Sorcerer’s Handbook

In the middle of July, thanks to Igor’s efforts in gathering intelligence, Ashe and his team finally received some good news: there indeed exists another method in the Senlo Wasteland to remove the “Blood Seed.”

Various producers such as the Fire Cat, Bluebird, and the Gray Fox Divine Era have developed products similar to a “universal elixir.” These might not be in the form of a medicine, but as injectors, embedded Chips, or even tattoos, all designed to immediately dispel any negative conditions and fully restore one’s state in an emergency.

For example, the “Reverse Day” spirit can accomplish this. If Ashe and his team had the Reverse Day spirit at that time, they could have eradicated the Blood Seed from themselves immediately. Since there’s “Reverse Day,” naturally there are “Reverse Month” and “Reverse Year” as well, which could still work on the three of them despite all the days that have passed.

This is the simplest method but also the least feasible. Aside from the possibility of “Reverse Day” being used medically without side effects, “Reverse Month” and “Reverse Year” would be high-end luxury life-extension products, extremely difficult to obtain and definitely not available in the market.

If Ashe returned to Gospel, he could act spoiled with Lise, and she might generously offer a few reverse hour spirits. Yet, if he could return to Gospel, Lise could directly request a legendary sorcerer to help with the treatment since almost all Sanctuary Legends would heed Yisuo’s command.

Just consider, Ashe being precisely transported to the Kingdom with a divine intervention by either an Angel or the Divine Sovereign demonstrates the difficulty of inter-kingdom transportation… Comparatively, seeking a divine era heritage is more practical.

In fact, Ashe and his team had previously inquired the Mercury Trojan Horse on this topic, but she evaded the question by claiming ignorance of the Gray Fox heritage, leaving them with no solution.

As for Tamashi… How much intelligence resource can one expect from a warrior? It’s not that he lacks intelligence, but that his information is on the level of the “Ten Mysteries of the Wasteland.”

While pursuing the Silver Lantern, they passed through many towns governed by various cults. Igor utilized the “Transcendent Cult certified merchant” identity to not only enter towns smoothly but also gather much intelligence on Senlo.

Among the most critical pieces of information is that the Twinborn Cult’s base, “Nightfall,” is rumored to have once possessed the “Reconstitution Elixir.” This elixir can completely deconstruct and reconstruct a person’s body, removing all curse impurities, restoring a perfect form, and even rejuvenating the soul.

The concepts of power and perfection are different. Power is built over time, while perfection is an inherent gift. It’s said that all beings in the womb possess perfect bodies, enabling healthy souls to form. However, once separated from the mother, imperfections arise.

Many sorcerers believe that death results from too many flaws in the body, which can no longer house a perfect soul.

There is a story about a legendary sorcerer whose soul was on the brink of collapse due to death in the Virtual Realm. By taking the Reconstitution Elixir, he temporarily gained a perfect body, managing to nurture his dying soul back to health.

Such a potent elixir would naturally have no problem treating something as minor as a Blood Seed.

However, there’s another piece of news, neither good nor bad: According to Mercury Trojan Horse’s guidance, the Silver Lantern also seems to have headed to Nightfall.

It had been many days since Black Robe Town, and along the way, they had a brief encounter with the Silver Lantern. It wasn’t an ambush by them or by the Silver Lantern; it was simply a case of enemies crossing paths on the street, their hatred rekindled, and they decided to fight right then and there.

This encounter differed significantly from the overwhelming victory at the Transcendence Building. This time, the Silver Lantern chose to host the Inferno of Tribulations, and even though it wasn’t a perfect hosting, Ashe still couldn’t suppress her.

Ashe and his group realized that unless the Silver Lantern exhausted her Demi-God powers first or they gained support from other forces, it would be quite difficult for them to capture the madwoman of Senlo.

While the Transcendent Cult had already spread the word about the Silver Lantern, and the Qinyi Alliance raised the security of all their Demi-God powers, meaning she shouldn’t have another chance to acquire more, she already possessed six Demi-God powers. This equated to six lives, six forms, and in a game scenario, she would be considered a near-endgame boss.

Even though the Silver Lantern is bound to offend other cults, and there might be opportunities to take advantage of this in the future, the lack of control in this situation is truly frustrating.

Ashe and his group must wait for the Silver Lantern to make a fatal mistake before they can act against her. In the meantime, the only thing they can do is draw circles and curse her.

Additionally, due to their experiences in the Kingdom of Gospel, both Igor and Harvey have developed a strong aversion to being controlled or dominated by others. Despite their deep hatred for the Silver Lantern, that’s no reason for them to accept Mercury Trojan Horse’s command-she’s the only one who can accurately predict the location of the Silver Lantern.

While they call it cooperation, in reality, it feels more like they’re being used by one bad woman to hunt another bad woman.

Even Ashe feels similarly dissatisfied. He might not dislike Annan, but not everyone is fit to be his Young Lady commanding him around, especially not someone like Mercury Trojan Horse, who continually changes her guise.

If they could find the Reconstitution Elixir, aside from Ashe’s issue with his Half Tactile Sense, everyone else would essentially be out of immediate danger, eliminating the need to meddle in the conflicts of Senlo.

The Silver Lantern, the Four Pillars Cult, and the Qinyi Alliance can continue their battles at their own pace while they make their exit.

Even Ashe is growing weary of this pursuit. All he wants now is to return to the Virtual Realm and happily explore the Distant Sky Domain with the sword Princess, the Witch, and Vesser. Recently, the team’s atmosphere has become increasingly pleasant, to the point where Ashe finds himself smiling foolishly during the day, longing to promptly return to a safe place to make progress in the Virtual Realm.

