Advent of the Archmage

Chapter 650: Creator’s Temple (3)

A majestic-looking temple appeared in front of them as they stepped through the Gates of the True Self. Its pillars were a few thousand feet high and a few hundred feet wide, with thick clouds coiling around their upper portions and the temple’s ceiling. It was truly an impressive sight.

When they were inside the temple, Link saw that both sides of the temple were lined with countless statues. These massive statues were all frozen in all kinds of postures. One seemed to be roaring at the heavens; another was locked in a striking posture, with a battle-axe held behind his head in his hand. Some of them had serene looks on their faces. The same white columns of cloud wound through the gaps between their arms and bodies, giving them a dignified, almost unearthly air.

Even a Legendary Magician would have a hard time bringing into existence a temple of this scale along with the statues it contained. The entire building seemed to have been given form by hands that had not belonged to any mortal.

The two of them then flew approximately 25 miles through the temple. All of a sudden, a round stone which seemed to be glowing with a blue light appeared in the heavens before them.

The stone had a diameter of around 16 feet. It floated like an insignificant speck of dust in the air, but Romeon suddenly stopped 2000 feet away from it. Not at all familiar with his surroundings, Link too came to a halt alongside Romeon.

Then, Romeon said, “This is the Stone of Creation, the core of the entire temple. Doesn’t it look small and almost within arm’s reach?”

It did seem to be within 2000 feet away from where they were. Link could probably reach it in a single bound. However, Romeon would not have asked such a question if things were as they seemed.

“Is something the matter?”

Smiling, Romeon replied, “I can’t really put it in words. You’ll just have to fly towards the stone to know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t worry, it’s quite safe, though the journey may tire you out a bit. I’ve tried many times to reach it before, but I just never had the power to accomplish such a feat.

Setting aside his misgivings, Link began to fly towards the blue stone by himself.

At first, he thought he would be able to reach the stone in a single breath. However, after flying for a while, he sensed that something was not right.

As he flew on, he noticed that the Stone of Creation was gradually expanding until it filled his entire field of sight. He turned around and saw that the temple’s pillars and its statues, which had seemed to stretch into the heavens back then, were now mere infinitesimal points on the ground behind him. He then looked at himself and realized that he too had shrunk to the size of a grain of dust.

Strangely enough, despite the fact that Link had flown for almost an hour, he felt that he was no closer to the blue stone in the sky than before. If anything, he sensed that he was pulling further and further away from it as he flew on. Before, he was still around 2000 feet away from the stone. Now, it seemed to be a few hundred thousand feet away from him.

Am I flying away from it? Is this spatial magic? But I didn’t feel any ripples in the spatial fabric around me. Link could not wrap his head around what was going on.

If it were not for the fact the blue stone was growing larger and larger before him, Link would have already lost his will to press on towards it a long time ago.

Link flew on under these curious circumstances for more than three hours. At that point, the blue stone had completely filled Link’s vision. Behind him, Romeon and the temple were nowhere to be seen on the ground.

Link was now under the impression that he was a mere speck of dust floating across the empty vastness of the Sea of Void, with the massive Stone of Creation looming before him. Whether he would be able to reach it at all was anyone’s guess at this point.

As he flew on for what seemed like an age, something happened.

The blue stone before him had vanished. In its place was a mirror. Ripples spread out across its pond-like surface, before subsiding completely to reveal an unperturbed reflection.

With his dragon sight, Link was able to see what was reflected in the mirror. He had the impression that he was looking down at an entire world tens of thousands of miles up in the air.

Link soon realized that an entire world was indeed reflected on the mirror’s surface. On this new world, there were continents and oceans stretching into the horizon. Vast cities sprouted across its continents, boasting majestic, yet peculiar-looking buildings. He also noticed that some of these cities were floating in the air like massive floating islands.

Looking closely, Link realized that this world was at the pinnacle of magical innovation, far beyond anything Link could even imagine.

If this was supposed to be what magical modernity would look like in this universe, then the Firuman realm he had been living in all this time was no more different from an era where people still lived in mud huts and hunted animals with hand-made spears. This new realm also seemed to be thrice the size of Firuman!

“What is this place? Could it be the ancient epic that the game’s mission was referring to?” Link frowned at this. He was still flying towards the mirror.

Just as he pondered the scene before him, suddenly, another change occurred. This time, a huge meteorite fell from the sky, landing squarely on one of the largest continents in the mirror’s reflection.

The meteorite was 300 feet wide. Upon impact, it set off a massive explosion, decimating an entire city within seconds. People from neighboring cities came in from all corners to put out the fire before it could spread any further. Soon, the meteorite’s core was discovered in the middle of the crater.

Link strained his eyes at it. The core was an unevenly shaped piece of rock with a diameter of 20 inches. Its material seemed to be of extraterrestrial origin. It was mostly white, like a piece of jade. However, unlike most pieces of jade, it was giving off a black smoke-like aura.

It then fell into the hands of an important-looking Magician with incredible power.

The Magician brought the stone back to his magical laboratory and began researching and experimenting with its properties in order to draw out its full potential.

Finally, a familiar-looking, six-toothed gear was brought into existence by the Magician’s hands.

At this point, something clicked in Link’s mind. However, he continued watching the scene in the mirror unfold before him, in order to have all the facts in his hands.

In the reflection, after completing the gear, the Magician began infusing his power into it in order to test out it. The gear continued drawing power from its maker without any sign of stopping. There was no turning back at that point. In order to see his experiment through, the Magician kept on finding new sources of energy for the six-toothed gear to feed on. Finally, tragedy struck.

There was a sudden flash of white light before him. When it subsided, Link saw that the Magician’s entire city had evaporated completely, along with the Magician himself.

Light surged out in every direction. It seemed to intensify more and more as it spread out. No one could stop it. Anyone who tried to was simply erased from existence.

As the light spilled forth, Link saw something resembling a dragon escaping into the Void. He then saw a powerful Magician sacrificing himself in order to split open the realm! He also saw demon-like creatures spilling out into the Void.

In this world of infinite light, the six-toothed gear slowly rose up in the light and then vanished into the Sea of Void. Back in the evaporated city, Link could see that not everyone had perished in the catastrophe.

Link saw a young man lying on the ground, unconscious. To his surprise, he realized that the man resembled Nozama. After the gear of light had vanished in the sky, he regained consciousness. His eyes were then glued to the sky for a long time.

Link stared at the young man. He then noticed that he was grasping a black stone in his hand. The stone seemed to be issuing a black aura, which continuously seeped into the young man’s body. His eyes gradually turned red throughout the entire process.

Looking closely at the black stone, Link realized that it was a mass of black impurity left behind by the meteorite’s core.

Could it be that this is what prehistoric Firuman used to look like? But how on earth did all this end up here in the Creator’s Temple in a realm so far away from Firuman? Could it be due to the six-toothed gear? Link grew even more bewildered.

Just then, the reflection of prehistoric Firuman on the mirror suddenly disappeared. A pristine blue background appeared in its place. Three balls of light floated in it. Two of them were white and black respectively. The third one was completely devoid of color.

Link strained his eyes at them. In an instant, the game system tagged each of the balls of light before him with their corresponding labels: the Portal of Light, the Portal of Darkness, and the Portal of Truth.

Beyond their names, no other information about them was given to Link.

A message from the game system then popped up in his field of vision:

Choose the portal that you wish to enter.

Chapter 651: Creator’s Temple (4)

Usually, Link would never enter a portal without being clear with the situation. But now, strong curiosity had accumulated in his heart. He really wanted to know what was behind the door.

Further, he’d seen the other display extremely high-level skills along the way. Some even surpassed his understanding. If the other wanted to hurt him, it would be easy. None of this was needed.

After seconds of hesitation, Link chose to fly through the Gates of the True Self.

Strangely enough, the moment he made the choice, the other two portals disappeared. The Gates of the True Self took up his entire vision and was immediately before him.

Link had no more hesitation; he dived in.

The sight changed before him. After a while, the light around him became gentle. Link discovered that his dragon form was gone, and he’d returned to human form.

Warm sunlight shone on him, and the smell of books filled his nose. He looked around. He was surrounded by a circle of shelves filled with all types of magic books. There was a Magician beside him too. His features were identical to the one from the epic that created the six-sided gear. Even his clothes were the same.

“Why are you here?” Link gasped. “Aren’t you dead? Sorry, but I…” When the endless light had burst, he’d seen the Magician evaporate with his own eyes.

The Magician smiled. “I did die, but I came back to life. The God of Light revived me.”

“The God of Light? Are you talking about that gear?” Link froze.

The Magician was slightly confused. “The gear? Oh, it does look like it, but it’s only the appearance. In reality, he is the God of Light.”

Link was even more shocked. “The epic says that you created it. So you’re saying that you created a god?”

“Create a god?” The Magician arched an eyebrow. Then he smiled and shook his head. “No, no, no. You didn’t see the entire story. What happened is that the God of Light has always existed, but he was hurt. I just helped bring him back to life and accidentally purified the darkness in the god’s soul. What you just saw was the process of the God of Light reincarnating.”

This made more sense. If someone could create a god, then their wisdom must be so deep. Before someone like that, Link would feel like nothing more than an ant.

After a pause, he looked at the books around him. “I chose the Gates of the True Self. Is the truth in question the different spells in these books?”

The Magician nodded. “When you entered this place of new life, the God of Light felt it. He told me to take care of things, so I had that guy Romeon lead you here. You really did come and chose the Gates of the True Self, just as how I’d expected. It was hard for you to come. To give you a gift, you can choose any of these books and copy it. Remember, only one book. This is what the God of Light wishes too.”

Only one book… Link looked at the hundreds upon thousands of books around him. It felt like he’d gone into a mountain of treasures but could only return empty-handed. He really wanted to read everything before leaving.

The Magician could tell what he was thinking. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not being stingy. It’s just that these books don’t belong to me. I’m just the manager. I can’t read these books at will either. The God of Light is the true owner. Each book contains extremely valuable knowledge. A mortal might not comprehend one book even after a century. Giving you one book is already a great blessing.”

Hearing that, Link felt that he’d been greedy. “I understand,” he said seriously.

“Go choose one.” The Magician gestured invitingly.

Link took a deep breath, composing himself, and walked toward the bookshelf reverently. Looking at all the books shimmering with magic light, the titles all tempted him.

The Mystery of Light, Light, and Darkness, Trinity, Spell-casting Techniques of a Super Magician, Sacred Realm, Macro Elements… All the books made Link’s head spin. Each one was tempting, and he didn’t want to miss anyone. Just like a regular person who could only take one gem from Alibaba’s treasures, this was impossible to choose.

While he was conflicted, Link was suddenly attracted by one book—Sacred Realm. “Sacred” meant “Legendary,” so this book would describe spells in the Legendary level. With Link’s current level, he would be able to understand it and benefit from it.

The book looked thick too. It was thicker than other books, so it probably had a lot of content too. For books of this level, there wouldn’t be a single useless word in it. Every word was important. Since there were more words, there would be more content, and he would get more out of it.

