Ch. 411..420

Chapter 411 – Lucius

The Lightning Emperor told Wester a bit more about the old times. Wester wasn't particularly interested, but he still listened intently.

"By the way, where did you get this book from?" the Lightning Emperor asked. "Not even I have an original."

"Someone handed this book to a talented warrior in Area 23," Wester said.

"Oh, I wonder where they got it from," the Lightning Emperor said. "Who gave the warrior this book?"

Wester told everything he had heard from the Starlight Queen to the Lightning Emperor.

The Lightning Emperor knew that the description of that person fit with reality. With his power, it wasn't very hard to discern truth from falsehood.

"Interesting," he said.

Then, the Lightning Emperor closed his eyes for a couple of seconds.

"There are about two Mages that fit the description, but they haven't been to Area 23 in the recent 100 years," the Lightning Emperor said.

In just a mere couple of seconds, the Lightning Emperor had looked through his entire territory and had read everyone's aura. Additionally, he had read the past of the two Mages.

Sadly, this didn't work for finding the Child of Calamity. Maybe if they became more powerful and unleashed their Calamity Affinity, this could become a possibility.

But as it stood now, there were simply too many people to look through.

Yes, he managed to look through everyone, but he only looked at the Ancestral Mages and more powerful, and he only looked at their general auras.

If he wanted to find the Child of Calamity like this, he would need to look through everyone and deeply analyze their Affinities.

The Affinity of the Child of Calamity looked like a Fire, Ice, Darkness, or Light Affinity at a cursory glance.

Only when a powerful Mage looked very closely or administered a bloodline test would they be able to identify the Child of Calamity.

"Do you want me to investigate?" Wester asked.

"No, it's fine," the Lightning Emperor said with a smile. "It's been a long time since the Purge, and I was never a great fan of it. In actuality, I feel quite a bit of regret."

"Wasn't it the Mage God's degree?" Wester asked.

"Well," the Lightning Emperor said slowly. "Kind of, but not really."

Wester raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

The Lightning Emperor laughed a bit in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you see, when Lucius defeated the Grand Master of Weapons, he got really angry."

"He went into the fight with absolute confidence, but his overconfidence nearly cost him his life. He had severely underestimated the Grand Master of Weapons."

"And after winning, he ordered us in anger to never allow another Emperor from any other Path to rise again."

"After overcoming his last opponent, he quickly focused on achieving his goal and left our world. You know, he wanted to fix the issue with the Abominations, which was his very reason for going this far in the first place."

"The plague of the Abominations was far worse back then. We even saw some King Abominations from time to time."

"But after Lucius left, the threat of the Abominations diminished to the pitiful annoyance it is today."

"As for his last decree, I think everyone went a bit overboard," the Lightning Emperor said with an embarrassed smile.

Wester thought about the ridiculous weak other Paths and called the Lightning Emperor's words an understatement.

That was not "a bit" overboard.

"You never told me," Wester said.

The Lightning Emperor laughed with embarrassment again. "I mean, it's kind of embarrassing. Lucius only told us to stop other Emperors from rising, but things turned out this way."

"Back then, we feared that some hidden King might become an Emperor. So, we killed all the Kings and their inheritances."

"After that, things basically happened on their own. The Mage Kings were interested in the other Kings' and Lords' possessions, and the Mage Lords were interested in the possessions of the Ancestrals."

"That continued until only the weakest people of every Path were left, and since everyone heard Lucius' decree, they burned all the inheritances they found to show their loyalty."

"I feel a bit bad about the other Paths losing all their inheritances. So, why not allow a small resurgence?" the Lightning Emperor said.

"And the decree?" Wester asked. "Wouldn't the current situation suit the Mage God? After all, he ordered that no other Emperors are allowed to exist."

The Lightning Emperor chuckled a bit. "Lucius was a very heated fellow. I can't count the times he shouted or ordered something in anger just to apologize to us a couple of days later and rescind the orders."

"I'm pretty sure this would have gone the same way if he remained in this world for longer. He probably would have said that we didn't need to be this brutal and that we should only be careful that they don't take their revenge on us."

"When Lucius was angry, he could go on a killing spree, but after he calmed down, he was always embarrassed about his actions. He was a weird guy."

The Lightning Emperor's eyes grew distant as a content smile appeared on his face.

"But he was our leader, and we would have followed him everywhere."

A couple of seconds of silence passed.

"What about the Star Map?" Wester asked. "It appeared in a Development Area, and its appearance might break the equilibrium."

"Oh, right," the Lightning Emperor said. "I totally forgot the reason why you even came here."

"Just introduce our Star Map to them as well. Of course, we only give them access to the one for True Mages. We don't want to go overboard," the Lightning Emperor said.

The Star Map floated over to Wester, who looked at it with furrowed brows. "You don't want to keep it, even though it's an original?"

"No," the Lightning Emperor said. "Somehow, this ancient book found its way to a young warrior. I think he should keep the original."

Then, the Lightning Emperor grinned a bit. "Also, I only need to wait a bit until he dies. Someone in the Fourth Realm can live for barely a millennium. I can wait that long."

Wester pocketed the book and nodded. "Where do you think the book came from, sir?"

"It's probably Mirana's copy," the Lightning Emperor said. "She lost quite a few books in her lifetime. This one probably got sold somewhere as an oddity, and some Mage got it."

"And what about the Mage?" Wester asked. "You couldn't find him."

"So?" the Lightning Emperor said with a chuckle. "New Spells get invented all the time. It's quite refreshing to get surprised like this. Additionally, they didn't exactly do anything wrong. They just gave someone a technique they thought the person could use."

"There's no reason to hunt someone down just because they entered one of our Development Areas and gave someone a technique. We don't need to be that cruel."

Wester nodded. "Then, I wish you a pleasant evening, sir."

"Thanks, you too, Wester," the Lightning Emperor said as the book he was reading before Wester's arrival returned to him.

Wester left the Lightning Emperor's study and walked back to the grand hall.

The Starlight Queen was still waiting in front of the two small doors when Wester returned.

As soon as Wester returned, he summoned two books. One of them was Shang's book, while the other one was a modified Star Map for Mages.

"The new Star Map will be introduced to Area 23. To not break the equilibrium, a modified Star Map for Mages will also be introduced," Wester said.

The Starlight Queen pocketed the two books. "And its origin?" she asked.

"Not important," Wester said. "The Lightning Emperor didn't deign to pursue the matter."

The Starlight Queen bowed politely.

She understood the subtle nudge Wester had given her.

He had told her not to ask about such things.

When the Lightning Emperor spoke, she only needed to know the necessary information.

"Oh, and make sure that the original copy enters the hands of that one warrior that got it. This is Master's order," Wester said.

"I will, sir," the Starlight Queen said.

Wester nodded. "Then, I wish you a pleasant evening, Sarah."

"Thank you. You too, sir," the Starlight Queen answered.

Wester walked back into his room while the Starlight Queen went back to her office.

After arriving, she called the Manager over, handed him the two books, and gave him the instructions Wester had given her.

The Manager returned to Area 23, handed the books over to the Supervisor, and gave him the same instructions.

But the Supervisor was the first person to do something other than just forwarding the books and instructions.

As soon as the two books arrived in his hands, he started to produce copies on a massive scale.

His superiors wanted these books to be introduced to Area 23.

It was his job to do just that.

 

Chapter 412 – Distribution

The Supervisor created thousands of copies of both books in a matter of minutes.

After he was done, he took all the copies and the originals with him and left.

A couple of minutes later, he arrived on the hill beside King Skythunder's castle.

King Skythunder was still looking at his Kingdom.

"So?" King Skythunder asked without looking at the Supervisor.

The Supervisor summoned hundreds of copies of both books and dumped them beside King Skythunder.

"The Star Map for warriors will be introduced into the entirety of Area 23. To not upset the balance, a modified version of the regular Star Map will also be introduced," the Supervisor said.

"These are the copies for your designated area. I will hand the other copies over to the other four."

