Advent of the Archmage - Chapter 361

Chapter 361: Master, You Cheat Every Time!

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

After another day’s magic seal training, Link practiced his sword by himself. He quickly felt bored.

“Nana, come practice with me.”

“No…Nana only knows fatal techniques.” Nana blinked her big eyes and pouted, shaking her head resolutely.

“It’s alright. Fatal techniques are fun. Come, you won’t hurt me.” Link activated a thin layer of the spatial shield.

“Uh…okay!”

As soon as she spoke, Link felt wind before him. He squinted and saw Nana pounce at him. Link instinctively wanted to use magic to counter her.

My magic instincts are deep-rooted, but this is swordsmanship training. I can’t use magic.

Link used a basic move to block the attack.

Clang! He surprisingly blocked it, but then Nana changed her tactic. She easily dodged Link’s sword and stabbed towards Link’s ribs. His heart was there; if stabbed, he would die undoubtedly.

Faced with these extremely sharp moves, Link couldn’t think fast enough. His sword couldn’t keep up. This was totally different from practicing alone.

Cling! Link’s rib was prodded. Nana stepped back and said in her chirpy voice, “Master, you lost.”

Link couldn’t admit defeat. He waved his Storm Lord sword. “Again!”

Clang! Link blocked the first move again but Nana’s second move nicked his neck. She immediately retreated. “Master, you lost again.”

Link finally admitted that he was still far from the top fighters. He couldn’t help but think, What would I do if a martial arts expert was next to me?

If an Assassin was this close to him and their speed was similar to Nana’s, Link wouldn’t have the time to cast a spell. He would be killed!

There aren’t any Assassins that powerful in Firuman, and even if they exist, it’s hard for them to sneak up to me. But if—if—I make a mistake and something so extreme happens, I can’t do anything except get killed.

In the game, Magicians were powerful but not undefeatable. Their biggest enemy was the Assassin because they were fast and could silently approach a Magician.

In the real world, Link’s life was pretty smooth. Most of the time, he was the one who caused trouble. He was rarely the target of strong Assassins, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen in the future.

There were career restrictions in the game, so Magicians had to suffer under Assassins. This was real life though. As long as you had enough time and energy, you could learn everything.

With an Assassin nearby, there was no time to cast spells. He’d make time for himself with swordsmanship.

With that in mind, Link grew serious and competitive. He waved his sword and said, “Again.”

Cling, clang. After two moves, Link was defeated again.

“Again!”

Two moves.

“Again!”

…

After being defeated 49 successive times, Link finally kind of got the hang of Nana’s rhythm. He got the right feeling.

Nana pounced like lightning. Clang! Link blocked the strike. Nana stabbed at Link’s abdomen. Sliding his sword down, Link blocked it again. Clang!

The two moves used up one-tenth of a second. It was enough for Link to cast a spell. Basic sword moves were very easy, and Link’s mind was relaxed while fighting with a sword. During this time, he could use a spatial sphere to force the opponent aside, putting distance between them.

But because this was training, Link pushed down the urge to use spells. He continued using his sword.

He failed at the third move.

“Again!” Link was in the groove now. He was using basic techniques, but they were effective. On the other hand, Nana used many advanced techniques but vaguely seemed like a beginner swordsman.

As a Magician, Link was skilled in finding the pattern. After practicing together for so long, he could see through to the essence of Nana’s techniques. They were only variations of basic techniques. Compared to spells, the pattern was extremely simple. As long as he knew the pattern, he could respond with basic techniques.

After thinking hard, they started fighting again.

Cling, clang! Link returned to losing after two moves.

Nana giggled. “Master, you got worse.”

“I haven’t matured yet. Just you wait.”

Martial arts couldn’t be perfected by thinking. His body had to train as well. Otherwise, he couldn’t perform his thoughts and would forever be one beat slower than the other. This would kill him in a real fight.

Nana wouldn’t get bored. If Link said “again,” she would immediately attack. After around 80 times, Link could consistently block five of Nana’s moves.

After that, Link would fail because of his endurance rather than his skills.

“Master, do you want to try again?”

“No, it’s enough. Let’s stop for today. I need to exercise my body.”

Other Warriors would be over with one mistake, but Link had a smart and powerful magic puppet. He also had spells for protection. He could continuously learn from his mistakes.

Thus, the experience he gained in this short period had already surpassed most Warriors in the fortress.

When he practiced again, Link didn’t feel as mindless as before. Nana’s methods appeared in his mind, and he started strengthening himself by targeting those.

He alternated between thinking and practicing; he was completely immersed.

A day passed in a blink. This time, Link trained until he was utterly exhausted. His entire body was sore. This never happened since he received the Dragon Power.

Before sleeping, he didn’t want to move at all. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the bed. After waking up, Link felt full of energy. Touching his muscles, he discovered they bulged and were hard.

Dragon Power is so miraculous!

He checked his stats again.

Link Morani (Noble)

Level-8 Dragon Mage

Flawless Dragon Power: 6800

Recovery Speed: 12-105 Points per second

Current Recovery Speed: 20 Points per second

Main Weapon: Burning Wrath of Heaven

Subordinate Weapon: Abstruse Storm—Lord of Thunder—Silent World

He’d actually reached Level-8, and the upper limit of Dragon Power had increased by 300. This rate was so fast.

It seems that working out my body is a good way to increase my Dragon Power. Link had an idea of the Dragon Power’s nature. In three words—use and disuse.

He arose and washed up. After dragging a group of sleepy and dazed Magicians and training them until they went back to sleep, Link started practicing his sword again.

“Nana, come train with me.” Link activated a shield.

This time, Nana didn’t hesitate. Her sword arrived as soon as Link finished speaking.

Clang, clang, clang, clang… Dense clangs of weaponry sounded continuously. This time, Link performed exceptionally well. His body was stronger than yesterday, and surprisingly, he could keep up with Nana.

After blocking 26 moves, Link failed because he couldn’t keep up anymore.

This defeat was no longer due to Link’s skills. Instead, it was because of his strength. After each block, his sword would be forced aside by Nana and unavoidable mistakes would appear. Link tried to fix them, but he still failed in the end.

“Master, you’re not as strong as me. You’re around Level-7, so it’s normal to not be able to block me,” Nana said.

In martial arts, strength was the biggest advantage. No matter how many tricks you knew, it was no use if you couldn’t block the strike.

“I understand.” Link seemed to be enlightened.

He was still using basic techniques while fighting with Nana now, but these moves were entirely different from the ones he used while exercising.

After his careful research, Link’s moves were filled with a type of spirit. They seemed basic, and each move was clear. But for some reason, he could block Nana’s dizzyingly fast moves.

At this point, Link could move as he wished.

My technique is fine, but my strength is lacking. I need to get stronger. Yes, train diligently! Raise the Dragon Power!

After that, Link stopped reading. He started sword training obsessively and using up all his Dragon Power. After that, he would wash up and sleep. The next day, after tiring out the Magicians, he would train again.

This went on for five days. The Magicians could operate the Soul Slalom Magic Seal with ease. To avoid mistakes, Link continued training them and increased the duration to five hours per day.

Every Magician improved greatly under the arduous training. Some at the pinnacle of Level-6 had already entered Level-7.

Of course, Link continued his swordsmanship training.

After another three days, Link’s strength finally caught up to his Dragon Power and was at Level-8.

When he fought with Nana now, they could go back and forth. They could exchange more than 300 blows without anyone losing.

Link grew more and more comfortable. His body would make the best move without him even thinking.

As time passed, Link was no longer satisfied with responding to Nana’s attacks. He started attacking actively.

Nana’s single moves were all perfect. Link couldn’t defeat him with only a sword, so he started arranging things.

His every move would lead the opponent to make a small mistake until they failed under the accumulation.

If Kanorse came and saw Link do this, he would definitely be astounded. This was a master-level technique, but Link found it natural.

Swordsmanship arrangements were simple. He even had time to cast spells.

One move, two moves, three moves… After move ten, Link felt a flaw in Nana’s move as expected. Yes, she really did make a mistake caused by Link. Each move guided the flaw until move ten where it was big enough for Link to grasp it.

Link focused a bit and stabbed toward the opening.

Cling! He hit Nana’s rib. It was just a tap, but Nana was forced back. She didn’t regain her balance until dozens of steps back.

