"Ah, no."
A wizard apprentice from the Blue Ring, covered in blood, staggered backward, a look of fear on his face.
"Aise!"
As the incantation of the sorcery began, an acid missile emitting white steam flew out, causing the blue ring wizard apprentice to scream as his body was corroded into a pool of blood.
Morin slowly walked out, gently tapping the ground with the slender cross-shaped sword of the dark elf.
With a flick of his sword, Morin picked out a purple stone emitting blue smoke and then grabbed it in his hand.
"Not bad, starfish tear stone, now the materials are finally complete."
Morin nodded.
He had been making arrangements near the valley, and the chip had deduced several relevant results, which were quite good. However, Morin suddenly discovered an embarrassing problem: he was lacking some materials.
However, just because he didn't have it doesn't mean that other wizard apprentices didn't.
So Morin began to roam the area, hunting down wizard apprentices.
After killing many wizard apprentices, he finally got what he wanted.
"It's almost done."
Morin murmured softly, unconsciously clenching the starfish tear stone in his hand.
Then Morin straightened her clothes, turned around, and walked away.
night.
Morin took out the starfish tear stone again.
Compared to before, the starfish tear stone now has densely packed magical runes, which look quite strange.
With a click, Morin inserted the starfish tearstone into a groove, then whispered a few spells.
A dense array of magical runes appeared all around, emitting a faint glow, but soon the runes dimmed and returned to their previous inconspicuous state.
Morin nodded, stood up, thought carefully about what he should prepare, and felt that he had done most of what needed to be done. So he smiled, turned around and left.
"Jack." Bevis looked at Morin, who was walking out of the woods, with a look of surprise on his face. He hadn't expected Morin, who had disappeared, to suddenly appear.
"Bivis".
Morin nodded.
A little while later, Dulin and Carter also appeared. They were a little surprised to see Morin there, but wisely refrained from asking.
After a brief silence, they couldn't help but talk about the battle in the secret realm.
"Many people have already died." Dulin exhaled. He was a wizard apprentice of the Blue Ring.
"I wonder if they've had enough dead yet. You know, it takes ninety percent of them to die to end this." Carter sneered. He was a genius wizard of the White Wizard Organization, the Misty Labyrinth, but not a core member of a wizarding family. Faced with this situation, his heart was filled with resentment.
Sieg stood to the side, glanced at Morin, then at the others, a slight smile playing on his lips, but said nothing.
"Take it easy. Although we'll be going through a lot of fighting this time, the rewards are pretty good, aren't they?" Bivis smiled, his face showing no other emotion. "Maybe we'll be able to get a suitable advanced meditation method. Once we have an advanced meditation method, our future will be different."
Bivis's voice gradually lowered until it was almost imperceptible.
The others had different thoughts. Some thought about the brutality of the battle, the pain and powerful opponents they would encounter in the secret realm, some thought about the rewards for surviving, and others wondered what the various wizarding organizations were trying to achieve by joining forces to let them into the secret realm.
Suddenly, a powerful tremor came, and the entire ground seemed to shake violently.
"What's wrong? What's wrong!"
What happened?
Exclamations of surprise came from the surrounding wizard apprentices.
Morin and his group, on the other hand, were much calmer. After exchanging glances, they quickly determined their direction.
"It's the central area of the valley!"
"Let's go take a look!"
Morin and his group moved swiftly, running towards the center of the valley.
Soon, Morin and the others saw that the white mist in the center of the valley suddenly dispersed, and some things were vaguely revealed, along with a voice.
"This is..."
"That's so strange."
"How could such a thing suddenly happen?"
Dulin and the others exchanged bewildered glances, but soon they understood why.
"Enough people have died. What's in the valley is about to be revealed," Bivis said in a deep voice, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked into the valley.
As the fog dissipated, Bivis and his companions could see what was inside the valley: several hunting dogs, baring their sharp fangs, looking ferocious, and tearing at something relentlessly.
Several black ropes were connected together to secure the hounds by the necks, keeping them tied together at close range.
"Well..."
"Ahhh!"
