Annihilation

An adult Blue Jaw Feather pecked its enormous beak into the earth. As it dug up a fresh moss root, the two huge round holes above its beak took a deep sniff.

The crisp, refreshing moss root failed to draw the adult Blue Jaw Feather's attention.

That was because more of its attention had been captured by the fragrance it had just smelled.

"Chirp chirp, caw!" A rapid, rhythmic cry came from the adult Blue Jaw Feather.

As soon as it called out, several nearby Blue Jaw Feathers turned to look in its direction.

As Demonized Creatures superior to ordinary beasts, Blue Jaw Feathers clearly possessed considerable intelligence and pack coordination.

A flock with more than twenty adult Blue Jaw Feathers was not something even an ordinary Intermediate Magical Beast would choose to confront head-on.

Only exceptional Intermediate Magical Beasts like the Saltwater Crocodile Saine had previously slain, or large magical beasts clad in heavy scales, could steadily overpower Blue Jaw Feathers.

But even a Saltwater Crocodile would have to turn around and leave if the number of adult Blue Jaw Feathers exceeded forty, or if there were both a male and female bird king.

Cases of ants biting an elephant to death were not uncommon in the underground world.

But no matter how intelligent Blue Jaw Feathers were or how outstanding their flock coordination might be, they were ultimately just a flock of beasts.

How could their intelligence possibly compare to humans, the primates of all things, let alone learned magicians who wielded Elemental Power?

When a group of six Blue Jaw Feathers was lured in by the Sweet Berries Saine had arranged, he knew that nearly half of his academy mission had already been completed.

After the six Blue Jaw Feathers entered Saine's ambush site one after another, he did not immediately make his move, but continued to wait.

Magicians never lacked patience. It was a quality cultivated through countless days and nights of tediously conducting magical research at the Laboratory Table.

Just like when Saine faced the Saltwater Crocodile, far stronger than himself, he had kept searching for an opportunity.

The Blue Jaw Feathers before him did not make Saine lower his guard merely because their individual Combat Power was weaker than his.

Sure enough, as time passed, more and more Blue Jaw Feathers were drawn in by the Sweet Berries.

When a total of seventeen adult Blue Jaw Feathers had entered Saine's ambush site, and even the Blue Jaw Feather King he had been watching closely finally stepped into the area scattered with Iron Phosphorus Powder, dragging its two vivid tail feathers behind it, Saine finally moved.

A low, suppressed chant of magical incantation rose.

Scorching Fire Element particles gradually filled the surrounding space, making the keenly perceptive Blue Jaw Feather King let out an agitated cry.

Just as the Blue Jaw Feather King urged its subordinates to leave, a blazing wall of fire over two meters tall and nearly five meters wide suddenly appeared in the darkness!

This was the intermediate spell Saine had only recently mastered—Fire Wall.

The instant Fire Wall appeared, it did not inflict any obvious damage upon the Blue Jaw Feather flock, but it ignited the Iron Phosphorus Powder Saine had buried beforehand.

Even fiercer flames and an even broader wall of fire appeared in this world that had once been silent and dark!

The sharp, terrified cries of the Blue Jaw Feathers rang incessantly in Saine's ears from that moment onward.

As the Blue Jaw Feather flock fell into chaos and terror over the sudden change, Saine, hidden in the darkness, never stopped chanting.

Another Fire Wall emerged in the space amid Saine's chanting, faintly sealing off the Blue Jaw Feather flock's retreat.

In truth, Fire Wall did not last very long. The reason the flames before them burned ever more fiercely and spread across an ever wider area was, on one hand, the effect of the Iron Phosphorus Powder, and on the other, the fact that the underground moss in this Moss Field was itself highly flammable.

After casting two Fire Walls, Saine did not continue squandering his mana. Instead, he gripped the Strong Acid Scepter as he slowly recovered his Mental Strength and mana, his eyes fixed tightly on the Blue Jaw Feather flock at the heart of the sea of fire.

Amid the Blue Jaw Feather King's unceasing shrieks and cries, the adult Blue Jaw Feathers in the sea of fire repeatedly tried to break outward, seeking a life passage where the flames were weaker.

Even the Blue Jaw Feathers outside the sea of fire that had not originally been lured over by the Sweet Berries attempted to charge into the flames and rescue their king under the bird king's urging commands.

This was a "feast" of flames and extinguished lives.

As Blue Jaw Feathers lost their strength beneath the burning flames and became chunks of charcoal, Saine's heart eased considerably.

Also watching this Flame Feast were the Underground Humans who had long since crouched and hidden around Gray White Valley.

The might of magic drove these humans' fear and worship of Saine, and of Black Magicians, to a peak.

Barely able to recognize even a few written characters, they did not know the difference between Formal Black Wizards and Black Wizard Apprentices.

In any case, to them, anyone in City of Mozhsuobula wearing black robes was someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke.

Saine was extremely satisfied with the power and effect of Fire Wall. As an area-of-effect attack spell, its might had been greatly enhanced by the Iron Phosphorus Powder's fuel.

Its only slight flaw was that he had not yet mastered Fire Wall thoroughly enough, and his casting chant was still somewhat slow.

In battle, a difference of a few seconds could very well be the distance between life and death.

"Caw!" Just as Saine reflected on this mission and the process of casting his spells, a miserable, piercing cry came from the sea of fire.

Within the scorching, boiling waves of flame, a large bird nearly a meter long leaped over the fire.

Behind it followed seven or eight smaller members of its kind.

Unfortunately, the Blue Jaw Feather race could not fly, and the scorching flames and thick smoke further restricted their movements.

Of the seven or eight Blue Jaw Feathers, only the three strongest ultimately followed the bird king out of the flames.

After breaking through the fire, their once blue-green feathers had completely turned charred black, and the faint scent of roasted meat even drifted through the air.

The Blue Jaw Feather King did not choose to flee immediately after escaping the flames. The deaths of so many of its kind, along with the intense pain radiating from every part of its body, had driven this low-level magical beast nearly mad with rage.

After detecting Saine's presence, the bird king strode forward on huge steps and charged straight at him.

This also showed the low intelligence and impulsive nature of low-level magical beasts.

Had any other Black Wizard Apprentice suffered such grave injuries, their first thought would certainly not have been revenge, but escape.

Three equally badly injured adult Blue Jaw Feathers charged at Saine alongside the bird king.

Besides them, another four adult Blue Jaw Feathers outside the flames, which had not been heavily affected, also rushed at Saine.

Without sufficient flock numbers, the few Demonized Creatures and one low-level magical beast before him were no different from ants in Saine's eyes.

Bursts of chanting rose again. This time, what appeared in the darkness was a giant hand burning with flames.