Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 734
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"Your group isn't strong, but it also gives you a great advantage. It's easier for you to go through the magic formations that are impassable to us. Most of the Formations have greater resistance to Mages with stronger cultivation. There are many Formations inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, so we wouldn't be able to sneak inside the Pyramid, even when the deathlight is not around," Fenna told the four of them.
The restrictive Formations in the Pyramid were similar to the ones at the Parthenon Temple. They were mostly Formations of the Chaos Element, and were more effective against stronger Mages. The higher the cultivation of the invaders, the stronger the resistance would be. They basically prevented any Forbidden Mages from sneaking into the Pyramid. Even Super Mages would struggle to utilize their full strength in the magic Formations!
Those Formations once again proved that there were some ties between the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Greek.
It was the same reason Fenna said that they would need a person with the Chaos Element to sneak into the Pyramid!
Without a Chaos Mage, they would easily trigger traps when they tried to go through the Formations.
Most of the tombs of ancient emperors had insane traps and mechanisms to protect them. Mo Fan still remembered everything that happened when he went to the Ancient King's tomb, especially the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life… it seriously did not give him any chance to live. He would long have been a pile of bones if it wasn't for the Demon Element!
Chapter 1569 - A Power Similar to the Totem Beasts'
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
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The group headed to the Bargo Land once again. They went around the Sunset Valley, avoiding the snake demons before the Queen of the Netherworld was done with them.
They arrived at the Land of Gold in Gisele after passing by Sunset Valley.
Apparently, the sand in Gisele was made from the ashes that countless dead bodies eventually turned into after they were exposed to deathlight and sunlight for a long time. When Mo Fan saw the spectacular glimmering sand, he could not help but feel a great chill running down his spine.
The Land of Gold was so huge. How many lives did it take to form such sparkling land? The ancient pharaohs were truly extravagant...
"They believe that the only way to display their noble status is to build their tombs on a land like this. It shows that they are the true rulers of all things in the universe," Meos said somberly.
Zhao Manyan glanced at the tanned Meos with a proud face. He was clearly displeased by her presence. He nudged Mo Fan and asked, "Why is this woman going with us?"
"I didn't want to, either, but the Formations in the Pyramid are similar to the Formations along the Parthenon Temple's Starry Mountain Path. Super Mages are greatly restricted by those Formations. Otherwise, why do you think we never figured out the secrets that the Pyramids hold, even with the help of so many experts, including Forbidden Mages? Haken is the main supporter of Egypt's national team. If they don't step forward at a time like this, who else is going to volunteer themselves?" Mo Fan said helplessly.
Meos was the Vice-Captain of Egypt's national team. Mo Fan had stumbled into her at New Suez. To his surprise, Haken summoned her directly from New Suez so she could join the operation.
"Meos is fine, but why is that annoying shorty and that arrogant Sayed here, too? Aren't they nothing but trouble for us!?" Zhao Manyan glanced at Shreev, whom he referred to as the shorty, and Sayed, who was obviously unwilling to tag along.
Meos, Shreev, and Sayed were all representatives of the national team. Their undead strategy had gained them a lot of attention during the World College Tournament. If they had not happened to face Mo Fan the battle maniac, they might actually have won first place.
General Haken was generous enough to place these young talents of his country under Mo Fan's command.
Mo Fan was not against the idea of having more people in the group. After all, Meos, Shreev, and Sayed were more familiar with their country. The short Shreev was even an academic that had done a lot of research on the ancient Egyptian language, and was quite knowledgeable when it came to the Pyramids in Egypt.
"So you're telling me that the shorty actually invented the Pharaoh Spring?" Zhao Manyan asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I was quite surprised, too!" Mo Fan admitted.
Shreev was not particularly strong on the national team, perhaps because he had put a lot of attention on conducting experiments on the undead. He had invented the Pharaoh Spring with a special energy collected from some other Pyramids. It allowed a Mage with the Undead Element to Summon a huge number of Underworld creatures to fight on their behalf over a long time. It was basically granted every member on the national team the ability to cast the Summoning Tide an unlimited number of times.
