Published at 15th of December 2025 8:27 am

Chapter 1342: Bred for Conquest

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The journey to the Kurogane Pass was long and full of peril.

No matter how much the Tsuitsui Clan tried to conceal their movements, it would eventually be known that they had begun to move. Then, their objective would also be deduced by the enemies.

It wasn’t an easy job to hide a group of almost twenty-five hundred Magi from prying eyes, after all. And so, only a week into their journey, they were already under the radar of the unorthodox Magi.

The sun had set beyond the horizon, and the twin moons cast their pale glow over the realm. A large camp was set up, and the Magi of the Tsuitsui Clan were resting.

In the main tent, Goro and a few other Mana Vortex Magi gathered around a large table, looking at the detailed map sprawled on it and coming up with an attack plan.

Adam sat at the edges of the tent, his shoulders trembling as he chuckled incessantly. The children of the Tsuitsui were all used to his crazed behavior by now. Despite his deranged laughter, they paid no heed to it.

Suddenly, the flaps of the tent opened, and a messenger barged in. With a pale look on his face, he hurriedly relayed the scouting group’s findings:

"My Lords, our scouts report an enemy ambush two miles ahead. There are around fifty men in total. Their true objective remains unclear, but the scouts are certain they belong to the Tiesha Tang!"

Adam’s laughter came to an abrupt halt. Everyone else inside the tent grew solemn. This was going to be their first encounter with the Magi from the Kurogane Pass.

Goro stroked his chin and mumbled, "Only fifty, eh? It is understandable that they won’t send a battalion to attack us, given the advantage they hold at the pass. So these must be the elite Magi they must’ve sent. I can think of a few reasons..."

Another young man, Goro’s younger brother, chimed in, "Assassination of our commanders. Either that, or sabotage. They probably want to destroy our supply caravans, food wagons, and siege equipment."

"They could try to eliminate our scouts," another added. "Or just use hit and run tactics."

Goro thought for a moment before saying, "It’s better to get rid of these pests now, lest they become a nuisance. We still have a month to go before we reach our destination. Our march mustn’t stop."

He then looked around the tent, deciding on who to send to deal with the enemy. At last, his gaze settled on Adam, who was already putting his gauntlets on.

Goro’s lips curled into a grin. "Brother, itching for a fight already?"

Adam rose to his feet, then stretched his limbs. "Auhh."

"Heh." Goro was amused. He then turned to the messenger and asked, "Did the scouts say anything about the enemy’s strength?"

"They didn’t get too close, but they’re certain that a lot of them are Mana Vortex Magi," the messenger solemnly replied.

Goro nodded. He then turned to Adam and asked, "What do you think?"

Adam displayed a thumbs-up. "Auhh!"

"Good." Goro grinned. "Then I’ll leave it up to you."

"Brother, are you sending Brother Ao alone?!" One of the Magi blurted out.

"Isn’t that way too risky?!" asked another. "No, actually, we shouldn’t be sending him for such a dangerous mission in the first place!"

"At least send me with him!"

"Brother, please reconsider!"

"Silence." Goro waved his hand, his tone laced with dignified authority. "Trust in my judgment."

A tense silence descended inside the tent. It didn’t take long for the Tsuitsui Magi to solemnly nod. "Yes, Brother!"

"Hmm." Goro nodded. He then turned to the messenger and asked, "What’s the general direction of the enemy?"

"Northwest, my lord!"

Goro hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to Adam and said, "There you go—"

But his words got caught in his throat when he realized that Adam was no longer inside the tent. The rest of the Magi were equally startled at this revelation. They couldn’t even sense Adam’s departure.

One of the Magi couldn’t help but murmur:

"He’s just like a ghost..."

***

Under the pale glow of the twin moons, Adam traversed the plain like a ghostly specter. Thanks to the Stealth Cloak—a Grade 4 Artifact—he didn’t have any trouble concealing his presence.

All that was left for him to do was ambush the ambushers.

As he approached his target’s location, he thought to himself, The Magi of the Tsuitsui Clan are so disciplined. It’s like they were bred for one purpose and one purpose only...

Conquest!

In fact, the general upbringing of Magi in Yen-Lu was like that. Unlike the peaceful lands of the Ulier Continent, the mystical realm of Yen-Lu always experienced wars.

Although large-scale wars such as the one currently going on were rare, small-scale ones were ubiquitous. People died every day, and blood stained the ground every season.

Children born in the fires of war grew into soldiers the world feared, not because they were strong, but because they never learned how to be anything else.

The constant state of war reminded Adam of the secular world in the Southern Federation. The petty, meaningless wars between mortal nobles—something that his father had been a victim of.

Except that the ones happening in Yen-Lu were on a far greater scale. He couldn’t help but sigh, his emotions briefly crestfallen as he recalled his childhood.

His lips, however, formed a brilliant smile.

Before he knew it, he had already arrived at his target. What he sensed from his enemies caused his smile to gradually fade away. Tucked away within the shadows of a tree, Adam observed his enemies closely.

There were fifty of them. Twenty were at the Mana Vortex Rank, while the rest were all Mana Liquefaction Magi. However, it wasn’t their strength that made him somber. It was what they were carrying.

Seeing the dozens of barrels being prepared by the Magi, Adam’s expression turned dark.

Explosives!

Adam didn’t know how these men were planning to use these explosives on the Tsuitsui army, but he did know one thing...

He needed to kill all of them! No matter what, he couldn’t allow them to reach the army.

Almost a minute later, he had already formulated how he was going to take care of these ambushers. Silently inhaling a deep breath, he retrieved two Grade 3 daggers from his ring.

Then... he began the hunt.

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