Chapter 295: with translation of chapter title

Lin Ke couldn't help but think of the false innate witchcraft.

After becoming a formal wizard, Lin Ke used the false innate witchcraft less and less.

However, the data Lin Ke consulted to create the false innate witchcraft, he remembers clearly.

At a glance he recognized the combat style of the ten wizards of Michel's Grand Sage Tower—cooperative casting, also called combined casting.

Before the apocalyptic war with the Gods' World broke out, the wizard world relied on the combined casting of Grand Sage–level legions to dominate all realms.

Unfortunately, after the war a great deal of knowledge and schools were lost, including the combined casting techniques of the Grand Sage–level legions.

At first, Lin Ke didn't think there was anything strange about it.

Later, as he learned more about wizard history, he knew many Grand Sages who had ascended before the war survived the war and lived well.

Not to mention the five exalted Saints.

How could the knowledge of the Grand Sage–level legions' combined casting techniques possibly be lost?

During his advanced studies at the academy headquarters, Lin Ke happened to come upon a theory that seemed quite reasonable.

It is said that a deity of the Gods' World, equivalent to a wizard-world Saint, was granted a boon by the Elemental Saints through the combined casting of six Grand Sage–level legions; before being slain in one blow, He sacrificed Himself and some of His follower gods via a secret method, thereby completely sealing the rules of combined casting for the Grand Sage–level legions in the wizard world.

From then on, the wizard world only had combined casting techniques for Sage–level legions and smaller units.

Before the contest in Michel District where the five top wizard organizations decided educational resource quotas, Lin Ke had taught the Benevolent Brother Group and the Social Anxiety Group how to perform combined casting.

Unfortunately, half of the techniques Lin Ke taught came from the data and documents he found, and half were his own exploratory creations.

The enhancement of the spell effects was not ideal; it did not meet Lin Ke's expectations.

Thereafter, it was put on hold.

Now, seeing that six second‑level and four first‑level wizards from Michel's Grand Sage Tower can suppress a warship equivalent in combat power to a "Lark"-class vessel, Lin Ke immediately rekindled his interest in developing combined casting.

But now is not the time to think about those things.

"Flan, observe their casting method carefully."

"Understood, sir."

Perhaps the inner technique cannot be seen from the outward form, but it can still serve as a reference.

It will be of some help to Lin Ke's later refinement of his self‑created combined casting technique.

Immediately, a doubt welled up in his mind.

Shadow City is also famed for combined casting; I wonder whose technique is superior compared to Michel's Grand Sage Tower.

Thinking of this, Lin Ke shook his head.

Without actually fighting a few matches, it's impossible to tell who is better.

There's no need to guess wildly.

But Michel's Grand Sage Tower's determination to seize the Saint's inheritance is truly formidable.

The dispatched team is obviously carefully assembled, with the wizards full of mutual understanding.

Unlike the Rivulet Soth Academy, where all members are temporarily conscripted and not even given time to synchronize.

Michel's Grand Sage Tower team's actions are also tightly linked: they entered ostentatiously, broadcast threats to clear the field, and now launch a strong offensive.

Is this intended to create a battlefield environment most favorable for one‑on‑one combat before the Shadow City frontier expedition fleet's warship arrives in this star sector?

"Damn!"

Inside the warship of the Flare and Metal Mercantile Company team.

Vena the wizard, while directing her crew, controlling the warship, and shouting curses.

Last time, she was ambushed by Linke Grand, whose combat power was said to rival a third‑level wizard, and lost a supply ship.

This time she was again beaten up by ten wizards acting together, unable to fight back.

This left Vena the wizard feeling stifled and vaguely regretting not heeding Silvarno's advice to retreat in time.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! Give me a fierce counterattack!"

All these emotions assailed her mind, and Vena the wizard shouted angrily.

At this moment, do her crew members even have time to respond?

Each one nervously operated the warship's various subsystems—either specifically defending against high‑power wizard attacks, scanning the enemy formation to find a flaw, scouting the surrounding star sector to guard against other hidden threats, or controlling the combat system to counterattack the enemy…

No one thought of abandoning the warship, going into space, and dueling the ten wizards of Michel's Grand Sage Tower with wizardry.

It's a joke—if even the warship is suppressed by them, going out would be like delivering vegetables.

"Retreat!"

Inside the cockpit of the White Tower Alliance team's warship.

"Scholar" Silvarno, watching the real‑time battle footage from reconnaissance, gave a decisive order.

This time he will not, as before, shield the Flare and Metal Mercantile Company team.

Why save someone who won't listen to advice?

