Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 174 Plans and Directions

Facing two third-ring wizards, Kate dared not be negligent and immediately laid out her initial plan: "Your Excellencies, the core of my plan lies in infiltration and a surprise attack."

The "Death Disguise" technique I have mastered, after testing, can effectively deceive Abyssal Creatures of the second tier and below, and can even interfere with the perception of Third Ring Beings to a certain extent.

"I can extend this camouflage effect to form a camouflage force field covering a small area around us," helping us to silently pass through the outer defenses and directly reach the vicinity of the altar's core area.

He paused, then pointed to the simple energy node diagram he had drawn and continued, "The internal structure of the altar is complex, but the energy flow has a main channel."

We can avoid heavily patrolled areas and move back to the vicinity along secondary energy transport routes.

The key is to destroy the Seed of Desecration as quickly as possible, especially before the Corrupted Priest can react, and especially before it can activate some kind of defense mechanism on the altar or summon stronger guards.

My mission is to maintain the disguise, guide the path, and, if necessary, use my abilities to try and disrupt the altar's energy flow, creating an opportunity for a fatal blow for both of you.

Kate's plan took into account concealment and timing, making full use of his unique advantages. For a second-circle wizard, this was an extremely bold and feasible plan.

However, after listening, Malcolm raised his lava-like eyebrows slightly, and his loud laughter carried an undeniable tone: "Kid, good plan, cautious enough, and you know how to use your strengths."

But you're thinking too rigidly of the Third Ring Wizard.

Liana nodded slightly, her voice gentle yet carrying a composure born of absolute strength: "Wizard Kate, your disguise skills are indeed exquisite, greatly beneficial for infiltration."

But you must understand that at the third level, our interaction with the environment is completely different from that at the lower levels.

Malcolm stepped forward, the air around him slightly distorted by the high temperature: "Complete elementalization means that we ourselves are no longer in a complete material form."

The poisonous miasma, corrosive mud, and even most physical obstacles of the withering swamp were like a gentle breeze brushing against the rocks to me.

""

He stretched out his right hand, which instantly became translucent, as if lava was flowing inside: "I can transform into pure fire elemental and directly cross that putrid swamp that you think you need to carefully avoid."

The so-called path, for us, is more of a guide for energy flow than a limitation imposed by terrain.

Liana continued, radiating a soft, natural glow. Tiny green shoots even stubbornly pierced through the stone floor of the outpost, faintly resonating with the distant emerald forest: "The connection between the guardians of nature and the earth and plants is beyond your imagination."

The decay of the swamp may suppress life, but it cannot completely extinguish vitality.

I can perceive the ebb and flow of life and death over a wider area, thus more accurately locating the core of the altar and even predicting changes in energy nodes.

"Your camouflage is our veil, but we ourselves are the sharp blade that breaks through conventional paths."

Kate was startled.

He did indeed overlook that.

The complete elementalization/energy transformation of a third-ring wizard is not just a surge in combat power, but a qualitative change in their way of survival and movement.

Their perspective on dangerous environments is completely different from that of lower-ranking wizards who still rely on their physical bodies to avoid most risks.

Malcolm continued, "Your plan remains largely intact, but it needs adjustments."

We don't need to follow your planned, potentially roundabout, safe route slowly and stealthily.

Lady Liana will conduct extensive natural perception to determine the optimal energy gaps and life flow blank areas, while I will be responsible for violently clearing obstacles ahead.

Any small obstacle or patrol that cannot be avoided is instantly vaporized with minimal disturbance and extreme heat, leaving no trace.

Liana added, "Once we get close to the core area, your camouflage field will be crucial and needs to be pushed to its limit to cover our final infiltration."

But the time to launch the attack is not when we are fully in position.

"I will activate the Natural Silence Domain first" to suppress the energy activity of the altar to the greatest extent and interfere with the corrupt priest's spellcasting.

At the same time, Lord Malcolm will unleash a Solar Blast, aimed at blinding and stunning all guards immediately, and creating the necessary conditions to destroy the Seed of Defilement.

Malcolm's eyes blazed with fighting spirit: "Once my Flash Blast is complete, regardless of whether the egg is destroyed or not, I will immediately entangle that corrupted priest."

