Chapter 160: The Second Layer

Chapter 160: The Second Layer

Omega's figure descended from above, landing near a corpse in a gruesome state, her expression grim.

"Wizard Omega!"

"Senior!"

Several wizard apprentices with High Tower backgrounds stood nearby, their faces filled with trepidation, making way for her.

They were in a narrow alley near the marketplace, still wet from the rain that had fallen the day before, with puddles covering the ground.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance, whispering amongst themselves.

The corpse on the ground had endured brutal torture before death; its eyes gouged out, legs broken, and its face slashed with vicious cuts, especially in the lower region, making it a gruesome sight. The perpetrator seemed intent on venting their rage.

"Clear out the onlookers!" Omega commanded.

Omega's brows furrowed as she asked, "What happened here?"

One of the apprentices, his face pale, opened his mouth to speak, "Yesterday afternoon, Lance was in a foul mood after being kicked out of a shop. He asked me to drink with him, and we ended up drinking too much..."

"When I woke up, I found him like this."

Lance was dead, and his death was horrific!

"Who did this?" Omega's expression darkened. "There are so many traces of the perpetrator here. Don't tell me you have no clues!"

"It should be Lyle," one of them whispered. "Lyle the Executioner, a Great Knight skilled with a saw blade. He... he's always wanted to get back at Lance."

"Lyle?" Omega asked, "Does he have a grudge against Lance?"

If it were another High Tower member who was murdered, Omega would likely not ask further and simply follow the rules for retaliation.

But Lance was known for his vile character, even reaching Omega's ears. His death might have other reasons.

"This..." Cohen hesitated, then spoke in a low voice, "Lance had a brief relationship with Lyle's sister, but she later died."

He didn't say how she died, but it was likely connected to Lance, hence the retaliation.

"Hmph..." Omega scoffed, "Never mind!"

"First, let's take care of the body, and then..."

"Wizard Gold!"

Before she finished, a figure appeared, accompanied by a heavy pressure that weighed down on everyone present.

It was as if an invisible mountain had descended upon them, making it hard to breathe.

"Lance..."

"Is... dead?"

Gold, his expression grim, appeared at some point, his eyes fixed on the corpse.

"Lance's father specifically entrusted him to my care. I even restricted him from leaving the Leipzig Marketplace to ensure his safety."

"Yet..."

"This happened anyway!"

His voice was filled with anger, his eyes brimming with rage.

"Wizard Gold," Omega soothed, "The incident has occurred. Don't be too upset. Now, we must handle Lance's funeral arrangements and seek revenge for him."

"No!" Gold's face turned cold, "There's something else."

Huh? Omega was taken aback.

"You're Cohen, right?" Gold turned to the pale young man beside him, his legs trembling, "I've heard Lance mention your name."

"It... it... wasn't me, Senior! It wasn't me!" Cohen's lips trembled.

"I didn't say Lance's death was your fault," Gold narrowed his eyes, "But you drank with him, and you're fine, while he's dead. Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?"

"You were so close to Lance, surely you can accompany him without issue?"

"Senior..." Cohen lifted his head, his face filled with despair, then suddenly turned and dashed towards the street outside.

"Bang!"

Cohen's body stiffened as he ran, his head exploding, spraying blood and brain matter everywhere.

First Circle Spell - Mindstorm!

"Wizard Gold..." Omega's face paled as she muttered, "There's no need for this."

"There is!" Gold's voice was icy. "A member of the Green family has died. Someone must pay the price; it's our family's rule!"

"He should be grateful this is the Magic Forest and not the Calim Continent, or his family would have to pay with their lives for Lance's death!"

"Swish!"

Gold reached out and collected Lance's corpse into his spatial arcane tool, striding towards the marketplace.

Omega hurried after him, then took out a magic paper and quickly wrote something on it.

Soon after...

"Huff..."

Gold arrived at the shop, his body wrapped in a swift wind, his cold gaze swept over the people inside.

"Who's Zoe?" Gold asked, his voice carrying an invisible pressure.

Zoe, busy in the middle of the room, froze, her expression rigid under the weight of his stare.

"I... I am."

"Swish!"

Her body moved against her will, flying sideways, and the counter she had been standing at exploded.

If she hadn't moved, her upper body might have shattered like the counter.

The sudden surge of murderous intent and the proximity of death instantly drained the color from her face, leaving her terrified.

"Wizard Gold!"

Karl emerged from the backyard, pulling Zoe behind him and shielding her with his body, his brows furrowed as he faced Gold.

"What are you doing?"

"Lance is dead," Gold's voice was cold, "He died last night."

"What a shame," Karl sighed, having just learned of this from Omega, "But this has nothing to do with Zoe, right?"