"Help me, help me! Ah!"
The screams continued, and Morin and the others saw that the hounds were fighting against semi-transparent phantoms, which were the souls of the wizard apprentices who had died earlier.
"Oh My God!"
Everyone gasped in shock. No one had expected that the wizard apprentices they had killed would suffer such a terrible fate, their souls being torn apart by these hounds.
"What the hell are these hunting dogs?!" Dulin took a deep breath, his voice changing slightly.
"It looks familiar."
"I think I've seen it in some wizarding book..."
"Skoll Soul-Hunting Fruit!"
"This is the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit!"
Suddenly, Bivis and his men let out a loud shout, and immediately their gazes toward the hunting dogs turned fiery.
Although they were not members of wizarding families, they came from various powerful wizarding organizations and had a wealth of experience and knowledge, so they naturally knew what these soul-devouring hounds were.
They are not animals at all, but magical plants from another world. However, their growth conditions are extremely demanding, and in the final stage of maturity, they require the radiation of wizard energy and a young, vibrant soul.
No wonder so many wizard apprentices were fighting each other in the secret realm.
Dulin and the others immediately understood.
"Skoll Soul-Hunting Fruit, this is a formal wizard-level magical plant, something with a very powerful effect on the advancement of formal wizards. If I get it, then..." Such a thought flashed through Dulin and the others' minds, and then they couldn't help but rush forward, constantly attacking the hunting dogs, trying to kill them.
But soon, they were forced to retreat.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Awoo!"
The howls of the hunting dogs rang out incessantly, and Dulin and his men hurriedly retreated. They were all in a sorry state, with large and small cuts appearing on their bodies.
Carter was the worst off; a hunting dog bit his thigh hard, and a large chunk of flesh disappeared, leaving only his white bone visible.
"No, these Skol Soul-Hunting Fruits are too physically strong and have a high resistance to witchcraft. Ordinary formal wizards would be killed by them. We are no match for them at all."
Bivis wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at the screaming Skol Soul-Hunting Fruits with a face full of resentment.
The same was true for Dulin and Carter Sieg next to them.
Yes, the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit was right in front of them, but they had no way of getting their hands on it.
"Jack?" Just then, Bivis noticed that Maureen, who was standing next to him, was gone.
Morin moved swiftly, like a black shadow, constantly running.
Soon, he appeared next to the hunting dogs.
"Alright, we can begin." Morin glanced at the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit that was rushing towards him, and a smirk appeared on his lips.
He threw out a cloud of flesh-colored smoke, which, after chanting a witchcraft incantation, twisted and turned until it transformed into countless white fleshy bones.
With a whoosh, the meat bone fell to the ground.
The hunting dogs trembled at the sight of the meat bones, then howled and charged towards them without stopping, completely ignoring Morin who was not far away.
Crunch, crunch, the meaty bones were being chewed and swallowed, and the hunting dogs wagged their tails, eating with great relish.
"No wonder they're dogs, they just love eating bones." Morin couldn't help but silently tease himself as he watched this scene.
Of course, those bones only look like bones on the surface. In reality, they are soul-hunting bait specially prepared by Morin using a variety of magical materials. They are highly attractive to Skol Soul-Hunting Fruits and can be said to be specifically designed to counter them.
Morin's smile slowly turned cold.
He looked at the nearest hunting dog and slowly extended his hand.
"Iskander…" Morin's lips moved slightly as he uttered the sorcery incantation.
As the sorcery incantation was uttered, a purplish-red flame suddenly appeared on Morin's palm. The purplish-red flame flickered incessantly, and a hoarse roar could be faintly heard coming from the center of the flame.
With a whoosh, the purplish-red flames transformed into a wave of fire that surged out and engulfed the hunting dog.
Although the hound was attacked by the crimson flames, the other hounds continued to gnaw on their bones, completely unaware of what was happening.
The hunting dog lay on the ground, howling incessantly. Its eyes were fierce, and it wanted to pounce on Morin, but its body was limp and it had no strength at all.
Morin ignored the hound's reaction and continued to chant the witchcraft incantation in a low voice.
