Black Hearted Mage

I don’t know who was so unlucky that he detonated the alchemical bomb with one kick. It was really horrible.

Outside the stone gate made of alchemical artifacts, there were scattered broken limbs and bloody pieces of flesh.

Kaisas looked at the collapsing cliff. Not much rubble had fallen; most of it had rolled down the cliff face. The alchemical bomb was quite powerful, making the climb much more difficult. A crack, about four or five inches wide, had appeared on the stone platform outside the stone gate. Perhaps with a few more rains, it would widen further. Perhaps it would collapse now; no one could say for sure.

"Who's so unlucky as to explode an alchemical bomb with just one foot?" Caesars said as he walked towards the stone door and shouted inside, "Hurry up, or this place might collapse. A half-foot-wide crack has appeared outside, and it could collapse at any moment!"

As Caesars finished speaking, a loud crash and painful howls could be heard from the door. The young mage was the first to run out, followed by Stella. Rodman walked last, holding onto the limp Wagner.

"Rodman, strip him of his armor and throw him off the mountain!"

Stella looked at Wagner with anger in her eyes.

"I've damaged his armor, so I'll leave it for him to bury with him!"

Rodman looked at the dented breastplate on Wagner's body. He had used too much force just now. Although the magic steel armor could be repaired, it would require paying the blacksmith more than a dozen gold coins.

Wagner wailed in despair, begging the mercenary team to spare him just once, but no one paid any attention to him.

"I will damn you in hell!"

Seeing his own death was certain, Wagner howled like a mad dog. Caesars unleashed a verbal curse without hesitation. Rodman and the others were surprised to find that Wagner's mouth kept opening and closing, but no words came out.

"Rodman, throw him down quickly, it's going to be a bit difficult to get up this time!"

Hearing Caesar's urging, Rodman suddenly exerted force and threw Wagner away. He immediately observed his surroundings carefully, first probing the depth of the crack, then observing the cliff above, where the crack had extended.

"Kassas, this time it might be a bit dangerous. The crack has reached the stone platform above the stone wall, and the crack there is probably more than one foot wide. I need to get to the topmost stone platform, but it is more than fifty meters away from there, and it is very difficult to throw the hook up!" Rodman raised his head, stretched out his hands and gestured as he spoke.

"Rodman, can't we go up?" Beatrice asked anxiously.

"Little Mage, it's not that we can't get up, it's just that it's a little difficult to get up. The distance is a bit far, and I'm worried that the grappling hook won't be able to throw accurately and hold on to the cliff!"

Rodman explained to Beatrice, then he turned to Caesar and said, "Caesar, lend me the magic blade. I'll try to climb up!"

"Rodman, take out the animal hide ropes. I'll go up first!"

"Kaissa, can you go up?"

"Stop talking nonsense and grab the rope!"

Rodman took out a rope and handed it to Caesar. Just as everyone was wondering how he would climb the vertical cliff, a pair of large black wings with magic patterns suddenly unfolded from behind him. Caesar soared into the sky, and dark elements gushed out behind him, blowing Rodman and the others to the ground.

"This guy has learned the Elemental Wings!"

Rodman exclaimed.

"What are Elemental Wings? Rodman, you seem to be hiding a lot of things. You never told us that you knew the Great Magician, and you've known him since childhood!"

Stella's face was filled with confusion as she stared at Rodman intently. He seemed familiar, yet suddenly unfamiliar. Beatrice, standing beside her, nodded repeatedly. Even a magician like her had never heard of the term "Elemental Wings," yet Rodman could name it so easily.

"Let's talk about these things later, we are not out of danger yet!"

Rodman didn't dare to look at the two ladies. He deliberately raised his head. When he saw the rope hanging from above, he hurried to the edge of the cliff.

"Wait a minute, you go up first!"

As Rodman spoke, he grabbed the animal skin rope and climbed up quickly. He was anxious to tell Caesar about the Elemental Wings so that the two of them could speak with one voice.

"Kaisas, something bad has happened. I just mentioned the Elemental Wings!"

Rodman spoke anxiously as he climbed up the rope. He then cut to the chase, recounting the two women's suspicions.