"The original copy of the Star Map must go back into the hands of the warrior that received it. That's an order from above," he said.

"How far above?" King Skythunder asked.

"That's not your concern," the Supervisor said. "Distribute these copies over your area and give the original copy back to the warrior that brought it. Those are the orders."

King Skythunder slowly stood up. "Fine."

BANG!

The Supervisor left in an explosion of lightning without saying another word.

King Skythunder slowly turned his head to all the books, and a grin appeared on his face.

"Things are about to become more interesting."

"It's been getting a bit boring lately. This should shake things up."

A couple of days passed.

Eventually, the fateful day arrived.

King Skythunder was back on his throne, and he looked at the people gathered in front of him.

The Council was to his right, the Archduke to his left, and all twelve Dukes of his Kingdom in front of him.

He had gathered all of them for this day.

"A couple of days ago, I received a peculiar technique that allows Commander Stage warriors to look at and plan their future True Path. I'm sure most of you have already heard about it," King Skythunder said.

The Dukes didn't deny it. Something like this quickly made its rounds through the ranks of powerful Mages.

"I've made my decision," King Skythunder said.

BANG!

Hundreds of books appeared in the middle of the room, and the Dukes felt like their world had broken down.

They knew what this meant!

Only one Duke was happy about the development.

"The technique will be distributed over the entire Kingdom," King Skythunder said.

The expressions of the Mages looked horrified, frustrated, and even angry.

Usually, they would never dare to be angry in front of their King, but they couldn't resist showing their true feelings this time.

King Skythunder only smirked when he saw their helpless anger.

"However, there are two more things. You won't like one of them, but the other one will be to your liking."

The gathered people looked at King Skythunder with hopeful eyes.

They hoped that these two things would change the future as it looked right now.

Because, as things stood currently, the True Path Stage warriors would probably outnumber the High Mages ten to one in only a century. Sure, they wouldn't be very threatening, but the sheer number of them was still intimidating.

"First, the technique will also be distributed over the other four Kingdoms."

A deep shock went through the gathered crowd.

Why?!

That would make the other Kingdoms even more powerful!

Even if they didn't have warriors right now, they would very quickly put a tremendous number of resources into developing warriors. This Star Map was simply too good to pass up!

They would be strengthening all the other Kingdoms with this move!

Why would King Skythunder decide something like this?!

"Why?" one Duke asked in shock.

He knew that asking such a question was a very bad idea, but he just couldn't help himself.

"Why?" King Skythunder repeated with a smirk. "Because I want to."

The Duke that had asked the question quickly looked at the ground with a horrified expression. "My deepest apologies, my King. I was not in the position to ask such a question."

King Skythunder could feel the terror that went through all the gathered Dukes.

"The second thing," he said with a smirk.

BANG!

Another stack of books appeared.

"This is the same technique but adapted to Mages."

Silence.

Overwhelming silence.

All the gathered people were shocked beyond belief.

The same technique but for Mages?

They had already feared the warriors after they received this technique, but if the Mages had access to a technique of the same level, they didn't need to fear anything.

In fact, the current prosperity of the Mage Path meant that there would be even more High Mages than True Path Stage warriors. After all, there were far more Mages, and everything regarding them was much more advanced.

A hundred True Path warriors in a hundred years?

Pfft, they would get over five hundred High Mages in a hundred years!

"This will also be distributed over all the other Kingdoms," King Skythunder said.

And just like that, their good mood was gone again.

From nervousness, to fear, to happiness, to fear again.

King Skythunder watched everyone's emotions flip again with a smirk.

"Do you not wish for powerful enemies?" he asked.

Everyone looked at King Skythunder, but no one dared to speak.

"If there is no one to push you, your power will stagnate," King Skythunder said. "If there is no danger, there is no motivation to become more powerful."

"We only grow stronger by having something dangerous chase us."

"We can get this motivating danger from inside our home or from outside, but I believe that everyone here would rather choose danger from the outside."

"After all, when the danger is in your home, you have to be careful that you don't destroy it, but if it is outside, you don't need to hold back."

Everyone knew what King Skythunder meant.

He was talking about the hidden and subtle scheming between the different Dukes.

It was troublesome to hurt all the other Dukes with all the rules in place.

But when it came to the Magic Purity Kingdom or the Grandmountain Kingdom, they didn't need to care about these things.

"I want these two techniques distributed over all cities and towns," King Skythunder ordered, "and I don't want to see the Star Map for warriors accidentally vanish."

"If it isn't distributed to my liking, the responsible Duke will be held accountable."

"Even if it was one of their servants that went against the order."

"Understood?"

"Yes, my King!" everyone echoed.

After that, every Duke pocketed a portion of the books. Even the Council and the Archduke took some for themselves.

When all the books were stashed away, King Skythunder summoned one additional one, which flew over to Duke Whirlwind.

"Make sure this one enters the hands of Shang," King Skythunder transmitted. Apparently, he didn't want to make too much trouble for Shang by telling everyone about it.

"Yes, my King," Duke Whirlwind answered via voice transmission.

"You may all leave," King Skythunder said.

The Dukes politely bowed in front of King Skythunder one last time and left.

Today had been a bittersweet day.

The warriors would rise, but so would the Mages.

Right now, they were not sure of the future.

But they were sure of one thing.

The future would not be as calm and peaceful as the present.

 

Chapter 413 – Side Effects

“King Skythunder gave his permission to distribute the Star Map,” Duke Whirlwind proclaimed with a victorious smile to George and Shang.

He told them all about what had happened and what changes would occur in the next couple of days.

However, Shang and George only felt relieved.

This made things so much easier.

“That’s good to hear, Duke Whirlwind,” Shang said.

When Duke Whirlwind heard that, he did a double take. “Duke Whirlwind?” he asked.

Shang raised an eyebrow.

“Shang, I thought we were closer than that,” Duke Whirlwind said. “Just call me Jerald.”

“Oh,” Shang said. “I wasn’t sure if that was appropriate.”

“You are no longer subservient to me, Shang,” Jerald said. “We are on equal footing, and we are working towards the same goal. Our powers might still be quite far away from each other, but it will only be a matter of time.”

“I’ve seen how determined you are, Shang, and I know that you might become the very warrior to completely close the gap and maybe go even further.”

Shang wasn’t sure what he should say to that.

Yes, that was his goal, but it felt a bit weird hearing it come from someone else.

It sounded unreal.

Jerald, George, and Shang talked for a while longer. They had to plan how to properly distribute the Star Map and how they should teach the warriors.

Thanks to the God, Shang had comprehended the Star Map in an instant, but for everyone else, learning the Star Map was definitely not an easy undertaking.

Jerald learned it, and it took him about three days to master it.

That wasn’t a lot of time, but one had to remember that Jerald was a Late High Mage. His mind was beyond powerful.

George still hadn’t mastered the Star Map, and according to his estimates, he would need another three weeks or so to learn it.

They guessed that an average Mid Commander Stage warrior would probably take several months to a year to learn the Star Map.

They had to create a proper schedule to teach this technique to warriors. Having someone teach someone in person expedited training several-fold.

In the end, it was decided that George would be the one teaching the warriors after he comprehended the Star Map himself.

Of course, Shang had also been a possibility, but all three of them voted against it.

Shang was growing very quickly, and forcing him to teach someone else would break his momentum. At such a high level, one didn’t count training in hours but in days. People on this level didn’t train a couple of hours at a time but several days at a time.

Additionally, motivation, inspiration, and creativity came and went at seemingly random times. If one felt particularly motivated to work on one’s power, one should take advantage of it. Having Shang focus on something else might break the flow of his training, which would be bad.

In comparison to him, George was basically standing still. He was only waiting for Mervin to finally reach the True Path Stage so that he could create his new and improved Path.

It wouldn’t be a loss if George sacrificed some of his time to teach others.

Obviously, Jerald didn’t have any time to spare due to his packed schedule, and on top of that, he was a Mage. The warriors definitely wouldn’t be big fans of having a Mage teach them a technique specifically for warriors.

