Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience - Chapter 288 - 001: Towards the Past

Chapter 288: 001: Towards the Past

The flames of war in the Land of the Seven Kingdoms grew ever fiercer.

The civil war in the Saladin Kingdom reached a boiling point, with the Tulip Domain Army led by the Count of Rawls clashing violently with the Royal Army of Edward II on multiple battlefields in brutal, earth-shattering combat.

On the plains near the Royal Capital, corpses lay strewn across the ground, villages were reduced to ruins, and farmers wandered as refugees, surviving only by eating wild grass and tree bark.

The cruelty of war was not only evident on the battlefield but was deeply imprinted in the lives of ordinary people. Many families lost their sons, husbands, and fathers. Women and children were forced to take on heavy labor, yet still struggled to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, next to the Saladin Kingdom, the Putan Kingdom and the Aquitaine Kingdom, initially plotting to seize advantages amidst the chaos, ended up fighting each other on Saladin’s land to claim spoils.

The cavalry of the Putan Kingdom launched a surprise attack on Aquitaine’s border forts, and a months-long tug-of-war ensued in the River Valley region.

Border peasants bore the brunt of the devastation. Their homes were burned, fields left desolate, and many were driven inland, becoming homeless refugees.

The war brought not just death but also famine and plague. In the refugee camps, diseases spread rapidly, corpses piled high, and the survivors struggled in the depths of despair.

In the southwest, the Lorent Kingdom and the Valkyrie Kingdom were no less tumultuous. The struggle for gold mines escalated the conflict to a new level.

The kings of both nations personally led troops in a standoff, escalating minor skirmishes along the border into full-scale war. Miners, forced to continue digging amidst the flames of war, died from exhaustion and warfare.

The wealth brought by the gold mines did not benefit the common folk; instead, it deepened their suffering. Villages were destroyed, civilians displaced, and the borderlands turned into nearly uninhabited zones.

In the eastern Nathan Kingdom, civil unrest persisted; the battles among various heirs plunged the entire nation into chaos. Villages were torched, cities besieged, and innocent civilians became the victims of power struggles. Meanwhile, the Burgundy Kingdom was ravaged by an unchecked plague, the stench of death pervading every corner, and people lived submerged in despair.

The cold wind endured, and the harsh winter lingered. Instead of signs of subsiding, the fires of war in the Land of the Seven Kingdoms grew ever more intense. Common folk struggled to survive amidst the cracks of warfare; their suffering went unnoticed, while the contenders for power continued to slaughter for their ambitions.

On the distant horizon, no end to the war was in sight, only endless smoke and death.

…

Ruins of the ancient relics, southern region, Forgotten Forest.

The Forgotten Forest stretched expansively on the southern edges of the ruins, nestled against the Ice-Sealed Snow Ridge to the north and leading southward into the Ancient Ruins—marking the first desolate area upon entering the ruins from the north.

The entire ruins of the ancient relics were vast—several times larger than the Ancient Ruins itself. Its combined area roughly equaled that of the Eurasian Continent on Earth. Due to its enormity, this expansive wasteland had been divided into many regions, such as the Lost Tower, the Central Royal Court, the Underground City, and others. Where Lynch now stood, the Forgotten Forest, was one such area.

Even among the hundreds of Witch Domains in the entire Wizard World, the ruins’ size ranked in the upper echelons.

However, this place was essentially devoid of Wizard Organizations—barely inhabited and untouched by the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council. It was frequented only by treasure hunters and some wizards searching for materials, making it essentially a no man’s land in the Wizard World.

At this moment, within the Forgotten Forest, Lynch was steadily advancing forward, step by step, with Barton at his side.

“Crunch! Crunch!” Sharp sounds echoed.

The long phantom blade in his hand swung forward, its razor-edged blade slicing through the grasses and brambles ahead, carving a path through the undergrowth.

The routes heading toward the Land of Freedom were limited to sailing, riding flying aircraft, or traveling on land.

