In the dense forest, five black-robed Wizards moved silently. They seemed to be shrouded in a layer of shadow, making it impossible to discern their exact appearance or form.
If a Wizard who studied shadow spells were to witness this scene, they would immediately recognize it as the shadow veil from shadow magic.
This spell is a lower-tier spell of the shadow curtain, and its effect is to prevent frequent mental probing. A Wizard's mental power would be deceived by the shadow veil, mistaking the Wizard using it for just a patch of shadow.
Suddenly, the leading black-robed Wizard stopped in his tracks, and a layer of Magic Barrier burst forth from his body.
The other Wizards following him activated their Magic Barriers almost simultaneously.
However, after activating, the forest remained eerily quiet.
"What's going on, Captain?" one Wizard inquired through mental communication.
Without turning his head, the captain replied, "The Magic Power trace of that rat has disappeared here. Be careful; he's probably watching us from somewhere in the shadows."
The leading black-robed Wizard looked much like an ordinary person, but above his eyes, he had an additional pair of eyes.
These eyes had no whites, appearing as two black gems.
This pair of eyes could see the traces left by the energy of transformed beings, and in his vision, the ethereal blue traces symbolizing Magic Power that they had been pursuing suddenly vanished.
This was very strange.
Before this point, there had been no signs of the Magic Power traces weakening.
Unless... this Wizard's destination was right here.
A flicker of panic crossed the captain's mind as he gestured to his teammates, preparing to abandon this operation.
But at that moment, a faint sound, akin to the grinding of gears, reached his ears.
The captain remembered that there were no Alchemist Wizards among his team.
Boom! Without hesitation, the captain swung his staff, and a fireball as brilliant as the sun immediately hurtled toward the direction of the sound.
The fireball exploded, scattering flames that dispelled the darkness of the forest.
At the same time, the captain's heart sank to the depths.
Four steel giants, each over three meters tall, stood beside them, less than ten meters away.
These giants were coated in black alchemical paint, effectively absorbing the scattered light in the forest, and their creator was not satisfied with just that; these steel giants could also shield against mental probing.
None of the members of their team were novices; during the pursuit, their mental power had been spread out within a fifty-meter radius, specifically for traps and ambushes.
But they had somewhat forgotten that they were not battling natives this time, but a group of Black Wizards just like themselves.
Bang! The steel giants struck almost simultaneously, their towering three-meter frames not hindering their speed and agility, but rather enhancing their imposing presence.
When a three-meter-tall steel giant charged at a speed of two hundred meters per second, any creature in its path would tremble instinctively.
The steel giants almost instantly scattered this Wizard team, their massive Chainsaw Swords slicing through the Wizards' Magic Barriers as if they were cutting through butter.
Crack!
One Wizard was cleaved in two, blood spraying out in an instant.
"Kava, don't be so brutal," one steel giant said to another in a language the Wizards could not understand.
"The master needs the bodies of these Wizards."
The giant being addressed flicked the blood off his blade, responding somewhat awkwardly, "I didn't expect it to be this easy."
The captain watched the scene in horror, retreating without hesitation. These four steel giants had almost instantly dealt with his teammates, and the difficulty was no greater than killing chickens.
This was definitely not something a Second Circle Wizard could accomplish.
The Black Tower Wizard Academy had dispatched a Third Circle Wizard; this matter had to be reported up the chain.
With a wave of his staff, the captain's figure immediately appeared in a distant shadow.
He could also use the ability to traverse shadows.
But before he could use shadow traversal again, a fist-sized black fireball exploded beside him out of nowhere.
Although this fireball did not break his Magic Barrier, it disrupted his impending shadow traversal.
"Damn it!"
The captain cursed, quickly pulling out a Crystal Ball from his pocket.
Since he couldn't return, at least the information had to be sent back.
He was a Wizard who had been on the battlefield, so he had that much awareness.
But just as he took out his Crystal Ball, he saw his Magic Barrier suddenly ripple.
Fists fell like raindrops upon his Magic Barrier, and then these fists abruptly vanished, a surge of intense danger flooding his heart.
If he didn't dodge, death awaited him.
But at this moment, it made little difference whether he dodged or not. Dodging this punch would only lead to being killed by those steel giants.
The captain quickly tapped on the Crystal Ball, trying to send a message before he died.
In the next moment, a rune-imbued fist pierced through his Magic Barrier, then struck him with unrelenting force.
The captain's hands fell limply, and a message had already been sent from the Crystal Ball.
At that moment, the steel giants arrived, and one swung down, severing the captain's head.
A beam of light shot out from the captain's body, then vanished into the void.
"I wondered why they were so fierce; turns out they had a life box," Richard said, pulling his arm back and shaking the blood off his hand.
That punch was the Mountain-Breaking Fist he had learned long ago. Although he hadn't practiced it daily over the years, Richard would still find a target to punch a few times during breaks in his experiments to hone his punching skills.
Now, after decades, he had achieved a small level of success.
Richard picked up the Crystal Ball from the ground, examined it, and sighed helplessly.
"What a pity, he still managed to send it out. I hope this doesn't cause any misunderstandings."
