Chapter 15: The Age of Slaughter

At around 11 a.m. on May 23, the Star 745 convoy arrived at North Fortress in Refuge Valley Town.
North Fortress served as the outer gateway to Refuge Valley Town, similar in nature to Four-Leaf Fortress. It lay along the main road, flanked by steep cliffs and deep valleys. Its city walls were built against the cliffs, giving it the shape of a gunhead with a recessed edge, with its gate acting as the tip of the gun. Though called a “tip,” it spanned at least 300 meters from east to west, with high walls and thick fortifications. To those unaware, it might have been mistaken for the north gate of Refuge Valley Town.
Due to the chaotic situation, inspections had become much stricter. There were not only random checks but also mages leading one or two apprentices who used instruments to conduct dark energy scans on passersby entering the town. This inevitably led to wrongful accusations against some, like Neo, whose elemental affinity was darkness yet who was actually enemies of devils and demons. But in these extraordinary times, the orders from above were to err on the side of killing rather than sparing anyone. Anyone suspected would at the very least be taken to a special place for questioning, where higher-level mages would conduct various tests to avoid further mistakes.
Neo passed through quite easily—not because of the favor of the Celestial Temple, but because his “Flesh and Blood Armor” was filled with high concentrations of blood energy. The crude tools at the city gate could not penetrate this protection, allowing him to pass through unimpeded.
Beyond North Fortress, it seemed immediately like they had entered a large construction site, with many people working organizedly to build walls. Along the perimeter of North Fortress, the original wooden fences and stone barriers were being replaced with solid stone walls. They used materials such as stones, bricks, and clay—essentially any kind of earth-based material. When it was difficult to secure them, wooden molds were used for reinforcement. The resulting walls were rough and not very strong, but magic spells by earth mages to turn mud into stone filled the gaps, making them sturdy. Of course, for such a massive project requiring haste, granite was not an option, but sandstone was reliable. Neo estimated that with near-total mobilization of the population, the entire outer defense could be completed in about a week.
More concerning to Neo than the city walls were the arcane watchtowers built behind the stone barriers. Unlike mage towers with multiple functions, these watchtowers were designed for combat. All the spells built into them were standardized—ice arrows, fireballs, lightning—simple energy-based spells, yet their power exceeded that of similar spells cast by level 15 archmages. To operate them, only mages of level 2 or above were needed.

Of course, a lower rank means poorer quality and quantity of mental energy. Thus, a level 2 mage’s fortification can only cast a few spells before requiring a replacement. Nevertheless, this greatly reduces usage limitations and power. There shouldn’t be too many low-level mages in the world—even spellcraft specialists like those of Tide, Deep Earth, Molten Fire, or Wind Call can take part in combat. Once battle begins, these arcane fortifications can inflict significant damage, certainly on par with the combined strength at the forefront of the walls.

Nio isn’t entirely clueless about magic either. He knows that the emergence of arcane fortifications means that casters, who have traditionally focused on research and cultivation, are now fully involved in warfare. This is not only because building and controlling these fortifications requires a large number of casters but also because their presence affects the elemental energy levels in a region. Given the need to maintain stable energy levels, the amount of elemental energy each region can absorb per unit time is limited. Since arcane fortifications require energy reserves, the elemental pools of mage towers naturally decrease in size. With insufficient power, casters are forced to scale back their research projects. Once freed from research and cultivation, they will inevitably engage in secular affairs, no longer like the few cats that used to play around.

“The string of war has finally been strummed…”

The fall of Aedara finally convinced the upper echelons of Silfanis to make up their minds. They no longer relied on their usual forces to solve problems completely, nor did they follow a systematic approach to transforming their society. They no longer cared about the huge economic losses resulting from rapid transformation. Or rather, after calculation, they chose to bear such losses rather than let the foundations of their system be destroyed piece by piece from the outside.

The fall of Aedara pushed Silfanis onto the path of war. Nio didn’t know if similar things were happening in other lands, but he understood that from a racial perspective, as the rulers of the Emelar continent, humans are the most ferocious beasts in history. When they unleash their wrath, the entire world trembles.

“Prepare… Fire!”

Bang bang bang…

“Step forward… Strike!”

“Kill!”

