Operation Purge, A Long-Overdue Vengeance

  "You've learned to control your size already? Not bad."

  Pierce smiled and offered a word of praise.

  In the past, when Mist Raven merged with a mere thousand Fog Crows, its body would inflate to over three meters.

  Now, having merged with over six thousand in a single breath, its size was still under two meters.

  This was undoubtedly an improvement. Mist Raven's combat style leaned toward agility and speed; naturally, a smaller, more compact form was better.

  Pierce then cast the 3rd-Circle spell, Summon Monster III.

  A summoning circle instantly materialized on the floor of the room. Amidst flashing light, a creature resembling a cross between a goblin and a wolf appeared out of thin air.

  "A Barghest?" Pierce raised an eyebrow, recognizing the creature's origins. "Lucky."

  The target of a Summon Monster spell was random, with only the power level fixed within a certain range.

  With his current mental energy level, plus the bonuses from his inscribed spell and Metamagic techniques, he could summon at least a Tier 3 Legendary extraplanar creature.

  And among Tier 3 Legendary creatures, the Barghest stood at the absolute pinnacle.

  They were medium-sized extraplanar creatures belonging to the evil alignment. They could shapeshift into either a wolf or a goblin, reveled in slaughter, and loved to devour corpses to absorb nutrients for evolution.

  Most Barghests had bluish-red skin, which gradually darkened as their power increased.

  By the time their skin turned completely blue, the Barghest would break through to the Tier 4 Legendary realm.

  And the Barghest Pierce had just summoned was already very close to a solid blue, clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.

  "Grrr..."

  The Barghest bared its razor-sharp fangs, pawing at the ground restlessly. Its cruel, brutal gaze swept back and forth over Mist Raven. If not for the restrictions of the summoning contract, it would have long since lunged forward.

  Seeing this, Pierce smiled slightly and released his restrictions on the Barghest.

  He had summoned the Barghest specifically to test Mist Raven's combat capabilities.

  "ROAR!"

  The Barghest instantly roared and lunged forward, snapping its sharp fangs viciously toward Mist Raven.

  However, the moment it made contact, Mist Raven abruptly dissolved into a thick, swirling black mist. The Barghest passed right through it.

  Landing after its missed attack, the Barghest froze in confusion.

  The next second, the black mist coalesced back into Mist Raven's form. Accompanied by a sharp whistle of displaced air, chillingly sharp claws slashed across the Barghest's neck like lightning.

  The creature's body stiffened slightly. Then, its head detached from its shoulders, and blood sprayed across the floor.

  "Excellent."

  Pierce nodded with a smile.

  Without even utilizing its power of death, merely relying on mistification and fusion, it had instantly killed an extraplanar creature nearing the Tier 4 Legendary level. This level of strength was no less formidable than a Winter Frost Behemoth.

  Once it devoured another batch of Nether Ravens and fully awakened its power of death, Mist Raven wouldn't fear even a Rank 2 Wizard.

  Commanding Mist Raven to revert to its bracelet form, Pierce left the spell testing lab and casually sent a message to Yuna.

  He received a reply shortly after.

  Inside a private room at a tavern.

  Pierce pushed the door open and immediately saw Yuna and Ian sitting inside.

  To his surprise, both were wearing cloaks over leather armor, looking as if they were about to head out of the city.

  "Yuna, are you two..."

  "We're heading out on an operation shortly," Yuna said. "Pierce, you..."

  Halfway through her sentence, Yuna abruptly stopped, her gaze sweeping over Pierce with a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

  She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she felt that some fundamental change had occurred within Pierce.

  Just standing there, he exuded a profound, stagnant aura akin to the vast starry sky. She even felt a faint sense of oppressive pressure rising from the depths of her heart.

  In the past, she had only ever felt this way when facing Wizards of a higher rank than herself.

  "Could it be..."

  An unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced in Yuna's mind.

  "Yuna?"

  Ian looked at Yuna strangely, not understanding why his cousin had suddenly frozen mid-sentence, staring blankly at Pierce.

  However, Yuna had no time to explain. Staring fixedly at Pierce, she asked, her voice somewhat tight, "Pierce... have you broken through?"

  Pierce didn't hide it, nodding calmly. "I just advanced today."

  Hearing Pierce admit it himself, Yuna drew a sharp breath, an incredibly complex expression appearing on her face.

  She had always known Pierce wouldn't take long to advance to a Rank 2 Wizard, but she never expected him to be this fast.

  How long had it been since he became a formal Wizard? Barely a year, at most!

  In such a short time, most other Wizards probably wouldn't have even reached the Liquid Phase.

