“The Bordeaux have been wiped out.”
“Confirmed?”
“Yes.”
“What about the Knight Clans?”
“After the first wave, they lost three Silver Grade 50% armors. They feel like the losses are too heavy and don’t want to send in more.”
“What do you mean lost? Did the Water Mancer duo take them?”
There weren’t many spatial rings even capable of holding Ebonstone due to its special properties. A normal ring would have all the Space Mana that made it up sapped and crumble.
Holding just one would take a specialized spatial device, and it would likely only be able to hold one at a time. What were the odds of them holding three?
“No. The armors were destroyed.”
“What?! Are we facing a Gold Mancer? What the hell are we still doing here? Retreat!”
“… There… there is no confirmed sense of Gold Mana in the field. Only Silver Resonance Mana.”
“That’s impossible.”
The response was firm and didn’t carry nearly the same hesitation.
BANG!
The two figures suddenly snapped back, their heads almost twisting from their necks with how much whiplash they gave themselves. In a single motion, they had retreated and unsheathed their blades.
“Oh? You want to attack me?”
The two shivered from head to toe when they heard the voice.
Across from them was a young man in his early twenties. He had a handsome head of blond hair and amber-brown eyes that seemed to give off a glow no less daunting and fierce.
The rain almost turned into a delicate mist around him before it could even touch him, vanishing into nothingness.
Somehow, this young man felt so bright, as though they were facing off against a Light Mancer. But… they knew well that this was no Light Mancer. This was a Dark Mancer, one of incredible power and repute at that…
Mason Zhen.
The two figures immediately fell to their knees.
“No, no, young heir. We wouldn’t dare.”
Mason chuckled.
Calling him young heir would actually probably lose these two their heads. Mason was only ranked second amongst Quasi Golds in his Clan, though he felt like that was only because he was too lazy to take first.
Either way, the title of young heir couldn’t be handed out so casually and had to be decided upon by the Patriarch and elder council. A random servant certainly couldn’t hand it out just because they so pleased.
However, Mason obviously wasn’t going to ding them for it.
“What did I miss?” Mason asked.
The two figures looked at one another and hurriedly filled the Grand Duke Clan genius in.
“He’s not dead yet? I only came here to see a corpse.”
The smile on Mason’s face was still there, but they both felt a cold chill in their hearts.
“Who is he receiving help from?” Mason asked.
“We… we weren’t able to confirm. We can’t find them.”
“Because of the rain?”
“We aren’t sure, young heir.”
The two were even more hesitant now. Controlling the rain seemed like an obvious thing to advantage Water Mancers, but anyone who knew how difficult it was to control Mana also knew that trying to control rain droplets was even harder than trying to wield a cyclone of wind.
Any Water Mancer would far prefer a calm lake to a rushing river. And even then, they would far prefer a rushing river to even a light drizzle of rain, let alone a heavy fall like this one.
“There’s no need to be surprised. Not all Water Mancers are created equal. I’ve heard of an exceptionally powerful Water Mancer Clan… the Black Clan. Their best also receive an exceptional boost in the rain. One could go as far as to say they’re invincible within the same cultivation realm beneath a storm.”
Mason seemed absent-minded while he was speaking, almost as though he was speaking more to himself than anyone else.
“We actually live beneath their umbrella. Our five provinces are only Empires in name. I wonder if at the exchange this time… if they will appear again.”
Mason seemed to recall a memory that made his eyes sharp.
“I will go personally.”
He had to see for himself.
If it had been someone else with these deductions, they would have turned and returned home. If the Black Clan really was involved, this was beyond something even the Imperial Clan would want to interfere in.
But Mason was really hoping that it was the Black Clan. That humiliation of all those years ago… he would undo it all one step at a time.
His laziness didn’t stem from any of the reasons others thought.
Shu.
A swirl of black wrapped him up and he vanished.
**
Theron leapt from the trees, soaring up, grabbing a branch and swinging himself forward.
His foot lightly tapped on a trunk, [Pressure Burst] activating along with [Shedding Water Skin].
The water beneath his feet exploded, sending him accelerating forward. At the same time, [Shedding Water Skin] dispersed the impact through his body, making it no less a force on his body than a normal running motion.
His speed shot up and his figure flashed above a horse that seemed to have a perfect copy of himself riding it.
He landed right on top of it, the [Water Clone] fusing into his [Shedding Water Skin] seamlessly without the slightest hint of wasted Water Mana.
It was a completely unnecessary flex. How could he ever run out of water in this storm?
But his Water Mana control right now felt smoother than it ever had before.
[Water Clone] was a half illusion, half tangible spell. He could create a clone with form, and a little bit of substance, but it was easily crushed as it had no strength of its own.
The illusion aspects triggered in turning the blue Water Mana into what looked like flesh and clothing. In this rain storm, especially after Theron’s session with Dean Pennel and the recreation of his father’s face, his [Water Clone] looked no different from himself.
‘Interesting.’ Theron thought. He didn’t think that someone so powerful would appear so early.
A line of darkness cut through the rain in his mind, radiating out a powerful intent that made no attempt to hide itself.
Theron’s thoughts, though, were elsewhere. He would have to kill everyone that came today so there would be no clear reports on what happened here.
What was the best way to go about that?