could be.

    This wasn¡¯t part of her plan!

 Chapter 7: Astoriaéˆ¥æªš plan

    The two men laughed wickedly with wide grins as they approached her.

    Astoria¡¯s heart was thumping so loud and she was sweating buckets.

    Suddenly, a loud voice sounded from behind the two men.

    ¡°You two! You dare to attack a woman like this in my presence!¡±

    The two men turned around to spot a guy, around fifteen years of age, standing behind them. Their expressions turned ugly.

    ¡°Who a-re you? This no-ne of your bus-iness!¡± the tall man hiccupped again.

    ¡°Yeah! This is no place to play hero!¡± the fat man added.

    But the young man didn¡¯t move, he just stood there with a condescending look, causing them to become annoyed.

    ¡°Take this!¡± the fat man yelled as he ran towards him, his fist raised to throw a punch.

    But the young man chuckled as he dodged agilely, before striking him on his neck and instantly knocking him out.

    The tall man was aghast, ¡°You¡¯re a martial artist!¡±

    The two were just ordinary people so they stood no chance against martial artists. Fear sobered the tall man up. He instantly turned around and disappeared in a flash.

    The young man didn¡¯t try to chase after him and turned his attention to Astoria.

    Astoria heaved a sigh of relief. It was only now that she could properly see the face of her saviour.

    The man had a youthful look with a tanned complexion. He had black, scruffy hair with a piercing gaze.

    ¡°Are you okay miss?¡± he asked with a handsome smile as he held out a hand towards Astoria.

    She thought he was cute and blushed, but soon remembered what she had come here to do and came back to her senses. Astoria gratefully took his hand, and he pulled her up. She quickly dusted off her clothes before facing him.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, thank you very much,¡± she said respectfully with a slight bow.

    ¡°No problem at all,¡± he replied, waving his hand as if it was no big deal. ¡°May I know your name?¡± She hesitated slightly before deciding to use her real name.

    ¡°Astoria¡­¡± the man said to himself. ¡°What a pretty name, it suits you well,¡± he said with a smile again.

    Astoria blushed slightly before asking for his name.

    ¡°I¡¯m Sam. Sam Ashford. You better remember it!¡± he laughed, and then asked something unexpected. ¡°How about I buy you a drink?¡±

    She hesitated before shaking her head. ¡°I would love to but I¡¯m actually going somewhere now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, where are you off to?¡±

    She thought about it for a moment before deciding to tell the truth.

    ¡°The dojo¡±.

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting, what business do you have there?¡± he asked curiously, before adding, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±

    Now she hesitated. She obviously couldn¡¯t tell him the truth.

    ¡°I¡­ I wanted to see Jin Tong. Everyone¡¯s been talking about how amazing he is, and that he may become a hero of our village in the future. I wanted to see him for myself.¡±

    ¡°Ah I see!¡± Sam said, his eyes brightened with understanding.

    In this world, which was fraught with danger from demons and onis, people with strength were greatly respected. They were the pillars of support for a community, so it wasn¡¯t strange that people would try to get to know someone who was as recognised as Jin Tong.

    ¡°What a coincidence, I am going to be passing by the dojo myself. How about we go together?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Astoria thought about it.

    She didn¡¯t know where the dojo was and she didn¡¯t want an accident like earlier to happen again. She may also be able to get some information out of him. She couldn¡¯t think of any reason to not go with him so she replied, ¡°Okay¡±.

    Sam was delighted and so the two made their way while talking and getting to know each other.

    Astoria asked a lot of questions about the village, but she tried to not be obvious about it, such as ¡®What are your favourite places in the village¡¯, ¡®What restaurants do you like¡¯, and so on. When he gave a response, she would often feign ignorance, saying that she hadn¡¯t heard of it and asked him for directions. Like this, she started getting a better understanding of the village.

    Sam was very happy that Astoria was taking an interest in him so he answered with as much detail as he could which made Astoria¡¯s life easier. However, whenever he asked anything about Astoria, she would always just give vague responses. When he asked where she was from, she just replied ¡®You know¡­ just around¡¯.

    He wasn¡¯t particularly happy but decided that he should respect her privacy and didn¡¯t pry further.

    ¡°By the way, you never told me what you do?¡± asked Astoria as they were nearing the dojo.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a hunter. That¡¯s where I get my amazing fighting skills from,¡± he bragged with a smirk.

    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± she replied casually.

    They arrived at the dojo¡¯s entrance.

    Quite a few people were standing outside looking in. There were about a dozen martial artists dressed in white robes inside. They were practising their moves in the large front garden. Behind them was a massive building which was the main dojo. Public members could only stand on the outside and look at the garden, they weren¡¯t allowed in.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Jin Tong? I was told he¡¯d be here?¡± one of them asked.

    It seemed everyone was here for Jin Tong.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see? It¡¯s him right there,¡± another one pointed.

    Astoria followed their hand towards a particular man among those inside.

    Astoria didn¡¯t know what she expected. Maybe some tall, muscular dude with a prideful demeanour. However, what she saw was a skinny guy looking no older than Sam, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old.

    However, something was indeed different about him. Especially compared to others in the background, he moved with grace and elegance. His moves were sharp and to the point with no room for error. Every time he struck, the air would make a ¡®whish¡¯ sound, making one wonder about the power contained in his strikes.

    ¡°He¡¯s really not like what I imagined,¡± Astoria mumbled.

    Jin Tong reminded her of Elwin which caused her to start thinking about her brothers and the rest of her family. She felt a little lonely. She didn¡¯t know anyone here and had no plan on how she was going to obtain the Zenith pills.

    Sam was standing close, so he heard her and agreed.

    ¡°Indeed. It shows that one should not judge a man by his looks. He may not be as handsome as me, but he¡¯s definitely a better fighter.¡±

    Astoria inwardly rolled her eyes.

    During their conversations, she realised that Sam was quite a shameless person who loved to brag about himself. But it was even more of a testament to Jin Tong that such a person was praising him so highly.

    ¡°So, what are you going to do now, Astoria?¡± Sam asked, glancing at her.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    She wasn¡¯t sure herself, so she replied with another question.

    ¡°What about you? What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh me? Not much, I was just going to meet someone first. Then I will go hunting like I normally do. I¡¯ll be back by the evening though. Maybe I can buy you a drink then?¡± he asked hopefully again. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re staying at the inn next to the alley where we met right?¡±

    ¡°Yes I am, and¡­ okay sure,¡± she agreed. Before, even though Sam had saved her, she didn¡¯t know him and had turned him down. But after getting to him a little during their conversation, she thought he was a normal and honest guy, so decided to agree.

    Sam¡¯s face lit up upon hearing her response. He soon waved her goodbye before walking away.

    Astoria wasn¡¯t sure what to do now. She wasn¡¯t able to get inside the dojo.

    ¡®Maybe I can sneak in at night?¡¯ she wondered but immediately shook her head.

    She had no idea where they kept the Zenith pills and its recipe yet. It was still too soon. But she couldn¡¯t just do nothing.

    Suddenly, she was struck by a thought.

    Sam said that he was going to meet someone, but who? Could it be someone who was providing the Zenith pills? If so, she could follow him and find out. It wasn¡¯t very likely, but she didn¡¯t have any other leads.

    Hence, she raised her hood and decided to give it a shot anyway.

    Soon, she was trailing Sam. He walked quickly and freely. He didn¡¯t think anyone was following him. After some time, he turned down a shady alleyway.

    Astoria hesitated at the entrance; this alleyway was relatively deserted with only a few hiding spots. It would be easy for him to spot her if he turned around.

    Sam made a turning.

    Grinding her teeth, she decided to risk it and hurried along.

    She continued to follow Sam, waiting for him to make a turning before quickly chasing after him. Otherwise, in case he suddenly turned around, there wouldn¡¯t be enough time for her to hide and she would be found out.

    Astoria was quite confused. Who could Sam be meeting in the middle of nowhere like this?

    However, her thoughts were soon answered as Sam stopped at the corner of a particular street. He was talking to a strange-looking, bearded old man who was walking with a cane.

    After some talking, Sam handed him a pouch. The old man accepted it and looked inside. Then, he nodded and took out a medium-sized box wooden box that he handed to Sam. He also checked its contents before nodding and walking back.

    Astoria immediately turned around and ran before hiding in a corner. She held her breath as Sam walked past. Luckily, he didn¡¯t notice her the entire time.

    ''What just happened?'' Astoria thought.

    She had just witnessed some kind of transaction, but it looked very dodgy. Would Zenith pills really be sold in such a manner? As far as she was aware, they were popular pills in this village, so it was unlikely.

    He must have bought something else, but what? This was extremely shady and she started having doubts about Sam¡¯s character.

    After waiting for a few minutes, she started walking back to the dojo.

    ¡®I¡¯ll try to get some answers when I meet him later,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    After a short while, she returned to the dojo.

    She spent the rest of the day walking around the dojo, taking notes of the entrances and exits, the number of people inside, the number of guards present, and so on.

    After learning as much as she could about the dojo, she then visited crowded areas such as marketplaces to see if she could get any useful information. She spotted some people who loved to gossip and asked them about the latest news regarding martial artists. Of course, she didn¡¯t directly ask about the Zenith pills, but she hoped someone would leak some news.

    However, the information she got was useless. Most of them were just talking about Jin Tong. Finally, she lost her patience and decided to take a risk,

    ¡°Ah yes, you¡¯re right. Our village is producing more and more outstanding martial artists. It is all thanks to the Zenith pills, right? After all, only our village has them,¡± she said to a purple-dressed, middle-aged woman who was one of the people who loved to gossip.

    ¡°Of course!¡± she agreed. ¡°It was created by one of our glorious ancestors after all. He was a grand mage in his life, and people say that he might have even reached the mage king realm if he had lived for a few more years.¡±

    ¡°But of course!¡± Astoria agreed, feigning a smile. ¡°Ah, I wish I could see some Zenith pills. Even if I am not a martial artist, I would love to be able to see those legendary pills!¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡± laughed the woman as if she had heard the funniest thing ever. ¡°You must be joking sister. The distribution of Zenith pills is heavily regulated by the village lord to prevent it from ending up in the wrong hands. How could you or I get it? Haha!¡±

    ¡°Ha, yes of course you¡¯re right,¡± agreed Astoria while inwardly sighing. It would be more difficult than she thought. She hesitated before asking, ¡°But if I was a martial artist, how would I go about getting the pills anyway?¡±

    The woman gave her a weird look. ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Uh, I am quite ignorant about things related to the martial arts world,¡± Astoria said with an awkward laugh.

    But the purple-dressed woman wasn¡¯t amused.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, you¡¯ve been asking an awful lot of questions about our village¡¯s martial artists. I¡¯ve never seen you here before as well. Who are you and where are you from?¡± she asked warily.

    Astoria cursed herself for being so obvious. She got caught up in the conversation and exposed herself.

    ¡°Ah you know, just from - oh yeah, that reminds me that I need to get going. It was nice talking to you, see you later!¡± she said before hurrying away.

    The woman stared at Astoria as she left, wondering who she was. In the end, she overheard an interesting conversation and soon lost all interest in Astoria.

    ¡®Phew, that was close,¡¯ thought Astoria. ¡®I have to be more careful.¡¯

    It was now already evening, so she decided to head back to the inn.

    She ordered a meal and sat at the table. Though there were a lot of people here, there were rules against fighting inside the inn. So, no one would harass her here. After this morning¡¯s experience, she learnt to stick to the main roads and avoid people she thought were dodgy.

    At this inn, she finally felt relieved.

    ¡°Ah there you are!¡± came a voice.

    Naturally, it was Sam. He was walking towards her carrying a large jug of alcohol and two mugs. He placed it on the table and joined Astoria for a drink.

    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Astoria chided. ¡°So, what¡¯d you hunt today?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know, just the usual. Some rabbits and birds. I didn¡¯t get a lot,¡± Sam sighed. ¡°Not to worry though. I hunted a large deer yesterday, so I have quite some money now. All your drinks are on me!¡± he exclaimed while pouring her a drink.

    Astoria laughed, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t regret that!¡±

    Though she was slightly wary of him now, she still liked his company.

    Soon the two of them started drinking, laughing, and talking. However, Astoria didn¡¯t drink too much. She wasn¡¯t much of a drinker first of all, and after seeing Sam¡¯s mysterious behaviour this morning, she didn¡¯t feel comfortable getting drunk with him.

    However, Sam drank without restraint and soon became very drunk.

    Astoria decided to use this chance to ask him some questions.

    ¡°So, this morning, you said you wanted to meet someone, who was it?¡± she asked casually while taking a sip of her drink.

    ¡°You know, just old man Ben,¡± he replied nonchalantly while gulping down another mouthful of beer.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Ben? I¡¯ve never heard of him,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Ben? He used to be a village elder and travelled to other villages. I was asking him for a map to Jain village,¡± he replied honestly.

    But as soon as he said that he froze, as if wondering what the hell he had said out loud.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to draw accurate maps in this world, so they were difficult to come by.

    ¡®No wonder it looked shady then,¡¯ thought Astoria. It wasn¡¯t easy to find them through normal means.

    Still, Astoria became curious. Why did Sam want to go to the Jain village? She asked him exactly that and Sam soon started sweating buckets. He finally sighed.

    Maybe because he was drunk, or maybe he just trusted her, but he asked, ¡°Can I tell you a secret?¡±

    ¡°Sure, anything,¡± she replied, trying to sound as friendly and innocent as possible.

    ¡°There used to be this girl I really liked and she really liked me. After going out for some time, we both became old enough and started talking about marriage,¡± he said with a long sigh, drinking another cup of wine before continuing. ¡°She was the personal maid of the village head¡¯s son, Henry. However, one day she accidentally spilt a drink all over his clothes and ruined it. It was apparently one of his favourite outfits, so he was extremely furious. Not only did he beat her, but he also stripped her of her job, and sold her as a slave!¡±

    Astoria¡¯s eyes widened.

    Another difference between Earth and this world was the existence of slavery. While slavery was abolished on Earth a while ago, but it was still a booming business here. Even in her house, Astoria had many slaves.

    Of course, due to his mindset from Earth, Drake absolutely hated this, but there was nothing he could do.

    Sam spoke very quietly, afraid someone would hear him.

    ¡°That damned bastard! Spoilt child! He took her away from me. Not only did he turn her into a slave, but he also sold her to the Jain village¡¯s slave traders to make sure she was split from her family. All because of one ruined shirt! Is that all her life was worth to him!? Damn him! If I got my hands on him, I would¡­ I would¡­¡± he downed another full mug of alcohol in one go.

    Astoria was dumbfounded! So, there was such a story behind Sam.

    ¡°So, you are going to the Jain village¡­ is that because you want to try to save her?¡± she asked.

    ¡°But of course!¡± he replied. ¡°I will work hard and save up enough money to buy her and release her from her slave status.¡± Astoria was surprised at his affection towards his girlfriend.

    From her first impression of him, she thought he was hitting on her, but he now appeared quite dedicated to his girlfriend¡­ or should I call her his fianc¨¦e? Astoria didn¡¯t care much.

    ¡®Maybe he was just being friendly to me,¡¯ she thought, sipping some of her own drink.

    But regardless, she could use this to her advantage.

    ¡°You know, you might be able to save her if you go to the Jain village, but even if you do, so what?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sam asked angrily.

    He wasn¡¯t happy at having his dream belittled.

    ¡°Even if you do that, Henry is still going to get away with what he did. Should he not be punished for his crimes?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± he agreed. ¡°But what can I do? He is on a whole other level to me.¡±

    Astoria rejoiced, she had him!

    ¡°Well, you know how this village is known for its Zenith pills right? It is extremely precious, and the village head has been protecting it forever. If you leak the recipe to the Jain village on your way, the entire village will suffer a huge loss. Without the advantage of the Zenith pills, it would be harder for them to fight for resources against the other villages. The village head and his son would have a huge problem on their hands.¡±

    She spoke very quietly so only the two of them could hear. Sam looked at her with a surprised expression. It was a very bold idea. But if she suggested it, she must have a plan. Just who was this girl?

    But now he became wary.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I have never seen you before. Given the way you dress, you are no ordinary commoner either. Were you here for the Zenith pills from the start? Are you a spy from the Jain village?¡±

    Astoria didn¡¯t reply and just drank more alcohol with a mysterious smile.

    Sam stared at her before sighing, he had to admit that it was a tempting idea. But for it to work, they had to do it right.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Sam replied slowly. He had sobered up after hearing all of that. ¡°You have my attention, what do you suggest?¡±

 Chapter 8: Advantage of Rebirth

    Several days passed.

    In a dark space, pure, refined mana gushed towards a tiny, black mana core. Yet if one focused on the core, they would realise that it wasn¡¯t small at all but was actually as large as a mountain, as if it was both small and large at the same time.

    As mana crashed onto the mana core, a part of it broke off and disappeared, leaving a small crater on the mountain-sized core. More than ninety per cent of the mana had been used up, leaving just a few small drops floating around the core.

    The core stood perfectly still, but the crater started decreasing in size as the core healed itself. But the new core was slightly denser and emitted a white, pristine glint. If one looked carefully, they could see that about thirty per cent of the core also emitted the same white glint.

    Drake gradually opened his eyes.

    ¡®I am a third of the way to the true mage realm,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    During these last few days, Ray often gave Drake some pills and plenty of guidance which allowed him to cultivate at a decent pace, even for someone with his one core aptitude.

    Speaking of pills, like artifacts and spirits, they were also assigned a rank, but it wasn¡¯t due to the number of runes they carried, unlike with artifact and spirits. The rank was simply an indication of the quality and efficacy of the pill, and it showed roughly what level mage or martial artist the pill would be useful for.

    Hence, it wasn¡¯t the case that you had to have the cultivation of an equivalent realm to the pill rank in order to make it. The only thing that determined success was the alchemist¡¯s own skill at pill refinement, as well as the quality and purity of the materials being used.

    Hence, having a lower cultivation realm wouldn¡¯t be a large obstacle to refining higher-rank pills as it would be for artifacts or spirits.

    The pills that Ray gave him were rank one pills, as was the zenith pill made by the Leon village. However, due to the rare and potent effect of the zenith pill, it could actually be considered as valuable as a rank two pill.

    Ray¡¯s guidance and pills helped Drake¡¯s cultivation greatly. After much effort, he finally reached this stage.

    The rogue mage realm was the easiest to cross because, at this point, the mana core could not produce any mana. It was like a dead core and so was quite weak and easy to temper using mana.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Ray said, sensing his progress. ¡°Your mana core has stabilised, and you¡¯ve started building a decent foundation. You can attempt your first summoning.¡±

    Drake couldn¡¯t believe his own ears.

    He was finally going to do magic! This was the moment he had been waiting for.

    ¡°Really? What am I going to summon? Would it be some kind of healing creature like my father uses, or that little spirit you summoned on that day when you performed the ceremony?¡± Drake asked enthusiastically.

    ¡°No spirits,¡± Ray chuckled. ¡°For you to summon the weakest rank one spirit, you will need to reach the true mage realm.¡±

    Drake remembered this rule and smiled awkwardly for forgetting.

    Ray shook his head hopelessly and continued.

    ¡°You can start by summoning rank zero artifacts, or in other words, ordinary items. Since they are physical objects, they are easier to summon and require no mana to maintain, as compared to spirits which are completely made from mana and require a constant supply of mana for sustenance. Hence, even rogue mages can learn to summon ordinary artifacts, albeit with some difficulty.¡±

    Ray took out a scroll and some mana recovery pills and handed them to Drake. Just before Drake was about to take the scroll, Ray pulled his hand away.

    ¡°Remember this tip. Although it is called summoning, it is better to think of it as creating. You are using your mana to create an artifact or a mana spirit. Hence, you need to have a very clear image of whatever it is that you are trying to summon.¡±

    Drake nodded confidently. ¡®It can¡¯t be that hard¡­ I¡¯m sure I can figure it out,¡¯ Drake thought to himself, holding out his hand excitedly.

    Ray handed it over with a sigh.

    Drake began reading through the contents. It recorded detailed information about how to summon an iron knife. It was a simple, yet useful object. Drake read through it many times and understood the process, so he closed the scroll and handed it back.

    ¡°Keep it,¡± Ray replied nonchalantly and resumed cultivating, not bothering about Drake anymore.

    However, Drake didn¡¯t mind. As Drake cultivated further, Ray gave less guidance and more freedom to explore for himself. Drake liked this method of teaching as he could experiment and figure things out for himself.

    Drake swallowed a mana recovery pill, closed his eyes, and focused on his inner realm. The few drops of mana soon became a small pool.

    After calming his mind, Drake began the summoning spell. His mana started decreasing rapidly.

    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯ Drake coughed as his summoning failed. He felt dizzy and slightly nauseated. It took a couple of minutes before the symptoms died down.

    ¡®As Ray said, this backlash is indeed worse than the one from incorrectly stopping my cultivation technique,¡¯ thought Drake.

    Drake relaxed again and started to recollect exactly what had happened and gone wrong.

    Not only did he fail, but he also consumed thirty per cent of his stored mana. He could only try two more times before he would have to wait and recover mana.

    After going through the process a few times in his mind, he started the summoning again.

    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯

    Another failure.

    Drake didn¡¯t expect to succeed so easily so he didn¡¯t mind. After some time, he tried again.

    ¡®Cough! Cough!¡¯

    Another failure!

    Drake''s heart became heavy. ¡®This is quite hard.¡¯

    However, his will couldn''t be broken so easily. He quickly recovered from feeling downcast and began cultivating to recover mana.

    After some time, he recovered to his peak state and tried again.

    However, he again failed all three times.

    This process of failure repeated several more times before Drake¡¯s gaze turned very ugly.

    Why is this so difficult?

    Drake couldn''t understand why he kept failing so much, even though it was one of the simplest spells out there. What was going on?

    ¡°Remember, you are using your mana to create an object,¡± Ray said once again. ¡°To succeed, you must have a clear picture in your mind and truly understand what it is that you want to summon.¡±

    Though Ray had his eyes closed, he still gave him some guidance.

    However, these words were enough to give Drake a new line of thought.

    Drake was from Earth - specifically, he was a physicist from Earth and had a unique perspective on things.

    Despite being called magic, Drake knew that there must be an understandable physical process behind everything in this world, even if he didn''t know all the details of what it was. However, basic observation had always led Drake to think that the mana in this world was simply another form of energy.

    Wait... maybe that''s it!

    Drake looked at the summoning spell again. It detailed the process of converting mana into something physical, specifically iron, and how to control the mana to condense into a particular form while giving some tips on how to visualise the form and structure of the iron knife. He had gotten so caught up in memorising and executing this exactly, but... what if that wasn¡¯t all there was to it?

    The mana in one¡¯s inner realm was a form of energy that could be controlled by a person¡¯s consciousness - Drake was sure of this. That energy, like all energy, couldn''t be created or destroyed, but it could be transformed into other things, whether it be spirits or physical artifacts. Hence, to make sure that the mana perfectly condensed into the artifact that he wanted, he would need to create it perfectly, down to the atomic level.

    The spell only gave him guidance on how to convert mana into metallic iron, and how to shape it, but didn¡¯t include much information on the structure of the iron knife to mould the iron into. That¡¯s because nobody in this world knew about the existence of atoms or molecules ¨C but Drake did!

    He was a scientist in his previous life and had a deep understanding of atomic structure, crystal structure, and so much more. He could easily deduce the atomic structure of a simple iron knife and use the spell to help him guide his mana into creating it.

    Normally, mages would have to use the information in the spell and go through a long process of trial and error to figure out what the correct structure for the particular artifact was. And even then, they would just get a feel for how to control their mana to summon an artifact correctly and learn to memorise the knack for it, without understanding that they were actually perfecting the internal structure of the iron knife. So, after learning one summon, they would have to go through the process all over again to learn a new one.

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    But Drake didn''t need to do that.

    Drake closed his eyes and recollected his knowledge. Iron was made of 26 protons and electrons, that was simple. Under normal conditions, iron atoms would arrange themselves into a metallic lattice, specifically with the body-centred cubic, crystal structure. This meant that most of the knife would basically follow the same repeating pattern of arrangement of iron atoms.

    The edges are slightly more complicated though...

    Drake''s mind worked rapidly. After a few minutes, he had a clear image of the exact atomic structure of the iron knife. Focusing on this image, Drake took out a mana recovery pill and consumed it. As mana regenerated in his inner realm, he kept observing every detail of the image in his head, making sure that he had everything correct down to the smallest detail.

    Drake shifted his focus to his mana core and took a deep breath.

    It¡¯s time¡­ let''s do this!

    Drake commanded his mana, activated the spell, and willed it to form into a knife.

    His mana rapidly disappeared. In a few moments, forty per cent of his mana was consumed!

    A few seconds later, Drake opened his eyes and couldn''t control his excitement - a brand new knife was floating in front of him!

    He finally succeeded!

    Drake observed the knife closely. The blade was sharp and thin, with a polished and glistening look. Drake tested it by touching the tip with his finger and it immediately started bleeding.

    When summoning an artifact, the summoner can use a small amount of mana to form a mental connection with the artifact that will allow them to move the artifact with their mind. Drake used his connection to make the knife fly before and around him.

    Satisfied, Drake took the knife in his hand and inspected the rest of the blade.

    The knife was short but perfect for him. The hilt was covered in rubber which improved his grip. It fit into his hands perfectly since it was literally made for him. If one looked closely, engraved on either side of the blade were the words ¡®Drake¡¯ and ¡®Reynard¡¯.

    He decided to include his signature on his first-ever creation.

    Ray opened his eyes and looked at the blade in Drake¡¯s hand with utmost disbelief. After he began teaching Drake, he rarely showed any emotions apart from disdain and pity towards his disciple¡¯s poor aptitude, and a light smile if Drake was lucky.

    But at this moment, he was awestruck.

    Drake saw his reaction and, with a smile, handed the knife to his master.

    Ray grabbed it immediately and examined it closely.

    ¡°This¡­¡± he said. ¡°This is perfect!¡± he looked at Drake stupefied. ¡°You! How did you manage to summon it so quickly?¡±

    ¡°It was all thanks to your words of wisdom master,¡± he replied humbly.

    ¡°Nonsense, impossible!¡± Ray yelled. ¡°It normally takes people weeks to understand and successfully perform a magic spell. How could you do it so quickly?¡±.

    Not only did people normally take many weeks before succeeding with a spell, but even then, the first time they did it, it wouldn¡¯t be perfect. The blade would be dull, the size would be wrong, the weight would be too much or too little, and so on. There were so many factors to consider, and every little thing could affect everything else.

    Only after a long process of trial and error would a mage understand how to transmute their mana to perfectly create the object they wanted.

    Yet, not only did Drake summon it so easily, but he also even modified the summon to add the engraving of his name.

    It was unimaginable!

    Even his master, Myra Wan, took a week before she succeeded with her first summoning and had to spend another two weeks to perfect it, which was still considered prodigious. Didn¡¯t this mean that Drake was an even better mage than his master and village leader Myra Wan?

    But how could that be possible?

    Drake didn¡¯t know all of Ray¡¯s thoughts, but he could understand why it would take people a long time to succeed. However, he had already spent many decades in his previous life understanding many structures. He even understood the inner workings of stars! Otherwise, how could he build a nuclear fusion reactor? Even though he failed, his intelligence and knowledge were not up for questioning.

    So, could I summon a star? Drake wondered but then threw away such a ridiculous and dangerous idea.

    Ray soon calmed down. ¡®It must be beginner¡¯s luck - a fluke,¡¯ he told himself.

    ¡°You did well,¡± Ray said plainly after completely controlling his emotions again. ¡°As a reward then, take this. It is a spell to summon an iron shield.¡± Ray handed him another scroll.

    Drake gratefully accepted it but placed it on the ground.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Ray, confused.

    ¡°You want me to summon an iron shield, right?¡± Drake asked with a mischievous smile, before closing his eyes.

    What was his stupid disciple doing? Did he go mad? Was he really trying to summon a new artifact without even reading the method?

    ¡®My silly disciple must have gotten in over his head from his first success. I should give him a good slap - actually no! If I interrupt him now and he fails, he might blame it on me. I''ll wait for him to fail and suffer a backlash and then give him a slap,¡¯ Ray thought to himself. He couldn¡¯t let his disciple get too big-headed, that wouldn¡¯t be good for him! As a good master, he couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    ¡®Yes, yes, it¡¯s for his own good!¡¯ Ray thought, nodding to himself.

    Drake was oblivious to his master¡¯s plan to assault him and just closed his eyes.

    He was visualising an iron shield in as much detail as possible. He would zoom in and picture the arrangement of atoms, before zooming out and observing the overall structure, making sure it was all perfect.

    Once he was happy with the image, he controlled his mana to activate the summoning, willing it to form a shield.

    Another forty per cent of his mana was completely used, but in his hand was a brand-new shield!

    It was of a perfect size for his height. It wasn¡¯t too heavy to carry, yet it wasn¡¯t so light that it would be weak. The edges were perfectly carved, giving it a reverse dome shape.

    Drake took the shield and swung it around to test it out. It flowed perfectly. On the inside of the shield, going diagonally across were the words ¡®Drake Reynard¡¯. He had signed this creation too.

    But now, Ray could no longer hold his cool.

    He stood up flabbergasted!

    ¡°How¡­ but how is this possible?¡±

    Without even asking, he grabbed the shield from Drake, unable to believe his own eyes. Only after thoroughly checking it out for himself did he finally accept it.

    But he was very confused.

    How could Drake summon objects so easily? Summoning a new artifact without consulting a spell scroll, wasn¡¯t this the same as creating his own summoning spell?

    That was ridiculous! He wasn¡¯t even a true mage yet!

    Did his disciple know some special technique for summoning?

    In cultivation, finding suitable cultivation techniques, pills, pill recipes, pill ingredients, and summons were incredibly important. These were all very difficult. But with summons, even when people found them, they wouldn¡¯t easily start using them.

    The iron knife and shield were basic summons. As one started learning more complex summons, the backlash when they failed would be extremely severe. It could cause permanent damage or even death.

    As a result, people often picked a few summoning spells, practised them greatly, and used only them. They would improve the artifacts and spirits they could summon to higher-ranked ones so they wouldn¡¯t have to try to learn entirely new summons unless necessary.

    Only those with very high cultivation levels would have a deep enough understanding to learn new summons easily and be able to withstand the backlashes.

    So, if Drake¡¯s method of learning summons were publicised, all the mages in the world would fight over it as it would let them learn many new summonings.

    Ray cooled down and asked, ¡°Drake this is very important. What technique are you using to be able to learn the summons so quickly? You must tell me!¡±

    Ray was excited, if only he could get this technique, he could learn so many summons and raise his battle strength!

    Drake inwardly sighed. How could he give a technique when he didn¡¯t have any? He obviously couldn¡¯t tell Ray the truth, least of all because he wouldn¡¯t believe him.

    ¡°I have no special technique master. I just followed what you said and used my understanding of the object I want to summon to visualise it properly before allowing my mana to form into the artifact. That¡¯s all!¡±

    Ray wasn¡¯t sure what to believe. He knew Drake¡¯s background. If he knew a technique like that, surely it must come from Holt. But if Holt knew it, he would be using it himself to learn all kinds of summons. However, he knew that Holt couldn¡¯t do that. So, could it be that Drake somehow found a secret technique himself? Did he discover some sort of treasure?

    But again, how could that be possible? If such a technique ever existed, it would already be very famous. Even if the person didn¡¯t publicise the technique, a mage who could quickly learn many different summonings would be renowned in history.

    But Ray knew of no such mages, only Drake.

    ¡®Is my disciple secretly a rare, never-before seen genius?¡¯ Ray thought and then became slightly depressed. ¡®It¡¯s a shame that his cultivation aptitude is so poor though. He wouldn¡¯t have the mana to summon higher-ranked artifacts till he reached higher realms, but it would take him an extremely long time to reach them. Summoning a bunch of rank zero artifacts is very impressive, but it won¡¯t be that useful against powerful enemies. Although¡­¡¯

    Ray paused and looked at Drake who was observing his summons. He was bashing the iron knife against the shield to check their durabilities.

    ¡®If he can easily summon any artifact that he thinks of, he might just be unmatched within the same cultivation realm. If only he formed at least two mana cores, or maybe three or four, he could become a mage king or even a mage emperor¡­ A mage emperor that could casually summon any rank five artifact they wanted?¡¯ Ray shuddered at the thought and then shook his head to bring himself back to the present.

    He couldn¡¯t think of any other possible explanation for Drake¡¯s ability, so, for now, he chose to believe him.

    Ray sighed. ¡°Okay boy, how about you try summoning different artifacts then? How about an iron sword or an iron armour? Or maybe a spear?¡±

    Drake consumed another mana recovery pill, closed his eyes and half a minute later, a brand-new iron armour appeared in front of him. Due to its size, summoning the armour used up all his mana.

    Without taking the time to inspect his summon, he consumed another pill, closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, a brand-new iron sword, spear, and bow appeared in front of him simultaneously! By controlling their size and making the process efficient, it only took him 30% of his total mana to summon each one.

    Ray was watching dumbfounded and started examining the summons. However, his disciple did not stop.

    Drake consumed another pill, closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, a set of 12 shurikens and a set of 12 thin needles appeared all around him. Since they were small, each set only cost him 25% of his mana to make.

    Ray had never even seen these types of weapons before!

    They were small and could be easily used for long-range attacks, they were incredible!

    Drake was making the dozen shurikens and needles fly around him in a whirlwind. Nobody could near him under their movement. Then, while the twelve shurikens were circling around him, the needles flew away. They were extremely quick and only stopped after reaching ten meters away from Drake, which seemed to be his maximum range.

    Due to their small size and speed, even Ray found it difficult to keep track of all of them.

    If all twelve of them were to attack me simultaneously¡­

    Ray gulped. He was looking at Drake as if he was seeing a monster.

    Not only did he summon new artifacts one after another on his own, but he was also able to control so many of them. One had to realise that controlling an artifact with the mind, not only requires mana, but also a lot of mental strength. Controlling the movements of two dozen artifacts at seven years old, was unheard of!

    Drake was very happy. He had one more mana recovery pill left. He stopped playing around and thought for a moment. Getting an idea, he then consumed the final mana recovery pill and closed his eyes.

    Ray was already used to this now and was just curious about what his disciple would summon next. Within a few seconds, two large javelins appeared behind him, and a battle axe appeared in front.

    In an instant, the javelins flew forward and attacked the nearby trees. Each one directly pierced through a tree and left a large hole. But this was immediately followed by the battle axe which ruthlessly hacked the tree on the side right next to the hole, cutting straight through both of them.

    The two trees fell with a loud thump.

    Ray took a step back, completely, and utterly astonished.

    Ray slowly twisted his head to see Drake, who was smiling happily with a carefree attitude, as if he didn¡¯t do anything.

    He no longer looked down on this disciple. In fact, there was a high probability that he could end up becoming the strongest mage in three villages!

    ¡°Are you sick master, you don¡¯t look so good?¡± Drake asked concerned.

    Ray was taken aback. He bent backwards and started laughing like he had lost his mind while staring at the sky.

    Drake was confused but thought it had something to do with his strange master complex again so he decided to ignore him.

    Since he was out of pills and didn¡¯t have any new ideas, he just practised controlling the javelins and axe for some time before returning to his cultivation.

 Chapter 9: Infiltration

    ¡°Hey, you! What do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± Astoria yelled, frightened. She was standing in a lonely street and was faced with a masked man.

    ¡°Me? Nothing much, just robbing you!¡± he retorted. ¡°Give me all your money and I¡¯ll consider letting you leave alive.¡±

    ¡°You really think I¡¯m a pushover?¡± Astoria furiously replied. ¡°Help! Help! Somebody save me!¡± She screamed before telling him, ¡°Watch! I¡¯m sure someone will come save me and teach you a lesson!¡±

    The masked man laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

    ¡°Really, you? Who is coming to save you? There is no one here and even if there were, no one would want to save you!¡±

    ¡°I would,¡± came a voice from behind the man. The masked man was startled as he turned around to see who it was.

    ¡°You¡­ you are him!¡± That¡¯s all he mumbled before frantically running away.

    Astoria heaved a sigh of relief before looking at her saviour.

    He was a short, slightly oversized man with a small belly and a chubby face. He was young but was well dressed with various accessories to show off his wealth. Behind him stood two tall guards carrying long spears and wearing a chainmail.

    ¡°Thank you so much for saving me mister,¡± Astoria said with a deep bow. ¡°May I know who you are?¡±

    ¡°Haha! I am Henry Zumond,¡± he replied proudly.

    ¡°Zumond¡­¡± Astoria mumbled to herself. ¡°Ah, you belong to the village head¡¯s family! Could your esteemed self be lord Byron Zumond¡¯s cherished son? The young master of the village?¡± she asked, her eyes wide open.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right!¡± Henry laughed at having been recognised and praised. ¡°May I ask, who you are?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Olivia Higson,¡± she lied. She looked at her feet while twirling her thumbs shyly. ¡°I am from a poor household and was coming here looking for work. I have a lot of experience with working as a maidservant, but I haven¡¯t found any jobs yet,¡± she sighed with disappointment.

    Henry ran his eyes over her body a few times and thought she was very pretty. He started laughing out loud.

    ¡°Well, it is your lucky day girl! I am recently in need of a maidservant so you can come to work for me!¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± she asked, her eyes lit up and her lips curled into a huge smile.

    Henry thought she was cute and wanted her to work for him even more.

    ¡°But¡­,¡± she looked down again and appeared to hesitate. ¡°You just saved me, how could I impose on you further? You don¡¯t need to take pity and worry about me young master; I am already very grateful for your help.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Henry replied proudly. ¡°I meant it when I said that I needed a new personal maidservant. I was just going for a walk, and you came at a perfect time! It is fate!¡±

    Astoria pretended to hesitate a little before agreeing, ¡°In that case, it would be my honour to work for you, young master.¡± She pulled her skirt slightly to the sides and gave a deep bow.

    ¡°Haha, yes it would indeed,¡± he replied, before turning around and leading the way. Astoria followed behind, keeping a few steps of distance and hanging her head low out of respect.

    After a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the village lord¡¯s mansion.

    It was a massive contrast compared to the inn where she had been living these past few days. The mansion was ginormous with several floors and stretched to the width of half a street. The front garden was huge, albeit slightly smaller than what she had in Jain village, but it was still very large, with a beautiful fountain out front, and littered with various trees and shrubs arranged perfectly. The pearl gates were big, and standing in front were a few other guards who immediately bowed to Henry and let them through.

    ¡°Welcome back, young master,¡± came a voice. After entering the house, they were greeted by an elderly woman. She was wearing a black dress and had a proud demeanour. However, when she spoke to Henry, she was very polite and welcomed him with a slight bow.

    ¡°Thank you, headmistress. She¡¯s Olivia Higson and is going to be my new personal maid,¡± Henry introduced casually. ¡°Show her around and let her know her duties.¡± After that brief statement, Henry quickly hurried away to his room.

    Only now did the headmistress notice Astoria. She eyed her up and down and frowned.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from a poor region down south, headmistress. I came looking for work with money I had saved up over a long time. I was about to be robbed when the young master graciously saved and welcomed me.¡±

    The headmistress¡¯s frown did not disappear.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± she commanded before walking forward.

    Astoria bowed politely before trotting along. The headmistress started showing her around the house, introducing her to the other staff, and telling her what she had to do. She was the personal maid of Henry, the young master of the village, which gave her a slightly higher status than most other maids, and she had different responsibilities as well.

    For instance, she was charged with cleaning Henry¡¯s room, doing his laundry, ironing his clothes, serving his meals, and generally staying close to Henry to help him with anything he needed.

    Now was the first problem for Astoria because despite what she said, she didn¡¯t know how to do any of it! She had always had maids to do these jobs for her, so she had never learnt to do them personally.

    Of course, she had kept this in mind and asked Sam to teach her the basics, so she was just able to manage. She keenly observed the maids and servants doing their jobs so that she could quickly learn and better imitate them.

    But of course, her goal in coming here was not to just learn to be a maid.

    ¡­

    Three days later.

    Holt¡¯s expression was solemn as he listened to a report.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± he asked.

    The guards reporting to him hung their heads in shame. These were the people who had been sent out to look for Astoria, but they returned empty-handed.

    ¡°We searched for many days chief. However, after some time, it started raining and all the trails were destroyed. We kept looking for a lot longer but there is nothing left to find.¡±

    ¡°WELL THEN TRY AGAIN!¡± Holt thundered.

    ¡°Yes!¡± they shook before running away.

    Holt looked through the window and saw the blue sky tinged with a hint of orange as the sun started setting.

    ¡®Astoria¡­ my little girl. Please be safe, I will find you!¡¯

    ¡­

    Meanwhile¡­

    ¡°Haha! That¡¯s so funny!¡± A group of maids were laughing together in the Leon village lord¡¯s mansion.

    Astoria was among them.

    ¡°Hey! Do you remember the time the headmistress was severely told off by master Henry?¡± one of them asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it was when Nala was kicked out right? Master Henry was angry since the headmistress was the one who recommended her,¡± another one replied.

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    ¡°After always seeing her be strict with us, and yelling at us for every little thing, it was fun to see her getting yelled at!¡± the first one replied. Everyone started laughing again

    Even Astoria had to admit that the overbearing headmistress acting docile while being admonished by a haughty teenager was a funny picture.

    ¡°What does the headmistress do anyway? I feel like her whole job is to just go around yelling at everyone,¡± Astoria said.

    ¡°Yeah, I feel the same,¡± one of them replied. ¡°However, I heard that the headmistress is the only one who is given the job of cleaning and maintaining the treasury.¡±

    The treasury!

    Astoria recollected the conversation she had with Sam in the inn before entering the village mansion.

    ¡°There is only one written recipe for the Zenith pills? And it is held in the village treasury?¡± she had asked in disbelief.

    This was terrible! How could she ever sneak into the village treasury?

    But Sam told her that that was the truth. Those who refined the pills had all first memorised the formulas by heart and were prevented from ever writing it down or teaching it to others. They were all extremely loyal members of the village, so bribery won¡¯t work. They wouldn¡¯t even reveal it under torture.

    Her only hope of getting the pill recipe was by sneaking into the treasury but she didn¡¯t know how.

    The two discussed for a long time before finally deciding on a plan. They observed the young master and realised that he still hadn¡¯t found a permanent replacement maid after firing Nala. Henry had a particular taste so even though he was given a servant temporarily, he didn¡¯t like her very much.

    The two decided that Astoria would infiltrate the village lord¡¯s mansion as his maid. Sam taught her the basics of being a maid and Astoria was a fast learner. After that, they just found the time when Henry left the mansion and used that moment to bait him.

    Obviously, the masked man who tried to ¡®rob¡¯ Astoria was just Sam in disguise.

    Now that she knew that the headmistress had access to the treasury, she could finally try to find out where it was.

    ¡°Oh, I see, the treasury huh?¡± Astoria said, trying her best to act surprised. ¡°That is a big responsibility. It must be difficult for the headmistress to clean the entire treasury by herself every day.¡±

    ¡°Ah, she doesn¡¯t clean it every day,¡± another one corrected her. ¡°I heard she only cleans it once a week at night, once she has finished all of her main duties. If I¡¯m not mistaken, she just cleaned it last night so the next time should be -¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here!?¡± bellowed a deep voice.

    Everyone froze and looked towards Astoria. The voice belonged to the headmistress and it was coming from behind her.

    ¡°Ah¡­ nothing headmistress. We were just talking a little bit.¡±

    ¡°If you have time to talk, you have time to work. Get lost!¡± she yelled.

    Everyone scattered but when Astoria tried to leave, she felt someone pulling her arm from behind.

    She stopped and started sweating buckets.

    ¡°Is there something wrong, headmistress?¡± she asked, slowly turning around with a smile.

    ¡°Why are you asking about the treasury girl?¡± the headmistress asked with a serious look.

    ¡°Ah, no reason. The topic just came up in the conversation, so I was curious, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Did the topic just ¡®come up¡¯, or did you bring it up?¡± she asked again.

    ¡°Aah, I don¡¯t know what headmistress is talking about?¡± Astoria chuckled dryly.

    ¡°You said you were from a poor neighbourhood down south, right?¡± the headmistress asked, ignoring her question.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I did say that,¡± Astoria replied, sweating more profusely.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting because I have investigated all the poor regions in the southern part of the village, and none of the villagers anywhere seem to know an Olivia Higson,¡± she said slowly, staring her down.

    ¡®She was bothered enough to do a background check?¡¯ Astoria was surprised.

    ¡°Ah, well my parents didn¡¯t let me go out much since I was a girl, so I didn¡¯t have any friends. That¡¯s probably why.¡± Astoria replied, trying to sound confident.

    ¡°Still, your parents would have interacted with the local shopkeepers and others, so there should be people who knew your family right? But there were only two Higson families in the areas I investigated, and neither of them had an Olivia.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know why. My parents were also pretty reserved¡­¡± she replied, but even she wasn¡¯t convinced by her response.

    The headmistress looked at her deeply.

    ¡°I have my eye on you girl. Master Henry might trust you, but I have lived a long time, seen a lot of people, and dealt with a lot of things. If you try to harm master Henry or anyone here in any way, I will make sure you regret it!¡±

    ¡°What is the headmistress saying!?¡± Astoria gasped, pulling her hand away and covering her mouth in shock. ¡°I am honoured that master Henry saved me and gave me the opportunity to work ¨C as his personal maid no less! Even if I worked my entire life, I would not be able to repay his kindness, how could I ever seek to harm him?¡±

    Astoria sounded very sincere and almost started to cry. Though her tears were mostly from her fear of the headmistress and her interrogation, her words sounded confident and coupled with her tears, even the headmistress thought she was being honest.

    She relaxed. ¡°Get back to work.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Astoria replied before scurrying away.

    She ran to the kitchen, leaned against the counter, and was gasping for breath.

    ¡®That was way too close!¡¯ Astoria thought to herself.

    The headmistress was just too scary! And she had always been suspicious of Astoria from the moment she stepped foot in the mansion.

    Still, she learnt a valuable piece of information today.

    The treasury was accessed by the headmistress once a week for cleaning, so if she followed her, she would be able to find out where the treasury was.

    Astoria calmed down and smiled to herself. After working as a maid for all these days, she finally had a lead.

    A week later.

    ¡°Here,¡± the headmistress said, showing a badge to two guards standing outside a huge gate.

    The guards inspected the badge carefully before smiling.

    ¡°Please proceed, headmistress,¡± they said while opening the gate.

    Astoria was standing far away in the back as she observed the headmistress go through.

    They were in an underground tunnel located beneath the mansion that Astoria had followed the headmistress through. Though it was dark, she could see what was happening clearly due to the wall torch illuminating the entrance.

    Several hours later, the headmistress came back and nodded to the guards who then closed the gate.

    Astoria hid while the headmistress walked past her and back to the mansion. She hesitated for a moment but decided to stay longer and observe the guards.

    By sunrise, a man approached the two guards. Astoria recognised the man as Bjorn Hale, a martial artist who had cultivated the undying body. He was famous across the villages as the ¡®Hammer of Leon¡¯ for his favourite weapon was a hammer which he used to crush his enemies.

    He¡¯s on the same level as father, she thought.

    As for the two guards before, they were George and Georgina Langston, a brother-sister duo who were famous across the three villages as the ¡®twin blades of Leon¡¯. They had both cultivated the perfect-stage steel body.

    The security was tight, and it would be impossible to break in by force. Astoria had no fighting skills, and although Sam was a martial artist, he was only in the tempered body stage and would be absolutely destroyed by any one of these guards.

    So, she needed another way to get in.

    Deciding it was time to return, Astoria silently crept back into the mansion.

    For the next two weeks, Astoria and Sam kept meeting up in secret to discuss a plan to infiltrate the treasury.

    One evening, Astoria was on her way to deliver Henry¡¯s meal when she bumped into a slave boy who was carrying food and drinks. Everything fell on the floor and splashed onto her clothes.

    ¡°You fool!¡± she shouted furiously and kicked him out of disgust.

    Those who were nearby paid this no head as if it was a very normal thing. She was the one who bumped into him but who cared about that? He was just a slave.

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry miss!¡± he cried pitifully. ¡°I will get you replacement clothes immediately!¡± he said.

    ¡°Hmph! I will find new clothes myself. You are serving Master George and Miss Georgina, correct? They should not be kept waiting. Here, take this food to them,¡± said Astoria after calming down.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to trouble yourself miss, I will quickly prepare a new plate for them myself,¡± the boy replied.

    ¡°Humph! Are you refusing an instruction from me?¡± Astoria spat and kicked the boy again.

    He coughed and fell to his knees.

    ¡°Get up!¡± she ordered.

    The slave¡¯s body was in pain, but he got up regardless. His hands and knees were shaking, and his eyes were blurry. It took him a few moments to become steady again.

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness miss,¡± he said with a smile before taking the plates and walking away with a limp.

    Astoria scoffed and turned around, telling some other slave to clean up the mess on the floor who obeyed instantly, while she went to a changing room.

    She was inwardly smiling.

    That night, a hooded figure crept towards the back door of the mansion. Just as he was getting close, the door opened.

    The figure snuck in, and the door closed.

    ¡°Sam!¡± Astoria quietly exclaimed.

    She gave him a big hug and Sam was equally happy to see her. The two had gotten close over the past few weeks.

    ¡°Follow me!¡±

    Astoria quietly led Sam through the mansion. Over these few weeks, she had worked day and night to learn everything about the mansion and memorise everyone¡¯s movements inside out. She knew what guards would be where and when, and what maid would be doing what ¨C she knew everything.

    So, she carefully guided Sam through to the entrance of the underground tunnel and they both made their way towards the treasury. They stopped a few meters away and under the light of the torch, could see that both the guards were asleep.

    Still, Sam decided to move closer to them slowly on his own and only when he saw that the guards didn¡¯t react despite him being so close, did he call Astoria over.

    Naturally, Astoria had drugged the food that she gave to the slave boy as a replacement, causing them to fall asleep.

    The duo was standing in front of the entrance to the treasury. Finally, after so long, she was about to get what she came here for.

    The two pushed the door open and were welcomed by the sight of numerous shelves.

    ¡°Woah!¡± gasped Sam and stepped inside.

    But that was a mistake.

    SCREECH!

    A sound echoed from within as footsteps rapidly approached them.

    Sam was taken aback and withdrew his sword just in time to block an attack that came from nowhere. The force of the attack was so great that Sam was pushed back.

    The light from outside slightly illuminated the attacker¡¯s face, enough for them to make out what it was ¨C a humanoid mechanical, puppet!

    Astoria was stupefied! This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen!

    Why didn¡¯t the headmistress get attacked? Was this a new security system that they implemented recently? But why would they do that? Was the puppet always there?

    ¡°Run!¡± Sam yelled.

    There was no time to think.

    Astoria sprinted back instinctually, and just as she left, the two guards woke up to the commotion and were surprised to find Sam fighting the mechanical puppet.

    Astoria heard the fierce clashing of swords, followed by Sam¡¯s scream, followed by silence.

    Fighting back her tears, Astoria ran back to the mansion as fast as she could.

 Chapter 10: Astoriaéˆ¥æªš Plight

    The next morning, Elwin was dressed in full battle gear while facing Drake and Hazezel.

    ¡°Brothers,¡± said Elwin. ¡°I will be back!¡±

    ¡°You better be!¡± said Drake.

    It was finally time for the expedition to set out and Elwin was going to leave. He was dressed in the finest armour and carried a long sword strapped to his back, another sword strapped to his waist as a spare, and carried several smaller daggers, knives, etc.

    That spare sword which Elwin carried was none other than the sword that Drake made. He had shown his family the result of his summons and Elwin had really liked the sword. Drake didn¡¯t hesitate and gifted it to him on the spot. Elwin was overjoyed and thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

    Similarly, Hazezel really liked the iron knife, so Drake gifted that to him as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re learning so fast, Drake!¡± Hazezel said excitedly as he took the knife.

    Holt was also extremely proud of Drake as he remembered how long it took him to summon his first artifact. Drake was clearly more talented than him by a mile.

    The remaining artifacts he summoned were kept in the weapon store for the time being since he didn¡¯t have much use for them.

    Despite Drake appearing confident, he was extremely concerned for the safety of his brother. He knew how dangerous the woods could be.

    Hazezel didn¡¯t say anything but just gave Elwin a deep hug.

    ¡°Please be safe,¡± he whispered.

    Just before he let go, Drake also joined in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him,¡± said Holt reassuringly. ¡°I have instructed Zhao Gaumond to protect him with his life, and the other person on the trip is no pushover either. They are a strong group. Coupled with the groups from the other villages, they make a strong team and won¡¯t easily be taken down.¡±

    They let go and the two brothers nodded in acknowledgement.

    Elwin started walking away with Holt.

    Taking necessary precautions, even if nothing major went wrong, a one-way trip may still take more than a month. So, they wouldn¡¯t hear from Elwin for a few months at least.

    Drake sighed.

    He knew that if they failed now, then it would be very difficult to motivate the villages to send another expedition. This group was already made of the best the villages could find, if even they failed then how could any other group fare better?

    Hazezel stared in Elwin¡¯s direction for a few seconds and walked away as well, leaving Drake all on his own.

    Drake could only return to his master and begin cultivating.

    It was still extremely hard for him to get into focus, and since he was worried about Elwin today, it took almost three hours for him to begin his cultivation. However, over the previous week, he learnt to maintain his concentration, and wouldn¡¯t easily get distracted. Even if he did get distracted, he was learning to stop the cultivation technique properly so that he didn¡¯t suffer a backlash.

    He could do this about twenty per cent of the time.

    Unbeknownst to Drake, Ray was also worried.

    One of the people sent out from the elven village was his close friend. Ray was stronger than this friend of his, so if Ray wasn¡¯t occupied with Drake, then the village would have probably sent him out instead.

    As a result, Ray knew that if anything were to happen to his friend, he would blame himself as it should have been him going out on the expedition now.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile in Leon Village.

    Astoria was in despair from last night¡¯s failure as she watched Henry standing behind his father, sending off their village¡¯s people to the expedition.

    It was only now that Astoria had found out what was going on in the Beast Woods and the village¡¯s decision. This wasn¡¯t yet common knowledge as the higher-ups wanted to keep this a secret to prevent panic from spreading across the masses.

    As a servant, Astoria wouldn¡¯t have been told this information, however, she was Henry¡¯s personal servant and Astoria had been working very hard. As a result, he trusted her and revealed this information.

    Astoria couldn¡¯t help but ask Henry, ¡°I wonder who the other villages are sending out?¡± then immediately added, ¡°It is just that our village even sent out Jin Tong who is a rising star and could be an important person of our village in the future. So, if the other villages don¡¯t send out people equal to him¡­¡± she didn¡¯t finish her sentence, but Henry knew what she meant.

    If they didn¡¯t send out equal people, not only would they hold Jin Tong and the others from his village back, but that also meant that their village would have to bear most of the burden. If anything went wrong, their village would suffer the most, but since this was just information gathering, if the mission was successful, all the villages would still get all the information.

    However, Henry just chucked, ¡°Only father knows the specific details, however, I heard that Holt in Jain¡¯s village is sending out his own son Elwin as part of the expedition. I¡¯ve heard Elwin is a prodigy in Jain village as well, so it is only appropriate for our village to send Jin Tong, otherwise, father wouldn¡¯t have done so.¡±

    Hearing this, Astoria froze, her face cast with horror.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    However, she quickly returned to her normal expression, and replied, ¡°Ah, then I have nothing to worry about, young master. Thank you for enlightening me.¡±

    Henry waved his hand casually and started walking back to the mansion while talking to his father. Astoria quietly followed behind him, but her mind and heart were in turmoil.

    Elwin was going!

    ¡®If something happened to him¡­¡¯ she didn¡¯t want to finish that thought.

    Unlike her brothers, she didn¡¯t even get to say goodbye!

    She was scared. Astoria loved her family deeply and would do anything for them. She was taking such a big risk now precisely for Drake. She couldn¡¯t fathom the thought of anything to happen to them.

    Astoria couldn¡¯t help but curse herself again, ¡®If only I wasn¡¯t so weak, I could protect them.¡¯

    She kept walking mindlessly, worrying about a billion things.

    ¡°Astoria!¡± Henry yelled.

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± she gasped, startled.

    ¡°Are you okay? You look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost!¡± Henry asked.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine master. Thank you for your concern. Is there anything I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°No. But we are going to interrogate a prisoner now so if you don¡¯t have the stomach for it, you are free to go do something else.¡±

    Prisoner!

    There was only one person that it could be.

    Astoria¡¯s heart was racing, wondering what they were going to do to Sam.

    This was all her fault!

    ¡°Uh¡­ no master Henry¡­ As your servant, my place is by your side. I will accompany you wherever you go,¡± she replied, trying to sound confident.

    Henry smiled contently, and his father Byron was also happy.

    ¡°You are lucky to get such a loyal servant, Henry,¡± he commented.

    Henry beamed more proudly, however seeing his father¡¯s unamused expression, he immediately quietened down.

    ¡°So, father. Who is this new prisoner?¡±

    Byron had only told him to accompany him to an interrogation but didn¡¯t give any details. As the future village head, Byron wanted him to learn how to handle these matters.

    ¡°Humph. You won¡¯t believe what happened last night. Some fool actually dared to break into our treasury!¡±

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Henry gasped.

    Astoria was dead silent and kept her face down.

    ¡°Yes. If I wasn¡¯t busy preparing for the expedition last night, I would have dealt with him immediately.¡±

    ¡°But how could anyone be so brave father? Was the treasury not being guarded by the twin blades? Working together, they could even fight a grand mage, or a martial artist with an undying body. Could the attacker actually be at that level, or greater?¡±

    Byron frowned. ¡°He is¡­ a tempered body martial artist.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Henry gasped.

    This is what Byron was confused about too.

    ¡°Where in the world does a tempered body martial artist get the courage to face off against two perfect steel body martial artists?¡± Henry gasped. It didn¡¯t make sense!

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just the two, Henry,¡± Byron replied. ¡°He was also stopped by the defensive puppet.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡± Henry was astonished once again. ¡°But that puppet is only activated if the intruder enters the treasury first. Don¡¯t tell me that a tempered body martial artist actually forcefully entered the treasury despite it being guarded by two steel body martial artists working together to defend it! Did he have some extremely powerful artifact or something?¡±

    Byron frowned again. This is what he was very confused about too. The twin blades did not explain this part very clearly.

    ¡°They just said that the intruder was strong for a tempered body martial artist, plus they were taken completely by surprise, so he managed to get in, but they quickly stopped him afterwards with the help of the puppet.¡±

    Astoria listened to their conversation and was confused at this explanation, but then she had a lightbulb moment.

    The twin blades did not know that they were drugged. So, they must have assumed that they had just fallen asleep from tiredness but did not dare to admit that to Byron. Hence, they just kept making excuses.

    This was good for her. Otherwise, if they suspected and investigated the drugging, then she would be caught.

    By this point, they had already arrived in front of a prison cell. Locked inside was a man. He was tied to a cross with spiked iron chains that dug into his wrists and ankles. He was stripped of all his clothes except his underwear and his whole body was covered with cuts and wounds.

    Byron, Henry, and Astoria entered the cell and a guard awoke the unconscious Sam by pouring a bucket of cold water over his face.

    Sam woke up in a panic and started to move around, but the spiked chains immediately cut into his flesh.

    ¡°AAAHHH!¡± he screamed.

    In response, the guard punched him in the stomach. Sam stopped screaming as the wind was knocked out of his lungs and he was left gasping for air.

    Taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed down. His body was in huge pain but he was a martial artist so he could handle it to some extent.

    ¡°Seems I have visitors,¡± Sam chuckled, glancing at Byron, Henry and Astoria.

    Astoria couldn¡¯t bear to look at him anymore. She wished she could just beat up everyone here and free Sam, however she knew she didn¡¯t have the strength.

    I don¡¯t have the strength to help Drake or Elwin, and now¡­ I don¡¯t have the strength to help Sam either.

    Astoria felt extremely helpless.

    The interrogation began.

    They asked him numerous questions, ¡®who are you¡¯, ¡®who sent you¡¯, ¡®why are you here¡¯, etc. But Sam didn¡¯t respond to any questions. Whenever he spoke, it was only to make a snarky remark.

    Every time Sam refused to answer a question or made some snarky remark, the guard would whip him. The guard was also a martial artist, so each whip left a deep scar on Sam¡¯s body which started bleeding profusely.

    Every time Sam got whipped, Astoria flinched.

    ¡®Why? Why did I come here? Why did I sign up for this? If I had just stayed in my village, this wouldn¡¯t have happened!¡¯

    The whip tore open Sam¡¯s flesh and Astoria felt as if her own flesh was tearing.

    When Sam responded with another mocking comment, the guard lost his patience.

    ¡°He needs to be taught a lesson, my lord,¡± the guard said before walking next to Sam¡¯s left hand. Then he took Sam¡¯s thumb and bent it backwards.

    Snap!

    The sound of cracking bones echoed across the cell.

    Astoria felt sick to her stomach and threw up in the corner.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Henry asked worried.

    ¡°Yes master, I¡¯m fine,¡± Astoria replied weakly. ¡°I will clean this up right away.¡±

    ¡°No need, I¡¯ll get someone else to do it. You should go back and rest if this is too much for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being useless, master,¡± Astoria replied, before excusing herself.

    Then she left. And she ran.

    She kept running and didn¡¯t stop till she reached her room. She locked the door behind her and then she fell to her knees, as if she was no longer able to bear the weight of suffering that she was carrying.

    Why, why, why!? Why can¡¯t I do anything!?

    She kept crying, thinking about all the ways in which she was a failure.

    Elwin was going into danger and she couldn¡¯t help him. Drake was working very hard, and she couldn¡¯t support him. The only friend she made got captured following her stupid plan and was now suffering and she couldn¡¯t help him either. Soon if the demon tides start attacking the village, she won¡¯t be able to help them either.

    All she could do was run and cry.

    Running and crying. Is this all I¡¯m good for?

    She kept cursing herself while crying. Soon her throat became dry and her cries became weak sobs, however, her sorrow only grew larger.

    Outside, the skies darkened, and rain started pouring as if the heavens themselves were weeping with her plight.

    Then, another cry started echoing through the mansion.

    It was Sam who was being brutally tortured for information. His cries became louder and louder and soon, they reached Astoria too.

    She couldn¡¯t escape. No matter where she ran to, she couldn¡¯t escape the cries of the people who she failed.

    Lightning struck outside her window and illuminated her room, revealing Astoria collapsed on the floor.

    However, her face was twisted into a creepy smile.

    ¡®That¡¯s right. Why am I making this so complicated?¡¯ she thought to herself.

    If being weak was the issue, I just need to stop being weak!

    Thinking so, she started chuckling, then giggling, then laughing like a lunatic looking at the ceiling, which was soon drowned out by the sound of heavy thunder and rain.

 Chapter 11: Astoriaéˆ¥æªš Story

    After some time, Astoria stopped laughing.

    Maybe it was because she became tired, or whatever it was that she was laughing at, she didn¡¯t find it funny anymore, but at this moment, she just laid there in a daze, listening to the loud rain crashing against her windows.

    The only thing that was louder were the echoes of Sam¡¯s screams, which occasionally reverberated across the entire mansion.

    As she laid there, she couldn¡¯t help but think back to that fateful day she had with Drake over two years ago. Drake was only five, and she was ten years old. Though that was only one day in her twelve years of life, it had changed her personality considerably and taught Drake about the existence of magic.

    Drake and Astoria were going on a walk when they saw a small rabbit, nibbling on some scraps.

    ¡°What a beautiful rabbit!¡± exclaimed Astoria. It was small, covered in pink fur which wrapped over its delicate body. Upon hearing Astoria¡¯s words, the rabbit¡¯s ears twitched, and it instinctively ran.

    ¡°Oh no it ran away!¡± she cried. ¡°I wish I could pet it!¡±

    Though the children in this world matured faster compared to Earth due to their society, she was still only ten years old at this time so she couldn¡¯t help some of her childish desires.

    ¡°Would you like to catch it?¡± asked Drake.

    ¡°Yes!¡± she nodded excitedly but then shook her head in embarrassment.

    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m sorry Drake. The rabbit went into the Beast Woods. Dad always told us never to go in there as it''s extremely dangerous. We even dismissed our guards to get some time alone. As the oldest here, I am supposed to be looking after you so I can¡¯t lead us into danger.¡±

    Although the Beast Woods was one of the most dangerous places on the continent, the outskirts of the forest were relatively safe and it only became progressively more dangerous as one ventured inside. Many villagers often hunted and foraged in the outskirts.

    ¡°True, but the Beast Woods is only dangerous if you go beyond the outskirts. The rabbit is a weak animal, it won¡¯t be able to survive deep inside the woods so it will also stick to the safe outskirts. If we follow it quickly, we might be able to lay a trap and catch it,¡± Drake calmly analysed.

    ¡°This¡­¡± she hesitated.

    ¡°We can just check out the outskirts for some time and if we can¡¯t catch it, we¡¯ll return. Okay?¡± insisted Drake.

    He had always wanted to explore the Beast Woods and other areas of the world. Now was a good opportunity. He also felt like using this opportunity to give his sister a gift. Like the rest of his family, she also took very good care of him.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± she hesitated again.

    ¡°If we wait too long, we might lose its trail!¡± Drake exclaimed.

    ¡°Okay! But we can¡¯t go too deep or stay there for too long alright?¡± she replied.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Drake replied excitedly.

    Luckily, even though they were just going for a walk, he was wearing a pair of loose trousers and a black sweater on top of a shirt, whereas his sister was wearing a short pink skirt and a red top. They were able to run without restriction.

    Drake led the way while Astoria stuck very close to him. They entered the woods carefully.

    The trees in the woods were densely packed, and the leaves and branches formed a natural cover that reduced the sunlight on the forest floor, making it much darker and harder to see. One could occasionally hear the chirping of birds, the galloping of small frogs, and the rustling of leaves as some tiny animals passed through.

    Drake was trying his best to memorise the route that they were taking to ensure they could find their way back. He would occasionally use a stone to mark some trees to help him identify the route as well.

    At first, Astoria didn¡¯t understand what he was doing but once he explained, her eyes immediately brightened, and she felt a greater degree of security.

    Soon, Drake saw some trails and came to a stop. Drake bent down to look at something.

    Astoria didn¡¯t understand what Drake was trying to see. Soon she couldn¡¯t hold in her curiosity and she peeped above his shoulder to see what had captured his interest.

    ¡°Eww! Drake what is that?¡± she asked perplexed.

    He was looking at a small pile of faeces. It looked like it belonged to the rabbit, but he wasn¡¯t sure if some other animal could have caused it. He thought it was unlikely as he hadn¡¯t spotted any other animal around him and these looked fresh.

    Drake was no animal expert, but he knew about common animal behaviours from his previous life. Of course, he couldn¡¯t know if the animals would have the same behaviour patterns in this world, but even if he was wrong, it was no big deal.

    ¡°I think the rabbit passed through this way,¡± he said with a frown.

    Rabbits lived in burrows back on Earth, so he was wondering where this rabbit¡¯s burrow might be located.

    Drake had previously asked his father for some maps of the woods and memorised them. There wasn¡¯t much entertainment in this world, so he often worked on improving his knowledge.

    Comparing that to what he had seen so far on this trip, he roughly deduced where they were.

    Next, he tried to remember where the rabbit¡¯s food sources would be located, the lairs of its predators that it would try to avoid, and the locations that were easiest to burrow in. By the process of elimination, there weren¡¯t many locations where the burrow could be located.

    Judging by the direction that this rabbit was going, there was one location he thought was most likely to be where the burrow was.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t know the exact location of the burrow, but as long as he was in that area, he could easily lay a trap and wait for the rabbit to fall into it.

    Having a plan in mind, Drake moved quickly as he picked some common rabbit food, and anything he thought might be useful in laying a trap. After about half an hour, they came to a spot which he decided was the best and easiest location to lay a trap.

    Drake used a large stick he found on the floor as a makeshift rod to dig into the ground, often using his hands if necessary. Astoria also helped, but she soon became tired. They were both children, but unlike Astoria, Drake had the mind and willpower of an adult, allowing him to persevere.

    Soon, they dug out a hole large enough for the rabbit, placed some branches on top, and covered it with leaves. After some more camouflaging, this section of the floor looked the same as the rest of the forest floor. Finally, he carefully laid some rabbit food he collected on the way, on top of the trap.

    After finishing the trap, Drake took Astoria and hid behind a tree located several metres away.

    The whole process from when they entered took around an hour.

    Drake looked to the sky.

    The forest blocked most of the sunlight, making it difficult to determine the exact time, but he estimated that it would become dark soon. He thought to himself that they could wait for about fifteen minutes and if nothing happened, they could only blame their luck and come back another day.

    Time ticked slowly.

    Drake was exhausted from all the work and so was Astoria.

    After waiting a long time, they heard some rustling in a bush.

    Excited, they slowly and carefully turned around to spot a small rabbit poking its head out of a bush. It quickly scanned its surroundings and, determining that there was no danger, it approached the meal that had been delivered right to its doorstep.

    As soon as it started eating the food, the weak floor made of branches could no longer hold the rabbit¡¯s weight and collapsed, causing the poor animal to fall.

    The rabbit yelped in fear, but it couldn¡¯t do anything. Luckily for the rabbit, Drake and Astoria didn¡¯t want to hurt it.

    Astoria gasped in surprise and Drake''s cheeks lifted into a wide smile. The duo quickly ran to the rabbit. It was trying to jump out but always just fell slightly short.

    He had dug the hole large enough so that it wouldn¡¯t be able to jump out immediately, but not too large that it would get hurt upon impact. He wasn¡¯t sure of the exact size that would be necessary, but he just made some rough estimations.

    Drake reached down and tightly grabbed the rabbit with both hands.

    The rabbit was struggling with all its might to escape but Drake held on firmly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry little rabbit, we won¡¯t hurt you!¡± said Astoria as she looked at the rabbit with an excited, but slightly pitiful gaze.

    Perhaps the rabbit could sense the gentleness in her voice, or it realised that it couldn¡¯t do anything in this situation, so it slowly stopped struggling. Drake handed the rabbit to Astoria and she began petting it gently.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°It¡¯s so soft! Thank you so much, Drake. I never thought you could actually do it!¡± she exclaimed.

    Her opinion of her little brother improved several folds.

    ¡®Neither did I¡¯ Drake laughed inwardly, but he just replied with a smile. He had accomplished his goal of exploring the forest and also did something nice for his sister in the process.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our house. It¡¯s getting late, maybe father will let us keep the rabbit as a pet, or else we can let it go,¡± said Drake.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± she nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s head ¨C¡±

    ¡°ROAR!¡±

    A sudden and loud roar interrupted them. It came from far away but was rapidly closing in.

    ¡°Quickly! Hide!¡± yelled Drake.

    The roars were becoming louder with each passing second.

    ¡®It is probably some kind of a demon or an oni,¡¯ thought Drake.

    It would take them at least half an hour to exit the forest even if they ran at full speed, there was no way they could outrun that thing. They could only hide and hope it doesn¡¯t notice them.

    Astoria exclaimed in fear, and she subconsciously released the rabbit. Sensing danger, the rabbit shot away. Drake dragged Astoria and ran in a different direction, trying to find a place to hide.

    ¡°ROAR!!!¡± came the voice, much closer this time.

    They couldn¡¯t run anymore.

    Drake found a large boulder and hid behind it.

    There was a loud thud, and the roars came to a stop.

    Squeak! Echoed a terrified voice, followed by the sound of something being crushed.

    The two could recognise that voice, it was the same voice that screeched as it tried to escape their hold. It was that poor rabbit.

    It was now dead!

    Drake could not believe his luck! He made extremely sure to stay well away from the lairs of any powerful creatures. He had seen how fast that rabbit could run so if something even faster than the rabbit was here, it could have only come from the depths of the forest.

    But why? Why now?

    Drake had no answers. He could only hope that it would go away.

    Slowly, and quietly, Drake peeked his head above the boulder. If he knew what kind of creature it was and what it was doing, he might be able to remember its weaknesses and use it to his advantage or find an opportunity to escape.

    Beside him, Astoria was gasping for breath, but the poor girl tried her best to be quiet.

    Little by little, Drake moved his head until his eyes were just able to see into the distance.

    What he saw was a seven-foot-tall monstrosity with the head of a bull and the body of a human. Its body was bulging with muscles, and one could feel that it had the strength to easily crush a human skull. Two large horns were poking out of its head and it was holding a half-eaten rabbit in its massive hands, while chewing loudly.

    Drake saw that and lost all hope.

    It was a minotaur.

    Minotaurs were one of the oni races. Unlike demons, all onis had a skill unique to their race. A minotaur had the berserk skill. When it used that skill, the speed, strength, and defence of its body will be boosted.

    The minotaur standing in front of Drake would normally take around a dozen experienced humans to fight against it, while he was just a five-year-old boy! He could definitely not fight it head-on. He had to hide and wait for it to leave, that¡¯s the only-

    ¡°AAAAH!¡± Astoria tried to catch a peek at the oni as well, but she had far less maturity than Drake. Upon seeing the fearsome minotaur, she inadvertently screamed at the top of her lungs.

    The minotaur stopped chewing and gazed toward them.

    ¡®Idiot!¡¯ Drake cursed, but he didn¡¯t have time to scold her. He didn¡¯t even want to give any instructions. He just wanted to run.

    Grabbing hold of a petrified Astoria, Drake ran at full speed. The minotaur huffed a puff of smoke and looked at them with bloodlust.

    However, it didn¡¯t move, it just stood there, eating the rabbit.

    ¡®How is this possible?¡¯ Drake thought. Could it be that it is not interested in us? Maybe it is already too full and tired to chase after them? Drake had no clue, but he didn¡¯t dare to slow down.

    ¡°ROAR!¡± boomed the voice after some time as it rapidly approached the two siblings. They were but children, how could they outrun the minotaur?

    Drake cursed in his mind while speeding up. The two were running carelessly, allowing various sharp branches to scratch and destroy their clothes. Some even wounded their tender skin resulting in bleeding gashes.

    But Drake couldn¡¯t care about that now, he had gotten a head start and he was going to use it. He was running rapidly while dragging his sister along.

    Even though Astoria was older, she was now terrified, and her body wouldn¡¯t obey her commands, making her slow down. However, Drake pulled her along with all his might, and given her own adrenaline rush, she barely managed to keep up.

    However, their desperate run couldn¡¯t match the speed of the minotaur. Even though they had a few minutes head start, the minotaur was extremely close. Drake could almost feel its heated killing intent on his back.

    He gritted his teeth and kept running before suddenly stopping in front of a cave. Without hesitation, he took a rock from the ground, chucked it inside, and fled. The cave¡¯s opening was large, but the rock¡¯s movement created loud echoes along the cave.

    Drake knew they couldn¡¯t outrun the minotaur. In fact, under normal circumstances, the minotaur would have caught up to them by now. However, the minotaur was slower than his predictions, and it didn¡¯t take him long to figure out why.

    The minotaur was injured!

    He wasn¡¯t sure when he looked earlier, but he saw a large gash on the back side of the minotaur¡¯s leg, oozing black blood. Drake didn¡¯t know if it was an injury and if so, how severe it was, but seeing that it was slower than his predictions, he realised that it was definitely a severe injury.

    That must be why it had left the forest depths. It was likely in a losing fight and had to run for its life. Due to that, it was also extremely hungry, making it prioritise eating rather than chasing them.

    Still, if it had used its berserk ability to boost its speed, it might have caught up. However, it underestimated the children in front and wanted to toy with them first.

    The cave was home to a powerful demon bear. Drake wanted to make the two fight and use that chance to escape. Since demons did not have unique abilities, they were generally weaker than onis of the same class.

    However, this minotaur was injured so Drake believed that the demon might still be powerful enough to buy them enough time to run. Of course, if the demon bear wasn¡¯t home now, then he could only curse his luck.

    Luckily a different roar quickly resounded from within the cave as a black fiend flew out. It noticed Drake and Astoria run away, but the minotaur was a far greater threat to its home, so it ignored them.

    The minotaur had just caught up when it was faced with the demon bear.

    The demon bear stood on its rear legs, making it taller than the minotaur. It stared viciously at the minotaur and roared. The minotaur had infringed upon its territory, this was an unforgivable crime!

    The minotaur didn¡¯t back down and roared back. Its body glowed red as it grew in height. Its muscles expanded so much that it looked like they were going to tear through its skin. Its claws grew several times longer and two large canines poked out of its mouth. It now stood even taller than the demon bear and looked far more fearsome.

    This was its Berserk ability!

    The demon bear was momentarily stunned but soon charged towards the minotaur.

    Drake was rejoicing at the success while Astoria finally realised that Drake had had a plan the whole time and that they had a chance to escape now.

    The two started to run even quicker.

    The minotaur stomped its feet into the ground. The demon bear pounced at the minotaur, but the minotaur reacted faster and caught the bear in a headlock, before smashing its head onto a tree. The bear roared in pain and struck out with its claws. By chance, its claws struck the wound on the minotaur¡¯s leg causing fresh blood to flow. The minotaur roared and its grip unconsciously loosed. The demon bear took the chance to break free and retreated.

    After a brief respite, the two beasts began fighting to the death once more.

    Many large projectiles were sent flying from their fight and some of them landed in the direction of the two children. They tried their best to dodge, however, they were extremely exhausted. Just as they dodged one boulder, a large tree came crashing down.

    Drake reacted instantly and pushed Astoria away. However, it was too late for him.

    The tree landed heavily on his leg.

    ¡°AAAAH!¡± screamed Drake.

    Astoria¡¯s face was aghast. ¡®OH MY GOD!¡¯ She wanted to scream but another voice interrupted her.

    ¡°Help me!¡± Drake yelled as he fought against the overwhelming pain and tried to lift the tree.

    ¡°Yes¡­ okay!¡± she replied and tried to lift; however, the tree didn¡¯t budge.

    Astoria stopped and panted for breath.

    ¡®What are we going to do now!?¡¯

    She felt like crying.

    What was supposed to be a casual walk with her brother had turned into a nightmare, and it was all her fault!

    ¡®If only I didn¡¯t want to chase after the rabbit, if only I didn¡¯t stupidly scream and attract the minotaur¡¯s attention, if only I had jumped out of the way of the falling tree myself¡­ this wouldn¡¯t have happened!¡¯

    To her utter amazement, Drake had come up with a plan at each moment, but now, that Drake was stuck under a tree!

    She couldn¡¯t rely on him for this, she had to finally make herself useful and move the tree ¨C but she couldn¡¯t!

    Astoria caught her breath and bent her knees, placing her hands at the bottom of the tree.

    ¡°MMMOOOOVVVVEEEEE!¡± she cried, but the tree wasn¡¯t budging.

    She was supposed to be responsible for him, yet he had been the one always protecting her!

    ¡®Why? Why am I so useless?¡¯ she yelled in her heart.

    She tried to move the tree with all her might but it was so heavy.

    ¡®Why? Why? Why? Why? Why can¡¯t I do anything right? Even though Drake is giving his all to protect me!¡¯

    Somehow, maybe as a result of her self-criticism, her emotional turmoil, the never-ending rush of adrenaline, or all of them combined, she felt a strong influx of strength.

    Slowly, she lifted the tree by a small distance. She couldn¡¯t maintain it for long, her hands were shaking, and her knees were about to collapse. But before that could happen, Drake dragged his leg out.

    Astoria dropped the tree and it landed with a loud thud. However, there was no time for rest. Who could say that another projectile wouldn¡¯t fly out? Or once the two monsters finished their fight, they might turn on them.

    Astoria resisted her urge to faint and helped Drake up to his feet. She put his arm around her waist, while she placed her own arm over his shoulder, allowing him to use her as a clutch to walk.

    The two started walking step by step. They were much slower now, but they couldn¡¯t give up.

    Drake felt like fainting but bit his lip and continued walking.

    ¡®Just a bit longer¡­¡¯ he thought. Only he knew the way to get out of here safely so he gave Astoria directions.

    Astoria was already completely lost, she had no idea how to go back home on her own, so she could only trust her little brother whom she believed could do anything.

    In the middle of nowhere, Drake told her to stop.

    ¡°What?¡± she asked confused.

    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± said Drake. ¡°Even if I could, it is already so late and by the time we make it, it will already be well into the night. The woods are far more dangerous at night. We should camp here.¡±

    He was in incredible pain, but he forced himself to focus on what was important.

    ¡°Here? Why here?¡± she asked bewildered.

    Drake didn¡¯t reply but just looked up at a tree. Astoria followed his gaze and what she saw was a tree house.

    ¡°When hunters come, sometimes they too would get into a situation where they can¡¯t return home easily. So, they built some camps around the forest to temporarily rest. They would wait there until help came to find them. This is one of them,¡± Drake explained.

    Astoria understood. She helped her little brother up the ladder before climbing up herself.

    They were now far away from where the minotaur and demon bear were fighting. So, she knew that they were relatively safe here.

    Thinking this, she immediately collapsed. Her mind and emotions had gone through too much today.

    Drake saw his sister fall asleep and he couldn¡¯t help but give a gentle smile before he too completely fainted. He had exerted every drop of strength he could muster. Now, all he could do was wait.

    ¡°Drake! Drake! Wake up!¡± yelled a voice.

    Drake slowly squinted his eyes open, his blurred vision making out a vague figure.

    ¡°Father!¡± he cried immediately.

    Not just his father, but his brother Elwin, along with a bunch of villagers were also there.

    ¡°Oh, Drake!¡± cried his father as he hugged him tightly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Drake yelped as his father unintentionally pressed his broken leg.

    Holt immediately stopped and apologised for his carelessness.

    Then, without saying a word, Holt moved his hands. They started glowing in a light green colour.

    A few seconds later, the light literally separated from his hands and converged into a small green ball of light. The light was initially bright, but it soon dimmed to reveal the petite figure of a small girl, whose size was no more than that of a thumb.

    She quickly moved towards Drake¡¯s leg and gently pressed with her hands. Immediately, his wounds started healing! The little girl, who could only be described as a fairy, was gracefully healing all his injuries before also treating his sister who had just woken up.

    ¡®This...¡± Drake mumbled.

    He knew what to call it, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so.

    How could he?

    He was a scientist in his previous life and a genius one at that. He was a very rational person, but, after everything he had been through, he had no choice but to accept the truth.

    This was magic!

 Chapter 12: Rescue

    A young boy was sitting in the front garden of a mansion. Inside his lower abdomen was an incorporeal black sphere of mana.

    But it was not black anymore.

    Most of the mana core was now white except for a small section which was now being eroded by a pool of mana crashing against it.

    After a few minutes, this final section broke away and was replaced by the same white material as the rest of the core.

    The completed structure started glowing brilliantly. Drops of mana started forming around the core and accumulating into a small spring.

    ¡°I¡¯ve reached the true mage realm!¡± Drake exclaimed.

    Ray opened his eyes and nodded his head in approval. Since it was the most basic stage, crossing the rogue mage realm was the easiest step. For someone with a single core aptitude, one month was a reasonable time given how much help Drake was receiving from Ray with his guidance and pills.

    ¡°Well done, Drake!¡± Ray complimented.

    Drake bowed to his master, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your guidance, master!¡±

    Ray smiled and was about to close his eyes to resume his cultivation but he was interrupted by Drake.

    ¡°Master, can you teach me to summon spirits now?¡±

    Ray looked at him curiously.

    I wonder how quickly he¡¯ll learn this ¡­

    A few days later

    ¡°What is going to happen to the intruder, master?¡± Astoria asked. She was now in Henry¡¯s room, serving him his meal on his table.

    ¡°As you know, he refused to give out any information till the very end. So, father has sentenced him to die. He will be executed tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°I see, that seems fitting for someone who tried to steal from you, master,¡± Astoria replied calmly.

    Henry started laughing.

    The treasury was not his property but belonged to the whole village and was headed by his father. Still, Astoria insinuating that the treasury was his, made him feel like he was the leader, and he became very happy.

    ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re right as always Astoria! People who try to steal from me should be taught a strict lesson, haha!¡± He laughed.

    ¡°Of course, master! I was wondering, master Henry, Lord Byron said that the intruder was stopped by a puppet along with the twin blades? Forgive my ignorant self, but I have never heard of a puppet before. Do you know what it is master?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I do!¡± Henry beamed. ¡°Puppets are not living beings. They are similar to a mage artifact, you can make them perform a specific task, anything from chores to fighting. For example, the puppet in the treasury is set to attack anyone who enters the treasury without an authentication badge.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh I see! You are so smart master, you know everything! Thank you for telling me, I have never heard of this before,¡± Astoria exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement as she fawned over Henry.

    ¡°Haha, no worries. It¡¯s no surprise that you don¡¯t know about this. Ever since the Grand Calamity, the knowledge to make puppets has been lost. The only puppets in existence now are the ones left over from that era. Hence, they¡¯re extremely rare,¡± he tried to reply casually.

    ¡°Wow master, you are really the most knowledgeable man I have ever met,¡± she said with a look of adoration. ¡°But I have another question master, if you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±

    ¡°Ask away!¡± Henry responded cheerfully, starting to eat his meal.

    ¡°Is it not possible for an intruder to create a fake authentication badge to trick the puppet in the future?¡± She asked worriedly as she refilled the side on Henry¡¯s plate.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Henry mumbled, stuffing himself. After gulping down the food, he continued, ¡°There are only three badges that the puppet is programmed to recognise and detect. So, if it doesn¡¯t detect one of those specific badges, then it will attack.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see that makes sense! So, I¡¯m guessing your father keeps all the authentication badges for safekeeping?¡± she asked innocently.

    ¡°No no, my father has one of the authentication badges, but the headmistress has the second badge. As for the third one¡­¡± Henry reached into his pocket with a smile and pulled out a small, circular, metallic disk with weird symbols carved on it.

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    ¡°Oh wow, master Henry! You have access to the village treasury?¡± Astoria asked in amazement.

    ¡°Of course! Who do you think I am? I am the future head of this village, it is only natural that I have these things,¡± Henry replied, nodding to agree with himself.

    ¡°Wow, master, you are actually too incredible!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a small thing,¡± Henry replied modestly.

    ¡°Still, I¡¯m glad no damage was done, master. But what if someone else tries to infiltrate the treasury? If a tempered body martial artist was able to open the treasury, sneaking past two steel body martial artists, then what if a steel body martial artist tries in the future? Is Lord Byron not going to increase the defences of the treasury?¡±

    ¡°Dad would like to do that, however, currently we just sent out some of our best martial artists for the expedition. And moreover, the outskirts of the Beast Woods are becoming more and more dangerous each day so we are having to dedicate more manpower to protecting our village and are also having to send out larger groups for hunting to make sure no accidents happen. Hence, there isn¡¯t much that we can do to increase the defences now. But after a few years, once the Beast Woods situation is dealt with, father will increase the defences.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see, that makes sense, Master Henry,¡± Astoria said with a cute smile as she refilled his glass of water.

    Later that night.

    Astoria tip-toed her way down to the prison. The village didn¡¯t keep many prisoners, so the security wasn¡¯t too tight here. Still, she didn¡¯t want to be spotted by all the prisoners and guards, so she kept to the shadows and hid behind corners whenever a guard was passing.

    Finally, she entered the location where Sam was kept.

    It was deep into the prison, and there were two guards always stationed in front of his cell. After running away the first day, she continued accompanying Henry during his interrogation of Sam. She watched the guards torture Sam without blinking.

    Did she like it? No. Was it still painful for her? Absolutely.

    However, she chose to watch anyway. Seeing him get tortured reinforced in her mind how cruel this world could be.

    If she wanted to survive, she had to be worse.

    So, every day after watching the guards interrogate Sam, she would then give the guards refreshments and compliment them for ¡®working¡¯ so hard. She would massage their arms and shoulders to make them feel better, so they could ¡®work¡¯ better the next day.

    She hated the guards to the core and was disgusted and repulsed by their very existence. Yet during their interactions, she acted like the sweetest, kindest, and most loving and innocent young girl she could.

    All for this moment.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± yelled the guards, unsheathing their swords upon hearing footsteps. It was quite dark so they couldn¡¯t see properly, but they couldn¡¯t let anyone through.

    They could see a figure forming in the darkness, carrying a dim lantern. They had their swords raised, ready to attack.

    Out stepped Astoria.

    Looking at the guards with their swords ready to cut her apart, she was startled and almost fell over.

    ¡°Sorry! It¡¯s just me!¡±

    ¡°Miss Olivia!¡± gasped the guards and one of them immediately rushed to support her and prevent her from falling.

    ¡°What are you doing here at this time?¡± asked the second guard confused.

    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t tend to you this afternoon as usual since I was very busy, which is why I wanted to make up for it now,¡± she said taking out two loaves of bread and some fruits.

    ¡°Oh Miss Olivia, you needn¡¯t trouble yourself for us!¡± said the guard closest to her, but he took the food anyway because he was starving.

    Both the guards dropped their swords and started munching the food like hungry wolves, feeling grateful.

    ¡°Thank you very much miss!¡± the second one said.

    ¡°Yes, thank you. This food is deli-¡± The first guard stopped halfway and started coughing.

    ¡°Ha! Eat slowly if you don¡¯t wanna choke on your own food, stupid,¡± the other guard mocked.

    But he didn¡¯t stop coughing, and the coughing only became worse.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong? Are you ok-¡±

    Suddenly, the second guard started coughing too. Then the first guard collapsed to his knees and coughed out blood. He finally realised what happened and looked at Astoria in disbelief.

    ¡°What¡­ did¡­ you¡­ do¡­?¡± he gasped, trying to reach out for Astoria.

    However, she just stood there calmly with a smile as she watched the light fade from his eyes. His hands numbly fell to the floor.

    Soon the other guard fell to his knees too, but he was resisting.

    Astoria placed her lantern on the floor and slowly walked to the unconscious guard. She picked up his sword and then, with the same smile on her face, stabbed him in the throat.

    Blood splashed all over her lower body.

    The remaining guard who was barely alive didn¡¯t know how to make sense of this. He wanted to scream but no words would come out. He saw Astoria pull the sword out of his friend and look at him with a smile.

    The same smile that she always gave him. Before, he found her smile to be beautiful and refreshing. However, now, as she walked over to him with that same smile, and a bloody sword dragging across the floor behind her, he was terrified.

    That smile¡­ that was the smile of the devil!

    Whoosh!

    That was the last thought he had before Astoria swung the sword across his neck.

    Blood squirted all over her body, arms, face, neck, everywhere.

    She didn¡¯t have the strength to behead him in one go. So, she used all her strength to remove the sword, before swinging it again. And again.

    And again.

    Each time she struck, more blood squirted out. Finally, his head separated and rolled in front of her feet. She spat on his dead face and stomped on it with her foot.

    This commotion woke Sam who was previously unconscious. After so many days of torture, he had already given up. He had no will to live. He just wanted one good night''s rest before being put to rest forever.

    So, he was surprised to hear a commotion outside his prison cell. The single lantern on the floor provided dim lighting to the dark prison. And just waking up meant his eyes were blurry. It took a few seconds for him to adjust.

    But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

    The girl he was all too familiar with was standing outside, looking at him longingly.

    But in that moment, she didn¡¯t look like the pure, innocent girl he knew.

    Covered in blood, with two dead bodies on the floor, a bloody sword in hand, a severed head under her foot, and with a deathly smile to boot - she looked like a goddess of death.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to save you!¡±

 Chapter 13: Suspicious headmistress

    ¡°HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?¡±

    Byron was furious.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know, my lord, we are very sorry!¡±

    Two guards were kneeling in fear in front of Byron.

    ¡°Useless fools!¡± he said, grabbing them by the throat and lifting them into the air.

    ¡°Please¡­ my lord! It¡¯s not¡­ our fault!¡±

    ¡°Then. Whose. Fault. Is. It.¡± Byron asked slowly, emphasising each word.

    ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t¡­ know¡­¡±

    ¡°THEN FIND OUT!¡± he yelled, throwing them across the room as if they were garbage.

    Someone had snuck into the mansion, killed the two soldiers guarding Sam¡¯s prison, used their keys to release him, and helped him escape the mansion, all under their noses!

    What the hell was the point of these useless buffoons!

    Standing behind Byron, to his right was the headmistress trying to calm him down, while to the left was Henry, behind whom was Astoria. She stood there calmly as always while enjoying the chaos.

    Sam had been surprised to see her, but she didn¡¯t have time to answer any questions. She released him and brought him out of his cell. She gave him a healing pill she brought from her own village and gave it to Sam to help him recover from his wounds.

    Once he was healed, the two escaped through a route that Astoria had already planned and managed to leave before anyone found out.

    They both ran far away to the edge of the city, where Astoria gave Sam some money to stay in a nearby inn and told him to wait until she contacted him. Then, changing her clothes, she returned to the mansion and snuck back into her room as if nothing happened.

    ¡°This is UNBELIEVABLE!¡±

    ¡°Please, calm down Lord Byron,¡± the headmistress consoled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to calm down! How can you calm down when you¡¯re surrounded by a bunch of idiots!?¡± he yelled as he punched a wall, leaving a huge crack.

    ¡°If I find out who did this, I swear I will rip them apart!¡± Byron stormed off and the headmistress was about to follow but was stopped by Henry.

    ¡°Leave father to me, I¡¯ll take care of him,¡± he said before running after him.

    Astoria tried to quickly follow him too but was pulled back by the headmistress.

    ¡°You, wait!¡±

    ¡°Yes, headmistress?¡± Astoria asked innocently.

    ¡°Where were you last night?¡±

    ¡°I was just in my room.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why did I see you enter the mansion from outside late at night then?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I was struggling to fall asleep, so I just went out for a breath of fresh air.¡±

    The headmistress was silent.

    ¡°A few days ago, on the day when the intruder arrived, you changed the food for Master and Miss Langston guarding the gates, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about headmistress?¡± Astoria asked puzzled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, you bitch!¡± the headmistress yelled, slapping her across the face.

    ¡°Ah, headmistress! Please I¡¯m innocent, I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± she started crying, looking at the headmistress with fear.

    The headmistress was puzzled.

    She knew how strong martial artists were, so she didn¡¯t understand how a tempered body martial artist could get past two steel body martial artists, even with the element of surprise. So, she interrogated the twin blades separately.

    They finally confessed to the headmistress that they had fallen asleep and begged her not to tell Byron for fear of what he would do to them for being complacent.

    The headmistress agreed but she was even more confused.

    It was not normal for steel body martial artists to randomly fall asleep out of tiredness like that. Or at least, that¡¯s what she thought. But everyone was working hard to defend the village in recent times and being as strong as they are, they were often sent on dangerous hunting trips. Hence, it did seem reasonable for them to become very tired occasionally.

    Still, something didn¡¯t feel right for her.

    As she was pondering this, she saw the slave servant of the twin blades tending to some injuries. She questioned him on how he got hurt when he revealed to her everything about what happened with Astoria. She immediately became very suspicious of Astoria and was watching her carefully.

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    But to her surprise, Astoria visited the interrogation of the intruder every day. Not only did she visit the interrogation, but she also watched as he was brutally tortured, and was even friendly with the guards who were torturing him! If she really had a relationship with the intruder, there was no way she would be able to do that.

    Hence, she convinced herself that she was just overthinking things and left the issue.

    But then this happened.

    It was impossible for an outsider to infiltrate and save the prisoner so smoothly. It had to be someone who knew the workings of the mansion inside out.

    Even if by luck someone entered unnoticed, their fight with the guards should have alerted the other guards in the prison. The only way a fight wouldn¡¯t alert any guards was if it ended instantly, that is to say, the guards were killed instantly.

    But seeing the remains of the battle, the guards were wounded multiple times, so that clearly wasn¡¯t the case. So why did they not raise the alarm when fighting?

    There was only one other possibility she could think of - there must have been no fight at all!

    The guards must have not felt the need to fight whoever had attacked them. Then, once they were close, they quickly backstabbed and killed both of them before they could do anything.

    And who was the most suspicious person that the guards trusted, that could trick and betray them like that?

    Astoria.

    No one fit all the criteria as much as she did.

    So, she confronted her.

    However, looking at Astoria now, crying like she had been wronged, the headmistress wanted to believe her. She wanted to believe Astoria was innocent.

    She didn¡¯t like her at first, but she had seen her work very hard to serve Henry and he was much better once she came into the picture. Astoria was a very hardworking and exceptional maid servant who always did as she was told.

    Hence, she wanted to believe that she was innocent.

    However, the headmistress was old. She had seen so many fights and betrayals in her life to spot a poisonous snake when she saw one.

    And all her instincts were telling her that this young girl in front of her was no pure, innocent angel. Those eyes were crying tears of deception.

    She was sure of it. But she had no proof. No proof at all.

    Ignoring her crying, the headmistress approached Astoria coldly.

    ¡°You listen to me very carefully young lady. If I find out that you had anything, ANYTHING, to do with this, I promise you, I will make you regret ever being born.¡±

    Astoria listened and every word she said made her more terrified. Once the headmistress finished, she just started crying more loudly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t do anything I swear, please don¡¯t hurt me, I¡¯m scared!¡± she begged.

    The headmistress was at a loss. If she wasn¡¯t always suspicious of her, seeing her performance now, she would be convinced that Astoria was innocent.

    But nothing could convince her now. Not unless they found the actual culprit.

    The headmistress scoffed and walked away, leaving Astoria crying on the floor.

    Once the headmistress left, the crying stopped. The tears on her face were replaced with an eerie smile.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do to me, you old hag!¡±

    ¡­

    Summoning spirits was much more difficult than summoning artifacts. Drake had no prior knowledge or understanding of spirits at all. So, he was reading the spell scroll in his hand intently.

    It was a spell to summon a light spirit. Over the past few days, he had tried dozens of times to summon one and failed repeatedly.

    Ray saw this and breathed a sigh of relief. If he could summon numerous spirits too on his first try, the same way he could with artifacts, Drake would really be a monster.

    Drake closed his eyes and felt the mana spring in his inner realm. He focused on the mana and willed them to activate the spell.

    Cough! Cough!

    He failed again.

    From his understanding, there were two main stages to summoning a spirit - forming the body and carving the rune.

    The body of the spirit could be anything, humanoid, animalistic, or something else. The rune is what gave the spirit the ability to manipulate the elements.

    Spirits did not have a physical body and relied on mana to survive. But the mana supplied by the mage had to be able to flow through the body of the spirit properly for it to exist. So, to create a stable spirit body, one needed to create pathways for mana to flow through the body of the spirit in question, kind of like how blood flowed through the human body.

    This was the first hurdle. Depending on what form the body had, the exact nature and distribution of the mana pathways had to be different, meaning there were essentially endless different variations of spirit bodies and mana pathways possible.

    The second hurdle was the rune. Runes were complex symbols which essentially encoded a bunch of information. When mana passed through a rune, it would produce a specific effect. For example, passing mana through a fireball rune would convert the mana to fire, make the shape into a ball of a certain size, and make it fly in a particular direction at a given speed.

    The information on how to do this was all encoded within the rune. So, changing the rune slightly might cause a completely different kind of effect to occur.

    For example, if the section of the rune corresponding to the size of the ball was altered it may produce a very huge fireball. However, producing fireballs of that size would consume a huge amount of mana which a simple rune won¡¯t be able to contain, so such a rune would just not work.

    If a rune corresponded to an unfeasible spell, it would become unstable and cause the entire spirit to collapse.

    Sometimes, even if it was stable, the spell the rune produced might be ineffective in battle.

    For example, if the rune was altered to produce a really small fireball that moved very slowly, you could summon a simple spirit that would be able to create those fireballs, but that would be useless.

    In this way, only a certain combination of factors was feasible and possible to be encoded into a rune. Given all the different factors and information encoded in the rune, and how they all had to be in specific combinations, the number of variations that each rune could have was huge.

    Finally, when carving the rune onto the body of the spirit, the mana pathways in the spirit''s body had to accommodate the rune. The pathways had to be denser where they were closer to the rune, so the spirit could provide the rune with sufficient mana to activate it. If any part of the rune was altered, the mana pathways close to the rune also needed to be changed accordingly for everything to work.

    So, all of these had to be executed with absolute perfection to summon a spirit. The exact nature of the rune, the spirit body, the position of the rune in the spirit body, and the necessary mana pathways to power the rune and the spirit body, all had to be created without even the slightest error.

    Ordinarily, people would just learn the perfect combination through trial and error. However, Drake did not like this method. He took the time to analyse why he failed every time he did and learnt from the process.

    Hence, he spent a long time experimenting by changing different components of the rune to understand how it all worked.

    I won¡¯t give up, Drake thought, as he continued cultivating to recover from the backlash.

 Chapter 14: I love you!

    Two weeks later.

    The entire village was thoroughly searched.

    ¡°Did they catch the culprit yet, master?¡± asked Astoria, sitting next to Henry.

    ¡°No, unfortunately, no,¡± he said, shaking his head. But he wasn¡¯t interested in her question. He was too busy admiring her beauty instead.

    Astoria recognised that gaze. It was the same gaze that those two drunkards had given her when they tried to assault her on the first day she visited the village.

    It was a gaze she hated.

    But she smiled through her disgust.

    ¡°Oh, they have already searched the entire western part and southern parts of the village, where else could he be hiding?¡± she asked curiously.

    ¡°Well for the next week, they will be searching the eastern region. They have also strengthened the defences on the village walls. The guards did not report any man with the appearance of the intruder leaving, so he and his helper must still be within the village.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll catch him eventually master, but what if he comes back to steal from the treasury again? Are they not going to increase its defences still?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± laughed Henry, placing his arm around her.

    Astoria wanted to chop his hand off, but she smiled.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way he would dare to come back to this mansion and even if he does, I¡¯ll protect you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master, you are so kind!¡± she replied.

    Henry laughed and moved his hand down her waist. As he reached her thighs, she suddenly got up.

    ¡°I just remembered something that the headmistress asked me to do, please excuse me, master!¡±

    He wanted to stop her, telling her that he would deal with the headmistress but then stopped himself.

    ¡®Maybe she¡¯s just not ready yet,¡¯ he thought to himself. ¡®She will be one day; I¡¯ll just wait for a bit.¡¯

    In this way, during the search, Astoria would get information from Henry on where the search party was and would tip Sam off. They would occasionally meet and continue discussing how they could get the Zenith pill recipe, making a more detailed plan this time.

    But what Astoria did not know was that she was being followed.

    The headmistress hired someone to follow her due to her suspicions. Astoria was wary of the headmistress so did not meet Sam directly in any public places.

    She would mention the relevant information in a letter, give it to a homeless boy and pay him money to deliver it to Sam. She would also pay them to run some other errands for her. Otherwise, it would look too suspicious if someone noticed that she always only asked homeless boys to deliver a message to a strange man.

    When she wanted to meet Sam personally, she would inform him beforehand through a homeless boy to book a room in a particular inn under a particular name. Later that night, she would visit the inn, ask the inn owner what room that person was in, and she would directly talk to Sam in that room, where no one could see or hear her.

    The headmistress¡¯ spy noticed these behaviours.

    He wanted to pay the homeless boy to deliver the letters to him instead, but Astoria would use a different boy each time and he didn¡¯t know who the boy would be beforehand to bribe him.

    Helpless, the spy followed some of the homeless boys and saw that they would occasionally meet with a suspicious-looking man. The spy then followed that man, only to notice him entering an inn. He asked the innkeeper for the man¡¯s name, but it was a different man each time, or at least, the names were different.

    At night, the spy would notice Astoria also visiting the same inn, and enter the same room as those shady men.

    After observing all of this, the spy reported his findings back to the headmistress.

    If her actions combined with the circumstances didn¡¯t make Astoria look so suspicious, simply her meeting random shady men alone at night in private rooms¡­ would have led the spy and the headmistress to a whole other conclusion on what Astoria was up to.

    However, the headmistress dismissed that idea. Astoria had only begun moving this suspiciously after the prisoner escaped and a village-wide search was ordered.

    Looking at the pattern of when the boy would meet the strange man and comparing it to the pattern of the search party¡¯s movements, it made sense for her to conclude that that man might be the intruder and Astoria was tipping him off.

    What are you up to Olivia Higson?

    She had seen enough. The headmistress directly confronted Henry one day when he was alone in his room.

    ¡°Yes, headmistress? How can I help you?¡±

    ¡°I want to talk to you about your servant, Olivia Higson, young master,¡± the headmistress said politely.

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    ¡°Oh, what is it? Speak!¡± he said curiously.

    So, the headmistress took a deep breath.

    Astoria was just returning to Henry¡¯s room, but she stopped upon hearing a familiar voice. She slowed down and placed her ear close to the door to listen in.

    The headmistress voiced all her suspicions. From how she was unable to locate her family in the south, to how she would often ask strange questions about the treasury, and how the guards of the treasury had actually fallen asleep and Astoria had changed their food on that same day, how she thought Astoria would have been the perfect person to release the intruder, and how she entered her room late that night, and how she had recently been paying homeless boys to deliver messages to a suspicious man and how she would visit the rooms of random people.

    Astoria was horrified, she didn¡¯t realise how close this woman had gotten to the truth!

    The more Henry heard, the more he frowned and the more serious he became. After she finished, he didn¡¯t say anything for a long while.

    ¡°Do you have proof?¡± he asked simply.

    The headmistress sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t young master. But I¡¯m sure she¡¯s that man¡¯s helper! Everything only started going wrong once she came!¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± yelled Henry, slamming the table and standing up to face the headmistress.

    The headmistress and Astoria were taken aback.

    ¡°You should know better than anyone how hard Olivia works at her job and how well she takes care of me. All you have is speculation and circumstantial evidence at best. If anyone else had accused her of such grave crimes without proof, I would have had them punished severely!¡±

    The headmistress was speechless, but Henry continued.

    ¡°Look, Headmistress Lydia Greyrat. You have worked so hard for my family for so long and I know you have my best interests at heart. However, all you have are speculations. So, her family isn¡¯t famous in her neighbourhood? Doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s lying. Olivia asks me many questions about many things all the time, but she¡¯s a young girl from a poor neighbourhood, so it¡¯s only natural that everything is new to her and she¡¯s curious about it. And a lot of it is just to understand me better so she can better serve me which you can see from her actions.¡±

    ¡°And you really think she drugged the guards to make them fall asleep? What would she get from that? Even if she did steal something from the treasury, what could she do with it? If she tried to sell it in the village, we can easily trace it. She¡¯d get nothing from stealing apart from losing her job and a death sentence. Who would want to take such a big risk for a quick buck? She¡¯s not an idiot. And you believe she murdered the guards? Did you not see how gruesomely the guards were stabbed and beheaded? Do you think she is capable of something like that? This is just ridiculous. And what she does privately and who she meets is none of our business.¡±

    The headmistress was at a loss for words. Indeed, without proof, all her suspicions could be explained away. Was she just overthinking everything after all?

    No! If what she needed was proof, then she¡¯d get it. Once and for all, she¡¯ll find proof of Astoria¡¯s treachery and convince Henry, or see the lack thereof, and convince herself that she was just overcomplicating everything.

    ¡°I apologise, young master. Please excuse me,¡± the headmistress replied politely with a bow.

    Henry sighed and sat back down.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Please don¡¯t talk to me about this again. You may leave!¡±

    Outside, Astoria quickly ran and hid behind a corner.

    She peeked and watched coldly as the headmistress left.

    This woman is in my way¡­

    After some time, Astoria calmed down and returned to Henry¡¯s bedroom.

    She bowed to Henry and silently started cleaning the bedroom with a million thoughts racing through her mind.

    This headmistress was too dangerous!

    She had to deal with her somehow, but how? Poison? She couldn¡¯t access her food. Hire an assassin? But she couldn¡¯t afford one and there were too many ways for it to go wrong. Maybe she could silently kill her at night?

    No!

    ¡®If something happened to the headmistress as soon as she started voicing concern about me, even someone as stupid as Henry would become suspicious!¡¯ she thought.

    She couldn¡¯t do anything to the headmistress now.

    No, she just had to work quickly, get the pill recipe, and leave this hellhole.

    The search party was going strong for two more weeks.

    ¡°So, after all that, you still couldn¡¯t find them?¡± Byron asked coldly.

    The guards hung their heads in shame.

    ¡°Useless, useless, USELESS!¡± Byron screamed.

    It took a few seconds for him to catch his breath.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, call it off.¡±

    ¡°My Lord?¡± the guard asked surprised.

    ¡°What? If you have more time, do you think you can find them?¡±

    The guard looked down again.

    ¡°Humph! We have wasted too much time and resources on this already. If it weren¡¯t for the two guards being killed, I might have called it off sooner. But if we haven¡¯t found him for this long, then it is likely that he and his helper have left the village already.¡±

    ¡°But my lord if so-¡±

    ¡°If so, what?¡± Byron snapped. ¡°You incompetent idiots would have spotted them at the gate and stopped them, would you? WOULD YOU? You couldn¡¯t even spot them running around in our own mansion!¡±

    The guard who spoke hung his head in shame again.

    ¡°I said call it off, that is my final order.¡±

    Later, in Henry¡¯s room.

    ¡°So, they finally gave up, master?¡± Astoria asked.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Henry sighed and leaned back on his bed. ¡°I did not think that they would actually get away.¡±

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll come back, master?¡± Astoria asked timidly, clutching her broom.

    Henry got up laughing. ¡°Those cowards don¡¯t have the guts. And even if they do, I already told you right? I will protect you!¡±

    Astoria relaxed greatly upon hearing his words, but then she became worried again.

    ¡°You are kind as always master. However, it is not proper for you to risk your life for a lowly servant like me. If anything, should those intruders arrive, I will be your meat shield!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Henry yelled.

    Astoria jumped back, startled.

    Henry got up and approached her confidently. He took the broom from her hands and chucked it away. Then, he took her palm in his and placed the other hand on her hip.

    Get off me you piece of shit!

    ¡°Don¡¯t ever say that, Olivia. You are much more important to me than just as a servant, I hope you know that already.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Astoria blushed and looked down shyly at her feet. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what master means by that.¡±

    Henry released her hand and lifted her chin up to make eye contact.

    ¡°It means, I love you, Olivia.¡±

    I want to puke!

    Astoria pushed him away and backed up against the wall.

    ¡°What is master saying? A lowly servant like me, I am not worthy, master, I¡¯m not worthy.¡±

    ¡°You are, Olivia. I meant what I said. I-¡± Before he could finish the sentence, Astoria tried to run but Henry grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Please wait. It is okay if you genuinely don¡¯t like me, I won¡¯t force you. But if you have feelings for me too-¡±

    Who has feelings for you, you arrogant pig!

    ¡°-then just let me know. I will deal with my father and everyone else. I will fight the whole world if that¡¯s what it takes for us to be together.¡±

    Astoria hesitated. ¡°Living with master forever¡­¡± she muttered under her breath in a dreamy tone, as if she was mesmerised by the idea.

    ¡°But it is not possible for master to fight everyone. I cannot possibly expect master to take such a huge risk for me,¡± she said defiantly.

    Henry pulled her closer to him again.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll run away. You just need to say the word and I will drop everything and run away with you in an instant. We can go anywhere you want and start a brand-new life together. Just you, and me.¡±

    Astoria blushed and looked away shyly once again. Then she freed herself from his grip and ran towards the door, but stopped just as she reached it.

    ¡°If master is serious¡­ then I will think about it and let you know.¡±

    Without waiting for a response, she left.

    What an idiot.

 Chapter 15: The heist

    That night, a shady figure crept into the manor through the back door once again. This time, the figure was carrying a heavy-looking bag.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of money,¡± Astoria whispered, closing the door behind Sam.

    ¡°It¡¯s what we need.¡±

    They slowly went upstairs to Henry¡¯s room.

    Astoria had mixed some sleeping pills into Henry¡¯s food to make sure he would not wake up easily. They hid the money bag in his room and took his treasury room badge. Astoria also took Henry¡¯s dagger.

    The duo arrived in the tunnels again.

    Sam took out several objects from his pockets. First, he took out two masks. He gave one to Astoria before putting one on himself.

    Then, he took out a round stone. It was a rank one artifact that he had spent a lot of money to buy. Stored within the stone was a colourless, odourless, but intoxicating gas.

    Sam poured some mana into the artifact making it glow gently, before throwing it forwards. The stone seemed to melt and disappear into the air, but they knew that the gas had been released into the air.

    They weren¡¯t sure if it would be strong enough to affect two steel body martial artists. The seller had guaranteed them that it would, but obviously, they couldn¡¯t take his word for it. So, they originally bought one for Sam to try out on himself.

    The gas had knocked him out in a few seconds. After Astoria woke him up, the duo thought that even if the gas didn¡¯t have as much of an effect on perfect-stage steel body martial artists, it should at least be able to dull their senses and their minds.

    At least, they hoped that it would. It was a gamble, but they had no other choice. So, they bought another one and came here.

    They waited for five minutes for the gas to be fully released. There was no change from the guards, but they couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    Astoria looked at Sam and they nodded at each other. Sam stayed back and Astoria approached on her own, wearing a hooded cloak.

    ¡°Who goes there!?¡± asked the twin blades as they saw her approach.

    They were feeling slightly drowsy as if they had just woken up and weren¡¯t able to see or think clearly. Due to the dim lighting, they could not see the face of the visitor very well as well.

    However, the person handed them a badge.

    It took a few seconds, but the guards managed to identify the badge and relaxed.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just young master Henry, please feel free to enter,¡± they said, returning the badge to Astoria, not thinking much of it.

    She nodded and went into the treasury.

    Finally, she was here!

    Ten minutes later.

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± the headmistress asked.

    ¡°The suspicious man that Miss Olivia was meeting, I have been following him for a while and trying to discover his identity, but he has always been slippery. However, I saw him enter the mansion now. Someone opened the door and let him in!¡±

    ¡°What? You¡¯re telling me that that man is here?¡± the headmistress gasped.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    There was no doubt about it, he must have been the same intruder as before, and that someone who let him in, she had a very good idea of who that person was.

    The headmistress immediately left.

    I must stop them!

    After Astoria entered, she began searching. The treasury wasn¡¯t large, but it took a while to search through the many boxes and items.

    She couldn¡¯t find the pill recipe anywhere!

    Astoria frantically looked around, before spotting one last, medium-sized, luxurious-looking box, placed in the corner of a shelf. It was locked and a key was placed on top.

    She opened the box to see its contents.

    A grand-looking scroll was placed inside. She took the scroll out and opened it.

    It really was the Zenith pill recipe! She finally got what she came for!

    Deciding to leave, she pocketed that box and a few other valuable items on her way back.

    Once she left the treasury, she nodded at the guards and kept her head low as she left.

    ¡°Do you feel that the young master was acting strange just now?¡± Georgina asked George, as she slowly recovered from her drowsiness.

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re just imagining things,¡± he replied, and they both dismissed the weird feeling.

    Astoria inwardly laughed as she quickly met up with Sam.

    The duo walked back towards the exit, but they had to stop halfway.

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    ¡°I would love to hear you explain yourself out of this one!¡± the headmistress said coldly.

    It was undeniable now. She had caught them red-handed. Master Henry had to believe her now.

    It¡¯s this old hag again.

    ¡°Headmistress please, just listen to me,¡± said Astoria, stepping forward.

    ¡°I am listening, and soon, so will master Henry and lord Byron. And then the entire village will hear you both scream as you are publicly executed for your treachery!¡± she said coldly.

    Astoria stepped forward again, ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to get to that, headmistress.¡±

    ¡°Of course it does!¡± she exclaimed.

    Astoria went closer once more.

    ¡°Let me rephrase then. It won¡¯t get to that, headmistress.¡±

    The headmistress was getting a bad feeling now.

    ¡°What do you mean by that? Wait stay back! Stop getting so close!¡± she exclaimed, retreating backwards.

    But Astoria stepped even closer.

    ¡°What I mean is this,¡± she said, reaching into her pocket.

    ¡°I will not allow that to happen!¡±

    The headmistress¡¯ eyes widened upon hearing that reply, and before she could react, Astoria was right in front of her and she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

    The headmistress looked down in horror at a dagger stabbing into her chest, held in the smiling hands of a young girl.

    The headmistress was already old, so she could not survive such an injury. Astoria removed the dagger and the headmistress collapsed onto the floor, in a pool of her own blood, splashing some blood all over Astoria¡¯s clothes.

    Sam was stunned.

    Before he could figure out an escape plan, the headmistress was already dead.

    He had never met such a ruthless person before!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Astoria exclaimed before running towards the exit again.

    However, just as they were about to leave, they were stopped once again. This time, by a strange man wrapped in dark clothes, looking like a ninja.

    The headmistress¡¯ dog has delivered itself to my feet.

    The man was startled to see Astoria and Sam. He was sure that the headmistress went this way, but she was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡®Then that must mean¡­¡¯

    He looked at the duo and noticed the blood on the girl¡¯s hands and clothes. The spy had a moment of realisation and immediately turned around and fled.

    He was just a spy! He wasn¡¯t even a martial artist.

    Astoria already guessed that would be the case.

    Martial artists were fighters, not spies and even if they were, hiring them would be too expensive for a headmistress. He was just an ordinary human who had the skills of a spy. So, he could not defeat these two, or rather, he could not defeat Sam.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Astoria yelled.

    Sam obeyed, drawing his sword and chasing after him.

    There was no comparison between a martial artist and a non-martial artist. Sam caught up within a second and plunged his sword directly into the spy¡¯s chest. The spy coughed out blood, and then Sam removed the sword, causing him to collapse onto the floor, dead.

    ¡°Well done, now let¡¯s go!¡± Astoria exclaimed.

    The duo finally exited the tunnels and reached the mansion gate. Astoria gave Sam the Zenith pill recipe that she stole from the treasury.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± she said to Sam.

    ¡°You too!¡± he replied before leaving.

    After seeing him off, Astoria closed the door and headed back into the mansion.

    In Henry¡¯s room, Astoria carefully replaced the badge into his pocket.

    She washed the dagger but made sure to leave some bloody stains on it. Then, she sheathed and returned it to Henry¡¯s side.

    Afterwards, she took out the money bag she had hidden previously and dragged it into the centre of the room. She hid the remaining treasures she stole in the money bag. Completing that, she spent some time packing away Henry¡¯s things, and then changed out of her bloody clothes into clean ones and hid the bloody clothes in a corner.

    Finally, she took a deep breath and approached Henry.

    Henry was dreaming about his life with Astoria. He was living in a small house with a huge outdoor field. His wife, Astoria, was standing next to him, laying her head on his shoulder, as they both watched their children playing in their field through the windows.

    Suddenly, Astoria looked towards him.

    ¡°Master Henry! Master Henry! Wake up!¡±

    Huh?

    ¡°Wake up, Master Henry, wake up!¡±

    Henry awoke in a panic, stupefied.

    ¡°Olivia? What are you doing in my room this late? Did something happen?¡±

    Astoria stopped and looked towards her feet shyly.

    ¡°I was thinking about what master said earlier¡­¡±

    Henry immediately realised what she was talking about and focused all his attention on her.

    ¡°And¡­?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    That was her response.

    ¡°You are¡­ okay with marrying me?¡± Henry asked again, unable to believe what he was hearing.

    Astoria just shyly nodded, looking at the floor. Then she became determined and looked into his eyes.

    ¡°I already have a plan that we can use to run away if master is interested.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Henry asked seriously.

    Astoria stepped sideways, revealing a bag behind her.

    ¡°Master, I spoke to everyone I knew and collected as much money as I could. I combined it with all the money I had saved up and this is what I got. With this, we can surely start a new life in some place far away!¡± she said excitedly.

    Henry gasped in surprise. The bag came up to his knee and was equally as wide.

    There was a small fortune in there!

    ¡°How did you get so much money?¡± he asked surprised.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything later master. But first, you need to leave. Take this money and go to the eastern gate of the village. You will see an old, abandoned building. Stay there and wait for me. The security is more relaxed in that area. I will meet you and we can run away!¡±

    ¡°Why can you not come with me now?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I still have some unfinished business,¡± she said vaguely, looking at the floor again.

    Henry didn¡¯t want to press her anymore.

    ¡°Okay I just need to pack my things and then I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    ¡°Already done master!¡± she said, pointing to a small suitcase. ¡°I have also arranged for your horse to be waiting outside the mansion gates. You can leave immediately!¡±

    ¡°Wow, you really thought this through Olivia, I¡¯m impressed!¡± Henry replied.

    I have thought and planned much more than you can imagine! Astoria laughed internally.

    ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do¡­¡± Astoria replied shyly again.

    Henry approached and hugged her. She was taken by surprise.

    ¡°I am so happy right now Olivia,¡± he spoke softly. ¡°You made the right decision. I promise I will take care of you.¡±

    Saying so, he kissed her on the cheek. Astoria was frozen as she watched Henry take the bags.

    ¡°Meet me as soon as you can,¡± he said before closing the door behind him.

    Astoria watched him leave.

    This guy¡­ he actually loves me.

    She knew she had zero feelings for Henry. In fact, she found his arrogance and short temper annoying. Beyond that, what he did to Sam¡¯s girlfriend Nala, and the way he tortured Sam, made her hate him.

    Yet¡­ despite all his faults, he always did treat her well. Sure, it might have been because he had a crush on her from the start, but still, he was good to her. And to hurt someone who was always good to you, who loved you, was not easy.

    ¡®Am I doing the right thing?¡¯ she asked herself.

    ¡®No! I have come too far! I cannot be weak anymore!¡¯ Astoria steeled her resolve. ¡®I must do what needs to be done. For me, and my family. Who is he anyway? Just a dumb, fat, idiot.¡¯

    Astoria quickly regained her composure and then sat on the bed. She waited around half an hour. Then, she changed back into her bloody clothes and left.

    She went directly to Byron¡¯s room and knocked heavily.

    ¡°LORD BYRON! PLEASE WAKE UP!¡±

    Byron was a martial artist who had cultivated the undying body too. So, he had a keen sense of hearing. He woke up from his sleep confused but recognised the urgency in her voice and ran to open the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happ-¡± he stopped in shock mid-sentence when he saw her bloody clothes. ¡°What the hell happened?¡±

    ¡°Lord Byron, you¡¯ll never believe me, but I have to tell you the truth. Your son, Master Henry, stole from the village treasury, killed the headmistress, and ran away!¡±

 Chapter 16: Lies!

    ¡°What in the nine hells are you talking about!?¡± Byron yelled.

    Astoria became scared and started shivering. Byron saw her pitiful figure and relaxed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for yelling, please explain what you mean clearly.¡±

    Astoria wiped her tears and began.

    ¡®A good lie is mostly true,¡¯ she told herself.

    ¡°The headmistress told me about her suspicions. The way someone evaded all the soldiers, killed the two guards quietly, released the intruder, and fled without anyone escaping, it was impossible for someone to do that unless they knew all the ins and outs of the mansion.¡±

    Byron frowned.

    ¡°One day, the headmistress approached me and asked if I noticed anything unusual about master Henry. I asked her what she meant, and she asked me whether master Henry would do or meet anyone suspicious. I said I didn¡¯t know anything about that since my duties were just to clean master Henry¡¯s room and tend to his needs. She told me to be careful around master Henry and left.¡±

    Byron frowned deeper.

    ¡°Then one day, two weeks ago, I heard the headmistress confronting master Henry. I don¡¯t know exactly what they talked about, but master Henry got very mad at the headmistress, and she ran away in a panic. I asked the headmistress what happened afterwards, and she told me that she had been using someone to spy on master Henry¡¯s outside activities. They seemed very suspicious. He would often meet some shady man, just around the time when the search party would start looking in a new direction. So, she questioned him about it, but he just became very mad and shouted at her.¡±

    ¡°Then, tonight, as I was helping the headmistress with her chores, her spy suddenly arrived. He told the headmistress that he was following the suspicious man that master Henry would often meet, and that tonight, that suspicious man entered the house, and someone let him in!¡±

    Byron became alarmed.

    ¡°Headmistress immediately thought it must be master Henry. She told me to run to you and that she would go stop master Henry. I obeyed and started running here, but then I thought that the headmistress was all alone confronting two people. What if something happened to her? Thinking so, I followed the headmistress. She headed down a tunnel, followed by her spy. But when I arrived, the headmistress was already dead! And her spy was fatally wounded! I tried to save the spy, but I couldn¡¯t, and in his dying breath, he told me this.

    ¡®The young master will sell the Zenith pill recipe for a large amount of cash to someone in an area close to the eastern gate, and then run away. You must stop him!¡¯

    After saying that, he immediately died. I didn¡¯t know what to do. I was terrified and ran here!¡±

    Astoria immediately started crying.

    Byron¡¯s mouth was wide open. This couldn¡¯t be true!

    ¡°Take me to the bodies!¡± he commanded.

    ¡°Yes, my lord!¡± Astoria answered, wiping away her tears.

    Soon, she led him to the tunnels and Byron was horrified to see the bodies of the spy and the headmistress. He immediately ran towards the treasury.

    The guards were surprised but didn¡¯t block his way. Byron barged into the treasury and started frantically looking for something. When he couldn¡¯t find it, he became panicked and ran back.

    ¡°Did anyone enter the treasury tonight?¡± he asked the guards.

    ¡°Um, just master Henry came in some time ago,¡± they responded.

    ¡°DAMMIT ALL!¡± Byron screamed and punched the nearby wall as hard as he could.

    The entire tunnel shook.

    The twins were shocked and confused.

    ¡°HOW COULD YOU?¡±

    His own son? Betrayed him?

    No, he needs to see it for himself.

    ¡°Olivia,¡± Byron murmured.

    ¡°Yes, my lord?¡± she asked softly.

    ¡°You said he is escaping through the eastern gate with his money, right?¡±

    ¡°Um, that¡¯s what the spy told me, yes lord Byron.¡±

    ¡°Good. I want to see it with my own eyes. Follow me!¡±

    Astoria followed Byron back into the mansion. At this point, many people were already awoken by commotion. Byron ignored everyone and ordered a dozen guards to gather.

    ¡°We are marching to the eastern gate right now. Olivia, you come as well,¡± Byron said, looking at her.

    ¡°Um, my lord, I¡¯m scared. Can I¡­ just stay here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With all of us together, no one will harm you,¡± Byron comforted.

    After a few more seconds of hesitation, Astoria firmed her will and nodded.

    Astoria rode behind Byron on the same horse, and there were a dozen guards armed to the teeth following them.

    ¡®This can¡¯t be. There must be a mistake. There must be an explanation.¡¯

    Byron kept repeating the same words as he marched along. At this time, a scout he had sent out earlier had returned.

    ¡°Did you find anything?¡± Byron asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he responded. ¡°As you suspected, master Henry is in an abandoned building close to the eastern gate. He seems to be carrying a bag and a small suitcase.¡±

    Impossible! I must see it with my own eyes!

    Within a few minutes, they arrived.

    Henry was sitting on top of his suitcase, with his money bag on the side.

    As the group barged in, Henry stood up in surprise.

    ¡°Father! What are you doing here?¡±

    But Byron ignored him.

    ¡°Check the bags!¡± Byron ordered.

    Immediately, two guards rushed forward.

    Henry tried to stop them, but they reached the money bag before he could react. The guard roughly tore open the bag and a huge amount of bronze, silver, and some gold coins fell on the floor. Along with those fell out the other treasures that Astoria had taken from the treasury.

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    All except the Zenith pill recipe.

    ¡°Hey, what do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± Henry yelled.

    He was confused about what those treasures were as he didn¡¯t recognise them.

    However, Byron did.

    Meanwhile, the other guard was approaching his suitcase, but Henry stepped in front.

    ¡°Stop! Go away, I¡¯m ordering you!¡±

    The guard hesitated and looked towards Byron. Byron nodded in approval and Henry was surprised.

    How did he find out so quickly? Did he always have some suspicions? The headmistress said she was always spying on Olivia. Maybe she spotted her moves, deduced everything, and told father? Or maybe they captured her?

    Oh God!

    He promised Olivia that he would fight the world for her. He must keep that promise!

    ¡°GET BACK!¡± Henry yelled and unsheathed his dagger. The entire room froze.

    Huh? Why are there blood stains on my dagger?

    Byron was at a loss.

    ¡°So, it was all true¡­ It was true all along,¡± he murmured.

    Henry heard his father and ignored the blood. He thought that his father was talking about his relationship with Astoria.

    ¡°Yes father, it¡¯s true. I just want to live my own life the way I want. I don¡¯t care who gets in my way, even if it¡¯s you, I will not back down!¡±

    Seeing his son holding his dagger and threatening him, Byron was frozen.

    His son whom he had raised for more than fifteen years, had turned against him.

    He couldn¡¯t understand why. What possessed him to do this?

    But the reason didn¡¯t matter.

    The guards who saw him enter the treasury, the bloody dagger, the large sum of money, the stolen treasures, him coming to the eastern gate so late at night, and his own words just now ¨C they were all undeniable proof!

    He wanted to sell the village¡¯s treasures to make quick money and start his own life of luxury. When the headmistress confronted and tried to stop him, he murdered her in cold blood.

    The headmistress who raised him like a mother!

    Did he kill those guards when rescuing that intruder too? Who else could it be?

    Those guards were very trusted soldiers of his. He would even call them friends. And yet, they had died in his son¡¯s hands.

    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHH!¡± Byron screamed. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    Something in him snapped.

    One second, he vanished, and in the next, he appeared behind Henry.

    With a slap, he sent Henry and his dagger flying across the room. Henry didn¡¯t have time to react and smashed against the wall.

    He got up coughing blood, surprised by the sudden attack from his father. His eyes were blurry, and the attack had kicked up a dust cloud in the room.

    It took a few seconds for the dust cloud to settle and for his eyes to adjust.

    He was once again stunned by what he saw.

    Previously, Astoria was hiding behind Byron, so he didn¡¯t spot her. But now, Astoria was plainly visible, surrounded by guards.

    And she was covered in blood.

    So, I was right then, they did capture Astoria. That¡¯s how they found me so quickly.

    They really tortured a young girl for information ¨C how cruel could they be!

    He must save her from them. They were only in this predicament because he proposed running away. He couldn¡¯t let her suffer for him. He promised he would protect her and that¡¯s what he had to do.

    Finding new strength, he got up and looked back and forth between his father and Astoria.

    Byron immediately appeared in front of Astoria again.

    ¡°You are not touching this girl,¡± he said firmly.

    ¡°Father, you may do what you like with me, but let Olivia go.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I am going to do a lot of things to you alright. From now on, you are no longer the younger master of this village.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Henry shouted defiantly, he had expected this much at least.

    ¡°And you are exiled from ever stepping foot in this village again!¡±

    ¡°¡­Fine!¡± Henry shouted, less confidently. Everything would be okay as long as he could be with Astoria.

    ¡°And¡­¡± Bryon quieted down. He took a deep breath and said, ¡°And you are no longer my son.¡±

    ¡°Father¡­¡± Henry gasped.

    He would really disown him for falling in love with a servant maid? He knew his father would be angry. Even if he sent him away for some time, he figured he would calm down eventually.

    But disowning him¡­ wasn¡¯t this too much?

    ¡°Father, I just want to be happy. Find my own happiness. Is that so bad?¡±

    ¡°It is when you kill so many people and steal from the village to make it happen you SCUM!¡± Byron screamed.

    Henry was confused. What was going on?

    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know what you think I did, but everything was for Olivia.¡±

    ¡°ENOUGH! STOP MAKING EXCUSES!¡± Byron screamed; his blood was boiling and he wasn¡¯t thinking rationally.

    Astoria seemed to become scared and tugged at the hem of Byron¡¯s shirt while hiding behind him timidly.

    ¡°I am not letting you touch Olivia!¡±

    ¡°Why not? I lo-¡±

    ¡°Why not? WHY NOT? So, you can kill her the same way you killed the HEADMISTRESS!?¡±

    ¡®What? The headmistress was dead? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Henry was confused.

    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know what you are talking about. I didn¡¯t kill any-¡± but he couldn¡¯t finish the sentence.

    Because in his hands was a bloody dagger.

    Why was there blood on his dagger?

    Henry froze.

    He looked around the room.

    His father and over a dozen guards were looking at him with disgust and hatred. Regardless of how much they were against him eloping, it did not warrant this kind of reaction.

    And why were they talking about death and murder? And why was there blood on his dagger?

    Did they think he killed someone?

    Did they think he killed the headmistress?

    ¡°Father¡­ what is that you think I did?¡± Henry asked.

    He was scared now. He felt like he was caught up in a conspiracy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb with me you BASTARD!¡± Byron snapped and smacked his son once more.

    Henry flew back and crashed against the wall again.

    Byron approached him and lifted him by the throat.

    ¡°Tell me, who did you sell it to? Which bastard did you sell the ZENITH PILL RECIPE TO?¡±

    ¡°Father¡­ please¡­ you are¡­ hurting¡­ me.¡±

    Byron let go and Henry fell to the floor, gasping for breath. It took a few seconds for him to recover.

    ¡®What was father talking about?¡¯

    ¡°Father, I didn¡¯t sell any pill recipes, I have no idea what you are talking about!¡±

    ¡°Really? After all this, you are going to still play dumb?¡± Byron asked.

    ¡°Father, I actually don¡¯t know what the hell you are talking about! I didn¡¯t steal anything or kill anyone!¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Then why is there blood on your dagger?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± Henry said, hanging his head.

    ¡°Why are our village¡¯s treasures in your money bag?¡± Byron asked, pointing to the treasures on the floor that fell out from the money bag.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know¡­¡± but Henry was confused. Why were they there?

    ¡°Why do you have so much money?¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted to run away with Olivia¡­¡±

    As he said the last word he froze.

    Olivia¡­

    She was the one who gave him the money bag. Did she put those treasures in there? How did she get them?

    He looked at Astoria again, standing in bloody clothes, but there were no bruises on her body.

    Was it not her blood? Whose blood, was it?

    He looked at his dagger again and his eyes widened. Henry felt as if he was struck by lightning.

    Now it was Byron¡¯s turn to be confused.

    Why did his son keep talking about running away with Astoria?

    Seeing this, Astoria couldn¡¯t stay idle anymore. She immediately started crying.

    ¡°Please Lord Byron, don¡¯t let him take me!¡±

    Henry froze.

    Everybody froze.

    The room was dead silent.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault. Master Henry did this all for me. Master Henry would always suddenly hug me and touch me. He told me he wanted to make me his wife and take me away. He told me that he would make a lot of money to give me a very happy life! I didn¡¯t know what he meant by that, and I was scared of what would happen if I refused master Henry. The other maids told me¡­ what he did to his previous maid servant. I thought¡­ I thought if I refused him, he would do the same to me! So I¡­ so I¡­¡±

    Astoria started crying uncontrollably now. She was trying to say something, but the words wouldn¡¯t come out.

    ¡°Say it, tell me what happened,¡± Byron asked, gently.

    ¡°So, I¡­ I just went along with everything he said! When he hugged me, or kissed me... or called me at night... I did everything he asked! I was so scared! Aah! But I knew he did everything because he loved me. Please don¡¯t blame master Henry. He did all this for me. It¡¯s all my fault!¡±

    She started crying loudly.

    Everyone in the room was looking at her with pity.

    All except one - Henry.

    What. The. Hell.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, arrest this bastard!¡± ordered Byron. ¡°First, we¡¯ll find out who he sold the Zenith pill recipe to. Then he will be exiled forever!¡±

    Henry did not even attempt to resist. He saw Astoria, crying pitifully on the floor. If he didn¡¯t know she was lying, he would have believed her.

    What the hell is going on¡­ what the hell did you do, Oliviaaaaaa?

    Once they had taken Henry away, Byron turned to Astoria.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry little girl. You are safe now. He will no longer hurt you.¡±

    Astoria¡¯s crying came to a stop.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°I promise.¡±

    ¡°Then, can I ask a favour?¡±

    ¡°Anything. You have suffered so much because of my stupid son. If there¡¯s anything I can do to make it up to you, you just need to name it.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ I want to leave. I cannot go back to that mansion again. Will you please let me leave? I cannot live here anymore,¡± saying so, she started crying again with her head between her knees.

    Byron sighed. He picked up all the money on the floor, apart from the treasures, and placed it in a new bag.

    ¡°Here, take this,¡± he said.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°How will you be able to survive on your own without any money, silly?¡± Byron asked with a smile.

    Astoria was overjoyed. She broke into a smile and hugged Byron like a daughter hugging her father.

    Byron felt happy and he gently patted her head.

    As he gave the bag, he said, ¡°If you ever want to come back, our mansion will always be your home.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, lord Byron,¡± said Astoria.

    Then, giving a deep bow, she left.

    They were close to the eastern gate already, so she left the village immediately with her money.

    Soon, Byron and the guards took Henry away.

    Around an hour later, another figure left through the eastern gate.

    In the middle of the night, two figures met outside the eastern gate of the Leon village. Initially, they were separated by a few meters, observing each other from a distance.

    Then, as if on cue, they both ran towards each other.

    When they met, they fell into an embrace.

    ¡°We did it!¡± Sam whispered.

 Chapter 17: Success and failure

    The two hugged each other. Relief, sense of achievement, happiness ¨C they were feeling so many emotions.

    This past month, Sam had constantly been on the run and Astoria was treading on thin ice; running around the headmistress and finding out information only to barely tip Sam off and help him keep ahead of the search.

    They were under huge stress this whole time, and finally, it was all over!

    The duo started laughing like maniacs under the moonlight.

    Half a day later.

    Sam and Astoria were walking back towards Jain village, having successfully completed their mission. Astoria got the Zenith pill recipe she wanted, and Sam got revenge on Henry.

    In fact, it was much better than he could have anticipated. Seeing Henry be beaten and disowned by his own father, Byron and all the guards looking at Henry as if he was a scheming, treacherous, perverted, scumbag, and arresting him, was the best ending he could think of.

    He had been observing the whole confrontation from a secret spot.

    It was incredible to watch. Best of all was Astoria¡¯s performance.

    He had never seen anyone act so perfectly. She played everyone for a fool. Henry, Byron, all the guards, and the maids and servants in the house.

    The only person who saw through her was the headmistress, and she killed her with her own hands.

    Not to mention, she poisoned and brutally murdered two guards who trusted her, betraying them too, before framing the man who thought of her as the love of his life, for all the murders by using his love against him!

    This little girl before him. Can there be any human being more cold-blooded than her?

    Her appearance might be that of an innocent young angel, but underneath it all, she was a cold, calculating, ruthless, scheming, manipulating demoness!

    He shuddered in fear just thinking about everything she did.

    ¡°Remind me never to make you my enemy,¡± Sam chuckled.

    Astoria laughed. ¡°I could never hurt you, Sam.¡±

    Sam smiled dryly.

    Astoria couldn¡¯t help but think back to that day in the woods. She had been so completely useless. After they were rescued by her father and the other villagers, Drake told them everything that happened. Once Elwin found out, he flew into a rage.

    Before anyone could stop him, he charged into the woods like a lunatic. There, he found the injured minotaur and clashed with it head-on.

    The minotaur was a servant class oni. Although it was originally injured, it had marginally won the fight against the demon bear and was completely spent. However, a servant class oni was still not something to be underestimated. It activated its Berserk skill and grew to more than three times the size of Elwin.

    Yet Elwin showed remarkable skill as he engaged it in combat.

    Father and the rest of the villagers who chased after him stopped in their tracks upon witnessing their fight. It was like a scene from a legend. His every move was calculated and refined as if he were a seasoned veteran. The only thing holding him back seemed to be his young body, as he couldn¡¯t wield a large sword.

    However, since the minotaur was heavily injured, its body was weakened, allowing Elwin to ruthlessly target its injuries. Miraculously, Elwin landed the killer blow.

    Astoria had speechlessly witnessed the whole fight. She thought about Drake and then saw Elwin. Drake was known for his intelligence and kindness whereas Elwin was strong and upright. Her two brothers, younger and older were both so talented. Far more talented than her.

    She remembered thinking to herself, ¡®If only I had the same strength as Elwin, I could have fought the minotaur and protected Drake instead. Or at least, if I wasn¡¯t so stupid, I wouldn¡¯t have screamed and put us both in danger.¡¯

    While on one side she really loved her brothers, but on the other side, she always felt helpless as she watched them march forward while leaving her in the dust.

    But not anymore, she smiled to herself. I won¡¯t lose to you two anymore.

    The two were halfway through their journey when they unexpectedly saw two figures approaching them from a distance.

    It was quite rare to see people far away from the villages, but it still happened, so they continued their journey.

    However, the two figures kept coming closer and closer.

    ¡®Were they heading for us?¡¯ Sam and Astoria were confused and wondered who they were.

    The figures walked quickly and soon reached Sam and Astoria.

    ¡°This girl is his daughter. She will be useful for our plans,¡± one of them said.

    ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s take her and kill the man,¡± the other replied emotionlessly.

    Sam and Astoria became alarmed.

    Who were they? Why were they randomly attacking them?

    They were wondering what to do when the two released incredibly strong and sinister auras.

    They were both grand mages!

    ¡­

    ¡°Master, I did it!¡± exclaimed Drake.

    Ray saw a small light orb floating around Drake. He had watched his disciple struggle for over half a month before finally succeeding in his first summon. This was considerably longer as compared to how quickly he learnt to summon artifacts, but still quicker than the average time people took to learn to summon their first simple spirit, which was a month or two.

    ¡®Maybe he just has a gift for summoning artifacts?¡¯ Ray thought.

    ¡°Well done, Drake,¡± Ray said plainly.

    Drake smiled and after playing around a bit, his light orb disappeared. It took about ten per cent of his total mana to summon a light orb spirit and used about the same amount of mana to retain it for an hour.

    But this wasn¡¯t the only spirit he learnt to summon. He closed his eyes, focused on his mana and willed it to materialise into a spirit.

    Twenty-five per cent of his mana disappeared, and a small, green, petite fairy appeared before him.

    This was the other summon he learnt, the summon his father used that day to heal him.

    Ray advised against him multitasking, however, Drake wanted to look at both summons simultaneously so he could compare and contrast the different runes, spirit bodies, etc, and understand better how they worked.

    Seeing the fairy, Ray was slightly surprised.

    ¡®Never mind,¡¯ he thought.

    Learning to summon two spirits in two weeks from scratch as a beginner was definitely not normal.

    His student was a freak.

    Drake summoned a small needle artifact and used it to cut his own skin. The fairy immediately approached the injury and placed her palms on it.

    Now he knew how it worked. Her palms carried healing runes that she was flowing her mana through. The mana became transmuted into life mana, and entered his injury, healing it.

    Within a few seconds, the bleeding stopped, and the wound closed.

    ¡®This is so cool!¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    He wanted to experiment with spirits some more but his mana was running low, so he decided he¡¯d go for a walk while waiting for his mana to recover.

    Drake skipped across the bustling streets of the village, followed closely by two guards. People were visiting the various shops, yelling out prices and bargaining. It was lively.

    However, he wanted some quiet time, so he turned a corner into a less busy street. There were a few shops and some trees littered around, but there was much less activity here. He paused at a shop which was selling some sweets. The shopkeeper was an old man and recognising Drake¡¯s clothes and the guards as a symbol of wealth, he immediately approached him with a smile and started fawning.

    ¡°Hello, master, how can I help you today?¡±

    Drake thought for a moment and decided to buy a few sweets to celebrate his breaking through to the true mage realm.

    ¡°Thank you, master, please come again!¡±

    Stolen story; please report.

    Drake enjoyed the sweets as he walked along the quiet streets of his village. It reminded him of the walks he used to take along the park with his dog, back on Earth.

    He missed those days.

    ¡°YOU! STUPID! BRAT!¡± screamed a voice, and each word was followed by a whipping sound and a scream.

    Drake was brought back from his thoughts and immediately approached the voice to find a middle-aged man whipping a boy.

    The boy was on the street, crying and begging the man to stop. He had a collar around his neck, indicating his slave status.

    Slave collars were an artifact made using magic. It would cause the slave intense pain if they disobeyed their master. Attempting to remove the collar would result in instant death.

    The man stopped whipping and started kicking him instead. Then he picked him up and started punching his face.

    ¡°STOP!¡± yelled Drake furiously.

    The man was startled to hear the unfamiliar voice and looked in its direction. He spotted a young man dressed in expensive-looking robes, followed by two huge guards. He seemed like the son of someone wealthy.

    Immediately, the man chucked the boy away and bowed to his visitor.

    ¡°Hello, kind sir. May I know who you are, and what you are doing here?¡±

    Drake ignored him and approached the slave boy instead, who was bleeding all over his body and was almost unconscious. The man was irritated at being ignored but he couldn¡¯t do anything, especially given the two huge guards who were present.

    ¡°How much?¡± Drake asked.

    The man looked confused.

    ¡°I want to buy him, how much?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± the man hesitated. He didn¡¯t know who this boy was or why he was interested in the slave.

    ¡°Two¡­ no three silvers!¡±

    Drake threw five silvers towards the man without hesitation. The man¡¯s eyes lit up with greed as he flew to pick up the silvers from the floor.

    ¡°Thank you, mister, you are so generous. The boy is all yours!¡±

    Drake picked the almost unconscious boy up and brought him to a corner. Then he closed his eyes and summoned the healing fairy and instructed it to heal him. It took a few minutes, but most of his wounds were healed and the boy regained consciousness.

    The boy looked at Drake terrified, but then realised all his injuries were healed. He then remembered what happened and realised that Drake had saved him.

    ¡°Um, thank you, master,¡± he replied weakly.

    ¡°Do you have a family?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Um,¡± the boy hesitated and then nodded slowly.

    ¡°Then take me to them.¡±

    The boy looked at Drake pleadingly.

    ¡°Please master, I will serve you forever, but please, please don¡¯t hurt my family!¡±

    Drake was taken aback and then felt even more pity for him. He was so young, yet the idea of freedom did not even cross his mind even when offered to him.

    There were three types of slaves in this world. Debt slaves, who were sold as slaves to pay off a debt, criminal slaves, who were sold as slaves for punishment, and illegal slaves, who were trafficked human beings. Although all slaves were treated badly, debt slaves were better than most, and they had the chance to be freed once their debts were paid off. The other two suffered the most and it was basically impossible for them to taste freedom unless their master willingly released them.

    This boy was likely either a debt slave or an illegal slave, most likely the latter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t harm you. I want to free and return you to your parents,¡± Drake consoled.

    The boy was speechless. He didn¡¯t know what to believe.

    ¡°Really?¡± he asked softly.

    ¡°Yes, so take me to them.¡±

    The boy wiped his tears and started running enthusiastically. Drake followed with a smile.

    ¡­

    ¡°RUN!¡± screamed Sam as the two sprinted for their lives.

    But what was a grand mage? A realm that truly began to show the supremacy of mages. There was only one grand mage in the surrounding three villages and that was Myra Wan of the Elven village.

    But two grand mages had suddenly appeared!

    The one on the right chuckled as he summoned a dark light which transformed into a huge tarantula. It bared its fangs and rushed at the two. Everywhere it went, the surrounding air turned corrosive and poisonous, making it hard to breathe. They were both captured within its legs and brought before them.

    ¡°Please! Let us go, we¡¯ll do whatever you want!¡± cried Sam.

    However, the figure chuckled and the one on the left was about to attack when Astoria screamed.

    ¡°WAIT! Please hear me out!¡± Astoria begged.

    The two figures became intrigued so they turned towards her. The pressure on Sam and Astoria¡¯s bodies decreased slightly.

    ¡°You have thirty seconds,¡± one of them said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are or what you want, but you want me right? I will cooperate completely with you. I will do whatever you want. In exchange, please let him go. We have never met before and I am sure we don¡¯t have any personal enmity between us, so please, just let him go!¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡± Sam cried. ¡°No, Astoria, you don¡¯t have to do this.¡±

    While Sam was terrified, the two were discussing amongst themselves.

    ¡°This is unexpected, but if she willingly cooperates, that will make our plans easier,¡± one of them said.

    ¡°Yes, but we can¡¯t let him go. He would expose us!¡± the other disagreed.

    The two stared at Sam wondering what to do.

    ¡°I¡­ I won¡¯t tell anyone about what happened here!¡± Sam quickly spoke up.

    They laughed.

    ¡°Why would we believe you?¡± one of them said.

    He walked over while summoning a tiny leech spirit. It launched itself towards Sam and burrowed into his throat. Sam screamed in disgust.

    ¡°You!¡± Astoria was shocked but before she could continue, the man spoke.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll be fine. I just used a spirit to stop him from talking about this incident or this girl to anyone else. So long as you keep your mouth shut, you''ll be fine. Otherwise, you will die a miserable death.¡±

    Sam kept coughing from the leech burrowing into his throat. It felt disgusting at first, but he could no longer feel it now.

    The spider spirit suddenly released Sam and he fell to the ground. Sam breathed a sigh of relief, he really thought he was going to die.

    Astoria turned around to face him.

    ¡°Sam, when you reach Jain, I need you to deliver the box to the youngest son of the village head, Drake Reynard, as soon as possible. Also, show him this, it will prove to him that I sent you,¡± she said handing him a simple bracelet.

    This was a gift that Drake had personally given her, and she cherished it.

    Sam didn¡¯t understand what relationship Astoria had with the village head, but just accepted the bracelet and nodded.

    ¡°What are you going to do to her?¡± he asked them.

    ¡°Haha, you don¡¯t need to worry about that!¡± they replied, before taking Astoria and walking away.

    Sam stopped for some time to see Astoria¡¯s figure disappearing into the horizon, along with that of those mysterious mages.

    He sighed, and then began quickly making his way to the Jain village.

    Soon, he arrived at the Jain village and after paying the entrance toll, managed to enter.

    Like how Astoria originally was, he didn¡¯t know anything about this village¡¯s geography so was struggling to find his way around.

    However, the village head¡¯s manor was one of the most important places, so he quickly managed to find it by just asking around.

    However, he was stopped at the gate by the guards.

    ¡°Please, you must let me through! I have an important message to deliver to master Drake!¡±

    However, the guards sternly refused. ¡°Outsiders are not allowed into the building without permission. Also, master Drake has been diligently cultivating ever since he became a mage, so he won¡¯t easily come to see visitors either.¡±

    Sam became extremely worried.

    He didn¡¯t know what happened to Astoria, but it was clearly important to her to have the recipe delivered to Drake. So, Sam thought that they must have some kind of a relationship and therefore hoped that this Drake could help her somehow.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± someone asked as they walked out.

    Sam saw a boy wearing dark clothes and staring at him curiously. However, Sam was slightly surprised to notice that this boy resembled Astoria a lot.

    ¡°Greetings to Master Hazezel!¡± the two guards called.

    Sam realised he must be someone important and lightly bowed to him as well.

