Chapter 335 - 44: The Level 3 Wizard’s Reward

Chapter 335: Chapter 44: The Level 3 Wizard’s Reward

Mo Ning glanced at Princess Peggy and, with a subtle thought, deployed a tactic he had prepared in advance.

The Spiritual Power of the Thunder Shadow Leopard Fang Pendant hanging from his chest waned slightly as its usage count silently decreased by one.

The free-floating electrical charges permeating the entire valley instantly became active.

No one else noticed, but Mo Ning perceived it with perfect clarity.

A moment ago, he had willingly consumed a massive amount of Magic Power to create a Thunder Eagle with a hundred-meter wingspan. His goal wasn’t merely to intimidate the Adventurer’s Guild.

His true purpose was to artificially create a Thunder Force Field.

Normally, a natural Thunder Force Field could only form during a thunderstorm, like the one in Mist Valley during the second group assessment, where lightning constantly struck from the sky.

While the Thunder Eagle had seemingly vanished into thin air, it had actually released countless free-floating electrical charges, temporarily altering the valley’s entire environment.

The free-floating charges swirled like a tide, vying to deliver all sorts of information directly to Mo Ning’s consciousness.

Pointless, flashy displays of skill were never his style.

A moment later, Mo Ning used his Insightful Secret Eye to lock onto Princess Peggy’s left hand.

On her wrist, hidden beneath her gray robe, she wore a simple, ancient-looking Bronze Bracelet—this was the key piece of information transmitted by the free-floating charges.

The bracelet’s surface was inscribed with numerous circular symbols, and each circle contained intricate, minuscule patterns.

Though Mo Ning wasn’t deeply versed in history, he recognized them at a glance: the circular symbols were a classic decorative motif from the Era of the Floating City.

Floating Cities were typically circular in design. This shape maximized structural integrity, which in turn allowed for the largest possible interior space.

The circular symbols, which symbolized the Floating City, were known by historians as Floating Embroidery. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

In that distant era, Floating Embroidery was widely used in various decorative patterns, as it was believed to represent strength and power.

This very place, Furnace Castle, was a major ruin from the Era of the Floating City. It was also where the core engine of the Floating Cities, the Celestial Demon-Driving Magic Melting Furnace, was created.

The fact that Princess Peggy wore an ancient bracelet covered in Floating Embroidery on her wrist said it all.

"CRACKLE—"

An electric spark flared to life.

An illusory Leopard Shadow materialized instantly before Princess Peggy.

By using the Thunder Force Field blanketing the valley, Mo Ning could remotely project the Leopard Shadow, vastly extending his attack range.

This was, in a way, a synergy between the Carving and the Fang.

With Thunder Power as a bridge, the Phantom Carving and the Thunder Shadow Leopard were no longer separate entities.

Princess Peggy was stunned. She felt every hair on her body—even her eyebrows and the hair on her head—stand on end from the Thunder Power emanating from the Leopard Shadow.

She instinctively tried to activate one of her Witchcraft Items to deploy a Defense Shield, but it was too late.

The Leopard Shadow’s speed was beyond imagination.

It leaped forward, passing through Princess Peggy’s chest in an instant. Her entire body went numb, and she couldn’t even move a single finger.

Aside from that, Princess Peggy was unharmed.

However, as the paralysis subsided, her face paled. Her beautiful eyes were a mixture of fury and fear.

She could clearly sense that the object on her wrist was gone, evidently snatched away by the Leopard Shadow that had appeared so suddenly.

"CRACKLE—CRACKLE—"

The Leopard Shadow began to execute a series of Thunder Shifts.

As it was an illusion, the distance it covered with each shift was astounding, with a single leap spanning over five hundred meters.

In contrast, Mo Ning’s own limit was just over a hundred meters.

Furthermore, the illusion’s shifts consumed far less Magic Power—less than a tenth of what Mo Ning himself would use.

In the blink of an eye, the Leopard Shadow shifted more than a dozen times, leaving the hill far behind and reappearing on a distant mountaintop.

It opened its mouth, spat out the Bronze Bracelet, and Flower, piloting a metal dragonfly, snatched it from the air, disappearing with a SWOOSH.

The Leopard Shadow glanced back at Mo Ning before its body silently dissolved into electrical charges.

「In the valley.」

Mo Ning gave Princess Peggy a slight bow and said politely, "Her Highness the Princess, I am most grateful for the White Stone Kingdom’s gift."

Princess Peggy glared at Mo Ning like a furious she-beast, even baring her small canine teeth.

But the immense power wielded by this Black Robed Arbiter kept her from making any rash moves. She could only roar in silent fury.

Mo Ning paused for a moment before adding with sincerity:

"Please believe me, these ruins hide a great secret from the Era of the Floating City. It’s a secret that no one less than a top-tier Strong Person should meddle with. In fact, you are all very fortunate to still be standing here alive."

’This was certainly tyrannical and unreasonable.’

’But so what?’

’He had studied Witchcraft and strived to become powerful precisely for this reason: to force others to be reasonable with him, while also seizing the right to be unreasonable himself.’

Princess Peggy’s expression flickered, but ultimately, she said nothing.

’This Arbiter had already stolen from her; there was no reason for him to lie now. His words were therefore highly credible.’

As she recalled the artifact’s origin, her expression suddenly darkened.

’Mo Ning noticed this detail and immediately realized his earlier suspicion was correct—this Adventurer’s Guild’s venture deep into the Yatu Plateau seemed to be tied to an internal power struggle within the Royal Family.’

’But he didn’t care, so he had no intention of asking.’

He bowed once more and bid them farewell. "Everyone, I hope we have the chance to meet again."

"CRACKLE—"

He vanished in a flash of lightning.

Princess Peggy’s face twitched violently as she cursed inwardly, ’Damn that Arbiter. I hope we never meet again.’