Above the mage!

Chapter 503 Taking the bait
Ash Island.

The waves crashed fiercely against the rocks on the shore time and time again, the white foam splashing up briefly lingering in the crevices of the rocks before being quickly swallowed up by the next wave.

A grey-feathered seabird glides silently out from the low-hanging clouds, its wingspan almost parallel to the sea level.

Its feathers trembled slightly in the damp sea breeze, yet it maintained a stable gliding posture.

This appears to be an ordinary seabird, but what it sees in its eyes is not the usual seabird's desire for food, but a scrutiny that is almost human-like.

boom!
A gunshot rang out with tremendous penetrating power.

The bounty hunter, standing in the shadow of the reef, released his finger from the trigger of his magic gun.

The pale blue aura emanating from the magic gun in his hand had not yet completely faded.

A bullet engulfed in eerie blue flames, like an arrow guided by death, precisely shattered the seabird's skull.

Crimson blood mixed with fragments of brain matter exploded in the air, like a cheap firework that withered instantly in the wind.

One shot to the head.

The seabird instantly lost all its strength; its once steady gliding turned into a straight fall, its gray feathers swirling wildly in the air currents.

Halfway down, as if encountering an invisible hand, the corpse suddenly paused, began to move sideways, and finally landed in front of the bounty hunter who had fired the shot.

He snapped his fingers, and a tiny orange spark was produced, which he then tossed towards the seabird.

A small cluster of flames instantly rose from the seabird's body.

The flames greedily licked the seabird's feathers and muscles, making a soft sizzling sound.

Soon, a scent mixed with the aroma of roasting and the salty smell of the sea filled the air among the rocks, its fragrance permeating the air.

At his feet lay scattered pieces of small, chewed-up bones.

Clearly, this is not the first seabird to meet this fate.

The moment the grey-feathered seabird was shot in the head, the man on the hunting ship suddenly opened his eyes, his expression somewhat grim.

"He is cautious, indeed," he muttered to himself.

He understood that it was unlikely to be possible to investigate the island without cost or risk.

Through repeated cycles of contact with the blue flames, soul damage, and recovery, Gao De's tolerance for blue flame energy and his ability to recover from mental injuries began to increase rapidly once again.

As his resistance increased, Gao De was able to stay in the blue flames for longer and longer, and his exploration gradually ventured deeper into the heart of the island.

On the third day after returning to Ash Isle, his Blue Flame Energy Tolerance had already reached 70%.

However, at this point, the rate at which the Blue Flame's energy tolerance increases slows down significantly.

Each 1% increase requires twice the time and effort compared to before, and we have entered a period of slow growth.

That afternoon, as Gao De crossed another rolling blue flame circle and entered a safe zone not covered by blue flames, a small, simple, abandoned group of buildings appeared before him.

Several houses sprawled on the exposed black rock slope of the mineral vein.

They couldn't even be called walls; several metal pickaxes were driven deep into the ground as supports, with broken iron cables lying horizontally at their tops. In many places, they were rusted through, revealing honeycomb-like holes.

The thick hemp ropes intertwined between the steel rods had long been eroded into a grayish-black color by the sea wind, and the remaining fibers trembled in the wind, barely supporting a few pieces of patchwork canvas.

The canvas, originally brownish-yellow, now appears grayish-black, as if covered with a layer of old grease, riddled with torn holes, and its edges curled into brittle strips.

Next to the house is a small blue flame crystal vein that still shows signs of mining.

Upon closer inspection, Gaode Maps could still see faint blue light within it.

The vein contains many blue crystals the size of pigeon eggs.

Putting everything else aside, just pick up those pickaxes now, give them a few whacks, and you'll have golden bird coins tumbling into your account.

This must have been one of the small camps established by the miners who came to Ash Isle to mine when the Blue Flame disappeared.

Gao De scanned the traces in the camp and his spirits lifted slightly.

Finally, we can see the buildings.

He immediately activated his Mandora's Eye and cast Detection Magic, searching through the abandoned buildings in an attempt to find some treasure.

Unfortunately, nothing was found.

When Dracula led the Blackwing Gang's elite mages to the island to clear it out, it was an act of tyranny, but in a sense, it also saved the lives of countless mining mages on the island.

These mining mages were driven away before the Blue Flame reignited, unlike the Blackwing Clan members who perished on Ash Isle, so they naturally wouldn't have left anything of value behind.

