Badge in Azure

As Jalin entered the cemetery of the giant, Saleen was surrounded by parasite puppets. His Magical Element Tower had been left behind in Daliang City as well, so he had no choice but to fight the parasite puppets the hard way.

Saleen understood why Jalin had done this. If he had been in Jalin’s shoes, he would have done the same thing.

However, even if he did have the time to weigh the pros and cons of the situation from Jalin’s perspective, he had to admit that, either way, Jalin had truly gotten on his nerves!

Jalin had done what she did not because she had Arbola’s support, as even if she was an unknown, low level mage, she would have still taken the same risk. Hers was simply the true and natural reaction that any mage who had seen an opportunity before him would have had.

At that moment, Jalin saw the hexagonal magic array, but she really did not see that signet on the gravestone. A level ten Water Shield could last for a very long time, and Saleen knew that those level eight or nine parasite puppets were unable to do him any harm for the time being.

Saleen then said, “Masters, there is no need for you all to do anything. Gusion, take cover. Rossen, get back here.”

After he gave these orders, Saleen unleashed the 24 ancient figures and arranged for the soldiers to protect the sorcerers. The figures then ventured outside the protection of the Water Shield. Saleen had exhausted half of his magic chords to cast the Water Shield, but luckily, his magic chords had recovered a bit within several minutes.

This was because the level nine magic nucleus that was in his hand provided him with elemental power continuously. While there was no way that he could have used the elements in his surroundings in one such environment, the speed at which his magic chords were replenished using the magic nucleus was tens times faster.

The sorcerers all watched Saleen nervously. Four of those sorcerers could not help but cast level one illumination spells, thus expanding their visibility by hundreds of meters.

Before, Saleen’s Water Shield had reached such an intricate level that when they peered at it from the inside, the sorcerers were simply unable to see the edge of it. Now, their sight was totally unhindered. But, if one peered through the shield from the outside, one was still only able to see little else but mist.

The ancient figures were very nimble as they were swinging their halberds and cleaning up any approaching parasite puppets. On the other hand, the parasite puppets were stiff, and when they fell from above, they were quickly reduced to scattered parts, which, when pieced together, were simply not tough enough to sustain themselves.

The halberds were heavy and the figures were somewhat stronger than the demons, so they used the backs of their blades instead of the edges. The figures were knocking on the parasite puppets’ heads lightly with the back of their halberd blades. Their heads were even harder than metal, but were still rather brittle.

It was easy for them to withstand blows from sword blades, but the halberds were very, very heavy. Furthermore, they had to contend with the massive power and highly skilled techniques of the figures. As such, the puppets’ heads were quickly crushed and scattered about on the ground.

The head is indeed their weakness! Saleen thought. He was relieved to see such an outcome.

The parasite puppets had long bodies and were about a meter and a half tall, with a tail that served as a means of balancing their bodies. The parasite puppets’ claws were rather unique, as they had one extra joint as compared to common magic beasts and were over 50 percent longer. Furthermore, they were retractable.

As the stiff-moving parasite puppets had their heads crushed by the ancient figures one by one, the sickening sounds reverberated throughout the empty cave. By listening to these reverberations, Saleen was able to tell the size of the cave.

Saleen figured that the cave was about 10 miles high, and he could clearly see about three and a half miles in front of him. Judging by the sounds, there was no indication that there was anything else in the vicinity. The cave seemed like an enormous egg, with a top that was completely sealed.

Saleen was currently positioned on one side of the egg-shaped cave. The cemetery of the giant was at the center of the egg-shaped cave. There was a carving of the giant on the ground, which Saleen assumed marked the entrance to the cemetery.

The King of Glory had constructed the cemetery to mourn his brother, which meant that it would not have been completely sealed. This was because no one dared to disobey his words when he was alive.

Saleen was able to tell quite a lot of things by observing this scene. But, the question remained… How can one get out of here?

Even if he knew the place like the back of his hand, it would not have done him any good if there was no possible way of escaping it. Moreover, being surrounded by parasite puppets was not something that could be resolved using the ancient figures alone.

At that moment, Saleen saw many more parasite puppets began to move nimbly about. They were scurrying along the ground and pouncing on the ancient figures.

The ancient figures swung their halberds and were able to keep themselves safe for the moment, while several of the parasite puppets blasted onto the surface of the Water Shield and were thrown into the air, their bodies quickly disintegrating mid-air. The level ten Water Shield was no longer a purely defensive spell, and it just so happened that its retaliatory power was the limit of what the parasite puppets were able to withstand.

“Saleen, let’s go.” Sika did not want to continue taking such risks here.

Sika certainly did not care about what the cemetery held, but the reason for such hesitance to remain was that the entire space of the cemetery was very eerie and was devoid of all signs of life, which made Sika very uneasy.

Saleen gave SIka a bitter smile, then said, “Well… We can’t fly up there. Do you feel that?”

Sika shook her head shook. Then, her body rose slowly and she quickly burst through the protection of the Water Shield, only to quickly drop back down again. Although the sorcerers looked at Sika with envy, they also found a serious problem… Sika’s flying skills had ceased to work!

“What about you, Gusion?” Saleen asked the golden grand swordmaster.

Gusion nodded, then said, “I’m still able to fly, my liege, but my flight powers are suppressed. Now, they are just a tad stronger than a level eight silver grand swordmaster’s.”

