NOVEL NEXT Chapter 200: Free
Leon was confident of winning the siege against the Rukh Tower as long as the reinforcements from the Kingdom's Phyrexian Archmages didn't arrive…
Leon glanced at the rear of their group.
At this time, their warbeasts behind were being fed with precious meat and drugs as they had an important mission later on… They would be the ones tanking all the Tower's range abilities after all. These warbeasts are basically Five-Horned Magic Beasts specializing in defense.
Furthermore, their group still had enough magic-disrupting fog bombs
Lastly, Leon and his trusted aides still had the Mana-Sapping Bugs capable of draining spell formations, including the Mage Tower's defense, as long as they had enough time.
As the days passed, the target drew closer. The scouts had confirmed it: Rukh Tower's defenses had not gone stronger… It even seemed that more Mages fled instead of staying…
"They're smart for running away… I guess only those Zealots are staying behind. We can eliminate them without thinking too much…" Leon muttered as he confirmed the reports from the scouts who had advanced earlier than them to check for ambushes and assess the defense of their targets.
Leon stood atop a cliff, gazing toward the tower in the far distance…
They had just released the Mana-Sapping Bugs and it would still take quite a few days before they could see results.
"You should rest…" Virel said, stepping beside him. "No one has ever discovered the new Mana-Sapping Bugs that the elders created. It will be the same this time. There's no way they'll notice the Bug's presence."
"That's true…" Leon replied as he was also confident about this.
As long as they stayed far from the Tower's range… No battle would commence.
It may seem disadvantageous for Leon's organization as reinforcements from the Kingdom might arrive, but he knew that they would arrive…
"They must be feeling good since we're just waiting here outside their tower's range…" Leon said with a chuckle.
At this time, they had four hundred mages and about a thousand Aura Knights ready for combat…
A great purge was coming.
***
Just one day after Van's painful breakthrough to the Third-Level Aura Knight, the warning came from the Mages of the Tower.
The True Sorcerers were marching.
He had barely begun his recovery regimen, Aura flow control, bone-deep meditation, and dietary supplements scavenged from a trade with a sympathetic kitchen servant, when the tower halls erupted with various information from the outside…
It was related to the movement of the Rebel Mages…
He further confirmed the news as Julia validated it herself. She was also told that there should be reinforcements rushing to their Tower, but they had to defend themselves for at least 24 more hours.
Well, the Rukh Tower was further south of the Kingdom after all.
"They're here. They've already surrounded the tower... We may only have hours before they start engaging against us."
Needless to say, Van's first thought wasn't about the battle. It was the collar.
He touched his neck, fingers brushing over skin that seemed unmarked.
But to trained eyes, or enchanted senses, it was there: the Slave Collar.
It was a thread-thin tattoo like a serpent at the base of his neck… It was basically invisible to the untrained, but unmistakable to any spell formation.
The Ocularis Lens had long since bypassed the collar's mental conditioning; the subtle suggestions and behavior loops had ceased the moment it clashed against the mysterious Lens in his soul.
Unfortunately, the physical enchantment of the collar remained. It wasn't easy to remove, and worse, it could track him. It means that escaping was definitely not an option right now.
As he reached the Third Level of Aura, his sensitivity had already increased.
He could feel it now, a faint pull, like a distant thread always watching and monitoring his movements…
Of course, he knew that it was Julia who should be watching or monitoring his movements, but because she trusts him and she also trusts the collar and various Slave Marking Spells used on him, she doesn't really bother monitoring her slaves like many Mages do.
They just couldn't believe that anyone would think negatively of their Masters with all the spells and binding artifacts they placed on their slaves.
Anyway, if the rebels found him with this still intact, he would be vulnerable. Worse, if the Tower detected betrayal, the collar would be traced even without Julia's consent, and it could burn his spine to ash with a single command.
"Whoo~" Van exhaled…
He had to remove it.
No ordinary force could do it. Even Julia had admitted that only an Archmage with authority over the seal could sever it without killing the slave.
But the Lens had found something else quite some time ago from a piece of paper.
