In the blink of an eye, another 2 days passed.

  Pierce completed the construction of the 25th Will Rune, raising his Spirit attribute to 113 points.

  During this period, he led Sia and Peyton to thoroughly search their assigned area once more, earning another 30-odd Merit Points.

  In front of a white stone house.

  After Pierce finished absorbing the soul energy, Sia asked, "My Lord, what shall we do next?"

  Pierce answered without hesitation, "Return to the starting point. We will search the entire area again."

  Sia nodded, though she said with some regret, "It is a pity we cannot intervene in other areas. Otherwise, with your presence, My Lord, clearing another zone would be no problem at all."

  Pierce smiled noncommittally.

  When the zones were originally assigned, it was stated that unless a request for reinforcements was issued, Wizard Apprentices were prohibited from entering other zones to prevent internal conflicts. After all, everyone was there for Merit Points, and no one wished for their prey to be snatched away by others.

  "Let's go. Search carefully again; perhaps we can find a few fish that slipped through the net."

  Pierce boarded the carriage, with Sia and Peyton following close behind.

  Once the three were seated, the barbarian coachman cracked his whip, urging the Black-horned Horse forward.

  Clatter, clatter!

  The carriage sped along the empty streets. Quicksilver moonlight poured down from the sky, casting a long, swaying shadow of the carriage onto the ground through the cabin.

  Pierce leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes to rest, his palm clutching the Disciple's finger as always.

  Sia and Peyton sat on either side, staring at the passing scenery outside the window, alert to their surroundings.

  In their sweeping operations over these past days, they had twice encountered desperate heretics who ambushed them en route. Although Pierce had detected both attacks in advance and turned the tables to slay the ambushers, it served as a wake-up call for Sia and Peyton. The two became increasingly cautious, not relaxing their guard even while the carriage was in motion.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Sia noticed Pierce open his eyes, a strange expression on his face. She immediately asked, "My Lord, what is wrong?"

  Pierce narrowed his eyes. He did not answer immediately but said in a deep voice, "Stop the carriage."

  Neigh!

  The carriage slowly came to a halt. Before the coachman could ask why, Pierce had already pushed open the door and stepped down.

  Sia and Peyton were bewildered but moved quickly, immediately following him off the carriage.

  Pierce flicked his wrist, tossing a gold coin to the coachman. "You return to the garrison first."

  The coachman's gaze was firmly glued to the gold coin. He took it without asking a single question, thanked them repeatedly, and drove away with joy in his heart.

  Sia reacted then, her expression turning solemn. "My Lord, have you discovered traces of a heretic?"

  Pierce nodded slightly. "And it's a big fish."

  A big fish?

  Sia froze for a moment, then her expression changed drastically.

  Given Pierce's strength, anything he described as a "big fish" would definitely be more formidable than a Disciple at the peak Grand Knight level.

  That meant... a Madness Drinker!

  Sia's expression instantly became extremely grave. She immediately drew her weapon and scanned the surroundings.

  Seeing Sia looking as if she were facing a formidable enemy, Peyton also realized something was wrong. With a solemn face, he unslung the giant sword from his back.

  Pierce paid no attention to their movements. He casually stowed the Disciple's finger—which was scalding hot, as if about to burst into flames—into his Dimensional Bag. Then he looked ahead and raised his voice, "Since you are here, stop hiding. Come out."

  After a few seconds of silence, a figure slowly appeared in the distant night, walking unhurriedly toward them.

  The moonlight fell, dispelling the shadows shrouding the person and revealing his form.

  It was a thin, frail-looking man.

  His face bore a sickly pallor, and his entire being seemed lifeless, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

  However, the moment the man appeared, both Sia and Peyton subconsciously tensed their bodies, gripping their weapons tightly until their knuckles turned white.

  From this man, they felt an unprecedented, intense threat. It was as if they were facing a ferocious, ancient beast, causing instinctive palpitations of fear deep within their hearts.

  "Is this... a Madness Drinker?"

  Sia couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

  Even Peyton, who usually had nerves of steel, gulped audibly. The pressure this man exerted on them was simply too great.

  However, the man didn't even glance at the two of them. His gaze went straight to Pierce, and he asked with interest, "The little toy on you should only have a detection range of 500 meters. How did you discover me in advance?"

  He had originally set up an ambush more than 500 meters away, planning to launch a thunderous strike to kill the target instantly once the carriage entered the trap, and then withdraw.

  Who would have thought the carriage would stop from so far away?

  When he saw the target disembark and send the carriage away, he knew he had been discovered.

  Against a Wizard Apprentice, it was naturally best to kill him before he could react. But if the target was prepared, a sneak attack was meaningless.

