Chapter 339 - 245: Battle of the Floating Sea (2)

Chapter 339: Chapter 245: Battle of the Floating Sea (2)

The right to decide the method of travel before departure was a privilege only Tier Four Mages possessed. Even High-level Mages did not have it. In other words, in the Floating Sea, only Tier Four Mages were qualified to lead a team.

On one hand, Tier Four Mages were powerful enough to be considered a significant combat force in the Floating Sea, making Tier Three High-level Mages seem somewhat ordinary in comparison. On the other hand, it was because once a Mage reached Tier Four, the possibility of them being an undercover agent was practically nonexistent.

Regardless of the faction, a Tier Four Existence was a force to be reckoned with, especially a Tier Four Mage.

They were guaranteed to be in the upper echelons of any faction; you’d have to be out of your mind to be an undercover agent at that level. No faction would dare to make such a risky gamble. Of course, if a faction actually tried it, and that Tier Four expert withstood the test of temptation and remained loyal, then the original side would just have to swallow the loss!

Returning to the matter at hand, Isaac and the others rode a Magic Carpet, silently following the sea ship from a distance. Without a word, they quietly reviewed the intelligence for this mission.

Introductions?

There was no need. The two Tier Four Mages had complete dossiers on all of them—at least, all the publicly available information. As for the Tier Four Mages’ information, there was no need for Isaac and the others to know it.

Unlike Tier Four Mages, who were almost never undercover agents, it was still possible for High-level Mages to be turned, and the probability was quite high.

Therefore, information about the Tier Four Mages wasn’t provided to Isaac and his group; they might not even be given their names.

As for the division of labor for the mission...

There was no need to communicate that either. They were all High-level Mages, a profession that relied on intellect. They each had a clear idea of what they needed to do.

Of course, the main reason was that the mission was simple: just cause destruction. All they had to do was avoid a suicidal confrontation with a Tier Four Mage.

BOOM!

Just as Isaac and the others were silently trailing the sea ship, it was, as expected, ambushed. Beams from Energy Storage Magic Cannons converged on the vessel, instantly blasting it to smithereens!

Watching the defenseless sea ship, Isaac raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at the Black-robed Mage. ’Are those really just decoys? With no offensive capabilities, they were taken out that easily?’

’Then again, is it really that simple?’

Of course not. This was the Magic of a Tier Four Mage; how could it be a simple decoy?

A moment later, several bursts of dark Magic Power erupted from the direction of the cannon fire, corroding everything to dust!

Isaac’s eyebrow twitched again. ’A Wizard from the Curse Magic Faction... and a Tier Four at that. That’s a bit uncommon...’

’Or rather, uncommon in this day and age.’

Curse Magic was originally the most common and widespread Magic Faction among Legendary Mages, as this type of Magic was extremely easy to acquire and offered considerable combat prowess.

But Curse Magic had a major drawback—it was closely related to the [Mysterious] attribute!

The more [Mysterious] one possessed, the stronger its power!

However, this characteristic also came with a significant downside: the more people who learned it, the more the [Mysterious] attribute would diminish, thereby reducing its power. Eventually, it could even render the Magic useless!

This trait caused the power of Curse Magic to weaken over time. Coupled with the rise of other Magic Factions, the school’s decline was exacerbated. And while Legendary Mages have since researched methods to increase their personal [Mysterious] attribute and use it to further strengthen their Magic—restoring it to, or even surpassing, its former peak—the decline of the Curse Magic Faction remains an unavoidable fact.

Thus, to this day, Wizards of this faction were relatively rare, even among Legendary Mages. At least, Isaac hadn’t seen many.

In fact, modern Legendary Mages were, on the whole, not much different from Arcanists. Aside from their methods of increasing Magic Power and advancing through the tiers, they shared many commonalities. With more choices available, it was naturally rarer for a single faction to dominate.

But Isaac was only surprised for a moment before quickly shifting his attention elsewhere—specifically, to the ambush party from the Mechanical God Sect.

Although they were well hidden, it was a classic case of "for every clever trick, there’s a better one." The search Magic of Isaac and the other two High-level Mages was extremely powerful, and they quickly pinpointed the enemy’s positions.

However, the three of them did not act rashly. Instead, they looked to the two Tier Four Mages. Just as with choosing the mode of travel, this kind of decision could only be made by them.

Because this was a necessary route to several Floating Island Nurturing grounds, it was impossible to determine whether the enemy had just gotten lucky with their ambush or if they were acting on intelligence from a mole.

Therefore, they had to judge whether it was worth revealing their presence.

The Black-robed Mage’s eyes flickered. He exchanged a look with the Green-robed Mage, then turned to Isaac, nodded slightly, and said, "I’ll leave it to you. Any problem with that?"

