Chapter 281 – Sage

Sage

“Shadow Stealth!”　　

After standing up, Leylin used the spell that had the most outstanding concealing abilities out of all of the the rank 1 dark elemental magic he knew.　　

With the added bonus from his solidified spiritual force as a rank 2 Magus, Shadow Stealth was now terrifyingly formidable.　　

Leylin’s figure disappeared from the VIP room in an instant, such that even the rank 2 Magi outside were not able to detect him.　　

“Alistair actually sided with the dark Magi. With him as the leading cause, this sets the background for the Third Magus War.”

Leylin was unmoved by this, his body like a mirage as he hurried along.

“He’s not my business anyway. I just need to know if he has anything I need in his possession!”

The essence from the Wisdom Tree must have some extraordinary effects for ancient Magi to view it so highly.　　

Though Leylin possessed a high-grade meditation technique, he wouldn’t mind some extra assurance for when he wanted to break through.　　

*Boom!*　　

Alistair leapt, his powerful hind legs leaving behind two deep pits in the ground.　　

With much momentum, he fiercely jumped out of the hole and began to run wildly on the field.　

“He’s over there!”　　

Following closely behind him was that group of rank 2 Magi from the light Magi alliance. Upon seeing the situation, the leader immediately waved his sleeve!

*Weng weng!*　　

A concentrated volley of countless bugs was produced from his sleeves, and immediately after, a huge grey cloud floated out from the large sleeves of his robes.　

Upon closer inspection, this ‘cloud’ was actually comprised of many densely packed bugs.　　

These bugs had two compound eyes, and their mandibles were fierce and sharp. A pair of translucent wings flapped at a high frequency, producing waves of an ear-piercing sound that would cause one to feel fidgety.

“Go!” This light Magus pointed at Alistair.　　

The bugs chirped in a way that shook the heavens, forming the image of a human face without eyes, and chased after Alistair, who was currently still in his werewolf form.　　

The huge human face streaked across the sky, looking like a black cloud of gas in the air. It quickly caught up to the werewolf who was fleeing, opened its mouth, and roared at him.　　

“Awooo!” The werewolf faced the heavens and howled, gathering two large masses of wind-elemental energy particles that turned into wind blades, one horizontal and the other vertical. It turned into a huge cross shape, and chopped towards the human face in the air.

The wind blade trembled slightly as it streaked past the face. In that moment, the bugs scattered and then regrouped, completely unharmed by the attack.　　

“Chi chi…” Along with the cries from the numerous bugs, a great grey ‘flood’ was spat out from the human face, which engulfed the werewolf within.　

Upon closer inspection, within the ‘flood’ were several worms that were even tinier than most insects, their sharp mouths glinting with light.　　

*Chi chi!!!*　　

The grey worms wrapped around the werewolf in an instant, and the horrifying sounds of something being gnawed into were heard.　　

“Woo woo…” From within the grey worms, the werewolf’s pitiful howls could be heard.　　

“Alright! Now that he’s been caught by the Death Insects, he can’t run!”　　

The light Magus who manipulated the worms grinned, “Go, get him! Steal the treasure and essence of the Wisdom Tree!”　　

“As expected from the ‘Death Bug Manipulator’, Jajone!” The rank 2 Magi following him exclaimed in admiration and hastened towards their target.

At this moment, a beautiful melody from a recorder travelled from some distance away.

The formless sound waves swept through the area, and swarms of grey bugs fell one after another.

*Boom!* The surface of the earth cracked open, and two rank 2 Magi donning the robes of the dark Magi rushed out, accompanied by two huge white fireballs striking the human face in the air.　　

“Ah…” The human face emitted a sound similar to the shrieks of a female, and the face then began to distort.　　

In merely a couple of seconds, the face was shrouded with white flames, and large groups of Death Bugs dropped.　　

“It looks like you’ve long since sided with the dark Magi!”　　

The huge face formed out of bugs seemed to be connected to the spiritual force of the light Magus; after it had been burnt through, he visibly paled.

However, he cared not about his injuries, and instead focused his attention on Alistair, who had escaped from the attack of the worms.　　

The werewolf was now in a pitiful state. More than half of the pretty fur on his body had disappeared, revealing patches of pink skin and flesh.　

On his body were some very large wounds, revealing muscle tissue that had been severely damaged. One could even see bone.　　

*Chi chi!* The blood vessels and muscles visible on the wounds constantly wriggled, and layers of flesh covered the injury and stopped the flow of fresh blood. At areas which were barren of fur, a fine layer of fur began to grow.

The abnormal healing ability of werewolf exhibited its strength here.　