  Even she, backed by her family and supported by ample resources, had spent over a year just barely reaching the Rank 1 Crystalline Phase, not even touching the edge of advancement.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Yet Pierce had already surpassed her, advancing to Rank 2 before she did!

  This level of talent was truly astonishing!

  Ian finally caught on as well. He stood frozen in place, utterly tongue-tied.

  He... he advanced to Rank 2 just like that?!

  Does he have to be this ridiculous?

  We were in the same batch of Wizard Apprentices! I'm still just an apprentice, yet you're already a Rank 2 Wizard? The gap is way too massive!

  It's so massive it's despair-inducing!

  For a moment, Ian's head buzzed, and he couldn't recover his wits for a long while.

  It was Yuna who first accepted this shocking news. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she revealed a radiant smile.

  "Congratulations, Pierce!"

  "An eighteen-year-old Rank 2 Wizard... Once this news reaches Aurora City, it's going to cause quite a stir. Your reputation as a genius is going to resound even louder now!"

  To Yuna's half-admiring, half-teasing words, Pierce merely smiled faintly, steering the conversation back to the purpose of his visit.

  "Yuna, from the looks of it, Red Maple City probably doesn't need Free Wizards right now. Do you know the situation in the other war cities?"

  Yuna immediately understood Pierce's intent. Pondering for a few seconds, she said slowly, "Silent Blue City, Gale City, and Anqiu City are located within the Thunder Theocracy. All-out war has already broken out there. The strength of both sides is relatively balanced, and they're currently locked in a war of attrition. It's estimated to last a very long time."

  Since all-out war had already broken out, there was no room for Free Wizards to operate.

  Pierce felt a slight pang of disappointment and quickly asked, "What about the Storm Theocracy?"

  "They're still in a standoff over there. However, the Storm Theocracy is rather unique. It's not very suitable for Free Wizards to go there."

  "Why?" Pierce asked curiously.

  "The territory of the Storm Theocracy consists mostly of oceans and islands, and its citizens are primarily various marine races. In such an environment, Free Wizards aren't of much use, and there aren't many missions suited for them."

  "More importantly, the environment there places harsh demands on Wizards. For those who haven't mastered the corresponding aquatic abilities, carrying out missions in the ocean is extremely risky."

  Pierce looked thoughtful.

  Indeed, clashing with a bunch of aquatic races in the ocean—and followers of the Storm Singer at that—without the appropriate underwater combat capabilities would be incredibly troublesome.

  Disappointed, Pierce shook his head. "It seems I have no choice but to return to Aurora City."

  White Ice City was destroyed, and the remaining seven major war cities offered no room for Free Wizards to operate. There was no benefit in staying on the Planar Battlefield any longer; returning was his only option.

  He could always come back later if the situation on the battlefield changed and opportunities for Free Wizards to earn Merit Points arose again.

  Hearing Pierce's words, Yuna hesitated slightly. After a moment, as if making a decision, she suddenly said, "Pierce, if you want to earn Merit Points, our unit happens to have a mission right now."

  The moment she spoke, Ian looked at her in surprise. "Yuna?"

  Yuna shot him a glance and shook her head slightly. "We're already short-handed. Having Pierce join us would definitely be highly beneficial for completing the mission, wouldn't it?"

  "Besides, Pierce is the perfect candidate for this."

  Ian seemed to realize something, falling silent and saying no more.

  Observing this exchange, Pierce raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the mission?"

  "Speaking of which, this matter is actually related to you." Yuna's expression turned incredibly solemn. "Do you remember the evil entity you obtained from Zachary Pierce and Yorick Pierce after killing them?"

  Pierce's expression shifted slightly, and he nodded.

  He certainly wouldn't forget something involving a taboo creature like an evil entity.

  At this point, Pierce already had a vague guess as to what was going on.

  "After you handed the evil entity over to your Mentor, they conducted a secret investigation and obtained absolute proof that House Pierce violated the Alliance's ban by secretly researching and cultivating evil entities. Just yesterday, the Astral Alliance Council issued a Purge Order against House Pierce. The Wizards tasked with executing the order have already arrived in Aurora City. If nothing goes wrong, Operation Purge has already begun."

  As expected!

  Despite having a vague premonition, Pierce was still surprised to hear Yuna's words. He hadn't expected the Elemental Faction to move against House Pierce so quickly.

  But upon further thought, it made sense. House Monroe had just suffered catastrophic losses, their vitality severely damaged. They had already been removed from the ranks of the Five Great Families, significantly weakening the Bloodline Faction.

