Lu Jun sat cross-legged on a giant rock in the forest, seizing the time to recover his magic energy.
Next, he would be heading to the Western Ridge Fortress along with Zhu Meng and the others to resist the White Magic Eagle tribe.
This was another great opportunity to harvest Soul Essences. Among his Magic System, the Mind, Space, and Summoning elements were still stuck at the Intermediate Level and hadn't reached Level Four yet. As for his six Basic Elements, all had already reached Level Four.
However, White Magic Eagles were aerial demon creatures Lu Jun had never dealt with before, and many ground-based tactics would be ineffective such as the Water and Summoning Elements, which would be greatly weakened.
Fortunately, his means were abundant land, sea, and air all covered, each with its own solutions.
If his Space Element reached the Advanced Level, he would be able to move freely during aerial combat. For now, though, his fourth-tier spiritual strength wasn't weak, and his Psychic Control skill was versatile. He could already fly, and when combined with the Metal Element, he feared very little.
Zhu Meng's sharp eyes swept across everyone, and he shouted, "All personnel, follow orders proceed to Western Ridge!"
With that command, the group remained still for a moment before finally awakening from the psychic impact.
Captain of the Guards Wu Pingjing suddenly spread his six snowy-white wings wide. A fierce wind surged as he took off first, leading over a hundred royal guards straight toward Western Ridge.
Lu Jun blended into the formation, his three-foot-long Black-Gold Dragon Patterned Sword expanding in the wind to over thirty feet. Riding the sword in flight, he looked like he was dancing atop a nimble black dragon in the sky, an eye-catching sight.
When they arrived at Western Ridge, they were greeted by a shocking scene.
The sky was clear and open. Fluffy white clouds like snow were scattered across it, while colorful rays of light burst upward from the fortress, tearing through layers of mist and filled with the stench of destruction.
Blood rained down across the sky, and countless feathers stormed through the air like a blizzard, forming a thick layer on the forest ground near the fortress.
Yet no matter how hard the military mages tried, the 'white clouds' on the horizon remained massive. Slaughter wave after wave of them, and still more emerged. They couldn't see the end of the White Magic Eagle tribe, couldn't break through it.
Centered around the massive fortress spun an enormous white storm, affecting dozens of kilometers, shaking the mountains and forests, and ruthlessly grinding human beings to death.
Lu Jun took a deep breath and charged into the vast cloud storm alongside the royal guards and members of the Tribunal.
As for the Super-level Councilman Zhu Meng, he didn't recklessly join the battlefield. He landed on top of the fortress, sharp eyes scanning the heavens, trying to spot the presence of a Monarch-level creature among the tens of thousands of White Magic Eagles.
Super Mages wouldn't waste their magic energy lightly they needed to use it where it mattered most, such as containing a Monarch-level demon.
Buzz buzz buzz!
On the other side, Lu Jun had no such concerns. Being only a Dual-Element Advanced Mage, he wasn't worth a Monarch-level enemy making a personal move. Thanks to the three-dimensional obstruction of the White Magic Eagles, he could unleash his full combat power without being noticed.
With a single thought, he activated the Metal Element Intermediate Spell Weapon Control: Overlapping Storm.
Above his head, the three-foot-long jet-black sword buzzed and vibrated. In a flash, it split into twenty-one swords. Each expanded to over thirty feet in size, radiating killing intent. Gray-white aura of death and calamity gathered.
In the battlefield environment, likely influenced by the White Tiger Totem's traits, his Metal Element spells gained an extra edge in power.
Around him, dozens of sword lights crisscrossed, weaving into a net and spinning faster and faster like a storm. A pale tornado rose into the sky, its razor-sharp aura sweeping across the area.
From all directions, White Magic Eagles that accidentally flew into the storm were instantly minced into pulp, blood blossoms blooming in the air. The spherical storm rampaged through the sky, painting the region in blood mist.
Once Lu Jun unleashed his Level Four Intermediate Metal Spell, combined with the dual metallic enhancements, its lethality rivaled that of Advanced Spells better even than many Wind Advanced Spells.
In just a short time, over two hundred White Magic Eagles were slaughtered cleanly, creating a vacuum zone around him.
Rumble rumble rumble!
He then tried diving down with the Water Element Intermediate Spell Violent waves Flooding. A vast, azure waterfall poured down from the sky. Yet the effect was underwhelming—most White Magic Eagles sensed the incoming torrent and dodged it.
