"Iz, are you going to intervene?"
"I dislike interfering in human wars," Iz replied calmly. "But when it comes to monsters, I've never intended to stand by and watch."
That made sense.
He would even save small villages and towns.
How could he possibly watch dozens of cities—and an entire nation—be wiped out?
"Besides," Iz added casually, "I once borrowed some of Regia's secret techniques to study."
"I suppose it's time to repay that favor."
…Uh.
Did they know you borrowed those secret techniques?
Rei didn't say it out loud.
Still… the types of monsters down there looked strangely familiar.
A large number of soul-type entities.
If he used Soul Sovereign, he could probably harvest an enormous number of souls.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Before Iz even made a move—
Three humanoid monsters suddenly appeared, blocking his path.
"Human!"
"Hehe… we just sensed a wave of perception sweep through the area. Didn't expect to find humans hiding here."
These monsters… could speak.
"I wasn't hiding," Iz replied evenly.
The three monsters possessed roughly humanoid shapes, though each had grotesque variations in detail.
The aura radiating from them—
King-class.
Tier-6 King-class monsters.
"Hahaha! Not hiding? Seeing our army and you haven't pissed yourself yet, human?!"
The monster standing in the center had only a mouth on its face. Wisps of soul energy drifted from between its lips, and both the mouth and the escaping soul fragments formed mocking smiles.
Beside it, a sharp-headed monster squinted at them.
"Oh? Two Level-6 human class holders!"
"Haha! No wonder you're not afraid!"
"It looks like you're a mage?"
"If I remember correctly, there are only two Level-6 mages on this continent."
"Are you the one called Fizel, or the one called Iz Palut?"
Iz tilted his head slightly.
"You know quite a lot."
"Where did you hear that?"
At the same time, his gaze drifted downward.
The monster army below moved with discipline and coordination.
Interesting…
That kind of organization was far beyond what mindless monsters should be capable of.
But…
Why was he so famous among monsters?
Iz couldn't quite understand it.
"Hehe, of course we heard it from you humans!"
"He told us to attack Regia today, because Regia doesn't have any truly powerful Level-6 class holders."
"But if we attacked Lorren, we should be careful of several particularly strong ones—especially a warrior named Akagi, and a mage named Iz Palut!"
"He also said Iz Palut is the strongest mage in Ruilen. If we encounter him, we should retreat immediately."
"Hahahaha! Ridiculous!"
"A mere human telling us to retreat!"
"Come on, tell me—who are you?"
"Are you Iz Palut or Fizel?"
"If you're Fizel, killing you wouldn't carry much prestige."
"But if you're Iz Palut… killing you would greatly enhance my reputation!"
A faint smile appeared on Iz's lips.
"Yes. I am Iz Palut."
"But there's one correction I need to make."
"I'm not the strongest mage in Ruilen."
"I'm the strongest mage in the entire world."
The three monsters froze.
Then the one in the middle burst into loud laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"You've seen the entire world?!"
"And you're already calling yourself the strongest?!"
"They say humans are ignorant and arrogantly stupid."
"Looks like that's absolutely true!"
"Enough!"
"If the last moments of your life can entertain me a little, consider it the greatest glory of your existence!"
"Now—"
WHOOSH!
In an instant, the monster appeared behind Iz.
Its two hands closed in from both sides of Iz's head, ready to crush it.
"Die!"
Pop.
Iz didn't move.
But the monster behind him suddenly stopped.
Its head was gone.
Completely shattered.
"Hmm."
"So you really haven't seen the world…"
"But I still believe I'm the strongest mage in it."
Absolute confidence.
Unrestrained arrogance.
Not even a hint of doubt.
Concepts like there's always someone stronger simply didn't exist in Iz's worldview.
He was the highest peak of magic.
If Rei had to evaluate it—
Iz's level of humility regarding magic was practically zero.
Why practically?
Because occasionally he would admit he only understood a tiny bit of certain magical theories.
"Boss!"
"You killed our boss! I'll avenge him!"
"Human—die!"
Rei watched quietly from the side.
These monsters really were stupid.
If he saw a companion of equal strength die instantly in front of him…
His first reaction would be to run.
WHOOSH—
The sharp-headed monster charged at Iz.
Flames erupted across its body mid-dash.
But before it could even close a few dozen meters—
It burned into ash.
Instantly.
Only one monster remained.
It was just about to erupt in fury—
"Don't move."
The moment Iz spoke—
The monster discovered its entire body had been completely immobilized.
It couldn't move at all.
"You said a human told you this information," Iz said calmly.
"Which human?"
The monster—four arms, holding bone spikes—roared at him.
"Human! Do you think I'll tell you?!"
Iz replied casually,
"If you tell me, I'll let you go."
"Human! Who wants your—"
Slice.
Before it finished speaking—
Two of its arms were cleanly severed and fell toward the ground below.
Before Iz could continue threatening it—
The monster suddenly cried out weakly.
"Human! Wait!"
"Don't kill me!"
Heh.
No backbone at all.
