Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

  Inside the spell laboratory, Pierce, having just finished a cycle of his breathing technique, stood rooted to the spot like a javelin. His skin was scorching hot and flushed red, with steam rising from his body.

  Crackle!

  A crisp sound suddenly snapped.

  As if a switch had been flipped, more and more fine arcs of electricity sprouted from his body, gradually intensifying into dazzling lightning.

  Eventually, Pierce was completely submerged in a blazing torrent of lightning, transforming into a blinding sphere of light.

  A violent, ferocious aura of lightning instantly enveloped the entire laboratory.

  It was fortunate he was alone in the room; anyone else witnessing this would have likely been stunned speechless.

  This phenomenon lasted for over a minute before the lightning surrounding Pierce slowly subsided, sinking back into his body and vanishing.

  Pierce opened his eyes and let out a long breath, his eyes brimming with joy.

  "Finally broke through to Tier 3 Legendary!"

  Pierce summoned the Omniscient Eye and checked his status. To his pleasant surprise, his Physique attribute had suddenly skyrocketed to 30.34.

  "Just the realm breakthrough alone increased my Physique by nearly 7 points."

  Pierce clicked his tongue in wonder.

  This increase was almost equivalent to the entirety of his Physique when he was a Tier 2 Legendary Knight.

  "No wonder they say Tier 3 is the first critical milestone for a Legendary Knight."

  "And then there's the Elemental Power of Lightning."

  Following his plan, Pierce had used all the energy from the breakthrough to directly reinforce his Lightning Elemental Power.

  The results were highly significant.

  He could now clearly feel a distinct improvement in his sensitivity to Lightning-attribute energy particles.

  Without hesitation, Pierce began buffing himself with Lightning Runes.

  Amidst surging electric light, one Lightning Rune after another sank into his body.

  It wasn't until the seventeenth Lightning Rune that Pierce felt waves of saturation emanating from his body.

  "So seventeen is the limit."

  Pierce nodded inwardly.

  This number was already approaching the maximum load Silver Star could bear.

  "At this rate, once I fuse with Silver Star, under normal conditions, I can bear a maximum of thirty-two Lightning Runes. At my absolute limit, it would be thirty-five."

  A satisfied smile appeared on Pierce's face.

  If he were to face Zachary again now, he was confident he could beat him to a pulp just by fusing with Silver Star and the Lightning Runes, without even needing to Overcharge his Magic Tattoos.

  Calming his surging emotions, Pierce composed himself and left the spell laboratory.

  Upon returning to the stone house, he found Sophia and Payne waiting at the door.

  They had just returned to Red Maple City.

  "My Lord."

  Seeing Pierce, Sophia and Payne immediately stepped forward.

  "Good work," Pierce nodded slightly. "How did the investigation go?"

  Sophia immediately replied, "Neither the Exchange in Gale City nor Silent Blue City had any Thunderbeasts available for exchange. However, while in Gale City, I heard that a Wizard had captured one. So, I paid him a visit. Upon hearing that it was you who wanted the Thunderbeast, My Lord, he agreed to sell it. However, his asking price is 5,000 Merit Points."

  Pierce frowned slightly, but his brow quickly relaxed.

  5,000 Merit Points was enough to buy an Adamantine Golem from the Exchange.

  An Adamantine Golem was a powerful war machine with combat strength comparable to a Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizard and a Tier 5 Legendary Knight.

  Considering that a Thunderbeast was capable of fighting a Rank 2 Gaseous Phase Wizard head-on, this price wasn't actually too expensive.

  The Wizard had likely heard of his reputation and was intentionally offering a favor; otherwise, an asking price of six or seven thousand Merit Points would have been completely reasonable.

  That being said, 5,000 Merit Points was no small sum.

  Even if he were to assault Turin fortifications, assuming everything went smoothly, he would still need to complete three missions to gather that many points.

  "It seems I still need to find a resource point to develop," Pierce thought to himself.

  At the end of the day, garrisoning a resource point was the fastest way to earn Merit Points.

  "You did well." Pierce quickly made a decision. "Rest for the next few days. Three days from now, we will go accept the mission for the Mithril resource point."

  He had recently consumed a Sprout of the Holy Spirit, and there was still a slight trace of the Power of Faith that hadn't been fully purged. He estimated it would take another three days.

  Once he dealt with that, he would take the Mithril resource point mission and earn enough Merit Points as quickly as possible to buy the Thunderbeast, avoiding any unforeseen complications.

  Hearing this, Sophia and Payne's spirits lifted, and they quickly nodded in agreement.

  Three days later.

  The Mission Hall.

  The spacious hall was as noisy and bustling as ever, with people coming and going constantly.

  Numerous Wizards were gathered in front of the magic map, their eyes fixed intently on the shifting information.