“After I master the technique, I will teach it to Ranos and Soran. They will then teach it to the most talented Commander Stage warriors while I teach it to the other teachers,” George said. “After that, the teachers can teach the technique to everyone else.”

Jerald and Shang nodded. Ranos and Soran would learn the technique very quickly, which made them perfect for passing on the knowledge. The teachers would probably also learn the technique in quite a short amount of time.

Everything would go very smoothly.

It was almost like running an academy was quite effective at teaching things.

“I also know the strengthening techniques that the barbarians use,” Shang said. “We can also teach that.”

“We already know of the technique,” George said. “Over the years, many barbarians fled to the Skythunder Kingdom. We already know the entire thing.”

Shang raised an eyebrow. “And why did we never teach that?”

“Before the invention of the Bloodline Infusion,” George answered, “the strengthening technique only worked for the Soldier Stage, which is basically worthless. After all, we didn’t have access to this so-called Ascension of the Grandmountain Kingdom.”

“Over the past couple of years, I was also focusing on adapting the barbarian strengthening technique to the Bloodline Infusion. This was my second big project, the first one being the Path Reforging.”

Shang still wasn’t quite sure what the problem was. “You don’t need to adapt it. I’ve been using it for a decade now, and it works just fine.”

George and Jerald looked at Shang.

Then, George gestured to Jerald to explain things since the issue was more related to the Mages.

“Lack of information, fear, and politics, Shang,” Jerald said with a sigh.

Shang raised an eyebrow.

“We only have access to the few barbarians that flee to our Kingdom, and we can only listen to their first-hand accounts. We can’t actually look into the Grandmountain Kingdom and see how things really are, making the information foggy and unreliable.”

“So?” Shang asked. “I’ve been there for a long time, and I can give you all these things.”

“We know,” Jerald said, “and your recounting of the events definitely helps. After all, your recounting will be from the viewpoint of a warrior and not from a barbarian.”

“However, that only solves one of the issues,” Jerald continued. “Another problem is that the Council and the other Dukes are making problems. They don’t want warriors to eat the hearts of beasts. It seemed, and mind the pun, very barbaric to them.”

“Okay,” Shang said, “but the Council is already our enemy, just like the other Dukes.”

Jerald nodded. “Yes, now they are, and that problem has basically resolved itself. I can introduce the technique immediately, and it wouldn’t change how the Council acts towards us. They know that if they try anything, I can just go to King Skythunder, and he will side with me on the issue.”

“Their threats were more implied and more subtle than actual threats. They wouldn’t directly disallow the usage of the technique, but they would ramp up the pressure on my territory.”

“But now, that’s no longer an issue.”

Shang nodded. “So, can we introduce it?”

Jerald and George looked at each other.

“I have been running tests for the past decade on a select few warriors that have undergone the Bloodline Infusion,” George said. “In about a decade, when they reach the Commander Stage, we can introduce the technique.”

“In a decade?!” Shang asked in shock. “How is this such a problem?”

“Side effects,” George said.

“Side effects?” Shang asked. “It has side effects?”

“We don’t know yet, which is the problem,” George said. “Usually, I would just go ahead with the introduction, but there are signs that things could go bad.”

“In what way?” Shang asked.

“Shang, you have interacted with several barbarians in the past, right?” George asked.

Shang nodded.

“Then you should understand our concern.”

“It might be possible that the strengthening technique has a degenerating effect on the mind.”

“Every barbarian we met was dumb as a pile of rocks. There might be a possibility that the barbarian strengthening technique is responsible for that.”

Shang looked with a surprised gaze at George.

 

Chapter 414 – Everything Is Finally Done

Shang thought that assumption to be stupid, but he could see where they were coming from.

Yes, the barbarians were very simple-minded, almost like beasts. They even lived in tribes and just followed the strongest one blindly.

“So, you think that the barbarians’ minds become more similar to beasts,” Shang said.

“Correct,” George said. “We don’t know it yet, which is why we are running the tests. Some deaths or some heightened aggression would be acceptable, in my opinion, but decreasing the warrior’s intelligence would not make them stronger but weaker.”

“They wouldn’t even be able to create any sort of True Path, which would force them to follow the barbarian path to the end, which means they will just become beasts. That’s not our goal. We want warriors.”

“I see where you’re coming from,” Shang said, “but I really doubt that side effect actually exists. I’ve been using that technique for ten years, and I haven’t changed.”

George and Jerald raised an eyebrow each.

“Okay, bad choice of words,” Shang said. “What I meant is that I didn’t become dumber.”

“We know,” Jerald said, “but the things we saw in those barbarians’ minds are very worrisome. We saw their lives and how horribly they performed in school. They were being taught the most basic things, but they still-“

“Wow, wait a second,” Shang said as he interrupted Jerald. “What did you just say? Schools?”

Jerald furrowed his eyebrows. “Yes, schools. We’ve seen the schools in their minds.”

“What schools?” Shang asked in shock. “There are no schools for barbarians.”

“Shang, we’ve read their minds. We saw the schools. There are schools,” Jerald said.

“No, there are not!” Shang shouted. “I’ve been at the northern border where all the elite and talented barbarians go, and not even one of them talked about any sort of school. How would schools even be possible? Everyone lives in a stupid fucking tribe with the most backward ideologies.”

“I led over ten of the most talented barbarians for months, and I’ve taught them basically everything they know. They didn’t even know about the most basic concepts, and I had to teach them all of these concepts.”

“Even more, they learned the concepts pretty quickly as soon as they actually listened to me.”

“They are definitely not dumb. They are just extremely uneducated since there are literally no schools anywhere. I’ve never heard anyone mention any schools in several months, and I was surrounded by the most talented barbarians!”

Jerald and George furrowed their brows.

That didn’t seem right.

Jerald’s Inquisitors had inspected the minds of several barbarians, and the Inquisitors’ loyalty couldn’t be questioned.

This meant that whatever the Inquisitors reported had to be true, and the barbarians’ minds also hadn’t been altered in any way.

For a while, there was only silence.

Then, Shang got an idea. “Have there been barbarians that didn’t see any schools?” he asked.

“Yes,” Jerald answered, “and they are even dumber than the rest.”

“So,” Shang said, “what if the schools are only a front?”

“A front?” George asked.

“Yes, a front,” Shang said. “As I’ve already stated, I’ve been with the most powerful barbarians, and I know how they live. They didn’t go to any school, and I would assume that, if there were schools, the most talented barbarians would go to them.”

“I severely doubt that the trash barbarians on the southern border got something like an education while the talented barbarians in the north got nothing like that.”

“However, what the Inquisitors have witnessed in the minds of the barbarians probably isn’t fake, which means that there are some schools for the trash barbarians.”

“But then, why would these barbarians with an education get sent to die on the southern front? That seems like a stupid waste of resources.”

“Unless the school they went to somehow managed to weaken the enemy, right?” Shang said.

Jerald scratched his chin as his brows furrowed. “So, you’re saying that the weak barbarians in the south go to school so that the Skythunder Kingdom thinks that the barbarian strengthening technique makes them dumber, dissuading them from using the technique ourselves?”

Shang nodded.

George and Jerald looked at each other for a while.

“I mean, it could be possible,” Jerald said as he looked back at Shang, “but this plan seems too strange to be real.”

“I can tell you that there are no schools!” Shang said. “I am sure that the talented warriors didn’t visit any kind of school, and I can assure you that they learn quite quickly when you teach them.”

“Additionally, I know exactly how the technique works since I’ve been using it for a decade. I even used it in unintended ways. For example, I’ve absorbed beasts one level above myself.”

“I’ve seen how the technique interacts with my body, and I can tell you that my mind can block off all the foreign Mana in my body. When the foreign Mana starts to reawaken, it tries to take over my mind, but this is not some kind of subtle takeover.”