Thinking of this, Link got rid of the disorganized thoughts from being in a true god’s archive. He pointed at the Sacred Realm and said, “I will copy this one.”

The Magician didn’t react when he saw Link’s choice. It was as if he wouldn’t feel strange no matter what book Link chose.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

The Magician grasped towards the magic book. A shadow appeared from the shelf. When it flew around three feet, it turned solid and flew towards Link.

Link reached out and caught it. He looked to the shelf; the Sacred Realm was still in its original spot. This kind of copying method was almost godly. Link couldn’t do it.

“Young man,” the Magician said. “You should return to where you came from after receiving the book.”

Link was a bit hesitant again. He’d wanted to go search for the mysterious gear that was the God of Light in the Sea of Void. After all, the demon army was still waiting for him in the Sea of Void. The God of Destruction was also looking for him. If he left this realm, he would definitely die.

As if reading his mind, the Magician shook his head. “You’ve already been welcomed by the God of Light. There’s no reason to look for him anymore. As for the enemies in the Sea of Void… I only have one thing for you. There are true gods in this world, but it doesn’t include the Pale Hunter Fegnoni.”

Link froze. “What do you mean?”

The Magician smiled. “You already have the mental image. In that case, it isn’t hard to see the truth. As for the truth, you must find it yourself. This is the path you must walk yourself… Go now.”

As soon as he finished, Link felt himself float. The scenery around him spun quickly. Three seconds later, the scenery stopped, but it had become a dark green fog. Energy vortices would occasionally pass by, pressing down on him with chaotic power.

This was the Sea of Void.

Link quickly changed into his dragon form to fend off the Void Power. At the same time, a message popped up.

Mission Complete: View Ancient Epic

Player Received: Blessing of Immortality

Use now?

“Use,” Link chose without hesitation.

There was no true immortality in the world. Even the God of Light had once died. So-called immortality was just immortality in a world without outside force. Since he could have something so good, he wouldn’t refuse it.

As soon as he spoke, Link felt his body tremor. An indescribable force flew through him, instantly washing over his entire body. He saw that the silver-black scales on him had changed slightly. Looking closely, he saw that there were ancient magic veins on the surface. They looked similar to the veins on the mysterious gear.

Next, the details appeared in his vision.

Player Received: Blessing of Immortality

Blessing of Immortality

Divine Spell

Effect 1: When blessed, all effects from the realm on the target will be erased.

Effect 2: The target’s recovery rate will increase by 100%. This effect will never end.

Excited, Link checked his current status. He saw that his Realm Essence recovery rate had gone back to normal. It was once again 180 points per second.

This is great. Now, I have practically endless power, and my body can recover quickly. I won’t have to worry about tiring out even if I use my max speed. Even if Nozama uses the Void Ferry to chase me, I can still escape.

Thinking of Nozama, Link shivered. Fedaro was right behind him while Nozama and the God of Destruction were nearby. He couldn’t stay here.

With that in mind, he immediately flapped his dragon wings. Void Power spewed out, and he shot toward Fedaro like a rocket. As he flew, Link also checked the other reward from the mission: the Energy Crystal.

This translucent crystal had 28 sides and contained an energy vortex that kept spinning. It radiated with pure power aura. Link could feel that if he could absorb this power, his power limit would definitely rise. He might even get to Level-14.

He got an idea. When I get to Firuman and settle down, I’ll start absorbing.

…

Just as Link left Fedaro, Nozama who had been pursuing him received a message from the God of Destruction at almost the same time. “Stop chasing and come back. He’s in the Sea of Void!”

Nozama was shocked. “When did he leave? Where?”

“I can only vaguely sense his location. We still need to use your Void Ferry to chase him,” the God of Destruction replied.

Nozama was still hesitant. He turned around. He could see the huge cloud cluster with the gear’s imprint right now. That was the existence he’d been searching. Compared to it, Link was a lesser mission. No, it was more like an accident.

Chase him or continue?

After thinking a few more seconds, Nozama ignored the God of Destruction. He rushed into the white clouds, ducking in without more hesitation.

At that moment, the bloody light had disappeared from his eyes, turning them pitch black. “God of Light, I’ve searched for you for countless years. So you’ve been hiding here, huh. This time, you can’t run anymore!”

Chapter 652: It’s Just Survival of the Fittest

With a sudden hum, Nozama’s path was cut off by an incredible power.

The air in front of him had been violently distorted. It now resembled an ocean’s turbulent surface during a storm.

Countless tiny points of golden light swam in front of Nozama almost rhythmically. Every time Nozama tried to move forward, these points of light would come together, pushing him back. When he was forced to take a step back, these points of light would scatter, slackening their resistance against him.

Hrrgh… Can’t get through. Nozama took a step back. He then began observing the golden points of light swimming before him so intently that he was completely oblivious to the passage of time itself.

An hour had passed. Without warning, Nozama’s body gleamed with a black light. Then, he propelled himself forward towards the left.

Strangely enough, the light points before him did not seem to notice Nozama’s sudden movement. They continued swirling about in the turbulent sheet of air without making any attempt to stop his advance.

When he was approximately 100 feet inside the distorted space, the golden light points seemed to have sensed his presence. They quickly converged towards him, ready to drive him out once more.

In an instant, Nozama stopped in his tracks.

Curiously enough, as soon as he stopped moving, all the golden light points immediately slackened, before returning to their dispersed state. It was as if they had just lost their target and saw no point in assuming an offensive position.

Nozama patiently waited there. Minutes passed. Half an hour later, he resumed his advance through the distorted space.

This time, he came to a stop once more after having sprinted more than 150 feet forward.

After three days of stopping and then moving forward, the fog before him dissipated, revealing a continuously revolving silhouette in his path.

“The Gates of the True Self?” Nozama smiled faintly. His eyes gleamed with a black sheen that seemed to echo an endless night sky. From a close enough distance, one would be under the impression that they were staring into a pair of bottomless pits, threatening to suck out the souls of anyone foolish enough to stare into them.

“God of Light, my heart is filled with nothing but darkness. I will extinguish every bit of light in every realm. You should know this by now. The Gates of the True Self will not have any effect whatsoever on me.”

Saying this, Nozama walked through the Gates without any hesitation. He could feel the distortion of the silhouette around him. Three seconds later, the silhouette vanished. Before him appeared a temple that rose majestically into the heavens.

The black radiance around Nozama’s body thickened the moment he laid eyes on the temple. It was now roiling across the surface of his body, flailing about like black tentacles.

“Stay where you are, demon!” A clear voice rang out. There was a hint of anger in it. It was Romeon.

Romeon came hurtling towards Nozama with such speed that his radiant body had transformed into a lightning bolt in mid-flight.

“Insect!” Nozama slowly floated towards the Temple of Light, not at all perturbed by Romeon’s appearance. One of his black tentacles lashed out towards Romeon like a cobra.

The black tentacle easily ensnared Romeon, before tightening around his body and holding him high in the air. Without warning, the tentacle’s tip drove itself into one of Romeon’s nostrils.

Arrrghhh!!! Romeon let out a scream. His face contorted with anguish. Blue veins appeared on his body like earthworms wriggling out from the ground.

Five seconds later, the tentacle let go of Romeon. His appearance had changed drastically. With his horribly distorted features, bloodshot eyes and rotting skin, Romeon now resembled a corpse that had been brought back to life.

His unicorn had undergone a horrible transformation as well. Its eyes were now casting a black glow, while green flames burned beneath its hooves. Its pure white mane had turned horribly black, and there was a tar-like fluid leaking out continuously from the corner of its mouth.

“Master.” Romeon stood aside, letting Nozama pass.

Not even bothering to inspect his work, Nozama quickly flew into the Creator’s temple. It was not long before he finally found the Stone of Creation.

Nozama stopped his advance when he saw the stone. The black energy was now churning fiercely about his body. From afar, he would have looked like a huge black sphere.

“200,000 years, God of Light, I’ve been looking for you for 200,000 years, and now I’ve finally found you… Did you miss me, old friend?”

Countless black tentacles were now flailing about Nozama’s body, coiling about every pillar and statue in the temple, corroding everything in their embrace.

Boom! The sound of stone breaking echoed in the temple. The entire building was collapsing rapidly around Nozama.

Hum. Out of thin air, a figure appeared in the collapsing temple. It was a Magician whose hair was just as white as the full-length robe he was clad in. As soon as he appeared, multiple runes appeared in the air within a 100-foot radius around him.

The runes immediately formed a barrier of golden light around the Magician. Any tentacle coming at him simply melted away upon coming into contact with the barrier.

Nozama seemed pleased to see the Magician appear before him. “So you’re still alive, High Magus Taric.”

In ancient times, “High Magus” was the highest title a Magician could ever hope to attain. High Magus Taric had stood at the pinnacle of the world in his prime. As everyone back then knew who he was, so too did Nozama.

Taric shook his head. “I never would have guessed that that roguish disciple of mine would end up becoming one of the most terrifying demons to ever exist in the Sea of Void.”

He too knew who Nozama was. Nozama had gained quite a reputation back then, though mostly for all the wrong reasons.

Nozama smirked. “Yes, it would seem that time has changed both of us. I’m here to extinguish the light. I suppose you’re here to stop me?”

“Of course,” said Taric softly. With a hum, the barrier of light expanded tenfold around him, melting away more of Nozama’s black tentacles.

“You’re no match for me, Taric,” said Nozama, shaking his head. He then extended a hand. He was holding a black piece of stone in it. The stone’s surface was smooth, evidence that he had been playing with it for quite some time.

Taric was stunned when he saw the stone in Nozama’s hand. “The Stone of Darkness… You’re not Nozama, you’re his puppet!”

“Puppet? Well, that good-for-nothing disciple turned out to be quite useful after all. As an empty husk for me to inhabit, that is.”

Ignoring High Magus Taric, Nozama gazed up at the Stone of Creation, which was still floating in the air. He shouted, “God of Light, I have returned. Why don’t you show yourself?”

As soon as he said those words, a beam of light streaked down from the Stone of Creation, before coalescing into a 200-foot wide sphere of light in front of Taric.

A clear, resounding voice spoke out, “You shouldn’t have come back, the darkness in my… soul.”

Nozama let out a crazed laugh. “What’s the matter? Am I not welcomed here? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who you really are, after being worshipped as the God of Light for 200,000 years? Or were those times we spent consuming one realm after another just too horrible to think about?”

The black tentacles around his body were now winding around the ball of light. What happened later came as a shock to Taric.

The God of Light did not even struggle against the tentacles as they began coiling around him.

“My lord, why?” exclaimed Taric.

“I can’t stop him. Be it light or darkness, he is still a part of me. Taric, I may have lied to you. Back then, the Firuman realm had been too powerful. There was an accident when I broke through. I was injured. You didn’t really bring me back to life. I simply let you exercise the darkness in me.

Taric was stunned. He could feel everything he had ever believed in crumbling away. “What? So everything you’ve ever told me has been a lie?”

“Not everything. Some of them have come from the light side of my personality.”

The dark energy continued flowing into the God of Light’s body, which was now growing dimmer and gradually radiating a purple glow. Taric was now panicking. “If light and darkness are polar opposites of each other, why is someone as radiant as you just letting yourself be consumed by darkness?”

