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"Protect the child first, Bai En!"
Jie Kai called out to Bai En, who was walking forward, and then charged towards the giant Iron-eating Rat himself. His crimson grimoire rapidly flipped pages, "Strength Magic, Gigantic Strength."
The ground beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb. Jie Kai leaped five meters high, then violently swung his fist at the Iron-eating Rat. The force generated a gust of wind, a whistling sound echoed in the air, and the punch, like a tornado, smashed down.
The enormous Iron-eating Rat was, after all, different from the three smaller Iron-eating Rats they had killed earlier. As its body transformed, it also seemed to have undergone an "individual evolution." Under the buzzing of the punch, pure black solid matter emerged, covering the Iron-eating Rat's entire body like armor.
"Bang—"
The fist collided with the black armor, producing a hum. The immense force caused the armor to collapse downwards, and vibrating black fragments scattered. Jie Kai was also sent flying backward by the reciprocal force, landing on the ground.
The hardness he felt when his fist touched the armor was like steel.
'This big guy can use magic!'
Before Jie Kai could think more, the enraged giant Iron-eating Rat slammed its paw on the ground. Sharp black iron spikes, like thorny flowers, shot up from the earth, spreading out in layers from its center.
"Strength Magic, Muscle Strength, Tenfold!"
Jie Kai's right arm muscles bulged, and the bursting force shattered the sleeves of his shirt. He unleashed a punch, and in the white gust of wind, the thorny iron spikes shattered in unison, recoiling to their original positions. Iron fragments danced like flowers in the storm.
Nancy and Bai En also moved to deal with the iron spikes attacking them. A wall of earth rose, blocking the scattered spikes, while Bai En swung his Zan Yan, and the invisible slash "Unravel," enhanced by his cooking utensils, flew out, directly leveling more than half of the blooming spikes.
The black tide of Iron-eating Rats spread downwards, reaching the open space in the blink of an eye.
"Be good, don't be scared."
"Big brother will take you to kill the rats."
Looking at the black tide, Bai En's eyes were cold. He gently comforted the crying little girl behind him, holding her with his left arm.
Zan Yan, under the magic "Extreme: Utensil Control," circled him like a swift and agile flying sword. As for his right hand, he held a small, deep-colored sword.
This was the second cooking utensil forged during his utensil tempering—"General."
Iron-eating Rats subsisted on ore for years, and their teeth had mutated under the influence of magic and their environment. While incredibly hard, they possessed properties similar to basalt, which also allowed the cooking utensil "General" to absorb Iron-eating Rat teeth and be continuously tempered.
Its growth completion rate was increasing.
"Here we go."
As his words fell, Bai En's dark eyes, looking at the tide of Iron-eating Rats, showed no trace of fear or apprehension. The glimmer that lit up was a fervent excitement!
Mana surged, and the shimmering white mana attribute appeared on his body. Magic Skin activated.
Zan Yan, flying at his side, was like a silver-white arc of light that was the first to pierce into the swarm of Iron-eating Rats. A blood-red arc flashed in the black tide. Although instantly covered by the black tide, that bloody light continuously flickered. Bai En wielded the cooking utensil General in his hand, plunging straight into the Iron-eating Rat swarm, using the Water Sword Style.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form, Striking Tide."
Blue water currents surged into the Iron-eating Rat swarm, tearing open a semi-circular gap in the black tide. Blood splattered in the air, and dismembered bodies piled up on the ground.
But the crimson-eyed, bulging Iron-eating Rats were like fanatics, charging forward without fear of death, vowing to annihilate the sudden stubborn obstacle in the surging tide.
"General," piercing the bodies of the Iron-eating Rats, continuously absorbed and melted their teeth. Viscous black steel liquid constantly flowed and swirled on the blade.
"Where is your brother?"
Bai En, in the midst of battle, suddenly asked the little girl. Zan Yan, which had been flying forward, returned to his side, and together with the dancing Water Sword Style, it reaped the lives of the Iron-eating Rats like a grim reaper's scythe.
The little girl with pigtails surveyed her surroundings. Although the blood spraying in the air made her a bit panicked, she was much calmer than when she was surrounded by three Iron-eating Rats earlier.
She murmured, "Just now, big brother led away a big... rat to save me, and told me to hide carefully, but I was found by three small rats..."
"I don't know where he is now... Big brother, please, save my big brother..."
Sobs faintly echoed in Bai En's ears.
"Can you confirm that the big rat your brother led away is this one?"
It was difficult for him to say such sad and distressing words to a little girl, like her brother might already be dead.