  Pierce stood amidst the crowd, his gaze locked onto the location of the Mithril resource point.

  Stolen story; please report.

  More than three months had passed, and the mission to seize the Mithril resource point still hadn't been accepted by anyone.

  But it made sense when he thought about it. With the disastrous precedent set by Anton's squad, no one dared to take this mission without at least two Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizards leading the charge.

  Otherwise, even if they managed to conquer the resource point, they would definitely suffer catastrophic losses.

  And within Red Maple City, the number of squads possessing such strength could be counted on one hand. They were all busy with even more crucial missions and simply couldn't spare the effort to deal with this one.

  It was worth noting that the intelligence regarding the Mithril resource point's garrison strength hadn't been updated.

  The Rank 4 Priest Pierce had seen rushing into the resource point that day wasn't listed in the intelligence reports.

  The description of the garrison remained the same: four Church Knight detachments and over a dozen Winter Frost Priests.

  The strongest among them was listed as a Rank 3 Priest.

  "If a squad of Rank 1 Wizards actually took this mission, they'd likely suffer heavy casualties," Pierce shook his head inwardly.

  It seemed Red Maple City's intelligence gathering still had room for improvement.

  "Before attacking the Mithril resource point, I need to figure out how to earn some Merit Points to purchase a team of slave miners and smelters first."

  With the Oak Guards, Pierce barely had enough manpower to defend the resource point. If it wasn't enough, he could always supplement it after conquering the point.

  But the slave mining and smelting team had to be prepared in advance.

  Just as he was pondering this, a surprised voice suddenly called out from beside him.

  "Pierce."

  Pierce turned toward the voice and saw two familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time.

  They were Colin and Jared, the two Wizards he had met when he first arrived in Red Maple City.

  "Haha, Pierce, long time no see," Colin said with a face full of smiles.

  Jared also greeted Pierce warmly.

  Compared to when they first met, the two were even more enthusiastic, yet there was a trace of constraint in their demeanor.

  Over the past few months, they had heard plenty of stories about Pierce's exploits.

  His single-handed destruction of Fortification No. 89 had caused quite a stir in Red Maple City.

  It had also given them a deeper understanding of Pierce's strength and potential.

  Seeing Pierce again, while they were genuinely surprised and welcoming, they couldn't help but subconsciously display the constraint one showed when facing a powerhouse.

  "Long time no see." Pierce smiled and nodded. "Are you here to accept a mission too?"

  Colin smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We just got back from completing a mission a while ago. We rested for a few days, and we're planning to head out again today."

  The Wizards who came to the Planar Battlefield were mostly cultivation maniacs. If they weren't busy earning Merit Points, they were buried in meditation and experiments.

  Wizards who had lost their ambition and indulged in pleasure wouldn't come to a place like the Planar Battlefield.

  "What about you? Are you here to take a mission as well?" Jared asked.

  Pierce smiled and nodded.

  Jared's curiosity was piqued. "What mission? Is it convenient to say?"

  "The Mithril resource point."

  Pierce didn't hide it, nor could he.

  The Mithril resource point mission had always been a focal point of attention for many Wizards. The moment someone accepted it, the news would definitely spread to everyone.

  Hearing Pierce's words, Colin and Jared were instantly shocked.

  Jared asked with a surprised expression, "You joined another Wizard squad?"

  To this day, Jared and Colin had long abandoned any thoughts of recruiting Pierce into their squad. After all, the disparity in their strength was simply on different levels.

  They had just heard that Pierce always worked alone and never intended to join any squad.

  So upon hearing that Pierce was going to attack the Mithril resource point, his first reaction was that Pierce had finally joined some powerful Wizard squad.

  But to their bewilderment, Pierce shook his head and denied it directly.

  "No, I'm going alone."

  Jared and Colin froze, their faces filled with astonishment.

  Attacking the heavily guarded Mithril resource point alone?

  We know you're strong, but isn't that a bit too insane?!

  There are over a dozen Winter Frost Priests and hundreds of Legendary Knights there!

  Unless a Rank 2 Wizard made a move, who would dare attack that place single-handedly?

  For a moment, the two stood frozen in place, not knowing what to say.

  Right at that moment, Sophia and Payne, who had gone to accept the mission, walked back. Both of them had their brows tightly knit.

  "My Lord," Sophia said with a frown. "The mission was taken by someone else."

  Pierce paused slightly.

  Speak of the devil. Which unlucky bastard took the mission?

  "Do you know who took it?" Pierce asked.

  Sophia hesitated for a moment. "It's a Wizard squad. The leader seems to be named Hubert."

  Hubert?

  Pierce searched his memory but couldn't recall anyone by that name.

