Chapter 265: New and Old Grudges Meet.

As a necromancer, Sheen needed a large number of corpses for his experiments every year.

Where did those corpses come from?

Naturally, he stole them, robbed people of them, or killed people to obtain them.

Oguta had joined forces with river bandits to intercept passing ships on the Itongli River in the Dalia Empire. Through this arrangement, he could obtain ten fresh corpses every month.

He kept three for his own research and sent the remaining seven as offerings to his teacher, Sheen Pusen, who lived far away in the Kingdom of Cecilia.

Ever since taking on a disciple, Sheen had finally been freed from the exhausting business of procuring corpses himself. He could devote more of his attention to cultivation and serving the great Dark God.

However, Oguta hadn't delivered any corpses this month.

Sheen had sent him a message, but received no response.

An ominous feeling had suddenly seized him, prompting him to travel to the Dalia Empire in person. When he saw the bandits' stronghold reduced to rubble, with unmistakable signs of burning, he was furious.

Someone had killed all the river bandits, including his disciple, Oguta.

The murderer had been remarkably thorough in destroying the bodies and concealing the evidence. Not only had every corpse disappeared, but even the bloodstains had been cleaned away, creating the illusion that the stronghold had simply been abandoned.

An ordinary mage might have been fooled, but Sheen was a necromancer, intimately familiar with the aura of death. Almost the moment he approached the stronghold, he knew that many people had died there.

Among the numerous lingering traces of death, he sensed a fragment of his disciple Oguta's soul.

Through that remnant, he learned that a mage with power on the level of a Mage Sovereign had destroyed the entire stronghold.

Unfortunately, the fragment contained too little information to reveal the killer's identity.

He investigated for half a month without finding anything useful.

The only thing that caught his attention was a merchant ship belonging to the Graves family. While passing through the Mora River section, the mages aboard had fought a fierce battle against the river bandits.

The bandits had been defeated, their blockade gate destroyed, and the Graves family's merchant ship had sailed away triumphantly. The vessels behind it had seized the opportunity to escape as well.

According to Sheen's calculations, that was the very day the bandits' stronghold had been destroyed.

He had intended to continue investigating, but unfortunately, he received an order from the King to travel to Woba Grand Canyon, extract the essence of the Blood Prison Grass, and prepare a potion to alleviate the King's suffering.

Yet when he arrived three thousand meters beneath the canyon, the Demon Lord who was supposed to be stationed there was nowhere to be found. All that remained of the place where the Blood Prison Grass had been cultivated was a deep pit.

Alarmed, Sheen followed the traces left behind until he reached the rocky flats in the northern part of Woba Grand Canyon. There, he discovered the corpses of low-ranking monsters and the lingering aura of death belonging to Lord Ansedram, the Demon Lord.

The mighty Demon Lord had actually been killed!

Sheen could scarcely believe it.

Judging from the scene, his preliminary conclusion was that the Demon Lord had been killed by a fire mage whose power surpassed even that of a Mage Sovereign.

But as far as he knew, not a single human fire mage had ever reached the rank of Mage Sovereign anywhere on the Austin Continent.

Unable to uncover much useful information, he had no choice but to return to the Kingdom of Cecilia and report his findings to the King.

After hearing his report, the King ordered Sahn to accompany him back to the canyon for a more thorough investigation.

The moment they arrived, they encountered members of the Mages' Guild. Naturally, neither of them hesitated to start collecting heads.

After wiping out two teams of Magic Instructors, they encountered another investigation team consisting of Grand Mages. Sheen Pusen and Sahn promptly began a new hunt.

And just as Sheen was about to claim three fresh Grand Mage corpses, this detestable young man had appeared.

At that very moment, Sheen's eyes burned with hatred, and thick clouds of smoke saturated with dark energy billowed from his body.

The smoke transformed into dozens of vicious black serpents. They bared their fangs and claws, letting out piercing roars.

With old grudges and fresh hatred fueling his rage, Sheen wanted nothing more than to tear Ilio limb from limb.

"Was it you who killed Lord Ansedram?"

Sheen ground out the question through clenched teeth.

