Chapter 312

The operation to go to Sail and sabotage the trade sounds extremely dangerous, but in fact it is very easy to carry out.

Because Naimi Xisi introduced the Witch Nation—Laiseman's focus.

When Laiseman's ambassador to the Yinbu Tu Kingdom, under Naimi Xisi's Mind Power control, transmitted to the motherland—"Sail will secretly cooperate with Yinbu Tu, and Sazhas Tan intends to control Yinbu Tu's ancient demons at the cost of Sail's refined gold"—after this news, Laiseman obviously went mad.

The ancient demons sealed underground in the Yinbu Tu Kingdom are no secret among the upper echelons of many powerful empires; the incident ten years ago when Sail's former Conjuration chief infiltrated Yinbu Tu to seize those demons, only to be backstabbed to death by Sazhas Tan, also shocked the surrounding nations.

The death of a chief nearly Legendary for the Red Robe Mage Society is an undeniable blow, yet Sazhas Tan used some mysterious means to obtain a living wolf‑snake demon from the Yinbu Tu Kingdom as his servant!

That immortal, powerful demon played a very important role on the frontlines between Sail and Laiseman, and Laiseman even secretly dispatched five senior witches to try to ambush the wolf‑snake demon on the battlefield and seal it.

Unfortunately, Sazhas Tan discovered their scheme, and unusually revealed his true form on the battlefield, slaying those five witches.

Laiseman suffered heavy losses; subsequent attempts to target the wolf‑snake demon were launched several times, but Sazhas Tan was already on guard, and each time the demon appeared, it was surrounded by many senior Red Robe Mages.

In this situation, Laiseman, upon hearing that Sazhas Tan was preparing to obtain more ancient demons from Yinbu Tu again, naturally could not sit still.

A 20‑level wolf‑snake demon already gave them such a headache; if a stronger demon broke free from its seal, even—

If it were that powerful Baro Flame Demon.

This battle wouldn't need to be fought.

Not to mention that demons already vastly outclass mortals of the same level; the demons underground in the Yinbu Tu Kingdom, each one a headache‑inducing immortal.

Otherwise, the gods would not have sealed them underground in the first place.

Laiseman truly lacks the courage to face an immortal Baro Flame Demon; if this were to happen, they might have to sacrifice the kingdom's strongest "Supreme Witch" to resolve the matter.

Of course, the ambassador's report back was not true.

After all, that queen intends to establish the Eternal Night Veil, clearly planning to make Yinbu Tu her own kingdom. How could she let Sail, ever watchful of Yinbu Tu, gain such a huge advantage?

She did agree to let Sail trade a demon for a massive amount of refined gold, but it was not the Baro Flame Demon Laiseman feared; it was a pseudo‑Legendary six‑armed snake demon.

Coincidentally, that six‑armed snake demon is actually the ancient princess residing in Degun City.

As for the Degun City residents who would be completely erased when the demon is unsealed—

The Vampire Grand Duke wouldn't care.

At this moment, senior Red Robe Mage Marash Teweier, who is escorting the convoy, twirls the school sigil ring on his index finger, its Abjuration deep blue sapphire flashing on the band.

Hexagonal amethysts hover above each carriage, tightly shielding the huge black box carried on the carriage backs, turning falling snowflakes into sulfur‑smelling ash.

"Increase the pace!" his voice echoed with the hollow timbre typical of Necromancers, "Before the moon's orbit reaches the Scorching Plane, we must deliver the refined gold across the Sigh Bridge."

Three hundred slaves hauled a twenty‑ton refined‑gold ore cart, the pain runes on the chains flickering with each step. Twelve Red Robe Mages lined both sides of the convoy; their robes were not uniformly scarlet—Conjuration masters' robe edges were embroidered with Star Realm silver threads, Illusionists' masks shimmered with iridescence, and Marash's own shoulder guards were set with prism‑light crystals that could deflect magic.

"We're about to leave the Sesk border; what on earth is the master thinking, sending all this glittering refined gold to that vampire hybrid in Yinbu Tu?" a Necromancer grumbled beside Marash.

In his view, vampires—Undead—are merely mages' slaves, unworthy of such precious magical material.

The Red Robe Mage gave no reply, but his expression grew serious, for he heard the sound of ice layers cracking from below.

Seven force walls instantly unfolded together. Conjuration mage Goreitam's demon left hand traced runes in the air, and the Evocation Force Wall instantly enveloped the first five ore carts.

"Frost Witch! Three o'clock direction!" his warning trembled with Abyssal tongue.

Laiseman's raiders descended simultaneously from multiple dimensions. Seven White Robe Witches rode giant owls formed from frost mist, followed by twenty Cold Iron armored women warriors, their shields etched with azure wolf totems. At the head, the witch elder's staff tip had ice crystals reassembling into three‑dimensional runes of the Book of Aiva.