"Wo... I don't know..." The little girl, her arms wrapped around Bai En's neck, hugged him even tighter, as if trying to escape some reality.
After a moment of silence, Bai En softly replied, "Okay, I understand."
On the other side, Nancy conjured two earth golems with Earth Magic, and, wielding her greatsword, fought steadily through the rat tide. Iron-eating Rat corpses continuously appeared beneath her feet.
Perhaps having practiced the Water Sword Style with Zan Yan for so long, Bai En found using the shorter-bladed cooking utensil "General" a bit awkward. So, he simply used the magic "Extreme: Utensil Control" to manipulate General as well. A sword and a blade rapidly circled Bai En, forming a blade net.
He simply used his palms to release "Unravel" and "Sever" to supplement the blades.
The Iron-eating Rats charging forward were instantly cut down by the blade net. Bai En and Nancy, with extremely efficient speed, continuously cleared the rat swarm from two directions.
The Iron-eating Rats, with only their numbers and sharp teeth, were not as troublesome as the large, magic-wielding Iron-eating Rats. Three to five minutes later, the black, tide-like rat swarm was almost completely cleared by Nancy and Bai En.
The giant Iron-eating Rat also became a bloody mess under Jie Kai's fists, eventually collapsing to the ground, motionless.
"General" continuously moved through the carcasses, clearing the battlefield. The blade, having absorbed a large amount of steel liquid from the Iron-eating Rats' teeth, began to shed its color layer like rusty iron, and its deep color became richer. Its tempering level surpassed that of Zan Yan.
Watching a small sword pierce into the large Iron-eating Rat he had hunted, dissecting its belly, Jie Kai asked Bai En, "Is this your magic too?"
Bai En did not deny it: "You know, cooks need cooking utensils."
"Then why are there two?"
"Different situations require different cooking utensils."
"...That's pretty cool then." Jie Kai smiled.
He surveyed the messy open space. The Iron-eating Rat corpses almost completely covered the ground. 'These two guys haven't been in the Magic Knights long, but they are much stronger than I imagined.'
"These Iron-eating Rats all climbed down from above. Should we go up and check now?" Nancy looked at the numerous tunnel forks appearing above the open space and suggested.
"There should still be Iron-eating Rats up there, and this little girl's brother might also be up there."
"I looked inside the belly of that giant Iron-eating Rat, and there were no human remains. The time was too short; animals wouldn't digest that quickly," Bai En murmured. "It's just this little girl..."
If a battle were to occur next, being distracted by caring for a child would not be a good thing. Moreover, just like now, a bloody and violent scene could cause psychological trauma.
Jie Kai stared at the little girl Bai En was holding, frowned, and thought for a moment, "Let's take her with us. In this situation, it's impossible to leave someone behind to care for her or send her out. She'll be safer with us."
"Then let's go up."
The steep wall changed under Nancy's magic, with ascending steps leading directly to the tunnel forks above.
'I have to say, having magic is really convenient, huh.' Bai En couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Such a project would take at least a few days on Blue Star.
The entrances to the Fork in the Road were mostly pitch black. The ore interfered with mana sensing, so they couldn't be sure what was inside the tunnels.
After circling along the protruding flat edge, they found one entrance that was different from the others. Like the section of the path they had entered earlier, silver-glowing stones illuminated the way forward, and purple and green crystal stones protruded like clustered prisms.
The stones of the wall were of a different texture than before, dark and oily, like obsidian.
The three of them exchanged glances and, with a tacit understanding, proceeded towards this fork. Shimmering clusters of starlight, like little sprites, diffused onto the various glowing crystalline ores, which were concentrated, floating masses of natural mana.
The passage was not long; after an estimated one or two hundred meters, the light ahead overshadowed the silver-glowing stones within the cave. Their pace quickened, and the world suddenly opened up. It was a large flat area, just like before, but much more beautiful.
Dense clusters of mana, like fireflies, scattered throughout the air, resembling dandelions dancing in the wind in March. Large clusters of crystal ore, leaning against the walls, piled up, not uniform in color, but a riot of purples and reds.
"Crack—"
A sound like shattering crystals, or perhaps an animal gnawing, echoed in the open space. Focusing their gaze into the pile of ore, they saw two giant Iron-eating Rats, one on the left and one on the right, hidden within a large cluster of black ore, constantly gnawing at the crystals protruding from the wall.
As they discovered them, the commotion made by Bai En and his group also attracted their attention.
"Squeak squeak—"
With a gnashing sound, the crimson eyes that turned to look back were the same as the previous Iron-eating Rats.