There were many directions for land routes, and most wizards opted to travel through the Witch Domains, where roads were clear, and food, lodging, and other necessities were easier to procure. Rarely did wizards venture into uninhabited zones like the ruins.

Lynch chose this route mainly out of considerations for safety.

Yes—safety.

The Supreme Council could roughly be likened to the United Nations on Earth, and being listed on the Supreme Wanted List was akin to becoming an internationally wanted criminal on Earth.

On Earth, being an international fugitive sounded severe but was, in practice, not as daunting, as the United Nations itself was a loose organization with limited enforcement power, and its capacity to enforce such lists was weak.

This was, in many ways, mirrored in the Wizard World; the Supreme Council was also a loose organizational structure, with each Witch Domain retaining its own autonomy.

However, the troubling difference lay in the existence of a group within the Wizard World known as “Bounty Hunters.” They specialized in hunting down targets from wanted lists and making a living from it, forming numerous Wizard Organizations of various sizes scattered across the globe.

For example, Philis of the Truth Church, whom Lynch had encountered during his travels in the Lorent Kingdom, was in fact a bounty hunter.

The strength of these bounty hunters was not to be underestimated—some were Second Tier, Third Tier, or even more powerful.

Lynch, now on the Supreme Wanted List, would inevitably become their target. While his current bounty of over twenty million magic stones was not particularly extraordinary, who could guarantee that some bored troublemaker wouldn’t try to earn some spare cash by taking his head?

Better to be cautious.

Time flew by, and before long, it was dusk.

After glancing at the evening sky in the distance, Lynch, who had been traveling all day, decided to halt. He located a clearing nearby, gathered some firewood, and hurriedly set up a campfire before reaching into his bag for his fire stone to ignite it.

“Click!”

“Click!”

The fire stone seemed slightly damp. After several strikes, it made sounds but failed to ignite the firewood, causing Lynch to frown in irritation.

“What an outdated way to start a fire!”

Having relied on magic in the past, he never realized how arduous such basic tasks were for ordinary people. After only a few tries, he already wanted to give up and snap his fingers to conjure a spark of Fire Element to light the fire.

But he knew he couldn’t do that.

In the current landscape of Tracking Magic theories, the most widely used and practical was Spirit Tracking Magic. Certain powerful Spirit Tracking Spells could detect spiritual fluctuations through elemental changes across distances of thousands of miles.

Since he had only recently departed the Ancient Ruins, recklessly using magic at this point carried the risk of being tracked and located. Therefore, from the outset, Lynch had decided to regard himself as an ordinary human and abstain from using magic until he had put more distance between himself and the Ancient Ruins.

Thankfully, aside from his wizard identity, Lynch was also an authentic Great Knight. Without that, navigating the ruins without using magic would’ve been outright impossible.

Over thousands of years of undisturbed development, this region’s ecosystem had evolved into a richly diverse environment. Numerous powerful magic beasts and demons roamed here—Second Tier, Third Tier, and even stronger… _{fre ewe bnove l.com}

“Bang!”

Finally, after dozens of repeated attempts, a spark emerged from the fire stone’s strike, igniting the dry grass atop the firewood, and quickly spreading to the surrounding firewood. After Lynch blew gently, the campfire crackled to life.

Sitting by the fire, Lynch roasted a piece of flatbread and ate a simple dinner before pulling out a magic book to read.

This was clearly no ordinary magic book; its cover was crafted from deep brown dragonhide, intricately inlaid with silver runes that shimmered faintly with white light. The edges of the pages were gilded, exuding a subtle bronze sheen.

Its cover bore the title, written in Rune Language: The Moon Eclipse’s End Sigh.

In the top-right corner of the page was a standard ring-shaped magic array, signifying the book’s status—

A Wizard Level Ring Magic grimoire.

In other words, this was an undeniable piece of Wizard Inheritance.