I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

[Item Effect: Allows use of necromancy spells of rank 8 and below (including rank 8), with no limit on the number of uses or mana. The spell's effect is related to Intelligence and Perception.]

"Can't she reach level 9? That witch isn't even level 16? Or am I holding her back?"

Duke muttered a couple of words to himself, then raised his bone staff and aimed it at the chaotic armory. A fully formed cotton candy dragon took flight amidst the chaos, chasing after the fleeing players. Its breath could turn anything it hit into cotton candy. If it weren't for Amber, the players would have suffered heavy losses long ago.

So he pointed his staff at the dragon and whispered:

"Death Finger".

Chapter Thirty-Three: This is my escape route, Saint!

"Death Finger".

The 7th-level necromancy spell is one of the most famous and powerful high-level spells, and countless powerful figures throughout history have perished before it.

However, Duke using it to deal with a marshmallow dragon is not overkill.

The energy of death condensed into a dazzling red lightning bolt, tearing through space and striking the dragon. The power of death and darkness was brutally poured into the body of the cotton candy dragon. It was like a balloon punctured by a needle, first rapidly expanding and then bursting open, shattering into a thin rain of sugar.

For a moment, the entire arsenal fell into a suffocating silence, especially the adventurers who had been fleeing in all directions. They stared at the scene in disbelief, unable to believe their eyes, and even forgot to continue their escape.

They only had one thought in their minds.

Amber's kiss... Could all those lies she made before have been true?!

They certainly understood the significance of Finger of Death. High-level spells of the 7th, 8th, and 9th rings were not conventional weapons; they could only be used by high-level elite mages (level 14), and in most cases, by hero-level mages. Furthermore, Finger of Death was a decisive skill spell among the 7th ring spells, and anyone who could use it so casually, like Duke, was undoubtedly a highly respected and renowned archmage.

The adventurers couldn't help but swallow hard, recalling their past disrespect towards Duke, and successfully turned deathly pale.

However, Duke was not a petty person. He did not take their offense to heart, nor did he have time to pursue it now—Duke was too busy enjoying the pleasure of being a heroic spellcaster to bother with them.

"That was awesome!" Duke was grinning from ear to ear, and exclaimed with satisfaction. Then he casually explained to Joseph beside him, "This is the power I got from this world. Don't worry, I can't take it out with me."

Upon hearing Duke's explanation, Joseph's expression changed instantly, from surprise to envy.

Joseph, a hardened veteran who had spent his entire life as a peasant (physical profession), could only express his envy in the face of such an unreasonable magical item.

The noble profession of spellcasting is every warrior's dream. Who wouldn't want to be a high-ranking mage, able to unleash powerful magic at will? Unfortunately, the threshold for the spellcasting profession is extremely high. It not only requires extremely high intelligence, perception, or charm (yes, for example, the class requirement for warlocks is charm), but also a high family background.

In Duke's previous life, there was an old saying: "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." But in this world, the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts, and only the extremely wealthy can learn the law.

Like the original owner of Duke's body, although he had high intelligence and charm, he could only choose to become a strange little thief whose agility was not as good as his intelligence and charm because he didn't have the money to learn magic.

However, Duke never expected that he would have the chance to have some fun in this witch game.

“However, happy times are always short-lived.” Duke’s smile faded. After becoming the commander of the Bone Legion, his attributes had improved significantly, and his weak point, perception, had also become more refined. He was no longer a “little lobster.” He raised his head and looked at the gate of the armory. “Are they here?”

He didn't lower his voice, but asked loudly, and soon he received an answer.

"Yes, I'm here."

Greta appeared in everyone's sight. She was no longer wearing her signature cake dress, but a dress similar to the illusion created by the Fear spell. The dress was stained with blood, the source of which was unknown, and an inscrutable smile was on her face.

"So he really is a saint?" Duke narrowed his eyes. "What did you do to Hansen?"

"Hansen defeated the witch, but at a great cost. When he returned to the castle, covered in wounds, his dear sister Grete greeted him," the saint said with a smile. "Then, he died."

Duke killed the witch, and the saint killed Hansen.

The Bone Legion and Candy Castle changed hands in a short period of time, yet the strange balance of this world remained intact.

