Chapter 333: The Archmage’s Foundation, Three Epic Items! (5800)

Chapter 333: The Archmage's Foundation, Three Epic Items! (5800)

"Holy crap! This is actually a Bright Moon Treasure Chest!"

Because the natives of this world cannot open treasure chests.

Even if they see these treasure chests in the wild, it is of no use. At most, like this Archmage, they bring them back to their own residences and display them as ornaments.

The Church of Light likewise ignored this treasure chest.

This ended up benefiting Cao Xing.

And this was also the second Bright Moon Treasure Chest he had encountered in the wild.

Cao Xing was filled with anticipation about what could be obtained from inside.

He clicked 'Yes' without the slightest hesitation!

[Successfully opened.]

[Obtained: Ice Tornado Storm Skill Book (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Advanced Elemental Arrow Tower Construction Blueprint (Gold) * 1]

[Obtained: Eternal Gold Ingot * 27]

[Obtained: Mithril * 65]

[Obtained: Magic Pattern Stone * 23]

[Obtained: Large Resource Pack * 6]

[Obtained: Expert-grade Elemental Crystal * 17]

…

At this moment, Cao Xing's pupils instantly constricted sharply!

What did he see?

An orange-tier skill book!

It even seemed to be something he could use himself.

"The last time I obtained an orange skill was because of the reward given for the first kill of a commander. I didn't expect one to actually be opened for me now!"

"So satisfying!"

He glanced at the attributes.

[Ice Tornado Storm (Orange): Frost Mage Exclusive Skill Book]

[Skill Effect: Generates a magic array covering 100 meters, summoning two powerful Ice Dragons. The Ice Dragons rotate in place for 3 seconds, rendering enemies unable to move, and deal 12 segments of ice-attribute damage equal to Attack Power * 154% to them. Cooldown: 3 minutes.]

…

"Such a large range! Such a terrifying attack coefficient!"

It didn't seem as large as the 500-meter range of [Soul Withering].

But the damage of [Ice Tornado Storm] was much more formidable than [Soul Withering]!

This skill could rotate for 3 seconds, dealing a full 12 segments of AoE damage.

It could be called the AoE skill with the highest damage coefficient Cao Xing had ever obtained in his history!

"Not bad, not bad. This trip was truly not in vain!"

With a satisfied expression,

Cao Xing clapped his hands together and directly learned this skill book.

In an instant, a massive amount of memories flooded into his mind.

It wasn't until a full three or four minutes later that Cao Xing completely digested these memories.

Besides that, there was also an arrow tower blueprint.

Cao Xing also unfolded it to look at the attributes.

[Advanced Elemental Arrow Tower Blueprint (Gold)]

[Blueprint Effect: Can upgrade the Intermediate Elemental Arrow Tower in the territory into an Advanced Elemental Arrow Tower]

[Attack Power: 1893 ~ 1982 (30% chance to inflict 660 points of elemental damage)]

[Attack Interval: 1.5 seconds / 1 time]

[Maximum Range: 2000 meters]

[Armor: 500 points]

[Durability: 15500 / 15500]

[Footprint Area: 47 square meters]

[Building Height: 28 meters]

[Required Materials for Construction: Lords Manor Level 5, Intermediate Elemental Arrow Tower, Wood * 4000, Stone * 2000, Iron * 600, Mithril * 20, Advanced Elemental Crystal * 5]

…

"Not bad. Compared to the intermediate arrow tower, the attack power has increased by about three to four times, and the cost-performance ratio is still very high."

"Of course, the resources required for this upgrade are also a bit outrageous."

Putting it into his backpack, the harvest from this Bright Moon Treasure Chest was considered cleared out.

This Mage Tower seemed to have no further gains.

But out of caution, Cao Xing checked it one more time.

And this look actually allowed him to find some extraordinary places again.

Beneath a lamp stand, he felt a familiar fluctuation.

He approached and took a look.

[Hidden Space Compartment: 4 cubic meters]

[Current Status: Sealed]

(Note: A hidden space compartment, there might be some things inside.)

