Above the damp, mist-covered swamp stood a majestic towering peak.
Terrifying explosive sounds frequently echoed across the area, with the air filled with crackling power, relentlessly driving away the weaker creatures.
And all of this originated from the peak's summit.
There, an enormous runic array was set up in mid-air, constantly drawing in the stray energy particles of the world, transforming them into massive currents of lightning.
In the center, where thunder and plasma intertwined, a large deep purple electric sphere rolled, emitting terrifying waves of energy, as if it was nurturing some fearsome being.
At a certain moment, countless bolts of lightning in the heavens suddenly converged into one point, all converging into the deep purple electric sphere.
The enormous purple sphere rapidly expanded, its aura growing increasingly terrifying, until it reached a critical point, and then—boom!
The sound of hundreds of lightning bolts exploding at once resounded, as the massive purple sphere burst apart. Endless currents of electricity formed a dense, blinding waterfall, crashing down in all directions, instantly dispersing the thick fog below, evaporating the water vapor, and turning the vast swamp into a barren, dry land consumed by electric fire and thunder.
At the same time, beneath a bright and clear sky washed by a torrential rain, a figure surrounded by countless electric lights stood still between the towering peak and the heavens.
It was an extraordinarily handsome young man.
Storm clouds brewed in his eyes, every strand of hair wrapped in electricity, and his robes appeared woven from lightning itself.
He calmly gazed down at the earth, exuding an innate noble aura, like a king holding dominion over thunder, or an ancient being born from lightning and fire. Every movement and gaze silently conveyed the mystery and majesty of the sky.
"Jupiter."
A deep, resonant voice echoed from the peak, carrying an unquestionable tone.
"Go, reclaim the glory you briefly lost.
At the seat set by Herams, carve your name, as well as the name of the council."
The handsome young man gently brushed his left shoulder with his right hand, calmly bowing in the direction of the peak.
Then, his profound gaze turned toward the distant horizon, and in the next moment, his entire form transformed into a dazzling ball of lightning, tearing through the air.
"Angrel. Leo."
"You'd better be ready. Try tasting what it feels like to have your heart pierced by thunder."
Meanwhile, on a dark plain.
Crimson, thick clouds covered the sky, moving rapidly across the plain.
Wherever the coagulated, blood-like clouds passed, weak creatures on the ground immediately had blood seep from their skin, silently dying without even a scream, only death and despair spreading across the land.
In the blood-red clouds, a grotesque creature over four meters tall, its skin seemingly stripped away, leaving only exposed sinew and muscle, had taken on the form of some eerie armor made of flesh and blood. It ran forward with an ice-cold expression.
It seemed like a powerful magnet, naturally drawing the blood of those creatures it passed. The blood that seeped from the creatures formed a flowing red stream in the air, all converging toward it.
The creature, made of flesh and blood, had an ever-growing aura, though its eyes occasionally flickered with caution. Every so often, it would glance behind, as if being chased by someone.
"Whoo—"
Suddenly, a terrifying, sharp sound of breaking air echoed.
A shadowy blur quickly crossed the sky, ripping through the blood clouds and arriving behind the flesh creature in an instant.
The flesh creature seemed to have anticipated this. With a furious expression, it twisted its body and threw a punch toward the shadow.
"Boom!"
A powerful magical shockwave and the residual energy exploded, shattering the surrounding blood-red clouds. The flesh creature was knocked back, its form staggering as it tried to regain its balance.
Before it could catch its breath, another shadow tore through the air, followed by a third, and even more.
The flesh creature punched wildly, shattering the shadows that attacked it, but it was constantly pushed back.
It appeared increasingly frustrated and enraged, so it stopped retreating, standing firm, and began to let out inhuman growls toward the direction the shadows were coming from.
Soon, from behind it, heavy, thunderous footsteps echoed across the plain.
A giant black rock golem, dozens of meters tall, appeared on the plain.
The golem had no facial features, only a rudimentary head and limbs, its body made entirely of massive, hard black stones, as though it had just crawled out of centuries-old soil. Between the gaps in the rocks, thick vines twisted and grew.
The golem's enormous arms swung back and forth, and with every motion, large chunks of rock would fall from its body and be hurled at the dense blood clouds.
Despite its crude, primitive attack methods, it forced the flesh creature to jump and roar in frustration and helplessness.
It was hard to imagine how terrifying and domineering the strength behind each stone throw was.
Perched on the golem's shoulder was a strange young man, wearing a peculiar robe.
His skin was rough, and his appearance was unusual, as though he were a doll made of clay and rock. He grinned as he watched the flesh creature being chased around by the golem, speaking with a sneer.
"I hear your name is Rufus? Quite a few people have died by your hand, huh?"
"Too bad, I have no blood for you to drain."
"You look much weaker than the rumors suggest."
"Last time I met someone, they could change into various wild beasts, and they were much stronger than you."
As the young man spoke, his eyes, like balls of clay, spun around as his stiff, rough face twisted into a cruel, venomous expression.
He stared intensely at the flesh creature in the distance, his mouth grinding out a sharp sound, like stones scraping against each other.
"Kill him, Venus!"
"Kill him quickly! Then we'll find the next toy."
As though responding to the boy's command, the massive black rock golem slammed its fists on its chest, letting out a deep, grand roar.
Ancient runes lit up on its dark, hardened body, releasing an incomprehensible, terrifying force as it marched forward, causing the ground beneath its feet to ripple like waves of black soil.
Meanwhile, the flesh creature, being pursued, darkened its expression.
It opened its massive mouth, muttering ancient, evil-sounding incantations.
