Chapter 306: Chapter 25 The Great Harvest
In the dense forest, five black-robed wizards moved in silence. A layer of shadow seed to cloak them, rendering their features and forms indiscernible.
If a wizard who had studied Shadow Magic had witnessed this scene, they would have recognized at a glance the Shadow Veil spell in use.
This spell, a lower-ranked variant of the Shadow Veil, aid to prevent detection by spiritual power. The spiritual power of a wizard would be deceived by the Shadow Veil, mistaking the wizard deploying it for a re patch of shadow.
Suddenly, the lead black-robed wizard halted his stride, and a Magic Barrier burst forth around him.
At nearly the sa ti, the wizards following him conjured their own Magic Barriers.
Yet, after their activation, the forest remained deathly silent.
“What’s the matter, captain?” a wizard asked through a Spiritual ssage.
Without looking back, the captain replied, “The Magic Power trace of that rat has vanished here. Be cautious—he’s likely lurking in one of these shadows.”
The lead black-robed wizard looked almost like a normal person, but above each of his eyes, at an oblique angle, he had an extra pair of eyes.
These eyes were completely black, devoid of any white, resembling two black gemstones.
With these eyes, he could see the traces caused by the transformation of energy into life forms, and through his vision, the faint blue traces indicating Magic Power that they had been following had suddenly vanished.
This was highly unsettling.
Before this point, there were no signs of the Magic Power trace weakening.
Unless… this place was the wizard’s destination.
A flicker of panic crossed the captain’s mind. He gestured to his teammates to abandon the mission.
But just at that mont, a barely audible sound, like the grinding of gears, reached his ears.
The captain rembered—there were no Alchemy Wizards among his team.
Boom!
Without hesitation, the captain waved his Magic Wand, and a fireball as bright as the sun imdiately crashed towards the source of the sound.
The fireball burst, its scattering Flas dispelling the darkness of the woods.
At the sa ti, the captain’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach.
Four Iron Giants, each over three ters tall, stood beside them, less than ten ters away.
Their bodies were painted with black Alchemy paint, effectively absorbing the scattered light of the forest, and their creators weren’t satisfied with just that; these Iron Giants could also block detection by spiritual power.
No rookie was among their squad mbers. During the chase, their spiritual power was constantly scanning within a fifty-ter radius for traps and ambushes.
But they had sowhat forgotten that they were not fighting natives this ti, but a group of Black Wizards like themselves.
Bang!
Almost simultaneously, the Iron Giants took action. Their massive three-ter stature did not affect their speed or agility; in fact, it made their movents even more overwhelming.
When a three-ter-tall Iron Giant charged with a speed of a hundred ters in two seconds, any creature in its path would tremble from the core.
The Iron Giants tore through the wizard squad in nearly an instant, their giant Chain Saw Swords slicing through the wizards’ Magic Barriers as if cutting through butter.
Thud!
A wizard was cleaved into two halves, his blood instantly spraying out.
“Kava, don’t be so savage,” one Iron Giant said to another in a language unintelligible to the wizards.
“The Master needs these wizards’ bodies.”
The addressed giant flicked the blood from his blade, responding with a sowhat awkward voice:
“I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”
The captain watched the scene in the forest with horror and began to retreat without hesitation. The four Iron Giants had nearly instantly dispatched his teammates, seemingly with no more difficulty than slaughtering chickens.
This was certainly not sothing a Second Ring Wizard could achieve.
The Black Tower Wizard Academy had dispatched Three Rings Wizards for this task, and he had to report this matter to their superiors.
With a flick of his wand, the captain instantly appeared in a shadow far away.
He, too, knew how to Shadow Shuttling.
But before he could perform another Shadow Shuttling, out of nowhere, a fist-sized black fireball exploded beside him.
Although the fireball did not break his Magic Barrier, it disrupted the Shadow Shuttling he was about to use.
“Damn it!”
The captain cursed, and quickly pulled a Crystal Ball from his pocket.
If he couldn’t get back in person, at least the information had to be sent back.
He was a battle-hardened wizard, after all, and had that much determination.
But just as he took out the Crystal Ball, ripples suddenly erupted on his Magic Barrier.
Fists pelted it like raindrops before suddenly vanishing, and an intense feeling of danger surged in his heart.
If he didn’t dodge, death was all that awaited him.
But now, dodging or not made little difference. If he dodged this punch, those Iron Giants would kill him anyhow.
The captain quickly tapped a few tis on the Crystal Ball, desperate to send the ssage before his death.
The next instant, a fist inscribed with Runes punched through his Magic Barrier and, without diminishing in power, ran through the captain.
The captain’s hands fell limp, but on the Crystal Ball, a ssage had been sent.
The Iron Giants arrived just then, and with a single swing, severed the captain’s head.
A beam of light shot out from the captain’s body and then disappeared into the Void, never to be seen again.
“So this is why he was so fearless—he had a Life Box,”
Richard wiped the blood from his hand, having just retracted his arm.
The punch he had just delivered was the Mountain Breaking Fist, a technique he had learned many years ago. While he hadn’t trained in it daily, during breaks from experints, Richard would often find a target to punch a few tis, honing his fist’s sensitivity.
Now, after decades, he had achieved a small asure of skill.
Richard picked up the Crystal Ball from the ground and, after examining it, sighed helplessly.
“What a pity, he still managed to send it out. I hope this doesn’t lead to any misunderstandings.”
