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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Two Hundred Fifty-Eight:
Freya and the other two wizards instinctively raised their heads to look in that direction.
In the distance, flashes of spelllight erupted from the forest, accompanied by loud shouts, indicating that a fierce battle was taking place.
Standing still, Freya could vaguely smell the thick scent of blood coming from that area.
Suddenly, a deep voice exploded from within the trees.
"Isaac! Get away! No!!!"
Boom!
As the voice ended, a dark red mist suddenly surged out from the forest.
The mist rolled and billowed violently.
Before long, it spread across most of the forest.
Rip!
Abruptly, the red mist seemed to be torn apart by a sharp pair of scissors, and a massive mouth filled with dense, jagged teeth emerged.
It was a Red Crocodile that had been magnified to an unknown extent.
The enormous jaws exhaled large amounts of pink smoke, and wherever this smoke touched the trees, they turned to sand and were quickly absorbed by the crocodile.
At the very top of the crocodile, a figure slowly emerged, dressed in a Dark Red Robe.
The lower half of the figure was merged with the flesh of the crocodile, half of its face covered in blood, with a frenzied expression.
Suddenly, it was Isaac from the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit that Freya had encountered earlier.
"I! Sandstorm Crocodile! Will never die here!!!"
A massive roar echoed strongly around them.
The crocodile, exhaling smoke, suddenly raised its enormous body, and an exceptionally intense wave of energy radiated from it.
"Run!"
Eric, sensing the energy wave, suddenly changed his expression and dropped the Rune Tower he was holding. He quickly took out a rectangular object and slammed it hard onto the ground.
'Bang'
With a crisp sound, Freya and Carlos, standing in place, suddenly felt their bodies being lifted by a buoyant force and were rapidly pulled away.
The surroundings flew backward at high speed. Freya glanced down at her feet and suddenly noticed that a rectangular black metal plate had appeared beneath her, moving toward the base at a speed that matched her own.
Meanwhile, Eric at the front looked grimly into the distance and murmured to himself.
"What could possibly force Isaac to use such a move?"
"Bang!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive red sandstorm suddenly erupted from the distant forest.
At this moment, the enormous Red Crocodile opened its Big Mouth and let out a silent roar. Its gigantic body was covered in countless black dots.
These black dots seemed to be living creatures, constantly moving and devouring the crocodile's flesh.
In just a short while, the crocodile's body appeared to shrink slightly, and the surrounding red mist began to thin out.
Meanwhile, Isaac, standing atop the crocodile's head, was completely covered in these strange entities.
Freya, moving quickly, narrowed her eyes slightly. Suddenly, she thought of something and instinctively said, "Those are mutated Black Bugs—Corpse Worms!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing her words, Eric and Carlos both turned to look at her.
Then, Eric withdrew his gaze and said gravely, "If it's this level of Corpse Worms, then it will be difficult. Isaac is a Second-Level Wizard."
"Second Level?"
Freya felt a slight heaviness in her heart as her gaze shifted back to the distant forest.
The Red Giant Crocodile had completely vanished in the meantime, leaving only the surrounding red smoke, which still occasionally erupted with loud explosions, but gradually faded into silence with distance.
The location they were responsible for, the Rune Tower, was the closest to the secret realm, and the area where the battle had erupted was likely the entrance to that realm.
Soon, as they approached the headquarters, white-robed wizards began to appear one after another from various areas.
Freya glanced over and noticed that most of these wizards were non-combat personnel, and not a single member of the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit was present.
Three minutes later, they arrived at the Crimson Eagle headquarters. The metal platform beneath them gradually slowed down and finally came to a stop.
The three of them stepped off the metal platform. Eric pointed his finger, and the platform quickly shrank down to the size of a palm before he stored it away.
Eric glanced at the two of them seriously and said, "You two should return to your tents and not leave the camp without permission. I will go find Fira and inform you if there’s anything important."
"Understood, sir."
The two nodded in agreement.
