"Let’s go." Saleen pulled up Canghong and motioned for Sika to carry Sarah. Without much explanation, they quickly left the mound. His instincts warned him that he was in danger. If they rested here any longer, he was afraid that they wouldn’t be able to leave.
From afar came the growls of magic beasts, some fearful, some excited, and others full of anger. Saleen realized for the first time that a magic beast’s growl could contain such emotions.
However, it was too late for regrets and he could only activate the enormous energy from the mage robe, which granted him tremendous speed with which to run away.
He wasn’t afraid of the magic beasts. Sika had the ability to tame them. He was afraid of the people from the sacred Holy See. If they realized that he carried the magic nucleus of the dragon, even if there were no animosity between him and them, would that guarantee that they would not take action? This was the Chaotic Swamp; any killings would go unnoticed.
Saleen remembered clearly that back then, a single gold coin had almost cost him his life. The magic nucleus of a dragon was definitely something that had a much higher value and was worth stealing. Green dragon, green dragon!
Damn it. The professional union’s news had been purely lies. The green dragon had already been killed. This batch had caught the attention of the Red Line bandits after the dragon had been slaughtered by the Qin swordmasters. It was highly likely that this mission had been posted by the Qin swordmasters to confuse mercenaries who were nearby.
Green dragons were low class dragons; however, the value of their magic nuclei could not be compared to those of normal magic beasts. A great number of mercenaries would forgo their work ethics and kill for this magic nucleus.
"Keke…"
A strange noise appeared. What accompanied this almost cough-like noise was the shaking of the ground.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The sounds of steady footsteps led Saleen to turn around. What greeted him was the sight of a hill-like beast charging towards them. This beast was even larger than a giant dragon, and was at least thirty meters across. It had yellowish-brown skin with a single eye in the center of its forehead. It had a face similar to that of a human’s, only its skin was filled with scars, its nose was caved in, saliva drooled from his mouth, and a disgusting aura wafted from it even from afar.
Saleen lacked the common knowledge of a mercenary but had seen a lot of magic maps. This thing was too easy to recognize: a Grade 7 magic beast, hill cyclops.
Legend had it that hill cyclops were the descendants of giants. During the reign of the First Dynasty, humans had still possessed brutal strength. They captured many strange living things, and giants had been one of them.
Hill cyclops did not have the intelligence of giants, nor did they have their magic skills. However, because of their tough physical bodies, even the dragon clan would not go through the trouble of offending them. This creature had no wits. When it encountered any opponent, no matter how strong they were, it would pounce and fight with it. For the dragon clan, the hill cyclops were similar to gummy candies, because once they latched on there was no escaping. For Saleen and the others, this gummy candy would be their killer.
Sika panicked. She had no means of communicating with the hill cyclops, because this creature could not recognize anyone. Even during its mating phase, it could bite its lover to death. This explained why there were so few hill cyclops around.
Canghong was even more flustered, never having faced a Grade 7 magic beast before. Even a grand mage would not offend it, much less a small mercenary like him. Canghong realized sadly that being with this junior magician, he would forever encounter worsening things ahead of him.
The Vulture Regiment, sacred Holy See, Red Line bandits, and now a hill cyclops. What was even more vexing was that he had hired Saleen for a price much higher than what the union offered. This was a typical case of getting what one deserved.
The hill cyclops was not fast but its legs were over ten meters long. No matter how slowly it took a step, it was much faster than Saleen and the others. This location was a flat plain. There was no way Saleen and the others could hide.
"Canghong, how far away are the ruins!" Saleen shouted at the top of his lungs. At this point in time, he was no longer afraid of alerting the magic beasts.
"I have no idea. I can’t link up with the map!" Canghong started to pant. He was only trained so much in the sword aura and he was injured. The healing abilities of restorative water were nowhere near as fast as holy water. Perhaps if he had been given a week to recover, he could outrun the beast behind.