“Master, Nana lost.” She blinked her big eyes, and her eyebrows moved downward. She looked sad.

Link chuckled. Happy, he said, “Come, let’s do it again. I’ll help you fix your mistake.”

“Okay.”

The two fought slowly. Before the flaw appeared, Link pointed out, “Look, if I do this move and you block like this, some small problems will appear afterwards. If I do this next, I’ll expand your mistake. After ten moves, your flaw will be big enough to be fatal so you should do this from the start…”

Nana’s brain was limited to her experience and wasn’t too agile. She liked to rely on speed. This was no problem against regular advanced fighters, but she would definitely lose to a super-powerful opponent skilled in planning.

Link was too smart. Compared to spatial magic, martial arts was practically like kindergarten math. It was as easy as pie.

After focusing on training for half a month, excluding the powerful battle techniques, Link was at an unbelievable level for regular swordsmanship techniques.

As for a Warrior’s battle techniques, Link didn’t have to learn them. What kind of battle technique was stronger and more flexible than a spell?

In a way, spells were the most powerful battle techniques in the world!

After Link explained patiently, Nana nodded. She understood.

Thus, Link said, “Again.”

This time, Link used 50 moves to defeat Nana. His plan had changed, but Nana didn’t catch it. She was tricked again. When she realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

“Oh, this is interesting. Continue.” Link’s interest was growing.

After teaching Nana this new trick, they started fighting again. This time, he defeated Nana with 30 moves. His tactic had changed again, becoming more and more creative. The signs had disappeared too.

“Master, you cheat every time!” Nana had lost badly.

“Come, I’ll teach you.” Link chuckled.

Nana started learning seriously but Link changed again in the next fight, and she lost again. However, she’d lasted for 80 moves this time. She had improved.

Without speaking, Nana learned the new trick and started fighting again.

This time, it was harder for Link. Nana’s mind wasn’t flexible, but she learned really quickly. She immediately learned the trick Link had just thought of.

But it was fun this way.

Just as Link was having the time of his life, an officer ran over breathlessly. “Master, the Dark Army has appeared at the border of the Black Forest. The duke wishes to talk with you.”

Link grew serious. “I’ll go immediately.”

Chapter 362: We SHALL be Victorious

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

Link changed out of his training shirt and into a more comfortable Magician’s robe. As for the Storm Lord’s sword… Well, Link had grown fond of it and decided to keep it by his side.

Five minutes later, Link was ready and followed the officer to the stronghold center.

When he reached the hall, he found that everyone had gathered, including the religious leader.

The religious leader was named Yinnos, and he was a 50-year-old man with gentle looking eyes and brows. He was slightly bigger around the waist, a sign of prosperity.

In Firuman, the church did not interfere with affairs of politics and war. If not for the appearance of the Dark Serpent, he would not have come to this war meeting.

When he saw Link, he gave Link a slight smile before closing his eyes, sitting peacefully in his chair.

Duke Abel and his officers were dressed in full military attire. Duke Abel himself was only a Level-5 Warrior, but with his commander’s uniform, he looked very imposing.

He asked Link, “Sir Link, what is the progress with the magic formation?”

“They’ve had enough practice. As long as no one interferes, there shouldn’t be any problem with the formation,” Link assured him.

“Excellent!” Duke Abel said, punching his fist in excitement. Then, he said, “The Dawn Swordsman will lead 3,000 Silver-white Shield Warriors to surround the formation and defend it from enemies.”

Kanorse was in the hall. However, despite his individual fighting prowess, he was born as a commoner and did not hold a major position in the army. He did not have much say in this command structure. He stood to the side of the hall.

Listening to the Duke’s commands, he bowed to Link, looking extremely self-confident. The Silver-white Shield Warriors were the strongest in the kingdom and were all over Level-4. The commanders were at least Level-5. With over 3,000 of them, Kanorse had the confidence to defend against any enemies.

Yinnos spoke, “The leaders of the church will operate the Sacred Light Wall to protect the magic formation as well.”

“That will be fine,” Link expressed his gratitude.

Following this, the rest of the commanders began discussing their plan of attack.

All of this was about war strategy which Link was not well-versed in. Link stood silently by the side, observing and paying close attention to the details. He had to make sure he knew what was going on throughout the battlefield.

There was a magic sandbox in the middle of the hall that displayed a battle simulation. An area of about 50 miles around Orida Fortress could be seen.

The group of officers huddled around this sandbox to discuss the strategy.

After listening for a while, Link got an idea of the overall deployment of troops. On the iron-wall defense line, there were the First, Second, and Third Armies of the Norton Kingdom.

The First Army was the strongest, with 70,000 Warriors gathered in Orida Fortress.

Within the fortress was also 3,000 Dwarf Warriors, 2,000 Musketeers. The Yabbas had brought along one team of airships, consisting of three main attack ships and ten smaller defense ships. They also brought 100 magic cannons with them and had them set up along the city wall in a standby position.

The last force were the High Elves. Although they were the smallest in number, every single one of them was Level-6 Magicians or higher. They were also the main force forming up the Soul Slalom formation, so the army could not do without them.

As for their opponents, the dark elves, it was reported that they were over 10,000 strong. Furthermore, they were all very strong, and at least ten percent of them were high-level demons.

What’s worse was that they still had yet to discover the location of the demon army. No one dared to take the demon army lightly.

They had no other information on the Dark Elves, as they had the Black Forest completely locked down.

At the end of the discussion, Duke Abel sighed and said, “We’ve no other choice, we have to build our defenses around this fortress. Although we humans have the numerical advantage, we do not have enough strong Warriors. If we bring the fight to the demons and encounter them in the wild, we won’t stand a chance.”

Everyone was silent.

Link had brought back news that there were many high-leveled demons amongst the demon army. Many of them were at least Level-7 and Level-8 demons. An army of that strength would make anyone think twice before fighting against them.

With regards to this, Link also felt helpless. He knew that even with the advantage of high ground from Orida Fortress, this battle would still be a bloody one.

…

In the Black Forest

There was a new patch of clearing in the forest, within which was a Dark Army Camp. Similarly, they were discussing their attack strategy.

For this battle, the Dark Elves were also deploying all their strongest experts. All the members of the Silver Moon council were here, including council leader Romand.

Romand was the only Level-8 Magician amongst the Dark Elves. However, his strength was so close to Level-9 that he was almost on the verge of breaking through. Among the Dark Elves, his fame and power were extremely high.

However, he was only interested in magic and did not care about politics. The one who was really running things was Aymons.

Naturally, the commander of the Dark Army was Aymons, wielder of the Divine Gear.

There was also a special person in the clearing. She looked like a human girl, standing at about 4.5 foot tall. She wore a simple black cotton war gown.

She had long black hair that extended to her waist and looked as silky as water. Her skin was fair as snow, and her features were very pronounced. Her lips were red, her teeth were brilliantly white, and her eyes were particularly beautiful.

This gentle looking girl stood in the forest clearing surrounded by Dark Elves that looked like vampires and vicious looking demons. She looked like a young lamb that found itself surrounded by wolves.

Strangely, everyone treated her with respect, and this was especially so for the demons. There were even a few that kneeled before her, licking her feet.

This was because she was the daughter of the Lord of the Abyss, Nozama, sent by him to command the demon army.

At this time, Aymons was sharing the attack strategy to attack Orida Fortress in the south. As he was in the middle of his talk, the girl interrupted him, “Sir Aymons, Link has been at Orida Fortress for at least half a month by now. You might not think that he has found a way to oppose the Divine Gear, but I disagree.”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“I believe that your worst-case scenario should consider the possibility that Link has a way to oppose the power of the Divine Gear. We need to come up with a contingency for the event in which the Divine Gear is no longer effective,” the young girl said. Her voice was sharp, just like the yellowbirds in the south Girvent Forest.

Lawndale agreed with her. He said in a low voice, “Teacher, perhaps we ought to prepare for that possibility too.”

Aymons pondered over it for a moment before nodding. “Your Highness, do you have any suggestions?”

“Me? Nope, I’ll just be watching from the back later on. Romand, aren’t you the chair of the Silver Moon council? I don’t see you saying anything. Aren’t you going to come up with some spell to counter Link?”

