Dark magic, full-level dragon speaker. (5400)

Chapter 566: Black Magic, Max-Level Dragon Speaker. (5400)

Cao Xing originally intended to use the system function to inspect this mage's stats.

However, the fellow was shrouded in a faint black mist, blocking his inspection.

At the same time, seeing everyone forced back by his magic, the mage's lips curled into a slight smile.

He waved his hand casually and said with a light laugh, "Go, capture these elves!"

"Yes!"

Instantly, the soldiers in uniform armor launched another attack in unison.

The shield-bearing guards advanced in orderly formation, while the warriors behind continuously handed out weapons.

Under their assault, the elf tribe was once again forced to retreat step by step.

Several elf warriors were almost taken down on the spot.

The mage holding the black staff spoke again in a sinister tone, "Be gentle, all of you. These elves are treasures, each worth at least several million crowns!"

"If one dies, I'll hold you responsible!"

Hearing the command, the soldiers immediately stopped attacking, and their movements slowed down considerably.

But even so, under the suppression of numbers, the Elf Clan was still being pushed back!

The Elf Clan chief, Auriel, continuously waved his dark green staff, gathering orbs of spiritual energy.

"!!"

One after another, the spiritual energy orbs exploded, blasting the soldiers away!

The Archmage, radiating black aura, watched the elf chief Auriel with interest.

"Hehe, a seventh-tier elf mage, even on the Southern Continent, is rarely seen!"

"If I capture him, whether for research or to present to the king, it will bring me no small gain."

"It seems this time I'm really going to strike it rich!"

He raised his staff and chanted.

"Black earth, boil!"

As the words fell, the surrounding ground seemed contaminated by dark energy, and black mist boiled wildly. Under the erosion of this black mist, damage numbers appeared above the elf warriors' heads.

Meanwhile, the kingdom soldiers seemed to receive some kind of blessing, their power surging dramatically!

Clearly, this mage seemed to possess some kind of powerful force!

Various bizarre magics emerged endlessly, forcing the elf chief to retreat step by step!

It looked as though the warriors of the Ancient Elf tribe were about to hold out no longer.

Just then, Cao Xing waved his hand casually.

Rows of ice walls rose up in a short time, directly forming a barrier that separated the elf warriors from the kingdom soldiers.

At the same time.

Cao Xing activated the set effect on his equipment—Winter's Descent!

"Buzz!"

As a terrifying cold burst forth, the surrounding temperature plummeted dramatically!

Whether it was the elves or the soldiers, all felt a bone-chilling cold, and their movements became increasingly stiff.

Everyone sensed a strong threat, as if they were being watched by a cold prehistoric beast!

They stared at the figure holding a staff, slowly walking toward them.

Including the mage in black robes, who also fixed his gaze on Cao Xing and Renice beside him.

After sensing their aura, surprise gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Hmm? An Otherworld Lord, and he actually has seventh-tier strength?"

Seeming to realize that Cao Xing was not to be trifled with, he did not act immediately.

Instead, he said, "I am the chief mage of the Royal Elite Corps of the Ostia Kingdom, Arik."

"And you, sir?"

Cao Xing did not answer.

Because he had already confirmed that this guy was also someone who had learned black magic!

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Cao Xing said calmly, "I am friends with the chief of this elf tribe. Everyone, withdraw."

At the same time, he casually placed his hand near his ear.

The mage asked, "Sir, what do you mean by that?"

Cao Xing said casually, "Literally. The elves of this tribe are all mine. Get lost!"

Hearing this, the Archmage did not get angry; instead, a look of realization appeared on his face.

"I see, so you're also here to capture these elves."

He chuckled, "Sir, this batch of ancient elves is indeed astonishingly valuable."

"But these elves also hold great research significance for our Ostia Kingdom."

"If you are willing to part with them and let us have them, I will report to His Majesty the King and grant you a generous reward."

"Whether you want crowns or powerful equipment, you may choose freely."

"Or, you can name your price—how much to let us have these ancient elves."

Listening to the conditions offered, Cao Xing was not only unmoved but looked at him with hostility.

"Do you not understand?"