"Right side!" Saleen voice cracked from all the shouting. At this moment, Sika gained a burst of speed and grabbed Saleen by his waist. They ran past Canghong and dove headfirst into the pond that Saleen had pointed at. Canghong couldn’t have cared less about being angry. When fighting for one’s life, what counted was a person’s abilities. You couldn’t blame anyone for running faster than you.
The four of them landed in the water and the hill cyclops gave an angry growl and chased them forward, circling around the pond. It tested the water with its gigantic feet and realized it was very deep. Even along the edge, it couldn’t reach the bottom with its feet.
The hill cyclops couldn’t swim but wasn’t ready to give up its prey like this. It dug out a giant rock from the ground and threw it at the pond. Canghong’s head which was above the surface was nearly crushed by the giant rock. He immediately ducked his head back down in fear.
Saleen could breathe naturally underwater. This was the moment where the advantages of his magic chords shone. Deep waters were the best protective environment for Saleen. It was a good place for Sika, too, for she was good with water and it was nearly impossible to tell that she hardly showered. Only Sarah had not recovered from her injuries. Despite being more advanced with her sword aura than Canghong, she could hardly hold her breath any longer.
The hill cyclops at the side of the pond was still angrily throwing giant rocks into the water. With the hill cyclops’ strength, even if the rock was only the size of a fist, it would be fatal if it landed on anyone.
Saleen watched helplessly and could only try to create a bubble. This time, he drew air from the Ring of Gifts and enclosed it within a water shield, attaching the water shield to the back of Sarah’s head. He tried many times only to fail, as a new magic skill wasn’t that easy to create. Sarah was already bleeding from her ears, and her eyes were bulging, looking nothing like a pretty lady. Her bluish skin was thoroughly scary.
Saleen was down to his last resort, taking out all the air from the Ring of Gifts and creating a large bubble. He created the water shield directly around the bodies of Sika and Sarah. Saleen was highly focused and the water shield was finished almost immediately. He didn’t even realize that these efforts had left him with only half of his magic chords.
In the past, Saleen had only been able to create water shields the size of a basin. The magic released this time directly enclosed the bodies of the two, creating an all encompassing layer of protection. This could only be achieved by defense magic of at least Grade 4.
Sarah breathed in, the color returning to their skin. However, Canghong couldn’t hold his breath and floated to the surface again.
Saleen was worried about the speed with which he was using up his magic chords and had no way of helping Canghong. The moment Canghong’s head appeared above the water, a rock flew past his forehead. The air current carried by the rock was practically a sharp knife, cutting open Canghong’s tender skin. Canghong didn’t even blink, taking in a deep breath as he sank back down into the water.
A cloud of red spread in the water. Bone could be seen from the wound on Canghong’s forehead, causing his demonic looks to appear quite eerie. Without even waiting for the blood to disperse, dozens of fish each the size of a fist swam over and surrounded Canghong.
These fish did not have scales, but instead possessed a hard shell much like that of a turtle. Their mouths were abnormally big and contained razor sharp teeth. Canghong did not recognize these fish, but knew that there were no good living creatures to be found in the Chaotic Swamp. What was strange about this pond was that it was in the middle of an empty plain and had no rivers flowing into it. It wasn’t surprising that the creatures inside it were abnormal too. He unsheathed a thin sword and poked at the first fish that pounced at him.
Saleen could breathe effortlessly in the water but could not say a word. He recognized this fish. It was a Grade 5 magic beast: diasikala. This was a word from a tribal language meaning the jackal of the water. Even if Canghong had not been injured, he would not be a match for this magic beast in the water.
Saleen wanted immensely to help Canghong, but he was in danger himself. Five diasikala were swimming towards him. Saleen barely had a third of his magic chords remaining, probably enough to release another seven or eight Grade 1 magic spells. Even if the Grade 5 magic beast stayed put and let him attack, it was possible that he could not injure them enough to kill them.
The only thing Saleen could count on now was his water shields. Diasikala had small bodies and they were just the right size for Saleen’s water shields to completely enclose them.
Five consecutive streaks of water shields later, Saleen’s magic chords had nearly run out. They could no longer see what was happening with Canghong, a cloud of red having spread around and blocking their view.
