Chapter 172: A Hope for His Children to Strive

Chapter 172: A Hope for His Children to Strive

"Be careful, the Blind Sonic Monster has near-legendary combat strength. Watch out for its sonic attacks!"

Xie Man warned, not bothering to lower his voice.

The Blind Sonic Monster's hearing was sharp enough to detect sounds from a hundred meters away. It had likely been drawn to them by their earlier conversation and had already sensed their presence. Hiding was pointless now.

Sure enough, the Blind Sonic Monster raised its head, its tubular mouth trembling as it emitted a sonic wave powerful enough to pierce metal and stone, aimed directly at Xie Man and his companions.

The two Magic-Rune Knights immediately stepped forward, raising their shields to protect Xie Man and the others from the monster's attack.

After a moment of silent trembling, the finely crafted shields returned to their normal state.

They were, after all, enchanted equipment. Ordinary metal shields would have shattered into pieces under such an attack.

The two Magic-Rune Knights' defense bought them time, and Xie Man and his companions completed their spells.

Xie Man's Weakening Ray and Artair's Freezing Ray hit the Blind Sonic Monster almost simultaneously, causing it to visibly weaken and its surface to frost over.

Following closely, Cole's Magic Missile struck the monster's tubular mouth, blasting it to pieces.

The monster let out a series of pained cries, its voice muffled due to the injury to its mouth.

Taking advantage of this, the Magic-Rune Knights charged forward, swinging their long swords and war hammers with brutal force.

Surrounded by over a dozen Knights with the strength of Grand Knights, the Blind Sonic Monster struggled desperately but was quickly beaten to death.

Only after confirming the monster was dead did Xie Man calmly lower his hand.

Such battles had occurred countless times before.

He and his companions had even slain legendary-level monsters together.

Compared to those, a near-legendary Blind Sonic Monster was nothing.

But just as everyone relaxed after the monster's defeat, three dark shadows suddenly darted out of the darkness, moving like ghosts to Xie Man and his companions' backs, their daggers glowing with a blue light, aiming for their hearts!

The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.

By the time the surrounding Magic-Rune Knights reacted, it was too late to stop the three shadows. They could only watch as the daggers pierced through the invisible shields and energy particle layers, only to be halted by a layer of invisible force.

The three attackers were momentarily stunned, but quickly pulled back.

Unfortunately for them, it was too late. Xie Man and his companions' counterattack was already upon them.

Three blinding flames tore through the darkness, forming a fan of fire that engulfed the attackers!

Burning Hands!

The three attackers groaned in unison, their forms breaking through the flames and retreating in disarray.

With the help of the firelight, Xie Man quickly identified the attackers.

They were slender, with delicate features, appearing to be no more than twenty years old—clearly young maidens.

However, as his gaze swept over their distinctive black skin and silver hair, Xie Man's expression hardened, and he exclaimed:

"Dark Elves!"

Sure enough, they were Dark Elves!

Artair's brows furrowed, feeling a mix of relief and unease. He was glad he had maintained the activation of his Ring of Extreme Protection, which had barely managed to block the attack. Otherwise, he would have been severely injured, if not killed, by that sneak attack.

Dark Elves were known as natural assassins, and this experience confirmed it.

Without the Ring of Extreme Protection, any other second-level Wizard Apprentice would have died in that attack.

Xie Man and Cole also looked grave, though they were unaware that the three Dark Elves were equally shocked.

They had been confident in their attack, expecting it to be a sure kill, but it had been easily blocked, failing at the last moment.

Initially, they had planned to assassinate the three Wizard Apprentices and then retreat calmly, but with their attack failing, they had no intention of continuing the fight. After exchanging glances, they quickly retreated, trying to melt back into the shadows.

Xie Man and his companions, having worked hard to find their targets, were not about to let them escape. Without hesitation, they activated their Rings of Doom. Instantly, three Doom Claws materialized, piercing through the Dark Elves' bodies.

Xie Man and his companions had only the ordinary version of the Ring of Doom, not the extreme version.

But the Dark Elves were not powerful third-level Wizard Apprentices. As the Doom Claws penetrated their bodies, they let out piercing screams and fell to the ground, convulsing as if electrocuted, completely losing their ability to resist.

The surrounding Magic-Rune Knights took the opportunity to rush forward and subdue the three Dark Elves.

Watching this, Xie Man breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers caressing the Ring of Doom, a smile playing on his lips.

Thankfully, the Ring of Doom had proven effective. If the Dark Elves had managed to slip back into the shadows, capturing them again would have been much more difficult.

