Translator: AnubisTL
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A group of wizards advanced steadily through this inverted world of cloud seas.
During their progress, they occasionally encountered brief but intense skirmishes.
Days passed uneventfully for over ten days.
According to Levin Mills's calculations, they had already explored half of the distorted region's internal space.
Upon hearing this, the twelve recruited wizards, including Jieming, exchanged satisfied glances.
Although the mission had lasted slightly longer than anticipated, their individual gains far exceeded expectations.
Just as Jack had predicted, the density of creatures within this space distortion zone was significantly higher than outside.
Moreover, they occasionally collected rare and valuable resources.
For instance, they had gathered a substantial quantity of raw materials for magic potions that permanently enhanced spatial perception, just as Jack had mentioned, several days prior.
Of course, their reconnaissance mosquito swarms suffered considerable losses.
While the corpulent wizard promptly replenished the swarms, the mental shockwaves from the deaths of soul-contracted beasts remained unavoidable.
Many of the recruited first-tier wizards had grown noticeably weaker, their faces pale.
Jieming, however, was in surprisingly good condition.
Thanks to his qi refining technique, which harmonized his essence, qi, and spirit, his soul strength and physical fitness far surpassed those of other wizards at his level, allowing for rapid recovery.
Moreover, through the adaptive evolution of his body tempering method, Jieming had developed a resistance to spiritual shocks of this magnitude over the past few days.
Nevertheless, troubled by certain anomalies he had observed during the mission, he feigned weakness to avoid drawing undue attention.
One day, after completing his morning search duties, Jieming was about to stop and contact the others to exchange information.
These mosquitoes, dubbed "Glowbugs," truly lived up to their reputation as specialized biochemical modification beasts for reconnaissance.
In addition to their scouting and search capabilities, they could also establish real-time communication between individuals through mental links between the mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes themselves even served as communication relays. Even wizards at the farthest distances could connect through a communication network formed by the mosquito swarms of different individuals.
Jieming noticed something was wrong as soon as the communication network was established.
The numbers were offโone person was missing from the network without explanation!
This sudden development made the hair stand on end for every wizard present.
Although each wizard was separated by tens or even hundreds of kilometers, the communication network built through the mosquito swarms allowed them to "connect" with the rest of the team at any time, from anywhere.
Yet, under these circumstances, one wizard had vanished without a trace!
What difference was there between this and a person suddenly disappearing from a group walking together?!
Through mutual contact and confirmation, they quickly determined that the missing wizard was one of the recruited members.
Even more chilling was the fact that the wizard hadn't disappeared at the edge of the search line, but rather in a relatively central position within the group's search formation.
When questioned, the wizards on either side of the missing individual reported that they had detected no unusual energy fluctuations before or after the disappearance.
The wizards dared not underestimate the situation and immediately retreated at high speed to their search positions from the previous day.
Only then did they cautiously circle the perimeter, regrouping.
Jieming, who had been stationed farther away, arrived later than the others.
As he approached, he saw a crowd of wizards anxiously gathered around the Fat Wizard.
The Fat Wizard's expression was grave. His eyes were tightly shut, as if he were communicating through the mosquito swarm network.
After a while, once all the wizards had assembled, the Fat Wizard finally opened his small eyes with a sigh.
He glanced at Levin Mills beside him and shook his head regretfully.
"No contact. The Glowbugs haven't died, but they're unresponsive..."
"Could it be because they encountered space distortion and were transported too far away?" Jack asked in a low voice.
"No, they're still within communication range," the Fat Wizard replied, shaking his head. His expression was peculiar, his face etched with confusion. "It's as if... the insects are ignoring my communications."
"What do you mean? Have they broken free of control? Or is it just a communication breakdown?" Levin Mills asked, startled.
"No, I mean exactly what I said. I can still contact the Glowbugs, but they're completely ignoring my messages, including the wizard who's been ignoring me all along..." the Fat Wizard reiterated, his tone filled with bewilderment.
The Fat Wizard's words caused everyone to frown.
This bizarre situation defied all their understanding.
Though they couldn't grasp what had happened, they couldn't simply ignore the problem.
After a brief discussion, the group decided to investigate the situation firsthand.
After flying for several hours, Levin Mills suddenly raised his hand. "Stop."