    ¡°Master Hazezel. My name is Sam and I carry an important message that I must deliver to master Drake immediately,¡± he said.

    ¡°Drake?¡± Hazezel mumbled, taking another look at Sam.

    He was a scruffy young man with a tanned skin. However, his clothes were tattered, and he was bleeding in several places as if he had just been through a fight.

    Hazezel was sure that Drake didn¡¯t know any such shady-looking men, so didn¡¯t want to allow him to meet Drake.

    ¡°Whatever it is you want to tell him, you can tell me first and I will pass it on.¡±

    Sam hesitated for a while, but he shook his head.

    ¡°I am extremely sorry, but I must talk to master Drake directly!¡±

    Hazezel¡¯s gaze darkened, and the guards looked at each other in disbelief. Wasn¡¯t this implying that he didn¡¯t trust Hazezel? It was quite disrespectful.

    ¡°My brother is cultivating and is not to be disturbed unnecessarily. You can tell me the message and I swear on my name that I will pass it on.¡±

    Sam was really hesitant now. He didn¡¯t want to continue declining Hazezel, yet Astoria was very clear that the box had to be delivered to Drake so he didn¡¯t know if he could trust this Hazezel.

    They had worked so hard to get the recipe. He didn¡¯t want it falling into the wrong hands now.

    After a lot of contemplation, Sam finally answered again.

    ¡°I am extremely sorry, and I mean no offence. However, this matter is of the utmost importance and requires the greatest confidentiality. I must talk to master Drake and master Drake alone! Please don¡¯t worry. When he sees what I have to give, he will definitely not be disappointed.¡±

    Hazezel¡¯s pupils shrunk. ¡®Drake¡­ what are you up to now?¡¯ However, he finally agreed.

    ¡°Okay then, I will take you to Drake and he can receive your message. If you try anything funny or if you are simply wasting our time, don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go easy on you!¡±

    Saying this he walked inside, and Sam quickly followed. Soon they entered the back garden where a young boy was cultivating underneath a garden umbrella. Next to him sat a young-looking elf with long white hair who was also cultivating diligently.

    Hazezel approached Drake but didn¡¯t speak. He knew that forcefully disturbing cultivation could cause a backlash. Drake would have sensed their presence and would soon stop his cultivation and greet them.

    ¡°Hazezel,¡± spoke Drake after a while, glancing curiously at Sam.

    Sam saw Drake and was intrigued too. Was this the boy who was responsible for making Astoria steal the Zenith pill?

    ¡°Drake, this man here claims that he has an important message to give to you,¡± Hazezel explained.

    Drake was even more curious as he didn¡¯t recognise him.

    ¡°Very well, I am Drake, the youngest son of lord Holt. What business do you have with me?¡±

    Hazezel was surprised that Drake didn¡¯t seem to know him, but he now stood to the side to watch the show.

    Sam spoke hesitantly, ¡°I have something very important to give you master Drake,¡± he said and handed him the box containing the pill recipe, along with the key.

    Drake opened it curiously and found a grand scroll lying inside. However, upon reading its contents, he couldn¡¯t help but gasp in surprise!

    ¡°This!¡± he stood up looking at Sam with wide eyes. ¡°How did you get this!?¡±

    Sam was taken aback.

    Why did Drake not know about the Zenith pill recipe? Did Astoria not steal the Zenith pill for him? What was going on? He then remembered something else and took out the bracelet.

    As soon as Drake saw it, he couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore.

    ¡°You! What have you done to my sister?!¡±

    Even Hazezel was flabbergasted.

    Everyone was looking for Astoria, yet this mysterious man showed up with her bracelet, two months after her disappearance! What did he do to her? If he hurt her then¡­

    ¡®No calm down Hazezel¡¯ he told himself.

    Astoria had left so suddenly. If Sam really did hurt her, why would he bring back her bracelet to show them? Wasn¡¯t that just idiotic? Clearly, Astoria must have given him that bracelet to prove that she had sent him here. That was the only explanation.

    Drake of course realised this and calmed down. But Sam was thunderstruck.

    Sister?

    ¡°She¡­ Astoria is your sister?¡± he didn¡¯t know about Jain village, so he didn¡¯t know the details.

    If he had enquired about the village head¡¯s family before coming, he could have found out that Holt¡¯s daughter was called Astoria and that she had gone missing. He could have put the two and two together to deduce everything.

    But he realised it too late now.

    It was clear that no one knew about Astoria¡¯s actions from their expressions which meant that she had acted secretly. So, they must have been searching for her when he suddenly showed up like this.

    If they ask him to explain what happened to her, what could he say?

    He had a spell restraining him!

    How could he deal with this situation?

    ¡°Yes, she is my sister and has been missing for a while. Where is she and what relationship do you two have?" Drake questioned.

    Drake was extremely worried and had already forgotten about the pill recipe.

    "This¡­¡± he wanted to explain but as soon as he even thought about telling the truth, he felt a searing hot pain build up in his throat.

    ¡°I can¡¯t answer,¡± Sam finally said.

    ¡°You! Who do you think you are?¡± Hazezel boomed. He couldn¡¯t stand idly anymore.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to¡­ I just can¡¯t,¡± he replied vaguely, cursing himself.

    If only he had investigated first before coming here, he could have handled the situation differently.

    But he was now a prime suspect in the disappearance of the village head¡¯s daughter!

 Chapter 18: The Expedition

    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± a soft voice spoke out.

    The person who spoke was Ray. He didn¡¯t interfere in family matters and was trying to cultivate at the side, but this commotion awoke him.

    ¡°What do you mean master?¡± Drake asked respectfully.

    ¡°I can sense strange mana fluctuations from his throat. This strengthens when he is about to say certain things. If I am not mistaken, he is infected by a parasitic spirit that restricts him from talking about certain matters.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Hazezel asked.

    While most spirits required a continuous supply of mana from the mage to survive, there were some special types of spirits too ¨C nature spirits used the world¡¯s mana for sustenance, and parasitic spirits infected living beings and consumed their mana and life force for survival.

    Hazezel didn¡¯t know such a thing was possible. ¡°Can you remove it?¡±

    Ray thought about it for a while before shaking his head, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. This spirit is very profound. I wouldn¡¯t have sensed it even existed if it didn¡¯t flare up just now. I think whoever cast this¡­ must be at least a grand mage.¡±

    As soon as he said this both Drake and Hazezel¡¯s face fell. In the nearby villages, there was only one who was a grand mage and that was Myra of the Elven village. Did she have something to do with him? If she had cast a spell to stop him from talking about Astoria, didn¡¯t that mean she was responsible for doing something to her?

    ¡°My master would never do such a thing,¡± Ray said displeased as if sensing their thoughts. Myra was his master, and he didn¡¯t like them suspecting her.

    Drake thought about it as well. Why would Myra want to harm Astoria? That didn¡¯t make any sense. Could there be another grand mage involved?

    The situation was rapidly becoming complex, and the two boys felt a headache. They had to inform their father.

    Ray hesitated slightly before deciding to join them. They may want to consult him about the spell.

    Holt was dumbfounded upon hearing this news. But he was helpless. He needed to find a way to break the spell to allow him to talk, but he didn¡¯t know how to do that.

    ¡°What do you suggest Master Ray?¡± asked Holt.

    ¡°The only person who has a chance of breaking this spell is my master. You should invite her and ask her opinion,¡± he replied.

    Holt nodded; he knew this as well but he would prefer to solve this problem himself if possible.

    Since he had no other choice, he decided to send a message to the Elven village and could only hope that she would agree.

    Since that was done, Ray turned back, leaving Holt, Hazezel, Drake, and Sam alone.

    After Ray left, Hazezel finally asked Drake unable to contain his curiosity, ¡°What was in that box?¡±

    Drake smiled as he showed the contents to them. They were shocked!

    ¡°You, how did you get this?¡± Holt asked perplexed.

    Sam smiled bitterly. He couldn¡¯t talk about any matters related to Astoria so how could he explain to them how he got it? He simply shook his head and everyone else understood.

    ¡®Astoria¡­¡¯ thought Drake.

    How are you involved in this matter? Did you help him get the recipe? But why would you do such a thing suddenly?

    Don¡¯t tell me!

    Drake started sweating profusely.

    What other reason could Astoria have to try and get this recipe so suddenly? She also wanted it to only be given to Drake first.

    She had clearly gone to get the recipe for him!

    If something happened to her, wouldn¡¯t that then be his fault? Didn¡¯t he inadvertently bring harm to his own sister?

    Hazezel and Holt also had similar thoughts running through their minds and Hazezel spoke out, ¡°Brother, no matter what happens it is not your fault.¡±

    Drake could only smile bitterly but he couldn¡¯t help but blame himself.

    ¡°Sam,¡± Holt spoke. ¡°Though you cannot tell us any details about Astoria, you should at least be able to answer a yes or no question. Can you tell us if the last time you saw Astoria, she was alive?¡±

    Sam nodded and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

    However, Sam¡¯s throat started burning and he started screaming in pain as he fell to the floor. Everyone was stupefied.

    If even such a simple response could create this extreme of a backlash, how could they ever get him to talk? What kind of a vicious spell was this?

    They were all helpless and could only hope that Myra would come.

    After a while, the pain ended, and Sam stood up shakily.

    ¡°Considering that you brought us such a precious gift and are also willing to endure such pain to answer questions about my daughter, I can only assume that you did not harm her. Tell me what do you want?¡± asked Holt.

    Sam spoke immediately, ¡°Someone precious to me was sold as a slave and arrived at this village. I currently have no money and nowhere to go, but I must first save them.¡±

    Holt nodded.

    He arranged for Sam¡¯s lodging, gave him a sum of money, and had some people help him get information about his girlfriend.

    Sam was extremely grateful. This was his main goal.

    Several days went by.

    Everyone purposefully agreed to not spread word about them being in possession of the Zenith pill recipe for the time being.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    The reason? They now needed Myra¡¯s help.

    If they revealed this information, then in exchange for her help she would demand the pill recipe too.

    How could they give it so easily? Astoria had gone through great pains to get it; they can¡¯t let Myra take advantage of the situation.

    This was why Drake didn¡¯t immediately reveal the contents of the box while Ray was around. Ray was an elf so if he found out, he would immediately inform Myra.

    Finally, Myra arrived at Jain village and was seated together with Holt, Sam, Drake, Hazezel, Ray, and some attendants of Myra.

    ¡°He is possessed by a parasitic spirit. There must be dark mages involved,¡± she spoke. Normally, summoned spirits exist by feeding the mana of the summoner, but parasitic spirits can possess others and consume the host¡¯s mana or even their life force to exist. They were commonly used by dark mages.

    Dark mages were also mages and cultivated mana, however, their cultivation techniques were very dangerous and often involved killing and committing other evil acts to boost their own cultivation.

    They were hated by everyone else.

    Yet their cultivation methods would also yield the fastest results, allowing them to reach higher realms much quicker than normal cultivators. The allure of such power made many people risk being shunned by the world.

    ¡°Can you break it?¡± Holt nervously asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very risky,¡± Myra revealed honestly. ¡°I have a twenty per cent chance of success. If I fail, the boy will die.¡± She spoke plainly. Sam¡¯s face was aghast. Everyone looked at him. No one here would force him to cooperate, but he couldn¡¯t just refuse. Everyone in this room was powerful, if he offended so many people at once, they could easily make his life in this village horrible.

    But that was only secondary to him.

    He thought about the times he spent together with Astoria. The two were united under the strangest of circumstances. They plotted together to bring the downfall of Henry and somehow succeeded. At the very end, Astoria sacrificed herself to save him.

    Maybe she was only using him for her own goals the whole time, but Astoria had still undeniably helped him immensely throughout this process. At the end of the day, she still saved his life.

    He was extremely grateful to her and really cared for her.

    ¡°I am willing to help,¡± he said. Everyone was relieved. ¡°However, I must still first find my girlfriend and save her. If she is alive, I will buy and release her, if she is dead, I still wish to know. After that, I will cooperate.¡±

    No one complained. They were extremely happy with this arrangement.

    ¡°Very well, I will order more people to find her,¡± Holt replied.

    Meanwhile, deep in the Beast Woods.

    Elwin Reynard, Zhao Gaumond, Brain Klington. These were the people sent out by the Jain village. Out of the three, Zhao was the strongest at the perfect stage steel body, and Brain was at the middle stage steel body. However, despite his age, Elwin wasn¡¯t far behind, and was at the early-stage steel body.

    During the last few weeks of the expedition, they often encountered many demons and onis, but they managed to fight them off. Zhao stuck very close to Elwin and protected him with all his might.

    From Leon, Jin Tong stood out the most. Like Elwin, he was a once-in-a-generation genius of martial arts who wielded a spear. He was at the middle-stage steel body so was even more gifted than Elwin despite being the same age. Of course, this was also due to the help that Leon village martial artists got from the Zenith pills, which causes them to be able to cultivate slightly quicker. Along with Jin Tong was a muscular, burly man wielding a mace at the late-stage steel body, and a tall thin man who was also at the late-stage steel body, who fought with a sword.

    Finally, the three elves from the elven village were quite mysterious. They were of a different race to humans and considered themselves to be superior. They hardly mixed with the humans on this trip. However, if there was a fight, everyone would cooperate. The elves were all warrior mages and were also powerful archers at the middle-stage tempered body to early-stage steel body levels. They covered the rear and shot down enemies with incredible accuracy. Often, one of their well-timed bows and spells would change the tide of the battle and save many people. As a result, the rest didn¡¯t mind their aloof attitudes and were still treating them nicely.

    Elwin and Jin Tong took the front lines, closely protected by the veterans Zhao and the burly man respectively. The tall thin man, along with Brain stayed in the centre, protecting the elves at the rear from sneak attacks or from any enemies that broke through the front lines. This was the formation they had gotten into. Although they often suffered injuries, one of the elves knew healing magic so would heal them whenever they had a break, thereby constantly maintaining their strength.

    They had slowly gotten past the areas with weak demons and now finally arrived at the place where more and more onis were around, along with groups of demons. The demons here, although they were still servant class, were often more powerful than the demons on the outskirts.

    Now they were facing off against a pseudo-commander class elephant demon.

    ¡°Take this!¡± yelled Jin as he used a critical opening to stab at the elephant. It roared in pain and was going to counterattack but Elwin used this opportunity to slash at its knees. It immediately lost its balance, falling sideways onto the floor. At once a myriad of attacks was unleashed by everyone, completely killing it.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? In the last two days, we have fought six warrior class demons and now, a pseudo-commander class demon!¡± A warrior class demon had strength equal to a martial artist who cultivated up to the steel body or a warrior mage. However, everyone gathered here had at least cultivated an early-stage steel body and also had expert fighting skills, so they could easily tackle warrior class demons.

    However, commander class demons were something else entirely. If they encountered one, they could only run away in despair. A pseudo-commander class demon was not a walk in the park either, however they could deal with it if it was only one or two.

    The group was nearing the end of the region that had been mapped by the villages. After this region, till they reach their goal, they would have much less information as the path wasn¡¯t mapped properly.

    They were trying to avoid as many known territories of demons as possible but there were many more powerful demons running around than expected. These demons wouldn¡¯t normally leave their lairs and since they were powerful, the villages had long since been keeping tabs on them.

    But so many powerful demons were showing up one after another.

    If a horde of these were to attack their villages¡­

    After this fight, the whole team was exhausted, pushed to their limits. After finding a hiding spot, the healing mage tried his best to heal the most critical injuries possible before he collapsed out of exhaustion. They could only use physical methods to heal the rest to conserve strength. After a while of resting the group mostly recovered their strength and started moving.

    If all went well, they could make it to their destination in half a day and finally start returning to their villages. Everyone had to constantly be on guard in this place which was mentally exhausting.

    They were walking alertly when one of the elves called out.

    ¡°Careful! Several powerful demons are fighting a few hundred meters to the east.¡±

    They used a bird-like spirit that was excellent at scouting.

    ¡°There is a total of four of them all fighting against each other. From this report, they all are pseudo-commander class demons.¡±

    Everyone was dismayed. Just fighting one such demon was enough to almost break their group, but there were now four at once.

    ¡°We should take a detour,¡± said Elwin. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    No one argued, only a fool would go into such a dangerous situation. Everyone decided to pause while the elf investigated a route for them to take. After about half an hour, he had a general idea about the surrounding demons and told the group a route.

    ¡°That will extend our journey by another three days!¡± the burly man complained. The elf bitterly laughed.

    ¡°It is the only feasible route. In the east, the pseudo-commander class demons are fighting, and I am not sure how long it will be before they finish. Even afterwards, the scent of blood will draw other demons there, so it is not wise to use that route. To the west there lies a den of vampire bats numbering in the thousands. Each of them is at least a powerful servant class demon, and many are warrior class too. Disturbing them is suicide. We can only retreat the way we came, go around the den of vampire bats and circle back. That¡¯s the only way.¡±

    Everyone was hearing this helplessly. They wanted to leave this death trap as soon as possible but things didn¡¯t often go the way they wanted.

    ¡°I agree with this plan,¡± Elwin finally spoke. It was better to be safe. There was no need to rush. They had enough supplies for a while, so another two days should be fine.

    ¡°Me too,¡± the tall and thin man spoke. He was the representative of the Leon village. After deciding on this, everyone finally resumed their journey.

    ¡­

    Back in Jain village.

    Sam was alone inside a room.

    On his bed lay a beautiful girl, however, she was in an extremely sorry state. She was barely dressed, her clothes were ripped, her skin was torn and carried many bruises.

    ¡°Nala¡­¡± Sam held her hand as he started crying.

 Chapter 19: A Cabin in the Woods

    Sam had gone through a lot. His parents had all died at a young age, so he was left to fend for himself. But the world was cruel, and he was young. He would just steal some bread, or eat some food thrown in the trash to survive.

    That was until he discovered martial arts cultivation.

    Finding cultivation techniques was very difficult. Sometimes even if people find a technique, it may not be suitable for them, but they will cultivate it anyway as they don¡¯t have a choice.

    Sam was such a case.

    One day as he was running away after stealing, he hid in some dark and quiet street.

    However, this time, there were two martial arts cultivators fighting to the death. Sam didn¡¯t know why but they clearly had some deep grudge and so they fought until only one of them was left. The other man spat on the corpse and left immediately, as he was weakened from the fight and didn¡¯t want to get sneak attacked by anyone else.

    Sam therefore approached the corpse and looted it, finding more money than he knew what to do with. But more than that, his biggest gain was finding a martial arts cultivation technique.

    With this, he knew his life could change.

    So, he bore through the pain and cultivated it like a lunatic, eventually reaching the tempered body. This gave him strength that people respected, allowing him to do better jobs and earn more money.

    It was at this point in his life when he met Nala, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was love at first sight for him, and Nala was equally interested. They had many things in common and shared many wonderful times together.

    But all good things must come to an end.

    She was sold as a slave in a fit of rage by Henry for a trivial mistake.

    He had worked with Astoria to get revenge, but then Astoria was kidnapped.

    And now, after coming to Jain village, he finally saved her.

    Or at least what was left of her.

    As it turned it out, Nala was indeed still alive and was still a slave. He found out that she was bought in an auction by some random man. Sam offered him a large sum of money to buy the girl off her. The man was interested, but he could tell that this was an opportunity to make a fortune so he kept increasing the price to an exorbitant amount, more than what Sam could afford.

    Helpless, he could only turn back to the Reynards. Hearing this Drake was extremely furious. He hated the concept of slavery anyway, so he came to see this man. Upon suddenly seeing master Drake appear at his doorstep the man was terrified!

    He immediately offered to give the girl free of charge, knowing that he had chosen to mess with the wrong person. Drake scoffed in disdain at this man, but he nevertheless accepted and asked him to bring Nala out.

    But what they saw was beyond their expectation.

    Nala had been beaten and abused in so many ways for his sick sense of gratification. Her mental state was completely shattered, and she did not speak at all.

    No matter what they did or said, she would not respond. Seeing this Sam was furious and was about to beat the man to a pulp but was stopped by Drake.

    Sam was an outsider so if he hit a member of Jain village, others would not take kindly to it and will try to seek trouble with Sam.

    As for Drake, he could indeed try to take revenge for her and beat that man up, however, how could he? This was the world he lived in now. The man had done nothing wrong in the eyes of everyone. In fact, if she wasn¡¯t related to Sam, Sam himself wouldn¡¯t care at all about what happened to her.

    If Drake, the son of the village head, decided to use his position of power to attack a common man for doing ¡®nothing wrong¡¯ that would reflect extremely badly upon Holt and everyone else in his family.

    Because of this moment of rage, everyone would start thinking that Holt and his family are corrupt. This would in turn affect his father¡¯s life.

    Drake couldn¡¯t do that.

    As a result, he shot the man a cold gaze and left quietly with Sam.

    He may not be able to do anything directly but that didn¡¯t mean he would just let him go.

    So, after leaving Sam and the girl alone in their room, Drake sent a servant to find out where that man worked and bribed his boss to fire him. The servant was also tasked with keeping tabs on that man and made sure that whenever he applied for any job, except a select few, extremely horrible and low paid jobs, he would not get it.

    Those that could find out behind the scenes information such as the village elders, would not actually be able to prove Drake did anything. Even if they could, they wouldn¡¯t bother to ruin their relationship with him in exchange for protecting some random man.

    However, at the same time everyone would realise how much Drake hated slavery.

    His family had always known that Drake protested having slaves. But they obviously couldn¡¯t stop just because he said so.

    Despite this, Drake tried his best to often feed the slaves good food and treat them with kindness, and even buy and release them whenever he could. This way then, those people would hesitate slightly before buying slaves. After all Drake had the identity of a mage and would become an extremely important person in the future so they wouldn¡¯t want to risk doing anything that Drake would be displeased with.

    At the same time, they would also realise that offending Drake, and largely the Reynards, would not go without consequences and so they will be less likely to try and plot against them in the future.

    Overall, then, this would improve his and his father¡¯s image slightly in the eyes of elders.

    This was how this world¡¯s politics worked, which Drake knew very well.

    As for that man, he ended up working for an extremely low salary in a farm doing the worst kinds of jobs under a horrible boss. He had barely enough money to buy food every day.

    But that was all for later.

    Sam was seeing Nala lying down pathetically.

    Eventually, Holt arrived at the scene. He didn¡¯t have high hopes for Nala. He knew how pitiful the lives of slaves were. They could even be killed in a moment of rage and the master would go unpunished. So, he wasn¡¯t too surprised at her condition.

    Holt knew healing magic, so he came to help her. He summoned his healing fairy and started healing her wounds. As a warrior mage, his summon would be more powerful than Drake¡¯s, hence he asked his father to come along.

    Soon her body was completely recovered.

    ¡°This is all I can do,¡± he said shaking his head. ¡°I have healed her body but her mind, it is unknown when it will recover¡­ if at all.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Sam said solemnly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t intend to go back on my promise.¡±

    Holt sighed gratefully.

    ¡°Thank you, I will definitely not forget this favour.¡±

    But Sam didn¡¯t reply, he was holding onto Nala¡¯s hand and reminiscing about some distant memories. Holt decided to leave them alone and returned to his mansion. After some time, Sam appeared.

    ¡°I am ready,¡± he said. ¡°But I have one more condition.¡±

    ¡°Speak,¡± Holt replied. He already knew what he was going to ask.

    ¡°In case I don¡¯t make it through this, I need you take care of Nala for me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, that is only natural. She will be treated with the utmost care; you have nothing to worry about.¡±

    Sam sighed. ¡°Then what do I need to do?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Quickly run!¡± Zhao screamed as he led the way.

    They were being chased by several dozen vampire bats!

    These bats were three foot in size. Despite their name, their colour was a brownish green which allowed them to camouflage into the forest. Their fangs were several inches large and extremely sharp and poisonous. They also spat out toxic venom that could shoot out a meter forward.

    Worst of all was their bloodthirsty nature. Once they set their eyes on a target, they would not easily let go. Since they could fly, they had the advantage in movement, allowing them to easily give chase. If it was only one or two, the group would fight but against several dozen, including a few warrior class vampire bats, their chances were slim. There was no need to engage in a death battle here when they hadn¡¯t even reached their goal yet.

    ¡°If we go forward a bit more, we can reach the territory of the commander class azure lion. The lion is currently away from its home so we can enter it. However, the bats will be hesitant after sensing its residual aura and stay away. Once they¡¯re gone, we can retreat before the lion comes back.¡± The investigative elf spoke.

    ¡°Keep it together everyone, we¡¯re almost there!¡± Elwin screamed.

    The group rushed with all their strength. Occasionally, one of them would throw a few attacks at the vampire bats but the bats easily dodged them all.

    They eventually came to the azure lion¡¯s lair. This was a commander class demon and was far more dangerous than the blood bat group. If it was still in its lair, the group wouldn¡¯t dare to approach it at all, let alone when they were so exhausted.

    Luckily, the vampire bats were not intelligent so after sensing the lion¡¯s aura that marked its territory, they retreated.

    The group paused and everyone collapsed, panting for breath.

    They tried their best to be discreet, but two bats were still alerted to their presence. They engaged in a small skirmish which attracted even more bats. Helpless, they could only retreat while fighting against them. Eventually the group of bats chasing them reached a dozen, and then several dozen, but they managed to create some space between them and ran at full speed, finally reaching here.

    Everyone was weakened, the healing elf went around to treat people¡¯s wounds.

    He stopped before Zhao and looked at his arm. The armour around his forearm had broken off, revealing two deep holes penetrating into this skin. The area around the two holes had turned completely black, and slowly but surely, the rest of the arm was also turning black.

    The elf sighed helplessly, ¡°I can treat physical wounds, but I don¡¯t know any summons that can treat such strong poison. Not to mention, your arm is already deeply affected by the poison as well. To prevent it from spreading further, I can only suggest¡­ amputation.¡±

    Zhao heard this but didn¡¯t show any change in expression. He laid his poisoned arm on a rock, took out his sword and gave it to the elf.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The elf was amazed at his resolve but took the sword with a sigh.

    Then, with a single swing, he chopped his arm off.

    Zhao didn¡¯t scream. It was as if he couldn¡¯t feel pain. Everyone was surprised at his determination but the elf immediately worked to seal the wound and stop the bleeding.

    Brain was cursing himself.

    He had been careless, and a warrior class blood bat was about to strike him. If it landed, he would have surely died. But at the crucial moment, Zhao took a risk and pushed Brain out of the way, however, his hand was bit by the bat giving him this wound.

    He felt terrible!

    This was all his fault.

    But he was also very experienced, and knew these things were common during dangerous missions like this. People often made mistakes and there was nothing one could do about it.

    He told himself that he would pay back this favour if given the chance and calmed himself.

    Zhao had suffered the most severe injury so far. But the others were suffering in other ways.

    Elwin and Jin Tong were at the front lines and were getting injured constantly. If not for the healing elf and the pills they had carried with them, they would have succumbed to their injuries long ago.

    Elwin¡¯s main sword broke a while back and he was using the sword made by Drake. Though he had practised with it before, he was still surprised at how light and sharp it was, easily able to pierce through anything. Yet it was still extremely durable, even more so than his original sword.

    Jin Tong was working closely with him and also had to swap out weapons several times. He was intrigued at seeing Elwin¡¯s weapon and asked him about it. After hearing about his brother, Jin Tong decided that he would remember Drake¡¯s name.

    Others were also injured and many of their weapons were broken, and their supplies were dwindling. That tall thin swordsman had an eye injury that stopped him from being able to see temporarily. Luckily, it could still be treated but it would require more advanced magic than the elf could use.

    So, if he survived this battle, once that man returned to his village, he would have to request Myra for her help in healing him.

    The elves¡¯ magic was extremely useful to everyone.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there everyone, let¡¯s keep going,¡± Elwin spoke up after some time. Everyone nodded.

    Just as they were leaving however, a roar sounded out from behind.

    ¡°It¡¯s the azure lion!¡± they gasped, looking towards the investigative elf.

    The elf was confused, he naturally had more methods than just the bird but none of them detected the lion.

    ¡¯How was this possible?¡¯ But there was no time to think.

    The group started running again.

    Though they recovered somewhat, they couldn¡¯t engage a commander class demon.

    ¡­

    A week later, back in the Jain village.

    Sam was standing at the centre of a large inscription that was placed on the ground. The inscription was made of numerous different runes which Drake did not understand.

    He was in extreme agony as the spell reversal began.

    Drake looked on with a complex gaze. He had no longer been able to cultivate while being worried about Astoria. So, he decided to use this opportunity to observe the only grand mage he knew of in action.

    However, the method to remove the spell surprised him.

    ¡°Sometimes, dark methods can only be most effectively countered with dark methods,¡± she replied. ¡°The creature embedded in his throat is linked to Astoria¡¯s blood. So, we will need her blood, or the blood of her closest kin. The problem is¡­¡± She hesitated for a second before continuing.

    ¡°The creature exists by sucking on the boy¡¯s life force. Eventually it will kill him, thereby losing the source of its life and dying alongside him. If we want to draw the creature out, we will need to provide an even stronger life force outside its body to draw its attention. Mixed with the blood of kin, the creature is likely to get attracted and leave the host. However, if it fails, the creature will get very agitated by the changes to its surroundings and its survival instincts will kick in, making it suck the boy¡¯s life force at an exponentially faster rate and kill him.¡±

    This was her analysis. It made sense, they had to provide the creature with strong life force on the outside. But how could they do that? Where could they get such a strong source of life force?

    There was only one option available for them ¨C humans.

    But obviously they couldn¡¯t they just sacrifice any old humans. That¡¯s why slaves existed.

    Kneeling around Sam were twenty slaves in a circular formation.

    They were all stripped completely leaving only their bodies from which their life force was steadily drawn out. This was tricky because as their life force was drawn out, they would of course begin to die, so the life force on the outside would also be mixed with an aura of death, whereas inside Sam, there was only pure life force.

    That¡¯s why they decided to make up for quality with quantity, sacrificing a whole twenty human slaves in the process.

    Drake was appalled to hear this method, but what could he say?

    If he had to choose between Astoria or these twenty people that he didn¡¯t know, how could he possibly give up on Astoria? She had only ended up in this position because she wanted to help him.

    If he told everyone that he didn¡¯t want to sacrifice the slaves to save his sister, wouldn¡¯t they think he was insane? Ungrateful? Stupid?

    In all his life, Drake never thought he would be in this situation.

    So, he just remained silent and let everyone else decide. No one asked for his opinion as everyone knew Drake¡¯s thoughts about slaves. They understood that Drake had left this choice up to them. No one else had any objections of course.

    The only problem was that this was a dark ritual, and if others found out that it was being used, it would severely ruin the reputation of their family and Myra. That was why Myra hesitated. Everyone that knew of this task, Drake, Hazezel, Sam, Ray, Holt, and Myra all swore to keep it a secret. All their interests were involved so they no one would go and ruin their own reputation for no reason. Hence, they quickly agreed.

    At this moment, surrounding the spell inscriptions were various insect shaped mana spirits that were powering up the spell. They were all summoned by Myra while she also poured her own mana inside.

    Drake and Ray also helped.

    The spell was nearing its completion and from the bottom of Ray¡¯s throat, a black leech started appearing. It slowly crawled out, testing its surroundings for danger. After confirming that everything was okay, it wiggled excitedly and left Sam¡¯s body.

    The three mages controlled the density of life force inside to form a path with a steadily increasing gradient of mana. The leech followed the path until it reached the body of a slave. All the slaves were injected with Hazezel¡¯s blood who had the closest blood tie to Astoria, and since that slave¡¯s life force was the greatest, it quickly burrowed into him.

    ¡°Now!¡± Myra boomed.

    They immediately stopped the spell and the life force of the surroundings dissipated. Now the leech will not want to leave the slave¡¯s body anymore.

    The spell had succeeded!

    Myra walked towards Sam and sighed loudly.

    ¡°Is he okay?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Yes, he is fine. However, this was not an easy victory. Before the leech left, it sucked away twenty years of his lifespan.¡±

    Drake was stunned. Twenty years!? That¡¯s crazy!

    He became extremely grateful towards Sam. This stranger had helped his family so much, he didn¡¯t understand why but he was very grateful.

    Sam was unconscious. Ray had informed the others about the spell successfully completing and they were overjoyed. Holt came rushing in and ordered people to gently carry Sam away.

    As for the slaves, more than half of them were dead. The remaining had many decades sucked out of their lifespan. Due to their lifestyle, slaves had very weak life force anyway, so the spell had to suck out a lot for it to succeed.

    Drake was sucking out their life force for the spell to succeed. He was very ashamed of himself.

    Myra walked towards the slave that was now the host of the leech and looked at him curiously. The slave had woken up when the leech entered his body and was looking around dumbfounded at having survived that ordeal. Upon seeing Myra, he immediately grovelled on the ground.

    Myra looked at him expressionlessly, but her eyes carried excitement. She had demanded a lot of compensation for doing this spell. This involved lots of gold, precious materials, and other rare resources. One of which was the leech spirit itself. Holt had to helplessly agree to all her demands. She had the complete upper hand in this transaction, so he couldn¡¯t do anything.

    At the same time, he was happy that he now had the recipe of the Zenith pill. With this, his village could easily become stronger and recover this loss. He was glad that his son had the foresight to not carelessly reveal this information to Ray, else Myra would have asked for the pill formula as well.

    ¡°Follow me,¡± she said to the slave.

    The slave didn¡¯t know that he had already been given to another village, but he could only do as he was told and stood up to follow her. But he had just lost a lot of his life span and endured a great deal of pain. As a result, he suddenly felt extremely dizzy and fell. He would have landed on Myra herself but was pushed aside by one of her female attendants who had entered with the rest.

    ¡°You filthy scum! How dare you try to lay your hands on lady Myra!¡± she spat and kicked him brutally until he spat out blood. Myra and the rest walked away as if it was nothing.

    Drake felt helpless as he left the room, trying to ignore the cries of the slave.

    With her task complete, Myra soon left, happy at having made quite a fortune.

    After a day of rest, Sam woke up and told the Reynard¡¯s everything from how he met Astoria, to how she was kidnapped.

    They were all dumbfounded. Not only at her bravery and but also because they were unable to believe that the girl who was always so sweet and caring could come up with such a plan and execute it perfectly.

    By this time, information that Henry was a traitor to the Leon village and was exiled had already reached the ears of the likes of Holt and his family. They originally thought that Astoria somehow coerced Henry into selling the recipe, but to think that she so perfectly framed him!

    It was absolutely genius!

    Holt laughed happily, ¡°She is my daughter after all, she cannot be underestimated!¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Hazezel said. However, Drake was feeling complex.

    He was more empathetic towards others, especially coming from Earth where the societal norms were completely different. He imagined himself in Henry¡¯s shoes, and how horrible it would be to get framed for something he didn¡¯t do. Though Henry was responsible for ruining Nala¡¯s life and by extension, also Sam, in the eyes of most people, what Henry did wasn¡¯t too bad. It was an accepted demeanour of nobility in this world.

    Although Drake didn¡¯t think that was acceptable, he also didn¡¯t know if it meant that he should suffer such fate of being blamed by the whole world for a crime he didn¡¯t commit. Disowned by his own father, losing his status, and exiled from his home to survive God knows where.

    It was unthinkable to him.

    ¡®Maybe this is what they call karma,¡¯ he thought.

    Henry ruined one person¡¯s life, and so his life was ruined by Astoria, who was then kidnapped by someone else.

    They also understood why Sam was so grateful to Astoria and wanted to help her so much. But what no one understood was just who those grand mages were. They couldn¡¯t be natives, as if such grand mages existed before, everyone would know about them. They had to have come from the outside, but why?

    ¡®They had to be plotting something!¡¯ thought Holt, holding his chin. ¡®Considering the timing of their appearance with that of the chaos in Beast Woods, could they have something to do with this?¡¯

    Holt subconsciously looked towards the woods, ¡®Son, please be safe.¡¯

    The Jain village also started mass producing the Zenith pills and it was an immense help to Drake.

    When Ray heard of this, he was inwardly furious that he had been kept in the dark for so long! However, he calmed down after some time, realising that he would have done the same in their position and decided not to hold it against them.

    At the same time, Myra was hearing a report from a guard with a dark expression.

    ¡®Holt¡­ To think that you hid such a big secret from me. Hehe, not bad!¡¯ she smiled.

    ¡­

    One week before, back in the Beast woods.

    The group had finally managed to escape from the azure lion, but it wasn¡¯t easy. They had to engage in several short fights that injured many people before they started running again. Finally, the burly man wielding a mace had volunteered to hold back the demon to buy everyone time.

    Jin Tong wanted to refuse but the tall thin man nodded in confirmation. They didn¡¯t have time to argue as everyone else rushed out.

    That man was obviously no match for the demon. He was just sacrificing himself to do his duty of protecting Jin Tong.

    They could hear the echoes of their fight for a while before everything quietened down. No one spoke, but they were secretly glad that it wasn¡¯t them who had to be sacrificed.

    Everyone except Jin Tong and the tall swordsman.

    Soon however, the sounds of chasing arrived again, and everyone¡¯s faces were ashen. Was their comrade¡¯s sacrifice in vain? However, these sounds soon decreased and eventually came to a stop, indicating that the demon had finally given up.

    The group stopped running and started panting for breath again. Some were resting against trees and some were sitting on the ground, while others completely collapsed. They were exhausted, physically and mentally. Their supplies were mostly gone, armours were worn out, and even their spare equipment were all getting damaged.

    At this rate, it would be a nightmare to make it back!

    However, they were also happy. Because now, they had finally reached their goal! This was the start of the circular region marked in the map by Myra.

    They rested in a hidden area while some people stood guard and the investigative elf scouted around. After some time, he reacted as if he found something unbelievable.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Zhao asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s so strange. In the nearby area, for at least half a kilometre, there is not a single demon present!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± everyone gasped.

    ¡°But my investigative methods aren¡¯t perfect. If there are demons much stronger than my spirits, they would not detect it.¡±

    The group was silent as they remembered the sudden appearance of the azure lion. It would be terrible if they got ambushed again.

    ¡°However, I found a spot, about a quarter of an hour walk away, where there is a cabin.¡±

    ¡°A cabin?¡± Elwin asked confused.

    ¡°Yes. And from the looks of it, it is not an abandoned one.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression darkened. This was a group made of the finest warriors in each of their village combined. Yet even they were having such a hard time in this forest. Why was there a cabin here? How could there be anyone living in it? And why were there no demons around?

    This was all too strange. There was no doubt that they would find some answers in that cabin.

    They had to go there.

    However, someone who could live in this deadly zone would not be a simple character. Not to mention that there are no demons around, which suggests that they might have fled from their presence. Who could cause such a reaction in these demons?

    Could it be a legendary mage king?

    Everyone gulped. That was impossible.

    They rested for a while before heading for the cabin. Elwin and Jin Tong lead the way but were now only protected by Zhao. Zhao obviously had a bias towards protecting Elwin, but Jin Tong didn¡¯t care.

    Soon the group arrived at the cabin. It was a small wooden construction with just two floors and little maintenance. However, there were footprints leading into and out of the house, suggesting that it was recently used.

    The group cautiously opened the door.

    It was surprisingly unlocked, but after thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t too surprising. The owner might have thought that no one would be willing to come all this way.

    The group entered a dark room lit by a few candles. The floor and walls were clean and there were several pieces of furniture lying around.

    ¡°We¡¯ll split up to quickly scout this place and meet back here,¡± Elwin commanded. They all agreed. The elves search the top floor, Jin Tong and the tall swordsman searched this ground floor, while Elwin, Zhao, and Brain went to the basement.

    It was extremely dark; the stray candle rays were unable to penetrate this deep. However, they had all been through many life and death battles, so they wouldn¡¯t be scared by a little darkness.

    After a while, Zhao took out a lantern and lit it up before leading the way.

    The basement was quite large, however, when they reached the end, they were all completely in shock.

    Nailed to a cross was the delicate body of a woman.

    It was Astoria!

 Chapter 20: Reunions

    ¡°Sister!¡± Elwin gasped. He didn¡¯t know that Astoria got kidnapped, or that she caused such a mess in the village of Leon, nor about the conspiracy of dark mages. He only came here to investigate the strange behaviour of the demons.

    Never in his wildest imagination did he think that he would find Astoria here!

    She was nailed to a cross, and her blood was falling to the floor. However, the floor was covered in a strange inscription and right next to the bottom of the cross were several centipedes. The centipedes drank her blood, grew, then suddenly split into two, quickly multiplying. As they did so. The centipedes burrowed into the ground and made their way out.

    Elwin was furious and slaughtered all the centipedes on the floor before destroying the magic inscriptions. He took down the cross and told Brain to fetch the elves. Everyone soon arrived at this scene.

    ¡°This is the work of dark mages!¡± the elves hissed.

    Astoria was still unconscious but was alive. Elwin was glad.

    He pulled out the nail on her hand at which point Astoria woke up screaming. Her hand was quickly healed by the elf, and she fell unconscious again. This was repeated on her other hand and her foot, which were all nailed to the cross. There were other cuts on her body that were all bleeding, but the elf soon healed them all.

    Elwin gently shook his sister awake. Astoria was slowly recovering consciousness. She rubbed her eyes open to see so many people before her gaze focused on Elwin.

    Suddenly she remembered many things and understood her situation.

    She hurriedly sat up and said, ¡°Quick! We need to leave!¡±

    ¡°What why?¡± Jin Tong asked.

    ¡°Long story short, I was kidnapped by two dark grand mages and brought here for some ritual. However, they left soon after, maybe to collect other girls like me for their sick use, who knows. Anyway, they left a commander class demon on guard which is still here!¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡± everyone gasped. They didn¡¯t see any commander class demon on their way here. However, as if to prove her point, a roar that shook their entire building resounded from the woods. Some of their knees gave way under this pressure as they fell.

    This was a commander class demon - they were all going to be toast!

    ¡°What are you all waiting for, RUN!¡± Elwin screamed, immediately standing up with Astoria. She had just woken up and was still unable to walk properly but with Elwin¡¯s help, she managed to make it out of the building.

    Boom!

    Just as the group left, the entire building was torn out of the ground by an immense force. Standing behind it was an armoured mountain bear. Its figure was huge, twice that of the elephant demon that they had fought earlier. Its eyes were red as it stared at them with deep killing intent.

    The group did not need to be told twice. Their survival instincts kicked in upon seeing that huge demon.

    They ran for their lives.

    The armoured mountain bear roared in fury as it gave chase. But all of them, except of course Astoria, were either expert martial artists or mages. They used various techniques to boost their speed while Astoria herself was carried by Elwin.

    They ran with all their might, quickly reaching their previous resting spot, and sprinting back to the region with the azure lion. The azure lion initially sensed the presence of the humans, and then it felt a far greater threat behind them.

    The azure lion roared, warning them to not approach.

    One of the reasons why the group survived before was that they would often lure demons into each other¡¯s layers and get them into fighting each other which greatly reduced their burden. This was what Drake also did all those years ago when chased by that minotaur.

    But commander class demons were slightly intelligent and would not fight unnecessarily. So, they didn¡¯t know if this plan would work out.

    The group ran helplessly but the demon was rapidly approaching. Bear type demons weren¡¯t known for their speed like wolves and this bear was covered in heavy armour which further decreased its speed, which is why they could run for this long.

    The armoured mountain bear had impenetrable defence and a strong offense. It¡¯s true strength laid in battle, not chase. However, due to the large power gap, it was still quickly catching up.

    The group entered the territory of the azure lion, but the lion didn¡¯t attack them, it was focusing on the armoured mountain bear. However, the armoured mountain bear skirted around the boundary of the azure lion¡¯s lair while chasing them.

    The two did not fight!

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice! We must split up!¡± said Elwin at once. Everyone nodded solemnly. This was their only hope.

    ¡°We¡¯ll split into four groups,¡± the tall swordsman spoke as they sprinted. ¡°One group will have one member from each village. They will fight together to hold the demon back for as long as possible. The rest will split up into the groups based on their respective villages and head in different directions. That is the best option to ensure the survival of most people.¡±

    Everyone nodded helplessly. The mission was already completed so they wanted to retreat but nobody expected to end up in this kind of a situation. However, what was done is done. The information they had must reach their villages, else their sacrifice thus far would have been in vain.

    They quickly came to an agreement. The tall swordsman, the healing mage, and Brain would go engage the demon whilst the rest split up. This would leave Jin Tong all on his own, but he didn¡¯t complain.

    Everyone knew that death was inevitable, so they quickly acted according to the plan and split up, hoping against hope that at least one person will be able to make it and carry their information through.

    Three weeks later, two weeks after Sam told everyone about Astoria.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Two figures approached the Jain village gate. It was a young boy and a girl. Their clothes were tattered and dirty, their bodies were covered in innumerable wounds, and they were struggling to take even a single step. However, they pushed each other forward. The boy used a sword as a cane to support himself while the two walked forward together.

    A few guards noticed this peculiar sight and immediately went to help.

    ¡°Who are you tw- ah!¡± the guard screamed. ¡°Young master Elwin! Miss Astoria! It is really you! Quickly someone come help!¡± After hearing his words, the two knew they were safe and immediately collapsed.

    At the same time, in front of the elven village, a lone figure was walking forward. It was covered in wounds and missing an arm. The hole was covered by a cloth that had long since absorbed all the blood that it could. Half of its face was covered by a long scar that cut through one of its eyes. It was a miracle that this figure was still alive.

    The figure spotted several guards approach it from the village gate and, with a smile, collapsed onto the floor.

    ¡®Finally made it¡­¡¯ it thought.

    In the village of Leon, Byron¡¯s face as full of worry.

    ¡®Where is everyone?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Two mages wearing dark hooded robes were standing inside a wooden cabin with dark expressions. This cabin was none other than the cabin that was destroyed by the commander class demon but had later been restored by these two mages.

    There were now standing in the basement. That cross was once again erected and nailed onto it was another person.

    This was a man around sixteen years of age. If Elwin or Astoria were here, they would quickly recognise him.

    Jin Tong!

    Several days later, in the Jain village, a servant was cleaning a room. In that room there was a large bed, on which lay a young man. He was the young master of the village, Elwin. The servant turned around to go clean another table when he noticed something about the young master.

    Elwin was moving his fingers!

    The servant ran out of the room.

    ¡°Lord Holt! Lord Holt!¡± he called frantically.

    Holt arrived to find that Elwin was slowly opening his eyes.

    ¡®It seems, I actually made it¡¯ he thought. He felt very weak. When he saw that armoured mountain bear, he really thought that he would die. He just wanted to save Astoria at the very least.

    Astoria¡­

    ¡°Astoria!¡± he yelled, sitting up. ¡°How is she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s fine. Just unconscious like you were,¡± Holt replied warmly. ¡°How are you feeling son?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ okay¡± he replied. His physical wounds were all healed by Holt, and he was lying in a new pair of clothes.

    ¡°Call everyone, I must inform you of what happened,¡± Elwin declared.

    Holt felt something different about him. He spoke more authoritatively, with confidence. He no longer had an innocent look, childish look, but was sharp and mature.

    Holt was happy, ¡®It seems that the risk I took was worth it¡¯, he thought, as he left to assemble everyone else.

    After some time.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened,¡± Drake mumbled.

    He was standing along with Ray, Hazezel, and Holt, in front of Elwin¡¯s bed. They had just listened to the whole story.

    After they split up, the group that went to engage the demon was quickly eliminated. However, it still brought them precious time to escape. The demon was furious and wondering which group to chase when it suddenly ran towards Jin Tong. Maybe it wanted to take out the weakest group first, but they couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Everyone assumed that he was dead by now.

    Afterwards, it went after the elves. Although its main task was to protect Astoria, in its mind, none of these people could get away. Elwin¡¯s group had three people, and Elwin and Zhao were both strong fighters.

    However, Jin Tong was a lone, spent force and the elves were primarily long-range fighters. Especially the investigative elf was extremely weak in close combat. It wanted to make quick work of them before chasing after Astoria.

    This gave them some time, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. Eventually the demon started catching up to them at which point Zhao decided to stay back and keep it occupied.

    They kept running and running, purposely going through many demons and onis¡¯ territories. These demons didn¡¯t dare to fight against the commander class demon and they all ran away. So, their whole section of the woods fell into absolute chaos as demons were running everywhere and ended up fighting against each other while the commander class demon was rampaging.

    This chaos became another reason that slowed down the armoured mountain bear as it inevitably got drawn into some fights.

    By the end of it all, the two finally managed to make it out of the woods and even the commander class demon didn¡¯t dare to recklessly charge out of the woods. Though it was powerful, if it left the woods, the other villages would sense it and it would get surrounded by many powerful humans simultaneously. So, it could only abandon them.

    Elwin and the others didn¡¯t know whether the others survived at all, but that wasn¡¯t too important to them. They only cared about people from their own villages, the others were not their problem.

    At this point, Holt also started informing Elwin about what happened in his absence. Just as they were talking a visitor arrived at their door.

    ¡°Dad,¡± came a girl¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Astoria!¡± everyone cried. Except for Ray and Elwin, the rest rushed towards her. After a long time, Astoria felt the loving embrace of her family and felt happy.

    They spent some time catching her up as well when Astoria suddenly had a question.

    ¡°What happened to Sam?¡±

    ¡°He¡­¡± Holt hesitated before telling her about the state that Nala was in, and how he sacrificed himself to save Astoria. As it turned out, despite her body being healed, Nala ended up dying a few days later. She was already too weak and there was nothing more they could have done.

    ¡°Where is he now?¡± she asked worriedly.

    ¡°From what I know, he has been running around bars, drinking away. He is still in mourning.¡±

    Astoria immediately dashed out the building.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Drake called out before following her but was held back by Hazezel.

    ¡°Let her go Drake, she needs some time alone,¡± he said.

    Drake thought about it and agreed. Too much had happened recently, they were all trying to get through it. However, one thing was sure, the events of the past few months had changed all of them.

    They were about to leave when a messenger came through the door.

    ¡°Lord Holt! I have urgent news. A horde of demons have left the woods and started attacking the outskirts of the village!¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!¡±

    Meanwhile, in an empty bar, a lone man was seated while ordering one drink after another. He was consuming them at an alarming rate. He was about to have another drink when a figure burst through the door.

    It was a small, but beautiful young figure. A girl that he was very familiar with. He almost couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes when he saw her.

    ¡°Astoria? Oh, it seems I¡¯m really too drunk,¡± he said before drinking another mug. However, Astoria didn¡¯t go away but marched forward and grabbed the drink from his hands.

    ¡°Huh?¡± he said before looking at her again. ¡°It really is you!¡±

    Sam couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.

    Though they worked together, they had their own interests so he didn¡¯t even know if they could be called friends. Either way, he didn¡¯t really care. Nala was already dead. So, everything that he did before was completely meaningless right?

    So what if he succeeded in getting revenge on Henry or saving Astoria, his primary goal failed. Though everyone else had some gains in the past events, he was one who had lost everything. He didn¡¯t get his happy ending.

    And there was nothing he could do. Life was unfair at times.

    He could only drink.

    But now Astoria was holding his mug, so he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    She looked at him but also didn¡¯t know what to do now. An awkward silence began, which was broken by Astoria who suddenly started tearing up. She dropped the mug and gave Sam a deep hug.

    ¡°Thank you. Thank you very much,¡± she said. ¡°And I am so sorry about what happened. I really wish I had known about this sooner; I would have saved Nala.¡±

    Sam didn¡¯t reply. He had thought about many ¡®what ifs¡¯ to himself. But what was the point? It was already too late now. He had to accept reality. But how could he accept it? He wasn¡¯t ready yet. He just had to drink.

    Or so he thought but Astoria randomly showed up and hugged him. And being hugged by Astoria made him feel so many things simultaneously.

    As a child, he often saw children hugging their parents and wondered if he could have also hugged his parents if they were alive. But he never got the chance. Many memories, thoughts, and emotions were surging in his mind.

    Slowly, few drops of tears fell out of his eyes too, before soon, they became an uncontrollable flood.

    This was the first time he cried properly in a long time.

    He cried and cried, while Astoria held him. Though she was short and young, she was now a pillar of support that Sam could use, that he needed.

    He kept crying for a long time, but Astoria didn¡¯t mind at all, gently patting his head.

 Chapter 21: Mana Strengthening technique

    ¡°Charge!¡± Holt screamed as he led his small army forward.

    They were attacking a horde of servant class demons that had shown up on their lands and were attacking their farms, eating the livestock, and causing great damage. They appeared suddenly and in large numbers. Holt sent out all his generals to lead small armies to deal with the various situation. However, this group had shown up out of nowhere and he had no one left except himself.

    Of course, Elwin volunteered but Holt did not want him to go before recovering completely. Elwin couldn¡¯t protest as he could still barely walk properly. So, while Elwin rested, Hazezel took care of maintaining the situation.

    Holt was very proud of Hazezel. Though he didn¡¯t have battle talent like Elwin, and he wasn¡¯t an inborn genius like Drake, he was still extremely shrewd. He was great at dealing with administrative and political matters and was a huge help to him when Elwin had gone on the expedition. He had taken over all of Elwin¡¯s duties and performed them perfectly.

    However, Holt couldn¡¯t think about that too much now. He charged on a horse as he slaughtered many demons on his way. Soon the situation was suppressed, and they had won.

    Holt returned to the village, but his expression was grim.

    The attacks started too suddenly so they didn¡¯t prepare. The initial wave destroyed a lot of their resources, causing great economic damage. The farms he protected was just one example, but even before he arrived, thirty per cent of the crops were already destroyed. The food prices had gone up in the village and many people were unable to afford it. Holt allowed rationing of the village warehouse to prevent the situation from turning into a civil chaos.

    However, this was only the beginning. Their troops were still strong now, but they had just been fighting for several days straight before the first wave of demons were repelled. But would there not be a second? A third? Fourth? How many more were there?

    He didn¡¯t know, but his intel informed him that there was a large unrest in the Beast Woods.

    Holt was confused. They thought they had at least two years before the demons started overflowing, so what was going on?

    He couldn¡¯t help but think about those mysterious dark grand mages. Who were they? Are they involved in causing this situation behind the scenes? Did they speed up their plans after realising that they rescued Astoria and figured out their plans?

    They controlled a commander class demon, so their abilities were unfathomable. So many people died to get that information to him, but it was still useless. He had to divert his attention to worrying about this enemy in the dark.

    ¡®If two dark grand mages attacked along with a commander class demon during one of these waves, our Jain village is definitely finished,¡¯ he thought to himself before joining Hazezel in the office room.

    They read through many reports, signed different documents for permission, and discussed many matters.

    At the same time, Drake was now in the garden holding a pill in his hands. It was none other than the Zenith pill.

    ¡®I¡¯m such a hypocrite¡¯ he thought to himself. He preached kindness to everyone in the family, telling them not to use slaves among other things. Yet he himself drained the life force out of so many slaves to save Sam and get information about his sister.

    Moreover, he was using this pill which was brought by framing Henry for a crime he didn¡¯t do, which he still felt wrong about.

    ¡®What right do I have to tell anyone else about what is good or bad?¡¯ he thought. ¡®Maybe when push comes to shove, all human beings are just selfish¡¯.

    But he quickly shook his head and consumed the pill, deciding to not waste too much time thinking about it.

    Its effects were miraculous, immediately letting him enter a state of meditation and allowed him to begin cultivating instantly. He would not easily get distracted and break out of the cultivation either.

    It was the perfect pill for a newbie mage like him and could increase his cultivation speed several times. He kept cultivating for six hours straight before finally opening his eyes.

    ¡®Not enough,¡¯ he thought. He still had very little battle strength. If it was possible, he would charge into the front lines to help his family, but what could he do? He was only seven years old and had only recently become a mage. He subconsciously turned to his master who was cultivating alongside him.

    ¡°Do you want to ask me something?¡± Ray spoke with his eyes half closed.

    ¡°Master Ray, I want to know how I can cultivate quicker¡± he asked.

    Ray sighed, ¡°If it was so easy to raise one¡¯s cultivation, the number of mages in this world wouldn¡¯t be so few,¡± he replied.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean that there is no way, right?¡± he asked persistently.

    ¡°Of course, there is. The world is vast, our villages are nothing but a speck of dust compared to the entire world. There are many kinds of pills, spells, rituals, and techniques. Among them, there are sure to be some that can help you cultivate quicker. However, I don¡¯t possess any such methods. Even if I did, they usually have large drawbacks, so I would not provide you with them even if I had one.¡±

    Drake was solemn. He expected this but couldn¡¯t help but inwardly cry. What was he supposed to do now? Just sit here and cultivate peacefully whilst everyone else risked their lives?

    He had been feeling so helpless when Astoria went missing and when Elwin charged into the Beast Woods, he couldn¡¯t do anything. Now they were in the middle of a war, and he was still doing nothing.

    This was unacceptable!

    ¡°Please master, I am sure you understand my worries. Isn¡¯t there anything you can do?¡± he asked pitifully. Ray was his only hope.

    Ray finally opened his eyes and stared at Drake.

    ¡°What you need is battle strength. It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to come from raising your cultivation level¡­¡± he spoke slowly.

    ¡°Really?¡± Drake exclaimed.

    Ray nodded. ¡°For others it may not be possible, but for you¡­ since you can learn any summoning almost instantly¡­ you can practice learning more summons that are suited to your fighting style and practise fighting with them. However, that is not enough.¡±

    Drake nodded. ¡°When I use a spell, it consumes most of my mana. In a battle, I will not be able to use more than several spells before I run out. That is very useless no matter how strong the spell is.¡±

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    Ray was glad that Drake understood and so handed Drake a scroll. He accepted and read through it carefully.

    This was a special cultivation technique called the Mana Strengthening technique. It condensed a person¡¯s mana and made it purer. Even though the amount of mana that he could hold would depend on the number of mana cores and cultivation realm, this way, the mana he can hold will become purer and more condensed. If he can condense it to twice the original, that was the same as doubling his mana capacity!

    But how could there be such a wonderful thing in the world without drawbacks.

    The first drawback was that this required extreme concentration to sense and collect the mana from surroundings. This might be hard for others, but he had the Zenith pill, so it was fine.

    Most importantly, while this made one¡¯s mana purer, it decreased one¡¯s cultivation by an entire realm. For him, it was equivalent to restarting from zero, at the rogue mage level. All these months he spent cultivating would be wasted, used as fuel to strengthen his mana. Once his cultivation dropped to rock bottom, he would then have to cultivate his Return of Spring Arts again and repeat this process.

    The Mana Strengthening was broken into several cycles. In the first cycle, an early-stage true mage would forcefully use up their cultivation completely and become a rogue mage before recultivating back to early-stage true mage realm. This would complete one cycle of the Mana Strengthening technique and would result in the mana becoming two times more condensed. Then, once they became an early-stage warrior mage, they would have to use their cultivation up again and fall to early-stage true mage realm, before recultivating back. Now their mana would be four times more condensed. Finally, they would repeat this when becoming a grand mage, mage king, and mage emperor too, further condensing their mana six, eight, and ten times.

    This would make cultivation extremely slow at the beginning stages, but at higher realms, the mage will have much more condensed mana compared to others in the same realm, which would actually make it easier for them to cultivate and break through. Additionally, this would mean that within the same cultivation realm, they would usually be stronger since they could store more mana.

    It took him a month to cultivate from the rogue mage realm to true mage realm. Using this technique, he had to return to the rogue mage realm, purify and condense his mana, and recultivate back, which could take several months.

    However, since low mana capacity was the limiting factor to his battle strength, after finishing the first cycle, he would effectively be several times stronger compared to now. But if he instead spent those months cultivating normally, he would likely not even reach the middle-stage true mage realm and his strength would not increase nearly as much.

    Hence, this was the most suitable path for him.

    He stopped hesitating and bowed to Ray respectfully.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Ray said. He then handed Drake a bottle of pills. Ray didn¡¯t give Drake pills very often. He knew that pills were rare and Ray didn¡¯t have an endless supply, so he was extremely grateful for these. These were mana recovery pills that would help him.

    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± Drake said once again.

    ¡°If you really want to become stronger quickly, there is something else you should do as well,¡± Ray spoke.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You should cultivate martial arts. You received a good martial arts technique from your father a while ago, but you haven¡¯t begun cultivating it yet. Like with ordinary mana cultivation, it is easy to make progress in the early stages of martial arts cultivation, and it becomes more difficult over time. Since mana strengthening technique is more difficult at the early stages and less difficult over time, cultivating the two together could be beneficial for you.¡±

    Drake nodded. Cultivating the mana strengthening technique will increase his mana capacity and therefore battle strength by several times within a few months. If he also cultivated the tempered body within this time, he could reach a whole new level.

    Drake turned around and sat down to cultivate the Mana Strengthening technique. Over the next few weeks, he had to break down his entire foundation built over the last two months and condense them to make his mana a little bit purer.

    He closed his eyes once again, took out a zenith pill and sighed. If he kept thinking about what was right and wrong, he would end up never doing anything. For now, he just had to focus on increasing his battle strength.

    He swallowed the pill and under its effect, sank into a deep state of meditation.

    ¡­

    In the Elven village, Myra was standing in a dark room as she looked at a dead slave. His eyes had burst open, his hair was burnt, his skin was shredded, his tongue was ripped out, and he was dismembered. He was as dead as one can be.

    ¡°Another failure¡­¡± she mumbled with a dark expression.

    She then walked towards another corner of the room where a slave was tied to a wooden pole. This was none other than that slave who was possessed by the leach. Myra used her nails to strike at his throat, causing him to bleed black blood. It was the blood of that leech. The leech screeched and began drawing more life force out of the slave which made him scream in pain.

    Myra didn¡¯t mind it at all and collected as much blood as she could before he seemed like he was going to die. She then healed his injuries and force fed him a pill.

    This was a miraculous pill that could increase his life force!

    He was steadily recovering from that loss but was still extremely weak.

    ¡°Please¡­ kill me!¡± he begged.

    Myra paid him no heed as she repeated this process to collect the blood she needed, before finally stopping after five more times. She then walked back to a corner of the room where a bunch of slaves were lying unconscious. She then dragged one to the centre before taking the black blood and summoned a strange creature.

    The summoned creature had no face, just a large mouth and a tail. It drank the blood thirstily and emptied a third of its contents before it was satisfied. It then turned to face the slave before vomiting out all the blood. However, this blood now had a green tinge to it.

    While this was happening, Myra was closely observing the process to see every detail.

    Boom!

    His body exploded and Myra suffered a backlash. She was coughing profusely and became dizzy before falling unconscious.

    After an hour she woke up lightheaded and feeling extremely weak. She drank some water and recovered a bit of her strength and looked towards the slave who ended up in the same condition as the previous one.

    ¡°Again¡­What am I doing wrong?¡± she hissed frustratedly.

    ¡­

    Several months later.

    Holt and everyone else were prepared to face new waves of demons, but there was nothing. They were very confused at first, however Hazezel came up with an explanation.

    He thought that during Elwin and everyone else¡¯s escape, they had made the commander class demon chase them through a large section of the Beast Woods, which disturbed so many monsters and made them leave their lairs. Overall, their escape had caused huge chaos in the Beast Woods as the demons fled from the armoured mountain bear. Hence, these might have been the demons that ended up leaving the woods and attacking their village.

    Since the armoured mountain bear had returned, it was likely that new demons wouldn¡¯t be coming out anytime soon.

    However, even this one wave showed everyone how dangerous these demons attacks could be. It was only a matter of time before more waves of demons started coming out.

    Also with this demon attack, rumours started spreading around the villages about something happening in the Beast Woods. Hence, everyone became restless and started to do what they could to prepare for any more waves.

    Drake cultivated diligently. It took him about a month to consume all his cultivation and condense his mana into a purer form.

    After this, he began to cultivate the twelve-star body transformation arts. Since martial arts cultivation also required the use of mana, he figured that once he made his mana purer, it would be easier to cultivate martial arts.

    But he was wrong.

    Once he became a rogue mage, his body stopped producing mana again. So, he had to once more collect the world¡¯s mana refine it into his unique mana. However, since his mana was now more condensed, it became more difficult!

    Drake did not expect this challenge and realised that his estimation of two months might be wrong.

    But he came up with a new plan. When trying to refine the world¡¯s mana into his unique mana, normally most of the mana would escape and become useless. Hence, he decided to use the rest of the mana to temper his body according to the twelve-star body transformation arts!

    This would require extreme concentration to be able to refine the mana while simultaneously tempering the body, however, with the help of the Zenith pill and his developed, adult brain, it was possible.

    So that¡¯s what he did.

    Drake simultaneously cultivated mana and martial arts.

    It was no walk in the park.

    Drake often tore his muscles, punctured his organs, broke his bones, and so on. Luckily, Ray was always there to heal him in those cases.

    Once he refined enough mana, then he stopped tempering his body and focused on tempering his mana core instead. Once his mana ran out, he would repeat the process.

    This guy really is a freak! Ray thought, after seeing his disciple¡¯s cultivation method.

 Chapter 22: Drakeéˆ¥æªš Growth

    Time passes like the wind. In the blink of an eye, two years went by.

    For the first four months, with Ray¡¯s help, Drake steadily progressed and achieved the true mage realm again and was making progress towards the tempered body realm.

    By the end of the year, Drake became a tempered body martial artist.

    At this point, Ray began lightly sparring with Drake to give him some battle experience. Ray started becoming more and more serious in their fights as time went on, always keeping Drake on his edge.

    He could control many artifacts simultaneously during his battles, and as a tempered body martial artist, he was strong and quick in close combat too. He summoned thin iron needles and shurikens to attack on long-range, javelins and hammers to attack at mid-range, and used his own body to attack in close combat.

    Ray was a steel body martial artist and a warrior mage, and he had to admit that Drake was much stronger than ordinary people at his realm. Still, he was able to easily manoeuvre through Drake¡¯s projectiles and once he got close to him, he could easily defeat him in close combat.

    Drake learnt a lot during all their fights, constantly improving his battle experience.

    Over the next year, Drake got into a routine. Sparring in the morning, mana cultivation in the afternoon, and martial arts cultivation in the evening. Although his mana cultivation was slow, the Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts he practiced was exceptional, making his martial arts cultivation faster. Drake soon reached the middle-stage tempered body after a few months and, by the end of the second year, was extremely close to the late-stage.

    One had to realise that Elwin reached the steel body at fifteen years of age which was considered prodigious. Reaching the late stage tempered body so quickly was insane. Drake not only had a great talent for martial arts, but the cultivation technique he received was truly phenomenal, and allowed him to cultivate rapidly.

    Of course, the guidance Drake received from Ray, and the numerous pills he had access to, especially the zenith pill, was of immeasurable help as well.

    A large crowd gathered in the Jain village.

    ¡°Move, move! Let me see!¡± a young boy screamed as he made his way through. The public were welcoming the warriors who went out to subdue another demon group.

    ¡°Look that¡¯s him!¡± someone pointed while shouting.

    ¡°Young master Elwin, we love you!¡± a woman screamed from the crowd and was joined by others.

    The public had long since become aware of Elwin¡¯s bravery in the expedition. Tales were told of how he bravely took the front lines time and time again. Some talked about how he fought against a commander class demon and escaped against all odds while protecting his sister.

    Some talked about how he even fought and injured the commander class demon!

    Obviously, these rumours were exaggerated but there was no doubt that that incident earned him a deep place in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Over these two years, Elwin¡¯s cultivation had also grown. He was at the middle stage steel body and was very close to the late stage.

    Additionally, over the last six months, demons had started slowly attacking again.

    The waves were small and infrequent at first, but they quickly started becoming stronger, more numerous and frequent.

    Elwin gladly took the front lines and demonstrated his might regularly during the demon invasions. Hence, he was rising to fame.

    ¡°Young master you are the best!¡±

    ¡°Young master will save us all!¡±

    ¡°As long as young master is here, we will be safe!¡±

    In this way, many people were watching the parade while commenting and praising leisurely. These days, the hot topic of the town was none other than Elwin who had always been regarded as a rising star.

    The person in question, Elwin was inwardly contemplating the situation. It was quickly becoming more and more dire. The front lines were being pushed back as the assault of the demons strengthened with time.

    It wasn¡¯t just their village of course, both Leon and the elves were also under attack. In fact, even Ray was summoned at times to help the elves, if necessary, though he still mostly stayed to guide Drake in his cultivation, which was his primary duty.

    The three villages tried their best to hold on by themselves but were unable to do so.

    Therefore, they decided to work together.

    Elves had high quality ranged troops and mages. They sent troops to the other two villages to help maintain their front lines. Leon and Jain both had expert swordsmen that were great at melee combat. These troops were exchanged to maintain a balance of the different types of fighting groups. This helped stabilised the situation somewhat.

    But the demon attacks were unpredictable and overwhelming.

    At this point, Hazezel came up with an idea. He thought that the villages should put together several small groups composed of elite individuals called response units that could quickly travel between villages. Whenever one village was under an unexpected attack and struggled to hold on, they could rush to reinforce them, and hold the demons at bay until larger reinforcements arrived. In this way, they could deal with unexpected ambushes, and use them to quickly reinforce the frontlines when necessary.

    Implementing this strategy helped stabilise the situation a lot.

    Previously, some villages would be under a lot of pressure whilst others were more relaxed, but this imbalance was corrected through this cooperation, allowing the best use of all the troops.

    Despite these efforts however, the villages were in a passive position. The demons didn¡¯t have a base like the humans that they could attack and destroy. Or rather, they did have a base, but that was the entire Beast Woods.

    How could they destroy the entire woods? They were extremely helpless.

    And during this entire time, those dark grand mages and that commander class demon did not show up at all. This was both good news and bad news. Good because the longer they took to show up, the longer they could survive. But bad news because they were definitely not waiting out of good intentions. They had something else in mind and it could only be worse.

    Thinking about all this, Elwin didn¡¯t know what to do. He sighed helplessly as he returned to his manor. There, he saw an unusual sight.

    Drake was arguing with Holt.

    ¡°But Father please, I am not too young!¡± Drake retorted. However, Holt disagreed before glancing at Elwin.

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    ¡°Ah Elwin, you came at a perfect time. Will you please tell this nine-year-old boy how stupid it is to want to go to the front lines?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Elwin was stunned.

    What was Drake thinking? He wanted to retort but he didn¡¯t immediately do so.

    More than the age, what mattered the most in this world was strength.

    Drake was very intelligent despite his age so if he asked for this, he certainly couldn¡¯t be doing it out of youthful hot-bloodedness. He must be confident in his abilities. But Elwin didn¡¯t know what abilities he had.

    It was possible that Drake misjudged his own abilities or underestimated the threat of the demons.

    "Very well Drake. Let¡¯s have a spar. If you can convince me of your skill, I will support you,¡± he said.

    ¡°Elwin you!¡± Holt was going to argue but Elwin¡¯s gaze silenced him immediately.

    Elwin had grown a lot recently, so Holt decided to trust his judgement. He would also watch this fight to see what gave Drake the confidence to want to go to the frontlines.

    Drake was excited. He had grown a lot over these past two years and wanted to show everyone the results.

    The two brothers faced each other in the back garden.

    On the side stood Holt and Ray. From a window, Hazezel was also watching this interesting situation.

    Fighting Elwin was no joke. He had almost reached the late-stage steel body over the past two years and was already one of the most well-known experts in the village, surpassing most adults.

    But¡­ Hazezel knew that if Drake was challenging him, he must have his reasons. He wanted to know what that was.

    The two wielded real swords.

    Elwin was primarily using the sword artifact that Drake had summoned for him. He was extremely happy with it.

    As for Drake, he was wielding a sword that he personally summoned again. He tightly gripped the sword with both hands while vigilantly watching Elwin. Drake could not underestimate him.

    Holt picked up a piece of leaf and dropped it. The moment it hit the ground would mark the start of the fight.

    Drake tensed up as he faced Elwin, getting ready to meet his strike.

    The leaf landed.

    Elwin reacted instantly.

    In the blink of an eye Elwin already closed the distance between them and was about to strike. He went straight for Drake¡¯s neck, ruthlessly trying to teach Drake a lesson. Unexpectedly, Drake blocked the attack.

    Cling! The sound echoed across the garden. Elwin was surprised but he reacted immediately, attacking once again. But Drake dodged this time, trying to open some space.

    But how could Elwin allow him to do that? He chased relentlessly. Drake blocked and dodged.

    ¡°Is this all you have, brother?¡± Elwin taunted.

    Drake didn¡¯t respond, simply dodging and blocking passively. Holt frowned.

    ¡®An opening!¡¯ Elwin thought and immediately seized it, stabbing forwards towards his stomach. Drake smiled.

    He didn¡¯t block or dodge but deflected the blow, pushing Elwin sideways.

    ¡®Not good!¡¯ Elwin¡¯s battle instincts were sharp, and a bad feeling rose in his heart, and he instantly retreated.

    However, a blinding white light appeared out of nowhere.

    Elwin screamed as he closed his eyes in pain. Just before that he saw a hammer appear out of nowhere and bang against his chest. He had no time to react and was thrown away.

    Everyone gasped in surprise. They did not expect Drake to actually get a hit in.

    Elwin quickly recovered and stood up, but he was shocked once more. His brother had a shield floating around him, two hammers a bit further away on either side, and a dozen star shaped metallic objects floating all around.

    What the hell was this? He had never encountered such a fighting style.

    Could all mages summon and control so many artifacts?

    Ray laughed in his heart. ¡®Meet your freakish brother!¡¯

    ¡°Not bad brother, but I want to see if you can control so many artifacts!¡±

    Elwin was quick. As long as he was faster than Drake, it didn¡¯t matter how many artifacts he summoned, he could just dodge them all.

    So, he rushed towards Drake, however he was immediately assaulted in all directions by the shurikens. He had to twist and turn, and often use his sword to deflect. But if he paused for even a moment too long, one of the hammers would come crushing down on him.

    Elwin was on edge, constantly dodging attacks by over a dozen artifacts. But he was fast, so he quickly made progress and arrived close to Drake.

    Elwin saw an opening in his defence and rushed through in a second, bringing his sword sideways across Drake¡¯s neck.

    Cling! The shield reacted and blocked Elwin¡¯s attack. Drake took the opportunity to slash at Elwin. Elwin jumped back but realised his mistake too late. The two hammers came crashing down on his chest once more and he was sent flying back.

    Everyone gasped as they saw Elwin get pushed back again.

    When did Drake become so strong?

    This was why mages who could summon many artifacts were dangerous. They could use so many different fighting styles at once, defence, offence, short range, long range, piercing attacks, slashing, bludgeoning attacks ¨C there would be no end, no weaknesses.

    Even if a mage could summon many artifacts, it would be difficult as it would require a lot of mana. Naturally, Drake¡¯s true mage cultivation and mana strengthening technique helped him with this issue. Moreover, with his practice and perfect understanding of his summons, he could make the summoning extremely efficient and use much less mana than normal.

    Hence the reason why Ray recommended the mana strengthening technique to Drake. Even if another mage increased their mana capacity, they would only be able to summon a few more artifacts or spirits and maintain them longer. However, Drake could make full use of his mana in a way that most mages couldn¡¯t.

    Elwin got up slowly. Drake smiled while Elwin frowned.

    ¡®It seems he has developed some ability,¡¯ thought Elwin.

    ¡°Good, brother! I will take this fight a little more seriously now,¡± he said.

    The next instant Elwin disappeared on the spot, reappearing right next to him.

    ¡®Careful!¡¯ Ray thought in his head.

    He did not expect Elwin to be so quick. But Elwin had moved very fast and this time, he didn¡¯t physically attack his brother again but instead slashed at his arm. If the strike landed, his arm would be cleaved right off.

    Unexpectedly, Elwin suddenly changed his trajectory and instead blocked an attack coming from his left. A dagger had appeared out of thin air and was headed for his throat. If Elwin had been careless, he would have been killed before he could attack Drake.

    Of course, Drake would stop his attack just before the kill, but it would still be his loss.

    But just as Elwin blocked that attack Drake smiled as he punched Elwin¡¯s stomach viciously. This was not the punch of a nine-year-old. He felt like he had just been hit by the hammer again as Elwin was sent flying back.

    Drake cultivated martial arts too, so his strength was no joke. It also increased his reflexes, allowing him to barely observe his brother¡¯s insanely fast movements. Even if Drake couldn¡¯t move his whole body in time, summoning a small dagger was no issue.

    As Elwin was sent flying, Drake didn¡¯t want to miss this chance. He used all the strength in his body and charged forward like a bull, wanting to seal his victory.

    However, Elwin¡¯s expression changed at this moment.

    ¡®So, you have already grown this much, little brother,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He sighed but at the next moment, he disappeared again.

    ¡®Not good!¡¯ Drake thought. Elwin was even faster now and before he could react, he appeared behind him and a sword was pointed to his neck.

    ¡°You lose, brother,¡± Elwin declared.

    Elwin¡¯s martial arts technique specialised in speed. Although he was physically weaker than others at his cultivation realm, his true speed would be much greater.

    Drake¡¯s heart hit rock bottom. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t actually be able to beat Elwin but how could there be such a big difference between them? The moment Elwin used his true strength, Drake was already defeated.

    ¡°However,¡± Elwin spoke. ¡°You have enough skill to survive in the front lines.¡±

    Saying this he turned to Holt. Holt had witnessed the battle speechlessly. Drake displayed a keen battle sense, excellent battle tactics, and great strength. He couldn¡¯t help but be impressed at his growth.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± he replied. ¡°However, for the time being you must stick with Elwin. You are still inexperienced and must listen to all of your brother¡¯s commands and stick by his side so that he can protect you.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Drake exclaimed. He was very excited that he could finally join the battle and make some contributions.

    Holt turned to Ray and cupped his fists toward him, ¡°Master Ray, I am incredibly grateful to you for instructing my son. He has only grown this much thanks to you. I will never forget it for as long as I have breath left in my body.¡±

    Ray blushed at suddenly being put on the spotlight, but he waved nonchalantly, ¡°It is the mission I have been assigned. I am his master, so it is only natural that I instruct him, there is no need for thanks.¡±

    Saying this he started walking away, losing all interest.

    Hazezel was watching from the window, but his expression was complex.

    ¡®Drake¡­ you are really growing too fast.¡¯

    Thinking this, he turned back to deal with the matters of the village. With Elwin often taking the front lines, he was left to deal with the administrative and political issues. This was his strength anyway. He had very little battle strength, even less than Drake now.

    He also wanted to cultivate, but he hadn¡¯t formed a mana core and didn¡¯t find any suitable martial arts cultivation technique. He had tried many cultivation techniques before but he suffered horrible backlashes every time.

    This was natural. Not all techniques were suitable for everyone, so it wasn¡¯t easy to find a suitable technique.

    Due to Ray¡¯s experience, he picked out suitable mana cultivation technique for Drake that would minimise his backlash and maximise his growth. Holt also picked the most suitable martial cultivation art for Drake, which actually turned out to be the most incredible martials arts cultivation technique they had, allowing Drake to cultivate really fast and reach great strength.

    However, despite Hazezel trying every single martial arts technique in store, he failed miserably each time.

    He could only curse his bad luck.

 Chapter 23: I hate you!

    Meanwhile, inside a nameless tavern.

    Two figures were happily laughing and talking. A girl who was fourteen years old and a seventeen year old boy. They were naturally Astoria and Sam. Sam also often joined the army as a reserve and fought many battles. Astoria didn¡¯t have many things to contribute. She gave moral support to her brothers and became a minor character in this war.

    However, she didn¡¯t mind. Instead, she was extremely happy.

    Her father rewarded her with an unbelievable sum of money for getting the Zenith pill formula and because she had much more free time now, she enjoyed spending it with Sam. Sam had already mourned and mostly moved on from Nala, and these two had instead grown extremely close.

    Astoria felt like she had a crush on him but didn¡¯t know what to do. She just decided to spend more time with him for now.

    However, at this moment, a hooded figure was staring daggers at the two of them. Its icy gaze was filled with hatred and malice. ¡®Astoria¡­¡¯ the figure whispered to itself.

    As if sensing something, Astoria turned around. But the figure quickly tried to hide and turned back. But she noticed this and started walking towards him. The hooded figure panicked and started retreating.

    "Stop him!" she shouted.

    Immediately many people in the tavern reacted. They all knew her identity as the young miss of the village head¡¯s family, and she often came to this bar and was familiar with everyone. They all surrounded the man and stopped him from moving any further.

    The man panicked even more and tried to leave forcefully but one of Astoria¡¯s guards punched him in the face and forced him down to his knees as Astoria finally arrived.

    ¡°Remove his hood,¡± she ordered another guard.

    The guard followed her orders and removed his hood, holding the man¡¯s head up by his hair and forced him to look up at Astoria while the other guard kept him down. The man was pale and skinny, as if he hadn''t eaten properly in a long time. He had a hateful gaze as he looked at her.

    She struggled to recognise this man but could sense his animosity.

    ¡®Who is he?¡¯ she thought but then remembered something.

    Even though he was very different, his facial features were still very similar to a person in her memory.

    Henry!

    According to the official story, Henry betrayed the Leon village and sold the Zenith pill recipe to an outsider for money. As a result, he was exiled, and no one had heard from him again. After Jain village started producing the pills, everyone thought that the person who bought the recipe was Holt, or somehow related to Holt. No one knew that the entire plot was orchestrated by that little, innocent looking girl.

    No one except Henry.

    Seeing Astoria¡¯s act that day, he realised that she had been lying the whole time. She never wanted to marry and run away with him at all.

    So then why did she give him the bag and tell him to wait at the eastern gate? Why did the bag have treasures from the village? Why were her clothes bloody without any wounds? Why was there blood on his dagger that he didn¡¯t use?

    He recollected the headmistress¡¯ suspicions about Astoria, and he realised how stupid he was!

    He was being played all along!

    The only one who suspected Astoria was the headmistress and she was dead. And now, everything was perfectly framed to make him look like the culprit!

    For several weeks he was interrogated by the guards to tell them who he sold the Zenith pill recipe too. He tried his best to explain his innocence and how Astoria orchestrated everything, but no one believed him.

    How could they?

    It was his word against hers, and all the evidence pointed to him as the culprit. Adding onto that Astoria¡¯s stellar performance, everyone believed that Henry was the culprit and he was just trying to blame everything on Astoria as a last attempt of getting away with it.

    Soon, news that the Jain village was mass producing the Zenith pill reached Leon, and Byron decided to give up. Even if he got Henry to confess, there was nothing they could do about it anymore.

    So, he just kicked him out of the village.

    Henry was confused and didn¡¯t know where to go. But he also knew that the Zenith pill formula was bought by someone in the Jain village. He knew then that Astoria must be linked to this village and decided to follow her here.

    But after coming here, he still had no money. He was working some menial jobs and made just enough money to barely get by. He tried to inquire about an Olivia Higson, but no one knew who she was.

    That¡¯s when he realised that even the name might be fake!

    This girl had come and turned his life upside down and he did not even know her name!

    Could there be a greater idiot in the world than him?

    Helpless, he was doing whatever work he could to survive, while trying to investigate Astoria. By chance, he saw Astoria in the streets one day.

    Enraged, he called out the name ¡®Olivia¡¯ to get her attention, but she did not respond. It was a busy street so she probably did not even hear him.

    However, someone else on the street became annoyed by Henry¡¯s yelling and tried to see who he was calling. He then looked at Henry with a strange gaze.

    ¡°Why are you calling the young miss of the village as Olivia? Everyone knows her name is Astoria. Are you dumb or something?¡±

    And then the final piece of the puzzle was revealed. The girl belonged to the village head¡¯s family. She infiltrated his mansion, planned and stole the Zenith pill recipe, killed the headmistress and some guards, framed him for everything, and returned to her village to share the recipe and live her happy life.

    Astoria was her name.

    Who was Henry?

    An extremely prideful man.

    This man had been completely played for a fool by this little girl. He was furious. All his hatred directed towards her. He wanted to kill her right at that moment, but he saw her meet up with Sam and was surrounded by guards all the time.

    He couldn¡¯t do anything!

    He hated them all. He hated them, hated them, hated them to the core! He wanted them all to die a miserable death! Death by being stoned! Death in the most painful way a thousand times!

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    Die! Die! DIE!

    Hatred, rage, malice, fury flared up, completely consuming him.

    So intense was his animosity that Astoria sensed it even though she was sitting far away in the tavern.

    Never could she imagine that she would meet him in such a way. In fact, she held no hatred towards him, even some pity. He was just a pawn she had used for her own purposes. She felt bad about what she did for some time, especially given that he had actually cared about her originally, but soon stopped herself.

    He destroyed Nala¡¯s life and turned it upside down. She went from being a high-ranking maid about to get married to a loving fianc¨¦e, to being sold as a slave, and dying alone. He turned another girl¡¯s life upside down, and she turned his life upside down.

    Moreover, because of her actions, her brother, and the entire village of Jain was profiting. When compared to the wellbeing of the whole village, how could one man¡¯s life matter?

    Saying so, she convinced herself that she didn¡¯t do anything wrong. If she started feeling sorry for Henry, then she would begin hating herself and become weak again.

    She couldn¡¯t allow that.

    She finally had her happy ending, why would she ruin it for some Henry who no one even cared about anymore?

    However, Henry reappeared now and caused many complex emotions to well up in her heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s really you!¡± she exclaimed, surprised.

    He was no longer the fat and chubby man but had grown thin and pale. He clearly couldn¡¯t continue eating such lavish meals as before. At this point Sam walked over and recognised Henry as well.

    ¡°You! How dare you show your face in front of me!¡± he screamed.

    Henry was confused.

    Who was this character that randomly popped in?

    Sam¡¯s appearance had changed a lot over the past two years, so Henry didn¡¯t recognise him.

    ¡°Who the heck are you?¡± Henry asked.

    Sam was taken aback but then he laughed. He started laughing very hard.

    ¡°Good! Very good! Let me finally tell you! It was I who destroyed you! You destroyed the life of my girlfriend and fianc¨¦ Nala, and I got revenge! Hahahaha! Look at you now, so pathetic! This is what you deserve, you filthy dog!¡± Sam started laughing crazily.

    ¡®Nala¡­¡¯ Henry thought for a moment before simultaneously recognising the name and Sam as the intruder who originally broke in.

    So that¡¯s what happened.

    He was wondering why Astoria targeted him to frame everything on. He figured that he was just a convenient target, but now he realised, there was a revenge story involved too.

    But that only made him angrier.

    In his perspective, he did nothing wrong. Nala was just a servant, but he was the young master of the village! How dare these two treat him in such a way for a servant girl?

    Of course, that wasn¡¯t the main reason, the pill recipe was also a big reason why they targeted him, but still it was no excuse!

    How could they do this to him?

    He immediately felt great hatred towards this man as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s over already, you pig!¡± Sam exclaimed. ¡°What are you staring at us like that for? Don¡¯t you know she is the daughter of the head of the village? If you show such hostile intentions towards her, she can have you executed!¡±

    ¡°Give it up, you have already lost everything, there is no reason to continue fighting your fate,¡± Astoria agreed. She thought for a moment before throwing him a few silver coins. They bounced off his face and landed on the wooden floor.

    But Henry didn¡¯t move.

    He was extremely humiliated!

    He roared with fury and spat on Astoria¡¯s face.

    The whole tavern was quiet.

    The audacity! Who on Earth did he think he was?

    Very few people knew the actual story behind how the Jain village got the Zenith pill recipe, and these commoners were not among them.

    ¡°What are you going to do you filthy bitch?¡± he cursed. ¡°Kill me? Haha! Go ahead! How could the great Me be afraid of death? I have already lost everything. You have already taken away everything. What worth does my life have now? Take it! In fact, you should kill me now! If you don¡¯t kill me now, I swear I will make you regret ever being born in the future!¡±

    Astoria¡¯s face turned cold.

    She didn¡¯t want to kill him, but she couldn¡¯t bear such disrespect. He was a nobody now, how could she let him talk to her like this? If it was just a random person, she would have already ordered her guards to kill him.

    However, she still did not fully wipe away her own guilt. She knew that Henry had every reason to be mad at her, to hate her. Their relationship was unfixable.

    But after everything she did to him, if she killed him as well, the guilt she had been supressing might come back ever stronger. She didn¡¯t want to go through that. She just wanted to suppress all these emotions and forget about them.

    Still, given how many bystanders there were, she couldn¡¯t let him get away with such disrespect else she would seem weak. She could not be weak.

    She wiped her face with a handkerchief before slowly walking closer to Henry, staring into his eyes. Henry stared right back, not the least bit afraid of his situation.

    After getting close, she kicked him right in the face. Henry was already weak and now fell onto the floor. She kicked him repeatedly, stomping on his face, again, and again, and again. He started bleeding profusely and became completely swollen up.

    Everyone watched this torture but was internally happy to see this arrogant newcomer be put in his place.

    She kept kicking him over and over until he fell unconscious. With a cold expression, she took the heel of her shoe and stabbed it into his eye.

    Henry woke up screaming in pain!

    ¡°Who gave you permission to fall unconscious while I¡¯m punishing you?¡± she spoke coldly, before starting to kick him again while he was awake.

    Henry could no longer speak. Tears and blood fell out of his eyes as he began crying from pain. He was extremely pathetic now.

    After what seemed like a long time, Astoria finally stopped her abuse.

    ¡°Humph! You are lucky that I am in a good mood today, else I would have killed you already,¡± she spoke threateningly. ¡°Leave. Leave now and never come back. If I ever see your stupid face in this village again, I will be sure to finish what I started today.¡±

    Saying this, she turned and returned to her table and waved her hand at the guards who dragged out a bloody Henry and chucked him on the streets like a pile of trash. Sam was inwardly astonished at seeing her ruthlessness, but then recollected the image of the bloody figure standing outside his prison again.

    Sam gulped. He was very glad that he was on her good books.

    That girl was not to be underestimated!

    Henry could barely stand up. He was in incredible pain. However, even though he thought that he couldn¡¯t hate Astoria anymore, in this moment he hated her with every ounce of his being.

    She was vile. A demoness. He swore that he would return this humiliation a thousand-fold in the future. He would rip her apart piece by piece till she begged him for mercy but would receive none. She would die a most painful death.

    ¡®Astoria¡­¡¯ he mumbled. ¡®Don¡¯t you dare die before I can kill you!¡¯

    Thinking this, he dragged himself out of the village. Even though it was very dangerous outside villages, he couldn¡¯t bear to stay in this village any longer. Even if Astoria didn¡¯t threaten him to leave the village, he would still do so.

    As he walked, he almost fainted many times from agony but forced himself to keep walking until he found a safe spot to rest in. He didn¡¯t know how much longer he could keep going. He was leaving a trail of blood and would soon probably die from bleeding out.

    But he kept going anyway.

    Astoria, Astoria, Astoria, Astoria, Astoria! Kill! Die! Demon! Bitch!

    His mind was filled with utmost hatred. So much so that even his pain was only secondary. In this state, he kept forcing himself forward but suddenly bumped into something. He was already barely extremely weak, so he immediately fell down.

    However, the person he had bumped into stared at him expressionlessly.

    It was a black hooded figure with a mysterious, yet dangerous aura.

    ¡°Look at you,¡± he spoke with a deep, echoing voice. ¡°Once a prince but now worth less than a dog. Betrayed by those you trusted, abandoned by your own kin, and shunned by the world. No one understands your pain, your side of the story. Everyone is a villain. Everyone deserves to die. Yet you are too weak to do anything about it. What you hate the most, is your own weakness.¡±

    Henry heard this but didn¡¯t have the strength to respond. He was surprised that this stranger could see the truth and could only smile weakly in acknowledgement.

    ¡°Those who are hailed as heroes are hypocrites. Those who must protect, instead destroy. This is the cruelty of the world. The question is this, will you be slain by the cruelty, or rise in spite of it? To fight this cruel world, we must become even more cruel. To kill those who are stronger than us, we must become even stronger. Such strength does not come easily but requires great sacrifice. Do you have what it takes to make that sacrifice?¡±

    Henry wanted to laugh. He had nothing left to sacrifice, even his own life was fading away. What could he possibly have to sacrifice? He had nothing.

    The hooded figure stared at Henry intently and continued.

    ¡°Sacrifice your friends and sacrifice your family. Sacrifice society and all that is good in this world! Sacrifice everything in the pursuit of absolute strength!¡±

    Henry wanted to agree but he was too weak to say anything. There was not a single person he cared about. He would have no problem seeing the world burn down. In fact, he wanted to do that. No one had stood up for him. No one cared about him. He hated everyone. They could all die.

    Henry just smiled further in response and the hooded man let out a wicked grin.

    ¡°In that case, I welcome you, brother, to join our ranks!¡±

    Saying this he laughed loudly and grabbed Henry from the floor. He summoned a creature which seemed to blend into the wind, making its figure indistinct. However, it conjured extremely powerful wind and lighting, which struck their surroundings like a mad storm.

    In an instant, the two disappeared. The surroundings quietened as if nothing had happened.

    Only that trail of blood was left to mark the path of this fallen soul.

 Chapter 24: Proving Might

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to heal that?¡± the hooded man asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Henry replied while touching his eyepatch. ¡°I want to keep it as it is, so I will never forget my hatred.¡±

    They were in that wooden cabin¡¯s main hall. There was now a mini sofa here that Henry was lying on. That hooded man, who was obviously one of the dark mages, had just healed Henry¡¯s injuries.

    ¡°In that case, follow me,¡± he said before walking towards one of the rooms on the second floor. Henry followed without question. The hooded man opened the door and led Henry inside, where a woman was tied up.

    She carried several cuts and bruises, while her hands were red from the tight ropes. She looked at the two entering and started trembling in fear.

    ¡°Please let me go, I will do anything!¡± she begged but the hooded man ignored her and turned to Henry.

    ¡°You said you wanted revenge, show me that you have the strength to get it,¡± he said, handing him a knife.

    ¡°Consume her heart.¡±

    Henry was stunned at his request. He didn¡¯t just want him to kill her, but to do such an act. However, he remembered Astoria¡¯s face and rage started building inside him again. He grabbed the knife, steeled his resolve, and started walking towards the woman.

    ¡°No, no please I beg you! Ah-¡± her voice was cut short as Henry stabbed into her chest. He tore out a hole and reached in with his hands to find a heart that was still beating but slowing down.

    He pulled.

    The hooded man grinned.

    ¡­

    Back in Jain village.

    ¡°Elwin, Drake, there has been another raid by the demons near the mines to the north of our villages. The army stationed there had to be split several times to reinforce other battlefields leaving only a small group behind so they cannot hold on for much longer. General Eliot is leading them, and he has requested reinforcements. They are a very important resource point for our village, and we cannot lose it. Everyone else is occupied now so I can only send the two of you to lead some men to battle,¡± Holt spoke plainly.

    ¡°Yes father,¡± Elwin replied. ¡°May I know the details of this demon group?¡±

    Holt nodded before explaining, ¡°There are several hundreds of servant class demons, and around half a dozen of servant class onis. We have not spotted any warrior class demons or onis so far, luckily. It is only a medium sized demon group.¡±

    Elwin nodded. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem father. I will take care of it.¡± Saying so he started walking away and Drake followed.

    Elwin left the manor and mounted a horse and Drake did the same. His horse was a strong black stallion. He had trained in horse riding before, so it was easy for him to follow along with his brother. They soon arrived at a barracks.

    Upon entering, the guards at the gate gave Elwin a respectful bow.

    ¡°Call squadrons three and five to assemble in the main hall,¡± he instructed. One of the guards bowed again in acknowledgement before rushing inside.

    The main entrance led to a large hall. On the side of the halls was the door to many large rooms, and in each room dozens of beds were laid out for the troops to rest. There were also many shared bathrooms, a pool, a large kitchen, two dining areas, and several entertainment rooms. This barracks held close to a thousand soldiers, about half of whom were under Elwin¡¯s command.

    Elwin and Drake were waiting on a raised platform at the front of the hall while troops began assembling. In an hour, two hundred soldiers had assembled. They were all dressed in strong battle armour and appeared well rested and energetic. About a fifth of them were wielding spears, three fifths wielded swords, and a fifth were archers. At the very back were non-combat personnel, responsible for supporting the army. They would set up camps to treat the wounded, maintain rations, and so on. Elwin observed the group and slowly nodded his head.

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    They were ready.

    ¡°Men, the mines to the north of the village are under attack by a medium sized demon group. We will set out to put an end to them,¡± Elwin spoke authoritatively. He turned and pointed towards Drake. ¡°This is my younger brother Drake who some of you may know of. He will be second in command from hence forth.¡±

    ¡°Yes, general Elwin!¡± they said in unison. However, Elwin saw that some of them were unhappy. They didn¡¯t know Drake¡¯s abilities after all, and he was only a young boy, and was still three years away from being an adult, whereas they were all adults. Even though Elwin was also young, he had proven himself many times, but Drake was not like that.

    Elwin acted as if he expected this. ¡°George, how would you like to spar with my brother?¡± he asked a middle-aged man. The easiest way to get them in line was by demonstration.

    ¡°I would be honoured,¡± he replied with a bow before coming onto the platform.

    George was twice the height and size of Drake. He was holding a long sword that was the same size as Drake himself. If they looked at the two, no one would expect Drake to even stand a chance. However, Drake observed him calmly. He already fought Elwin and understood some of his own strengths and weaknesses. This man was strong, but he couldn¡¯t compare to Elwin. However, that didn¡¯t mean that Drake could beat him. Drake still couldn¡¯t let his guard down.

    They two focused sternly on each other when Elwin¡¯s voice sounded.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    George quickly took the offensive and charged forward.

    He was fast¡­ but not as fast as Elwin. Drake also ran forward and at the right moment, he ducked under the sword and slashed from the bottom. But George quickly reacted and dodged sideways. Drake pivoted on his foot and brought the sword crashing down with his full strength. George blocked it but was surprised when he felt the strength behind the sword.

    Drake took this opportunity to go on the offensive, slashing and striking relentlessly. George dodged but he was not used to fighting someone much shorter which affected his movements. Drake was very slippery and crafty, he dodged and attacked, attacked and dodged, his movements were hard to predict.

    However, George was no pushover, he was an expert himself. He also attacked and sometimes landed a few scratches on Drake¡¯s armour.

    The two seemed evenly matched and this amazed the army. George wasn¡¯t the strongest fighter in the army, but he was by no means weak either. This was enough to make them acknowledge Drake¡¯s strength.

    However, Drake didn¡¯t reveal all his cards yet. George blocked one of Drake¡¯s blows and was going to counterattack when a bright light appeared before his eyes.

    ¡°Ah!¡± he screamed but Drake used this opportunity to fly kick his face. He was sent flying and rolled across the stage. He was about to get up when several daggers appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him, just an inch away from his neck. George was stunned.

    ¡°I¡­ I admit defeat!¡± he said ashamed. He did not expect to lose this match. This sudden turn of events was against everyone¡¯s expectations as gasps echoed across the room. Elwin smiled and nodded as if he expected this.

    This result was not unbelievable, Drake was personally trained by Ray who was a phenomenal fighter, even greater than Elwin since he was a mage too. Before Ray, Holt instructed him almost every day and he was no doubt the best fighter in the village. Drake was a mage and a martial artist, with a keen intellect that let him come up with great battle tactics. Coupled with the fact that George wasn¡¯t used to fighting such short opponents, these were all reasons that could allow Drake to seize victory relatively easily.

    Drake removed his knives and undid the spell so that they returned to mana. He didn¡¯t recover that mana, but he didn¡¯t mind. Ray taught him how to do this so that he didn¡¯t always leave so many weapons lying around everywhere he went.

    ¡°Now that that¡¯s settled, I hope no one else has any problems with Drake being second in command?¡± Elwin asked.

    ¡°No general Elwin,¡± they replied in unison, but they sounded much more confident this time.

    Strength was always what was respected the most.

    Elwin smiled and looked towards Drake. Drake realised his intentions; he wanted him to give a speech. Coming from Earth, Drake had listened to many great speeches given by a wide range of people, from politicians to co-workers, and knew what worked and what didn¡¯t. So, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to come up with a short speech.

    Drake thought for a moment before speaking.

    ¡°I am Drake Reynard, youngest son of Holt Reynard and younger brother of Elwin Reynard. I am at the true mage realm and have cultivated tempered body to the middle stage. Though I maybe young and inexperienced, I promise that I will try my best to not let any of you down. We will march and show the demons that they chose the wrong village to mess with!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± they all cheered and clapped. It was a short and straight to the point speech. It wasn¡¯t too humble or arrogant, he acknowledged their worries over his age and tried to alleviate it by establishing his credentials.

    Strength was everything. Although the humans outnumbered the demons and onis in all these raids, many of the humans were not martial artists or mages. It would take at least half a dozen ordinary humans to fight against a single servant class demon, and more if we are talking about onis. As for warrior class demons and onis, ordinary humans would not stand a chance. Only martial artists could fight them. This was why Drake and Elwin could become generals even if they were younger than so many people ¨C they were martial artists. And Drake was a mage too.

    By acknowledging their worries and showing his strength, Drake made them feel safe and understood.

    After the introductions out of the way, the army finally got pumped up and started heading out.

    Half a day later, they were nearing the battlefield.

 Chapter 25: The Pitiful Minotaur

    The sun was under a cloud cover painting the land in grey. Distant cries echoed across the plains as Drake and Elwin marched with their army. On the horizon, blurry, indistinct figures started appearing. They were quickly moving around left and right, back and forth. There were hundreds, no thousands of them.

    ¡°Not good,¡± Elwin whispered. ¡°If it starts raining, the terrain will become hard to traverse and the enemies will get an advantage.¡± The army approached quickly, the sounds of war soon becoming louder and louder. Their movement didn¡¯t go unnoticed, and the army fighting in the battlefield saw the reinforcements and huge cheers resounded through the plains.

    Drake was excited for his first battle, but as he got closer, a strong stench of blood and death assaulted him. Soon, he could see many corpses piled up on the ground. There were battles raging everywhere, all manner of demons were attacking the humans relentlessly.

    A lot of the battles involved several human soldiers surrounding and attacking a single demon. Only the martial artists could take on the demons one on one, but they became exhausted after a few battles and had to retreat.

    If they arrived any later, the demons may have already broken through.

    ¡°General Elwin!¡± the person in charge of the army came rushing to greet Elwin. He was a muscular man with a brown skin tone.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation, general Eliot?¡± Elwin asked. This person was another general of their Jain village, and he was the one who had requested the reinforcements.

    ¡°It is a medium sized demon group. We have set up several defensive lines and have just been defending while waiting for reinforcements. The demon group is too large for us to handle ourselves, so we didn¡¯t dare to go on the offensive.¡±

    ¡°What about the mines?¡±

    ¡°The miners have currently been evacuated and the mines can be easily defended so our wounded are using it to rest and recuperate. Thankfully, no demon has managed to break through to the mines yet. There are several onis who are the main threat. Originally there were half a dozen, but two were killed leaving four ¨C an orc, orthrus, hellhound, and a minotaur. However, they learnt their lesson and are now using their numbers to their advantage and so these oni quickly retreat if they are injured too much, having the demons cover them. We currently have¡­¡± The general gave a brief report on the number and type of soldiers left, the remaining supplies, and the general state of the army.

    Elwin nodded, quickly processing the situation.

    ¡°General Eliot, I suggest that you have your army maintain their defensive position. I will leave a quarter of my men here and the rest of us will go on the offensive to wipe out these trash. If we get rid of those four oni, it is likely for this horde to fall apart. The orcs are especially troublesome with their regenerative abilities, so I will personally lead several men to dispatch it. As for the minotaur-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Drake jumped it.

    Elwin looked at him surprised but then remembered something. Drake had suffered extensively due to the attack of a minotaur when he was little, no doubt leaving him with a mental scar. He wanted to use this opportunity to face his fears. Elwin appreciated that however¡­ this was a battlefield. If his trauma distracted him, he could lose his life. Elwin hesitated.

    ¡°I can do it Elwin, trust me,¡± Drake insisted. Elwin seemed to make up his mind and nodded.

    ¡°General Eliot, this is my brother Drake. Despite his age, he is a strong fighter. I hope you are okay with me sending him to dispatch of the Minotaur?¡±

    Eliot finally understood who Drake was and nodded, ¡°If you can vouch for his ability then I will trust your judgement.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I will send several people with you, brother. Don¡¯t die out there.¡± Drake nodded.

    Elwin quickly put together a few elite groups to deal with the onis while the rest were commanded to attack the remaining demons to make way for the elite groups to attack. Drake was put into a group with ten other people, Drake being the leader.

    One of them was George whom Drake had sparred with before. Out of the others, two were archers and the rest were swordsmen. However, apart from George and Drake, there was only one other martial artist, who was a female swordswoman. The rest were just ordinary mortals and even weaker than Drake.

    Horns sounded as the army charged to the front lines. Drake¡¯s and the other elite groups were a little behind so that they could save their energy for the big fight. Once they entered the battlefield, the scene was extremely chaotic.

    Many soldiers screamed whilst the demons growled fiercely. These demons ranged from large centipedes and monkeys to human sized flying eagles and vultures. They were under attack from all sides.

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    Drake was protected by the vanguard, but the flying demons were a threat. Drake summoned two shields to protect him. One covered the top, and the other was rotating around him. He then summoned two spiked, medium-sized, cross-shaped iron boomerangs to attack any demons who got close to him.

    Drake was on high alert. Suddenly a vulture attacked from above, heading straight for one of Drake¡¯s soldiers. He reacted instantly and blocked it with his shield before slicing its neck with his boomerang, killing it in one blow. Soon another bird attacked and was swiftly killed.

    Drake also observed his team members carefully, assessing and memorising their skills. He became slightly distracted when a leopard demon pounced and landed right in front of him. Without giving him any time to think, the leopard slashed its paw, aiming straight for Drake¡¯s head.

    Drake reflexively brought a shield to block it and the leopard demon bounced back. It was too close to use the boomerang so, with a trained motion, he slashed at it with his sword. It shrieked in pain and tried to retreat but Drake chased and chopped down on it with his boomerang, burying it on the floor.

    Drake felt slightly troubled, killing was not something he was used to back on Earth, but it was a necessity in this world. Whether it be against demons or humans, this world was very often at war.

    ¡®I have to get used to this,¡¯ Drake told himself.

    His distraction and hesitation had almost cost him his life. If it weren¡¯t for his reflexes, that leopard would have killed him. He had to act firmly.

    Drake calmed himself and moved with the army, shredding any demon that approached him with his boomerangs. The other members observed how easily Drake dealt with the demons and couldn¡¯t help but be impressed.

    Were all mages this strong?

    Even George and the female swordswoman, who were both martial artists, had to admit his talent.

    After fifteen minutes, they had penetrated well into the demon army. The elite group entered a triangular formation with Drake at the front killing most of the demons, George and the female swordswoman covering the sides with the ordinary soldiers. The remaining soldiers who formed the vanguard had fallen behind, being held up by the demons.

    Up front was the target.

    A seven-foot tall, black, gigantic monstrosity that stared at the advancing group. It ordered a large group of demons to assault them but most of them were shredded by Drake¡¯s boomerangs, and the few demons who escaped were quickly dealt with by the others.

    The minotaur was furious and roared. It started emitting a red glow and grew to twice its size. This was its berserk ability, and it was now the largest foe in this battlefield. It looked down on Drake and his group like a bunch of ants and ran towards them. It often stomped and killed some of its own demons along the way without care.

    Drake shot out his two boomerangs. The minotaur grabbed one in midair and bashed it against the other. They were made from iron, but now both of them were bent miserably out of shape, rendering them useless.

    ¡®So this is the difference between a demon and an oni,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    Still, he was not afraid. He dissipated the boomerangs and got off his horse, standing straight holding his sword. Drake who was half the size of an adult, was facing a minotaur that was more than twice the size of an adult. Anyone who saw this scene would find it to be too ridiculous.

    But there was no fear in Drake¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I will deal with the minotaur. The rest of you keep the remaining demons at bay!¡± Drake ordered and started to run without waiting for a response.

    Then, he did something no one expected. The shield that was floating on top flipped around and appeared in front of him.

    Then, Drake jumped on the shield and started flying! Even the minotaur was shocked!

    Ordinarily if someone tried to do this, they would end up falling off very quickly, but Drake designed two foot holds for him on the back side of the shield that he could use to easily balance on top.

    His added weight did make the shield more difficult to move with his mind. However ordinarily, the shield could move much faster than him, so even though it was slower, it could still move as fast as he could on foot, which was very fast since he was a martial artist.

    The minotaur recovered and started to punch him. But now that Drake could move quickly in three dimensions, it was much easier for him to dodge. The minotaur became more and more enraged. It roared, and immediately Drake was assaulted by a flock of demon vultures. But they came under attack by the archers in his group and had to retreat.

    Drake stopped being passive and went on the offensive. He charged at the minotaur and attacked erratically. He attacked the minotaur¡¯s back and it turned around to defend. As it was rotating, Drake quickly changed directions and charged at its legs, slashing its thigh, and retreating into the skies.

    The minotaur roared in pain, but Drake charged again, directly towards its face this time. The minotaur was furious and punched out with both its arms. Drake dodged to the side just before its arms could make contact. The minotaur turned and saw two iron daggers that materialised behind Drake¡¯s back charge directly into its eyes. It happened too quickly for it to react, and both of its eyes were pierced.

    The minotaur roared in pain and started thrashing around randomly. This made things much easier for Drake who easily dodged its random motions and was slashing at it again and again.

    Given its size, the minotaur captured the attention of many people in the battle, and they were all awestruck to see what was going on!

    A huge minotaur in its berserk state, was at the mercy of a young boy who was flying around on a shield from the start of the battle! This was too ridiculous.

    Elwin was fighting an orc. The servant class orc was no match for Elwin who had cultivated the steel body. He sent the orc flying with his kick and looked towards the minotaur. Although he expected Drake to win, he did not expect such a one-sided fight. He even felt some pity for the minotaur¡¯s helpless state.

    ¡®You surprise me yet again brother¡¯, he thought.

    Within a few minutes, the defenceless minotaur was injured numerous times and lost its berserk state and reverted to normal. It was blind and was bleeding all over its body.

    ¡°This is the end!¡± Drake screamed and charged. He stabbed his sword right into its throat.

    The minotaur gasped. It could not move its head, but it rolled its eyes downwards to see a sword poking out of its neck. The sword suddenly disappeared.

    Whish!

    The minotaur heard a sword slicing towards its neck. It tried to dodge but it could not move.

    The next instant, the minotaur¡¯s head was sent flying across the battlefield.

    What a pitiful minotaur, everyone thought.

 Chapter 26: An old friend

    The death of the minotaur spread terror among many of the demons that were following it. They immediately started to retreat.

    Drake descended and was welcomed by cheers from his elite soldiers. No one doubted his strength now!

    Similarly on the other sides of the battlefield.

    ¡°Take this you filth!¡± screamed Elwin as he severed an orc¡¯s arm. The orc screamed but a new arm immediately started growing. This was the unique ability of the orc race. High regeneration.

    But Elwin was quick, while the orc was in pain, he sliced off its remaining arms and legs too, completely dismembering its body. The orc fell helplessly on the floor, but its limbs were regenerating quickly.

    ¡°Die!¡± Elwin screamed as he stabbed down on its chest. The orc roared but Elwin paid it no heed. He twisted his sword and pulled, before bringing the sword down on its neck, severing its head from its body.

    In order to stop an orc¡¯s regeneration, the heart had to be destroyed and the head torn off simultaneously for it to die. If either one remained, then it would eventually regenerate.

    Killing the orc caused another section of the demon horde to flee.

    ¡°Phew!¡± Elwin gasped. He first looked towards Drake and was happy to see that the minotaur was dead. Then he looked at the other two main battlefields.

    Orthruses had the appearance of a large, two headed dog. They had the unique ability to summon several illusory clones.

    It was being fought by a group of three, tempered body martial artists, supported by a bunch of archers and swordsmen. The archers would shoot at all the images of the orthrus to identify which ones were an illusion and which ones were real. Once the real was identified, it would be attacked by the martial artists. The swordsmen protected the archers from being attacked by the surrounding demons.

    On the other side was the hell hound. Hell hounds had the unique ability of invisibility, so they could turn invisible for a few seconds. But they were also very quick and intelligent. They may charge at one person and become invisible, and before you knew it, another soldier would be getting mauled by the invisible hell hound.

    To deal with this, there were four armoured soldiers carrying shields in a square formation. Inside were three martial artists. Two were archers, and one was a spear user. The archers would shoot at the hell hound from afar whenever it was visible and taunt it. When it came close, the armoured soldiers would use their shields and armour to hold it at bay while the spear user attacked to deal severe damage.

    Elwin sighed. These oni were really very difficult to deal with!

    Their individual strength was not much higher than demons, however their unique abilities made them very tricky to fight.

    Luckily, the martial artists were experienced in dealing with the onis. The orthrus and the hell hound were carrying massive injuries.

    Drake had gone to reinforce the team fighting the orthrus, and Elwin decided to reinforce the hell hound team.

    But suddenly, everyone heard a sound.

    ¡®ROOOAAARRRR!!!¡¯

    The roar drowned out all other noise in the battlefield, and for a moment, everyone froze.

    A figure formed at the distance, and it was rapidly coming closer. It was human in shape, but it was definitely not human.

    Its skin was pale and partially decomposed, making some bones visible in parts of its fingers, arms, chest, and even its face. It¡¯s left eye was just an open skull socket, and the nearby skin had completely decomposed, revealing the skull underneath.

    It was an undead!

    Like the name suggests, undead were dead creatures that were brought back ¡®alive¡¯ by some dark methods. But they did not have consciousness and just mindlessly obeyed the orders of whoever made them. They did not require food, water, or sleep to survive, and they would never become tired or feel pain.

    This undead was carrying a spear and was running rapidly towards the battlefield.

    What shocked Elwin the most was that he recognised the spear. And he recognised the undead.

    Jin Tong!?

    But that was impossible. He saw Jin Tong was the first person who was chased down by the commander class demon. How could he be here?

    The dark mages¡­

    They must have captured him and turned him into this! Elwin could feel his strength from here.

    He was a pseudo-commander class undead!

    The last time Elwin fought a pseudo-commander class elephant demon in the woods, he had the support of Zhao Gaumond, Brain Klington, Jin Tong, the tall and fat men from Leon village, and three elves! In other words, although they were tired and not at full strength, it took six martial artists at the steel body level, and three warrior mages to take down one pseudo-commander class demon.

    But now, Elwin was the only person at that level!

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    ¡°Oh, crap!¡± Elwin cursed. But there was no time to react. If he allowed Jin Tong to attack, their army would be decimated.

    Elwin charged at Jin Tong, using his speed to rush towards him. The two met and within a few seconds, they exchanged dozens of blows.

    Elwin was in disbelief.

    This Jin Tong was on a whole new level compared to before. He was much stronger and faster. His movements were precise and deadly. He attacked relentlessly like a machine. Even if Elwin landed a hit, Jin Tong showed no reaction.

    What the hell was this!?

    Drake paused and saw his brother fighting Jin Tong. He could see that Elwin was completely out classed. He wanted to help, but he didn¡¯t know if he could. He couldn¡¯t even see their movements. Drake did not want to be burden, but he did not want to do nothing either.

    After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and summoned two healing fairies. Being mana spirits, they could move on their own and so he did not need to control them with his mind.

    ¡®Heal brother Elwin¡¯ he commanded.

    The spirits streaked across the battlefield and arrived before Elwin. They became two green light orbs that orbited Elwin. Whenever he got injured, the light would touch the injury and it would be healed. Elwin saw this and smiled.

    ¡®Thank you, brother,¡¯ he whispered, and started attacking Jin Tong with renewed vigour.

    But Jin Tong¡¯s presence caused more issues. The demons that were starting to flee seemed to find their courage and returned more fiercely. And the humans were the opposite. Everyone could feel the terrifying strength of Jin Tong, and the fierce clash between him and their general Elwin. They could see that Elwin was overpowered and the soldiers were losing their morale.

    Drake frowned.

    ¡°Listen up everyone!¡± Drake yelled. He was flying high on top of his shield so everyone could see him. ¡°General Elwin is doing his best to keep the undead at bay. He is risking his life to protect us; do you want that to go to waste? We need to use this chance to kill off all the remaining demons! So, ATTACK!!!¡±

    When he said the word ¡®attack¡¯, Drake sent his boomerang flying at an incredible speed towards the hell hound. It had just became visible and was trying to use the chaos caused by Jin Tong¡¯s appearance to land a sneak attack on an injured martial artist and finish him off.

    Before it could even register what was happening, the boomerang sliced its head off which went flying across the battlefield.

    Everyone cheered.

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°We have master Drake along with general Elwin. There¡¯s no way we can lose!¡±

    Their army started attacking with newfound strength. Elwin heard Drake too and was happy that he brought him along. However, he didn¡¯t have time to lose focus.

    Jin Tong attacked fiercely, and Elwin was barely able to defend. If not for the fairies healing him, he would already be covered in injuries. The main problem was that Elwin had never fought an undead before.

    They were like orcs. Although undead wouldn¡¯t regenerate, they also wouldn¡¯t die by simply stabbing or dismembering them.

    The best way to kill an undead was to burn them, or completely destroy them somehow. But¡­

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Jin Tong attacked without taking a break. He had never had to fight like this before! Even if his injuries were getting healed, he was losing his stamina. As a martial artist, he had much higher stamina than normal humans but still, he was losing his breath. His movements were slowing down.

    But Jin Tong was not. He attacked as ferociously as ever. And since he used a spear, he had a longer range than Elwin, making it even harder for him to close in.

    Over the next ten minutes, a large number of demons were killed, but there were still many more. Drake took a moment to consume a mana recovery pill and restored his mana.

    Then, he went on a rampage. He directly summoned four iron boomerangs and started shredding all the remaining demons to pieces. He was like a force of nature, flying on his shield, sweeping across the battlefield, killing anything and everything that came close. As a result, within another five minutes, most of the demons were killed. The few that were left realised that they could not win and started to flee, despite Jin Tong¡¯s presence.

    Everyone cheered. The wounded were taken for treatment, and the remaining soldiers retreated and began to rest. Jin Tong and Elwin were still fighting, but there was nothing they could do. That wasn¡¯t a fight that any of them could mess with.

    Elwin cursed, blocking a spear that was slicing from the top. The spear rotated and pushed Elwin¡¯s sword downwards, then thrusted up towards his open chest. Elwin retreated, but was followed by Jin Tong who jumped towards him, aiming his spear at his throat.

    Elwin blocked upwards again but Jin Tong suddenly kicked his side. Elwin blocked with his other arm, and Jin Tong jumped back, before restarting his assault.

    ¡®Dammit why is he so persistent!¡¯ Elwin didn¡¯t know how much longer he could hold on. He could feel his movements becoming slower, and even with the help of the fairies, he was racking up injuries. The fairies could only heal relatively light wounds.

    Drake quietly approached the battlefield. He could hear repeated sword clashing and could barely follow their movements. All he could see were two shadows streaking across the battlefield at high speeds.

    ¡®How are they fighting non-stop so intensely?¡¯ he wondered.

    He had read about undead and knew they didn¡¯t tire, but this was too much. He knew his brother couldn¡¯t keep up for long. He had to do something.

    Although he could barely see what was happening, occasionally, when they temporarily retreated or bounced back, they would pause for a second.

    That¡¯s the opening he was waiting for. He had the image in mind and mana at his fingertips. He could cast his summon at a moment¡¯s notice, and a moment was all he had.

    He waited patiently, carefully observing their movements.

    Elwin was getting tired and was letting more blows through. The fairies did their best to heal him, but even they couldn¡¯t keep up with how quickly Elwin was racking up injuries. Then, just as Elwin was about to block a spear thrust towards his abdomen, the spear suddenly changed direction towards his shoulder. It was a feint! But it was too late for Elwin to react.

    The spear pierced through his shoulder and appeared on the other side.

    ¡®NOW!¡¯ Drake thought and cast his spell.

    Snap!

    There was a loud sound near Jin Tong¡¯s feet.

    Jin Tong looked down to see both his feet caught in bear traps!

    Elwin was shocked to see this! How did a bear trap appear here?

    ¡®Oh brother, thank you!¡¯ Elwin whispered. Then, he smiled wickedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± he yelled, slashing his sword across the neck of the immobilised undead.

    But something unexpected happened.

    Jin Tong released the hold on his spear and bent inhumanely backwards, completely dodging the sword. Then he reached into his sides and pulled out two daggers.

    As Elwin swung to the side, Jin Tong used the bear traps as a pivot to rise and stabbed Elwin on the sides of his hips!

    ¡°NO!¡± screamed Drake and ran towards Elwin.

    What madness was this!?

    The undead used the fact that it couldn¡¯t feel pain to move in an inhumane way, escaping a fatal strike, and counter attacking brutally!

    Jin Tong removed his daggers and Elwin stumbled backwards, coughing out blood. Without hesitation, Jin Tong brought those daggers mercilessly onto Elwin¡¯s throat.

    Drake made it just in time and pushed Elwin away from the fatal strike.

    ¡°Elwin!¡± Drake cried. The fairies tried to heal him, but the wounds were too deep, not to mention the huge spear sticking out of his shoulder.

    Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Jin Tong was marching slowly towards Drake. The bear traps reduced his speed considerably, but since he couldn¡¯t feel pain, he just walked with them.

    It was clear that he would stop at nothing to kill.

 Chapter 27: Ambush

    ¡°YOU!¡± Drake was furious.

    He summoned a dozen daggers and charged towards Jin Tong. Jin Tong deflected many of those daggers easily with his own, but some still hit their mark, stabbing deep into his body. However, it was useless, they didn¡¯t even slow him down. Jin Tong kept walking towards Drake like a terminator.

    Drake attacked him with his sword. Jin Tong expertly used his daggers to block and deflect Drake¡¯s attacks, while also deflecting as many of the daggers as he could. They exchanged numerous blows. Jin Tong¡¯s speed was severely reduced, but he was much stronger than Drake and, unlike Drake, wasn¡¯t tired. Hence, Drake couldn¡¯t get the upper hand.

    Drake kicked him across the waist and Jin Tong flew across the battlefield. But he got up in a few seconds. Drake thought he would approach, but Jin Tong slowly looked at Drake, then at Elwin and then at himself. Finally, he turned around and walked backwards.

    ¡®He¡¯s retreating?¡¯ Drake was surprised. He wanted to give chase, but Elwin was in horrible condition and he was too exhausted. So, he gave up and ran towards Elwin instead.

    ¡°HELP!¡± Drake cried. He was carrying Elwin¡¯s unconscious body and arrived at the camp in the mines. Several medics immediately approached and helped him to a bed.

    ¡°Can you save him?¡± Drake asked worriedly.

    The doctor quickly examined him and replied, ¡°General Elwin¡¯s wounds are severe. However luckily none of his internal organs are hurt. Given his high martial arts cultivation, with sufficient treatment, he should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Thank God¡­¡± sighed Drake. This was too close.

    Few hours later.

    All the soldiers had their wounds treated and recovered their stamina. Drake also completely recovered. He was not very injured in the battle, and just had to recover his mana and stamina.

    Elwin was all stitched and bandaged up. Drake healed all the wounds he could with his magic, and all the deeper ones were handled by the doctors.

    It was getting late, and Drake wanted to leave before nightfall so he asked the doctors if he could move Elwin.

    ¡°Should be fine. But he¡¯s lost a lot of blood so it will take up some time for him to wake up. It will take him a couple of days to make a full recovery, so he should avoid fighting until then,¡± the doctor informed him.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, thank you very much doctor,¡± Drake said politely.

    Then, placing Elwin on a horse, he took the remaining soldiers he came with and started to return.

    Drake was at the lead, and he had Elwin tied to him on the same horse. Next to him were George and the female swordswoman.

    ¡°I wanted to say, you were really amazing today, master Drake,¡± the swordswoman said with a smile.

    ¡°Oh, thank you, you fought very well too,¡± Drake said in response. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Helen,¡± she replied enthusiastically.

    After some time, they suddenly started feeling large vibrations.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± someone exclaimed.

    Drake looked around, wondering what was going on. Then, his pupils shrunk.

    A huge demon tide was approaching from the west.

    There were thousands of them! Including warrior class demons!

    ¡°RUN!¡± screamed Drake, and the group whipped their horses into a sprint. But the demon tide was huge and stretched wide.

    Drake¡¯s mind started working rapidly. They were halfway in their journey, so they were directly in between the mines to the north, and the village to the south. To return to the village they had to continue going south. However, the demon tide approaching from the west was wide. If they kept running south, they would get surrounded and slaughtered before they could reach the village. By the same logic, they couldn¡¯t run back north either. So, they had to run east? But there were no villages or army encampments in that direction. So, they would just have to keep running before the demon tide caught up, at which point the exhausted group would just be a meal for them.

    So, what could they do?

    ¡°Call for reinforcements!¡± Drake instructed, and a few soldiers immediately pulled out a messenger pigeon and sent them off to the village.

    However, it would take time for them to arrive.

    Drake looked around him. The original two hundred soldiers had reduced to one hundred and fifty. Some of them were still recovering from injuries.

    Drake came up with a crazy idea.

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    ¡°Listen up! We are going to charge south-west into the demon horde!¡±

    Everyone became silent.

    ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    ¡°Master Drake, are you sure about this?¡± Helen asked.

    Drake looked at her with determination. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Saying so, he immediately changed directions and started charging south-west, into the demon horde. The soldiers hesitated for a moment. Whatever direction they went in, they were probably going to die anyway. And without Drake¡¯s help, they would only die sooner.

    Maybe if it was before, they would have thought Drake was insane, but he had proven himself in battle. So, one by one, they started following behind him.

    Just before he collided with the horde, Drake summoned four large rectangular shields to push against the demons on the front and the sides. Then, he summoned four iron boomerangs again and started slicing up all the nearby demons. He cut open a path directly through the monster horde that the rest of his soldiers could follow in.

    ¡°YEAH!¡± The soldiers cheered, rushing their horses to keep up with Drake.

    Still, it wasn¡¯t easy. There were a lot of soldiers, and the demons started attacking the rear and the sides which Drake couldn¡¯t defend. The soldiers had no interest in fighting head on. They often just pushed them away, or wounded them enough to make them temporarily retreat, before dashing past. However, many of them still died.

    ¡°Master Drake where are we going?¡± Helen asked.

    ¡°Almost there!¡± Drake yelled, slicing through another few demons. Surrounded by demons on all sides, the soldiers could not see where they were going at all. They just put their faith on Drake and stuck as close to him as possible.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Drake yelled, slashing a demon that got close to him with his sword. But now they were very close to his destination.

    A few kilometres in front was a tall, narrow canyon. Drake remembered the canyon from some of the maps he had memorised. It would connect to the Beast Woods on the other side so they couldn¡¯t cross it, but if they make it there, it would be an easy place to defend.

    Once they entered, the demons would only be able to follow through a narrow opening. Hence, no more than half a dozen demons could attack them at once, completely removing their advantage of numbers.

    The other soldiers also spotted the canyon and understood Drake¡¯s plan. They were elated and started fighting and running more ferociously to penetrate through.

    Upon reaching the entrance of the canyon, Drake turned his horse a full 180 and came to a stop.

    ¡°All of you enter!¡±

    The soldiers were moved and started pouring into the canyon one after another. Drake used his boomerangs and shields to keep the demons at bay while the soldiers rushed in. After the last demon entered, Drake followed behind.

    The demons did not stop their attacks, but now no more than five or six of them could attack at a time, and Drake was able to hold them back with his boomerangs. A few martial artists formed a defence line to kill off any demons that got through the boomerangs.

    ¡®Phew¡¯ Drake sighed.

    They had made it but¡­ at what cost? Looking around, their number had almost halved. If Elwin woke up, how would he react?

    He had no time to think about that now. All his attention was on holding the demons back. They didn¡¯t know how long it would take for this demon horde to pass, or for reinforcements to arrive. But he hoped they could hold on until then.

    Night fall.

    The demons were attacking as ferociously as ever. They had fought several onis in this time too. While Drake was engaging an orthrus, a hell hound managed to sneak in and started wreaking havoc inside. But the soldiers surrounded it when it became visible and killed it quickly. They were also attacked by two orcs and a minotaur at the same time.

    Only sixty-five soldiers remained.

    Sunrise.

    Forty soldiers left, and they were all exhausted.

    At this point Elwin had woken up too. He learnt of the situation and was dismayed. He wanted to fight but was still very weak. Drake told him to rest and that he¡¯d take care of it.

    Despite his reassurance, Drake had already consumed all the mana recovery pills he had brought and was now on his last pool. Not to mention, going without sleep for a whole day made him mentally exhausted, which made it much more difficult to control his boomerangs. He could only control two now, and he could only control one of them effectively.

    This put more pressure on the soldiers holding the front line. However, a pile of dead demon bodies had built up, which formed a barricade that made it difficult for new demons to pass through. This did relieve some pressure. Additionally, the soldiers who could survive this far were all highly skilled and experienced, so fought very well. Still, everyone was exhausted and were performing well below their peak.

    ¡°Master Drake, we can¡¯t hold on any longer!¡± cried Helen.

    The demon tide still did not show any signs of subsiding.

    ¡°Just a bit more, reinforcements should be here anytime now,¡± Drake comforted.

    But suddenly, a demon wolf rushed and bit into the shoulder of a soldier in the front line. He cried in pain and fell back, creating an opening. Another soldier tried to fill it, but the wolf jumped on him afterwards. More and more demons started pouring in through the gap. Drake was already engaging two demon cranes that were attacking from the sky, so he didn¡¯t have the time to help them.

    ¡®Was this the end?¡¯ thought Drake seeing the precious few men who were left being cut down mercilessly.

    Suddenly, he heard something.

    Whoosh! An arrow shot the demon wolf down.

    Then more arrows started shooting down the remaining demons.

    Drake looked up, his vision blurry from exhaustion.

    Standing on the edge of the canyon was his father, and on the other side was Myra Wan. Behind them were hundreds of soldiers.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Drake screamed.

    ¡°YES!¡± everyone cheered. The demons were getting shot down one after another by the skilled archers of the elves. The remaining soldiers started descending the canyon and fighting the demon horde one on one. They were unstoppable and created a huge opening in the horde.

    Drake¡¯s soldiers started exiting the canyon and retreating through the opening as the new soldiers brought up the rear. They climbed up the canyon and finally reached the top.

    ¡°Dad!¡± screamed Drake and ran to hug Holt. Elwin followed closely.

    ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re safe!¡± Holt sighed, hugging him.

    Holt released him soon and was about to welcome Elwin but was interrupted.

    ¡°Well, well, well, what a lovely reunion!¡± laughed a voice. It was loud and echoed across the canyon, and the entire battlefield.

    Holt¡¯s eyes narrowed and he immediately pushed Drake behind him and drew his sword.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he demanded.

    The voice came from a man standing on the branch of tree several dozen meters away. He was dressed in all black and gave off a dangerous aura. On a branch underneath him was another man who was dressed identically. They both had one hand casually resting against a tree as if they weren¡¯t in the middle of demon tide at all.

    ¡°We are¡­¡± the man said contemplatively, while pointing a finger towards Holt, ¡°¡­your end!¡± a huge amount of mana gathered at his fingertips and transformed into black lights. Over a dozen of them, which all turned into bats. Huge menacing, blood bats, about half the size of a human. They bared their fangs, and thick, corrosive poison was dripping down.

    Grand mages!

 Chapter 28: Ancestor

    The bats were extremely fast and launched themselves at Holt.

    ¡°Drake, Elwin run! Myra, help me deal with these two! The rest of you hold back the demons¡± Hold commanded and rushed to deal with them.

    Holt clashed fiercely against the blood bats. Drake wanted to help but was pulled back by Elwin.

    ¡°This is not a fight we can interfere in,¡± he said.

    Drake felt helpless, but he knew that Elwin was right. Even if he was at his peak, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, let alone in his exhausted state now.

    Elwin turned to his soldiers. ¡°Everyone, listen up. We will let the reinforcements take care of them. We must retreat.¡±

    No one objected and they all started to leave. Some demons would still pass through, but they were easily dealt with.

    After a while, they descended from the canyon on the other side, and started making their way back to the village, through the Beast Woods. They rode for a few hours before arriving at a clearing, at which point Drake suggested for them all to take a break. They had been fighting and running non-stop for almost two days now.

    The soldiers were more than grateful to take up that offer and they all unmounted and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

    Drake sighed¡­ They came here with two hundred soldiers, but now only twenty of them were left. This world was too dangerous!

    Elwin sat next to Drake. ¡°You really saved everyone brother. If it weren¡¯t for you, we¡¯d all be dead.¡±

    Drake looked at Elwin, and then at all the other soldiers. The place was quiet, so everyone heard Elwin¡¯s statement. No one disagreed. Everyone looked at Drake with reverence, as if he was their saviour.

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s right master- no deputy general Drake,¡± Helen said, showing her acknowledgement of Drake. Not only as a fighter, but also as a leader.

    Drake looked down at his feet. He didn¡¯t feel like a leader. Not a good one anyway. So many people had died under his leadership, and he kept asking himself if there was anything he could have done to save more people.

    Seeing his reaction, Elwin chided him again.

    ¡°Hey, you did your best. Everyone knows that.¡±

    Drake looked at him again, but still couldn¡¯t accept it.

    ¡°Yes, general Elwin is right,¡± a solider shouted out. More and more people shouted out their approvals and gratitude.

    Drake heard everything and was speechless.

    Tears slowly started welling up in his eyes. He didn¡¯t know what he expected when he came to fight. He knew there would be death and chaos, but this was too much. He had almost lost his brother to a surprise ambush by an undead, and just as he was recovering, they were almost swallowed by a demon horde. Barely surviving the horde, they were then welcomed by two dark grand mages who were now fighting his father.

    Why was everything going wrong?

    Too much had happened over just this one day. Is this what war was like? Or was it the nature of this world? He didn¡¯t know. All he knew was that he had to get back to the village, and he wanted to see his father again.

    Elwin saw Drake¡¯s expression and gave him a hug.

    Half an hour later.

    Everyone was just preparing to leave again but they were suddenly interrupted.

    ¡®ROAR!¡¯ ¡®ROAR!¡¯ ¡®ROAR!¡¯

    Threes huge roars shook everyone awake.

    What the hell? Did the demons really penetrate through the reinforcements?

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Drake looked back. Huge tremors were coming from behind the trees.

    ¡°RUN!¡± Elwin yelled.

    Everyone mounted their horses and started to run, but the footsteps were catching up.

    Helen suddenly stopped.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°If we keep running, they will definitely catch up. I will stall them, you all run.¡±

    ¡°Are you insane?¡± Elwin asked. Judging from the tremors, they were all powerful monsters, probably strong, servant class onis. ¡°There is no way you can fight them all on your own.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay too!¡± yelled another soldier.

    ¡°And me.¡±

    ¡°And me.¡±

    Soon, everyone stopped and volunteered to hold back the demons.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll also stay,¡± Drake said.

    ¡°No!¡± Helen protested. ¡°We are all replaceable, but you two aren¡¯t. The two of you need to get back!¡±

    ¡°But-¡± Elwin was cut off.

    ¡°Sorry general, I cannot obey you on this. And you don¡¯t need to worry, with so many of us, at least some of us will make it back alive!¡± she said with a smile.

    Elwin was speechless. He wanted to protest, but Drake suddenly pulled him.

    ¡°No, stop! Drake, let me go!¡± Elwin thrashed about, but in his injured state he was easily subdued by Drake.

    Drake hated himself for leaving them behind, but he had no choice. Drake was almost completely out of mana, and Elwin was severely injured. Even if they stayed, they would only be a hinderance to the other soldiers.

    They had to run.

    So, he made up his mind and dragged Elwin back. While running away, Drake looked behind him to spot three, sixteen foot tall, ripped minotaurs, glowing red in their berserk state, crushing several soldiers.

    Drake turned back and continued running.

    They ran for half an hour. Elwin quietened down and stared blankly into the sky. Suddenly, Drake started hearing tremors behind him again. Elwin¡¯s eyes widened.

    Did they all die? Drake thought.

    Drake stopped his horse and unmounted, taking Elwin onto his shoulder. Elwin did not resist, as if having resigned himself to his fate.

    They could not run anymore, so he would try to hide. And if that didn¡¯t work, he would fight. That was the plan for now.

    Drake kicked the horse into motion while hiding behind a large tree with Elwin. A minotaur went past them and chased after the horse. The two then started moving in the opposite direction. A few minutes later they heard a screech from the direction the minotaur went in, followed by a roar.

    The minotaur clearly killed the horse, and it was angry at having let its prey get away. It then ran back, trying to find them.

    Drake picked up the pace, but he could not compare to a sixteen-foot minotaur¡¯s speed in his weakened state. Pretty soon, it came close.

    ¡®This is it then, there is no way I can fight that thing with almost zero mana left,¡¯ Drake thought.

    He decided that he would hide Elwin behind one tree, and he would run in another direction to take the minotaur away. Drake scanned his surrounding and spotted a large tree that was perfect.

    Drake rapidly approached the tree and went around the side. He dropped Elwin down and was about to run away when he felt someone tugging at his arm.

    But it wasn¡¯t his brother.

    The hand was small and soft. Drake turned around to spot what could only be described as a hologram. No, it was more like a spirit. It looked like his healing fairy but was purple in colour.

    What the hell was a spirit doing here?

    The spirit curled its fingers towards Drake, as if beckoning him to follow. Even Elwin was surprised by this and came out of his trance.

    ¡°What is that? Does it want us to follow it?¡± Elwin asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I would rather follow that than the minotaur!¡± Drake replied.

    The fairy giggled and then started flying. It stopped after a few meters. It then pointed at the two brothers, pointed at the ground, and then disappeared into the ground!

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ Drake thought.

    But the minotaur roared loudly again, much closer now. They didn¡¯t have a choice.

    Drake ran to that spot and touched the ground. Drake was enveloped by a purple light, and then he disappeared!

    Elwin¡¯s eyes widened. Without hesitation, he followed.

    Drake felt dizzy and lightheaded.

    He had closed his eyes reflexively, and opening them now, he was surrounded by darkness. No that wasn¡¯t right.

    The room was very small and dark, but there were occasional wall torches shedding some light.

    After a few seconds, a purple light appeared next to him and from it came Elwin.

    Elwin stumbled around disoriented from the teleportation, and Drake immediately went to help him.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes. Where are we?¡± Elwin asked in response.

    Drake looked around.

    ¡°No bloody clue.¡±

    There was only one door in this room so the two decided to open it. They were greeted by a long, dark corridor, which was similarly lit by wall torches scattered about.

    Drake picked a random direction and started walking. Every few meters, he would find a turning or a junction or another room.

    This¡­ feels like a maze!

    ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± Drake thought out loud.

    Elwin stopped.

    ¡°Wait!¡± he yelled. Drake looked back.

    ¡°Do you know the story¡­ of the founding ancestor?¡±

    Drake remembered Holt mentioning him when giving him his martial arts cultivation technique. His Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts used to belong to the village ancestor.

    Seeing his expression, Elwin continued.

    ¡°The founding ancestor was the man who founded Jain village. He was a powerful mage who reached the mage emperor realm!¡±

    A mage emperor - that was the highest level a mortal could reach.

    ¡°Okay, but why are you mentioning that now?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Elwin hesitated. ¡°It is believed that before he died, the founding ancestor took all of his knowledge and created an inheritance underground¡­ in an underground maze.¡±

    Drake froze.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me¡­ that we are in the inheritance grounds of a mage emperor?¡±

 Chapter 29: Becoming a mage

    Previously, in the cabin.

    The dark mage watched as Henry pulled out and ate the heart of that woman and smiled.

    ¡®This one has potential,¡¯ he thought.

    Henry finished eating the entire heart and looked towards the man expectantly.

    ¡°Good, good, good!¡± the man laughed. ¡°Maybe you are not a waste of time after all!¡±

    The man laughed for a few seconds before calming down and looked at Henry seriously. ¡°However, you are of no use to me the way you are now.¡±

    Henry gulped.

    ¡°Tell me, Henry, do you desire power?¡±

    Henry nodded.

    ¡°Is there anything you desire more than power?¡±

    Henry thought for a moment and wanted to say revenge. However, he could not get revenge without power. So, he shook his head.

    The dark mage smiled.

    ¡°Then, what would you be willing to do to get that power?¡±

    ¡°Anything,¡± Henry replied firmly.

    The dark mage threw his hands into the air and laughed at the ceiling.

    ¡°In that case, I will give you the once in a lifetime opportunity to become a mage!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, a few hours before the reinforcements arrived, in the Jain village.

    Astoria was racing up and down in the mansion. Sam was trying to calm her down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Astoria. Your father, and the powerful elf leader has gone to reinforce them with a huge army. There¡¯s no way anything could go wrong!¡±

    ¡°How could you know that? They were ambushed by a pseudo-commander class undead, and in their exhausted state, came under attack by an enormous demon tide! Even if father marched at full speed, it would take them half a day, at least, to trace their tracks and reinforce them. Half a day that they must survive under the onslaught of a demon tide when everyone is exhausted!¡±

    Astoria was out of breath with worry and starting panting. She could not let anything happen to her family. She would not let anything happen to her family. But what could she do? She had no fighting strength.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m going!¡± Astoria declared.

    ¡°What!? Going where?¡± Sam asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to save them!¡± she declared confidently.

    ¡°Have you gone insane? What can you possibly do? If your father, a martial artist with the undying body, and the grand mage elf leader, could not deal with the situation, what could you do?¡±

    ¡°More than what I can do from here,¡± she said, and left the room immediately.

    ¡°Wait, waaait!¡± Sam chased after her.

    She rushed out of the mansion, mounted her horse, and started racing at full speed. Sam cursed but got on a horse and followed behind her.

    ¡­

    Back in the present.

    Drake didn¡¯t believe it at first, but after exploring, he realised that this place really was an inheritance ground!

    They were definitely in a labyrinth; however, it was quite tame. There were a few traps and some weak demons but they mainly just had to make sure they didn¡¯t get lost. Drake made marks along the way to indicate the paths they took, so this wasn¡¯t an issue for them.

    There were many rooms in this labyrinth. Most of them were empty, but not all. Some of them contained money. Some of them contained pills and pill recipes. And some contained cultivation techniques and summoning spells!

    Drake thought he was dreaming. One second, he was almost about to die from a minotaur attack, and the next second he was enjoying the inheritance of a mage emperor!

    Fate was too unpredictable!

    What really convinced him that this was the inheritance grounds of the founding ancestor was one of the cultivation techniques. He found a martial arts cultivation technique.

    Specifically, it was the twelve-star body transformation arts; more specifically, it was the second part!

    He did not realise that the cultivation technique he had was only the first part. The first part, although exceptional, talked about using mana to temper and strengthen the body like any other martial arts cultivation technique. However, what really made this cultivation technique stand out, was the second part.

    The second part contained twelve incredible martial techniques. Like how mages had spells and summons, martial artists had martial techniques. Although martial artists could use their strong physical body as a weapon directly, martial techniques were like special skills they could use in combat. Like spells and summons, they were also rare to find and hard to learn.

    But now, Drake had twelve of them! And the techniques went all the way from the tempered body stage to the astral body level!

    He was incredibly pleased. This alone was worth the trip and everything he suffered thus far.

    Drake had no idea where the founding ancestor got such an incredible martial arts cultivation technique from, but he was very happy to have inherited it.

    The two stumbled through many rooms and Drake also learnt some new pill recipes, and artifact and spirit summons. The artifact summoning wasn¡¯t very useful for him, but he learnt three new rank one spirit summons, and even a rank two spirit summon. This was a huge gain.

    They explored for several hours checking every room to make sure they didn¡¯t leave anything else. Finally, they came across a large door.

    ¡°This is it then,¡± said Drake. They finally reached the end.

    The two brothers pushed open the door, however what they found was not an exit like they expected, but rather another large room.

    They entered the room curiously and the door shut behind them. Mana gathered in the centre of the room and a spirit formed. It was in the shape of an old man, close to his seventies maybe. He had a long white beard, wore white robes, and rested his hands on a cane. He emitted an aura of timeless wisdom.

    This must be the ancestor¡¯s will!

    ¡°Welcome, my descendants,¡± the old man spoke.

    Both Elwin and Drake kneeled in respect.

    ¡°There is no need for that, please rise.¡±

    They did as they were told.

    ¡°I hope you enjoyed the little gifts I had prepared outside for you.¡±

    Those were ¡®little¡¯ gifts? Drake thought.

    ¡°Yes, ancestor. And we are very grateful for them.¡±

    ¡°Then, are you ready for my main inheritance?¡±

    ¡­

    At the same time.

    Unbeknownst to Elwin and Drake, just above their location, in the same forest, a dark, hooded figure was standing in front of a young man. They were the dark mage and Henry. They were both facing a huge circular platform that contained a gigantic inscription.

    The inscription was made from a variety of precious materials, and some of it included the flesh of warrior class and commander class demons, and even human flesh. This was a very expensive and intricate process.

    ¡°Is this¡­ it?¡± asked Henry.

    ¡°Indeed. Once you step foot onto the platform, you will be bombarded with a huge amount of the world¡¯s mana. If you are lucky, and you control the mana well, it will condense into a mana core, and you will become a mage!¡±

    Henry became excited.

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much, my lord!¡± He bowed deeply to this mage. This was it. This was his opportunity. His chance for power.

    ¡°But remember, don¡¯t absorb too much mana. Otherwise, you will explode from the inside out. And if you absorb too little, then you won¡¯t form a mana core, it has to be the perfect amount.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡±

    ¡°And¡­ you will be on your own during the process,¡± the mage said calmly.

    ¡°Oh¡­ why?¡± Henry asked puzzled.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°My presence won¡¯t change anything; it is all up to you. Besides¡­¡± the dark mage paused and looked into the distance. It was in the direction that Holt and Myra were fighting the two grand mages in, ¡°I have some business to take care of.¡±

    Henry nodded and didn¡¯t press him anymore. ¡°In that case, I thank you again, my lord. Please take care,¡± he said with a deep bow again.

    The mage nodded and slowly rose into the sky, releasing a vast aura. All the nearby demons scrammed away in fear.

    It was the aura of a mage king!

    The mage turned and flew in the direction that Holt and Myra were fighting in.

    ¡­

    ¡°Astoria, please rethink this!¡± Sam begged.

    Astoria ignored him. The two were now entering the region of the forest where Drake and Elwin found the inheritance grounds.

    Sam was worried. There were always many demons in the woods. Especially in these chaotic times, who knew what kind of a powerful demon would randomly show up? It was not worth the risk. Plus, their presence would not change any situation at all. It was pointless!

    But Astoria refused to listen. She charged headfirst into the forest, determined to help her family.

    But suddenly, the horses reared in fear.

    Astoria was caught off guard and fell of the horse. The same thing happened to Sam.

    Astoria got up, only to spot the horses running back in the direction they came from.

    ¡°What the hell happened to them?¡± asked Astoria, but Sam was frozen. ¡°Sam? Sam! Are you okay?¡±

    Sam looked at Astoria in terror.

    ¡°Did you feel that just now?¡±

    ¡°Feel what?¡±

    ¡°An aura¡­ a huge aura!¡± Sam gasped. ¡°There¡¯s a monster here, Astoria. An unbelievably powerful monster. I don¡¯t know what it is or where it is. But if it finds us, we¡¯re all going to die!¡±

    Astoria was stunned.

    Sam was naturally referring to the aura released by the dark mage king just now.

    Suddenly, a huge pillar of light shot into the sky from a certain distance in the forest. Both Sam and Astoria glanced in that direction. Curious, Astoria began walking there, but was fiercely stopped by Sam who jumped in front of her.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t go!¡± he yelled.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Did you not hear what I just said? Are you deaf? There is terrifying monster in this place. And the aura I just detected - it came from that direction!¡±

    Astoria ignored him and started walking past him.

    Sam intercepted her again.

    ¡°Astoria are you insane? There is no way we can fight that monster!¡±

    But Astoria ignored him again.

    Based on the when the request for reinforcement arrived, when the reinforcements left off, and the direction that they took, it was very likely that her brothers were in these woods. If so, then that light could very well have something to do with them. In that case she could not sit idly back as they were fighting a terrible monster.

    Even if she had to sacrifice herself, she would not hesitate to do so.

    She could not be that weak, helpless girl again.

    Sam pulled her hand back. ¡°Please don¡¯t go Astoria, I¡¯m begging you.¡±

    Astoria looked back at him. Her face was completely expressionless.

    But her eyes¡­ they were the same eyes she had when she came to rescue him. Those eyes that looked at the whole world indifferently, ready to destroy anything that came in its way.

    Sam decided to let go.

    She didn¡¯t need to say anything. He didn¡¯t need to say anything. No one could stop her now.

    Maybe, if there¡¯s one thing in the world scarier than that monster, it¡¯s her.

    ¡­

    ¡°Ah, I can feel it! I can feel the mana pouring into me!¡± Henry laughed. He was standing in the middle of the platform as an insane amount of mana descended into the formation, and into him.

    This was it; he was going to become a mage! From here on out, it would be a new beginning for him. Nothing else mattered.

    While rejoicing, he suddenly started hearing some rustling. He ignored it at first, thinking it was some animal, but then he remembered how all the animals ran away when the mage king released his aura.

    ¡®What could it be then?¡¯ he thought. However, he was too focused on the mana influx to pay attention.

    Astoria came out of the bush and was stunned by what she saw.

    There was a huge stone platform that an unbelievable amount of mana was pouring into. Standing in the middle of it, was Henry!

    ¡®What the hell was this guy doing here?¡¯ her mind worked quickly.

    That huge aura came from this spot. That aura clearly didn¡¯t belong to anyone on their side as none of them were so powerful. Previously they thought it was the aura of a demon, however if so, given that Henry was in the same position, he would not be alive.

    The only other possibility was that it was the aura of a human being. What other powerful humans were here aside from the people of the villages?

    Dark mages.

    But if the dark mage didn¡¯t kill Henry, he must be one of them. Then what was happening now, was related to the dark mages.

    That meant it was bad. Bad for them. Bad for her family.

    It must be stopped.

    Astoria understood the situation in a few seconds and marched fearlessly towards the platform. Sam just exited the bush and saw Astoria walking towards the huge mana pillar.

    ¡°Astoria wait, you don¡¯t know what will happen if you go there!¡±

    That voice! That name!

    Henry¡¯s attention was brought back to his surroundings again. The name he hated more than anything else.

    Was she here?

    Was that bitch, here?

    Henry cracked his head in the direction of the voice. But losing focus on the mana entering him was a mistake. The mana became erratic and started attacking his insides. He was assaulted by a searing pain and he had to bring his attention back to the ritual. He focused on his mana and tried to calm it down.

    At this moment, he felt a pair of hands on his back.

    They pushed.

