Leaf was the teenage boy that had previously brought him to Diviner Mas. No. Teenage girl! Due to severe malnutrition at a young age, the fourteen year old girl Leaf was extremely thin, making it hard to distinguish any gender characteristics from her appearance. When she was found by Mas, the innate talent she awakened was similar to the Thought Manipulation mastered by curse adepts.
Due to the lack of a systematic cultivation system, as well as proper resource utilization, Leaf didn't manage to find a caster who could teach her after her talents had awakened. This caused her to have no spells, other than the few innate spells she awakened naturally.
Greem couldn't help but shake his head and sigh after a serious appraisal of her body condition. A little girl that had immense innate casting talent combined with a powerful pseudo-adept level Spirit, yet all her other attributes were so poor they couldn't even compare with ordinary civilians.
The thirteen year old teenage boy Razor was also in a similar condition.
Razor's talent was the extremely unique metal affinity. He was naturally able to manipulate and control some metal weapons. He also had pseudo-adept level powers, but had not mastered a single spell. Moreover, the quality of his physique was also in shambles.
As a previous street urchin that was even lower than livestock, he had no relatives or even a name of his own. Even the name he had now was given to him by Diviner Mas, when Mas gave him shelter.
However, even though they weren't very good in combat, their understanding and familiarity with Skandre City was incomparable to outsiders. And what Greem needed was locals exactly like them!
They turned down countless alleys in the dark, even going above two or three abandoned civilian homes. Soon a three-level tower appeared before them.
They had to pass by such towers if they wanted to sneak into the upper city area from the lower city area.
Looking from a distance, they could see three city guards gathered together and making small talk under a dim torch st a small arch-shaped gate.
While Leaf went forward to deal with the guards, Razor went up to Greem.
"Hey, big guy. Is your world really that powerful? I heard from the old man that you adepts are powerful fellows who can conquer most the multiverse!"
Two shrouds of flame burnt silently under the shadow of his hood. He wasn't upset at all by this overly curious brat. In fact he even felt an indescribable closeness with the kid due to how similar in age they were.
A lot of the time, Greem couldn't help but feel relieved that he had been born in the World of Adepts, where adepts had a dominant social position. If he had unfortunately fallen into a terrifying place like the knights' plane, he wouldn't have so easily made a name for himself, even with the help of the chip.
"Adepts aren't as powerful as you think. There are countless other races and planes that are superior to even the adepts in the entire multiverse. You should be glad that we adepts were the ones invading your plane. If it had been the Scourge Lords of the World of Disaster, your entire plane added together wouldn't even be enough for them to devour in a single bite!" Since they had plenty of time, Greem didn't mind entertaining the kid.
It was only when Leaf waved her hand that the two quickly walked over to the dimly lit gate.
The three city guards were still wearing their old standard leather armor. They held their spears in one hand and leaned against the wall, still retaining their postures from when they were conversing. Their eyes were opened wide but their gazes were unfocused and lifeless. They didn't even react when Greem and Razor walked by.
Greem could very clearly see a strange rune flashing on their foreheads.
The three silently passed through the gate. When they disappeared into the darkness in the distance, Leaf cancelled the runes, allowing the three city guards to wake from their stupor. However, that short pause earlier had not disrupted their conversation. They were still engaged in their small talk as if nothing had happened.
"Quite an impressive ability!" Greem gave a rare compliment.
This little girl was able to discover such a unique way of using her talents even without any guidance. It was clear that she was also an extremely talented individual. It was unfortunate that she had been born on this knights' plane. If she had the fortune of being born in the World of Adepts, she might have become a powerful adept!
"Of course." Razor clearly admired Leaf and immediately spoke in excitement when he heard Greem's compliment, "Sister Leaf is an irreplaceably important character amongst us. Her ability is the strongest, apart from that old man and the few instructors!"
"Shut up, Razor!" Leaf, who had been walking in front, suddenly scolded quietly, "If you can't control your mouth, I'll make you unable to speak for the rest of the night!"
With her unique ability to manipulate thought, all she needed was a simple psychological attack to the subconscious and she could temporarily rob others of their ability to speak. After all, the people of this world didn't have such simple and practical defensive thought magic accessories like the Soul Brooch.
The young Razor stuck his tongue out at Leaf and quickly shut up.
Instructor?
Greem smiled slightly and silently contemplated.
Leaf was already a pseudo-adept level thought manipulator. If that was the case, the instructor Razor spoke of could only be an actual adept-level existence. How unbelievably powerful were these guys' talents? To be able to successfully advance into real casters while under the cruel oppression of the witcher-knights?
Once they passed through that gate, they had made it into the upper city area.
Compared to the low buildings and old wooden huts of the lower city area, almost every building in the upper city area had gardens of their own and were all magnificent mansions. Their target this time lived in a mansion close to the palace. It was natural that it would be difficult to sneak their way in there.