“No, it directly attacks it, and my willpower has to resist its force. This is not some war over resources where it gains control over some, and I get control back. This is a stalemate. It’s one frontline.”

“If the wall in my mind breaks, I will turn into a beast. This means that the foreign Mana didn’t even reach my mind. If it did, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“If it can’t even touch my mind, how is it supposed to change it?”

“I can assure you that there is no way that the strengthening technique has some kind of subtle effect on someone’s mind,” Shang said.

Jerald and George looked at each other again.

“Alright, I believe you,” Jerald said. “I will ask some of my Inquisitors to review the things they have seen in the barbarian’s minds. I’ll tell them to look for any clues that the schools might be fake and designed to fool us.”

Shang nodded. “Thank you.”

Jerald nodded too. “If this actually proves to be true, I’ll have to commend the Grandmountain Kingdom. They actually managed to stop us from making use of this technique for maybe even centuries.”

“I mean, they are Mages, just like you,” Shang said. “They’re not dumb.”

“True,” Jerald said.

Jerald summoned his Communication Crystal and gave several orders.

The three of them talked and planned some more, and Jerald got his answer the next day.

Yes, there were a couple of subtle signs that made the schools seem a bit fake.

For example, the teachers were teaching simple things, but they were explaining them in complex ways. One could say that the teachers were all very bad at teaching.

Sure, there might be some bad teachers in a normal school, but they couldn’t literally all be bad.

After reviewing everything, Jerald decided that the barbarian strengthening technique would also be introduced.

And finally, all the matters regarding different techniques and the warrior path were taken care of.

From now on, Shang only needed to concentrate on his own power and the threat of the Council and other Dukes.

After talking about everything, Shang left the room and searched for a place to train.

From now on, he could fully focus on his own power.

He was no longer being hunted.

He no longer needed to run from Zone to Zone.

He could walk around openly.

He had powerful beasts all around him.

After over ten years, Shang could finally put his entire focus on his power.

And he would take advantage of this opportunity!

 

Chapter 415 – Changes

Over the next couple of years, everything went as planned.

Nearly half of the Commander Stage warriors had comprehended the Star Map by now. It had, by all intents and purposes, become standard and normal to train with the Star Map.

Of course, the Mages had also received their Star Map.

With both Star Maps introduced, the political climate completely changed.

The war between the Kingdoms nearly completely stopped as everyone was busy interacting with the Star Map.

This would change the entire world, and they knew it.

The one that could make use of the Star Map the best would have an overwhelming advantage over all the other Kingdoms.

It was an arms race.

The Kingdoms took out their saved-up resources and pumped them all into talented True Mages. The more High Mages they got, the better.

One High Mage could take down a normal frontline on their own. One High Mage was worth more than 50 True Mages.

Originally, the Dukes feared that the other Kingdoms would now start to focus on creating warriors. After all, the warriors had also received their own Star Map.

However, with the introduction of the Mages' Star Map, the warriors became even less relevant. All the Kingdoms fully focused on their Mages now, and warriors were mostly ignored.

Even the Grandmountain Kingdom began to ignore their barbarians. What was the point of having a thousand Fighter Stage Barbarians when they could get more High Mages? The only thing the barbarians were useful for was to act as cannon fodder and delay the enemy attacks.

But a High Mage could win the entire battle.

One was fighting not to lose, while the other was fighting to win.

The Council also didn't have much time to go against Duke Whirlwind. They were too busy with increasing the efficiency of training for the future High Mages.

Of course, they were still planning on dealing with Duke Whirlwind, but the High Mages took priority right now.

The warriors were definitely a danger to the Mages, but there was a much greater danger.

The Magic Purity Kingdom.

The Magic Purity Kingdom was the most advanced Kingdom when it came to knowledge about the Path of Magic, and with the Star Map, they would shine even more.

They already had the most High Mages, and the number could very well skyrocket even more after the introduction of the Star Map.

Forget the potential future problem with the warriors! Right now, they had to keep up with the number of High Mages, or they would be run over!

Due to that, the next couple of years were relatively relaxed for the Storm Eagle Zone. The number of vanishing warriors reduced, and with that returned a newfound motivation to undergo the Bloodline Infusion.

Additionally, a new strengthening method that only the people that had undergone the Bloodline Infusion could use had appeared!

It was said that, with the Bloodline Infusion and this technique, a warrior could have a body equal to a beast!

How did the Warrior Academy handle the technique?

The Grandmountain Kingdom changed the technique into incomplete sets and demanded years of servitude to get it.

But the Skythunder Kingdom and the Warrior Academy were different.

As soon as the technique was announced, books were created, and they could then be purchased in any bookstore in the entire Kingdom.

The price?

25,000 gold.

Such a sum was unobtainable for a normal person, but a General Stage warrior could get that with some months of work.

Back then, Shang had sold the corpse of the Initial General Stage Vanishing Snake for around 2,000 gold.

A Trash Bird was worth around 500 gold each.

With the Bloodline Infusion, the warriors wouldn't need to hunt in teams anymore. Now, they could hunt beasts on their own, which meant that they would also get to keep all the money.

25,000 gold only equated to about 50 Trash Birds.

Hunting 50 Trash Birds might not be possible in a day, but it was definitely possible within a couple of weeks.

One could say that 25,000 gold was even on the cheap side. After all, this technique would follow the warriors for maybe their entire lives.

One had to remember that the cheapest Focus cost several hundred thousand gold.

25,000 gold was nothing in comparison.

For the first time in a long while, the Warrior Academy was flooded with requests for the Bloodline Infusion.

Luckily, they had already hired several Adepts and warriors to perform the Bloodline Infusion.

Over the past years, the Bloodline Infusion had transformed from the gory mess Shang had gone through to a streamlined and clean process.

For example, the warrior no longer needed to stay awake. With some new Spells, the Mages could now stop the subconscious rejection of foreign material. This meant that the warriors no longer needed to have an insane resistance to pain.

Another change was that the back no longer needed to be cut open. Instead, two holes would be created, one near the bottom and one at the neck. The old marrow would be sucked out on one hole while the new one would be siphoned in via the other.

The Warrior Academy had also created some medication that made the following process of one's mind basically burning away easier.

So, right now, the Procedure looked like this:

Warrior receives medication.

Warrior gets sedated.

Two holes are created.

Marrow gets sucked out, and the new one gets put in.

Holes are closed.

Warrior stays unconscious for a couple of hours.

Warrior wakes up with a new body.

It would be like they had simply gone to sleep for a while.

Now, compare this new Bloodline Infusion to the one Shang had gone through.

It had definitely become much easier and quicker.

One team could perform about two Bloodline Infusions per hour, which was astonishingly fast.

Sadly, all the equipment, time, and medication were still expensive.

A warrior would need to pay about 125,000 gold for a Bloodline Infusion.

Of course, something like this was unachievable for a Soldier Stage warrior to get, which was why the Bloodline Infusion was sold on a credit basis.

The warrior simply had to pay back the cost within the next ten years.

But even at that price, it was definitely worth it.

With the Council mostly ignoring the warriors for now, the warriors finally received a moment to breathe.

The entire world went into silent preparation.

The wars halted.

The attacks on the warriors halted.

The Dukes kept to themselves.

For just a couple of years, the world was at peace.

But that peace wouldn't last long.

 

Chapter 416 – George and Mervin

Five years had passed, and Shang was 37 now.

For the past five years, Shang had mostly stayed within the Caves, training against the beasts. He had mostly focused on the Colossal Sword Star and the Saber Star.

He had already received the True Path Light Ore from Jerald, but Shang wouldn't use it yet, even if he had access to all of the ore he needed.

The reason was that Sword needed to change shape several times, which would consume ore. Upgrading it to the True Path Stage would make this process far more expensive.

After five years of constant training, Shang's Star Map had made quite some progress.

His shards leading to the other Stars were now nearly as wide and impressive as the shards leading to the Long Sword Star.

This was astonishing progress. After all, it meant that Shang managed to copy the progress he had made after fighting Teacher Mervin for five years, nearly three times over in just five years.

