Chapter 568

Luo De recalled.

The Image Society's director, Shemus, initially tried to blow up the defensive line at Zhaogu Mountain.

Later, he attempted to infect the seventh-rank mercenary Ryan with chaotic spiritual energy at the Violet Tavern in Shi Ying Town.

Fortunately, he was stopped by the tavern's owner, Valery.

At that time, the extradimensional space had not yet developed pronounced chaotic energy—it was still in the phase of spiritual storms raging unchecked.

Yet even then, he had begun experimenting with chaotic, disordered spiritual energy.

Today's artificial deployment of chaotic energy is fundamentally tied to him.

Speaking of which,

Valery, the former Aitheron military officer who ran the Violet Tavern, clearly had secrets of his own.

Luo De had already sensed it.

Before the Coral Bay assault, when he visited the tavern for a drink, he had probed him twice.

But the answers he received were vague and layered with hidden meaning.

Owner Valery claimed his only duty was to protect the Violet Tavern itself.

"Perhaps the Violet Tavern itself?"

His thoughts drifted too far.

Luo De shook his head and refocused on the present.

The temporary encampment of the Bahadur mages was situated on a mist-shrouded mountain terrace nearby.

The camp itself was built atop a platform formed by five or six ancient pines, their trunks twisted upward by the 【Animated Trees】 spell into a conical arch.

The location was sufficiently concealed and offered a perfect overlook of a fifty-li radius centered on Olive Town.

Thus, it seemed,

Though they claimed to be near Olive Town, this "nearby" was still quite broad.

The four of them observed from a nearby forest.

Each employed their own methods to conceal themselves.

On the platform stood four or five small huts.

Occasionally, black-robed Bahadur mages came and went—clearly all quite young.

Through the open doorway, one could see alchemical cauldrons fitted with siphon tubes, crystal balls mounted on brass tripods, and other research equipment.

Shemus appeared to be the leader among these young mages.

He held a recording stone in one hand.

He explained something to the void while occasionally answering or discussing research questions from the young mages.

Heroine Gre said in a low voice: "Eighteen mages, mostly fourth or fifth rank, two seventh-rank, the highest being the one holding the recording stone—seventh-rank mid-tier."

As she spoke,

Kira, the half-deer beside her, emerged from her trance-like prophetic state, eyes still closed.

Her round, deer-like eyes opened.

"Magic landmines, spell reversal, lightning etchings, and a few elemental barriers—I can lead you past them."

Tally tilted her head, puzzled: "Why dodge? They're only seventh-rank."

The succubus lady's standards had been raised after Coral Bay—she'd even faced off against ninth-rank apex Infernal Dukes; what were seventh-rank mages to her?

"Mages' coordination is extremely potent. With this many, even fourth- or fifth-rank ones can't be underestimated," Kira gently explained, assuming she had little combat experience.

Heroine Gre nodded:

"We're not mages ourselves, our methods are limited, and we're few. Many tactics can't be deployed. I suggest waiting until nightfall—set fire first, then strike with ambush."

We're not mages, we lack tools and numbers, so many tactics can't be used. I suggest waiting until nightfall, setting fire first, then launching a surprise attack.

Tally blinked, then glanced sheepishly at her master.

Not only was she never allowed to light fires in the mountains or forests, she even dared not light a candle in front of him.

You want to set fire?

Some forest warden would be mighty displeased.

Luo De watched Tally's innocent, obedient glance up at him—her eyes wide and guileless—and found it oddly amusing.

You didn't even suggest it—why are you acting guilty?

He chuckled and pinched her cheek, soft as if it could drip water.

"No need for such trouble. Just charge straight in."

Hearing this,

Gre rubbed her chin, not immediately refuting the suggestion.

Instead, her eyes blazed with battle lust.

Luo De remembered Gre's fighting style resembled military tactics—he'd once guessed she might have retired from the Heavenly Flower Kingdom's army.

It seemed she personally preferred direct assaults.

"Fine. I don't have 【Darkvision】; I perform better in daylight."

"Gre! Last time you challenged that Minotaur despite the rank gap—you nearly died! You promised me you wouldn't take risks again!"

Kira panicked and immediately voiced opposition.

"This time we have Mr. Luo De—he's a seventh-rank high-tier expert. There'll be no problem."

"Still no. Miss Tally, you surely don't want Mr. Luo De risking himself, do you?!"

Tally hadn't had her face pinched by her master in a long time.

She was happily nuzzling his palm when she heard the question and answered instinctively:

"No way—I love watching Master Luo fight. It always makes me so itchy inside~~"

No way, I love watching Master Luo De fight—it always gets me all worked up~~

Kira froze.

Gre made her decision and ignored the half-deer girl.

She rolled her shoulders, battle aura surging.

"I'll draw their attention from the front. Mr. Luo De, you close in for melee—focus on destroying their casting formation."

Luo De pried Tally's arms from around his own and seized the eager Heroine Gre.

Luo De pried open Talley's small hands clinging to his arm and seized the heroine Greya just as she was about to leap out.

"One charge from me is enough. You and Tally handle any who try to flee."

"What are you saying?"

Gre frowned, thinking he'd lost his mind.

Luo De didn't argue.

He deactivated the invisibility effect of his magic ring and strode out of the forest, bold and unhidden.

Dismissed the invisibility effect of the magic ring and walked boldly out from between the trees.

Gre hissed, "Plan changed—Mr. Luo De draws attention from the front; Miss Tally and I circle around to destroy the casting formation."

Greya clicked her tongue. "Then the plan changes: Master Luo De draws attention head-on, while Miss Talley and I circle around to disrupt the spell formation."

A sharp, frantic sound of magical friction erupted.

She looked up and saw a vast blaze suddenly materialize in midair, rapidly contracting.

In visible motion, the flames compressed into a furious, brilliant blue lightning bolt.

In an instant, it slammed into Luo De's chest.

A thunderous explosion followed.

Instantly, thick black smoke and blazing sparks erupted skyward.

Simultaneously,

The earth beneath was violently ruptured by immense magical energy, a powerful cavity effect blasting upward in an instant.

Soil, charred debris, and uprooted trees were all hurled into the air.

Gre's face turned pale.

This power far exceeded the earlier magical traps.

She snapped her gaze toward the distant camp platform.

The scene of the mages bustling about suddenly blurred, then warped like a painted image.

The scene of the mages bustling about suddenly blurred, then twisted like a painted image.

No—not just that.

Kira, the half-deer, had the ability to see through illusions.

Yet Kira now wore a look of panic—clearly unaware of what was happening.

"Could it be… a domain?!"

Whoosh.

The illusion's curtain fell.

Revealing the truth of the camp platform.

—A line of mages, already prepared, standing in perfect formation for casting.

The number was correct.

The quantity is correct.

There were 18 people total.

Six were seventh-rank, the rest all sixth-rank.

The combat casting formation's defensive barrier, accelerated resonance of magic, redundant energy collection and reuse, ritual matrices for compound spells, and more.

Outer interference zone, middle control zone, core protection zone, tactical countermeasure layer, killing terminal, evacuation contingency—all present.

Greya's eyelid twitched.

A spell formation combining defense, crowd control, and explosive damage.

She had seen this before.

On the battlefield between Aitheron and the Heavenly Court Flower Nation.

(End of chapter)