As a High Magus, Taric sensed that this union of both light and darkness would bring forth an abomination unlike anything anyone had ever seen in the Sea of Void.

“Light and darkness have always been two sides of the same coin, mortal. My real name is the Ruler of Light and Darkness. The union of light and darkness is my true nature, and they obey my every command.”

Taric was now on the brink of despair. “If you’re that powerful, why would you still want to destroy the realms?”

“Destroy? No, I consume realms. Let me ask you something, Taric. Let’s say you’re eating an apple right now. Would you even stop to consider the feelings of the worms living inside it when you’re munching down on them? This has nothing to do with good or evil. It’s just survival of the fittest, plain and simple.”

A shiver ran down Taric’s spine. All that he could feel now was utter despair. “Then why would you still bother replying to a question from a worm like myself?”

“Hehehe…”

At that moment, Nozama had vanished completely. The ball of light that had been the God of Light had turned purple. From it, a genderless voice laughed out. “Well, you’ve been quite the obedient little pet to me for a long time. Of course, you deserve some special treatment from me. Compared to other mortals, you hold a special place in my heart.”

“What are you going to do now?” said Taric. His voice rang hollow with despair.

“Now? I’m a bit hungry now. It’s been 10,000 since I’ve eaten anything. I see this apple called Fedaro has already ripened enough. It’s looking mighty tasty now.”

“No!!! I won’t let you!” The aura around Taric converged into a single beam of light, which then pierced through the purple ball of light like a sword.

With a bang, glass-like fragments sprayed out from the purple ball of light. However, Taric was now nowhere to be seen. He had been completely disintegrated into a wisp of smoke.

“Poor Taric, he would rather bite a chunk out of me at the cost of his own life rather than stay on just a bit longer as my pet… That’s one way to excite someone’s appetite.”

Chapter 653: Haha, He’s Dead Now!

When Fedaro was changing, Link was hurrying through the Sea of Void. No, more accurately, he was running for his life.

Vague power ripples were already reaching him. Link was familiar with the frequency. It was identical to the Void Ferry from earlier. Even more shocking was that destructive aura was mixed in too.

Demons are alright, but there’s also the God of Destruction now. I don’t know if I can escape this time.

Sensing closely, he could feel that the other’s speed was still faster than him. It wasn’t much, only closing in bit by bit, but with this current speed, they would catch up before he could reach Fedaro.

I need to escape, Link thought while flying, but he couldn’t think of a plan. After a while, his heart jumped, and a message popped up abruptly.

Warning! Warning! System being invaded! Warning… System being invaded… Unable to stop invasion… Self-destruction activated…

Not even a second later, Link felt his consciousness shake violently. He was dizzy as if he’d been electrocuted. His entire vision turned bloody-red. The world seemed to be dyed with blood.

What’s going on?! Link lost his cool. From the words, the game system had self-destructed due to an invasion. But who was the invader? Who was so powerful that even the system was forced to self-destruct?

Is it the God of Destruction? Link first suspected his most powerful enemy right now. It had to be someone on the divine level. The God of Destruction was his biggest enemy currently… Wait, it could be another dark god too, like Lilith who he’d fought against before.

Of course, these were all guesses. Link had no proof. This change was so drastic that Link’s heart was jumping erratically. All types of thoughts arose. He looked side to side, trying to find the enemy in the thin white mist of the Sea of Void.

Just then, the bloody scene changed again.

The bloody light that had erupted and filled Link’s vision faded quickly. Strange runes appeared. Link studied them and discovered they were magic runes. They looked similar to the veins on the mysterious gear but were slightly different.

At first, they looked like computer codes from earth. They appeared in lines in Link’s vision. Around five seconds later, they turned into various magic formations. They appeared much faster than before and kept changing.

Link did his best to memorize the changes. His soul had become powerful now and, he had a somewhat photographic memory. He kept track of the changes and memorized every detail.

Around 30 seconds later, the speed was almost at the limit of Link’s reaction speed. He could only watch the foggy light flash before him. The fog was thickening and growing brighter. It almost took up his entire vision.

This scene lasted for around 50 seconds and then it disappeared suddenly. Finally, a line of words that Link could read appeared.

Game system restructuring successful, restarting all functions… Beep, beep. Restart complete, generating system log… Log complete.

Link was even more confused at this. What happened? he asked himself.

As soon as he thought that, a dark silver ball of light appeared in his vision. Link was extremely familiar with this. When the God of Light had sent him to Firuman, he’d been in this half-dead state.

“The time of the Void was greatly distorted. A new timeline has been created. From now on, I will no longer be myself… Hero, this is my last time talking to you.”

“God of Light?” Link was shocked.

“No, I am no longer pure light now. Darkness has tainted me once again.”

Hearing this, Link thought of the invasion message from earlier. Thinking carefully, his heart jumped. He felt a cold tremor. Then the memory from the ancient epic floated up. A possibility rose up in his mind.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s Nozama and the horrible ancient darkness on him, right?”

“Yes. Dark and light have regrouped again. A new me has already appeared. Now, I carry the original sin of darkness and see every realm as food. Thousands of years ago, I was known as the Sovereign of Light, but also the Devourer of Worlds. Now, I am devouring Fedaro. Soon, I will go to Firuman…”

“What’s with you now?” Link was terrified.

“This is only an image I’ve left behind. When I was the God of Light, I knew this day would come. Thus, I made some preparations. Hero from the mortal world, take care.”

As soon as he finished, the dark light disappeared from Link’s vision. His heart felt cold. He asked inwardly, Game system, are you still there?

Around a second later, a line appeared in his vision.

Player, how may I help you?

Link was slightly relieved. He quickly asked, “Will the Sovereign of Light go through you and invade my soul?”

No, the game system has already been restructured. It is unique. After the past God of Light created this system, he chose to forget this memory. The Sovereign of Light cannot figure it out.

Link was a bit reassured. “The God of Light is already gone. Then is the mission system still here?”

“Yes, the system’s functions won’t change. The rewards may be affected though. The Omni Points and spell rewards won’t change, but the player is unable to receive material rewards.”

Link could accept this. He nodded, feeling assured.

Now, he suddenly discovered that his surroundings were familiar. Looking closely, his heart jumped. This seems to be where I ran into the negative-energy pitfall.

He immediately slowed down to investigate. There were still remnants of the vortex in the white mist up ahead. Around the negative-energy pitfall, the Sea of Void was very calm. Other than looking darker, it wasn’t any different from the regular space.

Energy waves from the Void Ferry were even closer, but Link didn’t continue forward. He circled the negative-energy pitfall and decided to use it to lose his pursuers.

But how?

Link thought carefully. Three seconds later, his eyes brightened. He’d thought of a plan.

It was a bit risky. Even if he succeeded, he would still suffer great losses. But success was highly possible, and it could create horrible losses for his opponent. He might make the God of Destruction look pathetic too.

Whatever, there isn’t much time. Hesitating will only waste time. Let’s go! Link was the type that would carry things out as soon as he made a decision. He was still like this now and immediately started following his plan.

While Link was planning an escape route, on the Void Ferry, the God of Destruction suddenly looked towards Fedaro.

“What’s wrong?” Demon Magician Glyn asked carefully. Nozama was his master, but this was a god. Nozama wasn’t her match at all, and he was stuck in Fedaro right now. Thus, his people naturally had to listen to the God of Destruction.

It wasn’t her fault she was stronger than Nozama.

The God of Destruction looked for a long while, brows furrowing. “I can’t feel Nozama’s power anymore. He disappeared, while at the same time a very strong force appeared. It belongs to a true god.”

Glyn was shocked. “Are you saying that Nozama was killed by that true god?”

That…was too unexpected.

The God of Destruction’s dark red eyes flickered. “I don’t know. The situation is strange, but Nozama did this to himself. It has nothing to do with us. Let’s continue forward. We’re very close to that disgusting cockroach.”

Around half an hour of flying later, a demon suddenly yelled, “Look, it’s the Ferde lord! He’s trapped in the negative-energy pitfall!”

Everyone looked over. Through the thin fog, they could see a dark silver figure circling endlessly in the distance. They couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but he seemed to be trapped by something.

This only happened after one fell into a negative-energy pitfall.

“Ha, he’s dead now!” Magician Glyn cackled.

Chapter 654: No Pain, No Gain

With a dull boom, translucent Void energy began pouring out of the Black Dragon’s wings, pushing it forward.

However, the dragon’s forward momentum did not last long, as it was then easily pulled from behind by an invisible giant hand.

Hum, hum… A saucer-shaped Void Ferry with a diameter of more than 300 feet slowly drew closer to it. It finally came to a stop 50 miles away from the dragon’s massive body. A tall, red hologram then appeared on top of the vessel.

The image stood approximately 10,000 feet tall. The Void Ferry hovered beneath it like an insect hovering in the dark expanse of the Void. After a while, the shimmering image finally solidified into the serpentine form of the God of Destruction.

From the Naga’s hologram came a voice which resounded through the white mists dispersed in all directions across the Sea of Void. “Link, you’re trapped. Surrender and swear your loyalty to me, and I will help you.”

Link’s wing thrusters were still at full blast as he desperately tried to pull himself away from the negative-energy pitfall. He replied, “I’d rather die.”

“The way I see it, you don’t really have a choice,” said the God of Destruction with a hint of glee in her voice. She watched as Link struggled against the pitfall’s gravitational pull. “In the realm of Firuman, I may not be able to deal with you personally, but here in the Sea of Void, you are no more than an insect before me. You’ve killed many of my lieutenants. Things have been smooth sailing for you so far back in Firuman. I would like to see you being slowly ground away by despair for a change.”

The Void Ferry slowly continued its approach towards the negative-energy pitfall. The God of Destruction silently observed Link’s struggle against imminent death from her perch.

Boom! Link swept his wings back in an attempt to put even more distance between him and the pitfall. However, it was all in vain. He was now like a bug trapped in spider’s web. Any further attempt to break free from this invisible web was pointless at this point.

Every new burst of Void energy from his wing thrusters simply shaved off a huge chunk of energy in his body, pushing him closer and closer towards his demise.

However, dragons naturally possessed high stamina. Though it could be said with certainty that he was now on a one-way path towards certain destruction, the process would be extremely slow. It would take more than four hours before Link would start to show signs of fatigue.

The God of Destruction continued silently observing the dragon’s struggle against death. To a deity like herself, the span of four hours was nothing. She would receive a surge of pleasure as the look of desperation on Link’s face intensified with each passing moment. It was an experience she would not mind savoring for another eight hours if she had to.

When it looked as if Link was about to fall into the negative-energy pitfall, the God of Destruction languidly held out a hand, which stretched out rapidly until it reached the dragon’s body.

“It’s been fun… Wait, you’re not Link!”

The moment she held onto the dragon’s body, the God of Destruction immediately sensed that something was not right. It was merely an empty husk!

The body she was holding still retained its flawless dragon scales, sturdy muscles, and skeleton. From afar, it looked exactly like the real thing. However, upon holding the body in her hand, she immediately realized that it was completely devoid of a soul.