    The added force from the mana launched Henry across the forest and he crashed against a tree. He coughed out blood, not only from his physical injury, but the mana inside his body went out of control again and started attacking him from the inside.

    What. The. Hell.

    What the hell¡­

    ¡®What the hell just happen- aaaAAAHHHH!¡¯ Henry screamed in pain, his voice echoing throughout the forest.

    Henry tried to get up but collapsed onto the floor again in pain. But still, he raised his head. He wanted to see who it was that did this to him.

    Who dared? He would never forgive them.

    NEVER!

    But when he looked up, what he saw was the one person he never wanted to see. The girl who ruined his life. The girl who toyed with him, used him, humiliated him, then discarded him like trash.

    AstoriAAAA! Why? Why was she here? Must she always ruin my life?

    Henry coughed out more blood. He was in too much pain to be angry.

    But hatred was a powerful force.

    Henry did his best to control the erratic mana while pushing himself onto his feet. He looked at the platform. Astoria was standing in the centre, exactly where he was before, staring at him with those cold, cruel, condescending eyes. Then, with a mocking smile, she closed her eyes, sat down, and began meditating.

    Henry couldn¡¯t believe it. Not only did she kick him out of the ritual, but she was now taking his spot to form the mana core instead!

    ¡°YOU BIIIIIITCHH!¡± Henry screamed at the top of his lungs and suffered another backlash from losing control of his internal mana. But he didn¡¯t care anymore.

    I will kill you, I will kill you! I will rip out your eyes. I will skin you alive! Henry kept repeating that as a mantra while approaching Astoria, ignoring all the pain in his body. But suddenly he was stopped. Stopped by the person he hated the second most in the world.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Sam asked in a disgusted tone. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter. Just scram. Don¡¯t you dare try to harm Astoria otherwise I will kill you right here,¡± Sam threatened, holding a sword to his neck.

    Henry paused.

    Why was it these two? Why was it always these two? Whenever anything good was happening in his life, these two would find a way to ruin it.

    He was going to become a mage. He was going to throw away his old life and start anew.

    Was that just impossible? Did the universe always want him to suffer at the hands of these two?

    ¡°AaaaaaaaAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!¡± Henry screamed once more and coughed out blood again. He fell to his knees and was kicked way by Sam.

    Henry collapsed on the floor. There was nothing he could do.

    He used the last of his strength to crawl away. He was in the same position again. Every time he met these two, he ended up literally crawling away in defeat.

    Wasn¡¯t it better to just die? Wasn¡¯t it? Yes, that¡¯s right. There¡¯s no point in living with such humiliation. He could just die. Why should he struggle when all the good things in his life would be snatched away by Astoria anyway? Yes, he should just give up.

    He just thought that when he placed his hands on a particular spot on the ground.

    Immediately, he was surrounded by a purple light and disappeared!

    Sam saw this and was surprised but didn¡¯t have time to think about it. He wanted to know what was going on with Astoria.

    Astoria was quiet. She could feel a huge amount of mana flowing into her.

    She didn¡¯t fear it, she didn¡¯t reject it. She welcomed it with open arms.

    This was what she always desired.

    This was strength.

    ¡­

    ¡°Then, are you ready for my main inheritance?¡± the ancestor¡¯s will asked calmly. ¡°It is the total knowledge I have over my entire life as a mage emperor!¡±

    Drake and Elwin looked at each other excitedly.

    ¡°Yes ancestor!¡±

    The ancestor¡¯s will smiled. ¡°In that case, I-¡± The spirit was interrupted by a purple light that appeared in the room.

    The brothers recognised the purple light, but they didn¡¯t recognise the person that came out of it. It was a man, probably around Elwin¡¯s age. But he was in a miserable condition. His clothes were ripped, he was covered in wounds, he seemed to have a few bones broken. He kept coughing out blood and collapsed on the floor weakly. Drake could also sense a chaotic mana fluctuation coming off him.

    ¡®Who the hell was this guy and what was wrong with him?¡¯ Drake thought. He had never seen Henry before, so he didn¡¯t recognise him.

    ¡°Oh my, what ever happened to you?¡± said the ancestor¡¯s will curiously, floating towards him.

    Henry was unconscious.

    The ancestor¡¯s will waved its hands and Henry floated into the air. The will then touched his abdomen, and Drake could feel the chaotic mana fluctuations in Henry calm down. It then waved his hands and his injuries started healing.

    ¡®What kind of magic was this?¡¯ Drake wondered. But then he realised, this ancestor was in spirit form, so maybe he could directly heal people the way some spirits could, without summoning a spirit himself? It was very amazing to watch.

    Henry slowly opened his eyes to find a weird old man looking at him deeply.

    Where the hell was he?

    ¡°I have decided,¡± the ancestor spirit spoke. ¡°You will be my inheritor.¡±

    Huh? Inheritor? What?

    Before Henry could understand anything, the ancestor¡¯s spirit transformed into a ball and entered his forehead. The moment the spirit disappeared, the entire labyrinth began to vibrate as if it was struck by an earthquake. The area around Henry was fine, but the rest of the labyrinth began to collapse.

    ¡°We have to leave!¡± Elwin yelled.

    ¡°But-¡± Drake hesitated.

    This was the inheritance of a mage emperor! There was bound to be so many pills, pill recipes, invaluable insights on cultivation, and most importantly spirits and other summons he could learn!

    He was just about to receive it, but it was stolen by this random guy that popped out of nowhere! What kind of a twist was this!

    Drake was reluctant, but when a piece of the labyrinth wall flew towards his face, he started running with Elwin.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the outside.

    Sam stood guard while watching Astoria calmly meditating inside the dense light pillar.

    Astoria absorbed a huge amount of mana.

    At this moment, in her inner realm, a small core was condensing. It was about to finish, but Astoria had a feeling that if she allowed the core to finish forming, she would miss out on a huge opportunity.

    So, she forced the mana to stop approaching the core and condense into a separate core instead. This was extremely difficult as all the mana that flowed into her body was automatically attracted to the almost-finished core. It took an extreme amount of will power to control and manoeuvre them otherwise.

    But she needed strength. She would do anything for strength. And this was her opportunity for strength, and she could not give it up.

    So, she used all her will power to force a second mana core to condense. It was almost done, but she wasn¡¯t satisfied!

    She forcefully stopped the mana flow towards the two almost finished cores and forced a third core to condense!

    The extreme concentration and will she had to spend made her sweat buckets.

    Her body temperature rose, both from the stress and because of the huge amount of mana.

    But she could not give up.

    This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

    Slowly but surely, she formed three almost finished cores. At this point, she was at her limit. She could not form any more. So, she willed the mana flow to the third core to stop and instead let it flow freely. The mana that was flowing in was equally attracted to all three cores and rushed towards them.

    In an instant, three full mana cores condensed in her inner realm!

    As soon as the cores were condensed, they exerted a huge repulsion to the rest of the mana. The remaining mana in her body was expelled, forming a wave of energy that spread outwards.

    The wave was so dense that Sam was pushed back several steps, and the nearby trees were uprooted. The influx of mana immediately stopped, and a wave a silence washed over the forest.

    At the centre of it all sat Astoria. Her body pulsed with energy, with three mana cores sitting in her inner realm.

    She took a moment to enjoy this sensation. It felt like strength, like power.

    Slowly, she opened her eyes.

    She was no longer weak.

    She was a mage.

 Chapter 30: Return

    ¡°What happened in there? Are you okay?¡± Sam asked, rushing toward Astoria. She smiled at him. She was happy now, happier than she had ever been.

    ¡°I am more than okay,¡± she responded.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Sam asked confused.

    ¡°It means¡­¡± she smirked. ¡°I am a mage!¡±

    ¡°Wh- WHAT!?¡±

    Saying that Sam was shocked was an understatement. It was impossible for people who weren¡¯t ordinarily mages to become one¡­ right? This was what the whole world believed.

    Yet, was that not true? Was his whole life a lie?

    Just as he was pondering these questions, two purple lights appeared next to them. Sam recognised this as the light Henry disappeared into and thought he was coming back.

    So, Sam unsheathed his sword, ready to attack.

    However, it was not Henry who came out.

    ¡°Drake! Elwin!¡± Astoria exclaimed. She excitedly ran towards her two brothers.

    ¡°Astoria! What are you doing he- oof!¡± Drake was cut short by Astoria¡¯s embrace.

    Drake smiled and hugged her in return.

    ¡®Ah¡­ it feels good to relax for a moment,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    After a long while, Astoria released him and hugged Elwin. They too hugged for a long time before separating.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you both so much,¡± she cried.

    ¡°Us too,¡± Drake responded.

    ¡°So, what are you doing here then?¡± Elwin asked.

    ¡°She came here rushing to save the two of you,¡± Sam responded on her behalf.

    ¡°What!?¡± They shouted in unison.

    ¡°Astoria, don¡¯t you know how dangerous it is? What if something happened to you? What would we do?¡± Elwin yelled.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you Elwin, however I couldn¡¯t just sit there and do nothing. Besides, you don¡¯t need to worry about protecting me anymore¡­¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Elwin asked confused.

    ¡°I am a mage now!¡± Astoria exclaimed.

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± both Drake and Elwin yelled in unison.

    ¡°Yea, it¡¯s a long story. So basically ¨C¡±

    ¡°You guys!¡± Sam interrupted. The three of them looked at him. ¡°Sorry to break it to you, but we are still in the middle of a forest infested with dangerous demons and murderous dark mages. So, it would probably be a good idea for you to catch up after we go back home.¡±

    The siblings looked at each other and started laughing, and Sam was left wondering what was so funny.

    ¡­

    Over this time period, at the canyon.

    The area was split into three battle fields - the majority of the soldiers who were holding back the demon tide, Myra who was fighting one of the dark mages at the top of the canyon, and Holt who was engaging the remaining dark mage inside the canyon opening.

    Myra was a perfect stage grand mage who had lived a long time accumulating a huge amount of battle experience and knowledge on numerous summonings. One could argue that she was at the peak of the grand mage realm, and very few people at this realm could be her equal. Hence, she was easily having the upper hand in her battle.

    Holt was a middle stage undying body martial artist, and a warrior mage, with plenty of battle experience too. Although he couldn¡¯t summon as many artifacts as Drake, Holt had a few summons that he was extremely familiar with. Coupled with his undying body, which had regenerative capabilities and a strong defence, he too had the upper hand facing the dark mage.

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    ¡°Dammit, I didn¡¯t think these guys would be so strong,¡± cursed the mage fighting Myra.

    At this moment, a huge light pillar shot into the sky from within the forest. The pillar captured the attention of Myra, Holt, and the dark mages.

    ¡°Haha, our master is going to be coming very soon!¡± yelled the dark mage, before attacking Myra more ferociously.

    ¡°Humph, then I will just have to deal with him too!¡± she scoffed, but she was internally worried. She felt like a huge danger was approaching.

    The same was true for Holt. He also got an ominous feeling from that direction.

    Both Holt and Myra increased their offence and wanted to use this opportunity to deal as much damage to the dark mages as they could. They attacked with full force for about fifteen minutes before they started sensing a huge aura rapidly approaching them.

    ¡®Mage king!¡¯

    Both Myra and Holt had the same thought. This was bad, very bad!

    The higher the realm, the greater the difference between previous realms.

    For other realms, it was possible to fight one realm above you if you were extremely skilled, like Drake and Elwin.

    However, this was not true beyond the grand mage level. It didn¡¯t matter how skilled of a grand mage you were, unless you were a total freak, it was impossible to challenge a mage king.

    Likewise, mage emperors were on a whole separate dimension compared to mage kings too.

    Once this mage king appeared, it would be game over for them.

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Both Holt and Myra gave the same command at the same time. This was their only hope.

    However, it was already too late. The aura came closer and closer and within a minute, a figure appeared on the sky above the canyon.

    The figure emitted a tremendous aura that spread across the battlefield.

    All the demons who were previously baring their fangs and attacking the guards ferociously were now running away in fear with their tail between their legs.

    As for the humans, most of them fell to their knees, crushed under the weight of that aura. Only Myra and Holt, along with some warrior mages from the elves, and steel body martial artists from the human sides could resist to a certain extent.

    This was a mage king!

    The only sound in the battlefield was that of the retreating demon tide, and within a few minutes, that was gone. All the demons ran in the opposite direction to the canyon and the dark mages had also returned to the mage king¡¯s side.

    The battlefield became deathly silent.

    Suddenly, the light pillar in the distance vanished. The mage king stared into the distance.

    ¡®Seems like that boy has finished his task. Took a bit longer than I expected, but I suppose I should wrap up here too.¡¯

    The mage king glanced at the ground. He saw the armies, Myra, and Holt as if he was looking at a bunch of ants.

    ¡°It¡¯s an interesting place,¡± the mage king spoke to no one in particular. ¡°You can view the world from a height. When you do, you see how small everything is¡­ and how little everything actually matters.¡±

    Saying so, he expressionlessly raised his hand into the sky. A huge amount of mana poured out of his inner realm and gathered at his fingertips.

    ¡°I am Damon Rogue. You should be honoured to meet your end at my hands.¡±

    ¡°Flame phoenix!¡± The mana accumulated in his fingers rushed out and condensed into a huge figure. It was a ginormous bird, the size of a skyscraper, and it was made completely from fire.

    The huge bird materialised and stared down at the humans like a fiery god.

    ¡°Burn,¡± the mage king said nonchalantly.

    The phoenix inhaled a huge breath¡­

    Myra Wan jumped into the crevice of the canyon and activated several defensive artifacts and summoned defensive spirits. Holt did the same, and as did a few other shrewd soldiers.

    It was the last, pitiful struggle that they could put up.

    ¡­and exhaled.

    A torrent of fire flooded out of its beak, raining down on the entire canyon. From the top, all the mage king saw was a land being flooded with fire.

    The phoenix continuously breathed out fire for almost ten minutes before the mage king got bored and ordered it to stop. Then, he dissipated the phoenix, took the two grand dark mages, and returned without caring to see if they died or not.

    The huge dust cloud took several minutes to settle, before revealing the devastation. The entire top of the canyon had transformed into molten magma. There were countless burnt corpses littering the floor. The walls of the canyon were scorched, and the floor was no better.

    Holt was the first to get up.

    It was times like these that the resilience of the body martial artists cultivated really showed their strength. Holt¡¯s strong defence and regenerative ability, and his location at the bottom of the canyon where most of the flames didn¡¯t reach, all meant that he could survive.

    Myra was the same. The last-minute defensive measures she took, and her position at the bottom of the canyon, allowed her to survive.

    Apart from them, a few lucky soldiers managed to survive as well, but there was only a handful of them.

    The original army of hundreds of humans and elves were reduced to a handful by a single attack from a mage king.

    Myra Wan stared at her hands and repeatedly clenched and reopened them.

    Was this a mage king? If he was so powerful, why didn¡¯t he just raid the villages from the beginning? He could have easily destroyed everyone.

    Beyond that, Myra had been stuck at her cultivation for a long time. She was only one step away from the mage king realm, but that one step was huge, and she had never been able to take it for centuries.

    When will I¡­ have such power?

    Holt sighed heavily.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    ¡­

    Damon Rogue looked at the pedestal in confusion. Where was Henry? Did he already leave? But he had instructed Henry to wait. So where could he have gone?

    At this moment, a purple light shone next to the pedestal, from which Henry appeared.

    Henry looked at Damon with excitement.

    Damon observed Henry and could not detect any mana cores in him.

    His eyes became cold.

    ¡­

    The siblings and Sam all entered the village mansion.

    ¡°We finally returned!¡±

 Chapter 31: Hazezel Investigates

    Holt returned to the village a few hours after Drake and the rest. During this time, they all rested and recovered from the various battles.

    At this moment, Drake, Hazezel, Astoria, Elwin, Sam, Ray, and Holt were all gathered together in a meeting room, discussing what happened.

    First Drake and Elwin explained their experiences.

    ¡°You are sure that it was Jin Tong? And he was an undead?¡± asked Holt.

    ¡°One hundred per cent,¡± Elwin nodded.

    Holt frowned. If the dark mages had a method to create such powerful undead, it was not a good thing.

    As they explained the way they faced one ambush after another, Hazezel was confused.

    ¡®Was this all¡­ just a coincidence?¡¯

    When they described the inheritance grounds, everyone was stupefied.

    ¡°Oh my god, the inheritance of a mage emperor!¡± Ray slammed the table and got up in excitement. For a person who was generally stoic, this level of excitement was surprising. But Ray didn¡¯t care about their thoughts.

    ¡°And you really let the inheritance get away! How could you!?¡±

    Drake was also upset about this, but he realised that he didn¡¯t mind it too much. The new summons, pill recipes, and most of all, the second part of the twelve-star body transformation arts was all a huge gain for him already.

    Though he mentioned the new summoning spells, he kept the martials arts technique a secret for now.

    ¡°What could we do? The ancestor¡¯s will chose the random man who showed up as his successor,¡± Elwin said helplessly.

    They described the appearance of the man, and combined with the purple light, Sam immediately guessed his identity.

    ¡°That must be Henry,¡± Sam sighed.

    Sam then explained everything that happened from their side of the story. When he got to the ritual, Astoria explained how she became a mage.

    ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Everyone was flabbergasted. She didn¡¯t tell them that she formed three mana cores. She wanted to keep that a secret. If they knew, she honestly thought that their heads would explode.

    ¡°This is incredible, I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± Holt exclaimed, then he sighed. ¡°Still, it will not make any difference to this war.¡±

    Everyone looked towards Holt. He then described the appearance of the mage king, and how he decimated their entire army with a single spell.

    Everyone was speechless.

    This was not a foe they could win!

    ¡°Then what do we do, father?¡± Astoria asked worried. She could not accept that they just had to die. Not after everything they¡¯ve been through.

    ¡°What can we do?¡± Holt asked depressingly. ¡°We will just fight as much as we can¡­¡±

    The whole room was silent.

    Hazezel frowned. ¡®Something was not right¡­¡¯

    The meeting adjourned and everyone went to sleep.

    ¡­

    At the same time, in the Beast Woods.

    Damon Rogue and the two dark grand mages were staring at Henry who was kneeling on the floor.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me, that after all the preparation we did, you let some girl, take everything?¡± asked Damon with a low voice.

    A chillness spread across the room and Henry shivered.

    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m very sorry my lord. However, I found something that I know would be very valuable for you,¡± Henry looked up at Damon excitedly and continued, ¡°I got the inheritance of a mage emperor!¡±

    Damon looked at Henry with a sharp glint in his eyes.

    ¡­

    The next morning.

    Everyone walked with a foreboding tone. Although there were gains and losses during the past few days, it was all meaningless. When thinking about the big picture, they could not win the war for as long as the mage king existed.

    They didn¡¯t know when he would attack, or why he hadn¡¯t attacked already. But as soon as he did, it would be all over.

    They also lost a large number of troops during these ambushes, which caused their front lines to be pushed back. The demon raids started to occur much closer to the villages now.

    Since the Leon village didn¡¯t participate in the activities of the past few days, their strength was still preserved, so they sent out more troops to reinforce the others and stabilise the situation.

    But how much longer could they hold on, weeks? Months?

    It was only a matter of time before they all died.

    In the meantime, Hazezel was in his office, staring at his desk.

    He was pondering one question.

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    ¡®Was it all a coincidence?¡¯ The ambush by Jin Tong, then the demon tide, then dark mages, then the mage king. They all occurred at the worst possible time, almost as if they were planned out. But how could the dark mages know their movements? Or could they all be just a coincidence?

    Hazezel began to wonder if there was a spy. But who could it be? Very few people were aware of the details of the missions. Apart from his family, it was just a few very trusted soldiers. Could one of them have sold out?

    It was possible. Facing the might of the mage king, no one would have any choice but to submit.

    The question was who? Who could it be?

    There was a knock on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Hazezel commanded. A cloaked, hooded figure walked in and bowed before him.

    ¡°I want you to follow and investigate these people and let me know everything they¡¯re doing,¡± Hazezel ordered, handing the man a list.

    The man accepted the list and glanced at it briefly, before bowing towards Hazezel and exiting the room.

    For the next few days, while Hazezel was conducting his investigations, everyone else was attending to their own matters.

    As usual, Elwin was fighting on the front lines after he recovered. Drake would not participate unless they were severely short on manpower.

    Instead, Drake continued his cultivation; except now, he was joined by Astoria. That¡¯s right, Astoria also began to take lessons from Ray.

    Originally, Ray offered her many cultivation techniques to choose from but none of them seemed suitable for her. She was dismayed, but then Drake brought out some of the cultivation techniques he got from the ancestor¡¯s inheritance, and luckily, one of them suited her very well.

    Drake had an idea and took out a few martial arts cultivation techniques he had learnt too.

    To everyone¡¯s surprise, one of them suited her as well.

    She could now cultivate both mana and martial arts!

    Delighted, she began cultivating with Drake.

    Drake focused more of his cultivation on martial arts for the time being. With the completed twelve-star supreme body transformation arts, he could learn some of the martial techniques and take his battle strength to another level.

    He had learnt a total of twelve martial techniques and several new spirit summons as well!

    Similar to spirits, martial techniques were also ranked from one to five. In the tempered body stage, he could only learn rank one martial techniques.

    Out of the twelve martial techniques that was in his mind, five of those techniques became understandable to him. These were the rank one martial techniques.

    Drake quickly made a plan. He was close to breaking through to the late stage tempered body stage, so he wanted to cultivate first. After breaking through, he would learn the five rank one martial techniques, and then learn the rank one spirit summons.

    Drake took a deep breath and started cultivating.

    After two weeks, he broke through to the late stage tempered body!

    Within the same two weeks, Astoria also broke through to the true mage realm!

    Ray was astonished. This is a family of freaks¡­

    Astoria giggled. Unlike Drake who cultivated diligently, Astoria spent a good deal of time with Sam too, which made her rapid progression even more bizarre to Drake and Ray. However, Astoria just said that the ancestor¡¯s cultivation technique was incredible. Since it was from a mage emperor, Drake and Ray though that it made sense.

    After breaking through, Drake recollected the martial techniques, and focused on one that caught his interest.

    Shadow steps was a technique that allowed the user to experience a short burst of speed. It could triple their speed for a few seconds, allowing them to quickly arrive at enemy, or retreat from an attack. After using it once, they just had to wait for a few more seconds before they could use it again. It was very useful!

    Drake didn¡¯t want everyone else to find out about his martial techniques, so he started practising it in alone, far away in a spot where no one could see him.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Hazezel asked, reading the report the hooded man presented him. The only thing unusual in the report was how much time Astoria and Sam spent with each other.

    He realised that their relationship was more than just ¡®friends¡¯ and knew father wouldn¡¯t approve, but so did Astoria.

    ¡®Leave it, it¡¯s not important right now,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He had to know if there was a spy.

    Maybe they were using some magical methods? These were the times he hated not being a mage. There were a lot of ways magic could be used and he didn¡¯t know any of them. He decided to consult an expert.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hazezel asked, looking at Ray.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure,¡± Ray replied calmly. ¡°I have never heard of a spirit that can spy through huge distances and report information instantly. There are investigative spirits, but they often take the form of small animals and birds that would scout the distance and report back to you.¡±

    Hazezel went into deep thought. He then remembered something.

    ¡°What about mind control?¡± Hazezel asked. ¡°Sam was controlled by a parasitic spirit, right? Is it possible for a mage use a parasitic spirit to control someone¡¯s mind and make them report to them? Perhaps even without their conscious awareness?¡±

    Ray held his chin and thought for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m not very familiar with the methods of dark mages, but that might be possible. However, if so, you would have discovered strange movements in your investigations, right?¡±

    Hazazel thought again.

    ¡°What if it was just spying? So instead of controlling the person¡¯s mind to report back to them, they could instead use the parasitic spirit inside to spy from afar. Is that possible?¡±

    Ray furrowed his brows.

    ¡°That would be tricky, but I think theoretically that can be possible. However, I don¡¯t know of any spirits that have that ability. But given the existence of the mage king, who knows what he is capable of.¡±

    ¡°Then would you be able to detect the presence of any of these spirits?¡± Hazezel asked.

    ¡°Maybe, but if it is very well hidden, then no.¡±

    Hazezel frowned, then gave him a list of suspects. Ray took the list and read through it. His eyes widened at the final suspect, and he looked at Hazezel with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask ¡®really?¡¯

    Hazezel nodded, ¡°Those are all my suspects. Investigate them and let me know.¡±

    Hazezel watched Ray leave. Of course, he considered the possibility of Ray being a spy himself, however the chances of that were low. Ray didn¡¯t know the details of the mission, and it was unlikely that he would do something to hurt his own master, given how much he obsessed over her.

    He looked through the window to see their beautiful back garden.

    Am I just overthinking things?

    A few days later, Ray returned, saying he couldn¡¯t find anything strange with any of them.

    ¡°Thank you for your efforts,¡± Hazezel said, and sent Ray off.

    Then there¡¯s only thing I could try¡­

    A few days later.

    Hazezel, Elwin, and Astoria were together in Hazezel¡¯s office. Astoria was helping Hazezel with some documents while he was talking to Elwin.

    ¡°Elwin, our medicine field to the south requires reinforcement. I need you to go there tomorrow morning with a hundred men. It is being attacked by¡­¡± Hazezel read out a list, giving details of demons attacking the herb field.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Elwin replied after listening carefully, and left.

    Hazezel resumed his work.

    The next morning, Hazezel approached Elwin while he was preparing to leave.

    ¡°Elwin, I need to talk to you,¡± he said.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°About the mission I gave you yesterday. There¡¯s been a change of plans. A response unit close to the herb field got freed up and I sent them for reinforcement. Instead, I need to you to reinforce the elves who are being overwhelmed by repeated raids on their side. They will update you with the relevant information once you go there.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Elwin replied, before marching out on his horse.

    Hazezel stared in his direction for a long time, before returning to his office. Astoria was working there.

    ¡°Astoria, you should take a break. You¡¯ve been working so hard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay Hazezel, I can work for a few hours before going for breakfast.¡±

    Hazezel smiled and got back to work.

    The siblings worked hard throughout the day, but being together meant they would often joke around which lifted the mood and made the work easier.

    But happiness never lasts.

    That evening, a guard barged into the office.

    ¡°Master Hazezel, urgent news!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Hazezel asked.

    ¡°Our medicine field to the south has been destroyed by a beast tide!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Hazezel stood up horrified.

    He slowly creaked his head towards Astoria.

    Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

 Chapter 32: Meeting the Enemy

    The dark mages operated deep in the woods. It would be difficult for them to directly meet with someone to collect information.

    Hazezel knew this.

    So, if it was possible to infect someone with a parasitic spirit, and spy through it indirectly, without even the host¡¯s awareness, that would be a perfect plan.

    However, they could not just infect any random person. It had to be one of the people who were aware of the missions. And infecting someone with a parasitic spirit was not something a mage could do discreetly.

    Or at least, not under normal circumstances.

    But their circumstances were far from normal. Especially that of Astoria. She was kidnapped by the dark mages and used in a strange ritual!

    They still did not know what the ritual was about, but now it was clear.

    She must have been infected by a parasitic spirit during the ritual.

    So, then Elwin risking his life to save her ¨C was that something the mage king already predicted would happen? If so, that would explain why the commander class demon did not target Elwin and Astoria so much during their escape, even though it was supposed to be guarding Astoria.

    We were playing into their hands all along¡­

    Hazezel was speechless.

    Then he remembered something. ¡®What about the lone elf that survived and returned to the elven village, could it be a spy too? Should he warn Myra?¡¯

    For a moment, Hazezel became lost in thought.

    ¡°Master¡­ Master Hazezel!¡± the guard cried. Hazezel snapped back to reality.

    ¡°Huh? Yes, okay, tell me about the damages.¡±

    The guard began listening out all the damages to the fields, the approximate monetary cost, and the casualties in the troops.

    Astoria listened intently and asked, ¡°Is Elwin not among the casualties?¡±

    ¡°No miss, as far as I¡¯m aware, Master Elwin did not even reach the herb fields.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What does that mean?¡± Astoria asked worried.

    Did he get ambushed on his way there?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Elwin, Astoria. I assure you he¡¯s safe,¡± Hazezel told her.

    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Because¡­ I sent him on¡­ a secret mission this morning. So, he didn¡¯t go to the herb fields.¡±

    Astoria heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Okay then, so long as he¡¯s safe.¡±

    After a moment of digesting the information, Hazezel gave the guard instructions on how to deal with the damages. The guard listened intently, before giving a deep bow and left.

    Hazezel sat back down and looked at Astoria deeply.

    All of Astoria¡¯s attention was focused on the paperwork as she went through one document after another.

    She seemed to sense something and looked towards Hazezel.

    ¡°Is¡­ everything okay?¡± she asked, confused at why Hazezel was looking at her so much.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied with a smile as a plan slowly started forming in his mind. ¡°Everything is just fine.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Beast Woods, in a location much, much deeper than the cabin.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Two strange individuals stood facing each other. One of them was dressed in long, purple robes decorated with white, fractal designs. Another was dressed in a plain, white breast plate.

    The curious thing about these two people were their eyes. The first man had eyes which were concentric black and purple circles, ending with a small black pupil in the centre, whilst the second man had black pupils containing white streaks that formed the shape of a spider web.

    The man dressed in purple was looking upwards as if he was trying to observe something distant, while the other man watched quietly. After a few minutes, he came back to his senses and faced the second man.

    ¡°It seems that inheritance was opened,¡± the man in purple commented.

    ¡°Oh? The inheritance of that mage emperor?¡± the second man asked.

    ¡°Yes, that is the one.¡±

    ¡°Who got it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know but we can pay a visit and find out.¡±

    At this moment, a loud roar resounded throughout the forest, and a tremendous aura made all the surrounding animals fall into chaos.

    However, the two individuals ignored this disturbance and continued their discussion nonchalantly.

    Huge tremors reverberated through the ground as a monstrous beast headed directly towards the duo. Within a few seconds, a gigantic lion the size of a building appeared before the two and roared.

    This was a nightmare class demon, equivalent to a mage emperor!

    The man in white got annoyed and turned towards the lion. His gaze seemed to peer into the lion¡¯s soul, and it immediately stopped. The ferocity that the lion emitted just now was replaced by a cold trepidation.

    Demons who reached this level had a bit of intelligence. So this demon was sure of one thing.

    This was not a man it could mess with!

    The lion immediately turned tail and ran for its life.

    The two men continued their discussion as if nothing happened.

    ¡­

    That night, Astoria was sleeping in her bedroom. There was a king-sized bed in the centre surrounded by curtains. A small lamp placed on the bedside table dimly lit up the large room.

    Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a figure silently crept inside. Its face was not visible due to the darkness, but it walked closer and closer to the bed, the floorboards slightly squeaking under its footsteps.

    Eventually, the figure stopped right next to the bed and was very close to the lamp so its face could be seen.

    It was Hazezel.

    He stood there with an expressionless face, and in his hand, there was a handkerchief.

    Hazezel slowly opened the curtain and saw Astoria sleeping peacefully in the bed. She had her back against him so he couldn¡¯t see her face, but he the steady rising and falling of her chest told him she was asleep.

    Hazezel inched closer and brought the handkerchief on top Astoria¡¯s head. Then, in one swift motion, he suffocated her with the handkerchief while bringing the other hand to back of her head.

    Astoria¡¯s awoke in a frenzy only to be greeted by a strange smelling handkerchief. Instinctually, she tried to pull the hand away from her face, but she was too weak. She could feel her consciousness fading and wanted to look at her assailant, however she couldn¡¯t even move her head.

    Just as quickly as she had woken up, Astoria became unconscious.

    ¡®Phew¡¯ thought Hazezel.

    He waited for a few minutes, silently observing Astoria. However, nothing changed. She was just laying in bed motionless.

    Hazezel kissed his teeth in annoyance.

    ¡°I know you are there. I just want to talk to you,¡± Hazezel said to the unconscious Astoria.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile inside the cabin, in the main hall.

    Damon Rogue, the two dark grand mages, and Henry were sitting around a table. In the corner, Jin Tong was staring at the group with lifeless eyes, holding his spear with his right hand.

    Damon was originally furious at Henry for allowing the ritual to go to waste. It was not easy to set up that ritual at all. He wanted to kill such a useless person immediately, however he was surprised to learn that he had received the inheritance of a mage emperor.

    One had to realise that mage emperors stood at the peak of the mortal realm, the value of their inheritance could not be understated!

    So, Damon decided to forgive him in exchange for sharing the inheritance. Henry then detailed all the various cultivation techniques, summons, pill recipes, and other knowledge and experience he had learnt. Most were related to mages, but some were suitable for martial artists too.

    There was one particular pill recipe which caught Damon¡¯s attention.

    The reason why Damon did not directly attack the villages was because he had an injury that prevented him from fighting at full strength. He could only use at most two spells at full power before he¡¯d become unable to use mana for a long time.

    He could still attack without using his full power, but then he was not confident he would be able to secure victory if all the three villages worked together to fight him.

    He had been searching for a solution to this issue for a long time, and now he found that this pill could completely cure him.

    The pill required a lot of rare ingredients which he did not have. However, now that he knew what to do, Damon knew that he could craft it eventually. So, he was very happy.

    The group were discussing their plans going into the future when Damon¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. A cold aura spread throughout the room.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, my lord?¡± one of the dark grand mages asked.

    Damon closed his eyes.

    ¡°It seems we¡¯ve been found out.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I know you are there. I just want to talk to you.¡±

    Astoria showed no reaction, and Hazezel was beginning to question whether his deduction was correct.

    Just as he was becoming more and more confused, Astoria¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, and she sat up facing Hazezel. Her eyes turned completely black, and she stared at Hazezel blankly.

    ¡®I¡­ don¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s actually true!¡¯ thought Hazezel.

    ¡­

    At the same time.

    Myra Wan was staring at an unconscious elf. If you looked closely, this was the elf that went with the expedition team and returned alive.

    So that¡¯s what you are up to¡­

 Chapter 32.1: Hazezels story (bonus chapter)

    ¡°Master¡­ Master Hazezel!¡± the guard cried. Hazezel snapped back to reality.

    ¡°Huh? Yes, okay, tell me about the damages.¡±

    The guard began listening out all the damages to the fields, the approximate monetary cost, and the casualties in the troops.

    Astoria listened intently and asked, ¡°Is brother Elwin not among the casualties?¡±

    ¡°No miss, as far as I¡¯m aware, Master Elwin did not even reach the herb fields.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What does that mean?¡± Astoria asked worried.

    Did he get ambushed on his way there?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Elwin, Astoria. I assure you he¡¯s safe,¡± Hazezel told her.

    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Because¡­ I sent him on¡­ a secret mission this morning. So, he didn¡¯t go to the herb fields.¡±

    Astoria heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Okay then, so long as he¡¯s safe.¡±

    After a moment of digesting the information, Hazezel gave the guard instructions on how to deal with the damages. The guard listened intently, before giving a deep bow and left.

    Hazezel sat back down and looked at Astoria deeply.

    He couldn¡¯t help but think back to that day from over three years ago.

    ...

    Drake was almost six, and he was eleven. Drake had barely saved him from the biggest mistake of his life. It had left him both grateful to his brother, but also feeling jealous that not only his older, but also younger brother was more talented than him.

    Hazezel was extremely bored of always staying at the mansion, protected by his father. He wanted to explore the village but whenever the children went out, his father would normally send out people to guard them. As such when he went to the village, everyone would treat him differently. He felt that he could never experience anything properly.

    That day when Astoria and Drake were walking past the Beast Woods, they had to beg their father to allow them to go alone so that they could have some fun together. Only after promising Holt repeatedly that they wouldn¡¯t do anything dangerous did Holt finally agree. Of course, he cursed himself for that mistake and decided to never allow it again after that.

    So, one night, Hazezel decided to sneak out of the mansion wearing a dark, hooded cloak. He was extremely discrete and quiet as he walked out of the mansion. Everyone was asleep so he had a few hours to himself. However, the streets were mostly empty since it was nighttime. Hazezel was slightly disappointed, but he expected this, so he decided to go to an inn which still had lights out.

    As soon as he entered, everyone looked towards him. Though his face was hidden by the cloak, he was still short due to his age, so everyone could tell that he was young and became curious about who he was. However, Hazezel marched to the innkeeper and paid some money to stay for the night.

    After paying for a room, Hazezel didn¡¯t leave immediately. He ordered a drink and stood to the side. There was no age restriction for drinking in this world, so the innkeeper gave him a cup. Hazezel was observing the people in the inn, they were in small groups of two to four people, talking and laughing about dumb things like one does with their friends. However, one table was extremely crowded.

    Curious, Hazezel walked over to see that they were playing a game. He didn¡¯t understand much immediately but afterwards, he realised that they were gambling.

    His interest was piqued! He carefully observed for a few rounds and understood most of the rules.

    ¡°Umm, can I join?¡± he asked.

    Everyone turned towards him with uninterested gazes. He was slightly scared since everyone else was much older than him.

    ¡°You got any money?¡± one of them asked.

    Hesitantly, Hazezel took out a pouch of gold coins. It was some of his savings from the allowances Holt gave him.

    Everyone let out gasps. Who was this kid? He was so rich!

    ¡°Hahahaha! My brother! Of course, you can play!¡± a bulky man cheered and put his arm around Hazezel''s shoulder. Everyone¡¯s attitude towards him became extremely friendly once they realised that he was basically easy money.

    With a sheepish smile, Hazezel sat down and started playing. He might not be a reincarnated genius like Drake, but he was quite intelligent. He didn¡¯t gamble too much at first in order to get used to the game and lost most of the money he gambled at the start. But as the night went on, he was losing less and winning more, until he started winning slightly more than losing. By the end of the night, he had doubled his money!

    ¡®This... is amazing!¡¯ thought Hazezel, a huge smile etched onto his face.

    Everyone had extremely unsightly gazes for being outdone by a kid. Some of them also had evil looks, thinking whether they could steal the money from him. However, they didn¡¯t know where he had come from. Since he had so much money, they thought he might be the child of some elder or another powerful figure in the village. If so, then they would get in a lot of trouble if they attacked him.

    So, after an entertaining night, Hazezel quietly left and started walking back to the mansion.

    ¡®Is this my gift...?¡¯ Hazezel was wondering. He had grown up with the extremely talented and adored Elwin, followed by Drake who, despite being the youngest, somehow seemed to be smarter than all of them. Looking at these two, Hazezel always felt like he was not good enough.

    Sure, his twin sister Astoria was in the same boat, however that didn''t help him feel much better. He wanted to be good at something too, to get attention and recognition from his family and everyone else. But no matter what he did, it couldn''t outshine Drake and Elwin''s talent.

    But now, he had finally found something he was good at! He was good at coming up with winning strategies and using that to make a lot of money!

    He wanted to share it with his family immediately, but he knew he would get scolded by his father for sneaking out and for gambling, so he thought he would first become really good, make a lot of money, and then tell his father. Surely all that money would serve as evidence to showcase his talent? Holt would have to acknowledge him then!

    Thinking so, Hazezel became really excited.

    Unbeknownst to him, when he was entering the mansion, he was spotted by Drake from his window. Drake was curious as to what Hazezel was doing up so early, but he didn¡¯t think much of it.

    However, it happened again, and again, and again.

    Drake noticed that Hazezel would often borrow small amounts of money from other people giving random excuses. Since he always returned the money soon after, Drake didn¡¯t think much of that either.

    However one day, Hazezel borrowed a lot more money than usual which gave Drake a bad feeling. So, that night, Drake decided to follow him. He was very stealthy, and Hazezel had no idea he was being followed.

    Recently Hazezel had been on a winning streak, so he was extremely excited. He wanted to make a lot of money today!

    Drake didn¡¯t enter the inn but observed what was happening through a window. Hazezel was wearing a cloak to hide most of his face while being welcomed by a group of strange men to playing a card game.

    Back on Earth, Drake used to casually play many games with his friends, so he recognised that the game the group were playing was very similar to one of the games he already knew. He quickly understood the rules after observing a few rounds.

    What Drake was surprised to see was money being put on the table. The money often switched hands and some were left with smiles while others had ugly expressions. Seeing this, Drake had a complex gaze.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Though he enjoyed playing games and had played various games many times with his friends in his previous life, he never liked to gamble real money. Drake normally liked to think everything through before taking action, so he never enjoyed gambling which, by nature, relied a lot on luck. Furthermore, back on Earth, he had seen several of his friends lose their livelihoods to gambling, which made him develop a deep distaste for it. Hence, seeing his brother gone down a similar road in this life was the last thing that he wanted for to happen.

    Moreover, in Drake''s mind, Hazezel was still young, so he felt that these men were just trying to take advantage of him to make money.

    So, Drake was surprised to observe that Hazezel was actually very strategic with his moves, allowing him to do very well.

    Although Drake never gambled, gambling was a huge industry on Earth where many methods of increasing one¡¯s chances of victory, such as card counting, had been discovered. Although they were all banned within casinos and any place with actual gambling, Drake only ever played casually with his friends.

    Out of interest, he and his friends started to spend some time learning these methods, and then often played a few rounds where everything was allowed, in order to spice things up. So, Drake knew plenty of methods to increase one''s chances of winning which didn''t even exist in this world, making him quite an expert.

    He could estimate the skill level of the other men and noticed that Hazezel was better than most. Therefore, as the rounds progressed, Hazezel was winning a lot of money - but so was another man. Drake didn''t know who this man was, but he could tell that this man was very good, so he became slightly worried for Hazezel.

    That''s when the worst happened.

    ¡°Noooo!¡± Hazezel screamed, standing up. His whole body was shaking and his mouth was open in shock. On the other hand, the other man who was playing really well was extremely joyful and laughing his heart out.

    Unable to stop himself anymore, Drake entered the inn and immediately walked towards Hazezel.

    ¡°Hazezel! What are you doing?¡± he questioned angrily.

    Hazezel was dismayed. This was the worst possible outcome!

    Why was Drake here? Was he following him? But he was extremely careful. Why today of all days? The one day he suffered so badly was the one day he had to be caught!

    Hazezel was speechless, if Holt found out then he would get into so much trouble!

    ¡°Drake I¡­¡± Hazezel didn¡¯t know what to say. He had just lost almost all his money. Not just his entire savings, but also the money he had borrowed from everyone else. His mind was in a mess, and he was about to cry.

    But Drake¡¯s following actions were completely unexpected to Hazezel.

    Drake pointed at the man who had just won a fortune and spoke.

    ¡°You, I challenge you! Let¡¯s play a game. If I win you must give me everything you just won,¡± he declared.

    The man¡¯s face turned ugly from being challenged by another little kid.

    He was no ordinary player. The man was actually a veteran who had stopped playing at this ordinary tavern. However, he heard that recently, some rich kid was flashing his money around. Hence, he decided to come take a look. To his surprise, Hazezel was not only very wealthy, but also pretty decent at the game. He thought that it was no wonder the others couldn¡¯t beat him.

    However, the man was different. Hazezel, despite his talent, was nothing compared to him. And if he could beat that kid, how could this newcomer, who seemed to be even younger than the previous boy, beat him?

    ¡°Huh? If you want me to put up all this money, then you need to offer something equal in exchange kid,¡± he said.

    He wasn¡¯t sure how such a boy could have anything equal in value to the fortune he now possessed. However, those doubts quickly dissolved as quickly as they appeared when he saw Drake take out a golden bracelet. It was at least worth several hundred gold coins! It was even more valuable than the fortune he had just made!

    ¡®Who were these kids? Were all kids so rich these days?¡¯ The man was confused.

    Drake hesitated slightly.

    This bracelet was a personal gift from his father. When he was assigned a personal tutor, and the tutor told his father on the first day that there wasn¡¯t anything much to teach Drake, his father was extremely happy and proud that he gifted him this bracelet on the spot. This bracelet was something like a family heirloom that belonged to June who inherited it from her mother. June had gifted it to Holt during their wedding. It was an extremely personal gift. Holt originally wanted to give it to Elwin when he became the head of the village, but he just didn¡¯t know how to reward his son¡¯s genius. So, he chose to give him this.

    There was no need to mention that losing this would be terrible.

    Hazezel saw this action and he immediately stopped him.

    ¡°Drake you can¡¯t! You don¡¯t need to take such a big risk for me!¡± he cried.

    He was feeling helpless. Hazezel knew how much that bracelet meant to his father. It was bad enough that he lost so much money, but if Drake lost that bracelet too, his father would be in unspeakable rage!

    However, Drake didn¡¯t even pay him any heed. He knew what he was doing.

    The man hesitated for a moment but greed quickly overtook him.

    ¡®He is just a kid! How could I possibly lose? And if I backed away from a kid¡¯s challenge now, wouldn¡¯t I become a laughing stock?¡¯

    The man calmed himself down. This will be easy, he thought with a wicked smile.

    This commotion attracted everyone in the inn. The whole room was quiet at seeing this peculiar scene of a little boy going up against a grown professional. Everyone thought that he was a complete idiot and became inwardly jealous of the man for his luck in attracting so much wealth.

    So, the two sat down and started playing. The game was very intense and apart from the two players, no one spoke a word. Everyone was watching intensely.

    There would be no room for cheating! Some were even making bets on who they thought would win! Unexpectedly, today had turned into such an event.

    Hazezel was extremely worried. However, as he watched, his brother was doing pretty good.

    This made him so confused. It took him several rounds of playing just to learn the game, let alone become proficient at it. He knew that Drake had never played this game before, so how could he be so good? Was Drake that much of a genius or was he just too stupid?

    The atmosphere was becoming heated as the game approached its climax. The man was regretting his decision so much.

    How could this kid be so good?

    The man was struggling intensely but he hadn¡¯t lost all hope yet. He picked up the final card and his face couldn¡¯t help but brighten up. His poker face had completely vanished, confident of his success.

    Drake saw this change in the man¡¯s expression but didn¡¯t do anything. After taking his final card, the two revealed their hands.

    The whole room erupted into chaos.

    Drake had won!

    The kid actually won!

    ¡°Impossible!¡± the man shouted. ¡°You¡­ you must have cheated!¡± he was furious.

    He had just won a fortune but now he lost everything, including even his initial capital!

    How could he lose like this? And to a kid?

    ¡°Oh? How did I cheat?¡± asked Drake, viciously staring right into the man¡¯s eyes. He had attempted to take advantage of Hazezel so Drake hated him for it.

    The man was speechless. He couldn¡¯t retort. The whole inn was watching. If anyone cheated, they would have been found out.

    This was Drake¡¯s unquestionable victory.

    The man became so furious that he screamed, shouted, bellowed, and cursed as he stormed out of the room, dashing tables and chairs out of his way. He even pushed away anyone who came near him. Some people became angry, but most were laughing at his misfortune.

    ¡°Drake! Drake, you did it. You won!¡± Hazezel exclaimed.

    He did not know whether this was a dream or reality. He hugged his brother tightly, unable to express his joy in words. Drake sighed inwardly in his mind, but he didn¡¯t return the hug. He was still slightly angry at Hazezel.

    Hazezel didn¡¯t mind this at all and tried to change his mood.

    ¡°Since when did you learn this game, Drake? You¡¯re so good at it!¡±

    Drake laughed to himself. It''s not like Hazezel would believe him if he told him the truth.

    ¡°I just read about the game and some winning strategies in a book,¡± Drake replied vaguely.

    Hazezel didn¡¯t buy it, but he was happy regardless and started taking back the money.

    ¡°I hope you know that I am the one who won that money Hazezel,¡± Drake stated firmly.

    Hazezel froze. But of course!

    All this money belonged to Drake now, how could he just take it? But Drake continued.

    ¡°However, I will give all this money to you, provided you promise me that you won¡¯t gamble again.¡±

    Hazezel didn''t reply for a while and just stared at the floor. After all this time, he finally thought he had found something he was good at, something that he could outshine his brothers in. It was the most fun he had had in his life. Yet, Drake was better than him at this too.

    How was that even possible? Wasn''t he the older one? Should he be more intelligent, more skilled? So why was Drake better than him at everything? Why was he never good enough? This was the one thing that made Hazezel feel good about himself, yet Drake had to take that away too.

    Of course, Hazezel understood that Drake meant well. Not to mention that he also needed this money, least of all to repay everyone that he borrowed the money from. He had no choice, but to relent.

    But... he was far from happy about it.

    ¡°I agree,¡± he said with a low voice, not making eye contact. Drake sighed out loud.

    ¡°Listen Hazezel. Gambling is very risky, and it can easily ruin your life if you are not careful. Today should be a reminder of that for you. If I hadn¡¯t come, what would you have done?¡± Drake didn¡¯t expect an answer, and Hazezel couldn¡¯t give any.

    Of course, Drake was right! Hazezel knew this all along, that¡¯s why he was very secretive in coming here.

    ¡®Yet now, you''re going to lecture me too?¡¯ Wasn''t he the older one? Shouldn''t he be the one lecturing Drake? Why was he being lectured by Drake instead?

    ¡®It''s not fair...¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Unknowingly, tears started welling up in his eyes. The emotional turmoil he had gone through today due to all the twists and turns was just too much. And just when he thought everything would go back to normal, he was being forced to give up everything. It was simply too much!

    Hazezel''s emotional filter crumbled and he burst into tears. At this moment, he was just like Astoria, feeling helpless and weak. Why could he not be like Drake? Drake was younger than him, but he was so much more capable. Why did he get himself into this stupid mess? He was crying and crying, unable to stop himself.

    Drake could no longer remain so cold. He loved his family and seeing his brother cry, he finally hugged him too and softly whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±.

    Everyone watched this scene with mixed emotions. Some felt sorry for Hazezel, some were curious about who this new boy was, and some people didn''t care and went back to what they were doing earlier.

    Soon, Hazezel stopped crying. ¡®I can''t think like this,¡¯ he told himself. ¡®I can''t be jealous of my own brother...¡¯

    Thinking so, Hazezel thanked Drake once again and agreed to his request. Drake let him take all the money, which was double what he had originally started with. So, after returning the money he owed, Hazezel still had a large sum of money to himself.

    After that, life mostly resumed to its peaceful style. Drake pushed this incident to the back of his mind and focused on his usual reading, swordsmanship, and other activities.

    True to his word, Hazezel did stop gambling.

    However, his feelings didn¡¯t go away.

    ...

    Back in the present

    All of Astoria¡¯s attention was focused on the paperwork as she went through one document after another.

    She seemed to sense something and looked towards Hazezel.

    ¡°Is¡­ everything okay?¡± she asked, confused at why Hazezel was looking at her so much.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied with a smile as a plan slowly started forming in his mind. ¡°Everything is just fine.¡±

 Chapter 33: A surge in strength!

    Another two years pass.

    The setting sun cast its yellow rays on a tavern. Inside the tavern, people were sitting around the tables talking loudly and ordering drinks to enjoy the end of the day. The waiters and waitresses were running to meet the unending demands from the dozens of customers.

    In the corner of the tavern sat a hooded figure dressed completely in black. The figure was holding the handle of a mug in one hand, while the other rested on the table. However, instead of focusing on the drink, its eyes were instead locked onto a duo sitting on the opposite end of the tavern.

    ¡°Oh wow!¡± exclaimed the girl interestedly. ¡°And then what happened?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I beat up the demon and rescued the guy just before he was going to be eaten,¡± the boy replied with a hint of pride.

    ¡°Awesome! Amazing as always Sam!¡±

    Naturally, the duo were Sam and Astoria. They had gotten much closer over the past two years. Occasionally Astoria accompanied Sam to fight in the front lines. Even though she could not summon as many artifacts as Drake, her multiple mana cores, training from Ray, and cultivation technique of the founding ancestor still made her powerful in her own right.

    However, most of her time was spent with helping Hazezel handle village affairs, and with Sam. After occasionally helping in the front lines as well, she did not spend a lot of time cultivating. Despite this, she still managed to reach the middle-stage true mage realm and early-stage tempered body as well.

    The two spent some time talking and laughing, clearly enjoying each other¡¯s company. After a few hours, people slowly started leaving the tavern to rest for the night. Eventually, Sam and Astoria also got up and left the tavern too. They held hands and walked towards a quiet alleyway, unaware that the hooded figure was following them.

    The figure hid before the turning and slowly peaked into the alleyway. It saw the two of them look at each other¡¯s eyes and soon, Astoria placed her hand around Sam¡¯s neck and pushed her lips against his.

    Clearly in love, the duo shared a passionate kiss, unaware of the hooded figure smiling eerily.

    ¡°I did it!¡± Drake exclaimed, holding a sword.

    For Drake, summoning artifacts was not a big deal. So, what was he so happy about? Unlike his other artifacts, this one had a very special symbol carved into the centre. If one looked closely, it was the same rune carried by his light orb spirit.

    Drake had created his first, rank one artifact!

    Creating artifacts with runes were significantly more difficult than just the simple artifact themselves, so it had taken him a long time to succeed.

    Of course, Drake hadn¡¯t spent the entirety of the last two years trying to create a rank one artifact. He also spent time cultivating martial arts and had now cultivated the perfect stage tempered body. Along with that, he was also secretly practising the martial techniques he leant from the Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts.

    Along with shadow steps, there were four other martial techniques that were suitable for his tempered body cultivation realm. These were called hammer fist, metal leg, deflection palm, and acute sense. As the name would suggest, the first two were techniques to increase his punching and kicking strength. Deflection palm was a technique that allowed him to strengthen his palms in order to deflect incoming physical attacks without taking damage, even from sharp objects like swords or knives. Finally acute sense allowed him to temporarily enhance one of his senses, so he could see much further into the distance or try to listen into small, faint or distant sounds.

    Given that he was practising in secret, it had taken Drake several months to master all those techniques. Afterwards, he also practised the few rank one spirit summons he learnt from the inheritance grounds. These were the fiery worm, which could cast a simple fireball spell, metal porcupine which could harden itself and so could be used for defence, and finally wind butterfly, which could fly quickly and be used for scouting.

    By the time he finished learning all those spells and cultivated the perfect stage tempered body, a year and a half had passed. Of course, in this time, he also participated in numerous battles, earning quite a reputation for himself, and cultivated mana. However, his aptitude was too poor so he couldn¡¯t increase his strength in a short time by cultivating mana. He vaguely felt that he was getting close to the middle-stage true mage realm, but he didn¡¯t dedicate much time to it.

    After mastering all the techniques and spirit summons he learnt, he was wondering what the quickest way would be to increase his strength. Since, his aptitude for mana cultivation was poor, he decided that he should try to learn summoning rank one artifacts. Unlike other mages, since he could understand his summonings at an atomic level, he figured that if he could summon one, rank one artifact, then he might be able to summon others more easily.

    Having seen Ray¡¯s shock at his artifact summoning ability previously, and also seeing Astoria struggle considerably to learn to summon her artifacts, he thought that he should practise his summonings in secret to avoid questions. Hence, though he was happy at having finally summoned a rank one artifact, he could not share his joy with his Ray or anyone else yet.

    Drake took his sword and observed it keenly. It looked similar to the iron swords he had summoned in the past. However, there was one glaring difference - a rune inscribed into the centre of the blade.

    Closing his eyes, Drake slowly poured a bit of his mana into the sword and immediately the rune activated. The sword began glowing with a brilliant, white light. This would have the same effect as summoning the light orb spirit to blind his enemies but took considerably less mana than summoning a new spirit.

    Drake stopped pouring in the mana and smiled, looking very pleased with himself. He was not going to stop here.

    He closed his eyes and after a minute, a pair of leather gloves appeared in front of him, with a small rune engraved into their palms. Drake quickly wore the gloves and pointed his right hand towards a tree.

    He poured a bit of his mana into the glove and a fireball shot out! The fireball ferociously crashed against the tree, leaving behind a large scorch mark.

    Drake embedded the fire ball runes from the fiery worm into these gloves to allow him to shoot fire balls.

    If we keep in mind that ordinary mages struggled to learn to summon even a few artifacts and spirits, the advantage of Drake being able to summon many artifacts and spirits easily by understanding their fundamental nature really shined through now. He could combine the artifacts that he can summon with the runes of the spirits, in order to make numerous powerful artifacts easily.

    Happy with the gloves, Drake closed his eyes and, after a minute, summoned a pendant. It looked simple with a thin rope that was perfect for his size, carrying a circular crystal engraved with a small rune at its centre. This was the same rune as his healing fairy. In other words, by wearing this pendant, he could easily heal himself!

    Drake tested it out by using his sword to make a small cut across his wrist. He poured a bit of his mana into the pendant and, as expected, the cut immediately closed. Drake smiled happily once again.

    He then summoned robes with the metal porcupine rune which could make the robes extremely durable by pouring mana into it, increasing his defence. Finally, he crafted a pair of boots with the wind butterfly rune, which would use winds to push him along when he poured mana into it, increasing his speed dramatically.

    Depending on the shape and body of the artifact, the runes would have to be slightly modified to work properly. Additionally, the appropriate mana pathways would have to be created within the artifact to make sure mana could flow into the runes and be activated. Even the slightest error would cause it to not work properly.

    After learning to summon the sword, a normal mage who learnt through trial and error, would have taken an equivalently long time to go through the process again, and learn to summon the other artifacts.

    However, Drake now understood how the runes he had learnt worked, so he could much more easily figure out which parts of the runes needed to be altered to fit the body of the artifact. Additionally, his understanding of the molecular structure of the artifacts allowed him to easily figure out the necessary mana pathways that needed to be created to accommodate the runes in all the artifacts as well.

    Sure, even Drake couldn¡¯t get it right the first time and required a bit of experimentation as well, but compared to how long other mages would take, it was nothing. What took Drake weeks would take any normal mage, years.

    Hence, in the mage world, even rank one artifacts were highly sought after treasures.

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    Having a runed artifact was equivalent to being able to use a spirit with very little mana. With all of these artifacts, Drake could effectively use the power of multiple spirits with very little mana. Combined with his martial techniques, Drake was confident that he could fight against even multiple warrior class minotaurs!

    Martial artists also highly coveted runed artifacts. Since martial artists used mana to temper their bodies, they could use the small amounts of mana coursing through their veins to activate the runes in the artifacts. Since they can¡¯t normally use spells, artifacts were an invaluable tool for any martial artist.

    If Ray saw him now, summoning all of these artifacts, he would definitely have a heart attack!

    Summoning runed artifacts consumed a lot more mana so Drake wanted to keep them with him to not have to summon new ones in the middle of a battle like he did with rank zero artifacts. However, he didn¡¯t want to reveal their abilities to anyone just yet. It would simply raise too many questions for an eleven-year-old boy to be able to summon so many runed artifacts. Hence the reason why he made them to look as natural as possible.

    However, he still wanted to test out their abilities, so he silently snuck out the back of the mansion.

    With the war raging on, the villages were heavily guarded and strong demons and onis could be found easily in the Beast Woods. Drake knew it was risky going alone, however, he had fought many battles and so knew the geography and the general skill of the demons and onis in this area. Additionally, with his new artifacts, he was even more confident in his abilities. Even if he came across a pseudo-commander class demon, he was confident that he could at least outrun it.

    If the dark mages showed up¡­ well that¡¯s quite unlikely, Drake thought, not wanting to think about what they might do to him.

    Reassuring himself that nothing would go wrong, Drake made his way out of the village and towards the Beast Woods.

    Once he exited the village, he summoned a wind butterfly and sent it to scout ahead. In these few years, it became impossible to enter the Beast Woods due to the large number of demons and onis pouring out and roaming its outskirts. Hence, it wasn¡¯t long before Drake encountered a pack of twenty, servant class demon wolves.

    Compared to other demons, wolves were slightly weaker individually. However, they always moved in packs, so their true strength lied with their numbers. A normal tempered body stage martial artist or a true mage would struggle to take on this pack alone.

    However, Drake thought that they would be a good warm up.

    Drake slowed down as he neared them, using the scattered boulders and trees to hide. Wolves were highly sensitive creatures and would easily detect their prey by smell or sound. Hence, Drake used shadow steps to muffle his footsteps as he moved from one tree and boulder to another. Once he was at a reasonable distance, he raised his palms to the two wolves nearest to him and passed a bit of mana into his gloves.

    Two fireballs shot forward towards the surprised wolves. They had not detected anything so couldn¡¯t react at all before they were blasted away and crashed against some trees, whimpering pitifully as they were severely injured. The other wolves detected the attack and were enraged at being taken by surprise. They howled at Drake and charged towards him.

    Drake smiled, knowing that his fireball was powerful enough to defeat a servant class demon in one attack boosted his confidence. He poured mana into his boots and jumped back. The rune, combined with his perfect stage tempered body allowed him to move at superhuman speeds. He raised his palms and fired two more fireballs, but the wolves were on high alert this time and easily dodged them.

    Drake was expecting this so wasn¡¯t surprised. He simply wanted some practice shooting fireballs at moving targets too. Since there were a lot of wolves, he decided to cut their numbers down a bit before practising his other moves. Drake suddenly came to a halt and drew his sword, holding it with his right hand.

    The wolf closest to him howled with glee. Thinking that its prey was weak and tired from running, it pounced at Drake, talons outstretched to rip out his throat. Drake looked at the wolf calmly and blocked its swing ¨C not with his sword, but with the robe around his left arm.

    The wolf was surprised that it couldn¡¯t tear through his robes, but that moment of distraction was its biggest mistake.

    Without hesitation, Drake stabbed his sword through its heart. The wolf howled it pain but its voice quickly weakened, and its body became limp.

    The wolves chasing behind the first were further enraged and charged forward. Drake smirked and pulled the sword out of the wolf. Then, holding the wolf with his left hand, he rotated a full 360 and threw the dead body onto the incoming wolves. They dodged to either side, but Drake predicted this and fired several fireballs in those directions. The wolves couldn¡¯t dodge in midair so two more of them were blasted away.

    Five down.

    Half a dozen wolves were right behind those three. They were startled at the sudden death of their companions, but they continued chasing Drake fearlessly.

    Drake stood his ground and calmly allowed the wolves to approach him. Within a few seconds, they were within arm¡¯s range. Suddenly, Drake held his sword vertically and poured mana into it. The sword instantly started shining brightly, temporarily blinding all the wolves.

    The wolves were powerful servant class demons, so they were only blinded for a second. But for Drake, that was more than enough. He poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps, becoming a blur.

    The next second, he appeared past all the wolves with his eyes closed, a single drop of blood falling from his sword. The moment the drop fell, all the wolves behind him split into halves and fell from midair.

    That¡¯s eleven.

    The remaining wolves were aghast to see so many of their pack die within seconds. They watched Drake cautiously as they surrounded him.

    Being surrounded by a pack of servant class demons was no joke, but Drake watched them calmly. One of the wolves lost its patience and pounced. Just before its claws could make contact, Drake moved like a ghost, shifting his body just enough to dodge the attack completely. The wolf landed on the other side, surprised that its prey was still alive.

    The other wolves bared their fangs menacingly. In response, Drake sheathed his sword! The wolves were surprised, then enraged thinking that they were being underestimated. They started pouncing at him from all direction.

    Acute sense!

    Drake heightened his sense of hearing and sight using his martial technique. Although the wolves were moving faster than a normal human could see, to him it appeared as if they were moving in slow motion.

    Pouring mana into his boots, he shifted his body at just the right moment to dodge the attack of the wolves. Drake moved so fast that the wolves thought they were passing right through him.

    With no intention of attacking, Drake spent several minutes simply dodging the attacks of the wolves and using deflection palms to block any that got close. Using acute sense increased his perception, but this meant he had more information to process in a shorter amount of time. Given that he had nine wolves to track who were attacking him from all different directions, this was very mentally taxing.

    However, he had the mind of an adult, and was also a mage who was used to controlling many daggers, shurikens, and other artifacts simultaneously in battle. Hence, he quickly got used to this technique without issue. After confirming the effectiveness of this technique and his ability to use it, he stopped dodging.

    Thinking once again that Drake had become tired, another wolf pounced at him, delighted at the opportunity to finally kill its prey. However, Drake watched it as calmly as ever. When it was close, Drake moved slightly to dodge its claw and before it could react, punched its stomach with all his might.

    Hammer fist!

    He used the martial technique he learnt to enhance his punch, sending the wolf flying. The wolf crashed into a tree and actually broke through it, coming to a stop only after crashing into a boulder afterwards. The impact formed many cracks on the boulder.

    The wolf screamed in pain and fell limply on the floor. Its ribs were broken and internal organs were ruptured. The remaining wolves all paused, surprised to see another of their pack member die so quickly.

    However, their fear and hesitation only lasted a few seconds before another two wolves attacked.

    Drake jumped and rotated his body.

    Metal leg!

    He kicked one wolf directly in its face and used the momentum to drag it with his feet before kicking it into the other wolf. Both of the wolves went flying and crashed against several trees.

    The remaining wolves did not seem to learn their lesson so continued attacking him. Drake used his acute sense and his boots to dodge their attacks easily by slightly shifting his body, and counter attacked with hammer fists and metal legs, each of his attack sending another wolf out of commission.

    Three more left!

    The final three wolves glared at Drake, but their eyes now carried a tinge of fear. They looked at Drake and at each other. Then, as if coming to a silent agreement, fled in three different directions.

    Humph! You¡¯re not going to get away from me that easily!

    Drake activated his boots and shadow steps, becoming a blur again. He quickly caught up to one wolf and crushed its face with hammer fist.

    Without wasting time, he ran towards the other wolf and caught up in a few seconds. He leaped into the air and brought his knee down onto its face, crushing it with metal leg.

    The other wolf had already run quite far but still heard the screams of its last two comrades. Unwilling to share their fate, it forced its legs to run even faster. Drake poured much more mana into his boots and gave chase. Soon, he appeared directly in front of the terrified wolf and grabbed its face with the palm of his right hand.

    Fireball!

    At point blank range, there was no escape. Within seconds, the wolf was incinerated, and the burnt corpse fell on the floor.

    The whole area became quiet. The fight had only lasted a few minutes, and that too was only because Drake took his time to test out his skills. Otherwise, Drake was confident he could have ended them all within a minute.

    A pack of twenty servant class demon wolves, in less than a minute!

    Moreover, he expended very little mana and energy to do, and was completely unscathed. In fact, Drake thought that he could single handedly taken on a small army of several hundred of these things alone.

    This was the power of mage who could summon numerous artifacts!

    Drake looked up at the night sky, seeing the beautiful moon light up the night sky.

    ¡®If only I had these that day, I could have saved so many more of them,¡¯ Drake thought, reminiscing about the day he was ambushed by Jin Tong and the demon tide. Hundreds of soldiers died that day, and given that Drake was leading them, their deaths weighed heavily on him even now.

    Drake sighed, deciding not to ruminate on the past too much.

    This fight had given him plenty of insight into his new skills, especially shadow steps and acute sense as he used them a lot. However, he still wanted more practice using fireball, hammer fist, and metal leg. And he also wanted to practise using these skills to fight, while also using his boomerangs and shields like he did normally.

    Hence, he decided to hunt some more demons to practise his various skills.

    That night, the village guards heard distant screams of various demons. Wolves, bears, tigers, lions, gorillas, and various other demons could be heard screaming before going silent. The guards were confused, and started wondering if the demons were fighting amongst themselves for some reason.

    After that night, they would occasionally hear more demons scream in terror on other days too. Rumours started spreading across the village. Some thought that a powerful but mad demon was hunting other demons. Other talked in hushed tones about a legendary demon hunter that was silently working in the shadows to slaughter the demons.

    But nobody took that idea seriously.

 Chapter 34: A new wave

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Holt asked coldly.

    He was sitting in his office and a hooded figure was standing before him.

    ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes,¡± the figure replied.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Holt whispered. ¡°So, they are really in love then¡­¡± his voice trailed off, but the hooded figure still replied.

    ¡°It would appear so¡­¡±

    Holt paused and the whole room became silent. Nothing could be heard apart from the crackling of wax in the candles, and Holt¡¯s slow, deep breaths.

    After a long time, Holt spoke to the hooded figure.

    ¡°Thank you, I will take care of it.¡±

    ¡­

    To the northeast of Jain village was the Elven village.

    Inside the Beast Woods, in a section that was relatively close to the elven village, there was a rectangular clearing. At the edge of the clearing was a cliff, on top of which a small cave. Standing outside the cave, at the very tip of the cliff, was another hooded figure.

    In front of the figure, in the clearing, hundreds of demons and dozens of onis were kneeling. They formed groups of ten to fifteen, each having one oni that looked like the leader. There were dozens and dozens of such groups, all kneeling in formation to the hooded figure as if they were a trained and disciplined army.

    The hooded figure smiled proudly, and a gentle breeze flew across the area. The breeze slightly lifted its hood and the moonlight shone through to reveal the aging face of a woman.

    It was Myra Wan!

    ¡­

    Back in the Jain village, Hazezel¡¯s room.

    Hazezel was standing in front of the mirror. His eyes were pitch black, just like how Astoria¡¯s had been when he confronted her two years ago. But unlike that time, Hazezel wasn¡¯t frozen. In fact, his mouth was moving and he seemed to be talking to himself.

    ¡°It is difficult to set the plan in motion with him here, you need to find a way to send him back,¡± he spoke to thin air. There was no response, but Hazezel paused and listened intently as if someone was responding.

    After some time, Hazezel spoke again.

    ¡°I see, okay that should work. We will do that.¡±

    As he finished that sentence, his eyes returned to normal, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He was clearly exhausted. However, his eyes were cold, and he had an edgy look.

    The next morning, in the main hall, two people were facing each other.

    ¡°Father please¡­!¡±

    ¡°No means no!¡±

    The two were Astoria and Holt.

    ¡°You are my daughter, a member of the Reynard family! It is absolutely unthinkable for you to marry a commoner, especially one from another village.¡±

    ¡°But dad, I love him! Isn¡¯t that what matters?¡± Astoria asked helplessly, tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Maybe for others, but unfortunately for us, marrying for love is a luxury we can¡¯t always afford,¡± Holt replied.

    ¡°But why not?¡± Astoria asked again.

    Holt stared blankly.

    ¡°You are not stupid Astoria. You are more than mature and old enough to understand. It is not easy to run a large village like ours with many elders, soldiers, and more. Marriage is the best tool to strengthen political relationships. It is a necessity¡­ no a responsibility that we have to ensure the stability of our family, and our people.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Astoria protested.

    ¡°NO BUTS!¡± Holt snapped. ¡°Enough of you talking back to your father. You will stop talking to that boy from this day forth and that is the end of it!¡±

    Astoria broke out crying. Holt could normally never bear to see his precious daughter cry. In fact, seeing her now, his heart was beginning to waver a little. However, he resolved himself immediately.

    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve always been very soft on her that it¡¯s come to this¡­¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Astoria was mad, angry, heartbroken, and felt a million other things. She loved Sam so much and would give anything to be with him. She loved her family too and would do anything for them, however she didn¡¯t want to marry anyone else. For her, her responsibilities were towards her father and siblings and that was all, not the village.

    But Holt didn¡¯t see it that way and so she didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Seeing his unyielding eyes, Astoria cried even more, unable to decide what to do.

    After everything she¡¯d been through, after becoming a mage, and even fighting on the front lines, she thought she had become a strong woman. And in many ways, she was much, much stronger than the weak little girl from before. However, before her father, she still felt like a child. She was torn between her feelings for her family and her feelings for Sam and was completely breaking down.

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    As they were conversing, the doors to the hall were suddenly opened. Astoria quickly turned around so whoever was coming through wouldn¡¯t be able to see her crying.

    Annoyed at the interruption, Holt turned around, ready to give a piece of his mind to whoever had blasted through the door. To his surprise however, it was Hazezel.

    ¡°Father bad news. Hordes and hordes of demons are swarming towards the elven village. They will be overwhelmed soon if they don¡¯t receive reinforcements!¡±

    Holt frowned. It was similar to the demon tide that had taken Elwin and Drake by surprise a few years ago. Whilst at that time, the demon tide did not cross any villages, this time the elven village was in its path. No wonder Hazezel had rushed to him, this was too big for him to try to resolve on his own.

    Consistently fighting with the demons over these past years had withered down their forces. Even now, most of their fighters were scattered around, fighting all sorts of battle. Even Elwin and Drake had been sent to the front lines a few days ago. Drake had only returned yesterday and Elwin would be out for a while. There was not a lot they could do at this moment.

    As if reading his thoughts, Hazezel suggested, ¡°Father there is one person we could send.¡±

    For a moment Holt was confused but then realisation quickly dawned on his face.

    ¡°I see¡­ you¡¯re right. That is the best option we have.¡±

    There was only one person left in their village who would be able to reinforce the elves and were strong enough on their own to make a significant difference. That person was naturally Ray.

    All these years, he had been working to tutor Drake and, after she became a mage, Astoria too. He had been feeling restless for not being able to fight, however his master had reassured him that everything was okay. Not one to go against his master¡¯s wishes, Ray continued staying in the village mansion, teaching and helping Drake and Astoria with their cultivation.

    However, Drake was already very strong now and there wasn¡¯t much else left for Ray to teach them. Cultivation was largely a solo journey, and everyone had to do most of the work themselves.

    Beyond that, Ray was an incredibly strong fighter. He had cultivated the perfect stage steel body, and perfect-stage warrior mage realm. His strength was almost on par with Holt himself and could potentially fight against commander class demons and onis on his own. Even if he couldn¡¯t win, he could hold them back.

    As a one-man army, Ray could turn the tide of battles with his presence. Given how tight their manpower was stretched out, it was a shame to continue to not put his skills to use.

    Hence, Holt made a decision and walked out with Hazezel. Astoria wiped her tears and followed after them.

    In the garden, Drake and Ray were sitting next to each other, cultivating with closed eyes as usual.

    Upon hearing their footsteps, both opened their eyes.

    Hazezel and Astoria stopped a little before Holt, who continued walking straight towards Ray. Puzzled, Ray looked at Holt questioningly.

    ¡°Master Ray Dragmoor, we just received news that a large number of demons and onis are approaching the elven village.¡±

    Ray¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief and he stood up, clenching his fists. He was about to ask for more information when Holt continued.

    ¡°They asked us for reinforcements however, our forces are already stretched thin so there isn¡¯t much we can send over now¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Ray said firmly.

    Holt smiled, ¡°I was hoping you would say that. You have done a lot for my kids and my village already, and I am extremely grateful for everything. But it is time for you to join this war as well.¡±

    The expressionless Ray slightly smirked, as if to say ¡®finally!¡¯

    He took a deep breath and turned towards Drake who was now standing next to him.

    ¡°Drake, I have already ¨C¡± before he could finish his sentence, Drake interrupted him.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± Holt yelled. ¡°You just came back from a battle yesterday - you need time to recover!¡±

    ¡°Your father¡¯s right Drake. While I appreciate your intentions, you won¡¯t help anyone by running to your death.¡±

    ¡°I know master, but don¡¯t worry! The battle from before didn¡¯t expend too much of my energy. And after a night¡¯s rest, I have mostly recovered now, so I¡¯m ready to fight.¡±

    Everyone looked at Drake and couldn¡¯t detect a trace of hesitation in his voice. They were convinced that he was telling the truth.

    However, the previous battle he was in involved a small army of hundreds of demons and over a dozen onis. Sure, he had his own army to support him, but that was a large battle which would have surely tired out a tempered body martial artist true mage.

    Or so they thought. However, Drake¡¯s strength was already almost on par with the likes of Elwin now with all of his martial techniques and artifacts. But they didn¡¯t know that, so they thought Drake was just pushing himself to help his master and were hesitant.

    ¡°Trust me, I can do this. I am sure I can help fight against the first few waves at least. And once I become tired, I will retreat into the village, rest, and return once the waves have passed. Please, let me go father,¡± Drake asked Holt pleadingly.

    Holt sighed.

    His son had grown a lot as well over these years, the war making the eleven-year-old boy mature much faster than normal. Having seen what Drake was capable of all over this time, Holt decided that he should trust his judgement. His instinct as a father was yelling at him to keep him safe, however he decided to put his faith in his son¡¯s capabilities.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Holt finally replied. ¡°If you are very sure then go. But be safe, and don¡¯t push yourself too much.¡±

    ¡°Of course, thank you!¡± Drake beamed, hugging his father.

    Ray looked at Drake with a complicated expression, but everyone could tell that he was happy at Drake¡¯s interest and enthusiasm to help his village.

    Eventually, the two said their goodbyes and started making their way out of the village, and towards the elves.

    The elven village was about half a day¡¯s ride out from theirs, assuming they didn¡¯t encounter any demons on the way. Of course, with both Ray and Drake¡¯s strength, pretty much any demon would meet its end pretty quickly. So, if all went well, Drake should return within a week or so.

    Thinking so, Holt sighed and turned to face his daughter. Astoria had been quiet this whole time apart from saying goodbye to Drake. She was slightly worried about him but was more than aware of his skills, and since he was with Ray who was almost as strong as Holt, she didn¡¯t have any issues with it.

    Holt and Astoria silently looked at each other. After a few minutes, Holt turned around and left. They didn¡¯t speak at all, but plenty was conveyed through the silence.

    ¡®Break up with Sam¡¯ was Holt¡¯s simple and unbreakable command.

    As Holt walked away, Astoria began crying again. Hazezel, who had partially heard their conversation and was also aware of their relationship, figured out what this father-daughter dispute was all about.

    ¡°What are you planning to do, Astoria?¡±

    ¡°What can I do?¡± she asked helplessly, her voice croaking as she wiped her tears away. ¡°I will meet Sam today and brea-¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡± Hazezel yelled.

    Astoria looked at him in surprise but he calmed himself quickly. With a sigh, he turned around. Looking over the back yard, Hazezel spoke.

    ¡°If that is your final decision, so be it. It is not my place to tell you how to life your life. However¡­¡± his voice trailed off and he was looking at the ground, struggling to find the right words. Then, he slowly raised his head and continued.

    ¡°Anything worth having in life is not easy to get. If you truly want something¡­ then you must fight for it and take it for yourself. As long as you are doing the best you can, and are not hurting anyone, you have nothing to be ashamed of.¡±

    Saying so, Hazezel began walking away. Astoria watched her twin brother¡¯s back disappear into the mansion - a new light, shining in her eyes.

    A light of hope and determination.

    The resolve she thought she lost, came back renewed once again.

    That¡¯s right¡­ my life, is my own to live.

 Chapter 35: Demons and Angels

    The blue skies dazzled with the rays of the morning sun. Warm sunlight fell onto the earth, where various grass, plants, and trees grew. The scene of blue and green gently rocked from side to side with the morning breeze. Nature was beautiful, calm, and serene.

    However, within this picture of calm, two figures were in a hurry.

    ¡°Hiya!¡±

    They whipped their horses and sprinted across the field at breakneck speeds, their rush at complete odds with the apparent peacefulness of their surroundings.

    The two were naturally Ray and Drake who were making their way to the elven village. Pushing their horses to the limits, they were now more than halfway there and wanted to join the front lines as soon as possible.

    However, at this point, their well-trained battle instincts were screaming at them as if a huge threat was approaching.

    On reflex, both of them dashed sideways. The earth in front of them which they would have stepped into, suddenly cracked and two huge monsters broke out of it, rising over twenty metres into the sky.

    The two monsters blocked out the sun as they stared down at them. They had no eyes but two large and curved horns were protruding from the sides of their circular heads. A huge mouth containing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth took up most of their heads. From the centre, a forked tongue slithered out like that of a snake¡¯s.

    ¡°Demon earth worms!¡± they cried.

    These were worms that resided in the earth that became demonic and turned into these monsters. Usually, their length was only around five to ten metres. The fact that these were so long only meant one thing ¨C they were warrior class demons!

    Ordinary people might have been helpless before these monsters, however the duo was anything but ordinary. Ray¡¯s strength was almost equal to a grand mage, so he could fight even against commander class demons. As for Drake, if he went all out, even pseudo commander class demons would find it difficult to kill him.

    Despite being taken by surprise, the two immediately calmed themselves.

    Drake summoned an iron boomerang, but made it extra large and sharp, whereas Ray unsheathed his sword.

    The earthworms towering into the skies looked down at the tiny humans drawing their weapons with a look of hunger. The scene of two people fighting a monster twenty times their size was bizarre, however there was nothing but confidence in their eyes.

    The worms roared and charged at the duo.

    Drake saw the huge worm approaching him at an unbelievable speed. He used his boomerang to attack the worm from the right. A large gash formed at the side of its neck but the boomerang could not cut straight through its head. However, the impact still pushed the worm down.

    The worm roared in pain and quickly burrowed into the ground.

    Acute sense!

    Drake couldn¡¯t see the worm but he heightened his sense of sound to the maximum. The noise of Ray¡¯s battle become very loud in his ears but he ignored that and placed his full concentration underground. While observing the ground, he was making the boomerang move in circles above him at faster and faster speeds, building up power.

    ¡®There!¡¯

    He sensed that the worm was about to pounce from his back and immediately turned around and jumped back. He brought the boomerang down as fast as possible. The worm jumped out of the earth, eager to devour its prey in its jaws, but the moment it appeared, it felt a chill run through its bones.

    The worm tried to turn but it was too late. Its head was severed cleanly from its neck. It couldn¡¯t even scream, before its life came to an end.

    Glad at having dealt with his demon, Drake turned to face his master. However, just as he was doing so, his battle instincts screamed at him once again. Without hesitation, he pulled his horse backwards, but at that moment another chill went through his spine.

    Drake kissed his teeth and jumped out of his horse, only to see the part of the ground he jumped from and was about to jump into both break apart. Two new, twenty-metre-tall worms came out, the latter swallowing the horse in one gulp.

    But that wasn¡¯t all!

    The ground around him all broke and gigantic worms started coming out one after the other.

    Ray wasn¡¯t in any better position. He had just dealt with his demon worm too before being surrounded by a dozen of them. Ray looked worriedly at Drake. These demon worms were troublesome to deal with due to their ability to hide underground. Plus, they were individually strong due to their size, and these worms were especially so due to being warrior class. And now being attacked by a dozen of them was something that he wasn¡¯t sure if Drake could handle.

    However, one look at Drake showed that he had no hint of fear. He also saw a dead worm lying next to Drake and was surprised that he had also dispatched of one of them so quickly.

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    Ray smiled to himself with pride.

    ¡®A master will never lose to his disciple boy,¡¯ he thought. He then looked at the dozen worms surrounding him, completely confident of his victory.

    ¡°Come! After not having fought for a few years, you guys can give me a good warm up!¡± Ray yelled.

    Enraged, the demon worms started charging at him one after the other.

    On the other side, Drake was having a dilemma. He knew he could take on all these demon worms, but doing so would require him to go almost all out, and he would end up revealing his artifacts to Ray. He was hesitant to do so, but decided he didn¡¯t have a choice.

    So, when the first worm charged at him, he took a deep breath and stood his ground. He let the worm appear just inches before his face, its mouth wide open to eat its prey.

    ¡°Drake!¡± Ray yelled, thinking that his disciple was about to be eaten. However, what happened next stunned Ray even more.

    Drake dug his legs into the ground and grabbed the ends of the demon¡¯s mouth just as it was about to swallow him. He had activated metal legs and hammer fists and also poured mana into his robes to increase his defence. The force of the collision pushed Drake back almost fifty metres, however the worm was unable to close its jaws. The tiny human which it wanted to have as a starter was holding its jaws open like they were nothing.

    Then, even more surprisingly, the worm felt the hands of the tiny human become warm, and then scorching hot. Before it could think, its entire body caught on fire.

    The worm rose into the air and roared in pain as it was being burnt alive. It tried to go back underground to use the earth to put out the flames, however Drake wasn¡¯t going to let that happen.

    As it approached the ground, Drake appeared directly underneath it and jumped, attacking under its chin with metal leg. The twenty-metre-tall worm was kicked upwards and by this time, had been burnt so much that it lost all its strength. It fell weakly to the ground as it continued being burnt to a crisp.

    Landing elegantly back to his feet, Drake turned to face the remaining worms who were behind him.

    ¡°Which one of you uglies want to die next?¡±

    ¡­

    After Hazezel¡¯s encouragement, Astoria went to visit Sam again; except, her intention wasn¡¯t to break up with him anymore.

    Astoria went to the inn Sam was staying in and spotted him having his late breakfast. Sam saw Astoria from the corner of his eye and happily stood up to greet her.

    Astoria went up to him and, without hesitation, kissed him. Sam was taken by surprise. They had never kissed in public before as they wanted to keep their relationship a secret, so Astoria¡¯s boldness was unexpected.

    However, he decided to trust her and joined in, kissing her back passionately. The two lovers kissing in public drew some attention, but it wasn¡¯t uncommon for people to do so, especially now in war time when nobody knew whether or not they would live to see tomorrow, so nobody cared much.

    After a minute, Astoria pulled away but continued to hug Sam, laying her head on his chest. She could feel his hand on her waist and they just quietly embraced each other. Feeling his warmth, his heartbeat, Astoria didn¡¯t want to let go at all.

    No matter what happened, no matter what anyone said, what she wanted more than anything was to be with Sam. Even if the whole world opposed her, that is what she would do.

    Thinking so, Astoria hugged him for a long time, leaving Sam confused on what had gotten into her.

    Eventually, Astoria released him and took his hand in hers before looking into his eyes. She could feel his gentle and loving gaze reflected back.

    She thought about what Holt said, about what her actions meant, and then thought about what Hazezel said. They were all incredibly important, and irreplaceable people in her lives. Her father, brothers, and Sam. She couldn¡¯t choose between them; she wouldn¡¯t choose between them.

    If her father forced her to choose between them, then he was the one who was in the wrong!

    He was being unreasonable!

    She wasn¡¯t doing anything wrong. She fell in love with an incredible man and wanted to live with him.

    What was wrong in that?

    There was something wrong with her father, but it wasn¡¯t her job to fix him.

    He would have to realise on his own, however long it may take.

    Thinking so, Astoria continued to be silent, but now started walking, pulling Sam behind her.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Sam asked, unable to bear with the silence. However, Astoria continued to ignore him and walked up the stairs. Soon, she arrived in front of Sam¡¯s room and pushed the door open, pulling Sam inside and closing the door behind her.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on Astoria, are you okay? Is everything -!?¡± Astoria stopped Sam¡¯s question with another kiss. After a while, she pulled away again and this time, started undressing.

    Sam was surprised again, ¡°Wait, what are you doing? Are you sure about this?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied with one word but stared with the utmost conviction.

    Sam had seen Astoria in various ways.

    He had seen her as a scared and helpless girl who was about to be assaulted in their first meeting. He had seen her as a scheming woman when she came up with one plot after another to steal the Zenith pill. He literally saw her as a bloody, devilish goddess when she rescued him from prison, a moment which scared him even now.

    But he also saw her courage and resolve when she offered to go with the dark mages. He saw her love for her family and her unshakeable will when she marched into the Beast Woods on her own, without hesitation, to try to help her brothers.

    He wasn¡¯t sure where in the middle of all of this it happened.

    At some point in time, he started seeing her as something else.

    He saw her beauty, love, kindness, affection, and warmth. Even the day when she murdered the guards, the day that scared him, remembering it now, there was no evil in her eyes. Maybe you could argue what she didn¡¯t wasn¡¯t very heroic, however, what she did, what she always tried to do, was the best she could for the people she loved.

    That was the one constant about her.

    She would go to the ends of the earth to protect those she cared about. And if anyone chose to harm her loved ones, she would cut them down mercilessly; not because she was a vengeful and hateful demoness, no, she was more like a protective, guardian angel.

    That¡¯s how Sam saw her now.

    Combining her beauty, her resolve, her determination, her strength, her love, her affection, and her ruthlessness, she was basically a guardian angel. A guardian angel to him and his family, and a ruthless devil to her enemies ¨C that¡¯s who she was.

    That¡¯s the girl he loved.

    He didn¡¯t know what she liked about him. He was all in all, quite an average guy, or so he thought. So, he wasn¡¯t sure what this incredible woman saw in him. However, he was happy. He was happy that she loved him as much as he loved her.

    Till that time, Sam didn¡¯t have a family or anyone important to protect. The only significant person in his life was Nala, and once she died, he wanted to just drink his sorrows away. The girl who brought him back from that, gave him a new life, gave him hope and love, was standing right before him.

    Looking at her now, Sam also took a vow upon himself and kissed her.

    No matter what happens, I will always be with you. I will always protect you.

    As the two went to their room, a shadowy figure had watched the whole interaction ¨C from Astoria appearing and kissing Sam, to them going into the room together.

    The figure which no one noticed, crept silently back into the shadows, disappearing from the inn.

 Chapter 36: One man army

    The next morning, Ray and Drake could see the elven village appear as a small speck in the horizon.

    Usually, the journey should have just taken half a day. However, being constantly assaulted by various demons and even some onis had delayed them. Thankfully, apart from the worms they had fought in the beginning, the rest were just servant class. However, as they neared the village and therefore the demon tide, the density and strength of demons appearing increased as well. The demons that ran around the village were coming into their path and they had to cut through them.

    By this point, the two had already dispatched hundreds and hundreds of servant class demons, and a large number of warrior class demons as well.

    Ray was surprised at Drake¡¯s new set of martial techniques and artifacts. However, given that Drake had never mentioned them to him, he understood that Drake wanted to keep them a secret.

    Drake¡¯s unwillingness to trust or, rather, confide in him, did not offend Ray. If anything, he was proud of his disciple.

    Sharing one¡¯s abilities to another was equivalent to telling them all your strengths and weaknesses. It was not wise to do so as they could potentially use it against you. Hence, Ray was happy that Drake was mature enough to realise what should and shouldn¡¯t be shared with people.

    Still, he was curious where Drake got all those artifacts. He wondered if Drake summoned them himself, but he knew that summoning runed artifacts were extremely difficult. Despite Drake¡¯s talent with artifact summoning, he didn¡¯t think he could have learnt to summon so many runed artifacts so soon. Or rather, he thought that it was much more likely that he just found those artifacts in the mage emperor¡¯s ruins.

    Hence, he decided not to probe further and focused on fighting the demons.

    After fighting through an army of demons, the duo finally arrived at the elven village. The gates were closed, and the walls were lined with elven soldiers, bows at hand, ready to shoot down any approaching demons.

    Seeing two individuals on horseback surprised some of the guards. They were expecting reinforcements, but they did not expect just two people. Various thoughts went through the guards at the gate, however when they came closer, the guards could make out their faces.

    ¡°Master Ray!¡± the guard exclaimed, spotting Ray. Behind him, Drake was riding the same horse, after his horse was swallowed by the demon worm.

    ¡°Master Drake!?¡± another guard gasped. Drake had earned a reputation for himself, and also fought alongside many soldiers from the villages, hence he was also quite famous.

    Recognising the two alleviated all the worries in the hearts of the guards and soldiers. These two were like a small army and would be powerful reinforcements. That fact that the two of them could fight through the demon tide on their own to get here was proof.

    ¡°Quickly, open the gates!¡± the guard shouted. The gates opened and the two entered.

    Located north-east of the Jain village, the elven village was the furthest from the Beast Woods. Hence, it was usually the most protected from the demon invasions.

    Despite being an elven village, it looked quite similar to human villages. Shops, houses, various buildings and people littered the streets. However, unlike other villages, there was an air of gloom spread over the city.

    Many soldiers had died fighting to protect this village from the demon tide. Even if they survived the tide now, their village would be severely weakened and it was unknown how much longer they would be able to survive in the war.

    The guard was filling them in on the latest situation. The village has had a large number of casualties already. The tide was predicted to last for several more days, and they would have barely been able to hold on. However, with Ray and Drake here, they had hope.

    The walls could hold back the demons but due to their large numbers, if they start pooling up at the bottom, then demons could climb the walls. Hence, they needed a group to fight outside the gates to prevent too many demons from reaching the wall, and also to clear out dead bodies that were piling up near the walls.

    Until now, they had managed by putting together several small groups that took turns to go outside, hold back the demons, and clear out the corpses. However, many of them were injured and so their defence was weakening. A few demons even managed to make their way over the wall and started attacking civilians, resulting in furthering the gloomy atmosphere of the village.

    After some discussions, they decided that Ray and Drake will take on the role of holding the front line themselves. The few remaining non-injured soldiers would take a position closer to the village gates to cut down any demons that got past, and the archers at the walls formed the final defence to shoot down any demons that got past the first two layers.

    However, it would be impossible for even Ray and Drake to fight for several days without rest. Hence, they decided that they¡¯d take turns. Ray would take the frontline in the morning, and Drake in the night.

    The guard looked at Drake suspiciously. He knew the capabilities of master Ray and knew that he could hold back hundreds of demons himself. However, despite Drake¡¯s reputation, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could do the same. After all, he was still just a young boy.

    Previously, Ray too would not have been sure. But, after witnessing Drake¡¯s abilities on their trip, he was confident that Drake was up for the task. Hence, he reassured the guard and agreed on the plan. Ray would take the shift now as Drake needed rest. He was already recovering from a battle before making this journey, so Ray thought Drake should rest now to restore his strength and take his shift at night.

    Drake agreed and was led to a room by the guard, whilst Ray made his way to the gate.

    Drake found himself in a simple ensuite room with basic furnishings. This was just temporary accommodation and Drake was not a fan of luxury anyway, not to mention he was incredibly tired.

    He was given a comfortable pair of pyjamas, so he quickly changed into those and went to sleep.

    Nighttime.

    Drake had woken up a while ago and freshened up. He didn¡¯t suffer any serious injuries and pouring mana into his pendant had cured him of the few surface wounds he had.

    Now, he was meditating on his bed in order to recover his mana and reach his peak strength.

    There was a knock on the door and Drake slowly opened his eyes.

    It was time for his shift.

    The guard escorted Drake out of his room and they soon arrived at the gate. He had his reservations about Drake but, since Ray vouched for him, he decided to trust him.

    The guard opened the gate and Drake walked out.

    A horde of hundreds of demons were approaching wildly. The demons came in all forms from bats, hawks, and eagles, to wolves, lions, bears, and so on. They charged wildly, but about fifty metres from the gate, there was a clearing. At the centre of the clearing, a young-looking man with silver hair and brown robes was fighting dozens of demons.

    The man was naturally Ray, and he was now panting for breath, exhausted from fighting for half a day straight. He was being assaulted by two demon bears, a mountain lion, and half a dozen demon hawks. They were all servant class demons and were eyeing him cautiously as they formed a semicircle in front of him.

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    The lion lost its patience first and charged at Ray. As Ray dodged, one of the hawks swooped in from behind to take him by surprise. Naturally Ray spotted the hawk and was about to cut it down with his sword, but before he could, a fireball blasted the hawk away.

    Ray was surprised and turned to find Drake who now jumped at the lion and sent it flying with a metal leg, before standing next to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here master, you rest now,¡± said Drake with a smile.

    Ray¡¯s normally expressionless face showed visible relief upon spotting Drake.

    He patted his back and whispered, ¡°Thanks, and good luck,¡± before retreating.

    Ray knew these demons didn¡¯t post a threat to Drake so he gladly left as soon as he could.

    Just before he entered the gate, Ray turned around to look at his disciple. All the demons that had encircled him were now already lying on the floor as dead bodies. The guards were all stupefied at the efficiency with which Drake dispatched the demons.

    Not even a few seconds had passed after defeating those demons when another pack of dozens of demons approached him. Drake readied himself for a fight, but just before they reached him, the demons formed an expression of fear and dashed off to the sides. Several roars beamed from behind them and soon, three large monsters appeared in front of Drake.

    A minotaur, an orc, and an ent had appeared, all of them warrior class. Three warrior class onis appearing simultaneously was rare. The demon worms were an exception as worms, like wolves, were pack animals and travelled in a group.

    However, onis were especially troublesome to deal with. So, three warrior class onis working together would be a nightmare for most people.

    Ray hesitated, wondering if he should help Drake out with this bunch before leaving. However, he decided to pause and watch the fight for a bit instead.

    Drake was also taken aback to see these three appear together, but he calmed himself quickly.

    The minotaur had the berserk ability to make itself much bigger, stronger, and faster for some time. The orc had incredible healing abilities and could only be killed by quickly destroying both its heart and brain. Finally, the tree monster ent not only had a powerful body which was notoriously difficult to break through but could also use its roots and branches to attack in random and complicated ways.

    Drake summoned a shield to rotate around him for defence and summoned a boomerang. With acute sense, even if he just summoned a few artifacts, he could control them far more effectively than normal.

    The onis did not underestimate Drake and eyed him cautiously. The minotaur was the first to become enraged and activated berserk, reaching a whopping fifteen metres in height, almost as tall as the earth worms. It carried a battle axe which also magically grew in size along with the minotaur.

    The minotaur roared and charged at Drake. Drake sent his shield to block the minotaur¡¯s swing while pouring mana into his boots and activating shadow steps to quickly dodge out of the way. The minotaur¡¯s axe crashed down on the shield, but it surprisingly could not break it. The impact smashed the shield against the ground and generated cracks on the Earth underneath.

    Drake activated his boots and used shadow steps to dash towards the orc, almost a blur at his full speed. However, these monsters were all powerful and before he could make contact, a thick and sharp tree root erupted from the ground and came piercing down on his throat. Drake spun and narrowly dodged the root, but he now had to stop to reorient himself. In this time, the orc pounced at Drake, swinging its spiked club onto his head.

    Drake poured mana into his robe to activate its defence and blocked the club with his left arm. However, instead of blocking the full attack, he angled his arm to deflect it sideways. The orc, unable to control its momentum, fell sideways too. Drake seized his opportunity and hit the orc with several fireballs simultaneously. The orc screamed in pain, but Drake knew that this wasn¡¯t nearly enough to kill it.

    The ent and the minotaur were about to charge at Drake to prevent him from attacking the orc, however Drake withdrew his sword and poured mana into it. The sword shone a brilliant white light and blinded all of his enemies instantaneously.

    That instant was all Drake needed.

    Shadow steps!

    In an instant, Drake became a blur and appeared on the other side of the weakened orc which was still on fire. However, the orc now stopped flailing around and fell limply on the floor. It was cut directly in half.

    Within twenty seconds of the battle starting, a warrior class orc had died!

    The guards who witnessed the battle were absolutely amazed!

    Drake turned his attention to the minotaur. He decided to use the move from many years ago. As the minotaur approached him, Drake ordered his shield to come to his side, flipped it upside down, and mounted it. The surprised minotaur swung its axe down on Drake and his shield, but he easily dodged sideways before flying up.

    Within a few seconds, Drake had flown several hundred metres into the sky. Then, he moved the shield away and free fell down to ground.

    He was just a dot in the night sky before, but his image was quickly becoming larger and larger in the minotaur¡¯s eyes.

    Drake spun in the air and used all his momentum to swing his leg down on the minotaur.

    Metal leg!

    The minotaur instinctively raised its arm to block Drake¡¯s attack, but the force of the impact brought the minotaur to its knees, making a crater on the ground.

    Drake leaped backwards and brought the shield behind him, before using it as a foothold to jump off again towards the minotaur again.

    Hammer fist!

    The minotaur brought its arm forward to block Drake¡¯s attack again, but taking the full force of his attack for a second time meant its arm broke. A loud crack spread throughout the battlefield.

    The minotaur roared in pain and Drake seized the moment of distraction. He used the shield to fly up again before shooting straight down, sword ready to pierce through its heart.

    At this moment, the ent finally acted. Dozens and dozens of tree roots erupted from the group and attacked Drake from all sides, forcing him to retreat.

    Drake kissed his teeth in frustration and pointed both of his palms towards the ent.

    Fire ball!

    Drake sent ten fire balls one after the other towards the ent. However, the ent used its roots to block them all. Since it was basically a living tree, fire was an obvious weakness. However, even if the roots it used to block the fireballs were burnt, the ent itself did not suffer damage and could always summon new roots.

    Hence, Drake¡¯s attack was wasted, or so it thought. But just as the last fireball was blocked by its roots, a wave of magical energy spread out from Drake. In front of him floated what appeared to be a fireball, but instead of charging at it, the fireball stood in place. At its centre was a small insect which looked like an earthworm.

    This was the actual fiery worm spirit that Drake had learnt to summon from the ancestor¡¯s ruins. He didn¡¯t want to summon an actual spirit as it consumed a lot of mana, however taking on both of them at the same time would not be easy so he decided to do it.

    Drake ordered the fiery worm and his boomerang to attack the ent. The worm could shoot out fireballs continuously. The ent used its roots to block the attacks, however this paved a path which the iron boomerang could use to directly attack the ent. The combination of the two was deadly for the ent.

    Naturally, over these years of fighting on the front lines, Drake had fought his fair share of minotaurs, orcs, and ents, among other onis. Sure, he didn¡¯t fight three of them at warrior class level at the same time, but he had a strategy to defeat them, nonetheless. This was the best strategy he had at the moment to defeat ents.

    Ordinarily, he would shoot the fireballs himself instead of summoning the fiery worm to save mana, but he didn¡¯t have the luxury now as the minotaur would attack him if he got distracted.

    Hence, mentally ordering the fiery worm to keep the ent busy and controlling the boomerang to back it up, Drake could focus on the minotaur once again.

    The minotaur had recovered from the pain of having its arm broken and was now fuming visible gas out of its nostrils and ears in rage. It was getting ready to charge at Drake.

    Just as Drake prepared himself, the minotaur leapt with incredible force.

    Drake looked like he was about to block the minotaur but at the last moment, he activated shadow steps and dodged. The minotaur continued leaping and crashed against a large number of demons, smashing them to death. Drake did not waste his opportunity and leaped at the minotaur, bringing his sword down on its throat.

    Alarm bells rang in the minotaur¡¯s head. It rolled out of the way barely in time for Drake to crash into the spot it was just in. But without giving the minotaur time to react, Drake brought his shield crashing against its face, forming more cracks on the ground underneath the minotaur.

    The direct crash to its face disoriented the minotaur. It took a few seconds to gather its senses, and the first thing it saw was Drake mercilessly piercing its heart. The minotaur¡¯s roar echoed across the battlefield, scaring the nearby monsters away.

    Drake withdrew his sword and watched the minotaur¡¯s life fade from its eyes, its arms and legs falling limply on the ground.

    Without hesitation, Drake turned to face his final enemy. Due to its strong body, although the boomerang made direct hits multiple times, it couldn¡¯t land a fatal hit on the ent.

    Drake sighed and used the shield to fly into the air again. The ent saw Drake approach it from its peripheral vision, however the fiery worm and boomerang increased the ferocity of their attacks, leaving it helpless as Drake used all the strength in his body and his entire momentum to slash his sword across its body.

    The warrior class ent was sliced straight through and fell to the ground as two pieces.

    Drake stood up, sheathing his sword and started to walk towards his spot near the front of the gate. The guards had witnessed the entire battle which lasted a few minutes at most and were rooted to the spot in awe.

    Surrounded by an iron shield and a deadly boomerang on the sides, a large fireball above, and dead warrior class onis behind, Drake looked like an unstoppable war god.

    His strange artifacts, fighting style, and martial techniques, were all new to the guards present in the village. They didn¡¯t understand how he could summon and use so many artifacts, fly on a shield, or do anything that he did. But they did know one thing.

    This boy could not lose.

    He was a one-man army.

 Chapter 37: Hazezeléˆ¥æªš Plot

    Over the next few days, Drake and Ray took turns fighting the demon tide. Though Ray was powerful in his own right, seeing an eleven-year-old boy fighting almost as well as their master Ray was unbelievable to all the guards. In fact, many guards fought for the position to man the front gates at night, purely for the chance to see if the tales of a war god in a child¡¯s body was true.

    While they were protecting the village, Astoria and Sam continued their relationship without reservation. Previously, Astoria was always worried about Holt finding out and how he would react, but now that everything was out in the open, she had made her choice and was determined to take her future into her own hands.

    It was morning, and Astoria arrived at the inn where the two met religiously, every day. She looked around for Sam but couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. Thinking that he might just be sleeping late, Astoria ordered a drink and decided to wait.

    An hour passed, and then another. Frustrated, she walked over to the inn keeper and asked him if he knew where Sam was.

    ¡°Sam? He didn¡¯t show up last night,¡± the man replied nonchalantly.

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Astoria gasped. She knew that he had gone to fight a battle and was coming back last night. Knowing that he would be tired, they decided that he should rest overnight, and they could meet in the morning. If he hadn¡¯t turned up, does that mean that something happened to him?

    Astoria¡¯s heart fell.

    ¡®What if something happened to him in the battle?¡¯

    She couldn¡¯t relax till she found him. Astoria dashed out of the inn and rushed to the infirmary. In a panic, Astoria went to every bed to see the patient while calling out Sam¡¯s name. However, she could not find him at all.

    ¡®Where did you go?¡¯ she cried to herself.

    The medical staff did not try to stop her. In war times, it was common for people to come into the infirmary to find their loved ones. Some of them were often anxious, but unless they started causing a lot of disturbance or went crazy, the staff left them alone. They were already working non-stop dealing with all the patients coming through, so they didn¡¯t have the manpower to help calm down every single worried friend or relative.

    Hence, Astoria went from one bed to another, and when she couldn¡¯t find Sam, went to a new infirmary. She searched every infirmary in the village but couldn¡¯t find Sam anywhere.

    Astoria¡¯s heart dropped.

    What if¡­

    She didn¡¯t want to go there, but she couldn¡¯t see what else could have happened to him.

    Deciding that she didn¡¯t have a choice, she decided to run back to her mansion and barged into Hazezel¡¯s office.

    ¡°Hazezel!¡± she yelled.

    ¡°What!?¡± he gasped in response, surprised to see her in such a panic. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Sam, I can¡¯t find him anywhere. I¡¯ve already checked all the infirmaries. What happened to him?¡±

    Hazezel frowned. He knew the mission Sam had gone on so he pulled up the report and started looking through the list of casualties. However, before he could even get through the first few, Astoria snatched the report and started reading through it herself.

    Her eyes scanned the list of casualties and at the end, heaved a sigh of relief as his name wasn¡¯t there. She went through the injured and missing persons list, and he wasn¡¯t there too.

    ¡®Where did he go then?¡¯ she wondered.

    Hazezel took the report back and read through it too, wondering the same himself. Finally, he had a thought.

    ¡°What if¡­¡± Hazezel began, but then shook his head as if to dismiss his own idea.

    ¡°What!?¡± Astoria asked, banging her hands on his desk. ¡°What if what? Tell me Hazezel, if you have any ideas at all, then tell ME!¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡± he gasped in response, then sighed. ¡°I just thought¡­ what if father¡­¡± his voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

    However, it was clear to Astoria what he was insinuating.

    ¡®What if father did something to him?¡¯ is what he wanted to ask, but they couldn¡¯t imagine their dad harming an innocent man.

    Sam had done a lot fighting for the village, and even more for their family as he helped Astoria get them the zenith pill, and also went through the life-threatening ritual to help them as well. It would not be an exaggeration to say that their entire family, and even the village, owed a large debt to him.

    Sure, he may have had his own motivations to do so, but the fact remains that without his help, they and their village would be in a far worse position.

    Hence, the thought that their honest, righteous father would do anything underhanded to a man they were indebted to, is something that didn¡¯t even cross Astoria¡¯s mind.

    But now that Hazezel mentioned it, it seemed like the only possibility. What else could have happened to him then? He couldn¡¯t just disappear! Not unless¡­ someone made him disappear.

    Astoria clenched her fists, and turned around, heading straight for the door.

    Hazezel raised his arm, about to protest, but then he sighed and sat back down.

    ¡®Father, I really hope I¡¯m wrong about this,¡¯ thought Astoria as she walked out of the door.

    Holt was sitting in a meeting room. He had just finished a meeting and the guests had left, so he was taking a small break, drinking some tea.

    Suddenly, the door burst open. There was not even a knock.

    Wondering who would be so bold, Holt was prepared to admonish them when he saw that it was Astoria.

    ¡°Father!¡± she yelled, but then paused.

    Originally, she was just going to ask him if he did something to Sam, but what if she was wrong about this? How would Holt feel as a father, knowing that his own daughter suspected him of hurting an innocent man, when he actually didn¡¯t do anything?

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    She thought this might have been what Hazezel wanted to say before she left.

    She loved her dad a lot; she trusted and respected him too. Naturally, she didn¡¯t want to hurt him unnecessarily.

    However, if Holt didn¡¯t do anything then that meant that something else must have happened to him. Maybe he got into some street fight, or maybe he was kidnapped or harmed in some other way.

    In any case, she couldn¡¯t search the entire village herself and needed her father¡¯s help.

    She suppressed her hesitation and looked Holt in the eye.

    ¡°Father, something has happened to Sam. I can¡¯t find him anywhere.¡±

    Holt looked at his daughter and replied calmly, ¡°I thought I told you to cut off all ties with that boy, why are you looking for him?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you told me to do, but I never agreed to it,¡± she retorted, staring straight back at Holt.

    Holt looked at Astoria meaningfully, before sighing to himself.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he mumbled. ¡°Then what I did was the right thing.¡±

    Astoria¡¯s heart sank.

    ¡°What do you mean? What are you talking about dad? What did you do?¡± she asked quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t hurt him or anything,¡± Holt replied. ¡°I have locked him up for now. Once the war ends and the villages are safe again, I will have the guards escort him back to his village, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± yelled Astoria.

    ¡°Yes, I can, and I will. This is my village, and I have the right to remove anyone I want at any time.¡±

    Astoria bit her lip and clenched her fist. Holt was clearly abusing his power to forcefully separate them, and there was nothing she could do about it.

    She did not expect this at all.

    She thought Holt would argue with her more, fight with her, get mad at her, or even hit her. Astoria had prepared herself to face his entire wrath, confident that she could eventually convince him to see things her way; that this is what would make her happy.

    However, she never thought that Holt would go after Sam directly. She was glad that Holt didn¡¯t try to secretly assassinate him or something; though she did consider that possibility, she knew her father would never do that. However, this was not much better. He was using his authority to stop them from seeing each other.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do this dad! This is an abuse of power! You are supposed to use your power for the welfare of the village, not use it to attack individuals you don¡¯t like!¡± she protested.

    ¡°On the contrary, your future is something that does affect stability and welfare of the entire village. Hence, what I am doing is for the welfare of the village too,¡± Holt calmly responded.

    Astoria closed her eyes to hide her tears and turned around. She tried to use his sense of righteousness against him, but it did not work.

    She didn¡¯t want to waste time with him anymore.

    ¡®I hate you¡­¡¯ she mumbled, before storming out of the room.

    Even though she was quiet, Holt was a powerful martial artist so he could clearly hear what she said.

    Once she left, Holt sighed and sat back down.

    ¡®I know it maybe painful now, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see that this was for the best eventually,¡¯ he muttered to himself.

    After leaving, Astoria rushed straight underground into the prisons. However, two guards stopped her at the entrance.

    ¡°Sorry miss, but we are under strict orders from lord Holt himself to not allow you to enter the prison,¡± one of them said.

    But Astoria was furious.

    ¡°LET ME GO!¡± she screamed and tried to force her way through.

    However, the guards reacted and blocked her path. She kept trying to break through them, but they eventually had enough and pushed her back forcefully and she fell on the floor.

    Although she was a true mage and a tempered body martial artist now, the two guards were also martial artists so she couldn¡¯t resist them both easily.

    She winced in pain and glared at the guards menacingly.

    ¡°We¡¯re really sorry miss but we cannot let you pass!¡±

    Astoria bit her lip in frustration again and ran back to her room.

    They could not see the tears that were now flowing down her face.

    ¡°I hate them, I hate them, I hate them all!¡± Astoria cried, yelling at the ceiling.

    She sat on the floor, her back against the door of her room, holding her face in her palms, in between her knees. Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes as she sobbed and wailed in despair.

    A million thoughts raced through her head.

    Was this it? Was there nothing she could do?

    It wasn¡¯t fair!

    She loved Sam and just wanted to be with him, but couldn¡¯t do so¡­ why? Because she was the village head¡¯s daughter? Because she had responsibility towards the village?

    Screw the village!

    Am I not doing enough already? Am I not training hard, fighting in the front lines, and helping with administration? Why do I also need to sacrifice my happiness and my marriage for the village? That was too much!

    She couldn¡¯t do it! She would rather give up her position and run away from the village instead.

    If she could be with Sam, then nothing else mattered.

    But she couldn¡¯t because of her stupid father!

    Astoria cried and cried, feeling helpless about her situation. She didn¡¯t know how many hours had passed. She didn¡¯t feel like eating, or sleeping, or doing anything.

    She would have just sat there crying endlessly but was interrupted by a knock. She thought it was some stupid maid who came to deliver her food or something and was about to yell at them to go away.

    ¡°Astoria, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Hazezel!

    Her twin brother was the only person she felt understood her situation. If it was anyone else, she would have given them a piece of her mind, but for Hazezel, she wiped her tears and opened the door.

    Hazezel walked in to see his sister. Her usually beautiful blue eyes were now baggy, red, and lifeless. Her short, silky black hair was a dishevelled mess. It was clear that she had spent a long time crying.

    ¡°Oh Astoria¡­¡± he whispered, before giving her a hug. Feeling his embrace, Astoria broke down once more and started crying.

    Hazezel was also depressed. He could understand both Astoria and Holt¡¯s perspective, however, he couldn¡¯t bear to see his sister suffer like this.

    So, he came up with a plan.

    ¡°Do you want to be with Sam?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Course I do!¡± she replied weakly.

    Hazezel pulled her away and stared into her eyes.

    ¡°Even if it meant making a sacrifice?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied without hesitation.

    Hazezel sighed.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he reached into his pocket and brought out two plain looking pills

    ¡°Take this. These are not ordinary pills but special, rank three pills that have the ability to tremendously increase your aura, enough to scare away low-class demons and onis. At the very least, any demon and oni below the commander class would not attack you for as long as their effects are active,¡± he explained, placing the pills in her palm and closing her hands.

    ¡°What do¡­ you want me to do with these?¡± Astoria asked blankly.

    She spent so long crying that her mind wasn¡¯t working anymore.

    ¡°Run away, Astoria,¡± he replied, staring straight into her eyes.

    Her eyes widened.

    ¡°Run away from this war, run away from this village, and run away from this family. Take these pills and start a new life. Unfortunately, their effects won¡¯t last forever, but it will last long enough for you to escape. I will prepare a carriage with some money for you. Take them and flee east. You will find larger human towns there where the two of you can start a life anew.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I can¡¯t just leave you guys!¡± she protested.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you were willing to make a sacrifice?¡± asked Hazezel sternly.

    Astoria bit her lip.

    ¡°This is the only way ¨C you know it is!¡±

    Astoria agreed that this was the only way, however she didn¡¯t want to leave her family while they were fighting a war.

    Maybe if I stay, I can eventually convince dad, she thought.

    She was confused, her heart was split again.

    ¡°Dad won¡¯t change his mind,¡± Hazezel spoke, as if reading her mind. ¡°Beyond that, this war is getting more dangerous by the minute. And in case something happens to us, if you¡¯re alive, at least the Reynard family line will survive.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± she protested vehemently.

    Is this what Hazezel wanted? Was he just trying to protect her from this war? She wasn¡¯t the same weak little girl from before!

    ¡°I cannot just run for my life while you guys are fighting to your deaths!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± Hazezel responded calmly. ¡°You are not running for your life. You are running for your future with Sam. Beyond that, if father sees you run away, he will realise how much you love Sam and how determined you are. And once the war ends, he will likely change his mind, at which point I can send you a letter, or bring him to the town, and you can return.¡±

    Astoria hesitated. The plan made sense, and it also gave her the best chance to be with Sam.

    But she still felt terrible to abandon her family in a crisis.

    Hazezel hugged her once more. They hugged for a few minutes before he pulled back again and gave her a slight kiss on the cheek.

    ¡°I love you Astoria, and I will miss you greatly. However, I want you to be happy and this is the only way. I will distract the guards and have the carriage and money prepared tonight. You sneak into the prison, rescue Sam, and meet me at the south gate of the village.¡±

    Without waiting for her response, Hazezel turned around and left, closing the door behind him, leaving a confused and heartbroken Astoria alone in her room.

 Chapter 38: Graduation

    That night, Astoria dressed in plain black clothes, packed a few essentials, and silently left her room. She crept towards the prison entrance and noticed that the guards were not there.

    Thank you¡­ Astoria whispered to the air and walked inside.

    Entering the prison, Astoria quietly crept past each cell, looking inside to catch a glimpse of the prisoner. Pretty soon, she found who she was looking for.

    Sam was sitting in a corner of his cell. Unlike in Leon village, he had not been tortured or anything. In fact, compared to the other prisoners, he was treated quite well. He was wearing his usual clothes and looked well fed and healthy. The only thing identifying him as a prisoner was the fact that he was in a cell.

    ¡°Sam!¡± Astoria exclaimed in a hushed tone.

    Startled, Sam looked up upon hearing the familiar voice. He then saw the woman he loved the most in the world.

    ¡°Astoria!¡± he yelled in response and ran towards the cell gate.

    Through the gaps in the bars, the two hugged each other, emotional at finally seeing each other after so long.

    ¡°I have a plan, let¡¯s get out of here!¡± exclaimed Astoria, releasing Sam and quickly unlocking the door.

    Sam wondered what the plan was but realised that now wasn¡¯t the time for questions. He put his faith in Astoria and decided to leave.

    However, the moment they turned around, they bumped into a large and towering figure.

    ¡°Dad!¡± exclaimed Astoria. Sam froze in place.

    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Holt asked coldly.

    ¡°Dad please, let us go. We¡¯ll go somewhere far away and won¡¯t bother you at all!¡± Astoria cried.

    ¡°Preposterous! Do you really think I¡¯ll allow that?¡± Holt spat in rage. He couldn¡¯t believe that his daughter was ready to abandon her family and village.

    Before she could react, she found her wrists bound by shackles. They were made of a special ore that disrupted the flow of mana and were useful for restraining mages and martial artists.

    ¡°You have given me no choice,¡± Holt sighed, dragging both Astoria and Sam towards the cell.

    ¡°Dad, no wait! Please! Please wait!¡± Astoria cried but Holt was not in any mood to listen. He shoved them both into the cell and shut the door, paying no heed to her daughter¡¯s pleas.

    With his back facing them, he said, ¡°Stay here and reflect on your actions, Astoria,¡± and then left the two in the darkness.

    After leaving, Holt entered the main hall. A shadowy figure stood to his side.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Holt spoke to the figure. ¡°I know it must have been very difficult for you, but without your help, I would have been completely oblivious to everything and wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop her. So, thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all¡­¡± the figure responded. It took a step forward and the light illuminated its face. A young man with black, scruffy hair, tanned skin, and a striking resemblance to Astoria was revealed.

    ¡°¡­ father!¡±

    ¡­

    Several days later.

    The demon tide had passed, and the elven village made it out in one piece thanks to the efforts of Ray and Drake. They spent their extra time resting and recovering their strength, then celebrating their victory with the villagers, and now helping the village with healing and restoration.

    For all his efforts, Drake was even personally thanked by Myra for helping protect her people. Drake blushed and told her that it was no big deal, and it was only natural as they had to work with each other to survive.

    Still, Myra asked him if there was anything she could do to thank him. Drake humbly rejected the offer for a while, but Myra persisted. Drake didn¡¯t want to appear rude, and there was something he was interested in.

    ¡°Do you¡­ have any summoning spells you could share with me?¡± Drake asked innocently.

    It was not easy to find new summoning spells. Given that they were integral to the strength of a mage and, by extension, the village, they would not part with their strengths so easily.

    Ray laughed internally, expecting this from his disciple. Normally, such a request would be considered rude and taking advantage of their village¡¯s generosity, but after everything Drake had done, Ray was sure his master would grant it.

    Myra also smiled and replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    She took out three spell scrolls and asked Drake to pick one.

    Drake hesitated for a bit and then made his choice. It was a rank one, lightning bat spirit that could shoot out lightning bolts. The others were another defensive spirit, and a scouting type spirit which he didn¡¯t think would be very useful for him.

    The lightning spirit, however, not only would be useful to him as an additional method of attack, but he could also study the rune and make artifacts out of it. Specifically, he thought he could make one glove to shoot out lightning bolts, and the other for fire. He also thought he could engrave lightning along with light runes into his sword to increase its offensive strength.

    Naturally, that would mean he would have to summon rank two artifacts which would be exponentially more difficult than rank one artifacts; however, he felt that the boost it would give to his strength would be worth it.

    Considering all those factors and ideas, Drake accepted the lightning bat spirit summoning spell. Naturally, Myra and Ray did not realise all the daring ideas going through Drake¡¯s mind. Even if they did, they would have simply thought he was delusional.

    After accepting the reward, with most of the aftermath of the demon tide dealt with, Drake prepared to leave. Myra insisted on having a farewell feast and Drake eventually gave in.

    Myra had a variety of food freshly prepared by some servants as a buffet. Beautiful elven women danced to a melodious orchestra in the grand hall, providing entertainment for the crowd. Numerous soldiers that Drake had fought with cheered and celebrated, drinking themselves unconscious.

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    Drake enjoyed the vibes.

    It was nice to have moments like this, he thought.

    After the party, Drake spent the final night in the village, before packing his things to leave the next morning. Myra, Ray, and a number of soldiers had come to see him off.

    ¡°Drake,¡± Ray called.

    ¡°Yes master,¡± Drake replied.

    Ray smiled as he looked at him.

    Initially when he met Drake, he didn¡¯t think much of him. However, Drake had worked diligently and showed great potential. Within these few years, he discovered his own style of fighting and attained strength that was far above his age and realm. Not to mention his freakish ability to summon any rank zero artifact that he visualised.

    Beyond his strength, maturity, and intelligence, Ray observed that Drake had his heart in the right place. He cared about his family, his friends, and doing his best for everyone he could. He treated even servants and slaves with respect. Ray was moved by the Drake¡¯s strength of will and character more than his actual battle strength.

    You are definitely going to go places, he thought.

    ¡°As your master, there is unfortunately nothing else left for me to teach you. You have learnt everything that I can teach, and gone well beyond my expectations,¡± Ray spoke sincerely.

    Drake was surprised. Apart from when he obsessed about his master or made snarky remarks, Ray was generally a stoic man of few words, and he rarely spoke any words of encouragement. The change, combined with the look he gave him, Drake knew that Ray was speaking from the bottom of his heart and so was grateful for the praise.

    ¡°Take this as our parting gift, and my graduation gift to you,¡± said Ray, handing him a bag.

    The bag had several things.

    Firstly, it contained a number of pills which Drake knew would be very useful for him.

    Next, there were two books. The first was a book which was something like Ray¡¯s cultivation journal. It talked about the entirety of Ray¡¯s cultivation experience, with answers to all the problems he faced, both in mana cultivation and martial arts cultivation. It would be an invaluable source of reference for Drake, at least until he reached the steel body and warrior mage realm.

    The other book was different. It was a rare book on alchemy, i.e. making pills. The elves made and sold most of the pills used by the villages, apart from the zenith pill of course. Hence, the elves had spent a lot more time devising alchemy techniques to make pills than the two human villages.

    Ray had now given him all the alchemy knowledge their elven village had built over the centuries. If Drake was going to be on his own, he would need plenty of pills to aid in his cultivation. Being able to make them himself meant he wouldn¡¯t have to depend on others and would always have a source of pills. Hence, it was another invaluable resource for him.

    Frankly, Drake couldn¡¯t believe that Ray had shared something like this with him, and his gratitude and respect for his master went through the roof.

    Finally, there was a scroll. Drake opened it up to see one of Ray¡¯s favourite spells, specifically a rank two healing spirit. This was more powerful than the healing fairy spell he learnt from Holt which was rank one. Not only could it cure deeper wounds, but it could also help against some poisons. Although he couldn¡¯t use the spell now, he was sure that it would be very helpful in the future.

    Drake accepted the parting gifts gratefully and bowed deeply to Ray.

    ¡°Thank you master, for everything that you have done for me. I swear on my life that for as long as I live, I will never forget you and your kindness.¡±

    Ray lightly smiled in return.

    ¡°No need to be so formal. Go now, go back safely. Don¡¯t die in this stupid war and be happy.¡±

    Drake nodded and hesitated for a bit, before deciding to go for a hug. He had never hugged Ray before, but figured now was a good time so he went for it. After a few seconds, they separated. Drake could have sworn that he spotted a faint blush on Ray¡¯s face but decided to ignore it.

    Bowing once more to Ray and Myra, Drake mounted his horse and started to leave.

    ¡®Dad¡­ everyone¡­ I am coming back!¡¯

    ¡­

    The night when Drake was having the farewell party, back in the Jain village.

    Wearing a bright chain mail, sword sheathed on the side, with emerald hair, a young Elwin returned from his mission. His mission was to reinforce the Leon village to defend one of their mines in a battlefield that was quite far away from their Jain village. He had left before Drake left for the elven village and was returning only now.

    Needless to say, he was extremely tired. He decided he would give his report to Hazezel quickly and then rest for the night.

    Hazezel and Holt were working together in the office. Normally Astoria was the one working with Hazezel but with her locked up, Holt spent more time helping Hazezel.

    There was a knock on the door and Elwin entered. He was surprised to see his father there but didn¡¯t think much of it.

    ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve returned,¡± he announced.

    Happy to see his brother again after so long, Hazezel greeted and welcomed him into the room.

    Elwin took a seat and gave his report on the mines. They managed to successfully defend it against several waves of demon attacks.

    After listening to the specifics, Hazezel sighed tiredly. Despite their victories, this war was becoming more and more troublesome.

    ¡°By the way,¡± asked Elwin. ¡°Where is Astoria? Why is she not with you? And what about Drake?¡±

    Hazezel and Holt shared an uneasy glance.

    Holt sighed heavily, ¡°A lot has happened since you left Elwin, I¡¯ll explain.¡±

    He first explained how the elven village was being attacked by a demon tide, so Ray and Drake had gone as reinforcements. Elwin trusted in Drake¡¯s abilities, and knowing that Ray was with him, wasn¡¯t too worried.

    He was surprised that Ray had finally decided to return to his village and join the war. He wished he could have expressed his gratitude and said his goodbyes too, but it was too late now. They would probably have a chance to meet in a battlefield at some time anyway, so he wasn¡¯t very bothered.

    However, when Holt started explaining the situation with Astoria, Elwin froze.

    The more he explained, the more Elwin¡¯s eyes widened.

    After a long while, Holt finished his explanation. Both of them looked at Elwin, wondering what he was thinking.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± his voice trailed off.

    Elwin was feeling complicated.

    Personally, he didn¡¯t experience love so didn¡¯t understand it very well. This might be quite surprising as given Elwin¡¯s strength, reputation, position in the village, and not to mention his looks, he actually had a large number of female fans who had crushes on him. Any one of them would probably faint if Elwin ever actually talked to them, let alone asked them out. However, Elwin was neither aware, nor had any interest in this. For the last four years, his mind had been occupied with nothing but the war.

    Additionally, he was also a very duty-bound man and understood the importance of his role in their family and the village. He knew that Astoria was intelligent too and understood it all, so he really didn¡¯t expect that they would have a falling out like this.

    He loved and treasured Astoria immensely.

    As the eldest, he had watched her grow up his whole life, and had unconsciously taken on a protective role of her. He always strove to give her what she wanted and make her happy. He could personally never bear to see her cry.

    Hence, if it were up to him, he knew he wouldn¡¯t have the heart to do what Holt did and try to separate them forcefully.

    That said, he also understood why his father, from his position as the village head, did what he did, so he was really torn.

    This was just such a mess!

    Elwin was not good at thinking, it hurt his brain. He preferred to leave all the thinking to the others, such as Hazezel and Astoria. He was happy just going to whatever battlefield they told him and focusing his efforts on winning. That¡¯s all he wanted to do.

    Elwin did not want to think about complicated village politics, interpersonal relationships, and love which he had never experienced and didn¡¯t understand.

    All he wanted was for this fight to be resolved as soon as possible so they could return to being a happy family again.

    However, he knew that that was easier said than done. Either Holt or Astoria had to change their minds, and he knew how stubborn both of them were.

    Sigh¡­

    It hurt his already exhausted brain to think about it. He felt like visiting Astoria but then thought better of it. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear seeing his little sister locked in a cell. If he did, he would immediately cut the bars down and release her, which he knew would anger his father so he didn¡¯t want to do it.

    Hence, Elwin decided to just stand up, return to his bedroom, and get some rest.

    The next morning, Hazezel summoned Elwin to his office and gave him a relatively tame but still important mission, which would still take Elwin out of the village for a week or so.

    He suspected what was going through Elwin¡¯s mind and so he added, ¡°This will help you get your mind off things.¡±

    Elwin smiled gratefully at his brother and accepted the mission.

    He left the mansion, mounted his horse, and after readying his soldiers, left the village.

    What he didn¡¯t notice however, was Hazezel¡¯s eyes turning pitch black as he left.

 Chapter 39: Break out!

    The warm sun shone its rays onto the green field. The calm scene fell into chaos as a young boy dashed across the field on horseback while being chased by a group of servant class ents.

    The boy was naturally Drake who was making his way back to the Jain village. These ents were weaker than the ent he fought before; however, he had no intention of wasting time with them. Hence, whenever a demon or oni showed up, unless he absolutely had to, he just tried to run away as much as possible.

    While Drake was fighting and running from the demons, back in the Jain village, Hazezel had just sent Elwin off on his mission.

    ¡®The pieces are finally falling into place,¡¯ Hazezel thought to himself with an eerie smile.

    Now it is my time to act.

    Thinking so, he waited for a few hours after Elwin left, working as usual. At lunchtime, Hazezel decided to go to the maid who would serve lunch for Astoria and Sam and took the food from her.

    ¡°I want to see my sister so I will deliver this meal,¡± he told her.

    The maid respectfully bowed and allowed Hazezel to take the meal.

    Hazezel slowly made his way to the prison cell. As he went, he dismissed the guards, telling them he wanted some privacy with his sister. The guards obliged and left their posts.

    ¡°Hazezel!¡± Astoria exclaimed, seeing his face after a long time. She ran up to the gate and held his hands through the bars.

    Hazezel smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. After a few minutes of crying, Astoria released him. Hazezel took the lunch and served them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat!¡± she yelled, wiping her face from tears.

    ¡°You need to eat,¡± Hazezel protested.

    Astoria was going to reject him again when he added, ¡°Don¡¯t you need strength to escape?¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± exclaimed both Astoria and Sam. Hazezel just smiled and pushed the meal tray further into the cell.

    Sam also approached the front of the cell now and they both obediently took the food and started eating, while eyeing Hazezel carefully.

    Astoria was very grateful to her brother, as he always tried to support her and even helped her make an escape plan. Even though Holt had ruined it all, she was still thankful to him.

    However, even she felt that the situation now was not hopeful. Since Holt had discovered everything, it would not be easy to escape.

    As if reading her mind, Hazezel smiled.

    ¡°Escape is very easy, I have the keys to your cell right here!¡± he said, showing her the keys.

    ¡°No, Hazezel you can¡¯t!¡± Astoria protested. If Hazezel released them, then Holt would easily figure out that Hazezel was behind it. Who else would have the ability and motive to do so?

    ¡°I can and I¡¯m going to,¡± Hazezel said casually. ¡°I have already prepared the carriage now, and father is busy with something else and won¡¯t notice if you leave now. This is the perfect time.¡±

    ¡°But what about you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Hazezel¡¯s response was firm.

    ¡°Hazezel¡­¡± tears were welling up in her eyes again.

    Once she was released, Holt would be furious and Hazezel would have to face the entirety of Holt¡¯s wrath. She couldn¡¯t believe that Hazezel was prepared to go this far for the sake of her happiness.

    With her personality, she didn¡¯t want to do anything to hurt her siblings, however seeing Hazezel¡¯s determination, she felt that refusing further would be insulting to his kindness.

    Hence, fighting back tears, she nodded.

    After the two finished their meal, Hazezel unlocked the cell and let them out.

    Suddenly!

    Just as they were exiting, hurried footsteps echoed across the prison.

    Instantly, Hazezel reacted and dashed to the side, hiding from view. Sam and Astoria tried to return to their cell to act as if everything was normal, but before they could, a towering figure came back again.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Holt screamed.

    How could Astoria and Sam have been released?

    Astoria thought Holt would guess Hazezel to be the culprit very easily, but she didn¡¯t know that Hazezel was the one who had initially helped Holt investigate and capture them. Hence, Holt did not think that Hazezel would help them elope after everything he did to prevent exactly that.

    ¡°Who released you? Tell me!¡± Holt demanded. Astoria was surprised that Holt didn¡¯t realise it immediately, but there was no way on earth she would tell him.

    She replied by turning away with a humph!

    Holt was furious and was about to grab the two again but suddenly, he became disoriented and stumbled.

    Astoria was startled to see her father stumble randomly. He was a martial artist who cultivated the undying body. It was not normal for him to randomly stumble. What was wrong with him? Was he so angry that he was losing his mind and bearings?

    Holt was also confused and wondered what was going on. However, his mind was fuzzy and he couldn¡¯t think clearly. Soon, his vision started going blurry too, and he started wobbling around the room randomly.

    As he was flailing about, he suddenly felt an impact on the back of his head. Normally it wouldn¡¯t have hurt him, but in his weakened state, that force was enough to knock the remaining consciousness out of him.

    Holt collapsed on the ground, revealing Hazezel behind him.

    Naturally, that impact was Hazezel who had whacked Holt in the back of his head with a rod.

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    ¡°Do you still have the pills?¡± Hazezel asked casually.

    ¡°Hazezel!¡± Astoria gasped again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I added something to his lunch earlier in case something like this happened. He¡¯ll just be out of commission for a few hours but will be fine afterwards, Astoria.¡±

    Astoria was relieved. She knew her brother wouldn¡¯t actually hurt her father, but still, she was worried about what had happened to him. Hearing him explain put her mind at ease.

    ¡°Yes, I have the pills,¡± she said, pulling out two pills from her pocket before putting them back.

    Sam was confused about what they were but decided to ask questions later.

    ¡°Good, in that case, make your way to the south gate as we said before. I have a large carriage ready there to pick you up, along with enough money for you to start a new life.¡±

    Astoria nodded and was about to leave when she paused again. She turned around and ran up to Hazezel, hugging him tightly.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± she cried. ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it¡¯s not a problem at all,¡± Hazezel replied kindly, gently patting her head.

    Astoria hugged him for a long time. This would be the last time she would see her twin brother for a long time after all. She wanted to cherish this moment.

    Finally, she released him and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

    ¡°Go on now,¡± Hazezel said. ¡°I will clean up the mess here,¡± Hazezel pointed to Holt.

    ¡°Take Sam and go be happy. I know father will come around eventually, at which point I will let you know one way or another.¡±

    Astoria nodded, her tears stopping her from being able to form any words.

    She then grabbed Sam and the two started making their way to the south gate.

    Even with Holt unconscious, the two moved stealthily to avoid being spotted by any other guards or servants. Eventually, they snuck out of the mansion and ran to the south gate.

    They found a large and relatively luxurious carriage waiting under a tree that was just around the corner of the gate. An old man was in the driver seat and waved towards Sam and Astoria upon seeing them.

    The duo stopped just before the carriage and were panting, out of breath.

    ¡°You¡¯re in a rush, aren¡¯t you?¡± the old man asked with a laugh.

    Hazezel hadn¡¯t told him the details of the two, however he was an old man who had seen a lot. Seeing a young boy and girl run so fast while holding hands, leaving the village with a large sum of money, he could easily guess what was going on.

    He had no interest in other people¡¯s affairs though, so he just smiled at the two casually.

    ¡°Thank you for driving us,¡± Astoria said. ¡°Also, where are we going?¡±

    The old man laughed again, slapping his knee as if it was the most hilarious question.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you guys are running off and you don¡¯t even know where you¡¯re going?¡±

    The old man cackled in laughter even more after saying that.

    Astoria and Sam looked at each other. What a strange old man.

    After taking a moment to calm himself, the old man looked at the two and smiled.

    ¡°We are going to Duskville!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°DIEEEE!!¡± yelled Drake as he brought his sword down on a minotaur.

    He had been attacked relentlessly by demons and onis. Given that the demon tide had passed, it was strange that so many demons were still around to attack him.

    He didn¡¯t have the time to think it. His horse was killed in a previous battle and so he was hiding and running on foot towards his village. Using his wind butterfly scouting spirit, he realised that there was a path with a smaller number of demons. However, following that path required him to take a small detour so he would end up on the south side of the Jain village.

    Realising that he had no choice, Drake took that path. Pouring mana into his boots and activating shadow steps, he could actually run faster than a horse. Though it was a waste of mana and stamina, and he couldn¡¯t keep it up for a long time, he decided to do so anyway to avoid all the demons that were attacking him.

    Having left in the early morning, it was now late afternoon, and he was nearing the village gate. He could see it as a small speck on the horizon. However, apart from the village, something else caught his eye.

    A large and luxurious carriage was making its way southeast from the village.

    ¡®Who could be travelling in such a carriage now?¡¯ he thought, but he didn¡¯t care much about it. It was most likely just some merchant or an elder going about their business, so he decided to ignore it.

    Just as he ran past the carriage, however, a voice he had never expected to hear called out to him.

    ¡°DRAKEE!¡±

    Drake froze.

    Did I imagine it? He turned to face the carriage, wondering what Astoria would be doing in it, almost sure that he had just imagined it.

    However, the face that poked out and waved to him confirmed his suspicions.

    ¡°Astoria!¡± he gasped, running up to her. Astoria also got out of the carriage and ran up to Drake.

    The two hadn¡¯t seen each other in a long time and so were very happy to do so now. Especially Astoria who thought she would not get a chance to say her goodbyes to her little brother, was now elated to see him unexpectedly.

    Astoria hugged him and started crying tears of joy and sorrow.

    Drake was happy to see his sister but was confused about why she was crying. Everything between Astoria and Holt had happened after he left for the elven village, so he was not aware of it.

    Astoria ignored him and continued crying for a while, worrying Drake. For a moment he thought something terrible happened to the village and that¡¯s why Astoria was fleeing in a carriage. However, he saw earlier that the village was fine, so he ruled out that possibility.

    Just as Drake¡¯s head was about to explode with questions, Astoria pulled away and wiped her face. Then, she started speaking.

    ¡°A lot of things happened these past few days when you were away Drake,¡± she began.

    She then recounted the entire story of how she fell in love with Sam, how Holt found out and was furiously against it, how she was about to break up but Hazezel convinced her otherwise, how Holt had secretly arrested Sam, and she tried to use Hazezel¡¯s plan to escape but was stopped by Holt last minute. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, Hazezel came to the rescue once more and helped them escape, giving them the carriage, money, and the pill to keep low class demons away.

    Drake listened intently, frowning more and more as he listened.

    Coming from Earth, Drake had his own perspective.

    He was aware of political marriages happening commonly in the past, but it had basically become non-existent in the modern times he was from. Falling in love and getting married had become the norm, so naturally he thought Astoria was in the right and Holt was just being an overprotective, and misguided father.

    He also knew Holt¡¯s personality and how much he loved his kids. After his wife died, he took on the role of being both a mother and a father to his kids and loved everyone greatly. Astoria being the only girl, he dotted on her a lot. Hence, he was also in agreement with Hazezel and thought that he would come around eventually.

    So, after hearing everything, he hugged Astoria again.

    ¡®Oh, you poor thing,¡¯ he thought.

    Being five years younger at eleven years old, Drake couldn¡¯t reach Astoria¡¯s head like Hazezel. So, he patted her back and reassured her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Astoria. I agree with Hazezel too, I think father will soon come around and see the errors of his way. Till then, you can leave and start your own life.¡±

    Astoria pulled away and nodded, wiping her tears once more.

    ¡°We are going to the town of Duskville,¡± said Astoria. ¡°We¡¯ll keep in touch, and hopefully we will meet again in the future.¡±

    ¡°Yes we will,¡± Drake responded confidently.

    Happy, she kissed him on the forehead and said, ¡°We need to get going now. In case father wakes up and starts chasing us, we don¡¯t have any time to waste.¡±

    Drake agreed and walked with Astoria to her carriage.

    ¡°I wish I could come with you, but unfortunately I can¡¯t,¡± Drake sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand. And I¡¯m sure we will meet again,¡± Astoria reassured him this time, getting onto the carriage.

    Drake nodded, then looked at Sam.

    ¡°Take care of her Sam, she loves you a lot.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Sam replied instantly.

    He had seen how much Astoria fought against even her own family to be with him. Frankly, he was feeling terrible the whole time, thinking that it was his fault she had to go against her family like this.

    But he remembered the vow he took that day and looked at Astoria. The two stared at each other¡¯s eyes, and he gently caressed her face.

    ¡°No matter what happens, I will always be with you,¡± he smiled.

    He said that more to Astoria than to Drake, but Drake also heard him and could tell that it was genuine. Hence, he happily waved them goodbye and watched as the carriage disappeared into the horizon.

    With a heavy sigh, Drake ran back to the village and quickly entered the mansion. He wanted to talk to Hazezel and ask what his plan was to deal with Holt once he woke up. There was no doubt that Holt would be furious and would take it out on Hazezel, so he was worried.

    Hence, Drake ran to the prison as soon as he arrived and made his way through to find where Holt and Hazezel were.

    Eventually, he turned a corner and found Holt lying on the ground.

    However, there was something else that was completely and utterly unexpected.

    Holt was lying in a pool of his own blood, with a sword sticking out of his chest!

 Chapter 40: Attack!

    The setting sun was covered by clouds, casting the land in darkness. The clouds occasionally lit up as thunder rumbled within. Drop by drop, rain started falling to the Earth, before becoming a torrential storm.

    Inside the Beast Woods, three figures dressed in robes were sheltered from the rain by a cabin. They sat inside on a sofa, next to a fireplace, with two of them looking at the central figure intently. The eyes of the third figure were pitch black, making him look like a devil.

    For a quiet minute, the only thing that could be heard were the crackling of the fire, and the rain pouring on the ground outside.

    A minute passed, and the central figure closed his eyes. When he opened them, it was normal again.

    ¡°The plan has finally succeeded. Everything has been set in motion,¡± he spoke quietly.

    He got up from the sofa and walked to the front door, the two figures following him obediently.

    The man lifted himself into the air using some strange wind spirit, and the two figures were also floating behind him. They floated slowly above the woods.

    It was dark, making it difficult to see anything. However, lightning occasionally struck, lighting up various parts of the forest. One particular lightning was extremely big and lit up the section of the forest before the trio.

    The sight before them was terrifying.

    Uncountable numbers of demons and onis filled the ground like blades of grass. There were even thousands and thousands of warrior class demons and onis.

    ¡°It is time to make our move¡­¡± the leader of the dark mages whispered.

    He raised his hand, and the army of demons moved.

    Their direction ¨C the three villages!

    ¡­

    In a location not too far from the cabin, two figures watched the army quietly from atop a tree.

    One was dressed in grand purple robes with white, fractal patterns spread throughout, and the other in a plain, white breastplate. The first had eyes of concentric black and purple circles, whilst the second had black eyes with white streaks that formed the shape of a spider web.

    The two stared at the demon army for a while. Then, the one dressed in purple robes looked up at the night sky and spoke quietly.

    ¡°It is going to be a stormy night.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°FATHER!¡± Drake cried, running to him.

    How was this possible? Astoria told him that Hazezel had just knocked him out, so how could he be here, with a sword stabbed into him?

    Drake couldn¡¯t believe his eyes and pulled the sword out. Blood gushed out of his wound.

    This can¡¯t be happening! Drake thought.

    His father had cultivated the undying body, which could heal itself, so why wasn¡¯t it working? However, even Drake knew that Holt couldn''t heal from fatal wounds. But how could he have been fatally stabbed in the first place?

    It didn¡¯t make sense!

    Drake put his finger under Holt¡¯s nose but couldn¡¯t detect any signs of breathing. He checked for a pulse but there wasn¡¯t any either.

    ¡®I¡­ I don¡¯t believe it!¡¯ he gasped, falling to the floor.

    Holt, his father, the village head, the strongest fighter in the village and one of the strongest fighters in the war, was dead!

    Hearing Drake¡¯s cries, several footsteps hurried towards him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hazezel yelled. He immediately spotted Drake, and then Holt. His face froze.

    ¡°Father!¡± he cried, frozen in spot. Drake looked at his brother who had a look of terror on his face.

    ¡°What¡­ happened?¡± Drake asked weakly.

    ¡°I¡­ have no idea!¡± Hazezel whispered.

    The guards behind him were also horrified.

    ¡°You must know! You were the only one here, right?¡± asked Drake, standing up.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Hazezel asked.

    ¡°I met Astoria on the way, and she told me everything that happened. You were the last person with father, so how could you not know what happened to him?¡± Drake asked again.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Hazezel responded.

    He didn¡¯t expect that Drake would have met Astoria, but his mind worked quickly.

    ¡°After knocking father out, I left the place myself. Once he woke up, I was going to tell him that maybe he was attacked by the dark mages or something, so he wouldn¡¯t question me. So, I really don¡¯t know what happened!¡±

    Drake was dismayed.

    If Hazezel wasn¡¯t here, then who was? Who did this?

    A million thoughts raced through his mind, but they were interrupted by Hazezel.

    ¡°What if¡­ what if the dark mages actually did do this?¡± Hazezel whispered.

    Drake was alarmed. Dark mages? Here? What would they be doing here? Weren¡¯t they in the Beast Woods?

    Actually, Hazezel¡¯s story wasn¡¯t adding up. Telling Holt that he was knocked out by dark mages to let Astoria escape was such a ridiculous idea. If they had the ability to sneak into the mansion and attack him without anyone noticing, wouldn¡¯t they have directly killed him a long time ago? And why would they want to help Astoria? It was such a terrible excuse that Holt would see through it immediately, and so it was impossible that Hazezel would use such a stupid excuse.

    If Drake was thinking clearly, he might have realised that. However, he was so shocked at seeing his father¡¯s death that his brain wasn¡¯t working properly.

    Hence, he didn¡¯t notice when Hazezel started walking towards him.

    ¡°Actually, I am certain that this was the work of dark mages,¡± Hazezel said confidently as he approached Drake even closer.

    Drake also didn¡¯t notice that Hazezel was holding something in his hands behind his back.

    ¡°How could you be so sure?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Hazezel replied, stepping even closer. His face was just inches from Drake¡¯s and his figure cast a large shadow on the room. A single candle flame lit up his face so Drake could see his eyes.

    They were pitch black!

    ¡°Because I am one of them!¡± Hazezel yelled.

    Instantly, he brought out the mana restraining shackles he was hiding and bounded Drake with them.

    Drake was stunned.

    His father¡¯s death, Hazezel¡¯s confession, and now being unable to use mana. Hence, he didn¡¯t even realise that Hazezel brought out a knife and stabbed him right in the stomach.

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    Drake gasped in pain, his breath knocked out of his lungs. He looked down in disbelief to see a knife poking out of him. Without mana, the artifact robe he created was just an ordinary robe and couldn¡¯t block Hazezel¡¯s attack.

    Hazezel looked at him with black eyes and an eerie smile.

    Drake stumbled backwards, pain flooding through his body. His eyes became blurry, and his brain became fuzzy as he started losing blood. Unable to maintain balance, he collapsed on the floor and hit his head against the hard, concrete floor.

    The last thing he saw, were pitch-black eyes, and a wide grin.

    A few hours later, Drake awoke.

    His vision was still blurry and his whole body was still aching with pain.

    Slowly, he opened his eyes and tried to make out his surroundings. He was in a dark cell, hands and feet bound by mana restraining shackles. His stomach was bandaged, but his whole body hurt, and he couldn¡¯t use his mana.

    He felt weaker than ever.

    ¡°Welcome back!¡± spoke a cheery voice.

    Drake turned his head slowly, his neck making a creaking noise like a badly oiled door.

    Just outside his cell, sat the guy responsible for everything.

    ¡°HAZEZEL!¡± Drake yelled but started coughing again.

    Why? Why did he do this? What was wrong with him? Everything was going fine, right? They were a happy family...

    ¡°So WWWWHHHHYYYYYY???¡± Drake screamed that last word and started coughing and panting for breath again.

    ¡°Calm down, you¡¯re going to hurt yourself,¡± Hazezel said casually.

    Drake gave him a death stare. He always loved his family, and he trusted them with all his heart. So why did Hazezel do this? Drake just couldn¡¯t understand. He wanted to believe that there was a good reason for everything¡­ but what could be a good reason for killing your own father?

    Hazezel seemed to read his thoughts and spoke.

    ¡°My reason is very simple really, it¡¯s because we can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°What¡­?¡± Drake asked weakly.

    ¡°Think about it Drake,¡± Hazezel spoke. ¡°There are two grand dark mages who themselves could hold off both father and Myra, the strongest fighters in the war. Even if the rest of us were to be able to hold off their unending demon army, they have a mage king! A MAGE KING!¡± he exclaimed the last phrase again as if to emphasise the fact.

    ¡°The mage king alone could easily kill father and Myra, along with the rest of the village elders, before decimating our armies. Even freaks like Ray and Elwin would stand no chance, let alone people like us. We cannot win against them!¡±

    ¡°But still!¡± Drake protested.

    He had recovered some strength now.

    ¡°The fact that the mage king hadn¡¯t attacked so far must mean something right. Maybe he has some injury and can¡¯t fight properly, which is why they¡¯re using the demons instead. Why else would they spend so much effort controlling and attacking us with the demons if they could wipe us out themselves?¡±

    Unbeknownst to him, Drake had actually hit the mark with his guess. However, Hazezel just sighed.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s true. But even if he couldn¡¯t fight at full strength, a single one of his spells was enough to wipe out an army of hundreds. Father and Myra would have died too if they weren¡¯t lucky enough to use the canyon to hide from most of the flames. He would at the least have strength far above that of a grand mage. And this is not even accounting for the commander class demon they control!¡±

    Drake bit his lip.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s your solution then? Kill our father? How is that going to solve our crisis at all?¡±

    ¡°Of course it won¡¯t,¡± Hazezel replied, smiling wickedly. ¡°It won¡¯t solve our crisis, but it will solve mine.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Drake responded, understanding the situation.

    Hazezel must have made a deal with the dark mages to kill Holt in exchange for letting him live.

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Drake spat. He couldn¡¯t believe that Hazezel would betray his own father, his flesh and blood, to save his own skin.

    Drake would rather die than live like that.

    For a while, no one spoke. And then Drake asked another question.

    ¡°What about everyone else?¡±

    Hazezel smiled.

    ¡°Well, I sent Ray away to make sure he wouldn¡¯t interfere with anything,¡± he began.

    Drake was speechless, and then realised that the demon tide attacking the elven village at the time when their forces were the most outstretched, was Hazezel¡¯s perfect plan to send Ray away. Otherwise, if Ray was still present here now, he would have easily barged in to save Drake or maybe stopped Hazezel from killing Holt in the first place.

    ¡°Astoria will start her new life with Sam,¡± Hazezel turned to look at Drake. ¡°And you can too.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, Drake. As long as you agree to a few conditions, I can let you go to start a new life somewhere else.¡±

    Drake ignored his proposal.

