Chapter 34

Ryan was flustered by the sudden exposure of his identity.

He never expected that the giant and the little mage, who should have been locked in the cave and half-dead from a Death Cloud Spell, were not only unharmed and energetic but also knew his true identity.

The thought that all his lies had been exposed made him feel as if he were naked in a snowstorm, so cold he shivered.

What was the most terrifying thing in the world?

For Ryan, who believed in "secrecy" and "deception," the most terrifying thing was to be completely seen through.

All along, he had used various methods of secrecy and deception to prevent others from seeing through him. This made him feel safe, comfortable, and as secure as wearing enchanted full plate armor.

But now, his methods had failed, and his secrets were gone...

"No... it's not that bad, maybe they only guessed a little..."

Ryan tried to comfort himself, but then he heard Gerald's cold laugh and angry reprimand.

"Do you think you can please that evil god who worships conspiracy and deception by betraying your companions? I tell you, the one you worship has already been repelled!"

If the previous sentence had only made Ryan nervous, this one made his vision go black, and he almost fainted.

His Majesty, the God of Conspiracy, hadn't abandoned him, but had been repelled?!

Behind this damned giant stood a deity, and a powerful one at that!

Heavens...

In a daze, he felt as if he were already dead, his soul leaving his body and drifting into the bottomless abyss, slowly sinking into the Underworld, embarking on the road of no return to Purgatory.

Just then, a calm and indifferent voice woke him from his despair.

"Enlarge Spell!"

The mage, who had been silent all this time, raised his hand. The tip of his staff, used to aid in casting, flashed and struck Gerald.

Powerful magic surged through the giant. In an instant, Gerald, already incredibly tall and burly, doubled in size, his head slamming heavily into the cave ceiling.

With a boom, the solid rock wall was pierced by his head, and his entire upper body went through. It turned out there was a hollow space above the rock wall. He was now like a beast trapped in a pit, stuck in the wall, unable to move up or down.

"Do you think... you can do anything to me with this!" His roar echoed through the cave like thunder. The enraged giant unleashed his full terrifying power. The sound of cracking rock filled the air, and a large section of the ceiling above cracked, as if it would collapse at any moment.

But it didn't collapse, because the mage, with the words "Guard my back," charged forward and cast another spell.

Black light emanated from his staff. The light was not dazzling but thin and slippery, like a piece of black silk. As he swung his staff, the black "silk" rapidly expanded, transforming into a huge circle in the blink of an eye.

The mage placed his hand on Gerald's leg. Before the enraged giant could react, the black circle closed completely, trapping him inside.

The next moment, the interior of the circle became dizzyingly dark and deep. Before Gerald could even react, he let out a cry and fell straight down.

The darkness beneath his feet seemed to become a bottomless abyss, swallowing him whole, and he vanished without a trace.

His roar echoed from the depths of the darkness, but before Gerald could react, the mage dispelled the spell. The darkness suddenly disappeared. If it weren't for the debris still falling from the rock wall above, it would have seemed as if Gerald had never appeared.

When the mage cast Enlarge Spell, Palin had already sensed something was wrong. He wanted to stop it, but Ryan, who had recovered, blocked him. A mere low-level young mage against a seasoned high-level rogue, he had barely escaped instant death, but was still severely suppressed, merely holding on.

Therefore, he couldn't stop the mage's spell and watched helplessly as the mage cast Shadow Vanish, opening a portal to the Shadow Plane, causing Gerald to fall directly into it.

The next moment, the portal closed, and Gerald, trapped in the Shadow Plane, could never return.

Palin was furious and helpless. Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.

"I'll lend you my strength, don't hold back, hit him hard!"

With this voice, an unimaginably powerful force erupted from his body.

The young mage swung his wooden staff. Though it was just wood, it tore through the air, emitting a sharp, piercing screech.

Ryan, who had the upper hand, only had time to instinctively dodge to the side before being struck hard on the shoulder. The sound of shattering bone and breaking wood coincided, and then the old rogue was sent flying by an irresistible, immense force, crashing heavily against the nearby rock wall.

The sound of shattering bones was heard again. Before Ryan could even scream, he was knocked unconscious by the powerful impact.

Palin succeeded in one blow. Without time for joy or surprise, he rushed towards the mage who had just sent Gerald into the Shadow Plane.

He knew his casting ability was insignificant compared to the other party, so he didn't even bother to chant, directly smashing his half-broken wooden staff at the mage.