Romand coughed lightly and said, “Well, I do have some spells prepared. We have re-discovered a lost spell known as the Moon of Annihilation. This spell requires 50 Level-5 Magicians to work together, and it can unleash power equivalent to a Level-11 Legendary spell. I believe that even if the opponent wants to render the Divine Gear ineffective, they would have to rely on a magic spell formation. This spell can destroy the spell formation that the enemy creates.”

“That’s not bad. At least you haven’t been a waste of space,” The black-haired girl smiled as she clapped her hands. Then, she said, “Well, I don’t have any more ideas. Please do continue, I’ll just watch on from the side.”

Aymons continued the discussion.

After listening for a while, the black-haired girl got bored. She yawned and said to a black shadow beside her, “Noya, how’s your coordination with the Dark Elf Assassins?”

This black shadow was naturally very respectful towards the girl. He saluted before saying, “Your Highness, it’s pathetic. The Dark Elves are too weak, none of them are higher than Level-7. If we were supposed to infiltrate the fortress to take Link out, they would not even serve as cannon fodder. They would only alert the enemy and make my job difficult.”

“Wouldn’t you have to go on your own then?” The black-haired girl opened her mouth in shock, seemingly worried.

“Your Highness, don’t worry. An assassin is strongest when he is alone. I’m fine on my own. Once the battle starts, Link won’t last more than half an hour,” Noya said.

“Ha, you’re that confident.” The black girl nodded her head. “But don’t underestimate him. He just killed Misamier. Here, take this, my father wanted me to give it to you.”

The girl handed a skull-shaped ring to Noya.

Noya looked at it and then immediately fell to the grounds. His voice trembled as he said, “Your Highness, this is too precious, I… I…”

“What?! Quickly take it. My father wanted me to give this to you. You’re only allowed to succeed, not allowed to fail. If you do, you know what will happen.”

Noya received the ring with two hands and said, “If I had this Oath Ring and still failed, I wouldn’t have the face to meet the lord anymore.”

If Link saw this ring, he would immediately be shocked. In the game, this was the description of the ring.

Oath Ring

Level: Legendary

Effect 1: After equipping this ring, the user will exist in a different dimension. Except for the moment when attacking, the user will not be affected by any other attacks.

Effect 2: User can create two illusory clones which can switch positions with the user at any time.

(Note: Any assassin that possesses this will become the greatest nightmare of the living.)

This ring was almost a Legendary item for Assassins. How could Noya not be moved?

He slowly put on the ring and felt a thin membrane form around his body. His body turned half illusory and half real, as though he were a floating cloud of gas.

Meanwhile, Aymons and the rest had completed their discussion. They determined that the time of attack would be late at night on the next day.

Aymons declared loudly, “Everyone, please remember that we are not fighting alone. On the southern edge of the Norton Kingdom are our allied forces. I just received news that the Kingdom of Delonga have started their attack on the Girvent Forest. The news will reach the humans in the Orida Fortress soon. I’m sure the news will throw them into chaos. So for the upcoming battle, we SHALL be victorious.”

Chapter 363: Then Don’t Use Me in the Future!

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

Returning to the Mage Tower from the commanding hall, Link’s spirits were low. On the way back, he suddenly saw a scout run hurriedly.

The man’s expression was anxious, and his footsteps were messy. His clothing was covered in dust and mud. He ran past Link, snaked through the generals leaving, and sprinted straight towards the hall.

Only the top officials could enter the hall. Seeing the strange scout run in, everyone felt that something was wrong. They all stopped and looked over.

Link had a bad feeling too. He halted and waited for Duke Abel to call them to reconvene. But strangely, that didn’t happen.

After the scout entered the citadel, he didn’t reappear. The hall was as calm as before as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, the generals found it weird, but they soon departed. They were all busy; at the critical point before the final battle, there was much to do.

Link didn’t leave. Not only that, he even walked over.

His vision was shockingly good now. The scout’s clothing was horribly dirty, but he could still vaguely see the emblem on it. It was a roaring golden lion.

Only soldiers of the Hot Springs City could wear the golden lion. This meant that the messenger came from the capital city. From the looks of him, the capital was most likely in trouble.

Link returned to the hall. It was still organized with the officers taking care of matters orderly. Nothing seemed to have happened.

However, Link didn’t see Duke Abel. The duke had still been sitting when Link left earlier.

He pulled an officer over and asked, “Where’s the duke?”

Seeing that it was Link, the officer pointed at the stairs. “He went to the library.”

“Oh, write it down that I’m going to visit him now.”

It was the army’s rule that solo meetings with the general must be recorded. In the proper process, a message would be sent after the recording, and one could visit the general after being given permission. Link obviously didn’t need that.

He strode upstairs and to the duke’s library. He knocked lightly.

“I’m busy!” the duke’s voice traveled from the room. He sounded normal, but Link could hear the anxiety.

I’m afraid something has really happened.

Using the Magician’s Hand, Link opened the lock and pushed the door open.

There were two people inside the room. One was the messenger from earlier. He was now shoveling food into his mouth from the small table in the corner; he was clearly famished. The duke sat before a long table, gaping at a letter covered in sweat and blood.

Click. Link closed the door.

“Did something happen to the capital?” he asked. “Let me guess, did Delonga attack suddenly? Did their army pass through the Girvent Forest, going straight to the Hot Springs City?”

At least 10,000 soldiers were always positioned at the Hot Springs City. It wasn’t easy to conquer, so Link wasn’t too worried.

The duke let out a long sigh and sagged in his seat.

At that time, the scout reached at the wine on the table and was about to drink. Link used the Magician’s Hand to steal the cup and add in a drowsiness spell. The man was already exhausted. With the spell, he fell asleep without a sound.

Magic flashed on his hand and the wine bottle dissolved into sand. “There’s no use in killing a loyal messenger to hide news,” Link said. “Let him sleep. When he wakes up, he’ll forget everything.”

The duke looked at the sky with lifeless eyes. “Master Link,” he muttered, “the situation is worse than you think. When the messenger departed, Hot Springs City’s outer walls were already breached. Everyone is holding down the inner city. Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn’t send a letter asking for reinforcements.”

He passed the letter to Link, who accepted it with the Magician’s Hand. Scanning it, his pupils constricted. “Dark Magician Andrew and the Syndicate. This is indeed a crisis.”

Duke Abel glanced at Link and sighed. “What should I do? Abandon Orida and go south to help? No, I can’t do that!”

If the Orida Fortress was breached by the Dark Army, it would be a catastrophe for the entire human world. The Dark Army would rush southward like a flood. Everyone in their path would die.

Furthermore, sending reinforcements now would be too late. He could only cover up the news by trying to kill the messenger.

This thin piece of paper held such heavyweight.

Link slowly placed the letter on the table. “The final battle is inescapable, and no problems should occur. Sorry for butting in.”

With that, white light glowed around Link. He disappeared from the library and returned to the Mage Tower.

In the library, Duke Abel lit a flame and burned the letter. Then he wiped his face, wiping away all anxiety and frustrations. When he lowered his hand, the mighty general had returned.

…

Back in the Mage Tower, Link felt inexplicably anxious.

The world was riddled with pores and darkness was seeping in from every crack. He’d already done his best, but danger was still looming, even getting worse.

If the Hot Springs City was attacked, what about the East Cove Magic Academy? What about Ferde? Will Celine be okay? The thoughts poured into Link’s mind, almost driving him crazy.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Nana’s crisp voice rang out, shocking Link.

Oh no, my mind is a mess. I still have to lead the magic seal! I can’t be a mess!

His library was at the top level of the Mage Tower and included a one-way glass. He could see the Black Forest from here.

Pulling a chair over, Link forced him to sit down and stare quietly at the Black Forest without moving. Time passed slowly. His chaotic thoughts lessened, and finally, he let out a long breath.

I was being impatient. There are many Mage Towers in the Ferde Wilderness. There are many strong fighters, and Celine’s gun is powerful too. I left her a lot of bullets. Andrew is only Level-7. If he dares go, a few bullets will end him…

Thinking like that, Link gradually calmed down.

Just then, a message appeared in his vision. It was a mission.

Activate Mission: Orida Fortress

Mission Description: Guard the Orida Fortress against the Dark Army

Mission Reward One: 300 Omni Points

Mission Reward Two: One Full Replenishment Crystal (Level-10)

Full Replenishment Crystal

Legendary Composite Part

Effect: This item can replenish any drained Legendary weapon

Seeing this, Link got an idea. He glanced at the Storm Lord sword at his waist, and the sword’s stats appeared.

