By the lakeside, just as Richard's heart-stopping feeling subsided, he suddenly felt his body become incredibly heavy.
The air felt like a thick glue about to solidify, extremely viscous.
Every movement he made seemed to drain all his strength.
In such a bizarre situation, Richard knew without thinking that he had been attacked by a Curse Spell.
Before moving, he had deliberately burned down the wooden cabin and flattened the ground to avoid leaving any materials that could allow a curse Wizard to cast spells.
No matter how powerful a curse Wizard was, they still needed materials to establish a connection when casting spells.
But now it seemed he must have overlooked something.
The power of the Curse Spell was gradually manifesting; in addition to his heavy limbs, Richard noticed that his thinking speed was also slowing down.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before he would stop thinking altogether, like some ultimate being from outer space.
"Damn it!"
Richard's face turned grim as he exerted all his effort to pull out a metal figurine from his Magic Pocket.
Inside the figurine, a Curse Worm with five black segments was slowly wriggling.
The moment it made contact with the figurine, Richard suddenly saw a white mist filling his surroundings. This white mist seemed alive, continuously invading his body through his skin pores.
As a companion of a curse Wizard, Richard immediately recognized what the curse on him was.
"Fog Cage! The Meteor Academy must be out of their minds!"
Fog Cage, a high-level ritual magic of the curse school. Using this spell required at least six Wizards, and after completing the ritual, the curse Wizard would summon a descendant from the illusory world, referred to as the Lord of Mist.
The Wizard presiding over the ritual could trap the cursed target within the body of this Lord of Mist's descendant for a period of time.
During this time, the Wizard could not act or think; the spell's effect would only cease once the Lord of Mist's descendant left the material plane.
To be honest, the moment Richard recognized this spell, he felt a sense of relief.
Because this spell could not kill.
This indicated that the higher-ups of the Meteor Academy only wanted to save face and did not wish to escalate the situation.
Otherwise, with the strength of the Meteor Academy, they could easily use some extremely dangerous Curse Spells to kill Richard.
This illusion lasted only a moment; in the next instant, Richard's vision returned to normal, and the abnormal sensations on his body temporarily disappeared.
But Richard knew this was only temporary.
The figurine he had taken out was called the Dead Man's Substitute, a piece of Magic Equipment used by Alchemist Wizards to avoid the harm of Curse Spells.
At present, Richard's return to normal was merely because he had temporarily transferred the curse's effect using the Dead Man's Substitute.
Once the Curse Worm inside the figurine died, the curse's effect would once again descend upon him.
Richard glanced at the Curse Worm inside the figurine; in just a few seconds, one black segment had disappeared.
Once all the black segments vanished, the curse would once again befall Richard.
"Makar." Richard called out loudly.
Makar, who was busy eating fish, heard Richard and immediately came to his side.
"Sir, what is it?"
Richard's expression was serious, and his speech was rapid like popping beans: "Makar, I am currently under attack from a curse Spellcraft, and soon I will be as immobile as a stone.
I am not sure how long this situation will last, but I need you to ensure my safety during this time.
If any Wizards from the Meteor Academy find us, do not engage; immediately take me back to the Black Tower Wizard Academy.
Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
After arranging things, Richard immediately flew to the laboratory.
He needed to activate all the Magic Arrays he had prepared over the past few days.
In the air, Richard gathered runes with his Magic Power, and beneath his feet, lines of Magic Power spread outward in an orderly manner from his center.
While gathering the runes, Richard glanced at the Curse Worm in the Dead Man's Substitute.
The Curse Worm now had three black segments remaining.
"Three segments left; that should be enough time."
Although Richard felt anxious, his actions remained methodical.
Soon, the runes were fully gathered. Richard pointed downward, and the runes landed on the Magic Array.
In the next moment, faint waves of Magic Power began to ripple through the air, distorting the light around them.
From a distance, the forest appeared tranquil, and Richard's laboratory had seemingly vanished without a trace.
With the Magic Array activated, Richard took out five wooden stakes from his pocket.
These stakes looked ancient, with dark bloodstains and evil runes covering them, making them appear like cursed objects.
In a horror movie, these items would undoubtedly seal away a devil.
Once driven into a person, the devil would take over their body and begin a killing spree, providing the audience with a bloodbath.
But in reality, these five stakes were curse Magic Equipment made by Jolod at Susanna's request, designed to weaken the effects of curses.
As an experienced Wizard, Jolod placed great importance on his protection. Especially after gaining some fame in the merchant guild, he immediately asked Susanna to prepare some curse Magic Equipment to prevent himself from being assassinated.