Sarah struggled within the large bubble, watching as the many mutated fish pounced on Canghong, tearing off pieces of meat little by little. However, even if Sika had released her, she would not even be able to escape the water shield, much less help Canghong.
Sarah pressed both of her hands against the walls of the water shield. She opened her eyes, and tears began to flow from her blue eyes. She opened her mouth and screamed, but the water shield blocked out all sound.
Saleen could no longer cast any more spells. With his remaining magic chords, he still needed to maintain the biggest water shield. This continuous use of magic chords was something that only Grade 4 mages and above could achieve. The diasikala that were surrounded by the bubbles opened their mouths and released blue needles in a bid to break the water shield.
Blue needles were the natural magic of this magic beast. A Grade 1 magic shield could not block a Grade 5 magic attack, but what was surprising was that the Grade 5 magic attacks could only pass through the water shield without breaking the bubble.
Saleen quickly descended, ducking away from the attacks of the blue needles. He had nothing left to cast. The hill cyclops was still throwing rocks at the surface of the water, unwilling to leave, while underwater there were a swarm of Grade 5 magic beasts. This was the Chaotic Swamp, and was not a place where a Grade 1 magician should be.
Saleen was too flustered to care about anything. He twisted his body and floated upwards. In his heart, he was already repeating the words of the mantra on the Ring of Gifts. Using space to start this curse, breaking apart from the third node and rearranging it, that is the protection of the goddess. Who knew what this spell was used for, but Saleen was at his wit’s end. He knew clearly that the Goddess of Nature had already fallen and that what he was doing was fruitless, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Even if there was only a slim chance, he had to try.
Myers Goddess, protect me!
For the first time in his life, Saleen said a prayer. When his head emerged from the water’s surface, he started reciting the curse. Rearranging the twenty-four characters, it was harder to pronounce. Saleen focused, not looking at the hill cyclops at the pond side that was searching for more rocks. He spoke each word clearly, rhythmically reading out the twenty-four characters.
A green light shone on the Ring of Gifts for a moment, but nothing else happened. Saleen’s heart fell. Praying to a fallen goddess was like chasing after a debt from the dead.
In this world, one could only count on their own strength!
Saleen had been complaining in his heart about the gods when pain shot up his legs, his shoes already having been bitten apart. The hill cyclops by the pool side had dug up another giant rock and was about to throw it.
This fool. It could easily have destroyed him by releasing any form of magic, but here it was throwing things at people. Saleen gave the hill cyclops a smile before diving back into the water.
Just as Saleen was about to give up hope, a violent vibration erupted from the bottom of the pond. The pond began to bubble and a large whirlpool appeared, sucking Saleen and the others down to the bottom of the pond.
Earthquake? Volcano?
Saleen thought about it calmly as he tried his best to lean towards the giant bubble that was protecting Sarah and Sika.
Even at the brink of death, Saleen was not flustered. Since he had been young, he had brushed with death many times. This feeling of nearly touching another world was familiar yet helpless.
The whirlpool was unusually strong, and even the diasikala were unable to escape. Saleen and the others were at the heart of the whirlpool. However, there was no pressure from their surroundings. The only thing they felt was the enormous suction from the bottom of the pond.
It had only lasted ten seconds but Saleen felt as though he had gone through a black hole. A surge of immense pain coursed through his entire body, as if the inside of the black hole had been filled with countless blades of ice. His body felt like it had been chopped up into millions of pieces and then reassembled. If Saleen had not constantly used his badge to train his mental strength, he would have fainted long ago.
A booming sound appeared and Saleen caught a glance of a wounded Canghong falling in front of him. This man had in fact not died. Both of his eyes were open in a shocked expression, frozen into this moment.
In this whirlpool, there was not a single drop of water. This was a black cave, and if it had not been for the layer of light from the water shield that protected the falling Sika and Sarah, Saleen would not have been able to clearly see his surroundings.
Saleen glanced down at his feet, large holes having appeared in the sides of his shoes. His feet weren’t badly wounded and his walking was unaffected.
