Chapter 171: Fourth-level Wizard

Mai Ti'er fell into the mist, and before he hit the ground his presence was already gone.

A soul flew out of the corpse, Lei En watched it being absorbed by him, and the next second his energy began to surge.

Ten days ago, killing that ninth-level gunner had raised his energy to over 70%.

Just now the machine gun slaughtered over a hundred supernaturals; because they were too far, most souls were not absorbed, wasted, and only supplied about a dozen energy units.

Mai Ti'er is a Legendary Wizard; the soul of a Legendary Supernatural, worth more than several hundred first-stage supernaturals.

In two or three breaths, the energy was filled to full.

Lei En deftly opened his phone interface, poured all the absorbed soul power into the Elements, not even having time to check which Elements they were; any that could be upgraded had their progress bars moving.

The absorption and consumption of soul power instantly reached equilibrium.

The energy began to drop, then hovered around 90%, without waste.

"Huh…"

Lei En let out a light breath, his heart filled with joy.

Since the last time at the Iron Must underground fortress, after absorbing the duplicate soul power of the Legendary Mid-stage Trickster Har Ken, he finally felt the surge of soul power again.

However, Mai Ti'er is only tenth-level; the soul power he provides is a notch less than Har Ken's duplicate.

Lei En carefully looked at the Element icons.

He found that the third-level "Steel Body" and the seventh-level "Strength" had their progress bars unmoved, seemingly at a bottleneck, temporarily unable to invest soul power to strengthen them.

He adjusted the soul power allocation, first raising the ring count of the two second-ring skills "Dragon Power Technique" and "Thorn Electric Armor", and poured the remaining soul power entirely into the "Swiftness" that boosts his own speed and agility.

Since ascending to Fourth-level Wizard, his demand for soul power has also surged.

Even the soul of a Legendary Wizard, once transformed into soul power, no longer grants the kind of leapfrog boost he enjoyed at first-stage.

Lei En shook his head lightly; now is not the time to study soul power in detail.

When Mai Ti'er died, his spells failed, the surrounding wind wall and mist dispersed rapidly, and Lei En's figure became visible.

He stood in the middle of the hillside, corpses everywhere, a layer of blood-red seeping from beneath the grass.

Among these corpses, one particularly eye‑catching body was Mai Ti'er.

A Legendary Wizard may have been glorious in life, but in death he is no different: his chest riddled with bullet holes, body drenched in blood, his face still bearing despair and pain, motionless.

Outside the castle, the Secret Fire Guard and the Silver‑clad Knights still could not believe what they had seen.

"He's dead?"

"Lord Earl of Glamorgan actually killed a Legendary Wizard!"

"Goddess above…"

Pan Xi'er seemed as if struck by a petrify spell, his whole body rigid, limbs trembling uncontrollably.

As a high-level Wizard, she knows well the might of a Legendary Wizard, never supporting Lei En's assault on Azure Water High Fortress; if she hadn't known Aoxiliya was covertly protecting, she would never have led a squad to adventure with Lei En.

She imagined several outcomes: either Lei En would retreat in disgrace, with Aoxiliya saving her life; or she would die here on the spot—any case, no good ending.

But she never imagined that Lei En would directly kill Mai Ti'er!

Mid-stage Wizard slays Legendary Wizard!

This completely overturns Pan Xier's understanding of supernatural power.

Not only her, but every member of the Secret Fire Guard, the Silver‑clad Knights, and many onlookers hidden in Azure Water Street were all stunned by this result.

No one inside the castle dared to come out.

For a moment, the surroundings fell into utter silence.

Lei En pretended to glance casually at Aoxiliya; she hovered invisibly in midair, her expression also somewhat complicated.

In this battle, the two cooperated with great tacit understanding.

If she hadn't intervened from the shadows, Lei En knows he would have had no chance to kill Mai Ti'er.

He, while converting the absorbed soul power, walked to Mai Ti'er's corpse and picked up several loot items, including the staff and two enchanted rings.

These items were clearly valuable, especially one ring that seemed to be spatial equipment.

But now is not the time for appraisal; Lei En slipped the ring into his pocket, handed the staff to the flying Pan Xi'er, and said, "Leave two people to guard the gate, the rest follow me up to surround the castle."

"Yes, sir."

Pan Xi'er responded, but his gaze fell on Lei En's machine gun, curiosity in his eyes, but more so awe.

The gate at the foot of the mountain opened, and the Silver‑clad Knights drove their silver‑scaled horses to charge up.

Lei En, gun in hand, led the way to the castle's main gate.

Amidst the sounds of all things, he heard that there were still nearly two hundred people inside the castle, but most were ordinary folk, few supernaturals left, and likely no masters remained.

Before he could breach the gate, several supernatural‑looking guards raised their arms to greet him.

At the front was, surprisingly, an elf.

The elf was male, handsome, with long, pointed ears, age indeterminate, dressed in a luxurious robe, a long sword at his waist, the tips of his black hair tinged with a hint of dark cyan; as he moved, a faint breeze seemed to surround him, giving him a slightly ethereal aura, distinguished and extraordinary.

