Everyone harvested Fish Pearls from the fish and handed them over to Roy for temporary safekeeping.
They then mounted their horses, continuing upstream while taking the opportunity to rest, adjust, and prepare for the next battle.
Though nighttime was unfavorable for travel, humans, with their balanced traits, had an advantage over the somewhat night-blind Fishmen. They quickly achieved success again, obtaining three Sorcerer Fish Pearls.
This was a huge haul!
Exchanging them for around a thousand Magic Stones, as in the past, would already be considered wasteful.
Recently, the Wizard Tower had introduced favorable policies for low and mid-level apprentices, allowing them to obtain some non-legacy level main materials for Wizard Body Modification.
This was entirely sufficient to create three senior apprentices. With a bit more accumulation, they could rival Botning and others before they mastered Wizardry!
Even without the talent and aptitude to grasp Spell Models, and thus unable to become advanced apprentices immediately, they might still slowly rise to that position over the years through accumulated experience.
In addition, Magic Pearls, Blood Coral, Mutated Fish Scales, Elite Warrior Fish Pearls…
A large pile of materials was seized, conservatively estimated to be worth over seven to eight thousand.
Moreover, the mission itself had its own rewards!
All these, accumulated bit by bit, amounted to a considerable quantity.
Even though Roy had already advanced to a higher level and could no longer share equally with them, he could still gain a significant harvest.
Realizing this, everyone couldn't help but feel their blood boiling with excitement and motivation.
...
"Great, the fifth Sorcerer Fish Pearl!"
Soon, it was the afternoon of the next day.
The group encountered two more Fishmen Tribes in succession. After ambushing and killing the Fishman Warlock Leaders within, they deliberately allowed the scattered remnants to flee downstream.
Unconsciously, their coordination became more and more seamless, and naturally, their harvests grew richer.
"Everyone has been fighting continuously for so long, you must all be tired. Let's take a break for now."
After another fierce battle, Roy sent Renien and Andov to keep watch on a nearby high slope, while the others sat down to rest.
He himself sheathed his sword and let out a long sigh: "Have you noticed that there are more and more mutated Fishmen?"
Everyone agreed: "Yes, this tribe, with only about a hundred members, actually had more than ten Elite Warriors. This ratio is somewhat abnormal!"
"It must be the radiation of Wizardry Energy from Chalkland affecting the outside world…"
"That's the reason for the restlessness of the magical creatures!"
"The monsters are getting harder to kill. This time we managed to succeed with an ambush, but next time, if we encounter tribes with more Elite Warriors, we might be in danger!
And…"
Roy thought to himself, turning his gaze aside.
Renien, Andov, Niya, and others also took their turns in battle.
One by one, they were injured.
If it weren't for Tali producing various ointments and the Healing Potions taking effect quickly, they might have already lost their combat effectiveness.
But even so, everyone showed signs of fatigue, and the various potions and supplies they carried had been exhausted.
They had almost no ability to fight anymore.
"It's time to call it quits! Our rations and water are almost depleted, and the only Minor Healing Potions we have left are used up, with just a bit of ointment remaining."
Hearing Roy's words, everyone was momentarily stunned.
Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of reluctance washed over him.
"It's time to quit while we're ahead!"
Roy, however, remained clear-headed and firmly addressed the group.
"Let's leave this area completely before the main forces of those Magic Creatures take notice of us!"
The group had no choice but to agree.
Yet, another day later, they suddenly discovered several corpses on the riverbank ahead.
Though they were exhausted, the group had been in high spirits, chatting and laughing over their substantial gains. But upon seeing the bodies, they immediately grew alert.
Renien cautiously approached to investigate and concluded, "These are Tali's intermediate apprentices, and they haven't been dead long—likely within this morning!"
Emer and Tigro exchanged a serious glance and said, "These wounds... it must be the work of that Fishman Warlock we mentioned earlier, the one that can discharge electricity!
It must be nearby!"
Discharging electricity...
That was the layman's term.
Roy speculated that it was a mutated Fishman leader, possessing some formidable lightning-based spell ability.
He dismounted and examined two of the bodies, which were charred black by the lightning.
"The lightning energy didn't cause much damage to the surrounding terrain, and these two look agile enough to dodge slow elemental attacks like magic orbs...
It must have been a spell like Electric Claw or Lightning Beam!"
There are many specific names for lightning-based magic.
Lightning Shock, Electric Orb, Electric Claw, and Cumulonimbus are all quite common.
A Magical creature like the Fishman Warlock certainly couldn't learn and master such abilities through Wizardry or arcane means.
It was more likely utilizing its Bloodline.
So, there was a more than 70% chance it was Electric Claw or Lightning Beam.
Roy pondered briefly, "Look around for any signs of the Fishman standing here.
These monsters always secrete a fish-like mucus. If it stopped to cast a spell, it should have lingered here for a while."
Hearing this, the group quickly began searching the area.
Sure enough, Andov soon made a discovery, "There are traces of dried mucus on these rocks! And a strong fishy smell!"
Roy went over to take a look, "This must be several dozen to nearly a hundred feet."
In the Wizard World, a foot is about 0.3 meters, meaning the creature had killed these people from a distance of twenty to thirty meters.
"It must be that Fishman Warlock! It's too powerful; it just pointed from a distance, and our leader was gone!"
Emer and Tigro's memories were stirred, and they spoke with a hint of fear.
"That adds up. The only issue is that a true Lightning Beam would likely require several dozen degrees of spell potency."
Roy concluded.
"Perhaps its Bloodline isn't strong enough to unleash the full spell, but its spell-like ability is sufficient to mimic its form!"
He thought silently for a moment, then used his sword to cut open the chest of one of the victims, frowning as he examined it.
"Just as I suspected, the organs aren't completely charred...
It must have been single-digit spell potency!"
This was consistent with their earlier assessment—the Fishman Warlock was likely a lord-level monster, above a leader but below a hero.
"So, there really is a powerful, mutated monster lurking around here..."
"If it suddenly leaps out, what should we do?"
"Being able to attack from such a distance, without proper protection, it's almost certain death!"
Everyone wore worried expressions, feeling as if every sound and shadow could be a threat.
The atmosphere around them grew tense.
(End of Chapter)