To a god, life’s true essence resided in one’s soul, whereas one’s physical body was merely the result of an amalgamation of various energies. Any god worth their salt would be able to bring into existence a mortal’s physical body without breaking a sweat.

“Well played! Ejecting your soul from your physical body and leaving an empty husk behind to fool me, well played indeed! You certainly have spirit, mortal!” All that the God of Destruction was feeling right now was pure, burning anger. Energy now surged into her fingertips in waves. Bang! There was a sudden sound of an explosion. The dragon’s body had burst into pieces like a balloon between her fingers!

Link’s dragon body might be nigh indestructible to most mortals. However, in the face of a god’s power, it was just as fragile as a piece of tofu.

When the dragon body exploded, the God of Destruction’s anger subsided somewhat. All that was now left in her was an odd sense of disappointment.

The dragon body that she had decimated was considerably more powerful than most Legendary bodies. Not only did it possess a Level-18 magical resistance, but a highly-refined perpetual spell also seemed to have been cast on it as well. Such a body would have been of incomparable worth to a Level-13 Legendary master like Link. She never would have thought that Link would give it up so easily.

However, Link had managed to deceive her by leaving his dragon form behind. Her more outstanding subordinates had shown the same spirit as displayed by Link moments ago.

If she were to have someone like him working under her, she would already have brought all of Firuman to its knees a long time ago. It was truly a shame to have Link slip through her fingers once more.

He must already have fled the place four hours ago. There won’t be any point in chasing him down. The God of Destruction then withdraw her enormous figure from outside the Void Ferry back into the vessel’s interior.

“Almighty one, congratulations on finally killing Link.” Glyn, the demon Magician, stepped forth to extend his congratulations to his master. He had only seen the dragon’s body explode into pieces in the God of Destruction’s hand.

Shooting a sideways glance at him, the God of Destruction coldly spoke, “Go, back to Firuman!”

Link had made quite a home for himself in Firuman. To make matters worse, he now had more than 3000 Legendary demons under him. She could do without taking the entire realm for herself. She just could not allow Link to continue existing in this world!

Glyn was confused as to what was going on. However, the God of Destruction did not seem to be in a mood to be pestered by anyone at the moment. For his own life’s sake, he decided to keep his mouth shut, lest he say something that might incur her wrath.

Outside, Link was already hurtling through the Sea of Void at top speed. Soon, a hazy ball of light began growing before him. It was the realm of Firuman, his second home.

In order to buy himself some time, Link had abandoned his dragon form, as well as a huge portion of his dragon heart. All that was left was his human form, covered by a layer of magically immune dragon scales which prevented him from taking any damage from the Void energy outside.

He still retained his Level-13 Midstage power level. However, the scale of his power had been reduced by more than 80 percent. His power recovery rate had been halved as well. The loss he had sustained this time was simply unimaginable.

However, the loss of his dragon form was a price that Link was willing to pay if it meant escaping eternal servitude under the God of Destruction.

Time seems to work differently in each realm. I wonder how much time has passed since my departure from Firuman? Are the High Elves still proceeding with their plans for realm reunification? If so, how much progress have they made by now? Has Orida Fortress finally engaged in battle? How’s Celine doing right now?

All these questions began popping up in Link’s head. However, as he had lost his dragon form, he could only inch bit by bit across the Sea of Void towards Firuman.

Gradually, the realm of Firuman expanded in his field of sight. A warm, irresistible power radiated from it towards him.

As soon as it hit Link’s body, something strange happened.

Link felt a sudden surge of warmth enter his body. This current of warmth began circulating in him, intensifying with each round it made inside his body. He could feel even more power swirling in him as he approached Firuman.

“Where am I getting this much power? This is incredible.” Link pulled up the game system’s interface before him and saw that his power level was increasing by one point every 20 seconds. Moreover, it seemed to be increasing even more as Link came closer and closer towards Firuman.

Hum… Link had hit the outer membrane of the Firuman realm. He then noticed something odd. He did not feel any resistance acting against him as he passed through it. Like a mother welcoming the return of her child back into her embrace, Link was able to easily slip into the Firuman realm. At the same time, huge amounts of energy began flowing into his body. He was now feeling completely at ease as if he was lying on a patch of soft grass beneath the gentle rays of a springtime sun without a care in the world.

His power level was now increasing by one point every ten seconds. At that point, Link felt as if sunshine had now filled his very soul, clearing away the despondency he had felt over the loss of his dragon heart.

The first seeds of self-confidence had sprouted inside him.

“Simply incredible!”

Even though he only still had Level-13 Midstage power, even though his enemies ran rampant still across Firuman and beyond, even though there were still formidable presences in Firuman like the Shadow Stalker Morpheus and the World Tree that could erase him from existence any time they wanted to, Link now believed from the bottom of his heart that no one could defeat him and that he was now capable of taking on anyone who stood in his way.

Link was somewhat surprised by this newfound confidence in his own abilities. Where did all this confidence come from? This is such a strange reaction to have, especially for someone who had just barely escaped the jaws of death.

As he puzzled over what was happening to him at the moment, the Ode of a Full Moon sword who had remained silent all this time suddenly spoke.

Congratulations, Link.

“What are you congratulating me for? I just suffered a terrible loss,” said Link, frowning.

Aren’t you feeling like you’re now the king of the world? asked the spirit of the sword.

“Yeah, just a bit,” replied Link.

That means you have received recognition from the Firuman realm itself. You are now truly the Avatar of the Realm, the sword explained. I witnessed something like this back when I was still in the Soul Dominator’s possession, so I’m quite familiar with what you’re going through now.

“Avatar of the Realm? Why now?” Link was stunned. He closely felt all that was going on in his body. It really did feel like he had just received the realm’s blessing.

Maybe it’s because you’ve regained your independence by freeing yourself from the God of Light’s control?

This sounded logical. A message from the game system appeared in Link’s field of sight as if in response to the sword’s answer.

Examining entry of foreign energy inside player’s body… Examining energy composition… Examination complete. Player has received the realm’s blessing.

The game system’s confirmation immediately cleared away all of Link’s suspicions concerning the matter at hand. He let out a sigh of relief. This was quite the reward to make up for the terrible loss he had suffered back in the Sea of Void.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light before him. As the light subsided, Link soon realized that he had now appeared in the middle of Girvent Forest.

The sun shone brightly above him. All around him were trees, tall and green. Not far away, Link could also see the remnants of Creekwood Village that had been razed to the ground by the fires of war. Curiously enough, none of the villagers passing by him seemed to have noticed his presence in the forest.

“What’s going on?” thought Link, frowning.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a woman standing in the shade of the forest in front of him. She looked to be around 30 years old. Even though she was dressed like a simple village maiden, there was something about her that Link could not put a finger on.

There existed people in this world capable of leaving impressions in one’s mind that would last a lifetime. Weak-willed individuals had starved themselves chasing after memories of these people, haunted by them even in their sleep.

The woman was smiling at Link. Her eyes sparkled like constellations in the night sky. There was a beseeching look on her face. Link was about to say something to her, who seemed to be the only person in the village who was able to see him. All of a sudden, the scene before him changed. The villagers had disappeared. So too did the woman. All that was left before him were the empty remains of Creekwood Village in the middle of Girvent Forest.

What he saw just now was merely an illusion.

Now standing near the ruins of the village, Link tried to recall the woman’s appearance. She must have been the will of the Firuman realm in human form.

In the previous game world, the Will of the Realm’s presence had never been officially acknowledged by the developers, but there had been written records of it scattered throughout the game. Some traveling poets had even named this female personification of the realm’s will “Freyar.”

According to legends, Freyar had a soft spot for heroes. She would always offer them her blessing when they hit rock bottom, encouraging them to keep fighting the good fight.

He must have seen Freyar herself just now.

Squatting down, Link pinched a bit of soil from the ground. He then smiled. “Are you telling me to save the world? I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, you know.”

Chapter 655: The Second Siege of Orida Fortress (1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Orida Fortress

On the high city wall, General Kanorse held a telescope. He was looking carefully at the Black Forest up ahead. Among the thousands of feet of woods, he saw many tents of Dark Elves. These camps stretched on for a few miles, and he could make out many people too.

The telescope was a Yabba creation; it was of high quality. Even from this distance, Kanorse could still see the different races clearly. There were Dark Elves, Nagas, demons, demonized Beastmen, dark dwarves and more. Judging from the scouts’ information, this time, the Army of Destruction had around 200,000 people.

A while later, Kanorse handed the telescope to the burly and tall man covered in dark silver armor beside him.

“They say that the Army of Destruction’s general is a Dark Elf princess named Ellie Danas. She’s a Dark Magician with Level-14 power. We must be careful.”

This burly man was none other than Ferde’s Jacker. He was the commander of the Sunlight Army. He worked hard every second of every day to improve, and his efforts paid off. He was now Level-10 and was the first Legendary Warrior of Ferde.

With his Legendary power and status as the commander of the Orida Fortress’ most well-equipped Sunlight Army, he had great authority here.

The Orida Fortress also contained the Beastmen’s army. They were allies, but Kanorse was still biased towards Jacker, a fellow human. This made Jacker the second most powerful figure in the fortress.

He studied the Army of Destruction in the forest. The thick eyebrows on his square face furrowed slightly, looking like a rugged mountain. “The demons this time are truly powerful. They’re all high-level demons, and they have those Nagas. I’ve already seen eight at Level-10. There are many at Level-7 and Level-8. This power is too formidable.”

“Yes. Thankfully that princess broke up with the High Elves. If the High Elves were thrown into the mix, we would definitely lose.” Kanorse felt fortunate.

Jacker looked for a bit more and put down his telescope. “Even so, we still must be careful about the High Elves. They might be watching in the shadows and come at the end to clean things up.”

This made sense. Kanorse nodded. “I’m sure the scouts of MI3 won’t disappoint us.”

Thud, thud! Heavy footsteps sounded from behind them. The two generals turned around and saw a Beastman with menacing armor and a chain of wolf fangs around his neck.

Seeing him, Kanorse and Jacker both nodded while the other brought a fist to his chest.

“How are things? Are those bastards ready to die?” The Beastman walked to the city wall to look down. He was none other than Avatar, Glorious Warlord and king and leader of the Beastmen.

As he spoke, he looked at the dark Beastmen walking around in the forest. Parmese had brought them to the Black Forest. Now that Parmese was gone, the Beastmen didn’t have a high status in the army. He would occasionally see a Naga or a demon yell at or hit one of their Beastmen.

Avatar saw all this and his eyes narrowed, shimmering with blood-light. He was furious. It was all because of that idiotic Parmese!

After a while, his anger subsided. He glanced at Kanorse and Jacker. Worry flashed past his eyes. He couldn’t help but lament, “How unfortunate that the Ferde lord isn’t here!”

The two human Warriors were talented, but their combat ability wasn’t enough. The enemy general was a Level-14 Magician, and there were also many Legendary Nagas with powerful abilities. They weren’t at the same level.

Thankfully, they had this fortress as support. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to fight at all.