    ¡°What about Elwin?¡±

    Hazezel hesitated, then sighed.

    ¡°I sent him on a mission¡­ he won¡¯t be coming back.¡±

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Drake screamed.

    Drake stared at the floor, his blood boiling.

    First Holt, and now his big brother. He had fought alongside Elwin and went through so much together. He thought of his emerald hair and his kind smile, his jokes, and his sense of duty and righteousness. He thought of all the time they spent together from when Drake was a baby. He thought of the time when Elwin went to get revenge for him against the minotaur as a child, even though he was weak then and must have been scared.

    So many memories and emotions swarmed his brain, making Drake feel suffocated.

    Was he really going to die? Was that the end for his brother? He couldn¡¯t digest that information.

    All those memories and emotions exploded erratically in his mind, before condensing into a singular thought and a singular emotion. He had never felt such a strong emotion before; neither in his previous life nor now.

    But he knew what it was.

    ¡°I. Hate. You.¡±

    Drake spoke those three words and became quiet.

    Hazezel observed his brother.

    ¡°You can hate me all you want but that doesn¡¯t change anything. It is the basic instinct of every creature to want to survive, so there¡¯s nothing wrong in me doing what it takes to ensure my survival right? I wouldn¡¯t want to hurt any of you if I could help it, but if it comes down to survival, I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Hazezel didn¡¯t sound like he was trying to justify his actions. He spoke in a condescending tone as if educating his silly little brother who didn¡¯t understand the ways of the world.

    At this moment, loud horns sounded from the village gate and the village fell into a panic.

    Drake looked up, wondering what was going on.

    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Hazezel spoke, looking out through a window.

    Panicked screams spreading across the village travelled through the windows to echo across the prisons.

    The demon army had begun their full assault.

    Hazezel turned to look back at Drake.

    ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t do anything, everyone would have died in this war anyway,¡± he spoke sternly.

    ¡°At least this way, a few of us will survive,¡± saying so, Hazezel continued with his sentence from earlier.

    ¡°My offer is simple; I will give you a pill that will destroy your mana core. Once you lose your powers as a mage, you are free to leave. I will arrange a carriage with money for you to take and start your life somewhere else. You should thank me for saving your life.¡±

    Drake was completely quiet and ignored his brother.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a lot of time Drake, think carefully and let me know. I will return in a few hours.¡±

    With those words, Hazezel turned and left the prison, leaving Drake alone to deal with his thoughts and emotions.

    Meanwhile, in a spot near the central point between the villages and the Beast Woods, two groups stood facing each other.

    The village scouts spotted the huge demon army approaching and sent the message back to the respective villages. In a panic, they talked to each other and realised that this was the dark mage¡¯s final attack, which meant that they would personally show up.

    The village leaders realised that the dark mages posed the greatest threat, hence, they decided to make a group composed of the strongest fighters of each village to engage the dark mages, while the soldiers held back the front lines and prevented the villages from being invaded.

    Elwin who had gone out on another mission couldn¡¯t join the fight, however, a strong group was put together nonetheless.

    The ¡®Hammer of Leon¡¯ Bjorn who had cultivated the early-stage undying body, and the ¡®Twin Blades of Leon¡¯ George and Georgina Langston who had cultivated the perfect stage steel body, were sent from the Leon village.

    From the elves¡¯ side, Ray Dragmoor, along with two others of the strongest elves were sent. They were both slightly weaker than Ray, at the peak of the warrior mage realm and cultivated the middle-stage steel body.

    Finally, from Jain village, one undying body martial artist elder, and a perfect steel body martial artist, were sent.

    Apart from Elwin and a few other village elders, these eight were the strongest that their three villages had to offer. And even among the elders, only Byron and Myra were at the undying body or grand mage realm, with the rest being at the peak of the steel body realm at most.

    They were now facing another group. Two figures dressed in black robes were at the front. To their right was someone who seemed to be half dead ¨C the undead Jin Tong. To their left were two, pseudo-commander class demons ¨C a demon elephant which was the size of a building, and a demon monkey, as tall as a tree, holding a large pole. Behind them stood the biggest monster of them all, the commander class demon, the armoured mountain bear.

    The group of six were staring at the group of eight with menacing looks.

    ¡°So, you all have decided to die first,¡± one of the dark mages laughed evilly.

    Ray spat with hatred but was uninterested in the conversation.

    ¡°Bjorn, please deal with that oversized bear, my elves will support you. Master George and Miss Georgina, take care of that dumb monkey and elephant,¡± Ray started giving out orders.

    He then looked at the steel body martial artist from the Jain village and asked him to deal with Jin Tong.

    Ray himself, and the other undying body martial artist, decided to take on the two dark grand mages.

    No one protested.

    Due to the mountain bear¡¯s armour, it had strong defences and wouldn¡¯t be easy to fight one-on-one even for an undying body martial artist. Hence, having the elves support Bjorn to bring it down as soon as possible would be for the best.

    The pseudo commander class elephant, monkey, and Jin Tong were stronger than the perfect steel body martial artists fighting them, however, they should hopefully be able to at least stall them easily enough. Once one of the other battles finished, they could come to help the rest.

    Reports also mentioned at least two pseudo-commander class demons being sent to each of the villages.

    ¡®Combined with the demon army, they would be keeping Myra, Holt, and Byron busy,¡¯ Ray thought with a sigh.

    Even without the mage king showing up, they had their hands full. He didn¡¯t know where the mage king was, but once he appeared, it would be game over for them.

    Naturally, Ray wasn¡¯t aware of Holt¡¯s death, Elwin being sent on a suicide mission, and Drake being restrained. If he knew, he would realise how screwed they already were. The Jain village was basically defenceless now against the large number of warrior class and the several pseudo-commander class demons. Once it was wiped out, the army would quickly overwhelm the other two villages.

    They were all but done for.

    Unaware of this, Ray and the others stared at their enemies.

    The armoured mountain bear roared, signalling the start of their battle.

 Chapter 41: Mage King!

    Sounds of war was raging. Screams of panic, pain, and death resounded across the battlefields. Piles of dead bodies littered the grounds, with the scent of blood and death hanging over them.

    This was the scene around Jain village, which was faring the worst.

    Drake, who was still imprisoned, couldn¡¯t see what was going on but could hear the cries of the people nonetheless.

    However, he didn¡¯t care much for them now. He was overwhelmed with grief, regret, despair, rage, hatred, and various other emotions.

    Footsteps echoed across the prison chambers.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up little brother, have you made a decision?¡±

    Drake was silent. Drowned under the weight of his own thoughts and emotions, Drake couldn¡¯t speak.

    Looking at his strong, intelligent brother in this pitiable state, Hazezel sighed.

    He didn¡¯t expect Drake to encounter Astoria on his way back and directly seek out Holt. Originally, he had planned to poison Drake as well and then shackle him, so he was surprised to see Drake next to Holt¡¯s body.

    He knew that he and his guards combined would still be no match for Drake, hence he had to put on a brief act to deceive him before restraining him.

    Even with his mana restrained, Drake was still a powerful martial artist too. The mana restraining shackles worked best against mages and were only somewhat effective against martial artists. Hence Hazezel stabbed him as well.

    If things had gone according to his original plan, he wouldn¡¯t have had to hurt him and could have sent Drake on his way, like he did with Astoria.

    Despite everything, he still loved Drake, so it hurt him to stab his own brother.

    But none of that mattered now.

    Their village was about to be overrun with demons, so they had to leave. Realising that Drake was in no position to make a decision, Hazezel made the decision for him. He walked into the cell, took out the pill the dark mages gave him, and shoved it down Drake¡¯s throat.

    Once inside, the pill entered Drake¡¯s inner realm, and unravelled itself into a black, starfish-like, parasitic spirit. It latched onto Drake¡¯s mana core and started sucking on it.

    Pain, unlike anything he had ever known overwhelmed Drake.

    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!¡± he screamed.

    The pain brought Drake out of his trance. What happened? He was confused and then noticed the parasitic spirit attacking his mana core.

    Drake realised that Hazezel must have fed him the pill to destroy his mana core and cursed.

    However, every time the starfish attacked his core, waves of pain went through his body. His foundation as a mage was being destroyed.

    He couldn¡¯t allow that!

    Drake willed the mana in his inner realm to attack the spirit, but it was useless. The spirit was too strong. Hence, he changed tactics and tried to restrain the spirit.

    His mana transformed into translucent chains, ropes, and shackles, and tried to bind the spirit. However, the spirit kept breaking free.

    But Drake wasn¡¯t going to give up. He used his full concentration to keep restraining the spirit every time it broke free.

    There!

    Drake could tell that it was having some effect. The spirit¡¯s attack on his mana core was slowing down. Even if it was a negligible amount, it was definitely there and it gave Drake hope. He continued using all of his mana, willpower, and concentration to restrain the parasitic spirit.

    Unaware of Drake¡¯s internal struggles, Hazezel ordered a guard to drag Drake¡¯s now limp body.

    Naturally, he had bribed some guards to help him.

    Carrying Drake, Hazezel arrived at the eastern gate of the village, the furthest away from the Beast Woods. However, swarms of monsters were attacking the village, and it was only a matter of time before they made it there.

    Thinking so, Hazezel forced the last aura enhancing pill he had into Drake¡¯s mouth and forced him to swallow it, before letting them leave through the gate.

    Outside, a large and luxurious carriage, similar to Astoria¡¯s was lying in wait. Next to it stood a female swordswoman. If Drake was awake, he would have recognised her as Helen, the woman who had accompanied him to slay the minotaur in his first battle all those years ago. She was one of the few to make it back alive, when they were ambushed by the three minotaurs during their escape on that day.

    Despite the aura enhancing pill, Hazezel knew that the trip could be dangerous with so many demons everywhere. Hence, he didn¡¯t want to send a crippled and unconscious Drake alone and asked Helen to protect him.

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    She was hesitant to leave the village when everyone else was fighting, however, she realised that it was an important mission to protect the village head¡¯s son. As long as Drake was alive, maybe they could rebuild somewhere else.

    Hence, she agreed to travel with Drake.

    Naturally, Hazezel didn¡¯t tell Helen about Holt¡¯s death, and all his other plots. As far as Helen was concerned, Hazezel, out of love for his little brother, wanted to make sure he survived this war, and also save him as a last resort to ensure that their people lived on through him, even if it was in another place.

    As the carriage left, Hazezel turned to look at the village. With their strongest fighters gone, no one could stop the pseudo commander class demons which easily broke through the village gates. The demons had invaded and were running amok, killing everyone on the streets.

    There were fires everywhere, and the village he had grown up in was being burnt to the ground. Soon, even the screams and cries of the villagers would die down as the last few villagers met their end.

    Hazezel sighed, thinking back to the fateful day two years ago when he found out that Astoria was possessed by a parasitic spirit.

    ¡­

    Two years ago, in Astoria¡¯s room.

    ¡°I know you are there. I just want to talk to you.¡±

    Astoria showed no reaction, and Hazezel was beginning to question whether his deduction was correct.

    Just as he was getting more and more confused, Astoria¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, and she sat up facing Hazezel. Her eyes turned completely black, and she stared at Hazezel blankly.

    ¡®I¡­ don¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s actually true!¡¯ thought Hazezel.

    His sister was actually the spy!

    ¡°What do you want?¡± asked Astoria. However, it was not her usual voice. It was the deep voice, of the dark mage controlling her.

    Hazezel composed himself and spoke.

    ¡°I am willing to join your side and help you with your plans. Anything you want, I will do for you.¡±

    Astoria¡¯s black eyes widened in surprise.

    ¡°Oh? And whatever do you want in return?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Only two things,¡± Hazezel replied. ¡°Firstly, I want you to leave me and my family alive. Secondly, after this war is over, I want you to help me form a mana core like you did with Henry and let me join you.¡±

    Astoria looked at him intently.

    ¡°The second condition is fine, the first¡­ is not,¡± she replied.

    Hazezel¡¯s heart sank, but he spoke confidently.

    ¡°Then no deal.¡±

    Astoria hesitated.

    ¡°It is not that I am not willing, however, do you think that your father would willingly flee when his village is being destroyed, and his people are dying?¡±

    Hazezel tried to maintain his poker face, but internally he was worried. He had thought of this too but figured there¡¯d be some way to convince him in the future. As long as the dark mage could agree, he would find some way to convince his father.

    As if reading his thoughts, Astoria continued.

    ¡°Beyond that, Holt is very powerful. If we let him live after destroying his village, even if he escapes, he may try to come after us in the future for revenge. It would be a huge risk that I am not willing to take. Holt has to die.¡±

    Hazezel clenched his fist, ¡°Then¡­ what about my siblings? Can you at least let them go?¡±

    Astoria hesitated, ¡°Elwin¡­ is the same.¡±

    Hazezel¡¯s heart sank again, but he knew that the dark mage was right. Elwin was also very strong and had a lot of talent and potential. With his righteous and dutiful personality, not only would he not run away, even if Hazezel tricked him into leaving at the final battle with some mission, he would surely not rest until he hunted down all of the dark mages. As his brother, Hazezel knew Elwin better than anyone.

    ¡°I can allow Astoria and Drake to leave, however, Drake has a lot of potential too. He may be a threat as well in the future. Hence, you need to destroy his cultivation before letting him escape.¡±

    Hazezel paused. He just wanted them to be alive, he didn¡¯t care if that meant Drake had to give up being a mage. Sure, that was a huge sacrifice, but at least he would still be alive.

    After long deliberation, Hazezel finally decided that this was the best offer he could get.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed. ¡°I have one more condition.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Astoria asked.

    ¡°Get out of my sister. You can use my body instead.¡±

    An evil grin came across her usually innocent face. Her black eyes returned to normal, and she fell back onto her bed unconscious. From her ear, a small spider crawled out.

    Hazezel was disgusted and felt like vomiting, but he knew he had no choice.

    He placed his hand next to the spider. It crawled up his arm, and his neck, and finally entered his ear.

    Hazezel¡¯s eyes turned black for a second, before reverting to normal.

    ¡­

    Hazezel reminisced as he watched the carriage leave and his village burn.

    What he had told Drake was only half true. It was true that he didn¡¯t want to die and that was part of the reason he made a deal with the dark mages. But beyond that, he also didn¡¯t want to see his family die. If anyway they were all going to die, wasn¡¯t it better that at least a few of them lived? If that meant he had to get his hands dirty, so what? At least Drake and Astoria would live.

    That was also his reasoning for agreeing.

    Beyond that, he had watched as Drake and Elwin cultivated. They had both become so strong and were able to change the tides of battles on their own. He thought he and Astoria were the only unlucky ones in the family, but even she had become a mage.

    That¡¯s when he realised if he could become a mage too, then he wouldn¡¯t be so weak and helpless anymore. If he had strength, strength like mage king, then he wouldn¡¯t have to fear them. He wouldn¡¯t have to work with them. He could just crush them with his own hands, and his family would all be alive.

    What Hazezel hated, was not the dark mages, but his own weakness. He couldn¡¯t cultivate mana or martial arts and was the weakest and most helpless one in the family. The dark mages were an opportunity to change that.

    Or rather, he would use the dark mages to gain the power he needed.

    That was what he wanted the most.

    With a sigh, Hazezel walked away from the destruction behind him, ready to turn over a new leaf.

    ¡­

    The village of Leon was the closest to the Beast Woods, located southwest of the Jain village. As a result, it was the first to get attacked.

    However, due to their zenith pill, they had cultivated many strong martial artists. Despite sending off Bjorn and the twin blades, there were still many steel body martial artists in their village. Combined with Byron, they had just finished killing off the two pseudo-commander class demons that had come to attack them.

    They were a ferocious pair of a three-headed demon snake and a large scorpion. The snake could spit out a corrosive poison that melted their swords and shields. The scorpion¡¯s shell worked as thick armour that shielded it from their attacks. They also moved extremely fast and worked together perfectly. The scorpion tanked their hits while the snake spat poison from afar. If they got close, the scorpion would attack with its talons and fangs.

    Not to mention the numerous other demons that were constantly attacking them.

    It was a difficult fight, but they finally managed to beat the two and were now panting for breath.

    Along with Byron, a group of dozen steel body martial artists had gone to engage the two pseudo-commander class demons. Now, only Byron and five martial artists remained.

    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± came a loud voice. The voice echoed across the battlefield, drowning out all other sounds.

    ¡°It seems that I must congratulate you on your victory.¡±

    ¡°Mage king!¡± the survivors all gasped in unison.

    He had finally made his move!

 Chapter 42: A secret enemy

    The remaining half a dozen survivors were frozen in terror at the sight of the mage king calmly floating in the air.

    He was wearing black robes as usual and had his hands behind his back.

    ¡°Why are you doing this? What do you want?¡± Byron yelled, clutching his fist.

    He knew that they were no match for this monster.

    The mage king laughed and then spoke mockingly.

    ¡°Funny thing the human brain. It is always searching for explanations, even for powers that are far beyond its comprehension.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Byron yelled, but he had no response.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have time to waste,¡± the mage king spoke again and raised his hand, forming a fist. Byron¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you all die quickly for me?¡±

    ¡°Everybody, run!¡±

    The group turned and ran as fast as they could, but the voice boomed across the battlefield.

    ¡°Storm dragon!¡±

    The two words reverberated across the battlefield.

    The clouds churned, thunder boomed, and lightning crackled. Suddenly, the clouds parted. However, what came through was not sunlight, but a monster.

    A huge dragon, with its body made completely out of lightning, stepped out of the clouds. Lightning viciously danced around it, striking the ground underneath, and decimating the armies.

    All the fighting stopped. Humans and demons alike froze.

    The dragon looked at the humans like ants and roared.

    All the soldiers on the battlefield could feel the mana fluctuations. All the mana in the air was gathering towards its throat.

    It opened its mouth¡­

    Everyone¡¯s faces paled. Soldiers turned tail and ran. Some threw down their weapons and knelt, praying to their gods. But no matter what anyone did, they could not stop what was about to happen.

    ¡­ ¡°ROAR!¡± The dragon roared and blasted its breath across the battlefield. Anything touched by its breath became charred by lightning.

    The mage king had ordered the demons to retreat in advance, so although some still died, the humans suffered the brunt of the attack.

    Within a few minutes, the buildings were burnt, houses were crushed, people were burnt and electrocuted alive, and the whole battlefield was destroyed, leaving a large crater where the village once stood, littered with the remains of what once was home to tens of thousands of people.

    The mage king, Damon Rogue, looked at the scene indifferently.

    Jain village was already raided by the demons, and Leon was annihilated by the mage king. There were only two important battlefields left.

    The mage king turned his head toward a particular direction. His eyes seemed to peer into the distance to see two groups fighting with everything they had.

    ¡°Time to make things interesting there!¡± he mumbled to himself, before shooting off in that direction.

    The dragon rose into the sky and silently followed him.

    ¡­

    At the same time the mage king was attacking Leon, in the elven village.

    Inside her mansion, Myra was standing before an unconscious elf. As before, this was the elf which had returned alive from the expedition.

    ¡°He has finally made his move¡­¡± she whispered.

    Then, she smiled to herself, an eerie look on her face.

    ¡°That means it''s time for me to act as well.¡±

    ¡­

    Ray was fighting against the dark mage. The dark mage summoned numerous blood bats to attack him, which he countered with his own spells and attacks.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± he cursed. They had been fighting for so long, but they could not make any progress. Their two sides were almost equally matched. However, it was only almost. They were all getting tired, but one person wasn¡¯t.

    Jin Tong.

    He was fighting the other perfect steel body martial artist from Jain village. However, that martial artist was becoming overwhelmed by Jin Tong¡¯s attacks. Initially, he could hold on, but Jin Tong who never tired was slowly gaining the upper hand. Now, he felt he could only hold on for a few more minutes.

    Not only him, but the other demons also tired less quickly than the humans. So slowly but surely, they were gaining the upper hand.

    And the mage king was still nowhere to be seen!

    Had he already made his move against one of the other villages?

    Ray was confused. However, he knew better than to worry about some village out of his control when in the middle of a battle. The dark grand mage would not let any opportunities slide.

    As the group was fighting, they suddenly felt a huge aura rapidly approach them.

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± the dark mages laughed. ¡°He¡¯s here. You guys are finished now!¡±

    The mages and demons all stopped their attacks and retreated. Ray and the others didn¡¯t give chase. They all felt cold sweat trickling down their backs. Everyone knew who this aura belonged to.

    Mage king!

    Damon appeared in the skies, releasing a massive aura that exerted physical pressure on everyone on the ground.

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    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you could hold on for this long, but this comes to an end now!¡± he announced.

    ¡°You!¡± Ray yelled, but before he could protest, the clouds above the mage king parted, revealing a huge storm dragon.

    The dragon stared down at the group coldly.

    Everyone gulped.

    Was this¡­ the power of a mage king?

    Not in the mood for a chat, the mage king pointed his finger towards Ray¡¯s group and the dragon descended.

    Jaws open, it shot straight towards the group.

    The group of eight looked at each other and instantly ran in separate directions.

    However, they were no match for the huge dragon.

    The dragon quickly caught up and pulverised them upon contact.

    One by one, Ray heard each of the strongest fighters of their villages go out with a scream.

    ¡®Is this the end?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He heard seven screams now, which meant he was the only one left.

    He could feel an aura rushing towards him, crushing and burning all the trees in its path. Ray turned around to see a thundery world approach closer and closer.

    Ray closed his eyes and time seemingly slowed as his life flashed through his mind.

    He thought about his village, his friends, and his family. He thought about the time he had with Drake and realised that over the years, his pupil had grown on him, making him like Drake more and more. He thought of his master Myra who was the most important person in his life, and was the person he loved more than anyone.

    Thinking of Myra, he suddenly remembered that she had given him a special, rank three defensive artifact. It was extremely rare and expensive and she had told him to only use it in emergencies.

    ¡®I highly doubt it would be effective against an attack from a mage king though¡­¡¯ Ray thought to himself as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a metal plate inscribed with several runes. He poured all his mana into the artifact and the runes activated.

    The first two conjured two magical barriers around him while the third filled his body with a large amount of life mana, increasing his body¡¯s healing and regeneration ability to many times its normal amount.

    Ray stopped running and looked at the sky, smiling weakly to himself.

    ¡°Everyone¡­ it looks like I¡¯ll be going first¡­¡±

    The dragon smashed through Ray, burning his body with millions of volts of electricity.

    ¡­

    On another battlefield, an emerald-haired boy was kneeling on the ground, covered with wounds and bruises. Despite his sorry state, he watched the new wave of demons that were pouncing towards him.

    Is this¡­ the end? he thought to himself.

    Naturally, this was Elwin. He was sent on what he thought was a tame mission, but was actually a trap, and was overwhelmed with demons and onis.

    Elwin barely stood up with the last of his strength, ready to go down fighting.

    At this moment, however, a huge aura appeared.

    ¡°Sword tsunami!¡± boomed a voice.

    Before Elwin¡¯s baffled eyes, a wall of swords rose from the ground and into the sky like a tidal wave. The demons who were approaching Elwin with glee, eager to make him their prey, were now running away with terror.

    However, the wave of swords crashed towards the demons, killing them in their thousands. Even warrior classes demons died instantly after being pierced by those swords.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Elwin gasped but he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯ve fought bravely, let me take care of it now,¡± a calming voice spoke from behind him.

    Elwin turned to spot a middle-aged man dressed in white robes smiling at him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Elwin asked weakly.

    ¡°I am Sion Hart. I was sent by the Myriad Sword Palace to investigate the strange behaviour of demons in the Beast Woods.¡±

    Elwin didn¡¯t know what this Myriad Sword Palace was. However, he was sure of two things.

    Given that he was killing these demons, this middle-aged man was on his side.

    And the fact that he could summon such a huge tsunami, could only mean one thing.

    This man was also a mage king!

    ¡­

    With the Jain and Leon villages destroyed, the armies attacking them had changed directions towards their final target.

    The elven village, which was barely holding on, was now swarmed with waves upon waves of new demons. Two new pseudo-commander class demons, the ones which were attacking the Jain village, were now rushing into the elven village too.

    ¡°We¡¯re done for!¡±

    ¡°Is this the end?¡±

    ¡°Please someone, save my child at least.¡±

    People fell into panic and despair. Weak and helpless, some ran, some pillaged, and some prayed. Everyone went crazy in some way, letting their survival instincts take over.

    At this moment, a few elves spotted the sky turn purple and gasped.

    ¡°What¡­ what the hell is that!?¡±

    More and more elves spotted the purple sky. It was a majestic sight, to see a storm dragon fly across the skies.

    Some elves even thought that their prayers were answered, and that was god¡¯s gift to save them from their demise.

    However, that dragon was no saviour.

    It roared, and blasted its breath across the village, destroying not only the buildings and people but also any last hopes they had.

    At this point, Hazezel had joined up with the dark mages and was observing the destruction. Seeing the mage king¡¯s strength and the elves¡¯ despair, he clenched his fists.

    ¡®It is your own fault¡­ for being weak¡­¡¯ he mumbled to himself.

    With the last of the villages destroyed, the dark mages heaved a sigh of relief and decided to head back.

    After not even being able to approach the Beast Woods due to the demons these past few years, Hazezel was slightly surprised at being able to freely navigate their way through it now. Of course, this was due to the presence of the mage king who was releasing his aura to keep the demons at bay while travelling rapidly with his powerful wind spirits.

    Soon, the group of seven arrived near the cabin.

    However, the mage king suddenly stopped and raised his hand. Hazezel, the dark mages, Jin Tong, and the demons following behind also froze.

    In front of the cabin, an unconscious man was lying down. Hazezel tried to focus, and he could barely make out his features from this distance. He didn¡¯t recognise this man, but looking at his features, it fitted the description of a man he had heard before, the only man it could be.

    Henry!

    Henry was lying unconscious in front of the dark mages cabin!

    The mage king frowned and slowly approached Henry.

    Suddenly, the mage king stopped again and shouted.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡±

    ¡°My, my,¡± spoke a soft voice. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice.

    It came from the roof of the cabin. Standing at the top, leaning against the chimney, was a middle-aged woman with wrinkled skin, wearing a white gown.

    ¡°Myra!¡± the mage king exclaimed. How was she not dead already? Was she not in the village? If she escaped, why did she come here?

    However, before he could ask his questions, Myra clapped her hands. Immediately, the group heard a large number of footsteps coming from all around them.

    Bursting out of the woods were hundreds of demons and onis. Behind them, there were even more demons in the woods who couldn¡¯t fit in the clearing the cabin was located in. Overall, there were thousands of demons and onis, including a large number of warrior class demons.

    The dark mages and their group readied their weapons. However, the demons all stopped a few metres away from their group.

    The demons then slightly parted to make twelve paths. From each of those paths, a larger aura was coming through. Pseudo-commander class demons!

    Twelve pseudo-commander class demons stood at the front of the encirclement, behind them a large army, and on top of it all, was Myra Wan.

    ¡°How about we have a chat?¡± she asked with a smile.

    The mage king frowned, and the dark mages all had pale looks on their faces. After fighting Ray¡¯s group, the mages and even their demons were all tired and carried some injuries. Damon might be a mage king, but he could only release two attacks at full power before needing a long recovery time. Given that he had already used one, he could only use one more full-powered attack before becoming useless.

    Even Damon wasn¡¯t sure he could break this encirclement with one attack. Or even if he did, the risk was too great as he would be useless afterwards, at which point Myra could easily use an opportunity to overpower him.

    Moreover, Myra wasn¡¯t stupid. If she dared to come here, he was sure that she must have figured out his weakness. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t dare to fight a mage king no matter how many demons she tamed. That probably also meant that she was sure she could survive a full-powered attack from him¡­ did she have some special artifact?

    That meant he couldn¡¯t fight at full power against her. In that case, Myra would be able to fight evenly with him, meaning his subordinates would be overwhelmed by the pseudo-commander class demons and their army, especially given that they were exhausted from fighting with Ray¡¯s group.

    This was not a good situation for them.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± the mage king asked gloomily.

    Myra¡¯s smile widened. If the mage king was open to discussions, that meant that he had realised his position.

    ¡°Nothing much¡­¡± she said casually.

    The mage king frowned further.

    ¡°I just want your soul harvester.¡±

    All the dark mages froze.

 Chapter 43: Deal, or no deal?

    The continent of Jin was vast, with various races living in its lands. Its total size was several times that of the total area of Earth.

    The Beast Woods was actually an enormous span of forest located in the west of the continent, covering about twenty-five per cent of its area. It was one of the most dangerous places in the continent, covered with all manners of demons and onis. Deep into the woods, it was possible to find even tyrant and nightmare class demons and onis, whose strength was equal to mage kings and emperors!

    At the centre of the continent sat the Holy Kingdom, which was also the land of the humans. It was a huge kingdom covering a fifth of the continent. Numerous villages, towns, and cities, all made up the Holy Kingdom. There were various sects, families, and organisations, which held the power and ruled the Kingdom.

    At the centre of the Holy Kingdom was the Holy Capital, where many of the most powerful human sects and organisations were located. This included the headquarters of the Church of Iva which was the most powerful organisation of the Holy Kingdom after only their royal family, the Myriad Sword Palace where Sion Hart was from, and also a dark organisation called the Hidden Venom Cult.

    The Hidden Venom Cult was a powerful mortal organisation composed of dark mages, ruled by thirteen apostles who were all in the mage emperor realm! Damon Rogue was a member of this Hidden Venom Cult. Specifically, he was a trusted aide to one of the thirteen apostles of the Hidden Venom Cult.

    However, Damon had a falling out with the cult and was exiled. It was also during that falling out when he was injured and prevented from being able to use his full strength. Hence, he was working on a way to heal his injury and increase his strength so that he could return to the cult once more.

    However, the mage king realm was already the maximum that he could reach with his three-core aptitude. If he wanted to progress further, he needed to form more mana cores, a feat easier said than done!

    Damon became obsessed with finding a way to form new mana cores, and in that journey came across a method to form mana cores for someone who was not a mage. This was what he used for Henry; however, it was useless for him.

    Finally, he did come across one method to form new mana cores that he thought could actually work. That was the soul harvester.

    Human souls were, in a sense, a dense conglomeration of mana. Although different mana repelled each other, the mana that was making up souls did not repel any mana. Hence, he discovered an ancient method that harvested human souls, extracted their mana, and absorbed it into the inner realm.

    Since this special mana wasn¡¯t repelled by other types of mana, his existing mana cores would not repel it either. Hence, the mana harvested from human souls could enter his inner realm, where he can use it to condense a new mana core.

    However, a mage could use this method to form additional mana cores only once in their life. Furthermore, due to the inefficiency of the method, and the large amount of mana needed to form a core, a large number of sacrifices would be needed to execute this method.

    Hence the reason why Damon was attacking the villages.

    The three villages were located to the northwest of the Holy Kingdom, near the border of the Beast Woods. Since it was so far from the Holy Kingdom, he figured that not only would the humans here be weaker, but there would also be less interference from the Kingdom.

    However, due to his injuries, it was not easy for him to attack all three villages himself. Additionally, even if he did that, the Kingdom would definitely investigate what happened to the villages and would eventually discover him, at which point he¡¯d have to go on the run.

    Hence, he decided to use the demons and onis to invade the villages and mask his movements. He hoped that this way, not only would it be easier to destroy the villages, but even if the villages were later investigated, it would be concluded that they were the victims of a particularly harsh demon tide.

    That was his perfect plan. The plan which Damon worked tirelessly to execute and finally came to completion.

    However, all of his preparation and all of his hard work, was about to be ruined by one woman.

    Myra Wan!

    How!? How did she even find out about the soul harvester? For that matter, how did she figure out the method to control demons, or figure out Damon¡¯s injuries and weakness? How did she know everything?

    Was there a spy? Damon warily looked at the dark mages around him, however, they were both still staring at the pseudo-commander class demons with fear.

    Seeing Damon scrutinise his companions so strongly, Myra laughed, guessing what he was thinking.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are no spies among you,¡± she said.

    Of course, Damon wasn¡¯t going to believe anything she said. However, it was also not possible for there to be a spy, unless¡­

    A vague possibility arose in his mind, but he couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The dark mages had sent spies into the villages by using Astoria and the elf to host parasitic spirits. As a result, they could silently see and hear anything observed by the host on the other side, without them realising it.

    Could it be¡­ could Myra have found a way to reverse that connection? If so, then she could have directly seen and heard everything about the dark mages!

    Reversing the connection was not easy, but if anyone could do it, Myra, who was at the peak of the grand mage realm, could.

    Damon had actually hit the nail on the head.

    This was exactly what Myra had done. Myra had also been stuck at the grand mage realm for centuries and was desperate to find any method she could to break through. She had tried every method she could get her hands on, but the only thing she didn¡¯t try was the dark path.

    Hence, when she found out that the dark mages had used a parasitic spirit to control Sam, she was delighted to help. She wanted to take the spirit to try to study and understand more about the dark path.

    Her efforts were not wasted. Because when the lone elf ¡®survived¡¯ and returned from the expedition, with her peak grand mage cultivation, she immediately detected that something was off about the elf. Using her research of the parasitic spirit over the past, along with all the knowledge she had accumulated over her lifetime, she found a way to reverse the spirit so that she could become the observer instead!

    Hence, she found out everything about the dark mages, their plans, the methods they used to control demons, and of course, the mage king¡¯s weakness.

    Damon sighed¡­ he should have seen this coming. Trying to use magic covertly against a powerful and wise elf was his mistake.

    Damon observed the pseudo commander class demons, the demon army, and Myra Wan, and sighed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you the soul harvester. Ask anything else, but not that,¡± Damon replied.

    ¡°Oh, not even if I say please?¡± Myra laughed.

    Damon was furious, but he calmed himself.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°But why so selfish? I know you have enough souls to form two mana cores, surely you could share one with me?¡± she asked with a smile again.

    ¡°You! How did you know that!¡± Damon asked, even though he knew the answer to that.

    Myra ignored his question and just kept smiling at him.

    Damon sighed loudly and looked up at the skies.

    ¡®All my years of hard work and planning, I have to share it with this bitch!?¡¯

    Fate was so cruel.

    However, he didn¡¯t have a choice and he knew it.

    Damon pulled something out of his pocket. Myra¡¯s eyes gleamed as she observed keenly.

    It was a golden device that emitted brilliant white light. Given what it was capable of, its size was unimpressive, no more than twenty centimetres.

    The soul harvester was shaped like an arch, at the top of which was a shining golden crystal. The bottom of the crystal was connected to something like a tube, which flowed downwards and split in two, each connecting to a small, white, glowing sphere. Myra could feel an extraordinary amount of mana condensed into those two spheres.

    They must be the mana extracted from the souls!

    Damon took out a jade container and placed one of the glowing white spheres into it. Then, he packed the whole soul harvester away in the same way he took it out, before holding out the sealed glowing white sphere before Myra.

    ¡°This is what you want?¡± he asked.

    ¡°But of course!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Just toss it over to me and I¡¯ll be on my merry way.¡±

    ¡°Humph. If you want something like this, shouldn¡¯t you offer more in exchange?¡± Damon scoffed.

    Myra tilted her head in confusion.

    ¡°Are your lives not enough?¡±

    ¡°Even you are not so arrogant that you cannot see the big picture here, right?¡± Damon asked.

    Myra frowned.

    ¡°If I go all out, I could annihilate most of your army. Although I would be weak afterwards, you would end up having to fight the rest of my subordinates. That wouldn¡¯t be an easy task even for you, no matter what aces you have up your sleeve.¡±

    Myra frowned deeply and kissed her teeth.

    ¡°Tch. What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Your army. Give them all to me.¡±

    Myra sucked in a deep breath. It had taken her years to build this army, how could she let it go so easily?

    ¡°If I give them to you, how do I know you won¡¯t kill me the next second?¡±

    ¡°Well, I am a man of my word,¡± Damon said cheekily but then changed to a serious expression.

    ¡°This container has a sealing rune which will explode within thirty minutes. You can take this and run. Once you reach a place that you think is safe, you can contact me with this spirit and I will tell you the method to undo the seal. Then you can hand over control of the army to me,¡± Damon said, summoning a small, worm-like spirit.

    Myra quickly examined the spirit and saw that it was a harmless spirit only used for medium to long-distance communication.

    ¡°Humph, how do I know you will actually tell me the correct method to undo the seal?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Because, if I lie, you can then command your army to attack me. I would have just lost all of the harvested souls for nothing. The only thing I will get is you as an enemy. We have no deep grudges, and I am not a spiteful person.¡±

    Myra observed him, trying to find even a trace of a lie. However, he looked extremely sincere.

    Realising that there was no choice, Myra agreed to the deal.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Damon smiled and threw the container to Myra. Myra caught it and dashed off into the distance. Her army still surrounded the dark mages, making them unable to move. After about twenty minutes, Myra reached a secret location and contacted the dark mage with the spirit.

    ¡°I will transfer control of the army to you now, and you give me the method to undo the seal.¡±

    Damon nodded, ¡°Okay.¡±

    They both kept up their end of the bargain, and Myra managed to undo the seal.

    She held the container in her hand and couldn¡¯t stop laughing.

    ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­ hahahahahah! The greatest winner of this war is me! With this, I can finally enter the mage king realm!¡±

    Meanwhile, Damon had a gloomy look on his face. He didn¡¯t expect half of his hard work to suddenly be taken away like this. However, at least he had a new army now, so he could use it to raid some more villages and get back the other core too.

    Thinking so, he tried to calm himself as the dark mages also comforted him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry master, we¡¯ll get the bitch back someday!¡±

    Damon sighed, but he swore in his heart that he will.

    However, just as the group were sighing in relief, they all felt a huge aura.

    Mage king!

 Chapter 44: New beginnings (End of Book 1)

    Sion Hart was rushing towards the dark mages, carrying Elwin on his side. He spotted a clearing where a large number of demons and onis were encircling a small group of people.

    He came to a stop in the air and released his aura.

    Mage king!

    The dark mages and Hazezel all gasped in shock. What was a mage king doing here?

    Damon could no longer stand still and rose into the air, releasing his aura as well, cancelling out that of Sion¡¯s.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Damon asked coldly.

    ¡°I am Sion Hart from Myriad Sword Palace; may I ask who you are?¡± Sion asked calmly, withdrawing his aura.

    Myriad Sword Palace!

    Hazezel didn¡¯t recognise the name, but Damon and the dark mages surely did. It was a powerful sect located in the capital of the Holy Kingdom. It was led by immortal cultivators!

    Although the Hidden Venom Cult was powerful, they did not have any immortal cultivators. Hence, the Myriad Sword Palace was even more of a powerful entity than their entire Hidden Venom Cult. Not to mention that they had cut their ties with the cult, making them a lone force now.

    Damon was furious! Why was everything going wrong at the last minute?

    ¡°I am Damon Rogue. What is someone of your status doing here?¡± Damon asked, also withdrawing his aura.

    Sion smiled.

    ¡°I was sent to investigate the strange behaviours of the demons in the Beast Woods.¡±

    Saying so, Sion looked down at the demons who were all standing in formation.

    ¡°Now that I am here, I can¡¯t help but think that you are somehow involved.¡±

    ¡°And what if we were?¡± Damon asked coldly.

    Sion frowned.

    He did not expect to encounter a mage king this far away from the Kingdom. He could probably fight him, however, he had a huge army, several grand mages, a commander class demon and over a dozen pseudo-commander class demons! He was not confident that he could deal with this group easily, especially given that he had to protect the unconscious Elwin.

    If he had known about the mage king¡¯s injury and weakness, however, Sion would have already attacked.

    ¡°Then I would have to ask you to come with me,¡± Sion replied with a sigh.

    No matter what, given how much death and destruction this group had caused, he couldn¡¯t let them go free.

    ¡°Ha! If you want me to come with you, then make me!¡± Damon replied, however, he was sweating profusely.

    He could not fight a mage king!

    But he also couldn¡¯t just go with him to the Myriad Sword Palace. That would be the end of him!

    ¡°In that case, take this. Sword Angel!¡± Sion shouted, his voice booming across the battlefield.

    A large number of swords materialised out of thin air and formed the figure of a large, winged angel. The angel had both of its hands wrapped around the hilt of a large sword, which itself was made out smaller swords.

    Damon cursed.

    ¡°Fine then, Flame Phoenix!¡±

    A large phoenix erupted from the ground and rose into the sky, even taller than the angel. It stared at the angel coldly before charging.

    The angel retaliated by striking at it with its sword.

    The two giants clashed in the sky, leaving everybody on the ground in awe.

    ¡®Was the gap between the grand mage and mage king realm really this big?¡¯ the grand mages thought.

    Hazezel however, was worried. He had guessed that the mage king couldn¡¯t fight at full strength before. And seeing his conversation with Myra and subsequently giving in to her demands, he was pretty much sure of it.

    What did that mean?

    That meant he was no match for this Sion Hart. So, once he lost, Sion would decimate their army and capture all of them¡­ including him!

    This was not good! There was no doubt that Sion would assume Hazezel was a dark mage too, given how he was interacting with them. Hence, his only option was to escape in the chaos of the fight and hide for as long as he could. If by some miracle, the dark mages won, he could return to them, but otherwise, he would have to head out on his own.

    In a strange twist of fate, his situation ended up being similar to Drake and Astoria¡¯s.

    As Hazezel was wondering how to get away, a familiar voice rang out.

    ¡°Ha¡­ Hazezel?¡±

    The fighting had woken Elwin up and he was observing the battlefield. He was being held in the air by Sion¡¯s wind spirit, however he could see the ground clearly.

    As expected, he saw dark mages and a large number of demons and onis. However, he saw something that he completely didn¡¯t expect.

    Hazezel!

    What was he doing here? Was he kidnapped by the dark mages? What would they gain from kidnapping him? Elwin wasn¡¯t sure of the reason, but he was certain that Hazezel was kidnapped. He figured they might have wanted to use him in some strange ritual like Astoria or convert him into an undead like Jin Tong, or do something else.

    Never in his wildest imagination would Elwin guess that Hazezel had actually been working with the dark mages for years.

    His voice made Sion focus his attention on Hazezel too, and frown.

    ¡°Do you know that boy?¡± he asked Elwin.

    Elwin nodded, ¡°Yes, he is my brother. He must have been kidnapped by those bastards.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Sion replied with a frown.

    The phoenix was slowly gaining the upper hand in its fight with the angel. Were he to be at full strength, Damon would actually be slightly stronger than Sion, hence the reason for him winning this clash.

    However, only Damon and the dark mages knew that he couldn¡¯t keep this up forever.

    Sion was wondering what to do. He normally had a laid-back personality so he didn¡¯t really want to come here in the first place. But, he had to obey orders so he had no choice. Now that he was facing a mage king who appeared to be stronger than him, Sion wanted to retreat and just give his report to the higher-ups and let them deal with this mess.

    Making up his mind, Sion brought the angel back to his side. Damon raised his hand and made the phoenix retreat as well.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the time to play with you I¡¯m afraid,¡± Sion told Damon.

    Damon laughed in response, ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s unfortunate, I thought we could continue for a while.¡± However, he was inwardly glad upon seeing Sion¡¯s intention to retreat.

    Hazezel was surprised to see Sion wanting to retreat but then realised that he must not know about Damon¡¯s weakness. For a moment, he considered telling Sion about the weakness but then thought better of it. If he did that, they would probably tell Sion about his collusion with them, and then both of them would have to face Sion¡¯s wrath.

    Sion looked at Hazezel and spoke, ¡°Give me that boy and I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    Damon was taken aback for a moment and looked at Hazezel.

    The two came to a silent understanding.

    ¡°Very well, take him,¡± Damon replied calmly. Sion was slightly surprised that Damon had agreed so easily but decided not to question his blessings. He took Hazezel who Elwin happily embraced and left. Damon waited until he was sure Sion was gone before dissipating the phoenix and falling weakly.

    ¡°Master!¡± the dark mages cried.

    Damon stared at the sky as he fell, wondering who had cursed his fate to be so miserable.

    ¡­

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Hundreds of mana balls were crashing against a starfish-like parasitic spirit.

    Drake had been trying to defeat the parasitic spirit for a long time to no avail. He decided to take a gamble and consumed all the mana recovery pills he had. Although it was dangerous to consume so many pills at once, he didn¡¯t have a choice.

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    He felt a large influx of mana which he immediately condensed into a huge number of mana balls to attack the spirit.

    Hence, he used his mana to restrain the spirit and mana balls to attack it.

    The parasitic spirit was very strong and continued attacking his mana core. However, its attacks were considerably slowing down, giving Drake more and more motivation to attack it relentlessly.

    No matter what, even if just a bit of his mana core remained, he would have a shot at recovery.

    Thinking so, Drake attacked the spirit with all his might.

    After several hours, the spirit which had been eroded down to the size of a few millimetres, disappeared under the attack of the last mana ball.

    Phew!

    Drake woke up in the carriage, panting for breath, and sweating profusely.

    ¡°Master Drake!¡± cried Helen, but Drake didn¡¯t even register her voice.

    His mind and body were in chaos after being attacked by the parasitic spirit.

    Drake panted for half a minute before finally composing himself. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

    Ninety per cent of his mana core was gone, he was basically useless as a mage.

    It was only now that he looked around to spot a girl sitting opposite him. From her attire, she was clearly a swordswoman. It took a while for the disoriented Drake, but he finally recognised her.

    ¡°Helen??¡± he exclaimed.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I¡¯m glad you remember me, master Drake,¡± she replied.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Master Hazezel arranged this carriage and asked me to safely escort you out of the village.¡±

    Upon hearing that name, Drake was flooded with memories.

    His dead father, black-eyed Hazezel confessing his collusion with the demons, seeing his village burn and his people screaming, before finally he was knocked out by Hazezel, forcefully made to consume the core-destroying pill, and being sent away on this carriage.

    Drake grew quiet for a moment, and Helen wondered if she said something wrong. She didn¡¯t know the truth about Hazezel, or even the internal struggle with the parasitic spirit that Drake just had. She just thought that he was knocked unconscious by Hazezel so that he would flee without protest.

    Drake sighed and asked Helen, ¡°So where are we going then?¡±

    ¡°The town of Basindale!¡± Helen replied excitedly.

    Drake sighed.

    ¡®I see¡­¡¯ he mumbled, looking out the window.

    So much had happened, and he didn¡¯t know what to do about it. In fact, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot he could do about it. He was so weak now.

    He looked at his clothes and realised that he still had all of his artifacts. Drake wasn¡¯t sure if that was because Hazezel didn¡¯t realise they were artifacts, or if he did but still left them with him as a final gesture of good will.

    If he really lost his rank one artifacts, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make more in his condition any time soon.

    Luckily, since the artifacts only required a small amount of mana to use, he could still use them similar to how any normal martial artist could. However, until he fixed his mana core, not only would his cultivation stagnate, but he also wouldn¡¯t be able to use any of his mage skills or make new artifacts.

    Drake sighed heavily.

    To be honest, Drake didn¡¯t care much about power and strength. He was initially excited at the prospect of magic due to its novelty since he was from Earth. However, the main reason he cultivated so diligently was so that he could be of use in the war, and to help and protect his family.

    But now, that family was gone. Astoria had left to start her own life, Holt and Elwin were dead, and Hazezel had gone off with the dark mages. What was the point of having strength now?

    Drake looked through the window.

    ¡®Maybe I should forget about cultivation for some time. I can try to get a normal job, and just live a normal life.¡¯

    He had a vast amount of knowledge from Earth. If he used it to create some new technologies and started a merchant business or something, he could probably make a lot of profit. Then, he could slowly try to find a way to heal his mana core. Even if he didn¡¯t, if he fell in love with some nice girl, started a family, and lived happily with her till he was old¡­

    Drake shook his head.

    After everything that he had been through, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was cut out for a normal life. Although he wasn¡¯t power hungry like a lot of other people, he still enjoyed learning about and using magic. How could he let it be taken away from him so easily?

    Drake thought about Hazezel again and what he said. Once the mage king attacked in full force, all of them would have died. But with Hazezel getting his hands dirty, at least Drake, Astoria, and of course, Hazezel himself, was alive.

    Was that worth it? Did that make it justified?

    Drake wasn¡¯t sure if Hazezel¡¯s primary goal in joining the dark mages was to pursue power, or to get a chance to save his family.

    Did that even matter?

    When he was in prison, he thought he hated him. But looking back, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was true. The fact remained that, whether he liked it or not, he was only alive now thanks to Hazezel. As someone who had faced death already, Drake understood the value of life more than most people.

    However, the cost of that had been his own father¡¯s life.

    And Drake valued family.

    Had the choice been up to Drake, he might have wanted to fight and die alongside him. However, he didn¡¯t get to make that choice as Hazezel had made the choice for him. Hazezel made the choice to save him and Astoria at the cost of Holt and Elwin.

    ¡®So do you expect me to be grateful, you bastard?¡¯ Drake thought, remembering what Hazezel had told him.

    There was no way Drake would be grateful to Hazezel. However, he also wasn¡¯t sure if he hated him.

    They had spent so much time together and been through so much. Hazezel might have broken his trust completely, and simply thinking about him, how he killed Holt, how he locked him away, all enraged him.

    But¡­ Drake sighed heavily once again. He felt like his brain was about to explode.

    Drake decided that for the sake of his peace of mind and mental health, he should just stop thinking about it all. At least for now.

    ¡®What¡¯s done is done right?¡¯

    He couldn¡¯t change anything. He couldn¡¯t bring Holt back, he couldn¡¯t restore the village, and he certainly couldn¡¯t fight the dark mages on his own.

    What could he do? He could only move forward with his life and do his best for the future.

    He had learnt one important lesson throughout all of this.

    He learnt that he couldn¡¯t trust people. His own brother had betrayed him and his family for his own agenda. In a world where people didn¡¯t hesitate to do that, could he really trust anyone?

    He had to be very, very careful and shrewd when dealing with people.

    Thinking so, Drake relaxed into his seat, feeling the ups and downs of the bumpy carriage ride, while looking silently out of the window.

    ¡­

    Two figures were watching the retreating dark mages from the shadows. One was dressed in lavish, purple robes and the other in a simple white breastplate.

    ¡°They are the ones who took the inheritance?¡± asked the one in white.

    The one in purple gazed at the group and focused in on one individual.

    Henry!

    ¡°Yes, indeed it was them,¡± he replied.

    Then, he turned to look at the one in white.

    ¡°Should we crush them?¡± he asked casually, but an aura of bloodlust was oozing out of him.

    A chill went down Henry¡¯s spine, and Damon opened his eyes with fear.

    What the hell is that monster? Damon screamed internally.

    They had to get away!

    The man in white sighed.

    ¡°Forget it. They are a troublesome group. Besides, we¡¯re close to the Holy Kingdom now. If we make a move, we might alert those old monsters. It¡¯s not worth it for the inheritance of just a mage emperor.¡±

    The man in purple looked at the man in white deeply and retracted his bloodlust.

    Both Damon and Henry heaved a sigh of relief, but Damon urged his subordinates to start moving as fast as possible.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± the man in purple asked again. ¡°Even if it is just a mage emperor, his martial arts cultivation technique was quite powerful. We don''t want it falling into the hands of the humans once more.¡±

    The man in white went into deep thought again.

    There was a powerful and famous mage emperor a long time ago, so powerful that he could fight and defeat a number of mage emperors on his own. The main reason why he could do that was because he also simultaneously cultivated a powerful martial arts technique.

    When he was nearing the end of his life, he retired from human society and ran off to a remote place, to escape his enemies and focus on nurturing his descendants peacefully.

    That mage emperor was the founding ancestor of the Jain village.

    The man in white was thinking carefully.

    This was a good opportunity to stop that inheritance from falling into the hands of the humans again. It would be a simple thing to kill those few dark mages and retrieve the cultivation technique.

    The man in white made his decision.

    ¡°I am certain. That cultivation technique will be useless for us anyway, and unless they become immortal, they will not pose any threat to us no matter what cultivation technique they use. So let us just leave it for now. It is not worth the risk of alerting the Holy Kingdom cultivators. Now that we know who they are, we will just keep an eye on these humans and kill them if we get a better chance in the future.¡±

    The man in purple thought as well and then nodded in agreement.

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    The two turned and headed back deep into the woods where they came from.

    Apart from Henry and Damon, everyone else were clueless about just how close they had come to being annihilated.

    ¡­

    To the west of the continent was the Beast Woods, and the centre was the Holy Kingdom.

    The north, however, was a mountainous terrain. It held the Titan Palace, the country of the fearsome giants.

    Near the border of the Beast Woods and the mountains domain of the north, an old woman dressed in black robes was talking to an old man.

    ¡°So, you finally made it?¡± the man asked.

    ¡°Yes father, I have made the primal energy core.¡±

    Around the time when Drake was transmigrated, an old woman had screamed the same name of the primal energy core from the middle of the ocean. At that moment, she had been attacked by a tyrant class demon shark, equivalent to a mage king.

    She had killed that demon shark with one attack!

    Eleven years had passed since then.

    ¡°However, it requires a lot of energy to power it. A million mortals, hundred-thousand true mages, ten-thousand warrior mages, a thousand grand mages, hundred mage kings, and ten mage emperors. I have been collecting their souls in secret, however, it has not been easy,¡± she lamented.

    Suddenly her eyes lit up.

    ¡°But I, Dalia Krueger, the one who knows no defeat, will not give up! Once I complete powering up the primal energy core, I will become the most powerful immortal in the world!¡±

    Saying so, she started laughing like a maniac and the old man observed her with a smile, rubbing his long beard.

    After a while, she calmed down and the old man, her father looked at her.

    ¡°So, what is your plan now?¡±

    Dalia looked in the distance.

    ¡°A few interesting people were causing some chaos near the border of the Beast Woods and the Holy Kingdom. There is a mage king and two grand mages there. Close to that location, there is also the large town of Basindale with many powerful figures too. I thought I¡¯d pay them a visit after killing those fools.¡±

    The old man shook his head.

    ¡°Those dark mages are fine, however, Basindale is not. Do you not know? That town is next to a dragon tribe and a faerie tribe.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Dalia cried.

    ¡°And, the dragon tribe has a rogue immortal,¡± the man continued.

    ¡°What!?¡± Dalia gasped again, then became quiet. ¡°Fine, in that case, they can count themselves lucky. I will have to find some other place nearby.¡±

    ¡°There is another town in that location,¡± the old man spoke. ¡°The town of Duskville. It has a mage emperor and several powerful individuals, but is small and relatively isolated. The news won¡¯t travel quickly. You can easily slaughter them and be on your way before reinforcements have a chance of arriving.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Dalia exclaimed, her eyes widening.

    She looked into the distance again.

    ¡°In that case, Duskville, here I come!¡±

    ¡­

    Hazezel was travelling with Elwin and Sion. He had played along with the story of being kidnapped and both of them believed it.

    They had been flying incredibly fast and now, a large city was coming into their view.

    The walls of the city stretched as far and wide as their eyes could see, even from their altitude. The buildings and architecture looked majestic. For two boys who had grown up in a village, this looked like a whole new world.

    Sion saw their stupefied look and smiled.

    ¡°Welcome to the Holy Capital. The capital of the Holy Kingdom. The capital of the human race!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Duskville, we¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Astoria exclaimed, stepping out of the carriage with Sam.

    ¡°Indeed, we have,¡± Sam replied softly. They both stopped outside of the caravan to see a large town.

    This was nothing like their small village. The walls were large, made of stone, and coated in a paint of silver. The town stretched wide and far, easily at least five times as big as their village.

    Looking at the town and its marvellous design, Astoria then turned back to see where they came from.

    The Beast Woods and their villages were nowhere to be seen.

    Astoria sighed and looked at the town again.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like a town¡­ it feels like a new beginning!¡±

 Epilogue 1: What about Myra?

    A storm was raging over the Beast Woods. There were occasional clearings among the dense trees scattered throughout the Woods, where the sound of the torrential downpour of water crashing against the bare ground was particularly loud.

    One such clearing was rectangular in shape and located relatively close to the elven village. At the edge of the clearing was a cliff, on top of which was a small cave.

    Previously, this section of the Beast Woods was swarming with demons ¨C specifically, the demons that were under Myra¡¯s control. But now, it was mostly empty, with nothing but the occasional animal or demon passing through. Hence, this section was quiet apart from the echoes of the relentless drumming of the rain falling on the bare ground.

    Suddenly, a loud voice laughed from the cave and disrupted the scenery.

    ¡°Ha¡­ ha¡­ hahahahahah! The greatest winner of this war is me! With this, I can finally enter the mage king realm!¡±

    Myra Wan was wearing her usual white robes and sitting inside the cave. She was holding a jade container in her hand, inside which, a white sphere made of pure mana was glowing with a pristine white radiance.

    Despite having the same three core aptitude as Damon, for some reason she could never figure out, she was unable to break through the bottleneck to the mage king realm. Perhaps it was due to the cultivation technique she practiced, or maybe there was another reason, but stagnating at a bottleneck in such a way was not uncommon.

    However, she didn¡¯t care about the reasons now. Once she formed an additional mana core, reaching the mage king realm would no longer be an issue.

    ¡®Maybe I could even reach the mage emperor realm one day,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    Myra opened the jade container and tipped it over. The white ball of mana fell out and began hovering over her palm.

    With a smile, Myra bashed her palm against her abdomen and the ball of mana entered her inner realm. Three mana cores were floating in her inner realm already, each tempered to the peak of the grand mage level, surrounded by a huge amount of mana around the size of a large lake.

    The entrance of the new ball of mana agitated the mana cores. Normally, they would repel outside mana, but they didn¡¯t reject this sphere. Instead, the three mana cores flew towards the new ball of mana, and all four began rotating in a circle.

    The rotation became faster and faster and faster and faster, until¡­

    BOOM!

    The ball of mana condensed into a fourth mana core!

    A wave of mana spread out of Myra¡¯s body, passed through the walls of the cave, and flew over the surroundings, before dissipating into the air.

    ¡°I did it!¡± she exclaimed. She now had a four-core aptitude and could break through to the mage king realm!

    There was still a small problem though. The new core that was formed was not tempered at all. Hence, it was still at the rogue mage level. However, due to her peak grand mage cultivation, she had a large amount of mana she could use to temper it very quickly. By her estimation, it shouldn¡¯t take more than a few months to temper the last core to the peak of the grand mage realm as well.

    However¡­

    ¡®That is still too much time,¡¯ she thought, before smiling.

    Myra took out a vial from her pocket and opened it. A strong medicinal aroma filled the cave as she removed a small pill from within. It was a rare, rank three pill. The pill wasn¡¯t rare because it was difficult to make; it was rare because it only had a very particular use and so wasn¡¯t refined very often.

    If a mage at a particular realm formed an additional mana core, then this pill would use their mana and cultivation foundation to quickly temper the additional mana core to the same level as the rest of their mana cores. So, with this pill, she could temper her fourth mana core to the peak of the grand mage realm within a few hours.

    ¡®After that, it¡¯s finally time for a breakthrough,¡¯ she thought with a smile.

    While Myra was busy advancing her final mana core, in a spot near the central point between the villages and the Beast Woods.

    The aftermath of Damon Rogue using his thunder dragon spirit had left this area devastated. Numerous craters littered the ground which was charred black by the lightning, occasionally giving rise to smoke which was quickly put off by the rain.

    Lying on the ground were several dead bodies. They were the corpses of the cultivators sent out by the villages to face the dark mages in the final battle. Most of them were burnt beyond recognition, and the smell of their burnt and rotting flesh had drawn several lone demons to this area.

    But one body was surprisingly well preserved.

    It was the body of a young-looking man with fair skin and pointy ears, who was lying on his stomach. Even his brown robes were preserved, although they carried the occasional holes, charred black by lightning. His silver hair draped down from the side of his hood as if to hide his delicate face which was covered with cuts and bruises.

    Common sense would suggest that this man, like the rest, should be well and truly dead. However, he seemed to defy common sense, as his fingers suddenly started twitching.

    ¡°Aw.. aww!¡± Ray groaned softly. His body was in unimaginable pain, more than he had ever experienced in his entire life, as ferocious, lightning elemental mana assaulted him from the inside. However, another force in his body was rapidly fighting against the pain. It felt warm and healing, yet powerful. However, the lightning mana assaulting him was even more powerful than this mysterious force and Ray could detect that it would soon lose.

    Instinctually, Ray used the sliver of consciousness he had, to gather the remaining mana in his body and fight against the lightning mana attacking him. Working together with the mysterious force, Ray finally managed to wear out and defeat the lightning mana attacking him.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­¡± Ray sighed weakly, as relief washed over him and his breathing returned to normal. His eyes twitched as if he was struggling to remember something.

    What¡­ happened? Ray thought to himself as his consciousness recovered. Soon, images appeared in his mind of an army of demons, a large, armoured bear, dark mages, a purple sky, and, finally, a monstrous dragon.

    That¡¯s right¡­ the mage king¡­ attacked us¡­

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    Ray slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry for a few moments, before clearing up. He tried to move but his body refused to listen. He had never felt this weak before.

    ¡®How am I still alive?¡¯ he wondered and then remembered the rank three artifact he had used in the last second. Ray could still feel the metal plate next to him, touching his hand. Slowly, Ray tried to grab the plate, but as soon as he exerted a bit of force, the metal plate crumbled into pieces.

    ¡®So it¡¯s gone¡­¡¯ Ray closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn¡¯t believe that the artifact had managed to save his life, albeit just barely. Ray silently thanked his master again in his heart, but then suddenly opened his eyes with worry.

    ¡®Oh no! What did happen to master? And my village? And Drake? And everyone else for that matter?¡¯ His mind finally returned to normal as he remembered everything and everyone. However, before he could process that information, he was interrupted by heavy footsteps rapidly approaching him.

    ¡°Grumph! Grumph!¡± A demon boar snorted loudly as it ran towards Ray emitting dense killing intent. Its eyes sparkled with delight at having found an easy prey.

    Ray felt the earth vibrating underneath his body at its heavy footsteps. He could sense the boar¡¯s aura and realised that it was a weak servant class demon. However, in his condition, he wasn¡¯t sure he could fight one.

    Hearing the boar approach closer, Ray¡¯s heart started thumping loudly and adrenaline pumped through his body. Using this newfound strength, Ray managed to cast a spell.

    ¡°Iron shield!¡± he whispered weakly.

    Just as the boar was inches away from devouring him, an iron shield appeared out of the blue directly in front of its face, causing the boar to crash heavily. The boar roared in pain and stepped back, wobbling around, disoriented.

    This gave Ray the precious few seconds he needed to gather the rest of his mana and summon the most basic, rank one spirit that he was familiar with.

    ¡°Lightning bat!¡±

    A ball of purple gathered above his palm before condensing into the figure of a small, bat spirit. It was the same spirit that Myra had previously gifted Drake with, which could shoot out lightning bolts.

    Just as the boar recovered, it spotted a bolt of lightning shoot towards it. Startled, the boar jumped, narrowly dodging the lightning bolt. The boar eyed the spirit cautiously before becoming enraged and puffed a plume of smoke out of its nostrils. It swept at the ground with its hoof a few times before charging at the spirit.

    However, the iron shield moved rapidly and appeared directly in its path.

    With the previous crash painfully fresh in its memory, the boar dug its hooves into the ground to force itself to come to a stop. But this gave the lightning bat an opportunity to strike and it shot out another lightning bolt.

    As Ray controlled the iron shield to support the lightning bat in engaging the demon boar, he slowly started recovering the strength to move. He reached into his pockets and pulled out several pills and consumed all of them. Slowly but surely, his mana and stamina recovered and his bruises closed one by one. Strength returned to his muscles and he could slowly move his legs and stand up.

    The commotion caused by the battle started attracting other nearby demons which began approaching him cautiously. At his peak, he would have no problem disposing of them, but he was barely able to walk now, let alone fight so many demons.

    With a sigh, Ray used all the strength in his body to slowly start walking.

    ¡®I need to find a place to hide and recover my strength first.

    Several hours later.

    Ray was sitting inside a small cave located some distance away from where he had woken up. He was covered in more bruises now, no doubt from the various battles he had to fight to reach here, but they were not too serious. Ray leaned against the wall, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began meditating and recovering his strength and mana.

    At the same time, Myra was still sitting in her cave, but she opened her eyes with a smile.

    With the help of the miraculous pill, Myra finally advanced her new core to the peak of the grand mage realm as well.

    Breaking through to the mage king realm wasn¡¯t easy. However, the process was the same as with any other breakthrough - use your mana to temper the core, break it down and build it back stronger. Previously, her mana had been unable to break down her peak, grand mage mana cores. However, with the addition of the new core, she finally managed to break off a small piece of her mana core.

    ¡®I can finally start breaking through!¡¯

    Almost a day later.

    The rain had stopped and the sky was coloured with a beautiful, clear blue.

    Suddenly, a huge aura radiated out from the cave, in waves. Various trees and boulders in the surroundings were pushed back by the strength contained in the aura. The few small animals and low-class demons which were wandering around became terrified and fled for their lives.

    Soon, the aura retracted into the cave but was replaced by a booming laughter.

    ¡°Hahahahahahahah! I finally did it! I have reached the mage king realm!¡±

    Myra Wan threw her hands up in the air with joy.

    How many years had it been? She was almost 500 years old now. Every single pill or technique she could find that had a chance of helping her, she had tried out. But nothing had worked, leaving her stuck at the peak of the grand mage realm for centuries.

    ¡°But finally, FINALLY! I have succeeded. I have reached this stage!¡±

    Myra couldn¡¯t contain her joy anymore and continued laughing for a long time.

    Finally, she stopped.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ This feels good,¡± she said, clenching her fists repeatedly. The amount of mana she could feel in her body was incomparable to before. Where previously, mana the size of a lake was floating around her mana cores, now, it had expanded into the size of a giant river. All of it was flowing around in her inner realm, making her feel like a whole new being.

    Myra enjoyed the sensation for a little while longer, before finally calming herself down. She took a deep breath and relaxed.

    ¡®I wonder if anyone else survived the battle?¡¯ she wondered to herself, before thinking of Ray.

    That¡¯s right, I gave that boy that artifact. Did it manage to save him?

    ¡®Unlikely, but not impossible.¡¯

    She recollected where Ray was fighting the dark mages and decided to pay a visit.

    An hour later.

    The blue sky now carried hints of orange as the sun began to set.

    Myra was standing in the place where Ray had woken up. She managed to find the bodies of all the cultivators from all the other villages, but not Ray.

    ¡®So he must have survived!¡¯ Myra gasped. She sensed the mana around her and soon found traces of some violent mana fluctuations. Myra quickly located the closest one and found the corpse of a demon boar. She could tell that it had been killed recently, less than a day ago.

    ¡®This must have been Ray!¡¯ she thought to herself, before following the trails.

    Half an hour later.

    Ray was still sitting eyes closed in his cave. He had recovered most of his strength by now. He just needed a few more hours to recover to his peak.

    ¡®Then I can go out and look for master, the rest of the elves, and Drake,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Suddenly, Ray felt an enormous aura pass over his cave. He opened his eyes widely.

    Mage king!

    ¡®What happened? Did he find me so quickly? Does he not want to let me go?¡¯

    Ray fell into despair. No matter how much he recovered, he knew he couldn¡¯t fight a mage king. He thought Damon was done with them already and would move on. The last thing he expected was for the mage king to personally come and try to finish off a warrior mage like him.

    ¡®I don¡¯t even have the artifact anymore¡­¡¯ Ray sighed. He was just thanking his fate for letting him escape, but he didn¡¯t expect it to end like this. Thinking that he had no choice, Ray decided to leave the cave and surrender, however a completely unexpected voice called out to him.

    ¡°Ray? Ray, it¡¯s me, your master Myra!¡±

    Master¡­? Ray was very confused for a second but there was no way he would mistake the voice of his master.

    Dashing out of his dark cave, Ray was welcomed by a scenery of green and orange. Standing right in the centre was a middle-aged woman dressed in white. The woman he adored the most in the world ¨C Myra Wan!

    Ray froze for a moment, before rushing towards her. He stopped when he was an arm¡¯s length away. Myra smiled softly, leaving Ray speechless. Millions of questions ran through his mind. How was she alive? How did she find him? And when and how did she break through to the mage king realm?

    The only thing more overwhelming than the myriad of thoughts and questions running through his brain was the flood of emotions flowing through his body. Relief, surprise, and joy, combined with all his thoughts and questions felt unbearable. Ray fell to his knees in complete disbelief, wondering if he was dreaming.

    Myra gently laid her hand on his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive,¡± she spoke softly. Ray wanted to respond, but he was still speechless, so Myra just continued smiling. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have many questions, and I¡¯ll explain everything on the way.¡±

    ¡°Where¡­ where are we going?¡± was the only thing Ray managed to say.

    Myra smiled and turned her head towards the direction of the Beast Woods and pointed.

    ¡°There. Deep within the Beast Woods.¡±

    Ray was confused for a moment and wanted to ask why when Myra turned back towards him. He noticed a spark of excitement flash through her eyes.

    ¡°¡­To the elven kingdom of Eldanor!¡±

 Chapter 45: A long way from home

    Fifteen years ago, back on Earth.

    ¡°HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?¡± shouted a man at another.

    The two men were dressed in police uniforms and were standing in a dark corridor, just outside a jail cell. Looking inside the dimly lit cell, one could spot a man lying on the ground, eyes wide and frozen stiff. His throat was slit open and he was in a pool of his own blood.

    In his hand was a thin, metal string that was covered in blood ¨C clearly the weapon he had used to kill himself.

    ¡°Where on earth did he get that string from?¡± the first man asked.

    ¡°It seems he had hidden it in his hair sir!¡± the second man cried.

    ¡°What!? How¡¯s that possible?¡± The first man asked in disbelief. ¡°He has been the most wanted serial killer in our country for TWO DECADES! We finally caught him, and you just LET HIM DIE!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir! I had no idea he had such a weapon hidden!¡±

    ¡°TO HELL WITH YOUR SORRY!¡±

    The name of the dead serial killer they were talking about was Theo. And in contrast to the two men screaming at each other in the grotesque scene, Theo who was lying dead on the floor, covered in blood, had an eerie smile on his face.

    Unknown to the two officers, Theo was now in a completely different place.

    He was standing in a room with no walls, painted in the brightest white, stretching into infinity.  In front of him was a lonely desk filled with various documents. Behind it sat a middle-aged man who was also dressed in white. Even his short, scruffy hair was white.

    Despite just dying and arriving in a completely new location in front of a stranger, Theo had no trace of fear or panic. In fact, he just stared curiously at the middle-aged with his pitch-black eyes.

    ¡°Welcome to the afterlife,¡± the middle-aged man spoke nonchalantly while writing something down. ¡°Before you start asking me questions, I¡¯ll just tell you the gist of things.¡±

    The middle-aged man was still not looking at Theo when he started to explain.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead now.¡±

    Theo¡¯s eyes slightly widened but the man continued speaking without pause.

    ¡°However, you¡¯re special because you have the ability to carry your memories and skills with you through your different lives. Hence, you have the opportunity to join our organisation, the Orion Immortals, as long as you can prove yourself worthy.¡±

    Theo¡¯s face slowly broke into a smile.

    The middle-aged man finally looked at Theo and saw him smile.

    ¡®Does he have some screws loose?¡¯ the man thought for a brief moment before he stopped caring.

    The man pointed his hand forward.

    Theo felt a strong suction force pulling him towards the man.

    The man¡¯s eyes started glowing with a brilliant golden light and Theo felt an enormous energy wash over him. The man released Theo and he instantly became weightless. Theo was brimming with energy as he started fading into the distance, his face plastered with the same eerie smile he had when he died.

    ¡­

    Back to the present.

    The continent of Jin was vast and prosperous, filled with magic and martial arts, and inhabited by various races. One such race was the human race. They mainly lived in the Holy Kingdom which was located at the centre of the continent, occupying almost twenty per cent of it.

    The Holy Kingdom was made up of many cities and towns of various sizes, ruled by different sects, families, and organisations. On the western border of the Holy Kingdom, was one such town ¨C Basindale.

    Large storm clouds were covering this area. It had been raining heavily throughout the night. Despite this, however, a large carriage was making its way towards Basindale from the Beast Woods located further west. Its wheels were bouncing up and down as it travelled through the rocky road.

    Barely anybody used these roads which were located far from the centre of the Holy Kingdom, and close to the dangerous Beast Woods. Hence, they were not maintained properly.

    ¡°Hiya!¡± yelled the carriage driver, as he whipped the horses into running faster.

    His voice, along with the sound of the horse hooves bashing against the road, echoed across the plains, before being drowned out by the storm.

    The carriage and the people inside were barely visible due to the darkness. However, the storm was slowly coming to an end. The clouds began parting, and a few rays of sunshine poured through.

    Two people were seated inside the carriage.

    One was a boy, only around eleven years old. His fair skin contrasted with his dark hair and black eyes. He was resting his face on his right hand which carried an expensive gold bracelet, contrasting the rest of his ordinary-looking robes.

    Sitting next to him was a swordswoman. The boy looked at her as if he was seeing her properly for the first time.

    She had long, red hair, and fair skin, and looked around twenty years old. Wearing a silver chainmail with a sword placed next to her seat, she gave off the aura of a young, but proud knight.

    ¡°Why did you decide to accompany me?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°Because master Hazezel ordered me to, master Drake,¡± Helen replied respectfully.

    Drake shook his head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question. Why did you decide to accompany me? Did you not want to fight for the village? What about your parents and family, are you okay just leaving them?¡±

    Helen paused for a moment and then replied calmly.

    ¡°I do want to fight for the village, master Drake, however, I could also see that it was a lost cause. The enemy was too powerful. You are the son of Lord Holt. To me, protecting you is included in my duty of protecting the village. So, I was happy to do that when master Hazezel asked me to, as that was something within my ability. As for my family¡­¡± Helen looked down for a moment before continuing, ¡°I don¡¯t have any.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    Helen was a late-stage tempered body martial artist while Drake was actually at the perfect-stage tempered body. With his artifacts, Drake would be a bit stronger than Helen. However, she would still be a great help for him now that his mana core was destroyed. So, he was very grateful that she wanted to accompany him. Moreover, with her around, he would have someone to keep him company so he wouldn¡¯t feel lonely as much after losing his family and village.

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    Drake grew silent and looked out the window.

    Fixing my mana core isn¡¯t going to be easy.

    He was glad that he managed to save ten per cent of his mana core at least. That¡¯s because one of the pill recipes he had learnt from the mage emperor¡¯s inheritance called the Three Leaf Healing pill, could heal damages to the mana core. He wasn¡¯t sure if it could heal his mana core, however, it was the only option he had.

    The only problem was that it was a rank three pill.

    Pills were refined using an artifact that didn¡¯t require a lot of mana. Hence, he didn¡¯t need to be a grand mage in order to refine a rank three pill like he would have to be in order to summon a rank three spirit. As long as he had the necessary ingredients and skill set, he could refine the pill even with his broken cultivation.

    However, the problem was that Drake had no experience with pill refinement. So far, he had always only used pills given to him by Ray or Holt.

    Drake reached into his pockets and took out the bag that Ray had given to him during his graduation. Luckily, it was also not taken by Hazezel.

    In that bag, Ray had given Drake two books, one of which included all of the elves¡¯ knowledge on pill refinement. He would have to use this to learn to become a rank three alchemist.

    Additionally, he would need lots of materials to practise pill refinement as well, and that required money. So, he needed to find a way to make a lot of money.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of jobs would be available for him in Basindale. If there was nothing suitable, it would be extremely difficult to even survive, let alone become a rank three alchemist, refine the three leaf healing pill, and heal his mana core.

    Drake sighed. This is not going to be easy.

    ¡°How long will it take to reach Basindale?¡± asked Drake.

    ¡°About three months normally. However, we only have supplies for about two months. Hence, after that, we¡¯d have to stop to hunt for food and water, which could increase the time by another few weeks, master Drake,¡± replied Helen.

    ¡®That is going to be a long time,¡¯ Drake thought, but it made sense.

    To his knowledge, no one from his village or any of the other villages had ever travelled this far in the many generations that they had been established. That¡¯s because they got everything they needed to survive such as food, water, herbs, materials for construction, weapons, clothing, etc, directly from the Beast Woods which was rich in natural resources. If they needed anything else, they just traded with the nearby villages.

    Additionally, given how dangerous the Beast Woods were, people from the central parts of the Holy Kingdom rarely ventured close to it where their villages were located. Although not as common as in the Beast Woods, it was possible to find some lone demons wandering these plains, making the journey for anyone who dared to make it even more dangerous.

    Unless one was powerful and confident in their own abilities, they wouldn¡¯t make the trip. But people who were at that level would not want to leave the prosperous cities in the Holy Kingdom in the first place, therefore it was quite rare for anyone to make this trip.

    Hence, over centuries, their villages became quite isolated from the Holy Kingdom, despite being part of the human territory. Drake had no idea what the outside world would be like, apart from what he had studied in the books.

    Now that they were making this long trip, Drake had plenty of time on his hands. He figured that he could use this time to read Ray¡¯s book on alchemy, and also work on his martial arts cultivation. If he could cultivate the steel body, his battle strength might become equal to what it was before when he had his mage skills.

    Luckily, Drake had the pills that Hazezel gave him for protection. Otherwise, they would have to constantly be on the lookout for demon attacks too. He knew that its effects wouldn¡¯t last forever, but it just had to last until they got far enough away from the Beast Woods, at which point, there wouldn¡¯t be a lot of demons running around anymore.

    Drake turned to Helen again.

    ¡°In that case, use this time to cultivate well. We don¡¯t know what dangers we¡¯d be facing on this trip, or when we reach Basindale. It¡¯d be wise for us to improve our strength as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master Drake.¡±

    ¡­

    Two months later, Helen surprisingly broke through to the perfected tempered body stage.

    At the same time, in a location further away from the three villages but still close to the Beast Woods, Damon Rogue, his assistant dark mages, Henry, and the undead Jin Tong were standing at the edge of a tall cliff. In front of them was another village, smaller than the three villages, but still had a population of a few thousand.

    The village was being annihilated by their demon army.

    This village was about a week¡¯s trip from the other three villages, and so it hadn¡¯t been attacked with the others in the beginning. After Damon had been ambushed by Myra Wan and Sion Hart, he had to take some time to recuperate. Afterwards, he gathered more demons into his army, and along with the demons he got from Myra, he now controlled a more powerful force than before. This relatively smaller village therefore stood no chance against it, so the dark mages did not even have to personally attack.

    ¡°With this, I have finally filled up the soul harvester again,¡± Damon mumbled to himself.

    They had spent the last month scouting and raiding two, smaller villages, and this was the second one.

    Damon took out the soul harvester and held it up high to see two white, glowing spheres connected to a golden arch. Waves of mana were rippling outwards from the spheres, creating winds that muffled the screams of the dying villagers, while rustling the dark mage¡¯s robes.

    With a powerful device in hand, overseeing the destruction of tens of thousands, Damon looked like a dark god.

    But this scene was interrupted by a giggling voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting device you have there,¡± the voice laughed.

    Alarmed, all the mages and Henry instantly turned back. Jin Tong equipped his spear and was ready to attack as soon as he was given the order. The group spotted a hooded figure covered in black robes standing behind them. The robes fluttered under the strong winds and the hood was thrown back, revealing the figure of an old woman.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Damon warily.

    ¡°Tehehe, quite curious for a dead man aren¡¯t you?¡± she laughed.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Damon replied, taken aback. ¡°You really think you can take on all of us, and our army?¡±

    The woman laughed again. ¡°An army of ants is still just a bunch of ants.¡±

    The grand mages became angry and Damon frowned.

    ¡°Really?¡± he asked sarcastically. However, he was still observing her to figure out who she was. He didn¡¯t recognise her, and she didn¡¯t seem to give off any magical energy. This could either mean that she had no mana, meaning she wasn¡¯t even a cultivator, or that she was so powerful that he couldn¡¯t even detect the depths of her strength. Given her sudden appearance and arrogant attitude, it was likely to be the latter.

    However, Damon was a mage king who had experienced many dangerous situations. Now that he had various powerful subordinates, including an entire army of demons, he wasn¡¯t scared of her.

    The dark grand mages looked questioningly at Damon and he nodded in approval. The one on the right smiled wickedly and faced the woman.

    ¡°Old hag! Looks like your old brain has forgotten your place. Let me remind you¡­ blood bats!¡±

    He raised his hands and black coloured mana instantly gathered at his fingertips before forming over fifty blood bats. They were each three feet long, with huge fangs that dripped corrosive venom, and radiated the aura of a rank two spirit.

    When fighting Holt, he had only summoned a dozen. But this woman gave them all a bad feeling so he used over half his mana to summon almost five times that amount. Even Holt would have a headache dealing with this number.

    The bats charged at the woman, screeching in delight at their new prey. In response, the woman smiled and raised her right hand.

    ¡°Aquanox!¡±

    A large amount of mana gathered and made her hand shine blue, before forming into a humanoid figure holding a trident. The figure seemed to be composed completely out of water.

    Damon¡¯s brows furrowed. He could sense that a large amount of mana was used to summon that water spirit, but he still couldn¡¯t guess her cultivation realm. He decided to watch for a bit longer.

    The bats were extremely close when the water spirit finally made its move. Under everyone¡¯s watchful gaze, the spirit disappeared, leaving everyone stunned, before appearing behind the blood bats the next second.

    All the bats froze midair, before falling one by one to the ground and dissipating into mana.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± the grand mage cried. How could it be so powerful!

    Damon¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Despite his cultivation, he barely managed to track the water spirit¡¯s movements.

    ¡®Who the hell was this woman?¡¯ he thought.

    ¡°Stop,¡± he told the dark grand mage. ¡°Let me deal with her.¡±

    Damon released an enormous aura and rose into the air, eyeing the woman carefully. Facing his aura, the woman was completely unfazed and still had a cheery smile.

    He became annoyed. ¡°Let me see if you still have that smile after this ¨C Storm Dragon!¡±

    Damon looked up and raised his hand, forming a fist. An enormous amount of mana gathered into the fist and shone purple. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck, parting the clouds. A gigantic purple dragon descended with a deafening roar. It was the size of a mountain and made completely out of lightning.

    It stared at the woman coldly, who was still smiling as if nothing had changed.

 Chapter 46: Servitude

    Damon pointed his finger towards the woman.

    The dragon roared furiously. Lightning gathered from its belly and travelled to its throat. It opened its mouth to reveal a large white light that was growing even larger by the second. In the blackness of the night, it looked like a miniature sun had formed in its throat.

    The dark grand mages took Henry and Jin Tong and quickly retreated far away from the cliff, not wanting to become collateral damage.

    ¡°Storm dragon breath!¡± Damon¡¯s voice echoed across the battlefield.

    The dragon breathed out, and the huge beam of lightning energy shot towards the woman.

    ¡°Water barrier,¡± the woman whispered.

    The water spirit raised its trident with both hands before bashing it into the ground. A large barrier formed that covered the entire cliff. The lightning beam made contact¡­ but it could not even make a scratch. The dragon kept blowing out the lightning beam for a full minute until it ran out of energy, and the barrier stood there completely unscathed.

    Everybody watching the scene was shocked, but none more than Damon. He knew exactly how powerful that beam was, so how could she block it so easily?

    The dragon spirit stared at the woman coldly as the water spirit undid the barrier. Given the size difference, the woman and her water spirit must have looked like ants in its eyes. However, the fearsome dragon was unable to crush the ants.

    Furious, the dragon roared and decided to charge at the woman.

    The woman just smiled and raised her arm.

    ¡°Water prison!¡±

    In response, the water spirit gripped its trident and raised it high, releasing an enormous aura. The aura was so suffocating that Henry instantly collapsed and the dark grand mages were brought to their knees. Even the demon army which was raiding the village on the ground behind them, felt the aura and went into a panic.

    Damon¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Mage emperor!¡± he shouted, finally realising her cultivation realm.

    But it was too late.

    All the mana in the air gathered and formed a huge, watery dome around the dragon. The dragon crashed heavily against it, but it could not break out.

    The woman smiled and clenched her fist. ¡°Implode!¡±

    The dome rapidly shrunk.

    Unable to resist, the dragon spirit was crushed by the contracting dome. Within a second, the dome went from being larger than the mountain-sized dragon, to smaller than a coin.

    The whole world became silent.

    After a few seconds¡­ BOOM!

    The water prison exploded and an unbelievable amount of energy was released. A huge dust cloud rose into the sky. Hundreds of trees on the cliff were uprooted and sent flying. The part of the cliff closest to the explosion directly collapsed. Huge winds swept across the battlefield for miles. The dark mages who thought they had retreated far enough, were pushed back several steps by the powerful winds from the deafening explosion.

    Damon summoned a defensive spirit to create a barrier just in time to protect himself, or else he would have been sent flying by the explosion as well.

    He looked at the woman in terror ¨C he could not win this fight!

    Damon decisively turned around and started fleeing.

    ¡°Where are you going so fast?¡± the woman laughed.

    The water spirit disappeared and in the next instant, appeared in front of Damon. It raised its trident and charged. Damon knew he couldn¡¯t dodge at this close range given the spirit¡¯s speed. Damon instinctively poured all his mana into the defensive spirit to form the strongest barrier he could.

    But it was useless.

    The barrier melted like paper upon making contact with the trident and the water spirit pierced into his chest.

    Damon slowly looked down, unable to believe his own eyes. But the spirit was ruthless. It rotated its trident and pulled, ripping out his heart, and killing him instantly.

    Life faded from his eyes.

    His body became limp, and he fell to the ground.

    The dark grand mages, who had just recovered from the impact of the winds, were coughing out the dust cloud they inhaled when they spotted their master be killed in an instant and fall lifelessly to the floor.

    ¡°Lord Damon!¡± They both screamed, but before they could react, the water spirit was in front of them. In less than a second, it ripped both of their hearts out. Their eyes also lost their light, and their dead bodies fell limply to the floor.

    The only ones left were Henry who had become unconscious from the mage emperor¡¯s aura, and Jin Tong who stood motionless due to not receiving any orders.

    The woman arrived next to the duo, carrying Damon¡¯s body. She stared at them curiously.

    First, she observed Henry. There is real darkness in this one, she thought to herself.

    She then looked at Jin Tong. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± she mumbled to herself. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to create an undead. And it¡¯s a fine one too.¡±

    Since undead creatures were dead, they didn¡¯t have souls, so she couldn¡¯t use them to power her primal energy core. Hence, she thought that killing Jin Tong would be a waste. If she just left him, then, having no master, the undead would just wander around aimlessly and attack anything and everything that came in its path until it was finally destroyed.

    That would also be a waste¡­ she thought.

    She looked at the dead bodies, Henry, and Jin Tong, and then came to a decision.

    A few minutes later.

    Henry awoke with a headache. He had been knocked unconscious by the enormous aura, and the noise from the huge explosion rang in his ears.

    Feeling lightheaded, he looked around with blurry vision, squinting his eyes and trying to remember what happened.

    ¡°Lord Damon¡­ was fighting¡­¡± The next instant his memories came back to him. At the same time, his vision cleared, and what he saw left him dumbfounded.

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    Damon and the dark mages were lying lifeless on the floor. The old woman was standing in front of Jin Tong, with her back facing him.

    ¡®What¡­ the hell¡­ happened!?¡¯

    Henry was flabbergasted.

    Did she really kill all of them? How was that possible? Damon was so strong! If she killed them all so easily¡­ was she a mage emperor? What the hell! Why was everything always going wrong for him! Was he finally going to meet his end at the hands of this old woman, after everything?

    A torrent of thoughts ran through his mind, as he wondered what sort of horrible fate he would meet at her hands. He considered grovelling at her feet and begging her to let him go. If he thought that there was even a one per cent chance of success, he would have done it.

    However, he saw how ruthless she was. Given that she hadn¡¯t killed him yet, for all he knew, she had no interest in him and would just let him go naturally, as long as he didn¡¯t do something to make her want to kill him out of annoyance.

    Oblivious to his million thoughts, the woman spoke casually while observing Jin Tong.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    Henry was so startled he almost wet himself.

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± he shouted in response.

    She paused her inspection and turned towards him, amused. Henry was facing the floor, not having the courage to look at her eyes. The woman stepped forward and Henry started to visibly shiver in fear. When she was close enough, she placed her hand on his chin and lifted his face to make eye contact.

    ¡°How would you like to become my servant?¡±

    Henry froze.

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    ¡®What was she talking about? Did she not want to kill me?¡¯ Henry began wondering if it was a trap.

    ¡°Do you not want to?¡± she asked coldly, her smile replaced with a frown.

    Henry felt a chill run down his spine.

    ¡°No ma¡¯am!¡± Henry yelled, shivering. ¡°I would love to be your servant! Thank you very much for accepting me as your humble servant!¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± the woman laughed, releasing him. ¡°In that case, you should know who I am. I am Dalia Krueger, the one who will become the most powerful immortal in the world!¡±

    She raised her head and started laughing like a maniac, before suddenly stopping and looking at Henry.

    ¡°You can just call me Lady Dalia.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, I mean Lady¡­ Lady Dalia!¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± she laughed, before turning around and approaching Damon. She fiddled around his body before taking out the soul harvester.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be a useful servant, you need to become stronger. How about you take this?¡± she asked, pointing the soul harvester towards him.

    Henry was stunned. Was this a test? That soul harvester could let a mage form two additional mana cores! Who wouldn¡¯t want a treasure like that! Was she crazy? No, this must be a test!

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, my Lady. That treasure rightfully belongs to you, I couldn¡¯t possibly accept such a valuable gift!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she laughed, walking closer to Henry. She placed her hands underneath the two glowing spheres. They disconnected from the soul harvester and started floating above her palm. She then walked right up to Henry and whispered loudly, ¡°I¡¯m giving it to you,¡± before slapping her hand against his stomach.

    Henry felt an unbelievable amount of energy wash over him. The two glowing spheres of mana rushed into his inner realm, where two mana cores were already floating around. The new spheres of mana were orbiting around each other as they went close to the other two mana cores. Soon, all four mana cores started moving in one big circle. Every instant that went by, they started rotating faster and faster.

    Bam!

    Suddenly, they all stopped. A wave of mana flowed out from Henry¡¯s inner realm ¨C inside which now floated four mana cores!

    It took a moment for Henry to register what happened.

    He actually had four mana cores now!

    Under normal circumstances, he would be beyond thrilled. However, he became wary and confused instead - why did she give them to him? He wanted to ask, but she seemed to have lost interest in him and continued to instead observe Jin Tong.

    However, Henry¡¯s mind was racing. What did it matter what the reason was? The fact remained that he now had four mana cores! For context, Damon who had three mana cores had cultivated all the way to the peak of the mage king realm before hitting his limit.

    With four mana cores, Henry could realistically reach the mage emperor realm within his lifetime!

    This was unbelievable. Henry didn¡¯t know if his luck was good or bad. Whenever something good happened to him, it would get taken away, but then be later replaced by something even better.

    When he was disowned by his father, he got accepted by the dark mages. When he got pushed out of the mana core formation ritual by Astoria, he had instead received the mage emperor¡¯s inheritance. Knowledge of various cultivation techniques, pill recipes, spells for summoning various spirits and artifacts, from rank one all the way till rank five, and more, all entered his mind. He even obtained several powerful artifacts which he had hidden from Damon and the dark mages so that they wouldn¡¯t take them.

    After sharing some of the inheritance with Damon, he had allowed Henry to undergo the ritual again, at which point Henry formed two mana cores. He cultivated for over two years, with a mage king¡¯s guidance and a powerful cultivation technique he received from the inheritance, making his strength quickly rise to the late-stage true mage realm, which was faster than even Astoria.

    And then, the dark mages died. He felt like he had lost his biggest pillar of support. However, in place of them, he received a huge boost to his cultivation aptitude and a mage emperor as a backer!

    Did he feel sorry for the dark mages? Not really. Although Damon had rescued him from the lowest point in his life, he didn¡¯t really carry about him or the dark mages. What Henry really wanted was power. Previously, the dark mages gave him power so he clung to them. Now Dalia gave him power so he was more than happy to stick with her.

    He didn¡¯t know what Dalia was like, whether she would guide him in his cultivation, or help him in any way. However, if she gave him the two mana cores from the soul harvester, she must value him greatly, right?

    As for Damon and the dark mages¡¯ death¡­ well that¡¯s just an unfortunate part of life, he thought to himself with a smile.

    While Henry was lost in his thoughts, Dalia placed her index finger on Jin Tong¡¯s forehead. Then, she used her nail to carve a weirdly shaped rune into his skin. The moment she finished, the rune glowed a brilliant white, and a wave of mana spread out from Jin Tong. His eyes suddenly sprung to life and he smashed his spear into the ground, before falling to one knee, head bowed low.

    ¡°Good!¡± Dalia mumbled with a smile.

    She then looked at Jin Tong and pointed to the dark mage, as if giving him a silent order. Jin Tong stood up, walked over to one of the dark mages, and picked him up by his collar. Then, he bit him. Specifically, he bit his neck, ripping off his flesh, and then started eating it.

    As Henry watched in horror, Jin Tong started eating the dark mage¡¯s corpse!

    Dalia just had a satisfied smile.

    It took around ten minutes for Jin Tong to finish eating him, and during this time, Henry noticed something peculiar.

    Jin Tong¡¯s aura actually increased!

    He was previously at the pseudo-commander class, but now, he was extremely close to being a commander class undead.

    Having consumed every edible piece of the corpse, Jin Tong threw the body away before consuming the other dark mage. By the time he finished him, Jin Tong¡¯s aura grew to commander class!

    Henry was shocked once again!

    Jin Tong finally approached Damon and picked him up, before consuming him as well. By the time he finished, his aura increased once again, though it was nowhere near that of a tyrant class undead.

    Dalia saw Henry¡¯s perplexed face and chuckled, before deciding to explain. ¡°He is an undead. When he consumes the flesh of someone more powerful than him, his strength will increase. It is not unlike how normal demons and onis cultivate.¡±

    Realisation dawned on Henry.

    ¡°I see¡­ thank you for explaining Lady Dalia!¡± Henry replied.

    ¡°Good, this has gone very well,¡± she said.

    For a moment, Dalia looked towards the village which was still being raided. Although a large number of demons had fled due to Dalia¡¯s aura, there were still a few left who were killing off the small number of remaining humans.

    ¡°There are a lot of souls here,¡± Dalia said to herself happily. She reached into her robes and pulled out a jade box. Henry was wondering what it was but knew better than to disturb her. So, he decided to silently observe her.

    Dalia carefully opened the lid and Henry felt an enormous wave of pure mana emitting from the box. Henry was startled and stepped back, before feeling more and more waves being emitted one after another.

    The amount of mana being emitted from the jade box made the soul harvester that Damon had seem like nothing!

    She reached into the box and took out a glowing sphere. This was what was emitting all the mana. Dalia carefully took the sphere in her palm and held it up high.

    Henry felt a change in the very air around him. The mana in the air seemed to be drawn to the sphere. Specifically, a huge amount of mana from the battlefield was rushing into the sphere. As more mana went in, the waves emitted by the sphere grew slightly stronger.

    After what seemed like a long time, mana finally stopped flowing into the sphere. Dalia placed the sphere back into the jade box before tucking it into her robe again. She turned to face Henry again but looked extra happy.

    Henry had no idea what had happened but decided to not ask anything. He knew that she¡¯d explain if she wanted to so he didn¡¯t want to ask unnecessary questions and annoy her.

    With the same smile, Dalia looked in a different direction.

    ¡°It¡¯s time we get moving then,¡± she announced.

    ¡°Yes, my Lady!¡± Henry replied energetically, standing up. He hesitated for a moment and then decided to ask, ¡°Where exactly are we going?¡±

    She looked at him excitedly, a glint in her eyes.

    ¡°Duskville!¡±

 Chapter 47: Arrivals

    A couple of weeks later.

    As a mage king, Sion Hart could fly very fast by summoning a powerful wind spirit. He also had special artifacts to increase his speed, given to him by the Myriad Sword Palace. Hence, even though the Holy Capital was much further away from the Beast Woods than Basindale or Duskville, he arrived there in just a couple of months, with both Hazezel and Elwin.

    The two brothers watched as a large city came into their view.

    The walls of the city stretched as far and wide as their eyes could see, even from their altitude. The buildings and architecture looked majestic. For two boys who had grown up in a village, this looked like a whole new world.

    Sion saw their stupefied look and smiled.

    ¡°Welcome to the Holy Capital. The capital of the Holy Kingdom. The capital of the human race!¡±

    Sion took the brothers directly to the Myriad Sword Palace¡¯s headquarters. As a sect led by immortals, the Myriad Sword Palace was quite powerful even within the Holy Capital. Sion arranged for someone to show them around, introduce them to the place and take care of them. Sion informed the brothers that he would meet them later.

    But now, Sion had an important job to do ¨C reporting to the sect¡¯s immortal elders about his findings.

    Within the Myriad Sword Palace¡¯s vast territory was the Alton Peak - a mountain where lots of medicinal herbs grew, enriching its air with mana. The higher up you went, the denser the mana you could find. At the summit, the mana was dozens of times denser than normal.

    The mountain peak was covered with clouds, conjured not only by nature but also by powerful magic. If one could peer through the clouds, they would see a large and magnificent palace built right at the tip of the mountain.

    It was the home of the sect¡¯s immortal leaders.

    Sion stood just outside the cloudy peak and released his mage king aura, before waiting. After half an hour, the clouds parted and made a path for him to follow, leading directly into the palace.

    Entering the palace gates, Sion was welcomed by a grand hall. Placed at the end of the hall were three thrones. Three old men, dressed in the most extravagant and luxurious robes, were seated on each throne.

    Sion kept his head bowed as he walked into the hall, before kneeling at the centre.

    ¡°Grand elders, I have returned,¡± he spoke calmly.

    The elder seated at the centre stroked his beard and spoke slowly, his voice echoing with power.

    ¡°Well done, Sion Hart, we are happy to see that you have returned safely. Tell us what you found.¡±

    Sion nodded and recounted everything, seeing the demon tides, rescuing Elwin, and confronting the dark mages led by Damon Rogue, before leaving with both Elwin and Hazezel. The elders listened keenly, without interrupting.

    ¡°Hm, these dark mages are becoming more brazen by the day,¡± the elder on the right spoke. ¡°We need to teach them their place again.¡±

    ¡°Damon Rogue¡­ that name sounds familiar,¡± the elder on the left mumbled.

    ¡°Actually, I remember,¡± the middle elder answered. ¡°I believe that one of the Apostles of the Hidden Venom Cult had an aide who went by the name of Damon Rogue. This must be him.¡±

    ¡°But based on this report, he seems to have been acting alone now?¡± the elder on the left asked again.

    ¡°Yes, it is possible that he had a falling out with the Cult. Such things are not uncommon within dark mage organisations,¡± the elder on the right responded, nodding his head.

    ¡°Still, we cannot just let them do whatever they want,¡± the middle elder spoke again.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± the two responded.

    ¡°Very well then, Sion Hart. Put together a group of three mage kings to go and investigate the Beast Woods more thoroughly. We need to know exactly what the dark mages are up to. If you find Damon again, then don¡¯t let him get away this time.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely! I will get started on it right away!¡± Sion replied.

    ¡°Thank you for your work, Sion Hart, you may leave now,¡± the elder on the right spoke.

    ¡°It is my honour!¡± Sion replied respectfully, before leaving.

    Normally, immortals didn¡¯t care much about the activities of mortal mages, however this was different.

    After Sion left, the elders continued their conversation.

    ¡°Hm, so we were wrong before,¡± the elder on the left spoke. ¡°This didn¡¯t have anything to do with that woman.¡±

    ¡°It seems so,¡± the elder on the right replied. ¡°But we haven¡¯t heard of Dalia in a while, she has been maintaining a low profile. But the question is why? Did she not become an immortal already?¡±

    ¡°Ha, if we¡¯re lucky, she might have attempted immortal ascension and failed, dying in the process,¡± the elder on the left giggled, amused at the idea.

    ¡°That is very likely,¡± the elder in the middle spoke, stroking his beard again. ¡°After all, most people that attempt immortal ascension fail. However¡­¡± he paused, his voice becoming troubled.

    ¡°I cannot imagine that old hag dying so easily,¡± the elder on the right finished.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± they both replied with a hint of concern.

    ¡°If she becomes an immortal, her Order of the Blood Raven which already has three true immortal mages, would become even more powerful. At that point, we would be in trouble,¡± the elder on the left said.

    ¡°Yes. Whether she has become an immortal or not, or if she is hiding, is something we need to find out. And if she is just hiding for some reason, whatever the reason might be, cannot be good for us. We need to find a way to bring her out and put an end to her before she becomes an immortal,¡± the middle elder spoke sternly.

    ¡°Yes, but the question is how?¡± the elder on the left asked.

    ¡°I have a plan,¡± the middle elder smiled mysteriously.

    The other two looked at him with curiosity.

    ¡­

    Sometime later, around one month after Dalia attacks the dark mages.

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    ¡°Duskville, we¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Astoria exclaimed, stepping out of the carriage with Sam.

    ¡°Indeed, we have,¡± Sam replied softly. They both stepped outside of the carriage to see a large town.

    This was nothing like their small village. The walls were large and made of stone coated in a paint of silver. The town stretched wide and far, easily at least five times as big as their village.

    Looking at the town and its marvellous design, Astoria turned back to see where they came from.

    The Beast Woods and their villages were nowhere to be seen.

    Astoria sighed and looked at the town again.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel like a town¡­ it feels like a new beginning!¡±

    Duskville was slightly closer to Jain village than Basindale, hence the reason why they arrived at their destination quicker than Drake. Of course, Hazezel giving them the pills that could ward off low-class demons was helpful too, as they did not get attacked at all for a long time, long enough for them to move far away from the woods. They were occasionally attacked by some random demons afterwards, but the demons were weak enough for Astoria and Sam to take care of.

    Astoria turned to the driver, the eccentric old man.

    ¡°Thank you for driving us,¡± she said gratefully with a bow. ¡°But what are you going to do now?¡±

    ¡°Well, first I¡¯m going to take a break in the town,¡± he laughed. ¡°Then I will find information about the war situation in our village, and then I¡¯ll decide whether I want to return or not.¡±

    Astoria was slightly amazed at his ability to talk casually about the destruction of his own village. However, she didn¡¯t think much of it and just nodded.

    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll part ways here.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied, rubbing his beard. ¡°If fate wills it, we might meet again one day.¡±

    ¡°For sure,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Thank you again,¡± said Sam this time.

    The old man waved goodbye and started making his way to the town gate.

    Astoria looked at Sam and smiled. Sam took her hand in his and they both started walking towards the gate together.

    ¡­

    Another month later.

    A carriage was speeding its way through the plains. On the horizon, a large town, several times the size of Duskville, was coming into view. Tall walls made of finely cut stone stretched across the horizon. A couple of massive buildings could be seen towering over the walls.

    Half an hour later, the carriage arrived before the bustling town gate.

    Two figures stepped out. A young boy dressed in ordinary-looking robes, and a female swordswoman.

    ¡°So, this is Basindale,¡± spoke the boy.

    ¡°Yes, master Drake, we¡¯ve finally arrived.¡±

    There was a long queue in front of the gate, at the end of which stood two guards. They were checking the identity of the people who were entering.

    Drake and Helen joined the queue. It took fifteen minutes, and finally, it was their turn.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you two before, do you have any ID?¡± one of the guards asked Helen. Given that Drake looked young, he must have figured that Helen was his parent, older sibling, or guardian of some kind. Helen looked at Drake who nodded at her, before responding.

    ¡°Actually, we are from a village far to the west,¡± she replied.

    ¡°To the west?¡± The guards looked at each other, confused.

    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing west from here apart from the Beast Woods.¡± They looked at the two warily, wondering what they were trying to hide.

    Drake spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s true. We are from a small village located close to the Beast Woods. We grew up there our whole lives. But recently it came under attack by demon tides and got destroyed.¡±

    The other guard seemed to have a realisation.

    ¡°Demon tide? Actually, I heard about demons acting strangely in the Beast Woods several months ago. We were worried that the demons might end up attacking our town, but luckily, they never made it this far. Our town lord sent out some scouts who reported the destruction of what looked like some human settlements. Could you two have come from there?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Helen replied.

    ¡°I see,¡± the guard responded. ¡°Due to the scale of the destruction, and the scouts not wanting to get close to the demons, they couldn¡¯t confirm whether the remains actually were human settlements. Most people thought that there was no way that there would be any humans living so close to the Beast Woods and dismissed it.¡±

    Both the guards¡¯ expressions changed, and they now carried a look of pity towards Drake and Helen.

    ¡°There were actually three villages. Two human villages and one elven village. There were also a few other villages further away from us, but we don¡¯t know what happened to them as we were the first to get attacked and fled,¡± Drake explained.

    ¡°I see,¡± the guard responded, nodding his head satisfied. ¡°Actually, the scout reports did mention three different areas that looked like settlements, but most people don¡¯t know that. Since you also mentioned three villages, I can only assume that you¡¯re telling the truth.¡±

    The other guard spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss. It must not have been easy seeing your families, friends, and your entire village getting destroyed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry too,¡± the other guard said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sure that the merciful goddess Iva will help you recover from your loss.¡±

    Iva was the name of the goddess that was worshipped throughout the Holy Kingdom. Although their villages had lost touch with the religion due to getting isolated over time, the rest of the Holy Kingdom was still religious.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Helen. ¡°We don¡¯t have anywhere to go now, so can we stay in your town?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you two are most welcome,¡± the guard smiled. ¡°Can you tell me a bit about yourselves first? Are you a cultivator by any chance?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Helen replied. ¡°I have cultivated the perfect stage tempered body and so has master Drake.¡±

    The guards¡¯ eyes widened as they looked at Drake.

    Helen being a perfect-stage martial artist was not unusual, it was a normal cultivation speed. But given that Drake was almost half her age, still being in the same realm as her was unbelievable.

    This was naturally due to Drake using the top-notch cultivation technique passed on from his village ancestor, a mage emperor, plus receiving personal guidance from the exceptionally talented Ray, as well as Holt and Zhao Gaumond on occasion, and his own hard work.

    Drake previously told Helen not to mention him being a mage since he couldn¡¯t use his mage abilities at the moment and he didn¡¯t want to explain the reason why to anyone.

    ¡°Really?¡± The guard asked. ¡°And what do you mean by ¡®master¡¯ Drake?¡±

    ¡°He is the son of the head of our village,¡± Helen replied.

    ¡°I see,¡± the guard nodded, as if he was finally understanding the situation now.

    ¡°In that case, would you two be interested in becoming hunters? It would be the easiest way to make a living for you.¡±

    Drake and Helen looked at each other. In Jain village, hunters would visit the Beast Woods to hunt demons for meat, controlling their population, and keeping the areas visited by locals safe. He wondered if they did a similar job here.

    ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll consider it,¡± said Helen.

    The guard nodded. ¡°Additionally, I¡¯d highly recommend that you two join our martial arts association. It will be very useful for you.¡±

    The guard paused as if having a realisation. ¡°Actually, how rude of me. You two haven¡¯t ventured out of your village, right? And given how isolated your village was, I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t know much about the outside world?¡±

    They both shook their heads.

    ¡°In that case, wait here.¡±

    Saying so, the guard walked into the town. A couple minutes later, he returned, accompanied by a young-looking man in his teens.

    ¡°This is Tom,¡± said the guard, introducing him. ¡°He can be your guide of the town. I have updated him on your situation so he will let you know everything and answer all your questions. I have also paid him for his services, so you don¡¯t need to worry about that. Consider it a token of my goodwill.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± they both exclaimed. Drake was worried about understanding the outside world and finding his way through but luckily, this guard had solved everything for him.

    ¡°Please follow me, young master, young miss,¡± Tom spoke, respectfully bowing to each of them in turn, before walking into the town.

    Drake and Helen look at each other with a smile. Excited at finally being able to enter the town, Drake and Helen hurried after him.

    The moment they passed through the gate, they were greeted with a lively sight.

    There was a road going straight ahead, and another laid horizontally across. Both sides of the streets were covered by various houses. Unlike their village which was mostly built with wood and mud, the houses and roads in this town were constructed with stone and marble, looking far more pristine.

    ¡°Welcome to Basindale,¡± said Tom, giving them a moment to admire the view.

    A crowd of people were walking across the streets, some were on their own, others with their families, and some seemed like young couples living their lives. A few travelled in expensive-looking carriages, driven by young and strong horses.

    The whole town gave off an air of elegance and luxury; it was clearly a prosperous town that was well-built and managed.

    After a minute, Drake and Helen finally recovered from their awe.

    ¡°Please follow me,¡± Tom smiled, before walking straight ahead.

    At the end of the road, there was a large clearing, filled with dozens and dozens of stalls. Merchants were selling all kinds of wares, from food and water, to clothes and accessories.

    ¡°This is the western market square,¡± the guard explained. ¡°There are four market squares in this town, the others located in the north, south, and eastern edges of the town.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Drake noted. He would likely have to visit these markets quite frequently in his everyday life.

    ¡°The centre of the town is where the headquarters of the main organisations of the town are located,¡± the guard explained.

    ¡°Oh, what are those organisations?¡± Drake asked.

    Tom smiled and explained as he slowly walked across the market square.

    ¡°At the centre is the town lord¡¯s manor,¡± he began. ¡°He is a mage emperor and oversees all our town affairs.¡±

    Mage emperor!

    Both Helen and Drake gasped.

 Chapter 48: The outside world

    They had seen just how powerful a mage king was, so how much more powerful was a mage emperor?

    ¡°Can you tell me more about the town lord?¡± asked Helen.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Tom responded. ¡°Our lordship¡¯s name is Eldric Blackthorne. He is from the Blackthorne family, a noble Earl family of our Holy Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Drake mumbled, and Tom continued.

    ¡°The next most powerful organisation in our town is Basindale¡¯s branch of the Church of Iva, which is located next to the town lord¡¯s manor. The branch is run by Archbishop Ambrose Everlight, who is also a mage emperor.¡±

    Another mage emperor! The duo gasped in surprise. But after thinking for a moment, Drake realised that it made sense.

    In the Holy Kingdom, the Church of Iva¡¯s power was second only to the royal family. They stretched across the entire Holy Kingdom, having a branch in every major town and city, with its headquarters located in the Holy Capital. The church was actually led by numerous immortals!

    Though the immortals rarely interacted with mortal affairs, it was no surprise that such a large and powerful organisation had mage emperors.

    There should be several smaller churches distributed across the town, with the headquarters of this town¡¯s branch located in the centre, next to the town lord¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°After that, it is the merchants guild. They are led by the branch head, another mage emperor, Gideon Silverpouch.¡±

    ¡°Just how many mage emperors does your town have!?¡± Helen exclaimed in shock.

    ¡°Haha. Unfortunately, we only have those three lords,¡± Tom laughed.

    The merchants guild, like the Church of Iva, was another organisation that spanned the entire Holy Kingdom. In fact, unlike the Church of Iva, the merchant guild even had some branches in the neighbouring, Southern Empire, located to the south of the continent. It was another large, powerful, and influential organisation led by immortals. Hence, along with the royal family and the Church of Iva, it made sense for them to have a large number of mage emperors too.

    Thinking so, Drake calmed down.

    ¡°We are lucky to have all these lords with us. It allows us ordinary citizens to sleep peacefully knowing that our city is well protected.¡±

    ¡®Indeed,¡¯ Drake thought. If even one of these mage emperors had been in his village, the dark mages would not have succeeded.

    It¡¯s a shame, Drake thought, feeling melancholic. If any of them had known that such powerful cultivators existed in this city, they would have sent a message requesting help. Unfortunately, their village records didn¡¯t give much information about the outside world.

    The records detailing the outside world were drafted up by their founding ancestor who was the only person to have seen the outside world, over five hundred years ago. He wanted to ensure that his descendants knew that there was a world outside their village, but it was no surprise that he didn¡¯t mention the details of any towns and cultivators as they would surely change in the future, making it useless for the later generations.

    Besides, the ancestor ran off to such a remote location due to his numerous enemies. If he made his descendants fascinated with the outside world and they started exploring, they might have become the next target of his enemies.

    Hence, Holt and everyone else did not know about the cultivators in these towns and so didn¡¯t want to ask for help from such a faraway place. Even if they had asked for help, it was unlikely that they would have received any.

    Mage emperors were all busy people with a lot of responsibilities which they probably couldn¡¯t leave for a long period of time. They could only send their subordinates, who at best might have been mage kings. But then Damon would have been able to fight against them, or so Drake thought as he didn¡¯t know about Damon¡¯s weakness.

    So, it was unlikely that they would have wanted to risk their lives for a village in the middle of nowhere, being attacked by a random demon tide and a couple of dark mages. They would have most likely just told them to evacuate and that they would try to provide a home for them in their city.

    I guess there¡¯s no point thinking about that now, Drake told himself and continued listening to Tom.

    Tom introduced more parts of the town as they walked past more residential buildings. Some were private homes, others were taverns and inns, and a few were local shops and churches. He stopped in front of one particular inn.

    ¡°This is one of the best inns in town. It offers great comfort for a reasonable price, and it¡¯s also close to the market square and the western gate. I would recommend you two to stay here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you for the recommendation,¡± Drake said gratefully. That was accommodation sorted.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Tom replied.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Drake.

    ¡°What is it master Drake?¡± Tom asked.

    ¡°Given how far this town is from the Holy Capital, why would all these forces invest so much into it and send their mage emperors across? Is there something special about this town?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I forgot that you would be unaware of this,¡± said Tom, as if chastising himself for forgetting such an obvious thing. ¡°Actually, this town is next to a dragon tribe, and a faerie tribe!¡±

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The duo stopped walking and froze, far more shocked by this information than learning about the three mage emperors.

    Among the many races inhabiting this world, dragons and faeries were two of them, and they were also among the strongest due to their high aptitude for cultivation. Dragons normally formed two to three mana cores, whilst faeries commonly formed three mana cores.

    Additionally, dragons were directly born with steel bodies! As they grew into adulthood, they would achieve the shadow body even without cultivating. Furthermore, even though they had the appearance of humans, they had the ability to transform their bodies into actual, giant dragons.

    As for faeries, although they weren¡¯t born with a steel body cultivation, they were a unique race formed directly from the world¡¯s mana in areas with a high mana density. In a sense, faeries were similar to nature spirits, except that they had physical bodies and consciousness.

    Due to their close relation to the world¡¯s mana, upon birth, they would be blessed by the world with the knowledge of a cultivation technique which was unique and perfect for them, allowing them to cultivate rapidly and become very powerful.

    Since they had a very long lifespan, some dragon and faerie tribes had been in existence for tens of thousands of years and had dozens of immortals, which was enough to rival even the top forces of any other race. It was commonly thought that if all dragons or faeries worked together, they could rule the world.

    Fortunately for the other races, dragons and faeries were non-aggressive and normally dedicated their lives to cultivation. They were also extremely territorial. So, they formed small tribes throughout the continent, each occupying small areas of land which they would defend over generations, rarely venturing outside.

    The only exception was for tribes located next to the settlements of other races. In that case, the tribes would attempt to interact and form friendly relationships with those settlements. Those settlements could then benefit from the wisdom and resources gathered by the tribe over the many generations of their existence, which often spanned thousands of years. Not to mention that the tribe might even become a powerful force that would help defend them in times of need.

    It was no wonder then, that so many different forces had chosen to invest in this town, making it grow prosperous.

    Drake wondered if he would come across any dragons or faeries while in this town.

    ¡°There are actually three more organisations you should know about in our town,¡± Tom spoke, interrupting Drake¡¯s thoughts. ¡°The mages association, martial arts association, and the hunters guild.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what are they?¡± Drake asked curiously, remembering that the guard also mentioned some of them.

    ¡°Like the name suggests, the mages association is just an association of mages. Any mage can sign up and register their skills, such as summoning artifacts, refining pills, or put up any treasures they want for sale. The association will record these so members can look through what others are offering, and if anyone¡¯s interested, get in touch with the mage offering the service, through the association by just paying them a small admin fee. The association will also keep your identity a secret if you request them to. Essentially, they work as a middleman to allow different mages to communicate easily.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ sounds very useful,¡± mumbled Drake.

    If he had his mana core intact, he could have made money easily by summoning his numerous artifacts and selling them, especially rank one artifacts which he was sure would be valuable, all while keeping his identity hidden.

    Drake knew that selling artifacts was actually a common way that mages made money in this world, but he didn¡¯t know about the existence of the mages association.

    ¡°The martial arts association works exactly the same, except for martial artists.¡±

    Drake nodded, that much was obvious.

    ¡°Once you sign up with the association, you will be given an identity token to indicate your membership, which you can then use in any branch of the association, in any other town or city as well,¡± he paused for a second then added, ¡°They have a branch in pretty much every major town and city across the Holy Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°We should definitely register with the association, master Drake,¡± Helen said excitedly.

    ¡°Agreed. And what about the hunters guild?¡±

    ¡°The hunters guild is where people go to hire cultivators for particular tasks. This could be missions such as attacking demon settlements on the outside, protecting merchant caravans in their journey, and so on. The rewards are usually good, so it is a good way to make money for those who are confident in their combat ability.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you for the information,¡± Drake said. ¡°Could you please show us where these associations are?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± he replied.

    For the next few hours, Tom took them to the locations of the different associations and helped them register. Drake didn¡¯t register with the mages association for now, but he did check it out.

    Tom then showed them other key areas in the town, such as landmarks, places which sold particularly good food and wares, or just areas which had a good view where one could relax. Tom really seemed to know everything about the town and was happy to explain it all to them.

    By the time they finished, it was almost evening. As a thank you, Drake decided to invite Tom for a late lunch and pay for his meal. Tom was surprised at the offer, but gratefully accepted it.

    Hazezel had given Drake a pouch full of money, worth around fifty gold coins. Even though the town was more expensive than their village, it was more than enough for them to live on for a year at least.

    Another main difference between the town and their village was the currency. Although bronze, silver, and gold coins were popular among normal citizens, cultivators preferred to be paid in mana stones.

    Mana stones were physical condensations of mana and effectively worked like mana recovery pills in the sense that they could be absorbed to replenish mana, making them useful for emergencies in the middle of a fight or cultivation. Hence, they were inherently valuable for cultivators. They came in four grades depending on the purity and quantity of mana stored in them - low, medium, high and supreme, each worth a hundred times the previous grade.

    A single low-grade mana stone was equivalent to ten gold coins!

    Thinking that his fifty gold coins were only worth five, low grade mana stones, Drake felt poor and became a bit depressed.

    When he joined the martial arts association, he had a look at the kinds of things they had to offer. Rank one artifacts and pills were the most common. Rank two was a little less common but still available, whereas rank three was quite rare. Rank four and above were basically non-existent.

    Unfortunately, Drake couldn¡¯t find anyone offering the Three Leaf Healing pill or any other pills that could heal his mana core. Either they were extremely rare, or low in demand so no one bothered to make them. Drake wondered if he¡¯d have better luck in the merchants guild and decided to pay it a visit in the future. However, he didn¡¯t get his hopes up.

    While eating, Drake was wondering what his plan for the future should be.

    He was desperate to heal his mana core, but it seemed unlikely for that to happen anytime soon. Unless he got lucky and found the pill or an equivalent one in the merchants guild, and it was affordable enough for him, he would have to refine it himself. That meant he had to practise pill refinement, which would require time and money.

    Even after becoming a rank three alchemist, to refine the Three Leaf Healing pill, he needed a number of other rare herbs and materials, such as the corpse of a commander class demon.

    It was basically impossible for Drake to kill a commander class demon himself. Hence, he¡¯d have to either buy it or hire a cultivator from the hunters guild to get one for him, both of which would be very expensive.

    Drake thought about it and decided that there was only one good plan for him to follow for the near future.

 Chapter 49: Visitors

    Drake decided that he would join the hunters guild to do missions and earn money. While going on the missions, he would gather materials to practise pill refining. When he was confident in his skill of refining rank three pills, and he had enough money saved up, he¡¯d buy the rarer materials he needed from the merchants guild or the martial arts association, which he could finally use to refine the Three Leaf Healing pill and restore his mana core.

    After restoring his cultivation¡­ Well, no need to think that far ahead, I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I come to it, Drake thought.

    ¡®If I am going to go on hunting missions, I should increase my strength first,¡¯ Drake told himself. He was very close to breaking through to the steel body. Drake thought he could break through in a couple of weeks at most. After that, he would be more confident in taking on the missions from the hunters guild.

    Drake finished his meal and had his plan for the future ready.

    He thanked Tom for his help and waved goodbye, before making his way to the inn which Tom recommended, with Helen.

    Entering the inn, Drake booked two rooms, meals included, for one month, and paid for it upfront. The innkeeper was extremely happy and told Drake to let him know if he needed anything in the future.

    Drake went upstairs to his room, followed by Helen.

    He opened the door to view a stylish, well-furnished, ensuite room, including a comfortable double bed, a work desk, a wardrobe, and a bedside table.

    Upon seeing the bed, Drake couldn¡¯t help himself and jumped in.

    ¡°Aahhh¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°Finally, a proper bed after three months!¡±

    ¡°It is very comfortable,¡± said Helen, sitting next to him.

    Lying on this bed, Drake was inevitably reminded of his own room back in Jain village. For a moment, he stopped moving and became a little depressed. Helen noticed the change and realised what was bothering him.

    ¡°What is our plan for the future, master Drake?¡± she asked, wanting to change the mood.

    Drake sat up and looked at Helen.

    ¡°We will start taking on hunting missions, but not quite yet,¡± Drake explained. ¡°I am close to breaking through to the steel body, so I will do that first. Till then, I want you to go to different shops and find as many rank one pill recipes as you can. They shouldn¡¯t be too expensive, given that they are just rank one. Additionally, see if you can find any information about pills that can heal damages to the mana core, especially any such pills that are readily available on sale.¡±

    Helen listened carefully.

    Drake took out his money pouch and handed her twenty gold coins.

    ¡°This should be enough.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master Drake,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Also, we should buy ourselves some new clothes,¡± he laughed.

    Helen chuckled.

    They had been wearing the same outfit for three months and, after their long journey, weren¡¯t smelling the best. Additionally, given the circumstances under which they left, they hadn¡¯t packed many clothes either.

    The robes Drake was wearing was actually a rank one artifact carrying his defensive rune so he didn¡¯t want to replace it. However, he wasn¡¯t planning to wear it twenty-four seven either. Hence a change of clothes would be nice for both of them.

    Having listened to her orders, Helen retreated to her room. The inn had a spring which served as a common bath so Drake quickly grabbed a towel and decided to go for a dip.

    After an hour of relaxation, he returned to his room, changed into the one pair of pyjamas he had and tucked himself in for the night.

    Lying in bed, he thought about everything that happened. Given that he had already died once and came to this world, leaving behind a life he had lived for thirty-two years, he wasn¡¯t too attached to his village like an ordinary boy of his age might have been.

    That said, he remembered seeing Holt lying in a pool of his own blood, followed by Hazezel ambushing him with pitch black eyes and felt gloomy.

    I will never forget that¡­

    For a few moments, Drake recollected his numerous memories which gave rise to dark and painful emotions.

    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Drake exhaled loudly.

    ¡®I can¡¯t keep thinking about the past and let myself fall into hatred and self-pity¡­¡¯ he told himself. He had already learnt to move on from his previous life after reincarnating. Hence, he needed to do the same and move on from the relatively shorter life he had in his village with his new family as well, however dramatic and intense it might have been.

    He had many things to do now ¨C cultivate the steel body, become a hunter, increase his pill refinement skill, and heal his mana core.

    Those are the goals I need to focus on - after I get a good night¡¯s rest.

    Thinking so, Drake closed his eyes and sunk into his comfortable bed.

    ¡­

    Six years ago¡­

    On the outskirts of the Holy Kingdom, there were many villages scattered around. Most of them were closer to the Kingdom than the Jain and the other villages were, however, they were still quite isolated from the mainland.

    One such village was located in an area to the southwest of the Holy Kingdom. Inside this village was a small and quiet house. A nine-year-old, red-haired young boy was practising martial arts moves just in front of the house.

    Suddenly, alarms started blasting across the village as people screamed.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Bandits! Oh no, bandits are attacking!¡±

    ¡°Everybody run!¡±

    ¡°Men, pick up your weapons and come fight with me!¡±

    Everyone went into a panic as a large group of bandits rapidly approached the village on horseback. The villagers¡¯ panic infected the boy¡¯s quiet home as well, and a young woman ran out of the door.

    ¡°Theo!¡± she yelled out to the boy, but the boy was curiously watching the people running amok.

    ¡°Theo Vancouver! Come inside, NOW!¡± a man¡¯s voice boomed.

    This time, the boy, Theo, obeyed and immediately turned around and headed inside the home. The woman hurriedly closed the door and bolted it shut as soon as he entered.

    ¡°Take our son and hide in his room!¡± the man yelled. The woman grabbed Theo and immediately fled. As they left, the man picked up a large sword and stood in front of the door. Though the man put on a brave front, his arms were shaking uncontrollably.

    A few minutes passed and the man started to hear the villagers¡¯ panicked screams turn into pained cries. Wives were mourning their husbands, and children were mourning their parents, as the bandits cut through everyone mercilessly.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t come here, please don¡¯t come here...¡± the man whispered, praying to whatever god was listening.

    Either no god was listening, or whatever god was listening did not care, because just a few seconds later, the door was kicked open.

    A group of four bandits entered brazenly. They spotted the man pointing a shaky sword at them and laughed. The father steeled his resolve and slashed at one of the bandits with his sword.

    ¡°Aargh! Take this!¡±

    But the bandit easily dodged to the side before stabbing him through the chest with his own sword.

    ¡°Aaa-!¡± the woman was about to scream but placed a hand over her mouth to stop herself. She and her son Theo were watching the fight through the small crack between the door and its frame. Before her eyes, her husband was mercilessly stabbed multiple times by the bandits, before being left to bleed out on the floor.

    The bandits started rummaging through the house, taking any valuables they could find. One of them began heading directly for the door to the room where the woman and Theo were hiding.

    ¡°Quick, hide there!¡± the woman whispered as she pushed Theo under their bed.

    Just as she finished hiding Theo, the bandit broke open the door.

    ¡°Ai!¡± the woman flinched. Her body instinctively rotated to face the bandit while pushing herself against the bed.

    ¡°Please! Take whatever you want, just leave me alone!¡± she begged.

    ¡°Ha! See this, boys! We got ourselves a pretty one!¡± the man laughed. ¡°Maybe we can finally have some fun after a long time!¡± he spoke lustfully while approaching her.

    The woman was terrified and pushed herself against the bed more and more but it was useless. The bandit was just inches away now and she turned her face away, unable to make eye contact. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her body temperature rose, and her breathing became heavy and ragged.

    ¡°Enough Derek, we don¡¯t have time for this,¡± another bandit called out from behind the door. ¡°Just finish her quickly. We gotta get going. Boss¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, fine¡­¡± the man sighed, disappointed. He stopped moving closer and unsheathed his sword instead, placing it against the woman¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Please¡­ you don¡¯t have to do this¡­¡± she pleaded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to¡­ but I want to!¡± a smile of evil delight appeared on his face as he raised his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry hun. This will be quick!¡± He swung the sword across her neck.

    Blood splattered everywhere as the woman¡¯s headless body fell limply to the floor. The bandit became drenched in blood; but instead of being disgusted, he took his bloody sword and licked it.

    ¡°Um! Delicious¡­¡± he mumbled, as if it was a delicacy.

    ¡°Psycho!¡± the bandit outside the door said.

    ¡°Hey!¡± the bloody bandit protested. ¡°What¡¯d you say you piece of-¡±

    He stopped himself mid-sentence as he spotted something completely unexpected.

    When the woman¡¯s body fell to the floor, the space behind her was revealed. And right there, underneath the bed, was a young boy.

    Derek had raided many villages in the past and killed many people. It was not uncommon for him to spot children hiding under their beds. He quite enjoyed dragging out the terrified kids and stabbing his knife into their tiny throats.

    That¡¯s what made it fun for him - seeing the terror in their eyes fade and be replaced with nothingness, that¡¯s what fulfilled his sick, sadistic, desires.

    But this boy was different. He was hiding under the bed, yes, but there was no terror in his eyes.

    On the contrary, despite having just seen both of his parents be slaughtered right before him, and with the murderer standing in front, that boy just had a pleasant smile across his face.

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± the bandit whispered to himself, licking his lips.

    ¡­

    A couple weeks before the present, Duskville.

    Night fell upon the small town of Duskville. Rays of light fell from the full moon and dispersed over the ground, making its streets, houses, and buildings sparkle mystically. One of the taller buildings in the town was a popular inn. A young man and woman were sitting next to each other inside one of its rooms, both in meditative poses.

    Suddenly the girl opened her eyes, and a strong aura was released from her body.

    ¡°I¡¯ve broken through!¡± Astoria exclaimed. She had reached the late-stage true mage realm.

    ¡°Congratz!¡± Sam rejoiced. ¡°But damn, you just cultivate way too fast! At this rate, you will reach my level very soon.¡±

    ¡°Haha, not likely,¡± Astoria replied with a smile. ¡°You have already cultivated the steel body!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only natural,¡± Sam laughed with his usual, slightly arrogant tone. ¡°Still, you¡¯re very close to the middle-stage true body as well. That¡¯s just crazy!¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just special,¡± Astoria giggled as well. She still hadn¡¯t told him that she had formed three mana cores. She didn¡¯t mean to hide it from him, but Sam just never asked her explicitly so she never mentioned it. Hence, this cultivation speed must seem miraculous to him.

    ¡°Maybe. Even Drake and Elwin didn¡¯t cultivate this fast,¡± Sam laughed but then wanted to punch himself.

    Astoria became visibly depressed, her earlier joyful mood completely gone.

    As with Drake and Helen, when Astoria and Sam tried to enter the town and explain their situation, the guards were already aware of the demons attacking and destroying some settlements. Astoria had fled with Sam before the full-scale demon invasion, hence, she didn¡¯t know that her village was destroyed until she spoke with the guard.

    After hearing that, she broke down on the spot. Her father, brothers, her entire family, everyone ¨C they were all dead. She did not even get to say proper goodbyes to any of them, especially her father.

    The last time she spoke to him, she had fought and cursed him! Sure, she felt that he deserved it at that time, but she didn¡¯t want that to be his last memory of her. How she wished she could go back, and meet them just one last time!

    Alas, there were no second chances in life. She had been mourning her family ever since. Sam tried his best to help her, but he knew what it felt like to lose someone you loved, let alone four of them at once; he could only imagine what she was going through.

    Initially, she didn¡¯t even want to get out of bed in the morning. Sam had to drag her out every morning to eat. Slowly, she started to do more routine tasks, albeit mindlessly. Afterwards, something seemed to change in her, and she threw herself at cultivation again.

    Feeling that the only reason she was forced to flee her village, unable to protect her family or be with them in their dying moments, was because she was too weak, her resolve to cultivate and become the strongest mage she could, strengthened even more.

    No matter what, I cannot afford to be weak.

    Thinking so, she was cultivating all day every day, whenever she had free time. After starting to focus on something that wasn¡¯t just the loss of her family, she started feeling better and acting more normal, though she would occasionally daze off into the distance as if recollecting a fond memory. She also became closer to Sam.

    After registering with the hunters guild, the martial arts association, and the mages association, the two started picking up some missions to earn money and make a living.

    That was their life now ¨C do a mission, earn money, eat, cultivate, sleep, wake up, and repeat. It was a simple life, but it was a life that allowed them to be together. So, they were both happy.

    Astoria recovered from her sadness and smiled at Sam as if to tell him that he didn¡¯t need to worry about it. The two laughed and chatted for a bit, before resuming their cultivation.

    If they had looked outside the window and focused on the horizon, they might have made out three blurry figures rapidly approaching their town.

    One was an old woman wearing a black hooded robe, another was a young man, and the last was also a young man, but was carrying a spear, and had a lifeless, half-decayed body.

    They were naturally Dalia, Henry, and the undead Jin Tong. The shadow of the town of Duskville was coming into view for the trio.

    Dalia¡¯s eyes flashed with wicked excitement.

 Chapter 50: Blaze Emberclaw

    Dalia sensed something and came to an abrupt stop. A spirit in the shape of a pigeon ¨C a messenger spirit ¨C approached her. Dalia raised her hand and the pigeon spirit sat on her finger, before transforming into mana and being absorbed into her body. For an instant, Dalia¡¯s eyes became blank, before returning to normal.

    However, her smile was gone, replaced with an expression of pure rage.

    ¡°Aaaaahhhhhhh!¡± she screamed.

    Dalia poured mana into her ring artifact and slashed her hand across the air. A powerful wind blade flew out into the sky. She poured more mana into her ring and repeatedly slashed her hand across the air, releasing hundreds of terrifyingly powerful wind blades into the sky, each carrying an aura that could equal an attack from a grand mage.

    Henry cowered in fear. He didn¡¯t know what made her so mad but was horrified that she would take her anger out on him.

    Luckily for him, that didn¡¯t happen. After a few minutes, she started gasping for air and calmed down.

    ¡°Those old foxes!¡± she started talking to herself. ¡°They¡¯re really attacking my entire order to draw me out? Hmph fine! I¡¯ll play your game - and show you that I can still win!¡±

    She then looked at the sky and yelled.

    ¡°None of you can stop me from becoming the most powerful immortal!¡±

    Her voice echoed across the plains. Several birds sitting on nearby trees flew away with a cry, casting the group into silence.

    Nobody spoke for a while, but Henry couldn¡¯t contain himself any longer.

    ¡°Lady Dalia, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± she replied, more calmly now. ¡°The Order that I¡¯m a part of, the Order of the Blood Raven, is soon going to come under attack by the Myriad Sword Palace. I need to go reinforce them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well with your strength, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be a piece of cake to beat them lady Dalia!¡± Henry responded encouragingly.

    Dalia seemed to brighten a bit. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just a shame as I have to give up on this town¡­ for now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Henry agreed. ¡°But we¡¯ll come back after dealing with the attackers.¡±

    Dalia looked at him. ¡°No, we are not coming back,¡± she replied.

    Henry looked confused and she continued.

    ¡°We have made it this far so it would be a waste to turn back now. I will go reinforce them on my own, you take Jin Tong and carry on.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. I will do as you command, lady Dalia,¡± Henry replied, while inwardly rejoicing that he didn¡¯t have to go fight in a dangerous war.

    ¡°Good, good!¡± she spoke, in a better mood now.

    ¡°Then here is what I¡¯d like you to do.¡±

    ¡­

    Back in the present, one week after Drake and Helen arrived, Basindale.

    It was a windy night.

    A mysterious hooded figure was standing just outside the town gates, hands behind his back. It was difficult to make out his features, but his hood was rustling heavily with the wind, revealing a neck tattoo in the shape of a black and white snake coiling around each other.

    One moment he was standing, and the next moment he vanished.

    The guards at the gate felt a gentle breeze across their faces but didn¡¯t think much of it. If they turned around, however, they would have spotted a hooded figure slowly walking into the town.

    The next morning, inside an inn, in Basindale.

    A young boy was sitting in a room, legs crossed, in a meditative pose.

    Mana was coursing through his body, in every muscle, every bone, and every tissue, breaking it down before recreating it stronger, infused with mana. The process must have been excruciatingly painful, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise when the boy screamed out.

    However, what he screamed out, was surprising. He didn¡¯t scream in pain, but rather joy.

    ¡°I have finally cultivated the steel body!¡±

    Drake could feel a qualitative change in his body. He stood up and hopped from one leg to the other. His body felt very light, but clenching his fists, he could tell that they carried far more power than before. All the bones and muscles in his body were stronger. Even the skin was infused with mana and had become more durable. It would be slightly difficult for ordinary weapons to pierce his body now, even if he didn¡¯t put up any defence.

    Drake was elated. Losing his mage abilities was a major blow to his battle strength. But cultivating the steel body now would make his martial arts alone, almost equal to the strength he had previously.

    Knock! Knock! Knock!

    At this moment, Drake heard a knock on his door.

    ¡°Come in!¡± Drake said out loud.

    In walked a beautiful young woman with long red hair. She was dressed in a light chainmail, and had a sword strapped to her waist, making her look graceful and elegant.

    ¡°Congratulations on your breakthrough, master Drake,¡± she said with a smile.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Drake replied. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you sensed it immediately.¡±

    Helen shook her head, ¡°Actually master Drake, I just returned from the last bit of shopping and wanted to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Drake replied, understanding why she was there. ¡°Please, have a seat.¡± Drake sat on his bed and pointed towards the chair next to his bedside table. Helen pulled the chair out and took a seat.

    While Drake had been busy cultivating this past week, Helen had scoured every shop in town, looking for rank one pill recipes, as well as information on how to heal damages to mana cores that Drake had asked for. Drake was interested to know what she had found.

    ¡°Did you manage to find any information?¡± Drake asked straight to the point. This is what he wanted the most, as he really didn¡¯t want to go through the effort of refining the Three Leaf Healing pill if he didn¡¯t have to.

    Sadly, life didn¡¯t often work out the way we wanted.

    ¡°Unfortunately no, master Drake,¡± Helen sighed. ¡°However, I did get this for us.¡±

    Helen handed Drake what looked like a pouch, but Drake¡¯s sharp senses immediately spotted a strange rune engraved onto it. He took the pouch to study it, but the rune was more complicated than anything he had ever seen before. Drake couldn¡¯t make sense of it at all! Drake looked at Helen questioningly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a storage pouch, master Drake,¡± Helen explained. ¡°It¡¯s a spatial artifact that has a lot more space inside than outside. You just have to pour a bit of mana to activate it.¡±

    Realisation dawned on Drake. He had heard of spatial artifacts before, but they were extremely rare due to there being very few mages in the world that could understand and use spatial magic.

    Most mages used one of the traditional magical elements of fire, water, lightning, wind, earth, and light. Dark mages often also used the shadow element which contained darker forms of magic like poison, mind control, necromancy, and more.

    However, most mages could not comprehend the spatial element, so they couldn¡¯t use spatial magic.

    The one exception to this was the storage pouch. The rune it used was one of the simplest runes in spatial magic making it relatively easy to understand and use. And, due to its utility, many people learnt, practised, and helped produce them over the centuries. So, spatial pouches were still widely made and sold everywhere throughout the continent. Almost every cultivator had a storage pouch as it was a handy tool to carry items in.

    Drake stopped trying to decipher the rune and instead poured his mana into it. Although he was now basically useless as a mage, as a martial artist, he could still use artifacts. So, Drake was able to activate it without issues.

    When his mana entered the spatial pouch, he could sense the contents within. There were dozens and dozens of pill recipes, mostly rank one, with some being rank two, along with some common pill refining materials.

    There was also a cauldron, a rank one wind artifact that was necessary for any alchemist to refine pills. By pouring mana into the cauldron, the alchemist could sense the contents within, and then use its wind rune to control the materials and combine them the way they wanted.

    This was the other thing Drake had asked Helen for and she had managed to obtain it successfully.

    Drake was quite happy.

    ¡°Good job Helen, this will be very useful for me, thank you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my honour, master Drake!¡± she smiled, delighted at being praised by Drake.

    ¡°Well then, since I¡¯ve cultivated the steel body now, how about we kick off the day by registering with the hunters guild and taking on a mission?¡± Drake asked.

    ¡°That sounds wonderful master Drake!¡± Helen replied enthusiastically.

    ¡°Excellent. First, let¡¯s have breakfast downstairs, then we¡¯ll make our way to the hunters guild,¡± Drake said, standing up.

    Helen nodded and followed Drake as he went downstairs. They ordered breakfast which was included with their rent. The innkeeper, who was happy to please a well-paying customer, rushed his maids to cook the food and deliver it quickly.

    Soon, two delicious plates of breakfast were served to the duo. Simply breathing in the aroma increased their appetite. Drake internally thanked Tom for recommending the inn before digging into his food with Helen. They enjoyed it while chatting and laughing.

    After about twenty minutes, the two finished their meals and started making their way through the lively streets. Helen was quite familiar with the streets after going through so many shops over the past week, so she was able to easily guide Drake towards the hunters guild.

    Drake saw a fork appear on the road ahead, with a street branching off to the left.

    ¡°It should be in that street,¡± Helen said, nodding to the left.

    Drake became a little excited and hopped forward, before quickly turning left at the fork. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn¡¯t stop in time when he spotted a large man standing right at the entrance to the street and bumped into him.

    ¡°Aww!¡± Drake yelped, as he rebounded from the crash. Drake rubbed his head slightly but then stopped as he noticed something.

    The man was tall, almost 6¡¯2 in height, and had a large, six inch wide sword wrapped with a white cloth and strapped to his back. The handle of the sword slightly obscured the short, red hair on his head, where his most interesting feature was located - two, spiral horns.

    Startled, the man turned around to reveal a surprisingly young, but handsome face. Unlike his fully covered sword, he only wore loose leather armour covering his upper body up to his elbows, and lower body down to his knees, with the rest of his legs covered by thick, long leather boots, and his hand and forearms by leather gauntlets.

    ¡°Hey there kid! You should watch where you¡¯re going,¡± he spoke but his voice carried no frustration or anger. In fact, he had quite a friendly tone and he spoke with a bright smile.

    ¡°Uh, sorry mister.. umm¡­¡± Drake hesitated.

    ¡°Blaze. The name¡¯s Blaze Emberclaw,¡± the man finished the sentence for Drake. ¡°I¡¯m from the Emberclaw dragon tribe, as you can see,¡± he said, pointing towards his horns.

    This man was a dragon!

    Drake stared at his horns again. They looked extremely hard, and the spiral twist made them stand out even more.

    At this point, Helen had also caught up and was startled to see Blaze standing before them.

    ¡°Yikes!¡± she gasped.

    Blaze responded to her with the same friendly tone. ¡°Hey¡­ sorry for startling you guys,¡± he laughed sheepishly, rubbing his hair.

    ¡°No¡­ problem,¡± Helen stuttered. She had never met a dragon before and only knew them through their fearsome lore. Hence, she had no idea how to interact with one.

    ¡°Cool. I was just telling the boy that my name is Blaze Emberclaw. I¡¯m from the Emberclaw dragon tribe. What about you guys?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Um, my name is Helen¡­ master¡­ Blaze?¡± she replied, her speech sounding just as confused as her thoughts.

    Blaze laughed. ¡°Oh please, just call me Blaze. I am only 87 years old.¡±

    ¡®That¡¯s crazy old!¡¯ thought Drake but then calmed himself. Dragons could live for tens of thousands of years, so 87 must be like a child for them. In dragon years, Blaze may only be a couple years older than Drake.

    ¡®Well¡­ he does seem to have a youthful personality,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. My name is Drake, Drake Reynard,¡± Drake responded, making Helen grateful for taking Blaze¡¯s attention away from her. ¡°We¡¯re sorry, we have just never seen a real dragon before.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I totally get it. I too, have not met many humans,¡± Blaze laughed. His friendly demeanour set Drake and Helen at ease and helped them relax.

    ¡°So then, what brings you here Blaze?¡± Drake questioned curiously.

    ¡°My tribe sent me to this town to get some worldly experience while I¡¯m still young,¡± he responded.

    ¡°On your own?¡± Helen asked.

    ¡°Yes, we dragons have a slow reproduction rate. There are normally only a couple children born every few hundred years in a tribe. So, there wasn¡¯t anyone else my age that my tribe could send out with me,¡± Blaze explained.

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Helen replied, nodding her head.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Blaze continued. ¡°Since I am supposed to live in this town for a while, I wanted to join the hunters guild. I heard that¡¯s a great way to make money for cultivators?¡±

    Drake and Helen shared a glance.

    ¡°What a coincidence, we were actually going to register there ourselves,¡± Drake replied.

    ¡°Excellent!¡± Blaze smiled. ¡°How about we register together then? I¡¯d love it if you guys could help me out, as I am not very familiar with human customs.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± they both replied enthusiastically.

 Chapter 51: First mission

    The group of three started walking towards the largest building in the street, which was the hunters guild.

    They opened the doors to find a medium-sized crowd of people chatting and laughing in various groups.

    One after another, everyone¡¯s eyes wandered towards the trio and immediately froze. A wave of silence spread across the room.

    A young boy, a long and red-haired swordswoman, accompanied by a tall and youthful dragon - it was a very unusual group.

    Of course, Blaze stood out the most in their group. Very few people in the world had seen a dragon in real life. For everyone in the hall, this was the first time seeing one. They started whispering to each other in hushed tones while observing the group with curiosity. But no one dared to mess with them.

    The group walked straight to the receptionist, who was a young lady. Normally, she would have received them quickly and warmly, however, she too was dumbfounded at the moment, to see a real-life dragon. No words would come out of her mouth.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Helen exclaimed, bringing the receptionist back from her trance.

    ¡°Oh, hi! Sorry about that. Welcome to the hunters guild, how can I help you?¡± she asked, composing herself again.

    ¡°We would like to register as hunters,¡± Helen replied.

    ¡°Of course. You just have to fill these in,¡± the receptionist replied, handing them three forms.

    Drake took a form and saw that it just asked for some basic details, such as their names, where they were staying, emergency contact information, and of course, their cultivation.

    They quickly filled in their respective forms and handed them in and the receptionist collected them with a smile.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s see. Helen, age 20, perfect stage tempered body, Drake Reynard, age 11 and a half and early-stage¡­¡± she looked at Drake questioningly. ¡°Are you sure this is right? It says here that you have cultivated the steel body.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Drake responded.

    The receptionist almost couldn¡¯t believe him and several onlookers also gasped in surprise. Reaching steel body at 11 and a half years was very abnormal. Even the talented Elwin had only reached steel body close to 15 years old. But Elwin practised a very average cultivation technique. It was actually a testament to Elwin¡¯s talent that he was able to progress so quickly with an average cultivation technique.

    On the other hand, Drake had almost an equal natural talent for martial arts as his brother and used an extremely rare cultivation technique passed down from a mage emperor. Hence, he was able to progress much faster.

    Of course, the receptionist didn¡¯t know that.

    However, cultivation realms were easy to verify so she didn¡¯t think Drake would lie about it. She decided to move on and look at Blaze.

    ¡°Blaze Emberclaw, 87 years old, late-stage true mage and late-stage steel body,¡± she glanced at Blaze. For a dragon, 87 years old was very young. Given that he would probably live for thousands of years, it was hard to say what heights Blaze would be able to reach in cultivation.

    ¡°Very well. Your details all look good to me. Would you like to register as a party together?¡± the receptionist asked.

    ¡°A party?¡± Blaze blinked, confused.

    ¡°Yes, forming a party is essentially an informal agreement you are making with each other, that you will take on missions together and work as a team.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that sounds great,¡± Blaze replied, looking at Helen, then Drake, and added, ¡°If you guys are okay with it as well, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Drake responded and Helen nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Wonderful. In that case, I will just note down a few things¡­¡± she started writing a couple of things but was done in a few seconds. ¡°Okay. I have registered you three as a party together. Given your details, I can make you an iron class party.¡±

    ¡°Iron class?¡± they all looked confused.

    ¡°Hunter parties are categorised into classes of copper, iron, platinum, mythril, and adamantite, which is similar to cultivation realms, but are based on the overall strength of the party instead. It shows roughly what class demons and onis your party could take on, to help you choose missions.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Drake replied. ¡°How do we go about selecting missions?¡±

    ¡°Please, come with me,¡± the receptionist said, standing up and straightening her skirt, before leading the party to a board which had a bunch of posters nailed to it. ¡°These are the missions we have available, and the top right shows roughly what class party could take it. You can take on any missions that are at your class or lower.¡±

    ¡°I see, that makes sense,¡± Helen nodded.

    Drake scanned the board and spotted various missions, ranging from defeating demons, collecting herbs, collecting demon materials, protecting travellers, etc. One particular mission caught his eye.

    ¡°How about this one?¡± Drake asked, pointing to a poster.

    It was a mission to investigate and clear out a pack of demon monkeys that had made camp in a forest area near the town. It was an independent forest, not connected to the Beast Woods, but still contained some demons, such as the demon monkeys this mission was talking about.

    Most of the demon monkeys were estimated to be servant class, with a few warrior class, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for their group, however, the reward was very generous.

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    Drake looked at Blaze and Helen who both didn¡¯t seem to have a problem with it, and then at the receptionist. She took the poster and scanned it once more to check it was okay.

    ¡°Very well, this seems good for your party. I will allocate this mission to you immediately.¡±

    After completing some more formalities, the mission was allocated to them. The group rented a carriage and started making their way to the designated area.

    The carriage was relatively small, much smaller than the luxurious carriage Hazezel had prepared for their four-month travel to Basindale. However, unlike with such a long trip, they needed speed much more than comfort now. So, a light, cheap carriage pulled by strong horses that would get them to their destination as soon as possible was what they chose.

    Drake and Helen were sitting squashed next to each other, while Blaze sat opposite to them, with his large, wrapped sword laid to rest on the side.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty cool sword,¡± Drake said.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Blaze replied happily. ¡°It was a gift given to me by my tribe to help me while I¡¯m out on my journey.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is it an artifact then?¡± Drake asked.

    Blaze nodded, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a rank three artifact,¡± Blaze replied casually.

    Rank three artifact!

    Drake and Helen gasped.

    Drake had never seen such a high-ranked artifact before. Out of their three villages, possibly only the elves had a few rank three artifacts, created by Myra Wan. Jain and Leon villages only had a few rank two artifacts at best, which were mostly kept in the treasury and occasionally used by the village elders.

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s impressive,¡± Drake said, amazed.

    ¡°Is your armour an artifact too?¡± Helen asked curiously, looking at his loose leather armour and boots.

    ¡°No,¡± Blaze replied. ¡°But they are made from everlast leather to facilitate our dragon form without tearing.¡±

    ¡°Everlast? Dragon¡­ form?¡± Helen asked confused.

    ¡°Dragon form,¡± Blaze explained. ¡°It¡¯s the name of the technique to transform our bodies into actual dragons.¡±

    Drake and Helen slightly gasped in surprise but Blaze continued.

    ¡°And everlast leather is a special type of leather that is extremely flexible so it won¡¯t tear during our transformation. It is also very durable and naturally provides defence equivalent to a rank one defensive artifact.¡±

    ¡°Wow that¡¯s incredible! Then, can you transform into a dragon, Blaze?¡± Helen asked excitedly.

    ¡°Haha, sadly no. I would need to become an adult and practise lots of time to be able to do that. However¡­¡± Blaze grinned before continuing, ¡°I can transform an arm or a leg into that of a dragon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± Drake said. ¡°Can you show us?¡±

    Blaze shook his head. ¡°It consumes a lot of mana, so I don¡¯t want to use it now. I might use it in battle sometime if the need arises.¡±

    ¡°Cool, I bet it would be amazing,¡± Drake replied.