Only a few dozen unlucky ones failed to evade and were swept by the river current, crashing into the mountain forest beside the fortress. Water splashed high like a towering water wall, and the White Magic Eagles were crushed to pieces.
Seeing this, Lu Jun decisively raised a Heavens Water Curtain, using the indestructible barrier to shield himself and focus on slaughter with his other elements.
Gradually, he began to get the hang of it. A dark blue Water Domain unfurled, birthing vast amounts of white mist and steam, filling the surrounding air.
Subtly, the feathers of any White Magic Eagle that came close were soaked with water droplets, growing several times heavier and drastically slowing their flight.
At this point, when he used Heavenly River Downpour again, over a hundred White Magic Eagles were swept into it.
And that wasn't the end. Lu Jun's vast spiritual force surged forth as he finally unleashed his long-unused Psychic Element Intermediate Spell Mind Control. His eyes gleamed with a semi-transparent glow, and layer upon layer of ripples spread out.
Caw caw caw!
The White Magic Eagles that had been intimidated by Lu Jun's terrifying slaughter now seemed provoked, their eyes bloodshot as they dove at him madly.
A large cluster of cloud gathered, imposing and aggressive, their massive forms crashing down like self-destructing fighter jets.
Under Lu Jun's psychic lure, they formed a dense, tight formation.
He immediately flew high into the sky and smashed down a punch. Above the "cloud cluster," a raging flood emerged from thin air, sweeping hundreds of them down to the ground in one go.
Lu Jun was having a blast, his movements becoming increasingly fluid. He lured in monsters and wiped them out in one breath, alternating between Water and Metal Spells without neglecting his Psychic Element either.
The White Magic Eagle fiends tried to counterattack, but whether they were Servant-class or Warrior-level, their razor-sharp talons and beaks struck the water barrier without causing a ripple.
Occasionally, Lu Jun also used his Space Element Telekinesis. Silver light surged, sometimes repelling, blocking, or shifting away the White Magic Eagles that managed to get close.
Amid this high-intensity combat and external pressure, Lu Jun's understanding of every element deepened. He wove spells together with practiced ease, pairing them two-by-two.
Previously, Lu Jun had always felt it difficult to unify his power. Now, however, he vaguely grasped the essence of multi-element integration.
So far, with two elements promoted to Advanced Level and six elements in total, he had mastered a total of fourteen spells, not counting secondary effects or evolved variants truly a vast arsenal.
Whether each spell could be used to full effect, whether they could be combined these required long-term combat experience to refine.
Just by digging into his own abilities, Lu Jun's combat power soared at astonishing speed.
Eventually, he developed a fixed pattern to deal with the White Magic Eagle swarms. His killing methods proved invincible.
Nothing more just skill honed to perfection.
With each breath, over two hundred White Magic Eagles fell, and four to five soul remnants either synthesized or were born anew. Faint blue glimmers of soul light drifted toward the White Tiger Pendant.
Above the lake of blood, starlight scattered. Lu Jun now had fifty Servant-level Soul Essences and over fifty incomplete Warrior-level Soul Essences, with a new one just about to form.
This meant Lu Jun had slain at least 2,500 White Magic Eagles in a short time enough to wipe out an entire minor tribe.
It wasn't an exaggeration. Even Mo Fan, with four Intermediate Elements not yet fully cultivated, could slaughter an entire Undead tribe. For Lu Jun to achieve this was only natural.
Lu Jun made a fortune in silence, blending into the battlefield to reap soul Essences. What he didn't know was that, affected by the war and bloodshed, the White Tiger Pendant was vibrating with joy, its platinum brilliance growing brighter, as if it were gradually awakening and ascending.
The White Tiger governs slaughter. Military command tokens were once called "Tiger Talismans" large-scale wars fell under its domain of authority.
But no matter how much Lu Jun killed, the sky ahead remained a vast white expanse. The White Magic Eagle clouds could not be fully cleared.
Because what came wasn't merely a tribe of White Magic Eagles it was a kingdom, comparable to the chaos brought by the Yangtze Crocodile Monarch.
Fifty formed a nest. Fifty nests made a tribe. Under a monarch's command, there were at least over twenty Commander-level demon, and for great monarchs like the Silver Sky Lord, the number was even higher.
This meant that twenty major tribes had mobilized nearly one hundred thousand in number.
What Lu Jun killed was but a drop in the ocean.