Ilio remained completely unmoved by the necromancer's hatred. The infuriatingly cheerful smile on his handsome face never wavered.

"Who's Sesedram?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Stop playing dumb! Three days ago, were you the one who killed the Demon Lord on the rocky flats north of the canyon?" Sheen demanded coldly.

A sharp gleam flashed through Ilio's eyes, and his expression brightened with sudden understanding.

"Oh, you mean that hideous creature that claimed it could never die? Ha ha! Unfortunately, it was all empty boasting. It ended up turning to ashes anyway."

"So it was you!" Sheen roared.

He turned toward Sahn, who was still standing off to the side enjoying the spectacle.

"Why aren't you helping me kill him?"

Sahn remained perfectly calm. His unfathomable eyes studied Ilio intently. Hearing Sheen's furious shouting, he raised a hand.

"Sheen, your hatred has clouded your mind. You've lost the ability to judge the situation properly."

"If you don't want to fight, don't make excuses!" Sheen replied icily.

Sahn shook his head.

"Have you forgotten? There were extensive traces of fire magic at the site of Lord Ansedram's death. But this young man is using wind magic."

Sheen paused, recovering a little of his composure.

"Unless, of course, he can wield both wind and fire magic."

Sahn turned to Ilio with an interested expression.

"Can you?"

Ilio smiled at him.

"What do you think?"

With a sweep of his magic staff, an endless barrage of wind blades converged into a tornado that devoured everything in its path, roaring toward the necromancer and the nightmare demon.

To eliminate the threat once and for all, both of these creatures had to die.

In the Adventurers' Guild hall, ten Mage Apprentices stood in a row before the assignment board, examining the hundreds of assignments posted there from beginning to end.

After a long while, they let out disappointed sighs.

"Are there really no assignments suitable for us?" Dixio asked dejectedly.

Hunting Kaja foxes in the Ergoja Desert, capturing baby Meya rabbits in the Magical Beast Forest, searching for missing adventurers in the Uniba Swamp, venturing deep into the St. Nia Mountains to trade with the winged people for horse-faced spider silk...

Every assignment was rated Intermediate or higher and would take at least a month to complete. None was suitable for the Light Squad.

There were no more assignments like the one they'd taken before—close by, simple, and generously paid.

"Let's look more carefully," Angel said, unwilling to give up. "Actually, we could accept an assignment in the Magical Beast Forest."

For humans, entering the Magical Beast Forest could be a death sentence, but the Little Fairies and the young dragon had nothing to fear.

They had grown up in forests and possessed the ability to communicate with magical beasts. If they encountered a particularly vicious, unreasonable beast, they could simply release Farm to intimidate it.

They could skip assignments involving the capture of magical beast cubs. Gathering medicinal herbs and mining, however, would be no problem at all.

"Assignments 34, 78, 114, and 345 all involve gathering materials."

At some point, Kumandi had taken out his notebook and quill and begun recording assignments that might suit them.

Shu Li immediately checked the requirements.

"Hmm, Assignment 34 requires us to venture deep into the Magical Beast Forest to collect ore. Only adventuring parties of Level Five or higher can accept it. Ruled out!"

Their adventuring party was only Level One. They weren't even eligible.

"Assignment 78 involves gathering medicinal herbs, but there are so many different varieties that we couldn't finish in ten days or even half a month. It also requires an adventuring party of Level Seven or higher. Ruled out!" Budno declared, shaking his head.

"Assignment 114 is to find Dawnlight Grass. Only Level Eight and Level Nine adventuring parties can accept it. Ruled out!" Hector exclaimed in surprise. "Why are all the requirements so high?"

"Have you noticed how high the rewards are?" Siti pointed out.

Every assignment offered more than five thousand gold coins. Assignment 114 paid a staggering twenty thousand gold coins, yet despite having been posted almost a month ago, no one had accepted it.

"What kind of herb is Dawnlight Grass?" Nasha asked curiously.

The level requirement for that assignment was absurdly high.

Kumandi explained, "According to the books, it's a rare medicinal herb that grows exclusively in the Magical Beast Forest. It possesses remarkable healing properties. When combined with Moonlight Grass, which grows only in the Faerie Forest, it can be used to prepare a precious potion that extends one's lifespan."