Gaode was not disappointed and took the opportunity to rest at the camp.

He sat down next to a relatively intact pickaxe, cast [Berry of Gods+], and ate two generated gem berries.

The so-called blue flame coverage zone does not mean that all the land in the area is covered in blue flames, but rather that the blue flames block the only way to pass through, and the areas that cannot be reached are all covered by blue flames.

Therefore, Gaode can continuously delve deeper into the subject, rather than constantly returning to the starting point.

Under the "burning" of the blue flames, his soul was like refined iron being repeatedly hammered in a forge, its ability to withstand and recover growing stronger and stronger. With just a little meditation and rest, he could quickly calm the impact on his soul.

Soon, Gao De got up again and ventured deeper into Ash Isle.

Naturally, after seeing the first camp ruins, more and more similar camp ruins were seen one after another.

Most of these ruins were built on mountainsides, and their layout was similar to that of the first camp. They were simple shelters built with pickaxes, iron bars and canvas, and were always accompanied by exposed blue flame crystal veins.

One can only imagine the bustling scene when countless miners flocked to the island during the month that Blue Flame briefly disappeared, turning the once-silent island into a vibrant mining hub.

Whenever a new camp ruin is discovered, God would routinely activate Mandora's Eye and, in conjunction with [Detection Magic], conduct a thorough search.

To be honest, he didn't expect to find anything of value in these small camp ruins.

The main attraction lies in the process of treasure hunting in the ruins.

If we can find something good, that would be great, but if not, it doesn't really matter.

This is somewhat like when he was a child, he would go to the recycling station near his home to "treasure hunt," and he would get extremely excited if he occasionally found a little bit of valuable stuff in the garbage.

In fact, if those small items were given to him directly, he wouldn't get excited at all.

This is why scavenging is a classic profession in various types of novels and biographies.

Because the thrill of unexpectedly finding treasure is universal.

It's just because too much time has passed since the camp was established.

For five or six hundred years, even though the blue flames kept most treasure hunters away, its burning state remained unstable, constantly switching between extinguishing and reigniting, and its location would change with the flow of energy.

Over the years, many people have come to the island in search of treasure.

Apart from the fact that the blue flames in the heart of Ash Island have never been extinguished and it is an absolute forbidden zone that no one has ever approached, most of the surrounding camps have been thoroughly explored by these people, and there is no longer any profit to be made.

After two consecutive days of fruitless scavenging on Taobao, and with the Blue Flame Energy Tolerance level increasing at an increasingly slow pace, Gaode finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He decisively abandoned this tentative maneuver at the edge and headed straight for the heart of the island where the blue flames were most surging. Having identified his target, Gao De proceeded in the direction where the blue flame energy was most concentrated.

In just one day, he had already reached the edge of the heartland.

It was obvious that the blue flames before them were completely different from those in other parts of the island.

The vibrant indigo was so deep it almost resembled purple, coalescing into a torrent of energy that meandered across the ground like a river.

Wherever it passed, whether it was the ground or the rock, it was coated with a layer of lustrous sheen.

These blue flames contained a purer and more violent power, forming a torrent of blue flames that stood in front of them like a city wall, preventing anyone from getting close.

The surrounding area consists of irregular cracks in the ground.

These fissures in the ground resemble irregular miniature volcanoes, occasionally spewing out torrents of cold, blue flames.

Gao De squinted at the leaping indigo flames.

Without even touching him, just being this close was enough to create a subtle, pricking sensation in his soul.

"Pain is good, I'm not afraid of pain, I'm just afraid you're not in enough pain," Gao De murmured to himself.

While spouting trash talk to bolster his courage, he gritted his teeth and cautiously extended his right hand toward the terrifying blue flames.

Every inch of movement of the palm was accompanied by an increasingly intense sense of pressure on the soul level.

When Gao De's fingertip was still a dozen centimeters away from the torrent of blue flames, a violent energy surge was already poised to come.

His pupils contracted slightly, but he did not back down. Instead, he withstood the pressure and extended his fingertips a few more inches forward.

Finally, Gao De's palm completely touched the blue flame.

An extreme cold and stinging sensation followed.

Putting aside the damage to the soul, this alone is something that most people cannot withstand.

Fortunately, both of these are areas that Gaode excels in: [Intermediate Ice Protection Body] + [Mage Ninja Body].