…

"Oh? Another space compartment?"

"And it looks like it hasn't been searched yet!"

With a joyful expression, Cao Xing took out Vivian's hairpin from his backpack and directly poked it forward.

"Pop!"

The sound like a bursting bubble came over.

In front of Cao Xing, a spatial window appeared out of thin air once again.

And when he looked through the window and saw the things inside, he once again felt his breathing grow hurried.

Inside the full four-cubic-meter space, a large amount of magic crystals and magic scrolls were placed!

There were also some items radiating powerful auras that looked extremely precious just at a glance!

Cao Xing was deeply shocked.

"Holy cow, there are actually so many things hidden in here!"

"The Archmage's foundation is truly terrifying!"

"Great, this place hasn't been searched!"

He reached inside without hesitation and pulled everything out.

[Obtained: Magic Crystal (Blue) * 3523]

[Obtained: Magic Crystal (Purple) * 1117]

[Obtained: Magic Crystal (Gold) * 252]

[Obtained: Blank Magic Scroll * 54]

[Obtained: Tier 4 'Wind Wings' Spell Scroll * 4]

[Obtained: Tier 5 'Eye of the Storm' Spell Scroll * 3]

[Obtained: Tier 6 'Shield of the Wind God' Spell Scroll * 2]

[Obtained: Tier 6 'Wind Beacon' Spell Scroll * 2]

[Obtained: Gennadi's necromancers bag (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Gennadi's Spellcasting Manual (Orange)]

[Obtained: Moon Crown Orb Fragment (Orange) * 1]

…

As one item after another was taken out, his breathing became increasingly hurried.

In the end, he directly cried out in surprise!

"What the fuck, this is simply too outrageous!"

"Not to mention so many magic crystals and spell scrolls, there are actually three orange-tier items!"

"Even more outrageously, there is also a fragment of the Moon Crown Orb among them."

At this moment, Cao Xing admitted that he was directly stunned.

He had never imagined that he could obtain so many things in this Mage Tower.

As expected of an Archmage's foundation, this was simply too terrifying!

Of course, Cao Xing also knew that this was because this Archmage was the City Lord's bodyguard and possessed a massive amount of resources in his hands.

If it were an ordinary Archmage, they certainly wouldn't be as wealthy as him.

Therefore, this time, it could be considered that he struck gold.

Carrying an excited mood, he began to check them one by one.

[Magic Crystal (Purple)]

[Item Effect: Under the 'Meditation' state, spend 1 hour to absorb the magic power contained within, increasing experience points by 10,000 points and enhancing magic affinity. Daily usage limit: 5]

…

[Magic Crystal (Gold)]

[Item Effect: Under the 'Meditation' state, spend 1 ~ 2 hours to absorb the magic power contained within, increasing 100,000 experience points, as well as a large amount of magic affinity, and increasing spell damage by 1% (up to a limit of 50%). Daily usage limit: 1]

…

"Awesome!"

Cao Xing couldn't help but exclaim at this moment.

"This kind of golden magic crystal has a truly terrifying effect for mages!"

"A single one can increase 100,000 experience points and also add 1% spell damage."

"If the quantity is enough, combined with the Mage Tower, there's no need to come out and fight at all. One could just continuously absorb these magic crystals inside the tower and keep growing stronger."

Cao Xing continued to check.

[Tier 5 and Tier 6 Blank Magic Scrolls]

[Item Effect: A Tier 6 Archmage-level entity can imprint Tier 5 and Tier 6 magic onto them.]

…

[Tier 4 'Wind Wings' Spell Scroll]

[Item Effect: Stimulate a certain amount of magic power to activate the spell in the scroll, causing oneself or a friendly unit to grow a pair of Wind Wings, increasing flight speed by 20% for 10 minutes.]

…

[Tier 5 'Eye of the Storm' Spell Scroll]

[Item Effect: Release a large amount of magic power to create an 'Eye of the Storm' ahead, forcibly pulling in all enemies within a surrounding range of 200 meters, and inflicting multi-stage wind-attribute damage equal to Attack Power * 37% to them for 5 seconds.]