"Lady Liana, you are responsible for clearing out the minions and securing an escape route. Simultaneously, prepare high-level purification spells. If a single attack fails to completely destroy that evil god's offspring, you must immediately finish it off and purify it to prevent its remaining will from corrupting or escaping."

He looked at Kate: "Your task remains the same: maintain the disguise and provide direction."

However, your idea of ​​interfering with the altar's energy can be implemented after we launch our attack, but only under the premise of absolute safety.

At the same time, you need to closely monitor the state of the Blasphemous Seed in your own way, and immediately alert Lady Liana if there are any signs of abnormal energy escaping or dissipating.

After this discussion, the plan became more comprehensive and aggressive.

Kate's "stealth" strategy, combined with the powerful breakthrough abilities of the two third-ring wizards, formed a more efficient...

A solution with a higher fault tolerance rate.

Kate deeply understands that in the face of absolute power, many obstacles that lower classes consider insurmountable can indeed be overcome in a more direct way.

"I understand. Your plans are more efficient and reliable. I will fully cooperate to maintain the camouflage field."

Kate nodded in agreement.

"Very good, let's not delay, let's set off immediately!" Malcolm acted swiftly.

Half an hour later, the three figures silently left Zerus Outpost and disappeared once again into the mist of the Withering Swamp.

This time, Kate truly experienced what "three-ring speed" meant.

Like a forest sprite, Liana's footsteps landed on the decaying mud, where tiny glimmers of light appeared, as if she were stepping on invisible nodes of life. Her movements were incredibly fast and silent.

Malcolm went even further, hovering low in the air, surrounded by a faint layer of firelight. Wherever he passed, the thin layer of poisonous miasma was directly evaporated and purified.

Kate maintained the expanded "Death Disguise Field" with all her might, perfectly concealing the three people's presence.

He followed closely behind Liana, proceeding along the "blank channel of life flow" that she perceived.

Sure enough, they encountered several rotten mud pits that were difficult to bypass and a small patrol of plague-ridden zombies along the way.

Malcolm didn't even stop; with a flick of his finger, several strands of white flame, as thin as hair yet containing terrifying heat, shot out, instantly vaporizing the group of plague zombies and the edge of the muddy swamp beneath their feet.

Not even a few ashes remained; only the lingering heat and a faint smell of burning in the air proved that they had once existed.

Kate's pupils contracted slightly. This incredibly precise and powerful control over energy far exceeded his imagination.

Third-ring wizards already possess some power at the level of rules; their attacks are closer to the erasure of "concepts".

Led by two third-ring wizards, the distance that would normally take Kate several days to traverse was covered in less than half a day.

They were like three precise, sharp knives, piercing straight into the heart of the withering swamp.

As they approached the altar, that suffocating pressure descended once more.

Kate pushed the disguise field to its limit, intertwining the rules of life and death with the power of dreams to form a near-perfect barrier of nothingness.

"This is it." Liana stopped behind a relatively hidden natural barrier formed by huge, decaying tree roots, her gaze piercing through the thick fog and locking onto the writhing altar of flesh in the distance.

"The core energy fluctuations are inside, and so are the corrupted priest and—that evil embryo."

"Proceed according to plan."

Malcolm spoke succinctly, his aura beginning to recede, but Kate could sense that a volcano within him was gathering power.

Liana closed her eyes and pressed her hands to the damp ground. Emerald green light emanated from her, spreading outwards like ripples on water. It was incongruous with the deathly aura of the entire swamp, yet it stubbornly penetrated it.

She is sensing, she is planning.

Kate held her breath and focused intently on maintaining her disguise, while attaching a wisp of divine thought to the Heart of Reincarnation, closely sensing the energy flow inside the altar, especially the pulsation of the "Seed of Blasphemy".

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere grew extremely tense.

Suddenly, Liana opened her eyes and hissed, "Now! Silence!"

hum!

An invisible, vast wave emanated from her and instantly enveloped the entire altar area!

It is not a silence in sound, but a "silence" on an energy level.

The pulsation of the altar's fleshy walls suddenly stopped, the flow of the dark red liquid slowed down, and even the decaying whispers in the air seemed to be choked by an invisible hand.

"Enemy attack?!" The corrupted priest's voice, filled with shock and anger, rang out from the core node of the altar, but it was just about to make a move.

"Blazing Sun—Flash Explosion!"

Malcolm appeared as if by teleportation above the altar entrance.

