A Sorcerer's Journey 407 An Expedition into the Infernal Spirit World III

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
At the underground hold of the Void Fortress, Grimm passed by teams of Bright Sorcerers.
Some of the Bright Sorcerer legions were rushing to their voidships. Another team was regrouping into their formation below. There was order amongst the chaos.
Yet each of the passing sorcerer would take a peek at the Rank-1 Honor Badge Demon-Hunter Sorcerer.
With the proud Little Myna perched on his shoulder, Grimm activated the sand cloak of his mandala robe. He clutched the Sabbatical Goat Staff and walked towards the fortress deck.
There was a crowd of over two hundred thousand Dark Sorcerers gathered on the deck that was over twenty-thousand meters wide, yet Grimm did not have to push through the crowd. The Dark Sorcerers took a few steps back to make way for him. Led by the crystal ball, he was able to find Wicky, Solumn, Millie, and Claudia.
"Caw caw, Millie."
Little Myna automatically flew towards Millie and perched on her shoulder, greeting her warmly.
In the past few decades, as Grimm was immersed in the research of destructive energies, half of the Myna's time was spent in Millie's Demon-Hunting castle.
A few of the sorcerers nodded at Grimm and greeted him as per the sorcerer's etiquette. Grimm nodded back silently, before speaking calmly, "Looks like this expedition is more grueling than the expeditions I've been to in the past. The Seven Rings Celestial Sorcerer and the Stigmata Sorcerers don't care about how much loot they're going to get from this expedition. Their sole purpose is to only obliterate the civilization foundation of the Infernal Spirit World as well as the world treasure."
Claudia naturally went to Grimm's side. There was a nice scent to her. Her watery eyes were rolling.
"You mean.. .there will be a huge number of Honor Badges available for this Demon-Hunting expedition?"
The rest of the people only realized this fact after hearing Claudia's words. They looked at the sorceress in amazement. Grimm too looked over at Claudia.
Indeed, she was extremely intelligent. She was able to see through things better than the rest.
The Honor Badge was a reward given to a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer who was able to make-up for a Stigmata Sorcerer's error. This reward gave higher authority to the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, which would allow him to lead other Demon-Hunter Sorcerers.
However, there was a price to pay for the Honor Badge.
Its price would be the Stigmata Sorcerer's world income!
When a Stigmata Sorcerer did not really care about the world's income and would only like to achieve a certain objective within a short period of time, there would be more flaws within the expedition. Thus, more Honor Badges were produced.
Although Grimm was a little apprehensive about Claudia deep down, he truly admired her intelligence. He nodded and said in a low voice, "That's correct, there might even be a slim chance that a Rank-1 Honor Badge could appear!"

