Chapter 324 Encounter in Battle

Everyone, take down the books from the wall cabinet; all the defensive magic arrays here are now gone. Shaoke casually handed the paper to the Seventh Tier Mage, while he continued forward to inspect other items on the desk. A book brimming with magic—his first thought was that it was an original tome from the ancient magic era, not a modern copy. He also gathered up various other pens. Then, he carefully read through some notes left behind by the top-tier being who had been here.

The paper not only indicated that all the defensive magic arrays here were gone, but also subtly mentioned that this place couldn’t be stayed in for long. If outsiders entered without quickly taking over this underground city, the stone towers would seal shut, only reopening once someone fully took control of the city.

One by one, the warriors carefully wrapped the books in their aura, stacking them on the floor, which was covered with some unknown material, as Shaoke instructed. After clearing off the writing desk, Shaoke picked up his staff and signaled the Seventh Tier Mage to join him in examining the books.

These books stunned Shaoke. According to the identification spell, they were all original copies. This discovery delighted both Shaoke and the Seventh Tier Mage with him. Since he started learning magic, Shaoke had only seen two original books, one of which was damaged. Now, they had encountered so many. For the Seventh Tier Mage, this was his first time seeing original books.

"Mage Xueye, we should get out of here," the Seventh Tier Mage quietly sent Shaoke a message using a magical technique. "This place isn’t safe." He gave the paper in his hand a little shake.

Shaoke quickly agreed. He took out a magic bag, and without looking at the books closely, they hastily loaded them into it. Then, using the elevator-like magic array, they quickly went back to the first floor. As for the precious magic materials, Shaoke and his team didn't collect them, as some defensive arrays remained intact, and they lacked the ability to break through. Regretfully, they had to leave them behind.

Shaoke had no clue how long they'd been there. He only knew they'd explored dozens of similar stone pillars, which housed not just mages but also other professionals living alone. In one pillar, they even explored a Space Mage's place, where their haul was the biggest. After all, a Space Mage was way rarer than any other type of professional. Out of a hundred mages, there might not be a single summoner, and out of a hundred summoners, only one Space Mage might show up. That just shows how valuable a Space Mage is.

Shaoke stored the books from the Space Mage's pillar separately in his ring. He sternly warned the Seventh Tier Mage and the other low-tier professionals not to reveal that they had found a Space Mage’s dwelling, threatening to kill them if they did. Of course, they all swore by their professions. Yet even so, Shaoke couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t report to the Eighth-order beings once back on the surface. To be safe, he secretly transferred some books from the ring into a small magic bag, keeping it on his person, hoping to preserve them in the end.

In the following days, they encountered no more stone pillars along this stone path. Instead, they came across dozens of massive stone islands, covered with magical plants and even some strange magical beasts. However, Shaoke and his team didn’t go up to investigate; they carefully passed by via the adjacent stone path. Fortunately, for some unknown reason, the beasts didn’t come out to attack them.

During another meal, Shaoke quickly ate some food, then took out paper and silently drew on it. The Seventh Tier Mage approached him again. "Mage Xueye, if I’m not mistaken, we’re heading back toward the passage we came from," the mage said, having lost the confidence and elegance he had at the start. The prolonged time underground had made him sense the eerie nature of this place.

Without maps or timers, he didn’t know how long they had been there or how far they had traveled. But based on the map he had recorded on paper, he noticed a strange pattern in their route. It seemed to curve oddly, like concentric circles. If not for his strong memory and the drawn map, he wouldn’t have realized this.

Shaoke carefully examined his own drawn map, then asked for the other’s to compare. They found both maps were identical. "Let’s keep moving forward. I believe in a few more days, we’ll reach the original passage," Shaoke said, tossing the map back to the Seventh Tier Mage. He then sat on the stone path and began meditating. Despite their constant probing and searching, Shaoke hadn’t slackened his own efforts. Under the looming threat, he worked even harder.

Suddenly, several mournful cries came from not far away. This unexpected event jolted Shaoke out of his meditation. The other Seventh Tier Mage quickly stood up, activating his defensive spell to assess the situation.

As the three mages at the front were quietly conversing, lava suddenly erupted from beneath the stone path. This eruption engulfed the three mages, and Shaoke frowned as he watched the lava slowly slide off the path. The other low-tier mages and warriors nervously gathered toward Shaoke.

Though they had encountered countless lava eruptions, this one felt strange and frightening. Their rest spot was near a recessed stone fortress. Based on past experience, such fortresses prevented large-scale lava eruptions, so everyone had relaxed during the break.

"It’s just an accident," Shaoke said loudly, silencing the low-order beings’ murmurs. He glanced at the other Seventh Tier Mage, who also looked grim. "Rest is over. We move on. After a bit more travel, we’ll reach the passage back." With that, Shaoke led the team, activating defensive spells as they advanced.

"Honorable Mage, I feel we’ve strayed from the original path," a Sixth Tier Mage said, unable to hold back after blocking a spurt of lava. The situation was worsening; he couldn’t recall the previous route clearly. How would they find their way back?

Shaoke just shook his head at the mage’s doubt and continued leading the team forward. The Seventh Tier Mage behind him explained, "We haven’t taken the wrong path. I hope you trust Mage Xueye’s judgment." He shot a displeased look at the doubter and fell silent.

"Enemy ahead," a Sixth Tier Mage in the center of the team suddenly warned, holding a crystal ball the size of a baby’s head to probe the surroundings. At Shaoke’s signal, he pointed out the direction of the approaching enemy.

"Are you sure?" The Seventh Tier Mage, seeing Shaoke’s hesitation, pressed the Sixth Tier Mage for confirmation. The situation was dire; without tools or spells, mages could only detect a few hundred meters, and even then, it was blurry.

"Yes," the Sixth Tier Mage nodded firmly. "They don’t have our markings."

"Prepare for battle," Shaoke ordered quickly after confirmation. Since the unknown team was coming from another stone path, Shaoke’s group prepared at the intersection. Mages rapidly released their mental energy or magic power to lock onto the opponents, who did the same to them.

Worried about unexpected complications, Shaoke used the Command Technique to enhance his spells’ power for the attack.

‘Command: Death Slash.’ A thirty-meter-long black ripple silently appeared ahead, then shot along the stone path into the distance. Shaoke loosely controlled it while preparing other spells. Green Flame—perhaps due to the abundant lava—a massive green flame quickly condensed at the tip of his staff. Under his control, it split into dozens of Fire Snakes, speeding toward the distant team.

As Shaoke attacked, seven or eight mages cast some Third-level Spells to disrupt the enemy’s judgment. Meanwhile, others focused on defense, and a few chanted incantations for real attacks.

Just as Shaoke’s Death Slash was released, the opposing team launched spells at them. Some were intercepted by the Third-level Spells, while the rest were blocked by the defensive mages and warriors.

The massive explosions caused the lava beneath the stone path to churn violently. The Seventh Tier Mage simply used a Flame Control spell, a common technique akin to ancient magic, whose power depended entirely on the spellcaster’s ability rather than the spell’s structural array.