Just outside Refuge Valley Town, Nio saw a large number of armed militia members undergoing training. They already had a solid foundation, and in just half a month, most of them could become competent soldiers.

“Ah… Oh…” Terrifying screams echoed across the open area. Executions by hanging, burning, or beheading were carried out on those deemed degenerate or suspected of being dark cultists. While there were indeed innocent victims, what did it matter if those in power were labeled as butchers? Anyone who dared defect or ally with the darkness would be killed! It was through such brutal internal purges that the atmosphere of war became deeply felt by everyone.

What Neo didn’t know was that as the war machine got underway, a series of additional measures were implemented across entire Hylfanis. All residents were required to undergo identity checks and replace their magic identification tags within a specified time frame. A city-wide curfew was imposed—anyone caught on the streets after 9 p.m. would be arrested or even shot on the spot. Even nobles not involved in military duties would be questioned and required to sign records. Asset declarations followed, along with war contributions, including the level of protection one would receive. Thanks to a comprehensive system of fair oversight, it was difficult to engage in fraud or embezzlement.

…

“Wow, it feels like Refuge Valley Town has turned into a massive military camp! It’s really exciting!” Zankin, Varug, Korkal, as well as Neo and Kanito—all of them country folks—were truly impressed by what they saw.

Amidst this intense atmosphere of preparation, everyone felt a bit nervous. Neo and his group wasted no time and headed straight to the office outside the town to report to their direct superior,Reeno.

Everything that followed was handled according to standard military procedures—swift and efficient. In less than an hour, 10 giant trucks pulled by giant rhinoceroses were handed over to Star 745. These trucks had wheels 2.5 meters in diameter, were 7 meters wide and 12 meters long, with magic arrays installed at their bottoms. If they encountered roads too difficult to pass, the arrays could lift the trucks into the air in a short time—so long as the giant rhinoceroses could make it through, the trucks could as well.

Among these vehicles, one was particularly special. Its sturdy, fully metal exterior served not only as protection but also housed a foldable space that increased its actual usable volume to nearly three times that of a regular giant truck. This truck carried crates full of elemental energy crystals and various magical devices. The value of just this one truck’s cargo was equivalent to ten times the total value of the remaining trucks.

Since it was a escort mission rather than a convoy, there were also passengers: 11 spellcasters who were the ones being escorted.

Arcane spellcasters are the kind of people you must never let complete their spells, otherwise you’ll almost certainly die. Cities being completely erased from existence, mountains being utterly leveled—these are all done by arcane spellcasters. It is with such terrifying power that humans have managed to overcome countless difficult challenges; once the time comes, no matter how impregnable a place seems, it will instantly collapse.

Joining them on the escort mission were five spellcasters from the Mage Guild, who also joined as part of a tactical team. A veteran in his 30s led the group, while the others seemed relatively young. It was understood that they were all full-fledged combat mages who had gone through more than two actual battles, but in Neo’s eyes, they were just amateurs—even the so-called veteran was merely average.

However, the skills these people possessed could effectively complement Star 745. Clearly, the higher-ups had taken this into account when assigning the mission, which pleased Neo quite a bit. Of course, the most important thing was that he was leading the team. Otherwise, Neo wouldn’t have agreed to this escort mission so easily, as everyone was well aware of the kind of enemies they might face.

“The team sets off now. We’ll arrive at Fangyan Post Station before dark to camp.” It was noon, and Neo didn’t even let everyone rest before setting off right away.

“There’s no need to rush so much, right? Although giant rhinoceroses aren’t very fast—still capable of moving at over 20 kilometers per hour—Fangyan Post Station is just over 100 kilometers away. We can make it before dawn. It’s already summer, with long days!” One of the spellcasting team members, Hes, muttered unhappily.

“There are many obstacles along the way, and our convoy consists of giant trucks. Having extra time is to prepare for various emergencies. It’s better to be cautious. Sacrificing an hour of lunch time isn’t a big deal. But if something delays us and traps us in a disadvantageous location, that would be bad. If I were in charge, I’d arrange it the same way. Let’s go!” The speaker was Green, the leader of the spellcasting team. This mature man, who appeared quite intelligent and charming, was a water-type healing mage with a gentle and kind personality. Thanks to this temperament, the relationships among the team members were like those of siblings in a family—very harmonious.