    Blaze smiled. ¡°What about you guys? Tell me about more about you. I don¡¯t know much about humans either so I¡¯d love to learn more,¡± he asked curiously.

    Though Blaze was old by human standards and clearly quite powerful, he still carried a youthful curiosity. Combined with his friendliness, he had the personality of someone young, reflecting the fact that Blaze was quite young in dragon years. Seeing his demeanour, no one would believe that he was actually from the fearsome dragon race.

    Helen looked at Drake and he began to talk a bit about their background, how they came from the Jain village close to the Beast Woods, having to flee due to dark mages. He left out the part where Hazezel destroyed his mana core, which he kept from everyone except Helen. And even Helen only knew that his mana core was destroyed and didn¡¯t know that Hazezel had caused it.

    Drake just didn¡¯t feel comfortable sharing his weakness with anyone. Especially after being betrayed by Hazezel, he chose to be more wary of people and didn¡¯t want to tell them any information they could potentially use against him.

    So, Drake simply explained that their entire village including most of his family had died, apart from his sister who had fled to Duskville just before the final demon invasion.

    Blaze listened intently and clenched his fists, listening to the story.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ so sorry,¡± he said melancholically.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s not your fault,¡± Drake replied.

    ¡°Yes, we did our best to fight them, but there was nothing else that could be done,¡± Helen added, though her tone suggested that she was trying to convince herself as well along with Blaze.

    For a while, the carriage became quiet as everyone ruminated their own thoughts about the tragedy.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± the driver announced, pulling the horses to a stop.

    The group looked outside to spot a couple of trees which quickly turned into a dense forest further ahead.

    Everyone exited the carriage.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Drake said to the driver. ¡°Please wait here, we¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± the driver responded, stretching his arms before relaxing back on his seat and closing his eyes, clearly tired from the drive. ¡°Let me know when you¡¯re back.¡±

    Drake nodded and the group started to make their way into the forest.

    The camp of the demon monkeys was actually not too deep within the forest. They estimated a fifteen-minute walk at most, but it was possible that they might encounter other demons along the way which would delay their journey.

    So, the group walked through the forest warily. Drake and Helen had their swords unsheathed, and even Blaze had unwrapped his sword and was holding it forward with both hands. It was a large, black, and magnificent sword. Engraved along its length were three runes, consequently granting its wielder three abilities.

    Drake wondered what they did but decided not to ask. He would find out soon enough.

    The group managed to reach the camp without any surprises. Hiding behind a tree, they looked into the distance.

    Drake activated acute sense to zoom in and spotted two servant class demon monkeys hopping from one tree to another. Behind them, several more demon monkeys were hanging from different trees. They were all servant class as well, but the mission said that there were some warrior class demon monkeys too.

    Although they didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to their group, it would be troublesome if they were taken by surprise, so they had to be careful.

    ¡°I will launch a surprise attack,¡± Blaze whispered to the others. Drake and Helen looked at each other and nodded.

    Blaze focused on the monkeys again.

    ¡®Dragon step!¡¯ he whispered, activating his martial technique. Immediately, Blaze¡¯s body turned into a fiery mist and disappeared.

    ¡®So fast!¡¯ Drake thought. His acute sense was just about able to keep track of Blaze, who had now silently moved much closer to the monkeys. The monkeys who were playing in the trees still didn¡¯t notice him.

    Using this opportunity, Blaze raised his sword and poured his mana into it. The central rune was activated and started glowing bright red.

    ¡°Firestorm!¡± Blaze shouted. Immediately, a whirlwind of fire appeared around him and shot towards the monkeys, burning through the trees.

    The demon monkeys shrieked in fear but the attack was so close that they couldn¡¯t react in time. The group of several demon monkeys were instantly incinerated, their cries drowned by the loud explosion, leaving behind a large clearing of burnt trees, smoke rising into the air.

    Drake and Helen quickly approached Blaze.

    ¡°Good job! That was very cool!¡± Drake said excitedly.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Blaze replied, but then his eyes became serious. A large number of ominous cries could be heard all around them, rapidly getting closer.

    The group stood with their backs against each other on high alert, ready to face the demon monkeys¡¯ retaliation.

    Over sixty different monkeys appeared, some wielding sticks and poles, and others, menacingly bouncing large rocks in their palms as they all stared daggers at the group. A dozen of the monkeys were warrior class.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it like this. I take this half, you two take that half,¡± Blaze whispered to Drake and Helen. They had no issues with it and agreed.

    Drake whispered to Helen, adding ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the warrior class demons first, you hold back the servant class demons till I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master Drake!¡± she replied immediately. As a tempered body martial artist, Helen was the weakest in the group so she could not fight the warrior class demons. However, she was in the perfect stage tempered body, so it would be easy for her to deal with most servant class demons.

    Having agreed on a plan, they all made their moves.

 Chapter 52: Young dryad

    Drake focused on the warrior class demon monkeys.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake became a shadow as he rapidly approached the demon monkeys. Having cultivated the steel body, he was much faster than before and reached the first warrior class demon monkey in an instant.

    The monkey¡¯s evil look transformed into fear as Drake appeared inches away from its face.

    ¡°Hammer fist!¡± Drake exclaimed as he activated his martial technique and punched the monkey in the face, sending it flying into the horde of monkeys behind, causing them to start panicking in fear.

    He turned to face the next two warrior class demon monkeys hanging off a tree, who now looked at him warily.

    On the other side, Blaze was killing a bunch of demon monkeys with each slash of his sword, making a beeline to the closest warrior class demon monkey.

    Helen herself was fighting against several servant class demon monkeys simultaneously and dispatching them off one by one.

    The demon monkeys which had glared at the humans like prey, were now crying helplessly in terror as they were mercilessly killed off one after another.

    Within a few minutes, all of the warrior class demon monkeys, and most of the servant class demon monkeys were gone.

    The three regrouped and were about to finish off the final few demon monkeys when they were interrupted.

    ¡°ROAR!¡± A huge roar reverberated through the forest.

    It came from further away, and it sounded like one of the demon monkeys as well, but far more powerful.

    The group looked at each other and immediately ran in the direction of the roar. They soon came across an empty clearing. Numerous trees were blasted away, indicating that a ferocious battle had occurred.

    ¡°ROARRRR!¡± The echo appeared once again, but it was much closer this time. The group rushed towards the roar and finally found its source.

    A large and muscular demon monkey was gripping a girl by her throat. The girl was covered in blood and barely conscious. She looked at the group and a weak voice spoke out.

    ¡°Help¡­ me¡­¡±

    Normally, they would have rushed to destroy the demon before she even asked. However, this demon monkey was not like the others. It was radiating a powerful aura.

    It was a pseudo-commander class demon!

    The demon monkey locked eyes with their group while squeezing the girl¡¯s throat harder.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Blaze yelled.

    Dragon step!

    Blaze became a fiery mist before appearing right next to the demon monkey. He swept his sword towards its neck, but the demon monkey caught the blade with its free hand.

    Blaze smirked. He poured his mana into the sword and whispered, ¡°Fire. Blade.¡±

    A blade of fire shot forth from the sword. The demon monkey dropped the girl and dodged at the last second. The fire blade continued flying forward at an incredible speed and cut through a bunch of trees before finally dissipating.

    The demon monkey looked at its palm which now carried a deep cut that was bleeding profusely, before clenching it into a fist and glaring at Blaze menacingly.

    The two started clashing ferociously.

    Drake and Helen quickly made their way to the girl who was now unconscious. Drake had a precious few healing pills which he had bought for emergencies. He knelt down and carefully fed her one of the pills and her wounds started healing.

    Up close, he could see that she wasn¡¯t an ordinary girl. She had bright green, medium-sized hair which looked normal, however, her skin carried translucent creases similar to the bark of a tree. Drake curiously ran his finger across her arm but it felt surprisingly smooth, despite the creases making her skin slightly resemble tree bark.

    ¡®Is she a dryad?¡¯ Drake gasped.

    Due to the pills Drake gave the girl, her wounds healed rapidly and the girl opened her eyes, revealing pure green pupils that sparkled with life. She looked dazed for a moment, before suddenly and quickly sitting up as if she remembered something urgent. The girl looked around to spot Drake and Helen next to her.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me,¡± she spoke with a soft voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Drake replied. He wanted to ask her more about who she was, but this wasn¡¯t the time.

    The girl looked to her left and spotted a green longbow lying on the floor. She grabbed the bow and stood up.

    ¡°We need to help your friend; he won¡¯t be able to hold back that demon for long.¡±

    As if to prove her point, Blaze was sent flying back by the demon monkey and he landed in front of the group. Blaze looked back to spot the girl standing up now and was also surprised at her appearance.

    ¡°A dryad?¡± he asked shocked. ¡°Never mind now, can you fight?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the girl replied, readying her bow. She poured mana into a ring artifact on her finger, and an arrow of mana condensed.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    A roar echoed from the location Blaze had just been sent flying from.

    The girl took aim.

    A shadow started sprinting towards the group.

    Breathe¡­ the girl thought, as she poured mana into the bow. Both the bow and the mana arrow started glowing brilliantly.

    The demon monkey suddenly jumped out, revealing itself. It was furious and ready to attack.

    ¡°Decimate,¡± the girl whispered.

    She released the arrow and it shot forward ferociously. The demon monkey was startled and brought its muscular arms forward to defend itself, but they only blocked the arrow for a second before the powerful mana arrow tore through.

    The demon screamed in pain and started falling. It landed heavily on the ground, creating a small dust cloud rose.

    Everyone looked on in shock.

    ¡®Did she¡­ do it?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, it will take more than that to bring it down,¡± the girl spoke calmly, readying another arrow. ¡°But it must be weaker now. The two of you attack it while it''s down,¡± she said to Blaze and Drake. ¡°I will support you from here. And you, protect me,¡± she said the last line to Helen.

    They didn¡¯t expect the girl to start giving out orders, but they made sense, so nobody had any complaints. Blaze and Drake activated dragon step and shadow step respectively and rushed forward, while Helen moved in front of the girl, ready to protect her from any surprise attacks.

    The arrow had torn through the demon monkey¡¯s forearms before grazing past its shoulder. It was injured now, but the injuries were far from fatal.

    Drake and Blaze thrust their swords at the demon monkey. The demon roared in fury as it grabbed both of their swords by the blade. Holding the swords, the demon monkey pivoted on its heel and spun, before releasing the two to be sent flying.

    ¡°Decimate,¡± Sylvia whispered, releasing another powerful arrow using this opportunity.

    ¡°Eek!¡± the demon monkey shrieked but it had learnt its lesson and did not try to block the arrow this time, instead choosing to jump sideways just in the nick of time to dodge. The arrow shot past before colliding with a row of trees, splitting several dozens of them in half before dissipating.

    Drake used this moment of distraction to pour mana into his boots and activate shadow steps simultaneously, increasing his speed to the maximum and jumping. He appeared above the demon monkey in midair before kicking down with hammer leg. The demon blocked the kick with its arms but was still sent crashing to the ground.

    Before it made contact with the ground, Blaze appeared, sword at the ready.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± he screamed, pouring a huge amount of mana into his sword. A large and powerful blade of fire shot into the air and hit the demon monkey directly, completely stopping its momentum and pushing it up slightly.

    ¡°Yeeeee-aaaark!¡±

    Even the pseudo-commander class demon monkey couldn¡¯t block such a powerful attack at such a close range.

    The demon monkey screamed in pain as the blade cut deeply into its back while burning it at the same time. The blade couldn¡¯t cut through the demon¡¯s entire body, but it had injured the demon severely.

    The demon landed with a thud releasing a mini dust cloud again, while Blaze and Drake retreated a few steps to observe it cautiously.

    ¡°It must be over now,¡± Drake said.

    ¡°I think so too,¡± Blaze agreed, but the next moment, a huge aura came from the dust cloud as a black figure rapidly approached them.

    ¡°Decimate.¡±

    Another arrow furiously shot forward towards the aura before it could reach them.

    Maybe its haste and fury made its attention focus completely on Blaze and Drake, but the attack took the demon completely by surprise. This time, the arrow pierced through its chest.

    The demon gasped as life slowly faded away from its eyes, and it fell to the ground.

    It was truly dead this time.

    The group gathered around the dead demon monkey.

    Blaze looked at the girl and spoke. ¡°Thanks for that, you saved us in the end.¡±

    ¡°I must be the one thanking you,¡± she replied with a smile, but then her expression changed slightly. ¡°Oh apologies, how rude of me to not introduce myself first. My name is Sylvia Everglen, from the Everglen tribe of dryads. It¡¯s my good fortune to have met you all, thanks once again.¡±

    ¡®So, she is a dryad!¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    Dryads were a type of faerie. Since faeries formed from the world¡¯s mana depending on where the faerie was created, they would be widely different in appearance. Near forests, the most common faerie to form were dryads. Nymph faeries formed near water, golems from sand, and gnomes from rocks.

    ¡°No worries. I¡¯m Blaze,¡± he replied, wrapping his sword back with the same white cloth.

    Drake was curious why he always wrapped it up. ¡®Was it another dragon thing?¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m Drake.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m Helen. It¡¯s nice to meet you too,¡± she said with a smile.

    Everyone was silent for a second before Drake asked a question.

    ¡°So, what were you doing here and how did you end up in that situation?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to ask you all the same thing, but I will go first,¡± Sylvia replied calmly. ¡°I am here, probably for the same reason your dragon friend isn¡¯t with his tribe. My tribe sent me out to get some worldly experience. I was heading to the town of Basindale when I was ambushed by the demon monkeys. If it was just the servant and warrior class demons, I would have dealt with them, but the pseudo-commander class demon took me by surprise.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Drake responded.

    She continued looking at him questioningly and Drake was confused for a moment before realising what she wanted. ¡°Oh right, the reason why we¡¯re here. We are hunters who took on a mission to dispatch off this camp of demon monkeys. We are actually from Basindale as well.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s green eyes sparkled. ¡°What a coincidence. If you don¡¯t mind me troubling you once more, could I accompany your group when you return?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s no problem,¡± Blaze responded. ¡°You¡¯re quite strong. Maybe you could join our party too.¡±

    ¡°Party¡­?¡± she looked confused.

    ¡°We¡¯ll explain on the way,¡± Blaze laughed.

    ¡°Actually, can you all wait a minute?¡± Drake asked. ¡°I need to gather some things from here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, for what?¡± Blaze asked curiously.

    ¡°Pill¡­ refining,¡± Drake replied with slight hesitation.

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± Sylvia said, looking at Drake interestedly. ¡°Are you an alchemist too?¡±

    ¡°An aspiring one¡­ it¡¯s a hobby,¡± Drake explained with a laugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t you guys gather up the demon monkeys¡¯ corpses. We could probably get good money for them. Also, I think we left a few servant class demons earlier, so you can finish them off too. I should be back before then. I¡¯ll meet you guys at the carriage.¡±

    Saying so, he turned around and left, before they could start asking him more questions on why he was interested in pill refining.

    The elves¡¯ book on alchemy which Ray gave him upon graduation, actually had a large section dedicated purely to herbs and other ingredients, explaining their key properties and how they were used. Given his scientific mind, he found it quite straightforward to understand and he soon became quite knowledgeable on various types of herbs.

    Drake scanned the forest for herbs he could use in the pill recipes Helen had bought. He managed to find several, very useful ones. He also found some good ores and other materials.

    After gathering everything into his storage pouch, Drake returned to the group who were waiting for him by the carriage as agreed.

    ¡°Did you get everything you needed, master Drake?¡± Helen asked.

    ¡°Yes, and lots of them,¡± Drake replied happily.

    The group of four got into the carriage. It was a tight squeeze with an additional member in the already small carriage, but they managed somehow. It helped that Sylvia was quite short, just a bit taller than Drake, who was still young.

    After surviving a dangerous battle, the group was relaxed and chatted merrily with each other on various things. Sylvia, like Blaze, was especially curious to know about human life, and Blaze was excited to explain the things he had learnt. They were all laughing and having fun, despite the uncomfortable carriage ride.

    When they were halfway through their journey, however, the carriage came to an abrupt stop. The group was confused about why before hearing a panicked voice.

    ¡°Bandits! Bandits are attacking!¡±

 Chapter 53: Clash of forces

    At the same time, in the Holy Capital.

    Two large groups of cultivators were clashing in an open field. Cultivators up to the undying body and grand mage realms were fighting on the ground, whereas mage kings were fighting in the sky. Mage emperors had not started fighting yet.

    The battle was bloody, with people dying every second, and even the lives of powerful cultivators were not guaranteed.

    This was naturally the clash between the Myriad Sword Palace and the Order of the Blood Raven.

    The entire battlefield was displayed in real-time on the screen of a large, mirror-shaped magical artifact. Watching the scene were four elders, in a small building that was floating in the sky through powerful wind magic. Two of the elders were seated on a sofa to the left of the mirror, and the other two were similarly sitting to the right.

    These were the two immortal elders of the Myriad Sword Palace, and the Order of the Blood Raven respectively. If the immortals of the Order made a move, then their mortal army would be decimated. Knowing this, the Myriad Sword Palace had sent out two true immortal mages of their own to restrain the immortal mages of the Order.

    It was hard to reach the immortal realm, so people at this level usually wanted to avoid life-or-death battles unless absolutely necessary. In this case, there was no reason for the immortal elders to risk their own lives fighting each other, so they had their mortal disciples fight instead and determine the winner with the outcome of that battle.

    Unaware that they were pawns in the game of immortals, the mortal cultivators fought each other to the death.

    But there was one person who knew the real game that was being played.

    An old woman dressed in black hooded robes was slowly walking into the battlefield. Anytime an enemy attacked her, a wind blade would cut them down instantly.

    The woman was naturally Dalia. She had summoned her most powerful wind spirits to help her reach the capital as soon as possible. Luckily, she seemed to have made it just in time for the final battle.

    Dalia walked up to the centre of the battlefield, hands behind her back, and released her mage emperor aura.

    A choking pressure was exerted on all nearby cultivators. Grand mages were brought to their knees while those below that realm instantly passed out. Only mage kings could remain stable against the aura, but they quickly fled as well.

    ¡°Mage emperor! She¡¯s a mage emperor! Everybody run!¡± the cultivators ran away in a panic, unwilling to become her victim. However, Dalia had no interest in those cultivators.

    Ten extremely powerful auras appeared on the battlefield and rushed towards her. But before they could reach her, four powerful auras appeared from her side and clashed with four auras from the other. The remaining six auras continued rushing towards Dalia before stopping several metres away from her.

    The figures of four men and two women were revealed.

    ¡°Ha! Dalia Krueger. You should have stayed inside whatever hole you were hiding in. We have you surrounded now; you cannot escape!¡± one of the men exclaimed.

    Despite his mockery, however, he was extremely alert facing Dalia. It was clear that he did not underestimate her at all. The rest of the mage emperors also had serious expressions on their faces.

    Guess I can¡¯t expect them to go easy on me, Dalia chucked to herself.

    ¡°In that case, how about I kill all of you?¡± Dalia mocked in response.

    ¡°Arrogant! You may be powerful, but there are six of us and one of you. Do you really think you can take on all of us and win?¡± another man yelled.

    Dalia looked at him deeply before breaking into a smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can take on all of you and win ¨C I know I can,¡± saying so, she raised both her hands into the air. Mana gathered into her palms from her inner realm, before transforming into a dark and corrosive mist that enveloped the battlefield.

    ¡°Phantom Stallion!¡±

    A huge amount of mana formed a gigantic pillar reaching up to the sky, which all condensed into a singular figure behind Dalia, and became obscured by the mist.

    Neigh!

    The loud neighing of a horse resounded from behind Dalia, before being replaced by the echoes of hooves heavily bashing against the ground. As the spirit walked close to Dalia, its figure was revealed.

    An armoured black horse, sitting on which was a black, heavily armoured knight, wielding a cone-shaped lance. The only thing peculiar about the spirit was that the knight was headless.

    The headless knight pulled the reins and the horse reared on its hind legs, before bashing its front legs into the ground. The impact released a tremendous vibration and aura that pushed all the mage emperors several steps back.

    So powerful! Where did she learn to summon a spirit like that? they thought.

    However, they were all mage emperors and had gone through many battles. They were not going to be scared of just a powerful spirit, especially with so many of them working together.

    ¡°Humph! You¡¯re not the only one who has mastered a powerful spirit summon, Dalia,¡± one of the female mage emperors exclaimed. ¡°I want to see how your phantom stallion fares against this.¡±

    ¡°Celestial Wolf!¡± she yelled.

    ¡°You two can¡¯t have all the fun by yourselves. Three-tailed Fox!¡± the other female mage emperor giggled, summoning her own spirit.

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    ¡°Sky Gryphon!¡±

    ¡°Behemoth!¡±

    ¡°Celestial Ruler!¡±

    ¡°Triton!¡±

    The mage emperors each summoned their own spirits. Dense and violent mana condensed into numerous spirits on the battlefield and released unbelievably powerful auras which all clashed against each other.

    All the lower-ranked cultivators, including mage kings, had retreated. It was now the battleground for mage emperors, and nobody wanted to get caught in the crossfire.

    The immortals silently watched this scene with their mirror artifact. The Order¡¯s immortals especially had cold sweat trickling down their brows, while the Myriad Sword Palace¡¯s immortals were smiling.

    ¡°Things are going to get interesting,¡± one of the Myriad Sword Palace¡¯s elders said.

    ¡­

    Drake¡¯s party, Basindale.

    The group of four exited the carriage to spot dozens of grinning bandits surrounding them. They were dressed in loose, and slightly worn leather armour, and were brandishing all manner of weapons including swords, spears, and bows.

    Some of them spotted Blaze and Sylvia¡¯s unique appearances and stopped.

    ¡°A dragon¡­ and a dryad?¡± they all recognised the two and instantly many terrifying legends appeared in their minds.

    ¡°What do we do? We didn¡¯t sign up to fight a dragon!¡±

    They started hesitating but immediately, a man shouted out.

    ¡°Cowards! They are both clearly young, so they can¡¯t be that strong!¡±

    Drake saw the voice coming from a middle-aged man with a large scar running across his cheek. Out of everyone, he was dressed in the best armour and looked the most intimidating.

    ¡®He must be the leader,¡¯ Drake thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s only a problem if we kill them, we can just tie them up and steal their stuff. Imagine how many treasures a dragon and a dryad would be carrying!¡± the leader explained.

    One of the main reasons why dragons and faeries were feared was due to a skill unique to their race ¨C enemy of race marking. It essentially placed a mark directly on the soul of an individual which was impossible to get rid of. It was a skill that every member of both races could use only in their dying moments; hence they could use it to mark all the individuals attacking them.

    Once marked, every other member of their race could instinctively identify the marked individual as someone who has killed one of their kind. Given their territorial and protective nature, this meant that if you ever came across any new tribes, they would all attack you as well.

    This is what the bandit leader was talking about.

    Even if you were powerful enough to kill off a weak, individual dragon or faerie, or even an entire, relatively weak tribe, it would be a very bad idea to do so, unless you were confident enough to take on every dragon or faerie in the entire world; or wanted to live the rest of your life hiding in fear.

    If not for this skill, powerful and greedy cultivators might have hunted down individual dragon and faerie tribes to extinction for their resources and treasures. However, whenever some greedy noble or sect leader had tried to do that in the past, it had never ended well for them. Eventually, they¡¯d get discovered by a more powerful tribe, and be surrounded and killed.

    After countless years of establishing their dominance, they gained a fearsome reputation and no one dared to mess with them anymore, especially since they were not ordinarily aggressive to other races, so you could gain a lot more by befriending them.

    Hence, the bandits didn¡¯t want to kill Blaze or Sylvia, but just knock them out and steal their belongings.

    Drake and Helen on the other hand, were a different matter.

    ¡°Yea, let¡¯s kill the boy and the girl, tie up the dragon and dryad, and take all their stuff!¡±

    Everybody cheered as the bandits¡¯ morale rose with their leader''s words.

    Of course, Drake wasn¡¯t scared of them. He could sense that most of the bandits were tempered body martial artists, and a few were just ordinary mortals. The leader who looked like the strongest, was only at the peak of the tempered body.

    Except for Helen, any one person in their party could take on this entire bandit group, and even Helen could take on most of them except for the bandit leader. Hence, he wasn¡¯t worried at all.

    Sylvia was tired of this nonsense. She readied her bow, summoned an arrow, and was about to take aim.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Drake held his hand in front of Sylvia. She was surprised but lowered her bow anyway.

    Drake thanked her and stepped forward, releasing his steel body cultivation aura. All of the bandits were slightly pushed back, and they looked at Drake warily.

    Drake spoke loudly. ¡°Even if all you worked together, there¡¯s no way you could beat us. Why don¡¯t you just surrender?¡±

    Everybody went quiet - and then the bandits started laughing.

    Even his own party members looked at him flabbergasted.

    But Drake was serious. If their groups fought, then they would have to kill the bandits.

    And Drake¡­ he had never killed a person before.

    Despite everything, the bandits were still humans.

    Maybe because he was from Earth, but the very idea of killing someone repulsed him and it was the last thing he wanted to do.

    Of course, nobody knew what was on his mind and the bandits just started yelling.

    ¡°So what if you¡¯re steel body martial artists?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we have so many tempered body martial artists as well!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 50 of us against 4 of you, there¡¯s no way we¡¯d lose!¡±

    Normally they would be right, as the gap between tempered and steel body realms wasn¡¯t as much as the gap between mage kings and grand mages for example, fifty tempered body martial artists would normally be more than enough to take on four steel body or warrior mage cultivators. However, battle strength was also determined by the quality of your artifacts, martial techniques, summons, battle experience, and more. And Drake¡¯s party had the bandits completely beat in those regards.

    However, the bandits didn¡¯t know that and continued shouting.

    ¡°This kid must be an idiot. Let¡¯s teach him a lesson!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go!¡±

    A couple of bandits made the first move and ran towards Drake. When they reached him, they started attacking with their swords, slashing left and right.

    Drake easily dodged all of their attacks, before punching some of them in return, but he controlled his strength and didn¡¯t use any martial techniques that would severely injure them.

    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ wrong with him?¡± Blaze asked, confused as to why Drake wasn¡¯t making mincemeat out of them.

    ¡°I think¡­ I understand,¡± Sylvia said, her green eyes sparkling as she watched Drake hold back most of his strength.

    Helen sighed. ¡°Master Drake has always been like this. Back in our village as well, he was against killing or hurting people unless absolutely necessary. He would be extremely gentle to even slaves. Master Drake is simply too kind,¡± she explained, shaking her head.

    Blaze didn¡¯t understand. ¡°But they clearly started attacking us first and want to kill us, what¡¯s wrong with killing them back?¡±

    The girls became quiet and watched as Drake fought six bandits at the same time. He was mostly dodging, and occasionally punched some of them back, just enough to make them think twice about getting back.

    In his mind, Drake thought that if he showed them how outclassed they were, they would surrender. He didn¡¯t want to let them retreat either, as they might hurt more people. Ideally, he wanted them all to surrender so he could capture them and take them back to Basindale for the proper authorities to deal with.

    Maybe he was being na?ve, but in his mind, that was the ideal he was aspiring for.

    However, things didn¡¯t go as planned.

    The bandits felt as if Drake was toying with them and just became enraged. A couple of them from further back started shooting arrows too. Drake dodged most of them, but one grazed his cheek.

    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Blaze cursed, finally losing his patience.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± he yelled, shooting a blade of fire towards the bandits. That single blade killed all the bandits attacking Drake and some more.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Sylvia agreed before taking aim with her arrow again.

    ¡°Rain!¡± she spoke softly before releasing her arrow. The mana arrow multiplied in number, becoming twenty different arrows that rained down on the bandits. Some of them dodged or tried to block it, but most of them hit their mark, each resulting in the death of a bandit.

    The leader of the bandits was shocked to see so many of his men die so suddenly, but before he could react, a fiery mist appeared behind him, and transformed into Blaze.

    ¡°Wai-¡±

    Blaze cut through his neck, sending his head flying. It landed right in front of Drake¡¯s feet.

    Drake stared at the severed head, his face aghast.

 Chapter 54: Unexpected victory

    Though Drake had fought many battles, killed many demons, and seen many people die, he had never killed anyone before. He knew that these bandits were ruthless murderers themselves and yet, there was something within him that was repulsed by the idea of taking another person¡¯s life.

    Drake looked around to see Blaze, Sylvia, and Helen, finishing off the last few bandits.

    ¡®How could they do this?¡¯ he thought. ¡®How could they kill people so easily?¡¯

    After a few minutes, all the bandits were dead.

    Blaze approached him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± he told Drake, patting him on his back.

    Syliva walked past Drake, glancing at him curiously, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    Helen sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s go master Drake.¡±

    The carriage was quiet for a while. Drake was silently contemplating how it could ever be okay to kill people.

    After some time, Sylvia wanted to change the mood and started a conversation.

    ¡°Do you guys know, there used to be a powerful bandit group in this area in the past.¡±

    ¡°Really? I had no idea,¡± Blaze replied.

    ¡°Me neither,¡± Helen added.

    ¡°Yes, it was a group of hundreds of bandits, with many steel body martial artists, and peak, tempered body martial artists. Their leader was a late-stage steel body martial artist. In other words, they were far more powerful than this group.¡±

    Sylvia glanced at Drake before continuing.

    ¡°The group raided numerous villages, killing the helpless villagers mercilessly. Even the children weren¡¯t spared. They would toy with the women for a while, before getting bored and killing them off too. They ruled this area for many years, making it extremely difficult for anyone to pass through for a long time.¡±

    Drake listened to the story but didn¡¯t say anything, choosing to look outside the carriage, at the vast, grassy plains, lost in his own thoughts.

    ¡°What happened to them?¡± Helen asked, worried. ¡°Are they still around?¡±

    ¡°Not sure,¡± Sylvia replied, furrowing her brows as she tried to recollect the information. ¡°Something happened a couple years ago, not sure what, but almost the entire group was found dead.¡±

    Blaze and Helen looked shocked.

    ¡°Maybe they encountered some powerful cultivator that finally put an end to them,¡± Blaze suggested.

    ¡°Maybe, but they weren¡¯t just dead,¡± Sylvia explained. ¡°They had clearly been tortured, either while they were alive, or their corpse after their death. Most likely the former.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow,¡± Helen gasped. ¡°Could it have been the work of some dark mages then? Or maybe one of their previous victims, seeking revenge?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Sylvia replied, nodding. ¡°Nobody knows, but after they died, many smaller bandit groups started rising up, trying to fill the power void, one of which must be the ones that attacked us.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Blaze and Helen responded. Everyone else also looked outside, admiring the view while contemplating the story.

    While Sylvia¡¯s story was mostly correct, she didn¡¯t know a key piece of information.

    ¡­

    Four years ago.

    ¡°Theo!¡± Derek screamed as a dagger was pushed into his chest by a red-haired young boy.

    He had found the boy two years before, hiding under his mother¡¯s bed as he killed her. Derek found the boy interesting. He was very gifted with martial arts too, so he asked his leader if they could recruit the boy.

    To their surprise, the boy was extremely happy to join the bandits, even though they had just laid waste to his entire village and killed his family in front of his eyes.

    Later, they found out the reason why.

    The boy was sick.

    Not physically, but sick in the head.

    He enjoyed killing and relished it.

    Whilst Derek liked killing people too, the boy was on another level. It was almost an addiction to him, as if murder was the boy¡¯s sole source of joy and purpose in life.

    Derek didn¡¯t understand, nobody in their group did. However, he was extremely strong. Theo cultivated the steel body at just eleven years of age and was one of the strongest individuals in their group.

    Hence, they kept him around.

    However, that night, Theo and their leader were having an argument in his tent. Theo felt rage building up inside him. The leader turned around and waved his hand, rudely dismissing Theo.

    But instead of leaving, Theo took the opportunity to stab the bandit leader in the back.

    The attack was completely unexpected so the leader couldn¡¯t defend himself and ended up dying.

    Derek, who was passing by, heard his cries and entered the tent, only to find the leader lying in a pool of his own blood. He panicked and rushed to the body, so was taken by surprise as Theo attacked him from behind as well, severely injuring him.

    They fought for a bit, but due to his injuries, he wasn¡¯t Theo¡¯s match, resulting in the current situation.

    Derek saw his life flash before his eyes as he took his last breath and fell to the ground.

    The last thing he saw was the same, wicked smile plastered on the boy¡¯s face.

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    I should have¡­ killed you that day¡­

    ¡­

    Back to the present.

    Drake¡¯s party returned to Basindale. They gave their report to the receptionist, who was surprised to learn that there was a pseudo-commander class demon monkey in the camp, as well as the bandit attack. As compensation, they doubled their reward for the mission, and gave a bonus for dealing with the bandits, which made everyone happy.

    Drake, who had returned to normal now, asked the others to take out the demon monkey corpses. Demon corpses, due to their special physique, were often useful. They could be used to make tools, weapons, artifacts, pills, and much more.

    Drake kept a couple of corpses for his pill refinement practice, and the rest were sold to the hunters guild. Everybody took their share of the sale and the reward money.

    They also took this opportunity to help Sylvia register in the guild. She was a late-stage warrior mage and a late-stage tempered body martial artist. She also formally joined their party.

    News soon spread across the town of the appearance of a young dragon and dryad, and that they had formed a hunting party together. Temporarily, the crowd in and around the hunters guild increased, as people roamed the area to see if they could catch a glimpse of the legendary dragon and faerie races.

    Blaze and Sylvia didn¡¯t mind the attention, or care much about the random people.

    After registering, Drake and Helen also took Blaze and Sylvia to the inn they were staying in and to book rooms for them as well.

    The innkeeper was so shocked upon seeing them that he just froze, unable to process what to do. Never in his wildest did the innkeeper imagine that he¡¯d have dragons and faeries staying in his inn. Saying that he felt like he could die happy now, would be an understatement.

    After booking the rooms, everyone realised how tired they were from the journey. So, they retired to their rooms to rest.

    Arriving in his room, Drake, unlike the others, did not attempt to relax. Instead, he took out the various rank one pill recipes from his storage pouch and began studying them in detail.

    ¡®Interesting,¡¯ he thought to himself, before picking out the recipe he felt was the easiest. It was a basic mana recovery pill.

    Then, he took out various materials from his storage pouch such as demon corpses, herbs, ores, and more.

    Drake also took out the elven alchemy book given to him by Ray which he had read multiple times now, and kept it open for reference.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to begin.¡±

    ¡­

    Later that night, in the battleground, Holy Capital

    A thick scent of blood and death hung in the air.

    But if you were a cultivator, what you would notice the most, was not the scent, but rather the extremely chaotic mana throughout the several kilometre-wide battlefield.

    The mana was concentrated on several individuals at the centre, who were surrounded by numerous craters on the completely charred and destroyed ground.

    Five people were kneeling together in a group, gasping for air. While they all looked different, they had one thing in common ¨C all of them were looking at a woman with an expression of horror.

    An old woman dressed in black robes was standing in front of them. Her robes were tattered and she was bleeding from several wounds, but she looked fearsome and imposing.

    Behind the woman were three black, headless horsemen wielding cone-shaped lances, and on either side were two humanoid figures composed completely out of water, holding a trident. Clutched in her hand was the throat of an old man who was struggling to breathe.

    The old woman looked at the group of mage emperors before her. With a wicked smile, she clenched her fist and the old man gasped, and then completely stopped moving. Dalia dropped his body and took out a jade box. She removed the lid and everyone felt huge waves of mana pulsing outwards. Reaching into the box, Dalia carefully took out a glowing sphere and held it high. Waves of mana from around the battlefield spiralled into the sphere. With each passing second, the pulses of mana the sphere released increased.

    After a little while, she placed the sphere back into the box and smiled.

    ¡°Not too bad, guess this trip was worth it after all,¡± she mumbled to herself. ¡°I finally got the soul of a mage emperor and a lot of other mages and martial artists.¡±

    ¡°You! I can¡¯t believe you killed him!¡± one of the mage emperors yelled at Dalia.

    ¡°Oh, what are you going to do about it?¡± she asked coldly, but the mage emperor couldn¡¯t respond.

    Dalia smiled. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll get going then.¡±

    She summoned a powerful wind spirit and prepared to leave. The mage emperors looked at each other, hesitating whether they should try to stop her.

    They thought about how all six of them had confronted her together and lost. One of them had even died. Their morale was completely shattered so they just watched as she rose into the sky and left.

    Dalia glanced into the distance, in the direction of Duskville.

    ¡®I wonder how he¡¯s doing,¡¯ she thought. She wanted to join Henry again, however, she had just expended a lot of mana and was quite injured. She didn¡¯t want to make another move until she was fully recovered.

    ¡®Hope you don¡¯t disappoint me,¡¯ she thought, as she retreated into the night.

    The immortals watched this battle seriously.

    The immortals from the side of the Order were elated, whereas the ones from the Myriad Sword Palace looked gloomy. They had just lost a mage emperor and five more were severely injured. This was a huge loss to them. None of them expected Dalia to be so powerful.

    That bitch has gotten even stronger! one of them thought.

    ¡°Haha, seems like it¡¯s your loss this time,¡± the Order¡¯s immortals laughed.

    The Myriad Sword Palace elders looked at each other and sighed, ¡°It seems so,¡± they replied.

    However, a smirk appeared on their faces as they suddenly jumped back.

    ¡®Something¡¯s wrong!¡¯ The Order¡¯s immortals immediately became wary.

    The next instant, a ginormous aura appeared in the building.

    ¡°Sword of Calamity!¡± A loud voice reverberated throughout the clouds.

    A mountain-sized sword materialised out of thin air and attacked the order¡¯s immortals.

    The two immortals condensed barriers to block the sword attack at the last moment. An unbelievable amount of energy was radiating out from the clash, far more than the energy released by all the mage emperors from before, combined.

    Boom!

    The sword and the barriers exploded simultaneously, releasing another large aura. The two immortals from the Order spat out blood, injured from the clash. They looked up to spot a third, bearded immortal, who had now joined the Myriad Sword Palace side.

    ¡°You! How dare you launch a sneak attack on us!?¡± they exclaimed.

    ¡°Haha, we don¡¯t need to play by the rules when dealing with you dark mages,¡± one of them replied.

    Three against two - the odds were not in their favour!

    The two immortals from the Order looked at each other, but instead of worry, a smile slowly crept up their cheeks. They turned to face the trio and spoke.

    ¡°Well, looks like you guys just beat us to the punch.¡±

    The Myriad Sword Palace elders frowned, before feeling an unbelievably powerful aura descend into their room - one that completely dwarfed all of theirs.

    ¡°Warrior immortal mage!¡± the immortals exclaimed. All three of them immediately turned around and fled.

    ¡°Not so fast!¡± A voice boomed.

    Any mortal looking on from below would have seen the clouds suddenly start churning violently, with occasional rumblings of thunder. Many of them felt that a storm was approaching and tried to find shelter.

    They were unaware of the clash between immortals happening in the sky that would affect the two gigantic factions in this part of the Holy Capital.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Basindale.

    Drake woke up, still tired from the long night. He had spent most of the night refining pills but had no success. But, if he wanted to be a mage again, he didn¡¯t have a choice and needed to master alchemy.

    Still thinking about pill refining, Drake mindlessly went through his routine, brushing his teeth, showering, and changing out of his pyjamas.

    After getting ready, he decided to meet everyone else for breakfast downstairs.

    Helen and Sylvia were just getting a table as Drake joined, followed soon by Blaze.

    The group ordered their usual breakfast, which was delivered even sooner by the enthusiastic innkeeper, eager to please his special guests. The innkeeper had ordered all his staff to prioritise anything requested by Drake¡¯s party immediately, dropping whatever else they might be working on.

    Soon, four plates of the best and most carefully cooked meals arrived at their table. Drake¡¯s group were chatting and catching up while enjoying their breakfast.

    ¡°What are we going to be doing today?¡± asked Helen, drinking a spoon of delicious soup.

    Drake thought for a moment and suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you show Sylvia around town? Maybe do some shopping?¡±

    ¡°That sounds wonderful,¡± Sylvia replied and looked at Helen while chewing her food. She swallowed and asked, ¡°Can you?¡±

    ¡°Sure, of course I can,¡± Helen replied cheerfully.

    ¡°Great, then maybe the two of us can do a bit of exploring ourselves Blaze,¡± Drake said, looking at Blaze.

    ¡°Cool¡­ great¡­,¡± he responded while emptying a bowl full of gravy into his mouth.

    The group finished their meals and split up.

 Chapter 55: Strange movements

    Drake wanted to head to the merchants guild first. He wanted to buy more materials and see if they had any books on alchemy. He also wanted to see what kinds of goods they had on offer. As the largest commercial franchise in the Kingdom, and potentially the entire continent, he was excited to see if he could find something rare.

    The two chatted on the way. Blaze asked Drake more questions about humans, and Drake also learnt a lot more about the dragon race from Blaze.

    One interesting thing Blaze told him was that dragons started cultivating much later compared to humans. Although dragons were born with steel bodies, unlike humans who formed their mana cores and started cultivating at seven years old, this only happened for dragons when they were between seventy to eighty.

    Perhaps it was due to their long lifespans, but dragons not only had a lower reproduction rate, but it also took longer for their mana cores to form, although it was guaranteed that all of them would form several mana cores.

    This was also true for other races. Generally, the longer the natural lifespan of a race, the lower their reproduction rate, and the longer it would take for them to form their mana core and begin their cultivation journey.

    Hence the reason why Blaze, Sylvia, and even Ray, despite being much older than Drake, had a similar cultivation to him.

    Drake and Blaze were talking about something else when they finally arrived in front of the merchants guild.

    Unlike the simple hunters guild, the merchants guild was a large, multistorey building, constructed with the finest stone, marble, and glass, engraved with various artistic drawings decorating the structure, with everything polished with fine paint. It was located at the centre of a medium-sized garden, home to a well-maintained lawn, carrying several fountains and statues laid out invitingly.

    The grandiose building and d¨¦cor showcased the wealth of the merchants guild for all to see.

    The duo took a few seconds to admire the beauty, before looking at each other excitedly and making their way inside.

    They were welcomed by a grand hall, filled with people in small groups. Each group was engaged by a well-dressed member of staff. Tables were placed adjacent to each other around the hall, on top of which various items were on display. Slightly more valuable items were hung on the walls behind the tables instead, designed to immediately capture the customers'' attention.

    Before they could see any more details, a voice interrupted them.

    ¡°Welcome to the merchants guild!¡± an ordinary-looking, but well-dressed man said, walking towards them, smiling. However, he paused upon seeing Blaze. His eyes scanned up to his head, then traced his spiral horns, which made his expression change completely. ¡°Oh my, you are¡­¡± he hesitated for a second but then came to a decision immediately and exclaimed, ¡°Please wait a moment,¡± before running off.

    Confused, Drake and Blaze exchanged a glance, but not a few seconds had passed when they were welcomed by someone new.

    ¡°Apologies,¡± came a female voice. Drake and Blaze turned towards the speaker to find a beautiful young woman.

    Her black hair fell down to her slender waist. Combined with her crystal blue eyes, they perfectly complemented her fair and youthful skin. She was wearing tight, black robes that accentuated her slim figure. The black robes were interlaced with golden patterns, giving them a priceless look. Her appearance, combined with her outfit, radiated an indescribable charm and elegance.

    She was probably one of the most beautiful women Drake had ever seen.

    The woman walked towards them and gave a slight bow, before speaking in a soft and clear voice.

    ¡°Welcome to our merchants guild. My name is Freya, and I will be your guide.¡±

    Drake and Blaze shared another glance before Blaze decided to answer.

    ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± he replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure,¡± the woman replied, straightening up with a gentle smile. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re looking for, I¡¯ll do my best to help you find it.¡±

    Drake was confused about why she suddenly appeared and replaced the other man but then noticed something amongst the groups of people in the hall. The groups containing higher-ranked cultivators were greeted by staff who were better looking. A group composed mostly of men would generally be greeted by an attractive female staff and, similarly, a group composed mostly of women would generally be greeted by an attractive male staff.

    Given Blaze¡¯s identity as a member of the famous dragon race, it was clear that they were trying to impress him.

    ¡®No wonder they are so successful,¡¯ Drake thought. ¡®They pay so much attention to even the smallest detail,¡¯ but then became slightly depressed that he wasn¡¯t reincarnated as a dragon, else he could also be receiving such treatment everywhere he went.

    ¡°Can you first show us what you have available?¡± Blaze asked, bringing Drake back from his thoughts.

    ¡°Absolutely!¡± she replied cheerfully. ¡°Please follow me.¡±

    She led the way to the stairs. Although there were many items on display here, they all seemed to be general items for everyday, mortal use, albeit they were of much higher quality than what you could find in random, roadside shops.

    They arrived at the stairs and Drake saw that even the staircase was made from clear, shiny, and precious marble, that reflected the room¡¯s light beautifully. The whole building was constructed with so much care to every detail, it was truly incredible.

    Soon, they climbed the stairs and reached the first floor.

    Drake and Blaze stood in front of yet another large hall. Items were arranged in a similar fashion to before, placed on tables and hung from the wall, but now, every single item in this room was much more precious. They included artifacts, pills, pill recipes, herbs, materials, and more, but most of them were rank one.

    Freya continued climbing up the stairs to the second floor and the two followed, soon arriving at a similar hall, but now filled with rank two items. She finally stopped and began guiding Blaze and Drake around the room, introducing the treasures.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    There were lots of useful artifacts, pills, cultivation techniques, pill recipes, and more. Drake felt like buying all of them, but the price tags on them were shocking.

    The cheapest item in this room was worth twenty low-grade spirit stones! If he wanted to buy a rarer and more precious artifact, it could easily cost him fifty.

    Drake definitely did not have so much money and felt a little depressed.

    As for Blaze, he was initially interested to see what items the biggest business in the human race had. He found them all quite interesting, however, his tribe had collected many precious treasures over the centuries, so these did not interest him much. He was more excited in visiting the higher floors.

    Freya keenly detected these changes in her customers and switched tactics.

    ¡°The other items on this floor will also be similar,¡± she explained with her soft voice. ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can take you to the next floor, where more valuable treasures are on display.¡±

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s something specific I¡¯m looking for,¡± Drake laughed, not wanting to feel any more depressed about his financial situation.

    ¡°What may that be?¡± she asked curiously.

    Helen had previously checked the merchants guild as well for pills or information related to how to heal his mana core and knew that they didn¡¯t have anything like that. So, he didn¡¯t want to ask them about it again and raise suspicion.

    ¡°I was wondering if you have any books, on alchemy,¡± Drake asked.

    Freya¡¯s eyes sparkled. That¡¯s an interesting request, she thought.

    ¡°Yes, we do, please follow me,¡± she said and led the two towards a private room.

    The room was small but designed to be very comfortable and visually appealing.

    ¡°Please wait here. I will get you what you are looking for,¡± she said with a bow, before turning around.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Drake exclaimed. Freya paused and turned back. Drake handed her a list containing the details of all the other materials he needed for pill refining. He had used up a lot yesterday so he was going to buy plenty now. ¡°Can you get me everything you have on this list too?¡±

    Freya gently took the list and read through it. It was all just relatively common pill refining materials, with some slightly more uncommon ones, but nothing that they didn¡¯t have.

    After reading through it, she replied. ¡°Of course, please wait for a few minutes.¡±

    Drake and Blaze relaxed onto the comfortable sofa.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the merchants guild to be this nice,¡± Blaze commented. ¡°It¡¯s on a whole other level compared to the hunters guild, despite the similar names.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Drake agreed.

    Freya soon returned carrying a storage pouch.

    ¡°Thank you for your patience,¡± she said with a beautiful smile.

    Seeing how pretty she was, Drake was reminded of someone else; another, incredibly beautiful woman from a long time ago. He remembered sitting next to her on a similar sofa inside a house, watching a movie, while a child was playing with some toys in the background.

    That was from a long time ago, and a different life that Drake had moved on from.

    ¡®I¡¯ve reincarnated now. Even if I still have those memories, it¡¯s okay for me to move on, right?¡¯ he thought to himself; but then shook his head.

    ¡®What am I thinking about right now!?¡¯ he scolded himself.

    Freya had taken out several books from the storage pouch and laid them on the table before Drake. Each book had a small stone, a rank one artifact, placed on top of its cover.

    He took the first stone artifact and poured a bit of mana into it. Immediately, a summary of the contents of the book entered his mind.

    It contained a lot of information about the basics of alchemy, something that was well explained already in Ray¡¯s book.

    Drake looked at the next stone artifact, and it contained information on different herbs and materials. Although Ray¡¯s book also contained that information, he wasn¡¯t sure if this would have more. Drake quickly looked through all the books and realised none of them contained anything that wasn¡¯t in Ray¡¯s book already.

    Drake shook his head in disappointment.

    ¡°Hang on,¡± Freya interrupted him and pulled out another book. Even without reading its summary, the title caught Drake¡¯s eyes.

    The title itself caught Drake¡¯s eyes.

    Advanced Alchemical Techniques.

    Drake read through its stone artifact; it was exactly as expected.

    The book contained information on 81 different, advanced alchemy techniques, related to processing different materials and herbs, tips on how to increase chances of refining pills, and much more. Although Ray¡¯s book also contained some of this information, this book seemed to go into much more depth and was more comprehensive.

    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll take this one¡­ and that one,¡± he said smiling, pointing towards the second book on herbs and pill refining materials.

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± Freya replied, and then handed a storage pouch to Drake before continuing, ¡°Please, look through this and see if it has everything you need.¡±

    Drake poured his mana into the storage pouch and saw that it contained all of the materials he requested.

    He was extremely happy.

    ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure,¡± she replied, pleased that she managed to satisfy Drake.

    Blaze didn¡¯t want anything, so Drake just paid for the two books and the materials and they left. It cost him two and a half low-grade mana stones, or twenty five gold coins in total. Luckily, the money that Drake had from completing his mission yesterday and the demon materials they sold, was more than enough to cover it.

    ¡°Feel free to come again,¡± Freya exclaimed as she waved them off.

    Having visited the merchants guild, Drake and Blaze were back on the streets.

    ¡°That was cool!¡± Blaze said, stretching his arms. ¡°Where are we going next?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, how about we go to the market square? That¡¯s another cool place here,¡± Drake replied.

    ¡°Sure, sounds fun,¡± Blaze responded enthusiastically.

    Drake started leading the way to the market square. They walked past a narrow alleyway but suddenly stopped.

    ¡®What was that?¡¯ they thought simultaneously.

    With their keen senses, the two detected a mysterious movement in the alleyway. They shared a glance and turned back, before entering the alleyway.

    ¡®There!¡¯ Drake thought.

    A purple figure was dashing through the alleyway and turned a corner just as they entered. Something about the way it was moving was deeply unsettling. It reminded Drake of¡­

    ¡®Dark mages!¡¯ Drake thought and immediately chased after the figure. Blaze followed.

    The figure was fast and turned another corner just as Drake entered the same street. Drake poured mana into his boots to increase his speed and chased after it again.

    He managed to enter the same street as the figure now before it could turn a corner, but it was still some distance away.

    Drake raised his hands and poured mana into his gloves. A fireball shot out.

    The figure was startled and turned back, revealing the face of a man. He summoned an iron shield artifact, just in time to block the fireball. The sound of the clash echoed across the alley, and the man in purple came to a stop, followed by Drake, and then Blaze who had now caught up.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Drake asked warily, ready to shoot another fireball at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± the man in purple asked arrogantly. ¡°You guys attacked me! Maybe you should introduce yourself first.¡±

    Drake was sure that he was a dark mage now, so he was in no mood to argue with him. He would have attacked already, but he was puzzled.

    ¡®What were dark mages doing in a city like this?¡¯

    Drake scanned the purple figure and realised that he had his hands behind his back. The round edge of some item was poking out from behind him, but the moment Drake noticed it, the mage moved his hands to hide it again so nothing could be seen.

    Blaze also noticed this and furrowed his brows.

    ¡°What is that?¡± he asked.

    ¡°None of your business,¡± the man replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two go back, continue doing whatever you were doing before, and we can all pretend like nothing happened?¡±

    ¡°You wish,¡± Drake retorted.

    ¡°Fireball!¡±

    Drake shot out another fireball.

    The man moved the shield to block it again, but that was just a distraction.

    Drake poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps before jumping into the air. In less than a second, he appeared behind the man, however there was nothing in his hands anymore. For a moment, Drake was confused, before noticing the storage pouch hanging by his waist.

    Without hesitation, Drake unsheathed his sword and sprang into action. Blaze also had his sword equipped and ran forwards, ready to strike.

    Being attacked from both sides, the man sighed.

    ¡®I don¡¯t have time for this,¡¯ he thought to himself, before taking out a round artifact.

    Just as Drake and Blaze were approaching, the man crushed the artifact in his palm and a huge, suffocating smoke screen broke out.

    Unable to breathe or see anything, Drake and Blaze retreated, coughing.

    It took almost ten seconds for Drake and Blaze to recover and the smoke to clear, but by then, the dark mage was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 56: A new inheritance

    ¡°Dammit!¡± Drake cursed, blasting multiple fireballs into the wall, enraged. Images of a ravaging fire, dying villagers, betrayal, and laughing dark mages orchestrating everything appeared in his mind.

    After everything that dark mages did to his village, he thought he could finally be rid of them. How could they be operating right in the middle of such a prosperous town? A town with three mage emperors no less! He didn¡¯t know what they were doing, but he was sure that it wasn¡¯t going to be good.

    Drake wanted to find out more information about them but didn¡¯t know where to start.

    Blaze approached him and patted his shoulder.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m fine,¡± Drake replied. ¡°You?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine as well. He¡¯s gone now, what do we do? Should we report it to the hunters guild?¡±

    Drake paused for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea, let¡¯s do that,¡± he agreed.

    With their resources and connections, they would be able to investigate this matter much better.

    The duo rushed to the hunters guild.

    In the middle of the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky, providing its natural light to the entire town below.

    Drake and Blaze barged through the gates of the hunters guild, before rushing to the receptionist.

    The receptionist was talking to some cultivators and was startled to see the young dragon run towards her with his party member. She stopped what she was doing and turned towards them.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked concerned, sensing that something had gotten them worked up.

    It took a moment for the two to catch their breath before Blaze started to explain.

    ¡°We-¡±

    ¡°Can we talk privately?¡± Drake interrupted him. He didn¡¯t know if the dark mages had any spies in town or in the hunters guild, so he didn¡¯t want to risk anyone eavesdropping.

    ¡°Sure¡­ of course,¡± she replied after a slight hesitation. She instructed someone else to deal with the cultivators she was talking to, before leading Drake and Blaze to a private room. She closed the door before turning towards them.

    ¡°Please, tell me what happened.¡±

    Drake and Blaze explained what they saw and her eyes widened in shock.

    ¡°Are you sure? Dark mages? In our town?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± they both replied in unison.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ unbelievable,¡± she replied.

    After all, their town had not one, not two, but three mage emperors! How could any dark mages dare to cause trouble here?

    However, it was undeniable that they did. The only question was, what were they trying to do?

    ¡°Thank you for letting me know,¡± she said, and then added, ¡°Actually, I too have something to tell you.¡±

    Drake had a puzzled expression as she looked at him curiously.

    ¡°The town lord, Eldric Blackthorne, wants to see you.¡±

    Startled, Drake and Blaze looked at each other in surprise.

    An hour later.

    Blaze and Drake were standing outside the gates of an enormous mansion. It wasn¡¯t as big as the merchants guild, but for a residential building, it was huge and was just as much of a construction marvel.

    The gates opened and they were led through by a couple of armoured guards.

    ¡®I wonder what he wants with me,¡¯ Drake thought.

    Soon, the guards took the two up the staircase to the first floor, and just outside a room.

    One of the guards knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± a stern voice came from within.

    The guard bowed slightly towards Drake and Blaze and indicated for them to enter.

    Drake pushed open the door to reveal a large and majestic room, decorated with the most expensive, and extravagant furnishings.

    Drake¡¯s eyes were drawn to the centre of the room which contained a long and wide, rectangular table. On either side of the table was an equally long sofa. On one sofa, sat a middle-aged man, and a slightly elderly man with a beard who was dressed in white.

    On the other sofa, surprisingly, were Helen and Sylvia.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on here?¡¯ thought Drake.

    ¡°Please, come in,¡± the middle-aged man spoke, standing up.

    Drake figured that he would get answers soon and decided not to think about it much. Syliva and Helen glanced at him as he walked towards the table. As they came close, the middle-aged man smiled.

    ¡°My name is Eldric Blackthorne, I am this town¡¯s lord. Thank you for coming,¡± his eyes darted between Drake and Blaze as he spoke in a pleasant tone.

    ¡°No problem at all,¡± Drake replied, and Blaze also smiled in return.

    The elderly man in white also stood up and greeted them, ¡°I would like to thank you as well. I am Ambrose Everlight, you might have heard about me.¡±

    Ambrose Everlight¡­ Drake thought for a moment and then suddenly remembered.

    It was the name of the archbishop of the church!

    ¡°Yes I have,¡± Drake replied and Ambrose smiled in return.

    Drake was even more curious now, ¡®What do two mage emperors want with us?¡¯

    ¡°Please, take a seat,¡± Eldric indicated while sitting himself down.

    After everyone sat down and relaxed, Eldric spoke.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re all here, I¡¯ll tell you why you were summoned.¡±

    Everyone focused and listened curiously. Eldric specifically looked at Drake and Helen, who were sitting next to each other at the centre, before speaking with slight concern.

    ¡°Could you two tell me, what exactly the dark mages were doing in your village?¡±

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    Drake glanced at both Eldric and Ambrose, but they both looked extremely serious.

    ¡®Is this what they wanted to know?¡¯ Drake wondered but decided to tell them everything.

    Drake and Helen both explained the story from their perspectives. Drake, as the village leader¡¯s son, knew more inside information than Helen, which Eldric and Ambrose were glad to hear. However, he didn¡¯t mention anything about Hazezel¡¯s betrayal as usual. Drake and Helen just told them the same story they had said to Blaze and Sylvia.

    Eldric and Ambrose listened intently, occasionally asking some questions when things weren¡¯t clear.

    Finally, they finished.

    ¡°I see,¡± Eldric sighed, and Ambrose relaxed back into his sofa.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s something else too,¡± Blaze added.

    Everyone looked at him curiously. He glanced at Drake who nodded for him to continue.

    He then explained the dark mage they encountered today and their brief clash before his escape.

    Ambrose furrowed his brows and Eldric sighed.

    ¡°I see, actually this is the main reason why we summoned you here,¡± he explained, but looked at everyone¡¯s confused expressions and continued. ¡°Actually, dark mages have been operating in our town for a long time. The ordinary folk aren¡¯t really aware of it, but the higher-ranked cultivators in the city do know about them. We have been trying to fight and get rid of them for a long time but¡­ they¡¯re slippery. It¡¯s been hard.¡±

    Drake and the rest were quite surprised that dark mages were able to operate under the noses of so many powerful individuals.

    ¡®Did the dark mages also have some powerful cultivators protecting them?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we are keen to receive any information about the dark mages,¡± Ambrose explained. ¡°Every little bit helps.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Eldric agreed and then changed topics. ¡°Since you responded to our summons so quickly and answered all our questions, we¡¯d like to return the favour.¡±

    The party glanced at each other, slightly excited.

    ¡®Were they going to give us a cool reward?¡¯ Drake thought, but Eldric interrupted his imagination before it could run wild.

    ¡°We are going to tell you something, but the information I¡¯m going to share with you hasn¡¯t been revealed to the public yet, so we¡¯d like you to keep it a secret for now.¡±

    Eldric looked at Drake¡¯s party sternly who all nodded one by one. Satisfied, he continued.

    ¡°Some time ago, a new inheritance grounds was discovered close to town.¡±

    ¡°Inheritance grounds?¡± they all gasped.

    Drake had a short flashback to a maze he explored with Elwin before his mind quickly returned to the present.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Ambrose. ¡°Specifically, it is the inheritance grounds of a twin, astral body martial artists.¡±

    Everybody gasped once again. Being an astral body martial artist was equivalent to being a mage emperor ¨C it was the peak of the mortal realm! And this was the inheritance grounds of two of them?

    Seeing their excitement, Eldric added. ¡°Several centuries ago, there was a powerful martial arts cultivation sect, led by a twin brother and sister, who had cultivated the astral body. Based on its size, it is likely that, along with the twin astral body martial artists, this is the inheritance of their entire sect!¡±

    The party gasped in surprise once again.

    Drake smiled to himself. Unlike the others, he had actually encountered the inheritance of a mage emperor before, that of his village¡¯s founding ancestor. He had encountered the inheritance entirely by luck, and also lost it entirely by luck as it was taken away by Henry at the last moment. Although he still gained the second part of his Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts, along with the spells to summon a few spirits and artifacts, there was no doubt that the real inheritance would have been a true treasure trove.

    There would have been spells for summoning hundreds of spirits, including the extremely rare rank four and rank five spirits, guidance on how to summon higher ranked spirits, insights into cultivation, and a whole lot more. If the ancestor had practiced alchemy, there would have been invaluable insights about those too. There might have even been high ranked artifacts! As a mage emperor, he must have at least had a number of rank three and rank four artifacts.

    All of that was taken by Henry. Although Drake tried to be happy for what he had and not worry about the past, he couldn¡¯t help but feel pity whenever he thought about that day.

    But now, this might be his chance to make up for that. It was the inheritance of not one, but two astral body martial artists, along with their entire cultivation sect! It was bound to be even more valuable than the inheritance of his founding ancestor. With his experience of clearing a similar inheritance before, surely he would have a good chance of obtaining this one!

    However, Drake became concerned. If it was such a valuable inheritance, even mage kings would be interested in it. Then what hope would they have of getting it?

    As if reading his mind, Eldric¡¯s next words answered his query.

    ¡°They seemed to have placed a powerful restriction on the inheritance grounds, making anyone at the grand mage realm or above, unable to enter.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Drake responded with a sigh of relief.

    That¡¯s good. This will give us a good chance to fight for it.

    ¡°Furthermore, the inheritance grounds require four shadow body martial artists to open. Four forces have agreed to send a shadow body martial artist each to help open the inheritance grounds, in exchange for being able to send a group of half a dozen of their disciples to enter. It will take them several months to prepare everything. It will also be open to the public who will be informed after some time.¡±

    ¡®That makes sense,¡¯ Drake thought, before asking a question.

    ¡°What are those forces?¡±

    ¡°First is my Blackthorne family,¡± Eldric replied, slightly proud. ¡°After that is the Ironheart family, the Silver Crane Sect, and also the Myriad Sword Palace.¡±

    Drake nodded. He didn¡¯t recognise the other names, but he understood the general situation.

    ¡°We told you earlier than the public announcement, so you can start preparing sooner,¡± Ambrose explained with a smile.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Helen replied, and everyone else smiled gratefully as well.

    ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t keep you any longer,¡± Eldric said, standing up. ¡°You are free to leave now. I am sure you¡¯re all busy as well, especially now that you are going to be preparing for the inheritance.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, thank you for coming once again,¡± added Ambrose. ¡°May Iva be with you.¡±

    Everybody stood up and bowed to the two mage emperors, before turning around and starting to leave.

    ¡°Also,¡± Eldric interrupted. ¡°If any of you encounter any more information about the dark mages, feel free to reach out to us.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± they nodded in response.

    They soon left the manor.

    ¡°Phew!¡± Helen sighed, once the group were outside. ¡°The mage emperors were much more cordial than I expected!¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Drake replied, before adding, ¡°Though it might be because of them,¡± staring at Blaze and Sylvia.

    Both of them stared back at Drake innocently, as if they had no idea what he was talking about.

    Drake chuckled. Everywhere they went, they were receiving special treatment from all sorts of people. He was sure that the reason for that was because they wanted to be on friendly terms with the dragon and faerie tribes, and, by extension, Drake and Helen who were in their party.

    Otherwise, were Drake and Helen to be alone, they would be treated quite differently.

    The party decided to move on and started walking as a group.

    ¡°Did you guys manage to complete your tour and shopping?¡± Blaze asked Sylvia and Helen.

    ¡°Yes,¡± they smiled.

    ¡°Though, there¡¯s still a lot more to explore,¡± Sylvia added in a mildly excited tone, though Drake felt that, given her reserved personality, she was likely much more excited than her tone would suggest.

    ¡°Yup, it will take a couple of days to see everything,¡± Helen replied, much more cheerfully.

    ¡°Cool, then what do you guys plan on doing now?¡± Blaze questioned further, casually holding his hands behind his head.

    Sylvia thought for a moment then replied, ¡°Since we¡¯re all together and it¡¯s already late afternoon, how about we have lunch together, and then we can continue as a group?¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± Helen agreed. ¡°There¡¯s a new hot spring place I heard about, maybe we could check it out?¡±

    ¡°That sounds really cool,¡± Blaze replied, excited at exploring something new.

    ¡°Sure but,¡± Drake interrupted. ¡°We can have lunch together but I¡¯m quite tired and not very interested in exploring for now. You guys can go ahead without me, I¡¯ll be returning to the inn.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure, master Drake?¡± Helen asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied, determined.

    Deciding not to pressure him, they all agreed and made their way towards a restaurant.

    In Drake¡¯s mind, if he was going to the inheritance, he needed to raise his battle strength as much as possible. This involved mastering the rank two martial techniques he had learnt from the second half of his Twelve Star Body Transformation Arts, preparing better artifacts, and, most of all, healing his mana core, or at least becoming a rank three alchemist. And for that, he had to practise alchemy¡­ a lot.

    So that¡¯s what he planned to do. Both Drake and Sylvia, with their higher cultivation, powerful artifacts, and unique skills they had due to their race, were stronger than him. He didn¡¯t want to drag them down on the inheritance grounds, and he also didn¡¯t enjoy feeling like one of the weaker members of the group.

    ¡®It¡¯s time to raise my battle strength.¡¯

    At the same time Drake¡¯s party were informed about the inheritance grounds, several other powers were also on the move.

    In a dimly lit room, somewhere in Basindale.

    A figure dressed in black and hooded robes was sitting on a chair next to a table, which was placed close to a window, and was looking outside. A single lantern on the table provided a few streaks of light to barely illuminate the surroundings. As the figure calmly admired the view, a breeze came through the window, slightly lifting the hood near its neck to reveal the tattoo of a black and white snake, coiling around each other.

    At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± the figure ordered, still glancing out the window.

    The door opened, and footsteps could be heard. When they reached the table, the dim light shone on the guest to reveal a man dressed in purple robes. Once he was close, the man fell to his knees, took out a mask-shaped artifact with both hands and presented it to the hooded figure respectfully.

    ¡°I have obtained the artifact you requested my lord,¡± the man in purple spoke.

 Chapter 57: First successful refinement

    The hooded figure finally turned around to see the kneeling man presenting the artifact. The figure took the mask and observed it keenly, before speaking.

    ¡°Good work. Did you encounter any difficulties?¡±

    ¡°Not particularly my lord¡­ however¡­¡± the man in purple hesitated.

    The hooded figure stopped observing the mask and tilted its head in the direction of the man curiously.

    ¡°Oh? What happened?¡±

    ¡°When returning with the mask, I was attacked¡­ by two people,¡± the man in purple replied.

    ¡°Really?¡± the figure asked. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, you managed to take care of them I hope?¡±

    The man in purple didn¡¯t reply, and the figure seemed to get angry. A cold aura spread throughout the room.

    ¡°You. Left. Witnesses?¡± it spoke, emphasising each word.

    The man started sweating profusely. ¡°Please, I can explain!¡±

    ¡°Good, because you have five seconds,¡± the figure replied.

    ¡°Five.¡±

    ¡°One of them was the dragon boy!¡±

    The figure immediately stopped counting, and an ominous silence filled the room.

    ¡°I see,¡± the figure spoke after a while. ¡°Was the other attacker, someone from the dragon¡¯s party?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was the boy,¡± the man in purple replied, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the figure calm down.

    The figure went back to staring out of the window.

    ¡°That is indeed troublesome. The dragon boy¡­ is too dangerous to kill directly.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, my lord,¡± the man in purple agreed. ¡°That¡¯s why I rushed here as soon as I could to inform you and ask you the best way to deal with the situation.¡±

    ¡°How about I deal with it?¡± came a voice from behind the hooded figure.

    ¡°What do you propose?¡± the hooded figure asked without turning back.

    Footsteps echoed from the direction of the new voice as the person moved closer. When the voice was close to the table, the dim lighting illuminated its face to reveal a young man with short, red hair, and a creepy smile.

    It was the serial killer who was reincarnated, Theo Vancouver!

    ¡°I can just kill both of them,¡± Theo said calmly.

    The figure shook his head. ¡°If you kill the dragon boy, you will become a sworn enemy of the entire dragon race.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± Theo asked casually.

    The figure chuckled. He recruited the boy because he felt real darkness in him. However, after some time, he realised that the boy was truly psychotic, and didn¡¯t care about anything as long as he could live his life killing people.

    But this was serious, he couldn¡¯t let the boy mess things up.

    ¡°Listen carefully,¡± the figure explained. ¡°Being discreet has always been our number one priority. If you kill the dragon boy, his tribe will undoubtedly investigate us. It will be the downfall of us all. You cannot kill him.¡±

    Theo shrugged his shoulders unconvinced.

    The figure sighed and continued. ¡°It is very likely that the dragon boy¡¯s party will enter the inheritance grounds. When everyone¡¯s fighting, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with them. There, you can work together with that person, to put an end to all of them.¡±

    Theo became excited.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier?¡± he laughed. ¡°Guess I just have to wait for a bit then. I can do that.¡±

    ¡°Make sure you do,¡± the figure spoke seriously. ¡°If you make a move against the dragon boy without my explicit permission, I will end you,¡± it warned him.

    ¡°Tst. Don¡¯t get cocky with me old man,¡± Theo mumbled to himself but simply nodded in response.

    Even though the figure wasn¡¯t facing him, it somehow seemed to sense that Theo had agreed and relaxed.

    Theo stepped back and disappeared into the darkness.

    ¡­

    At the same time, in the Myriad Sword Palace at the Holy Capital.

    Sion Hart was hurriedly walking back and forth in his chambers when he heard a knock on his door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± he said aloud, looking relieved.

    The door opened and an emerald-haired young man stepped in.

    ¡°Ah, Elwin, thanks for coming so quickly,¡± Sion spoke joyfully.

    ¡°It¡¯s my duty, master Sion,¡± Elwin replied curtly.

    After entering the Myriad Sword Palace, Sion accepted Elwin as his personal disciple, due to his incredible martial arts talent, which was one of the best in the sect.

    On the other hand, Hazezel did not seem to be very talented. At least, since he had never found a suitable technique and cultivated before, they didn¡¯t know what his talent would be like. Luckily, with its resources, the Myriad Sword Palace did manage to find a martial arts cultivation technique suitable for Hazezel, which he accepted gratefully, and made him an outer sect disciple.

    However, due to his relationship with Elwin, who himself had a special identity as the personal disciple of one of the sect''s elders, Hazezel was given unique permission to enter the inner sect and visit his brother whenever he wanted.

    Elwin and Hazezel had been chatting and walking through the inner sect gardens when Elwin received an urgent summons from Sion Hart.

    Hence, Elwin rushed here.

    ¡°I have something important to discuss with you,¡± Sion explained.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°What is it, master Sion?¡± Elwin asked curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s about an inheritance ground that was recently discovered. Our sect has received the right to send a group of disciples to explore it, along with some others.¡±

    Elwin¡¯s ocean blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. He listened intently as Sion explained all the same details that Eldric and Ambrose had told Drake¡¯s party.

    Finally, he finished with this.

    ¡°You must be aware that we recently clashed with the Order of the Blood Raven, correct?¡± Sion asked.

    ¡°Yes, master Sion,¡± Elwin replied. Though he didn¡¯t participate in the battle, most people in the Holy Capital knew about it, let alone Elwin who was part of the sect.

    ¡°Our sect took quite a loss from that clash. So, this inheritance appearing now might be a blessing in disguise for us, from the goddess Iva herself.¡±

    Even though there was no way of knowing if that was true, Sion¡¯s expression suggested that this was extremely important, so Elwin didn¡¯t argue.

    ¡°Very well, what does this have to do with me, master Sion?¡± Elwin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked,¡± Sion smiled. ¡°Our sect will hold a competition among the disciples to find the strongest six cultivators below the grand mage realm to enter the inheritance. I want you to participate and gain a spot in the final grouping.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Elwin asked curiously. He would have wanted to participate even without Sion specially informing him, so he was sure there must be more to why he was called just now.

    Seeing his disciple¡¯s curiosity, Sion smiled again. ¡°You¡¯re a sharp one. The reason why I summoned you now was to give you this.¡±

    Sion took out a sword and handed it to Elwin. Elwin took it gratefully and was surprised at how light it felt. He unsheathed the sword to find a beautifully crafted, silver sword. Engraved along the length of the blade, were three different runes.

    It was a rank three artifact!

    Elwin was shocked at realising this and stared at Sion.

    ¡°It¡¯s incredibly rare,¡± Sion said. ¡°Not only is it a rank three artifact, but the sword is crafted entirely from mythril.¡±

    Sion was waiting for the amazed response from Elwin but it never came. He instead looked confused.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, you don¡¯t know what mythril is?¡± Sion gasped.

    Elwin shook his head.

    Sion sighed disappointedly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a rare metal that is only found deep in the Beast Woods. Not only is it much lighter, sharper, and more durable than ordinary metals, but it also has slight anti-magic properties. In other words, you could use this sword to literally cut through spells!¡± he explained, before adding, ¡°Although, only lower ranked ones.¡±

    This time, Elwin was truly astonished. His jaw dropped as he observed the sword with this new information. As he tilted it left and right, the sunlight reflected from its blade, making it sparkle mystically.

    Satisfied with his disciple¡¯s amazement, Sion rubbed his nose and continued.

    ¡°It is not easy to come by equipment made from mythril. Most of them only exist in the elven kingdom of Eldanor located deep within the Beast Woods. I managed to obtain this sword by chance, and I¡¯m giving it to you now. Make sure you win this sect competition and obtain that inheritance!¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much master Sion!¡± Elwin exclaimed, bowing respectfully. ¡°I promise that I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, back in Basindale, inside an inn.

    A young boy was seated cross-legged in a room, surrounded by various herbs, ores, and other materials. He was reading through a book titled ¡®Advanced Alchemical Techniques.¡¯

    Although the book was thick, the boy was near the end, and he was reading quite fast, flipping to the next page every thirty seconds or so. Despite reading so quickly, he wasn¡¯t skim-reading. One could see the boy¡¯s eyes scan every detail on the page, and his mind was working at lightning speed to process the information.

    About half an hour later, Drake finally put the book down with a sigh.

    ¡®That was well worth the investment,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    The book explained various techniques on different ways to prepare refinement materials, as well as combining them, how to combine them correctly, and more. It also talked about ways to analyse a failed pill and identify what had gone wrong with it, to fix and improve the refinement method. It was incredibly useful for Drake, who had previously struggled on these, exact points.

    Drake looked at all the materials scattered around him and then at the cauldron in front of him which Helen had previously bought. He thought that he had enough for several hundred tries. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and recollected the pill recipe for the rank one mana recovery pill he had tried to refine so many times yesterday.

    ¡®Let¡¯s see how this goes,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Drake took one batch of materials and poured his mana into them. This allowed him to study the individual material in detail, observing all of its unique features and, most importantly, its impurities.

    Once he identified the impurities within each material, he then recollected the information in his book on how to purify these specific types of impurities.

    Drake began the most important step which he had often skipped or done improperly before ¨C preparing the materials.

    He spent about ten minutes purifying and preparing each and every piece of material to make sure it was perfect for the refining process. Once he was happy with them, he began the refinement.

    He took the batch of materials, which was enough for five mana recovery pills, and placed them into the cauldron. He poured his mana into the cauldron which allowed him to sense the contents inside and control them with wind magic. He started combining them according to the recipe, using the techniques he had learnt.

    The process lasted around twenty minutes. After that, the mana in the room settled back to normal as Drake finished the refinement process.

    Drake carefully opened the cauldron and took out five pills.

    As soon as he saw them, Drake became uncontrollably excited.

    Out of the five pills, four of them were burnt and not formed properly. However, one of them was perfectly intact. A small, blue pill flew into his hands, making Drake uncontrollably excited.

    He had refined his first pill!

    Drake had tried many times last night but failed in every single attempt. Now, he finally managed to refine a pill for the first time in his life.

    He was elated!

    If it was possible, Drake wanted to scream out in joy, but he was still in the inn and didn¡¯t want to cause a disturbance. So, he calmed himself down and returned to work.

    He analysed the four failed pills closely, studying what went wrong with each of them. Each one gave him a new insight into something that he did wrong, which he would keep in mind for the future.

    In this way, Drake didn¡¯t consider these failed pills a waste, but rather, valuable lessons.

    After thoroughly studying them, Drake took out another batch of materials and repeated the process.

    In order to be considered a rank one alchemist, one had to be able to create any pill of that rank with a 60% success rate in their first attempt, which should be pushed to at least 80% for pills of that rank that they had practised previously. The same was true for rank two, three, or any other ranked alchemists.

    No one could reach a 100% success rate with any pill, because there was a small degree of uncontrollable randomness to the process and the way the materials combined, so there was always a chance of failure. The higher the rank of the pill, the higher the random chance of failure.

    So, in order to become a rank one alchemist, Drake would have to practise refining a bunch of rank one pills, reaching at least an 80% success rate with all of them, and garner enough experience in the process that he could realistically refine any new rank one pill with at least a 60% success rate.

    Drake looked outside. It was late in the evening now, and the sun was beginning to set.

    ¡®I could practise this for a few hours. Then, later in the night when everyone¡¯s asleep, I can practise the rank two martial techniques,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    Thinking so, he took out the next batch of materials and restarted the process.

    Later that night, Duskville.

    Duskville was a smaller town compared to Basindale, but it was still led by a mage emperor. He was Cedric Ironheart, and came from another noble earl family of the Holy Kingdom. He was the only mage emperor in the city. The branch of the Church of Iva in this town had only stationed a bishop ¨C a mage king ¨C instead of an archbishop like within Basindale. Similarly, the head of Duskville¡¯s branch of the merchants guild was also only a mage king.

    These powers were not usually willing to send their precious mage emperors to a location so far away from their headquarters in the Holy Capital, and only made an exception in the case of Basindale.

    Duskville also received fewer resources and funding from the Holy Capital compared to Basindale, which consequently made it harder to govern. That meant law enforcement was weaker, and shady individuals and organisations could operate more easily within its borders.

    That¡¯s what allowed three dark mages to sneak into town.

    At this moment, they were standing next to a large wheatfield. Due to its size, not only was it a major resource point to generate wealth for the Ironheart family, but it also provided a significant amount of food to the population of Duskville.

    Saying that if anything happened to the wheatfield, there would be a major food crisis in town, would be an understatement.

    But that¡¯s exactly what these dark mages seemed to want because one of them silently summoned a spirit.

    ¡°Sunbird!¡± he whispered, and a dozen pigeon-shaped spirits made completely out of fire, appeared in the air.

    ¡°Go!¡± he ordered. The birds obeyed and flew low in different directions, across the field, lighting everything they touched on fire.

 Chapter 58: Sheéˆ¥æªš too OP!

    In moments, the whole wheatfield which was previously ripe for harvest, was being burnt to ash.

    ¡°Hey! What do you guys think you¡¯re doing!?¡± several guards screamed as they ran towards the dark mages.

    The dark mage turned around while taking out a round artifact. He smirked and crushed the artifact in his palm, releasing a large amount of nauseous smoke.

    Cough! Cough!

    Cough! Cough! Cough!

    The guards started coughing uncontrollably. They couldn¡¯t do anything when they heard the dark mages move.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± the dark mage yelled to his companion.

    By the time the smoke cleared and the guards recovered, the dark mages were already gone.

    ¡°Dammit!¡± one of the guards cursed, then looked at the burning wheatfield. Panic and terror descended on his face.

    This is bad. Really, really, really bad!

    The guards were so distracted by the burning wheatfield, that they didn¡¯t notice another figure move behind them.

    A young man with short, black hair, was wearing an eyepatch, and dressed in black robes fitted to his lean body. Behind him, a spear-wielding young man appeared, but his face was half decomposed, indicating that he was an undead.

    ¡°Jin Tong,¡± the young man whispered, and the undead readied his spear.

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    Jin Tong moved like the wind. The guards were taken by surprise and Jin Tong had pierced his spear through one of them before they even registered what was going on.

    The guards were all steel body martial artists, whereas Jin Tong was a commander class undead ¨C they were no match for him.

    Within moments, Jin Tong had killed all of them. He turned to face Henry, and stood upright, digging his spear into the ground, and ready for his new orders.

    Henry ordered Jin Tong to spread their bodies out over the place. While Jin Tong was doing that, he created signs of a battle by leaving some scorch marks, craters, etc.

    ¡°There¡¯s a fire! Hurry!¡±

    Henry began to hear the distant cries of guards rushing towards the fire.

    ¡®Almost done,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Henry reached into his storage pouch and took out something unexpected ¨C a human hand cut off at the wrist! He threw the hand some distance away and appeared satisfied with himself.

    Finally, he quickly scanned his surroundings to make sure no one was looking, before leaving with Jin Tong, disappearing back into the shadows.

    The next morning.

    ¡°What in Iva¡¯s name¡­ HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!?¡±

    Cedric Ironheart was standing next to three dead bodies, in front of a large wheat field that had been completely burnt to the ground.

    Several guards who were further away had noticed the fire and rushed to the scene last night, only to find dead bodies and a burning wheatfield. They did their best to try and contain the fire but it was useless.

    Unfortunately, Cedric had briefly left the town on some urgent business for that night, else he might have sensed the fire and come to put an end to it. So, when he arrived this morning and was informed by panicked guards that one of their town¡¯s major food sources was destroyed, he rushed here immediately.

    There was nothing they could do to restore the field.

    More importantly, Cedric looked at the dead bodies and the remains of the battle. He knelt next to one of the corpses and focused on its wounds. It was emitting a small, dark aura.

    ¡®Dark mages!¡¯ They dared to enter his town? ¡®I swear on Iva¡¯s name, not a single one of them will leave this town alive!¡¯

    The only problem was, he had no idea how to go about finding them.

    Suddenly, a guard interrupted him.

    ¡°Lord Cedric! Please have a look at this!¡±

    Cedric turned his attention to the guard and noticed him holding a dismembered hand. With his sharp senses, he noticed a ring on one of the hand¡¯s fingers.

    Immediately, Cedric snatched the hand from the guard and took out the ring. The inside of the ring was engraved with a particular design - a black and white snake coiling around each other.

    ¡®The Hidden Venom Cult!?¡¯ There was no mistaking it. This was the symbol of the Hidden Venom Cult. ¡®But what were they doing here?¡¯

    Cedric¡¯s expression darkened. The Hidden Venom Cult was a large organisation led by thirteen mage emperors. If they attacked in full force, or even with just a few mage emperors, then they could overwhelm him and his entire town. Luckily, the cult mostly operated in the shadows and their leaders rarely made a move personally unless it was for something extremely important.

    Still, this was not good news for this. He had to find out what the Hidden Venom Cult were doing in his town.

    Furthermore, the wheatfield had burnt down!

    There was no doubt that some people would have seen the fire.

    As soon as news of the destruction broke out, mass hysteria and panic would begin. People would begin hoarding food, causing prices to rise due to the sky-high demand and low supply. Fighting and chaos would soon ensue. If aid wasn¡¯t promptly provided, it would only be a matter of time before food ran out, and people started literally dying on the streets.

    It would be hell.

    At this moment, another guard interrupted his thoughts.

    ¡°My lord, it seems that this is the work of dark mages,¡± he said respectfully.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Wow, thanks for letting me know, I would have never guessed,¡± Cedric replied sarcastically. He was in no mood for nonsense now, however the guard¡¯s next words got his attention.

    ¡°No, lord Cedric. I heard of two cultivators who recently came to our town,¡± the guard continued. ¡°They are apparently from the human settlements near the Beast Woods which was discovered to have been destroyed by the demon tides. But according to their story, it was actually the work of dark mages.¡±

    Cedric stared at the guard, a fierce glint in his eyes.

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, could it not be possible that those dark mages were also involved in this incident?¡± the guard asked.

    Cedric thought for a moment and then came to a decision.

    ¡°I want to meet these two individuals. Find and summon them to my manor at once!¡±

    ¡°As you command, lord Cedric,¡± the guard replied with a bow, before leaving.

    ¡­

    At the same time, Drake¡¯s party were now in the hunters guild, looking through the mission board.

    After some deliberation, they chose a mission. There were some orc sightings in an area close to town, and the mission was to investigate and eliminate them. The report mentioned sightings of some servant class and a few warrior class orcs.

    Drake had fought a few orcs back in the Jain village. They were an oni race which were particularly difficult to kill due to their incredible healing abilities. The only way to kill them was to destroy their heart and brain at the same time.

    The party got the mission assigned to them and then left on a rental carriage as before. They hired a slightly larger carriage this time so they could all travel comfortably.

    Yesterday, after attempting over 60 pill refinements, out of which a pitiful 4 succeeded, Drake practised his rank two martial techniques late into the night.

    Speaking of which, the second half of his Twelve Star Body Transformation Arts, listed three rank two martial techniques. These were crescent slash, finger thrust, and freeze palm. The first was a slashing attack, the second a piercing attack using one finger, and the third was a palm attack that could temporarily stun opponents.

    Although Drake was talented in martial arts, it would still take him some time to master all of them, so he still couldn¡¯t use any in battle.

    Due to his tiredness from last night, Drake took the opportunity in this carriage ride to rest. The others also didn¡¯t have much to talk about and chose to observe the view to take their minds off the bumpy ride.

    Soon, the party arrived at their destination and exited the carriage.

    They had travelled in the opposite direction to the forest and were now in a hilly area. The grassy plains rose and fell across the landscape, tracing out mini hills which were scattered everywhere.

    Drake activated his acute sense, and Blaze and Helen unsheathed their swords, while Sylvia readied her bow. The group slowly made their way up a hill.

    Sylvia could summon wind elemental pixie spirits for scouting, so she sent a few out to scan the area. She had also summoned rank two sword and armour artifacts for Helen using wind and earth elemental runes, to increase her battle strength, which Helen was extremely happy and grateful for and was now using.

    Her armour contained the ¡®earth wall¡¯ and ¡®mud mire¡¯ runes, whereas her sword contained the ¡®wind blade¡¯ and ¡®piercing gust runes¡¯.

    Drake activated his acute sense, paying close attention to his surroundings, and any signals from Sylvia in case her pixies spotted some orcs.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Sylvia whispered.

    Everyone paused. They were close to the peak of the hill.

    ¡°There are two orcs behind that hill,¡± she said, pointing to a hill adjacent to theirs. The others couldn¡¯t see any orcs, so they deduced that it must be on the other side, obscured from their view.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go there then,¡± Blaze suggested, but he was interrupted by Sylvia.

    ¡°No need,¡± she said. She poured mana into her ring artifact, but instead of the usual mana arrow, a fire arrow appeared. She readied the arrow and aimed at the sky.

    Breathe¡­ she told herself, inhaling deeply.

    She poured mana into her bow and activated one of its runes.

    ¡°Seek,¡± she whispered and released.

    The fire arrow shot into the sky, flying over the hill, before shooting towards the orc on the other side. The orc was caught by surprise and tried to block the arrow with its club. However, it was just a servant class oni so the arrow tore through the club and pierced through the orc itself, right in between its eyes, before setting it on fire.

    The servant class orc¡¯s regeneration wasn¡¯t strong enough to withstand the fire from a rank three artifact and soon, its whole body was destroyed, killing it completely.

    The orc¡¯s screams echoed across the hills, and a large number of birds fled into the sky.

    Without waiting, Sylvia readied another fire arrow and took aim at the sky.

    ¡°Seek!¡± she whispered again, and the arrow shot forward.

    Soon, the cries of another orc echoed across the hills, joining the first.

    Blaze, Drake, and Helen looked at Sylvia, stupefied.

    ¡°How¡­ what¡­ how¡­¡± Helen wanted to ask something but her shock prevented her from properly formulating a sentence. The others were equally flabbergasted and looked towards Sylvia for an explanation.

    Sylvia chuckled but decided to explain. ¡°My ring is a rank three artifact,¡± she said, holding her finger up for them to see. ¡°It can summon a fire, wind, or mana arrow. And my bow¡­¡± she withdrew her finger and brought her bow up instead, ¡°Is another rank three artifact. It has three abilities - decimate, rain, and seek, which could be applied to any equipped arrow.¡±

    The group were still looking at her in shock and Sylvia continued her explanation with a smile.

    ¡°Decimate, which you might remember me using against the pseudo-commander class demon monkey, enhances the strength of the arrow multiple times, making it extremely powerful. Rain multiplies the number of arrows upon release, and finally, seek,¡± she said with a smirk, ¡°Locks the equipped arrow onto any target I can see and won¡¯t stop until it hits them. Even if I just see them through my pixie spirits, as long as they aren¡¯t too far away, it will still seek them.¡±

    ¡®What the hell!?¡¯ Drake thought. ¡®Wasn¡¯t this a bit too ridiculous?¡¯

    ¡°What do you even need us for?¡± Drake finally managed to form and say those words. The other two nodded vigorously in agreement.

    By combining the two artifacts, the versatility of attacks she could launch, was just insane!

    Sylvia laughed in response but then became serious.

    ¡°Incoming,¡± she said, looking in the direction where she had just shot her arrows.

    Everyone stopped and focused their attention in that direction as well.

    A large number of heavy footsteps and battle cries could be heard echoing from the distance. Soon, a figure was revealed running towards them from around the hill. The next second, dozens of orcs wielding clubs, sticks, and poles appeared one after another following the first orc.

    All of them were running towards their party, who were still standing near the top of their hill. Even though the two groups were separated by some distance, with their speed, the orcs would reach them in less than a minute.

    ¡°All of you stand your ground and get ready,¡± Sylvia ordered, before preparing another fire arrow. ¡°I will get as many of them as I can first.¡±

    She took aim towards the sky and released.

    ¡°Rain!¡± she whispered, and the arrow shot into the sky, instantly multiplying into dozens.

    The arrows literally rained fire upon the orcs, killing and severely injuring a large number of them.

    Sylvia didn¡¯t stop and took aim again.

    ¡°Rain!¡± she said, releasing another fire arrow which again multiplied into dozens.

    However this time, the several warrior class orcs in the horde sprang into action. They were wielding large, wooden poles, which they spun rapidly with all their strength. Given their huge muscles and immense physical might, they spun the poles so fast that it generated powerful winds, deflecting a lot of the arrows, making this volley much less effective.

    ¡°Tst,¡± Sylvia cursed, but then took aim once more, this time focusing on a warrior class orc specifically.

    ¡°Seek,¡± she whispered, and the arrow shot forth rapidly. The orc couldn¡¯t dodge or deflect it, and the arrow pierced through its chest and set the orc on fire.

    However, the regenerative abilities of the warrior class orc were stronger than the servant class orcs. The orc rolled across the ground, roaring in pain, which soon put out most of the fires, allowing it to quickly heal and get back again.

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    The unlucky orc which had just gotten back up was taken by surprise by Sylvia¡¯s most powerful arrow. This time, the fire was far more powerful than before, and it could not put it out so easily. Its heart and brain were soon destroyed by the fire and it died.

    The horde was much closer now, but the fall of the warrior class orc spread mild panic among the others. The remaining warrior class orcs sprang into action. They released their auras to intimidate the others and caused them to fall in line.

    But this was enough for Sylvia.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Another large volley of fire arrows crashed down upon the distracted orcs. The warrior class orcs which were busy controlling the horde were unable to defend in time, causing a large number of them to die again.

    By the time they got close to the party, over half of the orcs had died!

    The warrior class orcs were furious!

    They glared daggers at Sylvia, seeing her as their mortal enemy, and charged. They were too close now for her to shoot them down, so she stepped back.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you guys now,¡± she said softly.

 Chapter 59: Negotiations

    ¡°Finally!¡± Blaze exclaimed, before dashing forward with his menacing sword. Drake followed, pouring mana into his gloves.

    ¡°Firestorm!¡±

    ¡°Fireballs!¡±

    The two cut through the horde like butter, killing everything in their way. A lucky few orcs managed to get around them, but were stopped by Helen.

    ¡°Mud mire!¡± she exclaimed, slamming her palm against the ground. The ground underneath the orcs transformed into an extremely viscous mud, trapping the orcs in place. Using this opportunity, she used another one of her new abilities.

    ¡°Wind blade!¡± she yelled, releasing a blade of wind which sliced one of the orcs vertically in half, destroying both its heart and brain. She made quick work of the other orcs as well before returning to her position in front of Sylvia.

    With her new artifacts, Helen now had a much easier time fighting and didn¡¯t feel so weak anymore.

    Sylvia always had an arrow ready and alertly observed the battle. The moment an opportunity appeared, she would use decimate and kill off an orc.

    A horde of dozens of powerful, regenerating orcs, which would have been a nightmare for most people, were killed off completely by their party, in a matter of minutes.

    ¡­

    Sometime later, in the town lord¡¯s manor, in Duskville.

    Sam and Astoria were standing outside a door with a couple of guards surrounding them.

    They had been urgently summoned by the town lord and were about to meet him.

    One of the guards knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± a hurried but powerful voice came from within.

    The guard opened the door and gestured for the two to enter.

    Sam and Astoria entered to find three figures seated on chairs around a circular table. It was located in the centre of a large hall which looked like a meeting room. There were two open seats available for Sam and Astoria to occupy.

    ¡°Please, come in and have a seat,¡± a middle-aged man dressed in gold and silver robes said, welcoming them. He was seated at the centre. To his right was a woman dressed in an all-white gown, holding a long staff, and to his left, was a slightly chubbier man, decorated in jewellery.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astoria and Sam said, bowing respectfully, before taking a seat.

    ¡°My name is Cedric Ironheart, I am the lord of this town,¡± the middle-aged man introduced himself.

    Astoria and Sam nodded.

    ¡°And I am Elena Silverglow, a bishop of the Church of Iva,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°I¡¯m Darren. Darren Gold,¡± the chubby man spoke with a casual tone. ¡°I am the head of this town¡¯s branch of the merchants guild.¡±

    Astoria and Sam gave both of them a slight, but respectful bow, wondering what these lords wanted with them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point,¡± Cedric said. ¡°You might have heard about the fire from last night?¡±

    Astoria glanced at Sam and responded, ¡°Yes, we heard some rumours, but we''re not sure what exactly happened.¡±

    Cedric nodded. ¡°Well, the news will probably spread soon enough so there¡¯s no harm in telling you.¡± Cedric looked at the two intently and said with a straight face, ¡°One of our town¡¯s major wheat fields was completely burnt to the ground last night.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Sam and Astoria gasped. ¡°How!?¡±

    ¡°It was the work of dark mages,¡± Elena sighed.

    Sam and Astoria were shocked again. They had no idea that dark mages were in this town too.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we invited you here, we want you to tell us everything about your experience with dark mages,¡± Cedric said, getting straight to the point as he promised.

    Astoria nodded seriously and started recounting her experience, along with Sam who also shared his perspective.

    Cedric, Elena, and Darren listened intently, occasionally asking some questions.

    Once they finished, the room became silent as they all contemplated the situation.

    Damon Rogue¡­

    The name sounded familiar to Cedric but he couldn¡¯t quite recognise who it was.

    After a while, Cedric spoke.

    ¡°I want you two to share your thoughts freely. Do you think the dark mages who attacked our town might be the same as the ones who attacked your villages, or at least be connected in anyway?¡±

    Astoria held her chin and thought deeply. After a few minutes, she replied.

    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s likely,¡± she responded.

    Cedric was slightly taken aback, ¡°Oh, can you explain why?¡±

    ¡°Because,¡± Astoria explained. ¡°The strongest among the mages that attacked us was a mage king. I doubt they would dare to attack a town protected by multiple mage kings and a mage emperor.¡±

    Cedric didn¡¯t react, but he was silently thinking about what she was saying.

    ¡°However,¡± she added. ¡°I still don¡¯t know for sure why they attacked our villages. I¡¯ve thought about it a lot. They spent so much time and energy raising an army, then planning and coordinating an attack on the three villages simultaneously. I doubt they¡¯d do that just for fun, even if they were dark mages. They must have been aiming for something. They might have found a new cultivation technique, trying to craft a powerful artifact, refine a high-ranking pill, or something else to raise their cultivation or battle strength in some way that required them to kill so many people.¡±

    She looked at the three and continued.

    ¡°So, it may be possible that the mage king Damon, found a way to break through to the mage emperor realm or achieve some large increase to his battle strength over these months which did make him confident to come here. Hence, I wouldn¡¯t rule it out.¡±

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    The three thought about it and slowly nodded, thinking that it made sense.

    ¡°Indeed, the possibility is there,¡± they agreed. But they couldn¡¯t be sure for now.

    ¡°We have to investigate this further, keeping all possibilities in mind,¡± said Cedric.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Elena and Darren agreed.

    They turned back to Astoria and Sam.

    ¡°Thank you for everything. Your information and thoughts have been very helpful,¡± Cedric said.

    He looked at them curiously and asked. ¡°Have you heard about the discovery of the new inheritance grounds?¡±

    ¡­

    Back in Basindale.

    Drake¡¯s party collected the orcs¡¯ remains, and Drake also collected some herbs and other materials that he needed, from the surroundings.

    Soon after, they went back to their carriage and returned to town.

    They turned in their mission and sold most of the orc corpses after Drake kept a few for his use, and they all split the rewards.

    The party decided to celebrate their first successful mission together as an official party, through some drinks. The hunters guild personally operated a well-equipped bar, so the group had a mini, celebratory, party and drinks.

    After celebrating, the group split up again. Drake wanted to go back to practising his alchemy and martial techniques. Surprisingly, Sylvia also said she was tired and wanted to rest and left. Hence, Blaze and Helen chose to go out together for some time instead. This gave them their first opportunity to interact personally and get to know each other.

    For the next week, the party fell into a routine.

    They would go out on a mission every other day, and rest in-between. Whilst Drake would socialise with them for a bit after the missions and on rest days, he spent most of his free time refining pills and practising his martial techniques in secret at night.

    Drake was doing exactly that on this particular night as well.

    He was standing in front of a tree, somewhere outside Basindale. He got into an offensive stance and brought his arm back.

    Hammer fist!

    He activated his martial technique and punched the tree with all his might. The force of the punch created cracks which quickly spread throughout the tree. After a few seconds, the entire tree fell down with a loud bang.

    Drake seemed to expect this and moved onto another tree, right next to the first. He got into the same stance and brought his arm back once more.

    This time Drake activated his rank two martial technique. Mana flowed through his arm into his hand. Drake closed his palm leaving just his index and middle finger open, allowing mana to concentrate on their tips. He poured more and more mana into his fingers until they started burning.

    Finger thrust!

    Drake attacked the tree forcefully with his fingers. An explosive sound echoed across the surroundings.

    Drake looked at the tree stunned, before slowly starting to smile.

    A large, gaping hole had formed in the middle of the tree, and three trees behind it!

    They all fell down with a loud thud.

    Finally! I have mastered this!

    Although hammer fist was powerful, demons with strong defences were difficult to beat with it. Now, with finger thrust, Drake was able to overcome this weakness.

    At the same time, in a location that was a little further away, two figures met.

    One was a middle-aged man dressed in gold and silver robes, whilst the other was a man dressed in full black.

    They were Cedric Ironheart and Eldric Blackthorne, respectively.

    ¡°Well, well, well¡± Eldric spoke in a sarcastic and slightly mocking tone. ¡°You must be in a lot of trouble if you¡¯re asking me for help.¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± Cedric wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t.

    He really didn¡¯t want to depend on this man, but he had no choice now. Duskville needed a lot of food aid and fast.

    But how could they get aid? Duskville was one of the furthest towns from the Holy Capital. His own family, the Ironheart family, were based in the Heart City almost half a year horse ride away, and the Holy Capital was even further, almost two years away!

    Sure, with his mage emperor cultivation, he could travel fast and potentially make a round trip in a few months, but who knew what these dark mages would do in his absence? Already they caused such destruction the one night that he had left. If he left for so long, what if they went and destroyed even more resource points?

    In fact, he had to increase security near all the most important resource points. Grand mages at medium-sized resource points, and at least one mage king to guard every large resource point, would be the minimum necessary to protect against further destruction, at least until the dark mages responsible were caught.

    But that left no one who could quickly go and ask for aid! They could only use ordinary messengers on horseback, or messenger spirits to communicate with the Capital and Heart City for help. However, they would most likely not make it in time before major damage was caused to his population.

    Hence, he concluded that there was only one choice.

    He had to ask Basindale, the largest and closest town to Duskville, for help.

    Except that it was led by the Blackthorne family, which didn¡¯t get along very well with their Ironheart family, to say the least. They were rivals and often even had open fights with each other. There was no doubt in his mind that the Blackthorne family would take this opportunity to take advantage of them.

    But what choice did he have?

    Hence, he contacted Eldric and arranged for this meeting.

    ¡°Let¡¯s avoid the chitchat. Duskville needs food,¡± Cedric said matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Eldric became curious. ¡°Do you not have enough?¡±

    Cedric sighed and explained the dark mages destroying his wheatfield. However, he left out the part where he found the Hidden Venom Cult¡¯s ring.

    Eldric¡¯s brows furrowed and a dark expression came over him. But it quickly went away, replaced by a slight smile.

    ¡°I see, so you need my help,¡± Eldric said arrogantly.

    ¡°Humph, don¡¯t get cocky Eldric,¡± Cedric warned. ¡°Name your price and we can be done with this.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, interesting,¡± Eldric said, holding his chin as if he was in deep thought. He raised his head after a few seconds and spoke with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t need to pay me anything. How about you just withdraw your family from entering the inheritance and I¡¯ll give you all the food you want?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Cedric gasped. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡± He folded his arms in defiance and looked irritated.

    Eldric laughed, ¡°Okay okay, how about you just give me your family¡¯s Ironheart artifact then?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Cedric spat.

    What a joke! That was a precious rank five artifact that their family had treasured for generations.

    ¡°This is a serious matter Eldric, stop joking around,¡± Cedric spoke, more annoyed now.

    ¡°You¡¯re no fun,¡± Eldric said with an exaggerated sigh, but it was clear that he was enjoying this. ¡°Let¡¯s just talk money then. How about¡­ a hundred¡­ supreme grade mana stones?¡±

    ¡°What!? Do you want to bankrupt my family?¡± Cedric asked furiously.

    One supreme grade mana stone was equal to a million low grade mana stones, each worth ten gold coins. So a hundred supreme grade mana stones were equal to a hundred million low grade mana stones, or a billion gold coins!

    If they sold every single artifact and asset in their family¡¯s possession, they might barely be able to come up with that amount.

    It was too ridiculous.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious Eldric,¡± Cedric spoke with a low voice. ¡°If Duskville suffers a catastrophe, and the royal family finds out that you refused to help when you could, how do you think they would react? Your family would have to answer to the emperor of the Holy Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Tst,¡± Eldric spat in response and folded his arms, annoyed. Of course, he knew this already, but hearing Cedric mention it finally made him serious.

    Cedric detected the change in his expression and calmed down.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stop joking around. There¡¯re only a few things I want.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what are they?¡± Cedric asked, slightly worried.

    ¡°Fifty thousand, low-grade mana stones,¡± Eldric said.

    ¡°Done,¡± Cedric agreed immediately.

    ¡°And you cover all the costs of logistics and transportation,¡± Eldric added.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Cedric replied, happy that he was finally being reasonable.

    ¡°And¡­¡± Eldric smiled, making Cedric¡¯s worry again. ¡°I want the horn of calling.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Cedric asked.

    ¡°What do you mean what? Can you not spare a rank one artifact,¡± Eldric replied with a smile.

    It¡¯s true that it was a rank one artifact, but its value was much higher. The horn of calling was an artifact that could be used to summon an army of servant and warrior class shadow creatures. Naturally, to create that artifact, you would need to know the rune to summon shadow creatures. But spirits that could summon other creatures themselves were rank five minimum, so they were all only learnt and known to mage emperors.

    Hence, it required a mage emperor to create this artifact!

    Although it was rank one, due to its rarity and utility, its value was potentially equal to that of a low, rank four artifact. Their Ironheart family had found it by luck previously, and the Blackthorne family had been eyeing it since.

    Now that the opportunity arose, Eldric was not going to let it go.

    ¡°That impossible, that artifact is too precious,¡± Cedric retorted.

    ¡°Then no deal,¡± Eldric replied, stubbornly.

    ¡°You! Did you forget that you will have to answer to the emperor?¡± Cedric asked, trying to use the emperor¡¯s name to intimidate him. However, it was useless.

    ¡°When the emperor asks, I¡¯d be happy to explain how you valued a small artifact over the lives of your town¡¯s citizens,¡± Eldric replied with a smirk.

    Cedric clenched his fist. He wanted to bury Eldric right here and now but he couldn¡¯t do that.

    Moments passed, and Cedric let out a sigh.

    ¡°Have it your way, then¡­ I¡¯ll give you what you want¡­¡± Cedric agreed reluctantly.

    Eldric was delighted.

 Chapter 60: Arachne

    After a couple of days, aid arrived from Basindale, and the food crisis in Duskville was averted. People stopped panicking and things returned to normal.

    However, the higher ups were not going to let this go. They were using all of their resources to investigate the dark mages responsible for the destruction.

    For the next month, investigations were ongoing in full vigour.

    During this time, Drake and his party completed a lot more missions and started getting along much better.

    Drake took one week to learn freeze palm and another for crescent slash.

    After mastering his rank two martial techniques, Drake moved on to the next thing that could increase his battle strength.

    Artifacts.

    A big reason why both Blaze and Sylvia were as powerful as they were, was due to the artifacts they used. Hence, Drake wanted to improve his artifacts too.

    Luckily, unlike spirits which needed to be summoned complete with runes, when it came to artifacts, runes could be engraved into them after they were summoned, or even into already existing objects.

    One just needed a special, but readily available artifact called the spirit quill.

    The spirit quill was a rank one artifact that transformed the mana poured into it into a special type of earth mana that had strong, penetrating properties. One could then pass that earth mana into an object and control it to alter the internal structure of the object as desired, allowing them to engrave the runes and create the necessary mana pathways for the runes, from within.

    As always, all you needed was to know how the rune should be altered to suit the body of the artifact, and how the internal structure of the artifact should be altered to create the necessary mana pathways for the rune, something which was much easier for Drake than most people.

    There were several spirits that Drake knew the summoning spell for, but never got a chance to properly learn. Myra had given him the spell for summoning a rank one lightning bat, whilst Ray had given him the rank two healing butterfly spirit summon. He had also learnt the rank two water goldfish spirit summoning from the ancestor¡¯s ruins.

    Although he couldn¡¯t summon those spirits, he could practise engraving their runes into different objects. After learning and mastering them, not only would he be able to create artifacts with those runes, but he would also be able to summon those spirits much more easily once he healed his mana core.

    Thinking so, he decided to practise engraving the new runes. He spent the next two weeks practising the lightning bat¡¯s lightning bolt rune. Although he was close, he hadn¡¯t yet fully mastered it.

    Of course, he had also been practising alchemy like a madman during this time. He had practised many different pills, including the mana recovery pill, stamina recovery pill, zenith pill, and a couple of different healing pills.

    It took Drake a while to master the basics such as identifying impurities and purifying them, as well as how to handle and combine different materials, but once he became better at these techniques, the other pill recipes basically just used the same techniques in different ways to produce various pills. Hence, Drake was able to start learning other pills more quickly.

    However, he still only had about a 60% success rate with these pills, so he still wasn¡¯t a rank one alchemist yet; but he was close.

    But due to attempting hundreds of pill refinements every day, Drake soon built up a large stock of various pills, much more than he could use. He often shared the pills with the others during their missions and even gave Helen a batch of zenith pills to help with her cultivation. After that, he started selling the surplus to the merchants guild and started building a good relationship with them, while also making more money.

    Every time Drake visited the merchants guild, Freya was there, ready to welcome him, as if she had been waiting for him the whole time.

    Drake had no idea if she had nothing else to do, or if her only job was to cater to Drake¡¯s party. He even suspected that the merchants guild might be spying on him to make sure Freya was always available when he visited, but he soon lost interest and stopped thinking about it.

    At this moment, it was morning in Basindale. The sun was rising into the sky, casting its warm rays onto the town.

    Drake was returning from a trip to the merchants guild when he noticed a local church and decided to quickly drop-in.

    It was a simple church similar to the ones on Earth, with around ten rows which were occupied by a modest crowd. Drake was sitting at the very back and saw that everyone was focusing on a man dressed in white, standing at the altar in the front.

    ¡°Today, I¡¯m going to tell a special story specifically for all the children present. The story of how the great goddess Iva created our world.¡± The priest spoke with a soft, but loud and clear voice while looking at the surprisingly large number of children present in the crowd.

    Drake often visited this church from time to time just to relax and was also surprised to spot so many children, which was quite unusual. ¡®Maybe today¡¯s just like a ¡®bring the kids¡¯ day or something,¡¯ he thought to himself but decided to listen.

    ¡°When our world originally formed from the chaos, the land was barren and the seas were dry. There existed no life, nothing, but stillness¡­¡± he dragged out the last word for emphasis.

    ¡°It was then that the goddess Iva, in her infinite grace, took pity on the world and blew mana into the air. The mana transformed the land, forming the vast expanses of desert to the east, the great forests to the west, the giant mountains of the north, and oceans around the continent.¡±

    Drake couldn¡¯t help but think about Earth. As a physicist, he had a clear understanding of how the universe was created from the Big Bang and life through evolution. However, for most of humanity''s time, they too had a religious explanation for everything. Given the existence of magic in this world, Drake thought that maybe this world was created in a different way, and wondered how much of this story was true.

    ¡®Could there be actual gods in this world?¡¯ Drake thought. For a brief second, the figure of the middle-aged man in an infinite, white room, flashed through Drake¡¯s mind.

    Orion immortal¡­

    However, the priest continued.

    ¡°When the mana condensed, the nature spirits began to form. They were simple, ethereal creatures with little will and intelligence of their own. They mindlessly wandered the planet as creation was taking shape.

    Then, the mana began mixing with the land. The trees transformed into dryads, the water into nymphs, the earth into gnomes, and the desert into golems. They were the faeries, the first true living beings.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s image flashed through Drake¡¯s mind.

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    ¡°Inspired by this change, the goddess decided to create more life. Guided by Iva, the mana condensed further and began forming the first few lifeforms of simple insects. They gave colour to the world, bringing with them a tinge of life.

    But the goddess wasn¡¯t satisfied. She wanted to create intelligent life. Hence, the races of humans, dragons, merfolk, elves, giants, snakemen, and the seraphim were born.

    The dragons and faeries formed tribes and scattered across the world whilst the merfolk dived into the ocean. The rest of the land was split up by the remaining races. The snakemen migrated to the eastern desert whilst the giants ventured north into the treacherous mountains. All the elves decided to occupy the woods to the west, forming the great kingdom of Eldanor, while the seraphim formed the Southern Empire. Only we humans formed the Holy kingdom in worship of the mother goddess.¡±

    An image of a large world teaming with all sorts of life formed in Drake¡¯s mind.

    ¡°All races lived in peace and harmony ¨C until the Great Calamity!¡±

    The rest was the same as the story he often heard. After the Great Calamity, a huge chunk of the world¡¯s population was destroyed, and ten new races, the oni races, appeared. They carried a natural, inborn hatred towards the native races, and wherever they went, their dark aura corrupted the unintelligent animals, turning them into demons.

    Drake quickly zoned out. He observed the priest often describe the scenes with an exaggerated tone of voice and make funny or scary faces and gestures. In response, the kids often let out gasps of surprise and fear.

    After a few minutes, Drake decided to leave. He had agreed to meet the rest of his party so he needed to get going.

    Soon, Drake arrived at the hunters guild to spot his party at the mission board. He had told them to go ahead and that he would catch up after.

    Drake walked up to his party to spot them discussing a particular mission. A pseudo-commander class arachne had appeared inside one of the town¡¯s mines, making the miners too scared to go inside and work.

    Arachnes were another oni race. It was a half-human and half-spider hybrid, and its special ability was creating and spitting out thick webs to trap enemies.

    It had appeared inside a mana stone mine. Mana stone mines contained a lot of mana rocks, which were used to make mana stones. Hence, it was an important resource point for the town, making it an urgent mission with a hefty reward.

    They had already defeated a pseudo-commander class demon monkey together, and although onis were more powerful and they hadn¡¯t fought an arachne before, they thought that they should be able to handle it.

    After asking the receptionist to allocate the mission to them, they rented a carriage and started making their way to the mines.

    The party had completed numerous missions over the past month and had built up a good team spirit, becoming a lot closer to each other. Sylvia and Helen especially, spent a lot of time together and became good friends.

    They weren¡¯t worried about the mission at all and were happily chatting with each other, laughing about random jokes. Even Syliva, who normally had a more reserved personality and didn¡¯t express her emotions very well, warmed up to the group and started making some small jokes and giggling along.

    Drake and the rest soon arrived at their destination in a cheerful mood and casually started walking towards the mines. Since they knew that the arachne was deep within the mines, they didn¡¯t pay much attention to the surroundings.

    Hence, they didn¡¯t notice several shadowy figures trailing behind them.

    A man in his fifties, the one who ran the mines, spotted Drake¡¯s party and hurried towards them.

    ¡°You must be the hunters, thank you for coming so soon,¡± he said bowing gratefully.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Blaze replied.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the arachne?¡± Sylvia asked, getting straight to the point.

    The man turned towards her and replied, ¡°It¡¯s usually nesting at the very bottom of the mines, but it often comes up to the higher floors too, so I¡¯d be careful going in.¡±

    Sylvia nodded. ¡°Okay then lead the way. But once the fighting starts, you might want to hide.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the man replied delightedly, happy to get the problem resolved as soon as possible.

    He led the party into the mines and, once again, none of them noticed the shadowy figures following behind.

    Sunlight couldn¡¯t easily enter the mines. It was mostly lit up by torches that were placed at regular intervals along the walls. Drake also poured a bit of mana into the light rune in his sword, causing it to glow gently and provide some light.

    Sylvia summoned her pixie spirits, as usual, to scout ahead and around each floor.

    The mines were only a couple floors deep, so the group soon reached the bottom.

    Unlike all the previous floors, this one was different. Gooey spider webs covered the walls and the ceiling along the small corridor that had been dug out.

    They hadn¡¯t spotted the arachne anywhere else so far, so they were sure it must be on this floor.

    ¡°Everyone wait!¡± Drake whispered. The group froze in their tracks and turned to look at him.

    ¡°I have an idea,¡± he said before walking towards the wall.

    He placed his hand right next to a thread of spider web and poured mana into his glove.

    Fireball!

    A fireball shot out from his glove. The temperature rose and the thread caught on fire.

    Satisfied, Drake raised both his palms and started shooting fireballs everywhere along the walls and the ceiling, soon lighting the whole thing on fire.

    Since the walls were mostly made of mana rocks which were quite strong and durable, Drake wasn¡¯t worried that his fire would weaken the walls and cause a cave-in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back up! We¡¯ll have more room to fight there and it¡¯ll come to us!¡± Drake said.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way to find it,¡± Blaze said, surprised at Drake¡¯s overt tactics, but he listened and started climbing back up. Everyone else quickly followed.

    Screeeech!!

    A voice echoed across the floor and rapidly approached closer just as the last person was climbing through.

    ¡°Stay here,¡± Sylvia said to the mine owner after they all climbed up, pointing towards a large boulder which would provide him with an effective hiding spot.

    ¡°Oh... okay,¡± the man obeyed instantly, not wanting to get in the middle of the fight.

    The group stood about twenty metres away from the floor entrance, waiting for the arachne to come through.

    Sylvia prepared a mana arrow and readied her bow. Helen stepped in front of her, whilst Drake and Blaze stood before them, ready to fight.

    This was their usual formation.

    A large figure swiftly approached them.

    It had the lower body of a spider, with extremely long and sharp legs, spanning several feet in diameter. The lower body probably reached three feet in height and the upper body, which had the figure of a humanoid female, was another four feet. The upper body¡¯s forearms were spiked claws that rapidly sprung open and shut. Its head was the scariest feature, containing eight, blood red eyes and two huge fangs, along with really thick, long, black hair.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Sylvia shot dozens of mana arrows towards the arachne. However, it stopped moving and used its claws to easily deflect all the attacks.

    Sylvia was hesitant to use decimate. If the arachne dodged the attack and the arrow hit the walls instead, she wasn¡¯t sure if they could withstand it, even though the wall were made of strong mana rocks.

    Hence, when the arachne deflected her attacks, there wasn¡¯t much she could do.

    The arachne appeared in front of them and hissed.

    Blaze moved.

    Dragon step!

    Blaze transformed into a fiery mist and appeared above the arachne.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± he yelled, slashing his sword, and shooting out a blade of fire.

    The arachne saw the blade rapidly approaching it. When the blade was inches from its face, the arachne disappeared.

    ¡®No!¡¯ Drake thought.

    It didn¡¯t disappear - it just moved incredibly fast, much faster than any of them had anticipated.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Drake yelled to Blaze, who was still stunned at seeing the huge beast disappear.

    The arachne was standing upside down on the ceiling right behind Blaze. It opened its right claw and swung it towards Blaze, ready to snap him in half.

    ¡°Seek!¡±

    Sylvia shot out an arrow aimed directly at the claw. Although the arrow wouldn¡¯t be able to penetrate the claw¡¯s thick shell, the force of the impact could deflect it.

    Just as the claw was about to strike Blaze, the arrow hit the claw and slightly shifted it, making it miss Blaze by an inch.

    Blaze finally realised what was going on and used dragon step. He left behind a fiery mist and appeared back next to the group.

    It hadn¡¯t even taken a second for the arachne to appear behind Blaze and counterattack. Blaze wasn¡¯t expecting it to be so fast and was momentarily stunned. If not for Sylvia¡¯s quick reflexes, he would have been seriously injured.

    The group watched the arachne carefully.

    This was going to be a much more difficult fight than they thought.

    Hiss!

    The arachne hissed and spat out a large web towards Blaze.

    Blaze dodged but it used that opportunity to sprint towards them. It moved so fast that they were barely able to keep up.

    ¡°Dragon fist!¡±

    ¡°Hammer fist!¡±

    Both Blaze and Drake activated their martial techniques and punched the arachne. The arachne used its claws to block the attacks but was pushed back by the momentum.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep hitting the same spot, we gotta break its defences!¡± Drake cried.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Blaze agreed.

    The two sprang into action and used their martial techniques to rapidly throw all manner of punches, kicks, and slashes at the beast. Although its upper body was more vulnerable, its claws were made of a thick shell and due to its speed, it could use them to block all of their attacks. Drake wanted to use his finger thrust but couldn¡¯t find a good opening.

    ¡°Seek!¡± Sylvia repeatedly aimed and shot her arrows at any opportunity that showed itself, which were also blocked by the claws.

    They fought relentlessly for several minutes before a Drake finally saw an opportunity.

 Chapter 61: An encounter

    Drake finally saw an opportunity.

    ¡°Finger thrust!¡± he yelled. A large amount of mana gathered at the tips of his index and middle fingers, making them burn searing hot.

    Drake jabbed at the arachne. It brought its claw to block the attack as usual but this time, a slight crack appeared on one of its claws.

    ¡®Finally!¡¯ thought Drake, before activating metal leg repeatedly.

    Drake¡¯s legs moved in a blur, kicking its claw dozens of times per second. With its speed, the arachne was barely able to keep up, however, the crack in its shell kept widening with each impact.

    Crack!

    The small crack had expanded rapidly due to Drake¡¯s kicks and within a few moments, its shell cracked and the claw fell off.

    The arachne roared in pain.

    But Drake wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity go. He poured all his mana into his boots, activated shadow steps, and pushed his speed to the maximum, before charging with his sword. He also poured mana into the sword to make it shine brilliantly.

    The arachne¡¯s sensitive vision attuned to darkness was caught by surprise and roared even more loudly as its eyes started burning. It retreated and trashed its claws about wildly. But its movements were random as the arachne was temporarily blind, allowing Drake to easily dodge them and reach its body.

    Drake thrusted his sword, ready to stab into its shoulder.

    The arachne must have sensed Drake being so close. It quickly turned its head and spat out a large spider web.

    The web flew very quickly and at this range, Drake couldn¡¯t dodge.

    At the last second, the spider web forced him back, making him drop his sword and crash against the wall. The sticky spider web glued Drake to the wall, making him unable to move.

    Drake carefully pulled out a dagger he had hidden and started cutting through the web, but it would take some time for him to free himself.

    But this gave Blaze the perfect opportunity. He repeatedly activated dragon step and moved extremely close.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡±

    He shot out a blade of fire, aimed directly at its neck.

    The arachne had slightly recovered its vision and moved its remaining claw to block the attack. But the claw was already weak from all the damage it had previously taken and cracked widely upon impact, before falling down as well.

    ¡®RRROOOAAARRR!¡¯

    A huge roar echoed across the floor again as the arachne felt incredible pain from losing its second claw. It started moving randomly in a panic.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Sylvia used this opportunity to shoot a flurry of arrows at the arachne¡¯s vulnerable upper body.

    Blinded by pain and rage, the arachne couldn¡¯t react properly. It tried to raise its front legs which were made of the same material as the claw and use them to deflect the arrows. However, it couldn¡¯t move them in such an unnatural manner very quickly, hence allowing many of the arrows to hit its body.

    The arachne roared even further as dozens of holes appeared in its body.

    At this point, Drake had finally freed himself and retrieved his sword. He poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps to raise his speed to the maximum once again.

    Blaze also acted at the same time and activated dragon step.

    The duo lunged at the defenceless arachne, their swords pointed straight at its chest.

    One second they were jumping in the air, and the next second, they appeared behind the arachne, and calmly sheathed their swords.

    Behind them, the arachne¡¯s roars stopped. A large cut appeared across its neck, and another across its stomach. Its body split into three, and the head and torso rolled onto the floor.

    Blaze and Drake slowly straightened their backs and turned to face the fallen arachne, panting slightly out of breath.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ finally dead!¡± Helen gasped.

    Everyone looked at each other to confirm they weren¡¯t dreaming.

    They did it!

    The fight had turned out to be much more difficult than they expected and several times, they were in a life-or-death situation ¨C but it was finally over!

    The elderly man who ran the mines had watched the whole battle in both terror and awe. When the arachne had finally died, he got up and ran towards them in excitement.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it; the beast is finally dead!¡± he exclaimed.

    They all rejoiced.

    Helen hugged Sylvia and Blaze picked Drake up, laughing in joy ¨C although Drake didn¡¯t seem very happy about that.

    After a few minutes, they settled down and the mine owner thanked them gratefully.

    ¡°I have no words to express my gratitude,¡± the mine owner said, bowing deeply to everyone. ¡°Thank you very much for everything you¡¯ve done. We never could have done it without you.¡±

    Drake wanted to reply but he was interrupted.

    ¡°Yeah, thanks for taking care of that!¡± a voice chuckled, startling everyone.

    The group jumped back warily to spot a figure appearing from the darkness, soon followed by three more. The first was a young man, a couple years older than Drake, with short red hair, and a wicked smile on his face. The second and third were two men dressed in black that Drake didn¡¯t recognise.

    But the fourth - he was a man dressed in dark purple, the dark mage that he had fought in town along with Blaze that day.

    These were dark mages again!

    A look of terror dawned on the elderly man upon spotting the dark mages. He immediately retreated and hid in a corner somewhere, leaving Drake¡¯s party to face the dark mages.

    ¡°Is that the wimp you lot are fighting for?¡± the red-haired young man laughed as he watched the elderly man hide.

    ¡°What do you bastards want?¡± Drake hissed.

    ¡°Hey!¡± he replied, pointing his long sword forward. ¡°The name¡¯s Theo. Theo Vancouver. Use it.¡±

    Drake observed that his other hand was wrapped in chains.

    ¡®Is that an artifact?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    Theo was dressed in a light red overcoat, covering thick, dark-red leather armour underneath. With his long sword and chains, he stood out the most.

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    ¡®He must be the leader¡­¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to use anything, you bastard,¡± Blaze replied, pointing his huge sword back at them in response.

    ¡°Seek!¡± Sylvia used the moment of distraction to shoot.

    A mana arrow shot forth at an incredible speed, aimed directly at Theo¡¯s throat. Just before it could reach him, Theo moved swiftly and blocked with his sword, making the arrow fall helplessly to the ground and dissipate.

    Theo glared at Sylvia who stared back at him expressionlessly, and then chuckled.

    ¡°I like you! I¡¯ll kill you last!¡± he said, laughing.

    In response, Sylvia readied another arrow and aimed straight at him.

    Theo looked towards the two dark mages in black and spoke, ¡°You two go ahead, we¡¯ll deal with these guys.¡±

    They both nodded and then ran, moving in a circle around the group. They were heading for the entrance to the last floor.

    Blaze reacted first.

    ¡°Not so fast, dragon step!¡±

    Blaze became a fiery mist and rapidly approached them, but Theo was even faster.

    He poured mana into the chains on his left hand and they rapidly extended while glowing dark red. It attacked Blaze mid-way, forcing him to stop moving and block.

    The clash sent echoes throughout the floor, but Theo moved again. He pulled the chains back and immediately swung them sideways. Blaze rotated just in time to block the chains with his huge sword.

    The two clashed heavily.

    Meanwhile, Drake and Helen moved to intercept the other two dark mages.

    Shadow step!

    Drake moved like a shadow and approached one of the dark mages, arcing his sword towards the dark mage¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Iron shield!¡±

    The mage summoned an iron shield to block Drake¡¯s attack at the last moment. The fierce clash of metals echoed across the floor.

    Drake bounced back and readied his sword to strike again.

    ¡°Dark crows!¡±

    The mage yelled another spell just as Drake lunged, summoning three crows which appeared with blood-curdling screams.

    Each crow was two feet in size, with massive wings, and blood-red eyes, and were armed with ginormous beaks and claws.

    The dark mage blocked Drake¡¯s lunge with the iron shield, while the crows fiercely attacked him from the top. Drake retreated a few steps but the crows swiftly followed.

    One of the crows cawed and shot out a black bullet from its mouth. Drake tilted his head to dodge the bullet, causing it to crash behind him. Upon impact, the ground slightly started sizzling.

    ¡®Poison bullets,¡¯ Drake noted.

    As the crows came close, Drake sheathed his sword and activated the rank one deflection palms martial technique. The crows attacked from all sides with their claws and beaks but were deflected away by Drake¡¯s palms. Some of them shot out poison bullets, but Drake used shadow steps to dodge them.

    Drake retaliated by shooting fireballs at the crows. Two of the crows dodged, but the third one was blasted away before it could react.

    Just when Drake thought he could catch a break, however, the dark mage summoned three more dark crows, increasing the pressure on him.

    Meanwhile, on the other side, the dark mage in purple, who was another warrior mage, had also summoned an iron shield and crows to attack Sylvia.

    In response, Sylvia summoned three wind and two earth elemental imps for attack and defence, each emanating a rank two aura. They were small, winged creatures with pointy ears and a sharp tail, wielding a small pitchfork. Despite being rank two spirits however, they would still struggle to hold the dark mage off for long on their own, so Sylvia supported them from the background with her arrows.

    It might have been an even fight between them, however, Sylvia was also keeping an eye on Helen.

    On the final battlefield, Helen was struggling. While the dark mages attacking Drake and Sylvia were warrior mages, the one attacking Helen was a steel body martial artist, putting her at an immense disadvantage, despite her rank two artifacts. The only reason she could hold on was due to Sylvia''s support.

    Not only did Sylvia send wind and earth elemental imp spirits to help her, but whenever Helen was in a critical situation about to receive a fatal strike, Sylvia would shoot an arrow, forcing the dark mage to block, and give up on the attack.

    The two were not in a good situation.

    ¡°Dark crow flock!¡±

    Suddenly, the dark mage in purple summoned ten more dark crows and sent them to attack Sylvia at once, increasing the pressure on her tremendously.

    Sylvia summoned several more wind elemental imps in response, but the dark mage took this opportunity to do something unexpected.

    He dissipated his iron shield and ran!

    The dark mage was heading straight towards the lower floor.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Sylvia cried to Drake while being held up by the newly summoned dark crows.

    Drake, who was keeping an eye on all the battlefields, reacted instantly. He poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps, pushing his speed to the maximum. He was about to intercept the dark mage, but several iron shields suddenly appeared and blocked his path. Drake immediately moved around them to chase after him but was attacked by ten new dark crows as well.

    Drake cursed and stopped to deal with the crows.

    The party watched helplessly as the dark mage entered the last floor.

    Blaze wanted to help but unfortunately, despite being the strongest in their group, he was completely matched by Theo who attacked relentlessly with his sword and chains, which moved in unpredictable ways. Theo¡¯s artifacts, combined with his high cultivation, made him a force to be reckoned with.

    ¡°Haha! It seems like the infamous party of a dragon and dryad is only this much,¡± Theo laughed as he thrust his sword towards Blaze¡¯s chest.

    Blaze used his sword to deflect Theo¡¯s strike before shooting out a fire blade.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± he retorted.

    Theo jumped, spinning backwards into the air and the fire blade passed just under his head. Theo rotated back and landed cleanly on his feet.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make things interesting!¡± Theo exclaimed, his excitement shining through his eyes. Theo raised his palm into the air and dark mana gathered.

    ¡°Black python!¡±

    The mana condensed into the spirit of a pitch-black python. The spirit was only thumb-sized upon appearance but instantly expanded to a ten-foot-long python, coiling around Theo. It hissed at Blaze and released an aura, indicating itself as a rank two spirit.

    Blaze¡¯s expression became dark.

    The spirit lunged at Blaze.

    ¡°Firewall!¡± Blaze yelled and slashed his sword across the air, using the third ability of his sword.

    A wall of fire appeared and blocked the spirit¡¯s path. However, it only took the spirit a second to run around the wall and attack Blaze from the side.

    Blaze blocked with his sword but was pushed back by the momentum. The black python hissed and its eyes began glowing before shooting out two beams of dark light.

    Blaze used dragon step to dodge just in time as the beams left two large, gaping holes on the ground.

    The spirit appeared behind him and spat out a black substance.

    Blaze didn¡¯t want to touch it and dodged, causing the substance to hit the ground which made it sizzle corrosively, much more than when the poison bullets from the dark crows hit the ground.

    During the brief few seconds that Blaze was occupied by the spirit, Theo turned his attention to Helen and Sylvia. With a cruel smile, Theo licked his lips menacingly.

    The next second, he disappeared.

    Sylvia felt an immense threat approach and reacted instinctively.

    ¡°Wind walk!¡±

    Sylvia moved like the wind and retreated, just as Theo came crashing down with his sword, making a small crater on the ground.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Blaze yelled and tried to help but was blocked by the black python.

    ¡®Damn you!¡¯ he cursed. He just needed a few more seconds to deal with it, but he had no idea what Theo would do in that time.

    Syliva saw the situation and stopped holding back. She equipped a mana, fire, and wind arrow into her bow at the same time.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    A huge rain of over fifty arrows shot forth rapidly.

    Theo laughed. He poured mana to extend his chain and rotated it extremely fast in a wide circle. The chain became a blur and easily deflected all of the arrows.

    But this gave time for Sylvia to equip another mana arrow.

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    She shot her strongest arrow at Theo, no longer worrying about collateral damage.

    Theo furrowed his brows. He could sense the power in that arrow and knew he couldn¡¯t block it so easily.

    But there wasn¡¯t a trace of worry on his face.

    Snake walk!

    Theo disappeared and reappeared a little distance away, in the place where Helen was fighting the final dark mage.

    Helen was shocked to see a smirking Theo suddenly appear but before she could process what was happening, Theo grabbed her by the neck, and threw her directly at the oncoming arrow!

    ¡°NOOOOO!¡±

    Sylvia, Drake, and Blaze all yelled simultaneously.

    Blaze had finished dealing with the black python now and was rushing back but it was too late.

    Helen was flying directly towards the powerful arrow, her face filled with terror. But she couldn¡¯t stop her momentum, and there was no way for her to defend herself against the arrow.

    She closed her eyes and let the worst happen.

    BOOM!

    The sound of an immense explosion rang across the floor.

    Time seemed to slow down as Drake, Sylvia, and Blaze watched the arrow pierce through the defenceless Helen.

    Helen crashed heavily into the ground, spitting out blood and raising a small dust cloud.

    Everyone froze and watched as the dust cloud slowly settled.

    Helen was unconscious, lying in a pool of her own blood, with a large, gaping hole in her stomach.

    ¡°Bastaaaard!¡± Blaze yelled, rushing towards Theo, but an even louder voice drowned him out.

    ¡°AaaaAAAhhhhHHHHH!¡±

    Sylvia, who was normally the quietest and most cool-headed member of the group, now had an expression of absolute horror. Her hair was a dishevelled mess and she stared at Helen¡¯s body, unblinking.

    Everyone became quiet.

    ¡°You¡­ How¡­ dare you?¡± Sylvia¡¯s voice was hoarse.

    Theo just smirked.

    ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡± he chuckled.

    Sylvia¡¯s head creaked towards Theo. Her green pupils seemed to expand till her eyes became completely green and started glowing. She uttered two words.

    ¡°Dryad¡¯s¡­ avatar.¡±

    An immense amount of mana gathered in her body. A brilliant light flashed across the floor, forcing everyone to close their eyes.

    Drake squinted and could see the incredible amount of mana condense into a large, tree-like figure behind Sylvia.

    The light disappeared and was replaced by a huge aura that radiated outwards, pushing everyone back.

    Theo looked up to see the figure of Syliva. With glowing green eyes, and the image of a huge, glowing dryad floating behind her, while radiating an immense aura, she looked like a furious goddess about to unleash her wrath.

    Sylvia pointed her hand at Theo and the projection of the dryad copied her exactly. She opened her mouth and a powerful, booming voice came out.

    ¡°I¡­ am going¡­ to kill you.¡±

    Theo gulped.

 Chapter 62: Dryadéˆ¥æªš avatar

    Sylvia clenched her fist.

    ¡°Root prison.¡±

    Theo sensed something and jumped back.

    A pillar made of sharp and spiky tree roots blasted out of the ground exactly where Theo was a moment ago.

    But that wasn¡¯t all.

    The moment Theo was about to land, another pillar of roots blasted out from the exact same spot.

    Theo rotated midair to barely dodge it, only to be attacked by a new pillar. Theo kept jumping and dodging but new pillars kept appearing everywhere he went.

    As he dodged, Theo realised that the pillars were actually creating a giant cage to trap him. Soon, he would have nowhere left to run!

    He tried to run out of the cage through the last remaining gap but another pillar appeared.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    Theo attacked the nearest root pillar to him with his iron chains, making them wrap around. He then poured all of his mana into the chains. Runes activated and the mana transformed into a corrosive, fire-type poison mana, making the whole chain glow a bright red.

    The roots in contact with the chains slowly started turning black and decaying.

    ¡°This, is for Helen!¡± Sylvia¡¯s voice boomed.

    The dryad projection attacked Theo with its huge palm.

    Theo raised his sword in defence just as the palm came crashing down. The weight of the attack brought Theo to his knees, and he was barely able to defend against it while melting the root pillar.

    ¡®Almost¡­ there¡­¡¯ Theo mumbled in a strenuous voice.

    While the two were fighting, Drake ran towards Helen. The dark warrior mage tried to stop him but Blaze intervened to fight him instead. Blaze was much stronger and the dark mage was tired from his fight with Drake so he wouldn¡¯t have lasted long, but the steel body martial artist who was previously fighting Helen joined the dark mage, allowing them to fight more evenly against Blaze.

    Drake noticed the large hole in the unconscious Helen¡¯s stomach. It was bleeding profusely.

    But he noticed something else; the slow rise and fall of her chest ¨C she was alive!

    Just barely, but she was undoubtedly still alive.

    If they could treat her immediately, then she might just manage to survive.

    Drake took out a bunch of healing pills that he had refined and made her swallow them. The bleeding stopped for a brief moment but it resumed quickly afterwards.

    ¡®Damn it!¡¯ Drake cursed and looked towards the battlefield.

    While Theo was being pushed to the ground, the root pillar he was attacking had decayed by more than eighty per cent.

    Biting his lip, Theo fought against the weight of the palm and stood up. Using the last of his strength, he pulled on the chains and the pillar snapped.

    Sylvia moved her other hand and clenched her fist.

    A new pillar started rising at the exact same spot to replace the old one.

    Snake walk!

    Theo activated his movement technique and jumped. He rolled in midair, his body grazing over the forming root pillar. He made it to the other side just in time as the new pillar rose to the top behind him.

    Theo landed on his knees and coughed out blood. He plunged his sword into the ground for support as he gasped for breath.

    At this moment, the mage in purple who had left for the last floor returned and helped Theo to his feet.

    ¡°We got what we wanted, let¡¯s go back!¡± the mage in purple cried.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Sylvia¡¯s voice boomed.

    She took out her bow and a huge bow materialised in the hands of the dryad projection.

    Sylvia was about to take aim when an unexpected voice called out.

    ¡°Sylvia, wait!¡± Drake cried.

    She turned to look at him, startled.

    ¡°Helen¡­ she¡¯s alive, and she needs help.¡±

    Despite her eyes completely green being unreadable, she seemed surprised and closely observed Helen. She was breathing, but very weakly and needed immediate help.

    During this time, the two dark mages fighting Blaze took out a small, round artifact in their palms and crushed it.

    Blaze recognised it and jumped back while shooting a fire blade, but the suffocating toxic gas broke out and created a smokescreen, temporarily stopping Blaze from attacking further.

    The two dark mages dodged the fire blade and regrouped with Theo.

    ¡°The bitch is alive?¡± Theo asked, surprised but he also noticed it.

    Drake and Sylvia glared at him.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯ll meet again in the future and I¡¯ll kill her then. See ya losers!¡±

    Theo laughed and fled with the other dark mages.

    Sylvia wanted to attack but knew that Helen needed her help quickly.

    Biting her lip, Sylvia lowered her bow and walked towards Helen. Blaze also returned now.

    ¡°Can you help her?¡± Blaze asked Sylvia, worried.

    Sylvia closed her eyes and brought her palms together. A gentle aura was released from her body.

    ¡°Flower of life,¡± Sylvia whispered.

    A crack appeared on the ground next to Helen, and a small green stem poked out. Within a second, the crack slightly expanded and the stem grew by several feet. It sprouted multiple leaves from the side, and white petals appeared at the top. The petals gathered to become a closed flower with a small gap in their centre.

    A single drop of golden liquid formed inside.

    The stem tilted and the flower moved directly above the hole in Helen¡¯s body. The golden drop dripped onto her stomach.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Something miraculous happened.

    Helen¡¯s body regenerated rapidly. Her organs, muscles, tissues, and everything else regrew.

    Within a few moments, the hole completely vanished!

    The flower of life faded away and so did the dryad¡¯s avatar.

    As soon as the avatar disappeared, Sylvia lost all the strength in her body and collapsed.

    Blaze caught Sylvia as she fell down and gently placed her on the floor.

    Drake observed Helen¡¯s breathing improve. He fed her one more healing, stamina, and mana recovery pill. Helen¡¯s face regained its colour, her remaining wounds closed, and her breathing finally returned to normal.

    Drake and Blaze sighed with relief.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ finally over.¡±

    The elderly man, the mine owner, slowly approached Drake and Blaze, anxiously observing his surroundings, as if he thought something might suddenly jump out and attack him.

    ¡°Are they¡­ okay?¡± he asked, upon reaching them.

    ¡°Yes, Sylvia is just exhausted and Helen¡­¡± Drake looked at Helen and continued, ¡°We managed to save her just in time. She should be fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡± the mine owner sighed. He then bowed deeply, ¡°Thank you, and I am very sorry. I had no idea dark mages would suddenly appear, yet you still risked your own lives to deal with them, so thank you all so much.¡±

    Blaze and Drake were slightly taken aback. It¡¯s not like they fought the dark mages to defend the mines, but because they hated the dark mages and didn¡¯t want them to succeed in whatever they were doing. However, they decided to accept the man¡¯s gratitude anyway.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Blaze replied.

    ¡°I agree,¡± Drake replied, ¡°But there¡¯s something I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± the man asked.

    ¡°What did the dark mages want? Why did they suddenly appear here?¡±

    ¡°I... have no idea,¡± the man replied, equally confused.

    Drake looked into the distance, at the entrance to the lower floor.

    Not just the dark mages, it was strange for such a powerful arachne to suddenly appear and make a nest here as well.

    Was it attracted by something? Drake wondered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and see,¡± said Drake, standing up and walking towards the lower floor.

    Blaze followed, carefully putting Sylvia and Helen over his shoulders.

    They entered the rocky corridor as before. But now, black remains from the burnt spider webs littered the floor.

    Drake walked forwards, carefully observing the surroundings. The corridor led to a small, circular clearing containing so much more burnt spider web remains.

    ¡®This must be where the arachne had made its nest¡­ where the miners encountered it when they started digging through this level,¡¯ thought Drake.

    On the opposite end of the clearing was another opening. It was much taller than it was wide, but large enough for the arachne to go through, sideways.

    Drake felt dense mana coming from inside the opening.

    Curiously, Drake hurried into the opening and the others followed. It was a tight fit, but Drake managed to make it to the end and reached the other side.

    Drake walked into a huge room.

    It wasn¡¯t any normal room, but it was filled with all manner of magical herbs. They covered every inch of the floor. The centre of the room had a small depression, which led to a spring of water at the bottom.

    Drake could sense mana being most dense just above the spring, indicating that a lot of mana was absorbed into the water.

    The presence of water and the rich mana from the mana rocks in the mine must have allowed various magical herbs to grow. The magical herbs grew roots close to the spring to absorb its moisture but also transferred some of their mana into the spring in the process. As more herbs grew, more and more mana must have been absorbed into the spring, making its waters rich with mana.

    This entire room was a paradise for magical herbs.

    ¡®I see now,¡¯ Drake thought. ¡®The dense mana, and the moist environment created by the spring, must have attracted the arachne to this area.¡¯

    ¡®Mystery solved,¡¯ he thought to himself, satisfied. ¡®As for the dark mages¡­¡¯

    Drake noticed a patch of ground which had been cleared of magical herbs. He didn¡¯t know what herbs used to be there, but it was clear that they had been recently removed.

    The herbs must have been quite important if the dark mages were willing to go through so much trouble to get them.

    At this point, the other two had entered the room and were just as surprised to see everything.

    ¡°This¡­ this is a miracle!¡± the mine owner gasped.

    ¡°It is! It is truly incredible!¡± Blaze exclaimed.

    ¡­

    In a desolate area close to Duskville.

    Several carriages were hurrying along a road. They had the symbol of the Ironheart family engraved on their sides, and they were carrying cargo from Basindale to Duskville. A few hunters at the tempered body level were travelling on horses alongside the carriage to protect it.

    ¡°Hurry up! We¡¯re already behind schedule!¡± a man screamed at the driver from within the first carriage.

    ¡°Yes my lord, I¡¯ll ¨C wait, what¡¯s that?¡± the driver pulled the reigns and the horses neighed loudly. They bashed their hooves against the ground and forced themselves to stop.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why¡¯d you stop!?¡± the man complained loudly as he angrily stepped out of the carriage.

    A black, hooded figure was standing in front of the carriage, wearing a mask.

    Upon spotting him, the man got a bad feeling. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked warily.

    By this time, the three tempered body martial artist guards had also come around and stared at the figure suspiciously.

    However, the figure didn¡¯t respond. Instead, it raised its hands and black mana gathered.

    ¡°Dark mage!¡± the man yelped. Immediately, the martial artists drew their swords and unmounted.

    ¡°Blood bats!¡± the figure spoke in a low voice. The black mana condensed into ten orbs of light that floated in the air before quickly transforming into large, menacing blood bats with venom dripping from their huge fangs.

    ¡°Go!¡± the figure ordered and the bats dashed towards the martial artists. As they began fighting the blood bats, the figure took out a pipe shaped artifact. It held it to his mouth and aimed at one of the martial artists.

    The martial artist noticed this and was just about to take out a defensive artifact when his body suddenly froze. A small, black needle had pierced his throat, killing him instantly.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± the other martial artists screamed. However, they were quickly killed by the figure as well.

    Seeing his guards get defeated so quickly, the man was overcome with terror. He tried to turn around and run but tripped and fell on his bottom.

    ¡°Please! Don¡¯t hurt me-!¡± before the man could finish his sentence, a black needle pierced his throat and life disappeared from his eyes.

    Finally, the figure turned towards the driver. However, he had collapsed in his seat with fear.

    Seeing this made the figure smile. He took out his mask, revealing the face of a young man with an eye patch ¨C Henry!

    Henry walked over to a nearby bush and dropped an envelope inside.

    ¡°WHO GOES THERE!?¡±

    Henry felt a huge aura suddenly appear out of nowhere as the booming voice of a man echoed through the surroundings.

    Mage king!

    ¡®What¡¯s a mage king doing here!?¡¯ Henry panicked.

    Sensing the aura, Jin Tong appeared out of hiding. He picked Henry up and ran at top speed.

    Darren Gold, the head of Duskville¡¯s branch of the merchant guild, was taking a break from work by going on a quiet walk when he noticed a nearby. He sensed someone using dark mana and immediately rushed over. However, by the time he arrived, it was already too late.

    The guards and the man were already lying dead on the floor. Darren focused on the surroundings to sense anyone using mana but he couldn¡¯t find anything.

    ¡®Were they already gone? How fast!¡¯ Darren was slightly surprised. As a mage king, he could sense mana in a wide area around him. To be able to escape his range so quickly, the person must have been a grand mage at least. ¡®No! I didn¡¯t sense any powerful spirits being summoned. So, a martial artist then? At the undying body level? No wonder they managed to kill everyone so quickly.¡¯

    However, even though he didn¡¯t sense anyone, he did notice something odd. Darren walked over to a bush and dug inside, quickly finding an envelope.

    ¡®Did they drop this in their hurry?¡¯ he wondered. Darren wanted to open it when he suddenly heard a groan. He looked up to notice the carriage driver move in his seat.

    ¡®He¡¯s alive?¡¯ Darren gasped, rushing to his side in an instant. He took out a few healing pills and gave them to the driver, allowing him to recover quickly.

    The driver slowly opened his eyes. It took a few seconds for his senses to adjust and regain their clarity. When they did, he noticed a chubby man decorated with jewellery. The driver stared blankly at the man for a few seconds. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his expression changed.

    ¡°Lord¡­ Lord Darren!¡± he gasped, almost falling out of his seat in shock.

    Darren chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s forget the formalities. Can you tell me what happened here?¡±

    ¡°Ye- yes of course!¡±

    The man took a moment to regain his composure and then began explaining everything. The moment he mentioned the figure summoning blood bats, Darren furrowed his brows.

    That was a summoning mostly only practiced by the Hidden Venom Cult mages.

    ¡®Them again? What are they doing here now?¡¯

    Darren finished listening to the man¡¯s explanation before turning his attention to the envelope. He opened it to find a letter inside, folded neatly in half. Darren unfolded the letter and scanned through its contents.

    His eyes widened in shock.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Myriad Sword Palace, the inner sect competition had come to a close.

    Six figures were standing in a row in front of a large audience who were cheering loudly.

    One of the figures was a young man with emerald hair and ocean blue eyes. He was standing in the fourth position and observed the crowd calmly. At the front of the crowd was a middle-aged man dressed in white robes ¨C his master, Sion Hart ¨C who looked at Elwin with an expression of pride.

    Elwin smiled and then turned his attention to the other members of the group, focusing on the person standing in first place.

    He was another young man with black hair wearing black and white leather armour and was exuding an aura of power and grace.

    Elwin¡¯s mind recalled fighting that person and he gulped.

    What a monster¡­

 Chapter 63: The letter

    In a location close to the Beast Woods.

    Three figures dressed in white were floating in the air. They were observing the ruins of a large settlement.

    ¡°Was this the village that the boys were supposedly from?¡± one of the figures asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± another replied.

    ¡°I had no idea people actually lived here,¡± a third one said.

    These were naturally the mage kings sent by the Myriad Sword Palace to investigate the Beast Wood incident further. They had finally arrived here after a month.

    The three figures moved closer to the settlement to investigate. They spotted the remains of various buildings, numerous tools which were clearly made and used by humans, and more. It was unmistakable that this was the remains of a human village.

    The three moved away and continued exploring the area and spotted the ruins of several more villages. They discovered one such ruin next to a large cliff. But instead of the ruin, the trio were interested in the cliff.

    ¡°What happened here?¡± one of them wondered out loud.

    A part of the cliff had collapsed, and a large section of the ground was charred black, and there were numerous craters everywhere. They could also detect trace amounts of violent mana fluctuations.

    ¡°It seems like a battle was fought here, definitely involving some powerful cultivators. Mage kings at least,¡± one of them replied.

    ¡°Could it have been the dark mage king we heard about?¡± the first one asked curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but there seems to have been someone else just as strong, if not even stronger!¡± the other replied slowly as he observed the surroundings.

    ¡°Look there!¡± the third one exclaimed.

    In the distance, they could see the corpses of several individuals.

    Within a second, the group vanished and reappeared next to the corpses. There were three corpses which were almost completely eaten, leaving behind only the bones, rags, and a few pieces of meat. They could sense that the corpses belonged to powerful cultivators, and one of the three was much stronger than the other two. Combined with the remains of the clothing worn by the corpses, the group were clear on one thing.

    ¡°Dark mages!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, the boys were right. The demon tides really were caused by dark mages!¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Moreover, someone even more powerful had appeared and killed off the dark mages afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Who could it be? What did they want?¡±

    The group became silent as they contemplated.

    ¡°In any case, this is important news. Let¡¯s return and give our reports to the sect elders. There¡¯s nothing else left to investigate here.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    The three mages came to an agreement and rose into the air once more, before dashing off into the distance.

    It would take another few months for the three mage kings to return to the Myriad Sword Palace.

    ¡­

    Duskville, town lord¡¯s manor.