After Eric quickly left, Carlos cast a pale glance at Freya. He said nothing but nodded slightly before heading toward his own tent.
Freya watched the trembling back of this Newly Advanced Wizard, clearly shaken by the events.
She stood in place, slightly squinting her eyes. In the distance, a hazy mass of White Mist hung in the air, clearly another powerful Spell. Waves of intense energy fluctuations radiated outward, and even standing here, she could feel them distinctly.
"Not even a Second-Level Wizard can handle those Black Bugs?"
At this moment, Freya felt a twinge of relief for having left early; otherwise, she would have likely been completely devoured in an instant.
The number of wizards escaping from the forest gradually decreased. After watching for a while, she returned to her tent.
Inside the tent, Kathy had not yet returned, which made Freya frown slightly.
Although their time together had not been long, she had developed some fondness for this somewhat eccentric witch. Now that this incident had occurred, it would be a great pity if something were to happen to her.
"I hope nothing goes wrong," Freya silently thought.
Given her current level, going out to search for someone would be tantamount to seeking death.
In this disastrous battle, Freya increasingly realized the importance of strength.
Liquefaction Level might be considered relatively high in some places, but here, a Liquid Wizard was merely ordinary, only slightly stronger than Vaporization.
It was the Crystalized Wizards or Second-Level Wizards who constituted the middle tier of most Wizard Organizations in Cloud City.
Freya vaguely sensed that only by reaching that level could one possess some degree of self-preservation in this Wizarding World.
"However, I have just broken through to Liquefaction; it is impossible to achieve Crystallization in a short time. Without the accumulation of mental energy, even the Crystallization Ritual is not something I can set up right now. I will have to start from another angle."
The level of a wizard represents a transcendence of life stages, and the strength of their mental power is what divides the various tiers among wizards.
Although a wizard's strength is significantly influenced by their mental power, it is not absolute.
A Liquid Wizard who has lived for hundreds of years might easily overwhelm a Crystalized Wizard with only a few decades of experience.
The accumulation of time allows wizards to gather numerous trump cards and contingencies, which is crucial for those with poor aptitude who have little hope of advancement.
...
In the afternoon, Kathy finally returned to the tent in a disheveled state.
Although her location was far from the secret realm, she was unfortunately caught up in the battle due to her delayed awareness.
As a result, her defensive Cursed Items and Force Field were severely damaged upon her return.
It would likely take one or two months to recover.
"Black Insects, they're everywhere! I never want to stay in this place again!" Kathy said angrily, holding a broken fish-shaped Earrings in her hand.
Freya glanced at the already deemed useless Cursed Items and calmly replied.
"This matter will likely be decided by the higher-ups soon. The establishment of the Rune Tower seems impossible; this level of creature leakage is beyond what our Rune Department can contain. By the way, did you find out anything when you left?"
"I don't know," Kathy shook her head, putting away the items in her hands. "When I arrived, several Crimson Eagle Guards seemed to have worked together to summon something that attracted most of the Black Bugs, while the others returned to the secret realm. I don't know when they will come out again."
"Retreated?" Freya frowned at Kathy's words. "Were there any casualties?"
Kathy thought for a moment and replied, "It seems like two team members were injured, quite seriously, but fortunately, there were no fatalities."
"Is that so?"
Freya recalled Isaac, who was completely covered in Black Bugs, and wondered how he had survived.
'No wonder he is a Second-Level Wizard; he certainly has many means to protect himself.'
"By the way, I happened to overhear someone saying that this biological leak is not a simple incident. Those mutated Corpse Worms seem to be controlled by some intelligence. What do you think?" Kathy suddenly turned to Freya.
"Controlled by someone?" Freya pondered for a moment and said with a slight seriousness, "If that's the case, then the one controlling these Corpse Worms must be at least a Second-Level Wizard or possibly even a Fourth-Level Wizard."
