Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 413

“Brother Ryuk, it seems our judgment was lacking. Who would have thought that Fellow Daoist Han’s abilities would exceed our imagination?”

The old man Ma smiled as he watched Han Li disappear.

“Indeed. His cultivation is at the early Nascent Soul stage, but even a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator would back away from that golden lightning and the unknown dark blue flames.”

“Still, it’s good news for us. With such a powerful cultivator, we have nothing to fear from the mages’ attacks, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Haha, that’s right. But while the dark blue flames are unfamiliar, the golden lightning seems like something I’ve heard of before. Do you know anything about it?”

“No, I’ve never seen anything like those flames or lightning. To imprison and instantly kill a Nascent Soul cultivator, I have no idea what kind of technique that is.”

The old man Ma shuddered inwardly, recalling the dying monster from moments ago.

“I see. Whatever cultivation method he practices, it’s good for us. Let’s discuss tomorrow’s matters then!”

“Tomorrow’s matters?”

“Now that we’ve captured the Moran spy who tried to ruin the barrier, how about we use their strategy against them?”

The giant’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“You mean…”

The voices of the old man and the giant in the main hall quickly quieted down, becoming almost inaudible.

The next day at noon, under the blazing sun, a massive army of mages was swarming in, beating drums.

*Dong! Dong dong dong! Dong! Dong dong dong!*

Along with the increasingly loud drumbeats, a huge object that was not visible yesterday joined the middle of the mage army.

It was a brown, giant demonic beast, thirty *zhang* [approximately 100 meters] tall.

At first glance, it looked like a rhinoceros, but dozens of times larger, with a long, dark blue horn protruding from its nose. The black armor covering its massive body was clearly a great treasure, with various talismans and spells faintly flowing from it.

A mysterious woman was sitting on top of the giant demonic beast. The woman was barefoot with a serene face, but her eyes were full of killing intent.

And the skinny mage and Gulyao, who had appeared yesterday, were flying on either side of her, as if they were serving her.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the expression of the woman in green riding the giant demonic beast changed.

“Lord Ak, what’s wrong?”

“Something’s strange.”

The mysterious woman said with a glint in her eyes, and the skinny mage looked worried.

“Did he fail?”

“I don’t know. Let’s check it out ourselves.”

The woman said calmly and closed her eyes.

The skinny mage and Gulyao exchanged glances and then spread their spiritual senses to scan the distant Yellow Dragon Mountain. After a while, their expressions also became strange.

Gulyao spoke first, sounding puzzled.

“What’s going on? The fog has already lifted. We agreed to attack and then remove the restriction in the middle to annihilate the surprised cultivators. But the restriction is already gone. What happened?”

“We don’t know. Let’s take a closer look.”

The mage army continued to advance, and the skinny mage immediately heightened his vigilance.

However, nothing happened until they reached the void where they had fought yesterday.

The mages looked down at Yellow Dragon Mountain, becoming agitated. The mountain peaks and the pavilions at the top, which were originally hidden by a thick green fog, were now clearly visible.

The once beautiful buildings were now charred black as if they had been burned, and the desolate base of the pitiful cultivators was eerily silent.

The mages split to the left and right, and the giant demonic beast with the woman on it slowly moved to the center. The woman looked around, then brushed her hair back with her hand and sneered.

“This won’t do. Although the fog has lifted, the barrier that blocks spiritual senses is still there, so we can’t figure out what’s going on.”

“We must also consider the possibility that this is all just an illusion. If he had succeeded in the operation, he would have contacted us in advance.”

The skinny mage said with a suspicious look, and Gulyao also expressed doubt.

“So, are the two lords suggesting we just stay here?”

The woman’s clear voice was finally heard.

“No. It’s also possible that he succeeded in breaking the barrier but was discovered and fled. The other cultivators might have abandoned this place after the barrier was broken while chasing him.”

The skinny mage continued his speculation.

“There’s no point in worrying here. Judging by his cultivation, the chances of success are high, but we shouldn’t let our guard down. If things went wrong and he was captured or killed, this could be a trap.”

The green-clad woman’s lips curled up on one side as she spoke coldly.

“Lord Ak means…”

Gulyao asked hesitantly.

“Whether it’s a trap or not, it’s a barrier we have to break anyway. Let’s proceed as planned. Even if our forces are slightly reduced, it’s valuable to understand the opponent’s strength. What we lack most right now is time.

According to new information, the National Salvation Alliance has requested support from other forces, and reinforcements will arrive within two or three months. We need to clear all the major strongholds near the Heavenly Battlefield within one month. Only then can we seize victory without major losses.”

“We will do as Lord Ak wishes.”

The skinny mage hesitated slightly at the woman’s calm tone before agreeing. Gulyao, who didn’t care much about the lives of the lower-level mages, felt the same way.

The woman nodded and moved her red lips to send a voice transmission to someone. At the same time, about a hundred mages from the army broke away and slowly approached Yellow Dragon Mountain, following behind the Core Formation mages.

The hundred or so mages turned into black dots as they searched the area where the mist had been, but nothing happened.

Then, some of them boldly flew to the top.

When the hundred or so mages easily occupied the mountaintop, the skinny mage breathed a sigh of relief and showed a happy face.

“It seems they really abandoned this place and fled. Let’s send more soldiers to search thoroughly. They must have left behind quite a few things in their haste to escape.”

“Don’t rush, let’s watch.”

The skinny mage shut his mouth at the woman’s cold words, without even blinking an eye.

