Chapter 508

In the treatment room, the air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Wei Aola's widened silver-gray eyes stared fixedly at Jie Ming.

The expression on her face shifted rapidly from astonishment to a sharp light mixed with scrutiny, evaluation, and sudden realization.

She didn't ask "Are you sure?" or "Do you have proof?", not even a hint of hesitation or doubt.

"Ha!" She laughed shortly, her tone rising with a strange excitement, "My junior brother is so badass!"

She didn't need Jie Ming to provide any proof of the kill—such as the Holy Son's identity badge, wreckage of exclusive wizarding tools, or soul imprint fragments.

Based on her understanding of this junior brother of hers who always managed to produce "surprises," there was no need for him to tell such a lie.

"Stay right there!" Wei Aola suddenly turned and swept out of the treatment room like the wind, leaving only one sentence echoing in the air, "... The old man needs to know about this!"

Jie Ming opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the silver construct caretaker had already leaned back in, continuing its interrupted scanning work, reporting calmly: "Vital signs show no abnormal fluctuations, no obvious stress response to lying detected. Comprehensive assessment, the main subject's statement has high credibility."

"Thanks, but just help me check my body, no need for a lie detector." Jie Ming lay back down with a dark face.

Not long after, footsteps faster than expected arrived.

The first to return was Mentor Dean; his expression remained indifferent, but his pace was a fraction faster than usual.

And the other person who walked in behind him made Jie Ming's heart tighten slightly.

That was a middle-aged man dressed in a deep blue starry wizard robe, with an elegant face and eyes as deep as the boundless night sky.

Just by standing there, he naturally radiated a majesty that blended perfectly with the surrounding environment while implicitly controlling everything.

Level 7 Wizard—Dionysius Spencer.

Dean's senior brother, one of the true high-level decision-makers of the Norn Workshop, and also an important person in charge of the current frontline camp.

Jie Ming wanted to stand straight to salute, but Dionysius waved his hand casually, and a gentle but irresistible force allowed him to relax again.

"Lie down; you are a wounded soldier now, and even more so a hero." His voice was peaceful but carried a convincing power, "Dean roughly explained the situation. In a severely injured state, you claim to have killed the 'Holy Son' of the Chaos Secret Sect?"

His gaze fell on Jie Ming, without pressure, but as if it could pierce through the barriers of flesh and soul, looking directly at the most essential truth.

Hearing this, Jie Ming looked at his mentor with some gratitude.

From the other party's words, he could tell that Wizard Dionysius Spencer had come over because Mentor Dean had vouched for him.

Although Jie Ming hadn't lied to him, the fact that Dean was willing to vouch for him without even seeing him to confirm it was definitely worth Jie Ming's gratitude.

Jie Ming nodded: "Yes, Lord Spencer. Although the situation was chaotic at the time and my own state was very poor, it can basically be confirmed."

"Tell me the process, especially your encounter before you were injured." Dionysius was concise, "Focus on describing the enemy wizards you encountered, especially... the existence that might be related to your severe injury."

Mentor Dean also stood quietly to the side, his gaze under the gray robe like a precise measuring instrument.

Wei Aola didn't know where she had moved a chair from; she sat on it backward, her chin resting on the back of the chair, her silver-gray eyes staring at Jie Ming without blinking, her face full of "tell me, tell me."

Clearly, after knowing Jie Ming had finished off the Holy Son, the focus of the three was not on Jie Ming being able to finish off the Holy Son.

It could even be said that the wizards present should have understood the point in an instant: since Jie Ming could finish off the enemy Holy Son in a severely injured state, then the person who could severely injure him was definitely not an ordinary enemy!

Jie Ming took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and began to recall and narrate:

"I was executing a deep reconnaissance mission and was discovered when I approached a suspected large-scale enemy dispatch node. Three Level 6 Wizards chased after me, coordinating very tacitly. Two of them should be from the Chaos Secret Sect, and one looked like an old woman; because I was running too fast at the time, I didn't have time to observe her methods, and her specific abilities are unknown."

