Black Hearted Mage

The team searching for the Fire Crystal Ore was enormous, comprising over thirty magicians. Among them, besides a Grand Mage, there were six high-level magicians, and the rest were intermediate magicians. Such a formidable lineup prompted several nobles from Violet City to bring their own men and follow the team deep into the mines.

Due to his advanced age and limited mobility, Count Ronald was unable to go deep into the mines, but he personally supervised the construction of houses outside the mines, this time planning to build brick and stone structures.

When the old noble saw the newly installed magic steel gate at the mine entrance, he couldn't help but feel unhappy, as it had cost him an extra twenty thousand gold coins. However, when he thought of the precious fire crystal, Earl Leonard's mood immediately became cheerful, and all his worries disappeared.

The old earl leaned on his crutch and looked at the entrance of the mine again and again, hoping for good news that would bring him joy.

Finally, a guard came running over, his face filled with joy as he shouted, "My Lord Earl, great news! Master Bordeaux and his men have hunted down a salamander. Conservatively estimated, its value is at least ten thousand gold coins!"

Earl Ronald's son-in-law, Viscount Bruce, also walked out of the mine with a smile on his face.

"Count, there's more good news. According to Master Bordeaux's speculation, the fire crystal vein below should be a rich mine. The fire element ahead is getting higher and higher!"

"Bruce, why did you come out before you saw the fire crystal vein?" Earl Leonard complained a little. Speculations were not as real as seeing it with one's own eyes.

"Count, the temperature down there is far too high for ordinary people to bear!"

Viscount Bruce was a little dissatisfied with this. The underground world was simply not a place for human beings to stay. It was so hot that it could almost roast people.

"It's so hot, how can we mine fire crystals?

"My Lord, from now on, everyone digging a pit must wear a fire protection array. This is what Master Bordeaux ordered. The array is made of magic copper and can be carried on your person. A large protective array must also be set up at the digging site, otherwise the miners will be roasted!"

"Demon copper is more valuable than gold!"

Hearing that he had to invest a large amount of gold coins again, Earl Ronald felt extremely heartbroken. He had not even seen a single piece of fire crystal.

"We don't need to pay gold this time. The Mage Alliance will provide magic copper. However, we have to wait a month before we can mine it. The fire protection array is quite time-consuming to set up."

Bruce knew Leonard well, and his stingy character seemed to have been integrated into his soul. However, it was precisely because of this extreme desire for money and ruthless personality that Leonard was able to accumulate an astonishing wealth.

Meanwhile, in the Bano family in Violet City, Caesars was completely absorbed in his training, even Rad and his students were infected by his enthusiasm.

Kaisas focused on absorbing the magic power contained within the magic crystal, and when his own magic sea overflowed, he began to study various spells and techniques. Although his magic performance was not fancy, the scene of him violently colliding with the magic steel puppet at an extremely fast speed was full of shocking power, making Rad and others who were watching there excited.

Rad stood aside, watching the scene in fascination, secretly marveling. Caesars continued to cast spells while constantly moving, with a hit rate as high as 90%! Thinking of his own hit rate while moving, Rad couldn't help but feel ashamed, and his face burned.

"You all saw Kaisas's spellcasting. This is combat spellcasting from the Northland Tower, requiring constant movement. Once you learn it, you can easily crush the magic apprentices of the Mage Alliance!"

"Can you really defeat the magic apprentices of the Mage Alliance?" Little Nivea raised her head and asked Rad for confirmation.

"Easily crushed! With Kaisas' current casting speed, spell power, movement speed, and spell hit rate, he can beat the intermediate magicians of the Mage Alliance to the ground."

Southeast of the Violet Alliance, a team of magicians from the Mage Alliance had been deep in the mines for three days. News had spread from Violet City that they had hunted down five high-level magical beasts—salamanders.

