Chapter 213: Duel with the Death Mage

Title: Chapter 213: Forgive Me, Brothers

Facing the attacks of two second-level spells, Shaoke did not dodge, letting the spells collide with his defenses as he continued his spell preparation. Meanwhile, the other Death Mage evaded Shaoke's low-rank mage spell attack, and though he prepared spells while moving, he was still slower than the stationary Shaoke.

Death Slash, a black line over ten meters long, swiftly moved toward the opponent. The Death Mage prepared a mental attack for the first time, a pale purple net controlled by its master to envelop Shaoke. After that, the mage took out a scroll sealed with a Fourth Rank defensive spell, released it onto himself, and then, as the spell approached, suddenly crushed a ring on his finger. The Third Rank Wind Blade spell sealed in the ring collided with the black line and dissipated. Though it didn't destroy the spell's structure entirely, it still reduced its power.

Two layers of defensive spells were easily cut through, but the Death Slash couldn't damage the third layer anymore. Just as the Death Mage was about to use a crystal sealed with a defensive spell, a black flame as thick as an infant's arm burst from the ground behind him. The mage noticed the spell attack in time, and with no chance to dodge, activated the only defensive spell sealed in his staff.

The black staff exploded, and a thick white light tightly surrounded him just as the black flame shattered his last defensive layer, blocking Shaoke's attack. But the next attack was unavoidable: a pale blue mist enveloped him and began an unceasing assault on his meditation space.

While the mage was blocking Shaoke's Death Slash, Shaoke was also defending against the giant net sent his way. Disintegration Structure, a spell embedded in the array in his eye, was released for the first time on the spellcasting practice field, but its effect was minimal. After a large hole was torn in it, the net reconnected and closed up, clearly composed of dozens of spell structures that the narrow-range Disintegration Structure couldn't destroy in time.

After quickly identifying the attack type, Shaoke released a large amount of mana, condensing it into a net-like structure to intercept the opponent's attack. His judgment was correct: the two nets tangled in midair, still moving toward him, but their slow speed didn't worry him anymore.

Dream Confusion, Shaoke's only mental attack spell, was the least used since he learned it. A diamond-shaped planar structure began spinning rapidly, and two streams of pale blue mist flew from his eyes, forming a blue mist several meters wide that flew toward the Death Mage, who had just shattered his staff, successfully enveloping him.

The Dream Confusion attack didn't stop the Death Mage from resisting, but he abandoned control of the net attacking the mana space, concentrating all his mana to prepare a spell to dispel the Dream Confusion. Seizing the opportunity, Shaoke completely destroyed the opponent's pale purple net. As a green flame drifted from the staff's tip to his hands, the Death Mage, enveloped by Dream Confusion, suddenly burst with a powerful mana fluctuation. Two pale golden lights flew from his eyes, and as his gaze moved, the blue mist touched by the gold light quickly vanished, while even the untouched parts slowly faded. Shaoke felt his mental control over the spell forcibly stripped away, severely damaged under the gold light's illumination.

"Stop the attack," the mage said, quickly moving positions and warning Shaoke, who was still preparing to strike. "I think we can talk now." He then dispelled the Fifth Rank defensive spell provided by the shattered staff to show his intent.

"Mage's Will?" Shaoke let the flame in his hand continuously burst and merge, hesitated briefly, then dispelled all his defensive spells and tossed the green flame into the air, letting the staff absorb it.

"Yes," the mage admitted without hesitation, letting out a stiff laugh. "If my identification isn't wrong, you have two spells embedded."

"Yes," Shaoke carefully examined the Death Mage, who had dispelled all defensive and support spells, finding his attire and behavior almost identical to his own.

The fierce battle ended with the two Death Mages' pointless conversation. A tense White-robed Cleric, after checking both mages with golden light, finally relaxed. She ran to Shaoke, twisted his arm hard, and then left the practice field complaining, as the Legion Commander had tasked her with ensuring no mage's meditation space was harmed.

After nodding to the other mages, Shaoke and the other mage found a secluded room. The Death Mage who had suddenly fought him explained his identity and purpose.

It turned out this Death Mage Corps member was in the capital for special missions, with more of his kind elsewhere, though he didn't elaborate. He just told Shaoke they were also responsible for protecting mages and other members who had left the Death Mage Corps. If needed, Shaoke could signal at any time and place, though he only gave him one signal, as more were useless.

"When you first arrived in the capital, we sought you out but were delayed by special matters, so it's only now," the Death Mage said, activating his Shadow Concealment again before leaving. He invited Shaoke to rejoin the Death Mage Corps, as it was the best place for mages like them who loved killing. Shaoke declined, as he had with previous High-rank Mage invitations.

As soon as the mage left, a tense Mage Roman came looking for him. After carefully examining Shaoke, she sighed in relief. "I don't know why you engaged in such dangerous combat with that mage, but I know close-range spellcasting is something every mage should avoid." She paused, catching her breath. "You two were getting close—were those spells flying that slowly?"

Facing Roman's reproach, Shaoke could only smile helplessly. "I couldn't control myself. That fight completely immersed me in the scenes of my missions in the Death Mage Corps." He then felt relieved, as the other mage had acted similarly, likely a habit of low-rank mages in the Death Mage Corps. He hadn't seen high-rank mages fight, so he couldn't judge.

In response to Shaoke's explanation, the female mage Roman comforted him with an embrace. Of course, she imposed some necessary punishment, keeping him from intimate contact for nearly half a year. This was mainly due to her heavy workload, as a large number of low-rank magic items were sent for her and other alchemists to repair and create. Though the military provided many Second Tier Mages to help, the workload still made her complain about not having time for skincare.

After the battle with the Death Mage, Shaoke increased his meditation time, despite his chosen meditation method being the most energy-consuming and prone to space disturbances. With high-grade energy-restoring potions, this wasn't a problem. He also reduced his book copying but slightly increased his practice of Ancient Magic Script.

Now, Shaoke could express simple meanings using Ancient Magic Tongue, at the cost of consuming large amounts of mana and energy. This often drew mockery from Mage Roman and Mage Yisier, who visited him for short breaks. However, after seeing him chant spells in Ancient Magic Tongue, they stopped laughing.

It turned out that chanting any spell entirely in Ancient Magic Language doubled its power, even beyond the effects of power-enhancing techniques. This made Mage Yisier want to learn Ancient Magic Language, but lacking a sample text, she had to give up, unsure if Shaoke would teach her the script—though she never tried to ask.

Currently, Shaoke could only use simple Ancient Magic Language to release spells below Second Rank; replacing chants for Third Rank or higher required further study.

The mages' peaceful yet busy days ended after just a year. One day, after finishing his Ancient Magic Script study, a messenger soldier knocked on Shaoke's door. "Mage Xueye, the Legion Commander orders you to report to the underground base immediately; there's something waiting for you." After explaining the location to the mage, who didn't know the way, the soldier hurried off to notify more mages.