Abstruse Storm—Lord of Thunder—Silent World

Upper Order Legendary

Current State: 1/100 (drained)

The Replenishment Crystal could definitely recharge this sword. However, the level was too low. It probably couldn’t fully charge it but could still help a little.

A pity, such a pity. It would be great if I could use the sword during this battle… No, the sword spirit probably won’t let me use it. Ah, how annoying.

Just as he was feeling sad, the sword spirit’s voice rang out in Link’s mind. “Who said I wouldn’t let you use me? Haven’t you been using me all this time?”

Link shrugged. That counts? Every sword can do that. I was just using you for the convenience.

Then don’t use me in the future!

Link felt a change and quickly said, I’m sorry. I really have been using you. With that, Link thought back to his words and still felt something was wrong.

“Okay, fine. I forgive you. I just don’t have enough energy right now… Your Dragon Power should be able to recharge me, but it’s not very efficient. If you start charging now, I should recover some strength by tomorrow. By then, I’ll at least be stronger than your Burning Wrath of Heavens wand.”

Really? Link was overjoyed.

“Hurry up.” The sword spirit scoffed.

Link’s happiness only lasted for a bit. He quickly thought of another problem. I don’t know any lightning spells. It won’t be effective even if I recharge you.

The sword used wind and lightning strength. Link didn’t know either of them.

The sword spirit was quiet as if thinking of something. After ten seconds, it said, “Look at my hilt. Do you see the dark red rune?”

Yes, Link said.

“Drip your blood onto it.”

What does that mean?

“If you want to use me, put your blood in!” The sword spirit wouldn’t explain.

Link did as told and sliced his finger on the blade. Blood flowed out, and he put a drop on the rune. Strangely, the blood was originally bright red, but the moment it touched the rune, it turned into a translucent drop of water. All redness was absorbed by the sword.

The next moment, Link felt the sword start to vibrate with crisp clinks. Then a spider web of cracks appeared on the body of the sword.

“Hurry, your strength! I need your strength!” The sword spirit’s voice was urgent.

Link added in Dragon Power without hesitation. His upper limit was 6900 and was in mid-Level-8. He was now the strongest of the Orida Fortress.

However, nothing happened when he poured the power into the Storm Lord sword. Like mud falling into the sea, it just disappeared. Link’s Dragon Power was drained almost instantly.

More and more cracks appeared on the sword. Finally, there was a crack sound, and the sword turned into countless shards. But strangely enough, the pieces didn’t fly away. A crystal-red connected each piece. After a moment of stillness, the pieces grouped back together.

Clink, clank. Crisp sounds came continuously as the sword quickly changed.

“Power, power!” the spirit cried.

Link’s Dragon Power recovery rate was now 18 points per second. He poured the power in as soon as it regenerated.

“Too slow, too slow. I need more, more!” the spirit yelled.

Link’s recovery rate was related to the energy in the environment. If he wanted to recover faster, he needed somewhere with higher energy. What place had the most energy?

The Azzaro Volcano? It was 400 miles from the fortress, and Link quickly crossed out that option.

The Elemental Pool? No, his body rejected the elements. Those in the Elemental Pool stayed far away from him.

As he thought, Link suddenly looked up. The weather was great today, and the sun was out… Link immediately ran to the rooftop of the Mage Tower. He cast a spell and released a huge Spatial Sphere.

The sphere was more than 300 feet wide. Inside it, the frequency was only slightly warped but it acted like a huge lens, focusing all the sunlight directly on Link.

He felt heat on him, and his clothing quickly burned to crisp. It was alright; his body was fine.

Checking his recovery rate, he discovered it was now 64 points per second while he used up five per second to maintain the Spatial Sphere. Overall, the recovery rate was still three times higher than before.

Is it enough? Link asked.

“I guess.”

The sword regrouped bit by bit. After two whole hours, Link put in a total of 450,000 Dragon Power points to complete the sword.

The shape was different. The groove in the center was gone, and dark red scales appeared on the surface, looking like dragon scales. The blade was now a transparent crystal red. The body was wide, and the blade was arced. The cross-guard was a Red Dragon with wings unfurled. The hilt was made up of two entwined dragon tails. It was also covered in fine scales and was smooth to the touch.

Link checked the sword’s stats. It was completely different from the Storm Lord sword; even the name had changed. At closer inspection, his eyes flew wide open. It was made just for him!

Chapter 364: The Battle Begins (1)

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

In Link’s vision, the information for the Storm Lord’s Sword had changed to this.

Dragon King’s Wrath, Burning Flame Silences the World

Level: Legendary Beginner Tier

State: Half-sealed

Effect 1: By consuming 1000 Dragon Power, the Dragon King’s Wrath can be activated, increasing the user’s strength by ten times, speed by five times, and stamina by two times.

Effect 2: All magic attacks increase by 700%

Effect 3: Incomparable sharpness. This blade can not only cut through physical bodies but also magical spells.

Effect 4: All attacks can become AOE attacks with a radius of 600 feet. The AOE damage is 10% of the attack damage.

(Note: Only the strongest Warriors have the right to wield me!)

Link’s heart thumped. He looked at the sword in its half-sealed state. “Are you still incomplete? How do I make you stronger?”

“You don’t have to bother with that. But anyway, you can input any excess Dragon Power you have into me. This will help me break the seal more quickly,” the sword spirit replied.

“Understood.”

Link attached the new Legendary sword at his waist and took out the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand. This wand was still useful. Under the effects of Mana Surge, the magic cast by the wand was still slightly stronger than the Dragon King’s Wrath magic sword.

When fighting, he could wield the sword in his right hand and the wand in his left hand.

Finally, the sky turned dark. Link returned to his room from the Mage Tower balcony.

It was still early, and Link was not yet tired. He practiced some basic sword forms in his living room. After that, as he was preparing to look at some magic books, there came a knock on the door. Knock knock.

Link pointed at the door, and it opened. Outside the door were two High Elves, Milda and Romilson.

“Are you awake? Please come in,” Link said.

Over the past few days of practice, the two of them were worked to the bone, so much so that Link could see the dark circles around their eyes. This time, however, they look more spirited than before.

As they entered the room, Milda grabbed a chair and sat down while Romilson stood behind her.

“Are we still practicing tomorrow?” Milda asked. She eyed the sword in Link’s hand curiously. However, she knew that every Magician had their own secrets, so she did not ask.

“Tomorrow? Yea, why not? But we will only do a few simple drills so as not to tire ourselves out.” Link sat himself down too. He had a vague feeling that the war was going to begin soon. Since the magic formation was already prepared, he decided to prioritize making sure the Magicians had enough rest.

“That’s good,” Milda said, relieved. “We were really beat the past few days.”

Romilson added on, “Well, we received some benefits too. My Mana has increased by a lot and has reached mid-Level-7 by now. Furthermore, Her Highness has reached the peak of Level-7.”

“That’s great, it’s a great improvement,” Link praised.

Princess Milda laughed drily. “We have no way to compare with you. I feel that there is a strong Dragon Power hiding within your body. Is that the Red Dragon Queen’s gift?”

The Red Dragon Queen’s power was like a seed that gave Link many benefits. To call it a gift was not wrong. Link nodded his head, saying, “That’s right. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“Yes. It’s quite serious.”

As she said this, Princess Milda took out a letter.

This letter was leaf-shaped and bore the imprint of a tree upon its seal. The seal was already broken. Princess Milda said, “This letter was written by my mother. While she is the queen of the High Elves, she is also a representative of the Emerald Circle. She has informed me about a distressing piece of news.”

Link received the letter and took out the paper inside it, briefly scanning through the contents. As he read it, his heart skipped a beat. He had mixed feelings about the matter within.

In the letter, the queen wrote that the Emerald Eye of the Emerald Circle had discovered that Firuman’s Mana density was continuously increasing, causing the natural laws of the world to distort. The Emerald Circle viewed it as a very serious problem, no less serious than the Mana Disaster 2000 years ago.

The queen instructed Princess Milda to immediately return to the Isle of Dawn immediately after repelling the Dark Army’s attack.

What made Link happy was that he was no longer fighting his battle alone. The strongest Magician circle in Firuman, the Emerald Circle had discovered the problem. That was great!

