Chapter 165: The Arrival of the Faceless, the Magician

At dusk, the deep night fell like velvet, studded with stars like tiny diamonds.

The full moon hung high in the sky, casting soft radiance upon the world.

Red Fox Castle, rear courtyard.

Rustle rustle rustle.

Vast fields of wheat seedlings lay bathed in silver moonlight, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Due to the distance from Wheatfield Village, at Xia Mingyu’s request, this area had been specially cleared and planted with extensive wheat seedlings.

“Bountiful Harvest.” He placed his hand on the damp soil, and in the next instant, countless jets of black flame erupted from the young man’s body.

The air trembled, waves of force surged outward.

As if an invisible force had swept across the field, the wheat stalks jerked violently, their joints elongating like stretched shadows as they shot upward.

Green ears burst from their sheaths, swelling rapidly, turning from pale green to golden yellow, the awns glinting with a metallic sheen under the moonlight.

Within mere seconds, the vast field transformed from youthful green shoots into a golden ocean; the scent of wheat surged, mingling with the dampness of night dew and spreading through the air.

“Whoosh!”

Exhausted of magic and nearly fainting, Xia Mingyu quickly grabbed two opened vials of magic potion offered by the golden-haired girl beside him, gulped them down simultaneously, and finally felt somewhat better.

Even so, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded, leaning against Anliya as she carefully supported him.

After all, magic represented life force; a mage who depleted their magic often needed days of rest to fully recover.

How could he possibly keep this up—draining magic daily and restoring it daily with potions? Only his exceptional physique had kept him going this long; any ordinary mage would already be bedridden and immobile.

“This is truly incredible!”

The elderly woman standing beside them with a lantern now wore an expression utterly overwhelmed by shock.

Though Rosa had heard the Prince describe his abilities after ascending to the Sage of Harvest, this ability called “Bountiful Harvest” was absurdly excessive!

Even the subsequent Starlight class of the Harvest Path, the Earwhisperer, could never achieve such an effect.

No, the Earwhisperer could only “communicate” with crops, sensing disease or enhancing soil fertility—how could the Prince directly and decisively accelerate the maturation of entire fields?

Achieving this across classes was nothing short of a miracle!

And the Prince is only at Starlight now—if he ascends to Radiant Moon or Solar Wheel, wouldn’t he alone be able to ripen every crop across an entire region?

Amidst her astonishment, Rosa felt a faint unease rising within her.

She knew that if the Gluttonous King learned of this, he would tear apart the entire Southern Region to find and kill the Prince, no matter the cost.

Coupled with the earlier incidents of the Dusk Tea and the rampaging sponsored monsters in William’s territory, she had a premonition of storm clouds gathering.

Perhaps a new enemy had already arrived in the Southern Region, lurking in the shadows.

“Your Highness, do you have the Eye of Vigilance you gave me?” Rosa asked.

At this, Xia Mingyu silently pulled a small, pale blue crystal ball, the size of a marble, from his coat pocket.

Inside the crystal floated a living amber-colored beast eye, its pupil contracting or expanding with changes in ambient light.

This was a magical artifact: once magic was infused into it or it was squeezed tightly, the Eye of Vigilance instantly turned deep red; if strong murderous intent appeared nearby, it also turned deep red, growing darker the stronger the intent.

The Eye of Vigilance was crafted from the eyes of a four-eyed beast, typically used in sets of four.

If one Eye of Vigilance turned deep red, the other three would also turn deep red and violently tremble toward the first one that had changed.

“Your Highness, please carry it with you always. If you sense any danger approaching, do not hesitate—activate it immediately,” Rosa said solemnly.

The other three Eyes of Vigilance were held by the three new moon-ranked knights: Kallen, Luo Yi, and Luo Lan.

Xia Mingyu nodded firmly.

He knew Rosa would never say this without reason—this elder had sensed some hidden danger drawing near.

He must grow stronger quickly!

Xia Mingyu clenched his fist, but remembering the impossibly complex magical diagrams in the spellbook, he slowly unclenched his hand.

Damn it, why can’t my path to strength be like the protagonist in novels—swinging swords and punching? Why must it be like solving advanced math problems?

Thinking of this, exhausted and drained of magic after a full day, Xia Mingyu refused to move another inch; eventually, Anliya picked him up in both arms, carried him to his bedroom, laid him on the bed, and tucked him in with a goodnight kiss.

Since ascending to the Supreme Class of the King’s Cook, though not a combat role, Anliya had gained enough strength to lift an adult man.

“Wildflowers of the field, please tell me—why do people fight each other?”

The girl sat by the bed, softly humming the song the Prince had taught her, until she saw the black-haired youth fall into deep sleep; only then did she smile contentedly, open the door, and slip away quietly.

To see the sleeping face of her beloved, tonight, she would surely dream sweetly.

Dusk City, city gate.

Beneath the silver full moon, the night watchmen yawned wearily; even the blazing firepits beside them could not dispel their drowsiness.

Rustle rustle rustle.

A night breeze carried a strange fragrance toward them.

Upon smelling this odd scent, the guards’ eyes grew vacant and dazed, their grip on their spears weakening, the weapons trembling precariously.

Swish swish swish!

Several shadowy figures moved with terrifying speed beyond human reaction, slipping soundlessly past the dazed guards and entering Dusk City before vanishing.

As the strange fragrance faded, the guards with vacant eyes slowly regained awareness.

They exchanged glances for a moment, then straightened their backs and resumed guarding the gate, completely unaware that intruders had already slipped into the city.

The shadowy figures moved like ghosts across the rooftops of buildings, their steps light and agile as felines, stepping on tiles without making a single sound.

Finally, they halted atop a towering building, gazing across at the recently completed giant Sage statue standing in the city square, towering beside the Crimson Flame.

All these figures wore black robes, cloaks, and masks obscuring their faces, revealing only eyes as sharp as beasts’ under the moonlight.

Or rather—those were the unmistakable eyes of beasts.

The leader’s gaze locked onto the face of the Sage statue, as if etching every detail into his soul.

After a long while, he carefully withdrew from his satchel a silver compass.

Hummm hummm hummm.

The compass needle spun wildly, then pointed steadily toward one direction—Red Fox Castle.

In the midnight city square, the Magician strolled into the open area, humming a tune.

He glanced around, confirmed no one was within hundreds of meters and no eyes watched him, then tapped the ground with his magic wand.

In the next instant, as if by magic, a red-and-white striped circus tent sprang up from the earth, growing larger and larger until it occupied a tenth of the entire square.

Atop the tent, in blood-red thread, were stitched the words: “Monster Circus.”

The Magician gave it a satisfied glance, then slowly pulled back the curtain and stepped inside.

“Come out, my circus performers.”

He spread his arms wide, exclaiming with excitement.

In the next instant, “monsters” suddenly appeared in the empty tent: a woman with six arms, a two-headed giant, a three-eyed man, a girl with rat features.

(End of Chapter)