The members of the Noble Alliance celebrated. While they didn't directly benefit from the Fire Crystal Mine, they could derive indirect benefits. The deeper and larger the vein, the greater their profits. They provided the mine with various mining tools, clothing, food, and drinking water. While the profits weren't significant, a single vein took decades to mine, and the accumulated profits could amount to a considerable fortune.

On the fifth day, the bad news reached Violet City. The magicians of the Mage Alliance encountered terrifying monsters, and more than half of them were killed or wounded.

"Kaisas, when you went to explore the underground world, did you encounter any terrifying monsters?"

Rad was a little confused, as the mine was explored by Caesars and the mercenary team.

"I saw the fire lizards and returned the same way. The mercenary mission only requires the discovery of a mineral vein. Fire lizards need places rich in fire elements, so I came back directly and asked the mercenary team to tell the mercenary guild that we had found a fire crystal vein!"

"Do you know there are terrifying monsters underground?"

“I didn’t know before, but now I know!”

The three elven elders' speculation was too accurate. The strength of the Mage Alliance was greatly damaged, and it would be easier for Caesars to take revenge on Leonard in the future.

Back then, Leonard had resorted to extremes to seize the Ludwig family's territory. The local faction within the Mage Alliance played a key role, helping Leonard suppress the Noble Alliance and then, through profiteering, allowing the nobles to share in the spoils.

"Rad, does your Bano family have enemies? I mean enemies among the nobles!"

"Of course there are. Bruce next door is one of them. There used to be more than ten meters of open space between the two houses, but he illegally occupied it. This bastard even built a fifteen-meter-high wall. Our garden doesn't get any sunlight for half a day."

"Then tear down the wall. It's not a big deal. I just need to practice some powerful spells. The hole through which the black snake passed should remain. It won't be difficult to destroy the wall a little further south."

Kaisas stood up and put away the half magic crystal in his hand. His magic sea was already overflowing and he felt a slight swelling pain.

"Rad, put the image stone away. My spell cannot be known to others now!"

Seeing Rad take out the photo stone, Caesars immediately stopped him.

"why?"

"My dark magic is different from others. You will understand when you see it!"

Rad put the photo stone away. He didn't want to ruin his friendship with Caesar, who was already an intermediate magician before he was even sixteen years old.

"Rad, my ancestor called this dark magic the Spell of Pain. All the spells I learned came from him!"

Kaisas said this with a proud look on his face, while at the same time, he began to condense the Corrosion Technique in his hands. This was an intermediate Corrosion Technique, which was fundamentally different from the primary Corrosion Technique.

A gray-green sphere gradually took shape in his hand. Although it looked ordinary, it contained powerful energy. Then, the sphere broke away from Caesar's control and rushed towards the tall stone wall at an astonishing speed.

When the gray-green sphere hit the stone wall, a turquoise ripple flashed through it, and it instantly struck the quartzite wall. With a slight sound, some white stone powder fell from the stone wall.

"Kaesas, the power of your spell is too weak, right? It just scraped off a little bit of the stone surface on the stone wall!" Rad looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help laughing.

"Rad, keep staring at the stone wall!" Caesars reminded.

The old man looked again at the spot struck by the spell, only to see more stone dust falling there. Just as Rad was puzzled, more white stone dust fell from the same spot. Rad observed carefully and found that the stone dust had fallen eight times, and a pit half a foot deep and more than a foot in diameter had appeared in the tall stone wall.

"Kaesas, this spell of yours is a curse, right? It can cause damage to the target every three seconds and can also interrupt the target's spellcasting. From the first time it hits the target until the end of the spell, it will cause a total of nine times of damage!" Rad said excitedly.

"That's right, Rad, you are indeed the person who is most proficient in magic theory in the North Tower!" Caesars exclaimed.

"The cumulative effect of these nine damages is truly astonishing!" Rad exclaimed.

"Rad, this is an instant spell, no incantation is required. I'll show you the second spell below, so watch carefully!"

As Caesars finished his words, the spell in his hand quickly coalesced, without the need for any incantation. This time, the spell struck the same precise spot. Rad was once again shocked. Another spell that dealt damage every three seconds, and it was also an instant cast spell.

