The curtain of flames unfurled and spread with devastating momentum at lightning speed, creating unimaginable heat and pressure in an instant. Destruction was absolute. The earth cracked under the scorching flames, and countless millipedes withered and burned in that instant. The crackling sounds resembling popping beans only lasted three to five seconds before returning to silence.
The towering flames dispersed. Wisps of black smoke broke the cracked ground surface, whistling like a foghorn. The fire had destroyed the swarm of millipedes above ground and those lurking underground. The high heat distorted the air, filling it with toxic gases.
With a wave of his hand, Wayne carried the toxic gases high into the air while cooling down the sweltering air. The four earth walls crumbled. He jumped onto the top of the bus and glanced at Bishop Keith, who was holding a sacred tome, before turning to Darcy.
“Are you Level 3 Deacon Darcy, the one in charge of Nature’s base in Cambrook County?”
“That is me. May I ask who you are?”
Darcy still seemed amazed, marveling at Wayne’s incredible elemental affinity and unimaginable thoughts and mana. Once reaching Silver Cross, mages were no longer limited by the amount of four elements stored within their bodies when using elemental magic, but capable of directly manipulating the four elements wandering freely in nature through thoughts and mana. That significantly increased a mage’s strength.
As a Silver-rank mage himself, Darcy wasn’t surprised by that part, but by their differences. All sense of inferiority stemmed from comparison, without which a gap wouldn’t be perceived. Wayne’s fire magic was magnificent in scale and devastating in power. It required not only an enormous amount of mana, but also powerful thoughts to shape the magic.
Without powerful thoughts, the fire magic wouldn’t have been so efficient and deadly to the swarm, and the bus would’ve been caught in the attack. And the fact that Wayne had unleashed such a large-scale magic in such a short time proved his extraordinary elemental affinity.
Thoughts, mana, elemental affinity. He was monstrously well-rounded!
These were Darcy’s assumptions, and he wasn’t wrong per se since that was the conventional wisdom. He had just overestimated Wayne’s rank.
Wayne hadn’t reached Silver Cross; in fact, his hexagram hadn’t even been properly formed. He could only wield magic with such mastery because of his devotion to daily meditation and his persistent effort to communicate with nature.
Given the same thoughts and mana, communicating with the sky, earth, and every part of nature and earning their recognition would naturally make magic stronger. While Wayne had not succeeded yet, he could see signs of success. The fire magic earlier was the best proof.
He couldn’t do the same with any other elements, though. At the moment, he was only able to seduce fire elements without meditation.
Back to the matter at hand, Wayne introduced himself and showed them his church-issued ID. “I came from Londan today. I was delayed on the road, and when I arrived at the base, I learned that you were asked to investigate the infestation in Southern Cambrook County. I came to take a look since I suspect things weren’t so simple.”
“Archdeacon,” Darcy addressed him respectfully.
He had recently learned that a manager was going to be assigned from Londan. Though he never complained out loud, he did harbor resentment. The man never showed up and never did any work, clearly a slacker aiming to add another title to their resume without doing anything. Anyone could do that, including him.
Now, he thought differently. He couldn’t do what the man did.
The black sedan drove over, and Andre showed up to once again confirm Wayne’s identity.
Later, the bus wobbled along the road, puffing black smoke. Something was clearly wrong with the vehicle. The group of passengers inside curiously looked out at the black car leading the way in the front. People worshipped the strong, especially in the world of the extraordinary.
Wayne thus won himself a group of supporters not long after arriving at Cambrook County. It was much more effective than trying to establish his authority by punishing people. In the future, when he was away for more ‘business trips’, he didn’t even have to speak for himself; people would voluntarily supply the explanations for him.
Andre was again the driver in the black car. Bishop Keith, holding his sacred tome, took the passenger seat, while Wayne and Darcy sat in the back.
“It’s not the fog, but a dark mage...”
After learning about the whole story, Wayne took a glass jar out, containing a few millipedes he had collected on his way here. He intended to send them as samples to the Londan head office.
“The dark mage planned to kill us all to silence us,” Darcy said, shaking his head. “With that failed, they will likely escape Southern Cambrook County. It won’t be easy to catch them again.”
Wayne frowned. The millipede infestation had been controlled through timely intervention without irreversible damage, but the fact that the mastermind had escaped was frustrating. Not being able to eliminate evil completely would make him lose sleep.
“Perhaps there’s still a chance,” Keith spoke up. “The dark mage had quickly made a move to silence us when the ten of us came out to investigate the infestation. That not only tells us that they aren’t powerful enough to deal with the great mages from Londan, but also two other possibilities.”
“First, they had been monitoring us. With Southern Cambrook being so large, they couldn’t possibly have eyes everywhere. So, we likely had passed by their lair during our investigation.” Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on NoveIꜰire.net
“Second, they had invested enormous effort in transforming the millipedes and likely couldn’t relocate their lair quickly. Not wanting to waste their effort, they desperately took the risk and hunted us down.”
Bishop Keith’s reasoning was sound and clear. Wayne had come to similar conclusions. Unfortunately, the dark mage had not shown themselves and had very likely been scared away. He put himself in the mage’s shoes. Were he the dark mage, he would’ve run away to save his life when he was exposed and wasn’t strong enough. Everything else could wait.
Meanwhile, following Keith’s reasoning, Darcy suddenly thought of something: “Keith, remember the ranch owner? He said that the plague in the neighboring village had gotten to the point that the millipedes were gnawing on corpses, and the ranch’s cattle suffered from millipede infestation.”
“You mean that the dark mage’s lair is in the village next to the ranch?”
“Possibly. If we go now, we may still catch the culprit.” Darcy turned to Wayne for the final decision.
“Turn back. Even if we can’t catch them alive, we’ll at least get their corpse!”