Magicians never make wishes

The two apprentices of arcane arts reacted immediately, their attacks ready to be launched.

Even Ronan couldn't resist gathering red energy at his fingertips.

The first thing Akahoshi did upon getting up was not to launch a counterattack, but to immediately raise his right hand, signaling to the two arcane apprentices not to attack.

Upon seeing this, Ronan couldn't help but purse his lips and cancel the ray he was about to unleash.

Isn't Akahoshi a bit too kind-hearted...?

If it were me, although saving lives would be the priority, it wouldn't mean I could let people bully me like this.

"Does Your Excellency intend to start a war now and abandon the mission?" A white-haired, nearly seventy-year-old esoteric apprentice stepped forward and questioned.

"Annual rings, never mind." Akahoshi waved his hand and stood up, indicating that he was fine.

"Old man, your health is still... um?"

Kane had intended to make a sarcastic remark about the other person's age, but suddenly paused,

"No wonder there were such old apprentices; they've exhausted their life force..."

"What bad luck."

He cursed with a look of disgust on his face, and then said nothing more.

No matter what profession you're in, the type of person you absolutely shouldn't mess with is someone who sacrifices their own life force in pursuit of powerful skills.

They are often incredibly powerful in combat, but also have very short lifespans.

No one would want to fight to the death with this kind of person unless absolutely necessary.

Even if the deputy commander is capricious, he wouldn't start a fight with the other side here for no reason.

They remained silent for the rest of the journey.

The nine people from the three major factions traveled in silence until they arrived at the entrance of a mountain cave.

The esoteric apprentice, codenamed "Annual Rings," turned to the crowd and said:

"This cave is the most likely place to find the missing person. We hope everyone will prioritize finding the missing person and avoid fighting, while ensuring their own safety."

He was basically saying this to Ronan and the other two.

Because the deputy commander ignored him completely and went in first with two of his men.

Ronan was naturally happy to do so, as their purpose in coming here was to rescue people and take them back.

So the three members of the team simply followed closely behind the three members of the Secret Arts Society, carrying torches, and entered the cave together.

Upon entering the cave, Ronan discovered that his mental energy network had been suppressed to a range of three or four meters by an inexplicable force.

The last time this phenomenon occurred was when we were exploring the bear goblin's den.

"Keep an eye on the rats," he instructed.

As a berserker, Evil Axe certainly can't be relied upon to sense danger.

In contrast, the drill rat, as an assassin, is more likely to detect danger in advance, at least his nose is very sensitive.

The rat nodded knowingly and moved to the back, keeping a watchful eye on any possible attacks from behind.

The passageway inside the cave was spacious, and the three members of the Secret Arts Society walked at the front in a triangular formation.

Year Ring and another arcane apprentice led the way, keeping watch on both sides, while Red Star carefully followed behind them.

Next up was Ronan's team, with Evil Axe following behind Red Star, his eyes scanning back and forth on both sides.

Ronan was in the middle, with the drill rat bringing up the rear.

The core damage dealers are always the most vulnerable to damage, not to mention mages who are powerful in attack but physically weak.

As for the deputy commander and his two men who were the first to enter the cave, they had long since disappeared.

But soon, Ronan and the others heard their voices.

"Lord Kane, hurry..."

"Make your move, Lord Kane..."

"Kai..."

"Damn it! It's already giving up so quickly..."

"Pfft." "Pfft."

When Ronan and his men arrived, they witnessed the deputy commander beheading two of his men with a single shot, wielding a long spear.

In their shock, everyone then saw...

The two severed heads rolled a few times on the ground before suddenly coming to a stop.

A pool of black liquid slowly flowed from the severed neck. As if it had a mind of its own, the liquid transformed into multiple spider legs, supporting the head.

Immediately afterwards, the spider's legs bent and stretched, and two heads looked at the crowd.

The head's facial features were all covered in a black liquid like tar, and its mouth opened and closed, making it look extremely horrifying.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Two fireballs flew in at the same time, instantly igniting the two heads. The scorching flames burned them, while the heads continued to emit silent roars.

This bizarre scene caused the entire audience to fall silent.

All that remained was the crackling sound of the flames burning.

Ronan looked at the two esoteric apprentices in front of him and couldn't help but admire their decisiveness and teamwork.

They can attack at the same time, hit at the same time, and the fireballs are almost identical in power... Even twins can't achieve such precision.

"Mr. Kane, you'd better come with us," Akahoshi kindly advised.

The deputy commander's face was grim as he looked at the headless corpses of his two subordinates, lost in thought.

He flicked his wrist, wiping the blood off the gun blade, and said to the rings of time,

"Old man, don't forget to take care of your health too."

The tree trunk glanced up at him but did not respond.

However, another arcane apprentice beside him raised his hand and fired two fireballs at the two mercenaries' corpses, burning them.

"The old man has quite a temper; you're much better..."

The deputy commander looked at another apprentice in secret arts, then suddenly stopped.

His eyes held a hint of surprise and doubt, his gaze constantly shifting between the rings of the tree and another apprentice in the secret arts.

He finally let out a heavy "humph" and then fell silent.

"Everyone, please be careful not to touch anything around you, and watch your step," the rings of the tree warned loudly.

He had already seen a small puddle of black liquid on the ground not far from the deputy commander.

It seems that the two unfortunate mercenaries were contaminated because they stepped into a puddle of black liquid.

Akahoshi took out a fluorescent lamp from the storage device, which immediately illuminated the entire passage.

This is much better than a torch; it can illuminate everything on the ground and walls clearly.

"You're so stingy, why didn't you take it out sooner?"

The villain behind him muttered, "How much is this thing worth..."

"It's not much money, mainly because the quantity is small."

Akahoshi turned around and pointed to the energy storage area in the fluorescent light, which was only about one-third full of liquid.

"All that's left is enough for one gold dragon..."

Upon hearing the price, the man with the wicked axe's expression instantly changed, and he exclaimed, "I admire generous young masters like you the most!"

Akahoshi accepted his praise with a smile.

Although they had the Red Star's glow stick, Ronan and his two companions still carried torches.

Besides being a backup plan, fire can also be useful in certain situations.

In the dimly lit cave, no one would complain that the light was too bright.

After dealing with the two mercenary corpses, the group continued onward.

The deputy commander accepted Akahoshi's suggestion and went with them, walking at the front.

The drill rat, positioned at the rear, suddenly felt a strange sense of nausea as it passed by two burned remains.

A wave of helplessness washed over him, causing him to lie on the ground and dry heave.

The attention of everyone in front was drawn to this.

"If you can't even handle this much, what kind of adventurer are you..." The vice-captain's face was full of disdain when he saw this scene.

"Are you alright, you little rat?" Ronan asked.

The team ahead had already begun to move forward slowly, which was obviously nothing to them.

"I'm fine, Captain." The rat, face down, raised its hand and waved. "I'll catch up as soon as I catch my breath."

As he spoke, he slowly stood up.

Seeing this, Ronan felt relieved and turned to continue walking.

However, no one, including the drill rat himself, noticed that a dark glint had already quietly seeped into his eyes.

If Ronan had turned around two seconds later, or been a little closer to him,

At this moment, one can even see that

Behind the burrowing rat, a clump of menacing black pollutants was firmly stuck.