    Cedric Ironheart was sitting behind his desk in his office. Standing in front was Darren Gold. After taking care of the driver and escorting him, the cargo, and the corpses safely to Duskville, he rushed here immediately and requested an urgent meeting with Cedric.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Darren?¡± Cedric asked concerned. Darren was a busy man with many responsibilities. It was very unusual for him to request to see Cedric so urgently. Something must have definitely happened.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get a full report about this soon from one of your subordinates, so I¡¯ll just give you the quick version,¡± saying so, Darren explained his encounter. Starting from when he sensed a dark mage and rushed over, only to see the Ironheart family¡¯s carriages attacked, the guards killed, and the dark mage nowhere to be seen. Then he explained the story he heard from the driver.

    ¡°The Hidden Venom Cult again!?¡± Cedric slammed his hands onto his desk and stood up. Why would they attack his family¡¯s cargo? He couldn¡¯t recall the cargo containing anything particularly valuable, so why?

    ¡°I found this in the scene,¡± Darren added, taking out the envelope. ¡°You have to read this.¡±

    Cedric grabbed the envelope and took the letter out before reading it intently.

    ¡°The Ironheart family¡¯s cargo will leave Basindale through the highway at sunrise.¡±

    Cedric read the letter several times to make sure he wasn¡¯t misunderstanding the contents.

    ¡®They are¡­ specifically targeting my family?¡¯ That didn¡¯t make any sense! He and his family had no enmity with the Hidden Venom Cult. Why would they want to target him?

    Unless¡­

    ¡®Someone¡­ is trying to attack my family? Using the Hidden Venom Cult?¡¯ Cedric lowered the letter and stared unblinkingly at Darren. However, his mind was flooded with thoughts.

    This information changed everything. If someone was intentionally using the Hidden Venom Cult to attack and sabotage his family, then there were very few people who would have the motive to do this. And among all of them, there was one, glaring suspect.

    The Blackthorne family.

    Their families had been rivals for a long time. If anyone wanted the Ironheart family to go down so badly, it was the Blackthorne family.

    Cedric recollected the destruction of the wheatfield. No doubt, whoever was responsible for that incident must have known that the only way for Cedric to salvage the situation was to ask Basindale and, therefore, the Blackthorne family for help.

    Why didn¡¯t he see this sooner!

    The Blackthorne family had the biggest reason to attack him, and they had the most to gain from his losses, especially with the destruction of the wheatfield.

    It must have been them all along!

    Cedric was furious!

    Seeing his expression, Darren spoke again. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but there¡¯s another possibility too.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Cedric asked, trying to control his anger and think rationally.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it was too easy?¡± asked Darren.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, leaving such evidence behind, for the Hidden Venom Cult, it seems very¡­ clumsy.¡±

    Cedric frowned. For an organisation as large as and with as many resources as the Hidden Venom Cult, leaving behind clear, incriminating evidence was too rookie of a mistake to make. Almost as if they wanted someone to find it.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s because they didn¡¯t expect you to show up so suddenly. So, when they panicked and left in a hurry, they left this behind?¡± Cedric suggested.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Unbeknownst to Henry, Darren randomly showing up ended up giving more credibility to the evidence he had planted. His luck really worked in strange ways!

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought as well,¡± said Darren. ¡°However, it¡¯s still good to be suspicious.¡±

    Indeed. It could very well be the case that a third party was acting from the shadows, trying to frame the Hidden Venom Cult and the Blackthorne family to use them as a scapegoat.

    ¡°Thank you for bringing this to my attention Darren,¡± Cedric spoke sincerely. ¡°I will make sure this matter is thoroughly investigated and keep you updated.¡±

    ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± Darren replied, before turning around and leaving.

    ¡­

    Drake¡¯s party who had completed their mission, were heading back to Basindale in their carriage.

    To express his gratitude to the party, the man had agreed to triple their reward for the mission. Drake expressed that rather than a higher reward, he would like to select some herbs from that cave and the man happily agreed. Drake managed to gain some rare herbs and also took several vials of the mana water.

    While Drake was selecting herbs, Sylvia and Helen slowly awoke and were surprised to see the cave too. Blaze caught them up with everything while Drake finished taking what he needed, and the group were now returning together.

    Everybody was quiet, and a gloomy atmosphere filled the carriage, in complete contrast to the cheerful mood with which they had first arrived.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me,¡± Helen was the first to speak, slightly bowing to everyone.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank us,¡± Blaze replied.

    ¡°Yes, we would all have done the same for each other,¡± Drake added.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re a party right?¡± Sylvia smiled.

    Helen just clenched her fist in response.

    She was supposed to be Drake¡¯s bodyguard and protect him, yet she was by far the weakest in the group. She had been basically useless in the fight against the arachne, and when the dark mages appeared, not only had Sylvia been forced to continuously keep an eye on her, but the dark mages had taken advantage of her weakness to hurt the entire group, take what they wanted, and escape.

    She felt like such a failure, as a bodyguard, and as a member of their party.

    ¡®If only I wasn¡¯t so weak¡­¡¯ she thought.

    Sylvia placed an arm around Helen and rubbed her shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± she said softly, as if she could understand what was going through her mind.

    But it didn¡¯t help her. Helen was extremely frustrated with herself. She felt like a burden to the entire group and thought she didn¡¯t deserve their kindness and support, that she didn¡¯t deserve to be one of them.

    Drake felt sorry for her. Helen was actually the only normal person in their group. Whilst Blaze and Sylvia were from the powerful dragon and faerie races, Drake himself was a transmigrator and had his own advantages. They were actually the abnormal ones so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that she couldn¡¯t match them. Yet being in their party, Helen must be feeling like she was the one who wasn¡¯t good enough.

    The carriage became silent again for a while. Everyone watched the vast, grassy plains pass by in the bumpy ride, as a gentle breeze occasionally wafted through the carriage.

    Drake became frustrated and decided to try to change the mood.

    ¡°Anyway, Sylvia, what was that move you used? It was so powerful!¡±

    Sylvia was brought back from her thoughts and turned to Drake.

    ¡°You might have heard that faeries were the first race to be created and that we are similar to nature spirits except we are self-aware and have a physical body?¡± she asked.

    Drake nodded.

    ¡°Well, maybe because of that, we can summon, in a sense, a spirit version of ourselves - a spirit avatar,¡± she explained. ¡°Not only does the avatar multiply the power of any attack we use many times, but it also allows us to use mana freely, similar to how spirits would. However, it consumes a huge amount of mana, and takes a large toll on our bodies. So I can¡¯t use it easily.¡± Sylvia looked at Blaze and added, ¡°It¡¯s an ability unique to our race due to our nature, similar to dragon form for dragons.¡±

    Drake, along with everyone else, looked at Blaze. Drake realised that he still hadn¡¯t seen Blaze use that ability. Blaze had previously told them that he could use it partially, but they hadn¡¯t seen him use it yet.

    ¡®Would it be just as powerful? If not even more?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    Blaze gave an awkward chuckle.

    ¡°Your avatar is incredibly powerful, I¡¯m not sure if my dragon form can measure up,¡± he said, laughing wryly, before turning around and looking into the distance.

    Once again, Drake felt depressed for not having reincarnated as a dragon or faerie, or literally any other race apart from human.

    ¡®Why do they all get to be stronger than us?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    By the time the carriage returned to Basindale, it was already evening. The exhausted party shared an early dinner, before retiring to their rooms.

    Unexpectedly, the drop from the flower of life left an incredibly large amount of residual mana inside Helen. She would be able to use this to cultivate much more rapidly in the near future.

    For the next three months, things returned to normal.

    The party would go on missions every other day, and Drake focused on his alchemy and rune engraving in his free time. They didn¡¯t receive any more surprises after that incident.

    After one week, Drake managed to perfect his first rune - the lightning bat¡¯s lightning bolt rune.

    He immediately wanted to create a rank two glove artifact by combining his fireball and lightning bolt rune, however, it wasn¡¯t easy and there were several problems he had to overcome.

    The first was that Drake had only been practising engraving the runes on their own, so when combined with other runes, the mana pathways he had to create, and the runes themselves, had to again be altered slightly. Whilst this would be a major problem for others, it was not a big deal for Drake, who managed to figure out the necessary changes relatively quickly.

    The next problem was the material. Since rank two artifacts contained more mana pathways and more mana would flow through them, ordinary materials wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it and explode. They needed to be made with higher quality materials, typically demon materials, or other special materials like mythril or everlast leather which Elwin¡¯s sword and Blaze¡¯s armour were made from.

    Luckily, Drake had saved up a large number of demon corpses. He used servant class demon skins to get a bunch of leather gloves made by a tannery, so this issue was also quickly resolved.

    The final and main problem was his mana.

    Even though engraving required less mana than summoning the artifact with the runes directly, he still needed enough mana to engrave the runes and create the mana pathways, which would cost almost the same amount of mana as would be required to summon the rank two artifact itself, but a little less since the body was already made.

    With their mana capacity, creating a rank two artifact would already be the limit for a true mage. For Drake who had most of his mana core destroyed, he had to continuously consume mana recovery pills during the process in order to not run out of mana, something which would quickly become dangerous if overdone.

    Although it was difficult, Drake knew that it would be worth it. A rank two artifact not only allowed him to cast more spells increasing his versatility in battle, but since they could accommodate a greater number of mana pathways without becoming unstable, more complex runes could be engraved into them, and the runes could be activated with a larger amount of mana, allowing the spells to become more powerful. In fact, they couldn¡¯t even be considered the same spells anymore, but something new.

    Hence, Drake knew that his strength would increase a lot once he crafted the rank two artifacts.

    It took some time, but Drake finally managed to create a rank two glove artifact containing both the fireball and lightning bolt rune. However, Drake altered the rune so that he could now summon a much larger number of fireballs quickly. Additionally, although he kept the size of the fireballs the same, he increased their temperature to be much hotter. Its power would be completely different to before, and hence, Drake decided to give it a new name ¨C solar barrage.

    Similarly, he modified the ordinary lightning bolt rune so that the lightning could branch itself into many smaller lightning streaks, making it look like lightning chains. He decided to call it chain lightning.

    Furthermore, Drake took the pseudo-commander class arachne¡¯s sharp and durable shell and had a sword forged from it. Drake then modified the fireball and lightning bolt runes, and engraved it onto the sword, so that instead of shooting out fireballs and lightning bolts, it would simply create fire and lightning which would wrap around the sword.

    He similarly had a new amulet made from monster materials and engraved the healing and light orb runes into it, making it a rank two artifact as well.

    Over the next two and a half months, Drake managed to perfect the rank two water goldfish¡¯s water bullet and water pillar runes as well and made another rank two glove artifact with those runes. He also made some progress with the healing butterfly¡¯s poison curing and advanced healing runes, but he wasn¡¯t able to perfect them yet.

    Of course, Drake had also been practising alchemy during this time. He managed to become a rank one alchemist and started refining rank two pills. However, they were much more difficult than he had imagined.

    Learning and using the techniques from the ¡®Advanced Alchemical Techniques¡¯ book had made refining rank one pills much easier for Drake and allowed him to progress quickly. However, rank two pills were not so easy. Even though he had practised and mastered the various techniques a lot, the pill recipes were much more complicated, requiring more steps and using materials that required more delicate handling, and even the slightest of mistakes would cause the refinement to fail.

    Drake managed to reach around a 50% success rate for rank two mana recovery pills, 30% for stamina recovery pills, and only 10% for some healing pills.

    No matter how difficult it was, Drake was determined to continue.

    The third month passed.

    Drake¡¯s birthday arrived, making him twelve years old.

    Additionally, with help from the residual mana from the drop of the flower of life, and the zenith and other pills Drake refined, Helen managed to reach the steel body.

    Blaze and the others decided to celebrate both events by having a night of full drinking and dining in the hunters guild.

    Later, news about the discovery of the inheritance grounds was also revealed to the public, causing the whole town to become excited. Everyone was busy preparing for the grand opening, which was declared to be one month from now on the blood moon night.

    They were also informed of the collaboration between four different forces, and how only those below the grand mage realm could enter, causing many cultivators to become quickly disappointed.

    Still, the town became filled with an air of excitement and anticipation. It wasn¡¯t just Basindale, but even the neighbouring Duskville as well.

    Seeing everyone work and prepare crazily, Drake felt that he wasn¡¯t doing enough.

    I need rank three artifacts, he thought to himself.

 Chapter 64: For old timeéˆ¥æªš sake

    Drake had been saving up money a lot; from the rewards for all of his missions, selling the corpses of the demons they killed, and the extra pills Drake had refined, he thought he finally had enough money to buy one.

    So, Drake decided to make a trip to the merchant¡¯s guild again.

    As usual, Drake was welcomed by a smiling and gorgeous Freya.

    Everybody had been buying artifacts like crazy to prepare for the inheritance. With the merchants guild being as big as they were, they imported a large number of artifacts in advance to meet the demand and sold them at a slight premium, making large profits. Rank three artifacts were quite expensive so most cultivators did not attempt to buy one. Hence, the merchants guild had a number of them in stock.

    Drake asked for a defensive artifact as he had numerous offensive ones already.

    Freya led him to a private room and brought out a storage pouch. She took out two artifacts from the pouch and laid them on the table before Drake.

    ¡°These are the two best rank three defensive artifacts we have right now, master Drake. Please have a look,¡± she said softly.

    The first was a golden, light and wind elemental ring, whilst the second was a blue, light and water elemental robe, decorated with white patterns.

    The ring could summon a large wind vortex to block and absorb attacks, a light mirror that could reflect attacks up to a certain level, and could summon two holographic light clones of the user. It was quite powerful.

    On the other hand, the light and water elemental robe could summon a light barrier to block attacks, a water barrier to absorb attacks, and could also harden a part or all of the robe to make it difficult to penetrate, effectively becoming an armour, similar to his current robe. Being a rank three artifact of course, the hardening would be much greater than in his current robe.

    Drake wanted to buy both but he didn¡¯t have enough money, so he decided to buy the robe instead.

    Freya happily sold him the robe, taking a large chunk of Drake¡¯s wealth in exchange.

    ¡®I hope the inheritance grounds would be worth it,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Before leaving, he wanted to ask one more thing.

    ¡°Would you happen to have any leaves of the Celestial Willow?¡±

    Freya looked surprised and then frowned.

    ¡°That tree has been extinct in this part of the continent for centuries,¡± she said. ¡°It is possible that other branches of the guild might have come across it¡­ but I¡¯d have to check.¡±

    ¡°Please do,¡± Drake requested.

    Whilst Drake had luckily found many of the rare herbs he needed for the Three Leaf Healing pill from the secret cave in the mana stone mines and during his other missions and shopping, he still lacked one main ingredient ¨C leaves from the Celestial Willow tree. If he couldn¡¯t find them, he would have to try using some replacement which would probably require altering the whole recipe in the process, thereby becoming another nightmare to do.

    ¡°For sure, and if they don¡¯t have it, I can place a request to ask the other branches to be on the lookout for them as well,¡± she replied with a smile.

    ¡°Thanks a lot,¡± Drake replied gratefully.

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure, master Drake,¡± she said. ¡°Also, I¡¯m sure you have heard of the inheritance grounds opening, am I right?¡±

    Drake nodded.

    ¡°The inheritance was set up by the twin martial artists who lived centuries ago. Hence, it is possible that the Celestial Willow tree or its leaves might be preserved there from that time,¡± she suggested.

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Drake agreed. He had previously thought the same and this was another reason he was looking forward to the inheritance grounds.

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll take my leave now,¡± Drake announced, before standing up. ¡°Thanks for everything,¡± he said and started making his way out.

    Freya escorted him outside and waved him goodbye.

    Drake left and made his way back to his inn, thinking about the three-leaf healing pill.

    He had most of the materials needed for refining the pill already. The only things left were the leaves of the Celestial Willow which he would hopefully find within the inheritance grounds or from the merchants guild, and the corpse of a commander class demon which he could just buy once he had enough money.

    The main thing he had to do now was continue his alchemy practice. He had already learnt his rank two martial techniques, and all the runes he needed, so he was going to spend the remaining month focusing solely on alchemy. He wanted to make as much progress as possible before entering the inheritance grounds; not to mention that it would be a good opportunity to refine and store up on a bunch of rank two pills.

    While Drake was thinking about his future plans, two other people were similarly talking about their plans together in a location much further away, close to Duskville.

    Sun was setting on the grassy plains. A long road stretched across the ground, laid to facilitate the movement of people from Duskville to nearby locations. An open carriage pulled by horses was trotting along the road, on top of which, two people were sitting together ¨C a young man and a woman.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait to get back,¡± the young man said, yawning as he stretched his muscles and laid back, putting his arm around the girl.

    ¡°Me too Sam,¡± the girl replied, laying her head on his chest.

    The two were naturally Sam and Astoria, who were just returning from a mission to protect a simple alchemist as he went to collect some herbs from a nearby forest.

    Suddenly, the driver, who was the alchemist, pulled the reigns and the horses reared on their hind legs, bringing the carriage to a stop.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Astoria asked warily. Sam immediately turned around, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the driver asked, sounding wary.

    Sam and Astoria were confused as they couldn¡¯t see anybody. However, a voice replied from the front with a mild laugh.

    ¡°Just a friend of the two you have riding behind you.¡±

    Hearing the response, Sam and Astoria were even more perplexed. They got off the carriage to see who the mysterious visitor was and froze in their tracks.

    A young man with short, black, scruffy hair, stood in front of the horses. He was dressed in black robes fitted to his lean body and was wearing an eyepatch. Behind him, a spear-wielding young man stood straight, but the two spotted that half of his face and parts of his body were decomposed, indicating that he was an undead.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The young man caught sight of Astoria and Sam. His face filled with anticipation and wicked delight.

    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± ¡°You! What are you doing here!?¡± Sam hissed, unsheathing his sword. Despite his reaction, however, he didn¡¯t feel like fighting. The undead behind Henry was sending alarm bells ringing through Sam¡¯s mind, telling him to flee.

    Astoria was the same. ¡®Why was he here? she thought.

    Henry laughed. ¡°Is that any way to greet an old friend?¡±

    ¡°Humph! Not killing you on sight is more than you deserve,¡± Sam retorted.

    Henry laughed once again. ¡°Oh really, why don¡¯t you try doing that?¡±

    Saying so, Henry raised his hand above his head and dark mana gathered, before condensing into ten large blood bats. Corrosive venom dripped from their huge fangs as the bats charged at Sam.

    Sam narrowed his eyes and focused, before activating his movement technique and charging.

    Astoria also acted. She brought her hands together and mana gathered. As she separated her hands, three orbs of light had condensed. The orbs of light rapidly expanded into purple ravens.

    ¡°Storm ravens, go!¡± Astoria yelled.

    The storm raven spirits rushed at the blood bats and attacked. Combined with Sam¡¯s attacks, they were quickly dealt with.

    ¡°Now you¡¯ve done it, take this!¡± Sam yelled as he lunged at Henry.

    Henry laughed and pulled out a blue, wheel-shaped artifact. He poured his mana into it and a large and thick water barrier appeared before Sam.

    Sam collided heavily with the barrier but he could not even make a dent.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ he thought and jumped back.

    Astoria¡¯s ravens crashed into the barrier but dissipated with a scream the moment they made contact.

    Henry undid the barrier and poured more mana into the wheel. It floated behind his head and started rotating rapidly while shining with a brilliant blue light.

    ¡®A rank four artifact?¡¯ both Sam and Astoria gasped, sensing the aura. They realised Henry must have obtained this from the founding ancestor¡¯s inheritance.

    Seeing their expressions, Henry chucked. ¡°Now you understand, I can kill you two myself anytime I want. But sadly, I don¡¯t have the time to play with you. I just want to see you both suffer now.¡± Saying so, he stopped pouring mana into the wheel artifact and took it back into his storage pouch before turning to Jin Tong. He spoke in a low voice. ¡°Your move.¡±

    Jin Tong vanished and then reappeared before Sam.

    ¡®So fast!¡¯ Sam thought, but the next second he was sent flying backwards.

    Astoria caught him in midair and helped him land safely. But the two had serious expressions on their faces.

    Commander class undead!

    ¡®This is very bad¡­¡¯ thought Astoria. They couldn¡¯t even run anywhere!

    Jin Tong got into a fighting stance and disappeared again. In the blink of an eye, he appeared midair, in between the two of them.

    With a swirl of his spear, he sent the two flying, before landing on the ground.

    Astoria was blown back and crashed heavily against the carriage. She hit her head against the wheel and it started pounding in pain.

    ¡®Aww¡­¡¯ she groaned as she sat up, coughing repeatedly.

    She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw made her forget about all her pain.

    Jin Tong had disarmed Sam, knocked him out, and brought him to his knees before Henry.

    Henry smirked as he looked at Astoria and started walking towards her. Jin Tong dragged a bloody Sam behind him.

    ¡°LEAVE HIM ALONEEEE!!!!!¡± Astoria screamed.

    She immediately stood up and used all her mana to summon a dozen storm ravens. The ravens rushed at Henry but with a wave of his spear, Jin Tong easily dispatched them all off and they continued walking forwards.

    Jin Tong¡¯s strength was equivalent to a grand mage. No matter what, Astoria was just a true mage. She couldn¡¯t come close to matching him.

    Henry summoned eight more blood bats and sent them towards Astoria. Although she had used up a lot of mana, she was still a middle-stage tempered body martial artist. Astoria unsheathed her sword and started fighting them.

    After arriving, Henry simply watched Astoria fight with a delightful smile.

    The commotion caused Sam to slightly regain consciousness. He noticed the situation and slowly took out a dagger he had hidden in his trousers pocket.

    One of the blood bats surprise attacked Astoria from behind. She couldn¡¯t react in time and it bit into her shoulder. Astoria screamed in pain, which Henry seemed to find funny and started laughing uncontrollably.

    Sam acted.

    He conjured all his strength and slashed his dagger at Henry¡¯s neck.

    It was just an inch away ¨C then it stopped.

    Jin Tong had caught Sam¡¯s hand right before he was about to strike.

    ¡°Break it,¡± Henry ordered and Jin Tong twisted.

    Sam roared in pain as his wrist was dislocated, causing him to drop the dagger.

    Henry picked it up.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Astoria screamed. She had mostly finished dealing with the blood bats now and was rushing forwards.

    However, Jin Tong acted once again and appeared before her. Astoria tried to strike him with her sword but before it even came close, Jin Tong kneed her in her stomach. The strength behind that attack was unlike anything that Astoria had ever experienced ¨C it felt as if she had been hit by a truck.

    Astoria collapsed onto her knees and dropped her sword. All her strength had left her body.

    She watched helplessly as Henry grabbed Sam¡¯s hair and forcefully lifted his head up. With Sam¡¯s head in his hand, Henry turned towards Astoria and smiled wickedly.

    ¡°I told you that day. If you don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯d make you regret it.¡±

    Saying so, Henry brandished the fallen dagger and sliced Sam¡¯s throat.

    ¡°NOOOOOO!!!!¡±

    Astoria cried, but then immediately started coughing in pain. She watched as Sam¡¯s eyes widened.

    Blood spurted from his throat. He wanted to scream in pain but couldn¡¯t. His strength had left him.

    Sam¡¯s eyes moved and he saw Astoria collapsed on the floor, clenching her stomach in pain as she watched him with tears in her eyes.

    ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡­ Astoria¡­ Looks like¡­ I¡¯ll be¡­ going first¡­¡¯ thinking so, Sam collapsed onto the ground.

    ¡°You¡­ bastard¡­¡± Astoria gasped weakly.

    Henry laughed and walked towards her.

    He wasn¡¯t done yet.

    Reaching Astoria, Henry forced her to turn around with a kick.

    Face to face, they made eye contact and Henry smiled.

    ¡°This is for old¡¯s time¡¯s sake,¡± he said wickedly, before plunging the dagger into her eye.

    ¡°AAAaaahhhHHH!¡± Astoria screamed in pain.

    But her screams were like music to Henry¡¯s ears who started laughing.

    ¡°Hahahahahahah!¡±

    Henry opened his arms and faced the skies as he kept laughing.

    ¡°Ahhh, how marvellous,¡± he spoke gently while Astoria was screaming in the background. ¡°So this¡­ is revenge¡­¡± Henry revelled in the sweet feeling flowing through his body.

    Minutes passed and Henry finally returned to normal and took a deep breath. He looked down.

    Sam was dead.

    Due to all the pain and loss of blood, Astoria became unconscious. Her body was lying covered in blood, with a dagger sticking out of her eye, but she wasn¡¯t completely dead yet.

    ¡®Stubborn little bitch,¡¯ thought Henry and spat on her face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to Jin Tong, before walking away.

    A few minutes later.

    The alchemist who had hired Sam and Astoria came out of hiding. He had been hiding behind his carriage terrified as the fight unfolded. Seeing Jin Tong¡¯s overwhelming strength, he was sure that he would die today.

    However, he never expected that Henry would not even care about him. Although he was upset by Sam¡¯s sudden death, he was also relieved that Henry had left without bothering him.

    The alchemist walked over to Sam and Astoria. He noticed that Sam was completely dead, but there was still a trace of life left in Astoria.

    He sat down and pulled the dagger out of her eye. Then, he took out some healing pills he had refined and fed them to her. They couldn¡¯t cure such a deep wound, but he hoped they¡¯d keep her alive long enough till he could return and get help from some healing mages.

    The alchemist loaded Sam and Astoria onto his carriage and whipped his horses into running as fast as they could.

    Sometime later.

    Astoria woke up with a huge headache.

    She slowly opened her eyes and her vision was incredibly blurry. She was in some kind of a room, and there was someone here.

    A man? A woman? She couldn¡¯t tell clearly. She just saw some blurry, white, indistinct figure.

    She was dazed and confused.

    ¡®What¡­ happened¡­ why am I¡­ here?¡¯ she thought, as she opened her eyes further.

    Astoria tried to sit up but her body felt incredibly weak and she collapsed back into the bed, coughing.

    The movement alerted the figure in her room.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± spoke a soothing female voice.

    As Astoria¡¯s vision cleared, she could make out who the figure was.

    It was a woman, dressed in a white gown and holding a tall staff.

    Astoria recalled seeing this woman before; it was in some room somewhere.

    Elena¡­ Elena Silverglow? The church¡¯s bishop?

    Her foggy memory slowly started piecing itself together and becoming comprehensible.

    That¡¯s right¡­ I was attacked, by Henry and¡­ SAM!

    A new strength filled her body and she sat up.

    ¡°SAM! Where¡¯s Sam? I need to see Sam!¡±

    Astoria started yelling anxiously. She wanted to get out of bed but her legs wouldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Calm down,¡± Elena spoke with a soothing voice and laid a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot. You need to rest.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t rest!¡± Astoria retorted angrily. ¡°Sam! I need to see Sam! Sam is¡­ Sam¡­¡± as her memory cleared further, realisation slowly dawned on her. Her voice started breaking and tears welled up in her eyes.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ Sam is¡­¡± Astoria held her face in her palm and started crying.

    Sam was dead!

    The man she loved ¨C the only person left who was important in her life¡­ he was dead!

    Elena allowed Astoria to cry without interrupting, choosing to gently rub her shoulder in support.

    A long time passed and the two didn¡¯t speak a word to each other.

    Knock!

    Knock!

    Knock!

 Chapter 65: Enter!

    A loud knocking on the door suddenly disturbed the quiet room. Astoria remained unmoved but Elena responded.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    The door opened and a middle-aged man dressed in gold and silver robes walked through ¨C Cedric Ironheart.

    He saw Astoria sitting up and sighed with relief.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re awake. How are you feeling now? Is everything okay?¡± he asked as he walked closer to the bed.

    When the alchemist had brought her to the town¡¯s infirmary and informed them that they were ambushed by dark mages who critically wounded her, word quickly got out to the town¡¯s leaders.

    While the infirmary¡¯s healing mages did their best, they couldn¡¯t cure her completely.

    However, Elena decided to go personally to help Astoria. As a bishop of the Church, not only was helping and healing people part of her job, she needed Astoria alive to tell them about the dark mages. Plus, she had personally taken a liking to the girl after their first meeting as well.

    So, with her abilities as a mage king, she was able to heal Astoria completely, and even restore her eye back to its normal condition.

    But no matter how powerful she was, she couldn¡¯t heal her heart.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine now,¡± Elena replied on Astoria¡¯s behalf, and then added, ¡°Physically anyway.¡±

    Cedric had also received a brief report of what happened from the alchemist so he understood the situation. He looked at Astoria with pity.

    Cedric tried talking to her again but she didn¡¯t respond.

    She was lost in her thoughts, dreaming about the times she had with Sam. All the things they planned to do, she was living them in her imagination in this moment ¨C a peaceful escape from an unbearable reality.

    Astoria was fantasising about the two of them buying their dream home after working and saving up money for a while. They had several children and they were all sitting together around the dining table, joking, and laughing about various things.

    It was her dream. Having lost her family, she wanted to make her own and live in a home filled with their love and happiness.

    She was imagining and relishing such a scene now.

    Astoria was eating and found the food extremely delicious. In her excitement, she took a spoonful of food and turned to Sam, wanting to feed him, but froze.

    A trickle of blood dripped down Sam¡¯s smiling cheek.

    No!

    As she watched, Sam started coughing; once, then twice, and then more and more, each time more violent, until he started coughing out blood.

    Horrified, Astoria turned around to her other children, only to spot them all having blood flowing down their cheeks too.

    No¡­! Oh no! What¡¯s happening!?

    She turned back to Sam who looked at her weakly.

    ¡°We could have had this¡­¡± he said. ¡°We could have had it all¡­ but it was taken away¡­¡± Sam¡¯s face twisted from being in pain to one of malice. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to avenge me?¡± he spoke, with a deep voice now.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to avenge us?¡± the children spoke now, with the same deep voice and twisted expression.

    Astoria pushed against the table and stood up in a panic. Her family stood up along with her. She turned and ran towards the door and tried to open it but it was locked.

    ¡°Avenge us, avenge us, avenge us!¡± the hoarse voices of her children and Sam had combined into one and rapidly approached closer.

    Astoria started banging on her door.

    Help! Someone open this door!

    She turned around to spot Sam¡¯s bloody face inches from her own.

    ¡°AVENGE US!¡±

    Astoria jerked back in her bed and pushed herself against the wall.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Cedric asked as Elena went to grab and calm her down.

    Her fantasy had turned into a nightmare. She watched in horror as the image of Sam and her children blurred and merged into one, black, glowing sphere. The same voice was emanating from that sphere but was incredibly loud now.

    ¡°AVENGE US! AVENGE US! AVENGE US!¡±

    The black sphere entered her chest and the vision vanished.

    Astoria stopped trashing around and relaxed, her face sunk in between her knees.

    ¡°Astoria! Astoria are you okay?¡± asked Elena, worried.

    Astoria slowly raised her head and twisted it to look at Elena.

    Her lips gradually perked into a light smile and she spoke.

    ¡°Yes¡­ thank you¡­ I¡¯m fine now,¡± she said, her eyes twinkling with a new found darkness.

    Cedric ordered some maids to bring her food which Astoria accepted gratefully. She only realised now how hungry she was and started eating the food rabidly.

    Elena and Cedric shared a glance at her change in demeanour but decided to not say anything. They waited patiently for her to finish.

    After finishing her meal, she thanked them once more for saving her, especially Elena.

    ¡°No problem,¡± replied Elena, and then looked at Cedric.

    Cedric cleared his throat and tried to ask gently, ¡°If it¡¯s not too soon ¨C¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything,¡± she replied, interrupting him. She wasn¡¯t stupid and knew that the reason why they had left all their duties and taken such an interest in helping her was because they wanted to know about the dark mages she had fought.

    Hence, she told them everything.

    She didn¡¯t mention all the details of what happened between her and Henry but just told them that they had some bad blood between them initially, and he had later joined the dark mages.

    ¡°So, I think we can conclude now that Damon and his dark mages are the ones who have appeared in our town,¡± she said.

    Cedric hesitated. ¡°Actually, about that¡­¡±

    Astoria looked at him and he sighed.

    ¡°We received some new information. The Myriad Sword Palace from the Holy Capital had sent some of their mages to investigate the Beast Woods incident and potentially arrest Damon Rogue if they found him,¡± he paused to look at Elena.

    In order to save time, the mage kings had sent a report of their findings to Duskville and some other nearby forces through messenger spirits, while they were passing through.

    Cedric continued. ¡°They spotted the remains of a large battlefield and discovered the bodies of several powerful mages there. Judging by their corpses, attire, remanent aura, and everything else, it is highly likely that it was the dark mages.¡±

    Astoria¡¯s eyes widened.

    He looked back at Astoria. ¡°The two dark grand mages, and the mage king Damon Rogue who attacked your village, are all dead.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Astoria was in disbelief.

    Damon was so powerful; how could he get killed so easily?

    And if he was dead, then¡­

    ¡°How is Henry still¡­¡± she spoke the last part of her thoughts out loud before her voice trailed off again.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure it out.

    Not only was Damon a mage king, but he also had powerful subordinates and an entire demon army behind him. Even other mage kings would not find it easy to deal with that. A mage emperor or a group of mage kings must have discovered the dark mages and killed them off, most likely the former as they now appeared here in a town protected by a mage emperor.

    But for some reason, they didn¡¯t kill Henry. It was unlikely that they would have just let him go. Given that he was now controlling the undead Jin Tong, who also appeared to be much stronger than before, the mage emperor had likely subdued Henry and forced him to work for them. That would also explain how Henry was brave enough to cause trouble here.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve figured it out,¡± Cedric smiled, seeing the realisation dawn on her face.

    ¡°So we are dealing with a mage emperor after all?¡± asked Astoria.

    ¡°It seems so,¡± replied Cedric. ¡°It is quite likely that it is a mage emperor from the Hidden Venom Cult itself. They have thirteen mage emperors, each calling themselves an apostle of the Cult. Damon was a mage king who was previously part of the cult but had a falling out and fled. The most likely scenario is that his old enemies managed to find him and put him out of his misery.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Astoria said, contemplating this new information.

    But that still left Henry. Why did the mage emperor recruit him and what were they doing here? Were they the ones who destroyed the wheatfield? Why would they do that? Or was there another group of dark mages operating in the town as well?

    There were still many unanswered questions.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided,¡± Astoria spoke after a while.

    Cedric and Elena glanced at her.

    ¡°What have you decided?¡± Elena asked.

    She turned to them and spoke. ¡°I am not going to the inheritance.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± she asked surprised.

    ¡°Because, anyway my talent lies in magic cultivation, not martial arts, so I may not have much to gain from a primarily martial arts cultivators¡¯ inheritance. And besides, I still have something to do¡­¡± Astoria stared at Elena with the same dark glint in her eyes.

    ¡°I need to find and kill Henry.¡±

    ¡­

    While Astoria decided to work with Cedric and Elena to investigate the dark mages, another gathering of dark mages was occurring in some place within Basindale.

    Dim light was cast onto a dark room by a small lantern. A mysterious figure with a neck tattoo of a black and white snake coiling around each other was standing facing two other figures.

    The first was the red-haired Theo Vancouver. The second was another, older man, dressed in black robes. He was radiating an aura at the peak of the grand mage realm.

    The mysterious figure with the snake tattoo held a mask-shaped artifact in his hands, the same artifact that the dark mage in purple had when he was confronted by Blaze and Drake in the town.

    The figure handed the mask artifact to the grand mage. The grand mage accepted the artifact with a slight bow before putting it on. After pouring a bit of mana into the artifact, it seemed to merge with the grand mage¡¯s face, transforming his appearance into that of a younger person. Not only that, but his grand mage aura became suppressed till it became just below that of a grand mage, at the very peak of warrior mage.

    ¡°Good, it works perfectly,¡± the grand mage said.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± the mysterious figure spoke. ¡°With this, the inheritance is as good as ours.¡±

    Everyone in the room seemed to find that funny and started laughing, giving the otherwise dark room a strangely uplifting atmosphere.

    After a few seconds, they quietened.

    ¡°You know about the dragon boy and the dryad girl right?¡± the figure asked.

    The dark grand mage nodded.

    ¡°Good,¡± the figure replied and then took out another artifact. This was in the shape of a horn. ¡°It was not easy getting this, but you can use it to safely dispatch off the dragon¡¯s party if you get the chance.¡±

    ¡°But, do not use it unless absolutely necessary. And if you do use it, make sure you kill.¡± Saying so, the figure handed the horn-shaped artifact to the grand mage.

    The dark grand mage accepted the horn gratefully. He took a second to observe it and broke into a smile before speaking with a slight bow.

    ¡°Thank you, my lord. I promise that I will not disappoint you.¡± He then straightened his back to reveal a wicked grin.

    ¡°The dragon, the dryad, and the rest of their party will die at my hands.¡±

    ¡­

    In the blink of an eye, the last month passed.

    Over this time, many cultivators started pouring into Basindale, including disciples from the Myriad Sword Palace, the Silver Crane Sect, and the Ironheart family members.

    Elwin and the rest of the Myriad Sword Palace disciples were granted special, private accommodation near the centre of the town so they didn¡¯t discover Drake.

    Various lone cultivators and cultivators belonging to smaller families and sects also appeared, wanting to try their luck with the inheritance.

    An inheritance like this didn¡¯t appear very often ¨C it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If they could obtain the inheritance, it would change the trajectory of their life forever. So, even if there was just a minute chance of obtaining it, people were willing to risk their lives for it.

    Drake¡¯s party also stopped going on missions and chose to cultivate independently and prepare for the upcoming inheritance as well. Drake practised alchemy like a madman, refining pills every waking hour.

    His skills improved a lot. He now had an 80% success rate for rank two mana recovery pills, 70% for stamina recovery pills, and 60% for a number of healing pills. He estimated that he wasn¡¯t very far from becoming a rank two alchemist.

    After selling the excess pills as usual and some remaining demon materials, Drake managed to save up enough money to buy a commander class demon corpse.

    With that, the only thing he needed to refine the three-leaf healing pill, was the leaves of the Celestial Willow.

    Drake looked out the window to see the sun setting behind the horizon. Slowly replacing it, was a large moon glowing bright red.

    ¡®So, it¡¯s finally here,¡¯ thought Drake and stood up. He walked to the door and took a deep breath. After calming himself, he opened the door and walked through.

    The night of the blood moon had arrived.

    Numerous forces had gathered, and the town was booming with a large number of cultivators.

    They were all leaving town to make their way towards the location of the inheritance grounds.

    In an area not too far away from Basindale, Drake¡¯s party arrived together to meet a large crowd of cultivators.

    Blaze with his large sword, Sylvia with her powerful bow, Drake with his numerous artifacts, and Helen, who herself had broken through to the steel body realm, had become something of a legend in Basindale. Tales of the epic dragon and mystical dryad slaying demons with the help of a mysterious young boy and another young woman, was often the talk of the town. Many people recognised the party and made way for them, whispering in hushed tones as they passed by.

    ¡°Is that the dragon?¡±

    ¡°The dryad girl is so cute!¡±

    ¡°I heard the boy is powerful too!¡±

    ¡°Are they entering the inheritance too? We¡¯re all screwed!¡±

    ¡°Of course they are, they are also in the same realm as us!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Even if they eat the bread, we might get some crumbs right?¡±

    Many people started chit chatting as the group casually walked through. They were used to this kind of talk now so didn¡¯t think much of it.

    But soon, even those whispers came to a stop as they were interrupted by the sounds of loud whipping and neighing.

    Two huge chariots pulled by large horses rushed towards the gathering.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Blackthorne family and the Ironheart family!¡± someone shouted.

    Immediately, the cultivators separated to create a large path for the chariots to pass through.

    Just as the cultivators were startled by the appearance of the two families, a loud, piercing cry interrupted them again.

    The cultivators looked up to spot a large, silver crane flying in the sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Silver Crane Sect! The Silver Crane Sect disciples have arrived!¡±

    The cultivators started speculating what disciples the Silver Crane Sect might have sent, and how powerful they might be.

    Soon, an otherworldly hum echoed across the plains.

    The cultivators looked up again, but this time, spotted a gigantic manta ray flying across the sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Myriad Sword Palace!¡±

    ¡°All the forces have arrived!¡±

    ¡°They are going to open the inheritance grounds now!¡±

    The cultivators became incredibly excited and started shouting and cheering.

    Drake and his party were watching the scene calmly. He tried to observe the disciples of the other families and sects, but he couldn¡¯t see them very clearly, especially the Myriad Sword Palace and the Silver Crane Sect disciples who were flying in the sky.

    Likewise, Elwin was also observing the ground but couldn¡¯t make out anyone clearly from his altitude. He gave up on trying to identify anyone and looked around him.

    There were five disciples flying with him, and then two elders. One was a mage king controlling the manta ray, and the other was the shadow body martial artist who was sent to open the inheritance grounds.

    After all four forces arrived, they landed on the ground and gathered together.

    As the town lord, Eldric had appeared with the Blackthorne family and addressed the crowd with an incredibly loud voice, enhanced by an artifact.

    ¡°Everybody!¡± his voice boomed and the cultivators all became silent.

    ¡°I know you have all been waiting for this moment. Now that all the forces have arrived, we will be opening the inheritance grounds!¡±

    Low murmurs of cheers and excitement rang throughout the crowd.

    The four, shadow body martial artists gathered together and stood around twenty metres away from each other, forming a large square.

    As if on command, the four martial artists gathered all their mana and punched the ground in front of them with all their might.

    The force of the impact caused large craters to form. The ground reverberated as if an earthquake was occurring, pushing the crowd of cultivators back, and causing some of them to stumble and fall.

    ¡®Is this the power of a shadow body martial artist?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    But something unexpected happened that interrupted his thoughts.

    Cracks spread across the ground, connecting the four craters together, before starting to widen. The four martial artists jumped back, just in time, as the ground in front of them collapsed, forming a large square hole in the ground reaching infinitely deep.

    An unbelievable amount of mana gathered from the atmosphere and poured into the hole. As mana entered the hole, it started spiralling. Within a few seconds, the small spiralling mana expanded into a large vortex of mana that was spinning rapidly.

    It looked like a portal to the abyss.

    But that wasn¡¯t all.

    The mana in the air became violent and the booming voices of a boy and a girl spoke together, echoing across the plains, as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

    ¡°The red moon shines on the rivers of blood,

    Rising from its waters are the warriors of death.

    Plunge into the abyss to face challenges untold.

    Will you rise as the champion, or be felled by his sword?

    Only time will tell but remember this.

    Stare into the abyss, and fate you will meet,

    Change it forever, or death you will greet.

    Strength is second only to courage and wit.

    Those who have all, may enter forthwith.¡±

    The booming voice stopped speaking and the mana in the air settled down, leaving the large vortex spinning in the ground, but it now began glowing with a dark light.

    Everybody gulped.

    Drake remembered the inheritance that he found with Elwin. That inheritance was also that of a mage emperor, but the ancestor had created the inheritance close to the villages specifically for his descendants to explore. Hence, he did not make it very difficult or dangerous.

    However, the twin astral body martial artists who had made this inheritance with their own foundation, and that of their entire sect, did not owe anyone anything. They would only want the worthiest individual to receive their inheritance.

    Drake didn¡¯t think about it much before. He assumed that even if the inheritance was different, it shouldn¡¯t be much more difficult than the one that his ancestor had set up.

    But looking at the large, shining vortex and hearing that voice now, Drake realised that he might have gravely underestimated this inheritance.

    This is definitely¡­ not going to be easy.

    A couple of cultivators lost their patience and started walking towards the inheritance. They stepped into the vortex and immediately disappeared.

    Seeing this, more cultivators quickly followed.

    Drake¡¯s party looked at each other.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to do this!¡±

 Chapter 66: The inheritance grounds

    Drake entered the portal with the rest of his party. A formless energy washed over him, and Drake was reminded of the time he was transmigrated. However, the sensation soon left his body, and he was welcomed by a vast, barren land.

    The ground was hard, dry, and cracked. Along with the air, the earth felt hot as the sun¡¯s scorching rays spread over the expansive grounds. However, the sun wasn¡¯t clearly visible in the sky but was obscured by a veil of dust and sand. A ginormous dust storm covered the land and the otherwise blue sky, rendering sight beyond a few dozen metres, completely indiscernible. Its loud winds cut through the air with such ferocity that Drake felt like he would be pushed off his feet.

    Drake gawked at the enormous scenery stretching before him.

    What the hell¡­ is this?

    Drake didn¡¯t know what he expected. Maybe something similar to the maze in the founding ancestor¡¯s inheritance, but perhaps larger and more complicated.

    But this¡­ this is like a whole new world!

    Worried, Drake scanned his surroundings but couldn¡¯t see anyone else around him.

    ¡°Blaze! Sylvia! Helen! Are any of you there?¡± he screamed; his voice muffled by the fierce winds of the dust storm. But Drake knew that being martial artists, his party members possessed a keen sense of hearing and would be able to pick up his voice even amidst the loud winds, provided they were close by.

    However, there was no response. ¡®Did we get separated?¡¯ he thought.

    Suddenly, Drake heard a rustling coming from the side and turned around warily. He hoped that it would be his party, but there was a high probability that it could be a stranger or even a demon.

    However, Drake didn¡¯t have to wonder for too long as the two figures quickly revealed themselves.

    ¡°Are you master Drake?¡± called a voice. The figure of two young men was revealed, and Drake sensed that they were both tempered body martial artists. The voice had come from the one on the left.

    After getting closer and seeing him clearly, the man on the right gasped. ¡°It really is you! You¡¯re master Drake from the dragon¡¯s party!¡±

    ¡°Yes I am,¡± Drake replied, relaxing. They didn¡¯t seem to carry any ill will towards him. ¡°Who are you two?¡±

    ¡°We are a copper class hunting party,¡± the same man replied. ¡°There were more of us, but we got separated, similar to you and your party it seems?¡± he finished the sentence with a questioning tone.

    Drake just nodded again in response and the man on the left continued.

    ¡°In that case why don¡¯t you travel with us? We don¡¯t know what kind of dangers would be present here, so it would be good to stay in a group.¡±

    Drake thought for a moment and agreed. Although he didn¡¯t trust people easily, wandering through this unknown place alone would be quite dangerous. As long as he kept his guard up, even if they wanted to try and rob him or backstab him or something, he would be able to easily defeat them.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s travel together,¡± Drake agreed, coming to a decision quickly. The two men were elated at being able to travel with someone strong.

    The group of three began walking together with Drake in the centre. Apart from the heat and the dust storm, their journey was initially smooth. However, soon, that changed.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± yelled Drake, pushing the man on his right away, just as a giant demon eagle swooped down on him.

    ¡°Yee!¡± the man yelped and jumped back, barely dodging the attack.

    ¡°Caw!¡± the eagle cawed and rose back into the air before turning around and eying the man like prey. Everyone sensed that it was a servant class demon and slightly relaxed.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡± Drake yelled. A large number of fireballs instantly appeared and shot towards the eagle.

    The eagle dodged them easily before charging towards Drake this time. Just before it reached Drake, he poured mana into his robes and a light barrier appeared before him, forcing it to change directions at the last minute.

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡± Drake yelled, using the opportunity to attack the eagle from behind. A large lightning bolt streaked across the air and struck the eagle in its back.

    This time, the eagle couldn¡¯t dodge and was hit by the powerful bolt of lightning. Even as a rank one artifact, his fireballs were able to do a lot of damage to servant class demons. Now that he made his gloves rank two, his spells were a lot more powerful. Hence, this demon eagle didn¡¯t stand a chance of surviving and fell to the ground with a cry.

    From the sides, the two martial artists had barely processed the attack before it was already over. They looked at Drake with awe. They didn¡¯t know if the stories about Drake were true, especially given his young age, but there was no longer any doubt in their minds.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the man on the right said, bowing to Drake.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Drake replied. ¡°But don¡¯t drop your guard. You were lucky that it was just a servant class demon and only one of them at that. If a warrior class demon or a group of servant class demons were to attack, I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect you two so easily.¡±

    Drake spoke to both of them and they nodded in response. Since the beginning of the journey seemed smooth, they had let their guards down. Otherwise, as tempered body martial artists, they wouldn¡¯t be defeated so easily by a servant class demon either.

    After taking any materials Drake thought would be useful from the demon¡¯s corpse, the group began walking again.

    The plains stretched everywhere around them so they didn¡¯t know where to go, not to mention their vision was largely obscured by the dust storm so they couldn¡¯t see very far into the distance. Hence, they decided to just keep walking straight till they found something.

    However, more demons soon started appearing. There were a lot of insect-type demons attacking from the ground such as ants, scorpions, and centipedes, as well as bird-type demons like hawks, eagles, and vultures, attacking from the sky. The group had to stay extremely vigilant to not be caught off guard, especially given the dust storm making everything difficult to see.

    Luckily, they were all only servant class demons so they didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to Drake. On the other hand, the two, tempered body martial artists were a different story. They quickly became exhausted after the first few battles and were slowing down considerably.

    Drake had refined thousands of rank one and two healing, recovery, and various other types of pills during his alchemy practice, so he shared a few with them to help them keep going. The two were very grateful for the support and were able to pick up the pace.

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    Just as the group finished off a group of demon scorpions, they were suddenly attacked by a crowd of dozens of demon ants, crawling out of the ground. They were all still servant class but Drake couldn¡¯t finish them all off very quickly. So, the two, tempered body martial artists were quickly surrounded by over a dozen demon ants.

    ¡°Help!¡± one of them cried as he was attacked from three sides.

    He had bought several rank one artifacts specifically for this trip and he was using one now to summon a wind barrier, and another to attack with fire arrows. However, the arrows didn¡¯t seem to affect them much and instead, numerous cracks started appearing on the barrier. It would only be a matter of time before it was broken through.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Drake yelled as he used all his martial techniques and artifacts to kill one demon after another, trying to rush towards him. However, another half a dozen demon ants appeared in front of him and blocked his path.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Drake cursed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it in time!

    The barrier couldn¡¯t bear the constant assault of the demons anymore and cracked. Two demon ants gleefully rushed towards the martial artist. He used his sword to block one but the other stabbed into his body with its mandibles.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± yelled the other martial artist, fighting off another demon ant while rushing to his friend¡¯s aid.

    But it was too late.

    Soon, several demon ants appeared and used their sharp mandibles to bite off various parts of his body before devouring him.

    ¡°DIEEEE!¡± the martial artist cried as he stabbed down a demon ant before rushing towards the group of ants devouring his friend.

    Watching this scene, Drake became gloomy.

    ¡®We only just arrived and someone died already? What the hell is this inheritance?¡¯

    Drake started attacking even more ferociously and managed to kill off all the ants within another two minutes. But it was too late.

    The young martial artist knelt on the ground, looking at a dismembered foot in shock. The rest of the body was already eaten. They were just a small party that decided to enter this inheritance for a chance to change their lives. He did not expect his friend to die so quickly!

    Drake wanted to comfort him but didn¡¯t know what to say. However, they were both interrupted by a chorus of distant cries echoing from the skies.

    ¡°Demon vultures! And so many of them! The corpses must be attracting them here. We gotta go!¡± Drake yelled.

    This seemed to bring the martial artist from his trance. He wiped his face and stood up once again with his sword and nodded, his eyes red from sobbing.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s continue.¡±

    The two quickly start making their way through the plains once more. However, there was no end to the demons attacking them.

    With one of them dead, the pressure on the two increased, especially on the remaining tempered body martial artist. Additionally, the dust storm also kept becoming stronger, making it increasingly difficult to see anything, let alone fight.

    Drake was able to manage with acute sense, but the martial artist was struggling a lot, even with help from Drake and his pills.

    Soon, the second martial artist also died. His exhaustion prevented him from fighting efficiently, and he started racking up injuries as well. Eventually, he committed a critical mistake in a battle and died.

    Drake watched helplessly as a bunch of demons gleefully leapt at his body, eager to get their hands on a piece of meat. Luckily, this reduced the burden on Drake so he managed to break through the demon encirclement and continued on his own.

    ¡°Such a shame¡­¡± Drake sighed.

    All the demons attacking them were just servant class. With his steel body cultivation, numerous artifacts, and an endless number of pills, Drake could fight them easily and continuously for days if he had to. But any ordinary cultivators even at the steel body realm would struggle, and it would only be a matter of time before the cultivators below the steel body realm died.

    ¡®This inheritance is made to weed out weak cultivators,¡¯ Drake thought to himself, looking at the sky. Although the dust storm blocked most of his view, with acute sense, he could tell that it would be noon soon.

    ¡®Hope everyone¡¯s okay,¡¯ thought Drake, and remembered Helen. She was the weakest among them, and he hoped she would be able to survive till they all regrouped.

    With a sigh, Drake continued forward. Demons would occasionally attack him, sometimes on their own, and at other times as a group. However, Drake would easily make quick work of them before moving on. He managed to gather a large number of demon materials during this process, making him quite happy.

    After some time, just as Drake finished off a servant class demon earthworm, he spotted something in the distance. He could barely make it out with his acute sense, but there was a large building there ¨C or was it multiple buildings? Drake wasn¡¯t sure, but he started running towards it quickly.

    Due to his speed, he got close to the building very quickly.

    ¡®It¡¯s a village!¡¯ Drake gasped.

    Or more accurately, it was the ruins of a small village, much smaller than even his Jain village. There was a short fence erected around an area, within which a few dozen buildings of all sizes were located. However, they appeared old and worn, and some buildings carried a lot of cracks, making them look as if they would fall apart at any moment.

    The most surprising aspect of the village was that it was completely isolated from the dust storm, like a small haven for cultivators in these harsh plains.

    Drake became even more excited upon noticing this and started running quicker. Just before he reached the village gates, however, he felt a cold killing intent approaching very quickly.

    Immediately, Drake jumped and twisted in the air, narrowly dodging the claw of a large demon scorpion that showed up out of nowhere.

    ¡°Die!¡± screamed Drake as he activated solar barrage and shot multiple fireballs towards the scorpion midair, before landing on his feet.

    The scorpion was taken by surprise at Drake¡¯s quick retaliation and wasn¡¯t able to block or dodge in time. All the fireballs hit their mark, killing the demon scorpion instantly.

    ¡®That was close!¡¯ Drake thought, cursing himself for letting down his guard.

    He took a moment to catch his breath before turning around to face the small village gates. For a moment, Drake worried if they would be locked, however, the gates opened with the slightest push from Drake¡¯s hands, revealing the interior of the village ruins.

    The first thing Drake noticed was the lack of dust storm, which allowed him to see the entire village, and the dust storm continuing on the other side. Even the temperature was not burning hot like the outside but was at a pleasant, room temperature.

    It appeared as if some mysterious barrier was preventing the harsh outside elements from affecting the inside of the village.

    ¡®Are there no demons too?¡¯ Drake thought and decided to carefully explore the village. Since the village was relatively small, he managed to quickly run around and check the entire place within fifteen minutes and realised that there were no demons.

    ¡®Is this some kind of a safe zone?¡¯ Drake wondered as he walked towards the centre of the village. It made sense, since no cultivator, regardless of their strength, would be able to fight continuously against an endless onslaught of demons, in harsh weather conditions, without breaks. ¡®So maybe there are more places like this scattered throughout the plains.¡¯

    ¡®Wait ¨C could these places carry any treasures?¡¯ It seemed plausible. Where else were they going to hide the inheritance, in the middle of the plains? That would be impossible to find unless you were lucky enough to stumble upon it. It made a lot more sense to hide the inheritance - or at least a part of it - in these safe zones.

    Drake wanted to search for treasures, but he was quite tired now. He looked up at the sky and realised it was noon. He decided to take a break for an hour, recover his stamina, and then search the village thoroughly for any treasures.

    Thinking so, Drake sat down cross-legged and began meditating.

    ¡­

    ¡°Firestorm!¡± Blaze yelled swiping his large sword horizontally as a whirlwind of fire shot out of his blade, decimating a group of demons in front of him. Blaze planted his sword into the ground and looked around. A couple of martial artists and a mage were fighting various demons around him. This was the group of people Blaze had spawned with.

    After a few minutes, the group finished off the horde of demons attacking them, but one of the martial artists had died.

    ¡°Do we just have to keep fighting forever?¡± one of the martial artists asked.

    ¡°There must be someplace to hide and rest, let¡¯s keep going,¡± the sole mage responded.

    Having no choice, the group continued forward.

    ¡­

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    An arrow containing an unbelievable amount of mana shot through the air and pierced through a large snake demon, right in between its eyes. The servant class demon was no match for the powerful mana arrow and immediately died.

    ¡°Piercing gust!¡± screamed a red-haired swordswoman as she jumped into the air and pointed her sword at another snake demon, next to the first. A gust of piercing sharp wind was released from the sword and sliced the snake¡¯s head cleanly off its body, making its torso fall limply to the floor. The swordswoman rolled back midair and landed cleanly on her feet, in front of the archer who shot the arrow.

    The two were naturally Sylvia and Helen. They had luckily spawned together and had been working as a team to make their way through the inheritance.

    ¡°Have you found any of them yet?¡± Helen asked Sylvia.

    ¡°No,¡± she replied, shaking her head. ¡°However, my pixie spirits did find what looks like the ruins of an ancient village not far from here. It seems to have a barrier protecting it from the dust storm and demons, we should rest there for a while.¡±

    ¡°Great, then let¡¯s get going!¡±

 Chapter 67: What am I?

    An hour passed.

    Drake took a deep breath and exhaled, before slowly opening his eyes. He had completely recovered his strength and energy and was back to his peak again. Calmly, he looked around. The dust storm on the outside appeared to be slowly waning.

    ¡®That¡¯s good,¡¯ he thought to himself, before standing up and stretching. After a few seconds, he started looking around the village.

    Although there weren¡¯t a lot of buildings present, Drake took his time to search through every nook and cranny, not wanting to miss even the slightest sign of a treasure. He spent a few hours searching through the entire place and found all manner of old tools used for everyday life from cooking, gardening, cleaning, and more.

    Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to find any treasures.

    Drake returned to the centre of the village and sighed while brushing off a sweat from his brow.

    ¡®Was I wrong?¡¯ he wondered.

    Looking around, he noticed that the dust storm had decreased in strength quite a lot, making the surroundings much clearer. Drake spotted a tall, wooden watchtower near the village gate and had an idea. Quickly, Drake jogged to the watchtower and climbed on top to get a clear view of the inheritance grounds.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Drake gasped.

    Massive, plains stretched in every direction with no end in sight. The ground was barren, occasionally carrying cracks here and there. Various demons were wandering the vast plains, some on their own, and others in massive hordes. There were also villages similar to the one he was in, randomly scattered across the plains. As Drake focused on the horizon, he could make out the silhouette of a tall, black structure. It stood out the most in these plains.

    Could that be where the inheritance is? Drake wondered. If so, it would take a long time and effort to get there.

    ¡®I wonder where they are,¡¯ Drake thought, as he scanned the plains once. He could occasionally spot some fights here and there, but he couldn¡¯t find anyone from his party.

    Drake sighed. He knew that Blaze would definitely be fine. Sylvia, despite being primarily a long-distance fighter, with her powerful artifacts and spirits, would probably be fine too.

    ¡°But Helen¡­¡± he mumbled to himself, ¡°Please be safe.¡±

    With that silent prayer, Drake jumped off the watchtower and returned to the ground. Drake was about to make his way back to the centre of the village when he noticed something.

    There was a large, diagonal crack just behind the watchtower. He didn¡¯t think much of it before as the dry earth often carried cracks, but looking closely now, he noticed a small light coming from inside the crack.

    ¡®Could it be?¡¯

    Drake clenched his fist leaving just his index and middle fingers open. He poured all of his mana into them till they started burning searing hot.

    ¡°Finger thrust!¡± he exclaimed as he bashed his fingers forcefully against the ground, causing numerous additional cracks to form. The echoes from his attack spread across the village.

    Drake poured mana into his fingers and swept his arm across the air.

    ¡°Crescent slash!¡± Drake yelled, and a crescent-shaped blade rapidly flew out and hit the ground again, causing it to shake dangerously.

    With a smile, Drake jumped into the air and activated crescent slash repeatedly, shooting out numerous blades one after another to attack the ground.

    The ground could no longer bear the assault and started breaking apart. Drake twisted in midair and landed elegantly on his feet just as the last piece of earth broke apart and fell, leaving behind a medium-sized hole, enough for a few people to jump through.

    With a smile, Drake looked over the edge to see that the fall wasn¡¯t very deep, perhaps a few dozen feet at most. As a steel body martial artist, a fall like that couldn¡¯t hurt him.

    Drake became excited.

    ¡®This must be it!¡¯

    Without hesitating, Drake jumped and landed on the ground with a heavy thud, raising a mini dust cloud. Standing up, Drake found himself in a small, dimly lit passageway. The image of a similar passageway covered with cobwebs flashed through his mind.

    ¡®Hope there¡¯s no arachne here,¡¯ Drake thought to himself as he started walking through.

    The passageway was short and ended in a rectangular clearing. At the end of the clearing was a large door, but its face was implanted with various mechanical gears.

    Curious, Drake tried to open the door but it didn¡¯t budge. His eyes then glanced over the various gears, chains, and poles sticking out of the door and realised what he had to do.

    Strength is second only to courage and wit¡­

    ¡®Was the outside supposed to be the test of strength, and inside, the test of wit?¡¯ Drake wondered as he started thinking about how he could solve the mechanism.

    Another hour later.

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± Drake cursed out loud. Frustrated, Drake wanted to break open the door with a solar barrage, but thought better of it. He might accidentally destroy the mechanism, making it impossible to reach inside.

    Sighing, Drake sat down. He had tried every combination he could think of, but nothing seemed to work. It felt as if he had been given incorrect gears that just always messed things up.

    Wait¡­ maybe that¡¯s it!

    Previously when exploring the village, Drake spotted a couple of gears lying around. ¡®Could they be part of this mechanism?¡¯

    Drake had a strong feeling that he was onto something and stood up. With renewed vigour, Drake jumped back up and ran across the village, picking up all the gears he remembered seeing. After collecting everything, Drake returned underground and placed the gears on the floor, in front of the door.

    His eyes scanned the entire mechanism again, and he moved his head back and forth between looking at the mechanism, and the new gears he had collected. Soon, he started realising how it might all fit together.

    After half an hour, Drake placed the last gear on the door and stood back with a smile. His eyes focused on the handle and his hands automatically went to grab it once again.

    ¡®This is it,¡¯ he thought excitedly as he pushed the handle down.

    Click! Click! Click!

    The gears moved like clockwork as loud, mechanical sounds echoed across the tunnel. Drake pushed and the door opened loudly, revealing a chamber lit by numerous torches, making it brighter than the passageway. Right in the centre of the chamber was a pedestal, with a large treasure chest placed on top.

    Excited, Drake walked up to the chest and opened it. A bright light suddenly assaulted Drake from the inside, making him turn his head and cover his eyes reflexively. After a few moments, Drake turned back to the chest and his eyes widened.

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    Contained within was more wealth than he had ever seen. Thousands of gold coins, and several dozen mana stones! That wasn¡¯t all though, there was also a light green, tube-like object which caught Drake¡¯s eye. He picked it up and realised it was rank one artifact, which could shoot out concentrated bursts of wind ¨C wind darts.

    There was also a scroll. Drake picked it up and scanned through its contents. It was a simple martial arts cultivation technique. Drake had no intention of switching his martial arts cultivation technique, so he just decided to take it into his storage pouch for now. Drake quickly started taking the remaining gold and mana stones into his storage pouch.

    Once the treasure chest was empty, Drake heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡®That¡¯s a lot of money,¡¯ he thought. ¡®I wonder if the other village ruins also contain treasures like this one¡­¡¯

    Before he could ponder the situation longer, the ground suddenly started shaking. A piece of the chamber¡¯s ceiling fell, missing Drake by an inch.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ Drake thought, as more parts of the ceiling kept falling. He turned around and dashed out of the chamber as parts of the ceiling kept falling behind him. Just as he jumped out of the underground passage, the watchtower collapsed and fell into the tunnel.

    Phew! Drake exhaled as he safely exited the collapsing tunnel.

    ¡®Did taking the treasure cause the tunnel to collapse for some reason? Or maybe it had to do with the mechanism?¡¯ Drake wasn¡¯t sure, but to his surprise, the shaking didn¡¯t stop after he left the tunnel. It started quickly again, and the entire village ruins began shaking. Soon, a few buildings started collapsing.

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯ Drake yelled in his mind and dashed out of the gates. After reaching a safe distance away, he turned back to face the village as the last few buildings and walls collapsed in on themselves, raising a large dust cloud.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on? Why did it collapse?¡¯ Drake wondered, but he wasn¡¯t sure. Given the timing, his best guess was that it had something to do with him taking the treasure.

    ¡®Maybe as soon as the inheritance is taken from within a safe zone, it collapses?¡¯ Drake began wondering, but something felt off. ¡®Hang on a minute, something¡¯s missing¡­¡¯

    Just before Drake entered the village, he was ambushed by a large demon scorpion which he defeated. It was supposed to be just outside the village but, for some reason, its corpse was gone!

    Drake became wary.

    Acute sense!

    His senses greatly enhanced and began picking up on every movement in his surroundings.

    Swoosh!

    Something was approaching him quietly, but very rapidly from behind. He might have missed it without acute sense but now, he jumped to the side just in time as a massive paw crashed down upon the place he was just standing in.

    Drake regained his footing and stared coldly at his ambusher.

    It was a giant demon leopard, several times bigger than Drake. The leopard stared viciously at Drake as saliva dripped down its fangs.

    However, Drake breathed a sigh of relief. ¡®Still just a servant class demon,¡¯ he thought.

    The leopard charged at Drake. It was incredibly quick, but Drake faced it calmly and raised his left hand.

    ¡°Water bullets!¡±

    Bursts of concentrated water sharply shot out of his glove. The leopard was taken by surprise and dodged sideways, but Drake anticipated this.

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡±

    A bolt of lightning shot out of his other glove directly to the place the leopard was moving to.

    It didn¡¯t have time to react and was hit directly. Upon making contact, the lightning increased in strength and released several lightning streaks. Some of them twisted and attacked the leopard further, while the others struck the surrounding air and ground.

    The demon howled in pain but Drake wasn¡¯t done. He slammed his left hand against the ground and a pillar of water shot out of the ground exactly underneath the leopard and crashed into it.

    Not only was the leopard hurt by the force of the impact, but the water combined with the lightning bolt and became electrically charged, zapping the poor leopard all over its body.

    Within a few seconds, its entire body was charred with lightning and it fell limply to the floor. Its body randomly twitched as the residual lightning caused its muscles to randomly contract and relax. Drake could sense that it was completely dead now.

    ¡®Finally!¡¯ Drake sighed, exhaling deeply.

    It was only now that he noticed his surroundings, or rather, the temperature. Unlike in the morning, it was now quickly becoming dark, and very cold. Drake looked into the distance and could see clearly as the dust storm was almost completely gone. The sun was slowly falling behind the horizon, and a bright red moon began rising from the other side. Once the sun finished setting, the temperature would drop even further, and it would become even darker.

    ¡®Lucky that I still engraved the light rune into my amulet,¡¯ Drake thought, instinctively touching his amulet to make sure it was still there. It was now a rank two artifact with both the light and healing runes engraved onto it. He would need some light at least to be able to navigate and fight any demons that were approaching him.

    Drake thought for a moment about where he should go. He remembered the tall black structure. It was the most distinctive feature in this landscape and he was sure the main inheritance would be there. However, there were many smaller ruins scattered throughout the plains which, from experience, he thought were likely to contain smaller pieces of inheritance too.

    Hence, he decided to make his way to the black structure while getting as many inheritances as he could from the village ruins.

    He thought it was likely for everyone else, including his party, to have also realised that this was the most effective thing to do. Hence, as long as he kept walking towards the black structure, it should only be a matter of time before he encountered the rest of his party.

    ¡®Hopefully, it¡¯ll be sooner rather than later,¡¯ he sighed. He wasn¡¯t thrilled about going through this entire inheritance on his own.

    Drake recollected the village ruins he saw from the watchtower, got a rough idea of where the closest one was and started walking in that direction.

    A few hours pass.

    Blaze had worked with a bunch of martial artists who had been teleported next to each other as well. However, most of them were now dead, apart from two. A steel body martial artist and late stage true mage from the Blackthorne family, Cyrus, and a lone cultivator also in the steel body realm. However, the lone cultivator was suffering from several major injuries. They had barely managed to patch it up with some emergency healing pills, however, he would need the help of a healing mage to fully cure it.

    Hence, they were all glad to have finally found a safe zone ¨C another village ruins. After relaxing and recovering for a while, the group were now standing in front of a stone statue located at the centre of the village. It was the statue of an elderly man, and engraved at the bottom, was a metal plate. If one looked closely, they could read out words inscribed into the plate.

    ¡°Within a world confined, vast landscapes lie, where mountains rise, yet feel no winter''s sting, and rivers flow, where no fish take wing.

    Roads unfurl, for journeys yet unseen, but hold no carriage, nor the wheels that glean. I guide the lost with secrets I unfold, a world of stories, waiting to be told.

    What am I?¡±

    Similarly to Drake, they also guessed that the village ruins would likely contain some treasure. So, when they found this statue, they thought that answering this riddle might help them unlock whatever treasure was hidden in this village.

    Hence, they had been spending some time, trying to figure out the answer to the riddle.

    ¡°A painting! A book!¡± yelled the lone cultivator, but nothing happened.

    ¡°A dream?¡± Cyrus said questioningly, but again, there was no change.

    ¡°Why is this so hard?¡± Blaze scratched his scruffy, red hair in frustration before sighing exasperatedly and sitting down, leaning against the wall of a building.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can figure it out,¡± said the lone cultivator as he held his chin and began thinking deeply.

    Cyrus was also leaning against another building and staring at the statue deeply, arms crossed. After a few moments, he exclaimed, ¡°I think I got it!¡±

    Blaze and the lone cultivator turned to him curiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s a map!¡±

    Immediately, the ground started reverberating and a black vortex appeared just before the statue. Blaze stood up immediately and the lone cultivator was brought back from his thoughts.

    A large scythe and a bracelet started rising from the black vortex. With their keen senses, the group noticed them to be rank two artifacts. After a few moments, the artifacts exited the vortex and started hovering a few millimetres above ground. The vortex disappeared and they landed on the ground with a clang.

    ¡°Wow! You did it!¡± Blaze exclaimed as he jogged towards Cyrus and patted him on his back. Given the relative rarity of maps in this world, they had all completely forgotten about that possibility.

    However, they weren¡¯t sure how they could split these two artifacts between the three of them. They were just about to discuss when they suddenly felt intense bloodlust rapidly approaching them.

    Instinctively, Blaze and Cyrus jumped back. However, the lone cultivator was slower to react due to his injuries.

    ¡°AAAHHHHH!¡± he screamed as he felt something pierce through his chest. His body instantly became weak and he could feel warm blood flowing down his body. Using the last of his strength, he tilted his head to look at his wound and his eyes widened with terror. A spiked, iron chain glowing bright red was sticking out of his chest.

    The lone cultivator felt a force pull on the chains and his body was helplessly dragged along. After a few feet, he felt a hand on his neck forcibly holding him in place.

    ¡°ARRGHH!¡± he gasped as the chain was mercilessly pulled from his body. The lone cultivator wanted to turn around to see who his attacker was, but the last of his strength was quickly draining away. Soon, his eyes dimmed and he fell limply on the floor.

    Blaze and Cyrus watched in shock as their companion was murdered before their eyes within a few seconds. As the lone cultivator fell, the figure of a young man was revealed.

    He was dressed in a light red overcoat, covering thick, dark-red leather armour underneath. His right hand was holding a long sword, and his left hand was wrapped in chains which dragged across the floor, now covered in blood.

    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± he smirked, licking his lips.

    Blaze¡¯s expression became dark and he screamed.

    ¡°THEOOOOOOOO!¡±

 Chapter 68: Three pythons

    Rage unlikely anything he had ever known started rising within Blaze. The image of Helen being pierced through and almost dying appeared in his mind, before being replaced by the figure of the young man carrying a mocking smile.

    ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOUUU!!¡± Blaze screamed as he charged at Theo with his ginormous sword.

    Theo laughed and blocked Blaze¡¯s attack with his sword. ¡°I¡¯d love to see you try!¡± he mocked.

    The two exchanged dozens of blows within a few seconds.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± Blaze yelled, shooting out a blade of fire. Theo jumped into the air and flipped back, making the blade pass right underneath his nose, before landing elegantly on his feet again.

    ¡°Water assault!¡± came another voice.

    Just as Theo landed, Cyrus activated his rank two artifact, shaped like a seashell. A large number of water balls appeared in the air and shot towards Theo.

    ¡°Snake walk!¡± Theo moved extremely fast and started easily dodging the barrage of water balls. While dodging, Theo started making his way towards the rank two artifacts as well.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! Firestorm!¡± Blaze screamed. A whirlwind of fire shot out of his blade towards Theo who was already running from the barrage of water balls.

    ¡°Tst,¡± Theo cursed and stopped running. He closed his eyes and mana started flowing out of his inner realm and gathered into his palm.

    ¡°Rock python!¡±

    A huge amount of mana burst from his body as a fifteen-foot-long python suddenly appeared. It was made completely from rock and earth and coiled around Theo, radiating a powerful, rank two aura.

    The python glared at the oncoming attacks. Just before they were about to hit, the snake hissed loudly. Large and thick walls of earth appeared around Theo, before bending and forming into a dome. The powerful fire whirlwind and barrage of water balls attacked the earth dome from either side, but they were unable to break through.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡±

    ¡°Water assault¡±

    The duo didn¡¯t give up and began attacking the earth dome relentlessly. Soon, cracks started forming.

    ¡°This is it!¡± Blaze yelled. ¡°Dragon step!¡±

    Blaze¡¯s body became a fiery mist and he disappeared, before quickly arriving just above the earth dome.

    ¡°Dragon kick!¡± Blaze activated his rank two martial technique and his leg became covered in flames as he shot down towards the dome ferociously.

    However, just before he was about to make contact, the earth dome retracted on its own and the rock python shot out to meet his charge.

    Boom!

    The force of the collision sent vibrations through the air. However, the spirit¡¯s strong defence allowed it to face Blaze¡¯s attack head-on.

    Theo used this split-second opportunity to shoot towards the inheritance.

    ¡°No!¡± Blaze and Cyrus yelled simulatenously, but it was too late.

    Theo reached the rank two artifacts and took them into his storage pouch. With a smirk, he turned around to see a panting Cyrus, and Blaze who was quickly getting the upper hand with the rank two rock python.

    Suddenly, the entire village started shaking and the buildings began breaking down piece by piece.

    ¡°See ya losers!¡± Theo laughed as he started running away.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Blaze yelled at Cyrus. He just needed a little more time to finish off the rock python.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Cyrus yelled as he lunged at Theo with his sword.

    Theo laughed and easily blocked him. Being just an early-stage steel body martial artist, Cyrus was no match for Theo with his late-stage steel body and warrior mage cultivation, and powerful artifacts and martial techniques. Theo quickly gained the upper hand and pushed Cyrus away before starting to leave again.

    ¡°Take this!¡± yelled Blaze. He managed to briefly stun the rock python with a powerful attack, giving him the opportunity to sprint towards Theo. However, the building next to him suddenly collapsed and Blaze was forced to change direction to avoid getting crushed.

    ¡°Haha! Seems luck is on my side!¡± laughed Theo as he joyfully ran towards the exit.

    However, just as he passed the village gates, his smile faded and he came to a stop.

    Standing in front was a young boy, just over twelve years old. He was wearing a blue robe decorated with white designs with a sword strapped to his side, an expensive-looking amulet, and leather gloves and boots.

    Theo¡¯s keen insight told him that almost every piece of clothing the boy was wearing was a powerful artifact. Beyond that, he had seen the boy fight before. He couldn¡¯t underestimate him, even if he was at the same cultivation realm as Cyrus.

    The boy was startled to see Theo. Then, his eyes narrowed and the boy became visibly enraged as if he was facing his mortal enemy.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± yelled Drake.

    Behind Theo, Drake also noticed Blaze and another steel body martial artist. Given their flustered and anxious expressions, plus the collapsing village ruins, Drake easily guessed what must have happened.

    Drake reacted immediately.

    ¡°Water bullets! Chain lightning!¡± Drake activated runes on both his gloves and started shooting out various spells. He knew he couldn¡¯t beat Theo on his own, but he just had to stall him for a little while till Blaze and the other martial artist joined him.

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    Even Theo wouldn¡¯t be able to take on all three of them.

    Theo became serious and dodged all of his attacks before charging towards Drake.

    ¡°Light barrier!¡±

    Drake poured mana into his robe to activate one of its runes and summoned a barrier of light which blocked Theo¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Theo cursed and jumped back before attacking again.

    Drake slammed his left hand on the ground.

    ¡°Water pillars!¡±

    Theo sensed danger and dodged to the side just as a powerful pillar of water shot out of the ground where he was standing a moment ago. The next instant, Theo started charging at Drake again, but another pillar of water appeared in front of him, forcing him to change direction. Anytime Theo tried to get close to Drake or escape, a water pillar would appear and block his path. He also couldn¡¯t stay in the same spot as a water pillar would attack him from underneath.

    Blaze sensed Theo fighting someone but he wasn¡¯t sure who. In the time Drake was engaging Theo, he managed to defeat the rock python spirit, escape the collapsing buildings, and rush towards their battle. Blaze was elated to see Drake holding back Theo and grinned.

    ¡°Not so lucky after all are you?¡± Blaze laughed loudly as he approached Theo with tremendous speed.

    Theo¡¯s eyes narrowed. He dodged another water pillar, just as Blaze struck down on him with his huge sword, forcing Theo to block. Facing the full force of Blaze¡¯s strength and momentum, Theo was barely able to hold on. Just then, he sensed another water pillar about to erupt underneath him and cursed.

    He tilted his sword sideways, deflecting Blaze¡¯s attack, and jumped back. A water pillar erupted at the last moment and grazed his leg, leaving a scratch, but Theo was mostly unhurt.

    Midair, Theo reached into his storage pouch and summoned a round artifact. Drake and Blaze recognised it but didn¡¯t panic, knowing that a smokescreen wouldn¡¯t be enough to help him escape this time.

    Theo poured his mana into the artifact and crushed it. Immediately, it released a large plume of smoke that covered the area several metres around him. Drake had his acute sense ready and was noticing every movement within the smoke, along with Blaze.

    The moment Theo came out, they would pounce.

    At this moment, Cyrus had also escaped and arrived at the battlefield, and the three surrounded Theo, or rather, his smokescreen.

    A few seconds passed, but Theo didn¡¯t come out. However, everyone soon started feeling a large amount of mana gathering inside the smoke.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ thought Drake warily.

    Another few seconds later, the smoke screen dissipated, revealing Theo. His palms were glowing with mana and he looked at the three surrounding him with a mocking smile.

    ¡°Since you guys want to use numbers against me, how about we make it even?¡± he laughed.

    ¡°Black python!¡±

    ¡°Rock python!¡±

    ¡°Lightning python!¡±

    The mana in his palms condensed into three balls of black, white, and purple light which rose into the air and transformed into the figures of three large pythons. Each was almost twenty feet long and hissed menacingly at the group.

    ¡°Go!¡± Theo ordered.

    The pythons immediately sprang into action. The lightning and earth python charged towards Blaze, while the black python jumped at Drake.

    Drake immediately summoned a light barrier to hold the python at bay, while retaliating with a crescent slash which the python easily dodged.

    On the other hand, Blaze met the charge of both pythons with his huge sword. The offensive and defensive skills of the lightning and rock python complemented each other well, making it difficult for Blaze to find an opening.

    With the pythons engaging the two of them, Theo turned towards Cyrus with a menacing grin. Helpless, Cyrus readied his sword and faced Theo with a grim expression.

    However, something unexpected happened.

    ¡°Dragon roar!¡±

    Blaze activated another one of his rank two martial techniques and the booming roar of a majestic dragon echoed out across the surroundings. The roar sent vibrations through the surroundings, shaking the very ground they were standing on. The two pythons who were closest to him became stunned, giving Blaze an opening.

    ¡°Dragon step!¡± he whispered and disappeared, before appearing in the air behind Theo. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you get away again ¨C fire blade!¡±

    Blaze released a blade of fire extremely close to a surprised Theo.

    ¡°Water assault!¡± yelled Cyrus as he attacked Theo from the other side with his artifact.

    Theo smirked. He ducked and rolled to the side and the water assault met the fire blade, completely cancelling each other out.

    ¡°NOOOOO! You idiot!¡± yelled Blaze, but the pythons had recovered by this time and charged at Blaze, forcing him to focus on them.

    The scene split into three battlefields - Drake engaging the black python, Blaze the lightning and rock python, and Cyrus confronting Theo himself.

    With a smirk, Theo charged at Cyrus with incredible speed. Cyrus didn¡¯t even have time to think, but luckily, his body reacted out of instinct and he raised his arm just in time to block Theo.

    As Theo attacked at superhuman speeds, Cyrus¡¯s instincts barely managed to help him keep up. But, Cyrus was getting pushed back with each strike ferociously.

    However, Cyrus wasn¡¯t completely helpless. Coming from the Blackthorne family, he had been given several artifacts as well.

    Cyrus reached into his storage pouch and brought out a bronze goblet. He poured mana into the goblet and a stone wall suddenly erupted before him, blocking Theo.

    However, Theo didn¡¯t retreat. Instead, he smirked and activated one of his martial techniques.

    ¡°Skewer!¡± he shouted as he struck the wall with the tip of his sword.

    This martial technique increased the piercing strength of his sword and soon caused numerous cracks to appear on the wall. Theo raised his sword and attacked the wall again with all his might. The wall couldn¡¯t take it anymore and, within moments of appearing, crumbled away.

    ¡°Snake walk!¡±

    Theo disappeared and appeared behind Cyrus before he could process the instant collapse of his wall. Theo clawed his left palm back to his hip, coiling his muscles into a tight spring. Then, unleashing the pent-up energy in a single burst, he lashed out viciously with his palm aimed at Cyrus'' back.

    ¡°Immobilise!¡± Theo activated another martial technique which not only launched a powerful attack but made the opponent temporarily freeze, similar to Drake¡¯s freeze palm.

    Cyrus gasped and spat out blood as his back felt like it had been hit by a truck. All the muscles in his body froze and he fell face first into the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Theo yelled, bringing his sword down on Cyrus¡¯s neck.

    However, a shadow appeared over both of them and Theo suddenly felt a huge threat appear behind him. Alarm bells began ringing in his mind unlike ever before, but he couldn¡¯t react in time.

    A cold voice spoke out.

    ¡°Chain. Lightning.¡±

    A huge bolt of lightning appeared behind him and shot forward ferociously. Theo only managed to creak his neck back in time to see the lightning bolt inches away from his face.

    BOOM!

    The collision sent echoes across the battlefield. Lightning struck Theo at point-blank range and sent him flying. The lightning bolt branched into smaller streaks of lightning which twisted around to continue battering his body as well as the surroundings.

    Seeing this, the black python which Drake had momentarily managed to get away from, charged at Drake again. However, Drake faced the charge calmly and poured mana into his sword, activating both of its runes. The sword became covered in fire with lightning coiling around it.

    Drake met the python¡¯s charge with his sword, but the python hissed in pain as the fire and lightning started burning its body. Taking this opportunity, Drake slashed sideways at its neck, severing its head, and turning it back into mana.

    Theo was in incredible pain. Being hit by a rank two artifact¡¯s attack at such a close range was devastating. However, Theo knew that if he gave up now, it¡¯d be over. So, he bit his lip and reached into his storage pouch. While Drake was finishing off the python, Theo took out several rank three healing pills he was given for emergencies and consumed them. His wounds closed rapidly and he managed to recover somewhat. However, by the time he managed to catch his breath and turn around, a flaming sword was pointed at his neck.

    ¡®Is this it for me?¡¯ he closed his eyes and wondered.

    However, the finishing strike never came.

    ¡°What are you doing Drake!?! Finish him!¡± Blaze yelled, finally stabbing and killing off the lightning python before being attacked by the rock python again.

    But Drake hesitated. He had never killed someone before and now, despite his hatred for Theo, he still struggled to find it in him to kill someone else.

    Surprised, Theo opened his eyes and saw the hesitation in Drake.

    He smirked.

 Chapter 69: Red moon shines

    Theo smirked and kicked Drake in the waist. Drake was taken by surprise, but he jumped back to barely dodge in time.

    But this was enough for Theo. He jumped to his feet and sprinted into the distance.

    Drake wanted to give chase, but he knew Theo was faster than him and sighed.

    ¡°NOOOOOO!¡± Blaze screamed furiously.

    He jumped into the air and slashed at the rock python with all his rage and might. It summoned several layers of earth walls in defence but Blaze broke through them all before slicing it in half. The rock python dissipated into mana as Blaze landed on the ground, digging his sword into the ground and panting for breath.

    ¡°How could you let him go?¡± Blaze asked Drake in disbelief.

    They were so close, and yet, he managed to get away. He knew about Drake''s reluctance to kill, but wasn¡¯t this too much? Theo had promised to kill them all, and even almost killed Helen. Not to mention that he was extremely dangerous and would greatly increase the competition in these ruins, especially once he rejoined with the other dark mages.

    There were so many reasons to kill him and yet¡­ why?

    Blaze couldn¡¯t understand.

    Drake stared in the direction Theo had disappeared with a complicated look on his face. He wasn¡¯t happy that he had let Theo go, but still, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill someone. He understood that life in this world was very different to Earth, but he still wanted to live his life true to his morals.

    Perhaps it was his own naivety to think that the morals and principles of Earth would apply in a world like this. After all, humans in this world could reach a level of strength that would be impossible on Earth. The stronger they were, the more difficult they were to fight and control.

    Hence, people with strength could do pretty much whatever they wanted, and rarely would anything happen to them, unless they messed with someone equally or even stronger. In a sense, it was just survival of the fittest, kill or be killed, but on a whole other level.

    So, if Drake didn¡¯t have the strength to kill his enemies, it might only be a matter of time before they killed him. Drake understood this, and yet¡­ he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Drake felt that if he killed someone, something about him might fundamentally change, and he would no longer be the same person.

    Blaze walked up to Drake and stared at him. Given their height and size difference, Drake had to lift his head high to make eye contact. His complicated emotional state was reflected in his eyes, and Blaze picked up on it.

    He sighed.

    Sometimes I forget, that he is still young.

    ¡­

    In a dimly lit room, somewhere in Basindale.

    A dark, hooded figure was sitting on a chair next to a table, on top of which a single, dim lantern was placed. There was a window next to the table, through which the figure looked outside while resting its head on its palm, lost in thought.

    Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door which disturbed the calm scene.

    ¡°Come in,¡± the figure spoke in a low voice.

    The door creaked open. Quick and hurried footsteps echoed across the silent room as someone rapidly approached the figure. When they were within a few feet of the table, the dim lantern revealed them to be a man wearing black robes.

    As soon as he arrived, the man knelt down and spoke in a rushed tone.

    ¡°My lord, I have received some concerning news.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± the figure turned towards the man curiously. He took a deep breath before speaking.

    ¡°A little while ago, one of the Ironheart family¡¯s cargo deliveries was attacked. The attacker was said to be a lone mage, however¡­¡± the man hesitated before continuing, ¡°The mage supposedly used our cult¡¯s summoning spells, mainly blood bats.¡±

    The figure was silent. For a few seconds, all you could hear was the fire crackling inside the lantern.

    Seeing that the figure didn¡¯t have any questions, the man continued his report.

    ¡°Darren Gold, the head of Duskville¡¯s branch of the merchants guild, was the first to arrive on the scene. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t spot who the mage was. Also, and this is just an unconfirmed rumour, but apparently, he unearthed a piece of evidence on the scene which suggested that the mage was recruited by someone to attack the Ironheart family.¡±

    After a few seconds, the figure asked a question. ¡°Have you investigated our members?¡±

    ¡°Yes my lord,¡± the man replied. ¡°We have thoroughly investigated all of our members who fit the description of the lone mage and can confirm that no such person was even near that location at that time.¡±

    Once again, the figure was silent.

    ¡®Someone, dares to frame us? And this is not the first time either¡­¡¯ the figure remembered the report of Cedric Ironheart and his guards discovering a ring with their Hidden Venom Cult¡¯s symbol, during the destruction of the wheatfield.

    The figure began releasing a cold aura. Even though the aura was nowhere near its full strength, the man found it suffocating.

    ¡°Investigate this!¡± the figure¡¯s voice bellowed. ¡°No matter what, we must find out who¡¯s responsible. We will make an example out of them and show the world what happens to anyone who wants to mess with us.¡±

    ¡°Ye- yes my lord!¡±

    ¡­

    Back in the inheritance grounds.

    Blaze, Drake, and Cyrus were running across the vast plains. After Theo fled, demons soon started surrounding them, drawn by the scent of blood. They decided that they couldn¡¯t stay idle and decided to run to the nearest inheritance they had previously spotted. They had to fight numerous demons but, none of them were higher than servant class, so they didn¡¯t have much of a problem.

    They were still a little while away from their destination when they began hearing a commotion from the side.

    ¡®Is that another fight?¡¯ Drake thought.

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    The three looked at each other, came to a silent agreement, and started running in that direction. With their speed, they started getting close quickly, and Drake could pick up the voices with his acute sense.

    ¡°Rain! Decimate! Rain!¡± a girl¡¯s voice sounded out in the distance.

    Drake looked at Blaze excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± he shouted.

    Blaze¡¯s lips curled into a smile and he readied his sword. The group began moving even faster.

    Helen and Sylvia were surrounded by a herd of hundreds of demon boars, while simultaneously getting attacked by a pack of vultures from the skies. Helen was doing her best to hold them back, but even with Sylvia¡¯s support, dealing with so many of them wasn¡¯t easy.

    Just as Sylvia finished shooting a rain of arrows towards the vultures to keep them off, a boar charged from behind her. She arced backwards with a powerful jump and shot decimate at the boar midair, before landing next to Helen.

    ¡°This is crazy!¡± Helen exclaimed. ¡°How are we going to deal with so ma-¡±

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    ¡°Firestorm¡±

    ¡°Water assault!¡±

    A bunch of attacks assaulted the herd of boars and started killing them off in dozens. Sylvia and Helen were startled for a second before they recognised the voices.

    ¡°Blaze! Drake!¡± they exclaimed.

    Blaze cut through the boars one after another, making a beeline towards the girls. As he came close, he dug his heel into the ground and pivoted, coming to a stop right next to them.

    ¡°Good to see you guys doing well,¡± he smiled.

    Drake jumped high into the air.

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡±

    A large lightning bolt shot out of his hand into the centre of the herd, killing a bunch of boars. It then released streaks of lightning which struck the surrounding boars as well, killing off a further dozen or more boars.

    Sylvia and Helen¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Drake hadn¡¯t used his improved artifacts before entering the inheritance, so they hadn¡¯t seen his new spells yet. But seeing it kill dozens of boars easily, they were both happy and relieved.

    The two also glanced curiously at Cyrus, who they didn¡¯t recognise, but they decided to save the questions for later.

    Within a few minutes, the entire herd of boars and vultures were cleared. Drake spent an extra minute gathering any demon materials he wanted, before regrouping with everyone else.

    ¡°Master Drake,¡± Helen exclaimed jogging up to him, her eyes twinkling with joy.

    ¡°Good to see you, Helen,¡± Drake replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± she said and Drake smiled in response.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    Sylvia also walked up to him with a gentle smile. ¡°You¡¯ve grown stronger again,¡± she said, her voice sounding plain as usual, but carrying a hint of curiosity.

    Drake chuckled. Apart from Helen, none of them even knew that he was a mage. And even if they did, being able to summon so many artifacts wasn¡¯t normal. Hence, they thought that he must have bought the artifacts before coming. But, they didn¡¯t know how he managed to get the money to buy so many powerful artifacts, and so they were curious.

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Drake replied, laughing awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. Seeing that he didn¡¯t want to explain, Sylvia decided to leave it.

    ¡°We should get going,¡± interrupted Cyrus.

    Sylvia and Helen looked at him curiously. By this time, Blaze had also caught up and introduced him.

    ¡°This is Cyrus Blackthorne. He is a steel body martial artist from the Blackthorne family. We were teleported together, so we¡¯ve been working together since.¡±

    ¡°I see, thanks for helping us,¡± Sylvia told him with a slight bow.

    ¡°Same, thanks for your help,¡± Helen added as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Cyrus smiled and then reiterated his point from before. ¡°But we really need to get going. More demons will get attracted by the blood here and appear at any moment. We aren¡¯t too far away from the next ruins, so we should get there as soon as possible.¡±

    Everyone agreed and decided to continue heading towards the inheritance. Sylvia already had her scouting pixies summoned and was able to help them avoid a lot of demons. They still ended up having to fight some demons, but their powerful group made quick work of them.

    Soon, they spotted the ruins on the horizon and started running faster. However, just as they reached close, the ruins suddenly began collapsing. Their group came to a stop and watched as a bunch of cultivators jumped out of the collapsing ruins, startled. This must have been the first ruins they cleared since they looked very surprised at its collapse.

    The group of cultivators looked at Drake¡¯s party and seemed to recognise them. They immediately turned tail and ran in another direction.

    Blaze sighed. ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Allow me,¡± said Sylvia, summoning a large number of scouting pixies and sending them off in all directions.

    Drake watched the pixies rise into the sky, turning into specks of light, and dashing into the distance, leaving a trail of specks of light. As they left, Drake noticed the large blood moon hanging in the sky, casting a layer of red over the vast plains.

    Many corpses littered the ground, most belonging to demons, and some to cultivators, but they were all being savagely consumed by the endless number of demons indifferently. They travelled from one battlefield to another, consuming every corpse down to its last bone.

    Should any cultivator come their way, they would charge mindlessly, even if they knew they had no chance of victory.

    Observing this, Drake remembered the poem recited by the mysterious voices upon opening the inheritance.

    The red moon shines on the rivers of blood¡­ rising from its waters are the warriors of death.

    ¡®Is this what they meant?¡¯ Drake thought to himself. However, a voice soon brought him back to reality.

    ¡°Incoming,¡± Blaze said in a low voice.

    A large group of demons were slowly walking towards them, led by the smell of the demon blood and corpses. As soon as they noticed their group, they charged.

    Sylvia was focusing on controlling the large number of pixie spirits so she couldn¡¯t fight or move for a while. Hence, they had to hold the fort.

    Blaze, Drake, Cyrus, and Helen covered Sylvia in all four directions. As the horde of demons arrived, they each pounced in a different direction, cleaving a path through the horde, while still staying close enough to Syliva to protect her.

    After a few minutes, the horde had almost halved in number, when Sylvia suddenly opened her eyes and spoke out.

    ¡°I found another one. It¡¯s a little far, so let¡¯s get going!¡±

    Everyone regrouped and worked together to carve a path through the demons. They were killing dozens and dozens of demons every second.

    Although Drake tried to collect demon materials as soon as he killed them, he still couldn¡¯t collect all the materials from so many demons so quickly. He felt a little depressed at leaving behind so many materials, but he knew he couldn¡¯t ask everyone to stay and fight just for him, so he helplessly followed along.

    Soon, they cut through the horde and emerged on the other side. Relieved, the group started running quickly, led by Sylvia¡¯s pixies, while Sylvia herself still stayed in the rear, protected closely by Helen and Cyrus, while Blaze and Drake took the front. Some of the demons wanted to give chase, but most of them kept themselves busy consuming the demon corpses and fighting each other for the scraps.

    A few hours, and many battles later, the group finally arrived at their destination.

    ¡­

    At the same time, somewhere else in the vast plains, a young man with emerald hair and blue eyes was fighting against a large demon horde. To his right and left were a young man and woman. All three of them had the insignia of the Myriad Sword Palace stitched into their outfits.

    ¡°Cain! Imogen! Cover me!¡± Elwin yelled. The young man and woman jumped in front of Elwin and held back the demons as he closed his eyes and poured mana into his sword. It began glowing a deep blue and released an icy aura.

    Elwin opened his eyes and a fierce determination shone through.

    ¡°Spears of winter!¡± he whispered.

    A large number of long, sharp icicles formed behind him. Elwin pointed his sword forward and the icicles rained death upon the demon hordes.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in another location, a red-haired young man was fighting off demons with a sword and chains which were glowing dark red. However, he wasn¡¯t alone. Three figures wearing dark hooded robes were fighting beside him.

    In less than a minute, they finished off the demons attacking them and paused for a breath.

    ¡°There¡¯s still quite a bit of distance left before the next inheritance, master Theo. Are you sure it''s okay to let the dragon party go?¡±

    Theo shot him a dangerous look and he yelped.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m letting them go?¡± he asked coldly.

    ¡°No master Theo! I misspoke,¡± he said with a panicked voice, looking at his feet and cursing himself for speaking without thinking.

    ¡°Humph!¡± Theo snorted. ¡°We will kill them all, but we can¡¯t do it on our own,¡± he looked into the distance and continued.

    ¡°We need him.¡±

    Unbeknownst to the dark mages, far into the distance, in the direction that Theo was looking, another dark hooded figure was slowly walking through the wasteland. Numerous demons were charging at the figure, but over a dozen, rank two spirits in the form of vultures were surrounding and protecting it. They could breathe out toxic gas and spit out extremely powerful poison that caused severe damage to the demons upon contact.

    With so many of them working together, they were able to easily kill off the demons in both the air and the ground. Whenever one of the vultures died, the figure easily summoned two more to replace it, as if summoning and controlling rank two spirits was nothing.

    As the vultures were finishing off a horde of demons, the figure looked into the distance towards the black structure and mumbled.

    ¡°Things are going to get interesting¡­!¡±

 Chapter 70: The owléˆ¥æªš tests

    With Sylvia¡¯s guidance, Drake¡¯s party arrived at their destination.

    In front of them stood the slightly larger wooden gates of a village ruins. They looked at each other before opening the gates and walking in.

    The immediate temperature change surprised them as always, but they were glad to no longer be in the freezing cold. Although their martial arts cultivation made them more resistant to the elements, they still didn¡¯t enjoy fighting an endless number of demons while being chilled to the bone.

    Everyone wanted to rest immediately, but first, they decided to check the area. Even if demons couldn¡¯t get in, other cultivators could be waiting in ambush, and they didn¡¯t want any more surprises.

    Thinking so, they split up and searched different parts of the village. None of them found anything, so they heaved a sigh of relief, returned to the centre, and sat down.

    ¡°Finally, we can relax,¡± Blaze exhaled loudly and laid back against a building. Drake sat opposite him, against another building. Sylvia and Helen sat next to each other, to their left, while Cyrus sat to their right.

    ¡°Did you guys get teleported together?¡± Drake asked Sylvia and Helen. They nodded.

    ¡°Luckily, yeah,¡± Helen replied.

    Without Sylvia¡¯s help, she would have struggled a lot to make it this far, assuming she didn¡¯t die.

    ¡°Cool, did you get any inheritance?¡± asked Blaze.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Helen replied again. ¡°We cleared one ruin and got an inheritance. It was mostly gold and mana stones which we split, plus¡­¡±

    ¡°This,¡± said Sylvia, taking out a dagger. Drake and Blaze sensed that it was a rank two artifact. Although Sylvia mainly fought in the long range, in case any enemies got close, the dagger would help her to defend herself better, so it made sense for her to take it instead of Helen.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Sylvia asked curiously.

    Drake thought for a moment and recollected his experience. Starting from meeting the two martial artists who subsequently ended up dying, to solving the puzzle and taking the inheritance. Drake only got a rank one artifact, but he wasn¡¯t upset. There were still many ruins to clear, and he was sure he¡¯d get plenty of artifacts soon.

    Blaze also described his experience, eventually talking about Theo ambushing them and killing the lone cultivator they worked with, and how Drake came at the last moment to help them corner Theo, but he ultimately ended up escaping.

    Perhaps out of consideration for Drake¡¯s feelings, Blaze didn¡¯t mention the part where Drake had missed the perfect opportunity to kill Theo.

    After a few minutes of catching up, they discussed their thoughts on the inheritance. They all believed that the black structure should contain the main inheritance and that the ruins placed along the way should just contain pieces of the inheritance for people to collect on the way. Hence, they all wanted to reach the black structure as soon as possible so other cultivators wouldn¡¯t take the inheritance first.

    Drake had an idea.

    ¡°Sylvia, why don¡¯t you use your pixies to map out the plains as much as you can? It will help us find our way around more easily.¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± said Sylvia.

    ¡°Great, then while you do that, the rest of us will search for the inheritance in this village,¡± Drake said, standing up. Blaze, Helen, and Cyrus stood up with him whilst Sylvia nodded and closed her eyes.

    Despite being a ruin, the group spotted one small building which was perfectly intact, near one of the edges of the village. The four of them shared a glance before entering the building.

    They were welcomed by a large, but mostly empty room. There were four pillars in a rectangular formation supporting the roof, with a mini set of stairs located in between each one, leading down to a square, stone platform. At the centre of the platform was an alchemy cauldron and behind it, at the edge of the platform was the statue of an owl.

    Excited, they ran up to the owl. As they stepped onto the platform, the owl¡¯s eyes started shining and a feminine voice spoke out.

    Cultivation is a long path. Few methods are as helpful to cultivation as alchemy, yet barely any practice this art. Prove your skill and you will obtain this inheritance.

    ¡®That was surprisingly straight to the point,¡¯ Drake thought.

    Everyone looked at him. He was the only one with any experience of alchemy in their party. So, only he would have any chance of passing this test.

    Drake chuckled and stepped forward. ¡°I accept your challenge.¡±

    The owl¡¯s eyes began glowing. A black vortex appeared before the statue and the same voice spoke out.

    Good¡­ Your first test is to refine the fire lotus pill, the jade dew pill, and the bodhi enlightenment pill.

    As it mentioned the name of each pill, a scroll came out of the vortex. Once it finished listing the pills, the vortex spat out a bunch of materials and herbs and disappeared, and three scrolls fell on the floor.

    Drake took the scrolls and read through them, relieved to realise they were only rank one pills. However, they were each far more complex than any rank one pill he knew. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t even recognise most of the materials listed in the recipe.

    ¡®I guess, that is to be expected from a pill recipe from hundreds of years ago,¡¯ he thought to himself. Many of these herbs were very rare, if not extinct now.

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    This meant that he wasn¡¯t familiar with processing these materials. He would have to rely on his experience to help him.

    Drake sighed and looked at the others.

    ¡°Can you make them?¡± Blaze asked.

    ¡°Yes, I think so,¡± Drake replied. ¡°But, it might take me some time to get through this. Plus, I¡¯m not sure what the other tests are. So, you guys can go back and relax if you like. There¡¯s not much you can do here,¡± he suggested.

    The three looked at each other and agreed. They left the room, leaving Drake behind to face the owl¡¯s tests on his own.

    Drake first read the fire lotus pill recipe in detail. This pill could grant martial artists a temporary boost to their physical abilities, by making them quickly burn through their stamina. In doing so, they could greatly increase their speed and strength, but, after the effects wore off a few minutes later, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fight for a while.

    It was a pill that could be useful in certain circumstances and wasn¡¯t too difficult to refine. After memorising the refinement process, Drake then looked at the cauldron in front of him. His mind went blank for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise.

    This cauldron was a rank three artifact!

    The basic, rank one cauldron only had a wind rune to help alchemists summon small winds to control the ingredients inside. But this rank three cauldron was different. Not only could it allow the alchemist to summon winds with a much more precise speed and direction, but it also had fire and ice runes to aid in controlling temperature.

    Normally, you¡¯d have to use an external heat source to control the temperature. But, with this cauldron, the alchemist could directly pour their mana into the runes to control the heat much more easily and precisely. Especially for higher-ranked pills where precision mattered a lot, this cauldron would be a lifesaver.

    Drake was elated!

    He spent a few moments familiarising himself with using the cauldron before becoming satisfied.

    ¡®I wonder if I can still take this cauldron if I fail the tests,¡¯ he wondered, but then shook his head and decided to focus on the task at hand.

    Drake took out the materials for the fire lotus pill and began processing them. Ten minutes later, he transferred them to the cauldron and started refining the pill.

    Fifteen minutes passed.

    A mini aura was released from the cauldron as Drake stopped pouring in his mana. Although he was confident of his success, he was still slightly nervous opening the lid.

    A bright red pill radiating a small, fiery aura floated out of the pot and into his hands.

    Drake smiled. ¡®Guess I didn¡¯t have to worry so much.¡¯

    Not wanting to waste time, Drake repeated the process and, forty-five minutes later, finished refining the jade dew pill and the bodhi enlightenment pill.

    The jade dew pill was another type of healing and recovery pill, while the bodhi enlightenment pill was similar to the zenith pill, in that it would help cultivators achieve a state of focus and concentration easily and help them maintain it.

    With the three pills hovering above his hand, the owl¡¯s eyes started shining again and the same voice spoke out as another black vortex appeared before the owl statue.

    Well done. You have passed the first test. Now, you must pass the second test. Refine the bone cleansing pill and the mental fortification pill.

    As before, two new scrolls floated out of the vortex, along with various materials, and it closed.

    Drake placed the pills he refined into jade containers and stored them in his pouch. Then, he took the two scrolls and skim read them, before sighing heavily. ¡®As expected, these are rank two pills¡­¡¯

    Drake was not yet a rank two alchemist, so he wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to refine rank two pills. Although he had refined several rank two pills before, his success rate was not high and, looking at the materials he was given, he only had enough for five tries for each pill.

    ¡®If this is the second test, will there be a third and a fourth? Will it ask me to refine rank three and four pills!?¡¯

    For a moment, Drake felt gloomy about his future. Even if he passed this one, refining a rank three pill was pretty much out of the question for him, let alone a rank four one.

    Sigh¡­ ¡®Guess I have no choice anyway,¡¯ he thought and steadied his resolve.

    ¡®The only thing I can do¡­ is my best.¡¯

    Thinking so, Drake took out the recipe for the bone cleansing pill and studied it carefully. As the name suggested, it was a pill that could help cleanse the impurities in the bones. This would help improve a martial artist''s cultivation by a small amount, but only for tempered body and steel body martial artists.

    However, it was still incredible. Pills that could directly improve one¡¯s cultivation were very rare in any realm. Drake wanted to learn and refine lots of this pill to help him with his cultivation even after leaving this inheritance, but that was for later.

    Drake focused and learnt even the smallest details of this pill to ensure he wouldn¡¯t fail. After becoming satisfied, he sighed again and took out the first batch of materials. It took him twenty minutes to process them all, before beginning the refinement process.

    After another half an hour, a mini explosion resounded from the cauldron and Drake began coughing.

    ¡®I¡­ failed¡­¡¯ he muttered to himself.

    However, something unexpected happened. The owl¡¯s eyes began glowing and two beams of light left the owl and entered Drake¡¯s forehead.

    Immediately, a large amount of information flowed through his head. It was an unbelievably thorough analysis of his refinement and a breakdown of every single mistake he made. Everything from his basic refinement technique, to the way he processed and handled the materials.

    It was incredible!

    Within a few moments, all the information was transferred to his mind. Drake closed his eyes and took some time to process everything. When he opened them again, an intelligent sparkle could be detected in his gaze, as if he had a revelation.

    ¡°I¡­ see now¡­¡± he mumbled. Many things he didn''t understand before and made mistakes in were clarified now.

    Drake became extremely excited and had to force himself to calm down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ do this!¡±

    Two hours later.

    Drake smiled as two new pills were hovering above his palm.

    Despite the owl helping him analyse and learn from his mistakes, he still took several more attempts to refine both of them. However, he felt like he had made tremendous progress in his understanding of alchemy.

    With a little more practice, he felt that he could become a rank two alchemist!

    Drake rejoiced at this unexpected turn of events and was lost in his thoughts when the owl¡¯s eyes shined and the voice suddenly spoke out again.

    Congratulations on passing the second test. For your final test, you must refine the death defying pill!

    Another scroll and a bunch of materials were spat out by the vortex before disappearing. Drake stored away the two pills he refined and nervously took the scroll. As he read through the pill recipe, he became more and more gloomy.

    As expected, this was a rank three pill!

    Not to mention, it was very advanced, even for a rank three pill.

    Drake felt hopeless.

    Even if he tried a hundred times, he wasn¡¯t confident he could make it. Moreover, looking at the materials he was given, he only had enough for twenty tries.

    ¡®This is impossible¡­¡¯ Drake shook his head. ¡®Since when did I become such a loser?¡¯ he scolded himself.

    It might be hard, but with the owl helping him learn from his mistakes and allowing him to make incredible progress after each failure, if he tried hard enough, he just might be able to refine it.

    No, he had to refine it. Failure was not an option.

    Moreover, this was a great opportunity to help him practice his alchemical skills. If he could refine this rank three death defying pill, he would have a much better chance of refining the three-leaf healing pill in the future.

    Drake took a deep breath and calmed down. He read through the recipe thoroughly once more.

    This was another miraculous pill that could help cultivators at the peak of the steel body realm, break through their bottleneck, and cultivate the undying body! If he did manage to refine it, he could use it for when he attempted the breakthrough.

    It took Drake quite a while to just understand the ins and outs of the recipe.

    Then, he took out the first batch of materials and began the refinement process.

 Chapter 71: The death defying pill

    The sun just started rising as Drake began his rank three pill refinement practice. Along with the sun, the dust storm also slowly started building up.

    Everyone spread over the village, either looking into the distance, meditating, or taking a well-deserved rest. Sylvia was also taking a break from drawing up her map.

    As dawn arose, Cyrus got up and called everyone.

    ¡°Thank you all for letting me travel with you so far,¡± he said, cupping his fists. ¡°However, I think I know where the other cultivators from my family are, so I¡¯ll get going before another dust storm picks up.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± asked Blaze.

    ¡°Well,¡± he replied. ¡°I detected a battle earlier and the techniques and summons used in that battle seemed to resemble our family¡¯s unique moves, so it is most likely them. I should go help them out. Then I can continue my journey with them.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ okay,¡± said Blaze. He would also want to go and help if he thought one of his party members was fighting outside. He then added, ¡°In case it turns out it¡¯s not them, you can always come back to us.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Cyrus replied.

    Blaze nodded, and Helen also said goodbye. ¡°Thank you once again for helping us earlier.¡± Sylvia nodded to show her agreement.

    ¡°No worries,¡± Cyrus replied. He waved everyone goodbye and left the village, leaving Blaze, Sylvia and Helen together. They looked towards the building where Drake was going through the alchemy test and wondered how he was getting along.

    ¡®Since he¡¯s still inside, that means that he hasn¡¯t failed the test yet,¡¯ thought Sylvia.

    They wanted to go in and check, but hesitated. They didn¡¯t want to interrupt him accidentally during a critical moment, so they decided to return to their posts.

    A few hours later.

    The sun was high in the sky, casting hot rays onto the vast plains. A large dust storm covering the entire area had formed, similar to when the cultivators had originally entered the inheritance grounds.

    There were several village ruins protected from these elements, inside one of which, was a perfectly intact building. A young boy was sitting inside this building, pouring his mana into a cauldron, while sweating profusely.

    BOOM!

    A mini explosion sounded out and the young boy coughed from the backlash.

    ¡°Another failure¡­¡± Drake murmured.

    Immediately, the owl statue¡¯s eyes glowed and it sent a beam of light to enter his forehead. Drake¡¯s eyes became blank for a moment before returning to normal, at which point he closed his eyes and meditated on the new information for a while.

    After a few minutes, Drake slowly opened his eyes.

    ¡®I have already failed five times, but¡­¡¯ after every failure, he made much more progress than before. Whilst initially, he failed in the very beginning, now, he was able to complete many more steps successfully before failing.

    Normally, he¡¯d have to analyse his failure personally which would take a long time and he would still not catch all of his mistakes. However, the owl statue was giving him a detailed and thorough analysis of everything. Hence, Drake could tell his understanding of alchemy was improving by leaps and bounds.

    ¡®In a sense, even if I fail this test, the improvement to my skill in alchemy is worth it,¡¯ Drake thought to himself.

    After calming his mind, he went through his mistakes once more before taking out another batch of materials.

    Thirty-five minutes later.

    BOOM! Another failure.

    Forty minutes later.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Another failure.

    Fifty minutes later.

    Drake failed again. He used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his brows as he finished going through the mistakes he made again. Although he failed, he was extremely happy, because he was already able to refine about 50% of the pill before failing. He still had another twelve attempts left, which, he hoped, would be enough for him to practice and learn the rest of the refinement.

    Six hours later.

    The sun was slowly beginning to set again.

    Inside the building, Drake had his attention completely focused on the cauldron in front of him.

    ¡®This is my last chance, I can¡¯t mess this up¡­!¡¯

    Drake carefully controlled the temperature in the cauldron. There were dozens of materials inside the cauldron which he had already purified. Now they had to combine in different ways. Some had to be combined in colder temperatures, others when they were hot, and at precise moments, depending on what materials they were, while the rest still had to be maintained at a specific temperature.

    ¡®No wonder they gave this cauldron,¡¯ Drake thought to himself. ¡®It¡¯d be impossible to refine this pill with the basic cauldron I bought.¡¯ He shook his head and focused on his refining again.

    He finished combining the last set of materials successfully. Now, three balls of light were rapidly flying around inside the cauldron. Drake increased the mana he was pouring into the wind rune to bring them under control. Once they slowed down, Drake added the final ingredient, the powdered tooth of a commander class demon, solidified into the shape of a double helix.

    As soon as it entered, the three balls of light wanted to rush towards it. However, Drake couldn¡¯t let that happen. He carefully controlled them to move together at the same speed. When they were less than an inch away from the helix, he let them go and the three balls of light touched the helix simultaneously.

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    Immediately, a large burst of light and energy was released as the helix melted and flowed over the three balls of light, before slowly combining and condensing into a single ball of light.

    ¡®This is it¡­¡¯ thought Drake, using all of his concentration to keep the temperature and everything else steady. He was at the last and crucial step, as long as he completed this, the pill would be refined.

    Drake waited patiently for the balls of light to combine, not wanting to rush the process.

    Fifteen minutes later.

    BOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

    A loud sound echoed from the building as a large wave of energy was released by the cauldron. Blaze and the rest were startled and looked worriedly towards the building.

    In contrast, inside the building, Drake had a huge smile.

    Brilliant white light was being released from around the lid of the cauldron, lighting up the entire room.

    After a few seconds, the light and energy disappeared and the lid flew open. A small orb of light slowly floated out, radiating a powerful aura.

    Drake opened his palm and the orb of light flew towards him. The light it was radiating was quickly diminishing as the orb flew into his palm. When it was a few inches away, the light disappeared, revealing a round pill painted pitch black and bright white. However, the colours were not stagnant. They kept moving around as if liquid paint was flowing over the pill.

    Upon reaching his palm, the pill calmly hovered on top. Drake couldn¡¯t contain his joy.

    He successfully refined a rank three pill!

    The owl¡¯s eyes began glowing again and a voice spoke out.

    Congratulations. You have completed all the tests. You are now worthy of receiving my inheritance!

    The black vortex appeared again and a huge treasure chest floated out of it.

    Drake was delighted. He wanted to open it immediately but then changed his mind. He first took all the remaining herbs and materials into his storage pouch, and then looked at the cauldron.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to call this the ice fire cauldron,¡¯ he thought, giving it a simple name. Then, he took the ice fire cauldron into his storage pouch as well before leaving the building.

    To his surprise, Blaze, Sylvia and Helen were waiting outside.

    ¡°Is everything okay, master Drake?¡± asked Helen.

    ¡°Did you complete the tests?¡± Blaze questioned.

    Sylvia just looked at him curiously as usual.

    Drake smiled and replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you come in and see?¡± and walked back in.

    Everyone shared a glance before following behind.

    They saw the empty room and the large treasure chest in the middle and gasped.

    ¡°You did it!¡± Blaze yelled enthusiastically, catching up to Drake and slapping him on his back.

    Sylvia also caught up and stood on Drake¡¯s side, before leaning forward and asking interestedly, ¡°What were the tests?¡±

    ¡°Just had to refine three rank one, two rank two, and one rank three pill,¡± Drake replied.

    Everyone gasped in shock. They knew Drake was practising alchemy as a hobby, but they had no idea he could refine rank three pills. That was unbelievable for someone his age, who was self-taught, and only started recently.

    ¡°You¡¯re amazing, master Drake!¡± Helen exclaimed.

    Seeing everyone¡¯s surprised looks, Drake rubbed his nose and asked a different question, ¡°So, should we open the chest now?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Sylvia. ¡°The sun has started setting and the dust storm is also mostly gone. We¡¯ve already spent a long time here, we should get this inheritance and continue forward.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Drake replied.

    Everyone jogged to the chest and Drake opened it up. A bright light flashed across the room before disappearing, revealing the contents. It was filled to the brim with a large number of gold coins, as well as numerous mana stones. There were even several mid-grade mana stones!

    As they split up the gold and mana stones between them, they also spotted buried inside the gold, a large scroll. Drake picked it up and sensed that it recorded several rare pill recipes. Drake happily transferred the scroll to his storage pouch. No one protested.

    As soon as they took the last piece of the inheritance, the ground started shaking. The party quickly exited the building and jumped over the wall to leave the village.

    Once outside, they were welcomed by chilly winds. As the sun set, the heat was slowly replaced by the cold, and the dust storm, by total darkness.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Blaze asked Sylvia. Everyone turned towards her as well, she had spent this time mapping out the surroundings.

    Sylvia reached into her storage pouch and took out a wooden board. Carved into it was a map of the surroundings.

    ¡°The inheritance grounds is huge. Even after all this time, I wasn¡¯t able to map everything, especially once the dust storm started which reduced visibility.¡±

    Everyone nodded. The dust storm made it very difficult to see more than a few metres, so this wasn''t surprising. Seeing their acknowledgement, Sylvia continued.

    ¡°It seems that the black structure is at the edge of the plains, with various village ruins and cultivators scattered all around it in a semi circle. Although there are demons everywhere, they seem to become more numerous the closer to the black structure you go.¡±

    Drake thought that made sense as well and continued listening.

    ¡°I have managed to map a good chunk of the path towards the black structure, on the section that we are in, so we can hopefully use this to get as many inheritances as possible on our way.¡± She thought for a moment and then added, ¡°Interestingly, I did spot one area which looked like the ruins of a garden, which could have been the sect¡¯s herb garden.¡±

    This caught Drake¡¯s attention.

    One of the main reasons he wanted to come to this inheritance was to get the leaves of the Celestial Willow tree to refine the three-leaf healing pill. If he was going to find the leaves anywhere at all, it would most likely be in this herb garden.

    The method of refining the three-leaf healing pill was easier and less complex than the death defying pill he had just refined. With the drastic improvement in his alchemy skill he made with the owl statue''s help over this time, he was confident in his ability to refine the three-leaf healing pill now.

    ¡°We should go there,¡± Drake said.

    Sylvia nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, we should. It is a little far away and there are a few other inheritances we can collect along the way, but it is in the same direction that we need to travel in, so we can easily take a look.¡±

    Having a plan for the near future, everyone started running towards the next inheritance.

    At the same time, in another location, Theo and the dark mages were inside another village ruins, standing in front of a statue, about to solve its puzzle. After a few seconds, the statue¡¯s eyes started glowing and a black vortex appeared on the ground in front, from which a treasure chest floated out.

    The dark mages giggled wickedly as they went to open, however a sudden noise interrupted them.

    A group of four entered the village and ran towards the dark mages. Theo¡¯s eyes narrowed. He unsheathed his sword and readied his chains as he turned to face the visitors. The other dark mages followed suit.

    Within a few seconds, four shadows sprinted across the village at a ridiculous speed and stopped several metres before them. Once they stopped moving, their figures were revealed to show four young men, wearing the same uniform.

    ¡°Silver Crane Sect!¡± one of the dark mages gasped.

    ¡°Dark mages!¡± one of the Silver Crane Sect disciples shouted.

    No words needed to be spoken. The two groups immediately clashed.

    Two hours later.

    The dark plains were covered in a veil of red by the blood moon.

    As Drake¡¯s party ran towards their destination, they encountered numerous demons. Syliva had a smaller number of her pixies out scouting their immediate vicinity to help them avoid large hordes of demons. However, they still encountered and had to fight through smaller groups.

    Just as the group finished fighting off a flock of demon birds, Sylvia called everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Everyone, I can see a large group of demons to our right. We can avoid them, however, I think they are surrounding and attacking a woman.¡±

    ¡°Is she on her own?¡± asked Drake.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sylvia replied. ¡°However, she doesn¡¯t seem to be in trouble. In fact, she¡¯s killing them off very quickly. She seems¡­ quite formidable.¡±

    ¡°Hm¡­ we should still go help her,¡± Blaze suggested.

    ¡°I agree,¡± said Drake. ¡°Especially as we go further, we are likely to encounter more and more demons, and potentially dark mages too. It would be good to have another strong fighter in our group.¡±

    ¡°I was thinking the same,¡± said Sylvia, looking into the distance.

    After making a unanimous decision, the group ran in the direction indicated by Sylvia. With their speed, they found the demon horde quickly.

 Chapter 72: Farisa Heartwood

    A large number of demon ants were huddled together. There were hundreds and hundreds of them.

    ¡®She must be very unlucky to have encountered so many of them,¡¯ Drake thought. However, his attention was quickly captured by what was happening in the horde.

    A woman jumped into the air from the centre. Though Drake couldn¡¯t see her clearly, he spotted her wielding a large, round hammer, taller than her.

    The woman spoke loudly, ¡°Mountain Splitter!¡± as she raised the hammer and plunged. Her hammer grew in size from a little over five feet to more than fifteen feet, and the round hammerhead also expanded to be several feet wide.

    A loud explosion echoed from the battlefield as the woman crushed dozens of demons with her huge hammer. Fierce winds assaulted Drake¡¯s party, but they easily ignored it and continued forward.

    It was at this moment that the woman noticed Drake¡¯s party approaching and became slightly wary. She stood elegantly at the tip of her hammer ¨C which had now returned to its normal size ¨C and observed them closely, while the demons around them were still recovering from her attack. The moonlight illuminated her face with a tinge of red, which combined with her stern expression to give her an ominous aura.

    ¡°Firestorm!¡±

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    ¡°Wind blade!¡±

    They each unleashed their respective attacks and swept through the demon horde.

    Seeing that they were helping her, the woman heaved a sigh of relief and picked up her hammer. She spun the hammer over her head repeatedly until it started rotating rapidly.

    ¡°Crushing maelstrom!¡± she yelled and released her hammer into the horde. The hammer rotated rapidly while travelling in an arc and crushed every demon it made contact with. Almost fifty demons had died before it returned cleanly back to her hands.

    With all of them working together, the demon horde became a pile of corpses in less than a minute and littered the floor. After making sure there were no more demons left, Drake¡¯s party finally walked up to the woman and faced her.

    She was fair-skinned and had white hair with purple tips that came up her shoulders. Her white and purple robes flowed over her slim figure which contrasted her huge, also purple, hammer, and ferocious fighting style.

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± she spoke with a strong, but sincere voice.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Blaze replied and then introduced himself. ¡°I¡¯m Blaze Emberclaw, from the Emberclaw tribe. Are you from the Myriad Sword Palace?¡± he asked, looking at the insignia stitched onto her robe, just below her neck.

    She didn¡¯t reply immediately but looked over Blaze¡¯s large figure and focused on his horns. For a moment, her mouth slightly opened in shock, but then she returned to normal.

    ¡°Yes, I am Farisa Heartwood from the Myriad Sword Palace,¡± she hesitated for a moment then asked, ¡°Are you... really from the dragon race?¡±

    ¡°Ha, yes I am,¡± he laughed, used to this reaction.

    ¡°I see,¡± Farisa replied. She recollected hearing about a party with a dragon and dryad upon entering Basindale, so her eyes instinctively scanned the group and noticed Sylvia.

    ¡°I am Sylvia Everglen, from the Everglen tribe,¡± Sylvia introduced herself casually.

    Helen also introduced herself, and finally, Drake. Unexpectedly, Farisa appeared most surprised at hearing Drake¡¯s name.

    ¡°Sorry, but what did you say your family name was?¡± she asked, staring at Drake.

    ¡°Um¡­ Reynard?¡± Drake replied, slightly confused at her reaction.

    Farisa thought for a moment then asked something even more unexpected. ¡°Would you, by any chance, have a brother called Elwin?¡±

    Drake¡¯s eyes widened, hearing that name after a long time. Many thoughts ran through his mind, but he simply replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± she asked again. ¡°Emerald hair, steel body martial artist?¡±

    Drake was puzzled. How did she know his brother?

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my brother. How do you know him?¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± she replied, as if understanding something. ¡°You probably thought that your brother was dead right?¡±

    Drake was stunned. What did that mean? Was Elwin not dead? Didn¡¯t Hazezel send him on a suicide mission?

    ¡°Ye.. yes..? Is that not true?¡± he asked hesitatingly.

    Farisa smiled. ¡°No, actually he was about to die when an elder whom our sect had sent out to investigate the Beast Woods, found and rescued him.¡±

    Drake¡¯s eyes widened again and a flurry of emotions filled his chest. He stepped forward and asked desperately, ¡°Really? Is that true? Where is he now?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine,¡± she replied calmly with a smile. ¡°In fact, due to his talent, he immediately joined the inner sect of our Myriad Sword Palace and was even accepted as a personal disciple to the elder who rescued him. He managed to rank fourth in our inner sect competition and came to join this inheritance as well!¡±

    Drake was speechless!

    He thought that his brother was dead all this time, but it turned out that he was still alive! After everything that happened with Hazezel, for almost a year, Drake believed that the only real family he had left in this world was Astoria. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would find his eldest brother, in this inheritance.

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    Thousands of thoughts and a myriad of emotions flowed through Drake and he just stood there for a while, as if he was frozen in the spot. Everyone looked at him with slight pity but didn¡¯t say anything.

    After a few moments, Drake recovered and exhaled deeply.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he said, his voice a little shaky.

    He moved his mouth as if trying to say something but was struggling to find the right words. After another few moments, he said with a smile, ¡°Thank you for telling me,¡± before becoming quiet again.

    ¡°No problem,¡± she replied. A second later, her expression changed as if she remembered something, and spoke out. ¡°That reminds me, your second brother, Hazezel, is also alive and in our Myriad Sword Palace. I almost forgot since he¡¯s only an outer sect disciple, but Elwin often talks about and spends time with him, so I remembered.¡±

    Drake¡¯s smile disappeared.

    Hazezel!

    In both his previous life and now, no one had betrayed and hurt him like Hazezel. Although he couldn¡¯t bring himself to hate his brother, he could not forgive him. Hazezel was the last person that he wanted to ever think about or encounter. Drake just wanted to forget that he ever existed at all.

    However, life didn¡¯t work that way.

    In a twist of events, Elwin and Hazezel had ended up together in the same sect, and it seemed like they were on good terms. For a moment, Drake was confused but then he realised that literally no one except him knew about Hazezel¡¯s betrayal, his true nature. And so, Elwin was loving and spending time with the person who attempted to kill him and actually killed his father.

    Drake didn¡¯t know how to react to this. A whole new flurry of thoughts and emotions rose within Drake and he became quiet again.

    Farisa expected Drake to become even happier. So, she was confused by his reaction. However, the group decided to leave him to his thoughts as they started walking. They couldn¡¯t stay here for long as more demons would get attracted by the smell of the blood and corpses. So, the group walked together, making small talk and getting to know each other, as Drake mindlessly followed along.

    A little while later, Drake recovered. He was contemplating many things, from what he¡¯d do when he met Elwin, to whether he should tell him about Hazezel or not. Drake¡¯s initial thought was to tell Elwin everything, however, he wasn¡¯t sure if that would be the best thing to do.

    If he did tell Elwin, there was no doubt in his mind that Elwin would grow to hate Hazezel. They would probably fight, and even if Elwin didn¡¯t kill him, he would disown him. Moreover, the Myriad Sword Palace would kick him out for associating with the dark mages, and Hazezel would end up alone - if they didn¡¯t severely punish or execute him for his crimes.

    Not that he cared much about Hazezel¡¯s welfare, but¡­

    ¡®I can¡¯t really explain it,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    For starters, he wanted to be there when Elwin confronted Hazezel, at least to support him, but he couldn¡¯t do that until he visited the capital. On the other hand, he thought Elwin deserved to know the truth, and that keeping someone like Hazezel around, could put him and perhaps even the entire sect in danger at some point.

    But, a tiny little part of him also hoped that maybe, just maybe, Hazezel had turned over a new leaf. That he regretted everything and hated himself for it. Not that that excused anything that he did, or that Drake would forgive him as a result, but, if that was the case, then he wasn¡¯t sure if such a severe punishment would still be warranted.

    Even being exiled by the sect might be okay, but if they began torturing Hazezel for information about the dark mages or executed him¡­ Drake didn¡¯t know if he wanted his brother to go through something like that, especially if he was trying to turn over a new leaf now.

    ¡®I¡¯ll make a trip to the capital one day, and make a decision personally then,¡¯ he told himself and returned to the present.

    The group was making their way through the plains in the night.

    Drake noticed that Farisa was quite powerful, with her hammer being a rank three artifact. She was also a late stage, steel body martial artist, and had learnt powerful martial techniques as well. With her help, they were able to fight their way through the demons even faster. Now, even if they encountered a relatively large horde, they would cut through them in less than a minute.

    Drake, who was running at the back, accelerated and caught up to Farisa who was at the front along with Blaze. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Elwin was ranked fourth at your sect¡¯s inner sect competition?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Then, where did you rank?¡± he asked curiously. From what he could tell, Farisa was almost as strong as Blaze, so she was most likely stronger than Elwin as well.

    ¡°Second place,¡± she said with a sigh.

    ¡°Really?¡± Drake asked surprised, subconsciously expecting her to have placed first. ¡°Then, who was first?¡±

    Farisa¡¯s expression became serious, and she turned to face the front again and said softly, ¡°A real monster.¡±

    At the same time in another location, a young man sneezed.

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    He was wearing black and white leather armour, with a sword strapped on either side of his waist, while emitting peak steel body and late-stage warrior mage cultivation aura.

    ¡°Looks like someone is talking about you Corvus!¡± laughed another young man, standing next to him. He emitted an early-stage steel body and warrior mage cultivation aura. Both of them had the Myriad Sword Palace insignia inscribed into their clothing.

    Corvus ignored the young man and focused on the distance. A group of over a hundred demons were rapidly approaching them. He unsheathed his swords and began activating his sword martial technique, making them glow with a brilliant white light.

    He raised his swords and released his grip, but the swords kept floating in the air. As soon as Corvus released them, the two swords started rotating around each other and moving forward.

    ¡°Twin sword arts,¡± he whispered, ¡°Twisting fury!¡±

    Immediately, the swords began glowing even brighter and shot forward at an unbelievable speed. Not only that, but they summoned several arrays of swords to float around them, quickly multiplying to over a hundred swords. The swords flew into the air and rained down upon the horde of demons like falling stars from the night sky.

    Within a few seconds, the entire horde of over a hundred servant class demons had died. Corvus smiled as his swords returned to his hands and he calmly sheathed them again as if nothing had happened.

    The other young man looked at him and gulped. Despite travelling together with him, and growing up in the same sect as him, his power never failed to shock him. Moreover, he knew that Corvus hadn¡¯t even used his full strength just now.

    ¡®What a monster¡­¡¯ he thought to himself.

    Around an hour later, Drake¡¯s party, with the new addition of Farisa, were getting close to the inheritance noted by Sylvia on her map.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close now,¡± she told everyone.

    ¡°Good,¡± Helen replied.

    ¡°I hope no one¡¯s taken the inheritance already,¡± Blaze added.

    As all the cultivators got closer to the black structure in the centre of the inheritance, it became more and more likely for them to run into each other. They had been fine so far, but pretty soon, they¡¯d have to start fighting other cultivators over the inheritances.

    Soon, an indistinct blur appeared on the horizon, barely visible in the dim moonlight. However, within a few seconds, they got closer and could see that it was a fully intact village ruins.

    ¡°Great, it seems like no one has-¡± just as Sylvia started speaking, the village walls started shaking and the buildings inside began collapsing one after another.

    Drake¡¯s party stopped just outside the village, waiting to see who had taken the inheritance.

    A dark, hooded figure calmly walked out of the collapsing village.

    They couldn¡¯t see it clearly due to the darkness and its hood, however, everyone got a bad feeling.

    The figure stopped as soon as it exited the village, as if surprised at seeing their group.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Blaze asked warily, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

    The figure chuckled in response and pulled back its hood. The red moonlight shone on the face of a man in his late twenties. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to run into your group so soon.¡±

    Dark mage!

    Everyone sensed his aura and realised his identity at the same time. They took out their weapons and faced him warily.

    Blaze pointed his huge sword at the man and spoke threateningly. ¡°There are five of us and one of you. There¡¯s no point in fighting. Just give up peacefully.¡±

    The man chuckled again. ¡°While that is true¡­¡± the man threw his hands up and dark mana gathered. Lights flew up from his hands one after another until over thirty lights filled the air. They all condensed into the figure of a vulture, and each one radiated the aura of a rank two spirit!

    ¡°-it still isn¡¯t enough to defeat me!¡± the man finished.

    Everyone froze in shock.

 Chapter 73: Too strong!

    Everyone froze in shock.

    How could he summon so many rank two spirits? No matter how powerful they were, a warrior mage wouldn¡¯t be able to summon and control so many rank two spirits so easily. Could this man be a grand mage? But how could that be possible?

    The party no longer underestimated him and faced him seriously. The man pointed his hands forward and the vultures darted towards Drake¡¯s party. As they flew, they breathed out a toxic gas which quickly covered the battlefield.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Drake yelled, but it was too late.

    The vultures spread out and exhaled the gas from all directions, making it impossible to dodge. Everyone began coughing heavily upon inhaling the gas, making them unable to focus. Taking this opportunity, the vultures also started attacking.

    ¡°Water barrier! Light barrier!¡± Drake yelled and summoned the two barriers from his robe to cover his party as an inverted dome.

    The vultures crashed into the barrier in masse, forcing Drake to his knees as he struggled to hold on. Luckily, he consumed a poison recovery pill immediately after seeing the vultures, recognising their poison element. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to react in time.

    Still, he needed to help the others. He reached into his storage pouch and tossed out a rank two poison recovery pill to everyone. Despite coughing and struggling against the toxic gas, they caught the pill and quickly swallowed it.

    Warm mana flowed through their bodies and helped fight against the toxic gas entering their system, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. The gas was still very potent and remained in their bodies, but they managed to recover enough to be able to focus and fight again.

    In the few seconds it took them to recover, the vultures broke the barriers. Drake clenched his stomach and spat out blood, suffering a backlash. He would have been easy prey for the vultures, but luckily, the others sprang into action and began fighting them.

    After a few seconds, Drake recovered and stood up.

    Looking around, his party wasn¡¯t in great condition.

    His pill couldn¡¯t neutralise the poison completely, so they were still suffering and unable to fight at full strength. Moreover, a cloud of toxic gas covered the area they were in, severely reducing their visibility. Given that the flying vultures could attack from three dimensions, it was all the more difficult to deal with them.

    Not to mention that every single one of these vultures were rank two spirits!

    Even individually, their power and abilities would be stronger than the servant class demons they had been fighting until now. Under normal conditions, they might still be able to fight them off fairly easily, but their condition was far from normal now and there were so many of them.

    ¡®Not to mention¡­¡¯ Drake activated acute sense and peered through the toxic cloud to look at the dark mage. He was standing casually with a smile on his face, hands behind his back. Drake had a bad feeling that this still wasn¡¯t his true power.

    ¡°Firestorm!¡± Blaze exclaimed as he released a whirlwind of fire. The vultures reacted quickly and easily dodged out of the way, before attacking Blaze again. However, the fierce winds summoned by the whirlwind helped disperse the cloud of toxic gas a little bit.

    Farisa saw this and also made a move.

    ¡°Crushing maelstrom!¡± her hammer shot out in an arc while rotating rapidly. She managed to kill a few vultures, but her focus was on clearing out the cloud which dispersed further.

    After a few more moves, the group managed to clear the toxic cloud and kill almost a dozen vulture spirits. However, they were all covered in scratches and bruises. Nothing too serious, but it was the first time they had been injured to this extent after entering the inheritance grounds.

    The dark mage saw this and clapped his hands sarcastically. ¡°Well done! I didn¡¯t expect you to clear the cloud and kill so many of my vultures so quickly.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll kill you too, just as quickly!¡± Sylvia snapped and shot a probing arrow at him.

    The dark mage activated a movement technique and easily dodged the arrow.

    ¡®So he¡¯s a martial artist too?¡¯ Drake observed and became more concerned.

    However, the dark mage ignored Sylvia and her attack and continued his sentence.

    ¡°I¡¯m quite impressed by your performance. Let me give you all a reward!¡±

    After saying that, the dark mage raised his hands again. Black clouds gathered and obscured the blood moon as an even larger amount of purple mana gathered into his palms.

    Everyone had a bad feeling.

    ¡°Lightning beetles!¡± he exclaimed.

    Thunder rumbled in the sky. Within a few seconds, all the mana condensed into three orbs of light and floated in front of him. The next second, they emitted a blinding white light which forced everyone to turn and cover their eyes. A few seconds later, everyone turned back to see what the dark mage had summoned.

    This time, their faces paled.

    Three large rhino beetles, the size of a bus, had appeared in front of the mage. They had extremely thick, purple shells painted with black spots on their backs, and a huge black horn protruding out of their face, which had electricity buzzing around it.

    Each radiated the aura of a rank three spirit!

    ¡®How could this be possible?¡¯

    ¡®Was this man, actually a grand mage?¡¯

    Their minds were filled with questions, but they didn¡¯t have time to think as the dark mage made his move.

    He raised his hands and lightning crackled within clouds, painting the dark red sky with streaks of white. The lightning beetles lifted their heads and a large amount of electrical mana gathered at the tips of the horns. Soon, the build-up was so much that they shot out a beam of lightning mana.

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    But that wasn¡¯t all.

    The three beams collided midair and started forming a gigantic ball of lightning.

    ¡°Decimate!¡± Sylvia acted instantly and shot her most powerful arrow at one of the lightning beetles. To everyone¡¯s surprise, the beetle didn¡¯t make any attempts to dodge and allowed the arrow to collide directly with its back.

    BOOM!

    The arrow crashed explosively against the beetle¡¯s shell. However, the beam of lightning the beetle was shooting out didn¡¯t decrease in the slightest. As soon as the dust cloud faded, everyone gasped. There was a small crack in the beetle¡¯s shell, but that was it.

    Despite taking Sylvia¡¯s most powerful arrow directly, almost nothing had happened to the beetle.

    ¡®Just how strong are those shells?¡¯ thought Drake, but soon realised that the huge ball of lightning was very close to finishing.

    ¡°Everyone, watch out! Water barrier! Light barrier!¡± Drake yelled, summoning two large barriers to cover everyone.

    Sylvia acted next and summoned her rank two earth elemental imps. The imps created several layers of earth walls in front of Drake¡¯s barriers. Helen poured mana into her armour to summon another earth wall in front of all of Sylvia¡¯s layers.

    Farisa dug her hammer into the ground and poured mana into it, making it glow a deep blue.

    ¡°Impenetrable wall!¡±

    A translucent barrier of mana spread out of the hammer and formed another layer behind Drake¡¯s barriers.

    ¡°Firewall!¡± Blaze exclaimed as he summoned a wall of fire behind Farisa¡¯s.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve completed your preparations,¡± smiled the dark mage. An enormous ball of lightning, the size of a double-decker bus, had formed in the air before him. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case¡­¡±

    ¡°Arc blast!¡± he yelled.

    Upon his order, the ginormous lightning ball blasted forward.

    It broke through Helen and most of Sylvia¡¯s barriers like butter, slightly reducing in size with each impact. It stopped for a second longer at the last earth wall, before destroying that as well.

    Helen and Sylvia fell to one knee and coughed as they suffered a backlash from their spells being broken through.

    The lightning ball collided powerfully with Drake¡¯s light barrier. It began cracking immediately and Drake kept pouring in more mana to keep it intact.

    However, it was futile.

    A few seconds later, the light barrier shattered and the ball collided heavily with the water barrier. In another five seconds, this barrier was also broken through.

    After his barriers broke, Drake felt a force push him several steps back. He clenched his stomach and started coughing out blood and panting for breath.

    Farisa was next. Colliding with her barrier sent loud echoes throughout the battlefield. The ball had decreased to half its original size now, but it was still extremely powerful.

    Soon, cracks started appearing on her barrier as well. Farisa felt immense pressure and was forced to one knee, but she kept pouring mana into her hammer to help maintain the barrier. However, the combined attack from three rank three spirits was too powerful. Soon, numerous large cracks appeared in her defence. It managed to last thirty seconds before collapsing, causing her to suffer a backlash too.

    The ball was only thirty per cent of its original size when it crashed against Blaze¡¯s firewall. Blaze stared at the ball fiercely as it started slowly tearing through his wall as well. He could tell that his barrier would also inevitably collapse, after which everyone would have to face its power directly.

    ¡°Not¡­ today!¡± gasped Blaze, before making a decision.

    He closed his eyes and focused on his inner realm. The mana in his body sensed his will and moved. They left his inner realm and started flowing through his left arm. Blue streaks could be seen under his skin where they were still exposed by his loose leather armour.

    Just as his firewall was about to break, Blaze whispered two words. However, his voice was filled with mana and echoed across the battlefield.

    ¡°Dragon. Form.¡±

    A huge amount of mana exploded from his left arm. The mana formed long streaks and coiled around his arm, rotating faster and faster. As they rotated, Blaze¡¯s arm began to glow and enlarge. Scales began to form one after another, covering the entire arm.

    BOOM!

    The ball of lightning broke through the firewall and charged at them ferociously. Blaze opened his eyes and a wave of fiery red mana was released from his body. His left arm transformed to be much bigger and muscular, and was covered in thick, red, dragon scales.

    Blaze rotated his arm towards the incoming lightning ball. The ball crashed against him like a truck and pushed Blaze several steps back. He dug his huge sword into the ground and held onto it with his other hand for support, gritting his teeth.

    Dragon scales were among some of the hardest materials in the world. Despite its power, the ball of lightning could not even crack them. Some of them lightly turned black, but they held firm.

    Still, Blaze felt immense pressure. The ball had considerably reduced in size now and, with the protection of his powerful scales, he didn¡¯t feel much pain. However, the collision placed an enormous tension on his bones and muscles.

    ¡°Almost¡­ there!¡± Blaze whispered, as he fought against the pain and faced the powerful attack directly.

    Everyone looked on in shock. They had never seen Blaze use his dragon form before but being able to take on that lightning ball directly, showed just how powerful it was.

    By this time, Sylvia recovered. She was about to summon a healing pixie and send it to Blaze for support when another loud explosion occurred.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    The ball of lightning exploded and released a wave of mana that pushed everyone back. A large dust cloud rose into the air. Drake coughed a couple of times as the dust entered his lungs. A few seconds later, the dust cleared, revealing Blaze holding the hilt of his huge sword buried in the ground, with his other arm transformed into the massive arm of a dragon.

    Seeing him, the dark mage licked his lips with an evil smile.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad. As expected of someone from the dragon race,¡± he said sarcastically.

    ¡°Humph!¡± Blaze snorted and charged at him.

    The remaining vultures reacted and rushed at Blaze.

    ¡°Dragon claw!¡± Blaze yelled and slashed his dragon arm across the air. Three, large, claw-shaped streaks of fire shot out towards the oncoming vultures. Some of them dodged, but almost ten vulture spirits were immediately killed.

    The dark mage smiled and consumed a pill. His aura rose as his mana recovered back to its peak. With a smile, he raised his arms again and another huge amount of mana gathered.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Blaze cried. Everyone else finally reacted.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    ¡°Crushing maelstrom!¡±

    ¡°Chain Lightning!¡±

    ¡°Wind blade!¡±

    Everyone attacked the vultures, trying to reach the dark mage as quickly as possible. However, the dark mage was faster.

    Black orbs of mana floated out of his palm one after another, until over fifty of them rose into the air! They each condensed into a rank two vulture spirit and glared menacingly at their party.

    ¡°Go!¡± the dark mage ordered, and the vultures charged at their party, creating a new poison cloud.

    He watched them struggle while slightly panting for breath.

    Even though he had consumed a mana recovery pill, summoning so many rank two spirits wasn¡¯t easy, even for a grand mage like him, and controlling them along with the lightning beetles was a lot.

    ¡®These brats are more troublesome than I thought, but¡­ I don¡¯t want to use that yet¡­¡¯ thinking so, he reached into his pockets, took out another few pills and consumed them. After a few moments, his mana, body, and mind recovered, and he opened his eyes calmly.

    He looked at the party slowly clearing off the poison cloud and killing off some vultures, and then at the lightning beetles which were still waiting by his side for his command and smiled. He focused back on their party and willed the lightning beetles to make their move again.

    ¡°Storm¡¯s spear!¡±

    Lighting mana gathered at the tip of beetles¡¯ horns and then extended outwards several feet like a rod. The outer end of the lightning rod gathered even more mana and transformed into a sharp arrowhead. All the beetles acted at the same time and after a few seconds, three spears of lightning floated above their heads.

    ¡°Go!¡± he ordered, and the spears shot out.

    Everyone had been keeping an eye on the mage but were helpless to stop him as they were being constantly attacked by the vultures. The spears travelled extremely fast, aimed at Sylvia, Drake, and Farisa. Sylvia and Drake jumped back just in time as the spears crashed into the ground explosively and formed large craters.

    However, Farisa was surrounded by many vulture spirits which prevented her from moving.

    ¡°Tst,¡± she cursed and dug the end of her hammer into the ground again.

    ¡°Impenetrable wall!¡± a translucent veil of mana extended out of the hammer and blocked the arrow¡¯s path. This spear was much weaker than the lightning ball from earlier but it was still an attack by a rank three spirit. The wall was able to block it but the spear didn¡¯t dissipate so easily.

    Several vultures seized the opportunity. They swooped down with joy, ready to tear her into pieces.

 Chapter 74: Despair

    Several vultures swooped down with joy, ready to tear Farisa into pieces.

    ¡°Ah!¡± she cried as vultures bit her from the back and spat out corrosive venom which began melting her skin. She grit her teeth and held on, focusing on the wall.

    Boom!

    A few seconds later, the lightning spear exploded and the nearby vultures retreated, not wanting to be caught up in the explosion. Farisa undid her wall and gasped for breath. Her back was torn open by numerous claw and beak strikes, along with their corrosive venom.

    Drake wanted to help but was helplessly surrounded by over a dozen vulture spirits. Moreover, he glanced at the dark mage and realised he was nowhere near done. Another three storm spears had almost finished condensing and would be upon them in a second.

    ¡°Go!¡± the dark mage ordered. The spears shot out ferociously again.

    Seeing this, Sylvia contemplated using her Dryad¡¯s avatar but was hesitant. After she used it, she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight for a while, and Blaze may be in the same position too once his dragon form wore off. In that case, if the dark mage was still undefeated, then Drake, Farisa, and Helen would be left to face off against him alone. Or even otherwise, they¡¯d have to fight against the demon hordes in their exhausted states while protecting Blaze and Sylvia till they recovered.

    ¡®It¡¯s too risky,¡¯ she concluded, as a lightning spear approached her at an unbelievable speed.

    Wind walk!

    Sylvia jumped back to avoid the lightning spear and yelled, ¡°We need to retreat!¡±.

    Everyone heard her as they barely dodged the second volley.

    ¡®She¡¯s right,¡¯ thought Farisa, as she ate some pills to recover. ¡®This dark mage is probably even stronger than him.¡¯

    The dark mage began preparing another round of lightning arrows.

    ¡°AAAAHHHH!¡± screamed Blaze, ignoring Sylvia and breaking out of the encirclement of over twenty vultures.

    ¡°Dragon step!¡± Blaze became a fiery mist as he dashed towards the dark mage.

    The three lightning beetles moved in front of the mage and shot their storm spears at him.

    Blaze brought his dragon arm forward defensively and the three lightning spears crashed into him creating a huge explosion.

    ¡°BLAZE!¡± Drake, Sylvia, and Helen screamed simultaneously.

    However, they didn¡¯t need to worry.

    The next second, Blaze jumped out of the dust cloud and appeared over the lightning beetle previously injured by Sylvia. His figure blocked the light of the blood moon and cast a large shadow over the beetle.

    ¡°Dragon claw!¡± he cried, swiping his arm across the air, and releasing a fiery claw strike.

    The beetle reacted instinctively and summoned another spear very quickly. The two other beetles also joined and quickly shot another three lightning spears towards the claw strike just as it was closing in.

    They made contact midair, creating another loud explosion and generating huge mana waves. However, the claw strike was even more powerful and broke through.

    BOOM!

    Blaze landed on the ground as the claw crashed heavily against the beetle¡¯s shell, digging in deeply. The beetle cried in pain as its shell cracked everywhere and the fire assaulted its insides.

    ¡®Impossible!¡¯ the dark mage thought in his head.

    Despite having a powerful offense, the lightning beetles boasted powerful defence too through their tough shells. Only rank three artifacts would be able to damage them, barely.

    ¡®Just how strong is that dragon arm!?¡¯

    ¡°AaaahhhhhH!¡± Blaze screamed as he charged at the injured lightning beetle again.

    Some vultures attempted to fly towards Blaze and stop him, however, the rest of the party launched a barrage of attacks on them, stopping them in their tracks.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± Blazed yelled as he jumped high into the air and swung his sword. A powerful blade of fire shot towards the injured beetle. The other two beetles once again gathered their strength and shot two lightning spears at the fire blade. They collided midair once more, but the fire blade was not as powerful so it could not break through.

    The spears and the fire blade exploded spectacularly in the air. Blaze shot down from the resulting dust cloud, his dragon arm outstretched towards the lightning beetle.

    ¡°This is it!¡± he yelled; it was too late for them to react now.

    Or so he thought.

    The dark mage smiled.

    Sensing his will, the beetle raised its horn and a large amount of lightning mana gathered. The other two beetles retreated as if not wanting to get caught in what was going to happen.

    Blaze saw the lightning beetle rapidly become bigger in his view. He could feel the intense lightning mana gathering in its horn and had a bad feeling. However, it was too late for him to stop as well.

    ¡°Fractal strike!¡± yelled the dark mage.

    Immediately, the lightning mana exploded and an enormous amount of lightning struck the surroundings. Similarly to Drake¡¯s chain lightning, each bolt of lightning split into many. But while his chain lightning formed a couple more lighting streaks, the beetle¡¯s lightning bolts fragmented into hundreds.

    A flurry of lightning struck the ground and air in a wild dance. Their light blasted the entire area which was previously only lit by the dim blood moon.

    Blaze saw hundreds of lightning bolts strike the air before him and clenched his fist.

