Translator: AnubisTL
After leaving Jieming, the group continued deeper into the crimson ore-covered wasteland.
Their primary focus remained on searching for rare and unique material samples, paying little attention to the indigenous inhabitants.
While Jieming was immersed in his treasure hunt, the battlefields across the Greyrock Realm suddenly turned brutal.
"Quick! There's a high-scoring merit token here!" A young apprentice excitedly pointed to the golden glow flickering on a withered tree ahead.
The seven-member team cautiously approached.
As the unclaimed merit tokens were cleared out, the remaining ones were mostly placed near dangerous magical beasts.
However, these tokens offered higher merit points, representing greater rewards.
Driven by the prospect of greater rewards, apprentices who had previously acted alone gradually began forming teams, while those already in groups continuously recruited more members to expand their ranks.
These seven individuals were originally considered "little geniuses" with above-average strength within the academy. After several days of training together, their teamwork had steadily improved.
Yet the attack didn't come from a magical beast.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of arrows coated in fluorescent venom tore through the air, whistling sharply as they rained down from all directions.
These weren't ordinary metal arrows, but rather bone-like projectiles radiating faint, visible energy fluctuations.
"Scatter! Ambush!" the captain roared, swiftly raising an energy shield.
But several apprentices reacted too slowly and were struck by the poisoned arrows.
Their movements instantly stiffened, their faces turned blue, and bizarre tribal tattoos materialized across their bodies.
"Damn it! It's the indigenous!"
Dozens of indigenous warriors, clad in armor and wielding metal spears, surged from the undergrowth and rocky crevices.
Their bodies swelled visibly, muscles bulging, and they moved with astonishing speed, their eyes burning with vengeful fury.
"Attack!"
The apprentices reacted swiftly, retaliating with fireballs and ice spikes the moment they recovered from their shock.
But the indigenous warriors didn't engage in prolonged combat. Like a pack of wolves, they charged forward, hurled their spears, then immediately dispersed, using the complex terrain to outmaneuver the apprentices.
"Captain, my... my teleportation rune is malfunctioning!" a poisoned apprentice cried out in terror, the rune in his hand flickering weakly and failing to activate.
"My flight spell won't activate either! They must have some kind of anti-air ability!"
Panic erupted.
Stripped of their escape routes, the apprentices were trapped like caged beasts, gradually being whittled down by the indigenous warriors' relentless hunt.
Metal spears pierced shields, poisoned arrows seeped through mana barriers, and the rising chorus of screams heralded the apprentices' impending defeat.
Meanwhile,
A four-apprentice exploration team, venturing deep into a canyon saturated with elemental power, found themselves surrounded at the canyon floor by over a dozen heavily armored indigenous "knights" wielding battle axes.
"Their armor can actually resist our spells!" one apprentice exclaimed in shock as his fireball struck a knight, producing only a shower of sparks without leaving even a scorch mark.
"Damn it! There are still indigenous people in this world!" another apprentice realized the gravity of their situation.
The knights charged without hesitation.
The ground rumbled beneath their feet with each thunderous leap, carrying the force of a thousand storms.
Boom!
A water elemental shield shattered under the impact of a heavy axe blow. The apprentice behind it coughed up blood as he was sent flying backward.
"Retreat! Charge upward!" the captain roared, activating his flight spell.
But his body rose only a few meters before an invisible force slammed him back down, trapping him at the canyon floor.
Attempts to activate their rings proved futile.
"The space... it's locked down?!" The apprentices were utterly bewildered.
Their mana reserves drained rapidly, and their potion replenishment couldn't keep pace with their injuries.
Panic and despair spread like wildfire through the blood-soaked canyon.
Jieming was currently deep within a strange swamp.
Beneath the muddy pools lurked a peculiar fungus capable of absorbing elemental energy, making it an ideal research material. He couldn't resist staying longer than intended.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the depths of the swamp.
Four archer-like "hunters" and two armored "knights" burst from the muck, spears leveled directly at Jieming.
They had clearly been lying in ambush, waiting for prey to pass by.
"Hmm?"
Jieming stood his ground with an air of curiosity, still holding the mushroom he had just picked. He appeared to be frozen in place by the sudden attack.
With a furious roar, one of the knights thrust his spear toward Jieming's face.
Whoosh!
A sturdy, earth-yellow energy shield instantly materialized around Jieming.
Clang!
The spear struck the shield with a crisp metallic clang, but the shield remained unyielding. The recoil even sent a violent tremor through the knight's body.
The other knight swung a massive axe in a sweeping arc toward Jieming's waist, only to meet the same futile resistance.
But the true killing move was yet to come. Four arrows, shimmering with an eerie light, seized the opportunity to close in on Jieming's head.
With a thought, Jieming instantly switched his earth elemental shield to a layer of transparent wind membrane.
The arrows' momentum was skillfully deflected, whistling past Jieming's side without inflicting the slightest harm.
"This... how is this possible?!" Shock flashed in the knight's eyes.
Their vaunted strength and magically enhanced weapons were utterly useless against this wizard?!
Jieming gave them no time to ponder.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
Four fireballs, wreathed in raging flames, instantly locked onto the six indigenous warriors. In the narrow swamp terrain, the fireballs' explosive range completely engulfed them.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions erupted one after another, sending flames soaring skyward and transforming the swamp into a hellish inferno.
Mud splattered everywhere, and charred flesh flew through the air.
The indigenous warriors didn't even have time to scream before the terrifying power of the rune-imbued spell artifact utterly consumed them, reducing them to ashes.
Jieming stepped forward, carefully searching the swamp for any remaining fragments.
He picked up several mud-caked metal armor fragments and dug out a few relatively well-preserved bone spears, then scanned them with his analysis art to detect residual energy fluctuations.
"These patterns... they seem to be a primitive form of rune, likely well-suited to this world. They could be quite valuable for reference," Jieming muttered to himself, completely ignoring the pervasive stench of blood in the air.
From start to finish, he hadn't sensed any danger. To him, these indigenous people were as fragile as children.
"But have these indigenous attacks become more frequent lately? I've encountered three ambushes in the past two days alone. Could there be a large settlement nearby that sees me as a threat?"
Jieming noticed the recent ambushes were unusually frequent, and the enemies were also showing better coordination than before.
"I should search the area thoroughly. If I find a settlement, I might be able to learn more about these primitive runes."
He collected the newly acquired materials and continued deeper into the swamp.
The enemies' perceived weakness blinded Jieming to the fact that a full-scale purge targeting all wizard apprentices had already begun outside.
(End of the Chapter)
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🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 7,200+ FREE