  Coupled with the fact that they now possessed evidence of House Pierce violating the ban, giving them a righteous cause and the backing of the Astral Alliance Council... it was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity to eradicate House Pierce's power.

  Whether it was House Pierce's backers in the Council or House Sterling, neither could possibly defy the Astral Alliance Council. Their only option was to stand by and watch to avoid being implicated.

  Thinking of this, a sudden suspicion arose in Pierce's mind.

  Could the Elemental Faction have secretly fueled the flames that led to House Monroe's catastrophic losses in White Ice City?

  After all, looking at the results, although White Ice City was destroyed, the vast majority of casualties belonged to House Monroe's faction. The Elemental Faction suffered almost no losses.

  Simultaneously, while the Turins destroyed White Ice City, they also lost an avatar of the Lady of Winter Frost and two Divine Envoys in the process, suffering significant losses themselves, which paved the way for Red Maple City's subsequent victory.

  It could be said that the Elemental Faction was undeniably the biggest winner in that entire event.

  It was hard not to suspect they had played a hand in it.

  Of course, this was ultimately just Pierce's speculation; he had no proof.

  But it didn't matter. He raised both hands in support of dealing with House Pierce.

  "And what about here in Red Maple City?" Pierce asked in a deep voice, glancing at the armor Yuna and Ian wore. "You're heading out to deal with the Wizards of House Pierce in the city."

  Yuna nodded. "Red Maple City is already under lockdown. All communications with Aurora City have been severed to ensure that House Pierce's faction within the city doesn't catch wind of anything before the operation is concluded."

  "Also, if nothing goes wrong, the Wizard-Hunter Force should have already begun moving against House Pierce's people inside the city."

  "However, House Pierce still has quite a few people out on missions. Our task is to eliminate those targets."

  Pausing here, Yuna looked at Pierce and said earnestly, "Because the situation developed so suddenly, the majority of the city's personnel are still on the frontlines and haven't been recalled. We're currently facing a severe manpower shortage. If you could help us, I'm sure our superiors would be more than happy to offer you a highly satisfactory reward."

  Pierce was instantly tempted.

  Setting aside the reward, he wouldn't refuse just for the chance to deal with House Pierce.

  After all, the blood feud between him and House Pierce ran deep. If he could help eliminate them, he wouldn't have to worry about someone plotting against him from the shadows ever again.

  Having made his decision, Pierce's expression remained composed. He smiled and asked, "Yuna, shouldn't you discuss this with your superiors first?"

  "You're right," Yuna agreed readily. "Though I'm certain they won't refuse a helper as capable as you."

  As she spoke, a silver light gathered at her fingertips, transforming into a silver butterfly. It fluttered up, phased through the wall, and vanished.

  While waiting for a reply, Yuna added, "Speaking of which, the target we're dealing with this time actually has some history with you."

  Pierce was taken aback. "How so?"

  "His name is Lucian Pierce. He was originally an officer in the Silverlight Legion stationed at Azure Water City, but was later transferred to Red Maple City along with the Divine Frame Golem. We investigated, and it was he who arranged for Yorick to come to Red Maple City. It's highly likely he was the one backing Yorick's assassination attempt against you."

  "Well, what a coincidence." Pierce's eyes narrowed, a dark glint flashing in their depths.

  Just then, a bizarre fluctuation surged within the private room.

  Pierce and Yuna reacted instantly, looking toward the corner of the room. The air suddenly warped, followed by the slow materialization of a silver-white portal of light.

  The next second, a figure stepped out from the portal.

  It was a middle-aged man with a slightly gaunt face and remarkably ordinary features. However, his eyes were incredibly profound, and he exuded an aura of absolute stability and composure.

  Sensing the deep, restrained mental fluctuations radiating from the man, Pierce's gaze sharpened.

  A Rank 3 Wizard!

  "Lord Gideon!" Yuna and Ian stood up in unison.

  Gideon nodded slightly to the two before turning to Pierce, a warm smile appearing on his face.

  "So you must be Pierce, the most outstanding genius Wizard of our Aurora City. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Gideon."

  "Lord Gideon." Pierce placed his hand over his chest and bowed.

  "No need for such formalities," Gideon smiled and waved his hand. "I almost forgot... congratulations on advancing to a Rank 2 Wizard."

  As he said this, a look of awe flashed in Gideon's eyes.

  When Yuna had mentioned this in her message, he had been immensely shocked.

  After all, it hadn't been long since Pierce's advancement to a formal Wizard caused a massive sensation in Aurora City. Who could have expected him to break through to Rank 2 so quickly?

  This speed of progression was simply terrifying!

  Given time, Pierce's achievements would undoubtedly reach staggering heights!