…

[Tier 6 'Blessing of the Wind God' Spell Scroll]

[Item Effect: Stimulate a large amount of magic power to attach a layer of Wind God Shield to oneself or a friendly unit. The shield durability value is fixed at 20000. After the shield shatters, it deals 188% blast damage to enemies within a 50-meter radius.]

(Note: This skill is a self-created spell by the Archmage Gennadi.)

…

[Tier 6 'Wind Beacon' Spell Scroll]

[Item Effect: Stimulate a portion of magic power to attach a layer of Wind Beacon to the target unit, sensing the other party's location. Duration: 3 hours; maximum sensing distance: 3000 kilometers.]

(Note: This skill is a self-created spell by the Archmage Gennadi.)

…

Cao Xing let out a long breath.

"These magic scrolls are truly worthy of being magic imprinted by an Archmage; these effects are more outrageous than the last!"

The effect of that 'Eye of the Storm' was similar to the [Primitive Cube].

However, while gathering monsters, it also concurrently had damage effects.

Another Tier 6 spell, 'Wind Beacon', had an effect roughly equivalent to 'Hunting Mark', except its duration was a bit longer.

What concerned Cao Xing the most were the other two auxiliary skills: 'Wind Wings' and 'Blessing of the Wind God'.

Cao Xing pondered: "This 'Wind Wings' can be used on friendly units, granting them flight capability and increasing movement speed."

"Then this friendly unit should also include Dabai, Frost Moose, and the Earth Dragon Mecha, right?"

"It was just confirmed that spells from this kind of scroll can also be blessed by Eternal Power."

"Then can I cast the 'Wind Wings' scroll on Frost Moose, turning it into a flying moose, and then release the skill 'Frigid Breath' in mid-air?"

Cao Xing's pupils constricted.

Clearly, this idea of his was feasible.

In this way, Frost Moose would turn into a flying Frost Moose, and its lethality on the battlefield would skyrocket by a huge margin!

As for the other two Tier 6 shield scrolls.

Cao Xing didn't hesitate at all and used one on himself first.

Along with a massive injection of magic power, he felt his mental energy instantly drained dry!

A strong sense of dizziness washed over him.

At the critical moment, he directly drank a drop of supreme sap, replenishing a massive amount of mental energy and avoiding the consequence of passing out!

Cao Xing cried out in alarm: "That was close!"

"Damn it, there wasn't any note on it stating that using this kind of spell scroll carries the risk of fainting due to mental energy being drained hollow!"

Letting out a long breath, he sighed again: "Viewed this way, even if one has Tier 6 spell scrolls, they cannot be used casually. They require drawing a massive amount of magic power."

"If a mage below Tier 4 were to use this scroll, their spiritual energy would probably be instantly drained, leading to the scroll's failure."

At the same time, the scroll in front of him seemed to have finally absorbed enough magic power, and a vast, heavy aura of wind surged out from it.

Then, this ball of wind aura appeared directly beside Cao Xing, forming an invisible Wind Shield.

It would only manifest when attacked.

A system prompt appeared.

[Successfully activated [Tier 6 Blessing of the Wind God Magic Scroll], you have obtained the shield effect, lasting 60 seconds. Affected by the talent [Eternal Power], this skill has become permanent…]

(Note: Under the permanent state, after the shield is shattered, it will regenerate after 120 seconds.)

…

Cao Xing nodded with satisfaction.

This was equivalent to directly increasing his maximum health limit by 20,000 points.

Furthermore, once broken, it would also deal a super-high coefficient area-of-effect damage.

"This skill is really great. If it could be applied to all territory residents once, it might evolve into a new school, Shield Bombing!"

"Just stand right in the middle of the enemies; if you dare to shatter my shield, I dare to blow you up!"

"Also, that 'Wind Wings' spell is very powerful too. Combined with [Eternal Power], it can grant all my territory residents the ability to fly."

"It is a pity that this Archmage Gennadi is already dead; otherwise, I could think of a way to completely master these two skills."

