Looking at the shocking giant crater below, Pierce let out a long breath, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

  This was his first time verifying the Overcharged power of a Magic Tattoo in actual combat.

  It certainly hadn't disappointed him.

  This power was even greater than stacking Silver Star with Elemental Runes and Elemental Power!

  "It's just that the cost is a bit high. A thousand Magic Stones gone just like that, and I'll have to get the Magic Tattoo re-inked later."

  Pierce retracted his gaze and turned to look at the old man and the two Winter Frost Priests.

  Seeing Pierce's gaze turn toward them, the color drained from the three men's faces simultaneously, and they subconsciously took a half-step back.

  Pierce gave a mocking sneer and unhesitatingly activated the Giant Magic Tattoo and the Agility Magic Tattoo on his body, while simultaneously casting Bull's Strength, Endurance, and Cat's Grace on himself.

  As the halos of various spells surfaced one after another, his physical attributes were instantly enhanced to a terrifying degree!

  With a flash of his figure, Pierce instantly appeared behind one of the Priests and threw a punch.

  Pfft!

  Before that Priest could even react, all the protective barriers on his body collapsed instantly, and his head exploded directly like a water balloon!

  "!!!"

  The old man and the tall, thin Priest paled in horror. Without a second thought, they turned and fled.

  Having witnessed Pierce's terrifying power, they no longer had even the slightest thought of fighting.

  Their only thought was to escape and report what had happened here.

  Naturally, Pierce wouldn't let prey that had already reached his mouth escape. His figure flickered, catching up to the tall, thin Priest almost instantly.

  Sensing the energy fluctuation from behind, the tall, thin Priest's expression changed drastically. In despair, he desperately channeled his divine grace, releasing a torrent of cold air behind him to block Pierce.

  But Pierce didn't even look. He punched straight out. The surging lightning instantly annihilated the cold torrent, and then, with unstoppable momentum, slammed into the tall, thin Priest.

  With a resounding boom, the tall, thin Priest was instantly reduced to charred ash, falling to the ground like a shooting star.

  Pierce didn't even spare him a glance, turning around to chase after the old man.

  One fleeing, one pursuing, the two quickly disappeared over the horizon.

  It wasn't until this moment that Anton and Fiona recovered from their shock. Looking at the devastated city walls scattered with debris, they were speechless for a long time.

  They had never seen a Wizard like Pierce.

  He was clearly only at the Rank 1 level, but his endless stream of powerful methods was not in the least bit inferior to a Rank 2 Wizard.

  A heavily guarded fortification, garrisoned by numerous Winter Frost Priests and Church Knights, had actually been forcefully destroyed by him alone.

  If someone had told them a moment ago that a newly advanced Wizard could do such a thing, they would have absolutely scoffed at it.

  But now, this unimaginable feat had truly occurred right before their eyes.

  For a time, the two were filled with awe. They felt that a person's reputation was indeed like the shadow of a tree; the rumors were absolutely correct. Pierce was indeed the most outstanding genius of Aurora City in the past century.

  Perhaps even more than a century.

  Sophia and Payne, however, didn't think as much as they did.

  Having witnessed Pierce's miraculous battle records multiple times, the two had long since harbored unwavering faith in his decisions.

  Although they were equally amazed by Pierce's power, they quickly snapped back to reality and ran toward the castle to prepare for cleaning up the battlefield.

  The two were now very clear about their roles.

  With their current meager strength, they couldn't help Pierce at all in battle.

  All they could do was clean up the battlefield and handle miscellaneous chores in daily life.

  Perhaps one day, when their strength improved, they might be able to help Pierce in combat.

  With the four Winter Frost Priests either dead or fleeing, the remaining Turin Knights also lost their will to fight and scattered in all directions. Unfortunately, they didn't run far before they were caught and killed by the pursuing Fog Crows.

  Even the burly man who was the captain of the Church Knight detachment, a Tier 2 Legendary Knight, had his skull crushed by Mist Raven, falling to the ground dead with a face full of unwillingness and despair.

  After dealing with the enemies near the city walls, Mist Raven raised its head and let out a sharp caw. The flock of crows immediately dispersed, spreading out across the castle to sweep up the remaining Turins.

  Coming back to their senses, Anton and Fiona hurriedly entered the castle.

  Based on the castle structure they had scouted earlier, the two quickly found the entrance to the underground dungeon.

  Thirty or forty captives were locked in the dim dungeon.

  They had noticed the massive commotion outside long ago and guessed that Wizards were likely assaulting the fortification. They were waiting, full of hope yet apprehensive. Seeing someone come in, they immediately rushed to the iron bars and looked out.

  "Are you from Red Maple City?"

  "It's Wizards! Haha, we're saved!"

  "My Lords, I'm from Red Maple City! Please let me out!"

  "Anton, Fiona, why are you here?"

  A middle-aged man who recognized Anton and Fiona looked at them in complete surprise.

