Mage Manual-Chapter 566 - 459: Borrowing the Gospel

After a brief rest, Ash continued driving towards the unknown area to the left of the White Bull. Since the White Bull generally moved counterclockwise, its left side was the interior of the Time Continent, which was the most likely location for the main city.

Since the Oasis War, Ash and his team had passed through the Blood Tomb, Spider Tower, and Star Hall Area. There was nothing much to say about the Spider Tower area; although it was likely that the Empress Commander was still campaigning elsewhere, Ash and his team prioritized safety, collected Magic Power at full speed, and logged off immediately when time was up, never working overtime.

As for the Blood Tomb and the Star Hall Area, they had maps for both, so taking advantage of the first round of the war, when all forces were still gathering resources, they quickly scavenged the resource points marked on the maps. Despite their immediate action and expertise in looting and burning, an average of two out of every five resource points were already empty.

As time passed, the chance of finding resources would further decline.

Tonight, they left the Star Hall Area and entered the territory of an unfamiliar force. Without a map, they couldn’t even pick up scraps, so their plan from days earlier was back on the agenda—find other main cities in different areas, provoke a war with Spider Tower, and then profit from the war by collecting Soul Summoning Technique Spirits, Commander Handbooks, and maps!

If they could collect all the maps of the Time Continent, they might even unlock the truth about the Seven-colored Tail and access the express pathway to the third level of the Void Realm!

But the question was, where were the other main cities?

The main cities of Star Hall and Blood Tomb were both near the inner side of the Time Continent, so Ash drove to the inner area trying his luck. He wasn’t necessarily determined to find a main city, because based on past experience, there would definitely be patrols of the Heroic Soul Army around the main cities, and finding these patrols would naturally lead them to a main city.

Logically, with the exploration efficiency of a sports car, it would be normal to encounter the Heroic Soul Army a few times in one night; however, Ash and his team had been roaming the inner area for nearly two hours and hadn’t found a single Heroic Soul Army patrol—previously, when they had not wanted to encounter them, the Heroic Soul Army had followed them like stalkers; now that they wanted to find them, they seemed impossible to find.

After all, the "shit without paper" tactic had failed, and Ash had no excuse to shirk responsibility, and had to admit that this time his decision had been wrong—

"Observer, you’ve let something slip."

"Ah?" Ash instinctively looked down at his crotch.

"I mean, your Soul Summoning Technique Spirit has slipped out." Sonia pointed at the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit on Ash’s shoulder, which was flickering purple light, smearing space like a watercolor brush.

Ash also stared blankly at the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit, then he looked at the Void Realm Map—there were indeed no Heroic Soul Army patrols around, nor any information about any main cities!

But this reaction from the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit was clearly a stress response triggered by the Secret Avatar entering the main city area, similar to the repulsive behavior a kitten exhibits when entering another cat’s territory!

If it wasn’t around them and not on the ground, only one possibility remained.

The three of them looked up to the sky, but the Rain Curtain created by the Reverse Golden Rain concealed all secrets, its brilliant golden light providing perfect privacy. After contemplating for a moment, Ash said, "Get ready."

The Sword Maiden and Witch immediately went into combat readiness, the sports car ejected its evil blades and spewed a poisonous fog, tracing circles on the ground like a doughnut, and the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit also smeared space, tearing purple holes in the golden Rain Curtain.

"You actually found the main city of the ’Garden’; I thought you’d pick the Blood Tomb or Star Hall first~"

Although they were mentally prepared, and this was indeed the development they had hoped for, hearing the languid voice of the Empress still made Ash and his companions involuntarily tense up all over. They turned around and saw Denzel and the Eight-eyed Weaving Spider emerging from the Spider Web, she was still in her ’Peeping Secret’ form, her spider web eye mask wrapped around her eyes, the white bandages unable to hide the sinuous curves of her body as she lazily lay on top of the Eight-eyed Weaving Spider.

"But defense is what the Garden does best," Denzel raised her head to look at the sky: "Fighting here is the most troublesome... Hey, hey, don’t go, since you came to another main city on your own, does that mean you want to work together?" freeweɓnovel-cøm

"That’s right." Ash kept a close watch on the Void Realm Map, not daring to relax for a second, ready to flee at the approach of any Heroic Soul Army: "But I don’t trust you."

"In this world, what is more reliable than trust is interest," Denzel smiled: "My little lover, tell me what you want? What you mages desire are probably things like the Commander Handbooks, maps, and Soul Summoning Technique Spirits that a commander can drop, right? These things are meaningless to us, we can give them to you."

As she spoke, more and more Heroic Soul Army members emerged from the Spider Web, and the footsteps like thunder rolled from behind the Rain Curtain, forcing Ash and his team to move further away, "I don’t believe you."

