Chapter 307 A Not-So-Late Realization

When Shaoke and his group launched their attack, they had been constantly releasing their mental energy to probe their surroundings. Suddenly, Shaoke detected a violent surge of Aura behind them. He quickly determined the tier of the Aura's owner: a Seventh Tier Warrior!

Two powerful beams of Aura energy shot rapidly toward Shaoke and his companions. The mages at the rear, who were not casting spells, hastily released low-tier spells to intercept. The intense, continuous impacts made Shaoke uneasy. Through his mental energy observation, he realized that the Seventh Tier Warrior behind them was the same tall warrior who had just fled. Now, without pause, the warrior condensed Aura into spears with both hands and hurled them at Shaoke's group.

A golden flame-like glow enveloped the warrior. These flames constantly flew out automatically to intercept the mages' attacks. Frowning, Shaoke thought quickly and shouted, "You hold off this warrior!" As he spoke, he instantly cast two Fourth Rank Lava Rays to strike the flame-wreathed warrior. However, the flames quickly consumed Shaoke's spells and even seemed to grow larger after absorbing them.

With no time to assess the situation, Shaoke urged the mages to unleash low-tier spells rapidly, hoping to take down the fleeing mage and his two companions with swift attacks.

Single-target spells and small-area spells were furiously cast by the mages. This change in attack style soon yielded results. At least, as Shaoke observed, the green light appeared more frequently and seemed much dimmer than before. This energized the mages.

After casting a Cutting Wave, the faint green light that occasionally flickered around Shaoke suddenly burst apart, scattering into countless specks of light on the ground.

"Go ahead, you first!" The young mage who had been counterattacking glared fiercely at Shaoke and the others, then urged his companions to flee while he intended to stay behind and intercept their attacks. At that moment, the black-robed figure beside the male mage suddenly broke free from his companion's control and turned to run toward Shaoke's group. As he ran, the black-robed man chanted a strange incantation. With the chant, a massive pentagram array materialized around him, and low howls emanated from within it.

Just as the pentagram array appeared, seven or eight low-tier spells struck the black-robed man. Though they were only Third-level Spells, they blasted him into a mass of flesh.

Enraged by this outcome, the male mage let out a frenzied roar and attempted to charge at Shaoke's group. However, the female archer beside him intercepted him. She quickly pulled a peculiar branch made of crystals with leaves from her bosom, snapped it, and let a layer of green light envelop them. Only then did she signal her companions to flee into the distance. She also began firing arrows to block Shaoke's attacks.

As these two mages fled, the pentagram array beside the dead black-robed man suddenly transformed into a Six-pointed Star Magic Array. The scattered flesh was quickly absorbed by the array, and a massive magical beast emerged from it.

Three pseudo-dragons, each about three meters tall, burst forth. This caught the mages off guard, as they recognized the origin of these pseudo-dragons. The black-robed man had been a rare summoner. This discovery made Shaoke frown deeply. He hadn't expected the black-robed man to be a summoner, and he grew dissatisfied with Lan Wei'er's intelligence. But now was not the time to dwell on it; they needed to hunt down the fleeing mage.

Directing the other mages to hold off the three pseudo-dragons, Shaoke gritted his teeth and unleashed the spell he was most confident in for eliminating the enemy: Law: Ice and Snow Vortex. This spell was an ancient command-type mage technique, and its power grew with the mage's tier.

A massive vortex of ice and snow suddenly appeared around the two fleeing mages, also engulfing some nearby buildings and the life within them. The vortex covered an area of over five acres, and if Shaoke hadn't deliberately controlled it, it would have nearly reached their own position.

As the vortex formed, a short figure burst out of the ground not far from Shaoke, swinging a giant axe as tall as half a man directly at him. Although the mage hadn't detected anyone underground, Shaoke only sneered at the attack. It was a rare dwarf, but at only the Fifth Tier, he couldn't harm Shaoke.

Death Gaze—the Seventh Rank gaze embedded in Shaoke's meditation space—activated. The dwarf was astonished to see Shaoke's eyes suddenly turn deep purple, with two seven-pointed star arrays in the center emitting silver light. That was the last thing the dwarf saw, as the mages behind Shaoke quickly cast simple spells, tearing him apart before he could strike.

It was all over. The massive blue vortex ceased after spinning briefly under Shaoke's control, leaving behind only a patch of pale blue powder. After sensing the situation once more, Shaoke frowned in contemplation. But the ongoing battle soon drew his attention.

The three pseudo-dragons were formidable, giving the dozen or so Sixth Tier Mages following Shaoke a hard time, as low-tier spells couldn't even wound them. Fortunately, the mages worked in clear teams: some kept the pseudo-dragons distracted with low-tier spells, while others prepared high-power spells to attack them. Since the summoner was dead, the pseudo-dragons, with their minds severely damaged, couldn't mount effective attacks and were quickly killed.

The tall warrior had already been slain by the mages, but they looked battered, as the warrior's relentless, reckless Aura-powered spear throws had put them under immense pressure. Later, two more warriors joined the fight, but they were too weak and were quickly obliterated by the mages.

Among the dead warriors was a female one; if cleaned of bloodstains, she would have looked decent. Finally, the group gathered the meager spoils. A mage handed Shaoke a golden horn, found on the warrior. Based on the Aura energy within it, the mages agreed it was a top-tier magic item for warriors. Shaoke examined it briefly before storing it in his magic bag.

After finishing everything, Shaoke silently surveyed the destruction caused by their attack. He gritted his teeth and gestured for the group to dispose of the corpses. As for the three Sixth Rank pseudo-dragons killed by the mages, they collected some valuable materials using special methods and then reduced them to ash.

"Release our insignia," Shaoke ordered, sensing many people probing their area through various means. A mage sent up their organization's signal: a giant scythe and some flames hovering in the air. After that, no one probed them further.

Shaoke and the mages checked the battlefield once more, but found nothing of value. He estimated that the young mage had likely died, but regrettably, they hadn't retrieved the book.

Thinking this, Shaoke smacked his forehead in frustration. He realized that although he had successfully advanced to a Seventh Tier Mage, he lacked the skills and essential qualities of a Seventh Tier Battle Mage. If he had used the Blink spell from the start, he could have preserved the mage's body intact and obtained the precious magic book.

Shaoke's odd action drew strange looks from the other mages. But under his orders, they quickly composed themselves, tightened their cloaks, and silently followed him back to their estate. There, they would receive their due rewards.

Following usual protocol, Shaoke granted the mages the necessary rewards, then dismissed the high-rank mages. He retreated to his room and took out paper to record the events of the day's battle.

As mentioned above, though Shaoke had successfully become a Seventh Tier Mage, his combat instincts still lingered at the Sixth Tier or even lower. This troubled him greatly, and he decided to increase his spell practice moderately. The Sixth Tier mages would likely be willing to practice with him, as training with a high-rank mage could teach them much.

Throughout the night, Shaoke not only recorded the battle but also wrote down some thoughts on blank paper. This stemmed from his realization, after the night's hunt, that the area they had recently occupied—formerly belonging to the Mage Guild—was still in a state of disrepair, which displeased him. Their actions that night had caused further damage, necessitating thorough repairs.