And as a core figure in the guild, Jolod's good student naturally did not forget to prepare a set for Richard.
Richard looked at the five stakes in his hand and took a deep breath.
"Hope Master Susanna's craftsmanship is solid."
With that, Richard picked up one stake and forcefully drove it into his left foot.
The intense pain made Richard's body shudder, but seeing the Curse Worm still had two black segments left, he gritted his teeth and picked up another wooden stake, driving it into his right foot.
Bang! Another wave of intense pain.
Richard clenched his teeth and inserted the remaining three stakes into his left hand, chest, and right hand in succession.
With three more "bangs," Richard finally drove all five stakes into his body.
At the moment the five stakes were in place, a peculiar field quietly formed within Richard's body.
Simultaneously, the last black segment of the Curse Worm in the Dead Man's Substitute finally disappeared.
In the next instant, the Curse Worm exploded, turning into a cloud of mist that vanished into the air.
Richard once again felt the heaviness in his body and the sluggishness of his thoughts.
Sensing the curse descending, the five wooden stakes seemed to come alive, continuously absorbing the blood flowing from his wounds.
The field within Richard began to strengthen little by little, gradually wearing down the curse power invading his body.
Noticing this, Richard felt a slight sense of relief.
If all went well, the curse should be broken in about thirty years.
He wouldn't miss the entire war.
He could consider these decades as a rest.
...
Before long, the members of the demon-hunting team were fully armored and arrived at the laboratory.
Seeing Richard lying motionless on the ground, several Fire Lizards exchanged glances.
"Is the master okay?" Kava asked uncertainly.
Makar did not respond; Mishaen approached Richard and checked his vital signs.
After a moment, she stood up: "The master's vital signs are very slow and continue to decrease.
This condition resembles the methods of a Dragon Curse Warlock; I can't help with anything."
Looking at Richard, who lay still on the ground, Makar suddenly went over and picked him up.
"Prepare something soft; the master told us to guard him, so we just need to follow orders."
...
The war did not change due to Richard's absence.
The Meteor Academy, having suffered a blow to their communication tower, recalled a batch of Wizards from the front lines to reinforce the rear.
Although the Black Tower Wizard Academy wanted to take this opportunity to counterattack, even with the Meteor Academy pulling back some Wizards, their numbers on the front lines still exceeded those of the Black Tower Wizard Academy.
Thus, the counterattack plan was stillborn before it could be implemented.
The Wizards from the Meteor Academy who returned to the rear began to sweep the area around the academy, but after several sweeps, they found nothing.
All the Wizards dispatched from the Black Tower Wizard Academy uniformly refrained from taking action, hiding like mice.
After several fruitless sweeps, the Meteor Academy had to admit that they could not break this strategy.
These elite Wizards indeed restrained part of the Meteor Academy's forces.
However, even so, the situation on the front lines continued to develop unfavorably for the Black Tower Wizard Academy.
Five years into the war, more than two-thirds of the commercial district had fallen, and the Meteor Academy began to attack the residential areas.
Ten years into the war, more than half of the residential area had fallen.
The density of Wizards from the Meteor Academy on the front lines no longer held overwhelming superiority.
The war fell into a stalemate.
...
Richard's hiding place, the Wizard Hunting team, was eating grilled fish by the shore as usual.
Makar walked out of the laboratory, came to the shore, and casually pulled out a grilled fish stuck in the ground and began to eat.
"Has the master awakened?" Kava asked, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Makar silently nodded.
Kava's expression dimmed, and he turned to Mishaen beside him.
"Mishaen, why don't you check on the master again and see if there's anything we can do to help?"
Mishaen shot him a glance and swallowed the grilled fish in her mouth.
"Kava, I'll say it again. I used to be a doctor, not a Dragon Curse Warlock's healer.
We can't intervene in the master's condition.
What we can do now is to guard the master and wait for him to awaken or take him back to the academy."
Kava, feeling somewhat dejected, stuck the grilled fish he was holding into the ground.
Over the years, they had kept their range of action generally within a ten-kilometer radius of the laboratory to protect Richard.
Although Richard had chosen a beautiful location, after ten years, even the most beautiful scenery became tiresome.
Kava wanted to explore outside; the mirror world was vast, and there were surely many magical beasts he had never seen.
As a hunter, he was eager for new p
rey.
But now he could only wait in this area, not knowing when it would end.
"Where's Helan?" Makar, who was eating fish, suddenly asked.
Kava replied irritably, "Helan went out on patrol."
As he spoke, Helan's voice reached everyone's ears.
"Come over here quickly; I've caught something strange!"
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