  "Just a little trick." Pierce shrugged, then changed the subject. "I am actually more curious. How did you know about the 'little toy' on me?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Hearing this, Sia and Peyton were stunned.

  Right. How would a Madness Drinker know they had a Disciple's finger? And know its specific detection range so well?

  Facing Pierce's inquiry, the man smiled grimly. "It doesn't hurt to tell you. Someone made a deal with me. In exchange for helping me escape the Northern District, he asked me to kill you."

  Pierce looked as if he expected this. "Harlan?"

  The man sneered. "You lackeys of the Dawn Council keep calling us an evil cult, but don't you do plenty of dirty, nasty things in private yourselves? Sure enough, a bunch of hypocrites!"

  Although he didn't admit it directly, the implication was clear enough.

  Sia and Peyton's faces changed instantly, filled with shock and rage.

  They never imagined Harlan would be frenzied to this extent! To kill Pierce, he would go so far as to make a deal with a heretic! If this were exposed, there would be no place for him in the entire Aurora City!

  Pierce, however, remained as calm as ever, speaking indifferently. "You trust Harlan's promise that much? You aren't afraid he'll go back on his word?"

  The man sneered. "If he isn't afraid of the backlash of a Soul Contract, he is welcome to renege."

  A Soul Contract was a type of trade pact. Both parties swore on their souls; if either party violated the terms, their soul would be instantly annihilated. Even a Wizard who had mastered the power of rules could not save them. It was considered one of the strictest trade contracts.

  Many transactions between Wizards used trade contracts as a guarantee.

  Hearing this, Pierce nodded in understanding. He touched the Recording Ring on his hand, then turned to Sia and Peyton. "You two stand back. Do not interfere in the upcoming battle."

  Sia and Peyton were stunned and instinctively wanted to refuse, but the words died on their lips as they realized Pierce was right.

  Facing an enemy at the Legendary Knight level, their rash participation would only make them burdens to Pierce.

  After hesitating for a few seconds, they finally obeyed and retreated to a distance.

  The man watched this scene with a cold sneer, not moving to stop them.

  Mere advanced Grand Knights. I can crush them with a wave of my hand. I'll deal with them after I finish Pierce.

  "To be honest, what I enjoy most is killing young geniuses like you."

  Riker licked his pale lips, a forest-cold smile appearing on his face.

  "Sacrificing your soul to my Lord... I'm sure He will be satisfied."

  Facing Riker's malicious gaze, Pierce merely smiled mockingly.

  The next moment, he raised his hand abruptly.

  Amidst flashing light, a dense barrage of Magic Missiles poured out, sweeping toward Riker like a torrential storm.

  The ear-piercing shrieks of the projectiles instantly resonated through the sky above the block.

  "Silent Casting!"

  Riker was startled but not panicked. He stomped his foot violently. With a dense series of crackling sounds, the ground beneath his feet shattered instantly. A large amount of crushed stone spread rapidly upward from his ankles, quickly enveloping his entire body.

  In the blink of an eye, Riker was covered in a thick layer of rock armor, transforming into a stone giant nearly 3 meters tall.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The Magic Missiles struck the rock armor in succession, blasting out craters the size of basketballs, but these were quickly filled in by new earth and stone.

  After a round of magical bombardment, Riker remained unharmed.

  "An improved spell with 20 Magic Missiles, is it?"

  Riker had fought plenty of Wizard Apprentices and was extremely familiar with the Magic Missile spell. He immediately recognized the anomaly in Pierce's casting. Not only had the number of missiles doubled, but the power was also unusually strong.

  "Silent Casting and improved spells. It seems you are even more formidable than I thought!"

  Riker was not alarmed but delighted.

  The more outstanding Pierce was, the richer the reward he would receive after offering his soul to the Lord God.

  With a ferocious grin, Riker charged forward, his heavy steps thundering like a mammoth as he crashed toward Pierce.

  That violent, ferocious, and terrifying momentum made even Sia and Peyton, a hundred meters away, feel a palpitation in their hearts, their faces showing concern.

  Pierce, however, remained composed from beginning to end. Unhurriedly, he pointed a finger.

  In the void, firelight surged instantly, rapidly expanding into a blazing Fireball the size of a washbasin. With a howling sound, it flew like a cannonball to meet the aggressive Riker.

  The two sides collided violently in the middle of the street!

  BOOM!

  A deafening roar erupted, accompanied by blinding firelight!

  A violent blast wave exploded in all directions from the point of impact. Wherever it passed, the stone slabs of the ground shattered, and dust rose everywhere.

  Whoosh!

  Riker broke through the dust and rushed out, his massive rock body now pitted and scarred. The front of his armor, where the Fireball had hit, was mostly shattered, faintly revealing the body underneath.

