The Synthesis Wizard

The name [Bone], simple and unassuming, was in fact a mid-tier innate ability, one of the hallmark powers that had made the Obsidian Throne infamous throughout the mage world.

In Andrew's initial estimation, the Star Alliance's native mages were likely barely able to construct low-tier innate crystals to achieve their breakthroughs.

Given the Starlight Continent's meager energy density and scarce resources, it was inconceivable that they could support mid- or high-tier innate crystal advancements.

But reality struck him hard in the face.

The abilities exhibited by the two Star Alliance mages far exceeded low-tier. At the very least, they were top-tier mid-tier innate abilities, given their raw power and efficiency.

And indeed, that was the case.

Xieman and Corell had both constructed mid-tier innate crystals, choosing the variant known as "Flowing Silver", a simplified version of the more advanced "Liquid Metal."

These innate crystal models, synthesized by Su Nan using the core principles of magical rune technology, were part of a carefully designed system within the Star Alliance. From the low-tier "Magisilver" and mid-tier "Flowing Silver" to the high-tier "Silver Star," the range offered mages a comprehensive progression path.

Each crystal bore abilities similar to "Liquid Metal," with their power scaled to their respective tiers.

Despite the Star Alliance offering many other innate crystal models—including "Bone" from the Obsidian Throne and "Falling Star" from the Starry Alliance—most mages, out of respect and admiration for Su Nan, still chose the Magisilver series.

Xieman and Corell had done the same, both selecting the mid-tier "Flowing Silver."

The high-tier "Silver Star" remained unclaimed; no mage had dared to tackle its daunting construction difficulty.

Yet even the mid-tier "Flowing Silver" surpassed Andrew's [Bone] in both adaptability and raw power.

"How did the Star Alliance get their hands on mid-tier innate crystals?"

Andrew was astounded.

Mid-tier innate crystals, particularly top-tier ones, were famous across the multiverse. But this particular ability was one he had never seen or heard of.

Could the Star Alliance have created it themselves?

The thought seemed absurd.

Even for a true spirit mage, crafting a mid-tier innate crystal model from scratch was a monumental task.

What disturbed him even more, however, was the strength of the two mages before him.

After a brief exchange, Andrew was certain: both Xieman and Corell were first-circle liquefied mages, just like him.

"Damn it! How could this elemental desert produce two liquefied mages?!"

Andrew was furious and bewildered.

And it wasn't just that they had reached the liquefied stage—they were nothing like the weak, resource-starved mages he had expected. Both wielded mid-tier innate abilities, possessed a broad repertoire of spells, and had combat prowess on par with his own.

Despite being native mages who had advanced in a resource-scarce environment, their power and foundation rivaled that of mages trained in large, established factions.

Besieged by two equally matched opponents, Andrew quickly found himself on the defensive, struggling to hold his ground.

---

Suddenly, Corell broke off from the fight, retreating a short distance as the silvery sheen of his "Flowing Silver" ability receded from his skin.

With a flick of his wrist, a pitch-black spearhead materialized in his palm.

"This ends now!"

Corell clenched his fingers tightly, and dark, inky energy surged from between them, forming a two-meter-long black spear.

Andrew's expression darkened as he sensed the terrifying power within the spear.

"A mage weapon!"

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

Mage weapons were powerful artifacts rarely found in resource-starved planes like the Starlight Continent. When the mages had left during the great exodus, they had certainly taken all such artifacts with them.

How could the Star Alliance have one?

Even he, a member of the Obsidian Throne, didn't possess a mage weapon!

Wait...

Andrew squinted at the weapon and realized it bore an uncanny resemblance to "Black Lightning," one of the Obsidian Throne's iconic weapons.

Could this spear have been modeled after Black Lightning?

The resemblance was striking, and the thought left Andrew reeling.

Where had the Star Alliance come from? How had they developed mid-tier innate crystals and mage weapons? What kind of resources and knowledge could support such advancements?

Andrew's mind spiraled as one shocking realization after another unraveled the arrogant confidence he had held since stepping onto the Starlight Continent.

The superiority he had felt at the start of his mission was utterly shattered, replaced by a deep, growing unease.

---

Before Andrew could regain his composure, Corell hurled the spear.

The weapon cut through the air like a black thunderbolt, accompanied by a deafening sonic boom.

Panic-stricken, Andrew hastily summoned a series of bone shields in front of him, stacking layer upon layer to block the attack.

Boom!

The black spear smashed into the first shield, obliterating it instantly. The second and third shields followed, disintegrating in quick succession.

In mere moments, the spear had torn through every shield Andrew had conjured, leaving him defenseless.