"Evocation fools, deal with the ice storm!" Marash's force wall rippled, "Conjuration summon fire element, Illusionist disrupt enemy sight!" his school sigil ring fired a blue beam, and the coalescing blizzard suddenly formed a spherical void.

But the witches' incantations far exceeded expectations. Divination witch Ertina's third eye opened on her forehead, frost runes piercing the illusionist's mirrored maze. Transmutation master Linna Ruir's hands plunged into frozen earth, and the skeletal avenue suddenly animated into a frost giant python, hurling three ore carts into the air.

The Red Robe Mages' counterattack resembled a magical fireworks display. From the Conjuration‑torn Star Realm Rift surged Infernal Hounds, snarling with the polar ferocious bears summoned by the witches; the Evocation chain lightning exploded charred gullies on the ice, only to be reflected back by the Abjuration witch's refractive force field; the Illusionist's twelve "refined‑gold cart phantoms" caused three ice‑spike spears to lose their targets.

Marash's protective spell finally found a casting gap. When the witch elder chanted the third syllable of "Eternal Frost Pillar," the senior Red Robe Mage shredded the Scroll.

Nine‑Ring Abjuration Spell — 【Mistra's Veto】! A one‑time, large‑area reinforced anti‑magic stance spell.

The sky‑filled blue Arcane fire forcibly halted all teleportation magic within three hundred feet; the materializing Frost Titan let out a resentful roar, shattering into countless ice crystals.

"Now!" the witch elder was unflustered, instead thrusting her staff into her own chest, the dripping blood forming a Usga holy sigil on the snow. All Laiseman warriors suddenly glowed blue‑eyed, entering a berserk ice‑frenzy state. They charged under the Necromancer's negative‑energy ray, and shattered arms regenerated within the icy mist.

The Red Robe Mage Gairak's Conjuration peaked, and the six‑armed snake demon crawled out of the blazing summoning circle. Yet the Divination witch had already prepared a counter—three ice‑forged Dilo dwarf talismans traced perfect parabolas, landing precisely in the demon's six palms. The Abyssal creature screamed as it was repelled, simultaneously detonating Gairak's summoning circle.

When the seventh red-robed Mage collapsed from magical backlash, the Abjuration shield on the surface of the adamantine ore cart began to flicker. The witch elder's ice staff suddenly split into twelve ice crystal wedges, which were driven into the cart's base. Accompanied by a piercing metallic wail, twenty tons of adamantine together with the cart were uprooted and suspended in the ice field jointly maintained by the witches. "Don't even think about it!" Marash tore apart the prism necklace on his neck, the Abjuration ultimate spell 【Rainbow Light Sphere】 was about to form. But a surge of chaotic energy turbulence from the Chaotic Magic Zone suddenly descended—the magical disturbance spore planted three days earlier by a deceased Divination witch erupted now. The Rainbow Light Sphere twisted into a chaotic colored vortex, instead temporarily trapping the red-robed Mages.

When the adamantine ore cart vanished into the northern horizon, the last retreating Enchantment witch hurled three ice tears onto the battlefield. These tear droplets, upon touching the ground, instantly grew into a hundred-meter-high ice crystal forest, completely blocking the red-robed Mages' pursuit route. Marash watched the miserable reflection reflected from the ice crystal surface, and in his fury crushed the communication gem in his palm.

"Prepare to contact the chief." The high-ranking red-robed Mage's icy voice made the surviving slaves collectively lose bladder control; "Immediately report the loss of adamantine to Sai Er headquarters."

—

Sai Er headquarters, the Red Robe Mage Association——Crimson Spiral Hall.

Twelve layers of Abjuration barriers flowed like honeyed golden light across the vaulted ceiling; the projections of the heads of the eight major schools hovered above their corresponding rune circles. Basu stood in the third rank of the Necromancy array, his pallid face hidden beneath a crow-feather cloak, his left ring finger entwined with soul threads barely discernible to the naked eye——this was a covert channel for contacting the outside world.

"The adamantine transport team encountered a Lysserman ambush on the northeastern segment of the Bone Road." "Marash's projection at the center of the magic array bears scorch marks; the enemy used the frost forbidden chapter of the Book of Aivar—at least three great witches"

"The resonance curve of the frost rune and abyssal energy is abnormal." "The newly appointed head of Conjuration, Varrak Shadowthroat, displays magical afterimages; the void ray on his shoulder is devouring the ice crystals in the image—" "The witches have prepared at least three days' worth of spacetime anchors."

"This is a premeditated ambush." Varrak confirmed thus.

