"It seems that … I won't be able to learn Raphael's magic." Sassoux looked at the top of the mountain and sighed.
"I didn't expect him to be so patient." Yalina nodded in agreement.
It had been more than twenty days, and Han Jin had been sitting cross-legged at the top of the mountain, not even eating or drinking. At first, they were worried that Han Jin would get sick from hunger, but they were relieved when they saw that Han Jin's complexion was getting better and better.
Sassoux and the others thought that this was a necessary step for Han Jin to set up the super magic array. Although they admitted that this magic array had unimaginable power, the price was too high! They knew very well that they couldn't do it. Meditating for more than twenty days? Don't be kidding. Whether it was normal meditation or deep meditation, it could only be maintained for a dozen hours at most. Even a super grand magus couldn't maintain a state of meditation for days and nights! As for Han Jin … it could only be said that this person was too strange and too magical.
Thinking about how they had been motionless for more than twenty days, Yalina and Sassoux shuddered. Wasn't it no different from being in prison? If there was a difference, it would be more painful! At least prisoners had time to get some fresh air, but Han Jin was like a stone statue.
Yalina and Sassoux didn't know that there was a state called Tao Ran, forgetting everything. Cultivators often went into seclusion, sometimes even for decades. For ordinary people, sitting in one place for decades was unimaginably boring and painful. For cultivators, it was just a snap of a finger to comprehend one or several things.
However, they weren't Han Jin, so naturally, they didn't know how Han Jin felt.
In the past, Han Jin only lacked energy because his Taoist Heart already had a deep foundation. But in the past year, Han Jin's progress was extraordinarily fast, especially after he broke through the Hidden Martial Realm. The gap between the two was not so obvious anymore. For example, the Taoist Heart was the wooden bucket, and energy was the water. Han Jin used to have a big wooden bucket, so he didn't have to consider other factors and just poured water into it. Now that the bucket was more than half full, he had to find a way to increase the volume of the bucket.
In the past twenty days of meditation, Han Jin had gained a lot of enlightenment. Ever since he started practicing Daoist magic, he had only had one experience of using a large-scale magic array. That time, he had been guided and helped by his master. This time, he had relied entirely on himself. The difference between the two was huge!
"Will he be okay?" Sunier's' whispered.
"No." Sassoux smiled, "Look at Raphael's complexion, it's getting better and better. It's just …"
The entire Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix suddenly fell into a deathly silence. The expressions of the eight guts changed at the same time. Asa and the other stars also seemed to be at a loss because a group of about two hundred mercenaries appeared about ten miles away and walked into the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix.
A gigantic magical beast walked at the front. It was the Abyssal Ghost Snake! In fact, such a gigantic magical beast wasn't suited for the forest. As the Abyssal Ghost Snake walked, the ancient trees on both sides were pushed to the side, and some were even uprooted. It was very noisy. Perhaps it was afraid of alerting others, but after the Abyssal Ghost Snake walked two miles into the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix, it stopped.
There were three people on the Abyssal Ghost Snake's back. One of them was a young man in a black robe, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was obviously the captain of the Abyss Mercenary Team, Manteco! Last time, when they fought in the dark, no one could see his face clearly. Now that they were in the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix, everyone could see him clearly. Manteco was neither tall nor short. He was slightly chubby and empty-handed. He had a pair of handsome eyebrows, a straight nose, and thin lips. Logically speaking, he should be a very handsome man. Unfortunately, his eyes were like the finishing touch, ruining his entire appearance.
They were a pair of well-deserved triangular eyes with sharp edges and small pupils. They shone with a ferocious light like that of a magical beast, making him look especially ferocious.
Next to him stood a girl in a red magic robe. That had to be Eva. Although Eva's appearance and figure were commendable, her eyes were very similar to Manteco's. Although her pupils were much bigger than Manteco's, it didn't change her overall temperament.
What shocked everyone was the third person on the Abyssal Ghost Snake! More accurately, it was an elf, Edwina! Edwina was tied up tightly like a dumpling. She lay quietly on the Abyssal Ghost Snake's back with her eyes closed. No one knew if she was still conscious.
Gibran took a deep breath, and his mind raced. The world was just so heartless. If Julia had been captured, he would've charged forward without a care for anything else. However, the person who was captured was Edwina, so he could maintain his rationality, even if Julia and Edwina were sisters.
"Julia, when Manteco attacked us last time, did you help?" Gibran asked in a low voice.
Julia's face was pale as she slowly nodded. She forcefully twisted her longbow with both hands, causing it to creak.