Then, Caesars unleashed his third spell, another powerful one. This time, it pierced the solid stone wall, demonstrating astonishing destructive power. However, Caesars hadn't fully demonstrated his strength; with these three spells, he could double the attack power. Simply wielding the Frost Crown Badge and wielding a Dragon's Bloodwood Staff would unleash even greater power.

Of course, there are other ways to further increase the power of his attacks, but these are his last resort. He will never reveal these secrets until the critical moment. Because in this challenging and dangerous world, it is always wise to keep some backup plans.

Then, Caesar began practicing Shadow Bolt. The intermediate Shadow Bolt spell had a casting time of three seconds. However, the spell could be compressed, shortening the chanting time. This required constant practice. The magic notebook recorded a casting time of one second, which was the compressed casting time.

Although Shadow Bolt is not a spell, it is the most direct and efficient spell, and also the most practical spell. The mana consumed is relatively low, less than one-fifth of the mana required to maintain the spell.

As Kaesas continued to practice and experiment, he gradually mastered the technique of Shadow Bolt and was able to compress the chanting time of the spell to nearly one second. He felt that his control over Shadow Bolt was becoming more and more proficient, and he could feel the power increase with each release.

When the shadow arrow hit the stone wall, it no longer just dropped stone powder, but produced a powerful impact effect, causing the broken stones to fly everywhere. This effect made Kaisas excited, and he realized that this spell not only had offensive power, but also had a certain range of damage.

Throughout the day, Kaisas continuously unleashed shadow bolts, leaving countless deep holes in the stone wall, and even several holes pierced through. The once smooth stone wall was now riddled with holes, as if it had been through a fierce battle. Looking at his achievements, Kaisas felt a sense of accomplishment.

Kaisas knew this was just the beginning, and there were more challenges waiting for him. With his magic power exhausted, Kaisas picked up the magic crystal and continued to replenish his magic power.

Across the wall, the Viscount's residence was now in chaos and panic. Today, several powerful spells had penetrated the solid stone walls and directly destroyed the stables. And on the lawn not far away, the once smooth ground was now pitted and dented beyond recognition.

In the evening, the injured wizards gradually returned to the Mage Alliance, while the nobles returned home. However, to everyone's astonishment, they discovered that the Grand Mage, Bordeaux, had been carried off a luxurious carriage. The once awe-inspiring wizard now looked utterly miserable, his body charred black, as if he had just been pulled from a furnace.

"The great fire magician was burned like this, Joyce, it seems they encountered a really big surprise!"

Standing in front of the crystal window on the top floor of the Mage Alliance, old Jason, holding a wine glass, couldn't help but scream when he saw the scene downstairs.

"Old Jason, I bet they must have encountered a ground dragon. Bordeaux not only wants to obtain the fire crystal, but also wants to control the road leading to the volcanic group. Fortunately, this underground passage already has an owner!" Joyce's voice replied.

"Super Warcraft? Their luck is terrible!" Old Jason couldn't help but sigh.

As a superb Warcraft and a top-tier fire-type Warcraft, the Earth Dragon's favorite food is the Salamander. This behemoth is incredibly large, often exceeding twenty meters in length, and is covered in an indestructible layer of red scales. Both its physical and magical defenses reach astonishing heights, even granting it immunity to all fire spells.

"That's right, their luck was really bad. They accidentally broke into the lair of the ground dragon!"

At this moment, the two old magicians held crystal wine glasses and gently touched them together, making a crisp sound - "ding". They smiled, raised their glasses gracefully, and drank the mellow and fragrant wine in the glasses.

The two great wizards celebrated their victory, for the flames breathed by the Earth Dragon possessed an extremely high energy level. After being struck by such flames, Bordeaux would have little chance of recovery. Even if he were lucky enough to survive, he would undoubtedly be transformed beyond recognition, resembling a monstrous creature.