Black Hearted Mage

The ascetics of the Church of Saint Laurent can be divided into two categories. One is the upper-level ascetics, who usually have a background in the church. These people choose to become ascetics, often just as a superficial gesture, but in reality they use it as a stepping stone to the pinnacle of power.

In stark contrast to the upper-level ascetics were the lower-level ascetics, who had no background but were simply fanatical followers of the Church of Saint Laurent, loyal only to the Pope. Even Freud, the High Priest of the Judgment Hall, was unable to command these simple-minded lower-level ascetics, who were obsessed with spiritual practice.

Bitterwater Farm was home to several powerful ascetics, over fifty mysterious magicians, and several Paladin instructors. Although these three groups shared the same grounds, they refrained from interfering with one another. Even when they encountered each other, they would not greet each other. They seemed to have a tacit understanding.

In the early morning, sunlight filtered through the magic tower on the crater, casting patches of light and shadow on the ground. Inside the tower, Caesars was absorbed in studying arcane knowledge, completely absorbed in the basic theories of the arcane.

The dark red fat puppy, although extremely reluctant, could not resist the temptation of the elf fruit with its tempting aroma, and was easily taken away by old Ethan in the spider silk robe.

The Bitterwater Farm was shrouded in a hazy mist in the early morning, appearing exceptionally peaceful. At this very moment, the Paladins and Ascetics who needed training were still on their way to the farm.

In the left front yard of the farm, several ascetic instructors had gotten up early and were stretching their muscles in the yard, preparing for the upcoming day of training.

At the same time, in the right front yard of the farm, the Paladin instructors had also stood up. They were either stretching their bodies or practicing swordsmanship. Everyone looked energetic.

However, in the backyard, the magicians were still immersed in sweet dreams, and no one could be seen. In this quietness, suddenly, a purple magical energy emerged without any warning.

At first, this magical energy was very weak, like a gentle breeze. But after just a moment, it suddenly exploded like a ignited gunpowder barrel. The violent magical fluctuations swept over like a raging storm, instantly waking the sleeping magicians.

Amidst this dazzling arcane energy, an elliptical sphere, shaped like a vertical pupil, gradually emerged. This sphere emanated a frightening magical fluctuation, like a demonic eye from the abyss, coldly gazing down upon the world.

Without even a moment to put on their coats, the dozen or so magicians rushed out of the room and into the spacious backyard. Amidst the dazzling purple magical energy, a fat, dark red dog emerged. Following closely behind was a figure in a spider-silk robe, holding a purple staff.

When they saw Old Ethan appear, the dozen or so magicians cried out in unison as if they had seen some terrifying monster. Their eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief, as if the scene before them was completely beyond their comprehension.

Although these magicians had detailed descriptions of elves in books, they were only words and illustrations after all. Compared with seeing a real elf with their own eyes, it was completely different. At this moment, this living elf stood before them. Observing it so closely made them feel a sense of unreality.

Old Ethan didn't care about the magicians' reactions. He swept his eyes over the crowd indifferently, and then said in a dismissive tone: "I'm looking for the necromancer Sandro, the guy with only a skeleton!"

Before he finished speaking, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and three people in cloaks slowly walked out. Old Ethan's attention was instantly drawn to them. He turned around abruptly and stared at the three figures not far away.

At that moment, Old Ethan suddenly raised his hand, and a stream of purple magical energy shot out like lightning, shooting straight towards a cloaked figure over fifty meters away. The purple energy, as if alive, quickly wrapped around the cloaked figure's body, binding him tightly.

The cloaked figure was clearly unprepared for this sudden attack. He struggled, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free from the purple energy. Furthermore, the purple energy seemed to possess some special power, not only firmly imprisoning the cloaked figure's body, but also suppressing his soul energy.

"Low-level mages are trash in my eyes. Your soul power is like a tiny flame, so insignificant!"

As Old Ethan spoke, he precisely controlled the arcane energy. Bright purple lightning patterns shone brightly, and in an instant, the cloak and magic robe were cut into pieces, revealing a skeleton.

Old Ethan forcibly removed the two storage rings from Sandro's bony fingers. In front of all the magicians, he opened the rings and rummaged through them. Three crystal bottles filled with a black, viscous liquid were taken out and placed in front of the puppy, along with six purple-red fairy fruits.

"You are the Grand Mage!"

Sandro used magical Foley and spoke in an extremely hoarse voice.

"Wrong, I am now a Holy Mage!"

Old Ethan said calmly that the two storage rings were confiscated by him, and he also released Sandro from his restraints.

"Elves don't meddle in the affairs of humans. Why are you here at Bitterwater Farm to meddle?"

After hearing that the other party was the Holy Mage, although Sandro was afraid of him, he wanted to know the answer.

"Kaesars Rhodes, he is a descendant of elves, that's a good enough reason, right? We won't care if you use demon blood, but if you take it to Violet City, you're showing contempt for the elves. I won't kill weaklings like insects, but I will punish you if necessary!"

Old Ethan took out a grayish-white stone as he spoke. If Caesars were here, he would recognize it as a soul gem at a glance.

"Soul Gem!"

Two blue flames were beating violently in Sandro's skull eye sockets. He was extremely eager for this gem.

"As a lesson to you, I will take away half of your soul energy. If you do it again, you must die!"