The eight guts, including Morrisons, were all smart people. Gibran had asked the most crucial question, so they immediately figured out what had happened.
When Manteco attacked them that day, Julia had used Treefolk Arrow, which was Julia's signature move. Manteco already knew which side the Red Vanguards had chosen. Edwina, on the other hand, had returned to Isolated Cliff City before the attack, so she had no idea what had happened in the forest. When Manteco met Edwina in Isolated Cliff City, he set his sights on her.
All the famous mercenary teams and groups in Isolated Cliff City were familiar with each other, so no one would offend anyone easily. It was normal for them to greet each other and exchange a few polite words when they met. One was intentional, while the other was unintentional. Edwina was alone, so it was inevitable that she would be captured in the end.
Edwina was not to be blamed for being careless, nor was Julia's recklessness. It could only be said that it was all an unavoidable coincidence!
"What should we do?" Sunier asked anxiously.
"Wait." Gibran's gaze couldn't help but drift to the top of the mountain. Manteco's background and his combat ability had always been a mystery. He wasn't sure if he could save Edwina from Manteco. He wasn't waiting for Manteco to be careless and give them a chance, but for Han Jin to make a move.
Manteco didn't know that his every move had been exposed. He waved his hand and gave an order. The dozen or so bandits in the mercenaries all cast invisibility spells and crept forward from all directions. The Abyssal Ghost Snake slowly laid down on the ground. A few mages and warriors jumped onto it and sat in a circle with Manteco and Eva. It seemed that they were the leaders of the group.
No one knew what Manteco said, but the mercenaries began to inspect their weapons. Clearly, this was a pre-battle preparation. Manteco's expression was very serious, and the others seemed to take this work seriously as well. The warriors were polishing their weapons, the archers were twirling their bowstrings, and the mages were checking their wands. Everything was going on in an orderly manner.
Eva took out magic scrolls from her space ring. There were about thirty of them in total. This amount of strategic storage shocked Yalina and the others. Magic scrolls were the condensation of magic power. Because they saved the time needed to chant spells, they were very useful in actual battle. However, magic scrolls couldn't be made by just any mage, and the consumption of magic power was even more unbearable.
Magic crystals were required to make magic scrolls, and the quality of the magic crystals had to be high. This was because the quality of the magic crystal directly determined the life of the scroll. No one wanted to spend a lot of money on a magic scroll, only to have it become useless after a few years due to the loss of elemental power. Moreover, the amount of magic power a mage needed to make magic scrolls was very high. Under normal circumstances, the amount of magic power needed to make one Lightning Scroll was enough for a mage to cast dozens of lightning bolts. The higher the level of a magic scroll, the greater the consumption. Even Yalina would have to spend a few days or even dozens of days to make a high-level magic scroll. At the very least, she had to spread the consumption to an acceptable level.
Eva patiently opened the magic scrolls one by one and checked them carefully. After confirming that there were no problems with the scrolls, she put them back into her space ring. Manteco, on the other hand, took out a black longsword and said something while wiping it. The others, including Eva, kept nodding their heads.
Manteco spent a lot of time preparing before the battle. The stealthy thieves approached the camp, observed for a while, and then returned stealthily. It took almost two hours, but Manteco still wasn't finished. Eva and the others didn't get impatient at all and listened attentively.
Sometimes, what you learn from your friends isn't as profound as what you learn from your enemies! Léger, Sassoux, and the others all had thoughtful looks on their faces.
Manteco gave them the impression that he was very arrogant, but the fact that he was so serious about his preparations before the battle was enough to prove his true nature. As the saying goes, a man with a great reputation lives up to his name. Someone who could make the leader of the Dragon Singer Mercenary Group, Wyvern Knight Dwightsteel, feel troubled couldn't just be described as arrogant!
After a long time, Manteco finally waved his hand, and the mages and warriors all jumped down. The Abyssal Ghost Snake slowly stood up, and with slow but firm steps, it forced its way through the forest and walked straight ahead.
"They're here. We need to do something. At least we can't make Manteco suspicious," Gibran said softly.
This time, Manteco didn't seem to have any intention of launching a sneak attack. He simply swaggered closer to the camp. The closer he got, the dimmer the ferocious light in his eyes became. Finally, he completely lost his vigor, and his entire person became lazy. He kept yawning, and even had a harmless smile on his lips. Unfortunately, this kind of performance was very boring. Yalina and the others all knew that the Manteco who was preparing before the battle was the real Manteco. Right now, he was just wearing a mask like Sunier.
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