Chapter 391 Utterly Helpless

After these simple supplements, everyone went back to their own tasks. The female mage was the busiest; she temporarily abandoned her research on magical items with Mage Roman and shifted her main focus to accelerating the growth of ordinary crops. Mage Roman also slowed down her experiments on magical items and began assisting Lan Wei'er in educating her daughter. Of course, Shaoke and the Blue-robed Mage, as Ninth-rank Professionals, had little free time either. Every so often, they would select a strong man who had not yet erupted his Aura to conduct their experiments. And now, their experiment had begun again.

A strong man was suspended in the air by blue iron chains. After two years of experiments, those who survived had become quite abnormal. His three-meter-tall body was impossible for ordinary people to achieve. The spellcasters quickly inscribed arrays and runes on his body. This experiment went smoothly. As the blue light fully entered the man's body, his height somehow increased by a full meter over just a few months. Fortunately, the power of the spell kept the man from being tortured to death.

Large amounts of magical beast meat and precious drugs were consumed by this man as if they cost nothing. Now, Shaoke and the others came only to observe the man's combat power and lifespan. Of course, the most direct combat experiment would reveal the result.

After erasing the man's unnecessary memories, the mages summoned a Fifth-rank Warrior to fight him. The outcome of the battle was simple: either the test subject died, or the Fifth-rank Warrior died.

As soon as the two met, the test subject roared under the mages' command and charged at the Fifth-rank Warrior. He had no Aura, only two simple fine steel javelins. The Fifth-rank Warrior was not from any family but was a battle-hardened adventurer. Knowing his fate, the warrior also charged madly at the test subject.

Strength, a raw collision of force, occurred. The test subject ignored the warrior's long sword and instead thrust a javelin at him. As the warrior panicked and dodged, the test subject threw the javelin toward him.

The thick Aura completely blocked the javelin's attack, though it did not penetrate the warrior's defensive spell. However, the powerful impact still sent the warrior stumbling backward. At that moment, the test subject, howling, crashed into the retreating warrior, grabbed his body tightly, ignored the sword in the warrior's hand, slammed him to the ground, raised his fists and began pounding him. The thick Aura quickly collapsed under the test subject's fists.

"Such a warrior may be our best choice," the Female Mage said, touching her horn, then added in a low voice, "If we had more of these warriors, I think their power would be even greater."

"I just hope their lifespan is long enough," Shaoke said, watching the test subject tear the warrior into pieces, then added, "Their power still isn't as strong as the Blizzard Warriors, and it can't even compare to other legions either." With that, the mage sighed and turned to leave. The experiment was now on track, and he wasn't needed here. Unless something else came up, he wouldn't return.

"Is that experiment finished?" Seeing him floating in the air in a daze, Mage Roman flew up to ask. "You don't look well. I think you should rest for a while." Then, without waiting for his reply, the female mage kissed Shaoke's forehead and left to find Moyu'er, continuing her teaching. Now, she felt that Moyu'er was the most important thing to her.

After the female mage left, Shaoke remained suspended in the air, releasing his mental power to sense something. He didn't mind her behavior; instead, he enjoyed the feeling of solitude. Unfortunately, this feeling didn't last long. Half a year later, one day, while studying the memories of a Divine Avatar, Mage Gan found him and told him to go to the meeting room because the Blue-robed Mage had something to discuss with him.

"Mage Xueye, if you have time, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Maple Leaf Empire with me for a while," the Blue-robed Mage said, putting down her feather quill and pouring him a glass of water. "The emperor of the Maple Leaf Empire has had a child. As members of the Barbarian Empire, we should go and offer our congratulations."

"Just the two of us?" Shaoke looked at the Blue-robed Mage. He didn't know why she chose him to go. He didn't want to leave now because he was very busy.

"Several other super empires, the Wanderers Alliance, and some imperial representatives are also going. Our alliance has some ties with the Maple Leaf Empire, so we should go this time," the Blue-robed Mage added. "That child is the emperor's firstborn, and he is said to be very fond of him."

