Badge in Azure

Chapter 136: The Ten Story Magic Tower (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Every piece of magic nuclei was the size of a pumpkin, and they were several times bigger than the magic nucleus of a dragon. This was an anomaly, because even though the magic resistance and defenses of the beast had been high, they still would not have been as high as those of a dragon.

Lex and Saleen finally understood that the powerful defenses the beast had were a result of the magic array that had been formed by the six magic nuclei. Otherwise, the Grade 6 Fire Serpent spell would have burnt more than just its scales, and the javelins of the puppets would have definitely hurt its flesh and not just pierced through its scales.

Every inch of the beast’s body had possessed the same defensive abilities, and any external attacks had been mitigated by the magic array.

Saleen was well aware that if the beast had been protected solely by tough scales, Nailisi would not have been able to kill it using such a simple method. Saleen and Lex looked at each other. If this beast had been created by humans, then there had to be some abnormality in its skull. With that said, even if he and Lex cast the Potency spell on themselves, Nailisi and Sika would still be stronger.

“Turn over the skull. I want to take a look,” Saleen said to Sika and Nailisi.

Nailisi stretched out her hand and placed the floating magic nuclei into her bracelet. Then, she cut through the scales that were connecting the neck to the flesh, and the beast’s skull rolled onto the ground. Sika went up and flipped the skull over.

Lex cast a Cleaning spell and thoroughly washed the insides of the skull. Saleen got down onto his stomach next to the edge of the skull and looked inside. There was a pale green magic pattern on the inside walls of the skull.

Saleen and Lex looked at each other again, noticing that a magic array was hidden within the magic pattern. Something like that would have never grown inside of a magic beast. But the magic array was clearly part of its body, and it had not been drawn at a later time nor carved using alchemy.

This magic array had grown inside of the skull, and then it had connected with the six magic nuclei to form a complex magic array. That had resulted in the behemoth possessing such astonishing defensive abilities.

“Lex, put it away for now.” Saleen knew that it would be no easy feat for the two of them to figure out the principles behind this magic array in such a short time. However, their current surroundings were not safe for studying it.

“Saleen, my boomerang…”

Sika looked at Saleen. Her weapon had been the first one to be swallowed by that behemoth, and Faerun had helped her transform that weapon in the past.

“Nailisi,” Saleen called out. Nailisi helplessly returned to the corpse of the behemoth and began to think about how she would dissect that beast. The materials on the behemoth’s body were of top quality, and even though those scales were not the toughest in the world, they were already much thicker than a dragon’s scales. Furthermore, the defensive abilities of the scales had been reinforced by the magic array. If these scales were torn off and sold, each piece would be able to fetch a good price.

Lex put away the skull of the beast into her god’s ring and said, “There shouldn’t be any more powerful magic beasts around here. Let’s continue moving after we get enough rest.”

Nailisi began dissecting the body bit by bit. She started from the toughest scales which were on its back and tore the scales off piece by piece. After the behemoth had died, it had lost the support of the magic array, so the scales could be removed much more easily now.

A single scale was twice the size of a wheel and its thickness was close to one meter. In regards to the rules of proportionality, some scales might have been a little deformed. Nailisi helped herself to those scales and stored them inside of her bracelet. Fortunately, the bracelet that she had taken from Aini had enough space. If she had relied on Saleen’s Ring of Gifts or his demonic ring, she would have only been able to store very few of the scales.

The behemoth was over twenty meters long. Nailisi went down its body, tearing off the scales. When she had finished removing all of the scales, she began skinning it. The skin on its back was of the best quality. If the skin was used to produce scrolls, the scrolls would be able to contain magic that was Grade 7 or above.

Nailisi cut out a rectangle from the behemoth’s skin. Then, she started tearing pieces from its neck, and then bundled the skin up before storing it into her bracelet. Only Nailisi possessed the immense strength to be able to complete a task like this, and even Sika might not have been able to do it.

Sika asked for a short knife, then jumped onto the behemoth’s back and cut out more than ten pieces of flesh. She then slung all of that meat over her shoulder.

“Sika, what are you doing?” Saleen was bewildered. Had Sika learned from Nailisi and started eating raw meat?

“I am going to feed the dogs,” Sika said, walking towards the back.

“Be careful!” Saleen had wanted to stop her, but Sika simply waved him off and walked past the eleven war puppets towards the magic beasts that were following them. 　　　These beasts had originally been lying on the ground, but when they saw Sika approaching them, they stood up and arched their backs, slowly backing away.

As Sika tossed the meat over, those beasts retreated even more rapidly. Sika laughed, knowing that her guess had been right. These magic beasts were trying to scavenge, not attack her. This was a common sight in Caucasus, especially with the magic mountain wolves who loved to follow Caucasus hunters.

Many hunters who had killed behemoths could not bring them back and were only able to take the most valuable parts, and the mountain magic wolves would devour the rest of the remains. Some wolves were so intelligent that they would even help pursue and frighten the hunter’s targets.

The leader of the beasts had been killed, and without their advantage in numbers, the rest of the beasts had naturally chosen the safer way to hunt for food. Following Lex’s team had also been a good choice.

Sika went back by herself to Saleen. She told Lex, “You can put away some of the puppets. Those beasts are here to scavenge. As long as we keep showing off some trophies in battle, they will not assault us.”