Just as Duke gained an enhanced version of the Bone Staff after the witch's death, the Saint also gained considerable power after defeating Hansen and changing hands over Candy Castle. Under the same circumstances, the Saint, who was already stronger than Duke, undoubtedly held an absolute advantage and initiative.

But Duke showed no fear. He gripped the bone staff, pointed it at the saint, and said to Joseph, "You two go quickly."

"Huh?"

Before the reckless Joseph could react, Amber, who had been keeping some attention on Duke, teleported over, grabbed Joseph by the shoulder, and pulled him away from Candy Castle. Before Joseph, all the other adventurers had already been moved away by Amber in a short time.

“That child’s spatial magic is quite impressive. I never expected the witches of the floating city to have found such a gem.” The saint stared at Amber in a daze, then lightly touched the ground with his toes, as if unrestrained by gravity, and floated closer to Duke. “But the one who intrigues me even more is you, Duke.”

“Curiosity is often the first step toward love,” Duke smiled. “It’s an honor to be liked by you, madam.”

"Pah, you lecher!" The saint spat, seemingly recalling the taste of that mixed berry cake, the emotions surging in her mind, the warmth emanating from her body... Her face flushed crimson as she glared at Duke and said fiercely, "There's no way I could ever like you!"

"What a shame," Duke shrugged. "Luckily, I don't like you either."

Upon hearing this, the sage immediately became agitated: "How dare you dislike me?"

"?"

"..."

After a brief and somewhat eerie silence, Duke broke the awkward atmosphere by looking the Saint up and down and asking directly, "How is Greta?"

"She sleeps soundly in this body, like Sleeping Beauty, waiting for the prince to rescue her. If you want to save Gretel, to save the world, then bring it on!"

The sage opened her arms, and an invisible power gradually condensed on her body.

"It's time for us to fight to the death."

"Yes, it's time to put an end to this long-running witch game."

Duke nodded in agreement, and then clapped his hands as if to show his agreement.

Then, right under the saint's nose, Amber suddenly appeared, grabbed his hand, and vanished from her sight with Duke, leaving only Duke's last words echoing in the air:

"Only a fool would fight head-on; a smart person would just run away!"

saint:"?"

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Despicable Outsider!

Although Duke had no intention of engaging in a real, hand-to-hand combat with the Saint, what he said was the truth.

"It's time to put an end to this long-running witch game."

He thought so and did it.

The way to beat this witch game is to break the balance between the two forces inside and outside the forest, but it's easier said than done. Outsiders like Duke will cause both the Candy Castle and the Bone Legion to evolve, giving rise to new types of troops and combat power.

Just like the Cotton Candy Dragon Knight born from the Witch Evaluation Expert, just like the Space Cookie Sword Saint born from Amber.

However, there is a way to bypass this mechanism.

She could either act like a saint, possessing someone within the group to carry out her actions—she possessed Gretel, the second-in-command of Candy Castle, and directly overthrew Hansen, usurping his position. Or she could be like Duke, somehow acquiring the witch's new recruit (by eating cursed candy), legitimately becoming the second-in-command, and then waiting for the witch to die so she could inherit the position.

In other words, as long as one acts according to the rules of this world, the evolutionary mechanism will not be triggered. However, by doing so, one will forever be trapped in the alternate dimension and its rules, and will never be able to break the balance.

But could this contradiction really stump Duke? Of course not, he's best at finding loopholes.

"First, the evolution mechanism doesn't take effect immediately, and not every action will trigger it. Amber used her teleportation ability in Candy Castle for at least half a day, and the Space Biscuit Sword Saint only finally appeared after they successfully caused havoc in the armory. Second, the actions of people like Joseph and his group didn't trigger the evolution mechanism, which means that for outsiders to be activated, their actions must exceed a certain threshold."

Incidentally, Duke strongly suspects that soon there will be "cookie singers" and "bone soul singers" to counter some anonymous madman.

"Secondly, normal military operations and combat command will not trigger the evolution mechanism, even with the participation of outsiders. However, it cannot escape the balance mechanism. When I lose an elite squad, the Candy Castle side, as the balancer, will suffer corresponding losses. Such conventional military operations are unlikely to break the balance. But it is worth mentioning that such a balance compensation mechanism will also have a time delay."

