Chapter 407 So What If I Fail? I’ve Lived for Centuries

Return to your place—no fighting is allowed here." A voice came from a distance, and Shaoke merely twitched the corner of his mouth. But in the distance, the Elder Mage turned and prepared to fly away. Yet at that moment, the stone statue that had been floating behind him suddenly exploded. A relatively slender black shadow flew out from the statue and slammed heavily into the Elder Mage. A pitch-black streak cut across the Elder Mage's neck, and then the shadow brought a startled head before the mage.

A mass of black fog flickered [Blink] from afar and appeared before the mage, followed by an illusory voice emerging from the fog: "Leave this place, young one. You have already damaged this area too much." The black fog twisted constantly, and mournful wails continuously emanated from within.

Shaoke nodded, performed the ancient spellcaster's [Ancient Spellcasters] etiquette, and inquired in a low voice: "Respected Spellcaster, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience I have caused you." With that, the mage took the head handed over by the puppet and offered it to the newcomer. He sensed a thick aura of death emanating from the black fog, far denser than that of his former necromancer companion.

The black fog did not refuse. A dozen gray shadows flew out from it, tearing off all the flesh from the head. Then the entire head was dragged into the black fog by those shadows and disappeared. As for the golden light, Shaoke put it away. "Next time, if you can kill an enemy, don't delay too long. If I had come a bit later today, you might still be fighting, which would make my duty as a guardian seem inadequate."

Having said this, the black fog intended to leave, but Shaoke asked another question: "Respected Spellcaster, will the family of the mage I just killed come to seek revenge on me?" He looked into the distance, sensing powerful presences from the Yisage Empire observing him. Perhaps after the black fog left, those people would come to fight him. The mage needed to ask clearly now and plan his next steps.

"They are already coming to seek revenge on you now." The illusory voice came from the fog, followed by countless shadows flying out. Amidst a piercing chant, a black pillar of light twisted and spiraled in the air. At that moment, a Six-pointed Star Magic Array emerged from the void, and figures appeared from the array.

Shaoke heard a sharp wail in his ears, then felt the black pillar of light entangle the two people who had appeared from the array. Violent magical fluctuations erupted, and countless black shadows flew out from the fog, tightly surrounding the two visitors.

It took nearly five breaths for Shaoke to recover from the piercing wail. He saw countless shadows striking against something. The two professionals from the teleportation array tightly grasped a strange scepter. Countless milky-white rays flew from the scepter, forming a protective shield around the two. The black pillar that had wound around them earlier had disappeared, but their defensive spells were also gone.

"Guardian, why are you attacking us?" A seemingly young mage shouted, not understanding why the guardian would attack them so suddenly.

"Weak existence! Have you forgotten the rules? Those like you cannot act without orders." The illusory voice came again, followed by piercing laughter. "Weak ones! Offer your heads to make me stronger!" Laughter followed. Then Shaoke quickly performed a salute to the black fog, tore space, and flew into the distance, as the piercing laughter and the wails of the shadows nearly caused his meditation [Meditation] space to collapse.

After two attempts at tearing space, he appeared in a vast forest. Not caring which empire this was, he hurriedly used magic items to set up several defensive magic arrays, then entered meditation to calm the turbulence. The solid crystal ground in his meditation space had developed fine cracks. Silver light continuously burst from the altar and merged into the cracks to repair them. At this time, the mage crushed some healing items made by the White-robed Cleric, releasing golden light for treatment.

Unknown to the mage, just as he left, the black fog suddenly contracted, and two black heads flew out, easily piercing the protective spell formed by the scepter, merging into the two Tenth Tier Mages. In less than a breath, the bodies of the two mages withered, and their heads were swept away by the black fog.

Although the black fog saw the transparent souls, it did not destroy them but let them drift with the wind until they dissipated in the sky. After collecting the spoils left by the two mages, the fog also cleaned up the intense magical fluctuations caused by the battle. Once done, the black fog quickly dissipated in place. When it reappeared, it was beside the meditating Shaoke, who had just recovered.

