Shang stood in the middle of an encampment.
He could see several tall towers and buildings. There were also plenty of True Mages and warriors stationed on the walls.
The camp blocked a tall but relatively narrow crevice that led towards the northwest.
Right now, the people inside the encampment looked at Shang with complex expressions.
They had gotten information from Duke Whirlwind about what was about to happen, and they had no idea what they should think about this.
Why would this warrior even consider doing something like that?
Right now, Shang's colossal sword was on his back, ready to be unleashed.
He stretched his legs and arms for a bit and made his bones pop all over his body.
A fire of determination could be seen in his right eye, but he was also a bit nervous.
This wouldn't be easy.
After Shang was done, he looked over his right shoulder at a young man.
The two of them shared a knowing look.
Then, Shang looked at the northwest again.
He took a deep breath and readied himself.
He lowered his stance.
BANG!
And he shot forward with all of his speed.
The stationed people looked with shock at Shang's speed.
How was he so fast?!
In what felt like an instant, Shang had left the encampment behind as he shot towards the northwest.
He still remembered his conversation with Jerald.
"You want to assault a frontline all on your own?" Jerald had asked with shock.
Shang only nodded. "I've had enough practice against beasts, but I haven't fought a Mage in over five years. If I want to keep the efficiency of my training at the peak, I need more combat experience against them."
Jerald knew what Shang meant, but that still sounded way too reckless and suicidal.
Assaulting a frontline alone was only something a High Mage could do.
Even more, there was a high chance that the enemy also had a High Mage guarding the frontline.
If Shang met a High Mage, he would definitely die.
Shang also knew that, but he wanted to do it anyways.
One had to remember that a very powerful Peak Mage was weaker than nearly all the weakest High Mages.
The reason for that was the difficulty of becoming a High Mage.
A very powerful Peak Mage would be close to comprehending their own Path, although it was called different for them.
In comparison to warriors, Mages needed to comprehend a deeper meaning regarding their Affinity. They needed to perfectly comprehend one small aspect regarding their Affinity, which gave them a powerful boost in battle.
For example, most Fire Mages concentrated on the concept of Kindling. This represented the birth of fire, and they needed to know this aspect if they wanted to understand more about fire.
A High Mage that had comprehended Kindling could transform their surroundings into a hellscape by summoning fire everywhere. They could even set other people and beasts on fire.
The only way to resist this influence was to have a Spirit Sense. With a Spirit Sense, one could block the influence of the opponent's will if it got too close.
Without a Spirit Sense, one would just burn to ashes without being able to resist or evade.
These kinds of Fire Mages were walking weapons of mass destruction. They could set hundreds of meters of land ablaze by only using their Mana and without even casting a Spell.
A very powerful Peak Mage could harness part of that power, but not fully.
This meant that even the most talented Peak Mage would have immense trouble fighting against the weakest High Mage.
Jumping levels was possible before, but the gap between the Peak of the Third Realm and the Start of the Fourth Realm was basically uncrossable.
Every single High Mage had once been an extremely talented Peak Mage before.
Even the weakest High Mage was a genius.
So, if Shang met a High Mage, things would get very troublesome.
Shang was certain that he didn't have the ability to kill a High Mage.
He could only evade their attacks and run, and even just that might kill him.
And if he met a Wind High Mage, he wouldn't even be able to do that.
For example, Jerald comprehended Movement.
Jerald's offensive power was only average for his level, but his speed was unreal.
Jerald had also used the concept of Movement to create his own Flying Spell.
Usually, only Archmages could fly, but Jerald managed to fly by incorporating Movement into a complicated Spell.
This was also the reason why there were so few people that could fly in the five Kingdoms.
Not only did one need to comprehend Wind's Movement, but one also needed to create and use a very complex Spell.
The more powerful the Mages grew, the more diverse their fighting styles became.
While a Fire High Mage would be a walking calamity, a Wind Mage would be a very quick ranged attacker.
Earth High Mages were waves of destruction, while Lightning High Mages were concentrated but very explosive cannons.
When it came to Shang's survival, it fully depended on what kind of High Mage he would meet.
He wouldn't be able to kill any High Mage, but he could survive being near some of them.
A Fire High Mage was on the less dangerous side for him. Yes, the Fire High Mage was very destructive, but Shang's Pseudo-Spirit Sense could block off their influence. The only thing he needed to do after that was to evade their bombardment of explosions, which still wouldn't be easy but doable.
An Earth High Mage would be annoying, but they would be even less dangerous than a Fire High Mage. They would transform the terrain and create waves of stone and earth to block and bury Shang. With Shang's mobility, he could survive for a while, but he would need to flee very quickly.
A Wind High Mage would just kill Shang. They were simply too fast.
A Lightning High Mage would be just as bad. While the Lightning High Mage wasn't as fast, their attacks were insanely fast.
Surprisingly, a Water High Mage would also be troublesome. Water High Mages generally comprehended the concept of Raindrop, and they could shoot these extremely dense raindrops like bullets from a machine gun.
An Ice High Mage could create waves of sharp and powerful icicles, which would also be troublesome for Shang. He could evade some of them, but not tens at once.
A Metal High Mage would be in the middle. They generally comprehended the concept of Sharpness, which would allow them to split the atmosphere apart. It was a bit similar to the Wind Blade Spell but cleaner and faster.
A Light High Mage would be annoying but not a problem. Light High Mages focused on taking away an opponent's ability to see things while slowly burning them from the outside. With Shang's Affinity, he could regulate his body's temperature.
Darkness High Mages were very similar. They distorted the surroundings and would slowly freeze their opponent.
Right now, Shang couldn't even kill a Light High Mage, but he could flee for a while from some of them.
And because of that, he decided to go through with this reckless mission.
He wanted to push himself further, and it was impossible to push oneself without genuine danger.
After a while of running, Shang entered a foreign Spirit Sense.
Just as the intel he had received from the Skythunder Kingdom had said, an Initial High Mage was watching over this frontline.
And her Affinity?
Metal.
