The Flying Blade suddenly retracted, forming a rapier once again in Baihua's hand. The extraordinarily beautiful youth brandished his sword lightly backwards, flicking a bead of blood onto the ground, then he finally lifted his head to size up Fang Hong, a mildly surprised glint flashing through his silver-hued eyes.

But he asked nothing; instead, he turned around and headed straight for the top of the pyramid. Fang Hong looked around; not far away, members of the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team were closing in from all directions, their battle cries thunderous. Although the balance of the battlefield had subtly tipped, it meant little for their current predicament atop the pyramid.

"Wait," he snapped his arm armor into place and called out to the man: "Where are you going?"

"It's none of your business," came Baihua's cold voice from ahead.

Fang Hong found this guy interesting and couldn't help but remember the incident at the Traveler's Rest, so he asked, "Is there something you want at the top of the pyramid?"

He had realized earlier that the man had a purpose for heading to the top of the pyramid; moreover, Grant had told him during the communication that he couldn't give orders to Baihua. To be precise, the man seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere, just like a person emerging suddenly from within the Rain Listeners.

It made sense, though. A Combat Artisan of his caliber, who wasn't in the battle sequence of the Storm Brigade, either had a story or Baihua was always concealing his true strength.

To his question, the other simply replied, "Nothing."

"Then why are you so determined to go up?" Fang Hong pressed on: "The Rain Listeners are behind us, you could easily turn back and rendezvous with them."

Baihua paused, suddenly questioning whether saving the man before had been an unnecessary move. His silver pupils quietly rested on Fang Hong as he considered whether it was worth supplementing another sword strike to this verbose man.

However, after coldly observing Fang Hong for a moment, he eventually said, "They can't help. The Blood Oath Alliance has installed the Spire Crystal up there."

Spire Crystal.

It dawned on Fang Hong why the man had persisted in moving towards the pyramid's peak even when surrounded by enemies—it was because of the Ritual Magic. Ritual Magic involved large-scale, multiple-person Magic Guided spells, which usually required special magic conductors like the Spire Crystal to be utilized.

It was common knowledge that Elementalists needed something akin to the Core Crystal used by craftsmen, called an Elemental Crystal, to channel their Magic Power. And the Spire Crystal could be considered a scaled-up version of the Elemental Crystal.

Being a scaled-up version, the spells cast using it were naturally more powerful and had a longer range. In fact, the spells themselves were commonly referred to as tactical magic.

Tactical magic naturally differed from adventure-level magic, which was aimed at individuals or teams. Tactical magic was battlefield-specific, often targeting entire armies, and could be considered one of the most powerful types of spells in Eteliria.

Of course, the real tactical magic devices and their associated manufacturing techniques had always been top secrets of nations, with both Colin Ishurian and the Osh Empire maintaining strict control over them. Even the top guilds couldn't get their hands on real military devices, often settling for pseudo-tactical magic devices as substitutes.

The biggest difference between these devices and the genuine articles was that first, they were less powerful than the latter; second, they required even more stringent control from the spellcasters; and third, they could not be used multiple times, often becoming discarded after a single battle.

But the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team had installed a Spire Crystal here, which meant that they were willing to spare no expense. Moreover, installing a large magic device was not a matter of one or two days, indicating they had long been prepared for this.

Furthermore, Saint Peru Valley was Meijeli Tolagotos's territory, and without the old dragon's consent, neither Jiefulite Red Cloak Team, Blood Oath Alliance, nor Night Lizard would likely manage to pull the wool over the eyes of the world.

In other words, this was happening with their tacit agreement.

Curious, Fang Hong glanced at the legendary Giant Dragon's illusion above the valley, thinking that this old dragon was truly determined. If tactical magic were to be unleashed even twice in this valley, the opponents of the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team would naturally be eradicated—not to mention, the valley likely wouldn't be inhabitable for humans thereafter.

Or perhaps, the opponents never intended to allow the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team to cast tactical magic? Should they find out at the last moment that the Spire Crystal can't be used, what a huge loss that would be.

Did the old dragon plan to teach the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team a lesson in this manner?

Fang Hong shook his head. Toragotos probably wouldn't bother to deal with a group of mortal Invokers. If he intended to chasten anyone, it could only be the Night Lizard People. Thinking it over, it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility, but the specific answer would likely be known only to the legendary dragon itself.

He couldn't help recalling what Toragotos had said about the five offerings, one of which was in the hands of the Night Lizard People. He wondered if that detail was related to this matter. Ever since he had experienced the power of the three blessings on himself, he couldn't help longing for the strength of the remaining two.

And since it was said that gathering all five offerings would lead to a new transformation of their power, it was hard for Fang Hong not to pay attention.

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