Chapter 354 Rest and Ongoing Plundering

After the vortex ended, the Tenth Tier Warrior disappeared from his original position and reappeared before the other warrior and mage. He casually swung his golden spear, easily killing the warrior, while the mage forcibly used Blink to escape. The Tenth Tier Warrior then hurled dozens of golden spears at Shaoke and the others before quickly fleeing into the distance.

A Nine-rank Mage shouted with a grim expression, "Chase him! He has little strength left to resist. We will surely succeed this time." He then blinked repeatedly in pursuit, and the other Nine-rank Mages quickly followed, chasing after the fleeing Tenth Tier opponent.

"We don’t need to go," the Blue-robed Mage said, glancing at the remaining Eighth-order Practitioners before giving her suggestion. "If he were determined to kill us, we couldn’t withstand it." She then signaled for everyone to land and rest, replenishing their consumed combat strength.

Just then, a violent explosion came from the direction where the Nine-rank Professionals had chased. The powerful aura fluctuation made Shaoke and the other wounded individuals extremely uncomfortable. Shortly after, the Nine-rank Mages flew back, accompanied by an additional black-armored warrior.

The black-armored warrior was towering, standing four to five meters tall. He scanned Shaoke and the others, waved his hand, and all the golden or milky-white light spheres floating in the air fell before Shaoke and his group. Then he swiftly flew away into the distance. The Nine-rank Mages hesitated for a moment before landing and resting with Shaoke and the others, for they had just fought a Tenth Tier existence.

The small city had been completely erased by their battle; only a few sturdy metal fragments remained, while everything else had turned to ash. Under the watch of the Nine-rank Professionals, Shaoke and the others began rapid recovery, as the area still lay within another empire’s territory.

After collecting the white light sphere that belonged to him, Shaoke took some medicine and entered his meditative space. The situation there looked dire: the ground was split by dozens of massive cracks, with countless smaller fissures spreading beyond count. Fortunately, the stars in the sky remained undamaged, thanks to the fine threads of mental strength inscribed with magic script that he had used to connect them and control them through special methods.

Large amounts of mental and magical energy emerged from the ground, dissipating into the air. As this deterioration continued, Shaoke could feel his entire meditative space slowly shrinking. He had to repair the cracks in the ground as quickly as possible to prevent further loss of mental and magical energy.

A massive Eight-pointed Star Magic Array appeared in the sky, absorbing large quantities of magic and mental energy. As the array operated, a gray-black pillar of light shot out from its center, landing on the smaller cracks. Over time, the cracks slowly healed. Thus, Shaoke continued the monotonous repair work one by one.

He did not focus entirely on the repair; instead, he diverted part of his attention to the altar being scorched by Arcane Fire and the floating Eight-pointed Star Magic Array. Within them, he urged their operation to increase his recovery speed. At this moment, large numbers of Ancient Magic Scripts and strange characters from the horn—which had merged into the altar—flowed out from the altar as they gained sufficient energy. Under Shaoke’s forced control, they fully integrated into the ground composed of magic and mental energy, accelerating the ground’s self-healing.

After an unknown time, Shaoke had to exit his meditative space due to prolonged meditation. Most practitioners had already concluded their recovery; only those mages with more resilient meditative spaces continued healing, among them the Blue-robed Mage. The Nine-rank Mages took turns meditating to recover.

The dozen or so Eighth-order Practitioners showed no grief over the loss of many companions. They seemed as excited as young practitioners, especially the Eighth Tier Mage who had barely escaped the Tenth Tier warrior’s killing strike. He grabbed his white hair excitedly, recording the recent battle in his spell record. Other mages were doing the same.

After a while, the Blue-robed Mage also stopped meditating, but her complexion still looked very grim, though much better than before. "Honorable Mage, what should we do next?" she asked the Nine-rank Mages on guard duty.

An elderly female mage glanced at the Blue-robed Mage, then pointed at Meigan lying on the ground. "We need to fully recover first. If there are no other matters, I suggest we gather together, so we can be safer and faster when hunting targets." She frowned as she examined Meigan again, then took a soft white fruit from her ring and fed it to the unconscious Meigan. "Perhaps this team lacks a Cleric." She then rubbed Meigan’s head, a gesture that seemed to ease his pain.

The female Nine-rank Mage frowned and added, "Rest a while, then we’ll move toward the next city. Not far from here, there’s a main force of the Luanyun Empire. We can hunt some Eighth-order beings there."

