"Tell me where you learned your psychic magic, and I might spare your life." The old goblin wizard sneered, seemingly asking casually.

"..." Rody felt a secret joy in his heart. It seemed that psychic magic really existed, and those who mastered it must be of significant origin, even making this polytheistic old creature apprehensive.

The two-headed hill giant troll was getting closer. Rody secretly commanded Emma to stand up and cast a swamp magic spell, sinking its legs deep into the ground.

Holding Rody, Markus turned and walked away, while Nicholas shot five or six bone spears to cover their retreat. The dark man-eating vines in the mire tightly gripped the legs of the two-headed hill giant troll. Despite its immense strength, it struggled in vain in the muddy swamp, roaring furiously.

The old goblin wizard didn't expect Rody to lack knightly spirit and basic human fighting will, fleeing in the midst of the battle.

"Wind God above, please grant your follower the power to soar over mountains and rivers." The old goblin wizard, a believer in many gods and skilled in numerous spells, immediately cast a flying spell to pursue Rody as he fled. The two-headed hill giant troll couldn't get out for a while, but the wolf-dog-sized rats squeaked loudly, following closely behind the old goblin wizard.

"How does this old guy's magic power never run out?" Rody was surprised to see the old goblin wizard continuously casting fireball spells in pursuit.

Although Markus was as fast as a normal person and never tired, he was slightly slower compared to the scurrying rat monsters and the floating old goblin wizard. They caught up with him within three kilometers. The two mantises harassed them occasionally, but to little effect. After the old goblin wizard prepared a protective magic shield, he ordered the giant rat-shaped monsters to surround Rody.

He was very pleased, as the outcome of this magical duel was now quite evident.

"I'm very curious about you and admire you. In many years, no young human magician has forced me to use my full strength like you have. So, after you die, I will make your skull into a staff head as a trophy of honor," the old goblin wizard said, conjuring a huge ball of lightning in his hand, ready to smash it down on Rody.

"I'm curious about you too, though not so admiring, but I'm still willing to turn you into my slave of darkness," Rody raised his hand and clenched it.

The old goblin wizard felt an invisible magic hand gripping his neck, halting all his blood flow, nearly falling from mid-air. However, a crack appeared at the corner of his mouth, seemingly a smile, as he raised the ball of lightning high, ready to crush it down on Rody.

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Suddenly, a huge head appeared in mid-air. As it fell to the ground, its eerie green eyes flashed with a sinister light. The old goblin wizard cursed inwardly, unable to move his entire body, his neck choked, and under the pressure of psychic power, he couldn't cast spells quickly enough to resist the sudden attack. What terrified him more was that his protective magic shield didn't work at all and was completely unresponsive.

Just one glance, and the old goblin wizard screamed, feeling as if his soul was being torn apart.

Meanwhile, the uncontrolled ball of lightning floated up and then exploded...

Nicholas, Markus, Emma, and the other slaves of darkness all threw themselves on Rody, using their skeletal bodies to shield him from the earth-shattering explosion. The dark man-eating vines wove a giant net over the bodies of the slaves of darkness, tightly binding Nicholas and the others together.

Despite the protection of the slaves of darkness, the shockwave still caused Rody to faint.

When he woke up again, it was a starry night.

Markus had lost an arm but was still on guard beside Rody. Nicholas and Emma also stood on the other side of Rody. They were eternally loyal slaves of darkness, protecting his life even unconsciously. Rody saw the exploded skull of Kato not far away and panicked, worried that damage to its eyes would affect the casting of the Soul-Capturing Eye spell.

After calming himself, Rody checked Kato's dark vision and found its eyes undamaged, feeling a surge of joy.

Although Nicholas continuously cast 'Pain Transfer,' Rody couldn't get up for a long time. He struggled to lift his head and check his poison wounds, pleasantly surprised to find they were magical injuries. It seemed that his skin, scorched by black dragon blood, had a great resistance, saving his life.

"Old fellow, did you think death is the end?" Rody laughed as he saw Markus dragging the corpse of the old goblin wizard.

Another new slave of darkness knelt before Rody. During the previous battle,

it was an enemy bent on taking Rody's life, but now, it was eternally loyal to its new master, offering everything to him.

Rody collected all the old goblin wizard's belongings, including a mage ring that enhanced magic power, a storage ring with a protective magic shield, medium-grade fire and summoning gemstones in the storage ring, a lightning staff with three uses, a poisoned dagger, and a magic notebook written in strange characters. This small harvest excited Rody and made him realize that the old goblin wizard was not a polytheistic believer but an old man who used magical equipment to intimidate others.

Even though he was so powerful only because of magical equipment, Rody estimated that his original strength was no less than a five-star senior magician.

It was very likely that the old goblin wizard was a six-pointed star magic master, a specialist in fire magic, whom Rody had never battled before. Rody didn't have time to study his new slave of darkness too much and just named it 'Old Witch.' He put on the magic and storage rings and had Markus help him up to leave the place quickly.

After another day and night of travel, Rody encountered two goblin patrol squads but managed to avoid them in time.

Once his body and psychic power recovered somewhat, Rody tried to venture deeper into Argadopolus, knowing it might be a death trap. However, his desire to become stronger grew even more after the battle with the old goblin wizard.

He was not satisfied with using Kato's Soul-Capturing Eye to ambush and defeat his opponents. Being a five-star necromancer was not Rody's goal. He yearned to quickly improve and become stronger, to become a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master or a Mage King. The beautiful tutor of the academy, Margaret, was a Mage King, and he believed the Demon Dean Buck wouldn't be far behind.

Just a tutor in a small duchy's academy was a Mage King. Rody realized there were too many powerful people in the world. If he didn't become much stronger, he was destined to look up to others all his life...

"My God, are all goblin warriors immune to magic?" After recovering, Rody saw a strong goblin traveling alone through the jungle and thought of testing his strength. To his surprise, his magic was completely ineffective. Despite having a large group of slaves of darkness, he was forced to flee in embarrassment. During the escape, Rody felt an unprecedented sense of defeat and a burning desire for powerful strength.

"Where can I find something that will make me stronger? I want to become stronger, stronger! Who will tell me?" After escaping for half a day, Rody finally found safety. He stood on top of a small cliff, looking at the endless night below, muttering to himself.

"Do you really desire to become that strong?" Suddenly, someone laughed and asked from the darkness behind him.