Chapter 14 - the fisherman's gain

Suddenly, the sky opened up and poured with rain!Over a dozen warriors fought a ferocious battle with the Purple-Patterned Black Bear. Every now and then, a warrior was sent flying by one of the bear's swipes, spitting blood as they crashed to the ground, their fate unknown.The 9th-rank warrior leader swung his greatsword, sending streaks of battle aura slamming into the bear. The beast roared repeatedly, desperate to swat the leader dead,yet as a 9th-rank warrior, evading the attacks came easily to him. After all, the bear's flaw was glaringly obvious—it was far too slow!THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!Finally, the Purple-Patterned Black Bear lost patience. Ignoring the warriors, it stepped back, ready to flee!At that moment, meteor-like fireballs hurtled down from the sky, accompanied by a tiger-like howl of gale winds. Seven or eight fire serpents lunged at the bear, and a bolt of lightning crashed down from the heavens.ROOOOAR! The bear's colossal body collapsed to the ground. No matter how tough its flesh, it could not withstand four 8th-rank spells. Its hide split open, oozing blood that washed away in the rain, soaking into the earth and filling the air with a thick stench of iron.Enraged beyond reason, the bear charged the warriors recklessly. It sought to kill those who had wounded it, to tear the mages limb from limb."Hold it back! It's injured—keep it occupied, and it'll run out of strength soon!" The leader roared triumphantly, surging forward with a faint cyan shield coating his body.The remaining warriors charged the bear without hesitation, fighting tooth and nail."What a brutal battle," Baruch thought, letting the rain soak him through. He dared not cast a shield—any movement might expose him and bring unnecessary trouble."The Magical Beast Mountains stretch ten thousand miles long and hundreds wide. This fierce fight is nothing but a tiny blip in the vast range, so it won't draw other beasts here."High-rank magical beasts all claimed their territories; this ten-mile radius belonged to the Purple-Patterned Black Bear, and no other beast would dare trespass."Even if they capture the bear, few of them will survive—and those who do will be gravely weakened," Baruch watched as another warrior was torn in two by the bear. A sinister smirk tugged at his lips, his mind racing with calculations. "If I strike now, they'll be caught completely off guard! A 9th-rank Purple-Patterned Black Bear is incredibly valuable!"Baruch plotted silently.High-rank magical beasts fetched exorbitant prices: a 7th-rank beast was worth over 100,000 gold coins, an 8th-rank over a million, and a 9th-rank in the tens of millions. As for Sanctuary beasts, they were priceless beyond measure.Of course, Baruch had no intention of capturing the bear alive to sell—it would be too conspicuous, too risky, and would surely lead others to uncover his identity. His target was the beast's core treasure: its magic core.A 9th-rank core was less valuable than the bear itself, but it still fetched a cool million gold coins."Hahaha! We've finally captured the beast! The king will reward us generously when we return!" Half an hour later, the Purple-Patterned Black Bear finally exhausted its strength. The leader struck it down with a single sword blow; its towering body crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, and the leader burst into triumphant laughter.The four mages beamed with excitement, sighing in relief.Of the two teams that had come, only eight survived: the four mages and four warriors. Besides the leader, the other three warriors were 8th-rank—but they were in a sorry state, pale-faced and drained of battle aura, their wounds far from trivial."Now's the time!" Baruch pulled a black cloth over his face, drew his battle blade Slaughter, and suppressed his aura completely. He slipped silently down from the tree and crept behind the four mages.His eyes narrowed. With blinding speed, he lunged forward—too fast for the mages to sense the impending doom. Slaughter cut through the air like lightning, slicing all four Magisters in half in one swift strike."Who are you? Do you fear the wrath of the Kingdom of Finlay?!" The once-laughing leader's face turned ashen. He stared daggers at Baruch, his voice cold with fury. "You lurked in the shadows, waiting to reap the benefits of our struggle—yet you're at most an 8th-rank warrior. You're far too arrogant!"The leader could not gauge Baruch's true strength, but he assumed Baruch was no higher than 8th-rank. After all, 9th-rank warriors would have dared to challenge them openly instead of waiting until now to strike."Arrogant? My blade decides that, not you." Baruch's voice was hoarse—he'd altered his tone to cover his tracks. "Die!"The leader trembled at the overwhelming bloodlust emanating from Baruch's blade, but he had no way out. They had paid a terrible price to capture the bear; he would not retreat so easily. Cyan battle aura surged around him, and he thrust his sword at Baruch."Too weak!" Baruch knocked him back seven or eight steps with one slash, musing silently. He knew the leader's aura was depleted from fighting the bear, leaving him far weaker than his prime.The leader steadied himself, his gaze grave. His sword hand tingled, nearly losing his grip. "Damned monster—what immense strength!""Perish!" Baruch roared, swinging his colossal blade. The remaining 8th-rank warriors were barely able to fight; kill the leader, and the rest would be lambs to the slaughter.BOOM! The leader raised his sword to block. The impact sent his weapon flying, and he stumbled back three steps in shock. "Impossible!"Baruch's strength had suddenly surged—even at full power, the leader would not have stood a chance, let alone in his current state.Baruch gave him no time to catch his breath, raining blow after blow down on him. In less than thirty strikes, he seized the leader's opening and split his skull in two with a single slash."What a shame—at full strength, he would've been a worthy opponent," Baruch muttered, then ignored the three warriors' pleading gazes and cut them down without mercy.To be safe, he delivered a final blow to every corpse on the ground."A peak 9th-rank Purple-Patterned Black Bear—its core must be far more valuable than ordinary 9th-rank cores," Baruch wasted no time slaying the bear, then cut open its skull to retrieve the core. It was fist-sized, jet-black, yet emitted no trace of dark energy."So it's not just Sanctuary beast cores that conceal their energy completely—even peak 9th-rank cores have nearly invisible auras," he thought, tucking the core into his spatial ring with a flick of his wrist.The core was far too large to carry in a bag; it would draw unwanted attention and bring trouble."My aura cultivation is progressing smoothly, but my magic is severely limited. Ernst Institute offers 7th-rank spells of all elements, but not 8th-rank, 9th-rank, or forbidden spells. When I return, I'll collect all 7th-rank spells, then leave the institute to roam the continent," Baruch planned. He was already a peak 5th-rank mage, and it would not be long before he reached 6th-rank. But the leap from 6th to 7th was a qualitative one, taking years for most—Baruch only dared to hope he could achieve it in a year and a half.Yet he was unlike other mages: his spiritual power was nearly on par with 8th-rank Magisters, making a 7th-rank breakthrough all but inevitable.He had advanced one rank per year for the past few years not out of inability, but to stay low-key and avoid standing out. He'd also lacked a solid magic foundation, needing time to study countless tomes, enrich his knowledge, and deepen his understanding of magic.Now, his grasp of magic rivaled even 8th-rank Magisters—he saw no reason to stay at Ernst Institute any longer.Besides, he finally had the strength to protect himself.Baruch turned and vanished into the woods, disappearing into the rain. The downpour had washed away all traces of his aura; not even a Sanctuary powerhouse could track him now.