  Riker's expression was grim.

  He had thought that for a Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice of Pierce's age, mastering one improved spell would be impressive enough. He hadn't expected the Fireball to be improved as well; its power was more than half again stronger than what he had encountered before.

  It had nearly breached his rock body!

  Riker felt a slight chill in his heart and put away his contempt.

  Looking up, he saw Pierce standing 10 meters away. A cold smile appeared on his face. He kicked off the ground violently, his oppressive body instantly closing the distance to Pierce. A gigantic rock fist smashed down ruthlessly toward the apprentice's head!

  Bang!

  The stone fist passed through Pierce's body without resistance, hitting the ground and smashing out a web of cracks.

  "Silent Image!"

  Riker frowned, realizing instantly.

  This cunning brat used the cover of the firelight just now to shift his position.

  However, before he could locate Pierce, a gray beam of light shot out abruptly from diagonally behind him, accurately hitting his body.

  Instantly, Riker felt his body become heavy. A sense of weakness suddenly swept through him, and he felt as if his strength had been drained in a flash.

  Ray of Enfeeblement!

  Riker gritted his teeth and turned to look, only to see the sky filled with pitch-black mist.

  Accompanied by dense fluttering sounds, countless crows flew out from the black mist, scrambling over each other to pounce on him like a tide.

  Scratch! Scratch!

  The dense swarm of crows almost wrapped Riker into a black cocoon. Almost every second, dozens or hundreds of sharp claws landed on his rock body, constantly tearing off pieces of earth and stone.

  A hundred meters away, Peyton watched this scene, his spirits lifted, and he showed an excited smile.

  "Lord Pierce is so strong! He actually has the upper hand against a Madness Drinker!"

  However, when he turned to look at Sia, he found she still wore a worried frown.

  "What's wrong?" Peyton asked in confusion.

  Sia glanced at him helplessly and sighed. "A Madness Drinker isn't that easy to deal with."

  Peyton looked puzzled. "But I see Lord Pierce clearly gaining the upper hand."

  Sia shook her head. "Don't forget that Madness Drinkers, like Legendary Knights, have mastered Elemental Power. This is a power much higher in rank than Battle Qi. Look closely."

  Peyton turned his head skeptically and stared wide-eyed.

  Upon closer inspection, he immediately discovered the difference.

  At some point, a layer of faint yellow light had shrouded Riker's body surface.

  The light was extremely faint and thin, but under its protection, the Mist Ravens' claws, which could originally gouge out chunks of stone, could now only scrape off some stone powder.

  In contrast, wherever Riker's fists wrapped in that light passed, the Mist Ravens were struck as if by lightning, annihilating and dissipating one after another. Even if they were just grazed by the light, their bodies trembled violently and vanished rapidly as if corroded.

  "Th-This is Elemental Power?!" Peyton gasped.

  Sia said solemnly, "Correct. It is Earth Elemental Power, and it carries the corrosive power unique to Apep, rumored in legends. It is far more formidable than ordinary Earth Elemental Power!"

  Hearing this, Peyton's expression also became full of worry.

  The Madness Drinker is so powerful... can Lord Pierce defeat him?

  Because of the barbarian blood in his veins, many knight students ignored him, and most Wizard Apprentices looked down on him. Only Pierce not only didn't despise him but even gifted him potions and a Dimensional Bag. This made Peyton grateful to Pierce from the bottom of his heart.

  He had long made up his mind that as long as Pierce permitted, he would follow Pierce to the death.

  Thinking of this, Peyton's eyes gradually became firm.

  If Pierce couldn't win, he would risk his life to hold back that Madness Drinker and buy time for Pierce to escape.

  Sia's face changed uncertainly, as if she were undergoing a violent internal struggle.

  A moment later, she seemed to have made a decision. Her expression gradually returned to calm, and a look of resolution appeared in her eyes.

  To gain, one must pay.

  Since she had decided to become Pierce's follower, she couldn't be half-hearted.

  Genius Wizard Apprentices did not lack excellent followers. If she didn't even have firm conviction and loyalty, how could she stand out among many competitors in the future and stand by Pierce's side?

  Thinking of this, Sia took a deep breath and gripped her sword hilt tightly.

  She still had the Boiling Blood Potion Pierce gave her. After taking it, she should be able to temporarily raise her strength to the peak Grand Knight level. If she joined forces with Peyton, even if they couldn't defeat the Madness Drinker, protecting Pierce's escape shouldn't be a problem.

  The commotion here was significant; the City Guard would likely find out soon.

  As long as they held on for a moment, reinforcements should arrive quickly.