At this time, the hundred or so cultivators were going around the pavilions, finding spirit stones and materials, and were overjoyed. Unless it was a huge treasure vault or a spirit stone mine, the first to find a small treasure was the owner, so it was natural.

Other mages who were watching from the outside were also agitated.

They became greedy at the sight of easily obtaining spoils of war without risking their lives.

“Lord Ak, then…”

The skinny mage and Gulyao could no longer hold back and their eyes lit up. Gulyao opened his mouth.

Since the two mages were leading this army, most of the soldiers were naturally drawn from their two tribes. The Moran Grasslands were a resource-poor place, so they couldn’t miss this opportunity.

However, the hundred or so mages who were sent in first were drawn separately from small tribes, so that was a huge reward for them.

However, since the green-clad woman did not give a clear order, the two men could not continue speaking.

After a full *ildagyeong* [a unit of time, approximately 15 minutes] had passed, and the hundred or so mages had cleared about a third of the mountaintop, the woman opened her mouth.

“Have the two of you each send in 100 people to search for resources and remove the remaining restrictions. Unless we can completely grasp the entire mountain with our spiritual senses, we cannot allow the rest of the soldiers to enter.”

“Yes! We will do as Lord Ak says.”

The two mages were excited and sent voice transmissions to their disciples. As a result, about two hundred more people flew towards the mountaintop.

“That seems to be all of them. My magic power won’t last long either, so let’s activate the restriction now.”

The old man Ma’s voice was heard quietly from somewhere on Yellow Dragon Mountain.

“Hmph, it’s a shame. Not a single Great Lord was caught.”

The giant sighed, and then with a ‘*kururung*’ sound, the entire Yellow Dragon Mountain vibrated.

The 300 mages who were searching for treasures changed their expressions and used their magical artifacts and treasures to soar in all directions.

The three Core Formation mages were the fastest, but it was still impossible for them to escape the barrier.

Light of spiritual energy rose from the entire mountain, and fog surged from various places, instantly covering Yellow Dragon Mountain with a thick fog.

The expressions of the skinny mage and Gulyao, who were watching the scene, turned pale. However, only the green-clad woman sitting on the giant demonic beast maintained a cold face without any change in her expression.

“It was a trap. It’s a pity. If we hadn’t asked Fellow Daoist Gok to move, we wouldn’t have been discovered.”

The woman with the surname Ak sighed coldly.

“Lord Ak, then the children inside…”

Gulyao clenched his fist. One of the Core Formation cultivators he had just sent in was his beloved direct disciple and descendant.

In his desperation, even though he saw them trapped in the barrier, the request to save them was already at the tip of his tongue.

“The opponents are Nascent Soul cultivators. It’s nothing for them to deal with Core Formation mages. They are likely already dead.”

The green-clad woman glanced at Gulyao and said expressionlessly.

“Then… Lord Ak, I will take responsibility for breaking this barrier! I will release the Fire Spirit Essence and shatter the barrier in one go, turning those bastards into ashes!”

Gulyao, unable to contain his anger, turned red in the face and shouted through gritted teeth.

“The Fire Spirit Essence? If you’ve made up your mind, you should naturally offer the Giant Rhinoceros Beast. But let’s use the Fire Spirit Essence when the battle reaches a critical moment. Also, be careful of the young cultivator who killed Teacher Cheongok. I suspect he might be the one who annihilated Lord Mok’s body from the Heavenly Wind Division. If so, he must be very skilled and use strange dark blue flames.”

The woman raised her eyebrows.

“You mean the cultivator who damaged Lord Mok’s body? I heard he uses Lightning Escape Technique.”

The skinny mage’s expression changed, showing a hint of fear.

“Lord On, I know you dislike cultivators who are good at close combat. Don’t ever fight him, leave him to me. With the speed of the Gentle Wind Technique, I won’t lose to the Lightning Escape Technique. Even if the opponent’s strange flames and golden lightning are powerful, they will be useless if they can’t get close. The rest of his abilities are at the level of an early Nascent Soul cultivator, so how could he be a match for me?”

The cold-eyed woman said arrogantly.

“Yes, then I will trust Lord Ak. Lord Ak is comparable to the Heavenly Orchid Saintess of the Dolol people.”

The skinny mage felt a little relieved and praised her.

“Tch, Heavenly Orchid Saintess!”

The woman’s face, which had been calm, darkened for a moment at the name of the Heavenly Orchid Saintess. The skinny mage, who had spoken with good intentions, was startled and recalled a rumor he had heard recently.

‘She lost to the Heavenly Orchid Saintess and trembles at the mere mention of her name.’

“Ah… I, I mean…”

The skinny mage tried to make excuses, but the mysterious woman waved her hand and returned to her cold expression.

“That’s enough. The situation is urgent, so let’s launch a full-scale attack!”

“Yes!”

The skinny mage and Gulyao answered at the same time.

* * *

*Pshhh.*

The body of a Core Formation cultivator, who had lost his head, fell down in the dark fog. Not far away, Han Li, who had appeared in a blue light, circled the corpse, checked the storage pouch, and was disappointed.

There were only a few old and worn-out items inside, and no information related to spiritual techniques. He frowned and sighed.

At that moment, the sound of drums grew louder outside the fog, and an astonishing wave of spiritual energy was felt. Han Li, who had looked up, turned around and disappeared into the fog.

The center of the fog was strangely divided. The front was still a mess from the fire, but behind it, the pavilions were still shining, and cultivators were freely moving in and out.

The old man Ma and the haggard giant were floating above the shining pavilions, seriously watching the actions of the mage army.