"Understood."

The warship's tower spirit accepted the order.

The remaining crew members exhaled in relief and simultaneously felt admiration for Silvarno.

They too were a hastily assembled team, lacking cohesion.

Facing these ten wizards of Michel's Grand Sage Tower who specialize in combined casting,

One‑on‑one duel?

They are by no means weak.

Team battle?

Better forget it.

The White Tower Alliance warship had already withdrawn far enough; withdrawing further would completely take it out of the star sector suitable for sniping the Shadow City frontier expedition team.

Conventional sub-light speed navigation mode cannot reach there in a short time; only by using the various scouting witch devices left there can we observe.

To re-enter the struggle for the Saint's Inheritance, the White Tower Alliance warship must break in via jump travel.

And jump travel, especially special-distance jump travel, imposes extremely high demands on both the warship operators and the Tower Spirit.

Not only must the warship piloting skill be proficient, but one must also master mathematics, celestial mechanics, cosmology, and other such disciplines.

Aside from high-ranking witches of Sage rank and above, ordinary fully qualified witches cannot achieve this.

Silvano himself believed he lacked such superb skill.

Thus, the White Tower Alliance team can formally announce that it has withdrawn from the contention for the Saint's Inheritance.

In the midst of her busyness, Witch Vina glanced at her own ally; the position of the White Tower Alliance warship instantly made her fume with rage, and she angrily cursed: 'Damn! They're running damn fast!'

She was also thinking, should she seek aid from Silvano, ask for cover, and take the opportunity to withdraw?

"Really damn bastard!"

Witch Vina cursed again, then gathered her thoughts and ordered: 'Give up counterattack, go all-out on defense! Then avoid battle and retreat!'

This meant they did not intend to stalemate any further.

Even after giving up counterattack, the ten Michel's Great Sage Tower witches, freed from casualty pressure, could very well combine forces to unleash a stronger offensive witchcraft, thereby damaging the warship.

Witch Vina could no longer attend to it.

She now had only one idea: to seize the moment, while she had already turned the main gun muzzle and was charging up to fire one or even several small-caliber annihilation light shots at her, before the Michel's Great Sage Tower warship had finished adjusting, and flee quickly.

"Turn! Turn!"

"Quickly, at the 3 o'clock direction, increase the shield strength."

"Annihilation Light! Watch out for the Annihilation Light!"

"Turn! Turn! Turn quickly!"

"Engine thrust direction adjustment complete."

"Advance! Quickly!"

Various orders rose and fell in the cockpit, and Witch Vina's heart was filled with sorrow.

Once again they fled in defeat.

Once again they fled in defeat!

Since that match ended, Witch Vina has felt that everything goes against her, constantly encountering setbacks.

What has become of this world?

"My lord, my lord, they're running toward you."

Fulanduo's voice echoed in Lin Ke's heart, shouting: 'My lord, they've lured the people over; what should we do now?'

"It's fine, don't panic."

After a word of comfort, Lin Ke continued to watch the battle through Fulanduo's perspective.

The Flame and Metal Trading Company warship indeed panicked and had no choice but to make a large detour, advancing in an arc toward the asteroid belt where Lin Ke and the five members of Team Two were hiding.

The ten witches of Michel's Great Sage Tower bombarded relentlessly from behind, pursuing without cease.

Soon Lin Ke realized that the cause-and-effect relationship had been inverted by Fulanduo.

It should be that the ten witches of Michel's Great Sage Tower deliberately drove the Flame and Metal Trading Company warship to flee toward the asteroid belt.

"We've been discovered!"

Lin Ke muttered to himself, not surprised.

Upon learning that Fletcher Domingo Sage would secretly escort their team the whole way, Lin Ke had already made many mental preparations.

For example, being drawn into the aftermath of a possible Sage-level great war;

For example, just like now, the team's whereabouts are easily seen through by Sages of other witch organizations, who then report it to their subordinates.

Not every Sage can manage to avoid bullying the weak with strength!

"Withdraw!"

Lin Ke hesitated not, immediately using his self-created Second-ring Witchcraft 'Quantum Encrypted Communication' to transmit the command and a coordinate to the five members of Team Two.

"Received."

"Received."

"......"

The five members of Team Two quickly replied.

Not long after, six shuttles withdrew toward the coordinates designated by Lin Ke.

A prerequisite for Lin Ke developing the Quantum Encrypted Communication witchcraft is that he could never obtain the First-ring Witchcraft 'Mind Link' monopolized by the True Spirit Witch Union, nor the upgraded versions of the Second-ring, Third-ring, and Fourth-ring.