Isaac didn’t answer immediately. He first re-confirmed the situation in those directions, then nodded. "No problem at all."

Two High-tier Mages, three High-tier Mechanical Constructs, and one Modified High Knight. To Isaac, they were all trash!

Isaac raised his right hand and made a slight grasping motion in the Void. An invisible Magic Field instantly expanded out from him, and before long, it had enveloped all of his targets.

"Authority Magic: Arrogant Turtle, The Ends of the Earth!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!~~~

Just moments after the Force Field unfurled, several explosions and violent fluctuations of Magic Power rolled over them. Along with the blasts came the information that the life signatures in those locations had completely vanished...

For a moment, everyone on the Magic Carpet stared at Isaac in astonishment. Although they knew from the intelligence reports that Isaac was an effective counter to the Wizards of the Mechanical God Sect, they hadn’t expected him to be *this* effective. Moreover, it was different from what the rumors described.

’This isn’t a technique from an Outer God?’

While no one knew exactly how many Outer Gods Isaac had made deals with, or how much of their power he wielded, they had a general idea of the types of power he commanded—for example, the massive Demonic Puppet Legion under his control.

The ability to bestow life upon Demonic Puppets so frequently and efficiently had to come from an Outer God. Therefore, their previous speculations about this particular technique of Isaac’s had also leaned toward it being derived from an Outer God.

But now that Isaac had actually used it, they realized it was a conventional technique?

They never expected that, aside from his talents as a Mad Witch, this guy was also so gifted in the field of conventional research. To think he could master an Authority that had never even been recorded!

And its suppressive effect on Alchemy Creatures was so powerful!

"Impressive!" The Black-robed Mage looked at Isaac and shook his head in admiration.

Isaac just smiled and said nothing. ’Of course it’s impressive. This is an Authority Magic I’ve tailored specifically for the Wizards of the Mechanical God Sect. Beyond simply combining the "Edge of the World" and "Cape" spells, I also made some modifications.’

’It’s designed to be even more effective against them!’

At least, while the original "The Ends of the Earth" was a strong counter to the Mechanical God Sect, it wouldn’t normally cause them to explode—unless they had modules modified for Immunity to the power of an Authority.

But now it was different. Even without that special module, they would still turn into a brilliant display of fireworks!

After a moment of surprise, the group continued silently toward their destination. This time, their approach was much more cautious, and they went completely undetected.

「Several days later」

Isaac and the others, still riding the Magic Carpet, arrived at their destination for this trip—the Chaotic Sky Sea!

The Chaotic Sky Sea was a unique area within the Floating Sea Region. It possessed extremely chaotic Space Laws, forming a powerful natural barrier.

"Split up. You’re on cleanup duty. We’ll handle the Tier Four Mages."

As soon as the words were spoken, the figures of the Black-robed and Green-robed Mages vanished. Isaac and the other High-level Mages exchanged a glance before scattering to begin their own operations.

Their mission was simple: eliminate all Wizards and Creations of the Mechanical God Sect within their perceptual range!

And then...

...they were to play it by ear. If something could be moved, they were to take it. If not, they were to destroy it outright.

It was that simple.

This was War, not some minor skirmish.

BOOM!

Not long after they separated, a scorching golden sun rose from the ground below. Isaac glanced back at it before turning away. Although it was Solar Power, such a crude application meant he didn’t even need to look to know it had to be Phoenix.

Iskander Mixiu’s application of the Fire of the Sun was nowhere near this unrefined.

Both drew upon the great power of the Sun, but Phoenix’s was dazzling, like a second sun descending upon the world!

On Iskander’s side, however, the Solar Power was subtle and hidden, yet all his targets were silently reduced to ash.

This was the clear difference between the two of them.

Isaac watched for a moment before turning his attention back to his own work. He raised his palm slightly, and an invisible Force Field spread out. Wherever it passed, brilliant fireworks erupted in every direction!

"The God-Usurper?!" A distant High-level Mage’s pupils shrank the moment he saw this, instantly recognizing Isaac’s technique.

Given the recent fighting, Isaac’s unique combat methods had long since made him a thorn in the side of the Mechanical God Sect. Naturally, they had thoroughly analyzed his techniques.

That was why they recognized it in an instant. A series of magical auras immediately bloomed around their bodies, a measure to ensure they wouldn’t be instantly killed by Isaac!

And as long as they weren’t killed instantly, everything else would be much more manageable!

However...

"Authority Magic: Arrogant Turtle!"

The invisible Force Field swept past, and the world... fell silent.

The High-level Mage, who had been frantically stacking buffs on himself, also fell silent...