Chapter 252: The Cemetery Thief

The inner ocean stretched out before my eyes, surrounded by the enormous ring-shaped island.

It was a sight that, despite having known it for as long as I could remember, could still awaken a certain sense of pride in my heart.

I blinked slowly as I observed our clan’s territory. Members of my people were scattered everywhere.

There were children laughing, and many of them were happily swimming in the inner ocean of Blazing Solar Light, chasing one another and playing as if there were no threat in the world.

It was noisy, but even so, that sound did not bother me. On the contrary. It made our clan seem alive and full of energy.

Suddenly...

BOOOOM!

An unprecedented explosion erupted at the southeastern border of the ring-shaped island. A rocky wall nearly a hundred meters long exploded into countless pieces. Stone fragments were hurled in every direction like deadly rain, crashing violently into the ocean of Blazing Solar Light.

A huge pillar of flames and dust rose into the sky.

My expression changed.

—Intruders?

I did not wait for confirmation and immediately advanced. Less than fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the floating island closest to the site of the explosion.

I stopped at the edge, half of my body submerged in the boiling ocean of Blazing Solar Light.

I extended my right hand, and my palm, large enough to carry a carriage, plunged into the ocean and gathered a huge amount of light energy.

Then I poured that Blazing Solar Light over my own body and began reciting an ancient incantation.

When I finished...

A huge, glowing pupil appeared before me.

Maintaining my concentration, I spoke:

—Powerful Spirit of Light... show me what happened there.

The powerful energy of the light element began to feed the eye.

It trembled, and the distant scene began to appear before me. But I could not find the culprit. My expression grew increasingly grim.

Around me, nearly a hundred humanoid spirit warriors were also watching the projection.

When they finally understood what had happened, their faces filled with fury.

—Those damn intruders!

—They’re destroying our home!

—They’re defiling our sacred ocean!

—Emperor, we must drive them out!

I clenched my fists.

I shared their anger.

—Follow me!

—Let’s drive these intruders from our land!

The warriors immediately began to move.

One after another, they boarded an ancient warship made of Blazing Solar Light rock. Soon, the ship accelerated across the ocean.

However, I remained behind, controlling the Eye of Light. I hoped to detect some movement.

The explosion had been enormous, yet the culprit had simply disappeared.

This made me even more uneasy. What did those humans want?

Was it merely vandalism? Definitely not... My knowledge of Human Mages told me otherwise. Those beings rarely did anything without a purpose.

Even when they appeared to act irrationally, there was usually some hidden objective behind their actions. They would not destroy our territory merely to vent their anger.

Then... If their true objective was not to destroy the ocean of Blazing Solar Light...

My entire body trembled.

—The cemetery!!!

I immediately turned around, and my voice exploded across the territory.

—All adult humanoid spirits must act immediately!

BOOOOM!

Another enormous pillar of dust rose into the sky, this time at the northwestern corner of the ring-shaped island.

—Damn it!

—Those filthy humans!

They had actually dared to attack that place?

—May they be devoured by the Spirit of the Sacred Lights! How dare they cause trouble in the place where our ancestors sleep?!

I pointed toward the location.

—Quick! Everyone, head there!

The warriors immediately began advancing, and some of them possessed the ability to use Light Teleportation.

I saw one of them crouch slightly. The next instant, his body disappeared in an explosion of light.

Two or three hundred meters away, another pillar of light appeared, and he reappeared. He had to wait a few seconds to regain control over the luminous energy before repeating the process.

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POV: George Gill-Mc

Nearly four hundred square meters of uneven terrain stretched before my eyes. Rocky peaks and stone pillars were scattered along the coast, forming extremely complex natural patterns.

But that was not even the most important thing.

At the center of the island...

There were nearly forty bodies.

The corpses of humanoid spirits.

Or, more precisely...

My original plan was simple. I would sneak into the cemetery, collect the cores from the corpses, and disappear without alerting anyone. It was a perfect plan.

At least on paper.

Because in reality...

It was a nightmare.

I approached one of the statues and struck it.

CLANG!

The blade of light shattered.

My expression stiffened.

What absurd defensive power...

These humanoid spirits were already known for the incredible toughness of their bodies while alive. After death, however, their luminous energy disappeared, leaving their conscious cores trapped inside what was essentially a natural suit of armor.

And that armor was ridiculous.