Upon hearing this, Saleen knew right away that Gusion was unable to fly to such heights as well. The egg shell was about 10 miles tall, and it puzzled Saleen as to how such a huge space had been created underground. If that space was real, the entire Daliang City would be doomed if the place collapsed.

Saleen’s flight skills were being suppressed as well, but he was hardly worried about it. This was because he knew that he could still slowly rise up using Quickcloud. But, even then, Quickcloud would have trouble bringing others as well.

Using this plan, Saleen, Sika, and Gusion would be able to escape from the entrance above them, as long as the entrance was devoid of enemies. Still, Saleen had to wonder… What about the others? Those 12 level nine sorcerers brought over two dozen grand mages with them…

However, those mages were of no importance to Saleen, especially since he planned to construct a magic net. But, before his enchanters were done being trained in order to accomplish this feat, those mages would serve as the main forces in battle.

Saleen thought for a bit, then slowly moved forward and unleashed even more ancient figures. As Saleen moved, the Water Shield moved alongside him. The mages were puzzled by this until they looked up and saw the gravestone was right before their eyes!

“Everyone, Jalin has entered the cemetery! Take a good look at the words on the gravestone and decide for yourselves…” Saleen closed his eyes and began doing some calculations in his head.

The warning in the air was no longer heard, which meant that the true attack was about to start. The sorcerers’ reactions all differed from one another after reading the words on the gravestone. There were a few mages who did not recognize the signet and were eager to try, while all of the others looked troubled.

“Your highness. The cemetery is right here and won’t be going anywhere. Let’s head back and search the records to see which giant the cemetery was built for and what kind of battles took place here,” the oldest of the sorcerers said.

He then added, “This place is definitely the site of a battlefield. The giant’s body was buried right where it died, instead of being moved elsewhere. The enemy of the giant probably died here as well. So, it’s not necessary for us to enter the cemetery, as we wouldn’t really gain anything by doing so. It’s all the same if we just search the giant’s body.”

Upon hearing this, Saleen opened his eyes and nodded to the sorcerer. “You’re right. But, Jalin has already ventured inside, so are we just supposed to leave her there?”

“Your highness, you are not the one who let Jalin go in there alone. We will all serve as your witnesses regarding that!” all of the sorcerers declared in unison. They had come to resent Jalin as much as Saleen did after they had found out what she had done.

The reason they said this was because they knew that the cemetery was filled with many dangers, and if Jalin died inside it, everyone present would suffer Arbola’s wrath. But, if they were to go inside and help Jalin, they would all have to bear the curse of the King of Glory.

Saleen was especially sensitive to the curse. After his astrological proficiency was raised to level nine, Saleen became aware of a certain level of rules regarding fate.

Even if no tangible harm came to him if he entered the cemetery, his luck would surely take a turn for the worse. In fact, it would be far worse than even what he had suffered when he was young!

The thing with fate was that, while it was intangible and imperceptible, it was still entwined with everyone else nonetheless.

Moreover, a person’s fate was never truly unchanged. For instance, if one’s fate looked incredibly smoother and better than most, in usual circumstances, their speed of advancement would also be far quicker than most if they were to become professionals. Furthermore, people with good fates lived longer than most.

However, if one was to take part in doing something ridiculous, such as fighting a level 18 enemy, that person would end up dead, regardless of whether his fate had been very good up until that time.

The astrologers said that a person was able to take the reins and control his own fate. What they basically meant was that people should not do anything stupid, and that they should always weigh the pros and cons of their actions before doing anything rash.

“Since this is everyone’s unanimous decision, we’ll leave,” Saleen said.

He then sighed as he thought about everything. There was no way that he would have gone to rescue Jalin, especially when such a rescue brought with it the risk of shouldering the curse of a level 18 powerful one! As for things with Arbola, Saleen had ceased thinking about those consequences.

“Is everyone accounted for?” Saleen asked, while he had the troops turn their magic lamps to the brightest setting and instructed the sorcerers to count their people.

There were only eight from Saleen’s side, five of whom were grand swordmasters-to-be and Gusion’s subordinates. None of these people were capable of flying. As for the sorcerers, they had 101 survivors on their side.

Saleen then said, “My elemental creatures are capable of providing one hour’s worth of wind element power. Do your best to bring as many as you can. I’m unable to see the exit up there clearly, but since the puppets are able to fall from there, the exit must be rather big.”

The sorcerers nodded, signaling their agreement to Saleen’s suggestion. Without Saleen’s elemental creatures, those people would have had to search for the edge of the cave and climb up to the top to search for an exit.

“None shall leave!” Suddenly, a huge booming voice, and a strong light was seen shining down on them from above. The people in the dark were unused to the sudden brightness, so they shielded their eyes with their hands and gasped.

Saleen pushed his mask down, and as he looked through the Starline Mask, it seemed that large amounts of magic arrays had been lit up at the top of the eggshell. They were now shining brightly throughout the entire space.

Saleen’s sight was restored and he felt that the elements in the air were no longer as thin as they had been before. While the power of his magic was not fully restored yet, his Elemental Eye was still able to see five miles away.

But, after using the Starline Mask, Saleen quickly discovered that the thunder dragon’s eye that had been crafted onto the mask allowed him to see over 15 miles away! Saleen realized right then and there that even a level 15 thunder dragon possessed incredibly powerful lightning rules, which were completely unhindered, even in such an intense environment. Upon realizing this, Saleen’s confidence grew a bit stronger.