Chapter 145: Advancement Ceremony (2)
Perpetual, unyielding clouds thickened the gray sky.
Corpses lay piled beneath their feet.
A heavy stench of blood permeated the village. In the wake of a great fire, a faint scent of sulfur lingered in the air.
A cavalry unit had traveled from afar.
They halted outside the village. Clad in armor that gleamed like solid gold, this cavalry unit belonged to the Count of Mount Heidu, whose domain lay fifty miles away.
Among their ranks was a woman dressed in a strikingly different manner. Her entire body was encased in a seamless silver suit of armor, revealing only a pair of slitted pupils and long, dark-green hair.
"Countess Selena, this must be the work of those demons. They love nothing more than devouring flesh and blood," the cavalry captain at the front said sternly.
"Demons?" A strange look flickered in Selena's eyes.
If he had blamed the attack on any other race, she might not have been so certain.
The situation on the continent was growing increasingly volatile. Not only were wars breaking out frequently between long-dormant empires and kingdoms, but even the usually peaceful wilderness tribes were repeatedly invading human dynasties. It was said that their gods had issued divine decrees.
"Oh?" The cavalry captain turned to look at Selena. He drew a silver chalice from his coat, scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground, and placed it inside. The silver walls of the cup were immediately stained with a faint layer of black spots.
After taking a stroll around, Lynn had gained a rough understanding of the place. This was essentially the Abyss Wizard Academy's transit station in this plane.
"I don't know, but it might be the orcs from the west," Selena said.
She wasn't entirely sure exactly which ones were responsible. Powerful anomalies were recklessly slaughtering humans, occupying cities, and even attempting to become gods.
Selena looked away. It was just a simple tool for detecting demons.
[If a new plane is discovered, it can be reported to the wizard network for a reward. The Supreme Wizard Council is the most solid shield behind every cross-plane wizard.]
According to the historical records of the Ferolan Continent, devils and gods had walked the mortal realm many years ago. Later, an Abyssal invasion swept across the entire continent. To resist the evil outsiders, the many races of the Ferolan plane banded together. A large number of gods fell, and new gods ascended the throne. When the demons were driven back into the Abyss, the gods returned to the Celestial Realm and no longer descended to the mortal world at will, while the devils hid themselves deep within Hell.
Having finished reading the introduction, Lynn finally understood why the academy's higher-ups valued this plane so highly.
Lynn wasn't in a rush to head out. Instead, he decided to take a stroll through the city first. After all, several months had already passed; there was no need to hurry for another day or two.
She had already found a suitable target and was just waiting for Lynn to arrive so they could strike together.
A map featuring two continents floated in the void before his eyes. Landmasses accounted for nearly half of this world, while the edges of the world faded into gray boundaries. This was not a world with an astral plane, but rather a massive, three-tiered plane governed by the concept of a "round sky and flat earth."
As long as he could acquire enough merit points, advancing to an official wizard was right before his eyes!
This was his chance to make it big and grow stronger!
Everything he wanted—including divine power and wizard tower core materials—was sold in the merit points store. And those weren't even the most expensive items. There were some goods that Lynn didn't even have the clearance to search for.
"Here is a letter someone sent to you," the little angel said, pulling a letter from behind its rear and handing it to Lynn.
The resources were incredibly abundant, making Lynn's heart race with temptation.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Lynn?" An angel with a pair of small, white, cotton-candy-like wings fluttered down from above.
She wondered when Lynn would arrive. During the few months she had been here, she had already scouted out the general situation. With her strength, she couldn't participate in any major events, but she could definitely get a piece of the smaller pies.
He continuously zoomed in on the map—zooming in, and in, until he finally spotted the faint outline of a city, which should be his current location.
"I am," Lynn nodded.
Official wizards were the most common sight here. On the contrary, wizard apprentices like him were quite rare.
Even if there were any, they were basically just tailing behind a certain wizard, acting as little followers.
Lynn opened the basic map query function.
[Detected that all regions of the current plane are covered by the wizard network. All functions are available.]
"Someone must be trying to confuse us. After slaughtering these villagers, they deliberately brought out a single demon," Selena pointed out.
But when it came to demons, she couldn't be more familiar with them. She could tell if a demon had been here just by taking a sniff.
Fleets of floating airships hovered in the sky, and from time to time, wizards riding mounts flew off into the distance.
Lynn didn't worry about any of that. Even if the sky fell, the taller guys would hold it up. All he had to do was secretly reap some benefits for himself.
A demon had indeed appeared here, but the number was very small, and its presence had been extremely brief. Otherwise, the chalice wouldn't have shown only a single black spot.
[Merit points mission activated: You may record undetected items in the current plane and upload them to the wizard network, and merit points will be awarded based on their value. Eliminate enemy faction units; the automatic alert for enemy faction units has been enabled.]
"These are traces of a demon's presence. This only happens if a demon has been here."
"It wasn't demons," Selena said.
The bustling, lively city was mostly filled with teams acting in groups. Legions of followers, like expeditionary forces stepping onto a new continent, turned into torrents rushing toward all corners of this world.
Lynn took the letter and opened it. It was from Selena, detailing her recent situation, her current location, and the route for taking the teleportation array. Her words also faintly revealed her determination to go all out and do something big.
The cavalry captain nodded thoughtfully.
This was because Lynn had browsed through the merit points store and was dazzled by the array of excellent items available inside.
Closing the map, Lynn then opened the basic information query for the current plane.
The familiar prompt from the wizard network appeared.
The grand Ferolan plane consisted of two super-massive continents. The central continent was home to the largest number of races, while the other continent had an extremely harsh environment but was far richer in resources. Because of this harsh environment, that continent was inhabited by a large number of dragon-type creatures, giants, and titans. At the same time, apart from the main plane, Hell and the Celestial Realm also existed.
"I understand now! Countess Selena, who do you think is responsible?"
His own coordinates were located right near the central area of the largest continent, making it the shortest distance no matter which direction he went.
The Blue Sea Empire, Lynn repeated the name silently to himself.
A war on a grand plane like this was simply a massive meat grinder. Unless they had reached a certain level of formidable strength, ordinary wizards were nothing more than a part of the drifting tide here.
This was likely a cherub—extremely weak in strength, with a pure and kind nature. It was probably a pet raised by some wizard.
Hell connected to the dark hell of the multiverse; it was a subordinate plane extending from it, yet it also housed devils and many dark races. As for the Celestial Realm, it was the land of divine kingdoms for the many gods.
[Greetings, wizard. Your current identity has been confirmed. The Supreme Wizard Council reminds you to prioritize your safety when exploring foreign planes. There are millions upon millions of planes in the multiverse; beware of the unknown, and put safety first.]
This world was called the Ferolan Continent. It boasted a vast variety of intelligent races and legendary entities, and traces of abominations and mythical creatures had even been found in certain places.
Stepping through the planar gate, a bustling, massive city appeared before his eyes.
[You currently possess first-level clearance. You may activate the wizard network's emergency rescue function, the basic information query function for the current plane, the energy level detection function, the basic map query function, and the merit points store.]