32 The Red Line Bandits Part 1 (1/2)

”There are still three squads. We will not be able to fend them all off.” Canghong spoke to Saleen only after Sarah had woken up.

”I know, but there is no turning back. If we return, we will probably bump into people from the Holy See. It is not safe at Didypus. We want to leave Sikeqinya, and the only way out is ahead of us.”

”Sarah cannot engage in anymore combat,” Canghong’s eyed were a little red. Coupled with his devilish appearance, he looked like a beautiful girl even more stunning than Sarah.

”Give me half an hour. We will charge through.” Saleen held a Grade 3 magic nucleus in his hand, without the slightest trace of innocence on his face. His words had the ability to reassure others.

The four people sat in the field of the Fog of Confusion, a small amount of fluorescence light shining onto everyone’s faces and giving them a pale green sheen. When Saleen realized more than half of his magic chords had recovered, he then worriedly checked on the injury at his waist. The spear that the ascetic had used in combination with his holy prose had burst through three layers of his Water Shield, leaving Saleen with lingering fear.

In reality, Water Shield was a Grade 1 spell. After Saleen’s improvisation, its defensive capabilities were close to that of a Grade 2 spell at its peak. It possibly could have been passed off as a Grade 3 spell, but it had a flaw in not being instantaneous.

The Water Shield formed a spherical shape, such that any form of attack would not be received directly. The short, gold-colored spear had glided off after breaking three layers of the Water Shield. If Saleen’s response had been delayed by just half a minute, he would have been dead by now. It was not only the mutated magic that had saved his life. Saleen checked his waist. His belt was damaged, but one item inside had blocked the short, gold-colored spear.

Saleen dug into the hole in the belt with his fingers, hooking out an item. It was the ring that Earl Minghui had lost to him. He had sold the diopside stone on the ring for a hundred gold coins, and was left with a bare yellow-gold ring. Saleen had originally decided to keep this ring as it was plated with raw gold – the kind that had not been refined – and he could use it for magic medicine.

There was now a faint scratch on the ring. The short, gold-colored spear had cut through the gold-plated layer of the ring but had been stopped by the material within. That was why it had not pierced through Saleen’s waist.

Saleen began to worry, as this item was made of a sturdy material that was much stronger than his magic shield. A person had to understand that a shield made from Grade 2 magic was much tougher than steel. The short, gold-colored spear had pierced through three consecutive layers of magic shields before gliding off, but had only scratched off a trace of gold from the surface of this ring.

It was a strange ring!

Saleen did not know alchemy nor Fire Magic, but he still had ways to go about this. He retrieved his crucible from his leather sack and threw the gold-plated ring straight into it. Then, he added in the black Magic Flame Medicine.

The burning point of the gold was very low and the Magic Flame Medicine gave off an orange-red flame. The gold slowly liquified, revealing the true colors of the ring.

The ring had turned green; it was made of a metallic material, and had some spots on it. An inscription in ancient Myers language had appeared on the inside of the ring. Saleen was able to recognize every word, but was unable to understand the meaning. Based on simple deduction, it must have been an ancient natural magic mantra.

Long ago, the majority of mages had worshipped the Goddess of Nature. After the fall of the Temple of Nature, this line of mages had also disappeared. Even if they existed now, they would not openly admit their convictions.

This magic ring must have belonged to a mage who had been a believer of the Goddess of Nature. After being disguised, it had somehow landed in the hands of Baron Minghui. Saleen had originally thought he had been cheated. He could not have imagined that after the gold had been smelted, he would be left with this magic prop with a history spanning at least twenty thousand years.

Natural magic was no longer used by anyone. Even if that were not the case, Saleen would not be able to learn it. However, he felt far from discouraged and thought, How much would this item be worth?

Without no potential for disappointment, Saleen casually recited the inscription on the inside of the ring.

There were a total of twenty-four characters, and Saleen finished reciting it in four seconds. A green flash hardly visible to the naked eye illuminated from the inside of the ring and seeped into Saleen’s palm. Saleen felt a hum in his brain, and was dizzied for a moment.

Sika noticed that Saleen had suddenly entered a daze while holding the rubbish ring. His eyes were losing the aura they usually had. She instantly became worried and used her finger to poke at Saleen’s rib, asking, ”Chief, what’s up with you?”

”Ah!” Saleen let out a scream that made both Canghong and Sarah turn and look over. Saleen blushed, shaking his head and saying, ”Nothing. I am checking on my injury.”

”Why don’t you drink a little of this?” Sika took out her precious holy water, which she had spent all her silver coins on after she had left her village. Saleen pushed Sika’s hand away. He could vividly remember his previous experience of trying to use the holy water to cure his injuries. Holy water was supposed to be very soothing, but when applied on him, it was stronger than alcohol and more dangerous than poison.

Seeing Sika pout, Saleen laughed. He felt happy from the bottom of his heart. In reality, this ring was spatial equipment. What made Saleen happy was that he could actually make use of this spatial equipment. He was merely a Grade 1 mage and could not even make use of normal magical tools. He could only evoke a scroll or the constant magic on the mage’s robe.