Published at 5th of April 2026 7:25 am

Chapter 1650 Piercing Blue Eyes

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Orion, a Mana Core Magus of the Cult of Bones, had studied the reports.

He had read how a group of unknown Magi had infiltrated deep into their lands and set ablaze their supply depots.

Not only that, these foolish or brave, depending on how one looked at it - men also destroyed transport infrastructures, making it difficult for their army in the frontlines to receive supplies on time.

He didn't know how these people had managed to hide their tracks for almost two months. Magi were instructed to divine their whereabouts, but it had quickly become apparent that these men were employing some kind of anti-divination methods.

So Orion was left with no other way to track them except the old school method of analyzing their movements and predicting where they would strike next.

And it worked out after a few failed attempts.

He saw the pattern, not in what was destroyed, but in what they avoided. Not in where they struck, but in how they moved between strikes. Piece by piece, the gaps closed in.

Until there was only one place left for them to strike...

And now, they had arrived right at his doorstep. The outpost had been left as it was. And it had become the perfect trap.

Orion's men were already in position, hidden where even trained eyes struggled to notice. And just as Ulric and his men were about to burn the warehouses to the ground, they were caught.

"My Lord, they have been rounded up."

A voice came from outside Orion's private chambers. The man sat at a high-back leather chair, calmly sipping tea as he watched the dark clouds gather in the night sky through the arched window.

He set the teacup down on the table beside him, then rose to his feet. His gaze lingered on the faint lightning streaking across the dark skies and the faint droplets of rain splattering on the window pane.

Then he turned around and exited the chamber.

It was time to find out the identity of the rats that had sneaked in.

***

Ulric and his men were forced to kneel in the main square.

Their hands were bound behind their backs, each of their hands kept at a distance from the other, far enough to stop any attempt at forming hand seals.

All of their possessions had been taken away. Potions of explosions, poisons, weapons, spell components... nothing was left with them.

They were stripped down to nothing but themselves. Around them, dozens of Magi stood in a wide circle.

Not one of them spoke.

Their killing intent was all too clear. Their hostility was even clearer. All eyes were on Ulric and his men. If it wasn't for the Mana Core Magus, who had recently arrived, the Haynam Magi would have already killed them.

Ulric glanced at the men standing before him and asked innocently, "Could I get a glass of water? My throat's feeling a little pa-"

Bam!

A nearby Magus stepped forward and delivered a sickening jab to his jaw.

"Guhh..." Ulrich spat a mouthful of blood. He turned to the man and grumbled. "Rude."

"You motherf-" The Magus was about to dish out more beating, but was held back by his fellow Magi.

Ulrich simply shook his head in disappointment. He turned to his men, who were kneeling beside him, and smiled bitterly.

"Sorry, lads," he whispered in a hoarse voice. "I truly thought this mission was in the bag."

He raised his head and gazed at the dark clouds. The faint raindrops fell on his face. "Turns out... the heavens weren't with us, after all."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the square.

Ulric's ears perked up as the Haynam Magi in front of him stepped aside, clearing a path.

They split into two lines, making way for an elderly man to approach. His hairline had receded, his expression was hard, and his eyes carried a cold, controlled anger. Dark robes hung from his figure, untouched by the impending chaos around him.

Orion walked forward at an unhurried pace. Then he stopped before the kneeling men. His cold gaze moved across their faces, as if committing each of them to memory and trying to see if he recognized any of them.

"Mana Vortex Magi... all of them," he murmured. Inwardly, he was a little surprised that this elite force was made entirely of such capable men.

Suddenly, all the chaos that had ensued in their wake made sense to him.

"Which of you is the leader?" He asked coldly.

The Magi remained silent. They were unafraid of what awaited them. Despite being captured by the enemy and being in the presence of a mighty Mana Core Magus, they didn't flinch.

"That would be me, my good sir." Ulrich smiled politely.

Orion paused for a moment as Orion's gaze settled on him, intently studying

him.

"Would you believe me if I said we got lost in these lands?" Ulrich added with the same smile.

Orion's eyes narrowed. He couldn't understand why the man was so unfraid of what was about to befall him. The others also seemed more or less the same.

They are all prepared to die, he thought grimly.

Lightning above rumbled, faintly illuminating Ulrich's face. Something about this man made Orion feel... unsettled.

"Find anything on them that would hint at their allegiances?" Orion asked the men around him.

"No, my lord." The man shook his head, gulping nervously. "Nothing..."

There was a brief pause. Lightning streaked across the sky one more time, and

the intensity of the drizzle increased ever so slightly.

"They carry no insignia. No marks. No identifying items at all..."

Another Magus stepped forward and said, "Their equipment was standard, my lord. They're all untraceable. There's no origin we can confirm."

Orion had half-expected this, so he wasn't surprised. It was only natural. Any enemy of Haynam would be careful, especially one that had proven to be this capable and dangerous over the past couple of weeks.

The skies above grew darker. Clouds converged, and lightning rumbled beyond the blanket of clouds again and again and again...

Orion couldn't help but frown. Not at the prisoners kneeling before him. But at

the sudden change in the weather.

It seemed... unnatural.

Just as he was about to raise his head and study the skies, Ulric called out to

him.

"My good sir, if you wish to know which faction we belong to, why didn't you

ask so?"

Orion's cold gaze snapped toward the man.

A bolt of brilliant lightning streaked through the sky, this time illuminating the

lands in a blinding light.

Ulric's lips curled into a smirk, and he said with pride:

"We are the Dark King's men"

Right at that moment, a figure appeared in the skies above the military outpost.

He levitated proudly in the air, his piercing blue eyes blazing with rage and...

Thunder!

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