The next moment, surging flames and condensed water spikes appeared in the mouths of the giant Iron-eating Rats. Mana surged, erupting outwards.
Nancy reacted quickly, her palm sweeping across the ground to raise an earthen wall. As fire, water, and earth shattered, Jie Kai leaped out through the stirred dust, attacking one Iron-eating Rat. As for the other, Nancy swung her greatsword, moving past Bai En.
With churning earth and flashing fire, and white wind colliding with water, the two giant Iron-eating Rats were clearly no match for the Magic Knights members. Previously, they had the advantage of numbers, but now, in a one-on-one situation, they lost their lives in an instant.
"General" reaped the fallen Iron-eating Rats. Liquid stained the blade, tempering the small sword. The feeling of not having to lift a finger and enjoying the spoils seemed quite good.
Observing the Iron-eating Rat's body, there were no undigested flesh or bones, and no other bloodstains or clothing on the entire ore clearing. Could it be that the little girl's brother wasn't here? Where did he escape to?
Or perhaps... Iron-eating Rats don't eat people?
Bai En always felt that something was strange.
Nancy seemed to have discovered something. She walked to the center of the clearing, threw a punch, and as the ground shattered and collapsed downwards, a circular hole nearly a meter wide appeared before them, revealing that the ground was hollow!
The deep tunnel led straight to the bottom of the mountain. The scorched soil around the hole looked finely fragmented and loose, as if corroded by some strong acid solution.
"This is...?" Jie Kai murmured, looking at the hole.
Nancy explained her actions: "I noticed it when I used magic earlier; it wasn't like the original soil. And through my senses, I felt that it was all hollow underneath."
"Let's go down and see," Bai En suggested. The little girl in his arms had been very quiet, just tightly hugging Bai En's neck, not disturbing the work of the Magic Knights. But from her somewhat pale face, it was clear she was very worried about her brother.
Nancy was the first to enter the tunnel, followed by Jie Kai, and finally Bai En, who was holding the little girl. The loose soil was softer than expected, and the complete absence of protruding rocks made the entire tunnel feel like a slide.
The descent speed was not slow, but they still spent a long time in the dark passage. This passage was quite long, extending all the way to the very bottom.
Vertical, orange-glowing rock formations hung like stalactites from the ceiling of the underground cavern. Bai En and the other two, having emerged from the passage, observed their surroundings.
Numerous glass containers filled with green solution stood before their eyes, with thick, intricate pipe lines. The brightly lit area resembled the research base of some nefarious scientist.
"Here...?"
Jie Kai was too stunned to say anything, only taking two steps forward involuntarily.
"Ah!!"
The little girl in Bai En's arms screamed. Following the direction of her finger, Jie Kai and the others saw a small mountain of piled gray-black corpses, densely packed with people... Before they could react further, in the center of the glass containers filled with green solution, Bai En saw a smooth stone platform with a small boy quietly lying on it. He seemed to be the little girl's brother.
He wanted to go over and take a look, but then magical fluctuations surged in the air. Black vortexes expanded on the ground, and several figures emerged from the vortexes.
'Spatial Magic? Who is it?'
"Nois, you're too late; the guests have already arrived."
In the chilling voice, Jie Kai and the others saw an acquaintance, along with three strangely dressed strangers.
Jie Kai stepped forward and questioned, "Nois? Why are you here? And who are they? What's going on with these corpses and strange devices?"
"What's going on? Bald uncle, isn't it obvious? We are the... villains, opposed to you self-proclaimed righteous Magic Knights! Haha!"
Among the three, the one with gray-white long hair and an eye patch covering his left eye laughed maniacally.
The black-haired girl with glasses licked her fingers, observing Bai En and the others. Her red pupils couldn't hide the naked excitement within. "It seems a few interesting test subjects have arrived?"
The stitched-face wack, dressed in a neat white robe with a three-eyed pattern in the center, stood there coldly.
Although it was their first meeting, Bai En recognized them at a glance: the minor cadres of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and the three who were ultimately sacrificed by Patry.
Valtos, the stitched-face user of Spatial Magic; Sally, the sadistic female scientist who loved research and experiments; and Ladis, who used Corpse Spirit Magic and was expelled from the Magic Knights.
Meeting them was much earlier than expected... "Senior Ladis, it's all your fault for delaying here. Otherwise, we would have already cleaned up the scene and left, wouldn't we?" Nois complained.
"Shut up, what right do you have to criticize me!"
Ladis retorted mercilessly, "Everything I'm doing is part of that person's plan. Those corpses are crucial! It's all your fault for delivering the information too late, only arriving after the Magic Knights entered the mountain!"