Duke now understood why the sage had been so certain that he had a way to break the balance—because breaking the balance was not difficult at all.

For the Sage, who has been involved in the entire story from the beginning, it is easy for her to see through the loopholes and seize the opportunities. It is likely that Hansen's backup plan with Gretel could not actually make things difficult for her. However, what the Sage wants to do is not to break the balance or complete the game.

What she truly desires is to seize these two powerful armies capable of evolving irrationally!

So that's what "an ambitious person who covets victory" means.

With the deaths of the witch and Hansen, the restrictions on spatial magic in the forest were lifted, making Amber's role irreplaceable. With her help, Duke and the adventurers returned to the Bone Legion's headquarters and focused their attention on the increasingly intense battlefield.

Because of the evolution mechanism, everyone else became Duke's tools, following his commands. At first, the adventurers had some complaints, but they quickly came to accept Duke, this controversial man.

Putting everything else aside, Duke is indeed a genius when it comes to courting death and causing trouble.

Although the results of conventional military operations are corrected by the balancing mechanism of the extradimensional space, this correction is delayed. Therefore, Duke addresses this by using quantitative changes to lead to qualitative changes!

One or two strategic outcomes may be ineffective with global intervention, but what about ten or a hundred times?

Duke micromanaged the Bone Legion extensively, essentially playing a live-action RTS game, but with cheat codes enabled. He ignored power disparities and strategic objectives, his basic goal being to eliminate the most troops as quickly as possible or kill the most enemies in the shortest amount of time.

Under Duke's manipulation, the Bone Warriors were transformed into players coerced into throwing matches by Bo Cai Organization, demonstrating remarkable "control and skill," a feat that would put even an Oscar-winning actor to shame.

One second, the Bone Legion might have launched a blitzkrieg raid on Candy Castle, taking over the first-floor hall in the shortest possible time; the next second, they might have sent an entire elite battle group to the breath of the Cotton Candy Dragon, wiping out the enemy team; and in the blink of an eye, the assassins who were about to behead the saint would have already rushed into the saint's room.

The balancing mechanism is triggered automatically. When Duke loses an elite squad, it will arrange for Candy Castle to suffer corresponding losses. However, often just as it is arranged, Duke's next wave of attacks has already ended, and a brand new balancing mechanism is triggered once again.

The numerous and complex battles that occurred ultimately led to fluctuations in the previously evenly matched strength of both sides.

This fluctuation has existed since the start of the war, but the gap has remained relatively small thanks to the balancing mechanism.

If we take the previous largest gap as a unit, under Duke's operation, the gap between the two sides began to bounce back and forth between 10 units and 100 units, sometimes with the Candy Castle side having the advantage, and sometimes with the Bone Legion having the advantage.

The war turned into a true "tug-of-war," with the forces of both sides moving back and forth like a simple numbers game, manipulated by Duke.

Although each time the other dimension tries to make up for it, Duke's next offensive wave will always widen the gap between the two sides once again.

The other dimension is really being pulled apart; you can watch the recording if you don't believe me.

Moreover, during these operations, Duke even had Joseph and other adventurers mix in attacks unique to outsiders, testing the evolution mechanism several times, making the changes in the entire battle situation more complex than an electrocardiogram at every moment.

Under the rules of the alternate dimension, the Bone Legion and the Candy Castle, who had maintained a balance for countless years, had never seen such an operation before. Both the Bone Warriors and the Cookie Soldiers were directly manipulated by the despicable outsider Duke, and were completely unable to extricate themselves.

"But that alone is not enough to clear the game. After all, the gaps on the battlefield will be constantly smoothed out by the balancing mechanism. We need a big one to completely detonate the gap that I have worked so hard to create!"

The war lasted for three days straight. During this time, Duke maintained and widened the gap between the two sides, silently waiting for the right moment to arrive, until... until 72 hours had passed, and his Lucky Dagger cooldown finally came back on.

This time, the big one is really coming!

Post an unlimited bounty until it's released.

I didn't expect to survive the rank test, and I'm a bit devastated. My daily push and other stats are probably a bit low. I was planning to post again next week, but I'll just post a bounty now.

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