Speaking of Link, Jacker said, “My master went to the Sea of Void, but the Mage Tower has already sent the summoning. I’m sure he will return soon… Plus, the situation is quite good. We’re already close to the Army of Destruction’s power. This is much better than last time.”

Kanorse also nodded. “Jacker’s right. To be honest, it’s more possible for us to win this time. We may be weaker, but our support is an advantage they can’t have. If we can block their first wave of attacks, we will win!”

If they could fend off the first wave, then they could fend off the second and third. The longer it took, the more advantageous it was to them.

This made sense. Avatar nodded.

Taking one last glance at the enemy, he said, “Looking at them now, it seems they’ll attack at any time. I’ll go check my soldiers again.”

“I’ll go as well,” Jacker said.

The two left while Kanorse patrolled the wall. He cheered up the soldiers while checking the weapons on the wall. In a battle of two large armies, not a single detail could be ignored. Any mishap would help the enemy and bring horrible trouble or even complete defeat.

While the Orida Fortress was getting ready, the Army of Destruction wasn’t relaxed either. The priestess walked around, blessing the Warriors. The demons yelled in their language, planning specific ways to attack the fortress. The Dark Elf Magicians and archers were conserving their energy in preparation for the battle.

There was a huge tent under a giant tree. It belonged to Princess Ellie Danas.

Right now, people went in and out of the tent. There was a model of the Orida Fortress in the center. Demons, Dark Elves, and Nagas surrounded the model, discussing specific tactics.

Their discussion was very energetic. It sounded like they were arguing. Eugene, who had become Princess Ellie, sat on the side. She waited patiently for them to come up with a specific plan.

Around half an hour later, Priestess Molina walked up. “Your Highness, today is the coldest day of the month while midnight will be the darkest and coldest time of the day. We will attack at midnight. The army’s power will be used to its max while the opponent’s power will be repressed the most. We have the biggest chance.”

Eugene nodded. “Then let’s do that. What about the specific strategy? Show me.”

Molina hurriedly brought a scroll over. Eugene checked the various small-scale formations, attack order, plans for accidents, and more. He considered them all carefully. Around ten minutes later, he said, “The Magician Army’s appearance is too early. It can attract their attention, and it’s too risky. It should be delayed.”

“But Your Highness, our casualties will increase greatly that way. At least 10,000 people will die…” Molina couldn’t accept this.

“I know, so tell the Beastmen to attack first. Do you object?”

The Beastmen were brave, but after Parmese died, they had no leader. Many of them wished to return to the Golden Plains and follow the Beastman king. This was an army that could betray them at any time. They were unstable.

They couldn’t rely on the Beastmen to win, so they were best used as cannon fodder. At this, the Dark Elves, Nagas, and demons shut up. They all agreed tacitly.

Then Eugene continued, “Have those who were sent to the Isle of Dawn returned?”

Molina shook her head. “No news of them.”

Eugene brought a hand to her head. She was angry, but things were different now. After being a leader for so long, she’d learned to keep calm. “They should have brought the news there long ago and should be back by now. Do the High Elves not accept our compensation and don’t even wish to reply?”

No one could answer. Princess Ellie had been the one to end things with the High Elves. Now, she felt that she lacked power and sent someone to ask for an alliance. Last time, she’d almost killed the prince. It was normal that the High Elves would ignore them.

Eugene grew more furious. She tossed down the scroll and said, “Let’s just follow this plan. Attack at midnight!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” everyone said.

Eugene didn’t want to say anything else and went back to her tent.

While the humans and Army of Destruction were preparing, Link was still hurrying in the Sea of Void. In the Hengduan Mountain Range west of the Black Forest, there was a valley. Thick white fog suddenly appeared in it.

It was too thick for anyone to see what was happening inside the valley.

Chapter 656: The Second Siege of Orida Fortress (2)

It was a starless, moonless night.

Whoosh… whoosh… A biting wind was blowing in from the ice plains in the far north. Any ordinary person would have their skin frozen blue if left exposed to the extreme cold for more than half an hour. If their ears were left unprotected in it, they would fall off like pieces of clay as well.

The sound of people drawing in sharp breaths came from outside the walls of Orida Fortress. A few guards were taking shelter in a corner, their bodies trembling uncontrollably like a leaf in the cold.

“Blasted weather, why can’t those mongrels lurking outside the fortress walls just freeze to death in it?” muttered one of the guards. The others did not respond. They simply tightened their leather armors even more around them.

They were wearing thick layers of wool beneath their armors. Under normal circumstances, this layer of wool could provide an ample amount of thermal insulation as well as protection against enemy arrows for its wearer. From what the guards heard, they were gifts straight from Ferde. However, tonight, the cold was anything but normal. Like a mouse squeezing back into its hole in the ground, it had burrowed deep into the guard’s bones. Their limbs now felt sluggish, as if rust had spread to their joints.

At that moment, there was a whoom from inside Orida Fortress. Then, a golden light shone out from the Mage Tower in the fortress grounds.

Wooo~ The sound of horns being blown echoed within the fortress walls.

“Enemy attack!” Shouts rose up from inside the fortress.

In the next second, a silver dome-shaped light barrier spread out over the fortress in the air. At the same time, far within the Black Forest, countless points of purple light carved out long arcs in the air before descending on the fortress like a meteor shower.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Every purple light point was more than a foot wide. Every explosion it set off had a radius of more than ten feet.

In the span of a few seconds, the silver blanket of light that was shielding the fortress grounds was enveloped completely by this purple inferno, coloring the whole sky in the same shade of purple.

As soon as the attack began, Kanorse made his way towards the command tower behind the second fortress wall. Once there, the tactical analyst immediately gave him a report of the enemy’s ongoing siege.

“Marshal, I’ve activated the Level-16 Light Canopy. The enemy is currently using large-scale catapults against us. They’ve thrown more than 400 Level-9 Balls of Decay during their first wave of attack in our direction. Our canopy will only be able to take two more hits like that, sir!”

The Light Canopy was a recent addition to Orida fortress’s magical defenses. Thought it was a Level-16 barrier, the enemy had launched a huge volley of Level-9 magical attacks against it. It would seem that they had come prepared to take down the fortress in one fell swoop.

They had a tough battle ahead of them tonight!

“Return fire!” said Kanorse calmly.

The tactical analyst immediately gave an order according to a predetermined battle plan for situations like this.

“Ready the sliding explosive ballista. 300 shots, target, the enemy’s catapults!”

As soon as he gave his command, the Army of Destruction’s second volley of Balls of Decay fell from the sky towards the fortress. Almost at the same time, the sounds of crossbows unloading their charges rang out in quick succession from the fortress wall.

Streaks of red light whizzed out from the top of the wall towards the Black Forest like a swarm of locusts. A moment later, consecutive explosions rocked the Black Forest. Shrieks of agony could even be heard from the chaos.

The sliding explosive ballista was one of the latest magical inventions developed by Ferde’s Golden Rune Workshop. It had a range of 13,000 feet and was also capable of firing one volley of arrows every eight seconds. The tips of its arrows possessed high magical resistance, allowing it to pierce through Level-11 magical barriers. Once an arrow had broken through one of these barriers, it would activate a Level-8 explosive spell attached to its shaft, which would then release countless tiny metal pellets from it in all directions, causing maximum destruction in its wake.

Though the Army of Destruction seemed to be packing some serious firepower against them, their defenses were sorely lacking. Casualties abounded the moment these anti-magic arrows broke through them without much difficulty.

During this intense exchange of long-distance attacks between both sides, a series of commands were given out from the command post. All the Warriors in the fortress immediately broke the magic seals they had on them, flooding the fortress’s interior with magical light at that moment.

These were all Supplementary Combat spells, granting buffs such as “Giant’s Strength,” “Steel Body,” “Ultimate Protective Barrier” and so on to the Warriors. A Level-1 Warrior would be able to receive from these seals enough power to confront a Level-3 Warrior head-on. Right now, the average power level of all the Warriors in the fortress was Level-5. After casting these supplementary spells on themselves, they had effectively increased their own power levels and were now capable of going toe-to-toe with the Army of Destruction.

The supplementary spells were the first step of their battle plan. At that moment, sounds of alchemical vials being smashed into pieces on the ground echoed from every corner of the fortress. A thick golden mist began rising from the vials’ shattered remnants.

The mist was radiating a golden light. Before long, it filled the entire fortress. Every Warrior breathing in this golden mist would receive a huge boost to their strength, endurance, and natural resistance against dark power. Conversely, the golden mist would act as a poison against those who wielded dark or destructive power!

The third volley of Balls of Decay fell from the sky once more when the Warriors were finally done with their defensive preparations. However, the number of Balls of Decay coming down on them now had been vastly reduced after the hit the enemy catapults took from the fortress’s explosive ballista.

However, under their constant barrage, the Level-16 Light Canopy seemed to have lost most of its luster as well, as if it had lost all its defensive power.

…

Inside the command post

Kanorse’s face did not betray a single hint of the panic that he was now feeling inside. “How many catapults does the enemy still have left?”

The Level-9 Balls of Decay had been quite a handful to deal with. If even one of them had gotten through their defenses, it would have caused considerable damage to their forces.

The tactical analyst was still closely observing the current state of the battlefield. He then gave his report to Kanorse. “After taking two hits from us, the enemy now has 50 catapults remaining. We’ll be able to bring that number to zero with two more hits from our explosive ballista.”

“Good.” Kanorse was somewhat relieved by this. Glancing at the dim Light Canopy above him, he then ordered, “Get ready to intercept enemy’s frontal assault!”

The order was given out, and every Warrior in the fortress began gathering near the walls. Ferde’s Sunlight Warriors were charged with guarding critical points around the fortress, while the rest of the Warriors lined the fortress’s less important regions. As Orida Fortress’ trump card, the Beastmen Warriors were tasked with delivering the final blow to the enemy forces!

Soon, every Warrior had assumed their positions in the fortress. They now waited patiently in their formations for the big battle with the Army of Destruction.

The walls of Orida Fortress were recently erected with magically resistant clay imported from Ferde. With their huge bulk and powerful magic seals etched across them, these walls were capable of withstanding even Level-18 Legendary spells.

These nigh, impenetrable walls gave a certain sense of security to those behind them. No matter how powerful the Army of Destruction might be, they would not be able to penetrate these sturdier-than-steel walls of the Orida Fortress!

Boom! Boom! Sporadic explosions echoed from the dim Light Canopy above them. The Army of Destruction still had ten catapults standing. When the explosions subsided, the canopy quivered unsteadily in the sky. However, it remained there still.

The canopy was powered by the Mage Tower. As long as it remained unbroken, the Mage Tower could simply channel more power into it, returning it back to full capacity.

Right now, the Light Canopy seemed as flimsy as a bubble. Slowly, it began to thicken, visibly regaining its former firmness.

To the human Warriors in Orida Fortress, this was good news. However, the same could not be said for the Army of Destruction.

A few thousand feet away, Eugene saw the Light Canopy returning back to full strength. She muttered angrily, “Blasted tortoise shell!”

She climbed to higher ground, with a magic wand in her left hand and a dark runestone in her right. The runestone began to glow with a black light, which expanded into a one-foot-wide ball of dark energy around the stone itself.

