The moment he saw Ferry die, Saron felt his head ring. His entire body felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cave, his limbs turning ice-cold.

  The other Turin warriors also turned deathly pale.

  The Second-Class Priest, whom they viewed as an incredibly powerful and lofty existence, was now just a cold corpse lying on the ground.

  This scene gave them the illusion that they were dreaming. A nightmare, to be precise.

  However, the sudden, high-pitched cawing of crows around them unmistakably reminded them that this was reality.

  Deafening sound waves suddenly swept in from all directions.

  Without Ferry's protection, the chariot could no longer withstand the sonic attack. Its defenses were instantly shredded, and many Turin warriors exploded into a mist of blood one after another.

  Saron’s face contorted as he resisted the erosion of the sound waves. He brandished his greatsword to kill a few Mist Crows approaching him and turned to flee.

  But in the next instant, a black shadow rushed over like lightning, and a pair of cold, gleaming talons struck his back fiercely.

  The icy power of death instantly annihilated the elemental power on the surface of Saron's body. The talons tore through his flesh, sinking deep inside, and then were abruptly pulled out, bringing with them warm blood and a still-beating heart.

  Saron's body stiffened. He turned his head with a look of extreme unwillingness and slowly fell to the ground in despair.

  Thump!

  Mistfeather released the heart, letting it fall to the ground, and raised its head to let out a sharp cry.

  Mist Crows filled the sky, flying in from all directions and merging into its body like a tide of black mist. In the blink of an eye, thousands of Mist Crows completely vanished.

  The sky became clear again.

  Mistfeather flapped its wings, flew back to Pierce, and landed on his shoulder.

  "Good job."

  Pierce smiled and patted Mistfeather's head.

  Sophia and Payne stared blankly at this scene, only recovering after a good while.

  The two looked at each other, both filled with awe.

  This battle had once again refreshed their understanding of Pierce's strength.

  A lineup consisting of a Second-Class Priest and nearly a hundred Turin warriors had been effortlessly destroyed by Pierce. Even if a Rank 1 Liquified Phase Wizard came, not everyone could achieve this, right?

  The two were inexplicably shocked.

  It wasn't until they were awakened by Mistfeather's cry that they hurriedly began to clean up the battlefield.

  The spoils this time were much richer.

  Both the Winter Frost Priest and the other Tier 2 Legendary Knight had spatial items on them.

  The spatial items of the Turin people were different from those in the Wizarding World; they were mostly in the shape of badges.

  Inside their spatial badges, apart from a considerable amount of gold coins and gems, there were also large quantities of materials.

  "A pity there is no Holy Spirit Sprout."

  Pierce felt a slight regret, then looked at the badge in his hand.

  This silver badge was only the size of a coin, but it felt incredibly cold to the touch, as if holding a piece of ice. Moreover, Pierce felt the same strange energy on the badge as he had from the statue of the Lady of Winter Frost.

  "This thing should be what the Winter Frost Cult calls a 'Holy Relic'."

  After hesitating for a moment, Pierce separated a wisp of mental power and carefully probed it into the badge.

  The moment his mental power touched the badge, his mind suddenly buzzed. In his trance, scenes flashed before his eyes like fleeting shadows.

  In a grand and spacious hall, a majestic and magnificent statue of a deity stood on a high platform. Below it were countless believers kneeling on the ground, their expressions devout and fanatical.

  Countless murmurs and praises seemed to echo in his ears, constantly speaking of the greatness and omnipotence of the deity, and the salvation of the world through divine grace, making one involuntarily harbor the urge to worship.

  Fortunately, although this voice was eerie, it wasn't enough to bewitch Pierce. He quickly broke free from the vision, his eyes rapidly regaining clarity.

  "No mistake, this energy should be the Power of Faith from the divine planes."

  Pierce clicked his tongue in wonder.

  For those who were originally believers of the deity, this Power of Faith was not only harmless but could also become a power they could utilize.

  But for other races, the Power of Faith was no different from poison.

  Even more dangerous than poison.

  If that vision just now had happened to a Wizard Apprentice, their mind would probably have been eroded in an instant, turning them into a fanatical believer of the Lady of Winter Frost.

  The thought of being forcibly turned into a fanatical believer of some deity made Pierce feel a chill run down his spine.

  "But then again, if even the Power of Faith in the deity statue and Holy Relic has this effect, wouldn't the Faith Crystals refined and condensed from them have an even stronger mental erosion effect?"