The concept of Cross Comprehension turned out to be correct, and Shang noticed that some principles overlapped, allowing him to make tremendous progress on all of them.

Sadly, there was still a long way to go. He was probably not even 10% of the way to his goal.

The Path he was trying to create was simply too wide and powerful, and it demanded an insane amount of training and comprehension.

Right now, Shang was at the Late Commander Stage, with his body being around 90% as powerful as the body of a Late Commander Stage beast.

Over the past five years, Shang had only absorbed a couple of Abominations for several reasons.

First of all, Shang truly realized how long creating his Path would take. Increasing the power of his body was nothing in comparison. He didn't need to constantly absorb beasts and Abominations.

Second, Shang didn't want to summon too many Abominations. His ability to summon them was still his deepest secret, and he couldn't allow anyone to suspect him. Because of that, Shang only absorbed Abominations when they were about to appear on their own. In essence, he didn't even summon them. He simply took advantage of their regular appearance.

Five years ago, Shang would have counted as the most powerful warrior in the world with his current power. After all, even George would have been helpless in front of him.

However, times changed.

Mervin had reached the True Path Stage, and with his powerful and wide Path, his power also easily eclipsed George's.

Even without the Bloodline Infusion, Mervin could fight the weakest True Path Stage beasts. Maybe he wouldn't necessarily win, but he could fight and flee from them.

And that wasn't even everything. Mervin could do the same thing to the weakest High Mages. His Battle-Strength was evenly divided against all three possible opponents he could fight.

As for fighting against warriors? Shang had a more powerful body than Mervin, but Mervin was also exceptionally good at fighting other warriors.

According to Shang's estimates, if he were to fight Mervin right now, he would estimate that he would lose, but it would still be a long and arduous fight.

Teacher Mervin managed to gain enough power to fight the weakest Mages of his level without the Bloodline Infusion or barbarian strengthening technique.

This showed how incredible his power was.

But, surprisingly, Mervin wasn't the only one that reached the True Path Stage in the past five years.

The Commander of the guards of Warrior's Paradise also reached it.

His Path was also more impressive than George's, but it wasn't as impressive as Mervin's. Nevertheless, he also counted as a truly powerful warrior now.

When Shang had come to this world a bit more than 20 years ago, there had only been one True Path Stage warrior, and he had been very weak in comparison.

Now, there were four, and three of them were definitely not weak.

The world was changing.

About a year ago, George had handed over the position of Dean to Mervin. Mervin had already been informed prior, and he had accepted the position.

Just a couple of months ago, George had gone through with his plan.

After years of research, George had finally done what he had wanted to do for a while.

He took some medication while Jerald cast several Spells, and eventually…

George fell to the Peak Commander Stage and forgot most of his knowledge about combat, which included his Path.

George had stayed unconscious for several days, and his mind had gone through one shock after the other.

Forgetting a Path was not something easy to do.

After George woke up, he had forgotten many things.

Memories were missing.

Concepts were missing.

General knowledge was missing.

However, his personality didn't take a heavy hit, and he mostly remained the same.

He had to relearn many things, which took a long time, but a couple of weeks later, he recovered as much as possible.

Of course, since George was already about 155 years old and since Commander Stage warriors could only live for about 250 years, his appearance had changed.

A big part of George's hair had turned gray, and several wrinkles appeared on his face.

Right now, he looked like he was in his early sixties, in Earth terms.

He looked about as old as Teacher Mervin had looked before reaching the True Path Stage.

In comparison to George, Teacher Mervin had gotten younger, and he looked like he was in his late thirties.

In a way, it was like George and Mervin had switched places.

After George was ready to train again, he surprisingly joined Shang.

Shang was quite shocked when George asked for advice and training from Shang.

It was a strange feeling for Shang.

He had always seen the Dean of the Warrior's Academy as an incredibly imposing giant, and Shang had always learned from him.

But now, he was supposed to be George's teacher.

However, it made sense.

George had forgotten most of his Battle-Strength, and he needed someone very powerful to teach him again.

Shang was the perfect choice.

Usually, Shang would have declined. After all, he didn't have time for students.

However, George was different.

George had taught Shang in the past, and Shang wanted to repay him.

So, Shang accepted.

First, Shang let George fight against a beast one level below him.

This seemed like overkill for someone that was essentially a newbie.

However, Shang thought this was just right.

After all, George had already gotten the Bloodline Infusion.

Obviously, George would undergo the Bloodline Infusion as soon as he forgot his Path, and yes, the Bloodline Infusion could now be used on Commander Stage warriors, but only if their Path was not very developed yet.

George performed horribly against the beast, but he didn't complain or lose motivation in any way.

In fact, his determination only increased as he fought and lost to more beasts.

After a while, Shang made a frightening discovery that made him remember the truth.

The level at which George was adapting to his enemies was frightening.

He adapted so quickly.

It was like he never made the same mistake twice!

When Shang saw that, he remembered who George actually was.

George was someone that had reached the True Path Stage completely blind.

He had had nearly no idea how to reach it, and he just worked on himself without end.

In a completely unknown environment and without any predecessors to guide him, George had managed to essentially create the True Path Stage.

He had done everything on his own, and such a feat had only taken him a bit more than a century.

'George's previous Path might have been weak, but now I'm thinking, how many randomly scattered Shards are actually in his Star Map?' Shang thought.

While watching George advance, Shang was inevitably reminded of Lash and the other barbarians.

Whenever Shang thought about Lash, a sting of pain appeared inside his chest, but he pushed it away.

Nevertheless, Shang couldn't help comparing them.

Lash had already learned at an incredible rate, but he was nothing compared to George.

George learned several times faster than Lash, and his power grew incredibly quickly.

Shang spent a couple of months focusing on George, but he eventually started to fully focus on himself again.

George had gotten used to fighting again, and he didn't need Shang's help anymore.

Seeing George advance only increased Shang's determination.

'Fuck, if I don't hurry up, he might actually overtake me,' Shang thought as he went back into training.

 

Chapter 417 – High Mages

Shang stood in the middle of an encampment.

He could see several tall towers and buildings. There were also plenty of True Mages and warriors stationed on the walls.

The camp blocked a tall but relatively narrow crevice that led towards the northwest.

Right now, the people inside the encampment looked at Shang with complex expressions.

They had gotten information from Duke Whirlwind about what was about to happen, and they had no idea what they should think about this.

Why would this warrior even consider doing something like that?

Right now, Shang’s colossal sword was on his back, ready to be unleashed.

He stretched his legs and arms for a bit and made his bones pop all over his body.

A fire of determination could be seen in his right eye, but he was also a bit nervous.

This wouldn’t be easy.

After Shang was done, he looked over his right shoulder at a young man.

The two of them shared a knowing look.

Then, Shang looked at the northwest again.

He took a deep breath and readied himself.

He lowered his stance.

BANG!

And he shot forward with all of his speed.

The stationed people looked with shock at Shang’s speed.

How was he so fast?!

In what felt like an instant, Shang had left the encampment behind as he shot towards the northwest.

He still remembered his conversation with Jerald.

“You want to assault a frontline all on your own?” Jerald had asked with shock.

Shang only nodded. “I’ve had enough practice against beasts, but I haven’t fought a Mage in over five years. If I want to keep the efficiency of my training at the peak, I need more combat experience against them.”

Jerald knew what Shang meant, but that still sounded way too reckless and suicidal.

Assaulting a frontline alone was only something a High Mage could do.

Even more, there was a high chance that the enemy also had a High Mage guarding the frontline.

If Shang met a High Mage, he would definitely die.

Shang also knew that, but he wanted to do it anyways.

One had to remember that a very powerful Peak Mage was weaker than nearly all the weakest High Mages.

The reason for that was the difficulty of becoming a High Mage.

A very powerful Peak Mage would be close to comprehending their own Path, although it was called different for them.