“Go!”

With a tap of her wand, Eugene conjured a small portal before her in the air. She then threw the runestone into it.

At the same instance, an explosion of purple flames erupted in the sky above Orida Fortress. The flames melted away the last shreds of the Light Canopy upon hitting it. Many Warriors in the fortress were hit as well as a result. Cries of agony from Orida Fortress soon reached the Warriors of the Army of Destruction in the Black Forest.

“An excellent move from Her Highness,” said the Holy Priestess Molina.

Waving his hand, Eugene gave out his order, “Storm the fortress!”

The black runestone might not look like much, but it was Eugene’s most prized possession. With it, she would not need to waste too much dark power on Legendary spells while dealing with the Legendary masters of Orida Fortress. Exhausting her reserve of dark power recklessly now would mean putting herself in a tough spot that would eventually lead to her death.

Eugene was more than aware of such an outcome.

After casting a Legendary spell with the black runestone and giving out an order to her troops, Eugene returned to her tent and closed her eyes for some much-needed rest.

War drums sounded amid the Army of Destruction. More than 200,000 Warriors began rushing towards Orida Fortress like a fierce torrent, all according to Eugene’s plan.

The Dark Beastmen led the charge, followed by the demons, then the Nagas, and finally the Dark Elves. The Dark Elves had spared no expense in donning everyone in full armor. Despite serving as cannon fodder at the front of this ghastly procession, the Dark Beastmen were all equipped with fine sets of armor and weaponry as well.

The Dark Elf Magicians were not simply twiddling their thumbs in the corner during the Warriors’ mad charge towards the Fortress. In fact, they played an integral part in breaking apart the fortress walls!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Eighty-foot-tall, earthen golems were summoned by the Magicians one after the other. These magical behemoths began throwing 40-ton stones at the fortress. They did not need to land any of their shots on the fortress’s Warriors; the stones’ impact against its walls would be enough to disrupt the Warriors’ formations behind the walls.

The stones reached the fortress before any of the Army of Destruction’s infantry. Forty golems had been summoned in the Black Forest. They began lurching towards the fortress, threatening to demolish its walls with their bare hands.

“Dispel them! Quick!” shouted the commanding officer of the Magicians in Orida fortress. He was well aware of the destruction these golems would be able to wreak if they were allowed to come any closer to the fortress.

Hum… Hum… Hum… Hum… Streaks of dispelling spells shot out towards the golems, disrupting the magical integrity of their bodies.

However, the Dark Elf Magicians did not let up the golem assault. They continued summoning more golems from the ground, replacing those that had fallen under the barrage of dispelling spells. Half a minute later, some of them had even begun burning their souls up to continue the summoning process.

…

Inside the Orida Fortress

“Snipers, shoot down the enemy Magicians!” The order was quickly given out to every magical sniper posted across the entire length of the fortress wall.

Streaks of light began flying out from the top of the wall, making a beeline towards the forehead of every Dark Elf Magician.

The magic pistols these snipers were armed with were also forged by Ferde’s Golden Rune Workshop. Each of them possessed Level-8 offensive power. Due to its anti-magic properties, the pistol was also known by another name: the Mage Killer!

The Dark Elf Magicians’ numbers were now declining at an alarming rate with each shot from the snipers. The earthen golems’ numbers were also whittled down as a result.

The golems were the Army of Destruction’s principal force in their siege. Though they were not endowed with considerable offensive power, their bodies could still serve as ladders. As long as they were able to reach the base of the fortress, even if their magical integrity was dispelled, the remnants of their bodies would still pile up beneath the wall, facilitating the enemy Warriors’ climb over it.

In the end, only one golem was able to reach the wall of Orida Fortress, at the cost of the lives of almost all the Dark Elf Magicians.

Eugene was stunned by this outcome. He had no idea laying siege to Orida Fortress would be this difficult!

Am I going to lose here? thought Eugene. He could see that the Dark Beastmen were now 500 feet away from Orida Fortress. They were also falling at an alarming rate under a shower of arrows unleashed from the top of the wall.

Even the high-ranking personnel of the Army of Destruction had realized that things were not looking too good for them.

Orida Fortress was evidently more formidable than it had ever been. They now feared that they had no chance of penetrating even its walls.

“What should we do, Your Highness?” whispered Molina.

Eugene was extremely conflicted about this. They would most likely lose if they pressed on with their siege. If they retreated now, everything they had worked for would have all been in vain.

None of her subordinates would know what it was like to make difficult decisions for an entire army!

Back when she was still a genius Dark Magician, Eugene was able to spend her days as free as a bird in the world. Thanks to the incredible power she wielded, she could do anything she wanted to. But now, her every action had actual consequences, influencing the fates of those beneath her.

Eugene’s body trembled unconsciously. She was now at a loss for words.

Just then, startled exclamations rose up among the Warriors outside her tent.

“What’s that?”

“There’s something in the sky!”

“It looks like a meteorite!”

Soon, Eugene sensed an all-encompassing magical pressure coming down from the sky. The magical power she felt was at least Level-14.

“I’ve never felt magical power like this before!” exclaimed Eugene. Both of them quickly rushed out of the tent to look at what was going on in the sky.

Eugene was overjoyed by what she saw.

There was a ball of bluish-white light in the air with a diameter of approximately 30 feet. The entire sky had been lit up by it as if it was now morning. The ball of light seemed to be falling straight towards Orida Fortress at an unimaginable speed!

It’s a Level-14 Legendary spell, Doomsday Meteor. No one in Orida Fortress will be able to defend against such a powerful spell. They’re done for!

She had no idea who was behind it, but this meteor was enough to turn the tables on Orida Fortress!

Chapter 657: Second Siege of Orida Fortress (3)

Orida Fortress

When a Level-14 meteorite appeared in the sky, Kanorse’s face instantly turned ashen.

“General, we couldn’t stop him!” The strategy analyst’s face was white as a sheet of paper.

If the Light Canopy were still there, they could easily block a Level-14 spell. But now, the canopy was damaged and couldn’t be used within a short period. If this spell fell upon them, it would be a feat if one-tenth of the Warriors in the fortress could survive.

That one-tenth would be horribly injured too. How could that number of soldiers with a damaged fortress fend off an army of 200,000?

The Doomsday Meteor was about to land. There was no time to consider or hesitate. Kanorse grabbed his Lion’s Fury and rushed out of the command tower.

“General?!” his subordinate yelled.

“From now on, you’re the general!” Kanorse yelled back. He trained his eyes on the Doomsday Meteor while rushing towards it. He would stop it, even if it meant paying with his life!

…

The Beastman Army on the other side of the fortress

Avatar, the Glorious Warlord and Beastman king, saw Kanorse at once. He looked up at the Doomsday Meteor, hesitated for half a second, and then rushed towards Kanorse.

“Lowly sneak attackers, if I survive, I’m gonna rip you apart!” The Beastman king never spoke with sophisticated vocabulary, but he knew that if the meteorite landed, his Warriors would all die.

These Warriors were the insurance for his race’s survival. If they all died, the fate of Beastmen would become miserable. Avatar couldn’t let that happen.

On the fortress wall, Jacker, clad in Legendary armor, was also watching the meteorite. From his spot, he could clearly feel that it would fall on the wall—right where he was standing.

If he didn’t dodge, he would be the first to be killed. He also saw Kanorse and Avatar. He knew what they were thinking because he had the same thoughts.

“Retreat, everyone retreat! Find somewhere to hide!” Jacker radiated with golden Sunlight Power. He tossed his sword away and grasped his heavy shield with both hands.

At the last moment, he saw a young man looking at him from the near distance. He knew this guy. He was Thoreau, a prodigal Warrior. Only 19 years old, he was already at Level-9 and had unlimited potential.

“Live and tell the lord that I died without regret!” Jacker yelled.

Thoreau nodded forcefully, tears rolling down his face.

During this time, the Orida Fortress’ Mage Tower had reactivated the shield that covered the entire fortress. But it was only at Level-10. It couldn’t stop this Doomsday Meteor at all.

Magicians, archers, and all types of heavy artillery kept attacking the meteor, trying to make it ignite beforehand, but it was all useless.

The structure of the Doomsday Meteor was ten times more stable than the usual Level-14 spell. There was also a special shield around it that was probably around Level-12. This shield blocked all disturbances.

More accurately, this was a Level-14 spell with a Level-12 shield! Someone had worked hard on this Doomsday Meteor to turn the Orida Fortress into a zone of death!

Just now, Kanorse and Avatar reached Jacker. The three didn’t talk. They understood each other with a glance.

The three Legendary Warriors looked up and activated their power. Kanorse turned into a flash of silver light, Jacker was gold, and Avatar was bloody red. Their battle auras melded together into a dark red glow of more than 15 feet wide.

At that time, the Doomsday Meteor was around 600 feet from the fortress. For Legendary Warriors, this was enough for them to attack!

The Warriors in the fortress heard a piercing yet muffled thud. The dark red glow lifted from the wall and shot towards the blue-white Doomsday Meteor like a rocket.

An instant later, they collided. There was a blinding flash in the sky. Everyone inside and outside the fortress shut their eyes reflexively, not daring to look.

Under the blinding light, the temperature rose 30 degrees. The North was originally freezing, but it became stifling now. All the snow melted.

Boom. There was a muffled explosion that spread in all directions like thunder. Then, there was another muffled boom. This came from the fortress wall. Something still crashed into it.

Smoke rose up, covering the sky.

When the dust subsided, everyone saw the wall clearly. The sturdy wall now had a huge hole 30 feet deep and 90 feet wide.

There were three burnt bodies in the hole. Judging from their figures and armor, one could vaguely distinguish them. General Kanorse’s body wasn’t even complete anymore. He was clearly dead. Beastman Avatar and Sunlight Army commander Jacker’s bodies were still whole, but they were not moving. No one knew if they were alive.

There were also thousands of bodies around the hole. They were the Warriors who hadn’t retreated in time. But these losses were nothing compared to what would have happened if the meteor had smashed down directly.

When this happened, Princess Annie was in a hidden corner of the fortress. She had entered the Legendary level now. When she saw Kanorse’s corpse, she covered her mouth, trying not to cry.

The general and war god of the Norton Kingdom, the man who always smiled gently at her, was gone.

She saw Warriors rush to the hole and take the three bodies. She heard some yell happily that someone was still alive, but she also heard sobbing. General Kanorse was still dead.

…

Outside the Orida Fortress

Dark Magician Eugene was ecstatic!

The human army lost three Legendary Warriors at once. Her threat was gone instantly; she could unleash her power now. The Orida Fortress also lost their general and had such a big hole in the wall. If they still couldn’t win, the Army of Destruction could change their name to the Army of Failures.

She stood up and ordered, “All fronts charge and attack with full force! I’ll clear the path!”

With that, she transformed into a puff of black smoke and rushed into the sky. Aiming at the hole in the wall, she cast a Level-10 Dissociation Ray.

Boom! The crack widened. After the loose rocks slid down, the bottom of the hole was less than 150 feet from the ground.

