Chapter 78: Art of Death

The mages' convoy set off once more. After being reprimanded by the bald officer, hundreds of cavalrymen drew their sabers and galloped ahead to promptly get the merchant caravans to clear a sufficient path, so as not to delay the mages' already unhurried journey.

As Shaoke passed by the caravan of the seventh-tier mage, he noticed it stretched for nearly two or three miles. Most of the guards accompanying it possessed Aura of the third rank or higher. Shaoke even sensed the mage who had gone to fetch the seventh-tier mage sweep his carriage with a scan, but the sensation quickly vanished. He couldn't understand why, despite knowing there were nearly a hundred thousand troops here, the other side was still being provocative. Was it similar to the methods used by other countries against his homeland in his previous life? After pondering, he still couldn't figure out the reason behind their actions and abandoned the thought, instead beginning to experiment with the daily dosage limits of the auxiliary drugs.

For the rest of the journey, there were no more merchant caravans blocking the road. Even the largest merchant guilds complied obediently with the cavalry clearing the way ahead.

The mages gradually adapted to life in the military camp. The hard bagels served for breakfast were no longer thrown away uneaten. Lunch and breakfast were almost identical, with the only addition being a small amount of red wine for the mages. However, the evening meals remained as lavish as they had been on their first night, which helped maintain the necessary composure among the somewhat dissatisfied young mages.

During this period, Shaoke occasionally saw the mage who had signed the agreement with him. During dinner, the mage would discreetly pull aside another mage by the robe, giving him pointers, and finally take out a scroll from within his robes to give to the other. After dinner, the two mages would stay in the tent serving as the dining hall for a while. Only then would the third-tier mage emerge with a satisfied smile.

After observing for a while, Shaoke quickly understood the reason behind the mage's actions. He was likely recruiting these mages to sign agreements, hoping they would join this army upon reaching the third tier.

That evening, Shaoke intentionally waited for the mage outside the tent. When the third-tier mage emerged and saw Shaoke, he showed no surprise but asked somewhat puzzled, "Mage Xueye, is there something you need help with?" He then gestured for Shaoke to move away from the tent entrance, not wanting the mage who had just signed the agreement inside to overhear their conversation.

"Respected mage, I still haven't received the free second-level spell you mentioned. This period should have been more than enough for you to transcribe it!" Shaoke expressed his dissatisfaction with the mage's delay, especially since it had been prolonged for so long.

The third-tier mage nodded awkwardly. "Mage Xueye, I haven't forgotten. Wait a moment, and I'll bring enough transcription scrolls for you to choose from. Is there anything else?" He noticed the mage inside the tent coming out and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Seeing the other agree, Shaoke finally set aside his earlier worries. According to the coachman, they would reach Ur City in another two or three days. Upon arrival, the mages would have to join another army heading toward the front lines, while this army would remain stationed in Ur City for three years.

After taking his medication, Shaoke began studying the method to permanently fix 'Death Gaze' within the meditation space. He hoped to master it before reaching the frontline fortress, which would significantly enhance his safety.

Approximately half a magic hour later, the third-tier mage arrived at Shaoke's tent. Shaoke offered a polite greeting and invited the guest to sit on the bed serving as a chair. The mage pulled out several scrolls bound with silk ribbons from his leather pouch and laid them out on the bed one by one. "Mage Xueye, the single-target, high-power attack spells you asked for are few. Only these: 'Elemental Spear,' 'Blessing,' 'Lightning Bolt,' and 'Tearing Vortex.'" He pointed out the names of the spells in each scroll and explained their functions in detail. Finally, he pointed to 'Tearing Vortex' and said, "I believe this spell suits you very well. Not only does it have a casting range of over two hundred meters, but it's also a small-area attack spell. However, its power is almost on par with 'Elemental Spear' and 'Lightning Bolt.'"

Shaoke nodded. "Are there no other spells?" He had hoped for more options, but the other shook his head, dashing his hopes.

Shaoke had no choice but to pick up the scroll transcribing 'Tearing Vortex.' "Then this one. Does it include casting techniques?"

The mage collected the other scrolls. "Yes, but only the most basic technique. If you want more techniques, I suggest you recruit more mages to join the Blizzard Legion. That way, you'll gain more casting techniques." He looked at Shaoke and added, "I think this task isn't actually difficult. If you're unwilling to do so, you can research it slowly on your own. Of course, that depends on whether you have enough luck."

