Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 523: Manipulation



"DIE!!"

Gore swung his spear in front of him, taking down several weeping trees in one go. However, they were soon replaced by even more trees that surrounded him.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!"

He continued to hack down his spear with a desperate and maniacal expression on his face.

His eyes were bloodshot, blazing with killing intent as he mowed through dozens of trees and made his way toward the town.

ROAR!

A resounding roar echoed amidst the woods all of a sudden. Gore's familiar had been impaled by a thick, serpentine branch yet again.

"Jora!" Gore screamed in helplessness as he saw his familiar slowly fall to the ground.

It seemed that all the strength had left the white tiger's body. It was full of gaping holes caused by the roots and branches of the weeping trees.

The tiger could no longer carry on.

It glanced at Gore and softly growled, "Grrr..."

"You..." The man's bloodshot eyes teared up as he understood his familiar's intent.

He swung his spear in a circular motion around him and the tiger, once again clearing all the trees around him.

Tears trickled down Gore's face as he fondly rubbed the tiger's blood-soaked, furry head.

"Thank you..."

Then, without looking back, he shot forward, leaving behind his familiar.

The tiger glanced at Gore's departing back longingly. He wanted to escape this place with his master and find somewhere safe, but he knew it wasn't possible.

Thus, in the end, he decided to sacrifice himself so that at least Gore could make it out of this cursed place alive.

The tiger's blue eyes flashed with cruelty and killing intent as it slowly got to its feet.

It gathered whatever remaining strength it had and pounced on the weeping trees, planning to take down as many of them as possible before departing this world.

ROAR!!

...

Gore vaulted above the canopy of the Weeping Woods and soon landed amidst the strange trees with a loud thud. He swept his spear, killed the nearby trees, and dashed ahead.

I must conserve as much mana as possible, he thought to himself.

He looked around, trying to ascertain the direction he was heading in. Everywhere he looked, all he saw were weeping trees surrounding him.

Damn it, am I lost?! He cursed inwardly.

He crouched slightly and jumped through the canopy of the live trees once more. After glancing at the position of the afternoon sun, he confirmed the direction he needed to go.

He landed dozens of meters away and hacked the trees around him in a mechanical manner. Jump. Kill. Repeat.

Suddenly, he heard the desperate cries of his familiar coming from behind him. He turned around in the direction of the roar, but his gaze couldn't pass through the weeping trees.

The tiger's roar was weakening with each passing moment.

Until finally, it went silent.

Gore clenched his fists and spat through gritted teeth, "DAMN IT!!"

Before the trees could come closer and pin him down, he jumped yet again. While mid-air, he thought to himself in utter despair, Damn it, I shouldn't have come here...

Why? Why did I come here?

If I hadn't... Jora would still be alive!

Damn it! Damn it all!

Gore couldn't understand just why he had even decided to lead such a large group of people to the Howlett Manor in the first place.

Considering his cautious personality, he should have escaped this place the moment he had sensed the presence of that Rank 2 werewolf inside the ruined manor when he had gone there for reconnaissance.

But strangely enough, he had been swayed by the promise of victory and all those treasures that lay inside the manor.

As a result, he had now been gravely injured. Furthermore, his familiar had also died- leading him to get even more weakened.

When did I become so greedy? He thought.

But in the end, he credited this to the allure of the mana extraction method that could help him to advance to Rank 3, Mana Vortex Rank.

He would have never imagined in his wildest dreams that all his actions ever since he had arrived at Stratford had been the product of psychological manipulation.

I can't let Jora's sacrifice be in vain, he thought.

As he continued to slaughter all the weeping trees and make his way out of this cursed forest, suddenly his ears twitched and he looked in a particular direction.

Apart from the ominous wailing of the trees, he could hear something else. It was the sound

of something heavy shifting across the ground, along with...

"The sound of footsteps?!" Gore muttered incredulously.

Someone else was approaching him!

This discovery caused the man to be astounded. He knew very well just how difficult it was for

a Magus to traverse through this forest of live trees.

Even a Rank 2 Magus such as him was facing so much difficulty, let alone a Rank 1 Magus.

Could it be that young Magus named Adam? He thought to himself.

He didn't have a good impression of this youth for some reason. But considering the situation he was in, he was actually quite welcoming to the possibility that Adam was making his way

toward him.

If the two of us can work together, we will be able to make it out of this place! He thought.

But the reality was far different from what he had imagined. It was something that caused him to be thunderstruck, unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before him.

The weeping trees around him suddenly stopped attacking. Their branches slowly lowered to the ground and they parted, revealing a passageway.

"What the "Gore's words got stuck in his throat when he saw a small group of Magi emerge from the passageway.

"Magus Darkmore, is that you?" Said Mayor Hobbs as he led the group of Magi behind him.

"You... How did you..." Gore couldn't find the right words to speak.

His gaze landed on a dark orb that the old mayor was holding. This mystical orb was radiating faint waves that kept the weeping trees at bay.

Before he could ask about it, the old mayor urged him, "There is no time to explain! Magus Darkmore, we must return to Stratford quickly!"

Gore glanced at the mayor as well as the Magi behind him suspiciously. "Where did you find

that orb? And why do you want to return to -"

Mayor Hobbs interrupted him as he walked past Gore, "I will explain to you on the way!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"All you need to know is, if we don't reach Stratford by sunset, we will all die!"