Ace added, "High-ranking magical beasts often guard Dawnlight Grass. The older the herb, the higher the rank of the beast protecting it. Also, when combined with Thunderflame Grass, Thornbriar Grass, and Snowmoon Grass, it can be used to prepare a potion that purifies dark energy."

"A purification potion?" Shu Li froze for a moment.

Thunderflame Grass and Thornbriar Grass were medicinal herbs found exclusively in the Faerie Forest. Efit frequently purchased them from him.

Could Efit have been using them to prepare purification potions to suppress the dark energy inside his body?

"You know so much!"

Shu Li gazed at the blond boy with sparkling eyes, full of admiration.

Even their quiet resident genius only knew one potion recipe. Yet Ace, a human, actually knew two.

A seed of suspicion took root.

Without the slightest sign of panic, Ace took an ancient book with yellowed pages out of his storage pouch.

"I borrowed this from the library last week. It contains quite a few ancient potion recipes."

Shu Li stared at the old book in his hands.

The seed of suspicion that had only just sprouted was promptly yanked out by the roots.

Ace certainly had a wide range of reading interests!

Apparently, besides enjoying books for entertainment, he also read serious, mind-numbingly dull ones.

With the first three assignments ruled out, what about the last one?

Just as everyone began discussing Assignment 345, a delighted voice suddenly sounded behind them.

"Hector! It's been ages! I never expected to run into you here."

Hearing his name called so unexpectedly, Hector was momentarily bewildered. He turned toward the stranger who was greeting him with such familiarity.

"You..."

The moment Hector recognized the man, his pupils contracted slightly, and his expression turned icy.

It's him!

Jason Ferent!

The eldest son of the Ferent family from the Pros Empire. A shameless scoundrel who hid his true nature behind a respectable facade!

Three years ago, when Hector had just turned seventeen, he had accompanied his father to a royal banquet in the capital. By accident, he had spilled wine on Jason's formal attire.

Feeling terribly guilty, Hector had offered to pay generous compensation.

Jason had refused, asking only that Hector accompany him to a changing room so he could put on fresh clothes.

Hector was easily embarrassed and had reluctantly agreed.

Jason led him into an empty changing room and closed the door. Then, without warning, he pinned Hector against the wall and said something utterly shameless.

"You're really cute. How about we do it right here?"

At the time, every hair on Hector's body had stood on end.

Young noblemen tended to mature early, so naturally, he understood exactly what Jason was suggesting.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this seemingly proper gentleman was attracted to men!

Hector had fought back fiercely. In his panic, he kicked Jason between the legs.

Jason doubled over in agony, giving Hector the chance to break free, wrench open the door, and flee the changing room as fast as he could.

Ever since then, Jason had gone out of his way to make Hector's life difficult.

Everyone assumed Hector had offended Jason over a spilled glass of wine. No one knew the real reason.

The incident was so humiliating that Hector would rather take the secret to his grave than tell anyone about it.

When his father had still been around, Jason had shown at least some restraint. Now that his father was gone, he would probably become even more relentless.

Before coming to St. Velia Magic Academy, Hector had considered the possibility of encountering Jason.

He simply hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Shu Li noticed how Hector's muscles had gone rigid, as though he were facing a formidable enemy. Puzzled, he examined the young man with brown hair and blue eyes.

The man was tall, a full half-head taller than Hector. Shu Li estimated his height at around 190 centimeters. He was handsome, with sharply defined features, and wore the senior uniform of St. Velia Magic Academy. An Intermediate Mage badge was pinned to his chest.

A charming smile adorned his face, and his brilliant blue eyes were fixed intently on Hector. He was practically spreading his tail feathers like a peacock, showing off his charms.

"Your friend?" Shu Li asked, gently poking Hector's arm with a finger.

"No!" Hector denied immediately. "I don't know him!"

A friend? More like a sworn enemy!

Ignoring the disgusting smile on Jason's face, Hector turned back toward the assignment board.

"Let's look at the details of Assignment 345."