That was a fast change of attitude.
Two companions had just died—yet it hadn't been afraid then.
Only when the whip struck its own body did it understand pain.
The stupidity of monsters made Rei sigh inwardly.
"Speak," Iz said.
"Tell me—and I won't kill you."
"Also explain your invasion plan for Regia. Who ordered it, and how it was planned."
His tone remained calm.
"It was someone who called himself Monk!"
"He provided the plan!"
"He had a beard, pale skin, and was male!"
"Other features?"
"I don't remember! You humans all look the same! That's all I remember!"
Iz nodded.
For a creature this dim-witted, remembering gender, beard, and name was already impressive.
But that information…
Sigh.
The name was probably fake.
Beards could be shaved or attached.
Even gender…
Not necessarily reliable.
Still, at least it was something.
"Explain the plan."
"All the information—including your details and the invasion strategy—came from Monk!"
"He suddenly came to our nest and demanded to meet the ruler!"
"He proposed a plan to invade the human continent and said he would open a passage for us!"
"We discussed it and thought it sounded fine, so we followed the plan!"
"That's all!"
So they really just decided on the spot.
Iz continued.
"Who is the ruler of your nest?"
"Our nest ruler…"
The monster tried to move.
Iz loosened the restraint slightly.
It turned its head toward a distant mountain.
"Over there!"
"Our ruler is there! On a far mountain!"
"It's a giant eye with four wings! The greatest master of our kind!"
"Oh?"
"Which nest are you from?"
"I am Zazek of the Evil Nest, Level-6 Sub-Nest!"
Another Evil Nest?
No wonder there were so many soul-type monsters.
Rei felt oddly connected to that nest.
Just last month he had invaded one of their nests and killed more than a dozen Continental-level monsters.
And now he ran into them again.
Rei casually collected the souls of the monsters that had died.
Iz didn't care.
But Rei always took precautions.
No matter what—
Never leave even the smallest chance for an enemy to revive and stab you in the back.
Iz asked,
"A Level-6 nest? Isn't your leader the Myriad-Body True Soul?"
"Myriad-Body True Soul? You mean the large Level-6 nest?"
Iz frowned.
"There are other Level-6 nests?"
After returning from the previous encounter, Rei and the others had interrogated the captured soul.
But it knew almost nothing.
It had only existed for a month and possessed extremely low intelligence.
It only knew that the Myriad-Body True Soul ruled its nest and that it needed to leave the nest and kill humans.
That was all.
But this monster—
Though just as stupid—
Seemed to know more.
It suddenly began rambling proudly.
"There are many! Although the world has only one Final Master Nest, beneath it there are countless sub-nests!"
"I heard there are over a million Level-6 nests like ours!"
It puffed up arrogantly.
"Human! Do you now understand our greatness?!"
"If you do, kneel and worship us!"
…
Did it forget it was a prisoner?
Did it forget who was stronger here?
Iz casually cut off its remaining two arms.
Then continued questioning.
"How many monsters like you can speak?"
The moment its arms were severed—
Its expression immediately cleared.
"I—I don't know."
"Oh…"
Iz glanced downward.
The monster army had already crossed the mountains.
They were about to reach Regia's cities.
"Besides you three, are there any other talking monsters here?"
"N-No… none."
Hmm.
Then that "ruler" wasn't worth investigating.
Iz nodded slightly.
Flash.
In the next instant—
Rei felt solid ground beneath his feet.
They were standing on a city wall.
Beside them stood a middle-aged man with graying temples.
He stared at the monster tide with a death-before-surrender expression.
Iz spoke to him directly.
"You… should be the city lord, correct?"
The man turned in shock.
Only then did he realize several people had appeared beside him.
"You are…?"
"Iz Palut."
"Remember this."
"I am the one who saved this nation."
Iz raised one hand.
In the distance—
A line of blue flames suddenly stretched outward.
It spread left and right, forming a massive band of fire.
Then—
The band of flames surged upward.
In an instant it became a thousand-meter-tall wall of fire.
WHOOSH—
The fiery wall pushed forward.
Every monster that touched it was instantly reduced to nothing but ash.
SSSSSS—
The endless monster army crashed against the wall like waves against a cliff.
Yet the wall of fire remained unmoving.
Relentless.
Advancing steadily forward.
Burning everything in its path.
"Th-this… this this this…"
The city lord stammered for a long time.
But couldn't finish the sentence.
"Th-this—"
This what…
Rei thought the same thing.
But even he found himself speechless.
Could his own magic, at Level-6, sweep across tens of thousands of kilometers like this?
If this spell were cast on Earth—
It might sweep from the South Pole to the North Pole.
From Rei's position, he couldn't even see its edges.
But he didn't doubt Iz at all.
If Iz said he would wipe out the monsters—
Then every single one would die.
After thinking briefly—
Rei flew upward.
During the Month of Death and Destruction, the sky was cloudless.
He rose until breathing became slightly difficult before stopping.
Looking down from the high sky—
The enormous flaming wall still stretched beyond the horizon.