Greem's terrifying magic abilities might allow him to easily turn this place into a sea of fire, but it was extremely hard for him to sneak his way into the heart of the enemy's place without drawing attention. Fire Teleportation was a decent mobility spell, but that blast of fire and sudden explosion of the halo was far too conspicuous.
If he didn't want to draw the attention of every guard in the upper city area, he had to rely on the power of these locals!
The three stopped at times, plunging into dark alleys to avoid well-armed patrols.
After a dozen days of raids, the upper city had been badly damaged. Fallen walls and broken beams were everywhere; crumbling buildings could be seen all around.
This area, set between the upper city area and the palace area, was a place that only the most powerful and respected of Skandre City could live in.
Right now, dim candlelight pierced through the second floor window of a delicate mansion. This meant that the owner of the bedroom hadn't slept yet, despite the night’s rainfall.
Daphne lightly pushed apart the wooden windows and leaned on the lattice. She gazed silently into the dark night sky.
It was only at this time of day that those accursed dragons wouldn't come whistling in and disturb her peaceful and fulfilling life.
The street next to hers had just been raided by the dragons. Greena's house was razed and a dozen of her servants had died. John's home, on the street to the right, had also been visited by the dragons. Everything of value inside had been completely taken away.
Every day, she and her other young companions would have to gather in the palace to avoid being hurt by the dragons. It was only at night that they were allowed to return to see if their homes were still standing.
Such an oppressive life was just way too terrible!
Daphne was filled with resentment every time she thought of her father having to constantly stay in that rowdy Runeforge Camp. He wasn't even able to stay by her mother's side!
Chapter 240
The bedroom door opened and a gentle noble lady walked in with soft steps.
> "Daphne, it's time for you to rest!" The lady walked over and hugged her shoulder, pulling her over to the large, delicate bed, "Get some rest. We still have to go to the palace tomorrow morning!"
Daphne sent her mother away with reassuring words before letting out a sigh. Once she closed the door she turned around, only to see a strange pair of ghostly green eyes staring her in the face.
Leaf lightly put the young, slim girl in the nightdress on her soft bed. She turned and said, "I have hypnotized her. She won't wake up until tomorrow morning. Hurry up and do what you want to do!"
A tall figure walked out from the darkness in the corner of the room and walked silently to the bed.
He lightly lifted up the girl's nightdress and stopped when her white waist was exposed.
Greem extended his right index finger and quickly drew a strange fire rune on the girl's stomach. The entire rune flashed and radiated an evil crimson light. It faded two or three seconds later, disappearing into the girl's stomach.
"It's done! "Greem put his hand down and closed his eyes to sense for the fire rune within the girl before nodding in satisfaction, "Let's return!"
Leaf deftly tidied the girl's nightdress and covered her in the soft velvet blanket. She then turned and leave.
They silently snuck out of the mansion. Greem turned back and took one last look before turning into a dark alley. He let out a soft sigh before pulling his hood up, covering his face and merging back into the darkness.
This was the power that a diviner possessed!
The same radiant knight, and the only way he could think of dealing with him was how to kill the knight in a direct confrontation. But in the hands of the powerless Diviner Mas, he could use odd and unique ways to solve the problem.
Such as using an opponent's relatives to draw them away at the crucial moment. In doing so the dangerous battle could be avoided!
Lions and tigers can only talk with their fangs and claws, but a fox was so much more sly.
Greem finally understood how Diviner Mas was able to survive right beneath the noses of the witcher-knights.
The reason Mas was willing to contact him was probably because he saw benefit to be gained through the power of fate. There was no way he could have obtained the fundamental magic books from the Great Adept!
Due to the difference in planar laws, these books were not completely suited for the casters of this plane. However, with a system for reference, they could save hundreds of years of uncertain experimentation. Perhaps, with their current knowledge and power, they could easily construct an advancement system in a mere hundred or two hundred years that completely suited the casters of this plane.
But how would this affect Greem in any way?
Why would it matter if these casters chose to continue serving under Great Adept Sarubo, or started trouble by choosing to go independent?
Perhaps it was because both parties had needs that could be fulfilled by each other, while having no direct clash of interest. Diviner Mas was willing to cooperate fully with Greem and even he had to pay a price in doing so.
Greem was sure that the powerless old man would instantly vanish from his sight if he ever thought of killing him and he would never see Mas again. What came next would most likely be an endless pursuit from the leaders of the witcher-knights.
Diviners indeed had intricate and incomprehensible uses of their powers!
Even though they might not have any strength by themselves, they could utilize the forces around them to achieve their goals. The people being used wouldn't even know they had become a tool for the diviners. They would continue to believe that this was fate's choice, and remain willing to be a tool of fate.
Such a utilization of power was extremely interesting to Greem. However every time he thought about the price of manipulating fate, he couldn't help but give on up the idea. Losing all of your own power was too scary.
Rather than slowly weave a net around your enemies and waiting for them to walk to their deaths, it was much better and more satisfying to burn your way there using blazing infernos and scorching flames to reduce the enemy to ashes with your own hands!