  At that moment, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Jared and Colin both wearing strange expressions. He asked directly, "Do you know Hubert?"

  Jared and Colin exchanged a glance before Colin finally spoke. "We don't know him personally, but we've heard of him. He's reportedly a Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizard, very strong. Shortly after arriving in Red Maple City, he gathered a group of Wizards from Red Lotus City and formed a squad. So far, they've successfully destroyed four or five Turin fortifications. They have quite a reputation throughout Red Maple City."

  "Also..." Colin paused, glanced at Pierce, and whispered, "Hubert is Hugh's cousin."

  Pierce finally understood why the two had such strange expressions.

  Hugh was the Wizard Apprentice from a primeval Bloodline Family in Red Lotus City who had died by Pierce's hands during the twin-city tournament.

  "It truly is a small world," Pierce shook his head inwardly.

  Just then, a sudden commotion rippled through the surrounding crowd.

  The news that someone had finally accepted the Mithril resource point mission had spread, sparking significant discussion among the Wizards.

  A door in the corner of the hall suddenly swung open, and seven or eight Wizards walked out.

  "That's Hubert." Jared motioned for Pierce to look at the man leading the group of Wizards.

  The man appeared to be around thirty years old. He had high brow ridges, a gaunt face, and carried an aura of gloom about him. His facial features bore a forty-to-fifty percent resemblance to the deceased Hugh.

  It was worth noting that among the people following Hubert was the Wizard who had secretly observed Pierce back then—the one with dark red eyes.

  Pierce remembered Anton mentioning that the man's name was Lucius.

  Lucius also spotted Pierce at this moment. He stepped forward, leaned into Hubert's ear, and whispered a few words. Immediately, Hubert's gaze turned sharp, piercing toward Pierce like a sword.

  He changed direction and walked toward Pierce, stopping two or three meters away.

  His gaze swept over Sophia and Payne, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes. He said coldly, "So you were also aiming for the Mithril resource point."

  "Just because you got lucky and took down one fortification, you think you're invincible? You actually thought you could attack the Mithril resource point alone?"

  "You really don't know your own limits!"

  Hubert's words were like a bomb dropped into the crowd, instantly setting off a massive uproar.

  "Pierce was also planning to attack the Mithril resource point? Alone?!"

  "Are you kidding me? How could he be so daring? Does he really think he's a Rank 2 Wizard?!"

  "The garrison at the Mithril resource point is vastly stronger than those fortifications. How could a single Rank 1 Wizard possibly take it down?"

  "Indeed. A squad like Hubert's makes much more sense."

  Hearing the discussions around them, a mocking sneer surfaced on Hubert's lips.

  Pierce acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. His expression remained composed. He smiled faintly and said, "If you don't believe me, why don't you yield the mission to me and see?"

  Hubert's expression froze, and his eyes narrowed.

  Seeing this, the red-eyed Wizard behind him, Lucius, quickly interjected. "In your dreams! If you fail to conquer the resource point and alert the enemy, causing them to raise their defenses, wouldn't it be even more troublesome for us when we take over?"

  Pierce glanced at him, completely unfazed by the contempt in his words. He shrugged and said, "Forget it then. I can wait anyway. I certainly won't mind taking over your mission when you fail."

  The moment these words were spoken, the gazes of the Red Lotus City Wizards behind Hubert turned incredibly hostile.

  Wasn't he implying that they were guaranteed to fail?

  Hubert said coldly, "Then it seems you are going to be disappointed."

  Dropping those words, he shot Pierce a glacial look, turned around with his men, and quickly disappeared through the main doors.

  Sophia looked at him hesitantly and whispered, "My Lord..."

  "It's not your fault," Pierce waved his hand, interrupting her, the corners of his mouth curling up. "This is fine too. Having someone test the waters for us and wear down the resource point's garrison will make it much easier when we attack."

  Jared and Colin exchanged bewildered glances.

  What did that mean?

  Jared couldn't help but ask, "Pierce, do you think Hubert's squad is going to fail this operation?"

  "Of course," Pierce smiled.

  Jared assumed Pierce was unaware of the strength of Hubert's squad, so he explained, "Including Hubert himself, there are two Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizards in his squad alone. They also have four Liquid Phase Wizards and three Gaseous Phase Wizards."

  "Furthermore, they have fifty Flesh Golems, eight Clay Golems, and a barbarian army composed primarily of Grand Knights, numbering over five hundred."

  "Honestly speaking, with this lineup, their chances of taking down the Mithril resource point are very high."

  But to Jared's surprise, even after hearing all this, Pierce remained steadfast in his opinion.

  "We just have to wait and see."

  Jared grew even more confused and couldn't help but curiously ask for the reason.

  But Pierce had no intention of explaining. He simply offered him a deeply meaningful smile.