Magicians never make wishes

"Mr. Kane, how were your two men contaminated?"

Akahoshi asked timidly, "Was it because I stepped in that puddle of unidentified liquid on the ground?"

Although he was positioned near the front, there were two people between him and the deputy commander at the very front, so he didn't have to worry about being suddenly attacked by the other side.

Therefore, Ronan felt that Red Star had no need to speak to the mercenaries with such respect.

It makes one feel inferior for no reason.

More importantly, the other party is more likely to escalate the issue.

"Kid, why do you have so many questions?" the vice-captain replied impatiently.

Sure enough, the other party didn't take him seriously at all.

"Sir, in this environment, we are all part of a whole, so it's better to share any information you have."

Although Nianlun spoke with great refinement, his tone was unusually cold.

If it were the evil axe instead, and given the right strength, it would probably just spit right now.

"Old men, since you're all so concerned, then I, the commander, will tell you what happened."

The deputy commander clearly knew that sharing information was the wise move.

"It's what that brat was talking about. One of my men unfortunately stepped on that filthy thing and got contaminated."

"But actually, the other subordinate didn't touch that thing."

Kane's shifty eyes indicated that his emotions were not as calm as they appeared.

"Then why did he also...?"

Akahoshi immediately asked a question, but was glared at by the other party, and his voice gradually faded away.

"From what I've observed, that thing selects a more suitable individual as the source of contamination before the first instance of contamination, and only then does it begin indiscriminate contamination."

"My first subordinate was infected with the contamination, but he was already dead."

"Only after the black liquid absorbed his life energy and grew stronger was it able to transfer to its second subordinate and begin indiscriminate contamination."

The deputy commander recounted the events and his observations in detail, showing no pity for the lives of his men.

"Then how come you're alright?" Evil Axe couldn't help but ask.

Unexpectedly, he gracefully twirled his spear, and said calmly,

"What do you think, shorty?"

I almost forgot, the other party is the vice-captain of a mercenary group on par with Russell, so their strength should be roughly the same.

As if waking from a dream, Evil Axe realized that he almost blurted out a dwarven slang.

"Vice Commander, was your first subordinate really drained of his life energy by the black liquid and died?"

The drill mouse couldn't help but shiver and mustered up the courage to ask a question.

He was some distance from the group, and the red star's fluorescent lights could barely capture him; only the flickering firelight could vaguely illuminate his figure.

"If you're scared, you little mouse at the very back, you'd better leave now."

The deputy commander made a sarcastic remark, and with a flick of his spear, knocked away the rocks blocking his path.

To everyone's surprise, after the stone flew out, there was no sound of it hitting the ground, but instead a dull thud like it hitting a swamp.

Akahoshi realized something was wrong and adjusted the fluorescent light to shine forward.

Several distorted humanoid figures stood at the front of the passage.

They were completely black, as if they were covered with an asphalt skin. The stone that the deputy commander had thrown hit one of them, and it was now sizzling with white smoke.

"What is that?!" Akahoshi shouted, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Of all the people, Ronan and his two companions are arguably the most qualified to speak on this issue.

Black creature, polluter.

The ring and another arcane apprentice attacked simultaneously, their two fireballs instantly striking the two most foremost corruptors.

"Captain, there are more behind us! We're surrounded!" The drill rat smelled the pungent stench from behind.

The ring of time turned to Akahoshi and Ronan, saying, "Prepare for battle!"

Red Star seemed to lack practical combat experience, and somewhat flusteredly channeled his mental energy to cast a spell on the rings of time.

A green light suddenly emanated from the rings, slightly nourishing his parched body.

"Don't be nervous, Akahoshi. Save your 'Healing Spell' for when someone is injured."

The tone of the elder's voice was not blaming at all, but full of the care of an elder for a younger generation.

This was the first time Ronan had ever seen a magician other than himself cast a spell. Through his mental energy network, he could vaguely sense the strength of the other's mental energy.

It has about one-third of his own mental energy.

So strong!

It's important to know that Ronan's mental strength is several times that of others. Even if Red Star has only a third of his strength, it would still be enough to crush an ordinary magician.

Akahoshi may seem to be bad at fighting, but that doesn’t mean he’s not strong.

"Hmph, a brat is a brat..."

The deputy commander's eyes were full of contempt, and he mentally labeled Akahoshi as "trash".

He brandished his spear, the shaft gradually enveloped in a ghostly light, and charged straight toward a group of corrupted beings.

"Vice Commander, you'd better try a different attack method," Ronan casually reminded him from behind.

The deputy commander was noticeably more obedient to advice during the battle than usual. He immediately stopped and began to retreat, making it appear as if he had fired a shot in front of the group of polluters.

"Kid, spit it out."

"We've encountered these polluters before. If you attack them in melee, they'll spray a huge glob of black liquid at you without hesitation."

"Hmph, you can figure that out yourself, why do you need to tell me?" The deputy commander immediately turned hostile after hearing this.

However, his moves changed, and he no longer charged upwards alone.

With a sweeping motion of his spear, the eerie light emanating from the shaft formed a crescent-shaped slash that flew straight toward the three-headed corrupted being.

If his weapon were changed to a longsword, then this would be a standard ranged sword aura attack.

The ghostly light slashed into the body of the corrupted creature, instantly splitting the three-headed creature into six, each cut in half at the waist.

But as the black liquid flowed, the polluted creature, which had been cut in half, instantly healed the wound as if nothing had happened.

The deputy commander's expression darkened slightly. He selected a Corruptor and changed his slash to a vertical slash.

next second.

The polluted creature, split vertically in two, was restored to its original state in the blink of an eye.

"Pure physical damage is ineffective." The rings of time spoke calmly, as if recording information on their own.

He glanced at the esoteric apprentice beside him and then swiftly made his move.

Two more fireballs were launched simultaneously, instantly incinerating both pollutants.

"Extremely low magic resistance, weak to fire."

"Write it down, Pharos," the ring said to the arcane apprentice beside him. "Deduction: Ultra-high temperature flames can block contamination."

The arcane apprentice named Pharos nodded.

"Captain, aren't we going to make a move?" Evil Axe whispered to Ronan.

"Don't rush, we'll handle the rest." Ronan pointed behind him and asked, "Remember our combo from before?"

"I remember, I remember, it's really powerful to use." Evil Axe was eager to try it out.

"Then let's wait until when there are the most polluters before using it. We'll do it the old way in a bit," Ronan reassured the restless axe.

"What's the old rule?"

"It means that once I freeze someone, I don't care about anything else and just go in to finish them off."

Upon hearing this, Evil Axe was clearly resentful, "Then don't let him kill you with another arrow."

"Don't worry, I'll try to hold back."

Ronan looked up, about to suggest that his team take care of the remaining contaminated individuals, when he noticed...

A surge of mental energy suddenly appeared on Akahoshi's body.

He made a fist with his right hand, and a fireball the size of a washbasin slowly appeared in his palm, like a crimson star, illuminating the entire passage.

Ronan immediately understood the origin of the other party's title "Red Star".