Lei En was slightly surprised, recognizing him as a Wind Elf.

Although Wind Elves are not a type of High Elf, they are still ordinary elves, yet relatively rare; compared to the most numerous Wood Elves, their numbers are not large.

Lei En used his Soul Eye to observe; the Wind Elf's strength was impressive, clearly an Elf Ranger, naturally attuned to wind elements, and through training had mastered several wind‑element abilities, not spells but combat techniques combined with swordsmanship.

Compared to human supernaturals, he would be equivalent to a fifth‑ to sixth‑level Gale Swordmaster.

However, the Wind Elf's next move left everyone astonished.

He, with a few guards, followed by dozens of ordinary people in territorial officials' clothes, knelt on one knee in the open space at the castle's center, faced Lei En, and shouted loudly: "Merciful Lord Earl, we pledge our loyalty to you!"

The Wind Elf's voice was pleasant, slightly magnetic, speaking the Aurelien Language in an elegant tone, earnest, and performed a grand salute to Lei En.

Lei En did not agree immediately; the castle holds more than these people.

He gave the Wind Elf a few glances, confirming the elf was not the overseer of the Earl of Glamorgan's domain, and asked, "Who are you?"

He gave the wind spirit a few glances, confirming the spirit was not the overseer of the Earl of Glamorgan's domain, and asked, "Who are you?"

The Wind Elf hurriedly replied, "Sir, I am Fabi An, hired by the former Chief Steward, and I serve as the territory's Tax Deputy Officer."

Tax Deputy Officer?

Lei En raised an eyebrow; this was rather unexpected.

A Wind Elf had somehow entered the Empire's territory, become an official, and yet was only a Tax Deputy Officer, not a full‑time post.

However, the soul‑color indicated that Fabi An was not lying.

His surrender was genuine, and his mood was extremely urgent, trembling with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Lei En probably understood that this was a timely‑witted elf, clearly looking to cling to his leg with this opportunity.

Interesting… he recalled the idiom of spending a thousand gold to buy a horse bone.

As the territory's financial officer, Fabi An must be well aware of the internal situation; if he truly surrenders, his help would be considerable.

Lei En's gaze swept over the kneeling crowd and saw that they were not all sincere; most merely wanted to survive.

He changed his mind and said, "Fabi An, I accept your loyalty."

"Everyone drop their weapons, shed their armor, sit at the wall corner over there, and await judgment."

Fabi An's face brightened; without hesitation he flung his long sword from his waist and, with the others, honestly sat beneath the castle's wall corner.

Lei En ordered two Secret Fire Guard Wizards to guard the captives and asked, "Fabi An, what about the others in the castle? Why haven't they come out to surrender?"

"The Chief Steward is still inside…"

Fabi An, without hesitation, betrayed his superior, "Sir, I know where they are hidden; please follow me."

"Very well." Lei En liked the Wind Elf's self‑awareness; even without a guide he could find the enemy, and he nodded, "Take your sword with you."

Fabi An's face showed tears of gratitude, "Sir, you are the most handsome and benevolent lord I have ever seen!"

So he's still a bootlicker!

Lei En felt a private resentment, but it sounded rather satisfying.

Fabi An picked up his long sword, led the charge, and rushed into the castle's great hall with Lei En.

Bishui High Castle had stood for nearly two thousand years, exceedingly ancient; its architectural style could be summed up in one word—"towering." It covered a vast area, the main structures rose high, all built of stone; the great hall, corridors, stables, and training ground were all more spacious and lofty than ordinary castles, exuding grandeur everywhere.

A castle so large could conceal several thousand people.

However, with Fabi An as guide and Lei En's Voice of All Things, they swept the castle in just half a quarter‑hour, locating enemies hidden in every corner.

Most people, upon seeing Lei En and the silver‑armored knights, immediately raised their hands and surrendered.

Occasionally a few stubborn resistors remained; without Lei En intervening, Fabi An displayed the prowess of an elf ranger—body like a phantom, speed like wind, his long sword mercilessly slashing those who did not surrender at once.

Finally, in a training ground within the castle, they found the Chief Steward.

"Sir, they are all inside." Fabi An pointed at the tightly shut door of the training ground, eager to proceed.

Lei En nodded.

He heard the sounds inside clearly: five individuals, all transcendents, one of whom was gravely wounded, his heartbeat faint—most likely the Chief Steward he had earlier blasted with a Fireball Technique, now unconscious.

"I'll go."

Lei En had no intention of negotiating; a merely average‑strength Chief Steward, even if captured alive, would be useless.

He opened the rune tome, and clusters of fireballs gathered, pearl‑linked cannons firing, directly hurling the remaining Eightfold Fireball Technique into the training ground.

Boom—

Amid the fierce explosions, five souls burst out and were absorbed by Lei En.

At that moment, he fully transformed Maitir's soul; Element enhancement completed, and those souls filled his power to the brim!

"Soul ascension—merge with a demon soul and you become a Level‑5 Wizard."

(End of Chapter)