"I said, get lost now."

"I'll give you three seconds. If anyone is still standing before me, then stay here forever!"

At the same time, the Dragon Speaker in the air had already received the order and was ready to strike at any moment.

In fact, Cao Xing had no intention of letting these soldiers return alive.

The reason he said that was naturally because he did not want to fight here and expose the location of the elf tribe.

Faced with Cao Xing's threat, the soldiers' faces turned strange, and they looked at the chief mage.

After all, before this, other Otherworld Lords who saw their regular army would basically take a detour, not daring to provoke them.

Who was like Cao Xing, daring to reprimand and threaten a chief mage!

Even the chief mage looked at him with unfriendly eyes.

But the mage also sensed the powerful aura emanating from Cao Xing, plus the archer beside him who also had seventh-tier combat power.

If a fight really broke out, their side would definitely not be a match.

After struggling for a moment, the black-robed mage seemed to make a decision. He quickly said, "We retreat!"

Hearing the command, although the soldiers were somewhat unwilling, they obediently put away their weapons and prepared to withdraw.

Just then, a mass of dark energy silently appeared behind Cao Xing.

In that instant, Cao Xing felt an extremely cold force from behind, as if something was trying to burrow into his body!

Renice sensed the change behind and quickly turned around.

Then she saw a mass of black creature with no discernible outline pouncing toward Cao Xing!

She quickly warned, "Lord, watch out!"

Before Renice even warned him, Cao Xing's Wind Wings flapped, carrying him into the air, and the black shadow missed its target.

At the same time, the chief mage stopped in his tracks.

"Oh? You actually dodged my Malicious Possession?"

"Brat, you do have some skills."

At this moment, Cao Xing was flying in midair, a smile also on his face.

Clearly, he had long been guarding against this guy's sudden attack.

"You attacked me first, so you should have thought about the consequences, right?"

Hearing this, the chief mage's eyes showed disdain.

He was about to speak when he suddenly felt an extremely deadly aura from above, causing his expression to change drastically!

Before he could react, a shocking sword aura cleaved down from the sky above!

"Swish!"

The moment the sword aura fell, accompanied by a dragon's roar, the forest one or two kilometers ahead was instantly split by a crack!

The soldiers below had no time to dodge and were instantly killed by that sword strike!

Including the so-called chief mage, who was also sent flying hundreds of meters away by the strike!

Two large damage numbers appeared above his head.

Then, a massive figure descended from above, carrying a destructive aura.

A dark blue dragon, with eyes as large as bronze bells, locked onto the Ostia Kingdom soldiers.

And on its back, the Dragon Speaker watched the mage with an indifferent expression!

At this moment, not only the soldiers but also the elves in the entire tribe were stunned!

After all, the aura of this pair was simply too terrifying!

The chief mage lay on the ground, saying in a daze, "D-d-d-dragon—"

"And a tenth-tier powerhouse! How could this forest have such powerful forces?"

"Damn it! Who are you people?"

Cao Xing couldn't be bothered to answer. He said casually, "Alright, wipe them out."

Hearing the command, the Dragon Speaker and Renice attacked simultaneously.

"Swish!"

"Whoosh!"

Terrifying sword aura and a dense rain of arrows surged forth!

The chief mage did not just wait for death. He quickly scrambled up from the ground.

Then he looked at the other soldiers and said, "I command you, at all costs, hold them off!"

The soldiers below immediately complained bitterly.

Damn it, how are we supposed to hold them off?

The enemy can kill us with a single casual strike!

But this mage was their commander, and they could not disobey orders. They could only brace themselves and charge forward!

Seeing the soldiers charge like moths to a flame, the Dragon Speaker and Renice showed no mercy.

Arrows and sword aura poured out, and a large number of soldiers were instantly killed!

The chief mage, in a panic, tried to flee.

At that moment, Cao Xing once again entered the [Ice Spirit Soul] state, and all minor skills had no cooldown.

"Crash~!"

Walls of ice completely sealed off his escape route!

The chief mage continuously condensed black magic, shattering and corroding the ice walls.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

However, no matter how frantically he tried to destroy things, Cao Xing would summon more ice walls to block him tightly!