Van unrolled the crumpled parchment again…
The analysis of the Lens about the clues on the paper was still fresh in his mind… It started with a clue and analyzing it further, he found the Aura Void Method.
'Some bonds break not by force, but by forgetting… Let the seal think you are nothing… Then, be everything…'
Van understood that if the wearer's "presence" is erased from the seal's awareness, the enforcement mechanisms of the collar may idle. With the Aura Void Method, temporary mana signature suppression could be done and escape the Collar's monitor…
Not only that, the Aura Void Method could also mask his presence, then trigger an effect that could help me destroy the Slave Collar Mark on his neck…
It was time to act.
He sealed himself inside Julia's private training chamber again, this time without her knowing.
She was busy with her own duties, preparing the emergency scrolls and protective formations in the inner tower.
At this point, the weak Slaves weren't important as there weren't a lot of things they could do. At most, they would become cannon fodder if need be.
For now, they weren't really monitoring them…
Van sat in the center of the training circle, the broken mana lines from his last breakthrough now pulsing faintly with residual energy.
He allowed his breathing to slow, his heartbeat to steady for the meditation…
Then he whispered: "Let's start my Lens… Aura Void Method."
The Ocularis Lens then assisted him with the new circulation of his Aura within his body…
[ Initiating Aura Void State... ]
[ Adjusting Aura Flow: Begin circulation suppression through the medullary and spinal pathways. ]
[ Objective: Create a state of negative aura presence. Reduce the external signature to zero. ]
The air around him shifted. His very soul pulled inward.
It was a lot easier now since he had learned Aura Cloaking earlier. Without that method, it might've taken a few more hours…
'This feels better…' Van mused.
Unlike before—when he had merely cloaked his presence to avoid detection—this was different. The Aura Void Method wasn't about concealment.
It was erasure.
His Aura retreated inward, curling like a black hole within his core.
Thud…
His limbs trembled. His body rejected the feeling at first as every fiber of him screamed that he was killing his own presence. It was a natural response of his physique…
[ Warning: Internal rejection detected. Nervous system synchronization is required. ]
'I can feel it…' Van answered in his mind. However, there was really nothing he could do but to hold on.
Minutes passed.
[ Presence Signature: 9%... 4%... 0.7%... 0.1%... ]
[ Identity Signal to Slave Collar: Offline. Enforcement Subroutine Dormant. ]
Van's eyes snapped open.
His body felt wrong. Not weak—just... not there. Like he was a ghost occupying his own flesh.
The collar's magic was triggered…
The Lens responded instantly.
[ Proceeding to Stage Two: Disruption Feedback Loop. Overloading the Collar's Anchor. Stand by... ]
Van slammed his palms into the floor and pushed his Aura outward—not as himself, but as static. A formless noise. A hurricane of raw aura flowed out with no shape, no signature.
The seal twitched. His neck burned. Pain even pierced up his spine.
[ Core Resistance Detected. Seal is reacting... ]
Van gritted his teeth and flooded more Aura into the void, spinning it crazily and blinding the seal's rune signature.
Right now, his bones creaked under pressure. His muscles spasmed.
It was no wonder that he had to reach Level 3 at this. After all, if he didn't obtain the Reinforced Skeletal Matrix, he would probably die at this stage!
[ Anchor Disruption: 51%... 78%... 94%... ]
The Slave Collar's core or anchor on his neck started reaching its limit as steam hissed from his skin.
[ Heart Rune Anchor destabilized. Rebound imminent. Brace for release. ]
There was a burst of light that he saw from his body, and then, he realized that he was already on the ground.
He actually collapsed…
At this point, the skin on his neck was red and seemed like it was scorched, but his head was still connected!
And the seal?
Gone.
Van confirmed that it was no longer there. His Ocularis Lens also took quite some time to check on it, and thankfully, it didn't take that long.
[ Slave Collar: Disconnected. Tracking signature removed. Enforcement Subroutines: Null. Condition: Irreversible Severance. Status: FREE. ]