A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 184 Human Transmutation

"Wolf Lord, they're here!"

An orc broke into Lupus's tent.

"Go and fight!"

Lupus was shirtless, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, his expression pained, and he practically forced out those words.

"yes!"

The orc paused for a moment, then didn't ask any more questions and silently retreated.

"Just bear with it; it's a necessary price to pay."

Lupus didn't say much. This was something he had understood long ago. It was because of the War Mark that he was able to become the Wolf Lord and rule the tribe.

"With this white wolf battle mark, your strength will be even greater."

A few minutes later, the shaman finished drawing the picture.

"I can feel it; I'm almost twice as strong again!"

A sinister smile finally appeared on Lupus's face, which had been contorted with pain.

"I'll make that mage regret coming here! They should go back to their tower, not swagger around here!"

Lupus picked up his giant axe and stepped out of the tent.

The outside wasn't covered in snow like other places; instead, it was lush and green.

This is a volcanic crater, exceptionally warm, and it is precisely because of this warmth that the White Wolf tribe has been able to develop to such a scale.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"This place does look a bit like a town now."

A continuous row of stone houses and tents made of animal hides surround the crater in a circle, creating a primitive and bizarre scene.

This is the location of the White Wolf tribe, at the crater of an active volcano.

"These orcs are really not afraid of volcanic eruptions; they dare to live in the crater of an active volcano."

This might be a case of prioritizing warmth over life.

Compared to the Bear Tribe, which uses wooden fences as city walls, the White Wolf Tribe is more advanced.

Their city walls were indeed city walls, built of stone, and to make them as sturdy as possible, they poured lava on them, so that after they cooled, they looked like a single piece.

However, for Jiang Shuzhou, this thing was practically useless.

Without any oxalic acid or other metals, the defensive function of this stone wall is only to block wild beasts and low-level professionals.

Jiang Shuzhou casually cast a fireball spell, which blasted a large section of the city wall apart.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers immediately launched a charge.

"For Ger'Ush! Glory to the orcs!"

Accompanied by battle cries, the orc warriors joined the war.

As for the city walls? Let whoever wants to defend them defend them. They don't want to defend them. Only orcs fight others. When did they become the ones defending?

War was imminent, and the two sides began a bloody battle.

Jiang Shuzhou used his flight technique to release the spell directly from the air downwards.

With the release of group spells such as strength boost, agility boost, courage boost, and large-scale healing of minor injuries, the battle situation instantly shifted to Jiang Shuzhou's side.

This is the spellcaster's ability to reduce the size of the battlefield. When the quality of both armies is similar, a simple buff spell can give one side a huge advantage.

Suddenly, a huge rock crashed down on Jiang Shuzhou.

Jiang Shuzhou had sensed something was amiss and dodged away.

"Your opponent is me!"

Lupus appeared on the battlefield, wielding a giant axe.

The moment he appeared, he swung his giant axe and cleaved the soldiers who tried to stop him in two.

"A boring toy!"

Then, he swept his axe out again, killing all the hunting dogs that had surrounded him.

It seems that hunting him down is no longer an option.

Jiang Shuzhou was a little curious, though. This orc was only at the mid-level and showed no signs of having cultivated or used any secret techniques, but his combat power just now was clearly beyond what an ordinary mid-level warrior could achieve.

Furthermore, based on Jiang Shuzhou's knowledge of pharmacology, he could say with certainty that the other party had definitely not consumed any potions that could temporarily enhance strength.

How did you do that?

Clearly, this is somewhat unusual.

Jiang Shuzhou once again ordered the hounds to surround Lupus. He wanted to see just how far this man could go.

He also planned to see what exactly happened, whether he had drunk a potion that even Jiang Shuzhou couldn't tell, or used some top-notch secret technique.

In any case, time will tell.

Any method that quickly improves one's strength will not last long.

Jiang Shuzhou decided to stall for a bit and see what the other party's background was.

A large number of hounds surrounded Lupus.

Lupus swung his axe wildly, one swing after another, trying to break through the encirclement.

However, it was no use; one hound fell, and more hounds filled the gap.

After Jiang Shuzhou's modifications and upgrades, the hunting dog is now a third-tier transcendent being, much stronger than before.

Even though Lupus was a mid-level warrior and had the power of Grush's orc bloodline, he could only slowly have his stamina depleted.

Lupus knew this wouldn't work; sooner or later, the hounds would wear him down, and he would eventually die from exhaustion.

He began to conserve his energy, shifting his focus from killing the hounds to repelling them.

Just when Jiang Shuzhou thought that his strength had weakened and the side effects were about to take effect, Lupus made his move.

"bump!"

In an instant, Lupus's power was amplified to the extreme. His muscles bulged all over his body, and he leaped out of the encirclement and charged towards Jiang Shuzhou.

At the same time, Jiang Shuzhou also saw the white wolf battle markings on his body that were emitting a faint light.

"Human transmutation?"

Inscribing runes onto a person's body to enhance their strength is called human transmutation.

This is an ancient art, and many alchemists, including Jiang Shuzhou, have only heard of it but have almost never seen it.

Because human body transmutation is extremely prone to accidents, the person being transmuted will die if not careful. Furthermore, it is costly, cannot be automated, and requires the engraver to personally perform the transmutation.

At the same time, the breadth of knowledge required for human transmutation is also very broad. One must not only know runes, but also flesh and blood, and even be familiar with other disciplines such as medicine.

This is why human transmutation did not develop.

With other disciplines becoming increasingly popular, parts of human alchemy have been incorporated into the Way of the Flesh and Blood, while the rest have been relegated to the dusty archives of libraries.

I never expected to encounter something like this.

This technique was almost lost to time, but I never expected to see it on orcs.

Jiang Shuzhou's gaze towards Lupus changed.

The thing on that orc is a treasure! It's a stable version of the rune. If Jiang Shuzhou's army were to get one of these tattooed, wouldn't that greatly enhance the army's strength?

Even if Jiang Shuzhou's personal tattooing is inefficient, there are always ways to do it. Rome wasn't built in a day, and alchemy took a long time to develop to its current state.

Moreover, even if only a small number of officers are equipped with it, this is still a huge improvement.

However, since that's the case, we can't simply use magic to kill it.

It would be best to capture him alive, but if that's not possible, at least leave him with a complete corpse.

However, this is not a problem for Jiang Shuzhou.