The water shield that protected Sika and Sarah broke, the bubble bursting with a popping sound. Saleen released four Fluorescence spells and four lights flew upwards, slowly illuminating the cave.
"Saleen!" Sika left Sarah’s side and pounced forward. Saleen lost his balance and nearly fell over.
"Are you alright?" Sika felt him up and down. How could he have been alright? He was hurting all over and was relying entirely on his willpower to continue standing there and not roll around the floor in pain. Sika’s hands as they felt around his body were even more unbearable than a knife poking him.
However, Sika’s eyes were filled with worry and Saleen was too embarrassed to push her away. He unhooked the golden bottle from his waist and pushed the bottle into Sika’s hands, saying, "Treat Canghong, he’s dying."
Chasing away Sika, Saleen turned his attention to Sarah. She was injured fairly badly but was not in danger of dying. Saleen took out a Grade 3 magic nucleus and held it in his hands, absorbing its elemental powers and restoring his magic chords. For a mage, it was a bad feeling to not have any magic chords, because there was no sense of security.
Saleen also knew that even though Sika had reassured him that she was alright, the damage done to her by the ascetic had been extensive. Sika was neither a sacrifice nor a mage. Her mental injuries could not be seen.
Sika’s ability to tame magic beasts could no longer be used, her fighting ability had decreased tremendously, and even her cudgel had lost its former power.
The area lit up by the Fluorescence spell was small in the vast area of the cave. While restoring his magic chords, Saleen observed his surroundings, but there was no end to the darkness. By his feet were flat rocks of a black color. Saleen crouched down and used his fingernail to scratch at the surface of the floor, feeling the friction of the rocks.
It was a whole piece of steel rock.
To say that steel rock had no monetary value was to show respect to other gemstones, as this material was the main material used in building magical towers and magical gates. A single gold coin could purchase only a square meter of it. For most mages who did not possess such wealth, despite having trained until they had reached Grade 6, they could only use normal stone materials to build their magical towers.
Saleen used his senses to observe a depth of one meter underground. In Saleen’s observable sight, what was beneath his feet was all steel rock. What left him most surprised was that the steel rock under him was a complete piece with no cracks whatsoever. Had this cave been chiselled out from steel rock?
These had to be the ruins of the Second Dynasty. Besides that magical empire, none had been as lavish.
Sika used the gold bottle to wash Canghong’s wounds. He had hundreds of wounds on his body and Sika could only choose the bigger ones to treat. The remaining restorative water, she had Canghong drink.
Canghong’s face settled down, but his heart was anything but calm. He saw Saleen holding onto a magic nucleus with one hand, absorbing its powers, while the other hand used magic to light up the area as he observed his surroundings.
Saleen was actually a mage with a powerful lineage!
For a normal mage to restore their magic chords, they would usually have to be stationary. They could not even move a muscle, much less cast a spell at the same time. During that time, there was no need for a person to attack. If a mage was disturbed at that point, they would have be maimed by their own magic and crippled.
Although Canghong was clueless about the rules of meditation, he understood the meaning of possessing magic lineage. Saleen’s teacher must have been an unusually powerful person. What was strange was that Saleen’s grade was still very low, so why had he left his training? This was a dangerous place, especially a place like the Chaotic Swamp. Wasn’t Saleen’s teacher fearful for their student’s life?
Saleen touched the floor, finally finding streaks of magic that had been hardly noticeable. At his feet, there was an enormous invisible magic array. The few of them had been sucked into the cave from the pond precisely because of the activation of the magic array.
Saleen was not well versed in magic arrays. Even if his memory was filled with knowledge on magic arrays, he could not decipher anything about them. However, from the complexity of the magic streaks, this magic array must have had a diameter of at least a hundred meters. Legend had it that in the imperial city of the Qin Empire, there was a large magic array that had been built by a few generations of imperial mages all together. The diameter of that magic array had only been fifty meters.