"It's a piece of cake! Just tell them we're employees of the Thornflower Trading Company, searching for all sorts of magical materials for them. Our professional skills are all taught by the company and are never passed on to outsiders. This way, you don't have to hide it from your mother, and avoid making more loopholes!"

"Kaisas, you are so smart!"

Rodman smiled happily after hearing Caesar's plan. He took out a leather bag, tied it to a rope, and threw it down.

Half an hour later, Rodman finally dragged Stella and Beatrice to the top of the mountain. He was also exhausted and out of breath.

"Rodman, let's talk about the Elemental Wings first!"

Seeing Stella coming up, the little wizard hurriedly asked. As for the spell that could allow flying, the little wizard, full of curiosity, wanted to know too much.

"That's a magician's skill. I'm an archer. I'll let Caesars answer this question!"

Rodman looked a little embarrassed. While trying to refuse, he gestured to Beatrice to ask Caesars.

"Mage Caesars, can you answer?"

The young mage was a little unreasonable to Rodman, but she remained humble when facing Caesar.

Kaisas nodded and said, "Elemental Wings has existed for over 10,000 years. However, most magicians cannot learn it. The minimum requirement for learning this spell is to be able to cast it with more than four times the brute force. This spell consumes a lot of mana, more than six times the mana consumption of high-level spells, and it is a continuous consumption!"

"Six times the magic power consumption per second?" Beatrice asked tentatively.

"Yes, Elemental Wings is actually a simple spell that uses magic to push yourself out. It's like an impact spell, but Elemental Wings just pushes you in the opposite direction!"

After hearing Caesar's explanation, Beatrice nodded, as if she understood. Elemental Wings required several times the force of the spell, which ordinary magicians simply couldn't withstand.

"Rodman, tell me how you two met. You're not that old, but why are you both so strong?"

Stella next to him began to interrogate Rodman, and Caesars smiled and shook his head.

"I am much older than Caesar. I was the one who took Caesar on his first trip to Felwood."

"Rodman, how old was Caesar when he first traveled?" Stella asked.

"He's about ten years old, younger than Beatrice. On our first day in Felwood, we encountered a group of robbers!"

"Rodman, don't tell me your story, tell me your strength!"

Stella interrupted Rodman. What she wanted to know most was the strength of Rodman and Caesars.

"We are the guys at the Thorn Flower Trading Company, and we learned our professional skills from the people there!"

"The Thorn Flower Trading Company! That's right, your two tents are exactly the same, and only the Thorn Flower Trading Company can make tents worth tens of thousands of gold coins!"

Rodman looked calm, but inside he felt guilty. It turned out that Stella had suspected him a long time ago and had even visited the Thorn Flower Trading Company to see the Hard Leather Tent.

"The Hard Leather Tent offers excellent defense. Ordinary magic steel arrows can't penetrate it. When folded, it can protect against crossbow bolts from city defense crossbows. The reason for its high price is simple: it's made from the entire hide of a high-level magical beast!"

Caesars also joined the conversation, and Rodman quickly nodded in agreement.

"What do you do at the Thorn Flower Trading Company?" Stella continued to ask.

"We're not usually in the trading company. We spend most of our time collecting magical materials for the company, and sometimes we deliver them!"

"Send it to where?"

"Northern Tower, Magic Guild, Roland Empire!"

Caesars said as he took out the magic clock. He estimated that the people from Roland Mercenary Group would be here soon.

"Aren't you sending me off somewhere else?" Stella continued to ask.

"Aside from the Saint Laurent Empire, we deliver to other places as well, but I've only delivered to two places!"

“Why not deliver to the Saint Laurent Empire?”

"Rodman, you answer Stella's questions. I have to go wait for the guests. The Roland Mercenaries will be here soon, so you guys should rest here. They have alchemical bombs, so don't follow us!"

Stella and Beatrice asked questions one after another, and Caesars was tired of answering them. He just gave up and left Rodman to deal with the two women.

The top of the Yellowstone Mountains was very uneven, making travel difficult, especially in the southern range. Finding a suitable ambush location was becoming extremely difficult for Caesars. He found a hiding spot and then set up a simple magic circle fifty feet away.