"The other one..." Jie Ming recalled the situation at the time carefully, describing it in more detail, "wore heavy dark purple metal heavy armor, with pitch-black incantations flowing continuously on the surface of his skin. He was followed by a... hound that looked like it was woven from shadows, very strange, extremely fast, and it seemed to be the one leading the tracking."

Hearing this, Dionysius Spencer and Mentor Dean's eyes lit up almost simultaneously.

"A hound that looks like it's woven from shadows... it's a Shadow Hunting Hound... and likes to wear heavy armor, with black incantations carved on his skin..." Dionysius's gaze narrowed slightly.

Dean added in his usual indifferent tone: "It's 【Shadow Incantation】 Karon. He specializes in curse attachment and shadow manipulation; that Shadow Hunting Hound is his trademark. As long as he can be provided with enough information, his tracking ability is extremely exaggerated, and he can even penetrate spatial shielding to a certain extent."

Dionysius nodded: "Since it's Karon, then the old woman solved by you little guy earlier is most likely his fixed partner 【Collector】 Alice. She specializes in information collection, battlefield shielding, and intelligence analysis."

"This pair combination, one responsible for collecting information and interference, the other responsible for tracking and capture, and Karon's curse technique can exert maximum power with the help of the large amount of information collected by Alice. The two have coordinated for many years and are extremely difficult to deal with. Ordinary Level 6 Wizards targeted by them have less than a thirty percent chance of escaping."

Having said this, Dionysius Spencer looked at Jie Ming with some curiosity: "How did you get rid of their pursuit?"

Jie Ming shook his head: "I couldn't get rid of their pursuit. After realizing this, I used a magic array to make the two of them lose their combat ability."

"Wow!" Wei Aola couldn't help but whisper, looking at Jie Ming with bright eyes, "Junior brother, you ambushed and wiped out this golden pair?!"

Jie Ming recalled the Red Dust Qi he had exhausted, his face twitching:

"Senior sister, don't make it sound so easy. That composite magic array was something I had set up for quite a while in advance, using up almost all the relevant materials I carried, and it also cost quite a few very precious materials. And the final effect wasn't good; strictly speaking, it didn't solve the opponent, just made their souls fall into chaos and lose their combat ability for a period of time."

He paused and continued: "After solving the two of them, I immediately retreated toward the camp with all my strength. But the third wizard wasn't affected by the magic array, so the opponent chased after me again. Judging by the badge, it should be a Level 6 Wizard from the Tower of Extinction..."

Jie Ming described in detail the opponent's body that constantly changed shape like mist, those cold scarlet pupils, and the power of "annihilation" that seemed to be able to erase everything.

He especially focused on describing the opponent's most commonly used attack method, a huge palm print condensed from gray-black mist, covering the sky and earth, every strike containing multiple overlapping annihilation effects, not only annihilating matter and energy but even eroding soul structure and spatial stability.

Initially, when Jie Ming described "mist body," "scarlet pupils," and "annihilation power," Dionysius and the others' expressions were still calm; there were many wizards in the Tower of Extinction with similar characteristics.

But when Jie Ming clearly stated key details like "palm-type attack," "large-scale coverage," and "containing multiple overlapping annihilation damage," the atmosphere in the treatment room changed abruptly.

Mentor Dean's face, which had always been unperturbed, had his brows furrowed imperceptibly.

Dionysius Spencer's eyes suddenly became sharp, as if he had discovered a hidden treasure... or a dangerous beast.

Wei Aola directly gasped, stood up from the chair with a "swoosh," walked to Jie Ming's side, and patted his shoulder with an almost solemn expression.

Jie Ming was creeped out by them: "What's wrong? Is this... special?"

Wei Aola took a deep breath and said word by word: "If... the details you said are correct, then the one you finished off is not an ordinary Level 6 Wizard from the Tower of Extinction."

She paused, as if digesting the impact brought by this information.

"That is the 【Hand of Annihilation】."

The moment Jie Ming heard this title, he was stunned for a moment, then realized, and then his scalp felt slightly numb.

In the wizarding world, especially in the high-tier wizard circle, the title itself often contains information about power and status.

The most common Level 6 Wizards often have titles combined with their names, such as 【Shadow Incantation】 Karon, 【Collector】 Alice.