In comparison to warriors, Mages needed to comprehend a deeper meaning regarding their Affinity. They needed to perfectly comprehend one small aspect regarding their Affinity, which gave them a powerful boost in battle.

For example, most Fire Mages concentrated on the concept of Kindling. This represented the birth of fire, and they needed to know this aspect if they wanted to understand more about fire.

A High Mage that had comprehended Kindling could transform their surroundings into a hellscape by summoning fire everywhere. They could even set other people and beasts on fire.

The only way to resist this influence was to have a Spirit Sense. With a Spirit Sense, one could block the influence of the opponent’s will if it got too close.

Without a Spirit Sense, one would just burn to ashes without being able to resist or evade.

These kinds of Fire Mages were walking weapons of mass destruction. They could set hundreds of meters of land ablaze by only using their Mana and without even casting a Spell.

A very powerful Peak Mage could harness part of that power, but not fully.

This meant that even the most talented Peak Mage would have immense trouble fighting against the weakest High Mage.

Jumping levels was possible before, but the gap between the Peak of the Third Realm and the Start of the Fourth Realm was basically uncrossable.

Every single High Mage had once been an extremely talented Peak Mage before.

Even the weakest High Mage was a genius.

So, if Shang met a High Mage, things would get very troublesome.

Shang was certain that he didn’t have the ability to kill a High Mage.

He could only evade their attacks and run, and even just that might kill him.

And if he met a Wind High Mage, he wouldn’t even be able to do that.

For example, Jerald comprehended Movement.

Jerald’s offensive power was only average for his level, but his speed was unreal.

Jerald had also used the concept of Movement to create his own Flying Spell.

Usually, only Archmages could fly, but Jerald managed to fly by incorporating Movement into a complicated Spell.

This was also the reason why there were so few people that could fly in the five Kingdoms.

Not only did one need to comprehend Wind’s Movement, but one also needed to create and use a very complex Spell.

The more powerful the Mages grew, the more diverse their fighting styles became.

While a Fire High Mage would be a walking calamity, a Wind Mage would be a very quick ranged attacker.

Earth High Mages were waves of destruction, while Lightning High Mages were concentrated but very explosive cannons.

When it came to Shang’s survival, it fully depended on what kind of High Mage he would meet.

He wouldn’t be able to kill any High Mage, but he could survive being near some of them.

A Fire High Mage was on the less dangerous side for him. Yes, the Fire High Mage was very destructive, but Shang’s Pseudo-Spirit Sense could block off their influence. The only thing he needed to do after that was to evade their bombardment of explosions, which still wouldn’t be easy but doable.

An Earth High Mage would be annoying, but they would be even less dangerous than a Fire High Mage. They would transform the terrain and create waves of stone and earth to block and bury Shang. With Shang’s mobility, he could survive for a while, but he would need to flee very quickly.

A Wind High Mage would just kill Shang. They were simply too fast.

A Lightning High Mage would be just as bad. While the Lightning High Mage wasn’t as fast, their attacks were insanely fast.

Surprisingly, a Water High Mage would also be troublesome. Water High Mages generally comprehended the concept of Raindrop, and they could shoot these extremely dense raindrops like bullets from a machine gun.

An Ice High Mage could create waves of sharp and powerful icicles, which would also be troublesome for Shang. He could evade some of them, but not tens at once.

A Metal High Mage would be in the middle. They generally comprehended the concept of Sharpness, which would allow them to split the atmosphere apart. It was a bit similar to the Wind Blade Spell but cleaner and faster.

A Light High Mage would be annoying but not a problem. Light High Mages focused on taking away an opponent’s ability to see things while slowly burning them from the outside. With Shang’s Affinity, he could regulate his body’s temperature.

Darkness High Mages were very similar. They distorted the surroundings and would slowly freeze their opponent.

Right now, Shang couldn’t even kill a Light High Mage, but he could flee for a while from some of them.

And because of that, he decided to go through with this reckless mission.

He wanted to push himself further, and it was impossible to push oneself without genuine danger.

After a while of running, Shang entered a foreign Spirit Sense.

Just as the intel he had received from the Skythunder Kingdom had said, an Initial High Mage was watching over this frontline.

And her Affinity?

Metal.

 

Chapter 418 – Charge

Shang charged with all of his speed toward the northwest.

The High Mage had already spotted him, and Shang readied himself for an assault.

“Identify yourself!”

Shang received a voice transmission from the High Mage of the Grandmountain Kingdom.

Traitors from the Skythunder Kingdom were very rare, but they existed. Seeing Shang charge at them could also be interpreted as fleeing from the Skythunder Kingdom. Because of that, the High Mage asked before shooting.

“My name’s Shang, and I’m here to destroy your frontline!” Shang answered.

No more answer came.

At least, not a vocal one.

Instead, Shang got a different kind of answer.

WHOOOM!

All the different Mage Towers came online and focused on the rapidly approaching warrior.

There were eight Mage Towers in total that could get a clear shot on Shang.

Obviously, the High Mage didn’t think that they needed to take care of Shang personally. After all, he was only a warrior.

What could a mere warrior possibly do against several Mage Towers?

Additionally, the High Mage was preoccupied with watching out for any other forces.

A singular warrior charging at them?

That smelled of a scheme.

The Skythunder Kingdom was probably planning something, and this warrior was obviously a distraction.

The High Mage had to remain ready to act when the Skythunder Kingdom’s other forces inevitably got involved.

Just a second later, one of the Mage Towers fired at Shang. They didn’t need to use all their Mana to deal with a single warrior.

A huge fireball appeared above the Mage Tower, and it quickly shot at Shang’s current location.

Shang took out his colossal sword and struck the ground with its blunt side.

BOOOM!

Shang used his sword similar to a vaulting pole but for a horizontal adjustment of his trajectory. Instead of jumping up, he threw himself to his left, evading the Fireball.

Shang had trained a lot with his colossal sword in the past five years, and this was one of the unique uses that a colossal sword brought with it.

The Mages were quite surprised that Shang managed to evade, but they weren’t perturbed.

Another two towers came online, and they all launched a barrage of Fireballs at Shang.

BANG!

Shang hit the ground again, but this time, he threw himself into the air.

The three fireballs exploded beneath him.

“Tch, idiot,” one of the Mages in the towers commented.

Didn’t that fool know that it was basically impossible to evade while being in the air?

He had essentially transformed himself into a stationary target.

The three towers readied another three fireballs and shot at him.

When Shang saw the fireballs, a gleam appeared in his eyes.

‘Let’s see if it works.’

Instead of blasting to the side, Shang remained in the air. The Fireballs had been shot at him in a spray pattern, just in case. After all, what if he managed to evade?

One of the Fireballs was coming right at him.

Shang readied his sword and angled it so that its flat side pointed at the Fireball at an angle.

The Fireball arrived.

Just before the Fireball hit Sword, Sword released a small coating of fire.

The Fireball hit Sword.

CLINK!

A tiny explosion occurred at the place where Sword and the Fireball met.

Yet, surprisingly, the Fireball didn’t explode!

Instead, it was redirected to Shang’s left and passed him!

It was like a ricocheting bullet!

The other two Fireballs passed Shang harmlessly, and a grin appeared on Shang’s face.

‘It worked!’

In the last five years, Shang had also gotten more familiar with his Affinity, granting him even finer control over it. With the knowledge Shang had accrued in the last five years, he had come up with that idea.

Why not try to deflect a Spell?

Sadly, just with a sword, this was basically impossible. After all, if the enemy Spell hit anything foreign, it would detonate.

But what if it got deflected by something similar?

Shang had worked long and hard on that trick, but it had paid off.

As long as Shang could create a small coating on his sword that fit the Element of the Spell that shot at him, and as long as he managed to very finely control his movements, he could deflect the Spell.

This was one of the reasons why Shang wanted to fight some Mages. He had to see if his ideas actually worked.

The Fireball passed by him and hit one of the walls of the crevice.

BOOOOM!