A Rank-1 Honor Badge!?
Wicky, Grimm, Solumn, Millie, and Claudia's pupils contracted for a moment. Would they have a chance to be like Grimm…
However, Grimm smiled gently.
"A Rank-1 Honor Badge would mean that you could change the whole tide of this Demon-Hunting expedition. Also, if you could, in your own wisdom, set off a cataclysmic event in the Infernal Spirit World, then congratulations, the Rank-1 Honor Badge is yours."
Set off a cataclysmic event?
The four of them looked at each other instantly. All of them felt hopeless.
Normally, setting off a cataclysmic event at a world level by individual effort could only be done by a creature who was Level-7 or above. It would take a very specific set of conditions that would result in dramatic changes to the natural laws of the world.
It was difficult even for a World Lord, what more for those who were merely Level-1 Demon-Hunter Sorcerers?
The sorcerers could not help but feel even more startled. What did Grimm do to earn his Rank-1 Honor Badge?
"Other than the hidden Rank-1 Honor Badge mission, the Battle Command will issue some Rank-2 Honor Badge missions when the time comes. But for a Level-1 Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, it would also be extremely tough. Charging blindly into the mission would only land yourself in hot soup. Therefore, everyone should try to take the Rank-3 Honor Badge missions by the Battle Command."
Solumn was the first to accept reality. The handsome-looking sorcerer said in a deep voice, "In my previous two Demon-Hunting expeditions, it was rare to get a mission with an Honor Badge reward attached to it. Grimm, by your estimation, how many Rank-3 Honor Badge missions would there be in this expedition? At what level of difficulty?"
Grimm furrowed his brow and pondered upon his queries.
"I've estimated the number of Rank-3 missions, which are a huge part of the Battle Command's plan to trigger a cataclysmic event. There would be more than three thousand Rank-3 Honor Badges. With your Immortal Body talent, you should stand a huge chance if you're careful."
The Stigmata Sorcerers did not care about the income gained from the pillages of this medium-sized world, but more importantly, the value did not stem from only the Infernal Spirit World. It also included a few other smaller worlds that were enslaved by the Infernal Spirit World. Thus, there was such a huge base number of Honor Badges.
More than three thousand!
Not only Solumn, Wicky, and Millie, even Claudia was looking forward to them.
Abysmal moss had a terrifyingly strong vitality, but only when it had grown to a certain scale.
Before it reached a certain size, the sinister plant that originated from the Abyss World was prone to be rejected by the natural law of the world that seeked to maintain balance.
It was obvious that according to the intelligence Grimm obtained from the Battle Command, the Rank-3 Honor Badge missions would be to propagate these abysmal moss stealthily into the vassal states and large cities around the five great kingdoms.
Grimm suddenly turned toward Claudia.
"Do you still wish to follow me?"
Claudia hesitated for a slight moment. She raised her head and gave a sweet smile. "Sure."
Grimm was doubtful. What could she gain from him that surpassed the temptation of Rank-3 Honor Badges?
***
A few hourglasses later.
There was a dark tear in the sky. Almost hundreds of Level-3 Bright and Dark Sorcerers emerged and descended upon the Void Fortress.
Hundreds of Seven Rings Snail Riders were chewing the dark tear apart to form a huge black hole in the sky that was over two hundred meters wide. The Black Isotta ripped the dark tear apart in a thunderous howl. He was finally able to inject himself into the Sorcerers World.
The true self of Black Isotta gradually descended upon the skies above the Void Fortress.
Although Grimm had seen Black Isotta in the flesh before, he still could not help but feel nervous.
Like what Master Peranos and Little Myna had said before, this sorcerer was already at the peak of the Stigmata Sorcerers, even the peak of World Lords. It would require only one more step before he became a true Celestial Sorcerer.
The step was blocking not only Black Isotta's path to his ascension.
In the boundless world, that critical step had stopped countless World Lords from the path of the Eternal Dominator.
In the unceasingly distorted space, an indescribable force was emitted continuously from within the collapsing space-time around him.
The Black Isotta slowly glanced at the tiny sorcerers on top of the Void Fortress who were looking at him. He paid them no heed.
At the same time.
The Level-3 great Demon-Hunter Sorcerers who had just descended upon the Void Fortress were passing down Acraepoid specimens and communication crystal balls of the Infernal Spirit World to all the sorcerers on top of the Void Fortress.
The information contained within the crystal ball had been simplified and filtered after careful selection by the Battle Command.
The Acraepoid specimens were gathered by the four Stigmata Sorcerers on a grand scale when they descended upon the Infernal Spirit World a century ago in the Darkborne Kingdom.
The specimens must have been freshly defrosted or the Hourglass Stigmata Sorcerer must have done something to them. They looked 'freshly' preserved.
The Demon-Hunter Sorcerers were looking at their informational crystal balls while trying to understand the biological structure of the Acraepoid race from the Infernal Spirit World. It was reminiscent of Grimm when he dissected the Amonro in the past.
Wicky, Solumn, Millie, Claudia had already obtained complete information regarding the Acraepoid specimen from Grimm earlier on. What was left for them to do was merely a simple analysis and to come out with their own interpretations.
After all, each of the sorcerers might have a different level of knowledge. That would result in huge differences when it came to interpretation.
There were many specimens on top of the deck at this time. However, from an objective perspective regarding the data surrounding the specimens, there was no way these Demon-Hunter Sorcerers could learn anything more than what Grimm already had.
Grimm roughly observed for a while. There were only a few of the Acraepoids that were carrying swords with them. Some of the sorcerers had already found out about the distinct blades.
The air was thick.
All of the Demon-Hunter Sorcerers were dissecting the specimens from the Infernal Spirit World with utmost seriousness, which was how they approached new knowledge in the sorcerers' own ways.
What was so natural to the sorcerers was the beginning of something evil and terrifying for the creatures of the Foreign Worlds.

Chapter end