"If you hadn't driven Lance away, he wouldn't have gone drinking. And if he hadn't gone drinking, he wouldn't have been murdered."

Gold began, "So..."

"This woman should pay the price."

His voice was cold and his logic was clear, but he didn't realize that his words were a bit far-fetched.

Or perhaps,

This was his logic!

"Gold Wizard!" Karl frowned, "You're being a bit too domineering, aren't you?"

"Domineering?" Gold snorted coldly, "The Green family has always been this way. Do you think you can get away with it?"

Mindstorm!

"Stop!" Omega shouted, raising her staff to create an invisible barrier in front of Karl.

She thought Gold would only take his frustration out on a wizard apprentice, but she didn't expect him to target an arcane wizard as well.

Simultaneously, a stream of water appeared and transformed into a barrier, blocking the Mindstorm. The spell's aura shattered with a loud crack.

"Boom!"

Karl took a step back, his expression turning solemn.

Even with Omega's assistance, they couldn't stop Gold's attack. This was the difference between a first circle initial and a first circle mid-tier wizard.

But...

"Swish!"

Karl's wrist twitched, and a stab sword appeared in his hand. A sharp battle qi emerged from his body.

"Hmm?"

Gold, who was about to take a step forward, blinked and took a step back instinctively, looking at Karl with uncertainty, "A legendary knight?"

At this close distance, if they fought with all their might, Gold might not come out unscathed.

At that moment,

The wizardry fluctuations from the shop also attracted the market's guard team. Shouts of warning rang out.

"What's going on?"

"Stop!"

"..."

However, when the guards arrived at the scene, they immediately fell silent. After all, this was the territory of the sixth circle tower, and the confrontation involved three arcane wizards.

"Hmph!"

Gold glared at Karl, "As an arcane wizard and a legendary knight, it's no wonder you dare to bully someone from the Green family."

"We'll see!"

Gold turned and vanished into the sky with a flash, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

As a first circle mid-tier wizard, he wasn't afraid of Karl, but it was obvious that the situation couldn't continue.

However,

The Green family's revenge wouldn't end here.

The next day,

Karl received a message from Wizard Daniel, stating that the list of those going to the Calim Continent in a few years had been confirmed.

He,

Was not on the list.

This was highly unusual, but Karl didn't say anything. He just shook his head in disbelief and tossed the message aside.

"Gold..."

"He's really petty!"

"Another enemy added to the list!"

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

To avoid the crazed Gold, Karl had been diligently cultivating in his shop during this time.

The Divine Demon Transformation focused on stimulating the body's potential with life energy, leading to a qualitative change in the physical body.

The difficulty lay in using life energy to systematically and thoroughly stimulate all parts of the body.

And this difficulty was not a problem for Karl.

The Divine Domain Fragment's absolute control over the body made the Divine Demon Transformation easy to learn and quickly advance.

Of course,

The later stages were slower!

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, cracks appeared on the Neve Mirror, and the engraved illusion within it completely failed.

Karl's eyes flashed with a hint of daze as his consciousness returned from the illusion, and he let out a bitter smile.

"What a pity!"

"It's no longer usable, but I've roughly calculated my strength. In close combat, I have a high chance of killing a first circle mid-tier wizard and a small chance of defeating a second circle wizard..."

He turned his hands, and his fingers lightly brushed the air, causing ripples like on a water surface.

His fingers clenched, and the air exploded.

The wind blades from the seal could easily cut through gold and iron but couldn't pierce Karl's skin.

At this moment, he had reached the second layer of the Divine Demon Transformation.

His compact and robust body could withstand sharp blade strikes, and even his weak points like his pupils and eyeballs, were resistant to needle pricks.

His resistance to wizardry had also improved comprehensively.

"The third transformation..."

"With my current physique, I need two to three days' worth of life energy to temper my body once. To reach the desired state, thousands of temperings are necessary, which means..."

"Several decades!"

"Even if I focus solely on cultivation, it will still take several decades to achieve."

Shaking his head, Karl stopped stretching his body.

"Fortunately, in addition to relying on myself, external objects can also help. It might not be possible in other worlds, but this is the resource-rich Magic Forest!"

"Once I reach that stage, I'll punch Gold to death with my bare hands!"

Stepping out of the shop, the pedestrians on the street remained busy.

Holy Lance Shop!

This was a store that sold supplies for knights, including weapons, armor, techniques, and potions.

The shop owner was a legendary knight with second tier mid-tier cultivation. He also practiced wizardry, making him a formidable warrior.

Even wizards didn't dare to underestimate him.

"Bardo!"

Karl greeted the shop owner and headed to the area for VIP guests. He pulled a chair and sat down, "Business seems good today."

"Not bad." Bardo was tall and robust, with thick hair all over his body. Rumor had it that he possessed the bloodline of a giant.