"Respected Spellcaster." Shaoke looked at the black fog, sensing no specific rank but feeling that it was far more powerful than the eleventh-tier mage they had hunted. He dared not ask further, merely gave a respectful salute and remained silent.

Having said this, the black fog dissipated again, but before leaving, it told Shaoke the rules he must follow if he stayed on this continent after advancing to Tenth Tier [Tenth Tier].

As for those who did not follow the rules, the black fog said nothing, but Shaoke understood: death. Anyone who breaks the rules of the continent faces death. Through the black fog, he also learned about the so-called barbaric wasteland. Without going into detail, it is simply a place where all above tenth-tier existences from this plane gather, including not only those from the Barbarian Empire but also from other continents separated by vast forests.

There, if you have the ability, you can hunt any existence; if you have the power, you can demand anything from anyone. Of course, Shaoke did not plan to go there yet, as it only recruits those above the tenth tier.

The mage held a black bead, observing it for a while. It looked ordinary, like the seed of a fruit. If his mental power could not penetrate it, he would not have considered it a teleportation array.

After resting in the forest for some time, Shaoke spent time returning to his residence in the Barbarian Empire. There, he saw his wife and daughters, who had been worried about his safety. Shaoke briefly told them what had happened outside, then sought out the Blue-robed Female Mage to tell her about the black fog he encountered in the Yisage Empire and the words it had spoken.

Shaoke listened quietly, and finally, the Blue-robed Female Mage said: "As long as we stay here, we don't need to worry about such battles endangering our lives. Of course, provided we don't act over trivial matters. Only after advancing to Twelfth Tier [Twelfth Tier] can we go anywhere without much danger."

The mage tightened his cloak, understanding her meaning. "I have lived for centuries. Rather than being constrained for tens of thousands of years more, I would rather wander freely for a few years there." With that, he prepared to leave, but the Blue-robed Mage stopped him.

"Alright, let's not talk about going there now. Some members of the Wanderers Alliance are very dissatisfied with what you did in our stronghold recently. They hope you can give them an explanation." The Blue-robed Female Mage sighed helplessly. "When do you plan to go?"

Shaoke twitched the corner of his mouth, suddenly thinking of the black smoke. "Now." He said nothing more, just waited for the Blue-robed Female Mage’s arrangements. He did not tell Mage Roman and the others, not wanting the female spellcasters to worry.

Through the teleportation array, the mage arrived at the gathering place of their alliance, the topmost mage tower in the stronghold. By then, hundreds of alliance rulers and their representatives had gathered, all waiting for Shaoke to explain his recent actions.

"Snow Night Mage [Mage Xueye], your slaughter has reduced the number of merchants in the entire empire by half. I think you know the loss this has caused." A knight, representing the Hebrews alliance, first accused Shaoke. "This loss is very serious for all alliances."

Shaoke nodded. He had known the consequences when he acted. "I merely eliminated those who violated the empire's rules. They broke the rules and harmed legitimate traders." He turned his staff, adding, "I believe within a few years, the number of merchants will increase again, as they will learn that we punish those who do not trade properly." He then signaled others to continue questioning.

"Even if someone broke the rules, such crazy slaughter was unnecessary. Many civilians were innocent." A mage from the Maple Leaf Empire said with a smile. The Blue-robed Female Mage frowned deeply, utterly disgusted with these Maple Leaf people, perhaps due to the incident long ago when the prince forcibly took her crown.

"No one is innocent." Shaoke straightened his back and said in a low voice. "Some provided food to those rule-breakers, some even sent their children to join them. Others had companions or villagers who broke the rules and did not stop them. What meaning is there in the lives of such people?" He sneered. "Cut off their bloodlines completely, make these weak existences vanish from the world. That is the best decision." He then raised his voice to question that mage.

"I hope next time you won't accuse me. I don't like being accused." The mage turned to the others, repeating, "None of you have the right to accuse me. Only those who can defeat me have the right to accuse me." With that, he slowly flew out of the mage tower, and no one stopped him. Indeed, no one dared. As he said, among peers, no one has the right to accuse another unless they are of a higher rank.

