Chapter 126: Hida, the Flame of Murderous Intent

"Well, after all, a mob is just a mob. What do you think, Xida?" Vinigo chuckled, raising his hands.

Xida let out a shrill laugh. Her slender arms hoisted a fireball, which appeared impossibly massive relative to her small stature, and hurled it toward the phalanx of Rusty Spear-bearers. Simultaneously, Vinigo raised his hand to unleash a gust of wind, transforming the fireball into a meteor that plummeted toward the enemy line with a long, trailing tail of flame.

Undoubtedly, such a strike was enough to annihilate the entire phalanx. The Rusty Spear-bearers scattered in an instant, throwing their formation into complete disarray.

Oh... I suppose I forgot to mention, although this fireball is enormous, its temperature is quite low—no more intense than a candle or a pile of firewood.

Once the spearmen's formation broke, the combat advantage of the swordsmen became apparent. They charged into the spear-bearers in groups of three, slaughtering them with ease. Sophie’s arrival only served to make their efficiency even more lethal.

Vinigo, meanwhile, set his sights on the Faceless Mages. With ruthless efficiency, he used a magical blast to roast three of them who were standing too close together until they were half-dead, then finished each off with a tap of his staff. Having witnessed the bizarre nature of Vinigo’s magical strikes, the Faceless Mages naturally identified him as the greatest threat. The remaining mages turned in unison toward Vinigo, casting their most proficient low-level attack spells.

Fireball, Finger of Lightning, Ice Spike, Rock Blast, Death Cloud...

Then, the tragedy of the Faceless Mages began. The reason was simple: Vinigo’s "Mana Rebound."

It was a monstrous counter-skill that copied every spell and released it right back at the caster.

Naturally, being struck by so many spells left even Vinigo wobbling. However, with a Black Mage’s magical resistance, the Faceless Mages’ mediocre spell intensity was not enough to be fatal, while Vinigo’s powerful counter-strikes were several times stronger.

In an instant, six different spells erupted from Vinigo’s body, striking their casters with precision. Amidst a dazzling display of electric sparks, flames, frost, and flying debris, the Faceless Mages were torn to pieces without exception.

The only outlier was the Death Cloud; due to some rule-based constraint, Vinigo’s Mana Rebound failed to react to it.

Therefore, Vinigo turned back and offered a friendly smile to the only surviving mage capable of casting Death Cloud.

—Immediately followed by a gust of wind fired from the void. Finger Gun: M1911!

This Faceless Mage was actually quite skilled, but he was clearly paralyzed by Vinigo’s smile. He stood frozen, neither dodging nor parrying, as the Finger Gun struck his head. The impact of the air current, possessing the force of a lead bullet, caved in his skull and left him unconscious and collapsed on the ground.

The Sheep-Bleating Cultists were quickly suppressed, and the commander of the swordsman phalanx finally had a chance to speak. He dared not address the clearly eccentric Vinigo, opting instead to approach Sophie.

Sophie nodded to the captain. Having studied under Sir Temple for some time, she could be considered a peer to these junior officers.

"Who are you?" the captain asked.

"Prism. Sophie Spar and Vinigo," Sophie replied simply. She flipped out the badge pinned to her collar—a symbol representing friendly standing with Ironfist Castle.

"Thank you for your assistance," the swordsman captain said immediately.

"Why was the Sheep-Bleating Cult targeting the crystal pillar?" Vinigo stepped forward as he spoke. The strange cadence of the Black Mage’s voice made the captain shoot him an annoyed look.

Vinigo didn't mind; he merely pointed at the crystal pillar. By now, the cultists had likely completed their mission and vanished. However, something seemed to have appeared on the pillar.

Without warning, the top of the crystal pillar erupted with a thunderous roar and a violent shockwave that surged in every direction. Vinigo could clearly see four-colored lights igniting on the pillar as powerful magical fluctuations welled up from within, converging into a magnificent sphere of light at the summit.

From within the sphere, a humanoid entity entirely encased in metal spoke slowly in Common: "Escaton. Under orders. Purge demons."

"It really is this guy..." Vinigo sighed.

The humanoid calling itself Escaton scanned its surroundings. It seemed to have spotted the remaining Sheep-Bleating Cultists who had not yet retreated, and it gave a slight wave of its hand.

A beam of light shot forth from the sphere, traversing hundreds of meters at the speed of light and triggering an explosion. Immediately after, Escaton turned its head toward Vinigo’s position.