The dim, underground environment was naturally the Dark Elves' territory.

Their stealth abilities make them perfectly suited for this environment, allowing them to appear and disappear like ghosts.

If not for this, the dark elves' fearsome reputation wouldn't have spread throughout the entire Underworld, striking terror into the hearts of all who heard it.

"Put magic-restraining cuffs on them and bring them to Nolan City."

"Dark elves?"

Behind the desk, Su Nan raised his head, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He had just emerged from the meditation chamber for the first time in a while, and the first thing he did was summon Karolina and the Red Widow. It was then that he learned they had captured dark elves.

Su Nan couldn't help but be taken aback.

The Star Alliance's closest city to the Spider City is Nolan City, which is still several hundred kilometers away.

Even with the Star Alliance's rapid expansion, it was still far from posing a threat to the Spider City.

The Spider City's inhabitants, who were known for their internal strife, would have such a sense of foreboding and send people to gather intelligence on the Star Alliance? Su Nan found that hard to believe.

"Yes, Master," Karolina replied respectfully. "We interrogated the three captured dark elves, and their statements were consistent. They are members of the Felier family, one of the twelve families of the Spider City. They were specifically sent to gather intelligence on the Star Alliance."

"They had already planned to return to the Spider City, but they stumbled upon an exploration team and decided on the spot to ambush the mage apprentices in the group."

At this point, Karolina couldn't help but secretly pity the three unfortunate dark elves.

If it had been any other mage apprentices leading the team, they might have succeeded. But they happened to encounter Xie Man and his team, who were the strongest mage apprentices under Su Nan's command.

With their formidable skills and top-notch equipment, they were unafraid even in the face of a Legendary Knight.

The dark elves had simply sealed their own fate.

"The Felier family, huh."

Su Nan's eyes flickered.

He remembered that one of the three major mage legacies, the Black Forest, was likely in the hands of this dark elf family.

He hadn't even gone to look for them, and now they had come to him.

After a moment's thought, Su Nan said firmly, "Inform the exploration team about the dark elves and have them increase their vigilance when they go out."

"Additionally, the fourth small golem army will arrive at the front lines today. You can work out the specifics yourselves."

"Yes, Master."

Karolina and the Red Widow couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

Recently, the pressure on the Star Alliance's front lines had been increasing, and with only two small golem armies, their forces were becoming stretched thin.

Fortunately, with the addition of another golem army, the pressure would be greatly alleviated.

"How's the preparation for the dragon antelope knights coming along?" Su Nan asked about another matter.

The dragon antelopes at the ranch had matured and were ready to be deployed.

With two hundred dragon antelopes, they could form a full dragon antelope knight squadron.

If all went well, the ranch could produce a new batch of dragon antelopes each year, gradually increasing the number of dragon antelope knights.

Of course, with the rapid expansion of the Magic Pattern Knights, equipping every knight with a dragon antelope was impossible. They would have to select the most elite to receive them first.

"It's all ready," the Red Widow said. "The selected knights are all elite, having already advanced to the Grand Knight rank."

Su Nan nodded in satisfaction.

Grand Knight-level Magic Pattern Knights, equipped with third-tier Magic Pattern Constructs and enchanted weapons, had combat power comparable to peak Grand Knights.

The two hundred dragon antelopes, though not yet fully grown and not quite at the Legendary level, were close.

The combination of these two forces made the dragon antelope knights a formidable match even for a Legendary Knight.

Such an army would undoubtedly become the core elite force of the Magic Pattern Knights, striking fear into the hearts of their enemies on the battlefield!

Seeing Su Nan wave them off, Karolina and the Red Widow wisely left the study, eager to head to the front lines.

With the Star Alliance's growth, the two women had become increasingly motivated.

Though they were always busy, they found joy in their work.

In the past, they had managed only a city-state and a few mines, but now they oversaw fifteen city-states and over a hundred resource points, a vast difference.

In the southeastern domain of the Underworld, they were now major figures.

Back in the study, Su Nan fell into deep thought as he read the battle reports from the surface world.

Over the past four years, the war between the Star Kingdom-led Star Alliance and the Azure Gold Empire had been raging fiercely.

At the start of the war, the Azure Gold Empire, with its deep reserves, could still match the Star Alliance.

However, the immense pressure from the extended front lines eventually became too much for the Azure Gold Empire to bear.

A year into the war, the Azure Gold Empire had to abandon large swaths of border territory to shorten its front lines and gain a respite.

Buoyed by their success, the Star Alliance's morale soared, and they continued to advance their front lines over the next three years.