  "Chester!"

  Anton took a few quick steps forward, sizing Chester up and down. Seeing that he only looked haggard but wasn't seriously injured, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  "How are you doing?"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "I'm alright." Chester smiled self-deprecatingly. "Those Turins probably thought I was an expensive commodity, so they didn't mistreat me too much. But everyone here was forced to swallow anti-magic drugs. We can't use our mental power or elemental power. We were also hit with divine spells, so our physiques are currently only at the level of ordinary mortals."

  Speaking of this, Chester's expression tightened, and he quickly asked, "How is the battle outside? If the situation is too critical, you shouldn't worry about me. Leave quickly. Otherwise, bringing a burden like me will be very detrimental to you."

  Normally, the people around would have sighed at the deep friendship between the three of them. But right now, having finally seen rescuers arrive, how could they be willing to let Anton and Fiona leave? They couldn't help but almost burst into curses.

  Fortunately, Anton's next words turned their anger into joy.

  "Don't worry. The Turins outside have all been dealt with."

  Chester was stunned.

  All dealt with?

  It had been less than half an hour since the battle broke out, right? Exactly how many reinforcements came to take down the fortification so quickly?

  Despite his confusion, Chester was incredibly pleasantly surprised.

  Anton and Fiona didn't delay. They immediately took out their weapons, smashed the locks, and released Chester and the other captives.

  The group then hurriedly left the underground dungeon and returned to the surface.

  The moment they saw the light of day again, all the captives showed joyful expressions of surviving a disaster.

  But soon, they noticed something was wrong.

  "Why are there only Turin corpses?"

  "Yeah, not a single damaged puppet or golem, and no bodies of alien kin either."

  "Where is the army that attacked the fortification?"

  Chester also cast a questioning look at Anton and Fiona.

  Anton and Fiona exchanged a glance, pointing at the sky with strange expressions.

  "Right up there."

  The crowd looked up, only to realize that many crows were circling in the sky above.

  "Are those... familiar summons?" Chester looked stunned, finally realizing and asked, "Exactly how many of you came?"

  "Besides the two of us, there is one other Wizard."

  As soon as these words came out, everyone present was collectively shocked.

  "Only three people?"

  "Three Wizards annihilated the Turin army here?"

  "You're not joking, are you?"

  "To be precise..." Anton coughed lightly, interrupting the crowd, "It was the Wizard traveling with us who annihilated the Turin army. Fiona and I just watched from beginning to end. We never made a move."

  The crowd instantly fell silent.

  Everyone had faces full of astonishment, not knowing for a moment whether Anton was telling the truth or lying.

  Chester asked, "Was the one who came a Rank 2 Wizard?"

  If a Rank 2 Wizard had personally taken action, then taking down Fortification No. 89 single-handedly wouldn't be considered strange.

  But unexpectedly, Anton smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "Pierce is only a Rank 1 Wizard."

  Pausing, he added, "You've all heard of that newly advanced Wizard from The Spire Academy, right? He is the one who took action."

  These words were no less than a bombshell, directly blasting everyone present into a stupor.

  Of course they had heard of Pierce's great name.

  The most highly sought-after genius Wizard in Aurora City recently, who didn't know him?

  But what shocked them was that, according to Anton, Pierce had annihilated the Turin army here entirely on his own.

  How was that possible?

  When they were escorted here, they had all seen the Winter Frost Priests here. They knew clearly that there were four Winter Frost Priests, including one Rank 2 Priest.

  Just those four alone were already not something a newly advanced Wizard could deal with.

  Not to mention the numerous Church Knights and noble armies.

  A newly advanced Wizard single-handedly taking down a Turin fortification—this sounded far too absurd.

  But Anton and Fiona had no reason to lie to them!

  Taking in the shocked and bewildered expressions of the crowd, Anton and Fiona exchanged a glance, both showing bitter smiles.

  They understood everyone's feelings very well.

  To be honest, if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed a newly advanced Wizard could do such a thing either.

  They could only say that Pierce's power could not be measured by common sense.

  Right at this moment, the sound of breaking air came from the distance. A figure rapidly approached from afar.

  Chester and the others, overly paranoid, were startled. When they recovered, they realized the newcomer was a young man who looked seventeen or eighteen years old.

  Without Anton and Fiona needing to introduce him, everyone immediately realized that this person was Pierce.

  And their gazes were quickly drawn to the corpse in Pierce's hand.

  That aged face, the white hair at the temples, and that distinctive white sacrificial robe of a Winter Frost Priest—it was clearly the supreme commander of Fortification No. 89, the Rank 2 Priest.

  The Rank 2 Priest who was acting high and mighty casting divine spells on them just yesterday was now reduced to a cold corpse held in Pierce's hand.

  Seeing this, the last shred of doubt in everyone's hearts vanished into thin air.