An expression of disbelief had already appeared in the opponent's eyes!

"Damn it! What kind of method is this?"

"Don't your spells have a cooldown?"

Cao Xing still didn't want to waste words on him and continued to cast Ice Wall to trap him.

Moreover, he would occasionally intersperse large spells, such as 'Ice Tornado' and 'Extreme Ice Bloom', catching the opponent off guard and in a panic!

He could only constantly cast one black magic spell after another to cope with these skills.

Then, although the opponent possessed dangerous black magic, had powerful attack power, and many different methods.

But Cao Xing was not to be trifled with either.

With a set of powerful buffs, he could completely suppress this Commander-level mage of the same rank!

Meanwhile.

On Dragon Speaker and Renice's side, they had already made quick work of these thousands of soldiers.

If it weren't for the fact that this place was close to the Elf Clan settlement, Dragon Speaker could have killed them all in seconds with a single large skill.

But even relying on basic attacks, it didn't take long to slaughter these thousand soldiers.

Then, they joined the battle against this Tier 7 mage together.

The subsequent battle naturally had no suspense.

Under the attacks of the three powerhouses plus one Ice Dragon, this chief mage was directly frozen into an ice block.

Allowing Cao Xing and the others to output damage, his health dropped crazily.

Then, Dragon Speaker struck with her sword, finishing him off.

A system notification appeared.

[Your territory member: Dragon Speaker Bing Lan killed Ostia Kingdom Mage: Alick Ford lv68 (Tier 7 Commander-level creature), gained Experience: 523600]

[Dragon Speaker Bing Lan's level has increased, current level: 100!]

[This level up grants attribute increases—]

[Warning! You have killed an important member, Ostia Kingdom favorability has dropped to: Hostile (Hidden)]

A smile appeared on Cao Xing's face, "Very good, Bing Lan has successfully reached the max level!"

"If I could obtain a sword-type Relic next, that would be great, as it would allow her to attempt to reach Legendary."

As for the last message about the drop in favorability, it was naturally ignored by him directly.

In his heart, Victoria was a person of his own territory, and after the Ostia Kingdom knew that this Qi Queen was still alive in the world, they would definitely not let her go.

When that time comes, they will surely send people to deal with her, and then come into conflict with Cao Xing.

In other words, the Ostia Kingdom itself belongs to a hostile force.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing stopped thinking about these things.

"Renice, go help me pick everything up."

"Yes."

After saying this, Renice began to clean up the battlefield.

The battle ended with overwhelming force after Dragon Speaker and Seraphis appeared.

Only then did the group of elves react.

The Elf Clan Chief, Auriel, said with a shocked expression, "It's unimaginable, this lady can not only control a giant dragon, but also possesses such powerful strength!"

"They could even become the overlords of this forest!"

Cao Xing said, "She is my subordinate, Bing Lan."

The Elf Clan Chief was amazed once again.

"To be able to have such a powerful existence pledge loyalty to you, you are truly an amazing Lord!"

"You saved our Elf Clan, please allow me to express my sincere gratitude to you!"

After saying this, the Elf mage placed his right hand on his chest and then bowed solemnly to Cao Xing.

Including the other elves, they also bowed one after another.

A system notification appeared.

[Because of your assistance, the Ancient Elf Clan's favorability towards you has increased, current favorability: Friendly.]

At this moment, this group of Ancient Elves no longer had any barriers towards Cao Xing.

Of course, this did not mean that this group of elves were naive, crying with gratitude just because someone saved them once.

It wasn't that they hadn't thought that perhaps this Otherworld Lord had coordinated a show with these soldiers, with the goal of gaining the elves' trust.

But what they had just experienced had already dispelled all their doubts.

After all, no matter how much one acted, it was impossible to use the lives of over a thousand soldiers and a Tier 7 mage as the cost!

Cao Xing said, "Then, Chief Auriel, I think you have seen it too."

"The location of your clan has now been exposed; this place is no longer safe."

"In my territory, there is more than one existence as powerful as Bing Lan, as well as the Ancient Tree of Knowledge, Wind Ancient Tree, and so on."

