Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 533: Privileges

After clearing out the minions, an arm-like appendage from the Abyss Dominator shot out as if traversing space, with the bony claw at the end precisely piercing the core area of the Level 1 Nest.

A dark red Energy Suppression Field erupted instantly, shattering the biological armor layer on the Nest’s surface like a fragile eggshell, revealing the violently beating Heart of the Insect Race inside, emitting a rich Life Energy.

Then the bony claw closed, carefully extracting the Level 1 Insect Race Heart, about the size of a pumpkin, dark red throughout, and covered in energy veins, intact.

Instead of devouring or destroying this precious heart, it manipulated the appendage and delivered it steadily to where Duke was riding on the back of a winged serpent.

Duke waved his hand, and the Insect Race Heart was brought before him, floating in the seawater.

This Insect Race Heart, although Level 1, was larger than the Level 1 Insect Race Hearts seen before.

It seems that even among Level 1 Nests, there are differences between them.

The better-developed the Nest, the larger its Heart of the Insect Race.

This Level 1 Nest was among the cluster, evidently developed more smoothly.

After examining it, Duke placed the Insect Race Heart into his Space Ring.

This is also the advantage of leading a warband; it allows him to openly utilize slave creatures to pocket these spoils.

As for why Duke, a Level 1 Mage, was put in charge of a warband, it was likely because of his Level 1 Black Sail Honorary Accolade.

The presence of this accolade not only afforded him higher clearance in the Black Sail Treasure Vault but also gave him the privileges of a Deputy Commander on the Plane Battlefield.

Since obtaining this Honorary Accolade, Duke had not truly experienced the privileges it conferred on the Plane Battlefield.

When he initially learned he was assigned to lead a warband, he was surprised and astonished, before recalling it was because of the Level 1 Black Sail Honorary Accolade.

This operation was originally under the purview of Black Sail’s wizards, and although Duke’s strength had not reached Level 2, the Honorary Accolade allowed him a higher priority.

However, few other wizards knew about this, and many did not recognize Duke.

Simon, on the other hand, was somewhat aware; he had been following Duke’s matters and knew he had received a Level 1 Black Sail Honorary Accolade. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Therefore, when he connected the dots, he wasn’t surprised at Duke leading a warband.

It’s worth noting that many Level 2 Mages hadn’t yet reached the rank of Deputy Commander, making Duke’s rank considerably higher than others.

After the Abyss Dominator dealt with one Level 1 Nest, it swiftly turned to the second and third.

The process was the same: demolishing their defenses with overwhelming power and accurately extracting the core.

Its massive figure and terrifying efficiency became the most striking focus on the battlefield.

In a short time, three Level 1 Insect Race Hearts, teeming with vast Life Energy, were successively extracted and presented to Duke.

Duke calmly stowed them away, but internally he was quite satisfied.

These few Level 1 Insect Race Hearts would accelerate the growth of the World Tree Seed considerably.

Meanwhile, in other areas, Simon and other wizards commanded their respective squads of slave creatures, steadily clearing out the remnants of the Insect Race that the main corps had defeated, collecting valuable insect materials.

The advancement on the western battlefield was remarkably smooth due to the Abyss Dominator’s terrifying efficiency.

On this front, there were no Level 3 Insect Races present yet.

Compared to the western battlefield, the pressure from other directions was greater, with most of the Nest cluster’s forces concentrated on defense in these areas.

...

East of the Nest cluster, Bone Spike Strait.

This was the true crucible of flesh and blood, the core battlefield that would determine the outcome of this campaign.

Overseen personally by Level 3 Mage Lauren, more than two hundred thousand slave creatures adapted to deep sea environments were deployed into this narrow and treacherous chokepoint of Bone Spike Strait.

Their task was simple yet brutal: launch a frontal assault at any cost, to attract and pin down the Nest cluster’s most powerful defensive forces.

The battle had entered its most brutal phase from the very start.

The towering cliffs on both sides of the strait had been entirely covered by the biological structures of the Insect Race.

Countless spore cannon towers resembling huge eye stalks and unknown biological spires concentrating energy unleashed deadly fire.

Acid poured like rain, corroding the heavy shells of the slave creatures, while dense bone spikes tore through the seawater with a piercing whistle, and broad energy beams lashed out, vaporizing entire rows of charging slave creatures in an instant.

The seawater was no longer blue, transforming into a thick, purple-black broth mixed with broken shells, insect mucus, and energy residue.

The remains of slave creatures and insect units piled up like mountains, nearly blocking the entrance to the strait.

Lauren floated slightly higher at the back of the battle line, his deep blue robe remaining still in the seawater, as he watched the entire battlefield with an expressionless face.

His gaze was like the most precise instrument, continually sweeping over every minor fluctuation along the battle line.

A group of massive lava turtles, towering like mountains with dark red lava-like patterns flowing across their carapaces, roared deeply as they advanced with ground-shaking steps under the heavy barrage.

The lava patterns on their carapaces suddenly flared up, emitting incredible heat, evaporating much of the incoming acid and even smashing bone spikes with collisions.

The lava turtles opened their giant mouths, spewing out fiery lava fireballs that could persist briefly in seawater, bombarding the insect structures on the cliffs and causing a series of explosions.

This creature originally inhabited volcanic and lava-filled planes, seemingly unsuited for the seabed environment.

However, the lava turtles proved to be exceedingly adept at living and fighting underwater, a discovery made only after wizards captured and exploited them as slave creatures.

At that moment, a shriek, neither fish nor beast, akin to the wails of countless crushed souls mixed with disturbing Spirit noise, erupted from the depths of the strait.

Subsequently, three enormous, twisted shadows that defied normal biological structure tore through the darkness and descended upon the battlefield.

These were three grotesque, bizarre Level 3 Insect Races, the first resembling a forcibly cobbled-together mass of decaying sea serpent heads.

It possessed five necks like rotting tentacles, each topped with a head that had no eyes, only a circular maw brimming with sharp teeth.