But it referred not to those bound by an empire or commitments but to those who sacrificed their freedom for certain matters.

Shaoke returned home, where Mage Roman and the others had prepared dinner. "How do you feel?" Roman asked as she watched him eat a small piece of Yingluo fruit pastry. His three daughters watched nervously, hoping he liked the pastries.

The mage nodded. "These pastries are not as good as yours, but at least they are not too hard to eat." He took another small piece. The five women sighed in relief.

Roman raised an eyebrow at her daughters and added, "Today's dinner was entirely made by the children. Of course, only the pastries were fully made by them; I didn't help at all." She ate a bit herself—not too bad. "We've been busy interpreting those books and didn't have time to cook, so the children did this work alone."

"Other family children at this age can already make perfect meals. Only you spoil them, so they haven't learned." The Cleric, sipping soup, complained mildly. Indeed, most females mastered cooking by adulthood, but these children, though centuries old, could only make simple food and materials.

Lan Wei'er grabbed the Cleric's arm, shaking it in protest. Shaoke shook his head. "As long as it's edible, we needn't spend too much time on food."

As he finished, Moyu'er ran over and kissed his cheek. But the cream from the female mage's lips stuck to his face. Roman quickly wiped it with a handkerchief and scolded Moyu'er for her impudence.

Moyu'er, though scolded, seemed happy, constantly placing food in Shaoke's bowl. Thus, in a lively atmosphere, an unceremonious dinner ended. While the daughters cleaned up, Shaoke and his two wives sat in armchairs by the fireplace, reading. They did not interpret texts at this time but read to increase knowledge—a practice Shaoke had insisted on.

After finishing their chores, the daughters also chose books and sat reading. This had become their custom. Only mischievous Moyu'er would sit on the carpet, leaning against her father's legs.

"Father, how should I interpret this passage?" Lan Wei'er came over with a thick book, her open-collared robe revealing much fair skin. She deliberately leaned down to expose more. At such times, they forgot the mage had his eyes closed. Only Anling, next to Roman, would secretly smile, then continue reading. Shaoke would explain questions to his daughters in a low voice.

Days passed. Shaoke's altar was almost complete according to special techniques. He planned to advance to tenth tier soon. But before that, he had to settle some matters, mainly family construction.

One evening, after dinner, while they read as usual, a mage delivered a letter to Shaoke from his son Hegel, son of him and the White-robed Cleric. After reading it, Shaoke felt relieved. The cleric, too, seemed pleased. At Lan Wei'er's request, Shaoke detailed the contents.

Three or four years ago, after Shaoke's crazy slaughter in the Wanderers Alliance stronghold, the number of nearby merchants had temporarily decreased but then increased significantly. Because the slaughter had rid the area of bandits and disruptive organizations, ensuring safety for ordinary traders. This was largely due to Hegel's subsequent efforts.

What pleased Shaoke was not the increased income but that his son was now capable of leading a family. When he learned that Hegel had bloodily killed tens of thousands to enforce a regulation, he felt everything was good. Those regulations benefited the stronghold, so the killing did not bother him—he had killed far more.

"To realize one's ideas, one cannot rely solely on persuasion. Some bloody means are necessary; otherwise, no one will acknowledge your strength." Shaoke saw the Blue-robed Female Mage's dissatisfaction. "Right or wrong, just walk the path you've chosen. Failing isn't the worst—the worst is losing life. Even eternal gods fall, powerful legends die; how can we ordinary people avoid it? Just a step ahead."

He patted Moyu'er, who was on his lap, and continued, "Do what you want to do, so that when death comes, you won't regret not having done it." Smiling, he hugged Roman, kissing her forehead and cheek.

Hearing this, Roman shook her head, sighed, and grasped his arm. "I just have many things I can't let go. Failing isn't the worst—the worst is losing life. Eternal gods fall, powerful legends die." She repeated his words, smiled at him, then looked down at her book.