Cao Xing felt a bit regretful.

After all, [Blessing of the Wind God] was Archmage Gennadi's self-created spell. With him dead, this skill was basically lost.

In his hand, a dark green book appeared once again.

It contained strong magical fluctuations, and a few large characters were inscribed on it in gold-inlaid fonts.

[Gennadi's Magic Manual (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Item Effect: It records some cultivation insights of Archmage Gennadi, as well as some advanced spells he comprehended. Through continuous practice, one can learn this Archmage's spells.]

[Learnable Spells: Multiple Wind Blades, Wind Blade Sweep, Soaring Wings, Wind Chains, Eye of the Storm (Advanced Spell), Blessing of the Wind God (Master-level Spell)]

[Conditions Required for Learning: Magic Affinity, Wind Element Control type Mage]

[Time Required for Learning: Unknown]

(Note: Depending on the mage's talent and effort, the time required to learn the various skills recorded inside varies. If you fall into a bottleneck, finding a profoundly accomplished mentor to answer questions will yield twice the result with half the effort…)

…

After seeing the effects, Cao Xing was stunned in place once again.

Inside this spell manual, there were actually a full six skills.

Among them were four enhanced wind-type magic spells, one advanced magic spell, plus one master-level magic spell!

It could be said that any wind-type mage who obtained this manual would treat it as a priceless treasure.

If they could learn all of them, they would be able to become a new wind-type Archmage!

And the most crucial thing was that the two divine skills Cao Xing wanted, 'Wind Wings' and 'Blessing of the Wind God', were actually inside as well!

Cao Xing said pleasantly surprised, "Hahaha! I just said that Archmage Gennadi's skills were going to be lost, but I didn't expect him to actually record them in this magic manual."

"That's great!"

He treated this magic manual like a precious treasure and put it into his backpack.

At the same time, he secretly set a goal.

Find a way to abduct a wind-type mage back later and have them learn the skills above as soon as possible.

Then, another item appeared in Cao Xing's hand.

This looked like a black burlap sack, and it even contained a peculiar spatial fluctuation on it.

[Gennadi's necromancers bag (Orange): Special Item]

[Quality: Epic]

[Item Effect: Can store some necromancer units that have lost the ability to resist, or friendly necromancers (all without living characteristics belong to necromancer units) into the necromancers bag, and carry them around.]

[Storage Space: 1000 slots (each slot can only accommodate one unit with a height not exceeding 2 meters and a volume not exceeding 2 cubic meters; for every 1 meter exceeding this, 1 extra slot will be occupied)]

(Note: Gennadi exhausted all his assets to have a necromancer-type Archmage make this necromancers bag for him.)

…

"Good fellow! A necromancers bag with a full 1000 slots of space!"

Cao Xing was instantly startled.

This was the first time he had encountered something that could store troops.

If this thing was used well, the effect might not even be worse than legendary-tier equipment.

Although it said above that it can only store inanimate units.

But besides necromancers, those mechas and robots all belonged to inanimate units, giving a lot of room for operation.

And what made Cao Xing even more curious…

Did those undead belong to necromancer units?

If the undead also counted, could he discuss with Duke Baradin later and let him bring his undead army to stay in the necromancers bag for a while?

"With my friendship with Baradin, he shouldn't refuse, right?"

Cao Xing chuckled, then happily put it into his backpack.

Although the previous harvest was already startling enough.

But there was another important harvest this time.

That was a fragment of an orb!

[Fragment of the Moon Crown Orb]

Glancing at the attributes, Cao Xing thought to himself, "As expected, the attributes are about the same as the orb I obtained last time."

"They both increase spell intensity by 20%. Only after collecting all of them can the full power of this legendary-tier orb be unleashed."

Cao Xing hadn't held much expectation for the collection quest of these 12 orb fragments itself.

As a result, he unexpectedly harvested the second one here.

It could be said to be a coincidence of fate.

The corners of Cao Xing's mouth also curled into a smile.

"This time's harvest is really not bad."