“It’s so sturdy. So unfortunate!” Eugene couldn’t help but praise it. “Since it’s so sturdy, I won’t look for trouble.”

If it was a regular wall, her spell could have destroyed the entire thing. Though she was a Level-14 Magician, she’d only upgraded recently and hadn’t learned Level-14 spells yet. She could use Level-13 spells though. Without the threat of Legendary Warriors, one Level-13 spell could kill more than half of the Warriors.

Eugene moved her wand to cast a Level-13 spell.

“Your Highness, wait,” Molina said.

“What?” Eugene turned.

“There are more than 40,000 Beastmen inside the fortress. They’re all powerful Warriors. We are in a good state and it’s a pity to kill them all. What if we persuade them to join us?” Molina asked.

Eugene considered this and nodded, smiling. “Good idea, but we still need to give them a taste. I’ll take care to kill those humans but not Beastmen, hehe.”

In that case, Molina wouldn’t object.

Eugene focused on casting the spell. However, she’d underestimated the army’s power and the dangers of the battlefield. There were countless eyes and elites on the battlefield. They wouldn’t let her cast spells safely.

Just then, around 500 streaks of fire shot out from the Orida Fortress. Crossbow archers and magic fire gun shooters seemed to have planned to shoot together. They had the same target—Eugene, casting a spell in the air, and the range of 60 feet around her.

Eugene was in the middle of spell-casting when the attacks rained down. The weakest spell was Level-8, and there were around 500 of them. She was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

This was an all-encompassing attack. She had nowhere to hide, and regular shields couldn’t stop them at all. Eugene didn’t even have time to cast a powerful shield.

Oh no, I was too cocky! My stupid habit! Eugene wanted to slap herself. But she was a top fighter of Firuman for centuries and still had life-saving tricks.

She immediately stopped casting spells. At the same time, a rune flashed in her hand like lightning. Activating, it buzzed, and Eugene disappeared in the white light. She re-appeared hundreds of feet away.

She wasn’t a spatial Magician and couldn’t do transmissions well. Teleporting hundreds of feet was already her limit.

But then something happened!

Before she could even steady herself after appearing, she saw a shadow charge towards her at an incredible speed. The shadow was already 15 feet away from her.

A thought flashed into her mind. Oh no, an Assassin!

It was none other than Princess Annie!

She’d turned her sadness and fury at Kanorse’s death into power. Ignoring her own life, she snuck into the Army of Destruction’s camp to assassinate their general. This was her responsibility as a Legendary Assassin and the only way to save the Orida Fortress.

Kanorse, I hope you will protect me from heaven. Annie was nine feet away from Eugene.

Chapter 658: The Second Siege of Orida Fortress (4) Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Any self-respecting Assassin would be able to cross three feet in no time at all!

Right now, Annie was a mere three feet away from Eugene.

In other words, Eugene would have no time whatsoever to react to her ambush. She would be killed in an instant!

Eugene was ecstatic upon seeing the massive meteorite decimate the entire human army in Orida Fortress. However, the ecstasy she was feeling was soon followed by surprise, which then gave way to frustration. After centuries of running rampant throughout the realm, why did things stop going my way only recently?

If this body were to be destroyed, she would have to look for a replacement.

However, no matter how fast her Assassin was, Eugene’s situation was not completely hopeless. Rescue came in the form of the Naga Priestess Molina.

A few hundred feet away, Molina had noticed Princess Annie’s presence sooner than Eugene did.

Everyone’s nerves were stretched taut in the Army of Darkness in anticipation of the battle that was to come. Eyes darted about warily, expecting danger to jump out from every corner. Even a Legendary Assassin would have a hard time infiltrating such a place. With a combination of talent and sheer luck, Princess Annie was able to pull off such a feat.

Just when it seemed as if there was no hope left for Eugene, dark red light shot out from Molina’s hands towards Eugene.

“Destructive Vortex!”

Though it sounded like the name of an offensive spell, it could also be used defensively. In an instant, the streak of red light enveloped Eugene’s entire body. It then began revolving half a foot away from Eugene like a crimson cyclone.

Princess Annie immediately felt the sheer force of this Destructive spell as soon as it was activated. She could feel herself being lifted up by the swirling wind around the cyclone. At the same time, she could see that cracks were appearing on her leather armor. Her own hair was being shredded away, bit by bit. There was also an intense pain spreading from patches of her bare skin that were exposed to the wind.

From the corner of her eye, Annie saw that the huge rocks lying on the ground were immediately ground to dust by the wind. The bodies of normal Demon Warriors standing in the vicinity met a similar fate, collapsing to the ground before they even realized what had happened.

“Shadow Cocoon!”

Shadow Battle Aura began swirling around Annie’s body. In an instant, she had transformed into a mere shadow.

With this battle technique in effect, the Destructive Vortex’s effect would be temporarily nullified. Even the wind it was blowing up simply passed through her harmlessly. Annie’s body finally regained its movement.

The Shadow Cocoon technique would not be enough on its own to see Annie through this. She needed to defend herself against further interference from anyone else in the Army of Destruction.

As she lunged at Eugene, Annie suddenly raised her left hand up to her side. In an instant, a huge magical pistol materialized in it. From the corner of her eye, she took aim and triggered the pistol’s magic seal, firing a couple of shots at Molina without any hesitation.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! A total of six bullets simultaneously flew out of the pistol’s barrel towards Molina’s position.

The magical pistol was a Golden Rune Workshop creation, custom-made according to Annie’s specifications. She had spent a good bit of money on it. Due to her status as a member of the royal family, a number of Legendary Magicians in Ferde had personally overseen the pistol’s creation.

The pistol was also named as “the Flash” for its lightning fast firing rate. It was able to spew out all the bullets in its magazine in an instant, and each bullet’s offensive power was as high as Level-9!

As the God of Destruction’s priestess, Molina only served as a support to the Army’s war efforts. In the face of such an attack, she immediately panicked. She was now forced to defend herself against Annie’s attack, even if it meant leaving Eugene vulnerable to Annie’s ambush.

This was the first step to Princess Annie’s strategy. However, it was still not enough. She was now deep in enemy territory. She could be surrounded by powerful members of the Army of Destruction at any moment.

With a flick of her hand, Annie withdrew the magical pistol in her hand. A crystal ball appeared in its place. It seemed to be filled with a milky-white fluid, while numerous magic runes were engraved across its surface.

Annie lightly touched one of the runes with a finger. The milky-white fluid began to boil in the crystal ball, which then started to glow.

The crystal ball was custom-made as well. The fluid in it was mixed with highly-concentrated Level-10 Sunlight Power. Annie only had three such crystal balls at her disposal.

Annie was now a foot away from Eugene. She could see that Eugene had only just reacted to her presence and was about to cast a spell to defend herself. However, any kind of spellcasting would require time. Unfortunately, time was not something Eugene had in abundance right now. Annie was now so close to Eugene that she simply needed to reach out and drive a dagger into her heart.

Disregarding everything else, Annie threw the crystal ball into the air. She now only had one thing in her mind: ending Eugene’s life.

With a dull fwoom, the crystal ball exploded. In an instant, there was a blinding white light in the air. Her eyes already shut tight against it, she continued on her trajectory towards her target, relying only on her acute hearing and previous estimation of her target’s position.

“Argh! My eyes!”

“Argh, I can’t see anything!”

“What’s going on?”

Realizing that Eugene was in danger, every Warrior in the Army of Destruction immediately scrambled to her aid. However, none of them were prepared for this sudden onslaught to their eyes.

Nagas, Demons and Dark Elves were naturally accustomed to dim light and so were extremely sensitive to harsh light. As a result, they were all blinded by the sudden explosion in the air.

In the chaos, Annie felt her anti-magic dagger piercing through a layer of clothing before reaching the layer of skin beneath it.

Her skin feels thin. The fatty layer comes next. It feels thick. Must be the woman’s chest. Next comes her ribcage. I’ll just give the dagger a twist, plunge it through a gap between her ribs and… there, I’ve reached her heart.

The process took only a few seconds. Princess Annie had perfected the art of stabbing people in the chest ever since joining MI3’s Assassin division. She had quite a stellar body count, which mostly comprised of Dark Elves. She had killed thousands of them with her bare hands.

She was now more than familiar with the sensation of a blade cutting through Dark Elf flesh and any energy feedback it might receive in its path. Even though she had her eyes shut, she could still tell how much damage her target had sustained from her blade.

Her heart’s been punctured. It should rupture if I channel a bit of power into it. There, the deed is done. I probably should retreat now!

She would probably be trapped there if she stayed on any longer.

Annie pulled out her dagger and opened her eyes. The crystal ball’s blinding light still illuminated the place, its intensity diminishing not one bit. As a human being, Annie only needed to squint in order to withstand the intense light.

Shadow Battle Aura began surfacing from Annie’s body, reducing it immediately into an indistinct, mist-like form. As the light subsided, she silently faded away into her surroundings.

Annie decided to linger around the Black Forest for a bit, instead of directly returning to Orida Fortress. It would probably not be safe for her to choose the latter option, as her enemies would probably expect her to do so.

The harsh light in the sky finally subsided when Annie was 300 feet away from the Army of Destruction.

Boom, boom boom!

A number of spells flew out from the Army of Destruction before coming down on the space between the Army itself and Orida Fortress. As the Assassin was nowhere to be seen, area-of-effect spells were cast at that moment in an attempt to smoke her out from the shadows.

However, Annie had already anticipated such a reaction from them. She was now completely out of their reach.

After following a circuitous path through the forest, Annie finally returned to the fortress. Once inside the fortress’s command post, she was immediately greeted by a couple of generals.

“Your Highness, how did it go?” asked one of the generals.

The cold, uncompromising air that she had assumed during Eugene’s assassination lingered still on Annie’s face. “I managed to stab the Dark Elf Princess in the heart. Her heart has ruptured completely. Even if she managed to pull through, she would still sustain severe damage. For now, she won’t pose much of a threat to us.”

“That’s great news!”

“Your Highness, you’ve saved the fortress!”

Everyone in the command post heaved a sigh of relief. The Dark Elf Princess was far too dangerous to be left alive. They probably would not survive another one of her Legendary spells in their current state. The realm’s entire south side would be engulfed in the flames of war if Orida Fortress were to fall now.

At that moment, Annie was unusually calm. She said, “It’s too early to celebrate now. Don’t forget about that Doomsday Meteor from before. We aren’t just dealing with the Army of Destruction here. A more terrifying enemy lurks still in the shadows as we speak.”

“Yes, of course.” Some of them nodded in agreement.

How should they proceed with things right now? The opposing side had its own share of formidable Magicians. So too did the humans of Orida Fortress, who had at first been quite confident in their ability to fend off the Army of Destruction on their own, and so had chosen not to ask for any magical assistance from Ferde.

“There’s been a drastic change in our situation. We should probably bring Ferde into this.”

Ferde presently had a total of four Legendary Magicians, who were individually a force to be reckoned with.

Annie simply could not be bothered with this. She made her way towards the stronghold in the middle of Orida Fortress, where Kanorse’s corpse lay.

