Chapter 71: Connection and Disconnection

Luge's heart rose to his throat; of course he frankly admitted it wasn't just out of concern for the little Chong Ren. Although he still hadn't mastered only four spells including Demon Body, he still wanted to go into the city to search for that legendary miraculous spring water; even if there were no more spells to learn, he could still cultivate a Meditation Method, and progress would surely be extremely fast — when he used the Spirit Heart Potion before, he felt its effect on forging and mastering Meditation Method Runes was absolutely superb.

Come on, Ba'angte! Let's see your firm resolve!

A real man must be brave and fearless! Beat him! Beat that hairless handsome face of his!

As if hearing Luge's silent roar, the ever-silent Ba'angte's body flashed with several Spell Waves in succession; he lunged out violently, a Longsword appearing in his hand at some unknown moment — this was the first time Luge had seen him use a sword. The two Heavy Armor-clad guards weren't slow either, but in a single flash they were both slashed diagonally into two halves. That Wizard Apprentice in splendid robes holding a wooden staff seized the chance to retreat and avoid the strike.

The splendid-robed Wizard Apprentice, as if a force behind him was pulling, maintained his retreating posture, waving the wooden staff in his hand; in an instant countless Fireballs twisted into being in midair, pointing straight at the charging burly man.

Submerging him in an instant.

Luge was the most special among the surrounding Apprentices; he wasn't staring at those strangely-shaped Fireballs, but watching the Longsword in Ba'angte's hand, and the two corpses cleanly split diagonally open.

Thoughts raced in his heart, but something always didn't match up, and he couldn't reason it through clearly.

"Hahaha! Decades, and your thinking is still that of a Knight; Knights are only fit to be guards," the splendid-robed Apprentice spoke while his spells didn't stop, "You painstakingly deconstructed a One-Ring Spell, yet you actually chose Stone Fist Technique, wasting time and resources; a vulgar person will never go far on this path."

Rare opportunity; Luge widened his eyes and watched carefully. Just as he thought, battles between Wizard Apprentices mainly rely on solidified spells, allowing more reckless, unrestrained casting without fear of disturbance — both fast and low-consumption, supplemented by other Spell Combinations, or pursuing Spell Reform. And that splendid-robed Apprentice's wooden staff and long robe were obviously not mere decorative props.

Suddenly, the splendid-robed Apprentice's figure paused; a force seemed to pull him sideways along the momentum, rather than forcibly confronting him head-on.

Ba'angte lunged from the smoke and dust, his figure like lightning; at that moment the Fireballs closing on him all slowed down, and with his skill he flashed past — ten missed one. This was against originally extremely fast Fireballs; if they were ordinary Fireballs they'd probably become snail-slow. The snow-bright silver Longsword flicked toward the splendid-robed Apprentice like a ghost.

The clearly expensive wooden staff snapped in response; the splendid-robed Apprentice dodged another strike, his expression very ugly.

Luge cried "what a pity" inwardly; he looked left and right, wanting to hide farther away, but seeing Fireball Man and the Elf still at this Bonfire, he didn't move his feet, just edged closer to the Elf.

"You actually succeeded?"

The splendid-robed Wizard Apprentice composed his emotions, calmly watching Ba'angte's sword-gripping hands.

"Not yet, but it's enough. Deconstructing a One-Ring Spell isn't that easy, nor as hard as imagined," Ba'angte said.

"Meaning, if you'd gone all-out with full strength on the first burst, you'd already have been able to kill me..." The splendid-robed Apprentice seemed not to hear the second half, very concerned as he reconfirmed the guess in his heart.

Ba'angte didn't speak; his legs bent slightly — only a bang was heard!

All surrounding Apprentices cried out in alarm.

The splendid-robed Wizard Apprentice's arm holding the broken staff was already tumbling into midair; layer upon layer of spells on his body that Luge didn't recognize — spells that could make him tougher — all shattered, light dispersing.

Simultaneously, a Fireball stretched into a thin elongated shape was easily avoided by Ba'angte.

The splendid-robed Apprentice stared at Ba'angte with a calm face for a long time, suddenly bowed in salute, then picked up his own arm and turned to leave. At the same time, that black Claw high up gripping the Crybaby Chong Ren also dissipated without a trace.

Luge looked up; he couldn't see the little Chong Ren's expression, only saw the little Chong Ren seize the chance to hide again.

While he was dazed, Ba'angte had already slowly walked back to the Bonfire. Fireball Man stirred the ladle, once more ladling a bowl of thick soup full of Meat chunks and mushrooms to Ba'angte. Ba'angte took it and sat by the Bonfire silently drinking.

Among those present, no one went to stop that little Chong Ren heading toward the faintly glowing Mysterious City anymore, advancing persistently like a moth to flame.

Those who inherently lacked courage were naturally intimidated into silence.

Luge looked around, ran over, picked up that broken wooden staff inlaid with a large piece of black Crystal Stone, returned to the Bonfire and handed it to Ba'angte. The burly man nodded once, silently putting the thing away.

As they spoke, that city grew several degrees larger again.

Luge gazed; he could already see some gorgeous buildings. Buildings in the city were mainly white, occasionally accented with black; the layout of houses and streets was both orderly and aesthetic, and one could clearly see different districts had different purposes — some were clearly like Forest Path Garden.

"Legend says the people living in this city are all servants who serve that Wizard for life. That Wizard happened to need some people for experiments, so he bestowed upon these people who served him all their lives a way to gain eternal life in another strange form..." Elf Ganaya said beside Luge.

"I guess they can't enjoy delicious food," Fireball Man said without raising his head.

Luge thought, I guess they're not necessarily willing either!

How could ordinary people obtain eternal life that easily.

He watched the distant city, heart still in his throat, afraid the Crybaby Chong Ren would turn to flying ash like his aunts — moths to flame — and then he'd probably have to tell a well-meaning lie to appease the little worm in the egg. This little guy in the egg, though said not to have ignited the Spiritual Wisdom Light, was getting smarter and smarter — also a strange worm.

Long wait; everyone seemed to be holding their breath, all around extremely quiet — even those Lizardmen carefully slowed their breathing; one with an itchy nose got slapped by a companion.

Suddenly, the whole space trembled.

The mysterious city, as if a key waited a thousand years had been inserted.

It began rapidly expanding before everyone's eyes. Luge strained to gaze into the distance, searching for the little Chong Ren's figure, until at the End of a Street he saw a small blurry figure flash past, seemingly entering some building. As the Mystery City grew, one could even roughly see figures moving inside some buildings; people whirling, as if dancing at a ball amid cheers and laughter.

He gazed; this scene that should look happy instead felt eerie and unfathomable.

As the city grew, rows of golden-glowing stairs descended from the sky.

Luge looked at the people beside him.

Fireball Man had already put away the pot; everyone stood ready. Those Wild Wizard Apprentices in the distance were even more bright-eyed, excitement hidden beneath calm.

He stuck to his principle, staring fixedly at the Elf and the others' movements. Seeing them move, he followed with his steps. The golden stairs were breathtakingly beautiful; the first moment they descended, Wizard Apprentices walked up, and their figures vanished before everyone's eyes. Luge's group walked behind; he was near Ba'angte and the others, giving quite a fox-borrowing-tiger's-might feeling — no one dared approach all the way, directly clearing an empty stairway.

The instant he stepped on, blinding golden light submerged him.

Immediately he appeared on a Square. He blinked, looking at the beautiful Fountain in the distance, then at the few strange Wizard Apprentices beside him. The Elf and Fireball Man who were closer to him were already gone, but fortunately Ba'angte was still at his side.

(Chapter End)