Vinigo waved his hands to signal he was not hostile. Escaton seemed to pause for a moment. Shortly after, Vinigo noticed a hovering metal sphere appearing out of nowhere before him.

It seemed to have flown over from the crystal pillar. It looked like... a holographic projector?

Sure enough, a phantom image of Escaton appeared in front of the metal sphere. It looked at Vinigo and asked, "Human. You wish to speak. What?"

Ignoring Escaton's garbled grammar, Vinigo nodded. "I have seen the demons you are looking for. Interstellar wanderers. The Kreegans."

Escaton’s metal face remained expressionless. It simply asked, "Where?"

"Equivalent exchange," Vinigo said. "I provide valuable information, and you provide compensation."

"What. Do you want?" Escaton clearly had no intention of bullying others, instead asking according to Vinigo’s terms.

"Technology. Technology that is ancient to you, but very useful to me," Vinigo explained. "For example: gunpowder, mechanical machining, metal smelting."

"Information exchange... Agreed." Escaton remained expressionless and motionless.

Vinigo replied, "Ghost Swamp. Inside Blackmoor Castle. There is a Kreegan who specializes in biological modification."

Escaton vanished. Vinigo was not surprised and simply waited on the spot.

Before long, the metal sphere in front of him automatically descended into his hand. It emitted a mechanical voice, prompting, "Information projection ready. Please provide command."

"Information retrieval," Vinigo tentatively said.

The metal sphere immediately projected seemingly endless text—these were merely the index!

Vinigo silently accepted this gift, which Escaton considered worthless but which weighed more than a thousand pounds in his eyes.

He scanned it quickly and realized that Escaton was not entirely unguarded. Among the data provided were many of the planetary traveler’s journals. That style of diary, dense with mechanical jargon, was obscure and difficult for ordinary people to understand, and the contents—such as planetary gravitational parameters or local vegetation coverage—were pure digital scientific data, worthless to the average person.

As for the technology, what Escaton provided was mechanical technology from before the internal combustion engine era, biological technology from the dawn of genetic science, and the only relatively advanced part was energy technology. However, for a high-magic plane, energy was not the most pressing concern, as magic itself was a very high-end form of energy.

What Escaton did not know was that what Vinigo valued was precisely those travel journals that Escaton assumed ordinary people could not understand and would not bother to read.

Escaton’s long "life" had seen countless events. In pursuit of the Kreegans, it had traveled to thousands of planets and traversed multiple planes, collecting a vast amount of strictly neutral event records. These records were equivalent to the life experiences of hundreds of legendary heroes, and they contained no exaggeration; where there was speculation, it was based purely on detailed data.

Vinigo could understand it.

"What a generous gift," Vinigo’s lips curled upward.

He looked back at Sophie. Sophie was silent, merely pointing into the distance.

Vinigo understood and accompanied her there. There had once been a row of slum dwellings here, but now there was only a shallow crater. The reason? Because Escaton’s crystal pillar had been attacked, and its default defense mechanism was to eliminate everything that might interfere with its mission.

Its counterattack was exceptionally simple and effective. A high-energy beam triggered an elemental explosion, annihilating everything within a two-meter radius. What surprised Vinigo was that Escaton appeared to use some kind of scientific means, yet it could trigger the elements of this world to resonate with it, creating a magical effect.

That was why everyone in this world believed Escaton was a legendary spellcaster, respectfully calling it "The Destroyer," yet no one realized it wasn't using magic at all.

No, it *was* magic, because spellcasters could feel the elemental power Escaton mobilized so effortlessly.

"Powerful, direct," Vinigo praised. "But it lacks humanity. It doesn't care about collateral damage at all."

Of course, everything Escaton did was merely to complete its mission. As for whether it was humans, elves, dwarves, or even dragons—what did that matter to it?

It saw only demons, and the Kreegans who had created those so-called demons and nearly destroyed Escaton’s home world.

While Sophie was still lost in thought, unsure whether to feel anger or sadness, Vinigo gently tugged at her.

"What?" Sophie looked up, her eyes filled with inquiry.

"Acquaintances," Vinigo smirked, using a subtle gesture to signal Sophie to look to the right.

Warlords, mages focused on powerful attacks, and a group of notorious top-tier villains. And, of course, their signature guards: Ultimate Knights.

Naturally, these so-called knights possessed not a shred of chivalry.

"To appear here so openly?" Vinigo muttered to himself. "Should we go say hello?"

Sophie pulled his hand and shook her head.

It... was not yet time.