The Oracle Paths

Jake was poised to annihilate them all before they could react when he abruptly halted his motion.

'Killing them all might be too ruthless,' Jake reassessed, recalling his Side Mission's objective. Wiping out all his enemies indiscriminately wasn't the solution if he was aiming for what he believed to be a perfect rating. 'In that case...'

Jake dispersed the Time Lumyst flowing through his neurons, slowing down his cognition to a threshold adequate for communication. Scanning the enormous chariots and the monsters pulling them with a cold gaze, he released a minute part of his spiritual pressure and declared in an amplified voice, saturated with his charm and charisma,

"If you want to live, drop your weapons here and now. I'll count to three. One… Two—"

"A LIGHT WARRIOR BOWS TO NO ONE! KILL HIM!"

Jake turned his head towards the source of the valiant tirade, a fleeting expression of compassion on his face. The speaker had surprisingly resisted his charm, though he hadn't fully exerted himself.

'So, Lumyst Aura and high Lumyst Cultivation have other uses.'

[It's not as if there was anything surprising about it.] Xi chuckled teasingly. [Look on the bright side: thanks to your Lumyst Aura, no spirits will be able to possess you while you sleep].

'Eh, as if that could happen...'

[You never know.]

'...'

Unlike Lady Faye, the Radiant Mage had previously been a victim of a possession attempt by a malevolent wandering soul and was on high alert. As when Jake had confronted River's Bane, his Lumyst formed a dense, impenetrable barrier around him, indiscriminately blocking anything attempting to pass through.

If Jake wanted to break this Radiant Mage's defense, he could easily do so by matching the energy of this barrier with his own. The trouble was, even though his spirit was comparatively powerful, it wasn't for nothing that most ghosts were only a minor threat to the living. And his spirit was still considerably nerfed by Twyluxia.

Of course, if he chose to, smashing this Life Lumyst barrier with his raw spiritual force was well within his capabilities. It just wasn't worth it when a simple smack could do the trick...

Jake's silhouette blurred, and he reappeared on the chariot's platform where the brave orator had just barked, startling him into almost tumbling overboard. Had his teammates not caught him, he would have certainly fallen.

"I get the impression you're the kind of guy who says 'do as I say, not as I do,'" Jake mocked as he approached the culprit.

As he closed in on his prey, a low chuckle shook him upon realizing that the one bellowing the order was, in fact, a Radiant Mage, and not one of the incorruptible warriors he claimed to be.

Well, this Radiant Mage was no ordinary person either. Based on his youthful age, his dazzling aura of holy light, and the presence of a brilliantly burning Lumyst Core in his heart, this native was a talented Lifemancer, and very likely the commander of this battalion.

"At least, unlike a certain Saint, you're not reckless," Jake praised, feeling the solid luminescent aura separating him from his dumbstruck target.

Faye could have resisted him by cloaking herself in Life Lumyst, but she had risked retracting her Lumyst Aura in his presence. That was a true sin of overconfidence.

The teammates and the Mumak serving as mount also looked formidable, undoubtedly at the Corebearer Realm. The young Radiant Mage had good reason to be arrogant.

Yet, they too didn't dare to move, transfixed with fear as their merged Lumyst Auras distorted and flickered dangerously at each brush of Jake's fingertips. How incredibly hard were his fingers to touch such a dense barrier?

"It's a nice trick," Jake complimented again, beginning to understand the kind of challenge he'd face if he directly assaulted a general's headquarters. "Pity, you're too weak."

"IGNORE MY SITUATION AND ATTACK HIM!" The young Radiant Mage screamed in a high-pitched voice as he watched the handsome barbarian in front of him drain all the Lumyst from their merged barrier with a simple inhalation.

It seemed his subordinates feared him more than Jake, as his previous ultimatum was completely ignored once the order was reiterated. The chariots ready to charge remained in place to preserve their formation, but the independent Mumaks immediately surged towards him.

Watching a hundred horned quadruped beasts several times his size charge their chariot at near-sonic speed, Jake heaved another tired sigh and said to the arrogant Radiant Mage,

"Since you're so eager to set an example… So be it."

Detecting pity in the foreigner's eyes, yet unmistakably hostile, the young Radiant Mage's heart skipped a beat. Would it have been wiser to yield than to be so steadfast? Alas, he would never know.

Jake had given him enough time to decide. As soon as their Lumyst Aura finished dissipating, his spiritual pressure hit them like a wall, and their souls cracked apart. Their brains imploded within their skulls, and the Radiant Mage and his teammates perished instantly, their consciousness extinguished.

Witnessing their commander's death, the complexion of the archers, lancers, and other Radiant Mages on the neighboring chariots turned ashen. Driven by a silent agreement fueled by fear, they halted the shots and spells they were about to launch. However, the independent Mumaks were not as intelligent and continued their offensive.

Now the sole survivor of his chariot, Jake was besieged in an instant by the horde of ferocious beasts, the smaller ones leaping onto the vehicle, while a larger one rammed into it with its horns, tipping it over.

With a simple backflip, Jake left the chariot just before it capsized and calmly landed on the platform of another one. Again, not just any, but the one with the most abundant lifeforces after their fallen leader.

This Radiant Mage wasn't as courageous as his previous chief, and as soon as Jake appeared before him, he threw his Anthace wood spell staff to the ground.

"I surrender!"

Jake was almost disappointed to receive no resistance, but a look around confirmed that the wandering Mumaks hadn't forgotten the previous order. They were already charging the chariot he had just appeared on.

"If you value your life, order these beasts to back off before I decide to kill you all," he ordered sternly.

The eyes of the Radiant Mage and his teammates widened in terror, and he stammered hastily, "Y-yes, of course. LOWER YOUR WEAPONS. MUMAKS, STOP!"

The other soldiers had already lost all will to fight after seeing this foreigner decimate a dozen chariots and even more Mumaks during the first charge, and their leader's death had only driven the final nail. As soon as their second in command ordered them to surrender, they laid down their weapons with relief.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the Mumaks. While the larger ones stopped docilely, albeit visibly upset, the smaller, faster ones continued their assault unabated.

"STOP! STOP! Damn it!"

As the Radiant Mage fruitlessly tried to command them to obey, Jake snorted, exuding a horrible pressure,

"Sit, mongrels."

He barely raised his voice, but when his spiritual pressure hit them full force, all without exception started yapping, defecating themselves like frightened pups.

With a growl, Jake had brought an entire chariot company under his command. His conquest towards the supremacy of Twyluxia was off to a very good start.