  Pierce revealed a thoughtful expression.

  If one were to resist the erosion of the Power of Faith for a long time, could it achieve the effect of condensing and refining mental power?

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  The fact that Faith Crystals can condense mental power might be based on this exact principle.

  Pierce felt that he had guessed the correct principle.

  Shaking his head, he put away the badge and stopped thinking about it.

  His main task at the current stage was still to increase his mental power. As for condensing it, that could wait until his Spirit reached the 32 Energy Level.

  Boarding the back of the giant eagle, Pierce and the other two continued their journey.

  Along the way, Pierce destroyed another outpost and three bronze chariots that had come in response to a call for help.

  However, they didn't encounter any official Priests this time. There was only one Tier 2 Legendary Knight among the reinforcements, who was instantly killed by Pierce controlling the Silver Star.

  Perhaps because the patrol chariots nearby had all been cleared out, the rest of the journey was peaceful, without even a single battle.

  As they got closer to their destination, the environment of the wilderness gradually changed.

  Large patches of grayish-white permafrost began to appear, and the color gradually turned white, making the earth look as if it were covered with a thick white blanket.

  Seeing this strange phenomenon, Sophia and Payne immediately understood that they were not far from their destination.

  Pierce took out the magic map, estimated the distance, and gestured for the two to stop.

  "Ten kilometers ahead is Fortification No. 89. We will rest here for two hours and move out after we are fully rested."

  Successive battles, although victorious, had also consumed a lot of Pierce's mental power. To be safe, it was better to wait until he recovered to his peak condition before attacking the fortification.

  So, the three found a place against some rocks to land and rest on the spot.

  Sophia and Payne took out rations to feed the giant eagle.

  Pierce casually cast a Minor Illusion, creating a large illusion of rocks to cover their figures.

  If a chariot passed by in the air, they would only see a large cluster of jagged rocks. Such scenery was very common in the wilderness and would not arouse suspicion.

  After feeding the giant eagle, Sophia sat directly on the ground. The cold was not enough to affect her.

  "My Lord, how many defensive forces are stationed at Fortification No. 89?"

  Hearing this, Payne also cast a curious glance.

  The two only knew that the task of attacking the fortification was very difficult, but they didn't know exactly how difficult it was.

  Pierce said, "The reference intelligence provided by Red Maple City is that there are at least three First-Class Priests, and it is not ruled out that there may be a Second-Class Priest. In addition, there is at least one detachment of Cult Knights, as well as an unspecified number of noble armies."

  The elite military forces of the Turin Plane were basically controlled by the Cults.

  Although noble lords also had their own private armies, they were mainly composed of Apprentice Knights and Knights, and their strength was not high. Only great nobles of the Duke, Marquis, and Earl ranks held a small number of elite troops.

  In contrast, the main military forces of the three major Cults, the Cult Knight Orders, were all Grand Knights, and the officers were invariably Legendary Knights.

  According to the organization, a full-strength Cult Knight Order consisted of about 4,200 men, divided into 10 detachments, meaning 420 men per detachment.

  The ratio of Legendary Knights among them was about one to ten.

  In other words, a detachment had at least forty Legendary Knights. And only a Tier 2 Legendary Knight could serve as a Detachment Commander.

  Hearing Pierce's words, Sophia and Payne couldn't help but secretly click their tongues.

  The noble army aside, as long as it wasn't an elite army, no matter how many came, they wouldn't be worth mentioning.

  But three Winter Frost Priests and a detachment of Cult Knights were not to be underestimated.

  With this lineup of defensive forces, it would probably take four or five Wizards working together to conquer it.

  The task of capturing the fortification was indeed not that easy to complete.

  Of course, Pierce was not included in this category.

  Having witnessed Pierce's power, Sophia and Payne had long been convinced of his decisions. Since Lord Pierce had decided to attack Fortification No. 89, he certainly had absolute confidence.

  Seeing Pierce begin to rest with his eyes closed, Sophia and Payne closed their mouths and stopped disturbing him. The surroundings quickly quieted down.

  Mistfeather stood at the top of the rock, combing its feathers with its sharp beak.

  Payne sat beside Mistfeather, looking at it with a trace of awe in his eyes.

  Witnessing Mistfeather's battle again, he could clearly see that its strength had grown by a large margin, and it seemed to have gained another spell-like ability.