Thud, thud, thud! The giant rhinoceroses stepped forward like drums being beaten, shaking the ground. Such a convoy could only move in a single file. Together with the front and back of Star 745’s convoy, it created a line over 300 meters long. Even on a day with good visibility, it was difficult to see each other at the ends.

On this escort mission, Nio saw a beast tamer for the first time. Her name was Ni, with new green hair and delicate, fair skin. If one didn’t notice her ears, she could pass for an elf—both had slender, slight builds. However, she lacked the aura that elves acquired over hundreds or thousands of years; she was a typical forest dweller.
There was very little recorded about forest dwellers, and Nio knew little about them except that most of them were born with the ability to communicate with plants and animals. Those encountered in the secular world often worked in fields related to plants and animals.
With a beast tamer around, she alone could control the 10 giant rhinoceroses. Nio saw that Ni communicated with and controlled these massive beasts through magical collars around their necks. She also had over 40 brute dogs—muscular, like miniature bulls. It was said that brute dogs were the basic beasts for beast tamers, but in the hands of master-level tamers, even these dogs could match the combat power of abyssal-level magical beasts. Nio wasn’t sure if this was true or not. But as a magic alchemist, he could discern some clues: these brute dogs had been drugged, and their activation mechanism seemed somewhat similar to that of his Flesh and Bone Armor.
Besides Ni, who was flanked by attendants, another person Nio saw for the first time was a spirit mage.
Spirit mages had not yet been accepted by the world. Many called them tomb mages, while others confused them with necromancers. In reality, they were indeed spellcasters who controlled souls in battle. Unlike shamans who believed in animism, spirit mages believed only intelligent beings had souls. Thus, the souls they controlled were generally human souls, magical beast souls, or special souls (such as dragons and phoenixes)—these three types.
The spirit mage accompanying the group this time was named Elan—a woman with a very androgynous appearance. Her attire didn’t resemble that of a typical mage but more that of a tribal shaman—covered in bandages and wooden talismans inscribed with spells, looking garish and disorganized. But upon closer inspection, the bandages were finely woven, not just randomly cut pieces of burlap with uneven edges, and the wooden talismans were also exquisitely crafted, in various shapes, over a hundred in total, none identical to another.

Elan was also surrounded by attendants; there were as many as six spirits by her side. The more professional term for these six spirits is “Feather Guards.” They were all “dressed” in feather-made garments and would flutter or simply fly as they moved. The Feather Guards were very fast. When the convoy was in motion, they often patrolled around, acting as eyes and ears, thus sparing Neo the need to send Falcon Thistle for covert reconnaissance.

Another Isaacian (African) named Barbo was also quite interesting. He was a Fire Mage. The most notable characteristic of Fire Mages is that all their spells rely on magical fire—fire that must first be natural fire, and it must be an open flame as well, with a close connection to magic. Therefore, Fire Mages usually carried a special magical lamp that never went out, day or night, and this served as their magic weapon. Neo also found Barbo’s lamp, which resembled a horsehead lantern, quite interesting, as it could create the illusion of illumination even during the day.

The remaining two members of the spellcaster group: apart from the team leader Green, who was a standard veteran water-type healer, the young man named Hes was a Earth Mage. Just by looking at his one arm and half of his face, which had turned rocky and monstrous, with even his hair turning into stone thorns, one could tell how deeply connected he was to the earth element. He had the least mage-like appearance among the five, looking more like amagic soil warrior—robust and barbaric.

In Emira, even just the mage system came in a wide variety of forms. Looking at this spellcaster tactical group, only Green could barely be considered a traditional mage; the others all had something peculiar about them, but in terms of potential, each held value worth exploring further. It was precisely for this reason that Neo decisively abandoned these outstanding “side branches”—there were too many to keep track of, and human resources were limited; it was impossible to learn them all. The title of “Emira’s Spellcraft Scholar” was only suitable for those with extremely long lifespans.

The convoy moved under the sunlight. June was approaching, and the scorching summer of Silfanis was already showing signs—its blinding light made people feel dizzy and induced an unconscious thirst.

