novelraw Chapter 526: Rendezvous
Chapter 526: Rendezvous
Chapter 526: Rendezvous
Dark golden streams of light twisted and turned repeatedly through the shattered void.
Jie Ming executed three rapid course corrections in succession, then lay low for a while inside a massive fissure in the ground.
Only after confirming there were no tracking traces did he slowly withdraw from Light God Transformation.
Shaking his head with slight fatigue, Jie Ming retracted the aura around his body and quietly flew toward the predetermined coordinates.
This was a natural hiding spot concealed in the crevice between two enormous gray-white rock remnants. Because it lay at the boundary between planes, the space here was rather unstable, making it an area of little value for stationing forces.
The moment Jie Ming stepped onto the relatively flat surface of one of the remnants, the air beside him rippled like disturbed water.
Black’s somewhat pale face “emerged” from the void. His deep purple eyes brightened noticeably the instant he saw Jie Ming.
He then let out a long breath, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Whew——scared me to death.” His voice still carried a trace of relief from surviving a disaster. He looked Jie Ming up and down. “Good thing you’re fine. After I received your message telling me to withdraw first, I ran all the way here. Later, when that huge commotion erupted over there, it nearly stopped my heart.”
He paused, then patted his chest hard.
Jie Ming gave a slight nod, acknowledging the concern.
He had already exited Light God Transformation, returning to his normal flesh-and-blood body. His robe was torn in several places, but there were no visible injuries on his body—only that his skin seemed a shade whiter than before.
This was the result of his body having undergone multiple rounds of shattering and reconstruction.
Black’s gaze lingered for a moment on the damage to Jie Ming’s robe, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he tactfully refrained from asking for details.
Instead, he looked around and frowned in confusion. “By the way, where’s Augusta? Didn’t she come back with you?”
Jie Ming lifted his eyes to look at him.
Black explained, “On my way out, I happened to run into her. When she heard you had gone deeper in that direction alone, she turned around and charged over without another word. I thought the two of you would return together.”
So that was how it was.
Jie Ming understood in his heart.
No wonder Augusta had entered the fray at that critical moment—it wasn’t a chance encounter, but because of Black’s information that she had rushed over specifically to provide support.
“She should be here soon,” Jie Ming said, rubbing his brow with one hand. The mild weariness from withdrawing Light God Transformation was slowly fading. “I took a few detours to make sure I didn’t have any tails, which delayed me a bit. And she should also be moving cautiously on the way, so it’s normal for her to be a little slower.”
Black uttered a soft “Mm,” not pressing further. Instead, he asked about the more important matter: “What were the results of the reconnaissance in that area?”
“It was bait,” Jie Ming replied calmly. “It’s obvious now—it was just a trap set by the alliance forces.”
“We caused such a big commotion, yet from beginning to end there were only preset sentries and one ambush squad. No further reinforcements arrived until the battle ended, when other alliance wizards hurried over from afar. If it had been a genuine core node, there’s no way the defensive strength would have been this weak.”
After listening, Black didn’t show much disappointment. He simply nodded, as if he had expected this. “Alright then. Being able to rule out one high-risk coordinate counts as a gain. At least we won’t have to head over there for the next reconnaissance mission.”
He paused, but ultimately couldn’t hold back and asked tentatively, “So… those ambush wizards—what was their strength like?”
Jie Ming was silent for a moment.
“Very strong,” he said succinctly, yet the weight of those two words was clear to Black. “Fortunately, Augusta arrived in time and bought me the crucial window I needed to escape.”
He didn’t go into detail about what had happened, and Black was sensible enough not to press.
After all, in certain situations, a wizard’s combat methods counted as highly important intelligence.
Black patted his chest again, this time with more force, his face still showing lingering fear. “Good, good——next time, take it easy. Probing bait traps deep behind enemy lines is fine, but don’t keep throwing yourself into desperate situations every single time.”
Jie Ming didn’t argue. He simply gave a soft “Mm” in acknowledgment.
Before the words had fully faded, Black’s relaxed expression suddenly froze.
A deep purple gleam flashed in the depths of his pupils. Like a vigilant hound, he whipped his head around to stare at a patch of ground far off in one direction.
Jie Ming followed his gaze. Relying on the Causal Trace Shadow Technique, he quickly sensed a familiar magnetic field fluctuation.
“Don’t be nervous. It’s her,” Jie Ming said, pressing a hand on Black’s shoulder.
Only then did Black’s tensed shoulders relax, though he still didn’t fully lower his guard. He simply stepped back half a pace, yielding the space.
Moments later, the soil on the ground before the two of them parted silently to both sides like a living thing.
A tall, slender figure rose gracefully from underground, her movements light and elegant, without stirring even a speck of extra dust.
It was Augusta.
She had changed back into her form-fitting dark purple combat suit. The imposing silver-blue battle armor she had worn on the battlefield was nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, with her combat wisdom, she would never parade around in such eye-catching equipment during withdrawal.
The previous bomb-like, highly conspicuous method of retreat had actually been a deliberate means to draw enemy attention.