Jieming and the other wizards immediately halted, turning to look at him with questioning glances.
Levin Mills carefully sensed the direction of the empty space ahead.
After a long moment, he suddenly looked up and declared, "Approximately five standard time units ago, a wizard skilled in Energy Shaping fought here."
"Five quasi-standard hours?"
Wizards divided the day into ten quasi-standard hours, so five quasi-standard hours ago would be exactly half a day earlier, meaning it happened yesterday.
"If it was around that time..." A recruited wizard spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
"I actually know quite a bit about this. He must have encountered a group of creatures from the Void Domain Plane and collected quite a few of them... He even bragged to me about it after the battle."
"Oh? What happened after that?" Levin Mills pressed.
The wizard paused to think, then shook his head. "We lost contact after that."
"So, at least until then, the guy was fine," Jieming said grimly.
The other wizards grew serious as well, understanding the implications.
This meant the location was likely where the wizard had his final battle yesterday.
It was only after that encounter that he experienced whatever mysterious circumstances led to his disappearance.
Everyone immediately sharpened their focus and advanced cautiously.
They deployed every reconnaissance method at their disposal, including Glowbugs, without hesitation.
Flying vigilantly for a long time, Jieming encountered no enemies or any unusual energy signatures.
Just as he began to wonder, he suddenly felt his Profound Astral Red Dust Barrier being triggered!
"Enemy attack! Vigilance!" Jieming immediately roared.
However, the reaction of the surrounding wizards sent a chill down his spine.
Despite Jieming's loud shout, they seemed completely oblivious, continuing to fly forward like sleepwalkers.
A cold glint flashed in Jieming's eyes as he acted without hesitation.
Carefully controlling his force, he fired a pure energy bullet at each of them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The energy bullets were easily blocked by the autonomous protective shields around the wizards, but the sudden attack jolted them awake from their trance.
However, they didn't seem to realize they had been struck. Upon regaining consciousness, their first reaction was to glare warily at Jieming.
Since Jieming's attack hadn't been particularly powerful, they refrained from any rash actions.
Levin Mills was about to question Jieming's actions when his expression suddenly changed!
Puff, puff, puff...
A series of soft puffing sounds echoed through the air. To the shock of Jieming and the other wizards, a swarm of ghostly white, mist-like creatures surged upward from the thick clouds below like a rising tide!
These beings were covered in fine, downy fur, appearing from a distance like dense, swirling clouds.
Jieming instinctively activated his scouting eye, but it detected nothingโas if he were merely observing a patch of animated cloud-like terrain.
His eyes widened instantly as he activated his Universal Eye, focusing on the nearest unknown creature.
A torrent of information flooded his mind. Jieming quickly deactivated the Universal Eye, frowning as he took a step back.
He now understood why conventional reconnaissance methods had failed to detect them.
These creatures weren't just resembling cloud-like terrain; their very material composition was virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding clouds.
This perfect camouflage allowed them to evade the wizards' detection with ease.
"Something's wrong!" Jieming realized immediately after his initial shock.
He could clearly sense his Profound Astral Red Dust Barrier fluctuating wildly!
This meant they were still under relentless attack!
Moreover...
He glanced around, noticing the wizards' reactions were clearly off.
They had snapped out of their vigilance and spotted the enemy, but their responses were sluggish, their gazes almost vacant.
Despite seeing the enemy, they showed little reaction, almost as if they had no intention of defending themselves.
"Beware! These creatures specialize in Soul Curse Illusions!" Levin Mills' voice, carrying a soul-shaking resonance, echoed in everyone's ears.
Jieming instantly understood the enemy's sinister tactics.
Soul Curse Illusions were an extremely peculiar category of magic.
Essentially curses, their effects mimicked those of illusion magic.
They could cloud the cursed individual's soul, rendering them nearly incapable of rational thought.
The creatures' reliance on disguise meant their individual strength was limited, so a single curse had little effect.
Even an apprentice-level wizard could likely resist it with ease.
But the sheer number of these creatures was overwhelming!
Tens of thousands?
Hundreds of thousands?
Perhaps even a million!
Such a massive swarm casting a curse in unison would create a terrifying effect!
Even Levin Mills, a third-tier wizard, was caught off guard and affected!
(End of the Chapter)
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