This was the time of day when they were least disturbed by monsters, at least by the minor dark creatures.

Hiss! A plume of black smoke shot into the sky from a valley over 200 meters away. Then, with a flap of wings, it hovered in the air, followed by a gathering of massive amounts of black light.

“Black magic!” Green, who was resting on the roof of a specially built truck, glanced at it once and knew that the other party was casting a powerful spell.

With a thought from Elan, the feather guards swiftly flew toward the black smoke. Instead of attacking directly, they formed a line between Elan and the smoke. Elan had a technique called “Flash of Feather Robes,” which allowed her to teleport through spirit-controlled feather robes. With just six feather guards in place, she could move up to 600 meters at a glance.

“Wait!” Green interjected. “Attacking under these circumstances means the enemy will be ready for us. We don’t have much time to disrupt their spells. We need a powerful, one-shot attack.”

Hearing this, Elan realized she had indeed been reckless. The enemy was in the air, and in such a short time, she couldn’t cast any strong spells. If their spell shields succeeded in blocking her attacks or if there were traps below, it would be even harder to mount another powerful assault.

“Ni, Lion Run!” Beside Green, Hes let out a growl before leaping off the moving cart.

With a bark, a barbarian dog following beside the cart soared into the air, carrying Hes securely on its back. Ni, already in sync, took out a pinch of silver powder from a small leather bag at her waist and transformed it into a beam of light that entered the dog’s body.

The dog carrying Hes was still the size of a large dog when it landed, but after just a few steps, it grew as strong as an ox. Its matted mane gave it an air of authority, resembling that of a lion.

This dog ran faster than a cheetah, covering over ten meters with each stride, and its movements were extremely powerful, allowing it to move quickly without the lingering suspension seen in ordinary animal jumps. On the dog’s back, Hes began preparing his spells. Countless light spots of earth element rose from the ground around him, following him closely. The gathering of golden light exuded a magical beauty.

However, Green and the others soon realized someone was even faster than Hes.

“It’s Simon, the Wind Walker!”

Nio’s massive frame was easily recognizable, especially since his blood energy was quite striking—bright red, as if burning fiercely. Such pure blood energy was rare, not only in Frey but also in Kales, where blood energy cultivators abounded.

Green and the others admitted that Nio’s three-stage charge was truly remarkable. Few could master this skill to such a high level, especially combined with Nio’s towering stature, creating a devastating impact that was both awe-inspiring and formidable.

“But… what’s he going up there for?” Green and the others naturally wondered at that moment.

The enemy sprang up from the valley. Not to mention the nearly 100-meter height above the ridge, even just the horizontal distance meant the nearest ridge was over 50 meters away. At such a distance, attacks like Blade Slash would be too weak by then. Could this Simon, the Wind Walker, even fly?

While people were still pondering, Neo and Hes approached the target one after another.

With a deafening and distinctly werewolf-like battle roar, Neo launched himself into the air, stunning everyone, including Hes who was still casting spells.

“What an abnormal muscle system?” People couldn’t help but feel the urge to groan. A 300-pound giant shooting into the sky like a cannonball, reaching over 30 meters high—how much strength must that take?

Even the black magician in the air was shocked, especially after Neo unfurled his two long whips.

These whips were newly crafted by Neo. He spent over 20,000 gold coins on materials and incorporated the essence of his original whips, which had slain countless tree mites. Although they were still 20 meters long, their performance in terms of toughness, flexibility, energy output per unit time, and so on had improved significantly. This meant that even if Neo’s blood energy cultivation didn’t progress much, using these new whips would still grant him greater power, better flexibility, and less energy consumption.

These pairs of whips resembled thorny pythons—their thick bodies were covered with sharp spiny scales, and their tips had heavy weights shaped like pythons’ triangular heads. A palm-long pyramid emerged from the mouth of these triangular heads, like a snake’s core. Normally, these long whips were stored in the Blood-Rising Ring, which Neo had come to value highly as a container for nurturing blood energy. The Blood-Rising Ring was indeed very valuable.

With over 30 meters in height, plus the 20-meter length of the whips and Neo’s tall stature and long arms, the total length approached 60 meters. When these whips were swung, two massive arcs of blood energy streaked from their tips. Judging from their power, they were no less formidable than the Blade Slash attacks launched by ordinary fighters with swords and blades.

