45: The noble mage wants to dissect and study the player?

"You kicked my skewers."

Li Qiang's voice was very soft, yet like a bomb, it detonated a deathly silence in the noisy scene.

Dozens of freshly grilled, sizzling skewers of Dragon meat rolled onto the ground, instantly covered in dust.

The gazes of all the players turned cold.

"Heh, a bunch of pariahs without even a ripple of magic power, you think you're worthy of speaking to me?"

Deacon Mage Roald sneered; he didn't take this group of ragged "refugees" seriously at all.

He tapped his staff lightly.

Buzz!

A translucent magic shield, shimmering with arcane runes, instantly enveloped him and the few apprentices behind him.

"What? You pieces of trash, do you actually intend to resist a noble Mage Lord?" Roald's tone was filled with mockery, as if he were watching a group of clowns.

In his view, this [Arcane Barrier] was an insurmountable chasm between Mortals and spellcasters.

Physical attacks?

Simply a joke.

Clang—!

Before his thought could even finish, a massive power hammer reinforced with Dragon bone, carrying a fierce wind, smashed heavily against the shield.

The shield trembled violently, ripples spreading out, but it ultimately held steady.

"One hit isn't enough?"

Li Qiang took a step back, shaking his somewhat numb arm.

Far from being discouraged, his eyes shone with the greedy light one only has when seeing top-tier equipment.

"Brothers! Did you see that? This turtle shell has a health bar!"

"Everyone, charge together! Smash it! It's time for loot!"

"Fair? A whole group of us taking you on alone—isn't that perfectly fair!" a player roared back righteously.

"Exactly! Aren't you a mage? Why don't you cast a Meteor Spell and crush us! Go on, do it!"

Roald was so angry he was about to cough up blood.

He certainly wanted to cast it!

But how the hell could he?!

His ears were filled with noise—wailing, rapping, and even someone reciting poetry in broken Elvish.

His vision was filled with colorful light pollution—small fireballs, ice spikes, and wind blades. Though the damage was negligible, their sheer numbers severely interfered with his casting focus.

Not to mention those "biochemical weapons" falling from the sky, a mix of chili powder and Dragon dung!

A noble Evocation Mage like him was now trapped in a cramped shield, like a monkey in a cage being stared at.

He couldn't even chant the simplest "Fireball Spell"!

He had never fought such a frustrating battle in his life!

"Despicable! Shameless!" Roald could only rage impotently.

Outside the battle circle, Princess Serana and her guards were completely stunned.

They had imagined countless battle scenes, but never one like this.

How was this a battle?

This was clearly an organized, premeditated act of mass bullying!

Watching the Mage Association deacon, who usually acted like he owned Silvermoon City, being besieged by a group of "pariahs" using the dirtiest tactics, Serana actually felt a flicker of... inexplicable pleasure.

"Your Highness... should we... go help?" a guard asked softly.

Serana cleared her throat and put on a stern face: "Help with what? This is an internal human conflict. As Elves, it's not convenient for us to intervene."

Having said that, she secretly picked up a skewer of grilled gluten she hadn't finished and began to chew on it with relish.

The battle had reached a fever pitch.

"It's not working, Brother Qiang! This turtle shell is too hard! My hammer's edge is already blunted!"

"My Fireball Spell has been roasting it for ages, and it hasn't even changed color!"

The players were getting anxious as they failed to break through.

"Everyone, move aside!"

Just then, Wang Wei's (Luban No. 7) voice came from behind the crowd.

He pushed through the crowd, holding a device that looked like a grenade, still flickering with unstable electrical sparks.

"I just cobbled this 'magic-breaking bomb' together using those Elves' magic crystals and our Wasteland's vibration technology!"

"Theoretically, it can produce a special resonance frequency specifically designed to dismantle this kind of pure energy shield!"

Wang Wei adjusted his goggles, his face wearing the confidence of a mad scientist.

"Theoretically?" Li Qiang was stunned for a moment. "What about in practice?"

"In practice, it might explode on the spot and send all of us back to the city," Wang Wei said without changing his expression.

"..."

"Do it!" Li Qiang gritted his teeth. "What's dying once! No risk, no reward!"

"Everyone! Fall back!!"

With permission granted, Wang Wei's arm muscles bulged as he threw the still-sizzling magic-breaking bomb with all his might!

The magic-breaking bomb traced a strange blue arc in the air.

Inside the shield, Roald also sensed danger and tried to increase the shield's energy output.

Too late.

Boom—!!!

The magic-breaking bomb didn't produce a violent explosion.

The moment it touched the shield, it emitted a dull hum!

Immediately after, a visible blue ripple, like ripples on water, spread out instantly.

Under the impact of that ripple, Roald's pride and joy, the [Arcane Barrier], distorted and flickered violently like a lake surface hit by a stone, its runes extinguishing one by one.

Finally, with a crisp "crack" like glass shattering...

It completely disintegrated!

The color drained from Roald's face instantly.

He stared at the empty space in front of him, his mind going blank.

"Wait! I am a deacon of the Tower of Truth! You can't..."

Thud!

A sack flew in from nowhere and landed precisely over his head.

His vision went black.

Immediately followed by a storm of punches and kicks.

"Don't hit the face! If it's ruined, we can't sell him!"

"The robe! Strip off his robe! I saw it earlier—it's Moonlight Silk! Top-tier stuff!"

"And that ring! It's a Spatial Ring! Pull it off quickly!"

"The staff! The staff is mine! Anyone who tries to take it from me is looking for trouble!"

The once-haughty mage squad didn't even last three seconds after losing their shield before being pinned down and stripped bare by the ravenous players.

Ten minutes later.

Only a few "plucked chickens" were left on the ground, wearing only their undergarments and shivering as they huddled together.

Their eyes were hollow, like young brides who had been violated by dozens of burly men in turn, completely losing their luster.

Meanwhile, the players were gleefully dividing the loot.

"We're rich, we're rich! This robe alone can sell for a thousand points!"

"This staff's stats are awesome! Spell damage +20%!"

Li Qiang was rummaging through the Spatial Ring he had just pulled off Roald's finger.

Besides a pile of jars filled with magic Materials and several bags of gold coins, a thick book with a cover made of unknown beast hide caught his attention.

"Tower of Truth: Introduction to Meditation".

"Is this... a skill book?"

Li Qiang was about to open it and take a look.

Ding!

That familiar and friendly System notification rang throughout the server.

[Server-wide Announcement: Detected that a player has obtained a key plot item—Elementary Meditation Method!]

[Large-scale Team Raid Questline Triggered—"Knowledge is Power"!]

[Quest Objective: Raid the Tower of Truth Silvermoon City Branch.]

On the light screen, Game Master Su Mu's seductive voice slowly emerged.

[Su Mu's Whisper: I've heard that in that white high tower, there are many, many more books like this...]

[Su Mu's Whisper: Then what are you waiting for? It's dark; it's time to go 'restock' from the library.]

The scene instantly fell silent.

All the players' gazes turned toward the distant white high tower radiating a holy glow under the moonlight.

Li Qiang licked his dry lips and stuffed the "Introduction to Meditation" into his robe.

So, that wasn't just some Mage Tower.

That was the damn biggest "Xinhua Bookstore" in the entire server!

"Brothers!"

Li Qiang's voice trembled with extreme excitement.

"For knowledge!"

"To become cultured people!"

"Charge!!!"