Chapter 1003: Tracking
"Archmage Leon, why don't we just wipe those bastards out? The way they smile makes me want to tear their mouths apart. Especially that Morgan Henry—he's insufferable. Stealing from us like that, he must have a death wish. I really want to snap their necks..."
Though the Mage Legion kept silent, Kurum stepped forward as their representative.
"Archmage Leon, it was obviously them who took it! And they won't even admit it—stealing from us like that. They have to pay for this..."
Anderson joined in as well, his three faces twisted in rage, all shouting at once.
"Leon, crush them! If they dare steal a Mana Crystal from us, we'll take every magical artifact they own. These guys have plenty of good stuff—I sense eight Essence Relics on them. Let's snatch them all..."
Leon waved his hand, looking utterly unconcerned.
"Let them collect Mana Crystals if they want. It's just a level forty Ice Mana Crystal, after all. That Ice Ape was only a pseudo Sky Rank beast, and the crystal itself is the lowest grade at level forty. No need to waste any more time on them."
Hearing Leon's words, the crowd was still angry, but no one insisted on going after the Henry Family anymore.
A faint, sardonic smile flickered at the corner of Leon's mouth as he glanced in a certain direction. A kilometer away, the Spirit Serpent—a sentient Essence Relic—was already speeding after the Henry Family.
The Spirit Serpent cannot be detected by any spell—mana detection, life detection, elemental detection, even necromancy probes. None of these work; even extending magical senses yields no feedback at all.
But the Spirit Serpent isn't some intangible phantom—it's a physical entity. Any ordinary person can see it with the naked eye.
Leon hadn't spoken earlier because he was busy using his Mana Harness to analyze the surrounding environment, constantly tracking the Spirit Serpent's position. Wherever the serpent moved, something subtle always changed.
Using the Mana Harness to track it was like watching grass flatten just a little, or noticing a faint ripple in the air—a transparent form shifting through the landscape.
While the serpent itself couldn't be captured, the Mana Harness could still pick up the minute disturbances around its body.
The Henry Family had left, but the Spirit Serpent lingered, watching from afar before finally following after them.
In the future, the Spirit Serpent would become the most renowned Essence Relic for reconnaissance. Because it could be seen with the naked eye but not sensed by magic, two factions of mages would spend years trying to outdo each other—one refining the serpent, the other inventing ways to detect it.
One side kept perfecting the Spirit Serpent; the other kept developing new detection methods.
The serpent before Leon was nothing compared to those future versions that could almost elude even the most advanced mages. This one was far easier to deal with...
Leon opened the Death Tome, activated the Plane Path to the Bone Plane, and had Hubert fetch a regular skeleton soldier.
Leon chanted a strange incantation, and the skeleton soldier began to shrink, its bones dissolving into nothingness at alarming speed.
In the end, it became a wraith—a thin, spectral mist with two ghostly eyes, no limbs, just a drifting shadow.
This spell is a rare universal spell, one without elemental power—a specialty invented by those future obsessive mages.
This entity is called a wraith. By forcibly sacrificing an undead, you can create one. It has no offensive capabilities; its only use is vision sharing. Except for light magic and necromancy, elemental spells and physical attacks are completely ineffective against it.
Even the weakest light missile can destroy a wraith—or just a burst of radiant mana will make it vanish...
But this thing is the perfect nemesis for the Spirit Serpent...
Because the Spirit Serpent's reconnaissance methods can't detect wraiths at all. Even if a wraith floats right in front of it, the serpent won't notice a thing...
Since the Henry Family trusts their Spirit Serpent so much—leaving it behind to scout even after they left—they must have absolute faith in its abilities.
They probably leave all their early warning and scouting to the serpent. Which means things are about to get interesting...
Leon tracked the Spirit Serpent's position and sent the wraith after it—to shadow the Henry Family.
Within a few minutes, the wraith—weightless, immune to all physical attacks, and as insubstantial as a wisp of smoke—caught up with the Spirit Serpent.
Through the wraith’s shared vision, Leon saw the Spirit Serpent—like a silver snake—twisting its body and gliding silently ahead, moving incredibly fast through the forest, covering dozens of meters every second.
Letting the wraith tail the Spirit Serpent, Leon finally allowed a faint smile to surface.
"Leon, what kind of trick are you up to? You snatched it, and now you release this... thing? It's so weak. Are you really going to track the Henry Family with it? Is that Mana Crystal truly so different?"
