Supreme Magus novel Chapter 454

The ethereal limbs pierced through four different Carpenters, incapacitating them and throwing the puppeteer’s strategy in disarray. With their line of fire clear, the soldiers focused their spells on the ten fallen creatures, killing eight of them in one fell swoop.

Now that they outnumbered and outmatched the creatures, the soldiers had no problem dealing with the remaining Carpenters on their own.

Lith activated Life Vision to check what was happening inside the Marquis’ office before deciding what was the best course of action. Manohar’s and Mynna’s life forces were still active, which made him sigh in relief.

’A purple core Carpenter is the last thing I want to see. I wonder why whoever captured them didn’t escape while we were dealing with those flesh bags.’ Lith thought.

’I can answer that.’ Solus replied after assessing the situation with mana sense. ’I can sense two more Carpenters in there and they belong to a completely different league compared to the ones we faced before.

’Not only did they assimilate mages instead of nobles, but they are also taking their sweet time to arrange their bodies in the best possible way. With each second we are wasting here, they’re getting stronger and more efficient.’

"Did someone escape the perimeter?" Jirni asked via her communication earpiece.

"Negative. We have captured and quarantined all those who came out of the house." A female voice replied.

"This means we have a huge problem." Jirni said to the rest of the team.

"If there was someone capable of defeating Manohar fair and square, they would have already left the room and rampaged their way out of here. So, either there is a secret passage leading outside of which we are unaware of..."

"That’s impossible." Lith interrupted her. He needed to make haste, otherwise based on Solus’s reading soon the Carpenters would become so strong that he wouldn’t be able to defeat them without revealing his abilities.

"I didn’t trust the Marquis’ word nor the house’s blueprints. Both Manohar and I searched the room with earth magic. No secret passages."

"Or they are still holed up in there, waiting for us to fall into their trap." Jirni nodded, surprised by his unusual unrest.

"I can’t think of many ways to take down a member of the Queen’s corps that fast. The most likely hypotheses are a traitor in our midst, an array, or both. We can deal with a traitor by shooting down whoever is still conscious, but an array is another story entirely. Lith?"

Lith snorted in exasperation while walking toward the office and chanting the array detecting spell.

’Solus?’ He trusted her mana sense much more than a basic Warden spell.

’No array aside from those which protect the house. There is a strong residual mana, but it could be either because of Manohar’s spells or from whatever has been used to stun him.’

"Nothing. I still think it’s a trap. You guys remain here and prepare for the worst." Lith took a multi colored potion from one of his pockets and drank it in one gulp.

It was a top grade alchemical concoction that temporarily boosted its user’s physical abilities to a magical beast’s level. Lith didn’t really need it, but it allowed him to use fusion magic without arousing suspicions.