Shaoke nodded. "When do we leave? I need to prepare."

"Whenever you're ready, we'll go," the Blue-robed Mage smiled. "We have plenty of time—over half a year. And we'll be traveling by teleportation array." Seeing Shaoke's confusion, she quickly explained. After all, Shaoke seldom interacted with others and rarely traveled outside or met High-order Practitioners from other empires. "As High-order Practitioners of an empire, we have the right to use the teleportation arrays of neutral nations to travel."

After listening to the female mage's explanation, Shaoke just nodded and then left, agreeing to depart in three days. During this time, he would arrange matters concerning his family. After all, it wasn't just about him and a few female spellcasters anymore. Of course, the time was still ample.

When Mage Roman, who was teaching Moyu'er magical knowledge, learned that the mage was about to leave again, she was very displeased. She had previously asked Shaoke to teach their daughter, but due to his busy schedule, he rarely fulfilled that duty, leaving it to her. Now that their daughter was so young and at a critical stage of growth, the mage was about to leave, which upset her greatly.

"Are you the only ninth-rank mage?" Though dissatisfied, Mage Roman tried to keep her expression normal. "Moyu'er is still so young. If you're away for too long, I'm afraid she'll become estranged from you." She looked at her daughter, who was writing magical scripts in the distance, and felt a pang of sadness. Finally, she began to cry softly.

"It's alright," Shaoke said, holding Mage Roman tightly. It took him nearly half a magic hour to calm her down. Then he comforted Moyu'er and Lan Wei'er, both of whom were reluctant to see him leave. The White-robed Cleric, however, showed little emotional fluctuation. She simply stayed up all night to create over a dozen gems for healing mental space damage during meditation, storing golden healing light in them—an important ability she had acquired upon advancing to Eighth Tier Cleric. She also gave him various auxiliary items she had made over time, so he could use them in case of emergencies.

This quiet affection made Shaoke feel very comfortable. After a final, tender farewell, the mage packed the necessary items and left with the Blue-robed Mage. The Blue-robed Mage also looked a bit tired, mainly because she had been busy handing over affairs at the station.

The mages didn't travel alone to the Maple Leaf Empire; they first went to the massive imperial capital. Shaoke was astonished by the changes there, as he hadn't visited in a long time. The entire capital was filled with thousands of hundred-meter-tall mage towers, each housing a Ninth-rank Professional from various alliances. The Space Mage from their own alliance resided in one of those towers. However, Shaoke and the others didn't seek him out; instead, they flew for a distance to observe the area before heading toward a tall mountain peak.

No imperial forces were stationed on this peak; it was a meeting place for alliances. By the time they arrived, hundreds of Ninth-rank Professionals were already floating there. None of these professionals were ordinary; they all had special classes. Shaoke was the only ordinary mage who hadn't advanced into a specialized class. But no one dared to underestimate him. The gleaming Nine-pointed Star Magic Array, which he had engraved, intimidated even Ninth-rank Professionals when they saw it.

The power of Death Will made most Ninth-rank Professionals feel fear at that time. Of course, there were some who didn't care, but that was because they had special means to resist that spell.

The professionals from seven or eight super empires had arrived early. Because they had many wanderers, they sent large delegations to the Maple Leaf Empire. For instance, the Hebrews sent ten knights and three Glory Knights, without any other professionals. Only the Hebrews' Ruler was a spellcaster. The other super empires had similar teams, their compositions based on the number of professionals in each wanderer alliance.

But we won't go into detail here.

After waiting another three days, no more alliance members arrived to gather. Then everyone decided to set out for the Maple Leaf Empire. Of course, a group of hundreds of Ninth-rank Professionals needed to follow certain rules when passing through any nation; otherwise, a sudden conflict could cause catastrophic damage to an empire. Naturally, these trivial matters were handled by others.