The mechanical prosthetic eye of the head of Transmutation, Tal Prismlight, swept across the field, its gear pupils constantly adjusting focus: "Only the heads of the eight major schools know the transport route." His voice carried a metallic grinding sound: "The leaker must be in the circular conference hall."

A chill rose up Basu's spine; after the necromancer's unique negative energy cycled three times within his body, he finally spoke: "Perhaps we should review the Divination school's last month's astrological report." He deliberately let a trickle of netherworld energy seep from his soul-binding staff: "Some frost omens might have been misread as elemental tide fluctuations."

The head of Necromancy, Sazas Tan, let out a laugh like the scraping of coffin lids; this lich's jawbone clacked with a tremolo: "My school will of course thoroughly investigate—" A skeletal hand suddenly slapped Basu's shoulder, frost spreading along the clavicle—"Especially members who have been frequently entering and exiting the soul vaults."

Basu instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his mind going blank. Faced with the most powerful existence in the Red Robe Mage Association, he dared not reveal any weakness.

!

If he finds out that the adamantine transport team's route was leaked by me...

When Tal Prismlight began reconstructing the leaker's energy signature, the bloodworms hidden in Basu's robe lining began to writhe. These parasites cultivated from his own bone marrow bit through the skin, carrying encrypted information as they burrowed into the earth's vein rift——this is the secret art of transmitting information via the resonance between Necromancy and the earth's meridian flow.

"I need permission to access the memory archives of all participants." Tal Prismlight's mechanical prosthetic eye locked onto Basu—"Let's start from the third rank of Necromancy."

The golden staff of the head of Transmutation lit up with the runes of the Truth Word Technique.

The soul fire inside Sazas Tan's skull surged: "The tradition of the Red Robe Mage Association."

A skeletal finger lifted slightly, and the space instantly filled with a negative-energy mist that blocks detection—"It's not the Abjuration school's place to point fingers!"

Seeing this, Basu breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he had temporarily escaped disaster.

Sazhas Tan's reputation is clearly not comparable to that of the newly risen Legendary Tar Lingguang, but he and the Conjuration's new chief Valak, as fresh blood of the Chief Council, are the only two besides Sazhas Tan who possess Legendary Level combat power, and both like to challenge Sazhas Tan's authority in every way.

Apart from those three, the remaining five major faction chiefs have long been pseudo‑Legendary under Sazhas Tan's tyranny, so they naturally dare not provoke his authority; now they watch everything silently.

Beside them, Valak said slowly, "Oh? Could it be that this matter was orchestrated by you, Lord Sazhas Tan, behind the scenes?"

Sazhas Tan remained cold and silent; he knew very well that the two were challenging his authority.

"The Six‑armed Serpent Demon trade was initiated by me; why would I sabotage my own operation?" the old lich said expressionlessly.

Valak snorted, "Who knows? Perhaps you fear I'll snatch your Six‑armed Serpent Demon?"

As the chief of Conjuration, Valak also covets the ancient demon of Yintu, but Sazhas Tan, wielding his might, monopolized the Six‑armed Serpent Demon.

The old lich's usually gentle gaze narrowed dangerously now; the two were becoming increasingly arrogant, and now dared to disrespect him openly in his presence.

Thinking of the treasure soon to be forged, Sazhas Tan made up his mind.

"When the Crimson Horn is forged, that plan must be set in motion," Sazhas Tan whispered to himself, casting an unflinching glance at Valak.

Valak, seeing the other ignore him and remain calm, flared up. What he despised most was Sazhas Tan's haughty demeanor; they were all Legendary Mages, and when the Red Robe Mage Guild first respectfully welcomed him, granting him part of the council leadership, why does he now act like this?

The Red Robe Mage Guild was nothing but Sazhas Tan's one‑man show.

If it weren't for the fact that the Feren Continent has only Sai Er as the openly evil‑aligned official Mage organization, Valak wouldn't have brought resources into the group, contributing all his unique knowledge to the Eight‑person Council just to secure a seat.

But after joining he found it far from what he expected; even though he and Tar Lingguang are Legendary Mages, facing Sazhas Tan's might, the other five chiefs treat them like air, and most decisions won't pass unless Sazhas Tan agrees, the other five won't either.

This made them feel extremely stifled.

Nevertheless, Valak and Tar Lingguang both know Sazhas Tan's Mage rank is higher; they are only 21st‑level Legendary Mages, while Sazhas Tan is a long‑renowned 24th‑level Mage.

So they could only endure for now.

But endurance does not mean they will grovel before Sazhas Tan; they are all Legendary Mages, and even if Sazhas Tan is stronger, the two 21st‑level Legendary Mages are confident they can team up to fight him.

The current situation is merely that Valak and Tar Lingguang fear that battling Sazhas Tan might backfire and benefit him, so they keep each other at arm's length.

(End of chapter)