When Lex heard that, she heaved a sigh of relief. She then brought out the tent, and recalled six war puppets to secure the perimeter, leaving Nailisi to work alone. The rest of them took that opportunity to rest.

When Nailisi saw that everyone had gone to rest, a cunning smile appeared on her face. She tore open the muscles on the back of the behemoth and dug a bloody hole in between its ribs. Then, she crawled inside. Nailisi found its heart quickly. She thrashed about crazily until she was able to split open the heart, and then she went inside, searching for something.

Very soon, she touched something hard. This object was irregular in shape and was a little smaller than an egg. Nailisi swallowed it whole before proceeding to the other parts of the body and causing destruction throughout the insides of the entire body.

The behemoth had a colossal stomach that was so big it was like a room. Since the behemoth had died, acid was no longer being secreted in its stomach. Even if there had been acid, Nailisi was not afraid at all. She found Sika’s boomerang before crawling out the same way she had entered.

Creatures in the demonic realm possessed tremendous strength, and the ability of their hearts to withstand stress was astounding. The object that had been condensed in the creature’s heart was something that demons loved to eat. Those Grade 4 magic beasts and the ones found in the demonic realm had many differences, but Nailisi felt very familiar with this behemoth. From its external appearance, this behemoth resembled the Kolola beast that was found in the demonic realm. It was just that it was many times bigger than the Kolola beast.

Nailisi was now certain that the creatures in the hell of god’s punishment were related to the creatures in the demonic realm. It was just that these creatures were not considered strong, and in the demonic realm, they would have merely been prey for the demons.

Nailisi felt satisfied after swallowing part of the essence of the behemoth’s heart. If she was able to eat more, her strength would surely grow rapidly. Often times, a demon was not strong enough because its heart had not been fully developed yet. Nailisi had just transformed into an adult, and if she had been in the demonic realm, this would have been the time for her to go on a hunting spree.

Nailisi plucked out the razor sharp claws from the behemoth’s feet, but she was not interested in its long tail. She then climbed on top of its back and laid on the bloody muscles, sniffing the fragrance of the blood before starting to napping. She had not gotten the chance to enjoy this kind of happiness back in the demonic realm. In the demonic realm, little demons like her were always shuttling between being the hunters and the hunted. One moment they might have been the predators, and in the next moment, they could become the prey.

Lex was the first to wake up as she had a profound mastery of meditation, thus her mental power recovered the fastest. Walking out of the tent and seeing the badly handled corpse of the behemoth that Nailisi had been in charge of, she could only shake her head helplessly. Lex called over four war puppets and gave them alchemy saws so that they could break down the remaining scales and skin on the behemoth.

Not long after, Saleen and Sika woke up as well. Saleen did not meditate, having slept well. Before sleeping, he had used his clan badge once. After waking up, he felt energized, and the fatigue caused by his anxiety these past few days had all disappeared.

The corpse of the behemoth had been fully broken down, leaving only the muscles and intestines behind. Most of the bones were disassembled by the war puppets, and then Lex put them away into her god’s ring.

Lex put away the tent and took a look at Holzer’s and Baimeng’s burial ground. Then, she said, “Let’s go.”

“Sika, you shall follow Lex,” Saleen instructed softly. At Lex’s level, Sika would not be of much assistance, but if there were unforeseen dangers, the instincts of a Caucasus warrior would allow her to be more dynamic and agile than a mage with their perception.

Sika was reluctant, but she still followed beside Lex. On the other hand, Nailisi stuck happily to Saleen. She was overjoyed, because after eating the essence of the behemoth’s heart, her strength had slowly begun to grow.

The war puppets continued to walk in front while Lex led the team in their predetermined direction to the depths of the forest. Once they had started moving away, the magic beasts also sprang into action and pounced excitedly onto the corpse of the behemoth.

The team walked for five days straight. While carefully avoiding any powerful magic beasts, Lex finally led everyone out of the forest. Of the eleven remaining war puppets, five more were lost, leaving behind six with injuries. In the last two days, the team had run into a giant moving tree and Lex had nearly been devoured by this man-eating giant tree, not to mention the various type of magic beasts they had found in the forest.

Everyone’s mood relaxed once they were out of the forest. But the mood grew tense again when they saw the sight in front of them.

There was a structure with broken walls and ruins, as though bandits and dragons had descended upon this village at the same time. Additionally, there was a path filled with wild grass and what appeared to be human bones.

Beneath the overcast skies, this scene appeared even more desolate. In the far distance, there was a mountain. On the mountain, human structures could vaguely be seen.

Lex took out the alchemy binoculars and looked toward the mountain. After a long while, she let out a long sigh.

“What’s there?” Saleen asked nervously, unable to see too far with his vision.

“A magical tower. A ten story magic tower.” Lex’s voice sounded rigid and stiff. In the Myers Mainland, the tallest magic tower was nine stories tall, and even if a mage exceeded Grade 9, they would not build a ten story magic tower. Such a thing was considered taboo.

Whoever had built this ten story magic tower must have been filled with contempt for the gods. This was a form of provocation. Even though the people of Alchemy City also had contempt for the gods, they were not so explicit in their behavior.