Chapter 243: Chapter 148: Witch Hunting Team, Yin Xue Severely Wounded
"The Wizard Hunter Team was at their wit’s end. In the end, they just switched tactics and started hunting the Turin War Chariots on patrol for revenge."
"But that just made things harder for us Free Mages," Zong Chengfeng said with a bitter smile.
Without the Wizard Hunter Team to keep them in check, the Witch Hunting Team became even more brazen in hunting down Free Mages.
What good would it do if the Wizard Hunter Team killed countless Turin People to avenge them after they were already dead?
It was because of this that Free Mages hadn’t dared to leave the city alone lately.
Pei Ze understood. He hadn’t expected the situation on the battlefield to change so much after only being gone for a few months.
"Gentlemen, shall we travel together?" Pei Ze gestured to his party.
Zong Chengfeng and his two companions were overjoyed to hear this.
They had wanted to return with Pei Ze to avoid running into the Witch Hunting Team again. They were just wondering how to ask when Pei Ze extended the invitation himself, so they naturally agreed in a hurry.
Along the way, Pei Ze asked for more details about the Witch Hunting Team.
According to Zong Chengfeng, the Combat Priests in the Witch Hunting Team were mostly Second and Third-Class Priests, with only a handful of Fourth-Class Priests.
However, because their bizarre Divine Art was so effective against Level 1 Wizards, many Wizards were no match for them at all.
As he said this, Zong Chengfeng couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Pei Ze.
’He was still puzzled. What method had Pei Ze used to kill that Combat Priest earlier?’
’Magic?’
’No, that couldn’t be it.’
’The effect of that strange Divine Art was comparable to a Secondary Spell-Nullifying Barrier. Once cast, no Magic below the fourth ring could be released.’
’And as powerful as Pei Ze was, he was ultimately still a Level 1 Wizard. Logically, the most he should have mastered were Three-Ring Spells.’
’A Wizard Artifact?’
’That was a possibility.’
Zong Chengfeng would never have guessed that Pei Ze had used Elemental Runes.
After all, in the perception of ordinary Wizards, Elemental Runes were at best slightly stronger than simple manipulation of Energy Particles. They couldn’t even compare to Engraving Spells, let alone display the kind of power he had just witnessed.
For the rest of the journey, the group encountered no attacks from the Turin People and returned to Red Maple City smoothly.
As they walked into Red Maple City, Zong Chengfeng and his two companions all looked immensely relieved.
The experience of being hunted by the Witch Hunting Team had been awful. The three of them secretly resolved not to leave the city again until the matter with the Witch Hunting Team was settled.
Pei Ze paid no mind to their thoughts. After bidding them farewell, he went straight to the nearest Slave Market.
Red Maple City had Slave Markets that specialized in managing slaves for Wizards for a fee. Pei Ze chose to leave the Hill Dwarves there.
If no new mineral veins required the use of these Hill Dwarves, their fate would be to be resold to the Slave Market.
As for the Golems and Puppets, Pei Ze stored them in his Space Ring.
These puppet life-forms could be stored in a Dimension Space—provided it was large enough.
If he hadn’t needed to escort the Hill Dwarf slaves to the mining area before, Pei Ze would have brought all the Clay Golems and Stone Puppets with him to save himself an extra trip.
After leaving the Slave Market, Pei Ze hurried to the Mission Hall, where he handed over half of the Mithril he had mined.
—With the restriction of an oath, no Wizard dared to cheat in this regard. The price was simply too high.
After more than four months of mining, Pei Ze had obtained a little over nine kilograms of Mithril.
Pei Ze thought for a moment and decided to keep the Mithril.
’After all, once his Alchemy Body was improved in the future, there was no telling how much Mithril he would need.’
After turning in the mission, Pei Ze went to the exchange and bought three Magic Stones, twenty grams of Aurora Dust, and one Energy Absorption Stone Mother in one go.
The Energy Absorption Stone Mother was only the size of a fist. It looked a bit like Obsidian, but its texture was very rough.
When held in his palm, he could clearly feel the Energy Absorption Stone Mother continuously absorbing his Spiritual Power, which was how it got its name.
"Eye of Omniscience, calculate the success rate of me forming a second Spirit Crystal while using one Energy Absorption Stone Mother."
[43.89%]
"Not even half..."
Pei Ze shook his head slightly, though he wasn’t too surprised.