What made Link feel shocked was that the Emerald Circle regarded this problem on the same level as the Mana Disaster from before. That meant that there was a high chance, 80 to 90 percent, that this would develop into a huge catastrophe.

The Mana Disaster 2000 years ago started because of one Legendary Elven Magician.

This particular Magician had discovered a flaw in the natural laws of Firuman and decided to test this particular flaw. In the end, he had started the Mana Disaster.

That year, the density of Mana in the world was reduced by 90 percent. The whole of Firuman became like a deflated balloon.

That year, the elves were still the lords of the realm. Their might was based on magic, and they relied on magic to dominate the continent. Humans and Beastmen used to be slaves to the elves while the Yabbas, dwarves, and other ancient races were suppressed by the elves.

The result of the Mana Disaster was that the elves rapidly lost all their power. Thereafter, humans, Beastmen, and the other subjugated tribes escaped the power of the elves while the Yabbas and dwarves began to set up their own kingdom.

In the midst of the chaos, the elves split themselves into two factions. One faction retreated into the Dark Realms, beginning to worship the Spider Queen Lolth and using the Dark Arts to change their body and adapt to the darkness. These became the Dark Elves.

The other faction retreated to the Isle of Dawn. This faction continued to teach the teachings of the ancient elves. In order to differentiate themselves from the Dark Elves, they called themselves the High Elves.

This was the history of Firuman.

Now, the world was changing again. For some unexpected reason, the Mana density was on the rise. The other races may not know it yet, but how could the elves not detect it?

Link returned the letter to Milda and said, “This is indeed bad news. I think I know the reason for the sudden increase in Mana.”

Princess Milda was surprised. “What! You do? Who did it?”

Romilson too was stunned.

Link shook his head. “I won’t be able to explain now. Let’s wait until the battle ends. I have a feeling that the Dark Elves are going to be here soon!”

Princess Milda and Romilson exchanged a glance. Seconds later, Princess Milda nodded her head. “I understand. May we be victorious!”

Link nodded his head. “It’s late. Rest early, you two. Focus on recovering your energy and preparing for the battle.”

The High Elves nodded and bade their farewells.

After leaving Link’s room and walking down from the Magic Tower roof, Romilson suddenly asked, “Princess, don’t you feel that Link is somehow on guard against us?”

“On guard? Is he? Are you overthinking it?” Princess Milda asked.

“Perhaps. But after all, he is of the human race. If… Do you think, maybe, would he become a threat to us elves?” Romilson asked.

Princess Milda blinked. She tried to regain her composure. “Okay, don’t talk nonsense. I think you must be tired. Go and rest!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Romilson slapped his head. “I must be confused.”

As he said this, he turned and returned to his room.

Princess Milda watched him leave, making sure that he entered his own room before entering her own room. After she entered the room and closed the door behind her, Princess Milda had a serious expression on her face.

She walked to her desk and took out another letter. This letter was also from her mother, the queen. This letter arrived half a month ago, and its contents were simple. “In order for our people’s rise to power to succeed, the power of the human race cannot exceed our own race. You must find an opportunity to carry out Bryant’s scheme from 300 years ago.”

Looking at the letter, Princess Milda laughed bitterly. Mother, you’ve never met him, and you don’t know what he’s like. If you had seen him before, you’d know that you were making the wrong decision.

She felt that her mother was worrying too much.

Keeping the letter, Princess Milda let out a sigh. Her heart was burdened with fatigue, and she immediately fell asleep as she lay on her bed.

The night was quiet.

The next morning, Link ran through a few simple drills before letting the Magicians rest.

The Magicians were tired after many days of hard training. Now that they had a chance to rest, many of them had expressions of joy on their face. Yet, none of them dared to completely relax. Most of them returned to their rooms to catch up on sleep or just to recuperate their spirits.

Link returned to his study to study his magic books. When he found himself stuck, he would train with Nana. He also refrained from overtaxing himself, enabling his mind to remain fresh throughout the day.

As he looked at the darkening sky outside the window, Link’s heart was filled with a heavy feeling.

I guess the Dark Army would be here any minute now, Link thought.

Indeed, at 11 pm, the Magician in charge of sounding the alarms released a huge Light Spell into the sky. Simultaneously, the alarm bells started ringing.

“Enemy attack!” The vibrations of the enemy attack and shouting came from over the fortress walls.

The Dark Army had come!

Chapter 365: The Battle Begins (2)

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

Awooga!

A deep horn sounded in the north side of the Orida Fortress.

Boom, boom, boom. There were rhythmic explosions, and the ground started shaking. Twenty huge demons over 90 feet tall walked out of the Black Forest.

Not only were they tall, but they were also extremely muscular. Each one was like a mountain of flesh. Their strength was terrifying too. Blackish red smoke continuously rose from their bodies. They only had one eye, and a ten-foot-long red laser beam shot out of it.

“It’s the One-Eyed Mountain Demon!” someone yelled.

One-Eyed Mountain Demons were a type of high-level demon. Their name came from their mountain-like physique. The huge stature gave them terrible strength, and it was practically a nightmare to see them attack the city walls!

Link was already at the square between the three Mage Towers. At this time, he couldn’t worry about anything else. His only duty was to watch out for Aymons’ use of the Dark Serpent’s godly technique.

“Get into position!” Link didn’t use an amplification spell; he used his Dragon Power to roar.

His voice traveled into the ears of each Level-6 Magician. They’d saved their energy during the day. Now, they flew to their positions as during training.

Link stood in the center of the magic seal and roared, “Start converging Mana!”

This was the preheating step for the magic seal. After that, the Soul Slalom could be activated at any time.

If Aymons wanted to use the godly technique, he would most likely use it at the start of the battle. That way, he could damage the opponents’ power the most and reduce his own loss.

That was why they must be fast!

Buzz, buzz, buzz. The 70 or so Magicians all glowed from the Mana within. Finally, the Mana streamed into the center—Link’s body.

Link’s body soon radiated with dazzling light. His entire body was glowing, and nine-foot-long Mana flames appeared around him. Three-foot-long beams of light shot out from his eyes.

In the surrounding air, countless runes rose up and died away at an unimaginable speed. The rings of light ripples were like a vortex in the sea, whooshing outward. A terrifying Mana aura spread out from here.

Boom, boom, boom. Organized footsteps came from outside the Mage Tower before stopping outside the walls.

It was Kanorse. He led 3000 Silver-White Warriors to surround the Mage Tower and yelled, “From now on, kill whoever approaches the Mage Tower!”

After a long while, Kanorse personally escorted Pope Innos here. He brought the Cardinals to the square, and they stood around the Mage Tower. The Holy Grail was brought out too. It was a small silver cup the size of a palm. It wasn’t eye-catching, yet it held unbelievable sacred power.

The pope knelt onto the ground. He lifted the cup to the sky with both hands and prayed loudly, “Oh, merciful Lord, please cast down your glorious light and help your lowly servant fight against the endless evil!”

The 12 Cardinals knelt in a circle around the pope and began praying as well. While praying, they poured sacred power into the Holy Grail. It began glowing and grew transparent. Finally, it turned into a shadow formed by light.

Whoosh. With a soft sound, a storm of sacred power rushed into the air. The sky used to be covered in dark clouds, but now, a burst of golden power pierced the darkness. The light shone down and mixed with the sacred power.

From afar, it looked like a golden beam that connected the sky and earth. For a moment, the entire Orida Fortress was enveloped in the sacred glow.

The Warriors roared; the sacred light gave them endless courage.

Boom, boom, boom.

On the city walls, the magic cannons started going off, attacking in various ways. There were purple balls of light, thick bolts of lightning, huge whirlpool ice beams, and more. The various attacks all traveled over one mile, sweeping towards the Dark Army to block them.

On the prairie outside the fortress, the Dark Army was multiplying. They continuously surged out of the Black Forest; they seemed to be endless.

After the One-Eyed Mountain Demons, there were Fear Demons and Fodor Flaming Demons. Winged Howlers flew in the air. There were more than 500 of these high-level demons, and each was above Level-7. Innumerable low-level demons followed after that. There were at least 50,000.

The Dark Elves poured out too. More than 80,000 ghouls and elite Warriors rushed out of the forest.

The dark power of the Dark Army gathered, creating a thick black miasma.

