Chapter 422 Trash Netcom

Shaoke nodded, agreeing with Mage Roman’s conjecture, and then said, “Notify Lan Wei’er and the others. If there’s nothing urgent in the family, let them travel outside for a while. I’ll go to the Hebrews’ ruler to inquire about the situation now.” Shaoke embraced Mage Roman.

Mage Roman nodded in agreement with the mage’s decision. “You should first go to the Saur Wandering Alliance’s camp. They were also shortchanged on supplies last time.” Mage Roman kissed the mage’s forehead and then told Shaoke the information she had obtained. “I think they will also seek out that ruler of the Hebrews. If you go together, the pressure on the Hebrews will be even greater.”

After Mage Roman left the room, Shaoke also left the camp and flew toward the Saur Wandering Alliance’s camp. This was mainly because the teleportation array at the Saur camp was not connected to the one here, so the mage had to fly without an accurate location.

In merely half a magic hour of rapid flight, the mage was intercepted. A white-robed warrior appeared on the mage’s path, and Shaoke received a message from him. “Mage Xueye, I think we should discuss something now.”

This white-robed warrior looked like a young scholar, except for the shield and javelin in his hands. Even so, he appeared quite refined. “First, let me congratulate you on your successful advancement to the Tenth Tier of Spellcasting.” The white-robed warrior gracefully performed a salute to Shaoke. “Second, I wish to make my identity clear: I am a guardian of the Fallen Continent on the Barbarian Continent. I believe you have heard of us before.” The white-robed warrior spoke softly.

The mage nodded to indicate that he understood. Then the white-robed warrior explained his mission and the purpose of seeking out the mage in detail while in the air. “I hope that after you finish dealing with these trivial matters, you will come to the Fallen Continent. There, as long as your strength is sufficient, you will not be subject to any restrictions.” After saying this, the white-robed warrior paused briefly and added, “If you still intend to stay on this continent, that means you cannot act recklessly. If you violate the rules, we, the guardians, will only impose one punishment: eternal death.”

“Can you tell me why it is forbidden to act on this continent?” Shaoke asked calmly, looking at the other. “If someone tries to hunt me down, am I not allowed to defend myself?” He touched the black crown on his forehead and tightened his cloak. He had never understood why such a rule existed.

“There are too many commoners on the Barbarian Continent. When Tenth Tier professionals fight, it can easily cause unnecessary casualties. Without some control, I think the number of living beings on the entire Barbarian Continent would be reduced by more than half. If this continues for a long time, no empire could survive. Civilization would vanish, and no young professionals would be able to advance to the Tenth Tier.” The white-robed warrior explained in detail, hoping to convince the mage to join the Fallen Continent.

“If you wish to stay on this continent, I believe some powerful constraints will make you very uncomfortable.” The warrior added, “Any Tenth Tier professional who stays on this continent and violates the rules will be subject to a single punishment: eternal death. Even the descendants of Legendary powerhouses must accept this rule.”

Shaoke closed his eyes. “Do I have to make a choice now?” he asked uncertainly. He hadn’t yet decided whether to go there; he still wanted to investigate the ruins and rescue the Blue-robed Female Mage inside. Thinking of this, he suddenly opened his eyes and said, “If I go there, can I come back freely? There are too many things here that I cannot abandon.” He stared intently at the white-robed warrior.

Hearing Shaoke’s words, the white-robed warrior looked noticeably happier. He already knew Shaoke’s thoughts. So the warrior explained in detail.

It turned out that once inside the Fallen Continent, people could leave at any time, but they had to leave alone. The entire Barbarian Continent was not connected to other continents. According to the white-robed warrior, many who had advanced to the Eleventh Tier were still unable to leave that continent.

However, once one reached the Twelfth Tier, any professional could easily leave that place. But after leaving the continent, they still had to abide by the rules outside. Of course, the white-robed warrior did not demand that Shaoke decide immediately. Instead, he gave him a black bead and then left. This bead was identical to the one Shaoke had previously obtained from the black mist; crushing it would summon a teleportation array to the Fallen Continent.