The crimson flames burned fiercely, and the hound struggled incessantly. Its voice had changed from a howl to a low whine, as if it were a truly pitiful dog.
"Awoo!"
Bang!
The hound let out a final bark, then exploded with a bang. Its body vanished, and a purplish-red fruit the size of an infant's fist appeared in the air, gently bobbing before landing in Morin's palm.
"Finally got it." Morin's forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was a little pale. Clearly, he hadn't had an easy time either, but when he saw the purplish-red fruit in his hand, a slight smile appeared on his face.
There were hardly any meat bones left on the ground, indicating that the hunting dogs had almost finished eating the Soul-Hunting Bait.
"There's still time."
Looking at the remaining bones and the hounds on the ground, Morin thought for a moment and immediately made a decision.
Using the same method as before, he once again enveloped a hunting dog in crimson flames and began the refining process.
Not long after, the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit appeared, and the hunting dog had disappeared.
"retreat!"
Morin immediately dodged away, and as he did, several hunting dogs howled and lunged at him with their fangs bared.
There were no more bones on the ground, and the hounds had returned to normal and began chasing Morin.
Because of the mutual restraint of the black ropes, the hounds could not run too far. With the added obstruction of the alchemical grenades, Morin finally managed to escape after a short while.
"Very good." Morin felt the two purplish-red fruits bobbing in the bag in his arms and couldn't help but smile.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Morin's expression changed, and he quickly stepped aside.
"boom!"
A huge explosion was heard.
A massive explosion occurred where Morin had just stood, caused by a spellcasting attack.
"Carter, Dulin…" Morin stopped, his gaze slowly sweeping over the figures, and said, "And you, Sig, the girl from Hard Castle."
"This is really interesting."
Morin sneered.
"Jack, hand over those two Skol Soul-Hunting Fruits!" Carter shouted at Morin, his face grim.
He had a chunk of flesh bitten off his thigh while trying to get the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit, but he got nothing in return. On the contrary, Morin got two Skol Soul-Hunting Fruits, which made him both envious and jealous. How could he be willing to accept that?
Morin glanced at Carter and said, "Idiot!"
"Stop wasting time talking to him, let's go!"
"Jack is powerful, he is very powerful, but even if all of us attack together, he is no match for us!"
"Go! For the Skol Soul-Hunting Fruit!"
Dulin and Carter acted decisively, rushing towards Morin in an instant.
Among them, Carter and the mysterious girl from Hard Castle rushed forward the fastest.
"Did you think I wasn't prepared?" Morin looked at them, smiled, and couldn't hide his contempt in his smile.
He made a spell-casting gesture and whispered a few incantations.
Buzz.
The ground suddenly trembled, and then large swaths of magical runes appeared.
To Dulin and his companions' horror and disbelief, flames soared into the sky, and violent explosions rang out incessantly, instantly engulfing them.
A chorus of pitiful screams instantly erupted from all around.
Besides Dulin and his group, there were also wizard apprentices nearby who were looking for an opportunity to ambush Morin; they, too, were not able to escape the massive explosion.
The flames spread outwards, like the ebb and flow of the tide. Morin stood still, his body upright like a javelin, his long robe billowing like sails.
His expression was completely indifferent.
He wasn't an idiot. After learning that the valley contained the Soul-Hunting Fruit, he naturally thought about how to prevent other wizard apprentices from stealing it while preparing to obtain it.
All of this was due to this magical rune array and this massive explosion.
"The effect is quite good."
Morin smiled.
He discovered that, because he had rushed forward so quickly, Carter and the mysterious girl from Hard Castle were now directly in front of Morin.
"Cough…cough cough…Jack…Jack, you…cough cough…" Carter was caught in the crossfire and seriously injured. He looked at Morin with fear and disbelief on his face.
He tried to say something, but he kept coughing up blood and couldn't even finish his sentence.
Morin glanced at him and extended her hand.
boom.
A fiery ball flew over and struck Carter, blasting him into countless fragments that scattered all around.
Tiny flames were still burning on the fragments of the corpse.