The sacred light of the Orida Fortress could scatter practically all darkness, but it was helpless against this miasma. The light and dark sides were at a stalemate.

Aymons and the Dark Serpent emerged from amongst the Dark Elves. He felt the Mana waves coming from the top of the Orida Fortress and whispered to Lawndale, “I’m going to activate the godly technique. Go and tell Romand to prepare the Moon of Annihilation. Destroy the force trying to stop me from the mountaintop!”

“Yes, Tutor!” Lawndale bowed deeply. When he straightened, tears were streaming down his face. He knew that later would be Aymons’ most brilliant moment but also his last moment.

After the godly technique, Aymons would no longer exist in this world.

Aymons had already charged forward. Reaching the prairie, he resolutely activated the godly technique of the Dark Serpent—the Swallowing Storm!

Swallowing Storm

Dark Godly Technique

Effect: The Dark Serpent opens its mouth and swallows all souls within a 12-mile radius.

(Note: After activation, the Dark Serpent’s planar repulsion will multiply. The Divine Gear’s power will decrease by 80 percent.)

With the appearance of the godly technique, the world changed!

The sacred light that had been fighting against the dark power, the golden beam that connected the sky and earth, was suddenly shattered by a mysterious force!

Black clouds covered the battlefield again. Lightning cheered behind the clouds while the clouds started spinning, creating a huge whirlpool. The terrible soul-swallowing force appeared.

Under Aymons’ control, the Dark Army was safe. However, shadows immediately appeared above the Warriors of the Orida Fortress. One was their actual body; the other was the soul being tugged out.

The Warriors all grasped their heads. The weaker ones rolled on the ground, crying out in pain. The stronger ones gritted their teeth against the horrible pain.

At the top of the Orida Fortress, Link immediately yelled, “Soul Slalom, release!”

All Magicians started pouring Mana into Link. It felt like his body would burst. He might not be able to take it before, but now, he had a strong body.

“Ah!” While roaring, Link used the anger of a dragon king and streamed the horrible strength in. After going past the magic sword, it rushed back into the sky.

Buzz, buzz! A deep blue beam of light shot out from the sword. At first, it was a light beam. After flying 100 feet, it expanded and rotated.

Under Link’s guidance, the deep blue whirlpool spun in the opposite direction of the dark vortex. Every beat was reversed!

The two forces—one from a mortal Magician, one from a Divine Gear—began battling in the air.

Crack, crack! Lightning appeared violently between the two. There were explosions and great booms of thunder. It was terrifying.

However, the battle in the sky had intensified to the max. Then the Dark Serpent’s attractive force actually disappeared.

“Ah, a miracle!”

“We’re saved!”

“The Magicians saved us!”

The Warriors cheered, joyous after escaping death.

There was another citadel on the Orida Fortress’s second wall. Duke Abel stood there, looking at the deep blue whirlpool extending from the Mage Tower. He clenched his fists and waved them excitedly.

Then he waved his hand. A soldier beside him raised the flag of a golden lion. Abel unsheathed his sword. Looking at the officers beside him, he declared, “Gentlemen, the future of the kingdom and the survival of humanity shall be decided with this battle!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

The generals roared, and the soldiers roared. The dwarves and Yabba roared angrily too. The godly technique had been repressed, and the Light Army’s power was at its extreme!

So what if it was the Dark Serpent? So what about the godly technique? They had the wise and powerful Magicians!

The Dark Army had started charging down the prairie too.

Aymons was frightened. The longer the Swallowing Storm lasted, the stronger it would be repulsed by the world’s laws. After one minute, it would be forced out of Firuman.

Now, it had already been 15 seconds. He didn’t have much more time.

“Romand! The Moon of Annihilation!” Aymons yelled urgently.

The moment he spoke, silver light rose from the Black Forest, calming the entire forest. The light was 30 feet long, like a silver moon. It seemed slow, but it was actually rising up extremely fast. It flew and crashed against the Mage Tower at the mountaintop.

This was the Legendary spell, the Moon of Annihilation!

All Magicians of the Silver Moon Mage Council had gathered together and combined their power to create this terrible attack.

At the top of the mountain, the pope took a deep breath. “Glorious Lord,” he said softly, “May your glory remain for eternity!”

With that, he put all the sacred power he possessed into the Holy Grail.

His slightly fat body immediately caved in, turning into a bag of bones. His breath disappeared in an instant as well. If not for the 12 cardinals supporting his body, he would be on the ground already.

Receiving this burst of sacred power, the Holy Grail glowed radiantly again.

The silver moon came up, but on its way, a semicirclular wall of sacred light suddenly appeared, blocking the silver moon.

The two collided and intertwined. There were bursts of thunder. After five seconds, the enchantment created with the cost of the pope’s life disappeared. The silver moon didn’t succeed either. It advanced 30 more feet and then exploded with a bang, turning into fireworks.

In the Black Forest, Romand collapsed to the ground. His face was ghastly pale, and blood appeared around his lips. Behind him, the Magicians of the Silver Moon Mage Council looked exhausted too. They’d all temporarily lost the ability to cast spells.

“Dammit!” Aymons saw that the deep blue whirlpool remained in the sky. His heart trembled, losing confidence. He could only forge on.

Now, he could only hope that the human Magician would break down before him. That way, his godly technique could still damage the Light Army. Even if he couldn’t kill them all, he could at least halve their combat ability.

The One-Eyed Mountain Demons had reached the city walls. They started pounding Orida’s walls with their bare hands.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The human Warriors where they pounded the walls were shaken to death.

The demons weren’t well off either. The Yabba musketeers and dragon archers were all aiming at them. Balls of blackness shot down at these One-Eyed Mountain Demons. One was already killed.

The city wall became extremely chaotic.

In the Black Forest, a black-haired girl watched it all. She sighed and shook her head. “The Dark Elves are unreliable. Noyo, it’s already chaotic enough. Sneak in and kill that Magician.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Noyo suddenly disappeared and instantly appeared almost 1000 feet away. It was like teleportation.

“Noyo, you only have 30 seconds though,” the lovely voice continued in Noyo’s ears like a low murmur.

Chapter 366: The Wolf Enters the Tiger’s Den

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

Zip. A second later, Noya soundlessly teleported to the base of the city wall.

The battle had only gone on for less than a minute, but the center of the battlefield was filled with gore, blood, broken bones and dead bodies.

As the blood accumulated on the ground, it formed streams of blood. The stench of blood and gore filled the air thickly, like a fog that would not disperse.

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of killing, screaming, shouting, as all sorts of lethal attacks were unleashed. Within half a second of Noya’s appearance, two musket shots and five arrows flew towards where he stood. These weren’t aimed at him but just happened to fly past him.

It was a brutal scene.

Noya didn’t tarry long. Zip. He quickly jumped to a one-eyed mountain demon’s back and then jumped off again, crossing over 600 feet to arrive at the second city wall.

Once again, he immediately moved from where he landed, not giving the surrounding soldiers the chance to notice him. When he reappeared again, he was only 300 feet from the Magic Tower.

It was in this manner that he penetrated Orida Fortress. In the midst of the chaos, no one would notice a vaguely visible shadow.

Being separated by a mere 300 feet, Noya could see the low wall that surrounded the Magic Tower. The wall was only 9 feet tall, and within it could be seen a splendorous divine light. The divine light was blinding, making it impossible for him to jump in as quickly as he did before.

He had no idea what he would find within the walls and had no choice but to proceed cautiously.

Thirty feet out from the wall, the Silver-white Shield Warriors formed a defensive wall. There were many Warriors, some of whom were Level-7 and even one that had reached Level-8.

Of course, if it were one-on-one, he would not even spare this character a glance. He could kill him in an instant. However, here on the battlefield, these types of Warriors could be very troublesome. They were on the alert and could discover his traces. Once he was spotted, he would be tangled up fighting with the Warriors and waste a lot of time.

He was on a strict time limit and had no time to waste.

Noya adjusted his angle of approach, steering clear from the Level-8 Warrior. He sped towards the low wall of the Magic Tower.

Suddenly, one of the Level-7 Shield Warriors noticed Noya. He shouted out an alarm, “Assassins, alert!”

Boom! A resounding clang sounded out. All the Shield Warriors had raised their shields and used them to form a seemingly impenetrable wall.