They might not be as strong as Mo Fan, but they still had the Pharaoh Spring, meaning that their fighting capacity was beyond their current level of cultivation!
Speaking of which, Mo Fan still had some Pharaoh Spring with him. The Little Loach Pendant had collected the Pharaoh Spring from the undead that Egypt's national team had Summoned during the World College Tournament, taking it to fill up his experience bar. Unfortunately, there was not that much Pharaoh Spring. If he had just a little more, the Little Loach Pendant might be able to level up, helping Mo Fan improve faster!
"Meos, I will now make it clear that you must follow my orders at all times during the operation. Don't let your pride and your personal grudge get in our way," Mo Fan said sternly to Meos and the others.
"Humph, save it for yourself, we know how important the mission is," Meos said with her usual proud face.
Shreev was the typical shameless kind. When he knew they were currently tied on the same boat, he kept sharing his discoveries and experiments on the Pyramids that he had been performing since he was quite young. The people had no clue what he was talking about, yet he was still having a blast sharing it with them.
Sayed was even worse; the guy had no intention of joining the team, but he was forced by his superiors to come along.
Most frustratingly, Sayed had just finished his mission. He was about to enjoy a good time with the two s.e.xy female soldiers after reporting to his superior, yet he had to witness Major General Gangma's death...
That being said, Sayed had no idea that it was Mo Fan who had killed Gangma, and had actually used him to bring the Dark Material in. If he knew the truth, he would most likely have fought Mo Fan to the death on the spot!
He was so not willing to come. He did not have the slightest interest in learning what it was like inside the Pyramid, nor was he interested in being the hero that put an end to the war. His thoughts were all on the two women that had plucked the strings in his heart.
The only relief for him was that there was a beauty with blue eyes on the team! Sayed's face was extremely pale after wasting too much energy on different kinds of women, yet he had never won the affection of a blue-eyed Swedish woman.
There were many lineages with blue eyes in Europe, but most of them only had a slight hint of blue. They were nowhere as attractive as Heidi's. Sayed found it very enjoyable to look the woman in her eyes.
He could not imagine why a woman that was as beautiful as an angel would want to hang around with a filthy and shameless man like Mo Fan!
"Where was I? Oh, right, the rulers of all creation, the Pharaohs, want to live and rule forever, so the closer it is to the Pyramids, the thicker the golden sand is. You might see that the sky above the three Pyramids in Gisele is always clear and blue, but you have no idea how strong the hatred lingering around them is. The hatred will occasionally turn into a fierce storm that turns every creature nearby into bones and ashes. It's the first thing we should keep an eye out for; we must stay away from those Storms of Hatred!" Shreev kept mentioning the storms.
Mo Fan remembered Khufu mentioning dying the land red with blood when the army of the Great Pyramid of Giza was advancing. It sounded similar to how Shreev was describing the pharaohs' intention to rule over all creation.
"Shreev, are you sure you know what's inside the Pyramid?" Zhao Manyan asked doubtfully.
"I have never been inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, but I have been to some low-level Pyramids. I noticed certain similarities between them, so I believe the Great Pyramid of Giza will share those similarities too..." Shreev clarified quickly.
"Speaking of which, the undead strategy that your team was using, did you really get the Pharaoh Spring from the other Pyramids?" Mo Fan asked.
"Of course! The Pyramids have many undiscovered secrets. I only managed to dig up the Pharaoh Spring, yet we almost defeated every country during the World College Tournament. If we could obtain other powerful treasure inside the Pyramids, our country would be ruling over the world in no time. All the so-called superpowers are going to be our appendages instead!" Shreev said.
"You can bluff as much as you want in front of other countries… but you should really control yourself when you're with Mo Fan and I," Zhao Manyan smiled at him.