Rodman and the other two were in the distance; Caesars could only see their blurry silhouettes from his hiding place. The puppy, seemingly hungry again, emerged from the backpack on the ground and stared at Caesars with a grin, its small eyes pitiful.

"You damn dog, you're too hungry!"

Caesars took out a piece of monster meat, two buttermilk sticks, and sprinkled some seasoning on the meat. Although the puppy would eat anything, it knew what tasted good. It wanted to try whatever Caesars ate.

The puppy howled and pounced on the meat, tearing it apart. It would also learn from Caesars to save the soufflé for last, as a small dessert after the meal.

"You idiot, some bad guys are coming soon. Don't go out and cause trouble. Just stay here and don't move. You're only a tiny thing. Don't let someone step on you like a shoe insole!"

The puppy whined and didn't even turn its head, as if it agreed to Caesars.

In less than two minutes, the puppy wolfed down the food and was full. It followed Caesars's example and lay on the ground, turning its plump belly. It wanted to lie down halfway, but it couldn't do it.

Caesars reached out and touched its belly, where the short fur was softer and felt the best. The puppy whimpered twice and lay on its back, basking in the sun.

At this moment, the magic circle set by Caesars was triggered. He did not stand up, but silently calculated the time, he had to wait until the target came within twenty meters. The enemy was outnumbered, so he could not fight head-on.

Twenty meters away, the magical tentacles had already detected the approaching enemy. Caesars didn't take out his magical weapons. Walking here was difficult, and holding either a staff or a magical blade would be cumbersome, making it impossible to pursue the enemy.

Caesars began to chant the spell of dark mist, then suddenly stood up and enveloped the intruders with it. Everything was just as he expected. The Roland Mercenaries were lined up in a row, and his spell could only barely cover eight or nine people.

The sudden magical attack left the Roland Mercenary Group somewhat at a loss as they had not received any warning from the scouting mercenaries.

From the gray mana mist, bursts of screams rang out. A mercenary rushed out of the mist, but missed a step and fell off a towering cliff. Then, black and purple shadow arrows flew out from the mist continuously, attacking the people on the ridge.

The shadow arrows had a strong impact, and almost the moment they hit the mercenaries, they would fall to the ground. Some mercenaries were able to stand up and run away, while others were unable to move.

"Run, the other party is a great magician!"

Someone among the mercenaries shouted, and many quickly turned and ran. It was difficult to walk on the ridge, so running was impossible. These fleeing mercenaries collided with those behind them, and the Roland Mercenary Group fell into chaos.

"What's going on up front?"

Philip Barton, the intermediate magician and deputy leader of the Roland Mercenary Group, asked loudly. Because the group was so long, Philip, who was walking at the back, was still unclear about the situation.

"The great magician ambushed us and more than twenty people have died!" a mercenary replied.

"Retreat, quickly!"

Fili yelled as he turned and ran. Things hadn't gone as he'd expected. He'd hoped the powerful alchemical bomb would kill or injure Caesar. It was a risky strategy; if it succeeded, he'd have all of Caesar's magical items. Now that it had failed, he had no choice but to run.

The dark fog had dispersed, and Caesars began to chase the people from Roland's mercenary group. As he chased, he cast his best shadow arrows.

At this moment, a large cloud of smoke appeared on the ridge. It was easy to see that the Roland Mercenaries were throwing alchemical smoke bombs as they fled. This smoke was very irritating to the eyes, and contact with it could make it difficult to open one's eyes.

Kaisas took out his protective mask. Instead of walking into the smoke, he spread out his huge elemental wings and hunted the mercenaries from the air.

Someone was shouting in the smoke, but Caesars ignored them and chased after the fleeing ones. Shadow bolts struck from above, easily killing those two levels below him.

Six or seven minutes later, the last standing mercenary fell. Caesars looked around solemnly, but he didn't see the magician at all.

When he looked towards the distance of the cliff, he saw two figures floating five or six miles away.

"Damn it, let them get away!"

Caesars was a little annoyed. He hadn't anticipated the other party's escape using levitation. His magic power was almost depleted, and using elemental wings to catch up was a bit dangerous.