Shaoke didn't discuss this further with the other. Instead, he asked about some doubts he had regarding the technique for the 'Death Gaze' spell. The other kindly provided answers. "Mage Xueye, if I hadn't personally recruited you into the Blizzard Legion, I doubt you would have gotten any explanations from me, even though you have the right to ask."

Shaoke nodded, thanked the other once more, and saw him off.

Throughout the journey, Shaoke immersed himself completely in practicing the technique. The massive convoy arrived at Ur City before they knew it, and the Blizzard Legion's army completed their side task. During this entire time, Shaoke never once saw the other high-rank mages of this army.

After resting for a day in Ur City, the mages' convoy, escorted by a portion of the Blizzard Legion's cavalry, set off again toward the front lines. Upon inquiring with the third-tier mage, Shaoke learned that Ur City wasn't actually far from the front lines the mages were heading to—only about ten days' journey. This news quickly spread among the mages, and many began to show considerable unease. Fortunately, the young mage elected by the others took on his duty, repeatedly comforting the nervous mages, hoping no accidents would occur on the way.

After consistent medication, Shaoke now felt that his spiritual power and mana had significantly improved compared to when he had just advanced. Although these drugs couldn't increase the total amount of spiritual power and mana, the autonomous refining array within the meditation space and the continuous drug intake spared him the time-consuming refining work. This allowed him to use those advanced meditation methods without worrying about losing control.

As they approached the frontline border, the number of scattered travelers on the road decreased significantly. Most were merchants traveling in groups under the protection of numerous mercenaries, cautiously heading toward cities near the front lines, as they could reap profits several times greater than in the interior. Faced with such substantial profits, the merchants paid little heed to potential casualties.

Just before reaching the frontline fortress, Shaoke finally figured out how to permanently fix the structure of 'Death Gaze' within the meditation space. This made him eager to give it a try. Even if he failed, it wouldn't cause much loss—at most, it would cause some turbulence in his meditation space for a while, a consequence he could accept.

That night, after restoring himself to peak condition through meditation, Shaoke began attempting to outline this structure within his spiritual space. According to the scroll, once the array was placed within that space, it would consume the power from that space thereafter. Seeing that his spiritual space was much larger than his mana space, Shaoke decided to place the array within his spiritual space.

Through continual mental exertion, he finally managed to control the spiritual power-condensed lines, slowly sketching them in the air. This was entirely different from outlining meditation paths within the spiritual space. From the very beginning, Shaoke felt his spiritual space begin to tremble slowly, and the speed of the tremors gradually increased with the pace of his outlining of the spell structure. Fortunately, knowing this was a normal reaction, Shaoke remained calm and carefully continued drawing the structure with his spiritual power.

Approximately half a magic hour later, the spell structure was finally completed. The spiritual space continued to tremble, forcing Shaoke to use his already limited mental energy to barely control the structure from dispersing. When he carefully guided a portion of his spiritual power into the structure, the tremors in his spiritual space suddenly doubled. Enduring the mental pain, Shaoke quickly began chanting the incantation and slowly guided the now autonomously operating spell structure toward the diamond array, merging them together.

Fortunately, he hadn't lost the luck of a transmigrator. Just as his mental energy was about to run out, the lengthy incantation was completed. At that moment, a powerful surge of mana—almost all of Shaoke's mana—rushed out from his mana space under the effect of the incantation. This mana quickly merged with the diamond array and the spell structure, emitting thin threads of condensed mana that linked and pulled them together.

From this point on, whether the technique could be learned successfully was beyond Shaoke's control. As the third-tier mage had said, everything depended on luck, coincidence, and chance. This was also a major reason why mages learning this spell technique disliked it.

Under the pull of the mana threads, the spell structure slowly drifted toward the diamond array floating at the center. Under Shaoke's tense gaze, it gradually made contact with the diamond array. However, instead of attaching beneath the diamond array as Shaoke had imagined, the diamond array suddenly emitted a silver light, swiftly wrapping around the spell structure, pulling it to wrap around the exterior of the diamond array and slowly seep into it.

Seeing this, Shaoke only felt a violent shake in his spiritual space before his consciousness was expelled from it due to excessive mental energy consumption.

---Thank you all for supporting Xiao Qi all the way to this point. Thank you!