If someone were flying on a plane in his previous life—
And looked out the left window to see a wall of fire at the horizon—
Then ran to the right window—
Only to see the same wall of fire…
That would be utterly terrifying.
Endless Flame Great Wall (Tier-6) (LV: 601)
Transcendent Magic.
Iz clasped his hands together.
"I must admit… my disciple has given me tremendous inspiration."
"If not for Rei's insight…"
"Transcendent Magic might not have appeared for another ten years."
That single moment of inspiration had saved him a decade of research.
Once Transcendent Magic was developed, many other magical theories followed naturally.
And beyond that—
Rei's Multi-Casting.
His Magic Ascension.
All of it had inspired Iz immensely.
Iz clapped his hands.
"Flames gather from the four directions."
BOOM!
A second, third, and fourth Flame Great Wall rose!
They surrounded the monster army from four directions.
Like a massive burning cage, slowly closing inward.
WHOOSH—
The monsters could neither escape—
Nor break through.
Even Tier-6 King-class monsters died instantly upon touching the flames.
This fire was far beyond ordinary flames.
"Iz… Iz Palut!"
Finally, the city lord managed to speak.
"Yes."
THUD.
The city lord dropped to his knees.
"You saved our city—Yuefeng!"
"In fact, we had just sent messenger pigeons to every nation!"
"To you—to adventurers everywhere!"
"We never imagined you would arrive so quickly!"
Messenger pigeons were indeed fast.
But this location was extremely far from Lorren.
Even with those pigeons, it would take nearly a full day for the message to arrive.
By the time help arrived—
The city would already be gone.
"We happened to pass by," Iz replied calmly.
"It was merely convenient."
The city lord truly deserved his position.
He quickly recovered from the emotional shock.
"Guards!"
"Prepare a banquet!"
"We must welcome the great Iz Palut who saved our kingdom!"
"And immediately send envoys to report today's events to the royal capital!"
He didn't even ask the foolish question of whether the monsters had been fully eliminated.
As long as Iz Palut was here—
How many monsters came didn't matter.
They would all be handled easily.
Rei descended back to Iz's side.
The monster Iz had imprisoned earlier—
Rei had already knocked its soul out and sealed the talking soul inside a Soul Lantern.
Another interrogation subject.
He asked quietly,
"So, Iz… what's your plan now?"
"Since we're here, we might as well stay," Iz replied.
"It's already getting late."
Rei glanced at the sky.
Indeed—
Dusk had already arrived.
"Besides," Iz continued aloud, "this is your first time in Regia, isn't it? We're not in a hurry to return to Lorren. Why not stay a few days?"
Then Rei suddenly heard Iz's telepathic voice inside his mind.
"Rei, I remember you're currently the Chief Mage of Lorren.""Regia is Lorren's sworn enemy.""Lothdan has helped you quite a bit. Even though he hasn't asked anything from you…""Shouldn't you consider making some contributions to Lorren?"
"I remember that Regia's Forbidden Library might contain a book called Forbidden Origin."
"And the churches here are closely tied to Regia's interests. Their forbidden archives probably contain a lot of information unfavorable to Lorren."
"Also… inside Regia's imperial palace, there's supposedly a secret technique that only pure-blood royals can learn."
"As Lorren's Chief Mage, I think you should make some contributions."
Rei…
I feel like you only remember I'm Lorren's Chief Mage when it's convenient for you.
Normally you don't seem to care about Lorren at all.
"Iz," Rei replied aloud, feigning innocence, "weren't you uninterested in national affairs?"
"I simply don't want to participate in wars," Iz answered.
"But reading a few books privately and not leaking them shouldn't affect the balance of war, right?"
"You're the one from Lorren."
"Whether you leak anything or not—that's your stance."
"It has nothing to do with me."
Rei clicked his tongue internally.
Nice job distancing yourself.
Still…
He was Lorren's Chief Mage.
Borrowing a few things from an enemy nation wasn't unreasonable at all.
Rei suddenly felt that having a wealthy enemy was actually quite convenient.
It meant he could do questionable things—
Without any psychological burden.
Without worrying about morality.
"Iz," Rei said, "I'd like one more helper."
"Who?"
"Ling Qingying."
"That little assassin?"
"Yes."
"Alright. I'll bring her here tonight."
Kumironi had watched the entire exchange silently.
…They did save Regia, right?
At the very least, today they had prevented a massive slaughter.
Even though they hadn't healed anyone personally, they had still upheld the principles of life.
I'm exhausted.
I'll find a Temple of Life and rest.
Whatever they're planning…
I'll pretend I didn't see it.
That was the conclusion Kumironi reached.
Iz suddenly turned toward her.
"Oh, right, Kumironi."
"Does the Life Church here fall under your authority too?"
"Could we borrow a few secret scriptures from their restricted archives?"
Kumironi exploded immediately.
"No!"
Who asks the High Priestess of the Life Church something like that to her face?!
Wherever a High Priestess of the Life Church goes—
She's still a High Priestess!
..
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