"We just happened to lose to you guys! I'm telling you, the Pharaoh Spring is definitely not the most precious treasure inside the Pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza surely has something that can easily shock the entire world. I have long wanted to explore the Pyramid, but I never got permission..." Shreev replied, his eyes glittering.
Shreev definitely did not come to sacrifice his life for the sake of his country. He was just a die-hard fan of the Pyramids. It was not a bad thing; at least they would not be wandering aimlessly like headless flies inside it.
"Treasure… tsk tsk, that's great, that's good to hear!" Zhao Manyan became restless as soon as he heard the keyword.
If Zhao Manyan was asked to serve his country for free, he would react the same way as Sayed. However, it was a completely different story if there were some benefits involved...
"Old Zhao, I've realized something," Mo Fan nudged Zhao Manyan and purposely lowered his voice.
"What is it? Tell me!" Zhao Manyan immediately focused. He knew Mo Fan was up to something whenever he started talking in such a way! Zhao Manyan had no idea why he was so excited all of a sudden.
"The ancient civilization in Egypt has a lot of similarities to the Totem Beasts of our country. We might be able to find some Totem Power in the Pyramid!" Mo Fan guessed.
The fact that the Little Loach Pendant could absorb the Pharaoh Spring was the most convincing proof.
Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had been desperately searching for the Totem Beasts in their country, but the extinction of the Totem Beasts was too serious. However, it turned out that China was not the only country with the Totem Beasts, since Egypt had been using the ancient power of the Totem Beasts in different ways. Both Mo Fan's Little Loach Pendant and Zhao Manyan's Baxia Wooden Clapper were able to absorb the ancient energy!
"Are you serious?" Zhao Manyan blurted out in joy.
Zhao Manyan was Baxia's successor. He was displeased whenever he recalled how the old turtle looked down at him because of his strength. His eyes glittered when he heard the treasure in the Pyramid might be able to awaken the Baxia Wooden Clapper's power.
"When have I lied to you? Think about it; the Greek God of Death Hayla, the Sphinx here in Egypt, the Black Totem Snake in China, and Baxia have all been around before the magic civilizations first appeared. It clearly indicates that they were all from the same era. It might not be the same year, but the sources of their powers are similar," Mo Fan said.
"Mm, mm, have you tried it?" Zhao Manyan asked.
"I did! The Pharaoh Spring is compatible with the power of the Totem Beasts!" Mo Fan declared confidently.
Chapter 1570 - Seven Dark Swordmasters
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"If it's compatible with the Black Totem Snake's power, I believe it won't be a problem for mine, either. Holy crap, I didn't think we are going to learn such a huge secret… if we make it out alive, we'll visit other countries and look for their Totem Beasts. We'll become Forbidden Mages pretty soon!" Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.
"...I think becoming a Forbidden Mage is still a little far from reach, but it can at least help us achieve the peak Super Level!" Mo Fan agreed.
The power of the Totem Beasts had given Mo Fan incredible benefits. If the Little Loach Pendant could evolve further, Mo Fan believed he had a good chance to become a Super Mage.
There was a huge gap between the Advanced Level and the Super Level. Many geniuses reached the peak Advanced Level in their thirties, yet they could not break through to the Super Level for the rest of their lives.
Apparently, every Mage had different encounters and ways to achieve the Super Level. Some relied on extremely rare resources or extraordinary encounters. It simply meant that it was unlikely for an Advanced Mage to break through to the Super Level without some incredible resources or insanely good luck.
Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and even Heidi were currently stuck at the peak of the Advanced Level, but none of them had probed the path to the Super Level.
Even though it was only a matter of time before they would achieve the Super Level with their current foundations, it would greatly affect them if they were stuck at the Advanced Level for ten or twenty years. Those years would be a complete waste.
There were young Super Mages, too. Herr Casa and Mentor Vani were extremely young Super Mages. They had lots of room for improvement after reaching the Super Level. Meanwhile, it was now difficult for Mo Fan and the others to improve without breaking through to the Super Level!