He transformed into a miniature, dazzling white sun.

There was no deafening explosion, only pure light and heat, like the first ray of light at the beginning of creation, instantly filling the entire core node.

"ah--!"

The corrupt priest let out a shrill scream. Its eerie green eyes went blind in the bright light, and the decaying force field surrounding it fluctuated and dissipated violently as if ice and snow were melting.

Those low-level abyss believers and decaying creatures were instantly vaporized and dissipated under this light, like ice blocks thrown into a steel furnace.

Even though Kate was hiding at a distance, protected by both the Disguise Field and Liana's Natural Domain, she still felt a stinging pain in her eyes and her soul trembled.

The light contained not only physical high temperature, but also an ultimate purifying power against negative concepts such as "evil", "chaos" and "decay"!

The light lasts for an extremely short time, perhaps only the duration of one or two heartbeats.

But when the light faded and Kate saw the scene inside the core node, she couldn't help but gasp.

The nodes, which were once crowded with various abyssal creations, are now completely empty.

Only the corrupted priest managed to withstand the attack thanks to his immense strength and the third-ring corrupted domain, but his robes were torn, his body was charred in many places and emitting blue smoke, and his breathing was disordered, clearly indicating that he had suffered serious injuries.

The dark red fleshy egg, the "Seed of Blasphemy," which was suspended in the incubation chamber, was covered with cracks. Dark red evil energy seeped out from it like blood, and its pulsation became extremely weak, but it was not completely destroyed.

An even more insane and venomous will emanated from it.

"You wretched lackeys of nature! You will not stop the descent of the divine child!"

The corrupt priest roared, raising his bone staff in an attempt to harness the power of the altar.

But would Malcolm give it that chance?

"Your opponent is me!" Malcolm transformed into a fire giant, wielding a blazing greatsword, and with an aura that could burn the entire world, he clashed fiercely with the corrupt priest.

In an instant, the flames and the power of decay collided violently, explosions rang out, and the entire altar shook violently.

A battle at the third ring level would have enough aftershocks to tear apart an ordinary second ring wizard.

Without the slightest hesitation, the moment Malcolm entangled the corrupted priest, Liana drew her vine longbow, and an emerald green arrow, purely formed from brilliant life energy, instantly took shape and locked onto the "Desecrated Seed" on the verge of shattering!

"In the name of nature, purify this profanity! The arrow of life's blossoming!"

call out-!

The emerald green arrow shot out like a meteor, and wherever it passed, the decaying flesh withered rapidly as if encountering its nemesis.

Purification: A strange, mixed scent of fresh grass and trees and the cleansing smell of decaying matter filled the air.

The arrow struck the cracked fleshy egg with pinpoint accuracy.

The fleshy egg, like ice and snow thrown into the scorching sun, made a "sizzling" sound, quickly melting and disintegrating. The enormous evil will within it let out a final, unwilling scream before being completely annihilated.

Just as the flesh eggs were being purified, the entire altar seemed to lose its core power source. The pulsation of the flesh walls completely stopped, and they began to shrink and rot rapidly, with the energy supply interrupted.

The corrupt priest, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Malcolm, let out a desperate roar, and his aura instantly weakened considerably.

"Mission accomplished! Malcolm, retreat!"

Liana shouted, and at the same time began to cast a large-scale purification spell to cleanse the altar of the remaining decaying energy and prevent the contamination from spreading.

Malcolm laughed loudly, forced the corrupted priest back with a sword strike, and then, with flames engulfing his body, prepared to reunite with Liana and retreat.

Kate remained almost an observer throughout.

He maintained his disguise, remaining vigilant against any potential escapees, but the main battle was entirely led by the two third-ring wizards.

He witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of the Third Ring Wizard, who could manipulate rules with a mere gesture, disregard the environment, and crush everything with absolute strength.

In particular, Malcolm's "Solar Flash" and Liana's "Life Bloom Arrow" deeply shocked him with the effects produced by using a rule of power to its extreme.

It is not merely an accumulation of energy, but a fundamental application of concepts such as "fire," "purification," "life," and "death."

"This is the power of the Third Ring—after becoming fully elemental, the way wizards fight has undergone a qualitative change."

My understanding of reincarnation will also evolve towards this kind of conceptual control in the future.

'

Kate's mind was racing, filled with longing for a higher realm.