“Amazing! Even after extending its combat energy by 20 meters, it can still shoot with such power. This guy must have the combat strength of a Level 9 fighter, and an elite Level 9 at that!”

Green and the others exhaled in awe. The black magician in the air felt similar. He had made some efforts to understand this enemy—young, powerful, proud, and intelligent. Though their encounters had been limited, he had left a deep impression.

“But today…” The Dark Mage curled his lips. “This mage has already made precise calculations and is ready to strike when the time is right. How could just two slashes of light blades destroy me?”
His main focus remained on the Earth Mage Hes. He had information about Hes and knew that Hes’s “Earth’s Grip” could create a massive dust hand to swat him away like a fly. But since he was prepared in advance, how could he let the other party succeed?
Sure enough, first, Nio’s Blood Energy Arc Slash was easily blocked by smoke-like energy. Then Hes indeed used “Earth’s Grip,” a targeted spell. Just then, a bright light shot out from the Dark Mage, gathering wind energy in the air to form a fierce gust that torn the massive dust hand apart.
Just as the Dark Mage was proud, thinking he could fully execute his spell, a flash of blood light appeared before his eyes. His body tensed immediately, followed by the sound of bones breaking and a burning sensation as if his blood were being scorched. Severe pain shattered his concentration in an instant, his spell failed, and he collapsed unconscious.
Green, Hes, the spellcasters in the carriage who heard the news, and the soldiers of Star 745 all stared in shock at the blood-red figure in the air, speechless.
Wings! Blood-red wings like those of an angel—though they only appeared for two moments and flapped twice—were still clearly seen. They were vivid, naturally extended, with every feather appearing lifelike, as if real!
“Stop gawking! Bury those scum in the valley!” Nio shouted rudely at Hes on the ground as he glided down from the air using his blood-red wings.
“Oh!” Hes took a deep breath and began to focus his mind to cast a spell. Nio landed with a thunderous thud, like a hammer hitting the ground.
The black smoke in the sky dissipated, and wails echoed through the valley as numerous monsters rushed out from the shadows. Nio looked closely—they were wood demons. Their appearance was even more human-like than what he had seen in the photos taken by his magic eye. Only their long, withered arms and claws covered in vine-like branches remained unchanged. These monsters had a frosty, crystalline layer on their bodies, which protected them from the midday sun. These creatures relied on brute force, so even during the day, their attack power didn’t diminish significantly.

With a long whip, the black magician was tied up like a zongzi.Neo freed another whip and swung it, cutting off and lifting rocks the size of tables from the cliffside—like the arms of a giant trebuchet. Under the whip’s graceful yet powerful movements, these rocks soared and crashed down on the climbing wood demons.
Boom! Boom!…
It was pure physical attack. No matter how tough the wood demons were, they couldn’t withstand such immense force, shattering into pieces.
However, there were many wood demons, and eventually more of them gathered. Hes’s spell was about to be completed. The ground shook violently. Though its power was far less than that of the forbidden spell of the same name, it was still quite effective in terrain like Hillfanis. The cliffs collapsed layer by layer like crumbling icebergs, sending the climbing wood demons back into the valley. Then, like a chain reaction from a dam breaking, earthwaves surged, burying many wood demons alive.
“Alright, it’s over. Let’s go!” Нио called for Hes to return to the caravan, unwilling to look further at the valley. In fact, he had already released the Blood Vines and Death-Eating Vines, along with thorns and spines, which would feast on those buried wood demons—using others to benefit himself. Нио’s ability to drain energy from various life forms was far more terrifying and ruthless than what he showed in terms of blood energy.
“The other group sensed something was wrong and fled,” reported Kocar, the Blood Curse Sorcerer of Star 745, after Нио returned to the caravan.
At Нио’s advice, Kocar didn’t pursue high-power, high-damage blood curse magic like other sorcerers. Instead, following the training plan Нио had devised for him, he took the “Evil Spirit Path.” Among the sorcerer’s basic skills was one called “Evil Spirit Entanglement,” which involved releasing numerous evil spirits to inflict damage on targets. In reality, these spirits weren’t true spirits but merely manifestations of dark spellcraft—essentially spiritualized negative energy.
After Нио taught Kocar how to cultivate and use blood energy, he began to have him try binding souls with spells, feeding spirits with blood, and controlling spirits with thoughts. This wasn’t invented by Nancy but was an ancient skill of the vampires. Skills like “Blood Wings” were also ancient techniques, obtained by Нио Тоспенсер at great cost from books acquired after the Spider Jungle incident.