The broken wooden staff whistled sharply as it flew towards its target, triggering the protective magic fixed on the mage. Gray-white light instantly spread over his entire body, turning into something like rock. At the same time, the mage's figure blurred, as if the surrounding air had distorted.

With a "clack," the wooden staff hit the rock wall, shattering the stone and bouncing off, falling into a corner.

Palin was not surprised by this. An experienced mage would surely stack as many protective spells as possible within their capabilities. For example, several high-level mages he knew would even bind teleportation spells to themselves, instantly teleporting away when subjected to a fierce attack.

"Safety first" was the life creed of most mages. If they could escape, they would have a future. No matter what they wanted to do, they had to survive.

That's why there was a saying: the hardest creatures to kill in the world were not dragons with immense power or sea monsters with immortal bodies, but a high-level mage with a sound mind.

The wooden staff he threw had extraordinary power, but from the beginning, he hadn't expected it to truly harm the other party.

All he hoped for was to cause a slight obstruction.

The wooden staff successfully completed its mission, hindering the mage for a moment.

Although most of its power was neutralized by the triggered spells, the residual ripple that wasn't neutralized made the mage feel as if he had been hit by a wild bull, dizzy and unsteady on his feet, staggering back two steps.

At this moment, Palin charged at him like a tiger descending a mountain, his right hand radiating cold, and grabbed at him fiercely.

The watery, blurred figure was pierced by the cold-infused palm, making a soft sound like shattering glass. The mage's already indistinct figure became clear again. Palin adjusted the direction of his right hand slightly, shattering the gray-white stone skin and gripping the mage's neck.

Heavy cold instantly spread from his hand to the mage. Without his protective spells, the mage had no resistance and was instantly frozen unconscious by the cold, carried in his hand like a piece of luggage.

The brief yet intense battle came to an end; from the moment the mage launched his sudden assault to the point where both he and Ryan were knocked unconscious, no more than a few seconds had passed.

Palin tossed the unconscious mage onto the ground, dispelled the frost mana gathered in his hand, and looked at his right hand with a hint of confusion.

He hadn't chanted a single incantation or cast a spell just now; relying purely on instinct, he had manifested a powerful technique that should have required at least a mid-level mage to perform. The hand, concentrated with frost energy, had first shattered the two defensive spells protecting the mage, and the remaining power was enough to freeze him into unconsciousness—a feat far beyond the capabilities of a novice mage who had been studying for less than two years.

He pondered for a moment, then tried calling out in his heart: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty Void Mask, is it you? Did you grant me this power?"

After a few seconds, a somewhat blurred voice drifted over as if from a great distance, intermittent and faint: "Yes... Palin, did you win? Very good... I am currently searching for Gerald... Leave the matters here to you."

Palin bowed his head respectfully to pay tribute to the great deity. After a while, once the voice had completely faded, he lifted his head and surveyed the battlefield.

His Majesty had gone to rescue Gerald, who was trapped in the Shadow Plane, leaving the affairs here for him to handle. He had to do his best to resolve everything so as not to betray His Majesty's trust!

"Hmm... let's start with this fellow practitioner. I believe that compared to a rogue who worships the God of Conspiracy, he would be much more willing to communicate with a young man who also walks the Path of Knowledge..."

About half a day later, a biting chill suddenly flooded the cave, followed by a distorted blue light shimmering in the air. Accompanied by crackling sounds, numerous tiny sparks swam through the air as nimbly as small fish.

Then, a few seconds later, the blue light suddenly expanded into a halo. Covered in dust and wielding an axe still stained with black blood, Gerald stumbled out in a wretched state. He coughed violently, taking quite a while to catch his breath.

"It seems your trip to the Shadow Plane wasn't very pleasant," Palin, who had been waiting for a long time, said with a smile.

"Cough, cough... yeah, it was terrible!" Gerald replied with a wry smile. "I apologize for my performance in the battle. These years of peaceful, comfortable living have made me regress. I shouldn't have made those mistakes."

"As long as you are both alright," Sui Xiong's voice echoed in the air with a hint of amusement. "Handle Ryan and his accomplices however you see fit. I need to rest."

With that, his voice fell silent.

In the distant sky, the giant jellyfish floating above anchored itself to a mountain peak with its tentacles, the vigorous mana that had been surging through its body gradually calming down.

This time, Sui Xiong was truly exhausted.