The Second-ring Witchcraft 'Quantum Encrypted Communication' naturally must have two-way transmission capability.

The Third-ring Witchcraft 'Quantum Communication Platform' under development is expected to have an even greater effect.

It can allow group chat like a messaging group, and witches entering the Quantum Communication Platform can also conduct private chats.

Detaching from the vessel of witch devices, wanting to realize such a function in the form of witchcraft is still relatively difficult.

Lin Ke has still not finished developing it to this day.

Enough digression.

The five members of Team Two have withdrawn, but Lin Ke remains hidden in the asteroid belt.

Yes, of the six shuttles, only five carry real people.

The one belonging to Lin Ke carries an increasingly realistic dummy body.

This is Lin Ke's self-created witchcraft with the highest completeness, a Third-ring Witchcraft called 'External Incarnation'.

It blends the Elemental Witches' illusion witchcraft mainly of water and light systems, the True Spirit Witches' mind-blurring and cognition-confusing phantom witchcraft, the Machinery Witches' flesh-and-blood puppet substitute witchcraft, and the Body-refining Witches' residual-shadow and dummy-body incarnation witchcraft.

Although it is a mixture, it has achieved harmonious compatibility.

The externally constructed 'avatar' is indistinguishable from a real person in appearance, substance, mental frequency, and magical fluctuations.

If Lin Ke could grasp part of the rules of the life domain and elevate the 'avatar' witchcraft to the fourth circle or higher, perhaps he could truly achieve what Sun the Great Sage did—pluck a hair, blow, and it becomes a clone with considerable combat power.

Lin Ke wanted to test whether his third-circle witchcraft 'avatar' could fool the eyes of a fifth-circle sage.

As for the fleeing Flame and Metal Trading Company warship, and the ten wizards of Mixieer Great Sage's Tower relentlessly pursuing it behind, Lin Ke didn't even consider them.

Of course, accompanying the use of the 'avatar,' there was also the 'shape-shifting' after recalling Fulan duo.

Lin Ke instantly changed location, greatly enhancing his disguise and concealment, and continued to hide.

The unknown.

"Huh! Kind of interesting."

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Dean Fulisite, Principal Li'aobude let out a surprised low cry.

He actually didn't realize that the "Linke Grand" sitting in the shuttle was a fake, with the true body still hidden in the asteroid belt.

This discovery came from seeing through Linke Grand's true body's disguise and concealment.

"What a pity."

Dean Fulisite sighed.

If Linke Grand's disguise and concealment witchcraft were a bit better, good enough to fool these top sixth-circle sages, then Lin Ke's idea would truly be perfectly realized.

"What are you pitying?"

Principal Li'aobude retorted gloomily.

"Lin Ke just didn't do well enough."

Dean Fulisite sighed again.

"Come on! With such a genius, you should be secretly pleased; why pity?"

Principal Li'aobude flew into a rage, shouting, "I didn't even notice at first that the shuttle held a fake; even if I immediately saw through his true body's disguise and concealment, it doesn't mean other sixth-circle sages could do so! Lagenaer. Woertesi's combat strength is indeed strong, but in my estimation, if he doesn't focus on searching, accurately locating Linke Grand's hiding place would also take some time."

After a pause, Principal Li'aobude shouted, "A second-circle witch? You're telling me this damn thing is a second-circle witch? Do you believe it? I don't!"

Dean Fulisite smiled in response.

What Li'aobude can see, Fulisite cannot?

He just sighed 'what a pity' on purpose to annoy Li'aobude.

Who let this Li'aobude jerk act stupid again in front of him, trying to probe?

Inside the Flame and Metal Trading Company warship.

Weina witch watched the asteroid belt draw nearer, operated on the console, adjusted the ship's ingress course, and sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Damn, that's dark."

She clearly remembered that Xierwanuo had analyzed that the asteroid belt and a few other places might harbor teams from Ruowosuosi Academy or Meisuobulada University.

The ten wizards from Mixieer Great Sage's Tower, having racked their brains to force her to flee to the asteroid belt, intended to make her fight Ruowosuosi Academy or Meisuobulada University's team to the death, so they could reap the benefits.

"Damn, that's dark!"

Weina witch sighed again, but had no way to break the situation.

If she could freely choose her escape route, would she still be forced to keep turning?

All she could do was hope that the team possibly hiding in the asteroid belt would be sensible, retreat in time, and clear a path.

Or she could let go of grudges and join forces to strike back.

Otherwise, there's nothing else she can do!

(End of chapter)