Although Korkar is just starting out now, the Blood Curse Demons he raises are extremely sensitive to dark forces. When the black magician ascended into the sky, Neo ordered Korkar to release the demons protected by the Blood Curse to scout the surrounding area, and they discovered another group of enemies. However, because Neo was so fierce, those enemies didn’t even show their faces and fled through underground passages.

Neo simply nodded without adding any further comments. “Move forward!”

The convoy set off again. Neo approached Ni and said, “Our whereabouts have been discovered by the enemies, and they will surely try every means to stop us. So, in any similar battles ahead, just keep driving the giant rhinoceros forward. If you need the brute dogs, I’ll send someone to inform you.”

“Hmm, understood.”

“Heath, you are the only earth mage in the group. From now on, use your power to ensure the road ahead remains clear. Leave the fighting to us.”

Heath shrugged. “As you wish!”

Neo then assigned Zankin and Valrug to protect Green, Ni, Elan, and Heath. Mary was on the special large vehicle with the spellcasters. Kanito and several skill masters controlled the two siege spider machines at the rear, while Neo led one group of warriors to clear the path and another group to provide mobility, taking turns with the first group.

Just as Neo had predicted, the harassment from the dark forces hardly stopped along the way. It was mainly wood demons and demonized beasts, which, driven by the demon herders, attacked the convoy frantically. On two or three occasions, they even reached within 50 meters of the convoy, forcing Ni to cast spells on the brute dogs to boost their strength.

When the convoy passed through a narrow road, the harassment reached its peak. The dark forces blocked the road and gathered a large number of monsters to attack. It was then that Green and the others witnessed the bravery of Simon the Windrunner, whose title “Blood Guardian” had just been proclaimed.

Without heavy armor, armed only with two blood whips, Neo charged straight into the swarm of monsters. The whips could be soft or hard—soft like serpents, hard like long sticks. With sweeping and slashing movements, wherever the whips reached, the monsters fell like fallen leaves.

Against the enemy’s attacks, Neo relied solely on his blood energy to withstand them. As a result, he inevitably suffered injuries. But the more wounds he sustained, the stronger his fighting spirit became. Driven by this insane determination, his use of blood energy reached a peculiar state. It wasn’t an exaggerated increase in level, but its power clearly grew—Neo referred to this as “Boiling Blood Fury.”

With battle roars and intimidating cries, Neo, wielding his blood whip, single-handedly created a world of bloody slaughter—red light, crimson mist, and dazzling flashes… In everyone’s eyes, Neo resembled an immortal blood demon; nothing could stop his advance as he charged forward relentlessly. Apart from two quick-thinking demon riders who managed to escape, the other four were all slain by Neo.

Without their riders, the monsters became chaotic. The two squads of warriors from Star 745 took the opportunity to join the fight, using tactics almost identical to Neo’s—fiercely aggressive, but always at the expense of their enemies’ lives. Their swordsmanship was truly impressive; with a single swing, a fierce flash would seem to split space itself, and such a strike would inevitably kill a monster—unmatched!

In this battle, over 400 monsters were slain. Eventually, it was just over 20 people chasing down a horde of monsters, slaughtering them mercilessly, with few able to escape. After this battle, all the warriors made significant progress—none were below level 6, and one of them showed signs of breaking through to level 8.

“What a great fight! It’s fucking awesome!” Neo, covered in blood, raised his arms high.

“Hah!” The excited soldiers also raised their swords and roared. Not a single voice among them had any human characteristics.

“What a terrifying group!” Elan was intimidated by the momentum of these bloodthirsty warriors. She even noticed that her own guards seemed to avoid them.

“I feel like my blood is burning too!” Hes clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Green watched silently for a long time before saying, “A bloodthirsty wolf king… Their future path will surely be paved with countless corpses…”