Translator: Legge
Most people would probably regard this book as a gem if they saw there was research done on nonverbal spells and quickly study it in detail.
But Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and felt that something did not feel right. If there were really research findings on nonverbal spells and casting published in this book, it would probably have become the holy book for everyone in the magus order.
However, it seemed like Melgor and the servants did not take the book seriously.
Even if most people had not read the Introduction to Sorcery, there should still be a few people who had studied it thoroughly.
Since the magus order was able to establish such a large kingdom, Ren Xiaosu would definitely not assume that all of their members were stupid.
Therefore, if there were some shocking secrets hidden within this book, they would have already been discovered. Would he be the one to find it?
Ren Xiaosu continued reading to see what the author wrote. It would be good if it could provide him with some ideas.
“The Magi have long been accustomed to reciting incantations and using meditative visualizations as the key to their spell casting. But now, very few sorcerers bother to consider what changes there might be if they did not have to recite incantations and practice meditative visualization to cast spells, including me.
“Ever since I was young, I learned incantations and meditative visualizations. Father had wholeheartedly taught me everything he knew, but I never once questioned the principles behind the incantations.
“It wasn’t until I met the Central Plains rider that he ridiculed that the time needed for me to recite an incantation could allow an enemy to find a 100 ways to take my life. In a real battle between experts, hesitation would mean defeat.
“For this reason, I had a brief exchange with this Central Plains rider and was surprised to discover that sorcerers would indeed be disadvantaged due to the time needed to recite incantations.
“In the past, the opponents of sorcerers were only normal people. So even if there was a delay in casting spells due to the recitation of incantations, it would not affect the battle much. But what if the opponent they encountered was stronger physically? What if they don’t give you time to cast a spell?”
When Ren Xiaosu read this, he gasped. Only now did he realize why this sorcerer became so interested in exploring nonverbal spells. It was entirely because he had been defeated by a Rider!
What brief exchange? It was clearly just a fight.
He even concluded that a sorcerer would indeed be disadvantaged due to the duration it took them to recite their incantations if their opponent did not give them time to cast their spells. Ren Xiaosu could imagine the Rider had probably used his extreme physical fitness to quickly rush up to the sorcerer and beat him up before he could even cast any spells.
These glorified edits were just so he could leave some dignity for himself. After all, he was the author, so he wouldn’t cast himself in a bad light, right?!
Sorcerers cared about their reputation too!
As such, this sorcerer, who had an “exchange” with the Central Plains Rider, became determined to research the subject of nonverbal spells.
Ren Xiaosu continued reading.
The sorcerer wrote in his book: “Not needing to recite any incantations or use meditative visualizations to cast spells is something that no sorcerer would even dare think about.
“But with this thought in mind, I found it difficult to restrain my curiosity any further. So I went back to the origins of incantations and meditative visualizations and discovered that sorcerers used a combination of incantations and meditative visualizations to stabilize their spell casting as well as gain better control over the alchemical elements.
“If you don’t use incantations and only apply meditative visualization in your spell casting, your restless willpower will fly out of control. A spellcaster might want to cast a Lesser Fireball, but they might end up overdrawing from their willpower and cast a Greater Fireball instead.
“It might be more powerful this way, but if the fireball doesn’t hit the enemy, the caster can only wait for death. So it’s very necessary to maintain accurate control in casting. My final conclusion is that it’s not feasible to cast a spell without reciting incantations.”
Ren Xiaosu was confused when he read this. So it turned out the author was just trying to say it was not feasible to cast a spell without reciting incantations? Then why did you waste so much effort to even write it down?
Thinking of this, Ren Xiaosu nearly threw the Introduction to Sorcery into the fire.
However, he fell into deep thought again. This sorcerer believed it was impossible to cast a spell without reciting its incantation due to the limits of people’s willpower. However, it did not seem like Ren Xiaosu had that problem.
…
The progression of the Central Plains’ war had already exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Zhou Consortium had been pushed back in defeat too quickly.
The Wang Consortium’s troops had launched a blitzkrieg on the Zhou Consortium’s northern defensive line. On the same day, Zhou Qingyang started preparing to relocate to the South. This was equivalent to announcing to the entire military that as the highest-ranking officer of the Zhou Consortium, he did not have any confidence in winning this battle.
After the Zhou Consortium led by Zhou Qingyang left Stronghold 73 and retreated southwards, the Zhou Consortium’s troops in the North gradually lost their will to fight.
It only took two weeks for the Wang Consortium to completely occupy all of the Zhou Consortium’s territory north of Stronghold 73, including Stronghold 73 itself.
With this, everyone understood it was only a matter of time before the Wang Consortium annexed the Zhou Consortium.
Meanwhile, no one knew that on the same night the Wang Consortium’s troops occupied Stronghold 73, a team of special forces consisting of 180 people set off from the rear. They carried with them the Wang Consortium’s highest level of clearance documents and arrived at East Lake in Stronghold 73.
However, this group of special forces were not only carrying their own combat equipment but also a lot of diving equipment.
Among the diving equipment were OPS military man-portable underwater propulsion thrusters, compact pure oxygen respirators known as MODE, RDP rapid diving systems, FLEX diving suits, and RK-3 swim fins.
This was probably the best diving equipment available for military use.
Ever since the cave-in at East Lake, the area was no longer as lively as it used to be. No one attended plaza dancing activities here anymore, and there were no joggers to be seen either. Everyone said they were terrified that hundreds of people had lost their lives and were buried at the bottom of the lake.
Furthermore, the residents in the vicinity of East Lake reported terrifying news. Some people witnessed a whirlpool forming in the center of the lake during the middle of the night, while others reported seeing huge bubbles emerging from the surface of the lake.
What was even more horrifying was that someone said they had seen a gigantic shadow sweeping past under the lake’s surface.
Gradually, a lot of people started saying East Lake must be haunted by the indignant souls of those who had lost their lives in the cave-in.
The Wang Consortium’s special forces had already assembled by the lake. Dozens of soldiers put on their full diving gear and waited quietly.
Meanwhile, the remaining troops set up some strange equipment and connected all of their data lines to a tactical military laptop.
The computer screen was already lit up, and it displayed a pulsating pattern that resembled an electrocardiogram.
When all the equipment was completely set up, someone in the special forces started pointing a conical detector at the lake.
As the special forces executed their mission, they did so quietly without anyone giving them orders. However, the division of labor was extremely clear.
Suddenly, the pattern on the computer screen started fluctuating violently. Then the commander of the special forces said calmly, “Found you..”