No wizard who had earned the title “War God” while operating alone behind enemy lines failed to understand the meaning of “low profile.”
She raised her eyes. Her black pupils swept first over Black, then settled on Jie Ming. Her chin lifted slightly, retaining that familiar, faintly arrogant demeanor.
Jie Ming paid no mind to her posture. He stepped forward, his voice sincere. “Thank you for earlier.”
Augusta’s eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, but she quickly returned to normal.
“What is there to thank? It was just a casual favor.”
Her tone was light and dismissive, as if the “Annihilation Judgement” that had hurled a plasma torrent at ten thousand times the speed of sound toward a sixth-ring wizard had truly been nothing more than a casual act.
Jie Ming did not engage in polite back-and-forth with her. He stated directly, “Following the principle of equivalent exchange, I will transfer all the military merits from this mission to you.”
Augusta raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Of course, consider this my thanks as well,” Jie Ming added, his tone calm but his eyes serious.
He truly felt this way. If Augusta had not arrived in time, his situation would have become extremely dangerous.
He would have either had to risk Light Transformation to escape, with uncertain success, or stubbornly hold out until the enemy reinforcements arrived, which would have meant certain death.
It was Augusta who had rushed over and bought him time, giving him a third option.
She gazed at Jie Ming. Deep within her purple pupils flashed an extremely complex emotion—surprise, emotion, and a trace of relief that even she herself had not noticed.
After two seconds of silence.
“As you wish.” She flicked her smooth black hair, turning her face away, her tone returning to that careless arrogance. “Anyway, intelligence on a sixth-ring wizard is worth quite a bit of reward. I don’t mind collecting an extra share of military merits.”
As she spoke, she took out a small, exquisitely crafted metal chip emitting a faint silver-blue glow from inside her combat suit and casually tossed it to Jie Ming.
Jie Ming caught it.
The chip felt slightly cool in his hand. Its surface was engraved with extremely intricate and complex encrypted runes—the standard type recognizable by personal communication terminals.
“My comms code,” Augusta had already turned away, her back to him, her voice carrying no discernible emotion. “Next time you run into another suicidal situation, remember to send a message in advance. I don’t always have the chance to lend a casual hand——of course, I’ll still collect the reward!”
With that, without waiting for Jie Ming’s response, faint magnetic ripples rose around her once more.
The ground parted to both sides like rippling water. Her figure rapidly sank and dissolved, vanishing completely into the earth in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind.
Even her withdrawal was executed so cleanly and decisively, giving the other party no opportunity for polite attempts to detain her.
Only after Augusta’s presence had completely vanished from their perception range did Black, who had been shrinking to the side and trying his best to lower his presence, finally let out a long breath, as if released from some invisible restraint.
“Whew——” He wiped away nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead and muttered softly, “As expected of the eldest daughter of the Augusta family. That aura is exactly the same as back in the academy. No… it seems even more intimidating now——”
As he spoke, his expression suddenly froze.
His deep purple eyes blinked blankly at first, then his pupils slowly dilated at a visible speed.
“Wait a minute.” Black’s voice wavered. “Did Augusta just say… you guys ran into a sixth-ring wizard?”
Jie Ming looked at him without answering immediately.
“Then…” Black swallowed hard. “You… won again?”
Jie Ming blinked, his expression innocent. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“You told me jack shit!” Black nearly blurted out, his voice cracking. “You only said the enemy was very strong and that you managed to escape thanks to Augusta’s support! You never told me you actually won again!”
He grew more agitated as he spoke, gesticulating wildly.
“And that was a sixth-ring wizard! Not some roadside trash! An ordinary fifth-ring wizard would already be insanely lucky just to come back alive after encountering one once. You’ve run into them twice in a row and won both times, yet you still have the leisure to sit here calmly summarizing the mission results with me?!”
Black’s excitement was justified. Many so-called fifth-ring wizards who claimed to have escaped from sixth-ring wizards had largely done so thanks to luck.
The minority who relied on strength had usually survived due to favorable matchup in combat style. If they encountered another sixth-ring wizard, they might still be casually killed.
Therefore, winning once against a sixth-ring wizard and winning twice were completely different concepts.
Jie Ming thought for a moment, then explained seriously, “I thought you already knew. We caused quite a commotion over there.”
“The commotion was big, alright! I thought it was Lady Augusta smashing meteors!” Black said, a mix of grief and indignation on his face. “Who knew it was you trading blows head-on with a sixth-ring wizard!”
He rubbed his face hard, trying to calm himself, but clearly failed.
What replaced it was a complex expression mixing shock, lingering fear, and an irrepressible excitement. “Jie Ming, do you know what this means? Winning against sixth-ring wizards twice in a row—this battle record, once brought back, the workshop will definitely have to grant you a title!”
His speech grew faster and faster, a strange light flickering in his purple eyes. “Let me think, what would sound good… uh, Golden Ray? Too ordinary. Dark Gold Fist? A bit awkward. No good, you have zero distinctive traits at all—I can’t come up with any decent title——”