Chapter 299: Fallen Rank Four
Sein’s casual conversation with Eileen was a brief respite amidst tension caused by relentless wars.
Sein still remembered the “special gift” Eileen had promised to give him before his departure from the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame’s space fortress.
Curiosity lingered in Sein’s mind about this “special gift”. However, neither Sein nor Eileen spoke of it ever since.
On the third day after their conversation through the crystal ball ended, Sein found himself once again mobilized for a mission by the command center of the fortress.
In the war zone where Sein operated, Master Bernice held command.
Up to this point, Sein had yet to personally witness the prowess of the formidable Rank Four mage.
Rumors within the fortress spoke of Master Bernice’s engagements with the silver mecha from the Neisse Civilization over the past year, successfully repelling it each time.
Yet, such battles seemed to occur beyond the visibility of lower-ranking mages like Sein.
Seasoned mages, who had participated in many interplanar warfare, often cautioned the less experienced mages about the perils of engaging in close proximity to battles involving Rank Four beings.
The residual effects of such confrontations could pose significant risks to mages of lower strength.
The battle between Bernice and the silver mecha, along with similar encounters between Rank Four beings, consistently occurred outside the vicinity of the Magus Civilization Army’s main forces.
This suggested that Bernice and the other Rank Four and above beings from the Magus World were deliberately keeping their battles away from the main forces to minimize risks to their forces.
The strategic approach of the Magus Civilization, led by several divine towers, emphasized a slow and steady advancement, contrasting sharply with the Neisse Civilization’s increasingly desperate tactics.
The mecha armies of the Neisse Civilization, finding themselves at a disadvantage, might even resort to extreme measures against the Magus Civilization Army, potentially sacrificing their Rank Four mechas in a bid to inflict as much damage as possible on the lower ranks of the Magus Civilization Army.
Had the Neisse Civilization desired escape, they might have attempted it at the battle’s onset before the Magus Civilization Army could adequately respond.
However, the prevailing actions suggest a grim resolve among the forces of the Neisse Civilization to face annihilation rather than retreat.
Nevertheless, the three Rank Four and above mages from the Magus Civilization were vigilant in preventing them from breaching their defenses and reaching the lower ranks of the Magus Civilization Army.
Sein never directly observed Bernice in action but had once been informed by a Rank Three grand mage during a mission. The grand mage pointed toward the brooding dark clouds gathered in the distant skies and said, “The tower master is currently fighting a Rank Four mecha from the Neisse Civilization over there.”
Despite the intermittent shifting hues of the clouds, lower ranking mages like Sein were unable to discern any details of the battle.
The only indication of the conflict was a series of deep, rumbling sounds that echoed from the distant sky, leaving them uncertain whether they were hearing the reverberations of muffled thunder or some other unseen turmoil.
Half a year later, the fortress buzzed with the joyous news that Master Bernice had defeated the silver mecha, which had previously injured Master Gregory in an ambush, above the Red Sea!
The announcement of victory arrived so unexpectedly that many mages of the Magus World were momentarily stunned upon hearing the news.
Sein, who was recuperating within the space fortress at the time, learned of the triumph immediately.
The news spread swiftly among the mages, relayed through both the crystal ball network and voice transmission system within the fortress.
Three days after this announcement, Sein saw Master Bernice and the defeated silver mecha that had been a formidable enemy to the Magus Civilization Army.
Enveloped in yellow-green elemental light, Bernice slowly descended from the sky above the crimson sea of molten lava.
The display of her immense elemental power served as a reminder of her formidable strength to those who witnessed it.
Like Sein, many other mages who had remained in the fortress eagerly craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the esteemed Rank Four mage from the Magus World.
Beside Bernice, a colossal silver mecha of over a thousand meters tall floated gently.
While dwarfed by a space fortress spanning ten thousand meters in diameter, the sheer scale of the mecha still astounded Rank One or Two mages with its unimaginable proportions.
Bernice, having reverted to her human form and standing merely about two meters tall, seemed minuscule beside the silver mecha that could scrape the sky.
Yet, she radiated with a dazzling, potent elemental force.
Sein had previously observed Master Bernice during the faction’s gathering, and had been impressed by her imposing stature.
His keen eye caught a detail others might overlook—two of the four metal bracelets around Bernice’s wrists and ankles were now missing, leaving only those on her right hand and left ankle relatively intact.
These minor details hinted that Bernice’s victory over the silver mecha was not achieved without any cost.
Compared to Bernice, it was the battered silver mecha that truly captivated the tens of thousands of mages assembled around the space fortress.
Its surface, marred with black scratches all over it, bore witness to the intense battle it had endured.
For some reason, the massive dent in its chest, spanning over a hundred meters, reminded Sein of Master Gregory’s iron fists when he transformed into an elemental giant.
Apart from the very noticeable dent in its chest, the mecha was also dented in its arms, neck, head, and back by varying degrees of impacts.
Since Sein had studied the mechas of Neisse Civilization extensively during this period of time, he quickly noticed several “hatches” on the colossal silver mecha, which were presumably entrances to the cockpits for the pilots.
“These mechas from the Neisse Civilization's constructs are indeed formidable, but their engineer’s intrinsic vulnerability is a significant flaw. Similarly, mages could hardly withstand physical attacks without the protection of elemental shields. In this aspect, the engineers of Neisse Civilization are at an even greater disadvantage compared to the mages of the Magus World,” Sein observed quietly.
The remnant of silver mecha, with the battle prowess of a Rank Four creature, significantly boosted the morale of the Magus Civilization Army in the Viridian Venom Flame World.
This victory was sure to inspire mages in other war zones soon as well.
The immense Rank Four mecha was no simple trophy for even a Rank Four mage like Bernice to secure.
Under her control, the massive silver mecha was gradually guided through the space fortress’s bottom hatch.
The space fortress from the Magus World easily housed the Rank Four mecha.
This capture marked one of the most prized trophies obtained by the Magus Civilization Army in the Viridian Venom Flame World.