The man in the black robe was named Samue, a high-ranking priest of the Mother Tree Sect, tasked with defending this area. Having just been promoted to a Third Rank Evil Sorcerer during a prayer ritual, he was quite content with himself.
If all the sectâs actions went smoothly this time, he estimated that his power could rise further, and perhaps he might become a regional leader of a province.
Initially, when he discovered someone rapidly approaching through the Evil Magic Array, Samue didnât really pay much attention.
It wasnât until several waves of flesh and blood creatures failed to stop the intruder that he realized the opponentâs strength was considerable. However, having just been promoted, Samue naturally wouldnât retreat without a fight.
Yet, standing before the opponent now, he realized he might have underestimated how troublesome this young man could be!
Just as he was about to ask, "Who are you?" he suddenly saw in front of the young man, a rapidly spinning silver metal ring appeared.
The silver metal ring had a diameter of over two meters and emitted a buzzing sound as it spun at high speed!
Simultaneously, strong energy fluctuations of metal particles spread out. Clearly, this was an advanced and rare Metal Series Witchcraft, but the problem was that Samue didnât hear any chanting from the opponent.
In the next second, the silver metal ring suddenly disappeared, and a warning bell in Samueâs heart resounded like a gong.
"Damn!"
Samue immediately understood he had encountered a tough opponent this time!
He cursed inwardly and, in a panic, rolled sideways to dodge.
Next, with his hair standing on end, Samue saw a blurred silver ring cut through the air, narrowly missing the hem of his robe still hanging in place.
Instantly, bits of fabric drifted down, and soon after, he heard a âchhâ sound from the large tree behind him, embraced by two others!
Even without turning back, Samue knew the tree behind him must have been split in response.
Despite being shocked, Samue reacted quickly, immediately casting innate wizardry and a kind of praying evil magic.
A blood-colored light film suddenly appeared on the surface of his body, followed by a layer of thick defense resembling dried tree bark.
"Crash! Crackle!"
At this moment, the sound of trees falling and numerous branches snapping rang out from behind Samue!
"Luckily I dodged, almost got hit! Damn!"
Just as Samueâs heart settled but was still furious with Rein for such an unannounced attack.
As he straightened up, intending to counterattack, Samue suddenly felt a stab of pain from his lower body. Looking down, he saw a silver ring seemed to emerge from below him and return to the young manâs front.
"Huh? Came out from beneath me? This thing can return?"
"But donât I have Tree Bark Defense and Flesh Light as protection? Why didnât they work?"
"How is this possible..."
With an incredulous expression, Samue focused his gaze and immediately saw the black robe cut at the thigh root, falling to the ground as a bloodline seeped from the exposed thigh.
"Ah!!!"
Understanding what had happened, Samue screamed in agony!
With his legs severed by the Sawtooth Ring, he could stay balanced if he didnât move. But in a panic, he fell heavily with a âthud,â and his upper body slammed into the ground, with his standing legs collapsing afterward.
"Ah!!!"
Samue lay on the ground, wailing in despair!
Not far away, Rein looked calm. He waved his hand, withdrew the newly mastered Third Level Metal Series Witchcraft, âSawtooth Ring,â and walked over slowly.
...
Minutes later.
Rein obtained the first-hand intelligence from this Mother Tree Sect priest named Samue.
He frowned slightly, arms crossed in thought.
"So, the incident in Ferdinand Forest really is a grand feast. Not only have most cult organizations come to get a piece of the action, but several human slave capturing teams are participating as well."
"Coordinated by the Mother Tree Sect, various cults have roughly divided up the region, except for Ferdinand City, and the Secret Snake Sect ended up with Basaran Town."
"Using long-lived and powerful Pure-blood Elves as sacrifices to receive a special blessing of the Divineâs descent, huh?"
"No wonder it attracted so many cults. Such a speed of strength enhancement is almost a system bug."
Rein couldnât help shaking his head slightly in amazement.
Knowing the intelligence, Rein naturally wouldnât leave Samue alive.
"Splat!"
The Hardened Essence Gold in his hand instantly morphed into a sharp thrusting sword, piercing directly into Samueâs head and quickly returning to its original shape.
Though Rein knew the core stronghold of the Mother Tree Sectâs massive Evil Magic Array beneath him was about thirty kilometers away, he chose not to destroy it. Instead, he, along with Qu Qi, hurried toward Basaran Town!
This was because, according to Samueâs account, the Secret Snake Sect followers assigned to Basaran Town had already left a day and a half earlier.
Though Rein had confidence in Lambertâs strength, that was at the Legendary Level. Now, with epic-level foes among the enemies, the situation was uncertain.
If viewed from above through Blood Featherâs perspective, one would see Reinâs movement was rather unique.
His overall movement path, if connected, would form a zigzag pattern, avoiding all the giant trees ahead. This way of moving seemed roundabout but didnât collide with any trees, and his speed was actually faster than charging straight through.