If the supplies from before were all used for future territory development…

Then the things obtained from this Archmage's spatial slot right now could greatly enhance the territory's combat power as well as enhance Cao Xing's own survivability.

Cao Xing also appeared more confident about the subsequent looting.

After confirming once again that there were no omissions.

With an excited mood, Cao Xing left this Archmage's Mage Tower.

…

…

"Hoo—"

The midnight streets were completely deserted, and the cold wind swept past.

Cao Xing was standing in front of the Mage Tower at this moment, surveying the surrounding scenery.

At the same time, he also began to think about the next step of the plan.

According to his previous thoughts, he originally wanted to return to the outer urban area to loot a bit.

But he had just seen a building in the center of Lake Doron City through the window on the top floor of the Archmage's Mage Tower.

A magnificent mansion stood towering there.

It covered a very vast area, almost comparable to Cao Xing's entire territory.

Three large characters were inscribed on the plaque at the entrance of the mansion.

[Lord's Mansion.]

Obviously, that was the most important building in the entire Lake Doron City.

Speaking of which, as the lord of the city, this Lake Doron City Lord was also a noble, holding the peerage of an Earl.

His jurisdiction not only included Lake Doron City, but also a large number of surrounding villages and towns.

It was more than a dozen times larger than a baron's territory.

Over so many years, these jurisdiction villages and towns could similarly create quite a bit of tax revenue for him.

Coupled with a bustling Lake Doron City, the revenue brought in almost every day was astonishing.

His mansion must contain a massive amount of resources.

The most crucial thing was that the resources looted by the Church of Light in the central urban area might also be concentrated in the Lord's Mansion.

Moreover, Cao Xing faintly felt that there were some strange auras in the Lord's Mansion.

"This trip into the city, besides looting resources, was to see what these guys were doing in the city."

"And so far I've wandered around the city for so long, besides a red-robed bishop who just returned, I haven't seen any other important figures."

"Where did those people go?"

Obviously, the answer was already self-evident.

There was definitely something wrong inside the Lord's Mansion!

Pondering for a moment, he decided to go over and take a look.

Cao Xing moved forward all the way along the central street.

The closer he got to the vicinity of the Lord's Mansion, the more patrolling cultists there were.

Cao Xing even saw the figures of several white-robed priests.

His heart stirred slightly, but he still gradually approached without showing any expression.

And those patrolling cultists didn't have much reaction when they saw the squad leader disguised by Cao Xing.

They just slightly asked him what he was doing here in the middle of the night, and Cao Xing made up an excuse and directly muddled through.

After all, commander-level camouflage techniques were not so easily seen through.

Therefore, he arrived near the Lord's Mansion almost unimpeded.

However, the main gate was tightly shut at this time.

There was also a team of cultists guarding the entrance, looking like strangers shouldn't approach.

Pondering for a moment, Cao Xing did not approach and decided to find another place to enter.

After all, the area of the Lord's Mansion was still very large.

Judging by the Church of Light's manpower right now, there was definitely no way to defend it in all directions.

Along the wall of the Lord's Mansion, Cao Xing moved forward all the way.

Soon he came to a relatively remote area behind the Lord's Mansion.

Like a thief, Cao Xing crouched under the corner of the wall, constantly paying attention to the surrounding movements and listening to the movements inside.

Across the wall, Cao Xing felt a strong aura of evil!

Besides that, there were also a large number of footsteps.

"Huh? In the middle of the night, there are still so many people inside the Lord's Mansion?"

Cao Xing decided to sneak in and take a look.

Carefully climbing over the wall, and then jumping straight down, he landed in a patch of grass.

[You have entered a special area: Lord's Mansion…]

[Please note! This area has been occupied by the Church of Light, the danger level is extremely fatal, please proceed with caution…]

…

"A fatal level of danger?"

Cao Xing's heart stirred slightly, which made him even more curious.

After confirming that there was no one around, Cao Xing walked out of the grass, and then slowly walked forward.

Stepping across a door, when he saw the scene inside, his pupils instantly contracted sharply!

Because he saw a massive number of pale figures standing inside the Lord's Mansion at this moment!

…