Mage Adam

Sandy and Adam froze, not daring to move any closer. What lay ahead was now beyond what they could handle. If they were spotted, they would definitely die.

"It looks like our mission's coming to an end. This must be part of the real Devouring Diluses' battlefront. We've finally caught up," Sandy said, a little excited. 

She hadn't been in this void for long after arriving from the Mage World, and now her exploration mission was almost complete. Although it had been a bit dull, everything went smoothly. 

Even though she wouldn't gain much Origin power from it, the effort was still worth it.

"Are we stopping here?" Adam asked.

"Definitely. Past this point is Diluses territory. Our job as Explorers is done. From here on, it's up to the Mage Legion." Sandy quickly connected to the Mage Network and uploaded the information about the Diluses building a Void Fortress. 

After a moment, she said, "Now we just wait. This might not be the only fortress they're building, but other Explorer teams on the same path will likely end up here too. We'll meet them and combine all our findings."

Just as Sandy had guessed, in the following days, three more Explorer teams arrived, guided by the markers she had left.

After chatting with them, Adam learned they had also found transit stations and followed transcendent-level Diluses, just like Sandy.

The last group to arrive hadn't been as lucky. They reached a transit station just as several transcendent-level Diluses appeared. Although they managed the fight quickly, the seventh-level commander spotted them, and they barely escaped with their lives.

As Sandy officially connected with the command center, Adam listened to the Explorers' conversation.

"Body-refining mages really shouldn't be on these teams," grumbled a scruffy-looking fourth-level mage once everyone had gathered. "We need to stay hidden, as hidden as possible. But no, you had to make yourself so obvious that anyone with half a brain could spot you."

Her companion, a body-refining mage with twelve pairs of blood-red, gem-like wings, sighed. "It's not like I wanted to. I'm close to advancing, and my genes are in conflict. It's hard to suppress my true form." He flapped his wings and added, "Even now, I can only hold back halfway."

Adam was curious: Since the Reincarnation Spell relied on stealing soul information and biological genes, could mages with genetic conflicts still become explorers?

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The body-refining mage responded kindly, "It's not always like this. This is a rare situation."

"What's your bloodline?" Adam asked.

The body-refining mage turned serious. "That's private. For a body-refining mage, our bloodline is---"

Before he could finish, the level-four mage cut him off. "Oh, please. With you looking like that birdman, it's obvious you've got Void Deathbird blood. When has your bloodline ever been a secret? I don't remember that rule."

The body-refining mage's face flushed with embarrassment. He said pitifully, "Kadi, my love, how could you treat me like this?"

Kadi glanced at him with disgust and shifted away, keeping her distance. "Stay away from me! I'm not going anywhere near you until you get rid of those ridiculous wings!"

Adam watched the two, curious. It was the first time he'd seen a romantic relationship between mages. 

He found it odd, since mages already had difficulty reproducing. But here they were---one an elemental mage and the other a bloodline mage. 'Didn't they face reproductive isolation?' Adam wondered.

"Isn't there reproductive isolation between them?" Garfield muttered to himself inside Adam's mind, thankfully inaudible to those nearby.

Just then, Sandy turned to them, her expression serious. "The other Explorer teams have encountered similar things. Based on all the data we've gathered, it's clear that beyond these coordinates, the void is fully controlled by the Devouring Diluses."

Adam and the others stopped their casual chatter and focused on her words.

"Command has instructed us to mark the coordinates and get ready for the fleet to warp in."

"Does that mean we're going straight into battle?" someone asked.

"No, not yet. First, we'll give them a little surprise."

...

Marking coordinates was a basic skill for any Explorer. As long as they had a spatial anchor and there was no interference, it was a simple task.

If they had been asked to go deep into the asteroid belt to mark coordinates, it would've been much harder. But since they were on the outskirts, the eight mages quickly marked a hundred suitable points. 

These points formed a fan shape, and the lines from each one led to several small planes.

The idea was to make sure that when the Transcendent Strike hit, the energy wouldn't just dissipate but would amplify, ultimately converging at the central altar.

The Transcendent Strike was the surprise Command had in store for the Diluses. Unlike knights, mages didn't prefer close combat. Their true strength lay in long-range attacks. 

The Mage Legions followed the same strategy---unless absolutely necessary, or if victory was certain, the fleet avoided hand-to-hand combat at all costs.

Once they finished their task, the Explorers moved to a safe distance from the target area. Even though they were allies, magic didn't discriminate. Dying from friendly fire after surviving the mission would be a pretty ridiculous end.

A familiar signal echoed in everyone's minds through the Mage Network. They watched as space around the coordinate points began to ripple violently, with massive amounts of terrifying energy gathering behind it.

The Diluses in the asteroid belt responded fast. As soon as the disturbance began, swarms of Diluses poured out from various planes, heading straight for the coordinate points.

Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong response. If they had immediately powered up their defenses to full strength, they might have blocked or at least softened the blow from the Transcendent Strike. But now, it was too late for them.

The countdown reached zero.

A hundred brilliant beams of light shot through the void, instantly reducing the closest Diluses to ash. The energy continued to surge forward, smashing into their defensive shields.

For a brief moment, the shields resisted. Then they shattered. 

Planes behind the shields were pierced one after another, wiping out the Diluses within them. Even the transcendent-level Diluses weren't spared, suffering heavy losses.

As the beams converged on the central altar, five level-eight Diluses appeared. They opened their massive mouths, trying to absorb the attack.

They managed to contain the strike, but at the cost of much of their bodies turning to ash.

Garfield appeared next to Adam, grimacing. "Ugh, that looks painful."

At that moment, the fleet arrived.