"If you are willing to join, at least you won't have to worry about safety anymore."

An expression of interest also appeared on Chief Auriel's face.

In fact, the moment Bing Lan and her Ice Dragon appeared, he already had the idea of defecting to Cao Xing.

After all, such a powerful existence could definitely protect their Elf Clan.

Cao Xing struck while the iron was hot, "In the days ahead, you also don't need to worry that your clansmen will not adapt after arriving at a new territory, or find it difficult to integrate with others."

"My territory accommodates many races; besides humans, there are Arctic People, Tree Spirit Race, Dream Spirit Race, and so on."

"Everyone lives in harmony on the same land, and everyone contributes their own strength to the territory."

Chief Auriel seemed to have been persuaded by Cao Xing, and then replied:

"Lord Cao Xing, your territory is indeed yearning, and I am also very willing to join."

"But before that, please allow me to work with my clansmen."

"Good."

Cao Xing nodded slightly; he was not in a hurry.

Then, the Elf Chief turned around, gathered all the elves who could still move, and started a meeting.

At this moment, Renice brought over the items that had just dropped and said respectfully.

"Lord, please take a look."

A smile also appeared on Cao Xing's face, and he took them.

[Obtained: Alick Ford's Commander-level Soul (Tier 7)]

[Obtained: Twisted Wooden Staff (Orange)]

[Obtained: Evil Crystal * 1]

[Obtained: Tier 4, 5 Elite Soul * 14]

[Obtained: Expert-level Heart of Strength * 6]

[Obtained: …]

Besides the Commander-level soul that dropped from the Archmage, an Epic quality staff also dropped.

As for the items dropped by the other soldiers, they could be considered standard.

Cao Xing first looked at the attributes of that Epic staff.

[Twisted Wooden Staff (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Equipment Level: 60]

[Attack Power: 4189 ~ 4297]

[Attached Effect ①: Spirit + 1000, Constitution + 600, Casting Speed + 20%]

[Attached Effect ②: Malice Amplification (When casting magic, there is a 30% chance to increase the attack power of this magic by 50%, but it will increase the cooldown time by 30%)]

[Attached Effect ③: Twisted Spirit (All Curse-type magic effects increased by 30%)]

(Equipment Introduction: An evil soul is sealed within this staff; when casting magic, one can faintly hear the wailing of a vengeful spirit…)

"Oh? A staff that strengthens curse abilities?"

"This staff is quite suitable for Farnaz."

After all, in his territory, only this priestess possessed the power of curses.

He nodded with satisfaction and put the staff into his backpack.

Then, Cao Xing checked another new item.

[Evil Crystal]

[Quality: Unknown]

[Item Effect: A type of evil alchemy material, containing the evil power of a Black Mage; if the black magic power within is accidentally leaked, it will pollute a large area of land, making it unable to recover for the next few hundred years]

(Note: Those who come into contact with black magic, while gaining powerful magic power, will also sacrifice their bodies and spirits; every time they cast black magic, a portion of their vitality will be absorbed and condensed into this crystal. When the black magic goes out of control, it will devour the person's own life and cause serious damage to the surroundings.)

"Is it actually a crystal from that mage's body?"

"It seems Victoria was telling the truth."

"The King of Ostia knew that the wizard possessed black magic, yet did not stop him, and even allowed him to continue casting it."

"According to deductions, this kingdom definitely has quite a few existences who control black magic."

"This thing—the harm is really great; long-term use will lead to constant backlash from black magic."

"Once it all breaks out, it will be a disaster!"

Cao Xing frowned slightly, then shook his head and said.

"Forget it, this is none of my business; if this kingdom really lets black magic run rampant and endanger the continent, other powerhouses will take action."

"Now what I need to do is to fully deal with the threat of the Blood Legion!"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing couldn't be bothered to care about the Ostia Kingdom's abuse of black magic anymore.

He put this [Evil Crystal] into his backpack.

"Now, it is time to digest that Commander-level soul."

As for this soul, he already had a candidate in mind for its use.

His gaze turned to the two figures on the dragon's back.