“Let’s go!” With a wave from a rank 2 dark Magus, countless white ribs and bone spurs appeared in front of the light Magi, forming a large wall.　

The wall seemed to have a life of its own, cunningly moving and trapping the light Magi within.　　

Then, with Alistair in tow, the two dark Magi left.　　

*Bang! Bang!*　　

From within the white bone cage, the dull thuds of people ramming into the cage were heard. One after another, hemisphere-like shapes appeared all around the cage, and around these shapes were even some minute cracks.　　

These cracks increased in size, and eventually, the cage exploded open!　　

The white dust from the broken spurs dissipated, revealing the figures of a few light Magi.

“There are still rank 2 dark Magi reinforcements! The situation is getting more troublesome! Send out the signal!”　　

The Magus who was the leader of the light Magi roared.　　

A Magus nodded and swiped upwards, and a shooting star with alternating red and green colours streaked through the sky.　　

*Xiu xiu xiu!*

Minutes later, thirteen Magi in black robes with iron crowns on their heads arrived at the scene.

“Alistair has already sided with the dark Magi. There’s now a rank 3 Magus holding Lord Hoduke back, and there are also two dark Magi who took Alistair away!”　　

The light Magus looked to be in a difficult position.　　

“It’s the same situation that we are in! Don’t worry though. We’ve sprinkled large amounts of the pollen of the Nine Threaded Flower at the auction area. As long as he was there, he’ll definitely be unable to escape the pursuit of the Patchy Bees.”　　

A Magus whose crown was a lot larger than everyone else answered.　　

“We are extremely confident in the setup of the Great Sage.” The leader of the light Magi bowed, displaying his respect towards the sage.

These thirteen Magi were actually sages of Iron Crown, and were absolute existences in terms of their might!　　

Their neutral stance also caused the light Magus leader to have to do away with his haughty attitude.

“Now that the dark Magi are also involved, we may not be able to provide you with more help. You know that the very reason why we have been able to maintain our reputations as towering existences is our neutral stance!”　　

The Great Sage continued.　　

“Great Sage…” The leader of the light Magi’s face fell, and turned icy. “We signed a contract stating that you would pursue Alistair. What do you mean by those words, Great Sage?”　

“But… what about the dark Magi?” The Great Sage looked to be in a difficult position. Meanwhile, the leader of the light Magi had a vile look on his face.

“Just attack. We will take on the pressure from the dark Magi. The conditions in the contract we agreed on can be altered, and I can even concede on some matters…”　　

The leader was silent for a moment and then chose to make a compromise.　　

Besides, they did not have much time left.　　

After hearing this, the Great Sage of Iron Crown smiled, looking as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 　　

He produced a transparent glass bottle from within his robes, a creature with numerous compound eyes at the centre within the bottle. This creature looked like a bee with an image of a black eye on its yellow wings, and was quietly resting within the glass bottle. Traces of intelligence and quick-wittedness flashed through its eyes.

The Great Sage opened the neck of the bottle, and after flying in circles a few times, the little creature, the Patchy Bee, began to fly in a certain direction.　　

“It has found them!” the Great Sage exclaimed, dense metal plating appearing on his body and forming the armour that Knights usually wore into battle.

*Bang!*　

The white skeleton of a large horse rose from the ground, green spiritual flames burning in its eye sockets and being snorted from its nostrils.　　

“My old buddy, I’ll have to use you again!” The sage in armour stroked an old and tattered pair of reins and sighed with regret.　　

He fiercely rode the skeletal horse, and roared from deep within his throat. “Iron Crown!”　

“Glory for life! Advance for our responsibilities!” The sages present answered in a loud voice.　

The skeletal warhorse neighed, and black liquid metal covered the entire body of the horse. In an instant, the skeletal warhorse turned into a giant metallic beast with sharp barbs protruding from the surface of its body.

*Lu Lu!*　　

One after another, metallic warhorses struggled out of the ground and carried the other sages. Some of the sages wore dazzling magic robes, while others donned metallic armour. Powerful spells were sent out in a constant stream.　　

In an instant the thirteen sages with iron crowns turned into Steel Knights possessing immense power!　　

“Chase after them!”　　

Following the orders of the Great Sage, the thirteen warhorses charged forward, leaving behind traces of burning hoofprints.

“The inheritance from ancient Magi! This is definitely a branch of the ancient Magi!”　　

The light Magi’s eyelids twitched as they uttered these words in their hearts.　　

In the south coast, there was a rumour floating around about the Magi organisation with a neutral stance, Iron Crown. These thirteen sages of Iron Crown had received the power of the inheritance from some ancient ruins, and were henceforth able to set up and establish Iron Crown!