Chapter 585: Chapter 501: Fleeing
This part of the ability also requires the witchcraft artifact to resonate subtly with his own spiritual power and undergo dynamic adjustments, belonging to the "semi-manipulation" category.
But now, his damaged soul simply cannot provide the stable resonance support.
The good news is, the "acceleration" ability of the Void Step core, and the "basic stealth field" that interferes with energy detection in accelerated state, belong to triggered automatic effects, which can be maintained by consuming energy without needing precise control.
"At least... I can still run." Jeming breathed a sigh of relief; this was a blessing in disguise.
He then activated another witchcraft artifact storing the "Ruins Armor".
Translucent armor shimmered across his body surface, finally providing basic protection.
As for how to cover his tracks, Jeming pondered briefly.
With effort, he summoned a Black Giant Priest from his Inner Grotto Heaven.
This entirely pitch-black figure, holding a magic staff, just appeared, and the spiritual firelight flickered in its hollow eye sockets, clearly aware of Jeming’s soul anomaly.
Jeming offered no explanation, merely conveyed a simple command through the lingering soul connection, and then handed it a witchcraft artifact.
The Black Giant Priest nodded silently, mobilized spiritual power, and activated the artifact Jeming had handed over.
Soon, the witchcraft artifact released an invisible force that spread around.
Recorded on this artifact was the Cause and Effect Tracing Technique, and Jeming was having the Black Giant Priest cast this spell on his behalf.
Though the effect wasn’t as exquisite and thorough as if Jeming had cast it himself, it was sufficient to extensively disturb and cover the obvious information Jeming had left in the area.
As the spell was cast, subtle ripples emerged in the surrounding space, and some of Jeming’s "existence marks" began to blur and mix.
After the spell was completed, the Black Giant Priest’s spirit noticeably wilted.
Jeming nodded at it, retracting it back into the Grotto Heaven.
Thus, though this place would retain a trace of the unique elusive energy fluctuation of the Black Giant Priest, upon being retracted into the Grotto Heaven, this wave of energy became a rootless source, sparing any worry that enemies might use it to find him.
But this was still insufficient.
Jeming waved his hand again, releasing thousands of Patrollers like a swarm of bees from the entrance of the Grotto Heaven.
These were aerial combat cannon fodder units he designed early on; shaped like spindles, with streamlined metallic structures, and trailing ion jets from their tails.
It’s a pity Jeming advanced too quickly, without accumulating enough knowledge, causing these cannon fodder units he personally designed to be phased out of the battlefield.
In the current battlefield where Fifth, Sixth Level Wizards frequently clash, their once-proud speed and firepower have long become outdated.
But now, they had new uses.
Jeming took out the last deliberately retained inducement substance mixed with a trace of his aura, divided into small portions, and injected it into each Patroller.
Then, he issued the final command.
Whizz whizz whizz!!!
Thousands of ghostly blue light beams shot out in every direction, roaring away at extreme speeds over fifty times the speed of sound!
They will fly as far as possible before the energy runs out, scattering those enticing auras along the way, creating a large area of chaotic false traces.
Having completed all this, Jeming dared not delay even further, he turned towards the Nolun Workshop camp, pushing the Void Step’s speed to the maximum his current state could endure, and began frantically escaping.
...
...
In the monotonous and painful rush, time seemed infinitely prolonged.
Each stride came with a dull pain of soul tearing, each breath battled the pervasive sense of weakness.
In the midst of excruciating pain and sluggishness, Jeming’s mind involuntarily stirred up a long-standing doubt.
The Wizard’s magic system is vast, but if broken down by manipulation mode, they mostly fall into two categories.
One category is "hands-off".
Like the Fireball Technique, Ice Cone Skill, or even the Fire Extinction Divine Light he often used.
These spells, once the model is constructed and energy is injected and released, practically operate independently; though they can be manipulated afterwards, even if played subtly, their core power and effect don’t change much.
The advantage of manipulation more so reflected in accuracy and timing grasp.
The other category is "manipulation type".
Typical examples include Soul Search, Alchemy, Precise Element Shaping, High Tier Curse Implantation, and others.
These spells require the caster to continuously invest spiritual power for precise control from release to end, their final effect directly linked to the caster’s manipulation skill, potentially varying greatly.
Jeming had always wondered why the vast witchcraft artifact system within Wizard Civilization overwhelmingly featured "hands-off" spells in solidified recordings.
More often, reconnaissance, control, and auxiliary spells that require ongoing manipulation come in "self-buffing" or "triggered effective" automated or semi-automated forms, rather than types requiring Wizards to be distracted for sustained manipulation.
The manipulation type witchcraft more commonly seen in witchcraft artifacts is likely just Soul Search, besides which Jeming had rarely seen other manipulation type spells inscribed in witchcraft artifacts.
Until this moment, with a shattered soul, calculation power nearly non-existent, barely maintaining self-awareness in a desperate situation, Jeming suddenly comprehended.
This is wisdom tempered by blood and fire on the battlefield.
Witchcraft artifacts extend power, but more so serve as the final safeguard in despair.
When a Wizard is severely injured, with psyche close to collapse, unable to engage in complex thoughts and high-precision control, those "hands-off" spells needing only triggering to autonomously function, providing basic offense-defense, movement, and stealth capabilities become the last straw for survival.
"So that’s it... not for convenience, but for ’back-up’." Jeming sighs within, "With this, even under extreme disadvantage, a Wizard can maintain the most basic combat capability."
He could overlook this "common sense", perhaps precisely because he’d never been truly cornered before.
Luckily, he wasn’t a stubborn person.
Even if he didn’t grasp the deep meaning behind this prevalent choice initially, he subconsciously abided by this underlying rule premised on the notion that Wizards are smart people.
Whether reshaping spells, he instinctively chose "hands-off" as the core for the most basic offense-defense aspects, whether for Fire Extinction Divine Light or Ruins Armor.
Even in terms of movement, the pure acceleration aspect of Void Step needed no careful manipulation.
In hindsight, this unconscious act became pivotal for his struggle to survive now.
After more than ten days of continuous fleeing.
Jeming’s injury showed no signs of improvement.
His soul damage resembled a bottomless bucket riddled with holes; Qi Cultivation Techniques mobilized essence and transformed Divine Soul power, akin to ceaselessly filling water into the bucket, yet only able to watch as it quickly leaked away.
(Another Chapter ahead)
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