An eighth-level pinnacle
"Regardless… this operation has finally been completed successfully. Let's get out of here first…"
Rayne glanced at the Chip. The
It was only after exiting the dragon's lair and breathing in the cold night air of the outside world, mingled with the scent of grass and trees, that Rayne's complexion improved considerably.
"Although the demi-plane has completely collapsed, there's no guarantee there aren't remnants left behind. Before I reach the strength of my true self, I should avoid coming into contact with any of it in the future…"
Rayne thought with lingering fear: "And if the Twisted Shadow truly harbored hostility toward me, that single wisp of malicious intent would have been enough to make me perish right here. So why did it let me off the hook at the last moment, and even give me this scroll…"
Rayne looked at the black scroll in his hand, then glanced at
"Do you know where this thing came from?"
"No! I don't! It's just that my ancestor mentioned there was a particular chamber in the ruins that contained his manuscripts, which recorded a portion of the Arcanist data…"
Under Rayne's unwavering gaze, Helen tremblingly recounted everything.
"This probably isn't what you were looking for, and it's extremely dangerous as well. I'll hold onto it for now…"
Rayne had absolutely no intention of returning the scroll. To deceive an eleventh-level apprentice mage, the Twisted Shadow had far too many means at its disposal—directly warping the other party's memories or inserting a fabricated scene were trivially simple matters.
"Yes, my lord!"
Helen felt a twinge of reluctance deep down but obediently agreed nonetheless. After all, the events that had just transpired had frightened her as well.
"Mm. Per our prior agreement, I can offer you compensation—for instance, the advancement methods for Arcanists, along with a portion of Arcanist spell templates!"
Rayne regarded the half-elf mage girl before him and suddenly spoke with a meaningful air.
"Then what do you want? Just say it outright!" After spending this time together, Helen had come to understand the mage before her all too well. He was absolutely the type who never lifted a finger without profit in sight—though once a deal was struck, he dealt fairly with old and young alike.
"Swear an oath upon the River Styx with your soul! Serve me for one hundred years!"
Rayne spoke calmly, and then he saw a look of struggle appear in Helen's eyes.
"Deal!"
Helen truly lived up to her reputation as a clever woman. After only a brief moment of struggle, she agreed—and immediately swore the oath.
"Hmm! The soul is genuine—it really is Helen..."
Swearing an oath upon the River Styx with a mage's soul, triggering a resonance with the Styx, was an extraordinarily binding vow that absolutely could not be faked. Rayne observed quietly, nodding to himself in approval.
For someone of Rayne's current standing, an eleventh-tier Wizard was nothing more than a dispensable asset. What truly mattered was the verification and authentication performed during the oath.
Now it appeared that the person before him was indeed the same Helen—but that only made his thoughts more complicated.
"So... what exactly was the Shadow of
At the thought of this, Rayne's expression darkened once more.
……
After slaying the Red Dragon and exploring the Nether Ruins, the Nether Mountains no longer held any value, and Rayne issued the order to return.
The force—now reduced to roughly seven hundred men—slowly departed the Nether Mountains, carrying with them the glory of dragon-slaying and immense wealth.
Rafinia's expression, however, remained grim throughout, looking as though she would part ways with Rayne the moment they left the mountains.
"We spent less than ten days on the dragon hunt and the ruins exploration. The outside world must have turned completely upside down by now, hasn't it?"
Rayne paid no attention whatsoever to Rafinia's mood. If anything, he felt a twinge of malicious amusement at the thought.
And sure enough, that was exactly what had happened.
"What's going on with this level of martial law?" Once they were out of the mountains, Rafinia immediately sensed that something was wrong. Many of the surrounding villages had been entirely abandoned, and even the rare ones still inhabited were heavily fortified, their occupants bristling with wariness toward any strangers.
"Have the Beastkin invaded again? Or has the Orc Empire launched another full-scale assault?" Rafinia quickly arrived at two possibilities, and her anxiety spiked immediately.
"At a time like this, Rayne just had to go running off on an expedition. He'll definitely be charged with desertion in the face of the enemy..."
A flicker of worry suddenly surfaced in the young Knight's heart, but she immediately shook her head. "Someone as cunning as him has surely arranged an escape route long in advance. And even if he hadn't—why on earth should I be worrying about him?"
"Sir! We've spotted friendly signals up ahead!"
At that moment, the scouts also came running back.