The Eighth-order Practitioners had no objection to the Nine-rank Mage’s suggestion. The Blue-robed Mage muttered discontentedly, "This isn’t the time for that discussion. I don’t want to follow you in hunting Tenth Tier existences again. Next time, it might be an Eleventh Tier practitioner!" She then took out a thumb-sized golden bead and began chanting a spell. After the incantation ended, a golden beam shot from the bead and merged into Meigan’s head. Over time, the pained expression on Meigan’s face eased considerably. The bead shattered, ending the healing.

The Nine-rank Mage opened her mouth as if to speak but said nothing, then stood up, took out her staff, and began scanning the surroundings. Two other Nine-rank Mages did the same.

"We’re leaving. I hope the next time we unite, it won’t be as disastrous as this," the Blue-robed Mage said after brief discussion with Shaoke. They quickly decided to leave the large team. Meigan refused to leave with them.

Her words angered the Nine-rank Mages, especially the female mage, who stared at the Blue-robed Mage for a long time before waving her hand to dismiss them. "I doubt we’ll meet again." She then sat down and rested without further words.

Shaoke tugged at the corners of his mouth, tightened his cloak, and took off first, flying swiftly toward the distant mountains. He needed a long rest before he could fight again with practitioners of the same rank. The Blue-robed Mage followed close behind. She had no desire to continue cooperating with these people.

They flew quickly through the air. After over a magic hour, they reached the mountain forest and found a natural cave where they could temporarily settle.

A few days passed. One day, while Shaoke was repairing his damaged meditative space, the fully recovered Blue-robed Mage brought him some troubling news.

"Mage Xueye, we need to hide deeper in the forest. The Luanyun Empire has suddenly produced a large number of Eighth-order Practitioners from somewhere, and they are fiercely attacking our side." She handed her small staff to Shaoke. On it, dozens of light points were displayed in proportion, each of ten-plus colors representing a nation allied with the Blue Feather Empire. But these points were disappearing rapidly. Even as Shaoke watched, another point vanished.

Shaoke thought for a moment and added, "I think the Luanyun Empire’s allies have come to support them. With dozens of empires’ Eighth-order Practitioners attacking, they can’t hold out." He sighed, wondering why the Eighth-order Practitioners of the Death Mage Corps hadn’t come out to fight. He voiced his doubt to the Blue-robed Mage.

"It’s because we wandering practitioners are too numerous," the Blue-robed Mage said with a bitter smile. "They’ll only come out near the battle’s end, when their losses are smaller." She fell silent, then began packing some furs and miscellaneous items from the cave, unwilling to hunt wild beasts for their skins again.

This mountain forest was vast. Even after flying deeper for a day and a night, Shaoke and the Blue-robed Mage still hadn’t reached its core. They found another cave on a high mountain peak, tidied up their belongings, and settled there temporarily. Shaoke’s meditative space had not recovered much; he needed more time to fully restore it. The Blue-robed Mage did not take out the golden bead for his use, indicating its preciousness—it was for emergencies only.

One day, Shaoke was repairing the last major crack. As soon as he finished, his entire meditative space underwent a drastic change. Vast amounts of Arcane Fire burst from the altar, some landing on the ground and burning, others directly dissipating into the air. Silvery beams shot out from the Arcane Fire like lightning, striking the ground. The altar swayed in the air. Shaoke knew from books that this was an important transformation after advancing to Eighth Tier—once complete, his strength would greatly increase.

Eventually, the Arcane Fire on the altar scattered on the ground, absorbing magic and mental energy to fuel its burning. Shaoke poured all his focus into the altar, which slowly began to descend. He exerted full control to guide it to the predetermined location.

After an unknown time, the altar, slightly reduced in size, settled into the depression on the mountain’s summit that stored the psychic solution. The Yingluo Tree, under Shaoke’s control, slowly rose and took root at the altar’s top. The spellbook also merged into the altar after a while.

Once everything stabilized, his meditative space expanded rapidly. Shaoke felt the space’s walls were now dozens of times stronger than before. Seeds of magical plants sprouted and grew quickly.

Sensing that the altar was completely enveloped by the psychic solution, Shaoke let out a long breath. He savored his new changes, then exited.

"Now you are truly a full-fledged Eighth Tier mage," the Blue-robed Mage said with a smile. Shaoke could now cast spells without worry; minor spatial disturbances would no longer cause him trouble. More importantly, if his spellbook were damaged, it could be quickly repaired.

"We should go outside," Shaoke said. He summoned his spellbook again, which had inexplicably turned completely black, with a black butterfly spreading its wings on the cover—quite beautiful. "We should seize some items while carrying out our tasks." He looked uncertainly at the Blue-robed Mage, unsure if she would approve.

The Blue-robed Mage gave him an odd look but eventually nodded. "But we must return here regularly. The situation outside is far worse than before. Things are not as we previously thought." She then detailed recent events.