After a moment, the blood-red clouds surrounding it gathered, forming a giant, crimson vortex.
Its already grotesque, unsettling body began to twist and swell even further, as if it was gaining more power.
Similar scenes were occurring across the southern lands of the continent, and with each passing moment, the opening act of an impending battle was drawing near.
On a desolate, stone-filled plain.
The ground was scattered with rocks of various sizes and shapes, from pebbles to larger boulders, their surfaces weathered and smoothed by time, displaying shades of gray, brown, and red.
These rocks lay across the ground in a massive, irregular patchwork, as if nature itself had unintentionally created a bizarre puzzle.
Suddenly, two figures broke through the air and silently landed on the rocky ground.
They were two middle-aged sorcerers, both wearing gray robes, exuding the mental energy fluctuations typical of first-tier sorcerers. Their expressions were calm but vigilant.
One of the sorcerers glanced around and frowned.
"Martin, what exactly did you bring me here for? To explore the Heart of the Machine?"
"The Heart of the Machine is hardly a secret around here anymore. But you should know, without the key, we can't get in."
"Did you find the key at last month's Sunset Gathering?"
"I didn't get that lucky."
The other middle-aged sorcerer shook his head but quickly replied in a low voice, "But I have another way.
Earlier, I encountered a broken metal puppet nearby, shaped like a gray mountain goat missing one of its horns.
That thing was practically immune to most of the spells I know...
Rolles, you should know, no sorcerer in the south can make something like that, except for ancient dwarven smiths."
"I suspect that limping goat puppet came from the Heart of the Machine. If we catch it, we might find the entrance to the ancient site.
Even if it doesn't work, this magical puppet would still be valuable. Several large workshops in Sunset Market would pay good money for it, and the magic stones might cover the cost of your missions or expeditions."
The first sorcerer's eyes flickered, clearly intrigued by his companion's words.
"Let's hope you're not lying to me. What should we do next?"
"Use your divination magic to find the goat's location."
The first sorcerer frowned, unable to hide his skepticism. "I'm still just an apprentice at divination magic."
"That's enough."
Martin patted his companion's shoulder reassuringly, then quickly pulled out several unremarkable stones from his storage pouch. They looked almost identical to the ones scattered on the ground beneath them, and handed them to the sorcerer named Rolles.
"You should be able to use these stones—the ones the puppet goat stepped on."
Rolles nodded and wasted no time. He accepted the stones and began to prepare the ritual materials needed for his divination magic.
Martin eagerly stood by, quietly awaiting the results.
Before Rolles could complete his preparations, however, a sudden, overwhelming pressure descended from the sky.
Flakes of snow began to fall on the plain, as if winter had arrived without warning.
Both sorcerers' faces changed in an instant. Without hesitation, they quickly packed up their things and flew toward the sky.
Just as they ascended, the thick clouds above them were ripped apart, and massive waves of frost began to fall.
A massive serpent, over a hundred meters long, appeared in their field of vision.
Its body, seemingly carved from crystal, was adorned with a giant, deep blue horn, and it was surrounded by snow and frost, emanating an ancient, cold aura as if a flood of ice had come crashing toward them.
The oppressive force of this ancient magical serpent was so overwhelming that both sorcerers froze in mid-air, too terrified to move.
When its blood-red eyes turned toward them, full of cruel hunger, both men felt their hearts tighten, certain that death was imminent.
However, the next moment, the serpent's gaze reluctantly shifted away.
The two sorcerers then noticed that on top of the massive serpent's head was a tall, handsome young man sitting in silence.
He wore a magnificent robe interwoven with silver threads, and his deep blue eyes resembled the tranquil lakes of autumn.
"Whoo—"
The serpent quickly swept past them, eventually coiling and stopping just a short distance away from where they had been standing.
The blast of wind and frost spread out silently, like being drenched in icy water. The two sorcerers snapped back to reality with a shiver, and hurriedly flew as far away as they could.
After flying for quite some distance, they stopped, exchanging a glance that shared an unspoken sense of relief.
After more than a minute, they regained the ability to speak.
"That was... the ancient Ice Crystal Magic Serpent?!"
"It seems so. It's almost exactly like the description in the ancient texts! It's said that if this ancient serpent species grows properly, it will reach at least Dawn-tier when it matures!"
"But it was tamed? It's a mount or a magical pet?!"
The disbelief and shock on their faces lingered for some time.
After a long pause, one of them murmured, "It looks like it's yet another top-tier prodigy from a large sorcerer faction!
The Herams Talent Seat competition is approaching, and such prodigious figures are appearing more and more frequently.
At last month's Sunset Gathering, I saw one—a young sorcerer, only in their twenties, but already a third-tier sorcerer! But even they didn't seem as impressive as this one."
"Do we continue?"
"Forget it."
Martin shook his head. "We almost died just now, nearly becoming someone's magical pet food."
"I want to keep my life to witness the talent gathering and the competition for the seats in the Fairy Ancient City in a few months."
After a brief discussion, they decided not to linger on the plain any longer and quickly departed.
Perhaps, when they return, there will be yet another legend among their fellow sorcerers about a prodigy who tames the ancient Ice Crystal Magic Serpent.
"I've told you many times."
Ronan slowly withdrew his gaze from the direction the two passing sorcerers had fled. He calmly looked at the Ice Crystal Magic S
erpent before him and said, "You may only consume sorcerers as food when I permit it."
The Ice Crystal Magic Serpent hissed defiantly.
But after locking eyes with Ronan, it eventually lowered its proud head.
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