Wiping the oil stains from his hands, he strode over.

"Wizard Karl, are you here for beast meat again?"

"No," Karl shook his head. "I want some life potions."

"Life potions?" Bardo blinked, "Is someone from your circle becoming a knight? I'll give you two high-quality life potions as a gift."

"No." Karl waved his hand, "For certain reasons, I need a large number of life potions for experiments, possibly..."

"A thousand!"

Bardo's mouth twitched at the number.

For them, life potions were not a big deal, but a thousand was still an astonishing amount.

"Well..."

After a moment's hesitation, Bardo spoke, "Two magic stones per life potion, and I can give you a 10% discount for a thousand, that's eighteen hundred magic stones."

"But it's a large quantity, and it's hard to gather them in a day or two. You'll need to wait a few days to collect them."

"It's fine." Karl thought for a moment and asked, "I can't use that many at once, and I don't have that many magic stones on hand. Just give me a few dozen for now."

"By the way, I heard there's a potion with life energy dozens of times more potent than a life potion. Do you have it here?"

"Divine Blood Elixir!" Bardo smiled, "I have a few, but they're quite expensive. Usually, second-circle wizards use them to treat their injuries, so it's not cost-effective to buy them."

"Hmm..."

He pondered for a moment, "Actually, when it comes to potions related to life energy, the great families usually cultivate loyal knight squads, and they're the most skilled at it."

"Wait upstairs, and I'll get the potion."

Karl nodded and went upstairs. He didn't have to wait long in the private room before someone knocked on the door and entered.

However, the person who entered was not Bardo but two familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hmm?"

Karl's expression changed, and he stood up abruptly.

"Karl." The visitor smiled, "It's been a while!"

"Milly! Sam!" Karl narrowed his eyes, scanning the two who had entered. His heart sank as he recognized them:

"What are you doing here?"

The visitors were none other than Milly and Sam from the Cape family, who had escaped when the Cape family was destroyed.

They were still on the wanted lists of many factions, yet they dared to show their faces in the marketplace.

"Karl, my friend, don't be alarmed." Milly pressed her hands together, indicating she meant no harm, "We mean no harm."

"I believe you." Karl's surprise faded, and his expression calmed, "But with your identities, appearing in the Leipzig Marketplace is not a wise choice."

"Even for wizards!"

It was clear that Milly had become a full-fledged wizard, and even Sam's mental power had improved significantly.

But what good was being a wizard?

If they were discovered, they wouldn't live to see another day!

"Heh..." Sam chuckled lightly, "A few years ago, we were the owners of this marketplace."

Karl shook his head, "The only unchanging truth in the world is that everything is constantly changing, and power is no exception."

"Karl!" Milly spoke directly, "I want your help in dealing with the Andrew Clan!"

"..." Karl was speechless, "Milly, Sam, as former friends, I hope you don't let hatred cloud your judgment."

The Andrew Clan had three second-circle wizards, and it was a dream for just the two of them to seek revenge!

"We're clear-headed," Sam assured him, "Karl, you might not know this, but the Nelson Clan's late first-circle wizard has successfully advanced to the second circle."

"The Andrew Clan won't tolerate another second-circle wizard in the marketplace, so they'll definitely engage in battle."

"In any case..."

"This time, we've carefully considered our actions, and the target we've chosen happens to be someone you have a conflict with."

"Oh?" Karl raised an eyebrow, "Who is it?"

"Vincent!" Sam replied, "The Andrew Clan's wizard in charge of the beast arena, a mid-first-circle wizard who seems to have offended you."

Karl remained silent.

Since his last encounter with the bloodclaw wizard's ambush, he had cut off business dealings with Vincent, and this was no secret to others.

"The Nelson Clan plans to use you to deal with the Andrew Clan." He thought for a moment and spoke softly, "Just the two of you won't be enough, which means... the Nelson Clan has found others."

"Yes." Milly nodded, not intending to hide this fact, "There are many who hold a grudge against the Andrew Clan, and we only need to deal with Vincent. As the sage once said, a group of people can take down a mighty tiger."

"Karl!"

"We need your help!"

Karl's thoughts raced.

He didn't think highly of their plan. Although Vincent was old, he was still a mid-first-circle wizard.

"Rest assured." Sam, seeing Karl's changing expression, reassured him, "Whether we succeed or not, we won't betray you, and we don't need you to take action. We just need some useful information from you."

"..." Karl seemed deep in thought.

Vincent had wronged him, and he was willing to take revenge, but only if he was sure he wouldn't be implicated.

"I can provide some information about Vincent in exchange for some potion recipes." He thought for a moment and said, "Similar to life potion recipes."

"Potion recipes?" Milly and Sam exchanged glances, and Milly nodded, "Agreed!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end