37: First encounter with a ninth-level mage

Rewind two and a half hours, to the edge of the Adi Forest.

A group of people were unhurriedly making their way through the woods. It was none other than Mogu and his subordinates.

"Third Highness, please be extra careful. Although I haven't sensed any dangerous aura yet, my intuition keeps telling me... this place is definitely not simple!"

Watching Mogu stride ahead, the Robe Wearer looked nervous and quickly stepped forward to warn him.

"Oh, intuition, intuition, what good is intuition?"

Mogu scoffed dismissively, pouting his lips carelessly, and continued to walk at the very front of the group regardless.

Why was he so arrogant and presumptuous? It was simply because he was the esteemed Third Highness of the Magical Beast Empire, and the subordinates accompanying him on this trip were all powerful Level 7 and Level 8 warriors and mages. The Robe Wearer who just spoke up to warn him had even reached the level of a Ninth-level Archmage.

These powerful subordinates were the source of Mogu's arrogance and fearlessness.

"Third Highness, there's a situation. There's a smell of blood coming from ahead!"

The Robe Wearer frowned slightly and pointed in a direction with his hand. A armored warrior beside him immediately rushed towards the direction the Robe Wearer indicated without hesitation.

Seeing this, Mogu also stopped his hurried steps and quietly waited for his subordinate to investigate the specific situation.

After all, although he was arrogant, he also knew that life was precious and should not be risked easily.

Soon after, the warrior who had gone to investigate quickly returned.

"Third Highness, there are several corpses about a hundred meters ahead. The smell of blood is coming from there, and no danger has been detected in the surroundings for now."

"Oh, let's go take a look..."

Seeing that there was no danger, Mogu immediately quickened his pace and strode forward, his subordinates hurrying to keep up.

As soon as Mogu stepped into the clearing, he saw several incomplete corpses lying on the ground, their faces filled with expressions of extreme terror.

Seeing this scene, the Robe Wearer stepped forward and carefully examined the corpses.

"Judging from the wounds on the bodies, they died from being pierced by some powerful force... and the force of this penetration was extremely immense..."

As he spoke, the Robe Wearer picked up a severed hand from the ground and observed it intently. From his observation and judgment, this severed hand was clearly broken directly by an extremely powerful penetrating force.

"What? Can you tell what caused it?"

Mogu walked over to the Robe Wearer, kicked the corpse on the ground with his foot, and asked with a look of disgust.

"Third Highness, I found this thing. It should be the weapon that caused their deaths..."

The Robe Wearer dropped the severed hand, squatted down, and laboriously pried a pointed object, about the size of a thumb, from the ground.

This thing was nothing other than a fired 12.7mm bullet, but they were completely ignorant of it and had no idea what it was.

"This thing? So small?" Mogu took the bullet from the Robe Wearer's hand and examined it carefully, still unable to understand how such a small thing could kill people. It looked like an arrowhead, but it had neither a shaft nor a fletching behind it?

"From my observations, it is confirmed that this thing killed them, but... I am also puzzled as to why there is no trace of battle qi or magic power left at the scene?"

While the group was still racking their brains, an armed helicopter in the distance was speeding towards them.

"Report, infrared radar shows 6 targets moving in a small area 500 meters southeast of our position."

"It's likely more natives who have trespassed. Fly towards the targets to see if we can capture them alive, and at the same time, contact ground units for support."

"Yes!"

After contacting the ground units, the armed helicopter unhesitatingly flew directly towards Mogu and his group's location.

On the other side, the Robe Wearer, who was still intently observing, suddenly straightened up and looked up at the sky.

"An unknown object is rapidly approaching us from the sky. Everyone, prepare immediately to protect the Third Highness!"

The Robe Wearer hurriedly shouted to everyone. They quickly surrounded Mogu tightly, their expressions solemn and ready, gazing at the sky.

It could only be said that he was indeed a Ninth-level Archmage. The Blue Star Troops needed to rely on infrared radar to search for targets, while he could perceive them with just his own senses.

In less than a brief moment, an armed helicopter appeared before their eyes. However, for them, this unprecedented object was completely beyond their comprehension and they could not understand it at all.

"What in the world is this thing? How come this Third Highness has never seen it before?"

Mogu looked at the armed helicopter in the sky, his face full of confusion.

As the esteemed Third Highness of the Magical Beast Empire, he could be said to have witnessed almost everything in the world, yet this particular object that appeared now was something he had never seen.

"Who cares what it is, let's just shoot it down first... Fireball! Go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a blazing fireball the size of a basketball materialized from the Robe Wearer's hand, then shot straight towards the armed helicopter.

"Danger, get out of the way!"

The two sides had just met, and the other party immediately attacked without a word. The pilot's expression changed drastically, and he frantically manipulated the helicopter to twist its body, barely dodging the incoming fireball.

"It dodged? Then again!"

With that, fireballs quickly gathered in the Robe Wearer's hand again, but this time it wasn't a lone one, but a dozen or more scorching fireballs aggressively attacking the armed helicopter.

"Quick, pull down the control stick, prepare for an emergency landing!"

The fireballs were too close. Even firing missiles to block them could easily cause the explosion's airflow and debris to affect the aircraft.

Although the pilot reacted in time and quickly controlled the helicopter to descend, it was still unfortunately hit by one of the fireballs on its propeller. Flames immediately splattered, and the entire armed helicopter lost balance, plummeting straight towards the ground.

Fortunately, the altitude was not too high at this time, and the helicopter still landed successfully by scraping the ground, without a violent explosion. The crew members also only suffered minor injuries, with no fatalities.

"Damn it, these natives are more troublesome than the ones we've encountered before. Haven't the ground units arrived yet?"

"Ground units are still about a kilometer away from us and are expected to arrive in a few minutes."

"Everyone, take up your weapons, form a defensive formation, and be ready to fire at all times!"

Although the armed helicopter did not completely explode, an armed helicopter that could not fly naturally lost its combat capability, as missiles could not be fired.

After the squad leader gave the order, the entire crew quickly moved, raising their rifles,

using the helicopter as a sturdy cover, and watched the Robe Wearer gradually approaching them, ready for battle.