On the edge of the depression, several clusters of strangely shaped plants grew.

They were about half a foot tall, with slender, curly leaves that exhibited a profound, almost jade-green hue, and veins that flowed with extremely faint, stardust-like silver speckles.

The entire plant exuded a cool, tranquil yet uniquely resilient life force, clashing with the deathly stillness of the surrounding environment.

This was precisely Chris Grass, and judging by the number and brightness of the stardust speckles in its veins, it was of quite good quality.

Upon seeing this patch of Chris Grass, Duke and Merrick both stopped, neither advancing further, but instead exchanging a glance.

"Come out, stop hiding," Duke said, looking at the few large rocks ahead.

Seeing no response from the people hiding ahead, the yellow sand beside him began to stir as he prepared to take action.

At this moment, several figures emerged from the shadows ahead, and upon counting, there were exactly five, three Liquidation Wizards and two Gaseous Wizards.

The leader was a burly man with a bushy beard named Yoni, who appeared to be the head of these five individuals.

Yoni glanced at Duke and Merrick, saying, "How did you discover us?"

He prided himself on their concealment techniques, yet Duke and Merrick saw through them at a glance.

Duke naturally discovered them through the Eye of Darkness in the Shadow Space, where he could clearly see the five hidden individuals, whereas Merrick detected them using an Energy Detector.

Even after being discovered, Yoni remained unfazed, arrogantly saying, "Since you haven't taken the bait, voluntarily hand over your valuable belongings, and you can keep your lives."

He sensed that Duke and Merrick might not be easily provoked and was unwilling to resort to violence.

But they couldn't let Duke and Merrick go either, as they boasted three Liquidation Wizards and two Gaseous Wizards.

In terms of both strength and number, they held an absolute advantage, believing themselves to be in a dominant position.

"Perhaps we should be the ones saying that—hand over all your valuable belongings, and we might spare your lives," Duke said with a smile.

He and Merrick had no sense of being disadvantaged despite their smaller numbers.

Yoni frowned, momentarily wondering if these two were crazy, daring to speak so wildly with only two wizards not yet fully liquefied.

However, within the wizarding world, fools were rare, and since the opposition dared to speak so boldly, they must have some reliance.

He quickly scanned the surroundings using Spiritual Power, finding no hidden allies lurking in the dark.

"Is it just a bluff?" Yoni thought, still not believing Duke and Merrick could defeat them with sheer strength, suspecting hidden allies instead.

Duke asked, "I'm curious—Void Corridor can teleport at most two people to the same location, so how did you all gather together?"

Having just entered the Void Corridor over an hour ago, the fact that the five of them had already assembled seemed to defy mere luck.

Yoni snorted coldly, "That's none of your business, nor are we obligated to tell you."

He then sent a Spiritual Power message to his companions; the five struck simultaneously, unleashing multiple spells at once.

Two blazing flame rays shot toward Duke like venomous snakes, a sharp, piercing infrasound wave rushed directly at Merrick, and two Ice Cone Techniques sparkling with icy light blocked their possible escape routes.

The coordination among the five was evidently not their first, as the attacks covered the dodge space, aiming for instant suppression.

Facing the incoming attack, Merrick didn't retreat; instead, he took a step forward.

His dark cloak billowed with no wind, and a thick, nearly tangible grey-black cursed breath spread like viscous ink.

"Breath of Sorrow…" Merrick uttered in an icy and strange syllable.

The spreading cursed breath wasn't defensive but actively met the incoming spells.

Hiss…

The fiery flame rays, upon contact with the cursed breath, dimmed and flickered as if doused with cold water, finally extinguishing several meters before Merrick, leaving only a wisp of green smoke.

The sharp infrasound wave plunged into the grey-black breath like a mud-cow entering the sea, not even stirring a ripple.

The two sharp ice cones were instantly covered in web-like black patterns upon entering the cursed breath range, their speed drastically reduced, ultimately shattering into countless black ice shards, falling before they could reach the target.

The first wave of the five's united attack was effortlessly unraveled by Merrick's Curse Magic.

The violent Elemental Energy, upon encountering Merrick's released magic, melted away like snow.

"What?!" Yoni and his four companions' faces turned grim; they'd never witnessed such bizarre methods.

Even Duke was a bit surprised by the scene, unable to comprehend Merrick's technique.

The surrounding yellow sand stirred restlessly, ready for defense, but found unnecessary as Merrick had already neutralized all the attacks, singlehandedly dismantling the opposition's assault tactics.

Yoni and his companions bore a ruthless glint, realizing that Duke and Merrick wouldn't be easily dealt with, fully committing and employing their true capabilities.

More spells surged forth, but were all blocked by the thick Yellow Sand Barrier, leaving Duke and Merrick unscathed behind it.

Merrick waved his hand, a dagger engulfed in black flames appearing.

This was the dagger he'd once used to kill Uli, although its form had dramatically changed, and its aura had grown stronger, upgraded from Demonized Items to Level 1 Witchcraft Artifact.

Yoni instinctively retreated a step, sensing danger as if a fierce beast had locked onto him.

...

Ten minutes later.

Four corpses lay on the ground before Duke and Merrick, Yoni barely alive, his stomach pierced by a Rock Spike, breathing with difficulty.

They had already scavenged the Space Rings of these individuals, dividing the contents.

The five seemed to be members of a small Wizard Organization from a continent, all somewhat impoverished.

After Duke and Merrick divided the spoils, Duke ended up with some Magic Potion and over two hundred thousand Level 1 Magic Stones.

Altogether, these five had less wealth than Duke alone, who had already spent over a million Magic Stones purchasing three slave creatures.

In reality, this was the norm for most wizards, especially members of small Wizard Organizations, facing a scarcity of resources and lacking channels and capabilities to acquire many Magic Stones.

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