Because there was no deep-seated hatred between the two Deans, at this mont, the Three Rings Wizards of both sides tacitly took their positions within the Core Wizard Tower.
But if this tacit understanding was broken, things could get tricky.
The Wizard Academy of the Black Tower was at a nurical disadvantage. If the teor Star Academy were to mobilize en masse, they would be forced to fight a defensive battle for the Central Black Tower.
After tossing the Crystal Ball into his pocket, Richard thoroughly searched through the bodies of the several wizards in the forest.
These wizards were all Second Ring Wizards, and their spoils of war were rather substantial.
However, this wasn’t an ideal location, so Richard could only plunder the five wizards’ Magic Pockets and Magic Equipnt, then set their bodies ablaze with a sweep of flas before hastily departing.
Although the bodies of these wizards had so use, as a Wizard himself, Richard felt it was better to maintain so ethical boundaries.
Shortly after Richard left, two streaks of light arrived at the battlefield.
Given the unreserved nature of their movents at this ti, there was no doubt these two were Three Rings Wizards from teor Star Wizard Academy.
Crispin’s face was somber as he examined the battlefield, while Deputy Dean Zick beside him did the sa.
But unlike Crispin’s somberness, Zick’s expression was one of puzzlent.
After surveying the entire site, the two arrived at the spot where Richard had incinerated the bodies.
Zick bent over to pick up so ashes, rubbed them in his hands, and said with a sowhat teasing tone,
“Incinerating the bodies, quite ticulous of this Wizard.”
But Crispin was in no mood for jests.
“Master, what’s your assessnt of the battlefield?” he asked, looking grim.
“What do I think?” Zick tossed the ashes from his hand, “I don’t have much of an opinion. The youngster being pursued must’ve been scared stiff. I see no sign of any Three Rings Wizard involvent in this battle.
The four Iron Giants that attacked them, I’m more inclined to believe they were so sort of intelligence-controlled Magic Statue or so kind of specialized Alchemy Puppet.
These puppets have undergone specialized modifications, designed specifically for hunting wizards.
From the spiritual power screening they possess, and that Alchemy Saber capable of quickly breaking through a Magic Barrier, it’s quite clear.
The Academy War didn’t start overnight, and it’s not unusual for Alchemy Wizards to specially modify golems for the conflict.”
Crispin’s face eased slightly at this.
“If that’s also how Master sees it, then I’m relieved.”
Zick waved his hand dismissively, “It’s not yet ti to relax. This Wizard should not be underestimated. Moreover, patrolling teams these past few days have also reported signs of Wizard infiltration.
The Black Tower Wizard Academy likely dispatched a group of elite Wizards at the war’s outset to act as ‘Black Wizards’ in our territory.”
“If we don’t deal with these Black Wizards, we won’t have peace here.
Most of the wizards we left behind are students who haven’t tasted battle—they lack experience and it will be hard for them to effectively defend against these elite Wizards.”
Crispin bowed his head and asked, “Master, what’s your plan?”
Zick sighed, “I’ll call for reinforcents. The Academy War will last fifty years; there’s no need to rush.”
At his words, Crispin also sighed.
“Let’s do that, then. I’ll draft the list.”
…
The periphery of teor Star Wizard Academy wasn’t like that of the Black Tower Wizard Academy, which was surrounded by vast expanses of hills. Instead, mountain ranges occupied a considerable amount of space beyond teor Star Wizard Academy.
Inside a cave in one of these mountain ranges, Richard laid out all the spoils he had collected over the past few days.
“Fifteen Magic Wands, twenty-seven Magic Pockets, twelve Magic Rings, seven Magic Necklaces, two Magic Belts… ah, not bad. As expected, robbing others sure is the fastest way to make money.”
Richard counted the loot from the past few days. Although many of the wands and Magic Equipnt were junk, there were still quite a few treasures among them.
[Material: Aurora Ring]
[Extractable Information: High-Energy Aurora Spell Model]
[Extraction Cost: 5 spiritual power]
…
[Material: Power Ring]
[Extractable Information: Rune Fist Magic Model]
[Extraction Cost: 5 spiritual power]
…
[Material: Armor Belt]
[Extractable Information: Magic Armor Spell Model]
[Extraction Cost: 10 spiritual power]
Looking at these three pieces of premium Magic Equipnt in his hands, Richard once again marveled at how lucrative robbing others could be.
In addition to these high-quality items, Richard found many Magic Stones, Magic Essences, and research notebooks inside the slain Wizards’ Magic Pockets.
Most of the notebooks contained experintal records—while not very useful, Richard didn’t mind keeping them.
Experintal records are knowledge too, and one day they might just help him eliminate a possibility.
Beyond these less useful experintal records, Richard also discovered an Encrypted Notebook.
[Material: Unknown Wizard’s Encrypted Notes]
[Extractable Information: Partial Principles of Great Fragntation Skill]
[Extraction Cost: 4 spiritual power]
Looking at the information provided by the Miracle Furnace, Richard rubbed his eyes to ensure he had read it correctly and then imdiately burst into elation.
The Great Fragntation Skill, the deadliest offensive Alchemy Magic.
The Big Decomposition Cannon, outfitted with Great Fragntation Skill, had always been a powerful siege tool for Wizards.
Richard, looking at the Encrypted Notes, murmured,
“I didn’t expect to get my hands on this. I’ve really hit the jackpot this ti.”
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