Mo Fan was very strong now. He had no problem defeating a Super Mage that only had a single Element at the Super Level. However, if he faced someone with two Elements in the Super Level, or an experienced Super Mage, he would be crushed without a doubt!
Mo Fan had promised to look for the Totem Beasts after he was done convalescing at the Parthenon Temple, partially in order to search for his path to the Super Level!
"So you should stop complaining about how I keep dragging you into life and death situations, it's not like I have nothing better to do. What kind of a place do you think the Great Pyramid of Giza is? There is great stuff everywhere inside. Do you think it's possible for us to become Super Mages if we don't take some risks?" Mo Fan continued.
"It's fine as long as we can get the power of the Totem Beasts!" Zhao Manyan was very excited about the power of the Totem Beasts.
The Baxia's Seal from the half-awakened Wooden Clapper could already strengthen his defensive spells multiple times. How strong would he be when the power of the Wooden Clapper was fully awakened!?
"What are you two whispering about? We are approaching the area with the Ashen Storm of Hatred. Be careful not to be caught by it. Otherwise, you're going to be devoured right away!" Shreev said.
"Oh, nothing really, we were just comparing whether Heidi or Meos has the bigger bottom," Zhao Manyan said shamelessly.
Shreev had no idea what to say.
"I think Meos' is bigger, but in terms of shape, Heidi is the winner," Mu Bai added.
"..."
It was Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan's turn to be left speechless.
It was true that a person would slowly be influenced by their environment. Even Mu Bai did not realize that he was starting to show another side to his nature under Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan's influence!
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A dark red basin became visible ahead. The three Pyramids of Gisele stood in the distance. The group could feel their magnificence from afar.
The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest and so naturally the largest among them. The Pyramid closest in size beside it was the Pyramid of Khafre, with the Sphinx at its side. The creature was clearly in deep slumber, now covered in sand. It looked no different than a huge statue.
"It's the Sphinx… luckily, it's still asleep, or we wouldn't have any chance of getting close to the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Pyramid of Khafre," Shreev said, staring into the distance.
"I injured him before, so I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon," Mo Fan said.
"You injured him? My God, I've never seen anyone so shameless before!" Sayed screeched.
Meos, Heidi, and Shreev looked at Mo Fan like he was crazy.
"I knew you won't believe me," Mo Fan shrugged in an indifferent manner.
"Err… wasn't the Mountain Zombie the one that beat the crap out of him?" Zhao Manyan whispered.
"It's more or less the same," Mo Fan whispered back.
The Sphinx was the final Boss protecting the Pyramids. If he was on alert, only Forbidden Mages could approach the Pyramids!
However, Forbidden Mages would be restricted by the magic Formations of the Pyramids. As a result, the Pyramids had remained a great mystery for many, many years.
"I'm afraid there are two problems we have to face. The first is the Ashen Storm of Hatred, and the second is the Dark Swordmasters. There are ten Dark Swordmasters patrolling outside the Pyramids..." Shreev went on.
"Seven," Mo Fan corrected him.
"Keep quiet if you don't know anything. Do you think you are more familiar with the Great Pyramid of Giza than us!?" Meos grumbled.
Apart from the Sphinx beside the Pyramid of Khafre, there were ten Dark Swordmasters protecting the Great Pyramid of Giza too. Many Egyptians would have heard about the legend before. Why would Mo Fan say there were only seven of them?
"Three of them are dead," Mo Fan said.
Mo Fan clearly remembered that three of the Dark Swordmasters were killed in the battle at Beijiang. One was killed by the Nether Bone Dragon, while the other two were knocked to the ground by the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials that the Mountain Zombie tossed out, and the zombies and skeletons devoured them.
It was unlikely that creatures of their level could be replaced right away. Even Khufu was unlikely to recruit new Dark Swordmasters within the next century!
