Chapter 384
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"Of course it's true . " Saleen glanced at Jola . "Even though this Black Metal Grand Swordmaster possessed the lethality of a Silver Grand Swordmaster, he has to ascend systematically if he wants to become a Golden Grand Swordmaster . There are no shortcuts . "
The difficulty of advancing to a Golden Grand Swordmaster was more than that of advancing to a grade-9 sorcerer . Compared to the people learning magic, there were hundreds or even thousands more learning swordsmanship on the mainland . There were many more grade-9 sorcerers than Golden Grand Swordmasters .
"Once you become a Golden Grand Swordmaster, I would have already been a grade-9 sorcerer for a long time . " Saleen secretly thought, "When I give you the sword spirit by then, it will not pose much of a threat to me anymore . " Furthermore, after such a long time, Jola might have abandoned the thought of leaving Saleen .
Jola stood behind Saleen jubilantly, very hopeful of his future . He was clear about how Saleen treated his subordinates . "Besides training, this young mage will help his subordinates refine weapons and seek welfare . " Even though most orthodox mages would do that, Saleen very enthusiastic . After being deeply affected by those unfeeling mages back in the palace, Jola had already subconsciously acknowledged Saleen, and acknowledged his own identity as a follower .
"Aini, do me a favor . " Saleen walked forward slowly . Even though Saleen's perception had a one-mile range, this island was too big, causing Saleen to feel helpless in his reconnaissance of this island .
Aini sighed in his heart . He did not have a backing like Saleen, it was too difficult for him to recruit sufficiently powerful followers . Aini favored a pugilist like Jola, but he could not bring himself to poach from Saleen's team . Saleen was a dear friend whom he met in poverty . When a fragile friendship was propagated, it would seem more precious than ever .
The power of a death mage's perception was slightly stronger than that of an elemental mage . Aini had two ferocious death creatures . Only he could replace Saleen in the investigation of this island .
Aini allowed the flesh spirit to soar into the sky to conduct reconnaissance over a long distance . The five of them then walked across the beach and sat down at a piece of flatland .
Before long, the flesh spirit reported the rough situation of the island . Aini then drew a map on the sandy ground .
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"This island has a length of eleven miles and a width of six miles . The southern area is taller while the northern area is lower . There is no discovery of any magic beasts' lairs, so it is safe… . Wha?!" Aini suddenly shrieked in alarm .
"What is it?"
Aini's face turned scarlet, then said, "Some magic beasts are discovered . "
"How many of them?"
"Around twenty of them," Aini replied . That was why his face turned red with embarrassment . Twenty magic beasts was no small number to miss, and Aini still claimed that there were no lairs present .
"Prepare for battle, or we can escape," Saleen said in one sentence, causing everyone else to burst out in laughter . What Saleen said might be very comical, but it was true . Before these twenty magic beasts got discovered by the flesh spirit, they were definitely adept at concealing themselves . Usually, magic beasts who were good at hiding would prefer executing sneak attacks, and they would not be very powerful . This island was located too near the Frozen Sea, it would be tough for a weak magic beast to survive .
Sika immediately took out her weapon, that massive cudgel, from the Ring of Gifts . Nailisi had spotted the Ring of Gifts on Sika's finger a long time ago, and felt very sore . She still wielded her dagger and stood in front of Saleen together with Sika .
The breeze on the island was not strong, but it was frosty . Jola took a few steps forward, going past Sika and Nailisi . Aini then decided to summon his Floral Death Creature .
At this moment, the Floral Death Creature was giving off a clear and faint glow . It had a height of more than fifteen meters, as though it was going to evolve already . The leaves on the crown were much denser now . The sagging branches twisted about freely, enveloping Saleen and the rest within . The sagging tree branches had formed a death region . Other than the people Aini wanted to protect, any other creatures would not be able to gain entry or exit .
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The Deprivation of Life was not a very powerful death spell, but the duration of sustained damage was protracted . All enemies in the area which was controlled by this Floral Death Creature would receive damage over time .
"All of you, don't take any action first, allow me to try," Aini said cautiously . He knew that his offensive ability was inferior to the four of them, but it was more reliable this way . Everyone had a way to escape, if Aini failed, Saleen could use his elemental magic to obstruct the pursuit by the magic beasts . At the same time, Aini wanted to evaluate the progress of his death magic .
"Okay, be careful . " Saleen knew that since more than half of his magic chords were gone, his offensive ability would pale in comparison to that of Aini's . It would be best to let a death mage make the first move .
The flesh spirit had landed on the ground . Under Aini's control, it provoked the twenty magic beasts, causing them to sprint towards the beach .
A barrage of thunderous footsteps filled the air, and the ground began trembling as well .
"Damn, they are huge!" Aini immediately altered his combat plan . He began chanting a mantra, and he kept making magic gestures with his hands . In just half a minute, more than forty bone devils had appeared in front of these five people .