Three explosions appeared around Shang, but none of them hit him directly. With his physical power, this bit of destruction didn’t bother him. His skin only got singed a little bit.

When the Mages saw that, their eyes widened.

Did that warrior just redirect an attack from a Mage Tower?

One had to remember that the Fireballs the Mage Towers shot had the power of a general Spell a Late True Mage would unleash.

Even a Peak Commander Stage warrior couldn’t take such a Spell directly and survive. There was simply too much power in such a Fireball.

Yet, this warrior just blocked it.

It took a while for them to process what they had just seen.

“Stop wasting time and attack him with all towers,” a Late True Mage ordered the Mages in the towers.

“Yes, sir!” the Mages answered.

After that, all eight Mage Towers readied Spells.

By now, Shang was only about a kilometer away from the first Mage Towers. He had closed the distance by quite a bit.

“Use Area Denial Spells,” the Late True Mage ordered.

The Spells the Mage Towers had readied changed Element. At this moment, waves of Icicles and concentrated areas of Wind Blades replaced them.

Area Denial Spells didn’t have as much power as the Fireballs, but if there were eight of them, that wouldn’t make a difference. A concentrated wave of pure destruction would travel across the entire crevice.

Evading such a powerful wave was impossible.

“Fire!”

WHOOOOM!

All eight towers fired at once, creating a destructive wave of Wind Blades and Icicles. Everything the wave touched, including the hard stone at the walls of the crevice, was cut into dust.

It was like a gigantic meat grinder.

Shang landed just before the wave arrived.

He lifted his colossal sword and hid his body behind it while he kept running forward.

Then, the wave arrived.

KRRIIIIIII!

A high-pitched and ear-grating sound echoed throughout the crevice. It was like a circular saw that wasn’t meant to cut metal was trying to cut metal.

Inside the wave, powerful forces of destruction traveled past Shang.

The sound came from Sword blocking the wave.

Sword heated up a lot, and several small cuts even appeared on it. Sword had been made with Peak Commander Stage materials, but it couldn’t resist such a wave without any damage.

Shang had to do his best not to get pushed back by the wave, but the power of his body allowed him to do just that.

A second later, the wave fully passed by Shang, and he was revealed.

The eyes of the Mages opened widely in pure shock.

Sword had turned orange due to the heat, and some remnants of the destructive forces slowly went past it.

Shang pulled Sword to the side, the sword leaving behind black steam.

This was another usage of such a colossal sword.

It could hide Shang’s entire body like a tower shield.

The Mages still couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

How did a random warrior survive such a barrage of Spells?!

Shang held his sword low to the ground while it pointed backward.

BANG!

Then, Shang unleashed a Fire Blast, and his speed became even faster than before!

At that moment, the first signs of nervousness appeared among the Mages.

WHOOOM!

But just at that moment, the area around Shang seemed to transform.

Everything seemed to warp, and it looked like reality was being cut apart.

The High Mage got involved.

 

Chapter 419 – States

The world around Shang transformed into splintered reality. Of course, a High Mage didn’t have the power to achieve something like that, but the shower of clean cuts in the atmosphere made it look like it.

Shang narrowed his right eye, and he focused his Pseudo-Spirit Sense on the area around him.

As Shang continued running, everything seemed to be cut apart, but he never got touched by the cuts.

It was like he was not part of the reality that was cut apart.

When the High Mage saw that, they narrowed their eyes.

They knew what that meant.

By now, Shang had nearly reached the first Mage Tower. His muscles bulged as he readied himself for his attack.

The Mages had thought that the High Mage would take care of Shang, which was why they hadn’t readied another Spell.

Sadly, they had been mistaken.

Shang reached the Mana Shield of the first Mage Tower and struck.

WHOOM!

Sword was suddenly surrounded by black flames as it used its power of Entropy.

The shields of these towers were as powerful as the shields of Peak True Mages. If Shang wanted to destroy it in one hit, he needed to use the Entropy Ability of Sword.

And then, Sword hit.

BANG!

The eyes of all the Mages widened in shock as the Mana Shield of the tower broke into pieces immediately.

What?!

How?!

Did that mean that this warrior could destroy the Mana Shield of a Peak True Mage just like that?!

BOOOOM!

The tower immediately broke into pieces as Shang charged through its wall and reached its inside.

The Mages on the top felt the ground collapse, and they tried to escape.

However, Mana Step was only usable on the ground!

They couldn’t use it due to the tower collapsing beneath them!

BANG!

Shang’s body punched through the upper layer of the tower and appeared between the two Mages.

For a moment, time seemingly froze.

The Mages hadn’t expected Shang to reach the inside of the tower this quickly, which was why they hadn’t even activated their Mana Shield.

BANG! BANG!

Both Mages exploded into pieces just a moment later as a large sword cut through them.

Due to using Entropy, Sword had transformed from its Colossal Sword State into its Great Sword State.

A moment later, Shang lightly landed on a piece of falling debris.

BANG!

And he shot out of the falling tower, punching through part of the collapsing ceiling.

He was shooting right at the second Mage Tower.

But at that moment, Shang’s instincts screamed at him.

Something terrifying was coming his way.

Shang looked to his right and saw a young woman with long grey hair and black robes unleashing a Spell.

This was the High Mage.

Right now, a terrifying cut in the shape of a crescent was flying toward Shang.

The destructive power of this Spell couldn’t be compared to the Spells the Mage Towers had unleashed.

As soon as Shang saw the Spell, he slashed toward it.

A wave of hard ice left Shang’s sword.

CLINK!

The hard ice was split apart in an instant, barely weakening the Spell.

After finishing the slash, Shang had already readied his left arm and pointed it at the approaching slash.

CLINK!

An icicle left Shang’s left hand, which was also cut apart by the cutting wave.

Lastly, Shang barely managed to put the edge of his sword between him and the wave.

In its earlier form, Sword would have been too cumbersome and heavy to perform such a maneuver, but it was no longer in its earlier form.

This was the Great Sword State, not the Colossal Sword State.

The Colossal Sword State was mainly used for defense and rare but heavy counterattacks.

But the Great Sword State was mainly used for explosive offense with still a bit of defense.

CRACK!

As the wave hit, a several-centimeter-deep cut was left on Sword’s edge. It didn’t quite reach its middle, but it was definitely a brutal cut.

Shang could feel the pain Sword was under, but it could handle it.

But despite all that, Shang managed to survive the cut with only some deep cuts at the sides of his upper arms. The wave had been broken, but its scattered power still managed to graze him.

When the High Mage saw that, her eyebrows rose in shock.

Did a mere warrior just survive one of her Spells?!

BANG!

Shang exploded forward again, but he wasn’t shooting at the High Mage but at the second tower.

The Mages inside the tower quickly activated their Mana Shields and tried to jump out of the tower.

However, without their Mana Step, they were just too slow.

More black flames appeared around Sword.

BANG!

The Mana Shield was broken apart just like the first one, and Shang directly shot at the two Mages at the highest level of the tower, completely ignoring the walls.

The walls were nothing but air to him.

Shang reached the first one instantaneously, and some black mist appeared on Sword as Shang’s left arm withered by a bit.

Shang’s attack was very fast, even faster than before. After all, Sword had transitioned from its Great Sword State into its Saber State.

In the Saber Stage, Sword was fully focused on pure offense and speed.

BANG!

Black lightning exploded off Sword and traveled across the Mana Shield.

CRACK!

The Mana Shield was broken apart in a single attack.

This was only a Mid True Mage, and by using Darkness, Shang could destroy their Mana Shield in one attack.

The two of them were still in the air as the Mage looked with shock and horror at their broken Mana Shield.

An instant later, they could only see Shang’s right hand, which was holding his sword, come closer to their face.

BANG!

With a backhand, Shang punched the head off the Mage’s body.

Then, he put his feet on the body.

BANG!

And exploded towards the second Mage.

“HELP!”

The second Mage shouted, but Shang had already reached them.

BANG!

Another explosion of black lightning occurred.

BANG!