This is because the base of the wizard civilization is too huge, and even in just a small area, high-tier wizards are very easy to have the same name; it's easy to confuse them with just a title or name.

So regular high-tier wizards are called this way to better distinguish them.

But when a wizard is powerful enough in their group, their title possesses uniqueness.

People only need to mention that title to clearly point to the person himself.

Over time, this title replaces his original name and becomes his only identifier in the world of power.

【Hand of Annihilation】 is such a title.

This means that the opponent is not only a Level 6 Wizard but also a recognized elite among Level 6 Wizards, one of the few people standing at the peak of that tier!

Their strength far exceeds combinations like Karon and Alice; they are terrifying existences capable of independently executing high-risk strategic missions and even posing a certain threat to Level 7 Wizards.

Dionysius Spencer recovered from his brief shock and immediately asked a few more details about the battle: the color gradient of the opponent's palm print, the specific traces left when the annihilation power eroded space, and the opponent's core weakness observed when Jie Ming counter-attacked.

Jie Ming answered one by one; some details he hadn't paid much attention to at the time, and only recalled them under the guidance of the Level 7 Wizard.

A moment later, Dionysius slowly exhaled, a complex expression appearing on his face.

There was admiration, and also lingering fear, finally turning into a deep recognition of Jie Ming's potential.

"Palm print color changing from gray to black, fine traces of spatial crystallization and shattering at the edges... core weakness at the change point of mist flow to the right of the chest..." He repeated a few key points in a low voice, then nodded affirmatively.

"That's right, it's the combat characteristics and one of the few known weaknesses of the 【Hand of Annihilation】. This intelligence is very precious. You little guy, you were actually able to finish off such an existence..."

He looked at Dean, his tone carrying undisguised admiration: "Dean, you've taken in an incredible student."

Dean nodded with a smile, then shifted the subject without a trace:

"The elite team that previously went deep behind enemy lines was wiped out, and we had been wondering what kind of interception force could do it so cleanly... Now I understand. With the 【Hand of Annihilation】 sitting in command, cooperating with Karon and Alice's tracking and locking, an ordinary Level 6 team really couldn't escape."

Dionysius Spencer once again cast his gaze toward Jie Ming; that gaze was no longer just looking at a wounded Level 5 junior, but more like examining a star that would definitely shine in the future:

"To be able to break the tracking combination as a Level 5 Wizard and then slay the 'Hand of Annihilation'... Wizard Jie Ming, you did far better than I expected. The value of this battle result far exceeds the coordinate intelligence you submitted."

He paused, his tone becoming gentle: "Your primary task now is to heal your injuries. Regarding your battle record of killing the 【Hand of Annihilation】 and the 'Holy Son', the workshop will verify and record it, and the corresponding military merit and contribution assessment will not be lacking."

After speaking, he nodded slightly to Dean.

Dean touched Jie Ming's head, and the two turned and left the treatment room together, clearly needing to immediately re-evaluate the enemy's combat power deployment and adjust their own strategies.

Only Jie Ming and Wei Aola remained in the room.

Wei Aola had already changed into a triumphant expression, sharing the honor.

She walked to Jie Ming, reached out, and rubbed his still somewhat messy hair vigorously: "Not bad, junior brother! Doing big things without a sound! 【Hand of Annihilation】! That's a tough guy even the old man mentioned I should be careful of! You actually fell into your hands! Worthy of being my junior brother!"

Her look was practically happier than if she had won a battle herself.

Jie Ming organized his hair somewhat helplessly: "Senior sister, I really was just lucky this time, and I almost didn't come back."

"Luck is also a part of strength, especially in the wizard's world." Wei Aola didn't care; she put her hands on her hips and raised her chin, "You heal well, I have to go out!"

With an undisguised, almost overflowing "showing off" radiance on her face, she turned and walked out the door.

Her pace was light, and her back even revealed a kind of triumphant arrogance.

She looked just like a cat that had just won a fight, wishing the whole camp knew how powerful her cub was.

Jie Ming looked at her posture of walking sideways like a crab and shook his head helplessly.

He lay back on the cold metal platform, feeling the warm power continuously transmitted by the magic array, and began to silently plan his next move after his injuries healed.

(End of chapter)