Since the two deans had no deep-seated grudges, both sides' Third Circle Wizards were currently tacitly stationed at the Core Wizard Tower.
But if this tacit understanding were to be broken, things would not bode well.
The number of Wizards from the Black Tower Wizard Academy was at a disadvantage; if the Meteor Academy mobilized all their forces, they would have to defend the central black tower.
After tossing the Crystal Ball into his pocket, Richard rummaged through the bodies of the Wizards in the forest.
These Wizards were all Second Circle Wizards, and their spoils were quite rich.
However, this place was not very suitable, so Richard could only clean out the Magic Pockets and Magic Equipment of the five Wizards, then set their bodies ablaze before hurriedly leaving.
Although the bodies of these Wizards had some use, Richard, as a fellow Wizard, felt it was better to maintain some bottom line.
Not long after Richard left, two streaks of light arrived at the battlefield.
Daring to act so openly at this time, it was clear that these two were Third Circle Wizards from the Meteor Academy.
Chris surveyed the battlefield with a grim expression, while beside him, Vice Dean Zick was doing the same.
But compared to Chris's somber demeanor, Zick wore a look of confusion.
After inspecting the entire battlefield, the two arrived at the spot where Richard had burned the bodies.
Zick bent down, scooping up some ashes and rubbing them in his hands, speaking in a somewhat humorous tone, "Burning the bodies, this Wizard has quite the standards."
But Chris had no time for such thoughts.
"Master, what do you make of the battle here?" he asked, his face dark.
"What do I make of it?" Zick tossed the ashes aside. "I have no opinion. The kid we were chasing is probably scared silly. In this battlefield, I didn't see any signs of Third Circle Wizards engaging.
The four steel giants that attacked them, I lean more towards them being some kind of intelligent-controlled golem or a specialized Alchemy Golem.
These puppets have been specially modified for hunting Wizards.
From the mental probing shielding these puppets possess and that alchemical sword capable of quickly breaking through Magic Barriers, it's clear.
The Academy War didn't start suddenly; it's not unusual for Alchemist Wizards to specialize and modify golems."
Chris's expression slightly eased upon hearing this.
"If the Master thinks so, then I can rest easy."
Zick waved his hand, "It's not time to relax yet; this Wizard is not to be underestimated. Moreover, other patrol teams have reported signs of Wizards infiltrating in recent days.
The Black Tower Wizard Academy must have sent a batch of elite Wizards to our side as 'Black Wizards' at the very beginning of the Academy War.
If we don't deal with these Black Wizards, we won't have peaceful days here.
Most of the Wizards we have left are inexperienced students who have never been on the battlefield; they lack experience and will find it hard to effectively defend against these elite Wizards."
Chris lowered his head and asked, "Master, what do you plan to do?"
Zick sighed, "Let's rotate some people back. The Academy War lasts for fifty years; there's no need to rush."
Chris sighed in response.
"Then it's settled; I'll draft a list."
...
The outskirts of the Meteor Academy were not like the Black Tower Academy, which had vast expanses of hills. Outside the Meteor Academy, mountains also occupied a significant portion of the space.
In a cave within these mountains, Richard laid out all the spoils he had gathered over the past few days.
"Fifteen staffs, twenty-seven Magic Pockets, twelve Magic Equipment rings, seven Magic Equipment necklaces, two Magic Equipment belts... Hmm, not bad. It really is quicker to rob people for money."
Richard counted the spoils from these days. Although many of these staffs and Magic Equipment were worthless, there were still quite a few quality items among them.
[Material: Aurora Ring]
[Extractable Information: High-Energy Aurora Spell Model]
[Extraction Cost: 5 Mental Power]
...
[Material: Power Ring]
[Extractable Information: Rune Fist Spell Model]
[Extraction Cost: 5 Mental Power]
...
[Material: Armor Belt]
[Extractable Information: Magical Armor Spell Model]
[Extraction Cost: 10 Mental Power]
Looking at these three quality Magic Equipment in his hands, Richard couldn't help but exclaim again that robbing people was indeed a quick way to make money.
In addition to these three quality Magic Equipment, Richard also found many Magic Stones, Magic Essences, and their research notebooks among the Wizards' Magic Pockets.
Most of these notebooks recorded experimental data. Although these things were not particularly useful, Richard didn't mind.
Experimental records are also knowledge; they might help him eliminate a possibility one day.
Besides these not-so-useful experimental records, Richard also found a coded notebook.
[Material: Coded Notebook of an Unknown Wizard]
[Extractable Information: Principles of the Great Disintegration Spell]
[Extraction Cost: 4 Mental Power]
Looking at the information provided by the Miracle Furnace, Richard rubbed his eyes, confirming he wasn't mistaken, and immediately felt ecstatic.
The Great Disintegration Spell, the most powerful destructive spell in alchemical Spellcraft.
The Great Disintegration Cannon equipped with the Great Disintegration Spell had always been a Wizard's weapon for breaking through defenses.
Richard murmured to himself while looking at the coded notebook, "I didn't expect to get my hands on this; this time, I really struck it rich."
(End of Chapter)