  The combat power of those familiar derivatives had also skyrocketed. Any single one of them probably had the combat level of a peak Grand Knight.

  Five or six thousand familiar derivatives equivalent to peak Grand Knights... just thinking about it made one's scalp tingle.

  Mistfeather alone was probably enough to annihilate that Cult Knight detachment at Fortification No. 89.

  No wonder the Lord was so confident in completing the task.

  Payne sighed secretly.

  Right at this moment, he saw Mistfeather suddenly raise its head, its cold eyes looking straight ahead to the right.

  At the same time, Pierce suddenly opened his eyes. Silver liquid metal fell from his wrist, condensing into sharp, gleaming spears, their tips pointing in unison in that direction.

  "Who?" Pierce spoke coldly.

  Sophia and Payne immediately reacted, quickly grabbing the weapons by their feet and standing up, looking warily to the right front.

  "Do not misunderstand, we mean no harm!"

  A voice suddenly came from that direction.

  Following a distortion in the air, two figures slowly revealed themselves.

  A man and a woman, both appearing to be twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing simple brown leather armor and boots, dressed as mercenaries.

  However, Pierce could clearly feel the mental force fields on them. This man and woman were obviously Wizards.

  Their attire was probably for convenience of movement.

  "Your Excellency, we are just passing by and have some matters to ask you about. We have no ill intentions. I apologize if we startled you."

  The man glanced at Mistfeather. This familiar obviously possessed a spell-like ability such as See Invisibility, otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to detect them from over thirty meters away solely through keen perception.

  The young woman was also quietly appraising Pierce. His excessively young face surprised her a little.

  Wizards naturally lived much longer than ordinary people, and their aging rate was extremely slow. Unless their appearance had already begun to age when they advanced, most Wizards looked like young adults.

  But the man in front of her looked at most seventeen or eighteen, much younger than many Wizards. And it didn't look like he had used some method to alter his appearance.

  In other words, this person was highly likely a genius who had advanced to a Wizard at a young age. He either had a powerful mentor behind him or came from a Wizard family.

  The young woman and her companion exchanged a glance, restraining their originally casual attitude.

  Pierce swept his gaze over the two, and the Eye of Omniscience instantly ascertained their strength.

  The man's mental energy level was 14.3, at the Rank 1 Liquified Phase. The woman's mental energy level was 10.7, at the Rank 1 Gaseous Phase.

  "What do you want to ask?" Pierce signaled Sophia and Payne to lower their weapons.

  "My name is Anton, and this is my companion Fiona." The man first introduced himself, then said, "Has Your Excellency seen a Turin army escorting captives pass by here?"

  Pierce raised an eyebrow and said, "Two hours ago, I did encounter a Turin group escorting captives, but I have already dealt with them."

  Hearing the first half of Pierce's sentence, Anton and Fiona were initially delighted, but when they heard the second half, they were slightly stunned.

  Fiona hurriedly asked, "Was there an official Priest in that Turin army?"

  Pierce shook his head: "No, just a group of Cult Knights and noble infantry."

  Anton and Fiona immediately showed disappointment.

  Seeing Pierce's questioning look, Anton smiled bitterly and explained: "We were attacked by the Turin people not long ago. Our companions suffered heavy casualties. We finally managed to escape, but we were caught by a Turin Priest halfway. To cover Fiona and me as we fled, one of our companions fell into the hands of the Turin people. We are looking for his whereabouts."

  A Turin army without an official Priest accompanying them naturally wouldn't be escorting a Wizard captive.

  Hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Pierce's face.

  Anton noticed it and asked doubtfully, "What is it?"

  "Were you guarding a Mithril vein resource point previously?"

  Anton and Fiona were startled, and the latter subconsciously asked, "How did you know?"

  Pierce shrugged and recounted what he had encountered earlier.

  After hearing it, Anton and Fiona remained silent, their expressions bitter.

  This sneak attack by the Turin people had caused them heavy losses. Not only was their previous investment wasted, but many companions had also died. The more than half a year they had spent fighting on the planar battlefield was considered a complete waste.

  Sighing, Anton said, "Thank you for your information. May I ask where you are heading?"

  There was nothing to hide about this, so Pierce said frankly, "Fortification No. 89. We took the mission to attack it."

  As soon as these words came out, Anton and Fiona both flashed a look of astonishment. Their gazes swept over Pierce and Sophia, the meaning in their eyes very obvious—Just the three of you?