Saleen was happy. These Second Dynasty ruins certainly did not disappoint. The steel rocks beneath his feet by themselves were already worth a few million, maybe even tens of millions. This meant that even if the entire ruins were empty, he only had to dig up a few rocks and he would still be filthy rich. The only problem now was the lack of space in his Ring of Gifts…
If only his teacher were here. With Jason’s spatial tools, he could definitely bring back all the steel rock.
If Jason only knew how useless his student was, he would have surely disowned Saleen. It was just a pile of steel rocks. Once Jason broke through Grade 5, he would have the financial means to build an entire magic tower using many premium materials. For a teacher physically carry all these steel rocks? He would be better off without such a student. It was too embarrassing.
After regaining half of his magic chords, Saleen created another portion of restorative water to clean Canghong’s wounds and give to Sarah to drink. A ruin that was older than twenty thousand years was usually safe, but it was hard to say. Despite being built when the Second Dynasty had ruled their magical empire, the magic array he was standing on had still been able to activate, proving how powerful the mages had been back then. It was always good to have more help on hand.
The air in this space was clean. With the exception of lacking light and sound, there were no imminent dangers present. The magic array he was standing on was also very stable and did not look like it would be activated again. After resting for around four hours, Saleen and the other regained some of their fighting spirit.
Canghong’s external wounds had healed with scars marking his body. However, funnily enough, his face was very clean. Saleen suspected that when he was faced with danger, the first thing he did was to protect his face. The current paleness of Canghong’s face was the result of an extensive loss of blood.
Restorative water could not replenish blood. Even magic could not do such a thing.
Canghong’s voice was soft and weak, making Saleen’s hair stand on end.
"Mage Merlin, why don’t you use illumination magic to survey the surroundings?"
"I don’t know how to cast illumination magic."
Canghong was at a loss for words. All the words he had wanted to say went back down his throat. This mage of such powerful magical lineage actually had no idea how to cast illumination magic, which were spells that could not have been easier.
Saleen ignored Canghong’s embarrassment. An illumination spell might have produced a small area of brightness, but naturally, he had other ideas. He retrieved a giant gold stick from the leather pouch on his back and opened the cover on top of it. He lit up the Magic Flame Medicine hidden inside to create a magic torch.
There were six small holes at the top of the gold stick. After the Magic Flame Medicine had been ignited, white flames began to spew out, emitting a bright light that was even stronger than the effects of an illumination spell.
For a moment, everything had been silent. With the magic torch ignited, everyone could finally see everything within this space.
They were standing on a black platform. The entire piece of steel rock had a complex magic array carved into it, and at the edge of the platform were wide rock stairs. Twelve wide pillars held up this area. Below the platform was a wider spot of flat ground where a beast lying down, asleep.
This beast was ten over meters long and was not as big as the hill cyclops. It had a set of silver horns on its head, and its face was almost two meters long. Plated armor grew all over its body, almost like that of a freshwater magic alligator. Because of how effectively Saleen’s magic torch had lit up the space, everyone could clearly see all seven eyes on the beast.
The magic seven-eyed Bafendier!
Thirty thousand years ago, humans had loved to capture strange beasts from other parallel universes, including evil magic universes. There were many different types of evil magic beasts but there were only a few ways of classifying them: supreme demons, demons, and imps and spirits.
Supreme demons had powers that were greater than all of the nine classes, including mages.
Bafendier was one of the more famous supreme demons. On the wall drawings of the various dynasties, a person could easily find a drawing of the Bafendier. However, after human powers had weakened after the Third Dynasty, they could no longer cross over to other parallel universes whenever they wished.
Though once a tamed beast, Bafendier had become a greatly-feared one instead.
How hadn’t this thing gone extinct from this universe already?
Saleen swallowed, ensuring that the legendary thunder chain was not on this supreme evil beast. Evidently, this beast was free. That only meant that it was not bound by anything. If it were to leave this space, it was possible that it would wreak havoc on the Myers mainland.
How? Demons had intelligence, and some even possessed a language and words. Being locked in here for tens of thousands of years, wasn’t this demon angry?
Saleen and the others hoped with all of their heart that this demon would never wake up.
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