The stones used to form their bodies were extraordinarily durable, mixed with materials such as Thorium and Trinaium, all of the highest purity.

Materials that were extremely difficult to find.

I looked around.

There were treasures everywhere, and I couldn’t take them with me.

That almost drove me insane.

If the humanoid spirits returned after hearing the explosion, I would simply be slaughtered.

I was only a Light-element Pseudo-Mage. No matter how many tricks I possessed, against hundreds of humanoid spirits, including Level 2 existences...

I would be skinned alive.

I gritted my teeth.

Since that was the case, I would have to do things the hard way.

I raised my hand, and six Black Rock Basilisk cores appeared.

I threw them onto the ground.

BOOM!

Six enormous creatures began to take shape.

I looked at them.

—Destroy everything.

The six Basilisks charged forward.

And then the real looting began.

BAM!

A statue was smashed into the ground.

BAM!

Another was wrapped up by the body of a Basilisk and violently hurled away.

CRAAASH!

Rocks flew in every direction.

The Basilisks had absolutely no concern for delicacy.

However, I noticed something in the distance.

On the other side of the ring-shaped island, countless humanoid spirits were advancing toward us.

And at the very front...

There was a giant approximately seven meters tall.

The light energy within that monster’s body was so intense that my eyes hurt just from looking at it.

That was a Level 2 humanoid spirit.

And it was coming straight toward me.

There was no more time.

—Keep going!

I forced the Basilisks to move faster.

The longer I stayed here, the more treasures I could obtain.

And at that moment...

Every second was worth a fortune.

My heart was beating so violently that it felt as though it wanted to escape my chest.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

[Beep!]

[Extreme Danger Detected!!!]

[Run!!!]

[If you do not escape now, there is a 90% chance you will be killed!]

The Chip’s warning sounded in my mind.

I did not hesitate.

—Now!

I ran toward one of the Basilisks. It opened its mouth, allowing me to enter, and I jumped inside.

—Let’s go!

The Basilisk carrying me had all the treasures.

The other five...

Would serve as bait.

As soon as we entered the ocean of Blazing Solar Light, the Basilisk immediately sank.

Its enormous rocky body disappeared beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, the other five remained near the surface and began fleeing in different directions.

One moment, the ocean seemed calm.

The next...

BOOOOM!

Hell broke loose.

The humanoid spirits had arrived on the island.

While we were inside the cemetery, they had not dared to use long-range attacks.

That was the sacred land of their ancestors.

But now that my Basilisks had left...

There was no longer any such restriction.

—Solar Light Storm!

—Blazing Solar Light Release!

—Blazing Light Rain!

—Brutal Light Explosion!

Luminous attacks rained down upon the ocean.

The entire surface began to tremble.

Waves of energy spread in every direction, and a storm visible to the naked eye engulfed the five Basilisks.

My face turned pale.

—Run!

The Basilisks tried to escape.

But the attacks covered everything.

CRAAASH!

One Basilisk’s body was split in half, while another was hurled into the sky.

The luminous energy continued tearing through their stone bodies.

It was as if they were made of wax.

I gritted my teeth.

Two more were destroyed.

The fifth was still running.

Then...

A figure appeared before it.

He raised his fist.

BOOM!

The punch struck the Basilisk directly.

I felt its conscious core die.

But I had already completed half of my plan.

Now I only needed to survive.

I crouched down inside the Basilisk carrying me.

—Keep swimming.

The Basilisk dove even deeper.

It was only after we had traveled approximately eleven kilometers that I sensed a change.

Someone’s perception had found my trail.

That damn Level 2 had discovered my Basilisk hidden in the depths of the ocean.

I trembled inwardly.

But I was already far away from the cemetery.

Finally, I escaped the ocean of Blazing Solar Light and entered the tunnels leading toward the mountain’s outer perimeter.

But my expression did not relax.

The humanoid spirits were pursuing me.

And they no longer seemed interested in respecting the ancient contract established with the Human Mages.

They invaded the tunnels and advanced through the mountain.

And unfortunately...

There were other human acolytes in their path.

They were there to train and search for magical gemstones and underground materials brought to the upper levels by the Blazing Solar Light.

They had no idea what was happening.

Until the army of luminous creatures appeared and began a massacre.

A dozen acolytes failed to escape and were killed.

They were swallowed by the multitude of light-element creatures like people caught before a tsunami.

...

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