    ¡°This is not going to stop me¡­¡± he muttered to himself and opened his eyes with a renewed vigour.

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    Blaze released a battle cry as he fearlessly charged into the cloud of lightning.

    ¡°NOOOO!¡± everyone yelled as they watched Blaze be assaulted by an uncountable number of lightning bolts. They wanted to rush to his aid but were still held up by the vulture spirits.

    Blaze activated dragon step and used all his mana to increase his speed to the maximum, trying to dodge his way through the lightning bolts and blocking what he could with his dragon arm.

    However, there were too many of them.

    ¡°AHHHH!¡± he screamed as his body was bombarded by the extremely powerful lightning. However, each time his body was hit, his eyes burned even more fiercely.

    ¡®I¡¯ll show you¡­ the true power, of the dragons!¡¯ Blaze screamed in his heart. Even though his body was being battered by lightning, his cry of pain transformed into the roar of a dragon. Blaze cut through the bolts of lightning and arrived on top of the lightning beetle.

    ¡°Dragon fist!¡± he mumbled and punched the beetle with his dragon arm using all his might. The already cracked beetle shell could not bear the pressure and shattered completely, revealing the beetle¡¯s vulnerable back.

    Blaze pulled his arm back and smiled wickedly.

    ¡°Takeeee THISSS!¡± he yelled as he punched its back heavily once again.

    The beetle screeched in pain, its cries echoing across the entire battlefield. All of its legs broke under the pressure and it collapsed onto the ground.

    But Blaze was still not finished.

    ¡°AHHHHHH!!!!¡± he screamed, twisting his fist and exerting even more pressure.

    As everyone watched, Blaze¡¯s dragon arm punched through the large beetle, creating a huge hole in its back.

    BOOM!

    The beetle exploded into a million pieces and Blaze crashed onto the ground. His dragon arm reverted to normal. He almost collapsed but held onto his sword for support and managed to stay on his knees. His armour had been charred and torn beyond recognition and his back was bleeding all over. It was a miracle that he was still conscious.

    ¡°Un..believable!¡± the dark mage gasped in shock and stepped back. He didn¡¯t think that they would actually succeed in defeating one of his rank three spirits.

    By this time, everyone else had defeated most of the remaining vulture spirits.

    ¡°BLAZEEE!¡± screamed Drake as he cut through the vulture spirit next to him, finally freeing himself of his encirclement. ¡°Shadow steps!¡±

    Drake transformed into a shadow and appeared next to Blaze. Drake immediately fed him some of the most potent healing pills he had, but Blaze would still need time to recover his strength.

    ¡°Not bad!¡± the dark mage laughed sarcastically, recovering from his surprise. ¡°The dragon race really does live up to their reputation!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Drake stared at the dark mage but the remaining two lightning beetles immediately stepped in front to protect him. He still would have attacked, but he didn¡¯t want Blaze to get caught in the crossfire.

    ¡°Ha!¡± the dark mage laughed. ¡°You and your party may be very powerful, however, one of your strongest members is now defeated. In that case¡­¡± the dark mage smirked and continued, ¡°How will you stop this?¡±

    With that final word, he raised his hand a huge amount of purple mana gathered once again.

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯ Drake¡¯s face paled.

    ¡°Stop him! I¡¯ll take care of Blaze¡± he heard a girl¡¯s voice next to him and realised that Sylvia had appeared as well.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Drake replied and charged.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    Dozens of large fireballs appeared behind his back and charged at the beetles. Just as they got close, the beetles activated fractal strike again. Lighting struck the surroundings from their horns. Before the fireballs could even get close, they were shredded by the lightning.

    Drake froze. He knew how strong his chain lightning was, and yet he could feel that the power contained within each of those lightning bolts was many times stronger.

    ¡®Just how the hell did Blaze survive that?¡¯ Drake thought as he watched the dark mage helplessly.

    ¡°Lightning¡­ beetle!¡± lightning struck against the dark red sky as the dark mage¡¯s mana condensed into a blue ball of light. Lightning struck again and the orb of mana condensed into another, bus-sized lightning beetle before the dark mage. The beetle slowly walked and stood in between the others.

    ¡°This...¡± Helen and everyone else¡¯s face paled. After everything they had to do to defeat one of those things, the dark mage summoned another!? How could he summon rank three spirits so easily?

    By this point, they were sure of one thing - this dark mage was in the grand mage realm.

    They didn¡¯t know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation. There was no way for any warrior mage to be able to summon rank three spirits so easily.

    The dark mage smiled wickedly.

    ¡°Arc blast!¡±

    The beetles lifted their horn and a large amount of lightning mana gathered at their tips.

    ¡®This... is the same attack as before!¡¯ everyone gasped.

    ¡°Everyone, RUN!¡± Sylvia screamed as she had her wind elemental imps carry Blaze and retreat.

    No one ignored her this time.

    Drake also turned and ran back instantly. However, the attack came much faster now.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Drake slightly tilted his head to spot three balls of lightning shooting out of their horns.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake activated his martial technique and barely changed direction in time as the ball of lightning crashed explosively onto the ground where he was just standing. Just as Drake sighed in relief, alarm bells rang through his head again.

    ¡°WATCH OUT!¡± Sylvia yelled, catching up with Farisa and Helen.

    However, Drake had been very close to the dark mage already, and was also the last to start retreating.

    ¡°Water barrier! Light barrier!¡± Drake activated his robe artifact, instinctively realising he didn¡¯t have time to dodge. Two barriers materialised around him and the first shattered just as soon as it appeared, causing Drake to suffer a backlash.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ Drake thought. Ignoring the pain, he looked at the lightning beetles and his eyes widened.

    Before, since the vultures were keeping their party occupied, the beetles combined their lightning mana to create the huge ball of lightning ¨C hence it took them a long time to form the attack. Now they were just shooting out lightning balls one after another, even faster than the speed with which they had shot out the spears.

    ¡°Hahahaha! None of you can escape!¡± the dark mage laughed as another two lightning balls shot towards Drake while even more flew towards the others.

    Drake cursed and forced his body to move. He poured mana into his boots and activated his martial technique.

    ¡°Shadow steps!¡±

    He moved as fast as he could, while keeping an eye on the attacks coming from behind.

    However, the dark mage was still not done. While the group were dealing with the lightning beetles'' attacks, he had summoned another fifteen vulture spirits.

    He could summon more if he took some pills but, despite being at the peak of the grand mage realm, summoning so many rank two and three spirits had already exhausted him too much.

    His power was restricted in this inheritance grounds, to begin with. While he could use the vast amount of mana in his inner realm, and the powerful spirit summons he knew, however, his spirits, especially the rank three ones, cost him a lot more mana than usual to summon, and more mental strength to maintain. Hence, he wanted to preserve his strength and pills for the rest of the inheritance too.

    ¡°Go!¡± he ordered.

    Drake caught up with the others and turned back. Everyone watched in fear as over a dozen rank two vulture spirits flew towards them gleefully, behind a barrage of lightning balls.

    ¡°Earth wall!¡±

    ¡°Light barrier! Water barrier!¡±

    ¡°Impenetrable wall!¡±

    Everyone activated their defensive techniques again, but they were all very exhausted.

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

    The numerous balls of lightning crashed against their defences, eventually shattering all of them. They all suffered a backlash and stepped back, coughing blood. However, they had no time to recover as the over a dozen vulture spirits immediately surrounded and attacked them.

    The dark mage calmly walked towards their party, with one lightning beetle in front, and the other two on his sides. They continued attacking with arc blasts, shooting out numerous lightning balls. However, the beetles were more careful now so they wouldn''t accidentally kill the vulture spirits. Despite this, in their exhausted states, the group was barely holding on.

    In less than a minute, the dark mage came close and ordered the lightning beetles to focus their attacks on Drake, Sylvia and Farisa. The three felt the pressure on them increase even further, while Helen felt slightly relieved.

    However, that was short lived.

    The dark mage suddenly disappeared and Helen felt a cold voice whisper in her ear.

    ¡°Wind blast!¡± the dark mage spoke softly, appearing to her right. Helen¡¯s face paled as she spotted a hooded man in her peripheral vision.

    Boom!

    The dark mage hit Helen at point-blank range with a rank two wind artifact. Helen flew across the air and landed heavily. Her body rolled over the rough ground before crashing against the foot of one of the lightning beetles.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± everyone screamed, but they were helpless.

    The dark mage disappeared again and reappeared next to Helen¡¯s limp body. He grabbed her roughly by the neck and lifted her up, before turning to the others. He willed the vultures to stop attacking and they formed a defensive line just in front of the trio.

    ¡°She¡¯s coming with me,¡± the dark mage said casually.

 Chapter 75: Silver Crane Sect

    ¡°She¡¯s coming with me,¡± the dark mage said casually.

    ¡°Bastard, let her go!¡± Sylvia cried. She regretted not activating her dryad¡¯s avatar before, but it was too late as she didn¡¯t have enough mana now.

    ¡°Ha!¡± the dark mage chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re in no position to be making demands.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Drake yelled, but the dark mage ignored him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once I take the inheritance here and we leave, I¡¯ll release her back into the outside world. Whether that¡¯s dead or alive¡­ depends on you!¡± he said with a wicked smile.

    Drake and Sylvia clenched their fists, but they were helpless. A line of ten vulture spirits and three rank three lightning beetle spirits blocked their way. They were all so exhausted and had to protect the unconscious Blaze. They couldn¡¯t continue fighting him anymore.

    ¡°You¡­ bastard!¡± Drake cried. He had never felt this weak and powerless before.

    The dark mage smiled. ¡°Humph. Since you all understand your situation, I will leave now. I¡¯ll see you all at the main inheritance!¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± The dark mage laughed as he started walking off into the distance. The lightning beetles followed closely. Soon, the vulture spirits also turned back and flew into the distance.

    Drake felt an immense sense of gloom. He glared at the dark mage¡¯s back as he left.

    ¡®I am still¡­ too weak¡­¡¯

    For a moment, no one spoke.

    Blaze was still unconscious and Farisa was busy healing her wounds as she had suffered the most after Blaze.

    Sylvia and Drake continued staring at the dark mage. After forming their party, they had never suffered such a defeat before. Even when Theo had ambushed them, they had managed to save Helen. Beyond that, they didn¡¯t feel completely helpless against Theo. If they hadn¡¯t exhausted themselves against the pseudo-commander class arachne before, they might have even beaten him.

    But now, it was different. Even if they were at full strength, they weren¡¯t sure they could beat this dark mage.

    ¡®And if he joins with Theo and the other dark mages¡­?¡¯ Drake thought. He clenched his fist, ¡®We cannot let that happen.¡¯

    As they were lost in thought, Farisa took some high ranked healing pills given to her from her sect and managed to recover from most of her injuries. With a sigh, she finally broke the silence.

    ¡°You two!¡± she spoke loudly.

    Drake and Sylvia were brought back from their thoughts and turned to face her.

    ¡°I know it must be painful to lose your party member. However, all hope is not yet lost. The dark mage, like everyone else, must be moving towards the black structure, so, we will most likely meet him again. At that time, we might get an opportunity to rescue your friend.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± cried Sylvia. ¡°If we couldn¡¯t beat him before with all of us working together, how could we beat him now when Helen is not even here?¡±

    Farisa smiled. ¡°Did you forget? The rest of my sect¡¯s disciples are still scattered throughout this inheritance grounds. Although that dark mage is powerful, if we all work together, then even he won¡¯t be able to beat us.¡±

    But Drake shook his head. ¡°Maybe, but there are other dark mages here too. Although they may not be as strong as the one we just fought, some of them are no pushovers. Especially him¡­¡± his voice trailed off, as he recollected the image of Theo.

    Farisa was taken aback. She didn¡¯t know there were even more dark mages here, but now that she thought about it, it made sense. After a moment, she responded.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not forget that we still have the Silver Crane Sect, and the Blackthorne and Ironheart families too. All of their disciples must also be very strong, not to mention the rest of the lone cultivators. If we can meet up with the others and rally them all against the dark mages, there is no way they will be able to escape.¡±

    Drake calmed down and sighed.

    Normally that might be the case, but the dark mage had captured Helen. And his words continued to ring in his ears, ¡®I¡¯ll release her back into the outside world. Whether that¡¯s dead or alive¡­ depends on you¡­¡¯

    Wasn¡¯t that basically blackmail?

    Drake shook his head. ¡°For as long as Helen is in his custody, he can use her against us and we won¡¯t be able to go against him so easily,¡± he explained.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true¡­¡± replied Farisa, furrowing her brows.

    Drake looked at Sylvia and spoke. ¡°There is only one option.¡±

    Sylvia looked at him confused, along with Farisa, but Drake smirked in response.

    ¡°We need to go on the offensive.¡±

    ¡°But we are no match for him!¡± Sylvia complained.

    ¡°No, not against him, but Theo on the other hand¡­¡± Drake¡¯s voice trailed off.

    Sylvia stared at Drake, not breaking eye contact. After a few seconds, her eyes twinkled.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± she spoke softly. ¡°That might be our only option.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± asked Farisa, confused.

    Drake smiled. ¡°Since they took one of us, we¡¯ll take one of them,¡± he explained simply.

    Exchanging hostages would be the only guaranteed way to rescue Helen and have a chance at securing the inheritance. Otherwise, even if Drake obtained the final inheritance, the dark mage could demand him to hand over the inheritance in exchange for Helen.

    What a joke!

    Drake couldn¡¯t do that. And moreover, he had no way to ensure that the dark mage would hold up his end up the bargain and release Helen safely even if they were to cooperate with him. So this was the only option.

    Theo, given his strength, must be someone important for the dark mages. Hence, Drake wanted to find and capture him, then force the dark grand mage to exchange him for Helen.

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    Sylvia was silent for a moment, before exhaling deeply as well. She looked at Blaze lying on the ground and then remembered Helen again. A painful and burning feeling rose in her chest, but she used all her willpower to suppress it and sighed.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s do that.¡±

    Everyone agreed.

    At the same time, a group of young men were standing together in another village ruin. One of them stood out amongst the group. He was wearing black and white leather armour with a sword strapped on either side of his waist and was emitting peak, steel body, and late-stage warrior mage cultivation aura.

    He was Corvus Fang, the number one ranked disciple of the Myriad Sword Palace.

    Everyone else was standing around him, watching him with respect and mild fear in their eyes.

    One of them was closer to Corvus than the rest. He was dressed in white robes which carried the same insignia that was also stitched into Corvus¡¯ outfit, indicating that they belonged to the same sect. He was Alistair Lockwood, ranked fifth among the Myriad Sword Palace disciples, and he emitted an early-stage steel body cultivation aura.

    Out of the other three, two were also steel body martial artists, and one was a warrior mage. They were lone cultivators who were initially working together, before meeting Corvus and Alistair. Seeing their strength, they all decided to team up and came to this inheritance.

    At this moment, a black vortex appeared in front of them and they all watched it intently. Several artifacts radiating a rank two aura were slowly rising from the vortex.

    Corvus watched the artifacts rise, his eyes carrying a glint.

    At the same time, another group were fighting through a demon horde, trying to make their way towards a different village ruin which was very close to them.

    One of them was a young man with emerald hair and blue eyes. He was carrying a rank three sword artifact that he used to slice through the demons like butter, with a fiery determination burning in his eyes.

    Next to him were a young man and woman, who also fought fiercely. The three were unstoppable as they carved a path straight through the large demon horde, heading towards the village ruin.

    Meanwhile, in another location not too far from where the dark grand mage had fought Drake¡¯s party, a red-haired young man was running across the plains with three dark, hooded figures by his side. He was carrying a sword in one hand while wrapping chains around his other which were glowing dark red.

    The light of the blood moon highlighted their dark aura as the group sprinted across the plains, into the distance.

    At the same time, four Silver Crane Sect disciples were also running in a different direction. However, they were carrying more injuries than Theo and the dark mages. Soon, they crossed paths with a pair of cultivators. They seemed excited to meet and continued forward as a group six.

    On the other side, Cyrus Blackthorne had reunited with his family and they were all travelling together as a group of six as well.

    The other families and lone cultivators were also travelling through the inheritance grounds. They were all clearing various village ruins while slowly inching closer and closer towards the black structure.

    From above, one could see that the cultivators scattered all around the black structure, which was at the end of the plains. An endless number of demons swarmed the plains, forcing the cultivators to always be on edge.

    Most were in small groups of three to six. Almost no one travelled alone, as trying to resist the relentless onslaught of demons alone would be the same as suicide for most people. And even then, only warrior mages and steel body martial artists could hope to survive the demon hordes. Most tempered body martial artists and true mages who had entered the inheritance grounds had already become food for the demons.

    Three hours later.

    Drake¡¯s party were on the move.

    Sylvia had sent her pixies out to look for Theo. Firstly, Drake pointed out to her where he and Blaze had met Theo initially and which direction he had fled in. Using Sylvia¡¯s map, they also knew the distribution of village ruins in their area. Combining those two pieces of information, they made a few educated guesses on which paths Theo was most likely to have taken, and then sent the pixie spirits out to scout those directions.

    However, it would still take some time to find him. Hence, they decided to steel their hearts and continue towards the next inheritance without Helen. If they were lucky, they might meet other disciples from the Myriad Sword Palace and be able to use their help to fight against the dark mages too.

    Blaze had woken up a while ago and everyone filled him in on the events after he became unconscious. Learning that Helen had been kidnapped made him furious. He wanted to chase after the dark grand mage immediately but was stopped by the others.

    After a long time, they finally convinced Blaze that their plan to rescue Helen was the best option they had, even though it might take some time. Eventually, Blaze gave in and agreed, and the group started running towards the next inheritance.

    They had just finished fighting off a horde of demons and were getting close to another village ruin on Sylvia¡¯s map.

    An indistinct blur appeared on the horizon, which soon expanded wide. As they got closer, the blur quickly transformed into a large fence, behind which were numerous buildings cracked and worn by time.

    With their speed, they quickly reached the village gates and entered.

    ¡®Aaahhh...¡¯

    Everyone sighed with relief as warm air relieved them of the bitter, outside cold.

    The party had travelled and fought for a long time and wanted to rest, however, they felt several powerful auras near the centre of the village and became wary. They shared a glance before swiftly running towards the centre.

    The centre of the village had a large, stone building. Standing just outside of it were six, large, lean and muscular men radiating powerful auras. All of their attention was focused in a particular direction which they were observing warily.

    Soon, four shadows rapidly approached them before coming to a stop a few metres away. Once they stopped moving, the shadows revealed themselves to be Drake, Blaze, Sylvia, and Farisa, and each of them was radiating their own powerful aura.

    The two groups silently stared at each other, building a tense atmosphere.

    One of the six men in particular was much taller and bigger than the rest, almost at Blaze¡¯s size. He observed each member of Drake¡¯s party keenly. His eyes first fell upon Blaze. The man scanned his red hair, and, upon noticing the black, spiral horns in his head, his jaw slightly dropped open. His eyes then moved to Farisa and he saw the insignia of the Myriad Sword Palace stitched onto her robe, underneath her neck.

    For a moment, his eyes became distant as if he was trying to remember something. A vague image of six individuals appeared in his mind, one of whom was very similar to Farisa. Recognising who she was, the man was slightly taken aback. He then turned his attention to Sylvia. Noticing her pure green eyes and hair, as well as her bow artifact which gave off a powerful aura, his jaw dropped further.

    Finally, his attention fell onto the short and young, Drake. He didn¡¯t recognise Drake or sense a particularly powerful aura from him, however, he soon noticed that almost every part of Drake¡¯s attire was an artifact and his jaw dropped further.

    The man sighed and stepped forward. Everyone¡¯s attention turned towards him.

    ¡°Welcome everyone. You must be the famous party of a dragon and dryad from Basindale that we heard of?¡± he said questioningly looking towards Blaze, Sylvia, and Drake.

    They nodded slowly and the man continued, looking at Farisa. ¡°And you must be Farisa Heartwood from the Myriad Sword Palace, correct?¡±

    Farisa also nodded. ¡°Yes¡­ and you all must be Silver Crane Sect disciples, right?¡± she asked, eyeing them one by one.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± the man replied. ¡°I am Kurt Falon, and I¡¯m currently leading our party. We just arrived at this village a little while before you did.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Blaze interrupted. ¡°In that case, this building must have this village¡¯s inheritance right?¡±

    The Silver Crane Sect members shared a glance and had unsightly expressions.

    After coming to this inheritance grounds, they hadn¡¯t been very lucky. They only managed to get two inheritances which only had rank one artifacts. When they found an inheritance with rank two artifacts, it was taken by some random, yet extremely powerful, dark mages. Now that they had arrived at this village, they thought they could at least get this inheritance for themselves, but it seemed like that would not be possible.

    For a moment, they all looked at Drake¡¯s party and had the same thought.

    ¡®There are six of us and only four of them¡­¡¯

    Tension filled the air once more. Blaze clenched his sword while Farisa and Sylvia tightened their grip around their hammer and bow.

    ¡°Aha!¡± Kurt laughed awkwardly, trying to diffuse the situation. ¡°How about this? All of us will enter and try to unlock the inheritance first. After we see what it is, we can discuss the best way to¡­ proceed.¡±

    Drake¡¯s party looked at each other. Since Kurt was their leader, the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples would obey his decision, so it was just up to them.

    Drake thought it made sense to work together to unlock the inheritance first. Once they saw what it was, they could decide whether it was worth it to fight over, or if they could share it instead.

    Moreover, all of them still wanted to find other strong cultivators to team up with to fight against the dark mages. Hence, fighting them now would not be ideal.

    After a few moments, they came to a silent understanding.

    Blaze spoke up for everyone. ¡°Alright, we agree.¡±

 Chapter 76: Fear

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Kurt smiled and turned towards the stone building again.

    Drake¡¯s party slowly walked forward,

    Two rectangular gates made of metal bars marked the entrance to the stone building. Kurt walked forward and pushed. The gates opened with loud echoes spreading across the village. Once it opened, however, the group was greeted by darkness.

    Drake¡¯s eyes scanned the opening and stopped at a stone slab on the floor, leading into the darkness below.

    ¡®It goes underground?¡¯ he wondered, thinking about the first village ruin he had come across in this inheritance grounds.

    Everyone took a deep breath and started walking down.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the group to reach the end of the staircase. The bottom was an unbelievably large room, lit up by numerous torches placed all over the walls and ceilings, casting a dim white light, in contrast to the red from the blood moon above ground.

    However, the room was not empty. Most of their view was blocked by a large wall that stretched horizontally to the ends of the rooms, and vertically, almost reaching the ceiling.

    Interestingly, the walls were made entirely out of crystal-clear mirrors. Drake saw his reflection after a long time. Despite his short height, his body had a toned physique, covered from neck to toe by the rank three robe artifact he had bought from the merchant¡¯s guild. Combined with his other artifacts, Drake thought he looked quite cool.

    As Drake looked into the mirror, he felt drawn by his own reflection which seemed to gaze back at his soul.

    Suddenly, the reflection broke into a smile.

    What the hell? Drake thought, snapping out of his trance. When he looked again, his reflection appeared normal.

    ¡®Did I imagine it?¡¯ he wondered. He wasn¡¯t sure.

    Looking around, the group shared an uneasy glance with each other, readied their weapons, and turned back. There was only a single opening at the front, enough for a few people to fit through.

    The group slowly walked through the opening and Drake followed, ignoring the nervousness building up in his stomach.

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples entered first, followed by Blaze and Farisa. Once they left, Drake and Sylvia who were at the end of the line also entered the path of mirrors.

    Drake carefully watched his reflection but didn¡¯t spot anything odd. The path soon came to an end and branched off in two directions to the left and right. The Silver Crane Sect disciples took the left, so Drake¡¯s party decided to go right.

    Soon, however, that path arrived at a fork, giving them the option to turn left or continue heading forward. The party came to a silent agreement and split up, with Blaze and Farisa going forward and Drake and Syliva turning left.

    As they walked deeper into the mirror maze, Drake felt himself being drawn by the reflections again. He saw dozens of reflections in the extensive mirrors and, as he focused, he could swear that some of them were forming strange facial expressions.

    ¡°Are you seeing this?¡± asked Drake to Sylvia who was walking slightly behind him, to his right.

    ¡°Yes¡­ there seems to be something unusual about these mirrors¡­¡± she agreed, furrowing her brows as one of her reflections appeared to quickly smile at her before reverting back.

    The two warily made their way through the maze. They tried to keep track of the direction they were going in, but soon became completely lost. Not only were there so many twists and turns, but the addition of the infinite number of reflections and its mysterious effects, made them even more confused.

    Around half an hour later, a strange voice softly whispered something incomprehensible.

    Ajswachjwaschasj

    ¡®Huh?¡¯ Drake thought, stopping and looking at a particular reflection. All the reflections stopped and stared back. Drake focused on the one closest to him, which stared at him blankly.

    Drake moved his arms and the reflection copied him, but its expression was completely blank. Just as Drake was about to give up and continue walking, the reflection¡¯s lips moved and he heard the strange whisper again.

    Hschwasjcujuquaschajhiii

    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Drake snapped and jumped back.

    The reflection slowly curled its lips into a smile.

    ¡°Sylvia! Are you seeing this?¡± Drake exclaimed

    But there was no response.

    ¡°Sylvia?¡± Drake asked once more.

    Again, no response.

    Drake broke eye contact with his reflection and turned around. Standing to his right was Sylvia, but she was staring unblinkingly at her own reflection, completely mesmerised.

    ¡°Sylvia?¡± Drake asked softly, worried now.

    He started slowly walking towards her. However, she didn¡¯t seem to even register his voice or movements. When Drake came close, he tried to gently touch her shoulder.

    However, his hand passed right through her!

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ Drake jumped back again, freaked out.

    Like disturbing a reflection on still water, when Drake¡¯s hand passed through Sylvia, her whole figure began distorting. Not just her, but the entire room, with all the mirrors and the walls starting to warp.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who''s there!?¡± Drake exclaimed, drawing and holding his sword with both hands.

    As he observed, his surroundings distorted and began disappearing like a mirage. Drake tried to use acute sense to better observe his surroundings, but it didn¡¯t change anything.

    Within a few seconds, all the walls, mirrors, and everything, along with Syliva, disappeared, leaving just a dark room, dimly lit by a mysterious light.

    ¡°It¡¯s just me,¡± came a voice from behind.

    Drake pivoted and turned around in a split second, ready to strike down whoever was responsible. However, seeing the person made him freeze in place.

    Standing in front, was a young man, who looked identical to him. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say it was a clone of him, or maybe¡­

    ¡®Is it my reflection?¡¯ Drake thought. ¡®But how is that possible?¡¯

    The figure stepped forward and its expressionless face was highlighted by the dim lighting. It reminded Drake of the reflection that he had seen earlier.

    ¡®It must be that reflection then¡­ no?¡¯ he wondered again. Drake gripped his sword tightly, ready to attack the moment the clone, reflection, or whatever it was, made a wrong move.

    The figure opened its mouth and the same whispering voice spoke out. However, the voice didn¡¯t come from its body, but rather, from everywhere around him and directly echoed in his ears.

    ¡°You think too much for someone so weak,¡± the voice whispered.

    Even though his reflection was still several metres away, the voice seemed to speak directly into his ears.

    ¡°What?¡± Drake asked, confused.

    ¡°You are weak, don¡¯t you know that?¡± the voice whispered condescendingly. ¡°You are too weak to do anything¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Drake snapped. ¡°Even if I¡¯m weak, I¡¯m strong enough to do this.¡±

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡± he exclaimed, pouring mana into his glove artifact.

    Over a dozen scorching hot fireballs appeared behind him and shot towards the figure. To his surprise, the figure made no move to block or dodge his attack.

    The first fireball was inches from his face now, and it continued shooting forward¡­ and passed directly through him!

    The explosion Drake expected never came. Instead, the figure continued walking forward calmly as every one of his fireballs passed through it.

    Drake was speechless. ¡®What the hell is that thing? Is it a demon? Or a dark mage? Or something else? Some kind of a monster?¡¯

    He had no idea, but the figure just continued walking closer. Drake steeled his resolve and decided to attack it directly.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake activated his martial technique and moved like a shadow. In an instant, he appeared above the figure and brought his sword down on its head.

    The figure looked up at Drake and raised its hand.

    Clang!

    This time, his sword did not pass through the figure. Instead, it caught his sword casually with its hand and a metallic echo spread out into the surroundings.

    Once again, Drake was in disbelief seeing the figure be unaffected by his attack, so he decided to take it up a notch. He poured his mana into the sword and the fire and lightning runes activated.

    The sword became encased in brilliant flames, and vicious lightning coiled around it.

    However, the figure continued holding onto the sword like it was nothing.

    Drake pressed on the sword with all the strength that his steel body cultivation could muster, but it was completely useless in front of the figure.

    ¡°You cannot beat me,¡± the voice whispered again in his ears.

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Drake retorted, but he was internally panicking. He had no idea how to get out of this situation!

    ¡°You cannot beat me,¡± the voice continued again, ignoring Drake¡¯s remarks. ¡°For I am you.¡±

    ¡®What?¡¯ Drake thought, confused again.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°I am you,¡± the voice whispered again. ¡°I am everything that you fear.¡±

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense!¡± Drake exclaimed. He stopped pouring mana into his sword now and tried to retreat. However, the figure held onto his sword firmly, preventing him from moving. Drake decided to let his sword go and jumped back, rolling on the ground and getting back on his feet.

    The figure casually chucked the sword away and stared at Drake.

    ¡°You really are too weak,¡± the voice whispered with a sigh. ¡°Just like you were too weak to protect your father¡­¡±

    The moment it said the word ¡®father¡¯, the surroundings instantly changed. Drake was back in the dungeon in Jain village and could see Holt lying on the floor in front of him, in a pool of his own blood. All the emotions he had felt at that moment, came back to him tenfold.

    ¡°Fatherrrr!¡± Drake cried loudly, but the voice continued whispering.

    ¡°Too weak to protect your village¡­¡±

    The surroundings changed once again and Drake was floating in the air as Damon¡¯s army of demons rummaged through his village, setting everything on fire, and eating everyone alive. Even though Drake had been mostly unconscious during the actual raid on his village, he was now seeing everything clearly.

    ¡°Too weak to protect your friends¡­¡±

    Once again, the surroundings warped and became replaced by an underground mine. Theo had just thrown Helen into the air and she was getting pierced through by Sylvia¡¯s arrow.

    All the emotions Drake had been trying to suppress came back.

    ¡°No! Helennnn!¡± he screamed and tried to run towards her, reaching out with his hands. The moment he raised his hand, his surroundings cracked like a mirror, and the vision broke apart, being replaced by the same darkness as before.

    ¡°Do you understand how weak you are now?¡± the voice whispered softly.

    Drake became quiet. The visions had triggered too many emotions, causing them to rage within him. His mind was a mess, and he could barely think anymore.

    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you a chance to become strong,¡± the voice chuckled.

    As before, the surroundings changed.

    Drake was now standing in the inheritance grounds again. In front of him was Theo, weak and on his knees, and Drake had his sword pointed at his neck.

    ¡°If you want to be strong, you know what to do¡­¡± the whispering voice trailed off.

    Drake looked at Theo kneeling weakly. He just had to move his arm a few inches, and he¡¯d be dead. Drake had the power ¨C he could do it if he wanted to.

    But¡­ I can¡¯t¡­

    ¡°Why not? Why can¡¯t you do it?¡± the voice whispered, sounding slightly frustrated.

    ¡°Because¡­ that¡¯s not me!¡± Drake replied.

    The voice laughed.

    ¡°Why? Do you think you¡¯re so innocent? That you¡¯re so great?¡± it asked mockingly.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Drake yelled. All the whispers and all the visions the voice was conjuring were overwhelming him with too many emotions. He felt like he was reaching a breaking point.

    However, the surroundings changed again.

    Drake was now in the middle of a battlefield. Specifically, he was in the canyon with the narrow opening during the demon tide he encountered during his first mission in Jain village. A pile of corpses had built up at the front, corpses of both demons and many of his soldiers.

    ¡°All these people died, because of you!¡± the voice spoke loudly.

    Once again, Drake felt like he was emotionally transported to that moment. So many people had died under his watch and all the emotions he had felt at that time came back to him, multiplied dozens of times, adding to his breaking point.

    ¡°It was your fault!¡± the voice accused.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Drake retorted. ¡°I already did my best to protect them!¡±

    ¡°Did you?¡± the voice mocked.

    The surroundings changed instantly and Drake was returned to having his sword against Theo¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Then do your best again. Do your best to protect your friends. You know what that means right?¡± the voice asked.

    Drake¡¯s hands were shaking now.

    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ If I do then¡­¡± Drake couldn¡¯t finish his sentence.

    ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t be the same person anymore¡­¡± the voice whispered, completing it for him.

    Suddenly, the vision broke, and Drake returned to the empty dark space again, facing his clone. The clone opened its mouth, but this time, it spoke normally, without the whispering voice echoing in Drake¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see now?¡± the clone asked. ¡°I am everything that you fear¡­¡±

    Drake stared at his clone.

    With the voice gone, his emotions slowly started calming down and he was able to think more clearly again.

    It took him a few seconds, but he slowly began to understand.

    ¡°I¡­ see now¡­¡± Drake said softly. ¡°You are me¡­ or rather, what I would be if I took that path¡­ no¡­¡± Drake paused and spoke again, correcting himself. ¡°You are, what I fear I would become if I took that path.¡±

    For the first time, the clone¡¯s expression changed. Its lips slowly began curling into a smile.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± the clone replied. ¡°I am what you fear the most. I am you, without your weaknesses.¡±

    ¡°And that is the reason why you can never beat me.¡±

 Chapter 77: I am not afraid

    Realisation dawned on Drake.

    Strength is second only to courage and wit¡­

    ¡®We have faced tests of strength and wit, so this is the test of courage? Overcoming what you fear the most?¡¯

    Drake smiled to himself, finally understanding what was happening.

    One of the branches of the shadow element was magic that could directly target one¡¯s mind and emotions. It could be used to bring out a person¡¯s worst fears into reality.

    ¡®And my worst fear is myself? What I¡¯d become if I were to start acting like everyone else in this world?¡¯ Drake chuckled.

    After coming to this world, Drake had been faced with numerous challenges, and thrust into various life or death situations. Many of them he managed to escape purely by luck, but not without suffering losses, betrayals, and more along the way. The more he suffered and the more suffering he witnessed, the more he began resenting it all ¨C resenting this world, and its way of life.

    He hated how people only cared about power and were willing to do anything for it, even betraying their own friends and families if they felt it was necessary. And once people obtained power, they looked down on everyone below them. Even at the lowest levels of society, ordinary mortals who weren¡¯t cultivators still looked down on slaves and treated them like trash.

    Seeing this, Drake had subconsciously resolved himself to never become like them. Even if he lived in this world, he would not subscribe to its way of life. He didn¡¯t want to become power hungry, only to use the power to oppress others, using and discarding people in that process like nothing.

    Hence, Drake decided to keep his actions as closely aligned with his actions back on Earth as possible, and feared what he would become if he deviated too much.

    However, that was quite na?ve of me¡­

    Drake¡¯s sword had reappeared in his hand so he used it to push himself up.

    The clone watched him closely. Once Drake stood up, he made direct eye contact with his clone. It looked at him with complete calmness, but seemed to carry an unfathomable depth and power.

    ¡®This is what I fear I¡¯ll become, if I go against my old way of life?¡¯ he wondered.

    The figure raised its hand and held it in front, palm facing down. Dark mana gathered from the surroundings underneath its palm as the figure began walking towards Drake. An unbelievable amount of mana began condensing, more than Drake had ever felt in his life.

    ¡°You cannot beat me,¡± the figure spoke once again, walking towards Drake.

    In response, Drake sheathed his sword and smiled.

    ¡°Why would I want to?¡± he asked.

    The figure didn¡¯t respond and instead picked up the pace. Once the black sphere of mana condensed, it began running towards Drake and jumped in the air.

    Drake watched the figure rise high above ground, before flying towards him, palm outstretched, ready to attack. Waves and waves of an unbelievable amount of power radiated from the black sphere, but Drake wasn¡¯t afraid.

    Why would I try to defeat a na?ve imagination? I just have to let it go¡­

    Drake opened his arms, closed his eyes, and smiled.

    The figure crashed into Drake. But instead of obliterating him, the figure began disappearing. It warped and faded away, inch by inch, until the whole thing vanished.

    BOOM!

    Cracks formed in the air and the surroundings shattered like glass, returning Drake to the underground passage.

    However, Drake still had his eyes closed as he was enjoying a new sensation.

    A sense of complete calmness.

    Let it go, accepting it for what it is ¨C a fear born out of my naivety.

    Not becoming power hungry, didn¡¯t require him to live exactly like he did back on Earth, right? After all, this world was very different. If he didn¡¯t adapt to it, sooner or later, he would end up getting himself, or someone else killed.

    At the very least, I should do what is necessary to protect myself and those around me, otherwise¡­

    Drake closed his eyes and the images of Holt dying, Hazezel betraying and stabbing him, his village being raided and destroyed, and Helen almost dying at the hands of Theo, all played in his mind again.

    If I had been strong enough, then none of that would have happened¡­

    ¡®If I¡¯m going to live in this world, I need to seek strength. Not to use it against others and live callously, but, to be able to protect myself. So that I don¡¯t get used by others in their agendas¡­¡¯ thinking so, Drake opened his eyes.

    He was standing in the underground chamber again. In front of him was an opening to the mirror maze.

    ¡®Was I sent back to the beginning?¡¯ Drake thought for a second then shook his head. ¡®Or maybe the exit¡­?¡¯

    Drake turned and behind him, was a large treasure chest. He smiled and looked up, noticing on the other side of the treasure chest was Kurt who also just turned around and looked surprised to see Drake and the chest.

    ¡®This boy was the first to finish in their group?¡¯ Kurt thought curiously.

    ¡®So, we finished at the same time¡­?¡¯ Drake sighed.

    Kurt laughed rubbing his head and spoke while walking closer to Drake, ¡°Congratulations for completing it brother!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, and you as well,¡± Drake smiled, wondering what Kurt¡¯s worst fear was.

    Once he was close, Kurt suggested that they wait to open the treasure until everyone else had arrived. Naturally, Drake had no objections.

    Over the next half an hour, everyone arrived one by one. Sylvia was the third person to complete it, followed by two Silver Crane Sect disciples, then Blaze, Farisa, and the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    The group stood around the treasure chest and tension slowly began filling the atmosphere again as everyone wondered what to do. At that moment, Farisa made a suggestion.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we all rest for a while before opening the treasure and deciding how to split it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we should do that,¡± Kurt agreed and pointed towards a set of stairs close to them, leading up to the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s move the chest above ground, rest for a while, and then decide how to split it. There¡¯s no doubt that all of us have been through some difficult battles here.¡±

    When saying the last sentence, he looked at Blaze and Farisa specifically, who carried the most bruises and scars of battle, especially Blaze who had a significant portion of his armour torn by the lightning beetle¡¯s fractal strike.

    Everyone agreed.

    They moved the chest above ground and placed it in front of the stone building ¨C the entrance to the maze. Since it was located in a clearing, they all decided to spread out and sit around it.

    For a while, no one spoke. Drake observed the Silver Crane Sect disciples and noticed that some of their armour was also torn and they carried visible marks and bruises.

    ¡°Seems like you guys have had a rough time here,¡± said Drake, nodding towards one of the disciples who looked the most battered.

    ¡°Yea,¡± he chuckled. He looked at Kurt and they seemed to come to a mutual understanding. The disciple then turned back to Drake and continued. ¡°We actually fought some dark mages. Four to be precise.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s ears perked up, and the expressions of all the members of Drake¡¯s party changed.

    ¡°Really?¡± Drake asked, curious. Seeing the marks on the disciples, he had a vague idea of which dark mage they might have fought. ¡°Was one of the dark mages young, with red hair, and fought with a sword and chains?¡±

    The disciple¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Do you know him?¡±

    Drake chuckled. ¡°We¡¯ve had our¡­ encounters.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± he replied, and then looked at Blaze and Farisa. ¡°Were they responsible for those injuries then?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± replied Farisa. She stared him dead in the eye and said, ¡°All this was caused by one man.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± All the Silver Crane Sect disciples gasped in shock. ¡°Just one man?¡±

    Farisa nodded. ¡°He could summon numerous rank two and even rank three spirits. We¡¯re pretty sure he¡¯s a grand mage. I don¡¯t know how, but he¡¯s managed to sneak in somehow.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Kurt was stunned, along with that disciple.

    Drake continued. ¡°With his strength, there¡¯s a high chance he and his dark mages would take the main inheritance, and most of the other inheritances as well.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t happen!¡± Kurt exclaimed worriedly.

    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Drake sighed. ¡°What can we do? The grand mage is very strong, and if he rejoins with all the other dark mages, there is probably not a single group in the inheritance grounds who could match them.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Kurt¡¯s voice trailed off as he fell into deep contemplation. After a few seconds, he continued. ¡°In that case, we need to pick them off one by one before they all regroup.¡±

    For a split second, Drake¡¯s lips curled into a smirk, before reverting to normal.

    ¡°Indeed, we were also thinking the same, however¡­¡± Drake didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but the problems with this plan were quite obvious.

    Firstly, it was a huge risk for anyone to seek out such powerful dark mages. Secondly, in doing so, they¡¯d be wasting time and energy chasing after them which they could otherwise be using to get more inheritances. They would end up losing their opportunity to get inheritances in exchange for defeating dark mages, which would then end up helping the other cultivators in the inheritance grounds.

    Who would want to do that?

    ¡°There is one way,¡± Syliva spoke up.

    All the Silver Crane Sect disciples turned towards her, and she continued.

    ¡°We can work together,¡± she explained. ¡°The ten of us can split into two groups of five, three from your side and two from ours to keep it even. One group will chase after the dark mages while the other can continue getting more inheritances. When we regroup, the second group can share the treasures they found with the first.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Kurt fell into contemplation again. With their strength, a group of five would still be much stronger than the average cultivators in this inheritance grounds, allowing them to fight for treasures in the other village ruins. And, they¡¯d probably also be strong enough to fight against the dark mages. Since both groups would contain individuals from both parties, they don¡¯t have to worry about betraying or taking advantage of each other either.

    Overall, it seemed like a good plan.

    ¡°But how will we even find the dark mages?¡± Kurt asked.

    Sylvia smiled. ¡°I have been using my spirits to look for them and I managed to find one group of dark mages, the group that you fought actually. They are resting in a place not too far from here at the moment, maybe an hour or two away.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Kurt asked in disbelief. ¡®Did they already plan this from the start?¡¯ He wasn¡¯t sure, but there was no reason for them to lie. If they could dispatch off that group of dark mages, especially that young man, it¡¯d be a huge loss for the dark mages. It was too good of an opportunity to lose.

    ¡°We need to discuss this,¡± Kurt said after a few moments.

    ¡°Sure, take your time,¡± replied Sylvia.

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples stood up and started walking some distance away to chat in private.

    Drake and Sylvia shared a glance and smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. They closed their eyes and began meditating to recover their strength.

    A couple of minutes later, the Silver Crane Sect disciples returned.

    Kurt stepped forward and spoke. ¡°We agree to your plan, let¡¯s work together to kill the dark mages.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Sylvia smiled. ¡°We can rest for another half an hour first. Then, we¡¯ll share the inheritance, and then split up.¡±

    Kurt agreed, and the disciples sat back down.

    Half an hour later.

    Several hours were left for sunrise, so the blood moon was still hanging high in the sky, shining its red rays onto an open treasure chest, filled to the brim with thousands of mana stones.

    Drake and the others huddled around the chest and decided to split them equally. As they cleared out the mana stones, several artifacts which were buried underneath were revealed.

    They were all rank two ¨C one sword, boots, robes, and dagger type artifacts.

    As Drake and Kurt finished first, they were given the first pick. Kurt took the sword while Drake had his eye on the boots. It was a lightning elemental boots that could increase his speed a lot more than his current one and could also encase his legs in lightning which would increase the power of his kicks. Drake thought it could help boost the strength of his metal leg, as well as give him a much-needed boost to his speed, so decided to take it.

    After Drake and Kurt took their picks, one of the Silver Crane Sect disciples took the dagger artifact, and Farisa took the robes. No one had any complaints.

    Once they distributed the treasures satisfactorily, the tension eased from the atmosphere. They no longer had to be on edge, worrying that the other group might secretly conspire against them to take all the treasures for themselves.

    Just as they relaxed, the village ruin started shaking. Everyone quickly dashed out of the gates and returned to the cold, dark, outside world.

    After leaving, they decided to split up into two groups of five as agreed. Blaze, Drake, and three Silver Crane Sect disciples decided to chase after Theo and his dark mages, while Sylvia herself would move on to the next inheritance with Farisa, Kurt, and the other two Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Sylvia wanted to fight Theo too. However, Drake and Blaze were faster, so they would be able to reach the dark mages and return to the others quicker. Hence, Sylvia agreed that it made sense for them two to go and summoned a pixie spirit to guide them to Theo¡¯s location.

    With that done, the two groups ran off in different directions.

    One and a half hours later.

    Farisa and Sylvia were fighting through a horde of demons, accompanied by three burly men.

    ¡°I can see the next inheritance! We¡¯re very close!¡± exclaimed Sylvia.

    Hearing her confirmation, everyone fought with renewed vigour, defeating hundreds of demons every second as they relentlessly marched towards the next village ruin.

    At the same time, in another location, two groups were facing each other under the dark sky.

    The first had four figures standing next to each other. Three of them were wearing black, hooded robes masking their faces, but the last was wearing a dark-red leather armour covered by a light red overcoat. He was a young man with red hair and a lean physique, holding a sword in one hand with his other wrapped in chains. He was eyeing the other group with a serious look.

    The second group had five members. The biggest of them was also a young man with red, scruffy hair, but he was more than six foot tall and was holding the hilt of a gigantic sword, planted into the ground on his side. Next to him were three large men with menacing expressions, and finally, was a short and unremarkable boy just over twelve years, but was covered head to toe with powerful artifacts.

    Blaze lifted his sword and pointed it forward towards the dark mages before speaking in a low voice.

    ¡°Theo¡­ you won¡¯t get away this time.¡±

 Chapter 78: Captured-!?

    ¡°Theo¡­ you won¡¯t get away this time.¡±

    Theo smirked.

    ¡°Why would I want to?¡±

    Blaze snorted in response and turned to the Silver Crane Sect disciples. ¡°The three of you take care of his friends,¡± and then looked at Drake before continuing, ¡°The two of us will take him down this time.¡±

    Drake nodded in confirmation. They didn¡¯t plan on killing Theo, but only capturing him to exchange with Helen, something Drake had no qualms about.

    Coming to an agreement, Drake and the others faced the dark mages again.

    For a second, nobody spoke, and an eerie silence filled the air.

    Theo closed his eyes and began gathering his mana.

    ¡°Dragon step!¡± Blaze charged immediately, sword held at an angle on his side.

    The other dark mages tried to intercept him but were stopped by the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Within a few seconds, Blaze was about to reach him. However, Theo finished his summoning.

    ¡°Black python! Lightning python! Rock python!¡±

    Three lights condensed from his palm and floated above him, before instantly transforming into three, twenty-foot long pythons. The pythons coiled around Theo and hissed menacingly at Blaze. Facing his approach, the lightning python charged.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡± Blaze yelled and shot a blade of fire at the incoming python. However, the lightning python was extremely fast. It quickly moved to the side and dodged before continuing to charge at full speed, followed closely by the other two pythons.

    At the final instant, Blaze brought his sword up and the python crashed against it, pushing Blaze back several feet. He dug his heels into the ground, quickly bringing himself to a stop. The lightning python slithered back a few steps, as the rock and black python surrounded Blaze, the three of them forming a triangle around him.

    Facing the rank two spirits surrounding him, Blaze cursed.

    Satisfied at Blaze getting held up, Theo turned to face Drake.

    ¡®I need to get rid of this kid first,¡¯ he thought and smirked.

    Seeing this, Drake finally made his move. He poured mana into his boots and lightning erupted from his feet.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake activated his martial technique and moved like a shadow. He was much faster now, leaving behind a trail of dust and sparks.

    Within a few seconds, Drake was above him.

    ¡°Crescent slash!¡± Drake swiped his fingers across the air and a crescent blade flew out.

    Theo brought his sword forward and blocked the blade just as it was about to reach him.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion echoed out into the surroundings.

    ¡®He¡¯s gotten faster!¡¯ Theo was surprised. ¡®But still not as fast as the other guy.¡¯ He cut through the crescent blade and focused on Drake again.

    Drake faced Theo calmly. He raised his arm and poured mana into his glove.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    Over a dozen large fireballs instantly appeared before Drake and shot towards Theo.

    Snake walk!

    Theo activated his martial technique and disappeared just as a fireball zoomed past where he was standing. The next instant, he reappeared, closer to Drake as the rest of the fireballs flew towards him. With his sword ready, Theo repeatedly disappeared and reappeared, dodging the fireballs while continuously moving closer to Drake.

    Within a few seconds, Theo dodged all the fireballs and appeared right in front of Drake. He raised his sword and swung downwards.

    ¡°Light barrier!¡± Drake immediately poured mana into his robes and activated one of his barriers.

    Theo struck down heavily on Drake¡¯s barrier but he couldn¡¯t break through.

    ¡°Tst,¡± Theo cursed and pushed himself off the barrier. He rotated in the air while pouring mana into his chains. The chains began glowing red as they emitted poison mana, while also extending to several times their size. Theo landed heavily on his feet while his chains trailed behind him in the air. He pivoted on his heel and rotated his body. The chains spun and changed directions, shooting towards Drake¡¯s barrier.

    BOOM!

    Theo used all his strength and momentum to slam the chains coated in poison mana against Drake¡¯s barrier. Despite being summoned by a rank three artifact, the barrier cracked instantly. The next second, it broke apart.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake activated his martial technique at the last second to dodge as the chains came crashing down at the spot he was standing in. The chains cracked the earth and formed a small crater, releasing a dust cloud.

    Cough! Cough!

    Having his barrier break so suddenly made Drake suffer a small backlash. Drake stumbled backwards, momentarily becoming disoriented.

    Theo wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity go. He tensed all his leg muscles and jumped, shooting towards Drake like a bullet, his sword aimed at Drake¡¯s chest.

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± he laughed as he approached infinitely close. But just then, Theo felt an immense amount of mana gathered in two of Drake¡¯s fingers. At the same time, he noticed the ends of Drake¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡®No! It was a trick!¡¯ thought Theo, but it was too late.

    Drake rotated while bending backwards till his spine was at ninety degrees to his hips. As Theo¡¯s sword passed over Drake¡¯s body, he heard two words.

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    ¡°Finger thrust!¡±

    An unbelievably powerful force struck his solar plexus like a cannon. As Drake sprung himself back up, he continued to jam his finger thrust into Theo, pushing him up with an incredible might.

    Theo was launched into the air.

    ¡°Argh¡­¡± Theo wanted to scream but his throat became blocked so he just coughed out blood. His body became weak, making him move powerlessly under the force of Drake¡¯s attack like a pebble being pushed by a raging river.

    Theo landed heavily on the ground several dozen metres away but continued bouncing and rolling forward another dozen metres due to this momentum. It took several more seconds for him to come to a stop, at which point Theo laid unmoving on the ground, panting for breath.

    ¡°Yes Drake, keep it up, I¡¯m almost there!¡± screamed Blaze, as he finally found an opening to cut cleanly through the black python. The rock python was also severely injured. It shouldn¡¯t take him long to deal with them and join Drake.

    Drake approached Theo cautiously. He knew how powerful his finger thrust was, and taking a direct hit from it must have been devastating. However, he wasn¡¯t going to drop his guard around Theo. Hence, he poured mana into his glove, ready to activate chain lightning at a moment''s notice.

    ¡®I¡­ underestimated him¡­¡¯ Theo thought, while gasping for breath, as Drake approached him. He quickly took out and consumed several healing pills, allowing him to recover quickly.

    As Drake came close, he observed Theo, expecting to find him riddled with injuries. However, all he spotted was a hole in his leather armour around his solar plexus, with his skin underneath being completely unharmed. The rest of his outfit was worn and dirty, but he was unscathed.

    ¡®How¡¯s that possible?¡¯ thought Drake while warily eyeing Theo, standing just a few metres away. Theo was still lying on the ground, eyes closed and out of breath.

    Humph! Drake snorted and raised his hand.

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡±

    Large streaks of lightning shot out of his glove artifact towards Theo at an incredible speed. When they were an inch away from Theo however, he disappeared.

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯

    Acute sense!

    Theo moved so fast that Drake needed acute sense to barely track him.

    ¡®Was he holding back before?¡¯ Drake thought, turning around.

    However, when Drake turned, he didn¡¯t spot Theo behind him. Instead, Theo was much further away, next to one of the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Drake¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± he screamed, but it was too late.

    Theo suddenly appeared next to a Silver Crane Sect disciple fighting one of the dark mages who had summoned a dozen blood bats. The disciple was shocked and instinctively activated a barrier.

    However, Theo laughed and struck with his sword.

    ¡°Skewer!¡± he screamed, activating his martial technique. The sword pierced through the barrier like nothing before arcing towards the disciple¡¯s neck.

    As soon as the barrier broke, the disciple jumped back. However, the sword was already too close to dodge. The disciple screamed in pain as the sword cut into his shoulder.

    Theo pulled his sword back, leaving a deep wound and a trail of blood. He licked the blood of his sword with an evil glee.

    The disciple stumbled backwards. The dark mage used this opportunity and ordered the blood bats to attack. The disciple was in no state to defend. He jumped out of the way of some of them, but the remaining bit into his back, arms, shoulder, legs, and other parts of his body.

    ¡°Jordon, nooooo!¡± screamed the other Silver Crane Sect disciples as they rushed to help. However, the dark mages they were fighting suddenly attacked even more ferociously, preventing them from moving.

    ¡°DAMN YOUUU!!!!¡± came a booming voice.

    Blaze finally finished off the remaining two snake spirits and charged at Theo like a maniac.

    Theo slightly rotated his head to see Blaze rapidly closing in from behind.

    Blaze jumped and chopped down towards Theo¡¯s head with his huge sword.

    Snake walk!

    Theo disappeared at the last second, making Blaze crash onto the floor. The force of the impact formed a crater, with large cracks spreading outwards.

    By this time, Drake had been running at full speed and was about to catch up. However, he suddenly heard a cry.

    ¡°Iron shield!¡±

    A large shield appeared directly in his path, forcing him to slow down and move sideways to dodge. Just as he did so, over a dozen blood bats appeared in the air all around him.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± the same voice spoke, standing behind the circle of blood bats.

    Drake noticed that this was the same dark mage that was fighting the Silver Crane Sect disciple, Jordon Swift, earlier. Now that he was heavily injured and out of commission, this dark mage was free.

    ¡®I see¡­ so he wanted to get rid of our number¡¯s advantage¡­¡¯ Drake realised. Theo knew that he couldn¡¯t fight both Blaze and Drake at the same time. So, he went after one of the weaker and unsuspecting members to free up a dark mage so they could keep Drake occupied.

    The next second, Drake¡¯s face turned cold as he faced the dark mage and his blood bats.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can hold me back!¡± Drake challenged.

    The dark mage snorted and ordered his blood bats to attack.

    Blaze observed Drake getting held back by the dark mage, and then turned to see Jordon lying weakly on the ground, consuming some healing pills, attempting to recover. He then turned to face Theo who had the same smirk on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s not nice to gang up on people,¡± Theo laughed. ¡°Now it¡¯s more even don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Blaze ignored Theo and made a silent decision. He closed his eyes and focused on his inner realm.

    The mana in his body sensed his will and moved. They flowed out of his inner realm and into his left arm. Blue streaks could be seen under his skin where they were still exposed by his loose leather armour.

    Theo sensed the large amount of mana gathering in Blaze¡¯s arm and became serious. He held his sword tightly and readied himself to face whatever Blaze was coming up with.

    Blaze still had his eyes closed and whispered two words. However, his voice was filled with mana and echoed across the battlefield.

    ¡°Dragon. Form.¡±

    A huge amount of mana exploded from his left arm. The mana formed long streaks and coiled around his arm, rotating faster and faster.

    As Theo watched incredulously, Blaze¡¯s arm began to glow and enlarge before being covered with dragon scales.

    BOOM!

    Blaze opened his eyes and a wave of fiery red mana was released from his body. His left arm had become more muscular and was covered in thick, red, dragon scales.

    Theo gulped. However, he faced Blaze with the same determination. There was no fear in his eyes ¨C in fact, there was a strange excitement.

    Blaze didn¡¯t say anything and just made his move. Holding his sword firmly in his right arm, Blaze dashed towards Theo.

    Theo stood his ground as Blaze closed the distance between them at lightning speed.

    When Blaze was close, he jumped into the air and slashed his dragon arm with all his might.

    ¡°Dragon claw!¡± he yelled.

    Three fiery streaks shot down from the night sky, emitting an incredible amount of mana.

    Theo felt the mana held within that dragon claw and knew he couldn¡¯t block it. He activated snake walk and dodged as the claw crashed into the ground a moment later.

    The impact created a huge explosion as the claw dug deeply into the earth, releasing a large dust cloud and huge waves of mana.

    As soon as Theo landed, Blaze crashed down with his huge sword. Theo raised his arm just in time to block it, but the force of the attack was far greater than he anticipated. He was instantly brought to his knees.

    Theo used his left arm to instinctively grab the other end of the sword, relying on his chains to protect his flesh from its sharp edge. He used all his strength to push, barely managing to hold back Blaze¡¯s attack.

    ¡®How did he become¡­ so strong!?¡¯ Theo screamed in his mind.

    But Blaze gave him no time to think. He swept his dragon arm sideways.

    Theo saw it approach him but was helpless to defend against it.

    The dragon arm crashed against Theo like a truck. Even though his armour was strong enough to protect him almost completely from Drake¡¯s finger thrust at point blank range, Theo now felt several of his bones break under the impact.

    Theo flew across the battlefield, rolling around and around on the ground. An unbearable amount of pain filled Theo¡¯s body, which was accentuated each time he crashed against the ground.

    He flew for several seconds before crashing heavily against a boulder which forced him to a stop. Theo coughed out blood. He wanted to take out some healing pills but he felt too weak to even move.

    However, a large shadow suddenly fell over him and Theo felt a deep bloodlust. He managed to gather enough strength to barely lift his head and looked up.

    Blaze towered over the helpless Theo. He used his dragon arm to grab him by the head and lift him up.

    Theo felt a crushing pressure on his head and dropped his sword. His right arm was already broken so he used his left to push against Blaze¡¯s hand. However, it stood firm as a rock. He tried punching and grabbing it again and again, but he couldn¡¯t move Blaze¡¯s hand even an inch.

    ¡°I told you already,¡± Blaze spoke with a deep voice. ¡°You won¡¯t get away this time.¡±

    Theo lost his strength and his arm fell limply to his side again.

    ¡®Is this it?¡¯ Theo wondered.

 Chapter 79: Exchange

    ¡®Is this it?¡¯ Theo wondered. ¡®I haven¡¯t felt this much pain since¡­¡¯

    Theo¡¯s mind flashed back to the time when he had previously been in unbearable pain.

    ¡°Dad, please¡­ stop ¨C AAHH!¡± a young boy cried while lying on the floor. A large man stood over the boy, pressing his foot on his hand.

    ¡°What are you doing!? STOP!¡± a woman cried, rushing into the room.

    The man was caught off guard at her sudden appearance.

    She pushed and he fell back several steps, releasing the pressure on the boy¡¯s hand.

    The boy immediately started shaking his hand as he sat up and pushed himself against the wall.

    However, the man quickly recovered and was overcome with rage. He stared daggers at the woman as if he wanted to rip her apart.

    The woman¡¯s face paled but she firmed her resolve and stood between the man and the boy. She raised her arms on either side to block him from moving any further.

    ¡°Please¡­¡± she begged timidly, her voice turning weaker as she saw the man becoming angrier. ¡°He¡¯s just a boy¡­ let him go¡­¡±

    But her words didn¡¯t even seem to register with the man.

    ¡°How dare you push me YOU BITCH!¡± he screamed and punched her in the face. Her jaw twisted at an unnatural angle and she fell sharply.

    ¡°MOMMMM!¡± the boy cried.

    The woman hit her head on the corner of a table before landing heavily on the ground. Blood started flowing out of her head and filling the area underneath.

    The boy¡¯s eyes widened in fear and tears welled up in his eyes. He crawled to her and started screaming.

    ¡°MOM! MOM!¡± the boy cried, shaking her body back and forth, but she didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°NOOOOO! MOM! Please, wake up! Somebody, please help me!¡±

    ¡°Please!¡±

    Please¡­ help me¡­ what am I thinking about right now?

    Theo¡¯s mind returned to the present as he felt the crushing pressure of Blaze¡¯s dragon arm on his head.

    ¡®If I die, would I get reincarnated again?¡¯ Theo wondered.

    No! I am not going to die here! That¡¯s right, I can still use that technique¡­

    Blaze continued exerting pressure on Theo, expecting him to give up and surrender. However, something unexpected happened.

    Theo stopped flailing around and his body began emitting a cold aura.

    Everyone felt the air around them suddenly drop by several degrees in temperature. They subconsciously turned to sense thick, dark mana gather around Theo. His injuries began healing rapidly and he started oozing out a chilling killing intent.

    As the closest to him, Blaze could sense what was happening.

    ¡®He¡¯s¡­ burning his own life force!?¡¯ Blaze gasped.

    ¡°KILL HIM!¡± gasped the Silver Crane Sect disciples. However, Blaze hesitated. If he killed Theo now, he wouldn''t be able to use him to exchange hostages with the dark grand mage. He just had to beat him till he surrendered.

    As everyone watched dumbfounded, dark mana continued to gather in his body, increasing his aura by the second.

    However, a loud and powerful voice suddenly echoed from the distance.

    ¡°STOP!¡±

    At the same time, everyone felt a huge aura rapidly approaching the battlefield.

    It¡¯s him!

    Blaze and Drake recognised the aura at the same time, while the Silver Crane Sect disciples realised that a terrifyingly powerful individual was approaching.

    It was the dark grand mage!

    All the dark mages became elated and fell back.

    Theo smiled. He stopped his technique and his aura quickly returned to normal. He opened his eyes and spoke mockingly.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve¡­ run out of luck,¡± he chuckled, but Blaze responded by increasing the pressure on him.

    ¡°AH!¡± Theo yelped, and became quiet again.

    Drake and the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples, as well as Jordon who had now recovered to an extent, gathered by Blaze¡¯s side.

    Within a few seconds, the dark grand mage arrived in front of everyone. He had his hood lowered, revealing his appearance as a man in his late twenties.

    Behind him, several vulture spirits were carrying the body of an unconscious, red-haired woman.

    He stared at Blaze coldly.

    ¡°Let him go,¡± he spoke authoritatively.

    Blaze chuckled, staring back at the dark grand mage fearlessly.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to take him from me?¡± he increased the pressure on Theo causing him to wince in pain again before continuing, ¡°If you wait too long, I might accidentally kill him.¡±

    The dark grand mage didn¡¯t speak for a few moments. For a second, it seemed as if he was considering abandoning Theo, making Drake and Blaze slightly worried. However, his next words proved them wrong.

    ¡°Let him go and I¡¯ll give you your girl,¡± said the dark grand mage.

    As soon as he said that, the vulture spirits dropped Helen and she landed on the ground. The impact shocked Helen awake, and she opened her eyes weakly.

    For a second she was confused and disoriented, but she quickly recovered. The last thing she remembered was being kidnapped, and now, she was here, next to the dark mage, facing Blaze holding Theo in his hand, with Drake and some strange men behind him. It didn¡¯t take her long to roughly figure out what must have been going on.

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    Seeing that she was okay, Drake and Blaze silently sighed in relief.

    ¡°You first,¡± said the dark mage.

    ¡°No way,¡± Blaze firmly and immediately responded. ¡°First give us Helen if you don¡¯t want your boy to die.¡±

    Everyone became quiet again.

    ¡°Very well,¡± the dark mage replied. ¡°We¡¯ll release them at the same time.¡±

    Blaze hesitated for a second and looked at Drake. Drake nodded, thinking that it was the best they could hope for, and Blaze looked at the dark grand mage again.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed, and released Theo.

    Theo fell to his knees and was about to fall face first to the ground but managed to catch himself at the last second. He spent a few moments panting for breath before taking out and consuming a few recovery pills.

    At the same time, Helen sat up and took a few healing pills as well. As she felt her strength and stamina slowly return, she sighed with relief. Helen glanced at Drake who was still looking at her with worry and smiled.

    ¡®Thank you¡­¡¯ she mumbled to herself.

    A few seconds passed as Helen and Theo recovered enough strength to walk. Afterwards, they both stood up and faced the other side.

    The dark grand mage and Blaze looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. They placed their hands on Helen and Theo respectively and pushed at the same time.

    Helen began walking towards Drake and the others. Initially, she couldn¡¯t believe that she was being rescued. Or rather, she had expected herself to be abandoned. After all, she was supposed to be Drake¡¯s knight, his bodyguard and protect him with her life. She was more than happy to do that.

    However, Drake didn¡¯t believe in a system where people¡¯s lives were expendable. Blaze and Sylvia, coming from the dragon and dryad races, also didn¡¯t have such a notion in their tribes. Hence, they all considered her as an actual friend. Helen had never realised that before, but, seeing now, the lengths they were willing to go to for her sake, she felt incredibly grateful.

    But, that was soon replaced by a feeling of helplessness as she was reminded of her weakness again, and how much of a burden she was on the others.

    While lost in her thoughts, Helen came extremely close to Theo, before they crossed each other.

    Theo¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯ll kill you when we next met,¡± he whispered.

    At that instant, Helen felt an enormous killing intent back that pulled her back from her thoughts.

    But it was too late.

    Helen gasped as a sword pierced through her back. She looked down weakly in disbelief to spot a sword poking out of her chest. She felt her heart thumping loudly, beating with all the strength it could muster to keep her alive as long as possible, but it was quickly coming to a stop.

    Theo pulled his sword, leaving a hole in Helen¡¯s body, before kicking her in the back. With all her strength having left her body, Helen fell weakly to the ground after a few steps. Blood continued to pour out of her chest, quickly forming a pool under her body.

    Drake and Blaze stared at the scene open-mouthed. They didn¡¯t even understand what happened.

    One moment Helen was alive, and the next, she was¡­ dead?

    ¡°NOOOOOO!¡± screamed Drake.

    Was she dead? Was she actually dead? This couldn¡¯t be happening!

    His brain wanted to deny it, but seeing Helen look at him with her lifeless eyes, lying in a pool of her own blood, he was forced to face reality. He wanted to scream again but his throat became heavy. His arms and legs turned numb and he dropped to knees.

    ¡°THEOOOOO!¡± screamed Blaze, finally registering what had happened.

    In response to his scream, Theo smirked as usual and laughed.

    Blaze couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He released an enormous aura and charged at Theo.

    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU, I¡¯LL KILL YOU, I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± he screamed.

    However, the dark grand mage intervened. He ordered his dozens of rank two vulture spirits to attack Blaze.

    ¡°Dragon claw!¡± Blaze yelled, swiping his dragon arm across the air. Almost ten vultures instantly died, but the others managed to evade the attack and surround Blaze, forcing him to defend.

    By this time, the dark grand mage caught up to Theo and pulled him back. Even he hadn¡¯t expected Theo to kill Helen so unexpectedly.

    ¡®Guess the rumours I heard about him were true,¡¯ the dark grand mage thought with a sigh.

    He wasn¡¯t interested in fighting them now, so he didn¡¯t want to kill Helen.

    ¡®But¡­ the girl dying will make it easier to deal with the dragon¡¯s party in the future¡­¡¯ he thought, and realised that it might be a good thing in the end.

    Thinking so, he regrouped with the other dark mages before turning to face Drake¡¯s party again.

    Blaze and the Silver Crane Sect disciples were kept busy by his vulture spirits. Drake, on the other hand, had walked up to Helen and was kneeling next to her, holding her hand.

    The dark grand mage didn¡¯t know or care what was going through his head, but even without Drake¡¯s help, he thought his rank two spirits might not last long, facing Blaze and everyone else¡¯s wrath. He decided to play it safe and consumed a mana recovery pill.

    While the others were occupied, the dark grand mage quickly gathered his mana and formed two, purple balls of light. The lights flew forward and rapidly expanded into two large lightning beetle spirits, each emitting the aura of a rank two spirit.

    After summoning them, the dark mage once again closed his eyes and summoned over thirty rank two vulture spirits again.

    Just as he completed his summoning, Blaze and the others also finished off the remaining vultures and looked at the new lineup of spirits grimly.

    The dark grand mage had no intention of fighting them now so he didn¡¯t order the spirits to attack. Instead, he told them to stand their ground and only attack if they got close.

    After giving his orders, he took Theo and retreated with the rest of the dark mages without a word.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Blaze yelled and charged.

    However, his charge was quickly met by the dozens of vultures which flew towards him, forcing him to stop once again. At the same time, the lightning beetles began forming storm spears above their horns.

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples looked at each other and hesitated. They wanted to help Blaze but, they were all exhausted from the fights just now, not to mention that one of them, Jordon, was still very injured. Even though Blaze was strong, they weren¡¯t sure they could fight two rank three and so many rank two spirits in their current states. Even if they did, by the time they defeated them, the dark grand mage would be long gone, making all of their efforts a waste.

    They looked at Blaze.

    Blaze was exerting himself to the fullest, summoning firestorms and fire blades every second, releasing dragon claws on any spirit that came close while dodging the storm spears being released by the lightning beetles. Despite his strength, fighting so many powerful spirits at once on his own was not easy, and he was quickly racking up injuries.

    ¡®How long can he maintain his dragon form?¡¯ they wondered, but realised that Blaze was not thinking clearly and wouldn¡¯t listen to reason.

    Helpless, the Silver Crane Sect disciples turned towards Drake, who was still sitting next to Helen.

    Drake had hoped against hope that there might be a sliver of life left in her; that he would be able to use his pills to keep her alive till they met Sylvia, who would then be able to heal her completely.

    However, when he came close, he realised that Helen had already stopped breathing. Unlike before, this time, Theo had cut through her heart, killing her instantly. So now, she was lying in a pool of her own blood, just like how Holt was that day. Similar to that time, Drake felt a deep sense of loss and despair.

    However, now, he felt something else as well.

    ¡®This¡­ is my fault. If only I had killed Theo back then¡­¡¯

    He placed his palm on the ground next to Helen and it became soaked in blood. Drake lifted his hand till it was in front of his face. The rays of red moonlight shone on his palm, highlighting the thick, fresh, blood.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t her blood¡­ on my hands?¡¯

    A dark feeling welled up from the pits of Drake¡¯s stomach. He had never felt anything like this before, either in this life or his previous one.

    ¡®I¡¯m responsible¡­ for her death?¡¯ Drake didn¡¯t want to believe it, but it was true. Killing someone was the one thing he wanted to avoid after coming to this world. But, purely because he avoided it, he had become responsible for a person¡¯s death.

    Not just any person, but Helen. Drake thought about all the times he had spent with her.

    From meeting her initially during his first battle with Elwin, to travelling with her for months where they spent so much time together, talking and laughing, while helping each other cultivate and fight off demons. They then arrived in Basindale and Helen continued serving him, helping him find pill recipes and information, joined a hunting party with him, and did everything that he asked.

    She never thought about what she wanted or liked but found joy in serving him. Her face would light up anytime he showed her his appreciation, praised her cultivation, or anything else. In a world where Drake felt like he could trust no one, Helen was the one figure he could always count on, who was always loyal to him and put him above even herself.

    ¡®Such a person is dead¡­ because of me¡­¡¯

    Drake¡¯s mind became quiet. All his thoughts vanished, leaving him with an overwhelming sense of gloom¡­ and guilt.

    Oblivious to his thoughts, the Silver Crane Sect disciples approached Drake, wondering if they could ask him to talk sense to Blaze.

    As they came close, they suddenly froze in their tracks.

    Drake began emitting a dark and icy aura.

 Chapter 80: A dire situation

    Drake began emitting a dark and icy aura, mixed with an unbelievably dense blood lust and killing intent.

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples had never felt anything like this before, not from any dark mages, or anyone else. It paled in comparison even to the killing intent surrounding Theo.

    Or rather, it was different.

    Theo enjoyed battle and bloodshed, so his killing intent was mixed with his sick and twisted sense of delight.

    However, the killing intent they felt from Drake was pure and unadulterated, like a machine that wanted to kill for the sake of killing itself, deriving no joy or anything else from it.

    Drake stood up and the Silver Crane Sect disciples gulped. If he didn¡¯t have the body of a young boy, none of them would believe that such a killing intent was being emitted by someone so young.

    But suddenly, as soon as it appeared, the killing intent vanished.

    Drake turned around and saw the Silver Crane Sect disciples staring at him. He ignored them and looked at the lightning beetles, and then at the rank two vultures fighting Blaze.

    Blaze had already finished off more than half of the vultures, but Drake could tell that he was extremely exhausted. He knew that using dragon form would consume a huge amount of mana. Keeping it active for this long must already be well beyond Blaze¡¯s limits, and he was only able to do so due to being overcome with emotion at Helen¡¯s death, which wouldn¡¯t last long.

    Thinking so, Drake stepped forward. The moment his feet touched the ground, he disappeared. The next second, he appeared next to the Silver Crane Sect disciples, almost making them jump back in fright, before disappearing again, and finally reappearing close to Blaze.

    Drake slammed his left hand on the ground.

    ¡°Water pillars.¡±

    Ten water pillars appeared all around Blaze, forcing the vultures surrounding him to retreat. A few vultures were caught by the pillars and died, but most managed to dodge and looked at Drake wickedly.

    Once he had their attention, Drake stood up. He poured mana into his boots and jumped, leaving a trail of thin lightning bolts.

    The next second, he appeared in the air, in the middle of the vultures. Drake raised his hands on either side and poured mana into both his gloves at the same time.

    ¡°Chain lightning. Water bullets.¡±

    The surroundings transformed into blue and purple as his gloves activated.

    Dodging his sudden attack at such a close range was not easy. The vultures close to him were pulverised before they could react. The ones further away released toxic gas or shot poison bullets to retaliate but they couldn¡¯t fully neutralise the attack. They were ripped apart by the powerful bullets or incinerated by the lightning. Only the vultures which were at the back managed to fly away in time.

    After instantly killing almost ten vultures, and severely injuring even more, Drake landed on the ground, knees bent, and raising a small dust cloud.

    Seeing Drake finally appear, Blaze rejoiced and felt relieved.

    Unfortunately, as soon as his intense emotions and adrenaline waned, Blaze could no longer maintain his dragon form. Long streaks of red appeared around his left arm and began rotating. As they did so, his arm glowed and reduced in size while his scales began disappearing one after another.

    Within a second, Blaze¡¯s dragon form came undone and Blaze felt all the strength leave his body, making him finally realise how exhausted he was. Blaze collapsed to the floor and gasped heavily.

    ¡°Noo¡­¡± he mumbled, trying to fight against the onset of darkness, but it was futile. Soon, he became unconscious.

    Seeing this, the Silver Crane Sect disciples sighed. Although dragon form was powerful, its cost was too high. If not for that, Blaze would be too powerful.

    Drake focused on the vulture spirits again who were floating in the air, as well as the lightning beetles which were eyeing Drake cautiously from a distance. However, neither of them made a move.

    ¡®I see¡­ if I don¡¯t attack, they won¡¯t either¡­¡¯ he realised.

    Drake wanted to slaughter all of them but realised that it was pointless. He clenched his fist.

    Theo¡­ dark mages¡­

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples slowly approached the duo. Before they could ask anything, however, Drake answered their question.

    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat.¡±

    A couple of hours later.

    New dawn was almost upon the inheritance grounds which was swarming with demons. The closer the cultivators moved to the black structure, the denser the demon hordes became.

    A small group just came out of an inheritance, when they were quickly surrounded by such a demon horde. Being composed of hundreds of demons, it could be described as a small army.

    One of the cultivators in the group was a woman in purple wielding a large hammer.

    ¡°Crushing maelstrom!¡± exclaimed Farisa, spinning and launching her hammer into the horde.

    The hammer flew in an arc while rotating rapidly, crushing any demon in its path, before returning to her hand. Farisa sighed in relief, thinking that she could catch a break however, every demon she killed was quickly replaced by two more and surrounded them.

    ¡°This is ridiculous ¨C there is no end to them!¡± she cried to her companions.

    Sylvia activated her rain of arrows while the Silver Crane Sect disciples used their own artifacts and martial techniques.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    The group fought relentlessly for several minutes and finally defeated the horde.

    Farisa rested her hammer on the ground while Sylvia lowered her bow to the side. They both consumed some recovery pills while panting for breath, hoping to recover some energy, along with the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    However, less than a minute later, the group felt powerful vibrations reverberating through the ground, followed by distant cries.

    Sylvia¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°A huge demon horde is approaching, even larger than this one! We need to leave!¡±

    No one had to be told twice. Everyone picked up their weapons and ran into the horizon as quickly as possible.

    At the same time, another group of five were also fighting through a demon horde.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡± Drake exclaimed.

    Twenty large fireballs immediately appeared and vapourised dozens of demons around him.

    Drake looked around to see that everyone had gotten split up and were fighting their own battles surrounded by dozens of demons.

    ¡°AAAHH!!!¡± screamed a voice.

    Drake recognised that voice ¨C Jordon!

    He quickly turned to spot Jordon, who was previously heavily injured by Theo, being surrounded by demons, one of which was a boar.

    The boar demon attacked Jordon from the back. Jorden sensed the boar¡¯s blood lust and tried to pivot on his feet to dodge but was a little slow. Hence, the boar¡¯s tusk turned into a deadly spear and stabbed through his leg.

    Drake¡¯s eyes widened and he rushed towards him.

    ¡°Chain lightning! Chain lightning!¡± he yelled, destroying any demons that came close while running as fast as possible.

    The others had also spotted Jordon¡¯s situation and were rushing to help him. However, the demons surrounding him weren¡¯t going to let this opportunity go.

    Several demons attacked him from the back, biting into his shoulders and thighs.

    ¡°NOOOOOO!!¡± screamed the Silver Crane Sect disciples. Despite all their efforts, they still needed a few seconds to reach Jordon.

    Jordon bit his lip, resisting the urge to succumb to his pain. Before more demons could pounce on him, he took out a horned shell artifact from his storage pouch.

    The artifact could release a sound attack that could frighten and stun enemies. It would be effective for a few seconds and only on demons close to the user, making it mostly useless, but it was perfect for his situation.

    Jordon held the artifact to his mouth and blew.

    The sound of a loud siren spread out from the shell. All the demons that heard it became temporarily stunned. The ones nearest to him roared and screeched in pain while turning tail and running as if an unfathomably powerful monster had appeared.

    Jordon finished blowing the shell and fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He quickly returned the artifact to his storage pouch and took out a few recovery pills instead. They wouldn¡¯t be able to cure his serious injuries, but they were better than nothing. By the time he finished, Drake, Blaze, and the other Silver Crane Sect disciples regrouped with him and covered him on all sides.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± one of the Silver Crane Sect disciples asked worriedly.

    ¡°Never better,¡± Jordon coughed, standing up. It was clear that he was in no position to fight.

    ¡°We need to cover him while moving through this demon horde,¡± the Silver Crane Sect disciple announced.

    Looking at the hundreds of demons around them slowly getting closer again, everyone felt gloomy. However, no one had any objections ¨C none of them wanted to abandon one of their own.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s that?¡± Drake gasped, his acute sense picking up on a small movement from the air in the distance. Whatever it was, it moved very fast and reached them quickly. Everyone noticed an orb of light slowing down above their location, before revealing itself as a pixie spirit.

    ¡°It¡¯s Sylvia! The others must be close!¡± everyone rejoiced.

    At the same time, Sylvia was running at top speed with the others. She was situated in the centre of their formation, with Farisa and the Silver Crane Sect disciples covering and protecting her from all directions, allowing her to shoot down demons from a distance without worry.

    Suddenly, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Sylvia came to an abrupt stop. Everyone turned to spot her face drop into a frown.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Kurt asked worriedly. As the only mage and scout in their group, Sylvia was always the first to detect threats, so seeing her change in demeanour made everyone concerned.

    ¡°I just spotted Drake and the others¡­ they¡¯re in trouble,¡± said Sylvia.

    ¡°Really?¡± Kurt gasped. ¡°What kind of trouble?¡±

    However, Sylvia didn¡¯t reply immediately but was lost in thought.

    ¡®Why isn¡¯t Theo with them¡­ or Helen?¡¯

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples didn¡¯t know about their plan to capture Theo and rescue Helen, so Sylvia didn¡¯t voice her concerns.

    A moment later, Sylvia sighed. ¡°It appears that they are exhausted. Plus, one of them is heavily injured and the others are trying to protect him, making it difficult for them to flee. The battle is attracting more and more demons¡­ there must be almost a thousand demons surrounding them now!¡±

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± the Silver Crane Sect disciples gasped.

    ¡°Which one of them is injured?¡± Kurt asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his heart.

    Sylvia looked at him and spoke. ¡°It¡¯s one of your friends¡­¡±

    She didn¡¯t know his name so described his appearance instead. One of the Silver Crane Sect disciples shouted out, interrupting her halfway.

    ¡°JORDON!?¡±

    ¡°Must be¡­¡± Sylvia sighed, looking at the one who had called out. She recollected others calling him Ivan Flame.

    Ivan rushed up to Sylvia till he was inches away from her. ¡°We need to help them! Which way are they?¡±

    Sylvia sighed and looked in a particular direction. ¡°That way, but I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll make it in time.¡±

    ¡°WE HAVE TO!¡± exclaimed Ivan and started sprinting in that direction before anyone else could react. Kurt and the others followed him quickly. Farisa and Sylvia also shared a glance, before deciding to trail along.

    A little while later, Drake¡¯s party were making slow progress.

    Jordon, due to his numerous injuries, couldn¡¯t fight or move very quickly. As the number of demons surrounding their party rapidly increased, they decided that they had to prioritise escaping the demon horde as soon as possible. Otherwise, it didn¡¯t matter how strong they were, they¡¯d eventually get worn out and eaten by demons.

    Hence, one of the Silver Crane Sect disciples, Derald Forge, decided to carry Jordon on his back. However, this reduced his mobility and ability to fight. So, although their group was pushing through the demon horde, with one of their party members out of commission and another focusing on helping him, and everyone exhausted and far from their peak, their progress was slow.

    Drake observed that Sylvia¡¯s pixie spirit was still following them from above.

    ¡®They should be coming soon,¡¯ he thought hopefully, but he wasn¡¯t sure when they would arrive, and if it¡¯ll be too late by then.

    ¡°Crescent slash! Crescent slash! Crescent slash!¡± exclaimed Drake, slicing nearby demons in half, before pausing to catch his breath. He glanced at Derald on his left and noticed the two Silver Crane Sect disciples guarding him to his left and back, with Blaze taking the front.

    Suddenly, a herd of demon boars charged from the left. The two Silver Crane Sect disciples stood side by side to meet their charge. As soon as the first boar arrived, the one on the right threw a punch and sent it flying.

    Unfortunately, that boar was quickly replaced by dozens. The two Silver Crane Sect disciples threw all manners of punches and kicks, using their martial techniques, killing a demon with every attack. However, there were too many and some still passed through, charging gleefully towards Derald and Jordon.

    Seeing this, Drake wanted to rush to help. However, alarm bells suddenly blared in his mind. Drake jumped to the side, just as a huge demon ant slammed its mandible down on the spot he was just standing in.

    Over forty demon ants were following closely behind it.

    ¡°Solar barrage! Solar barrage! Solar barrage!¡± Drake exclaimed, summoning over thirty fireballs and sending them flying towards the demon ants. The servant class demons couldn¡¯t take an attack from a rank two artifact so easily. The ants incinerated upon making contact with the fireballs, and the almost four dozen demon ants turned to ash within a few seconds.

    Drake began panting for breath again.

    He reached into his pockets, took out more mana and stamina recovery pills, and consumed them. Drake felt his body slowly recover, and his breathing began returning to normal. However, a slight burning sensation began forming in his stomach.

    ¡®I can¡¯t keep consuming so many pills,¡¯ thought Drake.

    If we continue like this, we¡¯ll surely¡­

    Drake didn¡¯t want to complete that thought.

 Chapter 81: Regroup

    Although Drake had a large stash of pills, consuming them one after another without breaks was dangerous, as his body wouldn¡¯t be able to process so many pills so quickly. Not only would they start becoming less effective, but if the mana in the pills wasn''t properly processed, they¡¯d build up and cause him to suffer a terrifying backlash.

    However, it was impossible to fight through this endless demon horde without consuming pills. Hence, Drake had no choice but to keep taking them. Not only him, but the others were in much the same position.

    After recovering to an extent, Drake focused on the Silver Crane Sect disciples again.

    Derald had laid Jordon on the ground and begun using his martial techniques to fight off the demons that were breaking past the other two Silver Crane Sect disciples. However, Derald, due to his injuries and exhaustion, was just barely holding on and preventing the demons from attacking Jordon.

    Suddenly, a demon vulture swooped down from above and dug its claws into Jordon¡¯s shoulders with a sickening crunch. Jordon screamed in pain.

    Drake was about to rush to his aid when he heard him cry out.

    ¡°Everyone! Just leave me and go!¡±

    Although everyone was focused on their own battles, his cry echoed loudly in their ears.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, we¡¯re not leaving you! Flaming fist¡± Derald cried as he activated his martial technique and punched the demon eagle, sending it flying and killing it instantly.

    ¡°Yea, he¡¯s right!¡± the other Silver Crane Sect disciples agreed.

    But Drake hesitated.

    Of course, Drake ideally wanted to save Jordon as well, however, looking around at everyone¡¯s exhausted states, he wasn¡¯t sure how much longer they could keep this up. If Sylvia and the others didn¡¯t arrive quickly¡­

    We¡¯d end up having to do that sooner or later.

    ¡®If we left now with the four of us fighting to our full abilities without protecting him, we could break through the demon horde. But, if we take too long¡­¡¯

    Drake observed the demon horde becoming larger and larger by the second while everyone was becoming more tired and weak.

    ¡®¡­ We may not be able to break through even if we wanted to.¡¯

    Maybe it is a good idea to just¡­

    Drake shook his head. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with me?¡¯ he scolded himself. ¡®The old me would not even entertain such an idea¡­¡¯

    Thinking so, Drake threw another round of solar barrage at the encroaching demons on his side to hold them back before running towards the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    ¡°Crescent slash! Solar barrage! Chain lightning!¡± Drake unleashed a torrent of attacks, activating his artifacts and martial techniques one after another, killing dozens of demons at once.

    With his support, the Silver Crane Sect disciples managed to get a moment of rest which they used to quickly consume some pills and recover. After a few seconds, they felt their strength returning and joined Drake in defeating the surrounding demons.

    ¡°We have to get going!¡± Drake cried. He tossed several healing pills to Jordon while rushing back to his position, before beginning to run forward again. No one had any complaints.

    Derald picked up Jordon and began running again, followed closely by the other two Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Jordon consumed the healing pills. His bleeding stopped for a few seconds before quickly restarting.

    Drake internally sighed to himself while the other Silver Crane Sect disciples grew worried about him.

    As they ran, their speed slowly decreased. The progress they had been making was gradually eroded as an endless number of demons continued to be attracted to the battlefield and ran to join the fray. Despite the hundreds and hundreds of demons they had killed so far, there were still over two thousand demons surrounding them now.

    Even Blaze, the strongest of them all, found himself downtrodden. Using the dragon form had taken a large toll on his body which he barely recovered from, while Helen¡¯s death weighed heavily on his mind.

    After ten more minutes, their speed slowed to a snail¡¯s pace.

    Drake¡¯s mind flashed back to the time of his first mission where he, Elwin and their soldiers were ambushed by the large demon tide. He recollected helplessly watching them die one by one, before looking at his party again, who were in the same miserable condition as they were back then, despite everyone here being so much stronger.

    ¡®If we don¡¯t leave him now and break through, then all of us will¡­¡¯

    Drake shook his head and looked at the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    ¡°Everyone, we have to ¨C¡± before Drake could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud explosion.

    ¡°Mountain splitter!¡±

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Hearing those familiar voices, Drake froze. The Silver Crane Sect disciples stared into the distance in disbelief, before their faces slowly broke into smiles.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± everyone exclaimed. Even Blaze was brought back from his sense of despair and became enthusiastic. The entire atmosphere was uplifted.

    With renewed vigour, everyone exerted all their strength and more to launch a new flurry of attacks on the surrounding demons.

    Due to Sylvia¡¯s guidance, their group avoided most large demon hordes. Hence, they were still full of energy. Sylvia, Farisa, and the Silver Crane Sect disciples cut through the demon horde like a blade, quickly reaching Drake and the others.

    ¡°Jordon! Derald!¡± the Silver Crane Sect disciples cried before running towards them.

    ¡°Blaze! Drake!¡± Sylvia called out. She had never seen either of them like this ¨C as if they had reached their breaking point, physically and mentally. However, her expression turned serious and she jogged up to Drake. ¡°Where¡¯s Theo and the dark mages? And Helen?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Drake sighed. He knew how much Sylvia cared for Helen. So, he didn¡¯t want to break the news to her in this situation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first,¡± he replied. Sylvia wasn¡¯t happy, but seeing the enormous demon horde, she knew it made sense to prioritise escaping first.

    Sylvia¡¯s group worked together with Drake¡¯s. They fought vigorously, killing dozens and dozens of demons every second as they dashed through the horde. After a few minutes, they finally broke through the demon horde.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­¡± Drake sighed as he inhaled fresh, open air in what seemed like ages. If he could, he would lie down right here to rest; not just him, but the rest of his party was also in the same position.

    However, they knew that they couldn¡¯t do that. They needed to put plenty of space between them and the demon horde first so they couldn¡¯t catch up.

    So, everyone drew on their last reserves of strength and continued running.

    After half an hour, the sun was high in the sky and the dust storm began picking up once more. This reduced the visibility for Sylvia¡¯s pixies, making it difficult for her to detect demons.

    ¡°How far away is the next inheritance?¡± Drake asked Sylvia, jogging next to her.

    ¡°Not too far,¡± she replied. ¡°If we don¡¯t encounter any large demon hordes, we should make it there in an hour.¡±

    ¡°We need to rest for a bit, and Jordon needs healing. Are there any places nearby without demons where we can take a break?¡± Kurt asked, catching his breath after every few words.

    Sylvia looked at everyone and saw their exhausted states, especially Drake¡¯s group, and realised he was right. She closed her eyes for a second before opening them and coming to a standstill.

    ¡°We can rest here,¡± she said, before adding, ¡°But not for long, there are demons some distance away. They may reach us in another forty or fifty minutes. We need to leave by then.¡±

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine,¡± Kurt replied.

    Hearing their conversation, everyone else also came to a stop. Drake, Blaze, and the two other Silver Crane Sect disciples all began gasping for breath while Derald and Jordon collapsed on the floor. Jordon fell off Derald¡¯s back and landed with a thud. He was completely unconscious.

    Even while being carried by Derald, certain demons had approached from their back and the sky, and landed some attacks on him. By now, Jordon had lost so much blood and was riddled with injuries, including deep wounds, broken bones, and more. He was heavily injured and in extremely critical condition.

    Ivan looked at Sylvia and spoke in a panicked voice. ¡°Help him! Please!¡±

    Sylvia nodded and walked towards him. Once she was close, she knelt down and observed his condition. She noticed the rising and falling of his chest. It was very slight, indicating that his breathing had become very weak, but it was still there.

    ¡®This¡­ is not good¡­¡¯ she thought, but didn¡¯t voice her concern. She closed her eyes and palms and gathered her mana. A second later, she opened her palms and a green light flew out. It revealed itself to be a white pixie spirit, decorated with green patterns.

    This was the most powerful rank two healing spirit she knew which could heal broken bones and deep wounds.

    ¡®If this doesn¡¯t work then¡­¡¯ she stopped that train of thought and ordered the pixie to heal Jordon. The pixie buzzed and flew towards Jordon.

    However, just as the pixie came close, Jordon¡¯s breathing came to a stop.

    Sylvia¡¯s eyes widened and Ivan grew pale with worry.

    ¡®HEAL HIM!¡¯ she screamed in her mind.

    The pixie spirit obeyed and placed its hands on Jordon¡¯s chest. Mana travelled through the pixie, activating the healing runes in its palms, and poured into Jordon¡¯s body. Nothing seemed to happen on the surface, but Sylvia could feel that the mana was working to heal Jordon¡¯s internal injuries, like his broken bones.

    Several minutes passed as his bones were mended one after another. Then, his wounds slowly began closing. However, throughout this entire process, Jordon¡¯s breathing did not recover. His chest laid completely flat, showing no sign of moving.

    Ivan noticed this and became increasingly agitated. He didn¡¯t say anything initially to not disturb Sylvia, but now, he couldn¡¯t contain himself any longer.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is he still not breathing?¡± Ivan asked, panic ringing in his voice. Hearing his cry, all the other Silver Crane Sect disciples gathered around Sylvia and Ivan.

    But Sylvia didn¡¯t respond and focused all her energy on healing Jordon¡¯s injuries. Ivan bit his lip and let her work without disturbing further.

    Several more minutes passed.

    Sylvia finished healing all of Jordon¡¯s wounds but his breathing didn¡¯t recover. She could tell that his heart had stopped beating a while ago and would not recover. Realising this, she sighed, before standing up helplessly.

    ¡°What? How is he? You¡¯ve healed him, right? Will he be okay? Why is he still not breathing?¡± Ivan asked one question after another. Seeing Sylvia¡¯s expression made his heart sink, but his mind didn¡¯t want to accept reality.

    Sylvia sighed and turned towards him. ¡°I¡¯ve done everything I can. There¡¯s nothing else I can do. He¡¯s¡­ gone.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Ivan whispered, stumbling backwards. ¡°No¡­ that can¡¯t be true!¡±

    Ivan knelt beside Jordon and began shaking him. ¡°Jordon, wake up! WAKE UP! Don¡¯t die on me you bastard!¡±

    The other Silver Crane Sect disciples also gathered together. Even Kurt¡¯s face became aghast. However, he quickly controlled his expression and put on a brave front to appear strong for his fellow disciples. Unfortunately, his eyes betrayed him and Sylvia could see how deeply Jordon¡¯s death affected on him.

    She sighed and started walking away, giving them some time alone.

    Drake, Blaze, and Farisa were sitting together some distance away, meditating and recovering their strength. They had naturally seen everything as well, but they weren¡¯t so close to Jordon so didn¡¯t feel strongly about his passing.

    As Drake watched, Sylvia walked towards them and sat down with a sigh. More than the others, she felt a little depressed and regretful. If she had activated her dryad¡¯s avatar and used her flower of life to heal Jordon immediately, it was quite likely that he would have recovered. It was an incredibly powerful spell that could rapidly heal even serious injuries.

    However, using it would take a huge toll on her body and mana, and knock her out of commission for a while. Even after she recovered, returning to her peak strength would take an even longer time. Given how they were constantly surrounded by danger from demons and dark mages, she didn¡¯t want to put herself at a disadvantage and chose not to use it. But seeing Jordon¡¯s death, she slightly regretted that decision now.

    Sensing her worry, Drake placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± he whispered.

    After all, I would have done the same thing¡­

    ¡°Thank you,¡± she replied softly.

    At the end of the day, she didn¡¯t owe them anything ¨Ccertainly not putting herself in danger to help them. She quickly recovered from her emotions and turned towards Drake and Blaze.

    ¡°So, what happened? To Theo and the dark mages? And¡­ Helen?¡± she asked. Farisa also glanced at them curiously.

    A flood of emotions rose within Drake again. He shared a glance with Blaze who became quiet, indicating that he didn¡¯t want to explain. Drake sighed and cleared his throat. Then, he began explaining.

    He told them everything from how they met Theo and the dark mages, how the battle unfolded, how Theo severely injured Jordon, and how Blaze captured him. He then mentioned the dark grand mage¡¯s sudden appearance.

    Sylvia furrowed her brows and Drake continued.

    As Drake recollected the following events, the same, dark feeling welled up within him once more. Drake took a moment to suppress it before describing everything else. He explained how they were going to strike a deal with the dark grand mage there, but how Theo flipped at the last second and killed Helen.

    ¡°What!?¡± Sylvia gasped, eyes wide in shock.

    At the same time, Derald and the other two Silver Crane Sect disciples who had travelled with Drake and Blaze described their experience to the rest of their sect disciples.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it ¨C how could they get away? Didn¡¯t you say Blaze had captured Theo? Wasn¡¯t that the perfect opportunity to kill him? Why didn¡¯t he do it?¡± Ivan asked confused.

    ¡°Because, the dark grand mage showed up,¡± Derald explained.

    ¡°Immediately?¡± Ivan asked again.

    ¡°Well, no¡­ it was¡­ a few minutes later¡­¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he kill him in that¡­¡± Ivan¡¯s voice trailed off as he seemed to realise something. His eyes widened and he turned towards Drake¡¯s group. His mind flashed to Jordon¡¯s image and an unspeakable amount of rage built up in his body.

    ¡°YOU!¡± Ivan screamed, running up to Drake¡¯s party.

    ¡°Wait, what are you doing?¡± Kurt screamed, running behind him, followed closely by the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    Ivan¡¯s scream instantly alerted Drake¡¯s party. Seeing Ivan approach them furiously, Drake and the others became wary and stood up. He walked till he was several metres from Drake¡¯s party and pointed.

    ¡°You! You guys never intended to kill Theo, did you?¡±

    Kurt and the others caught up to him and looked at Drake¡¯s party confused. However, they didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°You¡­ you were planning on exchanging his life for your party member, right? So you put all of us in danger, just to save one of your own? And lied to us, saying you wanted to kill them!¡± Ivan stared daggers at them one by one ¨C Blaze, Sylvia, Drake and then Farisa.

    A few moments passed.

    Slowly, realisation dawned on the other Silver Crane Sect disciples as they began to understand what Ivan was saying.

    They started glaring at Drake¡¯s party.

 Chapter 82: The herb garden

    Drake met their gaze.

    ¡°Only Theo,¡± he said calmly. ¡°We wanted to kill the other dark mages and capture Theo, before exchanging him for Helen with their grand mage.¡±

    ¡°Even though you know how powerful he is? You had the chance to kill him but you didn¡¯t? Despite what he did to Jordon?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Drake replied. He paused for a second then added, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you have done the same for one of your own?¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    Ivan was furious. Jordon¡¯s death was almost entirely due to Theo, and they had let him go despite having had a perfect opportunity to kill him. Not only that, but they never planned on killing Theo in the first place! But had misled them into thinking that they did.

    Maybe he would have done the same for his own sect disciples, but Ivan didn¡¯t care about that now. He was feeling so angry, and he wanted some form of justice.

    ¡°AHHH!¡± Ivan screamed and unsheathed his sword. Drake narrowed his eyes and the rest of his party also became serious. Ivan was about to charge when Kurt pulled on his shoulder to hold him back.

    ¡°Stop! What are you doing?! Let me go!¡± Ivan protested, Kurt just sighed. Following Kurt, a few other Silver Crane Sect disciples also pulled Ivan and took him away.

    After they left, Kurt turned to face Drake¡¯s party again before speaking slowly.

    ¡°I understand why you did what you did,¡± he said, looking them in the eye. ¡°It¡¯s just a shame that we missed an opportunity to kill that man, Theo,¡± Kurt then looked in Ivan¡¯s direction before adding, ¡°Ivan will also come around¡­ eventually.¡±

    ¡°I hope so, and we¡¯re sorry about your loss,¡± Farisa sighed. She sounded very sincere. ¡°We wanted to capture only Theo while killing all of his dark mage companions. If only things had gone according to plan, we could have still dealt a huge blow to the dark mages. But it¡¯s too bad that the dark grand mage had to show up so suddenly¡­¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Kurt replied, turning back. ¡°However, it may be a good idea for us to go our separate ways now.¡±

    ¡°Really-!?¡± Farisa gasped, but a second later, she realised it might also be for the best. They both needed some space to process the loss of their party member.

    Besides, the main reason they teamed up was to deal with the dark mages. Now that that was done, there was no longer any need to work together.

    ¡°Very well, in that case, it has been a pleasure to work with you,¡± Farisa replied after a few seconds.

    ¡°Indeed, thanks for your help and sorry for your loss,¡± Blaze added.

    ¡°Thank you too,¡± Kurt replied.

    Drake also said his goodbye while Sylvia just nodded. After that, the Silver Crane Sect disciples began walking away.

    With a sigh, Drake and the rest of his party sat down. They decided to recuperate for some more time before leaving.

    Blaze, Drake, and Farisa began meditating to recover their mana. However, Sylvia just stared blankly at the ground for a moment. Her mind was filled with images of Helen and all the time they spent together. An overwhelming sense of loss and grief filled her heart.

    She had never felt such intense emotions before and didn¡¯t know how to deal with it. However, she recalled the image of a young man with red hair wielding a sword and chains. Remembering him made her blood boil.

    She clenched her fist and muttered to herself.

    ¡°Theo¡­ I will not let you get away with this¡­¡±

    Ten minutes later, the party recovered as much strength as they could and stood up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Sylvia spoke in a monotone voice, her face blank.

    Unlike Blaze who would often visibly become enraged, Drake knew Sylvia liked to keep her emotions to herself. Although Helen¡¯s death weighed deeply on everyone, seeing Sylvia in this state was disheartening. With a sigh, he tried to change the topic.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± he asked.

    She glanced at him and paused for a second before replying.

    ¡°The herb garden.¡±

    Two hours later.

    The sun was high in the sky and an enormous dust storm covered the landscape. A group of four were dashing through the inheritance grounds.

    If one looked a few kilometres away in the direction they were running, they would notice a large enclosure. It was different to all the village ruins they had encountered so far, with the walls made completely out of stone. Several groups had entered the building already, and they were faced with a huge space.

    At the centre was a large, flowery archway connected to a long, wooden fence stretching on either side. The fence formed a rectangle, at the other end of which, was another flowery archway. These acted as gateways to a land of herbs.

    Numerous rare and ancient herbs were growing within the rectangular enclosure, filling the room with an unbelievably dense, magical and spiritual aroma.

    However, there was one feature which stood out above the rest.

    A massive tree was growing right in the centre of all the herbs, giving off a mystical and white radiance. Everyone who caught a glimpse of it instantly paused, eyes wide open, recognising it immediately.

    It was the Celestial Willow!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    A little while later.

    Drake¡¯s party noticed large stone walls appearing in the distance. It was difficult for Drake to make out any details due to the dust storm, however, Sylvia confirmed that it was indeed the herb garden. Hearing this, the party moved forward rapidly and reached its gates within a few minutes.

    As always, the moment Drake walked in, the first thing he noticed was the temperature change. While the outside was burning hot due to the blazing sun, the inside was at a pleasant, cool temperature.

    However, the next thing that stood out to Drake was the thick medicinal aroma in the air. Drake looked forward and noticed a large flowery archway and a long fence, enclosing an area filled with all manner of rare and ancient herbs which had been growing for hundreds of years.

    For most herbs, the longer they grew, the greater their effects would be. A herb could be grown for ten years, and its effects would be vastly inferior to the exact same herb grown for a hundred, or a thousand years. Most higher-ranked pills often required herbs to have been aged for a certain number of years minimum.

    The herbs growing in this garden were several centuries old, at least. Hence, there were all radiating a dense, magical aura.

    However, there was one thing which caught Drake¡¯s attention more than everything else. That was the large tree growing right in the middle of the herb garden. It was completely white and reached dozens of metres tall. Hundreds of branches grew out of the tree from which beautiful white leaves blossomed. The whole tree glowed while radiating an aura of magnificence, making Drake and his party gawk in awe at its mere sight.

    It¡­ really is here!

    Drake was overjoyed. For a moment, all worries left his mind, for he had found the one thing he had been searching for, since the time he left the Jain village.

    The Celestial Willow!

    With this, he could finally restore his mana core and become a mage again!

    If he could, Drake would run up to the tree and take it all for himself immediately. However, fate wasn¡¯t so kind.

    Drake looked to his right and saw two groups of people.

    The first was a group of six, one of whom he recognised very well, Cyrus Blackthorne - they were the Blackthorne family! Drake hadn¡¯t seen any of them after splitting up with Cyrus, but they happened to have found their way here.

    Drake then glanced at the second group of people but they weren¡¯t wearing the clothing of any known sect or family.

    ¡®They must be lone cultivators,¡¯ he thought.

    Finally, Drake turned to his left and his face turned dark.

    Four individuals wore black robes and stood as a group ¨C dark mages!

    Two were radiating the aura of a late stage warrior mage, while the other two gave off the aura of a late stage steel body martial artist,

    Drake immediately raised his right hand and poured mana into his glove. Over ten fireballs appeared around him and instantly shot towards the dark mages.

    Seeing this, two of the dark mages chuckled and raised their hands.

    ¡°Poison Ivy!¡±

    A black, thorny plant appeared next to the dark mage. The plant quickly multiplied and expanded its roots to form a large shield, covering him and the dark mage behind.

    ¡°Miasma wisp!¡±

    The second dark mage summoned what looked like a round and spiky blob made of gas. The edge of each spike protruding from its body carried a hole, from which a dense, black fog spilled out. The fog gathered together in clumps and solidified, quickly forming another shield which similarly covered the dark mage and the final mage behind him.

    The fog summoned by the miasma spirit was made of corrosive poison. The moment the fireballs touched it, they disintegrated.

    At the same time, the fireballs that made contact with the poison ivy exploded and disappeared, but the shield remained firm.

    Within a few seconds, the dark mages managed to successfully defend themselves against Drake¡¯s solar barrage.

    The dark mages chuckled again and undid their spells, leaving the spirits floating by their side. All four of them looked at Drake¡¯s party mockingly.

    ¡°Tst,¡± Drake spat and took a step forward. However, the moment his foot was about to touch the ground, a huge alarm bell went off in his mind. Drake quickly pulled his leg back just as a large spear of mana blasted out of the ground and into the air.

    Cold sweat trickled down his back.

    ¡®That could have taken out my leg!¡¯

    One of the lone cultivators spoke out at this moment. ¡°The ground is covered with traps, so we can¡¯t move very easily.¡±

    Drake glanced at him and noticed a slight grin on his face, as well as the lone cultivators accompanying him.

    ¡®The bastards didn¡¯t tell me before on purpose¡­¡¯ he realised.

    Drake scoffed at the lone cultivators before turning back towards the herb garden and the dark mages, wondering how to get the inheritance while defeating the dark mages.

    At this point, Farisa finally spoke up.

    ¡°Everyone, the dark mages are powerful and dangerous. We cannot let them get the inheritance. Let¡¯s work together to defeat them first!¡±

    Surprisingly, one of the dark mages responded first.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled!¡± the dark mage with the poison ivy spirit spoke up, facing the lone cultivators. ¡°She is from the Myriad Sword Palace and the other group is from the Blackthorne family. As lone cultivators, they are more likely to work with each other than any of you. If you help them defeat us, how do you know they won¡¯t turn against yo-¡±

    The dark mage sensed danger and immediately willed his spirit to move. The spirit moved the shield to the side just as an arrow crashed into it, leaving a small crack. Sylvia relaxed her arm and cursed.

    The lone cultivators glanced at each other hesitatingly, while the other dark mage who had summoned the miasma wisp continued.

    ¡°There are ten of you and four of us. If we work together, we can easily beat them and take the inheritance for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them!¡± Blaze spoke up. His deep voice, large figure, and distinctive horns made him imposing. ¡°You cannot trust dark mages. They are known for their deceitful nature. Work with us and we promise to give you all an equal share of the inheritance.¡±

    Drake and the others nodded as if to confirm his promise. The lone cultivators glanced at the Blackthorne family.

    ¡°We agree as well,¡± one of them said, and the rest nodded in confirmation.

    There were ten lone cultivators. If they worked with the four dark mages, they would have Drake¡¯s party and the Blackthorne family outnumbered, leaving them in a difficult situation. Hence, they absolutely could not allow the lone cultivators to side with the dark mages.

    The lone cultivators thought for a bit and came to a silent agreement.

    One of the lone cultivators reached into his storage pouch and took out a rod-shaped artifact. He faced the dark mages and bashed the rod into the ground while pouring mana into it.

    ¡°Spike charge!¡±

    The ground in front of the rod burst out into a tall and deadly spike. The spike floated out and hovered next to the lone mage before charging at the dark mages.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± the dark mage cursed and brought his poison ivy shield to block, just as the earth spike crashed into him. Given that it was already weakened from Drake and Sylvia¡¯s attacks, a large crack formed on his shield.

    ¡°Fine, if that¡¯s how you want to play, then take this ¨C thorn blast!¡± the dark mage willed and the poison ivy spirit released all of its thorns. The hundreds of thorns blasted towards the lone cultivators who quickly took out their artifacts and summoned spirits to defend themselves.

    ¡°Decimate!¡± Sylvia''s voice echoed as Drake felt a powerful wind sweep past him.

    The dark mages felt immense danger and acted immediately. While the first two dark mages used their poison ivy shield and miasma shield, the remaining two dark mages who were martial artists, pulled out a bell and disk artifact, before pouring mana into it. The first summoned a projection of a large bell which covered all of them, while the second summoned a large mana shield.

    BOOOM!

    The powerful mana arrow crashed against their defences. The mana shield and bell projection were broken immediately, causing the dark mages to suffer a backlash. However, this caused the mana arrow to weaken considerably, becoming much smaller.

    It then shot through the miasma shield. The moment it made contact, it began eroding and decreasing in size. A few seconds later, the arrow broke through the shield, but it was just normal-sized now.

    Finally, the poison ivy shield blocked the arrow¡¯s path. This time, the mana arrow could not break through so easily. The dark mage bit his lips as he poured all his mana into the shield. A few seconds later, the arrow exploded, releasing a small dust cloud, causing all the dark mages to cough.

 Chapter 83: A seed

    Before the dark mages could recover, the lone cultivators, Blackthorne family, and the rest of Drake¡¯s party also shot their attacks at the dark mages.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay in the same place, let¡¯s get moving!¡± one of the dark mages yelled.

    Having no choice, the dark mages began walking towards the herb garden while doing their best to block and dodge everyone¡¯s attacks. There were traps everywhere, but the dark mages didn¡¯t have the time to check a spot thoroughly before stepping onto it. This caused them to trigger numerous traps, which they would dodge or block at the last minute. Still, they quickly racked up multiple injuries.

    ¡°We can¡¯t keep going like this!¡± one of the dark mages complained while blocking a dozen attacks.

    The dark mage who had summoned the poison ivy spirit seemed to be the leader and everyone looked at him for a decision. While blocking another half a dozen attacks, he stepped onto a new spot. Immediately, the ground split open revealing deadly spikes underneath. He was almost about to fall but the other dark mages caught and brought him back to safety.

    Seeing this situation, the dark mage bit his lip.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s retreat,¡± he made the choice decisively.

    All the dark mages internally sighed with relief upon hearing his decision. They immediately turned tail and ran. Since they had already explored the area behind them, they knew the safe locations without traps and were able to quickly run towards the gate.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Blaze exclaimed furiously as he began to activate dragon step. However, Sylvia grabbed his arm and held him back.

    Blaze looked at her, slightly surprised, but she just shook her head, implying that he shouldn¡¯t chase after them. Blaze was furious. Images of Helen flashed through his mind once more as rage built up within him. However, Sylvia held him firmly, making him confused.

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t she hate them? How can she let them escape so easily? Has she moved on already?¡¯

    ¡®No¡­ wait¡­ she must have a reason,¡¯ Blaze decided to trust Sylvia¡¯s judgement and calm himself down before focusing on the herb garden again.

    Drake noticed this interaction, but he was unwilling to give up so easily. Hence, he gathered all the mana he could and poured it into his right hand. Fireballs began forming in front of him one after another ¨C ten, twenty, thirty¡­ almost forty large, scorching hot fireballs formed in front of Drake.

    ¡°Go!¡± Drake ordered, panting for breath.

    Immediately, the fireballs shot forward. The dark mages who were busy retreating were not able to put up defences in time. Looking back at the fiery death approaching them, their faces paled.

    However, at this moment, one of the Blackthorne family members called out from behind.

    ¡°Water assault!¡±

    A large number of water balls shot towards the dark mages. Seeing this the dark mages smirked.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Drake screamed, but it was too late. The water balls collided with his solar barrage, neutralising most of them. The rest were easily blocked by the dark mages¡¯ defences.

    ¡°Haha, it seems even fate is on our side. We¡¯ll see you losers later!¡± the dark mages laughed as they exited the herb garden and fled.

    Drake was enraged and turned around.

    ¡®Who was it?¡¯ Drake screamed in his mind. That was when he noticed a familiar face again ¨C Cyrus Blackthorne!

    He was holding a seashell artifact in his hand. Drake recalled that Cyrus¡¯s seashell artifact had the ability to summon water balls.

    ¡®It was you!? ¡­ again?¡¯

    Drake¡¯s mind flashed back to the time he clashed with Theo, along with Blaze and Cyrus when he first entered the inheritance. Even at that time, when Blaze was about to land a critical hit on Theo, Cyrus had launched a water assault at the exact same time, neutralising it.

    ¡®Could it be¡­?¡¯

    ¡°Aaahhh¡­ sorry about that,¡± Cyrus gave a dry chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

    However, Drake didn¡¯t respond.

    Instead, he became wary and glared at him.

    ¡®I¡¯ll deal with you later,¡¯ he thought, and turned back to the herb garden.

    Drake took out a couple of mana and stamina recovery pills and consumed them. Within a few seconds, he felt the mana he expended return to him.

    After a moment of rest, Drake¡¯s party began moving forward. Sylvia summoned a couple of imp spirits and ordered them to walk forward to try and trigger the traps, but that didn¡¯t work.

    ¡®That¡¯s a shame,¡¯ Sylvia sighed.

    Drake also attempted shooting the ground with solar barrage and water bullets, but they didn¡¯t activate any traps.

    ¡®The traps must only trigger when stepped on by a human,¡¯ thought Drake.

    However, Drake then came up with another idea. He activated acute sense and then summoned a light barrier to cover himself completely. Afterwards, he slowly stepped forward. Drake¡¯s acute sense picked up danger signs immediately, causing Drake to step back in an instant.

    A plume of fire shot out of the ground where he was about to step into. It had appeared so rapidly that he might not have been able to dodge without acute sense. And, even with acute sense, the fire would have still burnt his hand, but it was blocked by his light barrier, allowing him to remain safe.

    One second later, the floor stopped spewing fire and returned to normal.

    Drake smirked.

    Relying on his increased reflexes from acute sense, and light barrier for defence, he began walking through the traps bravely. Blaze and the others saw his methods and followed him gratefully.

    Seeing them make quick progress, the Blackthorne family and the lone cultivators cursed. They began using their own methods to try to quickly cross the traps and reach the arch.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Despite his best efforts, some traps were too hard to dodge or block, causing Drake to suffer injuries. He would then consume some pills and take a few moments to recover, before continuing. In this way, even though the arch was physically close, it took him almost an hour to reach it.

    ¡°Finally!¡± Drake gasped as he crossed the final trap and reached the arch. He leaned against the arch and gasped for breath. Staying on full alert for almost an hour was incredibly, mentally taxing. Luckily, he managed to make it in one piece, however, the same wasn¡¯t true for everyone else.

    Drake glanced at the Blackthorne family and noticed that one of them was severely injured, while the rest carried numerous bruises. He then looked at the lone cultivators and saw that two of them were dead, while the rest were covered with various injuries as well.

    However, they were both extremely close as well. Part of the reason why the groups had so many injuries was because they were trying to keep up with Drake which had caused them to rush and become careless.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re almost there!¡± one of the Blackthorne members yelled, jumping over the last trap and landing next to Drake. He was soon followed by the rest of the Blackthorne family as well.

    At the same time, the eight lone cultivators also arrived on the other side, and walked up to Drake, gasping for breath.

    Drake¡¯s party ignored them all and walked into the herb garden.

    If the outside could be described as carrying a dense, medicinal scent, the air in the garden felt like it had transformed into a spiritual and herbal nature. It was so rich with the aroma of the various herbs that it was indescribable.

    ¡®This¡­ is amazing!¡¯ thought Drake. His eyes scanned his surroundings and noticed a large variety of herbs, many of which were extremely rare if not extinct, at least on their part of the continent. If he could, Drake would take all the herbs for himself, but unfortunately, he knew he couldn¡¯t do that.

    However, there was one thing he was most interested in. Drake stared straight ahead and noticed the large Celestial Willow tree towering over the entire garden, emitting an ancient and majestic aura.

    Drake walked up to the tree and observed, open mouthed. Seeing him, the other cultivators also jogged up to the tree, not wanting to allow Drake to take the treasures for himself.

    Seeing the other cultivators, especially Cyrus, Drake snorted.

    ¡°There are enough leaves here for everyone, let¡¯s all split it up,¡± he announced.

    Indeed, there were hundreds of leaves growing in the tree. Drake only needed three to refine one pill. He wanted to take twenty so that he¡¯d have enough leaves for a number of tries. Taking more than twenty leaves would not be very useful for him, since he didn¡¯t have sufficient quantities of the other materials for more than six or seven tries anyway. Given the recent improvement to his alchemy skills, Drake thought he should be able to refine the pill within those tries.

    Seeing his willingness to share, everyone else, especially the lone cultivators, heaved a sigh of relief. They first plucked all the leaves from the Celestial Willow and shared it equally amongst everyone. After that, they began splitting up the rest of the herbs.

    No one here apart from Drake was an alchemist. Furthermore, many of the herbs here were very rare and old, so most of the cultivators didn¡¯t even recognise a lot of the herbs. They simply chose herbs based on the strength of their aura, allowing Drake to pick the best and most useful herbs for him very carefully.

    Drake was delighted.

    Once they finished splitting up all the herbs, the ground started shaking as usual, and the walls began collapsing. The lone cultivators left without waiting for anyone else, and the Blackthorne family followed quickly. Blaze and the others were also about to leave but Drake told them to stop.

    Puzzled, they paused and turned around, but Drake didn¡¯t explain. He looked at the large Celestial Willow and sighed.

    ¡®It¡¯s a shame to just leave it here,¡¯ Drake thought. However, it was impossible to move the entire tree.

    ¡®But¡­ there might be something that I can do,¡¯ Drake smirked and started walking around the tree, looking closely at the ground next to its base.

    Blaze and the others shared a glance, confused, but decided to not interrupt him. However, as the enclosure started to collapse, debris began flying their way, making them worried about getting out in time.

    Just as they were about to tell Drake that they needed to leave, he made a move.

    ¡®There!¡¯ he screamed in his mind. There was a small opening at a particular point at the base of the tree.

    Drake attacked the opening with finger thrust, creating a mini explosion. Blaze and the others coughed as dust filled their vision. When the sight cleared, Drake was holding a large, white object, in the shape of a pear, glowing brilliantly.

    ¡°Is that-!?¡± Sylvia gasped, but a large boulder shot towards her, forcing her to block.

    ¡®Let¡¯s get going!¡¯ Drake exclaimed and began running out of the garden. Everyone followed, wondering if they had imagined it.

    ¡®Did he actually get its seed?¡¯ Sylvia wondered.

    The Celestial Willow would take a long time to produce an intact seed ¨C no less than a thousand years! And, it had to grow in perfect conditions for those thousand years, to form a single seed. If the tree wasn¡¯t looked after properly over that time, it would not produce the seed.

    This difficulty in harvesting a seed from the Celestial Willow was one of the main reasons why it had become extinct.

    Not many people knew this about the Celestial Willow, especially given that they had gone extinct for a long time. Being a dryad, Sylvia knew a lot about plants, herbs, and trees, even if she wasn¡¯t an alchemist, but she was surprised that Drake, not only also knew about this, but was lucky enough to find a seed in that tree.

    Struggling to contain his joy, Drake dashed out of the herb garden and entered the outside world. He was met with rays of the hot sun, forcing him to squint his eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. The dust storm was fiercely blowing through the inheritance grounds and muffled the loud collapse of the large stone walls.

    Sylvia and the others quickly joined Drake outside the herb garden. Further away, to their right, Drake noticed the Blackthorne family standing together and discussing something. He focused particularly on Cyrus and observed him deeply.

    Cyrus felt a chill run through his spine and turned around. He noticed Drake who was now talking to his party. Cyrus thought it was just his imagination and returned to discuss their next move with the rest of the Blackthorne family members.

    Drake looked at Sylvia and asked what had been on his mind for a while.

    ¡°So, you did something didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Sylvia looked at him innocently. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You know what I mean,¡± he replied. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯d want to let the dark mages go so easily.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± she replied. ¡°I have some of my pixie spirits trailing them. The dust storm helps them move almost undetectably so I can see exactly where they are.¡±

    ¡°You genius!¡± Blaze exclaimed.

    ¡°Ha,¡± Sylvia chuckled. ¡°They¡¯re not too far from here. They¡¯re moving slowly due to their injuries. If we run, we should be able to catch up to them soon.¡±

    ¡°Great, then let¡¯s go!¡± Blaze exclaimed. However, Sylvia shook her head.

    ¡°No,¡± replied Sylvia. Blaze looked at her confused so she explained. ¡°We are getting closer and closer to the main inheritance in the black structure. Hence, there aren¡¯t a lot of other inheritances left, and those that are there, are being quickly taken up by the other cultivators. So, I think we should split up again.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Farisa. ¡°Those dark mages aren¡¯t weak. It might be difficult for just two of us to be able to take down all four of them. Plus, the demon hordes are also becoming larger and more troublesome, and navigating them would also be difficult as just a pair.¡±

    ¡°I know, but what choice do we have? Unless you want to let the dark mages get away? Or give up on the inheritances?¡± Sylvia asked plainly, looking at Farisa.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Farisa became quiet before sighing. They couldn¡¯t let the dark mages go. If they regrouped with the dark grand mage, along with Theo and the others, they¡¯d become an absolute nightmare to deal with. But, giving up on the inheritances wasn¡¯t an option either. ¡°Very well, I agree we¡¯ll do it your way.¡±

    ¡°Okay, in that case, Drake and I-¡± Blaze began to say something but Sylvia interrupted him.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to go this time,¡± she said. Her voice carrying a dangerous undertone as she imagined all the things she wanted to do to the dark mages.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Blaze replied. ¡°Okay, in that case, you and Drake can go after the dark mages, while Farisa and I move on to the next inheritance.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± replied Sylvia. No one had any complaints.

    Coming to an agreement, Sylvia pointed Blaze and Farisa in the direction of the next few inheritances from her map.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll get going then,¡± Farisa said.

    ¡°Be safe you two,¡± Blaze spoke with a bit of worry. He wanted to go with them, but he couldn¡¯t leave Farisa on her own. Hence, he knew this was the best option.

    However¡­ if that grand mage shows up again¡­

    Blaze didn¡¯t want to think about that. He hoped nothing like that would happen and they¡¯d return safely.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Drake reassured him. After hearing that, Blaze nodded and began walking into the distance with Farisa.

    Drake turned to Sylvia who looked at him meaningfully. After a moment, he spoke in a deep voice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s avenge our friend.¡±

 Chapter 84: Two against four

    An hour later.

    The sun shone on four figures huddled together in the inheritance grounds, wearing dark, hooded robes. They were sitting crossed legged while meditating, recovering their mana and strength.

    Two of them were noticeably more muscular, with one of them also being much taller than the other, whereas the other two had a more average physique, indicating that they were martial artists and mages. One of the mages had the ends of his long, black hair poking out of his hood, whereas the other had short hair which was fully covered by his hood.

    Suddenly, they opened their eyes and looked in a particular direction. Two shadows were rapidly approaching them.

    The hooded figures stood up warily as the shadows drew close within a few seconds, before stopping several metres away. As they stopped, the figures of a young boy and girl were revealed.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± the dark mage with long hair gasped. ¡°How did you find us?¡±

    Drake ignored him and raised his right hand, pouring mana into his glove.

    ¡°Solar barrage,¡± he said coldly. Immediately, a large number of fireballs appeared in front and shot towards the dark mages.

    ¡°Rain!¡± At the same time, Sylvia also shot out a rain of mana arrows from her bow, following closely behind Drake¡¯s fireballs.

    The dark mages shrieked and reacted instinctively.

    ¡°Poison ivy!¡± yelled the short-haired dark mage. The remaining dark mage also made his move.

    ¡°Miasma wisp!¡±

    The two mages summoned their spirits which created shields to cover them. On the other hand, the martial artists took out their bell and disk artifacts and poured mana into them, creating shields as well.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The sound of explosions rang throughout the surroundings as the fireballs and rain of arrows crashed against the dark mages one after another.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Just as the first round of attacks reached the dark mages, Drake and Sylvia launched a second volley of attacks. Seeing this, the dark mages gritted their teeth and continued pouring mana into their artifacts and spirits to hold their defences up. However, taking so many powerful attacks non-stop was quickly wearing down their shields and cracks began appearing.

    The tall martial artist who wielded the disk artifact had the greatest number of cracks in his shield, making him worry about the attacks breaking through. But he spotted that the last of the fireballs and arrows were shooting towards him and relaxed.

    ¡®If it''s just this much, we can handle it,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    BOOM!

    As the last of the attacks crashed against their shields, another explosion rang across the surroundings, raising a mini dust cloud.

    Cough! Cough!

    The tall martial artist coughed from inhaling the dust but quickly forced himself to recover. Seeing the attacks having come to an end, he heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± the other martial artist yelled. Immediately, he became alert and poured more mana into his shield.

    However, it was not enough.

    ¡°Finger thrust!¡± Drake whispered, standing inches away from the martial artist¡¯s shield. His index and middle fingers were bursting with an immense amount of mana as they crashed into his shield. Having already been weakened by the numerous attacks, the shield shattered instantly, and Drake pressed his attack forward, aimed directly at the dark mage¡¯s stomach.

    The tall martial artist watched Drake¡¯s fingers approach him like a knife. He wanted to dodge, but the backlash from his shield being broken temporarily dulled his movements. But that instant was enough for Drake.

    ¡°Ah-!¡± the dark mage gasped as Drake¡¯s fingers stabbed into his stomach. He felt like he was hit by a cannon, only much worse.

    But Drake didn¡¯t give him time to recover. He pulled his hand back and raised his leg high into the air. He poured mana into his boots, encasing his leg in lightning, before crashing it down on his head.

    ¡°Lightning metal leg!¡± he yelled. Drake¡¯s leg became as hard as metal and smashed into the martial artist¡¯s head at an unbelievable speed.

    Boom!

    The martial artist slammed against the ground, the force of the impact creating a crater around him. Mini lightning bolts zapped around his head. His eyes turned white, and he was knocked unconscious.

    ¡®He¡¯s¡­ defeated!?¡¯ the dark mages were in shock. Only a few seconds had passed and one of them was already down.

    How could they be so strong?

    But although it was hard to believe, the proof was right in front of their eyes. The tall martial artist was on the floor, his face implanted into the ground. Stepping on top of his head was a young boy, who was now looking at them expressionlessly, emitting a cold aura.

    Suddenly, they felt a large amount of mana condensing. They looked forward again to spot the young girl grabbing her bow firmly with her left hand, while her right was pulling on the string. She was pouring mana into her ring and, in between her fingers, a powerful arrow was forming. Feeling its aura, the dark mages went pale.

    ¡®Breathe¡­¡¯ Sylvia told herself. The next second, she smirked and released the string.

    ¡°Decimate.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s most powerful arrow blasted towards the dark mages. It required all four of their efforts to block the arrow last time. Now, with only three of them, they didn¡¯t want to face it head-on.

    The dark mages dashed off in three different directions to dodge the arrow just in time as it crashed into the ground they were just standing on.

    BOOOMMMM!This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    An enormous explosion resounded across the surrounding and a large dust cloud rose into the air.

    However, the dark mages had no time to recover as Sylvia aimed another arrow at a dark mage.

    The remaining martial artist felt an intense blood lust behind him and jumped.

    ¡°Hammer fist!¡±

    Drake dived from the air, punching the ground just as the martial artist dodged.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t ¨C thorn blast!¡± the dark mage facing Sylvia noticed Drake and acted instantly, attacking him from the side. However, Drake didn¡¯t even turn around.

    ¡°Light barrier!¡± he poured mana into his robe and a barrier appeared on his side.

    Even though the poison ivy was a rank two spirit, his robe was a rank three defensive artifact. So, it could easily take several attacks from the spirit before breaking.

    The poison thorns collided with his light barrier and fell down harmlessly.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± the dark mage cursed, seeing his attack be rendered ineffective. However, he needed to focus on Sylvia so forced himself to turn away from Drake¡¯s battle.

    ¡°Crescent slash!¡±

    Drake activated his rank two martial technique and a crescent blade flew towards the martial artist.

    ¡°Swift stride!¡±

    Just before the blade was going to reach him, the martial artist disappeared.

    Acute sense!

    Being a late stage steel body martial artist, his movements would normally be difficult for Drake to follow as just an early stage steel body martial artist. However, with acute sense, he could easily track him.

    The martial artist appeared behind Drake to his right. He was carrying the bell artifact in his hand and was pouring mana into it. He was about to point it towards Drake when he noticed Drake¡¯s lips curl into a smile.

    ¡°Shadow steps!¡± Drake whispered.

    The next instant, the martial artist saw Drake disappear, leaving behind a trail of dust and sparks.

    So fast!

    He knew that Drake was just an early stage steel body martial artist, so he didn¡¯t expect Drake to be so fast. Unfortunately for him, Drake¡¯s rank two boots gave him a large boost to his speed, catching the dark mage by surprise.

    Oh no!

    The mage screamed in his head as he felt an intense blood lust appear behind him. However, it was too late.

    ¡°Chain. Lightning.¡± Drake¡¯s voice bellowed in his ears, followed by an overwhelming amount of pain.

    ¡°Aaaahhhhh!¡± the dark mage screamed as the bolt of lightning struck him at point-blank range. The lightning split into numerous branches which then twisted and attacked him further.

    While Drake was fighting the martial artist, Sylvia was engaging the two dark mages.

    The long-haired mage with the miasma wisp spirit willed it to move.

    ¡°Choking gas!¡±

    Immediately, a black gas began spewing out of all the holes at the ends of the spikes on the wisp spirit.

    ¡®Not this again,¡¯ Sylvia thought to herself, remembering the poison cloud summoned by the dark grand mage¡¯s vulture spirits. She reached into her pockets, took out a couple of detoxification pills, and consumed them immediately.

    The pills released a purifying mana throughout her body. By the time she breathed in any choking gas, there was enough healing mana in her body to immediately neutralise it, rendering it ineffective.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s see what else you got,¡± Sylvia licked her lips and equipped two arrows simultaneously.

    ¡°Seek!¡± she whispered. The two arrows shot out, aimed at the dark mages.

    The dark mages instinctually dodged. However, the explosion they were waiting for never came. Slowly, the dark mages tilted their head backwards to spot the arrows chasing them instead of crashing into the ground.

    ¡®What the hell?¡¯ they screamed in their heads. However, realising that running was useless, they immediately ordered their spirits to defend them.

    ¡°Thorn shield!¡±

    ¡°Cloud shield!¡±

    While the dark mages were defending against her attacks, Sylvia gathered mana from her inner realm and focused. A second later, two wind elemental imp spirits appeared next to her, each emanating a rank two aura.

    Just as the dark mages finished defending against Sylvia¡¯s seeking arrows, they noticed her spirits and their expression became slightly dark.

    ¡°Go!¡± she ordered. Immediately, the imp spirits flew and attacked the poison ivy and miasma wisp spirits.

    With their spirits held back, Sylvia focused on the dark mages again and equipped a mana, fire, and wind elemental arrow at the same time. She pulled back the string as much as she could, took aim, and released.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    The three arrows shot into the sky and multiplied into dozens and dozens, forming more than sixty arrows. There were so many arrows in the sky that they blocked the sunlight, casting a large shadow over the dark mages.

    ¡°Iron shield!¡±

    Both of them simultaneously summoned several iron shield artifacts and willed them to float before them, one after another. The moment they were done, the arrows began raining down.

    Clang! Clang!

    Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Each collision sent metallic vibrations ringing throughout the battlefield. Cracks quickly appeared on the foremost iron shields, before they shattered. The following shields quickly followed. The last two shields held on for dear life as the dark mages continued pouring in as much mana as they could.

    Boom!

    As the last of the arrows collided against the shields, they too exploded, unable to bear the assault any longer.

    Cough! Cough!

    The dark mages coughed, suffering backlash as their numerous summons were forcefully destroyed. However, they quickly recovered and faced Sylvia again. They began gathering their mana to summon new spirits when they heard a cry.

    ¡°Aaaahhhhh!¡± the martial artist fighting Drake screamed as he was hit with chain lightning.

    Hearing this, their expressions darkened. A bad feeling rose in their chest.

    A shadow quickly approached from the direction of the scream and stopped a few metres away from the dark mages, revealing itself to be Drake. He was holding the unconscious martial artist in his hand and dropped him to the ground, causing him to land with a thud.

    ¡°This¡­ is not possible!¡± the dark mages gasped.

    Two of their members had been defeated so quickly. If they couldn¡¯t beat Drake and Sylvia when it was four against two, how could they beat them when it was now two against two?

    Seeing them despair, Drake spoke calmly.

    ¡°Do you want to surrender?¡±

    The dark mages glanced at each other and came to a silent agreement. They raised their hands and mana gathered from their inner realm.

    ¡°Dark crow flock!¡± they yelled together. More than twenty orbs of light floated above them before condensing into crows that appeared with blood-curdling screams.

    ¡°I see,¡± sighed Drake. After fighting dozens of rank two spirits and multiple rank three spirits, twenty rank one spirits seemed like nothing to them now.

    ¡°I see,¡± sighed Drake.

    ¡°Go!¡± the dark mages ordered, responding to Drake with their actions instead of words.

    Immediately, half of the dark crow spirits darted towards Sylvia, while the rest continued floating above the dark mages, looking at Drake warily.

    ¡°Poison bullets!¡± yelled the dark mage. Immediately, the crows opened their mouth and fired a round, black substance at Drake.

    In response, Drake raised his left hand and murmured, ¡°Water bullets!¡±

    Numerous bullets made of water shot out of his palm and collided with the poison bullets in midair, neutralising all of them. As he shot the bullets, Drake also walked forward. Each step he took made the dark mage tense up even more.

    ¡°Go! Don¡¯t let him come close!¡± the dark mage ordered the crows in a panicked voice. The crow spirits obeyed instantly and flew towards Drake. Once they were close, they began shooting out more poison bullets, while also trying to attack him with their beaks and claws.

    ¡°Light barrier!¡±

    Drake summoned a barrier of light that covered and protected him from all the attacks and continued walking towards the dark mage calmly.

    Previously, when the dark mage he faced in the mines summoned these spirits, Drake had found them much more difficult to deal with. But now, with rank two and three artifacts, fighting rank one spirits was nothing to him.

    Only someone like Theo, who could not only summon numerous rank two spirits, but also carried various, equivalent, rank two and three artifacts, and had powerful martial techniques, would be his equal.

    Seeing Drake walk towards him while casually ignoring the attacks of all of his spirits made the dark mage panic even further.

    ¡°Wait! Stop! Don¡¯t come so close!¡± the dark mage panicked. However, his cries fell on deaf ears as Drake continued walking towards him.

    Steeling his resolve, the dark mage quickly consumed a mana recovery pill and gathered his mana once more.

    ¡°Miasma wisp!¡± he yelled.

    Another rank two miasma wisp spirit appeared above him and shot towards Drake.

    Drake stopped walking and poured a large amount of mana into his right hand.

    He undid his barrier and spoke in a low voice.

    ¡°Solar barrage.¡±

    Immediately, a large number of fireballs appeared around him ¨C over thirty of them.

    ¡®Go!¡¯ Drake ordered in his mind. The scorching hot fireballs dashed forward. None of the dark crow spirits were able to dodge the attack and were instantly killed. The miasma wisp spirit fared better. It was fast and able to dodge the attacks more easily while summoning a cloud shield to protect itself from any fireballs it wasn¡¯t able to dodge.

    However, all this left the dark mage wide open.

    Drake smirked.

 Chapter 85: Interrogation

    ¡°Shadow steps!¡±

    The next instant Drake became a shadow and disappeared, leaving behind a trail of dust and sparks.

    ¡°Yeee-!¡± the dark mage noticed Drake disappear and gasped, but his voice was cut short.

    ¡°Freeze palm!¡±

    Drake threw a palm attack on his back while activating his rank two martial technique.

    The dark mage felt the wind get knocked of out his lungs as his body froze up. The only thing he could move were his eyes which he used to look sideways. However, what he saw was a large fist flying directly towards his face.

    ¡°Hammer fist!¡± Drake exclaimed and threw a punch. The dark mage went flying, but Drake didn¡¯t stop. He poured mana into his boots and caught up to the dark mage before attacking him mid-air.

    ¡°Hammer fist! Metal leg! Hammer fist! Metal leg!¡±

    Drake threw dozens of punches and kicks within a few seconds, beating the dark mage to a pulp.

    Boom!

    Drake landed cleanly on his feet, and the dark mage fell face first on the ground to his side, unconscious.

    ¡®That¡¯s three down,¡¯ Drake thought, and looked at Sylvia.

    Sylvia had finished dealing with all of the dark mage¡¯s dark crow spirits, and his poison ivy spirit. He summoned a second one of ivy spirit as well, but Sylvia easily dealt with it too. Now, her two imp spirits were holding the exhausted dark mage by the arms, forcing him to his knees.

    Sylvia relaxed her bow and instead lifted her leg. Then, she kneed the dark mage in his face.

    ¡°Aww!¡± he gasped.

    Sylvia was a tempered body martial artist. So, her kicks, although not comparable to Drake or Blaze¡¯s, were still quite strong.

    The dark mage spat out blood and gasped for breath before looking at Sylvia furiously.

    ¡°What are you glaring at her for?¡± came a voice from the side. The dark mage turned to spot Drake appear from behind, carrying his three companions like rag dolls before dropping them to the floor.

    They groaned in pain. Drake had woken all of them up already before bringing them together.

    The dark mages sat up weakly and huddled together next to the one defeated by Sylvia. Drake and Sylvia stood next to each other and faced the dark mages.

    Drake looked deeply at everyone. His glare was intense, causing the dark mages to avert their gaze after a few seconds of eye contact. Smiling, Drake unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards them before asking, ¡°Now, are you ready to answer some questions?¡±

    ¡°We will never answer anything!¡± the tall martial artist spat.

    Immediately, Drake¡¯s face turned cold. He glared at the martial artist, causing cold sweat to trickle down his back. Drake disappeared, and the next second, he felt killing intent unlike anything he had ever experienced before, appear behind him.

    Whoosh!

    Drake swung his sword at the dark mage¡¯s neck. With all of his strength drained from the previous battles, he had no way of dodging or defending against the attack. The dark mage¡¯s head went flying and blood splattered everywhere, drenching Drake and the nearby dark mages.

    Seeing this, Sylvia was taken aback.

    ¡®You¡­¡¯

    She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. Drake had never killed anyone in his life. Beyond that, he hated killing. Even when mercenaries attacked him, actively trying to kill him, he didn¡¯t try to kill them. No matter who it was or what they had done, Drake never tried or even wanted to kill anyone.

    But now, he killed the dark mage so easily for just one wrong answer!?

    Sylvia was speechless.

    Covered in blood, drops dripping from his hair, Being so close, they had felt his killing intent just now and were completely stunned.

    ¡®Was that really the killing intent of someone so young? How could that be possible?¡¯

    They gulped, now truly terrified of what their fates would become at his hands.

    At the same time, Drake looked at Sylvia. They locked eyes for a few moments, and Sylvia stared at him with her intelligent gaze. Her eyes radiated a timeless wisdom as if she was peering into his soul, trying to decipher what was underneath.

    When Drake looked back at her, Sylvia noticed something. She couldn¡¯t believe that she didn¡¯t notice it before, but, given the consecutive battles they were fighting, and with Helen¡¯s death weighing on her mind, she was not being as attentive as she usually was. But now that she looked at Drake properly, she could tell that something was clearly different about him.

    While much of him at the surface remained the same, there was something different in the core of his being.

    In the depths of his white and radiant soul, a sliver of pitch-black darkness had formed.

    Drake stared at the remaining dark mages and asked plainly.

    ¡°Now are you ready to answer my questions?¡±

    The dark mages looked at each other and slowly nodded.

    ¡°Good,¡± Drake replied. ¡°Firstly, tell me about your leader. He¡¯s a grand mage, isn¡¯t he? How did he manage to sneak in here?¡±

    Hearing his question, the long-haired dark mage remembered the figure of a grand mage. He was the one chosen as the leader for this mission.

    ¡®Our leader¡­ chosen by him!¡¯ another image of a dark, hooded figure, sitting on a table with a dim lantern next to a window, appeared in his mind. Simply remembering the figure filled the dark mage with cold trepidation. Sweat formed on his forehead and back and he felt adrenaline pumping through his body.

    ¡®I¡­ I cannot betray him!¡¯

    ¡°We¡¯ll never betray our leader!¡± the dark mage yelled out, gasping for breath. Just imagining the hooded figure and everything it might do to him, drained him of his energy. He did not want to face its wrath.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    However, the next second, he felt the same killing intent appear next to him. Before he could react, Drake sent his head flying into the air, frozen with an expression of incredulity. His torso became limp and fell to the floor, creating a pool of blood.

    ¡°I only need one of you alive to answer my questions, which one of you is it going to be?¡± Drake asked, pointing his sword from one of the dark mages to the other.

    Seeing him ruthlessly kill two of their companions, the remaining two were scared witless.

    ¡®I can¡¯t die here!¡¯ they thought. They came to this inheritance grounds thinking that it¡¯d be an easy opportunity to get huge gains with the help of their grand mage since everyone else here was, at most, in the warrior mage or steel body realm martial artist.

    Never did they expect to meet such a monster here.

    ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯ll tell you everything! Please, just don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    ¡°Me too, me too!¡±

    Both the dark mages surrendered and began begging for their lives.

    Drake smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not such a heartless person. As long as you tell me everything I want to know, I promise that I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    His words were like music to the ears of the terrified dark mages. Huge smiles appeared on their faces as they beamed with joy.

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you, my lord! You are so kind!¡± They began praising Drake¡¯s kindness and magnanimity. If they had the strength, they might have bowed and fell at his feet.

    However, Drake wasn¡¯t interested in their admiration. He wanted answers.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± he spoke loudly. The mages stifled in fear and sat up. ¡°Answer my questions, that''s all you need to do.¡±

    ¡°Right, please forgive me,¡± said the martial artist.

    ¡°Me too,¡± the dark mage replied. He then remembered Drake¡¯s question and began to answer it. ¡°The reason why our lord was able to enter was due to an artifact. It can suppress his aura down to the warrior mage level.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Drake asked. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t make any sense. There are numerous artifacts that can hide your aura, but how could simply hiding your aura be enough to overcome the powerful restrictions in this place? Are you lying to me?¡±

    Drake¡¯s voice became cold with his last words and the dark mage yelped.

    ¡°No! No I¡¯m not! It¡¯s the truth! The artifact was specially made by one of our great apostles after much research! That¡¯s why it is powerful enough to not only be undetectable to the lords of Basindale, but also able to get past the restriction. Please, believe me!¡±

    Seeing his plea, Drake paused. ¡°Apostle?¡± he asked, after a moment.

    ¡°Yes! One of the apostles of our Hidden Venom Cult. He is a mage emperor!¡±

    ¡®What!?¡¯ Drake and Sylvia gasped at the same time.

    After being in Basindale for a while, they had both heard of this cult of dark mages which was led by thirteen mage emperors. It was the organisation that Damon Rogue was from as well.

    Images of Damon Rogue burning his village to the ground appeared in Drake¡¯s mind.

    ¡®So, these dark mages were from the Hidden Venom Cult as well?¡¯

    A dark and fiery rage began building up inside of him, but Drake did his best to control it.

    ¡°Are you telling me that one of your mage emperor apostles personally created a special artifact to help your grand mage enter the inheritance grounds?¡± Drake asked slowly.

    ¡°Yes! You might have even noticed this. Did you and your dragon friend not fight against a dark mage in the middle of Basindale? Did you notice him carrying a mask-shaped artifact at that time?¡±

    Drake thought for a moment and remembered the purple-robed dark mage carrying something in his hand while running through the town.

    Seeing the realisation on his face, the dark mage continued. ¡°He was transporting the mask artifact after it was made, to another one of our great apostles in Basindale!¡±

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    ¡°Are you telling me that one of your mage emperor leaders is in Basindale right now?¡± Drake gasped.

    ¡°Yes!¡± the dark mage replied, quivering in fear. The movements of their mage emperor leaders were always top secret. If it became known that he had just told someone else about them like this¡­ he didn¡¯t want to imagine the kinds of suffering he¡¯d be forced to go through.

    Drake frowned deeply. If a dark mage emperor was in Basindale, actively working to get this inheritance, there was no need to explain how bad that was. If Drake obtained this inheritance, wouldn¡¯t he become a target once he returned? If he decided to come after Drake, there would be no way for him to defend himself.

    Drake¡¯s heart sank. ¡®What do I do now? How can I beat a mage emperor?¡¯ Drake began panicking for a second, but then calmed down. ¡®No wait. There were three mage emperors in Basindale. So, the dark mage emperor wouldn¡¯t be able to act directly easily!¡¯

    ¡®Beyond that, he must have other responsibilities to attend to. Why would a mage emperor spend time and resources to personally come after me anyway? He might just send some of his subordinates, and in that case, as long as they weren¡¯t at the mage king level, I should at least be able to run away from them.¡¯

    ¡®But first, I need to find out what they want.¡¯

    Thinking so, Drake turned to the dark mage again. ¡°Why is one of your dark mage emperor leaders, coming to town with three mage emperors? Is that not putting himself in danger? What¡¯s his goal? Does he want anything beyond just this inheritance?¡±

    The dark mages looked at each other and then spoke carefully. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡±

    Drake narrowed his eyes and the dark mage spoke rapidly.

    ¡°Really! I mean it! We are just ordinary members of the cult! We are not told anything about what our leaders are up to! All we do is just follow orders! Please, that¡¯s all we know!¡± the dark mage lowered his head and began visibly shaking.

    Seeing his demeanour, Drake thought he was being honest.

    After a moment, he asked another question. ¡°You have spies among the disciples here, don¡¯t you? Tell me, who are they?¡±

    The dark mages¡¯ eyes widened as if to say, ¡®How did you know that?¡¯

    Drake added, ¡°And don¡¯t even think about lying to me. I already have a pretty good idea of who some of the traitors are, but you don¡¯t know whose identity I¡¯ve already figured out. So, if you don¡¯t answer me correctly, I will know. Then¡­¡± Drake pointed his sword close to them again before continuing, ¡°Well, you know what will happen.¡±

    The dark mages looked at each other hesitatingly. They both clenched their fists and looked at the ground. Neither of them spoke for a while.

    Drake lost his patience. ¡°Cat got your tongue? Speak now, or I will end both of you!¡±

    ¡°WAIT!¡± they exclaimed. Drake paused and they shared a glance again. Then, the dark mage spoke, but his voice was shaky and very hesitant.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s one of the Blackthorne family disciples¡­ our spy is one of them!¡±

    Drake¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Well, who is it?¡± asked Drake.

    The dark mages hesitated again. ¡®If the cult finds out that we revealed this information, we¡¯d be toast!¡¯

    Drake continued to lose his patience. He touched the dark mage¡¯s neck with his sword, creating a small cut which began bleeding.

    ¡°A few more inches and you¡¯re dead,¡± he said threateningly. Seeing this, the martial artist exclaimed.

    ¡°It¡¯s Cyrus! Cyrus Blackthorne!¡±

    ¡®So I was right!¡¯ he thought, remembering Cyrus Blackthorne releasing his water assault to help both Theo and the dark mages escape on two different occasions.

    Sylvia gasped, surprised, remembering the cultivator with whom Blaze had teamed up. He had helped rescue her and Helen when they first arrived at the inheritance. ¡®He was a spy?¡¯ Sylvia couldn¡¯t believe it.

    Drake stared at him, nudging him to continue.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know many details,¡± he explained, hesitatingly. ¡°However, what I do know is that Cyrus Blackthorne is interested in dark cultivation techniques and has been trying to join our cult for a long time. Our lords told him that if he helped them obtain this inheritance, then they¡¯d accept him into the cult.¡±

    Hearing this, Drake couldn¡¯t help but think back to Hazezel. Cyrus was the same as him, betraying his family in exchange for a quick path to attain strength. What was wrong with people in this world? So many people were willing to give up their friends and family in exchange for strength and power. This was what Drake hated; what he never wanted to become.

    Of course, there was also the possibility that Drake¡¯s hunch was incorrect and the dark mages were just lying to him now. Drake glared at them, making them feel intense pressure. Under his gaze, the dark mages began quivering.

    ¡®Is he really telling the truth?¡¯ Drake hesitated and looked at Sylvia. However, she also appeared confused and gave Drake a slight shrug.

    ¡®What would they get by lying anyway? Make us doubt each other? Distrust each other? While hiding the identity of the real spy? Guess they are dark mages after all, even when they¡¯re faced with death.¡¯

    Drake sighed and lowered his sword. ¡°Okay, in that case, I have one final question for you.¡±

    ¡°Why did you kill Helen?¡±

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    The dark mages were confused. They didn¡¯t know who Helen was. They weren¡¯t the ones accompanying Theo when he killed her. They had never even fought Drake¡¯s party until now and had only heard of them through rumours.

    However, seeing their blank expressions made Drake angry.

    ¡°Nothing? So you killed her for no reason then?¡±

    They could sense the bloodlust building up within Drake and became horrified.

    ¡°WAIT!¡± screamed the dark mage as Drake began to step forward.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing!¡± he exclaimed. Drake took another step and he bit his lip before continuing.

    ¡°There¡¯s a secret inheritance here!¡±

 Chapter 86: Mysterious gate

    ¡°There¡¯s a secret inheritance here!¡±

    Drake paused. His bloodlust disappeared and he looked at them curiously, indicating for him to continue.

    The dark mage sighed. ¡°There¡¯s actually a secret inheritance here that isn¡¯t located within any ruin or building but is in the middle of the plains itself. We found out about it when we were researching this inheritance. That¡¯s when we discovered this map.¡± The dark mage reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a scroll. He unravelled it to the size of an A3 paper, revealing detailed drawings of a landscape.

