Battle

Linley had made Arnold well aware of all the precautions one had to take when traveling alone, so this time, when heading to the Warcraft Mountain Range, Arnold wore sturdy linen trousers and a sleeveless vest, making him look rather like a warrior.

The road from Ernst Academy to the Warcraft Mountain Range was difficult to travel, but Arnold's strength had nearly reached that of a Second-level Warrior. He also occasionally cast the support spell Extreme, allowing him to cover thirty or forty li in an hour with ease.

After hearing from Linley that he had encountered an ambush on the road, Arnold became extremely cautious. Even on the desolate roads, he no longer strode carelessly down the middle.

Arnold cautiously traveled toward the Warcraft Mountain Range, and until he was about ten li away from it, he did not encounter any ambushes.

When he was still a few li from the Warcraft Mountain Range, Arnold could already see the vast, towering mountain range stretching endlessly several li ahead.

"So huge." The mountain range was simply too long. Looking east, there were still endless rolling peaks, while to the north and south, there were likewise nothing but mountains. Gazing upon the boundless Warcraft Mountain Range felt like facing an endless sea. It truly seemed limitless.

The moment he stepped into the Warcraft Mountain Range, he saw weeds covering the ground and dense vines everywhere. Even if a magical beast were hiding ten meters away, I probably wouldn't be able to see it. I'll have to use Wind of Detection to probe around, Arnold muttered inwardly.

Looking at the grass ahead, which nearly reached waist height, Arnold silently recited an incantation. A faint breeze spread outward from him in all directions before finally dissipating between heaven and earth.

Wind of Detection could sense the forms and auras of living creatures. Arnold immediately detected that there were no magical beasts within a dozen meters of him.

Even though he saw no magical beasts, Arnold did not lower his guard. He continued sneaking through the Warcraft Mountain Range, cautiously watching his surroundings.

The Warcraft Mountain Range stretched ten thousand li in length and was roughly seven or eight hundred li wide. Within the outermost hundred-li region, low-level magical beasts were generally the most common. Once one ventured more than a hundred li inward, Fifth-level and Sixth-level magical beasts became prevalent. Arnold decided to first practice against First-level to Fourth-level magical beasts within the hundred-li range before seeking Fifth-level magical beasts farther in.

After walking for barely more than ten minutes, Arnold's eyes narrowed. More than fifty meters to his right, a large pure-white spider was slowly crawling along.

"Albino Spider, a Fourth-level magical beast. It possesses darkness attributes, knows several common darkness spells, and can spray poison." Information Arnold had once read about Albino Spiders immediately surfaced in his mind.

After thinking briefly, Arnold decided to attack the Albino Spider. He nimbly moved through the grass, quietly approaching the spider as it crawled along. When he was around ten meters away, Arnold, concealed in the grass, could clearly make out its form.

It appeared to have just caught some prey and eaten its fill, for it moved exceptionally slowly.

When he was about twenty meters from the Albino Spider, Arnold began silently reciting an incantation.

Whoosh! A pale green Wind Blade appeared out of thin air and slashed toward the Albino Spider. But the spider immediately tilted its head aside, dodging the Wind Blade, then turned around with astonishing speed and pounced at Arnold.

Arnold did not remain idle. He swiftly recited another incantation, and a lance more than a meter long suddenly erupted from the ground ten meters ahead of him. It was the low-level version of Earth Spike Spear Array, the third-level spell—Earth Thrust Lance.

The Albino Spider was extremely agile. As it rapidly approached, it leaped directly to the right. Yet just as it was about to land, another Earth Thrust Lance stabbed out to its left. Arnold had clearly cast two Earth Thrust Lances in quick succession, but his prediction for the second one had been wrong.

The Albino Spider did not care about any of that and pounced again. Arnold hurriedly used the support spell Extreme, rapidly shifting to the right while silently reciting another incantation. A string of Wind Blades struck at the Albino Spider again. But the spider was not to be outdone and cast the third-level darkness spell—Shadow Arrow. Arrows formed from darkness elements directly scattered the wind elements forming the Wind Blades, then flew toward Arnold.

Arnold was quite fast, so he naturally dodged them. But the Albino Spider closed the distance again and was only five meters away. One more leap would likely bring it right next to him.

Just as the Albino Spider pounced at Arnold, more than a dozen Earth Thrust Lances appeared. Their sharp spearheads, gleaming with earthen-yellow light, pierced directly into the Albino Spider's body. Multicolored blood splattered everywhere, and it died thoroughly.

It was the fifth-level earth spell—Earth Spike Spear Array!

The Albino Spider could not have been any deader, but Arnold felt rather frustrated. He had actually used a fifth-level spell against a Fourth-level magical beast. Arnold felt that he needed more practice so he could kill an Albino Spider without using fifth-level magic.

Of course, Arnold needed to eat as well. Magical beasts like Albino Spiders were poisonous by nature, so there was no way Arnold could eat one. After killing the Albino Spider, he immediately continued onward.

After spending a long time in the Warcraft Mountain Range, Arnold often came across corpses that had been dead for days. Almost none were intact. Some were decapitated, while others had lost an eye. Even more were nothing but skeletal remains. Every sight made Arnold's heart tremble.

Whenever he saw a corpse that had been dead for days, Arnold would examine its fatal wounds to determine whether it had been bitten to death by a magical beast or stabbed through with a blade by a human. Each time, Arnold had to suppress the urge to vomit as he inspected those disgusting corpses.

Over several consecutive days, Arnold killed many magical beasts, including Fourth-level Mole Rats and Frenzied Apes. As for food, One-Horned Wild Boars were the most common. Noah's painstakingly learned Fireball finally came in handy, roasting the meat to a mouthwatering fragrance.

By now, when Arnold encountered Fourth-level or lower magical beasts, he could generally kill them without casting fifth-level magic. Wind Blade, Earth Thrust Lance, Shattering Stone, and other low-level spells were enough. However, when he occasionally ran into groups of ten or twenty low-level magical beasts, Arnold did not hesitate to use fifth-level magic.

In the blink of an eye, Arnold had spent half a month in the Warcraft Mountain Range. He could battle magical beasts, and even his strength had broken through, reaching the level of a Second-level Warrior.

Since Yale's father had gifted him one million gold coins, Arnold did not think much of the magic cores of First-level and Second-level magical beasts. Only when he encountered Fourth-level magical beasts would Arnold occasionally use a knife to dig the magic cores out of their bodies and place them in his pack.

That night, Arnold sat directly on the ground and began cultivating. He did not light a fire, as the magical beasts of the Warcraft Mountain Range were not afraid of ordinary flames.

Sitting on the ground, Arnold began sensing the flow of earth elements within the land while also sensing the flow of wind elements around him. It felt as though he had returned to his parents' embrace. As he sensed the Pulsation of the earth and the rhythm of the wind, even if Arnold fell asleep, any tremor in the nearby ground or any air movement caused by something approaching very close would alert him and wake him.