Chapter 257: Battle

Chapter 257: Battle

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“Accelerate!”

Facing the swarm of white furry masses emerging from the cloud sea below, Jie Ming didn’t hesitate, immediately activating his “Acceleration” rune artifact.

With the heightened dynamic vision it provided, he quickly scanned the furry creatures’ movements and glanced at the surrounding wizards. Although Levin Mills’ earlier shout, laced with mental force, had briefly freed them from the illusion, giving them a moment to react, only Levin Mills, a Third-Order Wizard, and Jie Ming were minimally affected.

Jie Ming couldn’t discern Levin’s method of resisting the curse, but it likely stemmed from the laws he studied. Jack was the next least affected, his body glowing with complex magical auras, likely from a specialized artifact designed to counter “mind” and “curse” attacks. Though he gritted his teeth, struggling to resist, he retained his combat ability.

Beyond them, only one recruited wizard and one from Jack’s team remained functional. Though heavily affected and unable to fight effectively, they could still cast basic defensive spells to protect themselves.

As the strongest present, Levin Mills raised his hands, unleashing streams of dark green toxic mist from his sleeves. The swarming furry masses disintegrated upon contact, as if corroded by acid. But their numbers were overwhelming—millions, charging fearlessly, consuming the seemingly boundless toxic mist like moths to a flame.

Each furry mass exploded upon death, releasing a weak burst of stored energy. Though individually feeble, their relentless tide suppressed Levin’s deadly mist.

Meanwhile, Jack stabilized his mind and activated his “armor” alchemical construct. Metallic components surged from the sleek armor, transforming him into a towering, fortress-like humanoid construct dozens of meters tall.

“Die!” the giant construct roared, plunging into the white “ocean” of furry masses. It swung its massive metal arms, palms spewing flames, unleashing unrestrained power.

Jie Ming, seeing this, used his mental force to pull the incapacitated wizards to safety, tossing them like sacks to the two wizards barely maintaining their shields.

“Guard them! One million military merits each, deducted from their rewards!” he barked.

Glancing at Levin and Jack’s battles, Jie Ming raised a hand. The ten crystal-clear rune artifacts on his wrist floated up, forming a radiant band around it.

“These things are surprisingly fragile… ‘Explosion’ mode it is,” he thought, analyzing their combat.

Locking his mental force on the enemy, he fired a compressed energy bolt. The head-sized projectile shot out like a cannonball, obliterating all furry masses in its path. Deep within their ranks, it detonated under Jie Ming’s control.

A visible shockwave tore a massive gash through the white “ocean,” the terrifying blast shredding the furry masses into fragments.

Seeing the effect, Jie Ming didn’t hesitate. His ten Second-Order rune artifacts glowed brilliantly, unleashing a storm of energy bolts. Under his precise control, they bombarded the endless furry sea with uniform, relentless force. Each artifact fired dozens of powerful bolts per second, showcasing the enhanced speed and potency of Second-Order spells.

Jie Ming’s terrifying output drew a glance from Levin Mills, even amidst his own battle, and left Jack, inside his construct’s cockpit, dumbfounded. Jack had thought his alchemical armor’s firepower was impressive, but compared to Jie Ming’s relentless “carpet bombing,” it paled in comparison. He’d never imagined a Second-Order Wizard could unleash such sustained, exaggerated firepower.

In mere minutes, Jie Ming single-handedly cleared the visible furry masses. After the battle, the group collected spoils: dead furry corpses and a few lucky survivors from the bombardment.

The recovering wizards, still shaken, readily agreed to Jie Ming’s demand for one million military merits each as “protection fees.” Surviving such an ordeal made the cost seem trivial.

The combat trio and the two protective wizards divided the merits based on their contributions. Levin Mills approached Jie Ming, sincerely remarking, “Your future is boundless.”

Jie Ming humbly replied, “Just luck.”

“Luck alone doesn’t achieve this,” Levin said, shaking his head, leaving it at that.

Jack was more direct. Deactivating his armor, he rushed to Jie Ming, slapping his shoulder. “Incredible! I didn’t expect you to be this strong—beyond my imagination!”

Lowering his voice, he added, “That artifact you used… can you sell it? I’ll pay a fortune, name your price!”

“Sorry, it involves my core knowledge. I can’t sell it,” Jie Ming declined, shaking his head.

He wasn’t lying; the rune artifacts were a fusion of cultivation and wizardry systems, his core technology. Disappointed, Jack sighed, knowing better than to pry into another wizard’s secrets.

After regrouping, they resumed their cautious exploration. Guided by the heavyset wizard’s mosquito swarm, Levin Mills found the missing wizard’s remains in an unremarkable cloud patch—not a corpse, but a complete, writhing “skin.” Everything beneath—flesh, bones, organs—was gone.

Levin sliced the skin open, revealing a chilling sight: it was packed with translucent, juvenile furry masses. The surrounding wizards grimaced in disgust but methodically collected the valuable specimens for research.

The outcome wasn’t unexpected. In the resource-scarce Void Plane, where many native creatures were half-matter, half-energy, wizards’ solid bodies were a rare “feast” to them.

“Move on. Keep searching. Stay alert,” Levin ordered.

Showing no sorrow for the fallen wizard, the group resumed their planned search route.