A bone devil was a spirit who was of a much higher grade than a skeleton soldier . Some of them were like giant gorillas, with fangs which were more than a foot long . They had a stature which was more imposing than that of a bear .
Saleen had forgotten that he wanted to be a spectator as he took out the silver magic book and got ready to strike anytime . Now that Saleen was wealthier than before, he actually got stingier . He rarely used a disposable item such a scroll anymore . The silver magic book could be used repeatedly, hence boosting the sustainability of a mage on the battlefield .
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the ground vibrated, more than twenty lizards were pursuing the flesh spirit, as they charged towards the beach . Saleen and Aini actually felt more at ease when they saw these four-meter long magic beasts . They recognized these things .
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They were rock dragons, a grade-5 magic beast . Even though they were rarely seen, they did not possess a high offensive power . This magic beast could transform into a rock, it had an inborn spell called the Fossilization Spell . Against creatures who were at grade-4 and below, a rock dragon would have sufficient lethality . Against similar grade creatures, rock dragons would usually prefer to secure victory by outnumbering their enemy . Against higher grade creatures, a rock dragon would utilize its shapeshifting ability to conceal itself .
Basically, these magic beasts who were rumored to contain the bloodline of dragons were simply creatures who bullied the weak and feared the strong .
Saleen and Aini glanced at each other . These two young mages possessed substantial knowledge . At the same time, they noticed a gleam of ecstasy in each other's eyes .
A rock dragon's defense was astounding, but it did not contain much magic resistance . This was not the reason why they were happy . A rock dragon was fond of swallowing gravel, in order to absorb the weak metallic elements found inside . To uncover a huge population of rock dragons, one would have to go to a location which had metallic mineral veins .
This island could just be a natural opencast mine . A mine which spanned dozens of square miles might be a little tiny . If it was opencast, it would be worthy of being extracted no matter how far the mainland was . A rock dragon did not adore punching holes . Being able to devour opencast metals was the reason for their convergence .
This island should be a mountain which swelled from the seabed, exposing itself above the water surface . Other than the land portion, the water was considered to be gentle . The area available for extraction would be larger . Underwater extraction required the use of magic puppets, which were not cheap . If the metals were precious, then they were still worthwhile for extraction .
Under Aini's control, those bone devils which blocked everyone's path charged at the rock dragons . The tiny eyes of a rock dragon were gray in color, with a tinge of bloodshot they looking extremely hideous . Their difference from a lizard was that they did not produce disgusting saliva . Their teeth were just as razor-sharp, and their speed was higher too .
In an instant, clouds of sand from the beach filled the air . As the bone devils and rock dragons slaughtered one another, an earth-shattering noise was produced .
There were twice as many bone devils than the rock dragons . Though similar in size, dozens of bone devils were torn to shreds by the rock dragons in the blink of an eye . Almost no rock dragons were killed . The rock dragons then lunged at Saleen and the rest in a truculent manner . The rock dragons who got past the line of bone devils behaved more tardily . On the claws of a bone devil, there were three kinds of death poisons . They caused the effects of slowing, debility, and confusion .
Two of the rock dragons had too poor a resistance . They changed their direction abruptly and charged east, crashing into a colossal piece of rock . The rock was smashed into smithereens, while they themselves blacked out .
"This is more ferocious than a siege chariot!" Jola had witnessed those large military machines in action before, and these rock dragons could actually smash a rock . If they were used to crash into a city's gates, would it not just take one hit?
"It's useless," Saleen put away his silver magic book, then said to Jola, "A grade-3 mage is able to flip them already . These guys need to be fed with expensive metals, otherwise their outer shells will deteriorate .
"Do they really feed on rocks?" After witnessing Aini knocking dozens of rock dragons over with just a simple spell, Jola believed Saleen's explanation . Jola remained vigilant . If this magic beast came anywhere near, it would also be potentially lethal to a mage . Even though Jola's Sword Aura was powerful, Jola could only deal with one rock dragon at a time .
"Of course not . A rock dragon can catch fish and hunt birds . Occasionally, they will capture some larger prey too . Their consumption of rocks is for maintaining the toughness of their external shells . Aini, keep one alive, let Sika give a shot . "
At this point in time, Saleen had peace of mind . A rock dragon might be a nightmare to a swordsman, but it was a weakling against a mage . One death spell from Aini had extirpated more than half of the rock dragons . The remaining five rock dragons then contemplated fleeing, but the damage by the bone devils started taking effect at that moment . The rock dragons could barely maintain their balance as their limbs began quivering .
"Sure . " Aini casted four more gray rays, leaving only one rock dragon alive .
Sika wielded her weapon and walked out of the area protected by the floral death creature, towards the last rock dragon . This four-meter long magic beast was merely a sandbag in Sika's eyes .
As the last rock dragon noticed Sika approaching, it opened its bloody mouth wide hissing, trying to frighten this seemingly frail human .
As Sika swung her weapon, she mumbled, "Come on little guy, let me kill you with a single hit, and return into the arms of nature . "