The next instant, a burst of white light exploded in front of Gaode's eyes.

The mental attack from the blue flames had already reached his soul.

[Your spirit has been damaged by Abaddon's Blue Flame energy. Your tolerance to Abaddon's Blue Flame energy has increased by 73.4%, and your mental injury recovery ability has increased by 36.9%.]

Even with his "Painful Body," Gao De found the pain somewhat unbearable.

Because it is pain from the depths of the soul, not from the body.

The intense pain made Gao De tremble all over, cold sweat soaked the back of his robe, and the muscles in his arms throbbed from excessive tension.

He quickly withdrew his hand.

However, the blue flame energy remained with him like a shadow and did not disappear immediately when he withdrew his hand.

Gaode could only grit its teeth and wait quietly.

The blue flames that followed him, wrapped around his arm, were ultimately like water without a source; they would inevitably be exhausted.

Of course, this process is not easy.

Gao De's chest began to heave violently as he gasped for breath, clearly in great pain.

However, his slightly ferocious expression also carried excitement and determination.

Because the rate at which Abaddon Blue Flame's energy tolerance increases is skyrocketing.

73.5% 73.8% 74.4%
While Gaode was busy on Ash Isle, Sarah was also busy.

David is a cautious and cunning man who doesn't easily believe rumors, but he is also arrogant and greedy.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have provocatively added 1 gold coin to his bounty every time he returned from a mission.

To convince David that God truly possesses the ability to find the Spell Bottle on Ash Isle, this point must be utilized effectively.

The Blackwing Gang relics that Gaode auctioned off were "real" bait, information that could not be easily disproven, pointed to Ash Isle, and had credibility, thus establishing the credibility of the entire plan.

The character played by Gao De was carefully crafted: a foreign mage from the Golden Flower Sect with special abilities, but lacking experience and possessing a certain degree of vigilance.

This kind of character setting makes it unlikely that it's a trap targeting David.

Furthermore, the subsequent seemingly secret conversations on the Fire Knife and Sarah's deployment of men to maintain a thorough vigil over Ash Isle, leaving no stone unturned, were all designed to create the illusion that David had to act quickly or he would miss a golden opportunity.

Her strength and influence are still somewhat inferior to David's.

But if the [Spell Bottle] actually ends up in her hands, it will be unrealistic for David to take it back.

—With the added benefit of the [Spell Bottle], Sarah might even be able to put up a fight against him.

Therefore, David's best option is to act before God finds the [Spell Bottle] and seize control of God.

Moreover, you must act quickly.

Who knows when Gaode (the game developer) found the [Spell Bottle]?
This artificially created sense of urgency and window of opportunity will prevent David from making thorough preparations and conducting reconnaissance.

But based on Sarah's understanding of David, as a cruel and cunning mage, he would almost certainly send his own mages to scout ahead first.

At this step, she must promptly discover the scout mage and send some people deeper into Ash Isle to create the illusion that "Golden" is moving freely in the blue flames.

Then, they were hunted down, and in the process, one or two seriously wounded men were released to go back and inform David, thus confirming everything.

Weave lies using multiple layers of information that are difficult to disprove in a short time and that can corroborate each other.

They then lured David with huge profits, pressured him with time constraints and competitors, and lulled him into complacency with past "successes" and "difficulties."

This is Sarah's plan.

Furthermore, we must consider that David may not follow the script and be prepared to face various tests and countermeasures.

And lastly and most importantly, once David has taken the bait, how do you kill him?
These are all things Sarah needs to consider and plan for the simulation.

All of this was tedious and heavy, like a mountain pressing down on Sarah's shoulders, making her feel even heavier than God, who was suffering from the pain of the blue flames.

Da da da!
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded.

Baozai strode into the cabin and reported to Sarah, who had her back to him, his voice filled with barely suppressed tension and excitement: "Abnormal magical fluctuations have been detected on the northwest side of the island, most likely by reconnaissance mages sent by David!"

Upon hearing this, Sarah immediately turned around, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

They finally took the bait.
"Proceed according to plan," she said softly, her tone calm and even, showing none of the tension and excitement that Baozai displayed.

Sarah had planned and rehearsed this day countless times, as if she had personally experienced it countless times.

So when it all actually happened, she was calmer than ever before.

(End of this chapter)