At this point, Noya had yet to activate the power of the Oath ring. Although the ring’s powers could be constantly active, it had a weakness. In the corporeal state, Noya’s vision would be limited. Things would appear blurry and dark, and right now, he needed to be able to see what was going on within the walls.

However, he had underestimated these Shield Warriors. They were indeed the elites of the kingdom. The defensive wall was formed instantaneously.

Time was tight. He had no other choice but to quickly break through.

Adjusting his angle, he increased his speed. An instant later, he stepped onto a shield, stepping down hard and employing his demonic strength. He immediately crushed the Level-4 Warrior holding the shield to death, using the rebound to launch himself upwards and forward, towards the next shield.

Shing, shing! Sharp blades stabbed out from within the shield wall, pursuing Noya. However, it was to no avail, as the blades could not keep up with the demon’s quick speed.

Watching as Noya was about to jump over the walls, the Level-7 Warrior that discovered him immediately shouted, “Hold it!”

He dashed towards Noya, flinging his shield towards Noya and cutting off his route.

“Pitiful strength,” Noya laughed coldly. His body vanished, and he reappeared beside the dashing Warrior. Suddenly, both his legs were wrapped around the Warriors neck, and he spun his body. No one saw how he did it but all of a sudden, the Level-7 Warrior’s neck was twisted and broken, and his body was thrown backwards into the rest of the pursuing Warriors.

Crash. The rest of the Warriors were mostly around Level-4. As the heavy corpse was thrown into their way, it caused them to trip over, crushing a few of them in the process.

Noya made use of this opposing force to flip himself over the yard wall, stepping into the sacred area inside the walls.

Hisss. The demonic energy on his body clashed with the divine light, causing green smoke to rise up, further blocking Noya’s vision.

“Damn it, this divine light!” Noya squinted his eyes, peering at the area in front of him. There were two groups of people. One group was made of priests who were knelt on the ground, praying. The other group was made of High Elves, and this group was the one responsible for the deep vortex in the sky.

Noya quickly identified his target. He was standing right in the middle of all the High Elves, and his body shone with blinding light. His body emanated strong energy vibrations.

It’s him! Noya thought. He immediately activated the Oath ring.

At this instant, he felt three forces from different directions targeting him. One came from directly behind. This was the Level-8 Warrior. One was beside him, rapidly approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, he recognized that it was a magic puppet, precisely Link’s puppet Nana. This proved that the human in the middle of the formation was Link.

The last threat came from the human priest. In the air, the divine light formed a corporeal blade that flew straight towards him.

Hehe, the reaction is pretty fast, but it’s too late. Noya laughed coldly. The Oath ring’s effect was about to be activated. He knew that the opponent’s attacks could no longer hit him. He was safe.

However, just when this thought flashed through his head, a dreadful sound came from behind him. Then, the whole courtyard lit up in a flash. It was lightning!

The speed of the lightning was instantaneous, hitting him just before he turned fully corporeal.

This attack was completely out of Noya’s expectations. He felt his body grow numb as the energy entered his body. If he didn’t immediately deal with it, it could potentially result in permanent injuries.

Noya’s heart clenched up. He immediately stopped the Oath ring’s activation, using his power to defend against the invasion of the lightning.

Noya was a Level-9 Assassin. The lightning was a Level-8 spell. It took him little effort to disperse the energy of it. However, with this short delay, the sword formed from divine light had arrived. This spell had him completely locked down. This was a divine spell that would definitely injure him if he was hit.

Getting injured in a place like this, surrounded by many strong enemies was almost synonymous with dying.

Without even hesitating, Noya drew out his dagger and stabbed towards the divine light sword.

Boom. The divine light sword was destroyed by his attack and had no chance to injure him. However, the trade-off was that his movements were once again halted.

Now, Nana had reached him. In one hand, she held a sword, in the other, she held a dagger.

The sword arrived first, stabbing towards his heart. Noya laughed coldly. The speed is nothing to scoff at, but the technique is pathetic. A puppet can only do so much.

The Dark Elves had talked so much about this magic puppet, elevating its status to a war god. They even said that the previous user of the Divine Gear was killed by this magic puppet, and as a result, Noya was extremely wary of this puppet. However, after exchanging blows with the puppet once, he immediately felt that the Dark Elves were trash!

Noya turned his body slightly, avoiding the sword edge by a hair. At the same time, his right hand struck out with the dagger, stabbing towards the magic puppet’s breast.

Clang. Unexpectedly, his dagger clashed with the opponent’s dagger and was blocked. Even more shocking, this powerful dagger which had accompanied him for hundreds of years was actually split into half by the opponent’s dagger.

Damn it! Is this the powerful dagger that Aymons was talking about? Noya had heard about this dagger from Aymons. However, Aymons had not been clear about what actually happened. He said that the magic puppet used the dagger to break through the Divine Gear’s defenses. Noya assumed that the puppet had used a special skill, and only now that he had clashed with the puppet, it wasn’t the puppet’s skill that was exceptional. No, it was the dagger in her hand that was special!

My dagger was constructed from Enchanted Gold and is extremely durable. If the dagger was just shattered, so be it. But how could the dagger be so cleanly split into half?!

Noya could not gauge how strong this dagger was. Furthermore, the Level-8 Warrior was approaching from behind. He had wasted eight seconds here and really could not afford to waste any more time.

He speedily retreated backwards, but suddenly turned his body, narrowly avoiding the Level-8 Warrior’s lightning-quick attacks. Then, he activated the Oath ring, turning his body into the translucent corporeal form.

Although his main dagger had been destroyed, he still had a secondary dagger in his left hand. It was more than enough to kill a Magician!

He approached rapidly towards Link who stood at the center of the magic formation.

“Stop right there!” Nana shouted. She chased after Noya, dashing much faster than he could. In an instant, she was behind him and stabbed a dagger towards his back.

Immediately, the priest condensed the divine light into a divine shield that blocked his approach.

Hehe, I’m now invincible, your attacks won’t even hurt me… Wait! This dagger is unnatural!

He was rejoicing earlier, but suddenly felt a cold, sharp pain in his back. How could this be?! Had he already entered a corporeal state?

What in the devil is this thing?!

In that instant, with so many things running through his mind, the anxious Noya could barely react in time. He desperately activated the Oath ring’s cloning ability. His body immediately multiplied into three bodies. One was still in the original spot; another was rushing towards Link while the last one was escaping towards the wall.

It was at this moment that Noya felt fear blossoming in his heart.

In the corporeal state granted by the Oath ring, Noya’s vision was limited, and he did not notice that at some point, Link had changed from using the wand which was sustaining the deep blue vortex in the sky and was now holding a magic sword in his hand.

In all honesty, even if Noya had seen Link change his weapon, he would not pay much attention anyway. So what if a Magician was holding a sword? Could the sword hurt him in his corporeal state? Furthermore, even if the opponent’s magic was strong, it still could not injure him in time!

Chapter 367: The Sacrifice of My Soul was Meaningless

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

Under the effect of the Oath Ring, Noyo’s body separated into three. One body easily passed through the Sacred Light Wall and charged at Link.

Link immediately felt a shred of unrest appearing in the Mana surging into him. The Magicians in the magic seal were disturbed, affecting their spells.

“Steady! Keep steady! Don’t worry about me!” Link muttered. He used Dragon Power to heighten his voice. It wasn’t loud but still traveled clearly to each Magician’s ear.

On the other side, seeing the Sacred Light Wall lose effectiveness, an archbishop’s expression suddenly grew solemn. He and the other 11 had been kneeling in a circle, praying around the pope’s body. Now, he stood up and walked towards the magic seal alone.

The other cardinals didn’t move, but they all sighed simultaneously as if knowing his choice.

The cardinal prayed as he walked.

“Brilliant Lord, I am willing to burn my soul and sacrifice my all in exchange for your light to protect these mortals. Halo of Sacrifice!”

Halo of Sacrifice

Divine Spell

Effect: The halo’s range reaches 150 feet. Within the protection of the halo, all injuries of the targets are transferred to the spell-caster until the spell-caster dies. If the soul is used as the cost, the spellcaster’s soul will be destroyed after the spell.

(Note: There must be something in this world that deserves you to sacrifice everything for!)