  When they looked up at Pierce again, their eyes were filled with awe.

  Single-handedly taking down a Turin fortification—regardless of what stage this person was actually at, his true power was already incredibly close to a Rank 2 Wizard.

  One had to know that among the Free Wizards currently active on the Planar Battlefield, Rank 2 Wizards were already the strongest combatants.

  Higher-tier Wizards basically wouldn't lower their status to earn Merit Points here, and Aurora City and Red Lotus City wouldn't let combat power of that level run off to execute special assault missions.

  The true stage for those Wizards was elsewhere.

  Therefore, among the Free Wizards of Red Maple City, Pierce's strength was undoubtedly already very close to the absolute top tier.

  Such a powerhouse undeniably deserved their awe.

  Pierce paid no mind to the crowd's awe and fawning gazes. He glanced at the crowd and said to Anton and Fiona, "You two take them and leave first."

  Anton and Fiona hurriedly agreed.

  Having witnessed Pierce's astonishing power, the two no longer dared to be as casual as before. Their behavior and expressions unconsciously carried traces of respect.

  Pierce waved his hand, then turned and went to busy himself.

  The castle was quite large, and there were many corpses. He didn't know how long it would take for Sophia and Payne to clean up the battlefield alone.

  "It seems I need to recruit some kin," Pierce thought to himself.

  He couldn't personally clean up the battlefield every time; the efficiency was too low.

  Watching Pierce walk away, Anton didn't dare to stay longer and led the crowd out of the castle.

  The commotion of the battle just now was so massive that it had likely already attracted the attention of the Turins. There might already be Turin chariots rushing this way.

  He and Fiona weren't afraid of Turin chariots, but Chester and the others hadn't recovered their strength yet. If a fight broke out, they had no confidence in protecting everyone.

  After spending more than half an hour, Pierce and his two followers finally finished cleaning up the battlefield.

  Unexpectedly, the harvest was quite bountiful.

  Payne found a large number of processed magic-infused metal ingots in several warehouses, almost filling them to the brim.

  These were primary materials for manufacturing metal golems. Turning them in at the Exchange would yield at least four or five hundred Merit Points.

  In addition, there were small amounts of rare metals, and about two hundred liters of Holy Water.

  The latter could also be exchanged for Merit Points at the Exchange, with each liter of Holy Water worth two Merit Points.

  Furthermore, Pierce obtained four Eye of Winter emblems, as well as a two-meter-tall statue of the deity.

  "Such dense Power of Faith."

  Standing in front of the statue of the Lady of Winter Frost, Pierce clicked his tongue in wonder while observing it.

  The Power of Faith contained within the statue was at least dozens of times that of the Eye of Winter or the small statue from earlier.

  At the Exchange, a divine statue like this was worth at least one thousand Merit Points.

  Depending on the amount of Power of Faith contained within, this price could fluctuate upwards with no cap.

  As for the remaining Eye of Winter emblems, each could also be exchanged for several dozen Merit Points.

  After calculating, for this assault on Fortification No. 89—not even counting the mission reward—Pierce had harvested eighteen or nineteen hundred Merit Points in loot alone!

  "With such a bountiful harvest, no wonder so many Wizards want to attack Turin fortifications."

  Pierce happily stowed away the divine statue.

  This assault on Fortification No. 89 could be considered a massive success.

  Walking out of the castle, Pierce glanced at the scattered wreckage of chariots nearby, then looked at the bronze chariots hovering in the distant sky, giving a mocking smile.

  During the time they were cleaning up the battlefield, Turin patrol chariots had arrived one after another.

  However, after having three of their number shot down by the Fog Crows, these Turin chariots didn't dare to approach any closer. Yet they didn't leave either, lingering in the distance to observe the situation.

  Pierce figured that Turin reinforcements should be on their way here.

  "Let's go."

  Pierce called for Sophia and Payne to mount the Giant Eagles and set off to leave.

  Although the harvest from this battle was rich, his consumption wasn't low either. His mental power was on the verge of depletion. One of his five Magic Tattoos had been expended, and three were on cooldown. He was clearly no longer suited for high-intensity combat.

  Before more Turin Priests arrived, it was better to hurry back to Red Maple City.

  The dozen or so Oak Guards had also long since reverted to their seed forms and been collected by Pierce.

  Because all four Priests had been occupied by Pierce, the Oak Guards hadn't suffered excessive damage. Not a single one died in battle, only sustaining some injuries, which would quickly recover in their dormant state.

  The speed of the Turin chariots wasn't slower than the Giant Eagles, and they tightly tailed Pierce's trio.

  However, after following for more than an hour, perhaps out of fear of getting too close to Red Maple City, the dozen or so Turin chariots finally gave up the pursuit in frustration, turning around and leaving.

  Pierce paid them no mind, focusing on his journey.

  After another half hour or so, the silhouette of Red Maple City finally appeared on the horizon.