After all, this wasteland lacks a unified authority, and dangerous heritages are everywhere. Even a sanctuary sorcerer doesn’t feel as secure as they would under a Blood Moon-better to have a room in Senlo than a bed at Shattered Lake!

Then, they got some bad news.

The setting sun was as red as blood, the desert like a vast sea, with dust flying thousands of miles and spellcasting raining down like falling water.

Ashe and his group rode their motorcycles to the edge of a cliff, gazing out at a massive army numbering in the tens of thousands besieging a city.

One-Winged Sorcerers provided cover for ground troops assaulting the city, while Two-Winged Sorcerers engaged in fierce aerial battles. Sanctuary sorcerers from both sides at the battle’s edge created chaos with each Miracle, bringing about carnage and bloodshed.

Non-sorcerer soldiers wielded simple rifles and bayonets, wearing light yellow chainmail armor. Their eyes turned icy and ruthless under the influence of mental sorcerers. Using ladders and tunnels crafted by Earth sorcerers, they scaled the city walls to engage in brutal combat above and below with the city’s defenders.

Outside the city, thousands of linked sorcerers from all directions created a vast sandstorm that engulfed the city like a tidal wave.

Inside the city, Miracles erupted continuously. Seeds within the walls rapidly took root and sprouted into vines, entangling and slaying soldiers while also shielding against the sandstorm.

Every second, sorcerers fell from the sky; every second, corpses lay gazing up at the heavens.

Corpses piled up, buried in the dust, turning their lives into added weight for the desert, while their blood and flesh became the brightest colors present. The wails of agony and battle cries seemed nothing more than the sound of time swept away by the wind.

Boom!

In the midst of the yellow-clad army, a brownish-yellow pillar of light suddenly shot up. A figure leaped out, grabbed a retreating sanctuary sorcerer, and forcefully slammed them into the city wall, piercing it like a battering ram!

At the same time, another pillar of purple-blue light burst inside the city.

The two beams of light tangled, directly shattering the city’s defensive line!

This was the bad news they witnessed firsthand.

The origin place of the Reconstitution Elixir, the Twinborn Cult’s base, “Nightfall,” was in a state of war.

“The divine host has made a move,” Tamashi remarked.

“Whether it’s the divine host or sanctuary sorcerers, their combat power far exceeds everyone else’s. Their victory or defeat decides the outcome of the war,” Ashe frowned and asked, “Why still send low-level sorcerers and ordinary people into battle?”

It’s not that Ashe is so kind-hearted he can’t bear to see death. In fact, upon realizing this was a world full of Miracles, Ashe had long prepared himself for the notion that a common person’s life might not be worth much. Given that sorcerers represent the pinnacle of violence and productivity, no matter how cruelly they rule the populace, Ashe wouldn’t find it surprising.

However, looking at the current situation, there doesn’t yet appear to be a nation where sorcerers disregard humanity altogether. The Kingdom of Gospel, not even worth mentioning anymore, still holds the highest rating; despite some oddities in Senlo, based on the conditions of previous divine eras, the standard of living for its people likely surpasses other nations-albeit with less stability. Even Blood Moon, which could be considered the baseline, at least meets the material needs and spiritual desires of its lower level inhabitants.

So when Ashe saw the scene unfolding before him, he was genuinely puzzled-what good is wiping out one army with another when a Sanctuary sorcerer or a divine host can single-handedly obliterate any legion using high-level combat power? Why wait for an all-out battle when you can have these formidable forces decide the outcome?

“Do your wars not involve ordinary people?” Raven countered.

“Most sorcerer kingdoms don’t,” Igor replied. “I have a hunch about why this is happening… In other kingdoms, war is a continuation of politics, but in Senlo, war stems from a conflict of beliefs.”

“They kill for the sake of killing.”

“Pretty much,” Tamashi said. “As you mentioned, Ashe, the divine hosts possess the highest combat power, and having them determine victory or defeat would generally decide the war’s outcome. However, even though there are differences in strength among the divine hosts, they have immense stamina and can’t easily be defeated.”

“Even if a divine host falls, as long as the Demi-God remains, someone else might successfully become a divine host. Facing a crisis and attaining resonance with the Demi-God to turn the tide-there are countless examples like this.”

“And the number of disciples is directly linked to the Demi-God’s strength,” Raven’s distorted voice carried the cold indifference of Senlo. “The real objective of the war is to eradicate heresy.”

Ashe asked, “Then why don’t the divine hosts participate in the war from the beginning?”

“There are four walls around this city,” the Con Artist pointed out towards the distance, “If I were the attacker, I’d send the divine host to assault the second or third most advantageous wall, forcing the defending divine host to respond, while the primary advantage pushes to breach the gate. If the defenders were to go on the offense, I’d do the same, sending a divine host to aid the advantage to breach the city… Regardless, you need to wait for the battle to reveal its advantages and disadvantages.”

Raven added, “Although I’m not a divine host, I’ve heard that becoming one is extremely draining. It’s best saved for critical moments, as forcibly becoming a divine host can deplete your life… Ashe, don’t you feel exhausted when you become a divine host?”

Ashe was somewhat puzzled. “No, not at all. In fact, I feel quite energized, and my body feels weightless. Could it be that I haven’t reached the danger point because I use it for a shorter period?”

Harvey asked, “That sounds like you’ve secretly taken my candy.”

“Maybe it’s because you are a perfect divine host,” Tamashi offered. “But this is how cult wars work. They might not even decide a victor this time, but instead retreat after exhausting each other’s disciples to prepare for the next wave of attack and defense. Slowly accumulating losses, one side will eventually collapse.”

“Aren’t they all part of the Qinyi Alliance?” Ashe asked, “I thought…”