He could only watch in horror as the spear pierced through the final fragments of bone and struck him directly.

The resulting explosion of black lightning shredded his energy defenses, tore apart his protective spells, and overwhelmed the barriers of his enchanted items.

Agonizing pain flooded Andrew's body as the lightning coursed through him, rendering him powerless.

A deafening thunderclap echoed across the sky as Andrew's limp form plummeted toward the ground.

---

Xieman, anticipating this outcome, used a Mage's Hand spell to catch Andrew before he hit the earth.

"Another victory for us!" Xieman said with a grin.

Corell let out a rare smile as he retrieved the spear.

With the Starlight Continent's energy particle density returning to normal, recharging mage weapons was no longer an issue. The weapon would be ready for use again in just four or five days.

"Capturing this guy should earn enough contribution points for two or three years in a high-tier cultivation room," Xieman said cheerfully.

"I'd rather exchange mine for crystal soul elixirs," Corell replied.

As they chatted, both suddenly tensed and turned their gazes upward.

Two figures materialized in the air—a pair of automaton girls from the Witch-Hunter Legion.

Recognizing them, Xieman smiled and tossed Andrew's unconscious body toward the automatons with his Mage's Hand.

"He's all yours. Take him to the detention center."

---

Starlight Mage Tower – Study Room

Lize sat calmly at her desk with her eyes closed, meditating. She opened them only when Artil entered.

"Well?" she asked.

"Lady Lize," Artil began, "Xieman and Corell happened to be near Karen City. Before the Witch-Hunter Legion arrived, they managed to capture one of the Obsidian Throne mages. He's currently being transported here by the automatons."

Lize's lips curled into a faint smile. "Those two are quite motivated."

Artil chuckled. "They recently became formal mages and have a lot of expenses. No wonder they're eager to rack up contribution points."

Lize cast Artil a knowing glance and said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure their efforts are rewarded. Add their accomplishments to the records and calculate the corresponding contribution points."

Caught off guard by Lize's perceptiveness, Artil gave an embarrassed smile and nodded.

Switching gears, Lize asked, "What about the investigation?"

Artil's expression grew serious. "According to the Starry Eye's monitoring, fourteen previously unrecorded energy particle bursts occurred across the Starlight Continent in the past day. Two reached second-circle apprentice levels, eight reached third-circle apprentice levels, and four matched first-circle mage standards."

"I've already deployed nearby golem units to apprehend the sources. The Witch-Hunter Legion is also en route, and with the teleportation network, they should arrive soon."

Lize nodded in satisfaction.

The Starry Eye's energy classification relied solely on the intensity of energy bursts detected, meaning the actual strength of the targets might vary.

Still, even if all fourteen energy bursts belonged to Obsidian Throne mages, the Star Alliance was more than capable of eliminating them.

With its current power, the Star Alliance could confidently handle hundreds of first-circle mages.

---

Aurora City

Aurora City, once the capital of the Aurora Empire, had been annexed by the Starry Empire centuries ago.

Seven hundred years later, all traces of the Aurora Empire had been erased. The city's residents knew only the Starry Empire and took pride in their imperial citizenship.

Today, however, the peaceful city was embroiled in chaos.

The battle pitted hulking skeletal humanoids against hundreds of golems.

The skeletal creatures appeared as towering skeletons clad in tattered red cloth, their grotesque forms wielding razor-sharp claws that could extend up to eight meters to impale their foes.

But their opponents—iron golems and even enchanted adamantine golems—were far from easy prey.

The bone claws, deadly as they were, barely scratched the iron golems and couldn't even mark the adamant

Starlight Mage Tower

Milton was even more shocked by the strange, silvery runes glowing on the bodies of the human knights.

"Magical construct engravings!"

His eyelid twitched.

Only mage factions with vast resources could afford to equip their knight corps with magical construct engravings.

Could a mage faction have emerged on the Starlight Continent?

The thought crossed Milton's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

The soil of the Starlight Continent could never foster a mage faction.

"A mage faction in an elemental desert plane? That's pure fantasy!"

Milton shook his head, brushing away the notion, and his eyes narrowed.

"I'd better deal with these golems quickly, then capture the noble lord of this city to interrogate them for information. I'm quite curious about what's happened on this continent over the past millennium."

Although Aurora City's forces exceeded his expectations, Milton didn't take them seriously.

Even with tens of thousands of legendary-level puppets and human knights, he could easily wipe them out with a mere gesture.

As he prepared to act, his expression suddenly changed. In an instant, he vanished from his original position, reappearing a hundred meters away.

At the same time, his hand lifted, and a ring on his finger glowed. Dozens of sharp, pale bone spikes materialized and shot forward like arrows, striking where he had just been standing.