    The drawing was remarkably similar to the inheritance grounds. One edge of it contained a black circle, and there were numerous dots spread around it in a semi-circle, which Drake imagined would be the various village ruins. Key locations like the herb garden were marked with a separate colour.

    ¡®It¡¯s probably not extremely accurate though,¡¯ he thought. Despite their resources, there was no way for the Hidden Venom Cult to get a detailed map of the exact locations of all village ruins in the entire inheritance grounds before it even opened.

    What caught Drake¡¯s eyes was a particular point on the map which was marked with a distinctive ¡®X¡¯.

    ¡°There!¡± the dark mage explained, pointing to the ¡®X¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s the location of the secret inheritance. All of us dark mages were instructed to meet there. It¡¯s not too far from here. If you two go, you will be able to make it very soon!¡±

    Drake grabbed the map from the dark mage and studied it, before passing it to Sylvia.

    ¡®It seems he¡¯s telling the truth,¡¯ thought Drake. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d be carrying a fake map of the inheritance grounds around to trick them is there? It was worth checking out anyway. And if there was no secret inheritance there, they could always just leave, regroup with the others, and continue moving forward.

    Thinking so, Drake sheathed his sword and smiled lightly. ¡°Very well, in that case, thank you for answering my questions and sharing this information with us.¡±

    The dark mages beamed with joy and smiled at each other. ¡°Then, are you actually letting us go now?¡±

    Drake smirked. ¡°When did I say I¡¯ll let you go?¡¯

    The dark mages gasped. ¡°You! You promised!¡±

    ¡°What I promised, was that I wouldn¡¯t kill you, but¡­¡± Drake stepped to the side, revealing Sylvia, ¡°I never said she won¡¯t.¡±

    The dark mages felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over their heads and brought them back from a dream.

    Sylvia looked at Drake surprised before breaking into a grin.

    ¡®Maybe I¡¯ll like this new Drake,¡¯ she thought to herself. She smiled and happily equipped two arrows into her bow.

    ¡°No! No! Wait!¡± the dark mages began begging them.

    ¡°Please! I beg you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything! I¡¯ll switch to your side!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll become your servant forever. Pleas- ahh!¡±

    They were both silenced by an arrow that shot cleanly through their throats. The dark mages gasped and choked as blood spewed out. Life quickly faded from their eyes and they fell limply to the floor.

    Drake watched their bodies fall and add to the pair of corpses on the ground.

    Seeing them die almost felt soothing to Drake. He didn¡¯t feel like he had done something wrong. In fact, he felt like he had done something right.

    A red-haired woman appeared in his mind.

    ¡®Does this¡­ help you rest?¡¯ Drake wondered. He wasn¡¯t sure, but he certainly felt better knowing that at least some of the people responsible, not only for the death of his friend but also for the destruction of his entire village, were now gone from this world.

    Drake recollected seeing his image from the mirror world, or rather, his fear. According to whatever magic was behind the mirror maze anyway, Drake¡¯s fear was that he¡¯d become a cold, ruthless, uncaring monster if he gave up his old way of life.

    But he wasn¡¯t sure if that was true anymore.

    He had just killed four people, but he didn¡¯t feel like a monster. Sure, he had nothing but apathy towards their deaths. There was no guilt or remorse in his heart, and, if he was given the same choice once more, he knew that he¡¯d do the same thing again.

    ¡®Is that normal? Does that make me evil?¡¯ Drake wondered.

    Even back on Earth, killing was accepted under specific circumstances, like in cases of self-defence if you had no other choice, or on the battlefield during a righteous war. Hell, it was praised! Soldiers who killed many people were hailed as veterans and given honours and respect in society. ¡®Why is that? Were they also not killing people?¡¯

    Of course, Drake knew the answer to that, everyone did. That¡¯s because when you were on the battlefield, you were fighting for something greater. You were not fighting to kill people in cold blood, but rather, to defend ¨C to defend your country, your people and their freedoms, your values, culture, history, and your way of life. When someone tried to take those things away from you, then it was acceptable to fight them to the death. For those were things which people valued over their own life, and the lives of anyone trying to take them away.

    ¡®In that case, there are things more valuable than a human life? What are all the things more valuable than life? Who decides what¡¯s more valuable and what isn¡¯t?¡¯

    ¡®Or rather, what is the value of a life?¡¯

    Drake wasn¡¯t sure. He had never had to think about these questions before. But he did know one thing.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    He didn¡¯t feel like a monster.

    Although his qualms about killing were now gone, not much else about who he was had changed. He still cared about his friends and the people around him, and he wanted to help and protect them as much as possible for him.

    In fact, now, he felt that more strongly than ever before!

    Whereas before, he never wanted to kill anyone, now he was sure of one thing.

    If anyone crossed his path, if anyone tried to hurt him or anyone that he cared about, he would not think twice about putting them out of their misery.

    Drake gathered his thoughts and took a deep breath. He slowly exhaled and opened his eyes.

    Standing in front of him was Sylvia who collected the dark mages¡¯ storage pouches. She chucked two of the pouches towards Drake and kept two for herself. After Drake caught and put them away, she spoke softly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go find this secret inheritance.¡±

    ¡­

    The blazing hot sun was covered by a veil of dust. Harsh winds blew the dust around the inheritance grounds, forming a gigantic dust storm covering the entire landscape. Despite this, the sun¡¯s rays managed to penetrate through the storm and land on a duo.

    A young man with red hair and a woman dressed in purple were inside a village ruin. They were standing in front of a building with a locked door. On the side was a metallic plate in which the following words were inscribed:

    ¡°A silent scream across the sky,

    A fleeting spark, a blinding eye.

    Born in darkness, swift and bright,

    It vanishes, as quick as light.¡±

    ¡°Lightning! The answer is lightning!¡± gasped Farisa. However, nothing happened.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something else?¡± Blaze wondered out loud.

    However, Farisa had a different idea. She took out a dagger artifact and poured mana into it. Immediately, it began buzzing with lightning.

    She then took the lightning dagger and dragged it across the door, its handle, and then its lock. The moment lightning touched the lock, it began to glow. Loud, metallic clangs echoed across the village as the door creaked open.

    ¡®This is it!¡¯ Farisa rejoiced. However, that joy didn¡¯t last.

    Once the door opened, the two were not met with a treasure chest. Rather, they saw a large box lying alone in the middle of an empty room. Walking up to it, they noticed the box contained some strange mechanism.

    ¡®Another puzzle!?¡¯ Farisa sighed.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in another location.

    A young man dressed in black and white leather armour with swords strapped on either side of his waist, was standing in front of a black vortex which was located close to the village gates. He was emitting peak steel body cultivation and late stage warrior mage cultivation aura. Next to him stood a man dressed in white emitting early stage steel body and warrior mage cultivation aura.

    They were naturally Corvus Fang and Alistair Lockwood of the Myriad Sword Palace.

    Standing around them were three lone cultivators, two steel body martial artists and one warrior mage.

    The vortex began glowing with a dark light, and something began rising from it. However, the party¡¯s attention was not on the vortex, but at a point in the distance.

    A figure was slowly walking towards them. Wearing a dark robe, its appearance was in direct contrast to the bright daylight. Following closely, a red-haired young man dressed in dark red leather armour with a light red overcoat, wielding a sword in one hand and the other wrapped in chains, appeared next. However, his armour had a medium-sized hole just under his chest. Behind him, three more figures wearing dark hooded robes appeared shoulder to shoulder in a straight line and walked forward.

    The moment they appeared, Corvus and the others became wary.

    ¡®Dark mages!¡¯

    Corvus unsheathed his swords and faced the dark mages warily. He first noticed the red-haired young man who exuded a dangerous aura.

    ¡®He¡¯s strong,¡¯ thought Corvus. However, his attention was caught by the figure in the front. No matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t detect any aura from him. ¡®Is he using some artifact to hide his strength?¡¯ Corvus wasn¡¯t sure, but he got a bad feeling from this group.

    At this moment, a two-headed axe, and a bronze goblet finished rising from the black vortex, each radiating the aura of a rank three artifact. However, no one moved to take it, causing them to fall to the floor.

    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± said the figure in the front. It reached for the sides of its hood and pulled it back, revealing the face of a man in his late twenties. ¡°What do we have here? The first and fifth ranked disciples of the Myriad Sword Palace?¡± He ignored mentioning the lone cultivators as if they were nothing, causing them to become annoyed. However, they chose to control their anger and not make a move.

    ¡®How does he know about us?¡¯ thought Corvus, and then asked a question of his own.

    ¡°Yeah, and who might you be?¡±

    ¡°No one important,¡± the dark grand mage chuckled. ¡°Just hand over the treasures and we can go our separate ways.¡±

    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re funny,¡± Corvus laughed.

    The dark grand mage smiled. Dust behind the village gates shifted, and a rank two vulture spirit flew forward and floated above him.

    ¡®Hmph! Is that all yo-¡¯ before Corvus could finish his train of thought, he froze.

    The dust shifted once more and this time, five rank two vulture spirits flew out, followed by another five, and another! They kept flying forward in groups of five till over sixty, rank two vulture spirits floated above the dark grand mage.

    Just when Corvus thought that would be the worst of it, the dust suddenly shifted once again. The disturbance this time was far more than when the vultures appeared.

    Thud! Thud! Thud!

    The group felt the ground vibrate as loud thuds echoed through the air. Then, the village gates broke and flew open as a massive figure entered from the outside.

    A large rhino beetle, the size of a double-decker bus, penetrated through the dust storm on the outside and entered. The first thing they saw was its massive black horn, followed by its huge head and legs. Then, its body appeared, protected by a large, thick, purple shell covered in black spots.

    The rhino beetle walked through the gates and stood behind the dark mage. Soon, two more, equally massive rhino beetles also appeared and stood on either side of the first. After they all stood in their spots, they each emitted the aura of a powerful, rank three spirit.

    Corvus and the others watched this, open-mouthed. Seeing their shock made the dark grand mage smile even more.

    ¡°Am I still funny?¡±

    While Corvus Fang and his party began to face off against the dark grand mage and his subordinates, other cultivators were slowly getting closer to the black structure as well.

    Some distance away from Blaze and Farisa, and where the dark mages were fighting Corvus¡¯s group, a group of three finished clearing a village and jumped out just as it collapsed. A boy with emerald hair and ocean-blue eyes, along with a young man and woman were revealed. They discussed something for a few minutes before dashing off into the distance.

    Zooming out, the Blackthorne family, Ironheart family, Silver Crane Sect, and various lone cultivators were also clearing numerous inheritances while making their way towards the black structure.

    While everyone was busy trying to find new village ruins and collect the inheritances, two peculiar individuals were running through the plains, seemingly uninterested in any of it. After running for almost half an hour, Drake and Sylvia came to a stop in a location not too far away from where the dark mages had started fighting Corvus and the others.

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be here,¡± said Drake, confused. Looking at the map, the ¡®X¡¯ was unmistakably marking their current location, however, there was nothing here. Wherever he turned, all he could see was nothing but the same, empty plains.

    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Sylvia furrowed her brows and thought deeply. She closed her eyes and focused on her pixie spirits which scouted the surroundings. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡±

    Sylvia walked diagonally at a brisk pace. Drake followed, curious about what she had figured out. She raised her hand and hesitated, but then lowered it back. Then, she closed her eyes again, and, after a few seconds, opened them. This time, her confusion was gone.

    Taking a deep breath, Sylvia raised her hand and used her index finger to gently touch a particular point in the air before her.

    Immediately, the air changed. Waves of vibrations suddenly appeared and flowed horizontally across the air in front of them.

    Drake and Sylvia stepped back, marvelling at this sight. The waves of vibrations continued flowing and forming a large rectangle.

    As they flowed, the air transformed and a huge gate slowly began appearing with loud echoes.

 Chapter 87: Attack!

    A huge gate slowly began to appear with loud echoes.

    ¡®What is this?¡¯ Drake gasped, awe-struck. Within a few seconds, a massive pair of metal gates appeared from thin air and stood before them.

    ¡°What¡­ what just happened?¡± Drake finally managed to find the words to ask the question in his head. Sylvia smiled and responded with her normal, calm tone.

    ¡°Light magic. It was used to create an illusion here to hide this gate. It is pretty difficult to detect it ordinarily, however, I was able to detect some distortions in our surroundings through my pixies and realised we were seeing an illusion.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I see,¡± Drake replied hesitantly. He had no idea that light magic could do that, but it made sense now that he thought about it. Light magic, controlling light, to conjure an illusion? That wasn¡¯t very unbelievable, right?

    In any case, Drake felt glad to have Sylvia by his side. He might have never found this place if he was on his own, or even with Blaze.

    Once they finished talking, they started to walk towards the gate. Suddenly, they felt the ground quaking. Drake and Sylvia instinctively jumped back. By the time they landed, Sylvia already had her bow ready, and Drake had poured mana into his gloves, ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice.

    As they watched, the ground in front of the gates developed cracks.

    Boom!

    A large arm explosively tore through the cracks from underground.

    Once again, Drake was dumbfounded.

    The arm began touching the ground at different points as if trying to find a good place to hold onto. It seemed to like a particular spot and placed its whole palm on that spot. Then, it pushed, and the ground exploded.

    BOOM!

    Drake and Sylvia turned their heads to avoid the flying dust and debris from entering their eyes. When they turned back, they saw a towering figure, almost ten feet tall, standing in front of the gates. It had the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human. Each of its two arms carried a large, curved sword, which looked like a katana.

    The figure looked down on them imposingly, while radiating a pseudo commander class aura.

    ¡°What¡­ is that thing?¡± asked Drake. He had never seen anything like it before.

    ¡°I think¡­ it¡¯s a naga demon,¡± replied Sylvia.

    ¡°A naga?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re a type of demon formed from a creature found in the eastern desert.¡±

    ¡°Then why is one here? Inside an inheritance grounds, on the other side of the continent?¡±

    However, the naga didn¡¯t give them any time to think. It raised its arm and slammed its huge sword down.

    Shadow steps!

    Wind walk!

    The two activated their martial techniques and jumped out of the way just in time as the huge sword came crashing down. The attack contained such force that the sword buried itself several feet into the ground.

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    Sylvia used the opportunity to shoot her most powerful arrow at the demon. The naga sensed the power in the arrow and didn¡¯t want to take it head-on. It tried to retrieve its sword but it was stuck. When the arrow came close, the naga decided to abandon its sword and disappeared.

    Boom!

    The powerful arrow crashed into the ground and generated a huge explosion. The naga appeared in the air, barely having dodged the attack. Suddenly, alarm bells began ringing in its head.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    Drake appeared behind the naga and summoned dozens of fireballs before shooting them from point-blank range. However, the demon was extremely fast. It rotated and brought its other sword forward to block the attack. However, the force of the repeated collisions still sent the naga crashing to the ground.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Sylvia shot a fire arrow into the sky which quickly multiplied into twenty. Before the naga could get up, the arrows began raining down on it.

    ¡°ROARRRR!¡±

    The naga roared while releasing its massive aura. Huge winds gathered all around it which began deflecting the arrows, making them fall harmlessly.

    During this time, Drake also landed on his feet and stood before Sylvia. As they watched, the naga got up and took the sword which was previously buried in the ground, before turning to face them. A cold glint flashed through its eyes.

    While Drake and Sylvia started fighting the naga, Corvus and the others were fighting the dark mages.

    The lone cultivators fought the three dark mages accompanying Theo and the grand mage. Alistair, as the second strongest in their group, faced off against Theo on his own. Normally, Theo would be stronger than him, however, due to his injuries from the battle with Blaze and Drake, he was now weakened, allowing Alistair to match him in battle. Finally, Corvus was fighting the dark grand mage on his own.

    And he was not having a good time.

    Corvus had killed almost twenty vulture spirits already, however, the dark grand mage easily replaced them. Moreover, the rank three rhino beetles kept shooting storm spears at him. Corvus was not able to effectively hold them all off on his own, so, some of the vulture spirits travelled to the other battlegrounds and covered it with their toxic gas as well. While the dark mages already had a cure for the gas, they didn¡¯t, and it affected their group¡¯s strength greatly.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Looking around, Corvus realised that their party was quickly falling into a disadvantage. If he didn¡¯t do something soon, then they¡¯d be in huge trouble. Corvus sighed and looked at the several dozen vulture spirits surrounding him. Similarly to Drake, his armour was also a rank three artifact and it could summon light, wind, and earth elemental shields. These were now holding back the vultures.

    However, he couldn¡¯t just be on the defensive forever.

    Corvus relaxed and took a deep breath, before changing his stance. He stood with his feet shoulder width apart and poured mana into his swords. The one on his right burst with flames while the sword on his left became covered with shadow. Then, he removed his shields.

    Immediately, the rank two vulture spirits screeched in joy and rushed at him in masse. However, Corvus wasn¡¯t worried. He opened his eyes and raised his arms to the side.

    ¡°Twin sword arts ¨C whirlwind!¡±

    Corvus pivoted on his heel and rotated. The vulture closest to him was instantly sliced in half and dissipated into mana. Corvus then continued rotating rapidly while holding his swords on either side. With his peak steel body cultivation, he was moving so fast that his body became a blur and his speed summoned winds. From a distance, it looked like he really had transformed into a whirlwind ¨C a deadly one.

    With his swords using the fire and shadow elements, the whirlwind was a mix of blazing flames and dark shadows. Any vulture that came close was sliced into a hundred pieces before it could even react. Seeing this, the vulture spirits shrieked and retreated. However, Corvus wouldn¡¯t let them go so easily.

    He moved swiftly. The whirlwind travelled along the battlefield shredding the vulture spirits into pieces one after another. Within a few seconds, almost half of them were dead.

    The dark grand mage panicked and ordered all of his vulture spirits to retreat. He then ordered his rhino beetles to focus their attention on Corvus and attack him faster with arc blast. The rhino beetles raised their horns and balls of lightning began to form over their tips. It only took a fraction of a second for the ball to finish forming. Then, they shot towards Corvus.

    Corvus stopped spinning and faced the incoming arc blast with a smile.

    Sword dash!

    Corvus activated his movement technique and disappeared, before appearing several feet away. He kept disappearing and reappearing, getting closer to the rhino beetles each time, while simultaneously dodging the lightning balls.

    ¡°Go!¡±

    Seeing Corvus under pressure, the dark mage ordered ten vulture spirits to shoot towards him. Corvus ignored them and continued focusing on getting closer to the rhino beetles while dodging the lightning balls. The vulture spirits were a few metres away when Corvus suddenly stopped and turned to face them.

    He raised his swords to form a cross before slashing them both diagonally.

    ¡°Twin sword arts: octane blast!¡±

    Eight blades were released from his sword and flew towards the vultures. Half of them were burning with fire, and the other half were enveloped in shadows.

    The blades reached the vultures in the blink of an eye. They were too close and the blades moved too fast for them to dodge. All ten of the vultures¡¯ eyes widened as their vision filled with a fiery shadow, before becoming completely dark. The blades cut through the vultures, causing all of them to dissipate into mana.

    With a smirk, Corvus turned back, activated sword dash, and dodged several lightning balls that were inches away from his face. He quickly got closer to the beetles. As he did so, their attacks became faster.

    ¡°Tst,¡± Corvus cursed and poured mana into his robes. Two light shields appeared and floated before him. Given that they were summoned from a rank three artifact, they could take at least a few attacks from the rank three spirits.

    And that was all he needed.

    Using the shields as his defence, Corvus put all his energy into speed and approached the beetles rapidly. Within a few seconds, he was standing just several metres away from them.

    At this moment, his shields were about to break, but Corvus didn¡¯t care. He raised his swords above his head and made the blades touch. With a deep breath, he focused, and activated his martial technique again.

    The fire and shadow elements around his swords exploded and combined into one, forming one giant sword above his head.

    Two lightning balls crashed against his light shields which were already at their limits, causing them to shatter. Corvus suffered a mild backlash but he ignored the pain.

    ¡°Twin sword arts: eclipse blade!¡± he yelled. Corvus slashed his sword diagonally and a huge blade shot forward. Intense fire and shadow elements danced through the blade, making it vibrate with mana.

    The rhino beetles were slow so there was no way for them to dodge this attack. The one in the centre stepped forward and turned, using its shell as a shield.

    BOOOMMMM!!!

    A huge explosion resounded as the blade crashed against the thick shell. The collision conjured powerful winds which swept up a large dust cloud that rose into the sky.

    Hearing this, everyone else stopped their fighting and turned to focus on Corvus¡¯ battle.

    ¡®Did he¡­ actually destroy it?¡¯ Theo gasped. He couldn¡¯t imagine the dark grand mage¡¯s rhino beetle getting defeated so easily, but he had felt the power contained in the blade just now and it terrified him, even at this distance. It was several times more powerful than even the decimate arrow that Sylvia used.

    ¡®Ahh, he really is too strong,¡¯ sighed Alistair.

    A few moments passed as the dust cloud cleared, revealing the rhino beetle.

    Everyone gasped.

    Several large cracks had appeared on its shell, but it was still alive.

    ¡®It managed to survive that!?¡¯ Corvus gasped.

    On the other hand, the dark grand mage was stunned. Cracking his beetles'' shells was no easy task. He had heard Corvus was the strongest disciple sent out by the Myriad Sword Palace, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be this strong.

    ¡®I don¡¯t really have much time to waste here,¡¯ he thought, remembering the secret inheritance.

    Humph!

    Corvus didn¡¯t want to waste this opportunity and moved. He tensed his leg muscles and used them like a spring to jump high into the air. He poured mana into his swords, making them burn bright with fire and shadow, before pointing them down.

    ¡°Twin sword arts: shadow phoenix dive!¡±

    Corvus dived towards the injured rhino beetle like a shooting star. The elements of his sword merged into one and exploded with mana, transforming the air around him into a world of fire and shadow.

    This was a unique move that Corvus had developed on his own. His swords individually had runes for ¡®shadow dive¡¯ and ¡®phoenix dive¡¯ attacks. He managed to combine them with his twin swords arts to create ¡®shadow phoenix dive¡¯ ¨C the most powerful attack he currently had in his arsenal. Back in his sect, he had used this move to break the defences of even some early stage grand mages and mystic body martial artists, and defeat them.

    ¡®This is it,¡¯ he thought.

    However, the dark grand mage smirked.

    Like the time when Blaze attacked, the two rhino beetles on the side stepped back, while the one in the centre raised its horns.

    ¡°Fractal strike!¡±

    A huge amount of lightning mana gathered in its horn and burst out. Dozens of lightning bolts erupted from its horns, each splitting into dozens more, forming hundreds of lightning bolts that zapped the surrounding air and ground.

    Alistair and the others saw this and gasped.

    ¡°NOOOO!¡± It was a trap!

    However, it was too late.

    Corvus couldn¡¯t stop his momentum now. He watched the lightning world unfold before him and felt the mana contained within. A single one of the lightning bolts would be enough to instantly kill any steel body martial artist upon contact, and injure even undying body martial artists.

    ¡®How is he so strong?¡¯ thought Corvus, but he had no time to waste. He poured all the mana he could gather into his robes and summoned six shields to orbit around him. But he didn¡¯t stop there. He kept pouring more mana into his robes to summon another layer of eight, and a third layer of ten shields!

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Corvus made contact with the lightning bolts and his shields shattered one after another. Each one made him suffer a backlash but he forced himself to ignore the pain.

    Everyone watched dumbfounded as the world of fire and shadow cut through the myriad of lightning.

    ¡°Just¡­ a little¡­ more!¡±

 Chapter 88: Retreat

    As the last of his shields broke apart, Corvus reached the rhino beetle.

    BOOOMMMM!

    A deafening explosion occurred, even bigger than the first. Waves of mana surged and physically pushed back everyone who was spectating the battle.

    Shadow and fire elements combined and transformed into an unstoppable blade that shattered the rhino beetle¡¯s shell and pierced through its body.

    BOOM!

    The beetle shattered into a million pieces and dissipated into mana while Corvus crashed into the ground below. A huge dust cloud rose into the sky. Fierce winds struck the surroundings like a mad storm, forcing everyone to use their defences to prevent themselves from suffering collateral damage.

    It took several seconds for the impact to die down. The winds slowed and the dust settled, revealing Corvus who was standing on his feet.

    Cough! Cough!

    Corvus suffered backlash from having so many of his shields break. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out several recovery pills. After consuming them, he felt the effects of the backlash wane, and his strength return.

    Theo was stunned seeing this sight.

    ¡®He¡­ actually, did it!¡¯

    Alistair chuckled. ¡®He really is a monster!¡¯

    Seeing his strength, all the lone cultivators beamed with joy while the dark mages felt cold sweat trickling down their backs.

    The dark grand mage saw Corvus standing there, open mouthed. He thought the dragon and the dryad would be the strongest in this inheritance grounds, but even Blaze only had the strength to defeat one of his rhino beetles.

    Now, seeing Corvus stand there almost completely unharmed after defeating his rank three rhino beetle spirit made him speechless.

    ¡®How is this possible!?¡¯ he gasped.

    This wasn¡¯t good for him. Due to the mask artifact¡¯s effects, and the restrictions placed on him by the inheritance grounds, summoning spirits, especially rank three spirits, consumed a lot more mana than normal. He couldn¡¯t summon a lot of them like he could with the rank two vultures.

    Although he was sure he could eventually wear down and defeat Corvus, he didn¡¯t want to waste so much energy now. He needed to get the secret inheritance before anyone else managed to find it, and he had to conserve his strength for whatever trials were prepared there.

    The dark grand mage ordered the vultures to attack Corvus in full force. They obeyed immediately and swooped down on him from above. At the same time, the rhino beetles activated arc blast but, instead of shooting out individual lightning balls, they were combining their beams of lightning to form one massive ball of lightning like they did when fighting Drake¡¯s party.

    Of course, with one less rhino beetle, the strength of the arc blast they could build up was less, but the dark mage needed time to summon another one. So, while the vultures were keeping Corvus busy and the rhino beetles were building up the arc blast, he also gathered his mana to summon another rhino beetle.

    Seeing the vultures attack, Corvus began preparing. He poured mana into his swords and they erupted with flames and shadows once more. Then, he activated his martial technique and they began glowing. The fiery sword emitted a red light, and the shadow sword glowed dark.

    He raised his swords and released his grip, but they kept floating in the air. As soon as Corvus released them, the two swords started rotating around each other and moving forward.

    ¡°Twin sword arts - twisting fury!¡±

    Immediately, the swords began glowing even brighter and shot forward at an unbelievable speed. Fire and shadow danced in unison as arrays of swords appeared around them, quickly multiplying to over a hundred. The swords flew into the air and rained down upon the vultures like falling meteors.

    This was the same martial technique he had used earlier to clear the demon horde, but he also activated the fire and shadow elemental runes in his swords to increase their destructive power. Corvus could combine the elemental powers of his swords with any of his sword martial techniques to take its power to the next level as he did with octane blast and eclipse blade earlier.

    The vultures shrieked in fear and tried to dodge, but there were too many swords falling down on them. Moreover, the fire and shadow elements of the swords spilled into the surroundings as well, so even if they didn¡¯t take a direct hit from a sword, the vultures would suffer damage if one just passed close by.

    Every second, several vultures cried in pain as their bodies were severed by a sword, before dissipating into mana. In less than thirty seconds, the over twenty rank two vulture spirits were all dead. The swords returned to Corvus¡¯ hands, leaving hundreds of craters on the ground.

    Corvus glanced at the rhino beetles building up the arc blast and frowned.

    ¡®That is not good,¡¯ he thought, before glancing at the dark mage. Seeing the enormous amount of mana he was gathering, Corvus¡¯ expression darkened.

    ¡®Is he summoning another one of those beetles? How many can he summon!?¡¯ Corvus got a bad feeling from this.

    Not only him, but Alistair and the lone cultivators watching their battle also noticed this and their faces paled. All of them had the same thought.

    ¡®We can¡¯t keep fighting this guy!¡¯

    At this moment, the rhino beetles stopped shooting out beams from their horns and a huge ball of lightning floated above their heads. They then tilted their heads so their horns pointed towards Alistair, and the ball of lightning shot towards him!If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Alistair¡¯s face paled.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Corvus cursed and activated sword dash. He appeared in front of Alistair in an instant but the huge ball of lightning would be upon them in a few seconds.

    Corvus acted as fast as he could. He raised his swords to make them touch above his head and activated his martial technique. As before, fire and shadow elements erupted and combined into one, forming a giant sword above his head.

    ¡°Twin sword arts: eclipse blade!¡± he yelled.

    Corvus slashed his sword diagonally and a huge blade of shadow and fire shot forward, vibrating with mana.

    The eclipse blade and arc blast collided midair.

    BOOOMMM!

    An enormous explosion resounded through the atmosphere. Fierce winds swept across the battlefield, pushing everyone back. All of them except Corvus, instinctively covered their eyes with their elbows and turned their heads to avoid the dust and debris from falling into their eyes.

    A few seconds later, the dust settled.

    The eclipse blade was just powerful enough to counter the arc blast from the two lightning rhino beetles. If the third one had also been there, the arc blast would have definitely broken through.

    However, successfully cancelling the arc blast did not make Corvus happy. Appearing from the falling dust, was a third rhino beetle. It walked forward and stood in the middle of the other two once more.

    Seeing this, the cultivators¡¯ faces paled, and the dark grand mage laughed.

    ¡°You guys surprised me! Especially you¡­ Corvus Fang was it?¡± the dark mage asked in a mocking tone. Corvus didn¡¯t reply and the dark mage chuckled before continuing. ¡°I¡¯ll remember you. In any case, as much as I¡¯d love to destroy you all, I don¡¯t have the time to play with you right now. Why don¡¯t you all turn around to head over to some other place? I¡¯ll let you go if you scram now.¡±

    Alistair hesitated, and so did the lone cultivators. None of them wanted to continue this battle; but, they all looked towards Corvus. With his strength, Corvus had earned their respect and they now looked at him as their leader. They would leave the decision to him and follow whatever he said.

    Corvus stared at the dark mage unblinkingly. No one could tell what was on his mind.

    A tense few moments passed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he whispered.

    Everyone became internally happy and rejoiced. They gathered as a group and began retreating.

    Seeing their backs disappear, the dark grand mage sighed with relief. Theo walked up to him with the rest of the dark mages and asked, ¡°Are you sure letting him go was a good decision? That guy is dangerous. This might have been a good opportunity to kill him.¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± the dark grand mage snorted and started to walk. ¡°If we were in the outside world now, that boy would not be seeing the light of day again. But, given our current circumstances, we don¡¯t have the time or energy to waste on him, especially for just some rank three artifacts.¡±

    As he said the last word, the dark grand mage reached the rank three artifacts on the ground. He picked up the double-headed axe but didn¡¯t put it in his storage pouch. Instead, he practised swinging while observing it closely.

    ¡°Well, if he ends up working together with the dragon¡¯s party,¡± Theo spoke casually while placing his hands on the back of his head. ¡°Then we¡¯d have a real problem on our hands.¡±

    The dark grand mage¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡®Don¡¯t you think I know that?¡¯ he wanted to retort but didn¡¯t. Instead, he looked into the distance in a particular direction.

    ¡°Maybe, but I have ways to deal with them when the time comes. First, we have an important matter to take care of.¡±

    In the same direction that the dark grand mage was staring in, a young boy and girl were fighting a pseudo commander class naga demon.

    Both the boy and the girl, as well as the naga demon, were all gasping for breath.

    Drake and Sylvia had been fighting the naga for a while. Last time they fought a pseudo commander class demon was when both Blaze and Helen were present. However, they had grown in strength since then, especially Drake, so the two were slowly getting the upper hand against the naga.

    The naga was covered in injuries all over its huge body. Unfortunately, none of them were serious and only served to make it angrier. All three of them were panting for breath while staring at each other.

    ¡°Why is a naga demon here again?¡± asked Drake.

    ¡°I heard that when the two leaders of the sect were still young, they actually visited the eastern desert and returned successfully. When they left, they were only at the shadow body level, but when they returned, they had reached the astral body.¡±

    ¡°Really!?¡± Drake gasped.

    The eastern desert, home of the snakemen, was very isolated from the rest of the continent, even more than Eldanor in the west, where the elves lived, which was covered by the beast woods. That was due to an extremely large river which separated the eastern section of the continent from the rest. Not only was it very turbulent, but it connected to the ocean and was home to numerous, powerful sea demons.

    All that to say, very few people manage to successfully make a round trip to the eastern desert. This made Drake even more excited about the final inheritance of this place.

    ¡®Maybe it would have some unique treasures from the eastern desert?¡¯

    ¡°Ssss!¡± the naga hissed menacingly, interrupting their conversation.

    ¡®It¡¯s time¡­ to end this,¡¯ thought Drake.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake snorted and moved rapidly, leaving a trail of dust and sparks.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Sylvia shot over a dozen arrows at the naga as a distraction. The naga used its sword to easily deflect all the arrows, but due to its injuries and exhaustion, it was slower than normal. By the time it finished, Drake appeared to its right.

    ¡°Crescent slash! Crescent slash! Crescent slash!¡±

    Drake repeatedly activated his rank two martial technique and shot out several crescent blades. The naga didn¡¯t have time to dodge so it slammed its sword down and used it as a shield.

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    Sylvia shot out her most powerful arrow.

    ¡°SSSSsssss!¡± the naga hissed once again. It released its grip on its right sword and was about to escape. However, Drake poured all his mana into his left hand and slammed it down at the last moment.

    ¡°Water pillar!¡±

    A massive pillar of water appeared in its way, forcing it to a stop. That one second was enough. The mana arrow was extremely close and it was too late for the naga to dodge.

    The naga hissed and brought its other sword forward.

    BOOMMM!

    A huge explosion resounded as the mana arrow collided with the sword. The naga was launched by the force of the impact, violently bouncing against the ground as it flew across. It came to a stop dozens of metres from its initial position and began spitting out blood.

    However, they weren¡¯t going to miss this opportunity.

    Drake poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps, pushing his speed to the limit. As the naga was getting up, Drake appeared above and raised his right hand.

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡±

    Several lightning bolts jolted out of his glove artifact and arrived before the naga in the blink of an eye. However, the naga was still faster. It bent backwards so most of the lightning bolts passed above it, however, one still scrapped its shoulder, causing it to shriek in pain.

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Before the naga could recover, Sylvia shot over twenty arrows at the naga. Suffering from the previous attacks, it was not able to dodge fast enough. So, it used its sword to deflect the arrows.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    Drake landed on the other side, summoned a large number of blazing fireballs and willed them to shoot towards the naga. Seeing attacks coming in both directions made the naga panic. Moreover, the decimate arrow from before had damaged its sword and so, blocking the rain of arrows now was causing it to develop numerous cracks.

    The naga hesitated, and then came to a decision. It dropped its sword and sprinted!

    ¡°SSSSsssss!¡± the naga hissed in pain as several arrows and fireballs caught its shoulders and back, however, it managed to dodge the majority of the attacks.

    The naga became weak and slowed down after a few metres. It was bleeding profusely from its shoulder and back.

    Sylvia readied another arrow while Drake poured mana into his boots. But something happened.

    Suddenly, they felt several auras approaching them from the distance.

    ¡®Dark mages!¡¯

 Chapter 89: The secret inheritance

    ¡®Dark mages!¡¯

    They would be upon them in less than a minute!

    Drake and Sylvia didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Sylvia shot her decimate arrow while Drake turned into a trail of dust and sparks. The naga¡¯s eyes widened at seeing the powerful arrow and brought its arms forward to block.

    BOOMMM!

    The arrow tore right through its forearms, leaving two large gaping holes, before heading for its throat. At the last second, the naga mustered what strength it had left to tilt its head, narrowly dodging the fatal hit.

    However, it suddenly felt an enormous killing intent appearing above. Its mind sent a huge danger signal running through its nervous system. It looked up to spot a sword covered in fire and lightning filling its sight.

    And then, its vision became dark.

    Drake landed on the ground and sheathed his sword. Behind him, the demon split cleanly in half with a spurt of blood, and the two halves fell to the floor. Immediately, Drake turned and took the entire corpse into his storage pouch before rushing to the gate with Sylvia.

    As soon as the naga died, the gate began glowing with a brilliant white light.

    ¡°STOP!¡±

    Drake heard a booming voice followed by the shrieks of several vulture spirits. He turned around to spot the dark grand mage appearing along with Theo and the dark mages. Floating above them were fifty vulture spirits, and galloping behind them were the rhino beetles.

    Seeing the panic on their faces made Drake smirk. He grabbed Sylvia¡¯s hand and they both jumped into the gate. As soon as they touched the light, they disappeared.

    Immediately, the entire gate also vanished with a whoosh! leaving behind the dry, barren, ground.

    ¡°NOOOOOO!!!!!¡±

    The dark grand mage was furious. He willed the rhino beetles to attack and they shot numerous arc blasts in the location where the gate was. However, the lightning balls just hit the empty ground, which only served to make him angrier.

    ¡°How could this happen!? How did they figure out the location?¡±

    The dark grand mage was confused and enraged. All the other dark mages except Theo became anxious, thinking that he would take out his anger on them.

    For several minutes, no one spoke. The dark grand mage ordered the rhino beetles to continue shooting all sorts of attacks while staring at the spot where the gate was as if he was expecting it to return.

    After some time, the dark grand mage ordered them to stop. He took a deep breath and spoke very slowly and with a deep voice, mostly to himself.

    ¡°They will not leave this place alive¡­ let¡¯s go.¡±

    As the dark mages left disappointed and angry, Blaze and Farisa finished clearing another inheritance. They obtained some cultivation techniques this time. One contained several martial techniques specifically for hammer users, which Farisa gladly took. The other one was for archers, and Blaze took it for Sylvia. They also obtained a lot of gold and mana stones which they split evenly.

    After clearing the inheritance, they recollected Sylvia''s directions and realised that the next closest inheritance was a mine almost a day away. They had spent some time recovering already, however, they slightly dreaded the idea of spending an entire day running and fighting demons.

    With a sigh, they accepted their fate and started making their way to the mines.

    At the same time, Elwin Reynard, Cain Roseflame and Imogen Roseflame were also working on solving the puzzle in a village ruin. They had already spent quite some time on it, but it was difficult.

    Elwin sighed and raised his head. Although the dust storm was raging outside, as usual, he could now see the black structure in the distance with his naked eye. It appeared as a vague outline on the horizon, almost like a mirage, but he could definitively see the existence of something massive.

    He spent a few moments wondering what could be there before bringing his attention back to the present, deciding to focus on the task at hand.

    While everyone was busy travelling towards an inheritance or trying to obtain one, in a different space, a white light appeared out of thin air and shone brilliantly. It lasted for a few seconds and then disappeared.

    In its place, two individuals appeared, a young boy and girl. They initially had their eyes closed but, once the white light disappeared, they slowly opened their eyes and looked around them.

    ¡°Where¡­ are we?¡± Drake mumbled.

    The duo found themselves in what looked like an extremely dark, underground passageway. Drake activated acute sense and looked for any danger, or the presence of anyone else. However, he couldn¡¯t find anything. He glanced at Sylvia and she nodded at him, confirming she couldn¡¯t sense any danger as well.

    Together, they began walking.

    As soon as they took a step forward, two torches on either side suddenly flared up, startling them. Sylvia clenched her bow and Drake poured mana into his glove, ready to strike down anything that moved. However, once they realised it was just torches, they relaxed.

    With the light from the torches, they could now see a little better.

    They were in an underground passageway that was just wide enough for a few people to walk side by side. Glancing back, Drake didn¡¯t see anything, so he turned around and, along with Sylvia, took another step forward.

    Immediately, another two torches on either side flared up. However, they weren¡¯t startled this time and continued walking. With each step, two additional torches would ignite and light up the surroundings, which kept happening until they reached the end of the passageway.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    They noticed a circular clearing in front but couldn¡¯t see many details due to the dim lighting. However, as soon as they stepped forward, torches, which were evenly placed along the walls of the clearing, began flaring up one by one around the circle, till every single one of them was alight.

    The light provided by the torches illuminated the clearing, which was empty except for a large stone statue in the middle. Drake and Sylvia began walking up to it. When they were a few steps away, the air changed.

    Suddenly, dense mana began filling up the underground passageway. Every second, the mana in the passageway increased, to the point where Drake felt like he was breathing in mana. At the same time, the statue¡¯s eyes began glowing with a red light and a mysterious voice echoed from all around.

    ¡°Congratulations for defeating the guardian and finding this secret location,¡± the voice spoke. ¡°You may now take the inheritance ¨C twin dragon rings!¡±

    Immediately, a black vortex appeared in front of the statue. Two rings floated out, one red and the other a light green in colour. A dragon was sculpted to be coiling its long body around the rings, till its head overlapped with its tail.

    They each radiated the aura of a rank four artifact!

    The rings floated towards them. However, Drake and Sylvia hesitated to take them. As if reading their minds, the voice spoke again.

    ¡°Unlike the other ruins you might have encountered, this one will not collapse once you take the inheritance. This passage will exist for twenty-four hours, during which time you can use the mana here to cultivate. Afterwards, you will be teleported out, close to the end of the inheritance grounds.¡±

    With that, the voice disappeared, leaving the duo alone in the passageway overflowing with mana.

    Drake and Sylvia looked at each other excitedly. He took the red ring and Sylvia, the green one. Upon trying it on, they discovered that it was a perfect fit for their fingers.

    Drake smiled, unable to contain his joy.

    He now had a rank four artifact!

    Artifacts of this level were pretty much impossible to find in the outside world unless you summoned one yourself or were willing to pay an exorbitant price. And even then, you¡¯d have to be lucky enough to find someone willing to sell a rank four artifact, which was almost impossible since everyone wanted to keep them for themselves.

    Drake observed his ring and noticed four small runes carved intricately into its interior. As he poured his mana into it, knowledge of its abilities entered his mind. He closed his eyes and took a moment to digest the information, before opening them again and smiling.

    ¡®This is going to be wonderful,¡¯ he thought to himself.

    He then glanced at Sylvia who was also smiling happily.

    ¡°What abilities does your ring have?¡± he asked curiously.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see in time,¡± she giggled.

    Drake expected that answer and didn¡¯t mind it. With how many battles they were constantly fighting in this inheritance grounds, he¡¯d be able to see her use it very soon.

    ¡°What are you planning to do now then?¡± he asked her, changing the topic.

    ¡°Just cultivate,¡± she replied, and then added, ¡°I have been getting closer to the perfect stage warrior mage realm for a while. Maybe cultivating here will give me the boost I need.¡±

    ¡°I see, good luck,¡± said Drake.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Sylvia responded, and then asked, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Drake chuckled but didn¡¯t answer her immediately. He turned around and took out the rank three, ice fire cauldron he had gotten from the previous inheritance.

    Sylvia became curious. ¡°Are you going to refine something?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°There is a pill I¡¯ve wanted to refine for a long time. Now is the perfect opportunity to do it.¡±

    Seeing the dark grand mage¡¯s strength from earlier, he knew that restoring his mana core and getting back his mage abilities would be crucial in helping him beat the dark grand mage in battle. Moreover, it would also help him compete better for the final inheritance against all the other strong cultivators that would be vying for it.

    If he didn¡¯t refine the pill now, he would not be able to do so until he left the inheritance grounds, at which point it would be too late. Hence, he decided to do it now.

    Drake became excited. It was finally time to refine the three-leaf healing pill!

    Sometime later.

    Drake was sitting on the floor with various materials laid around him. They included rare and precious herbs, parts of demons most of which were servant and warrior class but also commander class demons! Furthermore, Drake also had several jade vials containing a liquid ¨C the mana water he harvested from the underground spring he found after defeating the arachne. Finally, he had twenty leaves of the Celestial Willow carefully placed in a jade box as well.

    He had enough materials for six or seven tries. After refining the extremely complex, rank three death defying pill, Drake was fairly confident he could refine the three leaf healing pill more easily, but he didn¡¯t let himself get complacent. He took his time processing each material carefully till he completed preparing the first batch.

    Before beginning the refinement, Drake took out the bodhi enlightenment pill he had refined during the owl¡¯s tests and consumed it to help him improve his concentration and focus. After absorbing the pill, Drake felt all the thoughts in his mind clear. His attention was drawn completely to the present moment.

    ¡®It¡¯s time to do this,¡¯ thought Drake.

    He poured his mana into the cauldron to activate its runes and then threw some materials inside. Drake focused on carefully controlling the temperature and combining the materials according to the pill recipe.

    Ten minutes later, Drake heaved a sigh of relief as he completed the first step successfully. Then, he took some of the rarer herbs and demon materials and added them to the cauldron.

    Fifteen minutes later, he managed to complete the second step successfully too.

    ¡®Now, I have to be careful,¡¯ he thought. Drake took out parts of the commander class demon¡¯s corpse. This was a difficult material to get his hands on and he didn¡¯t have a lot of it to waste. So, Drake carefully added the commander class demon materials to the cauldron.

    Immediately, something unexpected happened. The mana contained within its corpse was released into the cauldron, however, it was far more than Drake expected!

    For an instant, Drake lost control of the materials.

    The materials within the cauldron began to vibrate and zap around chaotically. Drake flooded the cauldron with his mana, doing his best to bring them back under control. His mana summoned winds that acted like ropes, tugging on the materials to bring them under control. For a second, their speed slowed and their vibrations reduced.

    ¡®Phe-¡¯

    BOOM!

    Drake was about to relax thinking that he¡¯d be able to bring them under control but, the next second, it exploded. A wave of mana was released from the cauldron.

    Sylvia, who was meditating on the side, opened her eyes and looked at the situation, worried.

    She didn¡¯t know what Drake was trying to refine but thought it must be important since Drake opted to refine a pill instead of using the mana here to cultivate. Once she saw that Drake was safe and he still had plenty of materials, she closed her eyes and resumed cultivating.

    Drake sighed.

    When refining high-ranking pills, even a single, instantaneous mistake would be enough to cause it to fail.

    But he wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. He took a few minutes to compose himself before restarting the process.

    An hour passed.

    Drake managed to complete numerous steps successfully, surprising even himself. Before proceeding with the last few steps, he took out a vial containing the mana water and poured it into the cauldron.

    The moment the mana water entered, it evaporated and diffused everywhere. When any material touched the water vapour, it cooled down. All of their movements slowed and relaxed, making them much easier to control. Drake let a few seconds pass for its effects to spread before taking out one of the leaves of the Celestial Willow.

    ¡®Breathe¡­¡¯

    Drake took a deep breath and composed himself. Then, he added the leaf to the cauldron.

    The leaf released a grand and radiant aura, displaying the magnificence of the Celestial Willow. Immediately, everything went out of control again. Its aura attracted the rest of the materials, and they instantly zapped towards the leaf.

    ¡®STOPP!¡¯ Drake screamed in his mind while pouring all of his mana into the cauldron to bring the materials under control. However, it was too late.

    BOOMMM!

    An even larger explosion resounded through the underground passageway.

    Drake¡¯s expression was dark.

    The Celestial Willow¡¯s aura was too powerful, far more than he had anticipated. He did not expect it to exert such a strong attractive force on the other materials.

    ¡®This is going to be difficult,¡¯ he thought.

 Chapter 90: The three leaf healing pill

    While Drake was busy refining the three leaf healing pill, Blaze and Farisa were speeding towards the next inheritance. However, they encountered a problem.

    ¡°There are too many of them - crushing maelstorm!¡± exclaimed Farisa. Her hammer travelled in an arc while spinning rapidly, destroying a heap of demons in front of her. This created a small opening in the demon horde through which they could see the other side.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± she cried and dashed towards the opening. Blaze followed, keeping the surrounding demons at bay with firestorm and fire blades.

    The two had suddenly stumbled across a massive demon horde. They tried to break through but realised there were too many demons so decided to retreat. Luckily, they hadn¡¯t travelled too deep into the horde, otherwise, they might not have been able to find their way out.

    After escaping the horde, the two ran for a while before coming to a stop. They held their knees while panting for breath. A few seconds later, Farisa spoke.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Blaze sighed. In order to get to the inheritance, they needed to cross the demon horde, but it wouldn¡¯t be possible for just the two of them. ¡°Maybe we can wait for some time to see if it passes?¡± However, despite saying that, Blaze knew that they couldn¡¯t just stand here forever.

    ¡°Yea¡­¡± Farisa took another deep breath before continuing. ¡°That may be our only opti-¡±

    Suddenly, she stopped speaking and narrowed her eyes. At the same time, Blaze also became wary. The dust storm shifted to their side as a shadowy figure walked forward. They didn¡¯t sense any blood lust from it, otherwise, they would have attacked already.

    A few seconds later, the figure came close and they could make out its features. It was a young man wearing black robes, holding a sword at his side. Blaze¡¯s eyes widened upon recognising him.

    ¡°Cyrus!¡± Blaze exclaimed.

    ¡°Blaze!¡± he replied. The two jogged closer and Farisa followed. Once they were standing a few feet away, Blaze introduced Cyrus and Farisa to each other.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Cyrus Blackthorne¡± Farisa spoke politely.

    ¡°Likewise,¡± he replied.

    ¡°So what are you doing here? Where¡¯s the rest of your family¡¯s disciples?¡± asked Blaze.

    Cyrus sighed. ¡°A while ago, we encountered a large demon horde and got split up. I¡¯ve been looking for them since, but haven¡¯t been able to find anyone.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Blaze lamented. ¡°Well, until you do, you¡¯re welcome to travel with us.¡± Farisa smiled in agreement and Cyrus became delighted.

    ¡°Really? Thank you so much!¡±

    ¡°No worries,¡± Blaze and Farisa responded together.

    ¡°So where are you two heading now?¡± asked Cyrus.

    Blaze pointed in a particular direction. ¡°There¡¯s a massive demon horde there. According to Sylvia¡¯s map, beyond that is a village ruin. So we are wondering how to get past them.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I might be able to help with that!¡± Cyrus exclaimed. Before they could ask any questions, Cyrus took out a mana recovery pill and consumed it. Then, he closed his eyes and gathered his mana.

    ¡°Sand hawk!¡±

    A pale orange light floated out of his palm and quickly transformed into a small hawk spirit. With the hawk flying around him, Cyrus spoke.

    ¡°While I¡¯m nowhere near as capable as your dryad friend, Sylvia, in scouting long distances, for long times, with numerous spirits, I can scout ahead a little,¡± he smiled and continued. ¡°Moreover, due to its unique features, this spirit is better than most at seeing through the dust storm. I can use it to help guide us around the demon horde.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing Cyrus!¡± Blaze exclaimed. He slightly regretted not learning any useful summoning spells when he was with his tribe. However, he ignored that feeling and laughed. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s our good luck to have come across you then!¡±

    Cyrus smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Then, he ordered his spirit to fly and it shot in the direction Blaze previously pointed, before turning. A few seconds later, Cyrus began running behind it, followed closely by Blaze and Farisa.

    Neither of them noticed his lips curl into a smirk.

    ¡­

    The only way Drake would have a chance of refining this pill was to use a special alchemy technique he had read about but had never had to use till now ¨C circular flow.

    Essentially, before adding a material with a powerful attractive force, you could use your mana to generate circular winds locally around the various materials inside the cauldron. The materials would move following the flow of the wind currents, so, if you made the circular currents have a small enough diameter, then it would essentially be the same as locking the materials in place.

    However, the currents had to be powerful enough to resist the attractive force of whatever material you were adding. Additionally, you could not lose control of any of them until the aura of the material you were adding faded, and everything came under control.

    It was a very difficult, mentally taxing move to execute due to the number of different things you¡¯d have to control at once. Moreover, Drake didn¡¯t have much experience with it as he had never used such a powerful material before. But, Drake had no choice.

    ¡®I have to do it,¡¯ he thought, steeling his resolve. After spending a few moments to compose himself, he prepared another batch of materials.

    An hour later.

    BOOOMMMMM!

    Another huge explosion resounded through the underground passage. Black fumes rose from the cauldron.

    Cough! Cough!This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Drake suffered a backlash due to the large failure. He managed to recover a few seconds later but, he did not look happy.

    ¡®I was so close!¡¯

    He had added two leaves successfully but failed when adding the third and final one, as the materials went out of control again.

    Drake took a deep breath. ¡®This time for sure!¡¯

    An hour later.

    BBBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!

    An enormous explosion erupted from the cauldron as flames leaked and smoke rose from its lid.

    Cough! Cough!

    Cough! Cough! Cough!

    Sylvia burst opened her eyes, worried that something had happened to Drake again. She glanced at him and noticed him consuming a couple of pills to recover from the backlash. A few seconds passed, and then his breathing returned to normal and he appeared fine.

    However, he was frowning deeply.

    This time, unlike the others, he had done everything correctly. Even when adding the leaves of the Celestial Willow, Drake had controlled all of the materials properly and begun merging them.

    However, this happened.

    No matter how skilled the alchemist, every refinement always had a chance of failure. This was because the fusion process for combining various materials was always uncontrollable and unpredictable. If you did everything right, from processing the materials to controlling the temperature, speed, etc, you¡¯d have a high chance of success, but it would never be one hundred per cent. Since you couldn¡¯t physically control the way the different materials merged, there was always a chance that it could fail.

    That was what had happened now. Drake had done everything correctly, but the refinement had failed due to pure chance.

    Drake slapped himself on the cheeks.

    ¡®Focus, Drake, focus. You still have enough materials to keep going a few times.¡¯ Drake gave himself a little pep talk, not letting himself despair. He took some time to calm down and process everything, trying to recollect every step he did, and any and all mistakes that he might have made.

    After a while, Drake opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

    ¡®Let¡¯s do this!¡¯

    ¡­

    While Drake was still refining his three leaf healing pill, Blaze and Farisa followed Cyrus and his spirit on his detour around the demon horde.

    They had been running for over an hour when Blaze and Farisa noticed something in the distance. Several black specks appeared on the horizon, distorted by the sandstorm. As they rapidly got closer, the specks became bigger and clearer. Noticing this, Cyrus began slowing down while Blaze and Farisa furrowed their brows.

    The two could now make out that the black specks were numerous figures standing together, but they couldn¡¯t see who they were.

    However, they got a bad feeling.

    Soon, they got close to the figures and Blaze and Farisa¡¯s eyes widened.

    Standing at the centre was the dark grand mage. To his right was Theo with a wicked grin and two dark mages, and to his left were another two dark mages. Floating above them were over fifty rank two vulture spirits, and behind were three, towering lightning rhino beetles.

    ¡®What the¡­¡¯ Farisa gasped in horror as her heart sank.

    ¡®How did they find us?¡¯ Blaze unsheathed his sword and screamed in his mind. However, his thought was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of danger.

    Dragon step!

    Blaze activated his movement technique to shift to the right. However, he still felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Blaze, along with Farisa, looked back to see a smirking Cyrus holding a dagger. The dagger was covered in blood and several drops fell to the floor.

    ¡°You¡­ you are one of¡­ one of them!?¡± Blaze and Farisa gasped simultaneously. However, Blaze felt the pain in his shoulder sharply increase.

    Cough! Cough!

    Blaze coughed and looked at his shoulder to see a large and gaping wound. The wound was covered in a layer of dark, poison elemental mana that continued assaulting him. If he hadn¡¯t dodged at the last second that would have been his neck.

    ¡°Haha!¡± Cyrus laughed and jumped high into the air before landing next to the dark grand mage. ¡°Bingo!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Farisa couldn¡¯t believe she had been taken for a fool. A member of the noble Blackthorne family was colluding with the dark mages? This was unbelievable!

    However¡­

    Farisa glanced at Blaze panting for breath to her side, and then looked at Cyrus again. Her attention was drawn by the six dark mages behind him, including the dark grand mage, then the horde of flying rank two vulture spirits, and finally, the three, huge lightning rhino beetles.

    This is really bad!

    ¡­

    Another hour passed.

    Drake was focusing intensely. The lid of the cauldron vibrated as it struggled to contain the powerful and chaotic energy inside.

    ¡®Pleaseee, don¡¯t fail!¡¯ Drake prayed while he took out the third leaf of the Celestial Willow. After ensuring that the circular flow was thoroughly locking all the materials in place, he added the final leaf.

    Immediately, Drake felt an enormous pressure. As the leaf released the majestic aura of the Celestial Willow, all the materials wanted to dash towards it as if they were a pack of starving wolves who encountered a piece of raw meat. However, the circular currents locked them in place, preventing them from moving even a millimetre.

    ¡®Just a little more, just a little more¡­!¡¯

    Every second that passed, the leaf¡¯s aura waned. After ten seconds, it was completely gone and it became the same as any other material. At the same time, the rest of the materials stopped tugging on the circular currents so Drake could release them.

    ¡®Ahh¡­¡¯ Drake wanted to relax but he forced himself to focus.

    ¡®DON¡¯T MESS UP NOW!¡¯ he screamed at himself.

    He took a deep breath and controlled the three Celestial Willow leaves floating inside the cauldron to slowly move towards each other. Drake made them touch at the same time, transforming them into a ball of light as they began to merge.

    Drake waited patiently. It took several minutes for the process to complete, at the end of which the ball of light emitted a mini wave of mana, before dimming and revealing a single, golden leaf.

    Sweat trickled down his brow as Drake took a deep breath again. Then, while he kept the golden leaf in place, he controlled the other materials to slowly move towards each other. There were thirteen different pieces floating around, each made from other materials which Drake had combined earlier. Now, Drake needed to combine all these into one, and add the golden leaf during the final merging process.

    Over the next twenty minutes, various flashes of light appeared and disappeared in the cauldron as the different pieces merged together. Drake was using his utmost focus to make sure that not even the smallest micro step went wrong.

    By the end of the twenty minutes, only two balls of light remained. These represented pieces of materials that were still merging. However, Drake had to bring them together at a precise moment before they completed merging.

    Drake willed, and the two balls of light zoomed towards each other. Their lights combined to become an even brighter flash of light. However, Drake stared at it unblinkingly, waiting for the right moment.

    A few minutes later.

    ¡®NOW!¡¯ Drake screamed in his head as he willed the golden leaf to plunge towards the huge ball of light, which had now shrunk by thirty per cent. The moment the two collided, the entire cauldron filled with light. The light even spilt out of the edges of the lid and illuminated the circular clearing like a star.

    Then, it changed colour. It wasn¡¯t just white light that spilt out now, but a variety of them. An array of colours shone through the cauldron like a rainbow, which simultaneously released waves of mana one after another. Every second that passed, the colours became brighter, and the waves of mana became faster.

    Sylvia opened her eyes again, curious as to what was happening now. Unlike before, there were no explosions, which could only be a good thing. She watched the cauldron, mesmerised by the colourful lights and the waves of mana.

    Drake continued focusing and ensuring that everything was under control. All he had to do now was maintain the conditions and hope for the best.

    Boom!

    The sound of an explosion echoed across the clearing. However, unlike before, there was no fire or black smoke rising. The rainbow lights were still spilling out but they were dimming rapidly, and the waves of mana quickly came to a stop.

    Drake had a huge smile on his face as he opened the lid. A small, round object floated out the cauldron glowing brilliantly with a multicoloured light. Once it left the cauldron, it released an aura, indicating itself as a rank three pill.

    Drake opened his palm and the pill flew towards it. As it flew, its light dimmed and it quickly stopped releasing such a strong aura.

    A few seconds later, the pill arrived on top of his hands, with its light completely gone. Drake observed the pill with a brilliant glint in his eyes.

    It was round, like most pills, but its coating was unique. As Drake rolled the pill around his palm, it appeared as a different colour depending on which angle he was looking from.

    This was it; this was the three leaf healing pill!

    He finally did it!

 Chapter 91: Middle stage true mage!

    Drake was ecstatic! If he could, he would jump up and down in joy right now!

    How long had it been?

    Being betrayed by Hazezel, forced to leave his village while his mana core was destroyed, Drake had worked for months, tirelessly, to improve his skills as an alchemist while searching and collecting each and every ingredient.

    He had fought so many demons, and done so many things, all for this moment. To refine this pill and restore his mana core.

    Drake took a deep breath. Then, he closed his eyes and consumed the pill.

    The pill travelled through his body and entered his inner realm where a mana core, charred black and mostly destroyed, was floating. As soon as the pill entered, the mana core moved; for the first time in a long time, it vibrated, showing a sign of life. To the mana core, the mere presence of the three leaf healing pill was like a drowning man being given a life jacket.

    Under Drake¡¯s watchful gaze, the pill calmly floated through the inner realm and reached his mana core. Then, it penetrated the core and went into it!

    Immediately, Drake could feel a change. The three leaf healing pill was restoring his mana core from the inside out. Traces of white began appearing on the otherwise black and dark surface. Soon, what were just traces of white became patches, and the patches quickly covered half of the core.

    Half of his mana core was restored!

    At this point, Drake noticed something. It was so unbelievable that he double and triple checked it to make sure he wasn¡¯t mistaken. But he was certain now.

    When mages cultivated, they had to temper their mana cores, slowly breaking them down before building them back up, purer and more powerful than before. Drake previously believed that the pill would restore his core to its former condition. However, seeing the light being emitted by his mana core now, it wasn¡¯t the same as before.

    Instead, it was at the middle stage true mage realm!

    Drake didn¡¯t understand why this was happening. Was his mana core getting destroyed and restored similar to breaking it down, tempering, and building it back up all at once? He had no idea, but he did know one thing. He was going to break through to the middle stage true mage realm!

    Unable to contain his excitement, Drake watched the pill work its magic. As the seconds passed, Drake saw more and more of his mana core be restored. Eventually, his entire mana core turned white and shone brilliantly.

    The mana core released an aura. The aura left his inner realm, penetrated through his body, and spread over the surroundings.

    Sylvia opened her eyes and stood up. She looked at Drake, completely flabbergasted.

    ¡®He¡­ became a mage?¡¯

    The mana core began spinning and zooming around his inner realm as if it was personally excited to be restored. A few seconds later, it relaxed and started floating in the same spot. As it did so, drops of mana began forming around the core and collecting into a small spring.

    This was it.

    Drake had become a mage once again!

    Sylvia was utterly confused.

    ¡°You¡­ you became a mage!?!?!?¡± she yelled.

    How was this possible? Did Drake know about a pill that could make people mages? Such a thing was unheard of!

    Seeing the stoic Sylvia display an expression of complete disbelief and perplexion made Drake chuckle.

    ¡°Actually, I was always a mage,¡± Drake explained.

    ¡°Really?¡± Syliva gasped in surprise.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Drake continued. ¡°When fighting the dark mages who invaded my village, they used a technique to destroy my mana core. Luckily, I knew the recipe for a pill to restore my mana core. So, after many months of collecting the right materials and practising alchemy, I finally managed to make the pill and, here I am,¡± Drake finished his explanation with a smile.

    Realisation dawned on Sylvia. ¡°I¡­ I see¡­¡± she mumbled.

    For a moment, she felt really sorry for Drake. She couldn¡¯t imagine what she would do if her mana core was destroyed. Yet, Drake had not let himself despair. He had immediately begun working on a solution, gathering materials and practising alchemy tirelessly, so that he could one day restore his mana core.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ you¡¯re quite amazing,¡± she said finally, developing a new respect for Drake¡¯s perseverance and hard work.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Drake replied. Then, he turned and looked around. He still had two vials of the mana water, several pieces of the commander class demon corpse, eleven leaves of the Celestial Willow, as well as various rare herbs, ores, and other materials left. He took them all into his storage pouch along with his ice fire cauldron.

    Drake wondered what he should do now. Then, he felt the dense mana around him and realised there was only one sensible option. He was getting closer to the middle stage steel body realm, and this might be a good opportunity to make a lot of progress.

    In fact, if he hadn¡¯t been busy practising alchemy, rune engraving, learning his martial skills, and everything else, he might have broken through to the middle stage steel body realm already. This room was a great opportunity for him to catch up on his cultivation which he had not prioritised for a while.

    Taking a deep breath, Drake calmed his mind, began absorbing mana from the surroundings and activated the Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation arts.

    Seeing Drake return to cultivation, Sylvia also did the same. The duo sat separately in the mana rich, underground passage and began cultivating.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside, in the inheritance.

    Winds raged across the huge plains, sweeping up vasts amount of dust into a huge storm. Cultivators struggled to navigate the dust storm while being ambushed by demons continuously.

    Two such cultivators were now kneeling on the floor. One was a tall and muscular man. He had planted his large sword into the ground and was holding onto its hilt for support while panting for breath. Next to him was a young woman wearing purple robes. Her beautiful facial features were covered by numerous cuts and bruises, and her hair was a dishevelled mess. A huge hammer laid by her side as she knelt on the ground on all fours, completely powerless.

    Several dozen vulture spirits were flying over them, while seven figures surrounded them imposingly. One of them was a red-haired young man wielding a sword on one hand, and chains on the other. Seeing the state of the two cultivators before him, he grinned and activated his martial technique.

    Snake walk!

    Theo appeared before Blaze in a flash. He lifted his right leg while pivoting on his left heel and rotated his hips. His leg swung at Blaze¡¯s face like a hammer. Too weak to defend, Blaze took the kick directly and was sent flying. His body bounced against the harsh ground several times before he finally came to a stop.

    ¡°Haha! Not so tough now are you?¡± laughed Theo.

    However, Blaze couldn¡¯t respond. He laid on his back weakly for a few seconds before slowly turning around, pushing himself up. Blaze tried to stand but his legs were too weak. However, he could make eye contact with Theo. Despite his predicament, there was not a trace of fear in his eyes, and he glared at Theo ferociously.

    ¡°Kill me,¡± Blaze whispered. His voice was carried by the winds and echoed across the surroundings. He continued staring at Theo as he spoke his following words. ¡°I dare you.¡±

    ¡°Tst,¡± Theo spat. They would have killed him already if it was so simple. However, if they killed him directly, Blaze could mark all of them before his death, turning them all into sworn enemies of the entire dragon race. It would then only be a matter of time before the dragon race eventually hunted them all down.

    However¡­

    Theo smirked and looked at the dark grand mage. The dark grand mage broke into a smile and silently took out a horn artifact from his storage pouch.

    Blaze and Farisa sensed that it was just a rank one artifact so they were confused about why the dark grand mage took it out now.

    However, they wouldn¡¯t have to wonder for long.

    The dark mage poured his mana into the horn while raising it to his lips.

    Then, with a deep, guttural breath, he blew.

    A low and melancholic wail escaped, echoing through the still air. It was a sound both ancient and terrifying, a dirge of impending doom.

    As the notes grew louder, the ground began to tremble. Dark clouds covered the blazing sun, casting the land in darkness. Shadows seemed to writhe and dance at the peripheries of Blaze and Farisa¡¯s visions. A cold wind whipped up in the surroundings, carrying with it a scent of decay and sulphur.

    Specks of darkness appeared in the distance all around them. The shadows grew in size as they rapidly approached the duo. Within a few seconds, over twenty of the shadows surrounded them. They had now solidified into figures composed entirely out of shadow. Each stood tall and firm as they wielded various weapons including swords, spears, axes, bows, hammers, daggers, and more, while radiating the aura of servant class demons.

    Blaze and Farisa¡¯s faces paled as they saw the few dozen shadow demons surrounding them, quickly multiply to a hundred, then several hundred, to almost a thousand! Many of the figures also radiated the auras of warrior class demons. The combined aura of so many servant and warrior class shadow demons was so powerful it exerted a physical pressure on Blaze and Farisa.

    The dark grand mage finally lowered the horn and placed it back into his storage pouch. He saw Blaze and Farisa standing back to back as they eyed the shadow demons warily. They had consumed some pills to recover a bit of strength, however, he knew that they would not be able to survive this.

    Not only him, even Blaze and Farisa also knew that they couldn¡¯t beat this army.

    ¡®So they came prepared, huh,¡¯ Blaze wondered. By using this army to kill him, the dark mages wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his enemy of race marking.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Theo laughed heartily. ¡°I so wish I could kill you with my own hands. But, sadly I can¡¯t,¡± he spoke with a sarcastic, lamentful tone. Then, his eyes sparkled with a crazed delight. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just have to make up for it by killing that boy instead!¡±

    ¡°You bastard!¡± Blaze yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch Drake!¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?¡± Theo asked mockingly. ¡°You couldn¡¯t even save¡­ what was her name again?¡± he laughed.

    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOUUUUU!¡± Blaze roared furiously, his voice echoing through the surroundings. But Theo became amused and just chuckled in response.

    ¡°Save yourself first idiot!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± the dark grand mage interrupted their exchange. He turned to Blaze and Farisa and spoke. ¡°The two of you did well to survive for so long against me. However, this is where it all comes to an end.¡± He then focused on Blaze who glared back at him, before adding, ¡°Your strength really did live up to the reputation of the dragon race. You should be proud.¡±

    ¡°Come here and say that,¡± Blaze spat in response.

    ¡°Ha!¡± the dark grand mage chuckled and turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to the dark mages. ¡°We don¡¯t have any time to waste. We need to collect the rest of the inheritances before going to the main one.¡±

    The dark mages laughed and followed along. As they began walking away, the shadow demons started banging their weapons against the ground, creating rhythmic vibrations. The demons became excited and started roaring, while slamming their weapons harder and harder.

    Then, they charged.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room in Basindale.

    A mysterious hooded figure was sitting at a table placed next to an open window. A small lantern at the centre of the table shone faint rays of light at the otherwise dark surroundings.

    Knock! Knock! Knock!

    ¡°Come in,¡± the mysterious figure answered with a deep voice. Immediately, the door creaked open and footsteps echoed through the room, becoming louder and louder as it reached closer to the table.

    Once it was close, the lantern illuminated the guest to be a man in his mid-thirties, wearing dark robes, radiating a warrior mage aura. The man knelt, cupped his fists, and spoke in a respectful tone. However, his voice carried a trace of fear.

    ¡°My lord, we have been investigating¡­ the individual attacking the Ironheart family.¡±

    ¡°And¡­?¡± the figure asked calmly, continuing to stare out the window nonchalantly.

    For a moment, the man did not reply. If one looked closely, they would be able to see his hands shaking. The man gulped, and replied, ¡°We have looked everywhere but¡­ we couldn¡¯t find out who it was.¡±

    Silence fell upon the room once more. Only the crackling of the fire in the lantern made any sound at all.

    A few seconds passed in silence as the man became more and more agitated. He was about to open his mouth and explain further when his face suddenly turned pale. The man weakly brought his hands to his throat while attempting to say something but no words came out as his throat severely constricted. The man let out a faint cough before falling limply on the floor.

    A semi-invisible spirit travelled out of the man¡¯s open mouth. Its figure appeared to blend into the wind, making it difficult to tell what sort of a creature it was. A few seconds later, the spirit dissipated into mana.

    At the same time, a mild breeze entered through the window and carried the low whispering of the mysterious figure.

    ¡°Useless¡­¡±

    Meanwhile, in an unknown cave.

    A young man wearing an eye patch sat cross-legged while meditating. Standing next to him was another young man, wielding a spear, whose face was half-decomposed, indicating him to be an undead.

    The two were naturally Henry and Jin Tong.

    Henry opened his eyes and looked out the cave¡¯s entrance. Well into the distance, the walls of a magnificent town could be seen.

    ¡°Hmm, seems like things have quietened down,¡± he spoke to himself. ¡°While everyone¡¯s busy with the inheritance, I¡¯ll make a few more moves before laying low for a while.¡±

    Saying so, Henry stood up and exited the cave.

    Over the next couple of days, several more of the Ironheart family¡¯s deliveries and resource points would be attacked by a dark mage using the Hidden Venom Cult¡¯s methods. However, no matter how much they tried, the Hidden Venom Cult could not find out who it was, while Cedric Ironheart became more and more angry, and decided to hunt down every dark mage in Duskville.

 Chapter 92: Only hope

    The sun was setting on the inheritance grounds. More than two hours had passed since Drake finished refining his three leaf healing pill and reached the middle stage true mage realm. During this time, two individuals had been fighting for their lives and were about to throw in the towel.

    Blaze buried his huge sword into the ground and held onto its handle while panting for breath. His left arm was bigger and covered in dragon scales, however the rest of body was littered with cuts and bruises. His mana was pitifully low and he was barely able to maintain his dragon form. Standing against his back, Farisa was in no better shape. Despite the backlash she would later have to suffer, she had been consuming a large number of pills one after another, in order to stay standing.

    Surrounding them was a large army of hundreds of shadow demons.

    Their numbers had actually halved compared to when the dark mages had left, however, the duo were not in any shape to take on the army any longer. Fighting against the dark grand mage, Theo, Henry, and the rest of the dark mages had already exhausted most of their strength. Blaze was forced to reactivate his dragon form a second time to fight this army which would soon cause him to suffer a huge backlash. In fact, if not for his tremendous will power and Farisa¡¯s support, he would have collapsed a long time ago.

    ¡°What are we¡­ going¡­ to do?¡± Blaze whispered while catching his breath.

    Farisa took a few moments to gather her energy to respond when three humanoid shadow demons charged. She took a deep breath and poured mana into her pure white robes which she obtained from the maze inheritance a while back, and activated one of its runes.

    ¡°Spectral shield!¡±

    A large barrier of light appeared before her, causing the shadow demons to crash into it. Taking this opportunity, she activated her martial technique.

    Phantom charge!

    Farisa moved like a phantom and appeared above the shadow demons in an instant. She raised her hammer high and brought it crashing down on all three of them.

    ¡°DIEEEEEEEE!!!!!¡± she screamed as she crushed the shadow demons with the weight of her hammer. The collision summoned powerful winds which swept at the nearby shadow demons, destroying their hopes of using this chance for a sneak attack. A few seconds later, she returned to Blaze¡¯s side who had finished dealing with a couple more demons. The moment she stopped moving, she stumbled and almost fell, but caught herself at the last second.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Blaze asked worriedly.

    ¡°Just fine,¡± Farisa replied, but her voice was weak.

    The demons were momentarily stunned by their ferocious attacks and would need a few seconds to recover. Farisa spoke quickly to make use of this time.

    ¡°I have a plan.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡± Blaze asked surprised.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied and continued hurriedly. ¡°I have a number of artifacts given to me by my sect, and ones I found in this inheritance. I¡¯m sure you do too. If we take them out and self-detonate them all at once, the resulting explosion may create a large enough opening for us to break through.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Blaze was stunned.

    Detonating all the artifacts they had accumulated thus far would be a big loss. All the efforts they had put into the inheritance grounds so far would be wasted. Not to mention, they¡¯d have to move very quickly and could easily get caught up in the explosion too. Even if they didn¡¯t, they might still end up not being able to break through, at which point they¡¯ll be completely defenceless when surrounded by the army.

    It was a reckless plan, but¡­ they didn¡¯t have much choice.

    Blaze knew he didn¡¯t have a long time to deliberate as the shadow demons were inching closer for the next attack. Seeing them surround him in the hundreds, Blaze made up his mind.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that,¡± he agreed firmly.

    ¡°Good,¡± Farisa smiled.

    The two poured mana into their storage pouches and took out numerous artifacts. Apart from his sword and Farisa¡¯s hammer, they were ready to detonate everything else. They looked at each other and though they didn¡¯t speak, the same thought went through their minds.

    Three¡­

    Two¡­

    One¡­

    Suddenly, they heard a loud explosion, followed by several voices.

    ¡°Crane fist!¡±

    ¡°Crimson burst!¡±

    ¡°Thunder strike!¡±

    Blaze watched dumbfounded as several dozen demons were casually thrown into the sky from the middle of the horde following each voice. He shared a glance with Farisa, stunned. They were both thinking the same thing.

    This sounds like¡­ Silver Crane Sect!

    Meanwhile, two young men and a young woman were standing on top of a tall watchtower in a village ruin. With the sun setting, the dust storm was almost completely gone, and they could use these last rays of light to see far into the distance before it became nighttime.

    One of these young men had emerald hair and ocean-blue eyes, which suddenly sparkled as he noticed something.

    ¡°Do you two see that?¡± asked Elwin.

    ¡°See what?¡± asked Cain.

    ¡°That,¡± replied Imogen, pointing into the distance.

    Cain activated a martial technique which let him see into the distance more clearly and he spotted it. There was another ruin, almost a blur on the horizon. Judging from the distance, it¡¯d probably take them past sunrise again to reach there, not to mention all the demons they¡¯d have to fight along the way which would add several more hours. However, they couldn¡¯t spot any other ruins nearby so this was their only option.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Cain mumbled.

    ¡°Well, then let¡¯s finish taking the inheritance here and start making our way to those ruins before anyone else gets there,¡± said Elwin. The other two silently agreed and jumped off the watchtower before heading towards a large treasure chest.

    Quite some time passed.

    The sun set and rose once again on the inheritance grounds. No one knew how many unfortunate souls had passed away during this time. Nobody cared. The only thing on everyone¡¯s mind was clearing as many inheritances as they could while rushing towards the final inheritance.

    Separated from everyone else, but still within the inheritance grounds, was a young boy and girl, sitting crossed-legged in a circular clearing in what looked like some underground space. They were naturally Drake and Sylvia.

    Drake¡¯s mind was filled with the image of a translucent, humanoid being, sitting in a meditative pose, with rich mana flowing through its body in blue streaks of light. As the mana flowed through its body, it entered and exited its various bones, muscles, and tendons, breaking them down and rebuilding them anew, infused with mana.

    As mana flowed through the image in his head, Drake felt mana coursing through his own body. He could feel his own body breaking down and rejuvenating, causing an unbelievable amount of pain. However, mixed with the pain was a sense of pleasure and delight; driven by the thought that he was getting stronger every second.

    Drake was used to enduring this pain now so it wasn¡¯t a big deal. He was determined to make full use of the dense mana in this space to catch up on his cultivation.

    Several more minutes passed before Drake slowly opened his eyes. He took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, calming down the mana within his body, and returning his mind to a normal state.

    Drake looked at his left palm and clenched his fist, before relaxing. His strength had slightly increased.

    ¡®I am very close to the middle stage steel body realm now,¡¯ he thought to himself. Beyond that, when his mana core was restored, not only did he become a middle stage true mage, he was also extremely close to the late stage true mage realm as well. In fact, Drake was confident that he could break through both minor realms within a maximum of a few months once he returned to the outside world.

    Drake was very pleased. He turned his hand to observe the fire dragon ring that was now on his index finger, and the figure of the dragon head at its centre.

    ¡®Can¡¯t believe this small ring is a rank four artifact,¡¯ Drake thought. However, the four runes inscribed in the ring, as well as the aura it released earlier, left no room for doubt. This was indeed a rank four artifact. Drake was excited to try it out, but this wasn¡¯t the place.

    ¡®The time limit is¡­ almost over right?¡¯ he wondered as he looked around.

    On the other side, Sylvia had also just awoken from her cultivation. ¡®I¡¯m quite close to the perfect stage warrior mage realm,¡¯ she thought to herself. A second later, she looked at Drake curiously. Sylvia was still in disbelief at the revelation that Drake was now suddenly a mage, and was curious about what summons he could use as one.

    At this moment, the winds suddenly shifted as a deep voice reverberated from the statue, drawing their attention.

    ¡°Young cultivators, the time is up. You will now return to main inheritance grounds.¡±

    As soon as it finished speaking the last word, the statue¡¯s eyes started to glow a brilliant golden light.

    Drake felt a formless energy wash over him and he was once again reminded of the time he was transmigrated by the strange, Orion Immortal. However, he didn¡¯t have much time to reminisce as his vision quickly turned white and, after a second, returned to normal.

    Their visions were blurry at first and it took a few moments to adjust.

    The first thing Drake felt was the scorching heat and the sharp winds of the dust storm. Looking to his side, he spotted Sylvia standing next to him and felt relieved. He was slightly worried that they may be split up during the teleportation again but it appeared that he was just overthinking things.

    ¡°Where are we, do you¡­ know?¡± asked Drake.

    Before he finished his question, Sylvia had already began summoning a few pixie spirits. Several orbs of green light flew out of her palm and shot into the surroundings. Sylvia closed her eyes and focused, gathering information from her spirits about their surroundings, mentally comparing it to the map she had previously drawn, in order to locate where they were.

    A few seconds later, she replied. ¡°The voice wasn¡¯t wrong. We are much closer to the black structure now.¡±

    Saying so, she opened her eyes and turned around, and Drake followed. The two were stunned by the sight of a ginormous black tower rising into the sky. Its image was obscured by the winds of the dust storm, but it was much taller than anything Drake had seen before - in both his previous life and now.

    Both of them had the same thought.

    There¡¯s no doubt about it¡­ that must be where the final inheritance is.

    The two took a few moments to admire its splendour before Sylvia continued. ¡°I can see the ruins of some mines in that direction. It is likely to be another inheritance. We can explore it before heading to the tower.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Drake agreed.

    Soon, the two started running towards the tower. Although they could see it more clearly now, that was only because the tower was huge. It was still quite far away.

    Half an hour later.

    With the help of Sylvia¡¯s spirits, the duo were able to navigate around a lot of demon hordes. However, this close to the end of the inheritance, the density of the demons was much higher. So, despite their best efforts, they would often encounter and be forced to fight numerous demons. However, the two had fully recovered their strength and so were able to make quick work of them, even without using their newly gained rank four twin dragon rings.

    All was going smoothly when one of Sylvia¡¯s pixies suddenly alerted her to the presence of a large demon horde close by.

    ¡°Wait!¡± she yelled.

    Close to their location, a group of cultivators were fighting against a horde of demons. One of them was a young man wearing leather armour and wielded a huge sword. Two black, spiral horns protruded from his head. Next to him, a young woman dressed in white robes wielded a purple hammer, smashing any demons that came close. Surrounding them were five, muscular men dressed in all sorts of armour and weapons.

    They were, of course, Blaze and Farisa who were rescued by the Silver Crane Sect disciples in the nick of time from the shadow demon army, summoned by the dark grand mage. With their help, the duo defeated the army and barely managed to escape. Despite their previous disagreements, the Silver Crane Sect disciples knew they couldn¡¯t let Blaze and Farisa die, least of all because they would need their strength to fight the dark mages for the final inheritance.

    Unfortunately, due to pushing themselves past their limits so much, Blaze and Farisa had immediately collapsed. Derald volunteered to carry them while they recovered, and the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples protected them as they reached another inheritance. At this point, they laid Blaze and Farisa to rest while working to solve the challenges and obtain the inheritance. It took them several hours to reach the inheritance, and several more in order to obtain it.

    During this time, Blaze and Farisa recovered consciousness but had no strength to even move, suffering from their severe backlashes. After thanking the Silver Crane Sect disciples for their help, the two worked on meditating and recovering from their injuries. By the time the Silver Crane Sect disciples obtained the inheritance, they had recovered enough strength to move on their own, although they were still much weaker than normal.

    Luckily, there was another inheritance close by so the group had rushed towards its ruins. At this point, Blaze and Farisa, as well as the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples, spent a few more hours to recover their strength. Although they were still far from their peak, it was finally enough for Blaze and Farisa to feel better and hold their own in combat.

    Everyone knew they couldn¡¯t rest forever, so the group explored the inheritance and quickly obtained it. Blaze discovered ruler martial techniques which he gladly took, while everyone else found artifacts, martial techniques, or other treasures to their liking. Thankfully, there were no dispute regarding how to distribute the treasures.

    After clearing the second inheritance, the group noticed the ruins of a mine and started making their way towards it. The number of demons in the area kept increasing forcing them to fight one horde after another, resulting in the current situation.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡±

    ¡°Crushing maelstorm!¡±

    The two unleashed their techniques along with the rest of the Silver Crane Sect disciples. However, they suddenly heard two new, yet familiar voices.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    A large number of fireballs and arrows rained down on the demon horde, killing them in the dozens. Within a few seconds, two shadows cut a path through the horde and reached Blaze, Farisa, and the Silver Crane Sect disciples.

    ¡°Drake! Sylvia!¡± exclaimed Blaze.

    ¡°You guys!¡± Drake rejoiced to see Blaze and Farisa alive. The two groups wanted to catch up but were interrupted by half a dozen demon boars charging at them.

    Sigh¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s deal with them first,¡± said Blaze.

 Chapter 93: Black Iron

    With renewed vigour, the group of nine used all manner martial techniques and artifacts to kill dozens and dozens of demons. Within a few seconds, the horde of several hundred demons were reduced to nothing.

    ¡°Finally!¡± Blaze cried as he cut down the last demon. He then turned to Drake and Sylvia, ¡°What took you two so long? We were worried!¡±

    ¡°And what happened to those dark mages?¡± added Farisa.

    ¡°We dealt with them,¡± Drake replied. ¡°As for why we took so long¡­ we just discovered an inheritance along the way and decided to obtain it.¡±

    Drake chose not to go into too much detail, and since Sylvia didn¡¯t correct him, Blaze and Farisa accepted that explanation.

    ¡°I see,¡± replied Farisa.

    At this point, Kurt, Ivan Flame, Derald Forge, and the other Silver Crane Sect disciples also gathered around. Drake glanced at them and made eye contact with Ivan.

    For a moment, no one spoke, and the plains became quiet. Then, Ivan broke the silence with a sigh. He rubbed the back of his head and spoke.

    ¡°I thought about it and¡­ I understand.¡±

    Drake continued staring at him, silently nudging him to explain.

    ¡°¡­ I understand, why you did what you did. If I was in your position, I would have also aimed to capture Theo for an exchange.¡± A few seconds later he added, ¡°I still can¡¯t forgive what happened to Jordon, however, that was the dark mages¡¯ fault, so¡­¡±

    Ivan¡¯s voice trailed off, so Drake completed his sentence. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re good?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Ivan sighed again. Drake was surprised at this development but Ivan appeared sincere. Hence, Drake simply chose to be grateful.

    ¡°Well, thank you,¡± he replied. ¡°And, for it¡¯s worth, I apologise for not being honest with you all from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± agreed Farisa, as well as Blaze and Sylvia.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± replied Kurt, and Ivan nodded.

    With that, Drake felt the tension between the groups lift, and smiled.

    Suddenly, Drake remembered something.

    ¡°By the way guys, the dark mages told us something. It¡¯s about Cyrus!¡±

    Blaze and Farisa shared a dry glance before turning to face Drake.

    ¡°We know,¡± they replied in unison. Drake tilted his head in confusion and Blaze sighed.

    ¡°We¡¯ll explain on the way.¡±

    ¡­

    A group of seven cultivators dressed in dark robes were speeding through the inheritance grounds.

    ¡°How much further is the next inheritance, my lord?¡± asked one of the cultivators respectfully to a man at the front. The man looked like he was in his late twenties, and circling above him were several dozen vulture spirits which were easily picking off any demon that came close.

    The dark grand mage peered into the distance in the direction of the black tower which was slowly becoming more and more visible to their group. Some distance before that tower were the ruins of what looked like some old mines, which the dark grand mage noticed through one of his investigative spirits.

    ¡°Not very far,¡± he replied calmly.

    ¡­

    A short while later.

    Drake, Sylvia, Blaze, Farisa, Kurt, Ivan, Derald, and the other two Silver Crane Sect disciples were standing in front of a rocky hill with a wide opening. Several tracks were coming out of the opening, which were probably used by miners to transport extracted rocks and minerals in carts.

    The group warily entered the opening.

    Immediately, Drake felt the change in weather. As always, the heat was much lower at a regular, room temperature, the fierce winds disappeared, and he could see everything clearly without any dust storm obscuring his view.

    ¡®So this really is an inheritance then¡­¡¯ Drake thought, then shook his head to focus on his surroundings.

    The group entered a large clearing, dimly lit by torches aligned along the walls. The floor was littered with all manner of rocks and occasional mining tools. Some distance away, on the right, there was a set of stairs leading down, whereas straight ahead and on the left, several passages were branching off.

    ¡°Sylvia-¡± Kurt began but paused upon seeing that she had her eyes closed.

    She had already willed her pixie spirits to scout the mines and was focusing on them. A few moments later, she opened them. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± she mumbled.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Kurt.

    ¡°I believe there¡¯s black iron rock in these mines,¡± she replied calmly.

    ¡°Black iron?¡± Drake asked confused.

    Farisa decided to explain. ¡°Black iron is a type of iron infused with mana which makes it stronger, sharper, and more durable. Of course, it is also rarer, but the weapons and artifacts made out of black iron are far more powerful.¡±

    Interesting¡­ thought Drake. He had never heard of black iron before, could it be a material unique to this world? Drake was curious.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head there then,¡± Drake suggested. Everyone agreed.

    The group carefully ventured through the mines. Sylvia led them down the staircase to the next floor, where she navigated through a few passageways before arriving at another clearing.

    This room was even more dimly lit than the previous ones. However, with their enhanced senses, everyone could still see clearly.

    Drake noticed a pitch-black rock on the floor and picked it up. He willed the mana in his inner realm to enter the rock and began sensing its internal structure. A few moments later, he opened his eyes.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡®Very interesting!¡¯ Drake exclaimed internally.

    The absorption of mana strengthened the bonds between the iron atoms. This also ended up altering the atomic structure, as the different forces meant that an arrangement which would not be stable for ordinary iron atoms, was stable for black iron. This different atomic structure and increased atomic forces was responsible for the stronger and more durable properties of black iron.

    More importantly, Drake felt that this structure was not very complicated. He was sure he could study it easily and start summoning black iron artifacts soon.

    This was an unexpected gain!

    Drake was about to rejoice when suddenly, a large explosion interrupted him.

    The group jumped back as a pile of rubble on the other end of the room exploded, scattering the rocks everywhere. A large creature rose from the debris and quickly began crawling up the wall. It moved fast and reached the ceiling in an instant, before moving towards them upside down. At the same time, it released the aura of a warrior class demon.

    Drake noticed its numerous legs and recognised what sort of a demon it was.

    ¡°A demon centipede!¡± exclaimed Blaze. ¡°What¡¯s it doing inside an inheritance? And warrior class? I thought those didn¡¯t appear in this inheritance grounds!¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re closer to the black fortress now, the demons are stronger?¡± Ivan suggested.

    ¡°More importantly, look closer,¡± said Sylvia with a low voice. The centipede stopped mid way and stared at the group, giving them the opportunity to observe it closer. Its shell was thick and pitch black in colour, and looked extremely hard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me!¡± gasped Farisa.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mutant?¡± Kurt asked out loud.

    ¡°Seems so,¡± Sylvia replied calmly. ¡°It must have absorbed the mana from the black iron ores, which transmuted its shell to have similar properties. We need to be careful, it will not be like a normal warrior class demon.¡±

    Suddenly, the centipede fell to the ground. The next instant, it let out a loud screech and charged at the group.

    ¡°Fire blade!¡±

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    ¡°Rain!¡±

    Blaze, Drake and Sylvia unleashed their attacks from their spot, whilst Kurt and Ivan Flame rushed towards the centipede.

    ¡°Thunder strike!¡±

    ¡°Crimson burst!¡±

    Kurt and Ivan activated their martial techniques and punched the demon centipede with all their might, before quickly jumping back. The combined energy of so many attacks was powerful, and a mini dust cloud rose around the demon centipede.

    ¡°Did we¡­ do it?¡± Blaze wondered. An ordinary warrior class demon would not have been able to directly take the attacks of so many powerful cultivators. It should either be dead, or severely injured - or so they thought.

    The dust cloud settled and the centipede was revealed.

    ¡°What!?¡± Blaze exclaimed stupefied.

    The rest of the group was also in disbelief. Apart from minor scratches on its shell, the demon centipede was mostly unharmed.

    ¡°This is not good,¡± Kurt muttered, before speaking loudly. ¡°Brothers listen. Ivan and Derald, we will attack the demon centipede directly along with Blaze and Drake. The two of you protect Sylvia along with Farisa and act if you see an opportunity.¡±

    Kurt charged at the demon centipede without waiting for a response. He jumped into the air and activated his martial technique. Bolts of lightning started wrapping around his legs.

    ¡°Arcane¡­. Surge!¡± His legs moved in a flash as he kicked the centipede repeatedly, each blow charged with lightning. However, the centipede¡¯s shell barely cracked.

    Seeing this, Ivan and Derald made their moves. Drake and Blaze shared a silent glance before they too started attacking the centipede.

    ¡°Crescent slash! Hammer fist! Lightning metal leg! Chain lightning!¡±

    Drake used his techniques one after another but the demon centipede¡¯s armour was unbelievably tough. After taking all of those attacks directly, it only developed a few cracks. While seeing this made everyone else worried, Drake¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe¡­ it¡¯s so strong!¡¯

    For Drake, the strength of the demon centipede¡¯s defence showcased the power of black iron. That also meant that if he could learn to summon black iron, his artifact summons would be that much stronger! How could he not rejoice at such a thought?

    Of course, the other reason he was so relaxed was because there was so many of them. With so many powerful cultivators here, a single warrior class demon would not be able to threaten them, no matter how powerful. Beyond that, he also had not yet used his fire dragon ring.

    ¡®Could it survive an attack from a rank four artifact?¡¯ Drake wondered, then shook his head. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use it unless the right opportunity showed up. Moreover, he wanted to try using finger thrust first, which was ordinarily very powerful at breaking defences.

    Drake saw the centipede twisting and turning, trying to attack anyone that came close. It used its powerful shell to block the attacks while striking back with its horns and its numerous legs. Additionally, its speed was incredible. Despite its size, perhaps due to its numerous legs, it could move extremely fast, forcing everyone to stay on guard.

    As everyone dodged the demon centipede¡¯s attacks and retaliated with their own, the demon suddenly did something unexpected. Drake watched the demon centipede suddenly turn a full 180 in the blink of an eye and bash into Blaze who was attacking it from behind.

    Blaze was caught completely by surprise and, given his still weakened state, was unable to react in time. He was sent flying.

    ¡®Now!¡¯ Drake thought. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Drake willed his mana to move. His index and middle fingers began glowing with mana as he struck at an already weakened point of the centipede¡¯s shell.

    ¡°Finger thrust!¡±

    The centipede screeched in pain as it was attacked by a powerful yet concentrated force. The part of the shell Drake attacked developed several large cracks. However, it didn¡¯t break.

    ¡®This really is strong!¡¯ thought Drake, however, he couldn¡¯t be distracted for long.

    The centipede rotated its huge body in an instant once again and slashed at Drake with its enormous horns. Luckily, with his acute sense activated, Drake detected the attack and dodged just as the tip of the horn scraped past his robes.

    Drake jumped and flipped through the air before landing on his feet several metres away. The centipede did not want to give Drake any respite as it charged at him immediately.

    In response, Drake smirked. He poured mana into his ring and it began glowing red.

    ¡°Fire dragon strike!¡±

    Drake waved his hand and three streaks of fire flew out. They darted through the air so quickly that the centipede could barely register their movement. By instinct, it turned its head just enough so that the strike would fall on its shell instead of its neck and head.

    BOOM!

    A large explosion resounded across the mines and the streaks of fire cut through its armour and embedded deeply into its skin. Blood splashed everywhere. Drake summoned a quick barrier to deflect and prevent it from staining his clothes.

    SSCCCRRRREEEEECCCHHHHH!

    The demon centipede felt pain unlike anything it had experienced before and screeched. However, the streaks of fire relentlessly cut through its body, and encased it in flames.

    BOOM!

    Another explosion rang through the clearing as a mini dust cloud rose into the air and fierce winds swept at the surroundings.

    For several seconds, everyone stepped back and stared in shock.

    ¡®He¡­ did it?¡¯ gasped Kurt. They had all been struggling to break through its defence - it was unbelievable that Drake had managed to kill it so easily with just one attack. ¡®Wait, that was¡­¡¯ Kurt focused on Drake¡¯s left hand and noticed a ring.

    ¡®A rank four artifact!¡¯

    The ring was still giving off a faint aura from the use of its rune so there was no mistaking it. It really was a rank four artifact!

    ¡®How did he find one?¡¯ Kurt was confused and excited at the same time.

    Everyone else was in the same position. They too had noticed his rank four artifact by now and were stunned.

    ¡®He¡¯s gotten stronger again!¡¯ Blaze yelled internally. While he was happy for Drake, his competitive spirit made him want to not fall behind Drake.

    Drake stared at the demon calmly but he was internally shocked as well. That attack had just consumed more than half of his mana. He knew using a rank four artifact would require a lot of mana, but he wasn¡¯t expecting this. However, looking at the demon centipede with incredibly tough armour cut into pieces and burning to ash from a single attack, Drake knew that the cost was justified.

    ¡®Just a shame that I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it very often for now,¡¯ he thought to himself as he consumed a mana recovery pill. If he  reached at least the undying body realm, he¡¯d be able to use the ring more.

    Drake sighed and turned around. He was greeted by a series of surprised faces. In response, he just rubbed his nose and walked back casually.

    Suddenly, alarm bells blared in his mind.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake dodged back just in time as another huge demon centipede fell from the ceiling. At the same time, four more demon centipedes showed up out of nowhere, each radiating the aura of a warrior class demon, and surrounded everyone else.

    Before Drake could worry about them, the demon centipede before him charged.

 Chapter 94: Familiar faces

    ¡®Humph!¡¯ Drake snorted and poured mana into his boots.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake moved like a shadow and dodged the demon centipede as it shot past him and crashed into the wall.

    Taking this opportunity, Drake activated his ring again.

    ¡°Fire dragon claw!¡± he exclaimed, waving his hand. A dragon claw with four fingers, each ending with a sharp talon materialised out of thin air, enveloped in flames.

    As soon it appeared, the claw flew towards the centipede exerting a large pressure. Those close to the attack dug their foot into the ground in order to not get pushed back by the attack¡¯s aura. Shocked, everyone turned their heads to view the fire dragon claw speeding towards the demon centipede. If they were feeling this much pressure when the attack wasn¡¯t even directed at them, they could only imagine what the centipede was going through right now.

    The demon centipede wanted to dodge but the attack was too close already. The claw was upon it in an instant as it watched helplessly.

    BBOOOMMMM!

    The claw crashed against demon centipede and forced it further against the wall, creating a large crater. The demon centipede screeched in pain as the powerful flames began melting its armour, while also attacking its weaker underside.

    Drake coughed as his mana was almost completely depleted. He quickly took out a couple of mana recovery pills and consumed them. His body produced mana rapidly and, within a few seconds, he was back to normal.

    Drake opened his eyes and smiled. The demon centipede was dead and its corpse was being burnt to ashes. He estimated that due to its mutation, its strength should be close to that of a pseudo commander class demon.

    ¡®I can defeat a pseudo commander class demon in one attack,¡¯ Drake thought, satisfied. However, due to its large cost, Drake decided to not use it except in emergencies.

    Shaking his head, Drake dissipated the flames and took the corpse into his storage pouch before turning and facing the others.

    The Silver Crane Sect disciples were fighting two demon centipedes while Blaze, Farisa, and Sylvia were fighting another two. They had all seen Drake destroy the demon centipede, however, they didn¡¯t have time to react as they were kept occupied by their battles.

    Sylvia, on the other hand, decided to try out her own artifact.

    ¡°Wind dragon strike!¡± Sylvia exclaimed as she poured mana into her ring artifact and waved her hand. Three translucent streaks of wind escaped the ring and charged towards a demon centipede with incredible speed. The demon centipede barely turned its head and noticed bright green light filling its vision, before the attack pierced into its shell.

    SSSCCCCREEEEECCCCHHHH!!!!

    The demon screeched in pain

    BOOM!

    A large explosion resounded through the mines as the strike pierced directly through the centipede, slicing it into thirds. The force of the impact threw dust, rocks, and debris into the air, forcing the others to summon small barriers for protection. However, at this moment, they all only had one thought.

    ¡®She has one too!?¡¯

    Similar to Drake, Sylvia was also surprised. That attack had used half of her mana. Using rank three artifacts was one thing, but the power of rank four artifacts was equal to that of a mage king. The difference between a mage king and even a grand mage was huge, let alone a warrior mage like her.

    ¡®No wonder it requires so much mana,¡¯ thought Sylvia, and decided not to use it except in emergencies as well.

    Farisa was especially stunned. She had been accumulating treasures to take back to her sect but had only found at most, rank three artifacts. However, these two had managed to find rank four artifacts!? How did they do it?

    ¡°Sylvia, how did you-¡±

    The other demon centipede fighting the duo decided to take advantage of this moment of distraction. It used its hundreds of legs to sprint, approaching Farisa with a wicked glee. Farisa was so shocked by Sylvia¡¯s use of a rank four artifact that she didn¡¯t notice the centipede in time.

    ¡®Oh no!¡¯ she screamed internally as the centipede closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Hallowed strike!¡± boomed a voice. A figure appeared above the demon centipede wielding a sword which released an icy aura. Light blue light burst from the sword and filled the room as the shadowy figure plunged.

    Boom!

    The figure collided with the centipede and slammed it into the ground. The scales of its shell close to the sword turned into ice and broke apart.

    The demon centipede screamed in pain. It twisted its body and attacked the figure with its tail. However, the figure was much faster - when the tail was inches from its face, it vanished. The demon struck thin air and screeched in frustration.

    Surprised, everyone looked around to see where the figure was.

    However, Drake decided to use this moment of distraction to make his move.

    Shadow steps!

    Drake turned into a shadow and disappeared, before appearing above the wounded demon centipede. He poured mana into his sword, making it burn with fire and lightning.

    ¡°Take this!¡±

    Drake sliced at the weakened demon centipede with all his might. The centipede raised its head, only to see its vision get filled with fire and lightning.

    Boom!

    Another explosion resounded through the underground mines as the attack crashed against the demon centipede. Experiencing agony unlike ever before, the demon centipede screeched - but was quickly silenced as the fire spread, and covered its entire body in an instant. Its weakened armour had no chance of surviving the attack.

    Taking a step back, Drake eyed the last two demon centipedes warily. To his right, Drake spotted a demon centipede creeping towards Kurt, Ivan, Derald, and Blaze, while on the other side, the last demon centipede was eyeing Sylvia, Farisa, and the remaining two Silver Crane Sect disciples.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Their mysterious helper was nowhere to be seen.

    Drake wanted to look for him but decided to deal with these first. He poured mana into his boots and was about to activate shadow steps when he felt a hand on his back.

    Startled, Drake jumped back and turned around, sword raised defensively.

    ¡°Wha-¡± Drake paused mid-sentence as he saw who it was.

    A young man wearing white robes carrying the Myriad Sword Palace emblem stood before him. Drake¡¯s scanned his figure and moved up to his face, when his eyes widened. The young man had emerald hair and ocean-blue eyes; eyes which were now slightly tearing up.

    ¡°Elwin¡­?¡± he whispered.

    ¡°Dra¡­ Drake?¡± Elwin replied.

    At this moment, the last two demon centipedes charged at the groups. However, Drake and Elwin didn¡¯t even notice this as their attention was fully captured by each other.

    Farisa had previously told Drake that Elwin was alive and in this inheritance. So Drake thought he¡¯d meet him eventually and was mentally prepared. However, he never expected Elwin to show up so suddenly like this.

    And as for Elwin?

    He had believed that Drake was dead all this time. He had mourned the death of his father and siblings ever since leaving the Jain village. And now, seeing Drake standing before him, Elwin didn¡¯t know what to think.

    Was this a dream? It must be, right?

    Battles raged on as the two brothers faced each other silently. By this point, Cain and Imogen also joined the battles, leaving them alone.

    Drake was the first to break the silence.

    ¡°Elwin!¡± Drake exclaimed. He sheathed his sword and ran up to Elwin. Seeing him move, Elwin was brought back from his thoughts.

    ¡°Drake¡­¡± he sheathed his sword too and opened his arms as his little brother ran up to him.

    Elwin embraced Drake tightly, the warmth of his body filling a void that he never knew existed. Tears welled up in Drake''s eyes as he returned the embrace. All the grief, longing, death, and despair seemed to melt away in that moment.

    ¡°I can''t believe it,¡± Elwin whispered, his voice croaking with a myriad of emotion. ¡°You''re really here!¡±

    Drake chuckled, a sound filled with relief and joy. ¡°Of course I am,¡± he replied, before looking up at Elwin. ¡°I thought you were dead.¡±

    They pulled apart, their eyes locked in a silent exchange. The world around them seemed to fade away as they simply stared at each other.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Elwin asked, his voice barely a whisper. ¡°How did you survive?¡±

    Drake sighed. ¡°It''s a long story,¡± he said, ¡°But it¡¯s not important. I''m here now, and that''s all that matters."

    Elwin nodded. There was a lot to catch up on but now wasn¡¯t the time.

    The two pulled away and their senses slowly returned to the present. Battles were still raging on either side but the demon centipedes were considerably weaker now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s deal with them first,¡± said Elwin.

    Drake nodded. He poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps before charging to his left. Elwin went to the right.

    For the next several minutes, their group of twelve fought against the demons. Without using their rank four artifacts, it was more difficult to deal with the mutated demon centipedes. However, with the combined strength of so many powerful cultivators, they soon managed to defeat them both.

    The two groups jumped back from the corpses, gasping for breath. Some consumed pills to recover their strength, while others looked around cautiously to make sure no more demons were lying in wait. Once they were satisfied, they relaxed and started to recover their strength as well.

    ¡°Elwin! Cain! Imogen!¡± called a voice. A woman dressed in white and purple robes walked up to the trio.

    ¡°Farisa!¡± they exclaimed. They hadn¡¯t been able to interact during the fight but now, they finally could.

    The Myriad Sword Sect disciples had been split up ever since they entered the inheritance grounds. Even now, Corvus Fang and Alistair Lockwood were nowhere to be seen. While everyone believed Corvus would be okay, the same wasn¡¯t true for the others. Seeing each other now, a sense of relief washed over them.

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay!¡± cried Imogen as she hugged Farisa. In response, she gently patted Imogen¡¯s head.

    ¡°Me too,¡± she replied softly.

    While the Myriad Sword Sect disciples, and Drake and Elwin all caught up, the rest finished recovering and walked up to them. Everyone introduced themselves to each other.

    As always, Elwin and his party were surprised to see a dragon and dryad here, but Cain and Imogen were even more surprised to learn that Drake was Elwin¡¯s brother, and he was alive.

    After spending a few minutes catching up and getting to know each other, the group decided to split up the black iron ore. There was plenty to go around so everyone got a sizeable chunk and were very happy.

    Soon, Sylvia began leading the group down the mines once again. The Silver Crane Sect disciples walked in front, followed by Sylvia, Blaze, and Farisa, while Drake was in the back, along with Elwin¡¯s party.

    ¡°Brother! Now that you¡¯re here, once we leave, you should come back with me to the Holy Kingdom and join the Myriad Sword Palace. We can finally be together again!¡±

    Hearing his invitation, Farisa smiled. She had wanted to invite Drake earlier as well but was hesitant as she didn¡¯t know Drake¡¯s background and character. After all this time, she grew to trust Drake, and now that Elwin was inviting him, she wanted to take this opportunity to convince him as well.

    ¡°Indeed. With your talent, you would certainly be invited to become an inner sect disciple. You might even be accepted as a personal disciple by one of our elders! You¡¯ll never have to worry about any resources again as our sect will provide you with everything that you¡¯ll ever need.¡±

    Drake didn¡¯t reply. He turned forward and fell into deep thought.

    If Drake had received this invitation when he had left the Jain village, he would have accepted it in a heartbeat. At the very least, he could have used their help to heal his mana core. However, he had already succeeded in doing that himself.

    Moreover, in this process, he greatly improved his skill as an alchemist. The biggest problem that lone cultivators faced, access to resources, was not as big an issue for him. With his skill in alchemy, and all the rare demon materials and herbs in his possession right now, he could refine rank two and even rank three pills confidently, so he wouldn¡¯t have a problem with acquiring pills for his cultivation; at least until he reached the shadow body or mage king realm, which was a long time away.

    Additionally, with his ability to easily summon artifacts, obtaining them would also not be a problem.

    The main things he lacked access to were martial techniques and spirit summons. However, it was unlikely that, once he joined the sect, they would instantly give him access to all their martial techniques and spirit summons easily. He would likely have to earn them by working and doing missions for the sect, which would be time-consuming.

    Beyond that, as a lone cultivator, he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted - cultivate whatever he wanted, practice alchemy, engraving, or anything else.

    He could also more easily hide his identity as a reincarnator.

    If he joined a sect, people would be curious about his ability to summon artifacts easily - which he wouldn¡¯t be able to explain.

    Considering all of that, Drake decided that joining the Myriad Sword Palace, or any sect, would not be in his best interest right now.

    Drake shook his head. ¡°Thanks for the invitation, but I¡¯m not interested right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ see¡­¡± Farisa sighed and turned back. An ordinary lone cultivator would have been delighted at the opportunity to join as an inner sect disciple to a powerful sect, but it seemed that Drake was different.

    Elwin was also depressed, but decided to not press Drake further.

    At this moment, Sylvia spoke loudly. ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡±

    ¡°Found what?¡± Kurt asked, confused.

    ¡°The inheritance of this place - it¡¯s on the bottom floor.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Then let¡¯s get going!¡±

    Sylvia led the group down the mines.

    During this time, they managed to pick up some more black iron ore as well. While everyone immediately placed the ores into their storage pouch, Drake held a small piece in his hand. As he walked forward with the group, he poured his mana into the black iron ore and studied its structure. Given its similarity to iron, it wouldn¡¯t take long for him to decipher, and learn to summon it.

    Soon, they reached the bottom.

    The last floor was a large room with three passageways branching off in different directions on the opposite side. As soon as the group entered the centre, a mysterious voice bellowed through the room.

    ¡°Haunted by echoes of deathly cries,

    Warriors arrive with weary eyes.

    Now a choice unfolds, a fate to decree,

    Three paths diverge, where destiny will be.

    A challenge awaits, a choice to make.

    Certain death, or a crueller fate.

    But worry not, for there is a way,

    Through the path of treasure, you must haste.

    A wise choice, must be made in time,

    Else face the darkness of the mines!¡±

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, outside the mines, in the inheritance grounds.

    A young man dressed in black and white armour was moving rapidly through the plains. Next to him was a man dressed in white robes, and three lone cultivators.

    They were all heading towards the mines.

 Chapter 95: The darkness of the mines

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 Chapter 96: Face off

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 Chapter 97: Avatar... again!

    A sand eagle demon soared through the skies of the inheritance grounds. Raging winds battered its body, but the eagle barely flinched. With a tilt of its wings, it shot upward. The higher it rose, the stronger the winds - yet, the more fiercely the demon pressed on, gaining speed with every beat of its wings.

    ¡°Screeeeech!¡±

    With a loud cry, the demon eagle came to a sudden halt, mid-flight. The blazing sun cast shimmering rays off its feathers, lending a majestic glow to the creature.

    Looking down, the eagle¡¯s sharp vision pierced through the powerful dust storm and spotted a large, black tower. Numerous black dots were scattered around but were quickly and constantly, moving closer to it.

    What the eagle couldn¡¯t see, was a space underground, carved into various tunnels and pathways, containing a vast amount of a precious material - black iron ore. At the very bottom of this underground mine, two groups stood facing each other.

    Drake, Sylvia, Blaze, Farisa, Elwin, Cain, Imogen, Kurt, Ivan and Derald were huddled together in the final room, on the bottom floor of the mines. Facing them were Theo, Cyrus, and the rest of the dark mages, led by the dark grand mage.

    The dark grand mage stood at the front. In front of him were three, large, lightning rhino beetle spirits, and hovering above him were his vulture spirits - dozens of them.

    For a moment, the dark grand mage was shocked to see Blaze and Farisa still alive. However, he quickly recovered and spoke authoritatively.

    ¡°Move aside.¡±

    His gaze was focused on the black vortex forming near the end, out of which several rank three artifacts were appearing.

    ¡°You wish,¡± Kurt spat in response.

    The dark grand mage¡¯s eyes shifted towards their group and he observed them one by one. He spotted Drake, Blaze, Sylvia, and Farisa standing close to each other, and then stared at Blaze.

    ¡°Your entire party was defeated by me alone when you were at peak strength,¡± he spoke slowly. ¡°What do you think you can do now against all of us?¡±

    ¡°Bastard,¡± cursed Sylvia, his words reminding her of Helen.

    Blaze and Farisa clenched their fists. After the fight against the dark mages and the army of shadow demons summoned by the dark grand mage, they still had not fully recovered. The two of them stared daggers at Cyrus - who was standing next to Theo, smiling mockingly - remembering his betrayal.

    Elwin, along with Cain and Imogen, was confused by this situation. He wanted to charge at the dark mages the moment he sensed them but stopped himself after seeing everyone freeze. When the dark grand mage¡¯s spirits began appearing one after another, he grew more and more dismayed, and hearing his words now, a chill went through his spine.

    ¡°Is this true?¡± he whispered to Drake.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he sighed in response. ¡°He is a grand mage, and a very powerful one at that.¡±

    After fighting alongside them, Elwin knew how powerful Drake and his party was. And this dark grand mage managed to defeat all of them on his own? How strong was he? And how was a grand mage even here? Numerous questions began spiralling in his head.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be plenty of opportunities to fight in the main inheritance. You know you can¡¯t win this battle, so scurry along now.¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± snorted Sylvia. ¡°Don¡¯t get so full of yourself.¡±

    Saying so, she closed her eyes and focused on her inner realm, drawing out a vast amount of mana. She opened her mouth and a powerful voice echoed out.

    ¡°Dryad¡¯s¡­ avatar.¡±

    Sylvia¡¯s eyes burst open. Her green pupils expanded till her eyes became completely green and started glowing. An immense amount of mana gathered in her body which started radiating a brilliant white light, illuminating the entire floor.

    The dark grand mage squinted as he observed the incredible amount of mana condense into a large, tree-like figure behind Sylvia.

    As quickly as it appeared, the light vanished, replaced by a huge aura that radiated outwards, pushing everyone back.

    With glowing green eyes, the image of a huge, glowing dryad floating behind her, and radiating an immense aura, she stared at the dark grand mage, and then at his lightning rhino beetles. Without a word, she raised her bow, and summoned and equipped a fire arrow. Behind her, the giant dryad followed suit, equipping a huge, flaming arrow onto a massive bow.

    ¡°Decimate.¡±

    Sylvia and her avatar released the string simultaneously. Their arrows shot forth at a blinding speed. As they flew, they grew and merged into one; the new arrow radiating an even more powerful aura.

    Before the dark grand mage could even react to her transformation, the arrow reached the lightning rhino beetle directly in front of him. The rhino beetle bowed his head to block the arrow with its horn. However, the horn only lasted a couple of seconds.

    Boom!

    The horn of the powerful rhino beetle spirit exploded into a million pieces. However, the flaming arrow continued shooting forth with full force, crashing against its head.

    ¡°SCHREEEEEECCCCCHHHH!!!!¡± cried the beetle in pain as it was pushed multiple steps back. With its last step, the beetle bashed one of its legs into the ground creating a crack, and holding onto it for dear life.

    However, it was futile.

    Cracks began appearing around its shell. It would only be a matter of time before it was destroyed.

    What the hell!?

    The dark grand mage was flabbergasted.

    She can defeat my rank three lightning rhino beetle with one attack? How is her avatar so strong?This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Seeing the dark mage, and the rest of the dark mages distracted, Drake seized his opportunity. He poured mana into his ring as he activated shadow steps.

    ¡°Not so fast!¡± yelled Theo, sensing his movement.

    ¡°Your opponent is me!¡± screamed Blaze as he raised his sword and met Theo¡¯s charge.

    Normally Blaze would be slightly stronger than Theo. But, in his weakened condition, he may not be able to hold Theo back for long. Realising this, Kurt decided to help.

    ¡°Thunder¡­ strike!¡± With lightning dancing around his body, his entrance was dramatic. Hence, it caught the attention of the rest of the dark mages.

    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± yelled Cyrus as he charged at Kurt.

    ¡°You!¡± bellowed Farisa as she sprung at Cyrus, hammer raised. Knowing her weakened condition, Elwin decided to help.

    Cain, Imogen, Ivan and Derald held back the other four dark mages, causing the floor to quickly get split into numerous battlefields.

    Drake appeared above another one of the lightning rhino beetles.

    ¡°Take this - fire dragon claw!¡±

    A huge, semi-transparent dragon claw, covered in flames, materialised before Drake and pressed towards the lightning rhino beetle.

    Huge alarm bells rang through the rhino beetle¡¯s mind. Instinctively, it raised its head and activated gathered mana into its horn. Lightning sparks began zapping around its horn, before growing and extending to become large lightning bolts. Each bolt split into numerous, smaller bolts, which all began dancing around the rhino beetle.

    For a moment, Drake was worried, but then shook his head and poured even more mana into his ring, fuelling the dragon claw. Emitting an even greater aura, the fire dragon claw collided with the world of lightning.

    There was no explosion.

    To Drake¡¯s complete surprise, the claw easily pressed through. Whenever a lightning bolt touched the claw, it would begin disappearing, leaving behind a plume of black smoke.

    The fire dragon claw was burning away the lightning bolts!

    Boom!

    The rhino beetle cried as the powerful dragon claw crashed into it. At the same time, Sylvia¡¯s arrow broke the rhino beetle¡¯s defence and pierced through its entire body.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    A huge explosion resounded throughout the mines as the powerful attacks collided with the rank three spirits. Powerful waves of mana radiated from the epicentre of the collisions as a large dust cloud rose to the ceiling. The dark grand mage clutched his chest in pain.

    Cough! Cough!

    Cough! Cough! Cough!

    The dust cloud prevented anyone from seeing beyond a few metres in front.

    Drake landed on his feet and jumped back, before beginning to cough as well. Using his rank four artifact so many times drained him of his strength. His mana was critically low right now.

    Biting his lip, he took out a handful of pills from his storage pouch and consumed them, before taking out another and doing the same. A large amount of mana began to flow into his body and filled his inner realm, making Drake feel his strength slowly recover.

    ¡®But¡­ I can only use my ring one more time, maximum,¡¯ he thought to himself. If he tried to use it more than that, he may cause himself serious injury.

    By the time Drake finished consuming his pills and recovering, the dust cloud had dissipated. Everyone looked forward, and were greeted by an unbelievable sight.

    Both of the rank three, lightning rhino beetle spirits were dead!

    ¡®How is this possible!?¡¯ the dark grand mage screamed internally. Not long before he absolutely destroyed Drake and his party, had they become so much stronger so quickly? And where did Drake get a rank four artifact?

    The secret inheritance¡­

    The dark grand mage was furious. That ring belonged to him. Not only did Drake steal it, but was using it against him.

    ¡°Good¡­ very good boy!¡± the dark grand mage spoke slowly, but his voice carried a powerful depth. He looked up at Drake menacingly.

    ¡°If you give me the rank four artifact, and anything else you got from the secret inheritance, and everything you got in this mines, and scram, I may decide to let you go.¡±

    ¡°Haha!¡± Drake chuckled, before becoming serious. ¡°If you want it¡­ come and get it!¡±

    By this time, Sylvia had prepared another arrow and was about to shoot at the remaining lightning rhino beetle.

    Seeing this, the dark mage came to a decision. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out¡­ a rock?

    For a moment, everyone was confused, but the rock lit up with four different runes and began emitting a rank four aura.

    ¡®He has one too!?!?¡¯

    Everyone gasped, but none more than Sylvia and Drake. If the dark grand mage also had a rank four artifact, they were screwed! The one advantage they thought they had was their artifacts, but now, the dark grand mage could easily counter it!

    Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then sighed.

    ¡°Decimate!¡±

    ¡®Doesn¡¯t change what I have to do,¡¯ she thought to herself.

    ¡°Earth shattering wall!¡± the dark mage yelled, pouring mana into his rock artifact and slammed it to the ground. Immediately, it began glowing a bright right and a thick, dense, and massive stone wall rose from the ground.

    Boom!

    The arrow crashed into the thick wall. Dense energy waves radiated outward every moment, becoming stronger and faster each time. The rest of the cultivators could no longer continue their fight and had to put up a defence in order to not get pushed back by the violent energy. Everyone looked on at the clash in awe.

    Boom!

    Numerous cracks began appearing on the wall.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    With a final push, the entire wall shattered, releasing another wave of energy.

    The dark grand mage clenched his chest again and took several steps back as he suffered a backlash from his defence being broken. However, he had already given his orders to the remaining lightning rhino beetle.

    A large lightning spear condensed at the tip of the rhino beetle¡¯s horn, crackling with dense lightning mana. The beetle pointed the spear at the oncoming arrow and released.

    Wooosh!

    The storm spear left in a flash, leaving a trail of spark and lightning. It collided with the now much smaller arrow.

    Another, smaller explosion resounded out as the two attacks collided mid-air. However, this collision only lasted a few seconds. The arrow had been significantly weakened by the dark grand mage¡¯s wall, and so, it was equally matched with the storm spear. In a few seconds, the two exploded simultaneously, releasing waves of energy.

    Sylvia was slightly panting for breath as she looked on at the dark grand mage with furrowed eyebrows.

    Despite suffering a backlash, the dark grand mage was smiling. He lifted his head and extended his hand that he had clenched near his chest, before opening it. Two orbs of purple mana floated out.

    Not this again!

    Everyone gasped in shock as they saw the two orbs of mana float into the sky. The next second, waves of mana erupted as the orbs transformed into another two lightning rhino beetle spirits. These two spirits stood side by side with the first, and they collectively released their rank three auras.

    Behind them, the dark grand mage was flustered. With the restrictions on him in this inheritance ground, using rank four artifacts for him costed a lot more mana than it would on the outside - a lot more. After having to summon his rank three spirits as well, and dealing with so many backlashes, the dark grand mage was exhausted.

    ¡®I need to finish this quickly,¡¯ he thought to himself, and then stared at Drake with a menacing smile.

    By this time, Drake finally recovered his strength. However, it was useless as he couldn¡¯t defeat any of the dark grand mage¡¯s beetles even at peak strength. Not unless he used his rank four artifact, which he could only use one more time; definitely not enough to beat all three of them.

    He clenched his fists.

    I can¡¯t lose¡­ he thought. If he did, the dark grand mage would surely take his rank four, and potentially all of his other artifacts away too. He couldn¡¯t suffer such a loss! He looked to Sylvia who was in deep thought.

    She wanted to use her rank four artifact as well, but using it in her avatar form would deplete a crazy amount of mana. Not only would her avatar come undone, but she would not be able to fight for some time afterwards.

    Sylvia hesitated. The image of Helen flashed through her mind, then the picture of getting defeated by the dark grand mage, and then¡­ nothing. Her mind became blank. She looked up at the dark grand mage and her lips curled into a smile. Not her usual, calm smile, but one filled with an inexplicable craze, as if all reasoning had left her and the only thing she wanted now, was blood.

    She raised her arm towards the dark grand mage and the dryad avatar behind her followed suit. She poured mana into her ring, and the avatar¡¯s hand began glowing - glowing and radiating mana more powerful than any other attack so far.

    Drake gulped.

    This power¡­ was almost on the level of a mage king!

 Chapter 98: I cant lose!

    She has a rank four artifact too!?

    The dark grand mage, Theo, Cyrus, and the rest of the dark mages were shocked.

    This is bad, very bad!

    The dark grand mage began sweating. With the boost from her avatar, she could use her rank three bow to kill his rhino beetle spirit. If she used a rank four artifact now, she could probably kill all three of them at once!

    ¡®No wait,¡¯ the dark grand mage forced himself to calm down. ¡®With how much mana it would consume, she won¡¯t be able to use this attack more than once. I just need to block it this one time, then I can get rid of all of them!¡¯

    Thinking so, the dark grand mage began preparing. He closed his eyes and called forth a vast amount of mana, channelling it through his palms, and into the rock artifact in his hand. The rock began shining with a brown, earthly glow with a tinge of gold.

    At the same time, Sylvia¡¯s ring was glowing brighter than ever before. Behind her, her avatar¡¯s hand was so bright it looked like a miniature sun.

    Sylvia locked eyes with the dark grand mage. Simply seeing his face brought intense emotions to her chest. She regretted not using her avatar sooner in their previous fight. They believed Blaze would be able to handle him with his dragon form. He probably could have if not for the rhino beetle¡¯s fractal strike ability, which prevented anyone from getting close. It wasn¡¯t an issue for her long range abilities but it was deadly to people like Blaze and Drake. They were caught by surprise before, but now that she knew the dark grand mage¡¯s abilities, she wouldn¡¯t let him get away. Not after everything he¡¯s done.

    ¡°Die you bastard¡­¡± she mumbled. Then, she spoke with a loud voice, which echoed across the floor.

    ¡°Wind dragon strike!¡±

    Sylvia slashed her hand through the air and her avatar did the same. Three, translucent streaks of winds materialised and shot forth with an unstoppable force.

    ¡°Earth shattering wall! Obsidian wall!¡± the dark grand mage activated two of his rank four artifact¡¯s runes at the same time. A large, black yet semi-transparent barrier appeared before him and his spirits. In front of that barrier, a huge earth wall erupted once again. The two barriers looked imposing and radiated a powerful aura - but it was dwarfed by the energy emitted by the wind dragon strike.

    Within a moment, the two collided.

    BBBBOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!

    A ginormous explosion broke out. The ground shook, shaking everyone and everything. Rocks fell from the ceiling as violent winds battered the surroundings. Drake jumped back, not wanting to suffer collateral damage, and everyone else did the same. From a distance, Drake and the other cultivators watched the battle unfold.

    The earth wall was covered in cracks.

    ¡®It isn¡¯t going last long,¡¯ thought Drake. ¡®Five¡­ four¡­ three¡­ two¡­ one¡­¡¯

    As if on command, the earth wall shattered just as Drake hit zero.

    BOOM!

    The wind dragon strike collided with the obsidian wall. Instantly, cracks began appearing on that as well. However, this barrier was semi-transparent so everyone could see behind it.

    All three rhino beetles were standing in front of the dark grand mage defensively. Their heads were tilted upwards, and beams of lightning mana were flowing from their horns and connecting midair in front of the central rhino beetle, forming a massive ball of lightning.

    ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Drake remember the terrifying attack the dark grand mage launched the last time they fought him.

    BOOM!

    Unable to withstand the enhanced attack of the rank four artifact, the obsidian wall also shattered.

    ¡°Arcane¡­. BLASSTTTT!¡± screamed the dark grand mage.

    The enormous ball of lightning collided with the wind dragon strike. Incredibly violent energy waves burst out, pushing everyone back even at their distance, before battering the walls. More rocks fell from the walls and ceiling, and Drake worried whether this battle would cause a cave-in. Luckily, since this mine contained a vast amount of black iron ore, he reassured himself that it should be much sturdier than normal so there was no need to worry.

    Drake poured mana into his robes and a light barrier appeared around him, keeping the energy waves away. Through his barrier, he observed the lightning rhino beetles continue to pour mana into the arcane blast. The collision was causing the arcane blast to quickly lose its size, however their beams of lightning reinforced the ball, allowing it to hold on for dear life.

    But, it was only a matter of time. Every second the ball shrunk considerably, but the wind dragon strike pressed forward. In less than fifteen seconds, the arcane blast had shrunk to the size of a tennis ball, before collapsing completely.

    A mini explosion resounded out as the last of the arcane blast dissipated, releasing its final waves of mana.

    Cough! Cough!

    The dark grand mage coughed out blood, before raising his head in terror. With all of his defences gone, he finally felt the full power of Sylvia¡¯s attack - it was nothing like he had ever faced before. The next moment, the wind dragon strike collided with his central rhino beetle.

    ¡®SCCRRREEEECCCCHHHHH!¡¯ cried the rhino beetle spirit. The other two beetles stood close behind, ready to shield the dark grand mage with their lives.

    BBBBOOOOOOMMMMMM!

    Another enormous explosion resounded through the floor and the other two lightning rhino beetles also screeched in pain. Large dust clouds continually rose and were pushed out by the energy waves released by the collision. Dust and debris began flying, forcing everyone to summon barriers or turn around for cover. All three rhino beetles began screeching in pain, and several more mini explosions resounded out.

    Finally, the wind dragon strike released the last of its energy waves. As it dissipated, a huge dust cloud formed and rose to the ceiling. The entire floor became obscured, covered in dust and debris. Nobody could see anything; they couldn¡¯t even breathe without coughing.

    As her attack ended, Sylvia felt all the power drain from her limbs. Her avatar disappeared and she collapsed to her knees. She felt far more exhausted now than the last time she used her avatar and the flower of life to heal Helen. Strength left her muscles and she began falling to the side. Just before she hit the ground, a gentle hand grabbed her and placed her on the floor.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡®Drake¡­ it¡¯s all up to you now¡­¡¯ her thoughts faded with her consciousness.

    Drake was keeping an eye out for Sylvia, knowing that she could collapse at any moment. Not wanting a repeat of Helen¡¯s incident of being kidnapped, he rushed for her the moment he saw the avatar disappear. He took out some of his best pills and fed them to her, before laying her on the ground.

    ¡®Thank you¡­¡¯ he mumbled. She had sacrificed a lot, and put herself at risk, in order to launch that last attack. ¡®If those bloody beetles end up surviving that¡­¡¯ Drake didn¡¯t know what he would do.

    Drake stood in front of Sylvia protectively. As the dust settled, the aftermath of the attack was revealed to everyone.

    ¡®This¡­¡¯

    One of the lightning rhino beetles was gone. A second had half of its horn broken off, and the third carried deep scars all over its body. Not only that, but half of the vulture spirits in the air were also gone, likely dying from collateral damage. Meanwhile, the dark grand mage was standing behind all this destruction, hand clutching his chest, blood trickling down his cheeks, forming a pool next to his feet.

    Drake smirked. After so many confrontations, they were finally seeing the dark grand mage in such a state. At the same time, Theo, Cyrus, and the rest of the dark mages also had grim expressions on their faces. They never imagined Sylvia could release such a devastating attack.

    ¡°Guess you¡¯re not so powerful after all,¡± Drake chuckled.

    The dark grand mage wiped the blood off his cheeks with his sleeve. Even if he had been in the outside world, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take that attack and come out unscathed, let alone here.

    ¡°Humph! Don¡¯t get full of yourself,¡± he retorted. ¡°None of you can unleash such an attack again, yet I still have two of my rank three spirits left. With her gone, what can you do now?¡±

    The dark mages¡¯ spirits were uplifted by that response. ¡®Yes that¡¯s right. They can¡¯t use that attack again, plus they lost one of their strongest cultivators, but we still have all of us. What can they do now?¡¯ thinking so, they rejoiced. Blaze, Farisa, and the others also frowned.

    However, Drake was smiling.

    If the rhino beetles were in peak condition, apart from his rank four artifact, there was no other attack in his arsenal which could cause them serious damage, especially from afar. However, that wasn¡¯t true anymore.

    Drake willed mana to move from his inner realm and into his palms.

    ¡°You! You are a mage!?¡± the dark grand mage gasped. Theo and the other dark mages were also shocked.

    Ignoring their surprise, Drake condensed four balls of mana which floated out of his palms. The next second, they transformed into four, black iron boomerangs.

    Seeing this, the dark grand mage smirked. ¡°Hmph! They¡¯re just rank one artifacts. What do you expect to do with them? You can summon a hundred of those¡­ strange weapons and they would still not be able to lay a scratch on my rank three beetles!¡± he added, unsure of what to call the oddly shaped boomerangs.

    As before, Drake ignored him and willed his boomerangs to move. They shot towards the beetles like shadows. The dark grand mage was annoyed at being ignored but didn¡¯t want to take any chances.

    ¡°Go!¡± he ordered his vulture spirits to attack first. Dozens of them swarmed towards Drake, however he chose to press his boomerangs towards the beetles.

    ¡°Fool!¡± the dark grand mage mumbled, urging his vulture spirits to fly faster. In a few seconds, the first spirit reached Drake.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡±

    Drake summoned a dozen fireballs and shot them towards the vulture spirit. The spirit shrieked and tried to dodge but it was too close.

    Poof!

    The spirit dissipated upon contact with a fireball, and the remaining fireballs continued flying towards the other vulture spirits.

    Seeing them fall into battle, the dark mages and the rest of the cultivators also began fighting.

    ¡°Arcane blast! Arcane blast!¡± the dark grand mage ordered both his rhino beetle spirits to use arcane blast and destroy the boomerangs. Immediately, the two beetles drew mana from their bodies and condensed a large ball of lightning at the tip of their horns. The next instant, they released, and the balls of lightning flew towards the iron boomerangs.

    Boom!

    A mini explosion resounded out as they collided with the iron boomerangs.

    ¡®Humph! That¡¯ll teach you, you-¡¯ the dark grand mage¡¯s thoughts were cut short by an unbelievable sight.

    Coming out of that collision, completely unscathed, were the boomerangs!

    ¡°How is this possible!?¡± gasped the dark grand mage. They were rank one artifacts, and his was an attack from a rank three spirit. The former should have been obliterated by the latter!

    Before the dark grand mage could understand what was going on, the boomerangs charged, inches away from the beetles now.

    The first beetle raised its horn defensively, while the second one with the half broken horn, turned its head to use the thick, defensive shell around its head, neck and body to face the boomerangs.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Metallic explosions rang out as the boomerangs clashed against the beetles¡¯ thick shell and horn, rotating rapidly. Their runes began shining and all four boomerangs erupted with flames. To the dark grand mage¡¯s utter surprise, the iron boomerangs were actually enlarging the cracks in the beetles¡¯ armour!

    What was going on? First the dryad¡¯s avatar was powerful enough to destroy one of his rank three beetles in a single attack. And now, rank one artifacts were strong enough to fight against them?

    Had the world turned upside down?

    Sure, the beetles¡¯ defences were considerably weakened by Sylvia¡¯s attack, but not to the point where a rank one artifact should be able to do any harm. This didn¡¯t make any sense!

    However, the dark grand mage didn¡¯t have time to contemplate. He needed to save his spirits now. He couldn¡¯t afford to summon an additional three rank three spirits in his current condition.

    ¡°Fractal strike!¡±

    Upon his command, the two lightning rhino beetles both activated fractal strike. Intense lightning erupted from their horns, branching into numerous lightning bolts, that struck the surrounding air and ground in a frenzy. The boomerangs began escaping, but not before they were struck by numerous bolts of lightning, each shaving off a piece of them.

    ¡®Damn, how strong are those things?¡¯ the dark grand mage wondered, then shook his head and continued to focus. The four boomerangs were floating midair and rotating rapidly, just outside the range of the fractal strikes.

    This was not good for him. He couldn¡¯t maintain the fractal strike indefinitely, and the moment he stopped, the boomerangs would attack. Glancing at Drake, he had slaughtered over ten vulture spirits, and was killing the others faster and faster.

    ¡®Damn it!¡¯ the dark grand mage cursed. This couldn¡¯t be happening to him. He was at the peak of the dark grand mage realm. If he went out and cultivated a bit more, he could definitely reach the mage king realm. He couldn¡¯t lose! Definitely not here, not to them!

    He decisively reached into his storage pouch and took out a bronze goblet. This was actually the artifact he had taken after defeating Corvus¡¯ party.

    Drake was eyeing the dark grand mage closely. He poured mana into the goblet and it began glowing with a black light.

    ¡°Shadow chains!¡± the dark grand mage yelled, and a long, black chain shot out of the goblet, heading directly for one of the boomerangs.

    Drake willed and the boomerang moved, but something unexpected happened.

    ¡°Split!¡±

    Immediately, the end of the chain split - into ten different chains! They each extended towards the black iron boomerangs, twisting and turning, chasing them relentlessly. With so many chasing after them, Drake couldn¡¯t dodge them all. Soon, one of his boomerangs was caught, then another, then the last two.

    ¡°Corrode!¡±

    The shadow chains began releasing a dark red substance. Upon contact, the boomerangs began melting, slowly turning into drops of liquid and falling on the floor.

    Both Drake and the dark grand mage were surprised. Drake was surprised that the substance could melt black iron ore, and the dark grand mage was shocked that they could last so long.

    ¡®In any case, it¡¯s over,¡¯ thought the dark grand mage.

    Thirty seconds later, all the boomerangs were turned into a pool of liquid. But the dark grand mage didn¡¯t stop there. He willed, and the shadow chains shot towards Drake. The two dozen vulture spirits surrounding him began attacking even more ferociously.

    ¡°Drake!¡± called out Blaze and Elwin.

    Seeing the chains approach him, Drake bit his lip. ¡®Do I need to use that again?¡¯ He only had one more shot at using his ring. If he did so, he could kill off all the vulture spirits attacking him, and counter the chains. However, he wouldn¡¯t be able to damage the lightning beetles or the dark grand mage, given that he also has a rank four artifact to defend himself. So, once he uses it, he will become much more weak and vulnerable.

    As he was thinking, the shadow chains approached infinitely closer.

    ¡®Guess I have no choice¡­¡¯ he thought, and began pouring mana into his ring.

    However, something unexpected happened.

    A shadow flew out of the entrance to the floor, emitting virtually no aura at all. The next instant, it appeared on top of one of the rhino beetles.

    ¡°Twin sword arts - eclipse blade!¡±

 Chapter 99: Defeated!?

    ¡°Twin sword arts - eclipse blade!¡±

    The mana in the air suddenly condensed into fire and shadow. Brilliant flames and pitch-black shadows gathered to form a gigantic sword.

    ¡®This is¡­¡¯ the dark grand mage got flashbacks of an earlier fight.

    Corvus Fang!

    Without hesitation, the dark grand mage took out his rock artifact and poured mana into it.

    ¡°Obsidian wall!¡±

    The dark grand mage barely summoned the wall in time as the eclipse blade crashed into it.

    Boom!

    A huge explosion resounded through the caves as violent mana exploded from the collision. The winds pushed away the vulture spirits surrounding Drake, giving him a moment of respite.

    ¡®So powerful!¡¯ he thought, feeling the energy condensed in the blade.

    However, despite its power, the obsidian wall was summoned by a rank four artifact. ¡®There¡¯s no way that he¡­¡¯

    Drake froze as he observed cracks beginning to appear on the wall. At first, it was barely a scratch, but quickly it expanded and stretched over the entire wall.

    Boom!

    Another explosion broke out as the eclipse blade consumed its mana and exploded spectacularly. The shadowy figure jumped through the explosion, landing cleanly on its feet. As it came to a stop, Drake could finally make out who it was.

    A young man dressed in black and white leather armour stood facing the dark grand mage. He carried a sword on either hand, one carrying fiery veins, and the other emitting a dark aura.

    ¡°Corvus!¡± exclaimed Farisa.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± rejoiced Cain and Imogen.

    ¡°It¡¯s really him!¡± gasped Elwin. He briefly remembered how badly he had lost to Corvus during their match. However, there was no one else he would be happier to see in this situation.

    As the dust settled, everyone saw Corvus clearly. In front of him was the obsidian wall, covered with cracks, but intact - barely.

    ¡®It¡¯s as I thought,¡¯ sighed Drake. Sylvia could destroy the barriers with her most powerful attack, boosted by her avatar, but this guy - Corvus - could not summon that kind of power. However, he, the rest of his party, and the Silver Crane Sect disciples could still tell that he was extremely powerful to be able to cause this much damage. Though they didn¡¯t know who he was, they were glad he was on their side.

    Meanwhile, the dark grand mage undid the wall and slightly coughed. He didn¡¯t suffer much of a backlash, but using the rank four artifact again wasn¡¯t easy.

    ¡®Why the hell was he here!?¡¯ the dark grand mage screamed in his head.

    This was bad.

    He was currently far from his peak. He could have defeated Drake and the others, but now that Corvus was here, he wasn¡¯t confident anymore.

    ¡®Wait! If he¡¯s here, that means¡­¡¯

    The dark grand mage looked towards the entrance and, as expected, four cultivators were standing side by side, releasing an imposing aura. One was dressed in white robes carrying the insignia of the Myriad Sword Palace - Alistair Lockwood. The others were the lone cultivators.

    The dark grand mage became grim. His dark mages were just about equally matched with the other cultivators. If Alistair and the lone cultivators joined the others, forget him handling Corvus and Drake, his dark mages would all be defeated first. At that point, with everyone ganging up on him, he wasn¡¯t sure if even he could survive!

    This was really, really bad. He had to get out of here now with everyone, while they still could. Thinking so, the dark grand mage cleared his throat.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m surprised to see you here, Corvus Fang.¡±

    ¡°I could say the same about you,¡± Corvus smiled, eyeing the dark grand mage up and down. The aura he was emitting now was far from what it was when he had fought him earlier. Plus, seeing only two, greatly damaged lightning rhino beetle spirits, the blood stains on the dark grand mage¡¯s face and robes, and the pool of blood next to his feet, he couldn¡¯t help but smile further.

    ¡°Especially in this condition,¡± he added.

    The dark grand mage chuckled. ¡°Well, with all of us here, the others will be getting closer to the main inheritance as we speak. There is no point in continuing to fight and losing out on the main inheritance. How about we can go our separate ways and save our strength for the finale?¡±

    Corvus smiled. The fact that the dark grand mage was even suggesting this was unbelievable to him. He didn¡¯t know who had damaged the dark grand mage to this extent, but it was fantastic. If he let this opportunity go, there would not be another one like it.

    He glanced at Alistair and the others. With a nod, the group disappeared, before each appearing next to a battle. Alistair joined Kurt and Blaze in fighting Theo, while the other three joined Cain, Imogen, and Derald.

    Seeing this, Corvus smiled and turned to the dark grand mage again, and pointed his sword forward.

    ¡°How about you stay for a while?¡± he chided.

    ¡°You!¡± the dark grand mage yelled, but internally, his heart dropped. ¡°Do you really want to push ME to a corner? Don¡¯t think you can win with just numbers, I still have many cards I haven¡¯t revealed yet!¡±

    Corvus chuckled. He poured mana into his swords and fire and shadow burst out. Slowly, he raised his arms and released his grip. The swords began floating midair before rotating around each other.

    ¡°Then I would love to see them,¡± replied Corvus. ¡°Twin sword arts - twisting fury!¡±

    Immediately, the swords began rotating several times faster and shot up to the ceiling at an incredible speed. As they did so, dozens of more arrays of swords appeared around them, each releasing fire and shadow energy. The two elements combined to form a large cloud of fire and shadow above the dark grand mage and his rhino beetles.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Damn you!¡± the dark grand mage cursed.

    At the same time, everyone else broke into their respective battles. Drake too began to be attacked by the vulture spirits again. However, he now directed his four black iron boomerangs to attack them. They were fast and deadly, making it much easier for him to handle the vulture spirits. So, he could keep a constant eye on the battle between the dark grand mage and Corvus.

    Fire and shadow rained hell upon the beetles. The dark grand mage split the shadow chains into more than a dozen and had them all rotate rapidly above the beetles, deflecting the falling swords. At the same time, the beetles also activated their fractal strike, pulverising any swords that managed to sneak through.

    The attack lasted for a minute. Many of his chains broke and the dark grand mage had to summon replacements, causing him to use even more mana. Cursing, he consumed several handfuls of mana pills and continued fighting. Just as the last of the swords fell and the dark grand mage was about to relax, he noticed that Corvus was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Twin sword arts - shadow phoenix dive!¡± yelled a voice from above.

    Falling from behind the last sword was a streak of fire of shadow which quickly merged into one. The elements exploded, obscuring Corvus''s figure behind a myriad of elements that formed a world of mana.

    Drake glanced down at the rhino beetles still using fractal strike and felt grave, remembering what had happened to Blaze. He wanted to shout out a warning when six shields appeared around him, followed by a layer of eight, then ten!

    ¡®But still, they can¡¯t withstand the¡­¡¯ before he could finish, the two collided.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    His shields shattered one after the other like fireworks, releasing bursts of mana. However, Corvus dived towards the lightning rhino beetles even faster.

    ¡°NOOOO!¡± the dark grand mage screamed. However, Corvus had appeared too suddenly and was way too close for him to put up a defence in time.

    BOOOMMMM!

    A deafening explosion occurred, even bigger than the first. Waves of mana surged and physically pushed everyone back.

    The piercing mana transformed into a giant, infallible blade that cut through the rhino beetle¡¯s shell like butter, and pierced its body.

    BOOM!

    The beetle shattered into a million pieces and dissipated into mana while Corvus crashed into the ground below. A large dust cloud rose into the sky and violent winds swept at the surroundings like a mad storm.

    Drake was at a loss at seeing this kind of power.

    It took a few moments for everything to settle down. The winds slowed and the dust settled, revealing Corvus who was standing on his feet.

    Despite falling headfirst into the fractal strike, he was mostly unscathed. On the other hand, one of the lightning rhino beetles was now dead. Looking back, the dark grand mage was clutching his chest and coughing out more blood.

    The dark grand mage wiped his cheek with his sleeve and smirked. He opened his palm and numerous orbs of black mana flew out. As they reached several metres above him, they each condensed to form a new rank two vulture spirit.

    Thirty¡­ fifty¡­ eighty¡­ hundred¡­ and they kept coming!

    Drake grew more and more dismayed as he saw the numbers.

    One hundred and twenty¡­ one hundred and fifty!

    After what seemed like forever, the dark grand mage finally relaxed, and his arm fell by his side. More than a hundred and fifty rank two vulture spirits condensed in the air above him.

    ¡®This is¡­¡¯ Drake didn¡¯t know what to think. But it made sense, with two rank three spirits gone, the dark grand mage would have the mental energy to control more rank two spirits. Yet¡­ this was a crazy number.

    On the other hand, Corvus was smiling. In his mind, if the dark grand mage chose to summon them over more rank three rhino beetles, that could only mean that he was running low on mana. With how powerful those beetles were, Corvus was sure that summoning them would cost at least as much mana as a hundred of those vulture spirits, if not more.

    What Corvus didn¡¯t know was that it was also a lot easier for the dark grand mage to summon rank two spirits in this inheritance than rank three.

    With a smile, the dark grand mage pointed at Corvus. At once, almost a hundred vulture spirits flooded towards him. At the same time, the lightning rhino beetle began preparing a storm spear. The dark grand mage looked around to see his dark mages falling into a disadvantage. He pointed his hand towards Cain¡¯s battle and immediately, the rhino beetle shot its storm spear towards her. Simultaneously, the remaining vulture spirits scattered into packs of tens and reinforced the other dark mages.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± cursed Corvus. Despite his power, it would still take him some time to deal with this many vulture spirits. The dark grand mage was planning to attack the others in this time.

    ¡°Solar barrage!¡± came a voice from behind. Corvus tilted his head to the side to spot Drake running towards him, several fireballs floating by his side. Drake finally finished dealing with his share of vulture spirits and ran to help Corvus.

    In the blink of an eye, the fireballs arrived, shooting into the storm of vultures. At such a distance, most of them managed to dodge the attack easily. However, just as the vulture spirits rejoiced, they spotted a shadow shoot past. The next second¡­

    Poof!

    The four black iron boomerangs hid among the fireballs and took down several vultures by surprise.

    ¡®Not bad,¡¯ thought Corvus.

    Seeing everyone engaged in battles, the dark grand mage finally relaxed. He turned towards the other end of the mines and smirked. Activating a martial technique, he disappeared, then reappeared several metres away. This repeated over and over.

    ¡®He¡¯s heading to the inheritance!¡¯ gasped Drake. The dark grand mage was planning to take the inheritance and flee while everyone was engaged in battle!

    ¡°Bastard!¡± screamed Drake. He turned to run towards the dark grand mage when a dozen vulture spirits swooped towards him.

    ¡°Octane blast!¡± yelled Corvus, shooting eight blades at the vultures and causing them to scatter. Drake glanced back, about to thank him when Corvus interrupted him. ¡°Go! I¡¯ll take of this!¡±

    Nodding, Drake poured mana into his boots and activated shadow steps, pushing his speed to the limit. Electric sparks appeared around his feet as he became a shadow and dashed through the mines.

    Although the dark grand mage was fast, with the boost from his rank two boots, Drake was catching up. Seeing this, the dark grand mage hurried faster. He could see the rank three artifacts lying on the floor now - a metal pick axe, a black sword, and a copper urn.

    ¡®Just a little¡­ more¡­!¡¯

    ¡°Chain lightning!¡± Drake shot a bolt of lightning towards the dark grand mage.

    ¡°Curse you!¡± the dark mage spat. Taking out his bronze goblet again, he yelled, ¡°Shadow chains!¡±

    A large black chain appeared and collided with the bolt of lightning. The lightning split into numerous smaller bolts and travelled along the chain, inching towards the dark grand mage.

    ¡°Split! Corrode!¡±

    Upon his instruction, the shadow chain split into five and began releasing a dark red substance. The lightning was quickly drowned by the substance and disappeared.

    However, this was enough time for Drake to catch up. He faced the dark grand mage without a trace of fear.

    ¡°You! What do you think you can do against me on your own?¡± he laughed.

    However, Drake smirked, releasing a cold killing intent. The next instant, he began pouring mana into his ring.

    Seeing this, the dark grand mage¡¯s face grew pale.

    ¡®Not this again!¡¯

    Having no choice, he took out his rock artifact again. ¡°Earth shattering wall! Obsidian wall!¡±

    Two huge walls appeared in front of the dark grand mage just a gigantic dragon claw condensed before Drake emitting a powerful aura.

    Drake coughed as his mana became dangerously low. He bit his lip and pushed the claw forward.

    With its speed, it reached the walls in a second.

    BOOOMMM!

    A large explosion resounded through the mines as the claw pressed against the wall. Within a few moments the earth wall broke.

    BOOOMMM!

    The claw crashed against the obsidian wall. Drake consumed mana pills one after another like it was food. Doing so would make him suffer for sure but he had no choice. He couldn¡¯t let the dark grand mage go now.

    Determined, Drake continued pouring an endless amount of mana into the dragon claw.

    Boom!

    The second wall also collapsed.

    Cough! Cough!

    The dark grand mage suffered another backlash but he couldn¡¯t worry about that now. Looking forward, the enormous dragon claw was descending towards him. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he felt danger unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Every fibre of his being was telling him to run for his life, yet he knew there was no escape from that thing.

    ¡®Am I¡­ going to be defeated here?¡¯

 Small break

    Hi all,

    Thanks for reading and your interest. You may be wondering why there were no chapters last week.

    Unfortunately, a close family member of mine recently passed away which has been hard for me to deal with. I pretty much stopped writing since and have just been uploading the backlog of finished chapters I had. Sadly, I only have my drafts left now so I need some time to review them, modify some bits, etc before uploading.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Work has also been really busy recently and some other personal things popped up for me to deal with which, you can imagine, doesn''t really help my creativity.

    I really didn''t want to do this, but I just need a bit of time to sort some things out personally, and finalise the remaining chapters, before starting to release them again.

    I know it might be frustrating when an author stops uploading chapters in the middle of a story, especially out of the blue like this, but if you just bear with me for some time, I promise I''ll start releasing new chapters soon.

    Luckily, Book 2 is close to finishing and will end once Drake leaves the inheritance.

    Thank you all so much again for your interest in my story and hope you all have a wonderful day.