As soon as Old Ethan finished speaking, the soul gem in his hand suddenly emitted a faint light, as if it was activated by some power. Although the light was not dazzling, it gave people a strange feeling and made people feel fear.

At this moment, Sandro's pale skeleton began to tremble violently, as if in great pain. As the skeleton trembled, shrill screams emanated from its mouth, echoing in the empty space and sending chills down one's spine.

Time passed minute by minute, and after a few minutes, the skeleton finally stopped shaking and was thrown to the ground by Old Ethan like garbage. At this time, the skeleton had become broken and the once intact skeleton was now scattered everywhere, looking very miserable.

The soul energy within the skull's eye sockets flickered, like a candle in the wind, poised to go out at any moment. The faint flame of the soul, like the last ray of life, struggled to burn amidst the raging storm.

Meanwhile, the puppy watched the scene unfold with a nonchalant air. It first swallowed a pitch-black crystal bottle, then chewed a fairy fruit, seemingly oblivious to the horrific scene that had just unfolded. It ate quickly, devouring everything in front of it in just a few moments.

Two cloaked magicians standing nearby were stunned by the sight. Their eyes widened as they stared at the puppy in disbelief, nearly screaming out in shock. They knew that the pitch-black crystal bottle held the demon's blood, something they had always considered terrifying. And now, this fat dog had devoured it completely, leaving not a trace behind!

Not far away, there was a lonely little stone house, its windowless appearance somewhat eerie. Suddenly, the heavy magic steel door slowly opened, accompanied by a mechanical sound, as if some ancient mechanism had been activated.

Then, a sound of chains clashing against each other came from inside, crisp and piercing, standing out in the silence. Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the sound, a tall figure suddenly rushed out of the doorway like a ferocious beast.

This figure instilled fear. His entire body was covered in black, tumor-like bumps of varying sizes. These swellings appeared hideously hideous on his skin, as if caused by some horrific disease. A pair of twisted, curved horns sprouted from his head, their tips sharp and gleaming with a cold light. His eyes, like those of a puppy, were a strange red, revealing an aura of madness and bloodlust.

Not only that, his neck, hands, feet and waist were all put on iron rings with magic patterns. These iron rings looked extremely strong and were connected to thick magic steel chains, as if they were designed to restrict his movements.

His mouth was filled with sharp, yellow teeth that flickered when he growled, emitting a nauseating, fishy odor. He also had warty bumps on his ears, making his entire head look even more bizarre and terrifying.

As soon as the monster appeared, it let out a deafening roar at the people around it. The sound was like thunder, echoing in the air. Between its teeth, a yellow, fishy-smelling liquid continuously flowed out, as if the demon blood in its body was boiling.

"This is a deformed being," Old Ethan said with interest. "He's been infected by the devil's blood. Although he still retains some consciousness, he's completely transformed into a monster!"

Old Ethan frowned as he looked at the disgusting aberration before him, then slowly shook his head. While this monster was stronger than a paladin, it was limited to physical attacks. The aberration wasn't much stronger than a lizardman.

At the same time, the fat puppy seemed to sense the aberration's provocation. It opened its mouth wide, revealing a row of sharp fangs, and unleashed a deafening roar at the aberration. This roar was not only loud but also had a strong penetrating power, causing the surrounding magicians to feel the magic power in the sea of ​​magic surge violently, completely losing control of them.

This puppy was no ordinary dog, but a lava dog from the Abyssal Plane. It fed on various demonic creatures, and in its eyes, this ugly and disgusting aberration was at best a half-demon.

At this moment, something in the puppy suddenly awakened. It absolutely could not tolerate such provocation from a low-level demon. Its scarlet eyes seemed to be burning with flames as it stared intently at the two curved horns on the aberration's head, revealing a trace of undisguised greed.

High-level magic patterns suddenly appeared on the puppy's body, emitting a dazzling red light, as if announcing its power to the world. The aberration, which had just been ferocious and brutal, now trembled and retreated continuously, as if it had seen its natural enemy.

Just as the aberrant turned around and prepared to escape back to the stone house, the fat puppy jumped high like lightning and landed directly on the aberrant's shoulder with astonishing speed and strength.

There were only two "cracks" sounds, and the tall deformed monster suddenly fell to the ground as if it had lost its support, and its body covered with tumorous protrusions began to twitch constantly.

The fat puppy stood steadily on the deformed body, chewing something in its mouth with a series of crisp sounds, as if it was enjoying a delicious meal.

After the puppy finished eating, it wagged its short, thick tail in satisfaction and walked over to old Ethan, shaking its head.

Old Ethan stared wide-eyed at the bizarre scene before him. The deformed form, which had been twitching, was now completely lifeless, and the strange and disgusting protrusions were gradually shrinking and falling off.

In less than two minutes, the deformed corpse actually became a bit like a human corpse, but the distorted face and weird body proportions were still creepy.

Old Ethan walked forward cautiously and carefully examined the body. After some inspection, he was surprised to find that the demon blood in the body had completely disappeared, as if it had been completely devoured by the puppy.

Old Ethan couldn't understand the advanced magic patterns, nor did he want to explore their mysteries. This was completely beyond his level of strength. If he forced himself to explore the advanced magic patterns, the consequences would be unpredictable.

The instructors of the Paladins and the Ascetics simply turned their heads and glanced at the roars in the backyard, and had no intention of going to watch the fun from beginning to end.