"Damn it! What in the world is going on?!"
The mage could no longer spare attention for the patrol squad.
He cursed, quickly turned, and rushed back inside. With a few flashes of arcane light, he vanished from the spot.
That small hint of doubt was instantly drowned out by a greater sense of crisis.
Let's rewind a few minutes.
This was just as the Dracthyr squad had bid farewell to the mage and stepped into the shadows of another aristocratic street.
Sindaiseth continued to argue with Rabisargos in his mind, his steps unwavering.
"That guy is much stronger than me," Rabisargos argued in a low voice, with a hint of unwillingness, "otherwise, I would have detected his presence long ago."
"That's also because you weren't properly prepared."
The Dracthyr Scalelord didn't care for the Blue Dragon's excuses.
"Even if the enemy is stronger than us, should we just give up resistance and let ourselves be slaughtered?"
"Come find me for punishment after the operation is over."
Sindaiseth pronounced with an undeniable tone, "Now, activate Plan B. Distract that mage and any other potential guards for us."
Rabisargos felt a pang in his chest from anger. After a few seconds, he grumbled, "Alright. I will trigger an alert array. It will hold them for ten minutes at most."
"Ten minutes is enough." Sindaiseth turned to his teammates, "Target change. Disperse. Choose the nearest node, absorb energy on site, and withdraw quickly once done."
The other four Dracthyrs nodded without hesitation. Their figures flickered, and they quietly scattered, each heading towards their locked-on node.
A few breaths later, an alert array on the west side of the aristocratic district was triggered without warning.
The west side of the aristocratic district immediately glowed red, and a piercing alarm blared throughout the entire city!
While the guards were drawn to the west by the loud alarm, the five moved between buildings, quickly approaching their respective targets.
The node Sindaiseth chose was located at the corner of a secluded mansion. The night was deep, and only two guards were idly discussing the alarm, completely unprepared.
He leaped over the low courtyard wall, landing lightly, his figure merging into the shadows.
The next moment, two flashes of cold light, and the two guards silently fell.
Having done all this, he moved slowly along the wall, observing the internal layout.
The interior of the mansion was somewhat old, but traces of magic flow could still be seen—precisely where his target was located.
Sindaiseth quickly found the node—it was a half-human-height pedestal made of pale white rock.
Several crystals were embedded in the pedestal, and a few thinner energy conduits connected to it, with a steady blue-white light flowing inside.
He acted without hesitation, quickly pulling a fist-sized, jet-black cube from his belt.
The cube's surface was covered with complex magical patterns. This was a unique weapon invented by Neltharion back then.
Its effect was simple and brutal: it could absorb all elemental energy it came into contact with and convert it into explosive magic. Once full, it became a powerful mana grenade.
In its initial design, it was originally intended to deal with those who transformed into giant dragons, as their entire bodies unconsciously exuded various elemental forces. This weapon could absorb and counteract these energies.
However, the practical effect of this weapon was not as ideal as expected.
Its absorption range was extremely short, and transformed dragons were incredibly fast, making it difficult to approach the target on the battlefield to trigger the absorption effect. It was ultimately deemed "lacking in tactical value" by Neltharion himself and sealed away in the deep vaults of Zskera.
Nefarian discovered them in his recent explorations and realized the immense potential of this weapon among mortals.
With the help of three Blue Dragons, this weapon was redesigned and upgraded.
The new version no longer attempted to be compatible with all elemental forces but focused on specializing in a specific type of energy, thereby improving its absorption efficiency, capacity limit, and explosive power.
Additionally, this modification expanded its application scope, no longer limited to the four major elemental forces of earth, fire, water, and wind.
For example, the version the Sindaiseth squad brought this time was specifically developed for arcane energy.
Sindaiseth lightly pressed a button on the side of the cube, and a cluster of eerie green light immediately flickered in the recessed edge.
Besides this, there were four other vertically arranged recesses, each representing one of the squad's other four members.
Each recess was bound to another device—it would only light up when the corresponding Dracthyr pressed the ready button.
In the blink of an eye, two more recesses lit up one after another.
Sindaiseth waited patiently, for he knew that once the mana absorption began, it would be equivalent to announcing their presence to all of Sendarra.
Energy loss would attract rangers, awaken defense systems, and alarm the high-ranking mages stationed in the tower.
They would only have a few short seconds left.
So they had to start absorbing mana simultaneously.
The fifth recess finally lit up. The moment all five green lights shone, the cube itself underwent a subtle change—the entire device began to tremble gently, and the green lights entered a synchronized flashing rhythm.
First flash.
Second flash.
Third—Sindaiseth took a deep breath and firmly pressed the bottom of the cube onto the node pedestal.
"Now!"
At that moment, five magical devices at five different locations simultaneously contacted the arcane nodes.
They transformed into obsidian-forged magic snakes, greedily sucking the energy torrent of Sendarra.
"Buzz—!!!"
The runes on the cube's surface instantly erupted with a piercing red light!
The entire cube vibrated violently, emitting a dull, continuous hum!
The light of the crystals embedded in the node pedestal dimmed at a visible speed, and the surging light flow within the connected energy conduits instantly became sluggish and intermittent.
Violent liquid arcane energy was frantically sucked into that small container!
The bright magical lights of several luxurious buildings on the edge of the aristocratic district suddenly flickered, swayed violently a few times, and then barely stabilized, but their brightness was noticeably reduced by a notch.
"Five seconds!" Sindaiseth counted in his mind.
Time was up!
All Dracthyr members simultaneously picked up their cubes!
After absorbing enough energy, these cubes became like red-hot branding irons. The team members quickly stuffed them into special insulated pouches on their waists.
The runes on the surface of the insulated pouches suddenly lit up, powerfully suppressing the violent energy inside the pouches.
"Get us out of here!" Sindaiseth urgently informed Rabisargos in his mind.
Time was life!
"Okay, teleport coordinates locked, I'm about to—" Rabisargos's voice echoed in his consciousness.
However, before he could finish, his voice suddenly distorted, filled with incredible horror: "—No, wait, is that Sendarra—?!"
"Sizzle—!"
A piercing shriek suddenly exploded in the consciousness of Sindaiseth and all his team members!
Immediately after, the mental link with Rabisargos broke, completely silent!
"Damn it!" Sindaiseth cursed inwardly, not expecting such a fatal accident at the last moment of the operation—just as Rabisargos was about to open a portal to take them out of Sendarra!
Now the five of them had to face the towering wrath of the entire Sendarra mage aristocracy.
The moment the connection broke, all of Sendarra transformed into a startled giant beast!
If the previous alarm on the west side of the aristocratic district was merely a slight dream before the beast awoke, then the alarm triggered by their mana theft was the beast's true furious awakening!
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