Chapter 33
With white hair and beard, wearing the standard conical hat of a mage, Darren flew over.
Like a connoisseur appreciating a painting, he scrutinized this thin layer of mist.
“Tsk tsk tsk, a barrier I’ve never seen before…”
The magic crystal ring Darren was most proud of, “Grace of the God of Wisdom,” could activate S-rank enhancement magic. He himself had reached the Sixth Tier of magical strength. He was one of the top mages in the Strip Empire. However, due to his excessive pursuit of the limits of magic, he remained unmarried to this day, still an old bachelor.
For such a mage to say he hadn’t seen this barrier made Glenn’s heart skip a beat.
“Old Mr. Darren, what do you think…”
Even as a Great General, he had to give this senior mage some face.
“Give this old man a little time.”
He extended a withered finger like firewood, and the magic crystal ring on it flashed with white light.
《Rank S · Sixth Tier Magic · Magic Reconnaissance》
Nodding as if realizing something, Darren stroked his pale beard and spoke.
“General Glenn, this is a cubic barrier enveloping the Misty Forest. It is also set with a large number of connected random teleportation gates. One can enter but cannot exit. However, there seems to be a gap in one place. This old man doesn’t know if it’s a trap, so I’ll leave it to the General to judge.”
“Then before that, I would like to ask… can old Mr. Darren dispel this barrier?”
Without one hundred percent certainty, Glenn would not advance rashly. The surprise attack on the central region was only ordered after reliable intelligence was gathered beforehand. Under unclear conditions, Glenn sought stability, not speed. In his eyes, soldiers were brothers who lived and died together, not tools to be consumed at will.
“Hehe, of course… This old man’s magic crystal ring stores barrier-breaking magic. Judging from the Magic Reconnaissance just now, under the condition that the structure can be identified, it must be only one tier higher than this old man’s magic. Barring any accidents, the barrier break will definitely succeed.”
Darren smiled faintly.
“Then without further delay…”
As expected of a top-class court mage, Glenn praised secretly.
“But Great General, this old man once heard of a rare item called Pandora’s Box somewhere, which was filled with disasters. This old man has a premonition that this Misty Forest is the lid of the box. Once this old man opens it, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
The atmosphere became unusually serious again. Glenn was also opposed to this operation, and Darren’s words struck a chord in his heart.
“What the old gentleman thinks is the same as what I think. However, His Majesty ordered me to expand eastward at all costs to find the magic crystal caves. I am merely acting on orders. Please forgive me, old gentleman.”
“Sigh…”
Unable to defy orders, Darren sighed and extended his ring, injecting magic power into it to activate the spell.
《Rank S · Sixth Tier Magic · Ruin》
The highly concentrated magic power in the ring slowly seeped into the white mist, devouring and self-replicating like a virus. The barrier of the entire Misty Forest began to disintegrate, leaving only some charred charcoal. The pungent smell caused the soldiers to cover their mouths and cough one after another.
“Quick, don’t dawdle, advance! Cut down the charred thorns and bushes with your swords!”
Glenn stepped on the stirrup to mount his horse and cracked his whip.
The massive army brandished their sharp swords and began to march again.
Walking out of the charred Misty Forest, the Strip soldiers’ eyes lit up, as if they had arrived in a paradise.
Boundless grasslands, brooks, oak forests, plenty of wild small animals, towering cliffs.
And, a strange outer city and fortress?
What is that mass of black in the sky?
Dark clouds?
No, it’s people! People with black wings?
Shouldn’t be humans…
There’s only one possibility, and that is Fallen Angels, the Demon Race!
“All units! Set up the Giant Magic Crystal Cannons! Prepare for battle!”