During this period, countless Eighth-order and higher practitioners had inexplicably appeared in Luanyun Empire. Even large groups of Tenth and Eleventh Tier professionals had fought here. An Infiltrator had sent word through a staff that they had seen deity avatars fighting top-tier practitioners over the Luanyun imperial capital—but the details were unconfirmed.

Shaoke was not deterred by this news. He quickly tidied himself, lifted his black staff, and hovered in the air. "That’s none of our concern. I believe the Luanyun Empire has some large treasury. Our target is that. Those who try to stop us are our enemies." With that, he signaled the Blue-robed Mage to follow him out. This time, they chose another city near their previous battle site. There, they would seek out noble or merchant families to plunder.

After a day and a night of flight, they left the forest. Although some high-order magical beasts intercepted them, they were delayed only slightly. After more flying, they found a city. Shaoke took out his crystal ball to probe its conditions.

A quarter magic hour later, he nodded to the Blue-robed Mage, indicating no Eighth-order existence was present. They then hovered above the city, using special methods to locate hidden magical materials for looting.

The arrival of two high-order practitioners quickly panicked the city’s residents. This was not a war front but deep in the Luanyun Empire. The multinational allied forces had yet to reach here. Besides the destruction of a neighboring city earlier, life here had hardly changed. People still felt the war was far away.

"I believe there are nobles and merchants here. I hope you will come out immediately. We have some business to discuss," Shaoke announced through an Amplification Spell, hoping to quickly obtain what he wanted.

The Blue-robed Mage found his approach amusing. She casually tossed out a giant net, which rapidly enveloped dozens of gathered civilians, lifted them into the air, and then tightened, cruelly slicing them into small pieces.

"Tell us where the most powerful guilds and nobles are. Speak now, or you will all die," Shaoke said, landing swiftly and grabbing a panicked middle-aged man. He quickly questioned him about the city, not wanting to spend much time here.

"At the city center’s largest manor," the man stammered in the Luanyun language. Had Shaoke not used a calming spell trick, the man wouldn’t have answered so smoothly. Shaoke released him, as he had no wish to kill a cooperative informant—at least for now.

After sharing the information with the Blue-robed Mage, they moved quickly to the city center. There stood not only the lord’s mansion but also residences of nobles and merchants. The commercial district was elsewhere, in a more remote area.

An empire’s strength derives not only from its territory and population but also from rigorous cultural and knowledge inheritance and research. Near the lord’s mansion were seven or eight academies arranged in a pattern—some training mages and warriors, others focusing on commerce, history, or other arts. The arrival of Shaoke and the Blue-robed Mage prompted full alert from the city’s authorities. One Eighth-tier mage flew out from an academy and hovered in the air, facing them. Shaoke detected dozens of young mages and other practitioners below, under several high-order practitioners, glaring at them fiercely.

"Outsiders, you should not be here," the Eighth-tier mage said, touching the floating spellbook before him. "If you want to fight, leave. Too many civilians will die in our struggle." He glanced at the young mages below and ordered them to leave, but they refused. Some had fled from another city; they no longer wanted to flee from Shaoke’s violence.

"Such naive thoughts—do not entertain them again," Shaoke said, suddenly Blinking toward the mage. He intended to use Death Gaze to freeze the opponent and then kill him. At that moment, he only had two layers of ordinary Eighth-tier defensive spells active.

But the Eighth-tier mage seemed prepared. As Shaoke Blinked, he instantly Blinked away, then, while flying swiftly, chanted a spell and launched an attack. A white cloud formed, part of which wrapped around his body while another part turned into a tornado, rushing violently toward Shaoke and the Blue-robed Mage.

Shaoke quickly recognized it—a rare mental attack spell. Without hesitation, he Blinked again, directly appearing not far from the mage, and released his own spell: Command: Snow Vortex.

Powered by Command Technique, the Eighth-tier archaic command spell expanded to cover dozens of acres. Blue snow mixed with black light swirled in the sky. The Luanyun mage quickly intoned a few syllables, slammed his staff on his spellbook, and a white halo burst out, enveloping him. This special defensive spell allowed him to withstand Shaoke’s command attack.

Shaoke, no longer caring about magic or mental energy consumption, then intoned a few syllables in Ancient Magic Language: "Command: Flame Burst." As the incantation ended, the mage, who had just escaped the blue vortex, had no time to catch his breath. The space around him twisted and then exploded violently. Massive flames erupted in the air. After the explosion subsided, fierce magical fluctuations swept through the sky. The young mages and houses below that hadn’t fled were mostly destroyed by the uncontrolled blast of this spell.