Chapter 377 - 375: Puppets
"Bad news, sir, a mage has broken through the ruins and invaded!"
The subordinate rushed in to report, but Jill remained calm, slowly taking off his gloves and picking up the magic staff beside him.
"What’s their strength?"
He asked.
"Tier Three."
"Tier Three?"
"Yes."
"Why are you bothering me with a Tier Three?" Jill tossed his magic staff back and prepared to keep observing the potion’s reaction. "So many magic puppets, and yet you can’t kill a single Tier Three mage?"
"We can’t." The subordinate’s forehead dripped with cold sweat. "That mage only cast one spell, and all the magic puppets died."
"What?"
Jill picked up his magic staff again. "Notify Turas and Laggs. Attack together."
"Yes!"
Soon, Jill met up with Turas and Laggs outside, and together they rushed toward the area where they sensed combat.
Very quickly, they turned a corner and saw, in the distance, the black-robed mage slaughtering magic puppets.
A girl stood behind him.
Watching the other raise his hand and kill scores of magic puppets effortlessly, barely consuming any magic power, Turas was slightly shocked. "This destructive force—are you sure he’s just a Tier Three mage?"
"Doesn’t matter if he’s Tier Three or Four, our master’s plan can’t be disrupted. All in, kill him with everything!" Jill shouted, charging ahead with Turas and Laggs.
Then, they saw that black-robed mage erupt in a brilliant holy radiance.
Under that light, the divine power within their bodies acted as if it had met its nemesis, instantly boiling up, scattering wildly and being driven out by the holy radiance.
Weaker Turas and Laggs immediately lost control of their strength, falling brutally to the ground and rolling forward a few times.
Jill frowned slightly, quickly channeling his magic power to wrap and protect his divine power, resisting the strange purification skill’s glow.
He sneered: "A Tier Three mage dares intrude on the holy forbidden ground of the Blood Alliance? Who gave you the courage?"
As soon as he finished, he raised his hand to summon a magic puppet, but the enemy was faster.
A ball of ice, glittering with countless orange-red specks, flew toward him and exploded right in front of him.
Boom!
The action of summoning a puppet was interrupted, and Jill was sent flying, his magic staff blown right out of his hand.
He groaned painfully, coughed up blood, and at once sensed that the magic power he used to protect his divine power had been shattered by purification.
His expression changed dramatically.
"When did that spell get purification added to it?"
The purifying glow dug fiercely into his body like a persistent parasite, crazily dissolving his divine power.
It was as if every strand of magic power was being manipulated with pinpoint precision.
The piercing pain made him scream in agony.
And at that moment, the other two were even worse off.
With Rose’s Mage’s Hand precisely controlling the purification skill, every thread of demonic qi infused with divine power in their bodies was shattered.
Three Tier Four mages, who happened to have their elemental weak spot hit, couldn’t even summon their magic puppets before Rose’s thunderous storm of attacks reduced their combat ability by 90%.
Rose said coldly, "Do you see? This is what modern mages and heretics are like now."
Hilia looked utterly bewildered.
I see, but I don’t understand at all.
Rose continued, "Modern mages, eighty percent of their combat power relies on their magic puppets, neglecting their own cultivation. In the future, whenever you face high-tier mages, catch them off guard, pin them down so they can’t summon their puppets, and you’ve already won half the battle."
"It’s even more crucial against heretics. Purification skill plus a combination skill, punch through in one combo, and even high-tier mages can be instantly eliminated, just like this."
Rose always shared the battle process for Hilia, although Hilia probably couldn’t understand it so easily.
She did at least know which magic Rose just used: Ice Rain Skill plus Fire of the Singularity, the strongest Tier Three combo, perfect for heretics. Then, within the combo, add purification, Mage’s Hand fusing purification into every strand of magic power—after Ice Rain Skill breaches defense, the purification is pumped straight into the enemy’s body, detonating their internal pollution instantly.
Once this combo lands, if you’re not prepared in advance, you basically won’t ever get another chance to defend.
Rose mocked, "Those three Tier Four mages said they’d go all out, but when they arrived they still underestimated us—didn’t summon magic puppets ahead of time, didn’t attack instantly. Don’t learn from them."
Hilia nodded seriously, "I promise I won’t."
The purification skill Rose used was way more efficient than Hilia’s own.
Hilia’s magic power utilization rate was 80%, whereas Rose reached 200%, sometimes higher.
One unit of magic power yielded two or three units of effect.
The steady input of magic power and Mage’s Hand gradually tormented the two weakest Tier Four heretics to death.
Only the strongest Tier Four heretic remained.
Rose didn’t kill him, instead approached slowly, crouched down, and looked at him, murmuring, "Tell me, who is your master?"
At the moment, most of the pollution in this Tier Four mage had already been purified.
The loss of ’divine power’ made his strength plummet, leaving him at Tier Three level.
The other stared at Rose in terror, "Who—who are you? Why is your power..."
"Fine, don’t say then."
Rose shook his head. Mage’s Hand turned into its most primal form—a giant hand—which grabbed the man brutally.
Soon, his breathing slowly stopped.
The fight wasn’t over yet.
Though all the Tier Four mages were dead, for some reason, there was no Tier Five mage here, but plenty of Tier Three mages remained.
Hilia watched the fearless charging mages without knowing what to think.
Rose said, "These mages are called magic puppets by them. They’re just ordinary people taken from all over the world, brainwashed into heretics, then granted what they call ’divine favor’ to become like this."
Hilia’s emotions churned. "Every magic puppet... is a living person?"
Rose nodded.
The girl clenched her fists. "This Polar Blood Alliance... is even worse than the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association!"
She paused, puzzled. "Why does the Polar Blood Alliance convert so many ordinary people into magic puppets? They only last a year. A year later, they die. After death, do they still get used for something?"
"That’s unknown. All those questions—you’ll have to find your own answers."
Rose opened a room and took out two vials of blood.
Both belonged to Alina.
This place was already confirmed to be built above Alina’s Land of Slumber, serving as the main base for research into Alina.
Besides blood, Rose also found hair, nails, flesh tissue and the like. These were rare, seemingly acquired by accident. Only blood was collected extensively.
Rose’s expression grew more composed and grave.
When the last room was opened and the last vial of blood taken, Hilia had already filled a small bag.
The girl now dared not say anything at all.
She could sense that Rose was not remotely as calm as he appeared.
"Let’s go. Head down, and visit Alina."