She could see the fortress’s medics bustling about in the stronghold’s great hall, applying treatment for the injured and fallen. Three bodies were laid out in the middle of the great hall. They had belonged to the Legendary Warriors who had tried to resist the Doomsday Meteor’s impact. Kanorse’s condition was most severe. Both his arms were badly damaged, and parts of his body were twisted out of shape.

Strangely enough, a crowd of medics and priests had formed around Kanorse’s body. They seemed to be in the midst of resuscitating it, stitching its wounds up and applying healing magic on it.

Could it be that Kanorse hasn’t actually passed on? Annie was overjoyed for a moment. All of a sudden, the world seemed to light up around her. She quickened her pace towards the commotion. She then asked, “How’s it looking?”

One of the medics who was busy tending to one of Kanorse’s open wounds replied without turning around to face her, “Not good, I’m afraid. However, the Marshal is a well-built man, and there is a chance he might live through this to see another day. It’s still too early to say if he will be able to pull through, though.

Annie was ecstatic upon hearing this. She stood to one side, silently watching the medics and priests proceed with Kanorse’s operation.

After a while, she sensed that something was wrong. She asked one of the Light Priests standing in a corner, “Why aren’t you using your healing magic on him? The Marshal’s arms are still bleeding.”

The Light Priest smiled weakly. “For some reason, my power seems to be draining away quickly and still hasn’t fully recovered.”

“When did this happen? Why didn’t you say anything?” Annie was taken aback.

“It’s been like this ever since the battle started. We aren’t quite sure what’s going on. The Archbishop is now praying in the prayer room for an answer,” said the Light Priest with a helpless look on his face.

Just then, the Archbishop appeared before them. When Annie saw him, she immediately sensed that something had gone horribly wrong.

The Archbishop’s face was a deathly grey. He was now walking towards them unsteadily. He also seemed to have aged a lot. One of the younger Priests immediately hurried over to support him.

“Archbishop, what happened?” asked Annie.

There was a troubled look on the elderly man’s face. “I couldn’t feel the lord’s presence. No matter how hard I prayed, all that I could feel was a dark and terrible power. What… how?”

“How is this possible?!” exclaimed Annie.

Chapter 659: Second Siege of Orida Fortress (5)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Army of Destruction retreated.

Starlight Rose Princess Ellie Danas had been gravely hurt. The army was about to lose its commander, so they had to retreat.

It was a pity because the human army met misfortune too. Other than people like Kanorse being wounded, the army’s most important Light Priest suddenly lost power too. This made the army unable to pursue the enemy.

The two sides were at a stalemate again.

The Army of Destruction didn’t stop until they reached the Black Forest. Other than the Warriors ordered to stand guard, the other Dark Elf doctors and Destructive Priestesses all gathered in the general’s tent to help Princess Ellie.

Hiss.

Hoarse breathing sounded inside the tent like a broken windbag. Then Priestess Molina asked, “Your Highness? Your Highness, can you hear me?”

Three seconds later, there was a raspy and weak voice. “I’m not dead yet, but I’m close. Heal me.”

To regular people, a broken heart was fatal, but Eugene was a Legendary Magician. To Magicians, the physical body was only a shell. It was a bit pathetic when the shell was broken, but they wouldn’t die.

In the tent, Eugene lay weakly on a bear-hide rug. Her clothing had been taken off, revealing a huge bloody hole on the left of her chest. Through the hole, one could see the mangled heart. The veins under the pale white skin around the hole had turned dark. They were filled with eerie and unnatural Battle Aura. At a glance, the veins looked like a net of death that had trapped Eugene.

Even more terrifying was that the darkness was spreading at an incredible rate. Eugene was a Level-14 Magician, but she was using all her power to keep herself alive after the injury. She couldn’t fend off the Assassin’s Battle Aura.

If she didn’t have outside help, this flesh body would definitely die. In fact, she would watch her body die bit by bit.

Eugene’s soul was powerful, and she was completely familiar with flesh bodies, but this process was still like torture.

The Dark Elf doctors were helpless against such a horrible injury. After feeding Eugene some medicine, they could only stare at Molina. As the God of Destruction’s Saint, only she had the ability to save their princess.

Molina’s expression was strange. She looked at the injury, seeming to study it. After a while, she said, “I should be able to cure it, but I can’t be disturbed.”

“Everyone, get out,” Eugene said.

Soon, only Eugene and Molina were left in the tent. Molina cast a soundproof barrier but didn’t hurry with the healing. “Your Highness, to be honest, you’re greatly injured, and only I can heal you. I’m the only one in this entire camp who can, but…why should I?”

Eugene froze. She stared at Molina and saw her faint smile. Molina looked calmly at Eugene, and it suddenly dawned on the princess.

Yes, she was the Dark Elf Princess right now. The Dark Elves were a weak race. They could only be the leaders now because of her. If something happened to her, Molina, as a Naga, would definitely take the chance to get her authority back.

Now, she had two choices. She could give in to Molina and save this body. She would continue to be the Army of Destruction’s general, but in reality, she would have to listen to Molina. Or she could give up now. She could abandon this body since she had many backup bodies throughout. But then everything she’d put in would go to waste.

She didn’t want to choose either option. A few seconds later, she rasped, “I won’t submit to you, but I can promise you something… Don’t forget, this is the best time to attack the Orida Fortress. If you save me, my magic can easily destroy the fortress.”

“Indeed.” Molina nodded. “That is why I can save you. However, I’m still not too sure about you. Ambition burns in your eyes.”

With that, dark red light flared in Molina’s hand. “This is a loyalty pact. Once it is complete, you will become my master’s most loyal slave. I think that is the most reliable solution.”

“In your dreams!” Eugene roared.

She couldn’t lose her freedom. After centuries of being alive, no one had ever restricted her. Anyone who wanted to take her freedom had to bear the consequences.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Your Highness.” Molina moved her hand, and the dark red light floated towards Eugene.

Fury almost shot out of Eugene’s eyes. She glared at Molina, saying coldly, “The God of Destruction? Good, very good. I’ll make you pay!”

As she spoke, she gave up on fending off the foreign Battle Aura and allowed it to ravage her body. Her soul shook, preparing to leave this body and go elsewhere. But then she realized something was wrong. A strange power restricted her, making it impossible to leave this body.

“Stop struggling, Your Highness.” Molina smiled. “Perhaps you fooled my master at the beginning, but it was only temporary. My master already knows everything about you… I don’t know if you’ve heard this phrase. Don’t test a god; don’t pull tricks before a god. To a god, you’re just an ant crawling on the ground. Accept this fate.”

Molina pressed down lightly and the dark red light buried into the Dark Elf princess’ body that Eugene was using. Eugene shook and tensed like a shrimp getting cooked. Her pupils constricted and she was in this state for a few seconds. Then her body relaxed suddenly, falling back onto the bearskin hide with a thud.

Eugene’s pupils were back to normal. Dark red light curled upon the wound on her chest, driving out the foreign Battle Aura. The flesh around the wound seemed to come to life. It kept quivering and growing. It seemed that Eugene’s fatal injury would recover soon.

But she didn’t move at all. There was no life in her eyes; she seemed to be dead.

Molina stood beside her and comforted her, “Your Highness, no need to feel sad. Even with this loyalty pact, you’re still the general, and I am still your subordinate. Our master won’t stand in your way of revenge. If you lead us into the Orida Fortress, he will reward you handsomely too.”

Eugene’s eyes lolled. When the Dark Elf princess did this, her starry eyes rolled, and her expression looked pitiful.

“A lion is leashed and turned into a dog that has to wag its tail and beg for pity. Should I be happy?”

“But can you get rid of the leash?” Molina didn’t hold back. When Eugene didn’t reply, she laughed. “No, right? Since things are like this, why keep torturing yourself? Accept it and allow your conspiracy to have greater benefits. Make yourself stronger. Perhaps there will be new changes in the future.”

At this, Eugene’s eyes brightened.

Molina kept going. “No one knows what the future will be like. Even gods can fall, can’t they?”

“Won’t the God of Destruction punish you for saying this?” Eugene looked at Molina, confused.

Molina shook her head. “That shows that you still don’t understand a god’s wisdom. A god will know if I have this thought. I don’t have to say it out loud. God didn’t punish me in the past and won’t now. Of course, I sincerely wish that my master will become stronger and stronger.”

This logic made Eugene feel much better. She wasn’t the type of person who only knew how to cry. Her heart was stronger than mortals. A while later, she was still upset, but she’d put away these useless emotions.

“How long will it take to recover fully?”

“That’s the most realistic question.” Molina laughed. “You’re heavily injured. The surface wounds will only take one hour, but it will take three days to completely heal and recover 80% of your power.”

“Three days isn’t long!” Eugene used some power and could sit up from the bed. She draped a cape over her close-to-naked body.

Just then, a timid voice sounded outside. “Your Highness?”

Eugene recognized this voice. It was her trusted scout. Since her injuries were okay now, she answered, “What?”

Receiving a reply, the scout was obviously relieved and reported, “Your Highness, someone wants to see you. A High Elf.”

“Oh?” Surprised, Eugene exchanged glances with Molina.

“The Doomsday Meteor from earlier?” Molina whispered.

“I thought that too… Those High Elves are truly tricky.” Eugene sneered. However, he needed the High Elves now and wouldn’t reject them. “Let him in.”

A while later, a High Elf in a dark green cape walked in. It wasn’t a stranger—it was Prince Mordena who had almost been killed.

“Your Highness, I’m very happy to see that you’re still alive.” Prince Mordena smiled, but his eyes were still cold.

Eugene didn’t have any of the arrogance from before. She immediately rose, took a few steps, and plopped down. She actually knelt on the ground and kowtowed, shocking Prince Mordena. Molina was shocked too. She quickly went to help Eugene up while saying, “Your Highness, be careful.”

“What are you doing?” Mordena was honestly frightened.

Eugene tried to seem sincere. “I was brash and ignorant before. I beg for your forgiveness and hope we can work together against the humans.”

Mordena had been angry, but now, the hatred had faded greatly. He sighed. “Your Highness, that is my wish as well.”

…

While Eugene was meeting secretly with the High Elf, the humans of the fortress were at work too. The urgent magic message was sent to Ferde. Less than half an hour later, an airship filled with powerful Magicians set off, escorted by dozens of Dragon Warriors.

The airship was extremely fast. Three hours later, the Orida Fortress appeared before them.

“I heard that Princess Ellie is a Level-14 Magician. I’d love to see how her spells are.” On the airship, Eliard’s extremely handsome face glowed with confidence. Right now, he was already at Level-11, and his power was still rising quickly. With this speed, he could even surpass his good friend Link.

He felt like he could defeat any Magician in the world right now.

There were two other Legendary Magicians standing beside him. They were Elovan and Milose, the High Elves Link had taken from the Isle of Dawn. They had once been more powerful than Eliard, but they were still Level-10 now. Eliard had left them in the dust.

They had complicated feelings now, but when they looked at Eliard, they couldn’t help but feel reverence. This young half-elf indeed possessed unbelievable talent. He also had an ineffable temperament that easily impressed others.