After the white-robed warrior disappeared, the mage adjusted his cloak and then flew toward the Saur Wandering Alliance’s camp. Along the way, he kept thinking. From the white-robed warrior, the mage learned many secrets he hadn’t known before. The most surprising revelation was that there existed countless continents like the Barbarian Continent, each teeming with life. After reaching the Tenth Tier, those beings also went to the Fallen Continent.

The white-robed warrior also told the mage that beyond the northernmost Misty Forest lay another continent, the Ice Continent, which was even larger and more populous. However, few had been there because the Misty Forest was too vast. Even Legendary powerhouses using Arcane Secret flight would need three to five days to cross it, let alone Tenth Tier professionals like Shaoke, who could not travel long distances.

When the mage arrived at the Saur camp, he happened to meet the camp’s ruler. Clearly, the other had just flown back from outside. This ruler was a necromancer, and the dozen or so professionals behind him were all necromancers or dark warriors. To an ordinary person, they would look terrifying, but the mage paid no attention.

“Mage Xueye? What brings you here?” the necromancer asked in confusion. After Shaoke explained the situation in detail, the necromancer sighed and then shared the information he had obtained from the Hebrews’ camp—news that left the mage helpless.

It turned out that the Saur Alliance had also asked the Hebrews about the allocation of supplies. The Hebrews informed them that this time, every empire’s supplies had been reduced because some scholars and research-oriented mages in the empire were conducting studies that consumed vast amounts of magic materials. They also made it clear that this situation would likely persist for a long time.

Shaoke frowned. “Did they take you to see that experiment?”

The necromancer ruler glanced at Shaoke and then nodded. “Yes. After seeing that experiment, I realized that the recent tremors in the empire were entirely caused by it. Do you know what they are researching? Powerful puppets. And other things I can’t even name. Almost all the scholars and Alchemists in the entire empire are involved.” The ruler said helplessly.

The mage hovered silently in the air, finally thanked the other for the information, then tore through space and returned to his own camp. There, he recounted what had happened at the Saur camp. Mage Roman only complained that Shaoke should have gone to see it himself.

Shaoke shook his head and refused. “There’s no need for them to deceive us about these things. Even if they hide some details, I wouldn’t notice anything if I went there.” After he finished, Mage Roman agreed. When Shaoke was about to return to his room, Mage Roman stopped him.

“Xue, you should study this book carefully. I think it will be of great help in rescuing the Blue-robed Female Mage.” Mage Roman carefully took a book from her bosom and placed it in the mage’s hands, then turned and left. Shaoke took the book and began to read.

Clearly, this book was not obtained from the underground ruins but came from Mage Roman’s family. The Ancient Magic Script recorded in detail an incident where an important family member was turned into a black ice statue by a mage during a conflict. After killing that mage, the family member discovered that the effect was produced by a magic item—a bead identical to the one now embedded in Shaoke’s crown.

According to the mage’s confession, to dissolve this black ice statue, one needed not only special spells but also a large quantity of precious magic materials. The book also listed those magic materials in detail. When the mage saw them, he became very frustrated. Many of the magic materials listed he had never even heard of. But if he didn’t find them to prepare the remedy, the Blue-robed Female Mage would remain as an ice statue for a thousand years. By then, the black ice would completely erode her Meditation space, and she would become a Confinement Mage incapable of Spellcasting.

Shaoke spent several days compiling a list of these materials and then ordered the family members to start collecting them. He also went to the Ninth Tier alliance and conducted transactions with those Ninth Tier professionals, asking them about the sources of some materials, intending to search for the magic materials himself to prepare the remedy. Of course, this idea received support from Mage Roman and the Cleric, both of whom believed the mage was capable of gathering all the necessary magic materials.