Anderson floated over, his three faces scowling. He’d thought Leon had caved in too easily, but watching Leon’s actions now, Anderson realized there was much more beneath the surface.
It wasn’t just Anderson; everyone was simmering with anger, their minds swirling with questions.
Leon smiled and pointed at the departing wraith.
"That thing is called a wraith. It’s weak, yet strangely strong—physical attacks don’t work, elemental spells are useless, except for extraordinary powers, of course.
Even the weakest Light Missile, or a basic healing spell, could destroy it. A Death Shock would scatter the wraith just as easily.
I released it to track the Henry Family—or more accurately, to track the Spirit Serpent."
When Leon explained about the Spirit Serpent, everyone was shocked, only now realizing they'd been watched all along.
"Their actions were slick—from the moment they appeared, they set up a barrier, used spells to kill the Ice Ape, and with the barrier blocking mana detection, plus dust and chaos spells for cover, their first target was the ape’s head. That paved the way for the Spirit Serpent. The instant the ape died, the serpent could slip through the wounds and snatch the Mana Crystal.
It shows this isn’t their first time. After taking the Mana Crystal, they handed over the ape’s corpse right away to lull us into dropping our guard. From the start, the crystal was their only goal—nothing else mattered.
Normally, when harvesting a magical beast, the Mana Crystal is taken last—by then, they’d be long gone. Even if we noticed, there’d be no evidence, and the whole thing would be over.
Would we really chase them down for a single Mana Crystal?
Any faction that can enter the Blazing Fury Battlefield wouldn’t waste their time like that.
The Henry Family is infamous for their wealth in the Odin Kingdom. Yet they go to such lengths to steal a Mana Crystal, not even caring about the Ice Ape’s corpse. They have no interest in anything else.
That means the crystal’s value far outweighs the corpse—at least for them, it’s crucial.
When I looked at the Mana Crystal from the Crimson Flame Fox, I found a powerful spatial force hidden inside. I’d bet this Ice Ape’s Mana Crystal is the same.
But that spatial force is hidden deep—even the magical beast itself can’t use it, and it’s difficult for us to harness, too.
There’s definitely a deeper secret here. The Henry Family must know something we don’t—that’s why they want the Mana Crystal."
When Leon finished, everyone finally understood.
"No wonder Archmage Merlin kept silent from the start—he knew everything all along..."
Leon shook his head, offering no explanation. He’d merely spotted the Henry Family’s petty tricks.
If the Henry Family had tried to buy it outright, flaunting their wealth, Leon wouldn’t have found it odd. But a rich family acting like thieves? That’s what’s truly strange.
And the Mana Crystal itself is strange. It clearly has powerful spatial energy, yet neither of the beasts that held it showed any sign of using that power.
Even with all his experience, Leon couldn’t figure out why. The Henry Family must know some secret.
So let them take it. Then we’ll track them and uncover the secrets or hidden truths behind it all.
Anderson drifted over, all three faces twisted into odd grins.
One face let out a weird chuckle and said,
"Leon, are you fishing now? Like humans say—cast a long line to catch a big fish."
Another face immediately retorted,
"No, this is more like raising pigs—let the Henry Family struggle to hunt magical beasts, give them a taste, then fatten them up before slaughtering them and taking all their Mana Crystals."
"Exactly. They take one from us, we’ll make them cough up ten! No—ten isn't enough. Fifty!"
Leon couldn’t hold back a laugh. Anderson’s three faces were nearly bickering with each other. Leon wouldn’t admit it, but he really did have the same idea: let the Henry Family gather more Mana Crystals, then swoop in and take them all.
The group moved on. The next day, they encountered no powerful magical beasts, gathering rare materials as they went, always following the Mana Crystal’s guidance.
On the third day, the wraith’s shared vision suddenly showed a change.
The Henry Family really did trust the Spirit Serpent. Except for those standing guard on the airship deck, nearly all the scouting and warning tasks were left to the serpent.
That made it easy for the wraith, which followed them all the way without the Henry Family noticing a thing.
After two days of tracking, Leon confirmed they were heading in the same direction as his own group, and deliberately hunting pseudo Sky Rank magical beasts.
Now, they were hunting a Gale Wolf—a low-level beast whose largest specimens never exceeded level twenty.
But this Gale Wolf was massive—over forty meters tall at the shoulder and more than a hundred meters long.
Though only a pseudo Sky Rank beast, its fighting style was much the same as an ordinary Gale Wolf—just far stronger, and its wind blades had become destructive energy spheres.