After a wizard's death, they are transformed into undead mages, typically taking on a spiritual body form, sometimes attaching themselves to special objects as vessels.

Many so-called powerful witchcraft artifacts come about in this manner, though they are extremely rare.

In the following two days, Duke started joining the team on their missions, primarily recording the unique plant species here, retrieving samples, labeling, and preserving them.

The work may seem simple but not everyone can do it, as both the environment and the vegetation here possess a certain level of danger that ordinary wizard apprentices cannot handle.

After the team completed their mission, they began their journey back to the Seventh Outpost to submit these materials.

With the rest of the team traveling together, the journey went much more smoothly, and often Duke didn't even need to lift a finger as any trouble encountered was quickly resolved.

Two days later, when they were still dozens of kilometers away from the Seventh Outpost, Hela suddenly stopped, her left eye's gears whirring continuously.

At the same time, a massive energy surge came from dozens of kilometers away, and an extremely powerful aura spread to their location.

From the energy fluctuations, it was evident that something occurred far away, but the fact that it spread across such a distance indicated the immense power of the source.

Simultaneously, Duke received a message through the Wizard's Mark from Brandon: "Seventh Outpost encountered an enemy attack. All mages below Level 2 should evacuate immediately!"

Hela wore a grave expression and turned back to Duke and the others, saying, "You all need to evacuate this area and await further instructions. I'm heading back to provide support."

This attack was sudden, and the attackers were undoubtedly powerful, beyond what a Level 1 Mage could handle, joining would only mean certain death.

That's why Brandon warned all Level 1 Mages to stay clear of the outpost, unsure if they could solve the current crisis.

Upon giving her instructions, Hela transformed into a black smoke and headed towards the outpost, while Duke exchanged glances with the others, seeing panic and confusion in their eyes.

The situation was so sudden they hadn't yet figured out what they should do next.

Duke, being straightforward, turned around and began walking, moving away from the direction of the Seventh Outpost as quickly as possible.

Though unaware of what exactly transpired, the urgency in Brandon's message suggested a situation worse than they had imagined.

In such circumstances, distancing oneself as quickly as possible was the wisest decision.

"Duke, where are you going?" A sorcerer named Della called out to him from behind.

Duke turned back and responded, "I don't know, but staying here isn't an option."

The others looked at each other, hesitant whether to leave or await further news.

Finally, they decided to stay together, move a bit further away but not too far, while Duke had already walked far enough to fade from view.

Two hours later, Duke once again received a message from Brandon: "All mages, stay away from the Seventh Outpost, do not return here! Head to the Fifth Outpost, and return to the Wizard Plane from there!"

Following that message, there was no further communication, Duke tried to reach Hela, but his messages vanished into the void without any response.

"It seems the Wizard Mark Tower has been destroyed…" Duke speculated to himself.

The Devourer Plane hasn't covered so many Wizard Mark Towers yet, their number is limited, each tower only covering its own range.

Once the Wizard Mark Tower here was destroyed, the Wizard Marks lost their effect.

Though uncertain about the situation at the Seventh Outpost, when Duke received Brandon's message, he could sense Brandon's weary spirit, indicating the outpost had likely fallen completely.

The strongest defender at the Seventh Outpost was a Level 2 Mage; there were no Level 3 Mages stationed there yet.

As a Middle Plane, the Devourer Plane could very well produce a Level 3 powerhouse that would destroy such an outpost.

Such incidents have occurred before; advance teams often faced these risks, discovering strong locals after entering another plane and being annihilated.

Brandon's notice for all mages not to return to the Seventh Outpost signified the worst had happened and the outpost had fallen.

Currently, Hela's condition is unknown, nor how many outpost mages survived.

Duke couldn't help but be thankful for his decision to proactively head out to find Hela; otherwise, he would have suffered the attack and possibly not found time to have Hela lift his curse.

Not only would the curse remain unresolved, but survival couldn't be guaranteed either.

Since the Seventh Outpost has been destroyed, returning there is pointless; the Teleportation Array to the Wizard Plane is most likely either destroyed or defunct.

Even if not destroyed by the attackers, the defending wizards would have erased the array before the outpost's fall to avert potential threats to the Wizard Plane.

Duke planned to head towards the Fifth Outpost first, and then return to the Wizard Plane from there.

When he first arrived at the Seventh Outpost, Brandon had already informed him of these intel details, including the location of the Fifth Outpost.

The Fifth Outpost, being established earlier than the Seventh, housed stronger wizards.

However, the Fifth Outpost was quite far, requiring time to reach, with a need to traverse the urban landscape of the Devourer Plane natives.

Duke had another option: use the Coordinates Earring to return to the Flower Sea Plane, then from there, back to the Wizard Plane.

But doing so would risk exposing certain secrets about his ability to travel freely across multiple planes.

His movements between the Devourer Plane and the Flower Sea Plane could be traced, paired with his survival tale from the Wood Elf Plane, making it easy for observant individuals to deduce a few things.

Unless absolutely necessary, Duke didn't plan to use the Coordinates Earring to return; he intended to try reaching the Fifth Outpost first.

The Coordinates Earring served as a last-resort lifesaving option, providing him some mental reassurance.

Duke didn't consider returning to join that group, as blending into the Devourer Plane's society might require going solo to avoid detection.

He moved cautiously through the Decomposition Forest, swiftly organizing all known information in his mind.

The Decomposition Forest was vastly extensive, with the Seventh Outpost hidden deep within, largely unnoticed.

It was unclear why this location was exposed, leading invaders to wipe out the outpost.

Duke aimed northward through the Decomposition Forest, as the south led directly to the coastline.

If he planned to reach the Fifth Outpost, he must head north, and exit the forested area.

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