As expected, the more violent and hot-blooded fire elementium adept job was much more suited for him!
…………
The afternoon of the second day.
It was almost always the time for the dragon's raid today.
When the loud dragon's roar echoed from the distant horizon, all the remaining civilians in Skandre City instantly scattered to the winds. They went into hiding, silently waiting for the dragons' assault.
It was a sunny day and the sunlight was pleasantly warm.
Three small fellows followed behind the Second Grade Green Dragon Sears. They unfurled their wings and slid across the canopy, gliding rapidly across the mountainous forest.
The three brats behind him were all First Grade young dragons. In his eyes they were all just naughty kids who only knew how to play all day long. It was honestly a rather large psychological burden for him to bring this bunch of kids, who had too much curiosity and playfulness, on a raid.
But what choice did he have!
There were over two hundred human cities of all sizes scattered across the Continent of the Knights. If they wanted to harvest everything before moving Dragon Valley, a lot of manpower had to be put in. The strong and powerful adolescent dragons had to cover tens of thousands of kilometers everyday just to raid the faraway human cities.
In comparison, bringing a couple of dragon babies to a familiar place five hundred kilometers away for some light training was already an easy job!
Even though he called them baby dragons, these were already terrifying demons in the eyes of the humans. They were five meters from head to tail with a wingspan of four meters. Wicked and terrifying fangs, powerful hind legs, sharp dragon claws, and that inviolable dragon's aura of might… perhaps they could only be considered weak and immature babies in the eyes of adolescent dragons!
As the dragon flight continued forward, Sears bent his body and looked down proudly upon the forest beneath him. A wave of powerful aura instantly covered the entire stretch of land.
Under the gaze of his sharp eyes, the entire forest had already fallen into chaos. Countless creatures escaped from their dens, running into the distance without ever looking back. For one moment the creatures of the forest were in a frenzy, panicking as if the end of the world had arrived.
The three young dragons behind him were extremely excited. They followed Sears example and raised their necks to let out bellowing roars that rang throughout the forest.
All of a sudden, the whelp at the rear of the formation turned and looked behind. He lifted his snout and sniffed before excitedly beating his wings and diving downwards.
The animals in the forest fell into even more chaos. All sorts of screeching and howling filled the woods as the beasts ran into trees and sent branches snapping and flying everywhere.
Amidst this chaos, the lunging whelp sunk his powerful hind legs deep into the back of a razor boar as large as a calf. His sharp dragon fangs clamped on the boar's neck the very next second.
One large shape and one small one rolled about the forest in the dense foliage. Their large rolling bodies crushed all the bushes in their way into the ground.
Razor boars were violent and ferocious animals, fierce creatures even within the woods, but even they were prey when faced with green dragons. Even if its opponent was a little green dragon less than a hundred years old!
Just as the whelp bit its prey to death, and was bending its body to tear at the boar's leg, wind blew in the sky above. Sears showed its wicked and terrifying body once more.
"Little Chelsea, stop being so greedy. There's still a human city ahead waiting for us!"
The whelp was enjoying its feast and wasn't willing to give up on the food before it. It growled sharply at Sears before continuing eating.
Sears turned back and looked at the two other whelps who were eyein
g the meat greedily and reluctantly said, "Remember, don't stay for too long. We will head for the human city first. Remember to catch up after you are done!"
Having said that, he took the skies and circled the it with the two whelps. Then he beat his wings and flew forward, disappearing past the hill in the distance in the blink of an eye.
Six silhouettes wrapped in black cloaks silently watched the scene unfold from a low hill five hundred meters away.
"It worked, Sir Greem!" Diviner Mas still looked as powerless as usual. He held a staff longer than his body in one hand and spoke in a soft voice, "That little dragon fell for it! We can begin the operation now."
The shapes cast aside their cloaks, revealing fit bodies under leather armor and cloth robes. They leapt off the low cliff and rapidly moved towards the area the green dragon was feeding at.
Greem slowly pushed his hood back and nodded at Diviner Mas, "Your ability is impressive! I hope there will be a pleasant conclusion to our cooperation!"
Greem's silhouette vanished in a massive blast of fire as he said that.
Boom.
Greem's body disappeared from the spot.
Then flames burst forth in the distant woods as a tall and imposing man of fire suddenly appeared there. It roared and charged at that green dragon whelp.
The suddenly exploding wave of fire ravaged the cliff, but all of the flames and the shockwave were blocked by a translucent defensive barrier.
A young girl with a light blue mark on her face stood before Diviner Mas. Her hands were raised high and that barrier was erected by her.
"Was that intentional? He needs our help yet he acts so hostile towards us?" The girl stabilized the energy output from her hands while complaining at Mas.
"It doesn't matter whether it was intentional." Mas shook his head as he sighed, "He's a smart man. He understands that we both need each other's help. In a fair trade, there is no such thing as someone asking for a favor from the other! It is a fair trade."
"Then did he intend to intimidate us with this?"
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