Thunk thunk thunk!

Though the spikes seemed to hit empty air, the sound of their impact was unmistakable, as if they had struck a hidden barrier.

The space distorted, and a figure gradually emerged—a young woman with exquisite, graceful features, cloaked in a robe.

A formless protective barrier surrounded her, having absorbed the full brunt of the bone spikes.

"A mage!" Milton's face darkened. He hadn't expected a mage to appear so soon after he'd speculated about their presence.

Could this person be the creator of the adamantine golems?

"What are you?" Milton demanded, hoping to extract some information from the girl.

She didn't reply, merely cast him a cold glance before launching her attack.

Silvery liquid metal seeped from her body, forming countless sharp spikes that surged forward like a tidal wave as she charged.

Milton sneered and decisively activated his innate ability. Pale bones rapidly grew and wrapped around his body, forming a massive beast-like shell that shielded him from the silver spikes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The razor-sharp spikes struck the bone armor, leaving fist-sized dents, but the bones quickly regenerated, filling the gaps.

Milton raised an eyebrow, a flicker of disdain flashing in his eyes.

"As expected of a native mage—far weaker than a proper one. This innate ability doesn't even meet the standard for low-tier abilities."

With a cold smirk, Milton lunged forward, covering a hundred meters in an instant. He appeared beside the girl, the bone beast's massive jaws snapping toward her.

The girl sidestepped but couldn't avoid the attack entirely. Her left shoulder was bitten, and her entire arm disappeared.

Milton's smug grin froze as he noticed the silver liquid flowing from the girl's severed arm.

"Mithril! You're not human!"

His expression twisted in shock.

It finally dawned on him that his opponent wasn't a living person but a puppet.

This girl was a mage-level puppet.

A chill ran down Milton's spine.

A single mage-level puppet might not be enough to threaten him, but what it represented was truly terrifying.

Creating such a puppet was an achievement only possible for a second-circle mage.

Though, in theory, the environment of the Starlight Continent shouldn't allow for the emergence of second-circle mages, the presence of this puppet left no room for doubt.

More importantly, if there was one mage-level puppet, there were likely more.

As if to confirm Milton's fears, the buildings below suddenly collapsed, and countless black tendrils burst forth from the rubble.

They lashed out with immense energy, surging toward Milton like a storm.

In an instant, the bone beast was overwhelmed by the writhing mass of tendrils and torn to shreds with a deafening explosion.

Milton barely escaped from the remnants of his bone armor, his face grim.

"Another mage-level puppet!"

His teeth ground together in frustration.

Not only were these puppets numerous, but their strength was on par with formal mages.

Even more alarming was their flawless coordination, which rivaled that of an experienced team of formal mages.

Milton, a first-circle mage of the Obsidian Throne, could hardly believe that he was being pushed to such a desperate state in a plane as resource-starved as the Starlight Continent.

"I must retreat!"

A strong sense of danger drove him to his decision. He poured all his energy into conjuring a pair of bone wings, intent on breaking free.

But before he could act, the air around him trembled violently.

A cold voice echoed from a distance, carrying an overwhelming aura of authority and ruthlessness.

"This ends here, invader."

Milton turned sharply toward the source of the voice. A figure floated in the sky, slowly revealing itself.

It was a young man clad in a robe adorned with starry patterns. His gaze was calm and indifferent, as if piercing through all illusions.

What unsettled Milton most was the intensity of the elemental energy surrounding the man—it far surpassed his own.

"A second-circle mage!"

Milton's heart raced as disbelief filled his mind.

How could an elemental desert like the Starlight Continent produce a second-circle mage?

Yet the undeniable evidence was right before him.

The young man's voice rang out again, calm yet suffocating.

"Capture him."

In response to the command, countless black tendrils erupted from the ground once more, and dozens of adamantine golems converged from all directions, cutting off Milton's escape.

His face turned pale, any trace of hope vanishing.

"I surrender! Let's negotiate!"

He shouted frantically, hoping to bargain for his life.

The only reply was a cold scoff.

"You're in no position to negotiate."

As the words fell, the puppets and tendrils attacked in unison, swallowing Milton completely.

Lize stood in the observation chamber atop the Starlight Mage Tower, her gaze fixed on the battle over Aurora City as it drew to a close.

Her expression was calm, her demeanor a

s composed as ever.

Artil stood beside her, speaking in a low voice. "My lady, another Obsidian Throne mage has been captured."

Lize nodded lightly. "Clean it up and bring him back."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she murmured, "It seems the Obsidian Throne underestimated the Star Alliance…"

"But this is only the beginning."

--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!