"There's nothing we could do, though. Who would have thought the Magic Knights would actually come to the Common Realm, which they usually ignore?"
"Alright, this isn't the time to argue. Let's think about what to do, shall we?" Valtos, the stitched-face, tried to mediate.
Ladis stepped forward, confronting Bai En and the others. An unusual magic surged in his palm. "What else can we do? Of course, we'll kill them all. I'm really looking forward to it, I wonder what it would be like to refine Magic Knights into corpse puppets?!"
The sound of bones rattling vibrated in the air. The small mountain of piled corpses actually came to life. One by one, figures like puppets pulled by strings slowly rose, twisting their body joints, and walked towards Bai En and the other two.
"The corpses... are moving?" Nancy said in disbelief.
"It's Corpse Spirit Magic. Be careful, these guys are not like the thieves in the capital. Their magic is very unusual!"
Listening to Bai En, Jie Kai asked, "You know them?"
"No, first time seeing them."
"...Three against four. I'll take the stitched-face and the cyclops. You two handle the remaining woman and Nois. Should be no problem, right?" Jie Kai maintained the demeanor of a Magic Knight senior.
Nancy instinctively targeted Sally. Almost in the next second, her grimoire flipped rapidly, and she slammed her fist on the ground. The earth immediately split into three cracks, and the ground collapsed or protruded like rocks.
"Earth Magic, Earth Split!"
Figures moved on the ground, and the battlefield was divided into the three sides Jie Kai mentioned. Standing on the raised rock layers, Jie Kai looked at the stitched-face and the cyclops in front of him, his mouth twitching slightly: "Seriously, I was just joking around, and you really expect me to fight two?"
"You're too honest, girl!"
Ladis looked at the bald uncle who appeared in front of him and said coldly, "Divided the battlefield, have we? That's fine too, we'll deal with them one by one."
Valtos used magic, and several different spaces appeared on the ground. The corpses controlled by Ladis emerged from them. Jie Kai's face turned grim: 'Spatial Magic? It's such rare magic... And judging by the magic emanating from these two, they're no weaker than me!'
'I think I spoke a bit too loudly just now!'
"Oh? Little sister, are you going to fight me?" Sally adjusted her glasses, a wild grin on her face: "Then come be my research subject. I haven't researched a Magic Knight member yet!"
"Gel Magic, Great Sticky Salamander!"
Countless purple gelatinous substances emerged from her grimoire, coalescing into a giant salamander. Sally stood at its apex, excitedly commanding the salamander to attack.
Nancy activated Earth Magic, and a greatsword appeared. She swung the greatsword, striking at the salamander's tentacles. The sharp greatsword cut through the gel, but the gel regenerated and reformed into tentacles that lashed out!
The ground heaved and rolled, and the giant salamander swayed, losing its balance... "I think we've met before, haven't we, Nois?" Bai En repeated his earlier question, only this time he provided the answer: "Two months ago, at Jasmine Restaurant, if I'm not mistaken."
"What's this? Still trying to bridge the gap between us? Sir from the Magic Knights." Nois had a faint smile on his lips, looking like a smiling tiger hiding his true intentions.
"No." Bai En shook his head, "Just asking."
"And what if we have met?"
Nois's smile slowly faded, "Do you think that because you saved me, I should give you a pass?"
"Or... do you find it amusing to face someone who was defeated by someone you defeated?" Nois narrowed his eyes, "Sir from the Magic Knights, I think there's something you should know?"
"People change. I am no longer the person who was once humiliated!"
His fiery red grimoire flipped open. He raised his hand, and a ball of fire continuously gathered in his hand, ascending into a fireball. The fireball grew larger and larger, and scorching heat waves rose in the clearing. The overflowing magic power alone far surpassed what he had at Moli Restaurant.
"This is who I am now!"
"Die!"
Nois flicked his wrist, and the fireball crashed down. Bai En's figure appeared somewhat small amidst the massive fireball.
But Bai En did not dodge. He pointed at the fireball, his glowing white grimoire suspended in the air. Zhan Yan swiftly flew out, cutting through the fireball like an arc of light in the air. In an instant, the fireball was split in two.
Another small sword shot out from the grimoire, directly embedding itself into the ground beside Nois.
Kitchenware - "General" Trait: Gravity, activated.
Mana Zone x "General", Gravity Zone fully open. Suddenly, a heavy pressure crushed down from the air. The fireball, split in two, crashed into the ground, scattering into countless tiny fire butterflies.
Nois was also instantly crushed to the ground, face down, unable to push himself up no matter how hard he tried.
"I told you, I was just asking."
...