"A Fourth-Level Wizard?" Kathy was slightly taken aback by Freya's speculation and then shook her head. "That's impossible. I've seen a Fourth-Level Wizard once when I went back home. That kind of existence is almost disaster-level; every word and action carries a strong surge of energy. I stood far away at that time and didn't dare to approach. While those Corpse Worms are formidable, they haven't reached that level yet."
"Oh?" Hearing Kathy's description, Freya's eyes brightened slightly.
Her earlier words were just random speculation based on her imagination; the strongest being she had encountered was the Storm Leviathan from Sky City, which she had only observed from a distance and couldn't truly grasp that feeling.
Now, through Kathy's description, she could vaguely outline the power of a Fourth-Level Wizard.
"Forget it, even if we don't reach Level Four, it's not something we can contend with. Thinking about it here won't yield any results; everything needs to be arranged by the higher-ups," Freya analyzed.
"True," Kathy nodded in agreement.
Soon, the night passed.
In the morning, the wizards in the camp were much quieter compared to the lively atmosphere when they arrived.
After discussions among the upper management, members of the Rune Department were instructed not to proceed with the construction of the Rune Tower for now and to remain on standby in the camp.
As for other matters, they were to follow the arrangements made by the upper management regarding this secret realm.
Upon receiving the standby notice, Freya stayed in her tent, focusing on her research.
There were many valuable items brought out from that secret realm, including some particularly rare ones. These items could be crafted into slightly weaker Cursed Items for her use, temporarily alleviating the awkwardness of her current mental stability period.
Having just entered the Liquefaction Level of mental power, things were manageable during normal times, but once combat began, there was bound to be some oversight.
Additionally, excessive use of mental power during this period could lead to regression, so most wizards would stay within their designated areas during their mental stability phase, avoiding trouble or exploring ruins.
Freya had just finished a simple enchantment on a black claw-like object when Kathy abruptly pulled open the tent.
"Freya, come out quickly! A big shot from headquarters is here."
"What big shot?" Freya set the object aside and frowned, seemingly displeased with Kathy's sudden interruption.
"We have the Head of the Rune Department and two Captains from the Crimson Eagle Guard Unit," Kathy said excitedly.
"Huh? The Head?"
Hearing Kathy's words, Freya raised an eyebrow.
Since joining the Rune Department, she had only seen two Deputy Directors at the upper levels, and now the Head was summoned due to the leak of a mystical creature, which piqued her interest.
With that thought, she quickly tidied up her desk and hurried out of the tent.
Outside the tent, a crowd of wizards had gathered, watching a few individuals in the distance with respectful gazes.
Freya and Kathy stood at the front of the tent, looking over there.
There, six or seven familiar-faced wizards were conversing; they were all responsible for this operation.
Surrounded by these leaders were three wizards dressed in Red Robes—two males and one female.
The two Male Wizards had silver hair and appeared quite elderly, while the Female Wizard looked to be only around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Freya scanned the three wizards and focused her gaze on the Male Wizard on the left.
His silver hair was somewhat sparse, but his eyes were lively, giving him a rather stern appearance. The Red Robe he wore was adorned with numerous intricate runes, indicating his status.
"Is that gentleman our department head?"
Freya quietly asked Kathy.
"Yes," Kathy nodded. "According to the Minister, he was elected as the Runes Department Head fifty years ago when he reached the level of Triad Wizard. He participated in the construction of those top Rune Towers and other things at headquarters, making him a veteran of the organization."
Freya merely nodded, remaining silent, but her gaze changed slightly.
The massive Rune Towers at Crimson Eagle Headquarters have stood for nearly several hundred years. If this Minister was involved, then one can imagine his age.
It is surprising that a wizard of such caliber was drawn to this secret realm; it seems that matters have exceeded the upper management's expectations.
Although these people were speaking, there was no sound; they were communicating through thought.
Suddenly, the only Female Wizard present seemed a bit agitated as she pointed at the leader of the Crimson Eagle Guard.
Before long, two members of the Crimson Eagle Guard lying on stretchers were carried out.
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