Chapter 507: The Gap Between People

Jie Ming recalled the mission before he fell unconscious and immediately retrieved his terminal from his portable spatial equipment.

He pulled up the previously recorded detailed coordinates and energy readings concerning the suspected enemy main base and surrounding troop movements, then submitted them as intelligence.

Soon the terminal responded: [Intelligence received. Preliminary verification indicates high value. Reward: 700,000 low-level military merit points.]

A considerable sum, but for Jie Ming at present, it was merely icing on the cake.

What he cared about more was the impact of the intelligence itself.

Viola leaned over to glance at the terminal screen and shrugged. “Too bad you were out cold for the past few days, so the submission is a bit late.”

“Several people already submitted similar vague coordinates for their main base a few days ago. After cross-verification, the general area has basically been locked down. Yours is more precise, but its value isn’t as high as the initial submissions.”

“Next step is a dragnet search across a spherical region with a radius of ten million kilometers centered on their main base—hoping to dig out those ‘missing’ high-rank wizards.”

Jie Ming nodded. He wasn’t surprised that other wizards had already thought of this search plan.

Wizards were all shrewd; if he could think of scouting the enemy’s range, others naturally could too.

“The ‘midfield zone’ between us and their main base has already been thoroughly plowed over several times by reconnaissance forces from both sides—nothing found,” Viola continued. “Looks like those guys really did place their ‘trump cards’ in deeper rear areas, most likely further behind their main base.”

Jie Ming frowned. “Wouldn’t that make things even more troublesome? We’re already at a disadvantage in troop numbers. Splitting forces to leave the defensive line and penetrate deep into enemy territory for searches is far too risky.”

“Exactly. But when it comes to the risks of rear-area searches, the other side faces the exact same problem.” Viola didn’t seem particularly concerned. “This is an open scheme. It just depends on who hides deeper, or whose ‘trump card’ is stronger and activates faster.”

“So from now on, small-scale, high-intensity elite reconnaissance and hunting operations will become the norm.” She looked at Jie Ming. “What about you? Once your injuries stabilize, what do you plan to do? Stay safe in the rear working on your research, or…?”

Jie Ming barely hesitated. “Once my injuries are stable, I plan to continue carrying out reconnaissance missions.”

Viola raised an eyebrow. “You nearly died out there… no, strictly speaking, an ordinary wizard would already be thoroughly dead. And you still dare to go back?”

“Dangerous, but the rewards are great.” Jie Ming smiled and flexed his arm, which had regained some strength. “Besides, actual combat really does accelerate the digestion of gains.”

He could clearly feel that although this injury had been severe, both his mental power and physical strength had improved considerably.

Especially his soul—while it had suffered tremendous damage, the adaptive evolution of the Body Forging Method had continuously pulled his soul along, rapidly strengthening it.

Once the soul injury fully healed, his mental power might barely catch up to the strength of his body.

Viola pursed her lips and didn’t try to dissuade him further.

The path of a wizard was one’s own choice; outsiders had no right to interfere.

“Up to you. Just be careful. Things out there aren’t very peaceful right now…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be cautious around sixth-ring wizards.” Jie Ming replied, his face showing lingering fear.

The exchange of blows with that sixth-ring wizard this time had made him deeply understand the gulf between ranks.

Even after making so many preparations, strictly speaking he had still lost in the end. He had only managed to counter-kill his opponent thanks to an absurdly unnatural degree of “death resistance” that defied common sense.

So from now on, unless there was absolutely no alternative or he had absolute certainty, Jie Ming absolutely did not want to clash head-on with another sixth-ring wizard.

“Sixth-ring wizards obviously need caution,” Viola shook her head, “but what I want to warn you about are the fifth-ring wizards.”

Under Jie Ming’s puzzled gaze, she explained: “You’ve been out there too long and aren’t up to date. Because the battle has escalated, large numbers of fifth-ring wizards from both sides are fighting outside, and some particularly ferocious ones have already made quite a name for themselves.”

“They may not have sixth-ring strength, but at the fifth-ring level, their combat techniques, spell combinations, and adaptability have all reached the pinnacle. Some can even tangle with or escape from sixth-ring wizards. These people are collectively called ‘elite fifth-rings’.”

She began listing them like treasured possessions: “For example, ‘Shadow Erosion’ from the Tower of Annihilation—specializes in spatial assassination. It’s said he once severely wounded a sixth-ring wizard who wasn’t good at perception and escaped unscathed. Then there’s the madman from the Chaos Secret Cult called the ‘Flesh Painter’—he treats biological modification like an art form and can instantly assemble temporary monsters comparable to sixth-ring combat power using battlefield remains…”

Jie Ming listened attentively. This was all valuable intelligence.

“…Oh, right, and the most troublesome one from the Chaos Secret Cult—codename ‘Holy Son’.” Viola’s tone became slightly grave. “This guy is basically their flagship among fifth-ring wizards.”

“Most elite fifth-rings only manage to escape from sixth-rings, but he—in situations where four wizards assist him to form a joint casting array—can briefly exchange blows head-on with a sixth-ring wizard without falling behind. Several of our reconnaissance teams have fallen to him. One even had a sixth-ring wizard leading it, yet he still managed to tie them down long enough for the others to escape.”

Holy Son?

Jie Ming’s expression immediately turned strange.

He recalled that fellow surrounded by four female wizards, eyes full of arrogance, self-proclaiming to be the Holy Son—only to ultimately be drowned under the Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light unleashed by fifty black giant priests.

Viola didn’t notice Jie Ming’s odd expression and continued: “That guy’s movements have been erratic lately, but the threat level is extremely high. If you encounter him on the periphery, your best bet is to run immediately or call for help. Whatever you do, don’t think about…”

“Um…” Jie Ming interrupted uncertainly. “Senior Sister, the ‘Holy Son’ you’re talking about… isn’t he rather good-looking, always accompanied by four female wizards who treat him with utmost respect like personal attendants? And his main combat method is having those four link their mental power to supply him energy, allowing him to continuously release spells approaching sixth-ring power?”

Viola froze. “How do you know that? You ran into him? Surviving that would already count as great luck… wait.”

She stared at Jie Ming’s expression—strange, with a hint of helplessness—and a ridiculous thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Her voice involuntarily rose several octaves:

“You couldn’t possibly…”

Jie Ming blinked, looking a little embarrassed as he nodded. “If no one’s impersonating him… then right before I was rescued, I think… I accidentally took care of him. Along with his four attendants.”

The treatment room suddenly fell into dead silence.

Viola’s beautiful silver-gray eyes instantly widened to saucers. Her small mouth parted slightly. The expression on her face—a frozen mixture of shock and bewilderment—seemed almost solidified.

“Ah?!!”