"Mm! Send the signal—we'll move to meet them!" Rayne nodded calmly, already knowing exactly who was coming.
In the Dark Forest, aside from him, there were no other forces around.
Sure enough, once the scouts relayed the signal, dust and smoke faintly rose in the distance, and a figure plunged down from midair like a black hawk diving for its prey.
"Rayne Farland!!!"
Kaslei landed before Rayne in a fury, his neck swollen a full size larger from sheer rage.
"Why did you leave your sector??? And... where are the Malfoys???"
Upon seeing the force of over seven hundred behind Rayne, Kaslei's aura faltered for a moment—only to be swallowed by even greater fury.
"Do you have any idea that because of your dereliction of duty, I had to face the Beastkin assault head-on, and even had to abandon the rescue of Silvermoon City... You'll answer for this at a military tribunal!!!"
"Stop! Wait!!! I haven't even figured out what's going on! Rescue Silvermoon City? Why?"
Rafinia's head was spinning.
"You still don't know? What a pathetic excuse. Have you been crawling through the jungle all these days?"
The mocking expression on Kaslei's face deepened. "The orc army has already besieged Silvermoon City! And while I, Kaslei the High Mage, was fighting in a bloodbath, you damn rookies dared to abandon your defensive posts! You should all be hanged!!!"
"The orcs have laid siege???" Rafinia staggered back several steps, staring at Rayne in disbelief. "You already knew... didn't you?"
At that moment, Rafinia truly felt as though all hope had been extinguished.
"Then... why didn't the great High Mage Kaslei lead his soldiers, along with these noble volunteers, to provide support?"
Rayne ignored Rafinia, instead fixing Kaslei with a gaze that held the same mocking edge.
"That's because I had to guard against Beastkin ambushes!"
Kaslei looked down at Rayne with arrogant disdain. "Though you are guilty of dereliction, I will not pursue the matter now, Baron Rayne! In my capacity as Northern Commander, I order you to march to Silvermoon City's aid! Immediately!!! Right now!!!"
Even now, Kaslei had not given up his attempts to frame Rayne.
"Ha-ha..." Rayne locked eyes with Kaslei, holding the gaze until the other man's composure began to crack, then spoke in a leisurely tone: "Why...?"
"Why?! Do you dare to disobey my order? Or are you forcing me to execute you right now!"
Kaslei's eyes narrowed slightly.
His strength as a high-level Wizard was his greatest confidence. The opponent was at most level fourteen. Even with personal guards and others present, they posed no significant threat.
Moreover, the official document appointing him as the Northern Commander had already arrived via emergency channel. With his current status and position, executing a mere Baron shouldn't be a problem, let alone one accused of dereliction of duty!
"Indeed, killing this magical genius himself seemed like a rather good idea. But first, wait until
A flurry of thoughts spun through Kaslei's mind. But before he could formulate a plan, or even put on a temporary show of trying to win Rayne over, Rayne across from him suddenly smiled.
"If you want to kill someone, just do it. Why think so much?"
"What... uh..." At this moment, Kaslei felt a sudden, stabbing pain in his chest. He stiffened, lowering his head, only to see the tip of a black dagger protruding from his chest.
"Impossible... I have high-level magical armor equipped, and the spontaneous [Contingency] spell! An enemy couldn't possibly breach my defenses in an instant, unless... [Legendary]!"
Kaslei collapsed. The last thing he saw was Tifa's expressionless face.
"When the system is on the verge of collapse, and you still want to use the system's power to oppress me... should I say you're stupid, or just stupid?"
"You... killed him?"
Lafinia's voice was hoarse.
"No! Kaslei died at the hands of Beastkin! He died in the line of duty!" Rayne's laugh was unrestrained and brazen.
"Attention! Full alert!"
Rayne watched as the belated reinforcements finally arrived, a savage grin on his face as he raised his right hand.
...
The setting sun was as red as blood.
At that moment, Andrew and several other nobles were standing beside Rayne, their expressions deeply respectful. "This time, High-level Wizard Kaslei perished at the hands of the Beastkin... truly a great loss for our North..."
Some of them, even as they spoke, couldn't help but wipe away a few tears. The events of that afternoon had truly frightened them.
"Hmm! And, about this afternoon's conflict..." Rayne raised his voice a few notches.
"That was all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"
Andrew immediately jumped in to speak, while internally he was still startled by Rayne's ruthlessness.