Chapter 125: Three-Person Team

The radiance of dawn lavishly spilled across the boundless wilderness. The morning mist grew increasingly faint, condensing on blades of grass where emerald patterns became clearly visible under the magnifying effect of dewdrops.

The Vela Prairie, located north of the Lush Forest, seemed to have just awakened from slumber. The ethereal morning breeze was its whisper, the swaying green grass its languid stretch. The tranquil prairie still held remnants of morning fog that drifted gently in the soft wind.

But in an instant, four figures swept across the grassland. Countless newly awakened insects scattered in alarm, and the vegetation where three figures passed became utterly devastated.

This was a three-person team composed of a mage, a warrior, and a ranger. Without exception, each member possessed Formal-Level strength. To put it bluntly, dispatching these three essentially represented Doleiz City deploying all its respectable combat power.

The mage in the trio was Punk, the warrior was Bahanger, and the ranger was Kangkai.

Punk advanced like an unstoppable sharp arrow, sweeping across the grassland with Golem One at lightning speed. The powerful air currents even shredded every blade of grass they passed.

Ranger Kangkai’s movement presented a completely different sensation. Wrapped in dense Wind-Type Battle Aura, his entire being resembled an elusive breeze, silently brushing past trembling grass blades.

Compared to Kangkai, Bahanger’s “running” represented another extreme. The old dwarf moved like a cannonball, his footsteps creating craters in the ground as he propelled himself forward at tremendous speed through pure impact, leaving a series of thunderous booms across the peaceful prairie!

While advancing straight toward their target, Punk felt endless exasperation toward the dwarf in his heart.

It had to be admitted that Bahanger’s self-accompanied soundtrack saved Punk considerable trouble—he no longer needed to worry about stealth when retreating from unfavorable situations. With this dwarf around, could “concealment” even exist?

Yet Bahanger, being mentally criticized by Punk, felt completely unbothered by his “running” style. He focused solely on continuously accelerating, his footsteps growing increasingly louder until the very earth trembled slightly under his relentless stomping.

Clearly, Gollat’s condition had made the old dwarf extremely anxious. Confronted with obstacles along the path, he didn’t even bother dodging, instead smashing directly through rocks to save even a fraction of time.

This operation could be considered Punk’s initiative. He had recruited Bahanger by exploiting the situation with Gollat, after which the selfless ranger Kangkai—wholly dedicated to saving Doleiz City—joined without hesitation. Currently, Punk was leading his two “teammates” to a “perfume manufacturing site” disclosed by Hett.

According to Hett’s information, there were approximately a dozen such manufacturing sites and noble residences connected to the Tisha Xia’er Church of varying scales. Punk’s Divination Spell had confirmed the intelligence’s authenticity. Now the three-person team aimed to capture these Tisha Xia’er Church “factory strongholds” at maximum speed. With three Formal-Level experts launching surprise attacks, they were confident about uncovering significant intelligence. At the very least, destroying all strongholds would force Tisha Xia’er to reveal herself.As for those “Noble bases,” they were handed over to the City Guard and the Church. With all the priests and Holy Warriors leading the charge, their victory was practically assured.

Although most Church members expressed doubt and distrust upon learning that the plan was devised and led by Punk, and many realized they had become cannon fodder for reconnaissance, they had no grounds to refuse Punk’s “righteous” arrangements!

On the prairie, the three powerhouses were advancing at full speed. According to the plan, the battle in Doleiz City would commence when the sun Chikasa rose. They had to divert Tisha Xia’er’s attention, for if she were to become enraged and attack Doleiz City… at the very least, this was a scenario Kangkai could not accept.

The trio pressed forward, ignoring all obstacles, heading toward the nearest “factory stronghold”—Hofv Farm.

According to prophecies, Tisha Xia’er’s hideout was likely one of the five “factory strongholds” or six Noble bases. This was why Punk’s side and the forces in Doleiz City had to attack separately. Kangkai reasoned that if the three of them encountered Tisha Xia’er in Doleiz City, it would be ideal. If she was hiding in the city, she would surely leave to protect the crucial “factories” and engage Punk and the others in battle, rather than staying to defend the Nobles. This would prevent a Formal-Level chaotic battle from erupting within Doleiz City and harming innocent civilians.

It must be said that Kangkai had exhausted every possible means to protect the people of Doleiz City, even at the risk of placing himself in danger.

However, the proposal to fight outside the city also benefited Punk, as he did not want the existence of the Legendary Equipment to become widely known. Thus, he readily agreed to Kangkai’s idea and even formulated a specific plan for all the priests and Holy Warriors to remain behind and combat evil. (The elite priests had to be eliminated quickly to prevent any exceptionally talented and devout individuals from discovering the Legendary Equipment and sacrificing their souls to alert the gods.)

As for Bahanger… the dwarf warrior declared: “As long as we can kill Tisha Xia’er, I don’t care if we have to fight in the Abyss!”

Yet, Punk’s “benevolence” did not change Kangkai’s perception of the mage before him. He kept scrutinizing Punk, who was leading the way. While Kangkai was willing to go to great lengths to save Doleiz City, it was another matter entirely if the leader of this endeavor was a mage with ill intentions.

Unlike the muscle-brained dwarf, Kangkai was deeply aware that this young mage seemed to possess many undisclosed secrets, and he was likely involved in the afflictions of the Lord of Doleiz City and Knight Kaiskaser.

However, now was not the time to confront him. The situation in Doleiz City could not withstand internal strife, and besides, the dwarf behind him would never assist in such a endeavor. The priority was to deal with the great enemy, Tisha Xia’er.

The rational ranger gazed at the back of Punk, clad in black and red Mage Robes, and let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Turning to look at Bahanger, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage, Kangkai knew all too well that no matter what he said, this warrior, blinded by fury, would not listen. He would never help Kangkai turn against this “like-minded” and “righteous” mage. Thus, Kangkai could only watch helplessly, anxious at heart, unable to take any useful action.”I hope it’s just my paranoia. Otherwise… if this mage truly has some grand scheme… that would be too terrifying!”

Trying his best to convince himself, Kangkai loosened his grip on the shortsword clenched in his palm. What made him feel most endangered wasn’t the approaching Tisha Xia’er they were about to face, nor the dwarf behind him who possessed the highest rank among their trio, but rather this mage whose level was comparable to his own.

Nevertheless, for now, this person was his temporary companion. Betraying an ally over mere speculation was something Kangkai could never bring himself to do.

The travel speed of Formal-Level powerhouses was incredibly fast. Having left Doleiz City less than an hour ago, Hofv Farm was already within sight.

Superficially, this farm appeared no different from any ordinary farm—it had a simple wooden cabin, a few common dairy cows, and vast stretches of golden farmland.

Yet the moment they laid eyes on the farm, none of the three Formal-Level professionals doubted its true nature.

Although the entire area surrounding the farm was enchanted with concealment spells sufficient to deceive most Apprentice-Level professionals, such level of concealment was clearly inadequate against the perception of Formal-Level powerholds. Especially for Punk, being a mage, the intense magical fluctuations beneath the farm were as obvious as a lighthouse in the dark night—this was clearly not the standard configuration of an ordinary farm.

(End of Chapter)