By now, the Azure Golden Empire has lost more than half of its territory.

Most of it has been swallowed by the Starlight Federation, which has nearly doubled its sphere of influence.

With this shift in power, the Azure Golden Empire is no longer a match for the Starlight Federation.

It’s clear to everyone that the Azure Golden Empire is on the decline, and its downfall is only a matter of time.

Su Nan isn’t surprised by this turn of events.

With the support of the Star Alliance and its golem army, along with numerous allied nations, if the Starlight Federation can’t defeat the Azure Golden Empire, it might as well disband now.

Moreover, due to the Starlight Federation’s growing momentum, despite the significant pressure on the front lines, Su Nan hasn’t recalled the golem army he sent to support them.

After all, he still hopes to earn more mercenary fees to help fund the creation of a fifth small golem army, which would finally give the Star Alliance a medium-sized golem army.

"According to the regulations, a medium-sized golem army still requires one Adamantine Golem."

In the past four years, Su Nan has consecutively crafted three more Adamantine Golems, bringing his total to five.

Additionally, he has accumulated a batch of Mithril and crafted a new automaton.

Now, he has two automatons, named Automaton 1 and Automaton 2.

Putting down the battle report, Su Nan stretched lazily.

A year ago, he had already constructed the final star ring, increasing his mental power to 59.65.

After absorbing the divine energy of the Bellknocker and the Many-Winged Beast, he successfully pushed his mental power to 60.

With this, all the prerequisites for constructing a talent crystal are now met.

The lower-tier talent crystal model for the Magic Pattern Core has already been researched, and Su Nan immediately began the construction process.

With the experience from his previous life, along with the buffs from the Divine Blood Amber, the Transcendent Elixir, and the elemental pool meditation, the construction has been going smoothly.

In just over a year, the model is already about halfway complete.

Su Nan estimates that before the Starlight Tower appears next year, he should be able to successfully construct the lower-tier talent crystal model.

After that, whether he can use the Synthesis Cube to enhance it will be revealed.

In the city of Flashlight, at the royal palace.

Yabei Yanest entered the hall with a dejected look, only to find his father, mother, younger brother Wess, and younger sister Adela all sitting there.

Seeing Yabei, the two younger ones immediately rushed forward to greet him.

"Brother!"

The three of them are close in age and have always had a good relationship.

Yabei managed a weak smile, chatted with his siblings for a bit, and then broke away to approach his parents.

"Father, Mother."

Yabei took a deep breath, ready to share the results of today’s aptitude test, but was interrupted by his father, Kye.

"The test is mentally draining; go rest first, and we’ll have dinner later."

His mother, Shaya, also stood up and gave him a gentle hug, whispering, "You must be tired. Go rest."

Yabei instantly realized that his parents must have already been informed that he didn’t pass the aptitude test.

Seeing that his parents weren’t disappointed in him and remained as gentle as ever, Yabei’s dejection lessened somewhat. He nodded obediently and returned to his room to rest.

Once Yabei left, Shaya hesitated and said, "Kye, can’t we ask Su Nan for some help? Even if Yabei’s aptitude is a bit lacking, with his support, he should be able to become a wizard’s apprentice, right?"

Kye sighed and shook his head. "It won’t help. Even if we use potions to forcibly boost his mental power and get him to pass the test, his poor aptitude means he’ll only ever be a first-tier wizard’s apprentice. That’s not much better than being a great knight. It’s better to focus on the knight’s path."

While first-tier wizard’s apprentices are powerful, they are only truly notable at the second tier and above.

A first-tier wizard’s apprentice is no match for a great knight and is mostly used for creating low-tier potions and automatons, with little future prospects.

It’s better for Yabei to focus on the knight’s path, practicing breathing techniques and martial skills.

At least his knight’s aptitude is good, and with the resources provided by the royal family, he will definitely become a Third Circle Legendary Knight, and even breaking through to a Fourth Circle Legendary Knight isn’t out of the question. This is far more promising than being a first-tier wizard’s apprentice.

Shaya sighed, her expression troubled.

Kye turned to look at his somewhat bewildered children.

Deep down, he also hopes that the royal family can produce a wizard’s apprentice.

It would be beneficial for consolidating the royal family’s prestige and strengthening ties with Su Nan.

Unfortunately, such things aren’t simply achieved through wishes, even if he is the Grand Duke of the Starlight Federation.

He can only hope that his children will strive to do their best.

If you’re interested, I recommend checking out a book by a fellow author called I Play the Role of a King in a Wizard's World.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end