Chapter 67: The Mage Assembly Under the Crosshairs

The next day, a major incident occurred within Degun City.

The Tok Mercenary Corps stationed in the outer city district were all brutally killed overnight, none surviving.

Witnesses claimed that that night the Tok mercenaries' camp was rocked by more than a dozen massive explosions, and the city guards who arrived the next day confirmed it.

The camp was a scene of devastation, buildings razed, and the ground littered with shattered limbs that seemed trampled by Monsters.

As the leader of the mercenary corps, Tok's corpse was found in the center of the training ground, exposed to the scorching sun, impaled by a sharp wooden spear.

"Hmph!"

Cha Rui Si slammed the tea cup in his hand onto the floor, his eyebrows trembling from excitement.

"Silent Mage Assembly, good, very good," Cha Rui Si said through clenched teeth, word for word.

He glanced toward the shadows in the room and said coldly, "The plan can begin tonight."

"Very well," a phantom voice echoed from the shadows.

Cha Rui Si turned his head to look at the pentagram mark on his palm, desire and greed flashing in his eyes.

"A powerful force, enough to dominate the power of the map. Three years ago that damned Green Dragon destroyed the opportunity. But this time I will never let it slip past me again!" — Ma Luo and Ao Li Fu were standing at the outskirts of the mercenary camp, where crowds of onlookers filled the area.

The spotted catfolk appeared nonchalant, but their fluffy ears twitched, silently eavesdropping on the surrounding conversations.

"How terrifying, what actually happened?"

"Didn't you hear? Supposedly there are many traces of Monsters inside. Who could have brought so many beasts from outside the city?"

"It must be those damned Mages. I heard they're like demons, able to Summon bloodthirsty beasts. Do you know, many people have gone missing in the city lately; I heard it's those Mages kidnapping people to feed their pets!"

"Ah, I've heard that rumor too. So it's true? Oh la la, how scary! Shang Ti Ya is above, why doesn't the city lord eradicate that damned Mage Assembly?"

"Who knows? Probably old confusion. Men De·Luo Sa's glory was lost three years ago when the Green Dragon attacked."

"Hehe, who says otherwise? The esteemed Shang Ti Ya archbishop gave his life to stop that vile Green Dragon, yet Men De·Luo Sa shut the door and acted like a coward."

"The king should strip him of his countship!"

"Perhaps those Mages are actually Men De·Luo Sa's own subordinates!"

"You make a good point; I once saw someone sneaking a large sack into the Luo Sa family's castle—maybe it contained the missing people!"

"Case solved! Those Mages are professionals supported by that coward Men De·Luo Sa! They're using our civilians' lives to feed the Mages' pets!"

The townsfolk whispered gossip and rumors, and Ma Luo's expression gradually turned speechless.

"Where did these people get such absurd rumors?" Ma Luo complained to Ao Li Fu.

Ao Li Fu's face darkened as he shook his head; as a Wanderer mingling among the neighborhoods, his intuition for conspiracies was sharp.

"I sense something off; perhaps someone is deliberately steering the rumors toward the Mage Assembly."

Ma Luo froze, about to speak, but Ao Li Fu raised his hand to interrupt, listening closely to nearby voices.

"My old man just came back from scavenging outside the city—it's terrifying. At the sewer entrance there are several corpses, crickets, the guards ignore them, just leaving the bodies for beasts to snatch. I wonder whose poor souls those are." The two exchanged a glance and silently left the crowd.

"Let's go check. That woman's husband has searched the whole city and still no trace; perhaps he's truly dead," Ma Luo mused.

Since learning that the young woman's husband worked for Tok, Ma Luo has made investigating him the primary case for his all‑purpose agency.

Although Tok is dead now, his secrets remain to be uncovered.

Thinking of this, Ma Luo sighed; the master never considered the Dependents' tasks. Had he known the master would act last night, he would have applied to follow and inquire about his own commission's clues.

Nonetheless Ma Luo harbored no complaints; he knew his role—running the all‑purpose agency to earn gold and intel for the master. Such trivial matters would never draw Naimi Xisi's attention, and the master might not even realize he has this task.

The two stepped out of the city to the sewer entrance at the eastern outer wall of Degun City.

"This is it, crickets, it stinks to death," Ao Li Fu covered his nose, his face twisted.

The sewer mouth beyond the east wall disgorges the outer district's refuse; a massive opening continuously spews sewage and trash, soaking a few hundred meters around in a shallow layer of filthy sludge.

"Look there!" Ao Li Fu pointed near the sewer entrance.

Ma Luo looked over and saw several corpses lying on the ground, their bodies covered in filth.

He approached a corpse, about to flip it with his hand, but the foul stench assaulted him; pinching his nose, he waved his hand, and an invisible telekinetic force turned the body over.

This is a benefit Ma Luo gained after receiving the Dragonblood blessing: although his Mage rank remained unchanged, he attained a fifth‑level Psychic Sorcerer class! Of course, such a dramatic shift stems from Ma Luo's innate Spiritual Power, perfectly suited to the Psychic Sorcerer vocation.

Unfortunately, because Ma Luo lacks a corresponding Idealism worldview, his Psychic Sorcerer mindset clashes with his Mage thinking, likely preventing any further Psychic Sorcerer upgrades.

Mana‑formed telekinesis turned the front side of all corpses over; Ma Luo produced the portrait the young woman had given and compared them, finally finding a match. "Look, it's him! The woman's husband, Tom," Ma Luo exclaimed.

He then used telekinesis to search Tom's corpse, uncovering a sewage‑soaked letter from within.

He endured the stench to open the letter, finding many characters stained by sewage, illegible, only allowing a vague glance.

"Transport. Goods location: within sewer altar. Construction prohibited. Piglets 10 persons."

Ma Luo stared into the depths of the sewer, where darkness yielded no glimmer, as if a hidden beast in the shadows would devour any intruder.

Ao Li Fu swallowed, "You don't intend to go in and look, do you?"

Ma Luo nodded; Ao Li Fu's hair bristled, and he stammered, "Are you sure?"

Ma Luo scratched his head, thought for a moment, then retrieved a clump of iridescent powder from his spell component pouch and sprinkled it onto both of them.

As the incantation took effect, mana rendered the powder‑coated pair invisible.

"That should do it."

Ao Li Fu sighed, "I'll never go with you again; that blunt‑nerved Brittany is more suitable for you."

Two invisible silhouettes drifted down the sewer.

(End of Chapter)