"Then tell me what we should do~" Denzel propped her left hand under her chin, smiling, "You definitely won’t agree to sign a Contract; how about we collect the spoils and then give them to you? You can also make your suggestions and demands, everything is negotiable. After all, we basically have no way to take back the Secret Avatar on you, and you have a mobility advantage over us, other than cooperation I have no other choice—"

"Then tear up the Contract," Ash suddenly said.

"Hmm? What Contract?" Denzel tilted her head, "The one you said in the cabin about making love until death?"

"The compulsory Contract you signed with us," Ash calmly said: "Since you’re not planning to take the Secret Avatar, then cancel the Contract, otherwise it means you’re still trying to scheme against us."

After a moment of silence, Denzel shook her head: "I don’t have the power to tear up the Contract—"

"Goodbye!"

Ash left without hesitation. Although the terms offered by the Empress’s Commander were indeed tempting, he was sure they were all traps!

If they followed the Empress’s Commander’s line of thought and tried to devise a ’safe’ contract as best as possible, they would surely be caught by the Empress for the third time—she had proven herself to be the most adept at dealing with clever people, particularly those who were smart yet insatiably greedy!

More importantly, the Empress was extremely insightful about human nature; last time, she had nearly caused their team to split apart and the witch to become alienated. How could Ash dare to converse with her further? Continuing the conversation might provoke the Sword Maiden into becoming increasingly jealous, suspicious, and clingy.

Therefore, Ash would rather risk scavenging at the edges of the battlefield than negotiate and conspire with the Empress. That woman was truly a Poison Widow Spider, and it was only right to stay away from her web.

...

Watching the sports car leave a purple streak and disappear into the Rain Curtain, Denzel chuckled, "Getting a bit smarter..."

"Were they really not your bait?" a voice came from beside him, "Is there a Mage who can snatch the Concept Avatar from the hands of a Poison Widow?"

"Laugh if you want, I’m not going to kill an ally," Denzel turned and glanced behind him, "At least not now."

From within the Spider Web, the Heroic Soul Army kept emerging, but this time, the arriving army was different from the Spider Tower’s forces. They were predominantly dressed in black and green, with thick, menacing armor. Most troops wore shackles, either around their necks or limbs, resembling floating nightmares. If the Spider Tower forces were mysterious and dangerous, these were wild and aggressive, like prisoners breaking out and wanting to smash everything.

The person talking to Denzel was completely enshrouded in black and green armor, wielding a huge sword and a dagger, with only a pair of dark green pupils visible beneath the mask.

But Denzel was very familiar with him, having fought a thousand-year war, it was hard not to know—Oasis’s Chief Commander, the Wanderer!

Both having participated in the first ’Six Nations Grand Seal Event,’ Denzel and the Wanderer were undoubtedly the most senior Heroic Souls. Over thousands of years, as territorial boundaries changed, the Spider Tower had bordered the Oasis, and numerous battles had erupted between them. Denzel had even killed the Wanderer once, but he was simply resurrected.

"My retrieved soul fragments do not support laughing functionality."

"Are you ready then?" Denzel spoke indifferently, "According to the Pact, your Oasis is responsible for the second wave of the Vanguard’s siege. But before that, you need to take down the Garden... Spider Web isn’t good at that sort of thing, you can use the Silent Spiral, right?"

"No problem," the Wanderer said, "But before this, we need to negotiate a cooperation—about a real cooperation."

"Real?" Denzel raised an eyebrow, "What does reality have to do with us?"

"Our subordinate nations have encountered a minor problem, we hope to borrow some people from your nations."

"If there’s trouble in your subordinate nations, what does it have to do with you? And if there are issues within the nation, you let Lord Senluo—"

Denzel paused, suddenly realizing something, "No way...?"

"Don’t even mention descending into reality. Lord Zhan’s condition has deteriorated to the point where direct contact with the Weaver is impossible, so he sent me to speak with you," the Wanderer didn’t shy away from revealing his own Divine Lord’s weakness—having fallen to the point of borrowing from other nations offered no cover: "As the price for support, Oasis is willing to fully aid Spider Tower in securing victory in the Grand Seal War."

"Aren’t you afraid the Weaver will take the opportunity to infiltrate your nation?" Denzel couldn’t help asking.

"Over thousands of years with the Void Realm portals opening numerous times, infiltration has occurred countless times already, we don’t owe this one. Besides, compared to infiltration by the Weaver, the serious illness within the nation is more intolerable."

"What exactly happened in your nation?"

"The Gods of Four Pillars." The Wanderer stated succinctly.

Denzel’s expression turned slightly serious, "Does Lord Zhan’s situation also have something to do with the Gods of Four Pillars?"

The Wanderer shook his head, unsure whether it was a denial or he simply didn’t know.

"So what kind of support do you need?" Denzel asked, "A few Legendary Mages? Or a whole army?"

"Lord Zhan’s intention is, since we’re borrowing anyway, He wants to settle all troubles in one go," the Wanderer said, "We want to borrow the most important treasure from your nation."

"The Gospel."

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