After all, the second Spirit Crystal he was forming was still a thirty-two-faced one, making it far more difficult than for an ordinary Wizard.
He had expected to need more than one Energy Absorption Stone Mother.
"What about using two Energy Absorption Stone Mothers?"
[77.41%]
"And three?"
[99.25%]
"And four?"
[99.31%]
"Three and four are about the same."
Pei Ze pondered for a few seconds and quickly made a decision. He exchanged for two more Energy Absorption Stone Mothers.
Judging by the Eye of Omniscience’s calculations, a success rate of just over 99% was likely the limit.
’Then three Energy Absorption Stone Mothers should be enough.’
"Good thing there’s no real risk if forming the second Spirit Crystal fails. At worst, I’ll just waste some materials."
After buying everything, Pei Ze had just over three thousand merit points left.
"Spending money like water... and merit points, too."
Pei Ze shook his head and walked out of the exchange.
Back at his stone house, Pei Ze told Su Ya and Peng Yan to rest. He then used his Secret Technique Mark to send messages to Jiang Rui and Yan Dong.
They were the only two groups of people he was familiar with in Red Maple City.
Before long, both of them replied.
Pei Ze read their messages and then left the stone house.
Half an hour later, he arrived at a tavern and saw Yan Dong, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, sitting in a corner.
Fang Na and Cheng He were there as well.
After the four of them exchanged pleasantries, Yan Dong got straight to the point. "Regarding the Enchanter you mentioned in your message, I happen to know one."
Pei Ze’s spirits immediately lifted, and he adopted an attentive expression.
"His name is Guo Qi. He’s a Tier Three Enchanter and also a Second-level Wizard. He’s quite famous in Red Maple City; many Wizards have bought Wizard Artifacts from him."
"However, his prices are always very high. If you’re looking to buy a Wizard Artifact, I’d recommend using your merit points to buy one from the exchange. It’s more cost-effective."
Pei Ze hadn’t mentioned his reason for seeking an Enchanter in the message, so Yan Dong assumed he just wanted to buy a Wizard Artifact and kindly offered his advice.
Pei Ze asked noncommittally, "How’s the quality of the Wizard Artifacts Guo Qi sells?"
"Top-notch quality, better than the common goods at the exchange," Yan Dong replied without hesitation. "Otherwise, with his high prices, no Wizards would go to him anymore."
Pei Ze nodded, relieved.
’He wasn’t afraid of a high price, as long as the quality was guaranteed.’
’That was true for Wizard Artifacts, and it was true for knowledge.’
’His only fear was that Guo Qi’s knowledge of Alchemy Engravings might not be comprehensive enough.’
’As for the high price... at worst, he would just have to attack a few more defensive fortifications and earn more merit points.’
"Thank you," Pei Ze said.
Yan Dong waved his hand and smiled. "You helped us rescue Cheng He back then, and we still haven’t repaid you. A little information is nothing."
Pei Ze smiled and didn’t stand on ceremony. He had a drink with the three of them and then took his leave.
Now that he knew Guo Qi’s address, Pei Ze decided there was no time like the present and planned to visit him today.
He was no longer taking the Sacred Spirit Bud, so he didn’t need to expend Spiritual Power to eliminate the corrosion from the Power of Faith. Improving the Alchemy Engravings sooner meant he could use his Spiritual Power to accelerate his progress sooner, saving it from being wasted.
However, not long after he walked out of the tavern, a familiar figure suddenly flashed across his vision.
He subconsciously turned to look and saw that it was Yin Guang.
Yin Guang looked to be in a great hurry, his expression filled with unconcealed anxiety and worry.
Pei Ze’s expression shifted. He quickened his pace to follow and called out to him.
"Yin Guang."
Hearing his name, Yin Guang turned around and was momentarily stunned.
"Pei Ze... Sir."
Pei Ze looked him up and down and could tell that Yin Guang had just been through a fierce battle. There were still bloodstains on his clothes.
They were stains he could have cleaned away easily, but he hadn’t, which showed just how distraught he was.
"What happened?" Pei Ze asked in a low voice, a bad premonition creeping into his heart.
Yin Guang hesitated for a moment before saying, "My cousin is seriously injured. I just bought a healing potion from the exchange and was about to deliver it."
Pei Ze’s expression changed slightly. Without another word, he grabbed Yin Guang and pulled him forward.
"Talk as we walk. What exactly happened?"
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