Chapter 308 Understanding and High-Tier Injuries

The next day, at dawn, Shaoke found a mage on patrol on the street, handed him the paper, explained the situation in detail, and then sent him off to carry out the task. Meanwhile, Shaoke alone took a carriage toward the former meeting place of the various factions. However, before the carriage had even traveled a kilometer from his estate, a tremendous explosion accompanied by wild magical fluctuations came from the direction of the Desasi Empire. Soon after, more tremors followed.

This sudden upheaval threw the entire fallen capital into chaos. Numerous ordinary horses panicked from the violent shaking and explosions, causing carriages to race wildly through the streets. The carriage Shaoke was riding in met the same fate. But Shaoke instantly cast a Fireball, blasting the terrified horse to pieces. Of course, he had to compensate the driver with gold coins.

Continuous booming explosions echoed from the direction of the Desasi Empire, and under the influence of certain special magical fluctuations, the entire capital and the ground outside began to develop fine cracks. Through spiritual detection, Shaoke even sensed that many sections of the fallen capital's walls had collapsed. Some fragile buildings crumbled in the maddening tremors.

"Everyone, leave your houses and head to open ground!" Shaoke jumped down from the carriage and cast an Amplification Spell, shouting loudly. "This is just an accident. Don't panic. Those who loot in the chaos will die!" He finished and quickly headed back to the estate, worried that the squat mage tower might not withstand the tremors and, more importantly, concerned about the safety of Mage Roman and the others—though that worry was unnecessary.

Shaoke's arrival quickly drew the attention of the three female spellcasters on the mage tower. After they greeted him, Roman led him to a wall and gestured for him to wait while she investigated the specific source of the tremors.

After reciting a complex ancient magical incantation, the smooth wall slowly turned white, then a blue flame suddenly leaped down from the central pillar onto the wall. After rapidly scorching it, the stone wall turned a pale blue, and vague human figures began to appear on it.

The scene displayed on the stone wall startled Shaoke and the others. Though very blurry, they could see that these figures were floating in the air, some dressed as warriors, others as mages or archers, and many other professions that Shaoke and his companions couldn't immediately identify—after all, the Blue Feather Empire's professions weren't that diverse.

These figures were fighting each other. Shaoke noticed some mages almost continuously casting seventh-level spells; he even saw one mage repeatedly using the Blink skill to engage in close combat with warriors. The sheer intensity of the battle filled Shaoke and the others—including Roman—with awe, envy, and fear.

Suddenly, among the battling figures, a middle-aged mage in the image expanded sharply, and Shaoke felt an uncomfortable sensation. He quickly warned Roman to stop the detection. But his warning was too late. The middle-aged mage abruptly opened his eyes and glanced in their direction; within his eyes, two complex magical arrays briefly appeared. In that fleeting glimpse, Shaoke saw that both arrays were ten-pointed stars, a discovery that deeply alarmed him.

After Shaoke's warning, Roman quickly halted her spellcasting, but she was still too late. The middle-aged mage had already looked at her, forcibly halting her spellcasting. Roman groaned softly, holding her head, apparently hurt by the counterattack from that mage. Fortunately, the White-robed Cleric was present, and under her swift healing, Roman gradually recovered.

Shaoke nervously grasped the female mage's hand, looking at her worriedly. "Are you feeling better?" He gently massaged her head, asking softly. Roman leaned against Shaoke, frowning at the cracked stone wall, and shook her head to indicate she was fine.

But her pale complexion worried Shaoke and the other two female spellcasters, so they insisted she rest. The White-robed Cleric followed to provide auxiliary treatment. Following Shaoke's orders, Lan Wei'er remained in the mage tower to oversee the estate, preventing any accidents among the mages or ordinary servants during this crisis.

After arranging everyone, Shaoke left the mage tower. The distant explosions and tremors from the magical battle had become more intense. Shaoke stood quietly in an open area, sensing various magical fluctuations, hoping to glean something useful.

This situation lasted nearly half a magic hour, then suddenly stopped. Shaoke remained outside, silently reflecting on what he had learned. He felt his understanding of some seventh-level spells had deepened slightly—though the progress was minimal, he still found it valuable.

With the cessation of the high-level combatants' struggle in the distance, the streets gradually returned to calm. Shaoke again used an Amplification Spell to remind ordinary residents in his jurisdiction of precautions. However, just as he finished his announcement, an even greater explosion and shockwave came from the Desasi Empire direction. This violent tremor caused large cracks in the city's ground and collapsed many more buildings.

Then Shaoke saw over a dozen black fissures appear in the distant sky, but they quickly vanished, almost making him think it was an illusion.

After the fissures appeared and disappeared, Shaoke sensed a strange fluctuation from afar that compressed his spiritual detection to only a hundred meters in front of him. This fluctuation began to slowly erode his spirit and magic power.

Thankfully, this lasted only a few breaths. Then another magical impact occurred in the distance, and Shaoke saw over a dozen beams of light shoot into the sky, disappearing entirely. The strange fluctuations gradually dissipated as the colorful light columns vanished.

"Mage Xueye, have your cleric come and heal me," a voice said. Just as Shaoke was about to lead some mages to check on the residents, a complex six-pointed star magic array suddenly appeared before him. Two figures emerged from it: one was an elderly mage, and the other a young-looking blue-robed female mage. The speaker was the blue-robed female mage.

Now, the blue-robed female mage held a broken, delicate staff, and a tattered blue book floated quietly before her. Her usually rosy face was very pale. The elderly mage beside her was in no better condition; Shaoke even noticed that the gray spellbook floating before him had only a few dozen pages left.

Shaoke wasted no time. He quickly sent a message to the White-robed Cleric in the mage tower, then led the two mages inside. After Mage Roman granted them sufficient permissions, the three quickly reached the third floor.

The elderly mage refused healing first, letting the White-robed Cleric tend to the eighth-tier female mage instead. He went to the elemental pool, scooped up a large handful of elemental water, drank it, then took some other medication and sat quietly resting. The cleric repeatedly cast spells to heal the meditation space of the eighth-tier female mage as she requested.

Continuous rapid healing exhausted the cleric, but whenever her consumption became too great, the blue-robed female mage would hand her a small, pinkish fruit about the size of a thumb. After consuming it, the cleric's energy quickly recovered, and this rapid recovery lasted over half a magic hour before stopping. During this period, the White-robed Cleric continuously released golden beams to treat the eighth-tier female mage. She only stopped when she was mentally fatigued, and by then, the blue-robed female mage looked much better—at least the magical fluctuations emanating from her body had significantly subsided.

The White-robed Cleric didn't rest long. She again took the magical fruit the eighth-tier female mage gave her, then performed the same treatment on the elderly mage. This session was shorter than the one for the female mage, and the elderly mage soon called a halt.

After resting a bit more, the two mages above the eighth tier rose to leave. However, before departing, they took all the elemental water from Shaoke's stock, but they gave him compensation, which Shaoke considered far better than the elemental water itself.

As the two mages were leaving, the blue-robed female mage...