Then, Shang kicked the Mage, turning them into several pieces that shot into the distance.

WHOOOOOM!

At that moment, Shang felt another terrifying threat approach.

Several gigantic spears of metal were shooting toward him.

It was almost like it was raining spears!

Shang could try blocking some of the spears, but the others would still skewer him.

He was also too slow to evade, and Mana Step couldn’t be used in the air.

A moment later, a shower of spears blanketed the collapsing tower with Shang still inside it.

For just a moment, it seemed like the invading warrior was dead.

BANG!

That was until Shang shot out of the dusty cloud of former stone.

At the moment, some Magic Runes were swirling around Shang, and he was uninjured.

Jerald had long since given Shang his present, and it was definitely very powerful.

The new black armor he wore could even protect him from a High Mage’s Spell.

Even better, it only activated if Shang was about to receive a severe injury. That was why it hadn’t activated when he had been cut by the first wave of cutting metal from the High Mage.

In basically an instant, Shang reached the third Mage Tower.

But at the same time, the next Spell of the High Mage had already appeared.

The High Mage was no longer warming up, and she was even using her Focus now.

Two metallic cuts shot right at Shang.

Earlier, Shang had barely managed to block one of them.

Now, there were two.

From now on, this mission wouldn’t be as easy as before.

 

Chapter 420 – Getting Too Close

Shang exploded diagonally to his left, but he wouldn’t be fast enough to evade the two cuts since they were very wide.

CRACK!

That was, if the Mana Shield of the Mage Tower weren’t between him and the cuts now.

Yes, instead of attacking the Mana Shield, Shang had charged around it, using it as a shield.

The Mana Shield cracked apart, and the remaining force of the two cuts was no longer dangerous to Sword. Shang easily blocked the remainder.

When the High Mage saw that, her eyes widened in horror, and she gnashed her teeth.

She had just destroyed her own Mana Shields!

The next moment, the other Mages only saw Shang explode into the tower.

BOOOOM!

The tower blew apart.

BANG!

A moment later, blood and chunks of flesh shot out of one side like they had been shot out of a cannon.

BANG!

In the next instant, a head shot out of the collapsing tower.

Both Mages inside the tower had obviously died.

BANG!

Then, everyone saw Shang shoot at the fourth tower.

The High Mage grew infuriated.

Some mere warrior had managed to kill six Mages and destroy three Mage Towers under her watch!

She had never received such a disgrace!

She narrowed her eyes.

SHING!

And vanished.

She had had enough of fighting Shang from several hundred meters of distance! This distance gave him a chance to react to her Spells, and she couldn’t allow more of her Mages to die!

As Shang was close to reaching the fourth tower, the High Mage appeared just about twenty meters away from him on the ground.

From such a distance, Shang would barely be able to react to her Spells.

At the same time, she and her Focus had already readied another two Cutting Waves.

Then, from just twenty meters away from Shang, she unleashed both Spells.

When Shang saw her, a fire appeared inside his right eye.

The two Cutting Waves were unleashed.

And they hit Shang.

BANG! BANG!

But then, more Magic Runes appeared around Shang.

Shang was no longer wearing the cheap shit.

This was an extremely expensive set of armor that Jerald had specifically prepared for Shang.

It could block more than one Spell.

This was the advantage of being a member of a Kingdom.

Such an amazing set of armor would have been impossible for Shang to get his hands on anywhere else.

When the High Mage saw that, she furrowed her brows, but she also saw how the Magic Runes had acted.

They had just unleashed their last bit of power.

Shang’s armor wouldn’t be able to block another attack for, at least, several more minutes, which might as well be days in such a high-speed battle.

He would die to her next set of Spells.

BANG!

Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock.

Shang hadn’t attacked the tower.

No, he had charged at her!

It would have been impossible for Shang to reach the High Mage earlier, but it became possible if there were only 20 meters between them.

This might as well be within arm’s reach for Shang.

The High Mage had just unleashed all her prepared Spells, and she hadn’t expected Shang to reach her this quickly.

At the last moment, she aborted the chanting of her offensive Spell and switched to Mana Shield.

A High Mage could create their Mana Shield at terrifying speeds, and it activated just as Shang reached her.

Shang’s saber immediately hit her Mana Shield, an explosion of black lightning going across it.

The High Mage noticed with shock that this attack had exhausted 10% of her Mana!

BANG!

And a second explosion of black lightning appeared just a moment later.

Sword’s Saber State was far faster than its Great Sword or Colossal Sword States.

For a moment, the High Mage was shocked that Shang could hit her again.

Usually, if a beast or a warrior hit a Mage’s Mana Shield, they would be thrown into the distance by the force.

But then, she realized that Shang was attacking her from above.

This meant that her Mana Shield wasn’t being thrown away but nailed into the ground!

Nevertheless, she didn’t lose her entire composure.

She would be able to cast four or more Spells before Shang could get through her Mana Shield.

So, she quickly readied her next Spell.

When Shang saw her prepare her next Spell, a small glimmer appeared in his right eye.

He unleashed his next attack, but this time, there was no black lightning.

No, this time, there was black fire!

BOOOOOM!

The black fire hit the High Mage’s Mana Shield, and her eyes widened in shock.

She just lost 30% of her Mana in one strike!

In less than a second, this warrior had exhausted over 50% of her total Mana!

She quickly looked at Shang, and she saw a smirk.

Sword had returned to its original state, the Long Sword State.

And, right now, there was more black fire around it.

The High Mage realized that this was the attack that consumed so much of her Mana.

She would probably be able to finish and unleash her Spell before the next attack hit.

But what if this warrior had something else up his sleeve?

What if he had more surprises?

Even more, she felt a terrifying feeling of death coming from Shang.

Shang swung down.

SHING!

But the High Mage had vanished.

Shang easily stopped his strike as the black fire vanished, and his smirk widened.

Obviously, Shang couldn’t use Sword’s Entropy again. It would essentially kill Sword.

This had been a bluff.

Shang knew that he couldn’t kill the High Mage.

If she actually went through with unleashing her Spell, there was a 90% chance of Shang dying immediately.

However, he was sure that he could bluff his way out of this predicament.

He knew that there were too many unknowns about his power in the eyes of others.

Fear of the unknown was a terrifying thing, and Shang knew that he could use it to his advantage.

An instant later, the High Mage appeared nearly an entire kilometer away from Shang.

Her Mana was already recovering at a rapid rate.

In fact, she regenerated about 5% of her Mana per second.

When Shang saw that the High Mage had appeared far away, he knew that this was his best chance.

Some of the Mage Towers readied more Spells, but due to the Shang basically being inside the encampment and their disorganized state, they were essentially no threat to Shang.

BANG!

Shang evaded a couple of Spells as he shot into the sky.

This time, he was not charging at a Mage Tower.

Shang quickly reached about a height of a hundred meters and looked at the encampment.

There were probably around 200 barbarians and maybe 15 more True Mages just scattered around.

They had all been watching with helpless shock as Shang had essentially torn through nearly half of their Mage Towers.

At this moment, time seemingly froze.

Shang was looking down as the people of the Grandmountain Kingdom looked up at him.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

An instant later, around 50 black balls appeared above Shang.

SHING!

Then, something strange appeared in Shang’s left hand.

It was a gigantic… shovel?

It was over three meters long and nearly two meters wide, making it look more like a spatula.

Shang pulled the gigantic shovel back.

And at that moment, the Mages realized what was about to happen.

The barbarians had no idea.

With terror, the Mages immediately used Mana Step to flee.

And then, Shang swung the gigantic shovel downward toward the black balls.

The Mages knew these balls.

These were Firebombs!

They were used to destroy large waves of beasts!

An instant later, the shovel hit the Firebombs with its backside, its round shape shooting the Firebombs in different directions.

The people in the encampment looked with horror at the shower of Firebombs.

The Mages in the towers looked with horror at the Firebombs.

And the High Mage looked with horror at the Firebombs.

And then, the Firebombs hit the encampment.