CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: STRATEGIC HALT

After dealing with the three single Element squads, Lor didn’t stop, taking another step towards the group of apprentices on the periphery.

This time, he didn’t apply the high-temperature amplitude.

"Boom——"

A stream of lava with slightly weaker power than before erupted, covering a hundred meters in radius, blooming right in the center of the apprentice group who had just turned to escape.

He didn’t need too many people to lead the way; since these people dared to attack him, they must be prepared for death.

The hundred-meter range of lava might not cover them all, but it’s enough to cover the majority.

Who lives or dies, depends entirely on luck.

...

Outside the Magic Array Group.

When Lor’s burst of lava wiped out three teams of single Element apprentices, all the observing apprentices felt their hearts turn cold.

Three single-Element wizard teams didn’t last a second.

This is absolutely not something a 1.3-ring witchcraft can achieve!

"1-ring mid-level witchcraft!"

All wizard apprentices had these six words pop into their minds.

"This is a trap!"

"Run."

"Run fast."

The next moment, they all turned to flee.

What Divine Power Crystal, what exhausted Elemental Energy, it was all fake!

That person wanted to catch them all in one go.

However, the moment they turned around, an extremely explosive heat rose from beneath their feet.

"I am not reconciled~"

"No!"

"Ah——"

Over a hundred and thirty apprentices turned to ashes in this strike.

The remaining fifty or so fled even faster, fearing another sudden burst of lava from beneath if they were even a step slower.

Five miles away, Lor casually cast his gaze towards a young apprentice with brown hair belonging to the dual Fire and Wood elements and took four consecutive steps.

"Rumble——"

Four streams of lava, each covering a hundred meters, directly surrounded the brown-haired youth, leaving him no way out.

The brown-haired youth seemed to understand something and gave up running, standing motionless in the center of the lava streams.

The lava rain falling from the sky pounded his Defense Shield everywhere into charred blackness, and it seemed on the verge of shattering, yet he didn’t dare to resist at all.

"The will to survive is quite strong."

Lor chuckled, casting a Floating Technique on himself, and with a wave of his hand, dispersed the endless lava rain, before leisurely walking up to the brown-haired apprentice.

"What do you want me to do?" Upon Lor’s arrival, the brown-haired youth immediately spoke respectfully, "As long as I can do it, I will absolutely exert all my strength to help Your Excellency achieve it."

"It’s not a big deal," Lor said indifferently, "Take me to your base, and you can live."

"Thank you for your mercy." The youth bowed, then wordlessly cast a Floating Technique before leading the way directly.

Being targeted by this person, it was a blessing to keep his life.

As for the base...

He had been at the base for just over a day, merely for contribution points, and what happened to those people was none of his business.

"Wait." After walking just a few steps, Lor frowned and, facing the youth’s puzzled gaze, released another Floating Technique on him, "All right, go on."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." The youth sensed the considerably lighter feeling than before in his body, feeling somewhat shaken.

Most Elemental apprentices would learn basic witchcraft like the Floating Technique.

It was common to purchase an optimized model for it with contribution points after mastering it.

The optimized model he bought cost 500 contribution points, raising the Floating Technique to 0.6-ring.

Going further would involve contributions escalating exponentially in cost.

Yet, the Floating Technique of this mysterious apprentice was many times better than his, and one could imagine the contribution points spent.

Still, recalling this person’s strength, he became relieved.

It’s true, someone as powerful as this would naturally have a significant background, and the mere optimization of a Floating Technique model wouldn’t be much to them.

...

Three hours later.

With Lor’s Floating Technique enhancement, the two crossed over a thousand miles.

Now they had emerged from the seemingly boundless Dark Forest, arriving in a steep, equally dark hilly area.

All around were hills, layer upon layer extending out of sight...

Except for the conspicuous light of a fire, nearly setting ablaze an entire hill in the distant extremes, nothing else could be seen beyond ten meters.

"You all are quite ostentatious!" Lor raised an eyebrow, "Daring to set such a large bonfire in the Dark Divine Kingdom, not fear of being discovered?"

"I guess ol’... that little fellow never imagined someone like you exists in the Divine Kingdom."

The youth smiled bitterly, "A typical apprentice would find it unbelievable to fuse a 1.3-ring witchcraft; we could swarm and slay them together, but 1.4-ring..."

He didn’t continue, for it was utterly beyond anything he had ever heard of, completely shattering his understanding.

"Little fellow?" Lor didn’t explain but instead grew curious about the youth’s reference to that flamboyant person.

"Well, my former boss was something like an eight or nine-year-old little fellow."

The youth nodded, "I heard he’s the grandson of that great being from the Central Fire Element Wizard Tower of Murphy Continent, who came to the Secret Realm purely to play."

"Arsen Dempsey, the Chancellor?" Lor’s steps suddenly halted as he stared at the youth, uttering a name from his mouth.

This great being was incredibly familiar to him.

Although ten years on, he failed to stop that Five-Ring Dark Faith Mage from destroying the Murphy Continent, in the future, he became a Seventh Ring Seeking Truth Wizard.

He was one of the paramount beings of the future Wizard Alliance.

He was the Sovereign of fire.

He was a great being on the path to seeking truth.

He was the revered pinnacle by all Fire Element Mages.

In the previous life’s game forums, there was even a couplet floating around about him.

Lor couldn’t remember much, but two lines remained exceptionally clear.

’Borrow a wisp of fire, utter all truth.’

"The Chancellor?" The youth’s eyes widened abruptly, "Your Excellency, you mean that individual is a Five-Ring Mage?"

Regarding those high-ranking individuals, the youth knew nothing, only recognizing the Tower Master of his own Wizard Tower.

That was normal; besides the Magic Array in the laboratory, apprentices had only their mentors as a channel to learn about such individuals’ information.

Yet it wouldn’t mean much for mentors to tell apprentices this, since they didn’t have any direct contact anyway.

"Yes." Lor nodded, his expression somewhat dark.

Goodness, it was a good thing he asked earlier.

Otherwise, if he accidentally killed that little fellow, the Dark Divine Kingdom might be burnt to ashes the next second.

Though during the closed state of the Divine Kingdom, a Five-Ring Mage couldn’t perceive the exact situation within, that figure could absolutely sense his grandson’s life and death.

Glancing at the still bewildered youth, Lor had no thoughts of silencing him.

Frankly, he didn’t fear that little fellow, only the being behind him.

As long as the little fellow isn’t killed, everything else is inconsequential.

If the little fellow was disrespectful, teaching him a lesson wouldn’t be a problem; given that being’s temperament, they might even appreciate him.

"You may return now; you’re no longer needed." Lor stated.

"Yes, thank you, Your Excellency!" The youth gleefully replied and immediately dashed away like being chased by a dog.

Watching the youth’s distant silhouette, an indistinct thought flickered through Lor’s mind.

"If there’s a chance, bring that lad by my side, maybe he could become a protective talisman in the future?"

"Having this protective talisman, I could act more wantonly in the future."