When the last word was uttered, the benevolent white-haired archbishop stopped. He clasped his hands before his chest, head lowered and body hunched over. Then, golden flames burst from his body. These flames formed a pair of golden wings on his back. They grew quickly until they enveloped the entire magic seal like a mother bird protecting its nest.

Rings of golden runes circled the Magicians inside the magic seal.

Noyo had just arrived beside a Magician. He stabbed at the man with his dagger. The golden runes flowed over, blocking the hit. Not convinced, Noyo stabbed harder. The dagger sunk in slowly but more and more runes appeared before the tip. The resistance grew as well.

I can break through it, but I don’t have time! Noyo immediately gave up on this hit and pulled his dagger back. Ignoring these regular Magicians, he ran towards Link.

At the same time, a wound slowly opened on the archbishop’s body.

He still stood there, unmoving. His brows didn’t even knit. Sacred power surged towards him, healing the fatal wound for him.

Noyo quickly arrived beside Link. His hand moved, and the dagger shot towards Link’s back like lightning. He was still in a half-dimensional state.

He planned to turn solid the moment the dagger touched Link. At that time, he would be unstoppable.

That was what he planned, so that was what he did.

But then, there was a cling. His dagger was blocked by the sword in Link’s hand. It happened the moment he turned solid!

Link didn’t even move, but the body of his sword blocked the dagger perfectly. The dagger’s tip was less than three millimeters from the back of his head!

That moment, Link activated the Dragon King’s Fury magic sword. His strength multiplied tenfold, and he was five times faster. In two seconds, his physique was comparable to this demon Assassin and might even be stronger.

Noyo ignored his shock. Demon power seeped from the dagger instinctively, and he continued attacking.

Golden runes flowed over—the Halo of Sacrifice. This flow of light once again blocked Noyo’s demon power and saved Link’s life. The next moment, Link’s sword moved and forced Noyo’s dagger aside.

I don’t believe a Magician knows swordsmanship! Noyo and Link fought.

Link maintained the Soul Slalom while blocking Noyo’s attacks.

Cling, clang, bang. There were various sounds and waves of power rippled. Shockwaves spread in all directions before being blocked by the Halo of Sacrifice again.

The Magicians in the magic seal were unharmed but more and more wounds appeared on the archbishop. There were too many for the sacred power to heal.

He still stood there, praying without moving. His body was covered in thousands of wounds, but he still didn’t move.

In one second, Noyo stabbed Link 18 times. Other than the first move that was like a sneak attack, the other attacks were no threat to Link. His sword was like a seamless shield that blocked all strikes.

“This is impossible!” Noyo didn’t know how to describe his feeling. He wanted to go crazy. As an Assassin, he was beaten by a Magician in martial arts. He’d never experienced anything like this in his 300 years alive!

“How is this possible?!” Kanorse ran over to help. Seeing this, he was shocked too.

He could tell that Link was using basic moves—each move was a basic technique. But these were somehow able to block all the Assassin’s attacks. He remembered that Link had just started learning swordsmanship half a month ago. How could he be at this level so quickly?

By then, Nana had already defeated one of Noyo’s avatars. She rushed towards Link, ready to attack the demon from the back.

After half a second, Noyo realized that he couldn’t defeat this damned Magician’s sword with a simple dagger attack. The magic puppet was coming behind him too. He must use all his power!

Battle Skill: Thousand Apparition Attack!

Noyo’s body suddenly turned into a cloud of black smoke. Hundreds of overlapping figures appeared in the smoke. They surrounded Link and each one stabbed at him. Noyo was too fast, and there were too many apparitions. It was impossible to distinguish real from fake!

But almost at the same time, there was a soft pop. A Spatial Sphere exploded beside Link.

Restraint!

There were no flaws in the defense of Noyo’s battle skill. However, there was a momentary opening while attacking. This gave Link the time to multitask and cast a spell.

Link’s Spatial Sphere was at Level-8 by itself. With the magic sword’s strengthening, its power was multiplied by seven. It reached the pinnacle of Level-8, almost at Level-9. Under this powerful spell’s restraint, Noyo slowed down.

His battle skill was an instantaneous burst of indistinguishable attacks. Now, Link stretched this “instantaneous burst” to half a second, making it ineffective!

Link must maintain the Soul Slalom. He couldn’t investigate which was Noyo and which were apparitions, but he had half a second to try each one.

The magic sword sliced past the apparitions. Sizzles sounded in the air, and the apparitions popped like bubbles one by one.

At the 36th one, Link hit a solid object.

Clang! Link found Noyo’s true body. There was only half a second left for the Dragon King’s Fury magic sword. He used all his strength and stabbed.

Huh? Noyo broke free from the spatial restraint at the same time and saw Link’s sword. Panicked, he raised his dagger to block it.

Clang! Link’s sword had time to build up and power burst from it completely. Noyo had reacted hurriedly and couldn’t block it. He was thrown backwards. The apparitions surrounding him disappeared.

Whoosh. Nana hurried over, wrapped in wind. She was right behind Noyo and reached forward with her dagger. With a squelch, Noyo was stabbed through.

“Oh, ah!” Noyo’s cry of pain was short. Then he transformed into smoke and disappeared.

“Where’d he go?” Nana asked in confusion.

“Over there. He’s hurt!” Link pointed towards the wall. After seeing Noyo split into three, he realized what gear the demon used. Now that the stabbed body disappeared like smoke, it confirmed Link’s guess.

The Oath Ring was a sacred ring of Assassins. Now, two of the three bodies were killed. If the last one was defeated, the Assassin would be truly dead.

Without needing Link to speak further, Nana turned around and chased after the third body. Kanorse did the same.

At that moment, the archbishop couldn’t hold on anymore. He paid his soul to block two attacks from Noyo, saving Link and another Magician. After that, he bore all the shockwaves from the battle for the Magicians in the magic seal. His body was battered now.

The light around him disappeared. With a soft whoosh, he dissolved into a pile of white sand and scattered on the ground.

Seeing this, Link sighed, his heart feeling heavy. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Noyo was heavily injured too. His speed of escape was twice as slow. Nana quickly caught up with her extreme speed. Noyo was quite skilled in swordsmanship and could still block Nana even with his injuries. However, he was caught and couldn’t escape promptly.

Kanorse caught up soon after. Two against one, Kanorse beheaded the demon after a few rounds!

At this time, the godly technique had already lasted for more than a minute. The deep blue whirlpool remained in the sky. Aymons’ dark godly technique was ineffective.

During his final moments, he stared at the deep blue Soul Slalom and sighed. “Ah, the sacrifice of my soul was meaningless!”

As soon as he finished, the light on his body disappeared as well. His body caved in. The Divine Gear that had transformed into a giant snake now returned to a snake-headed whip.

The whip flickered between real and apparition then vanished with a pop!

The Dark Serpent had existed long enough in Firuman and was already about to be forced out. The dark godly technique was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

After it disappeared, the dark vortex in the sky scattered. A beam of sacred light shone through again.

On the square, all Magicians were exhausted. They’d practically squeezed their bodies dry for Mana. After the godly technique disappeared, all the Magicians collapsed. Other than Link and Milda, the others fell unconscious.

Milda looked withered as well. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her starry eyes were dull. She sat on the ground listlessly and looked blankly at Link. “Did we succeed?”

Link was in the best state, but he looked exhausted too. He still had 3000 Dragon Power points and was regenerating at 20 points per second. He nodded. “Yes, we succeeded.”

“Good, good.” Milda’s eyes closed and she fell asleep on the ground.

In the Black Forest, the black-haired girl watched everything and sighed with knitted brows. “Ah, so boring. Not fun at all!”

However, even though all tactics to reduce loss had failed, the Dark Army still had a great advantage in the battle. The girl gathered her patience to continue watching.

The Light Army had won in the fight of the godly technique, but on the battlefield, they were in danger. The fight was burning white-hot. Hundreds of lives were lost every second.

Not even five seconds after the Soul Slalom disappeared, there was a giant boom. The outer wall of the Orida Fortress was 300 feet tall, 150 feet thick, and had been reinforced countless times. Now, a hole was created by the last One-eyed Mountain Demon.

It was killed immediately after but the wall was breached!

The Dark Army poured through the opening.

Chapter 368: Millions of People

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

“Report! Report! The airship is going down!”

A piercing shriek blasted through the air as the final airship in the sky emitted columns of purple smoke, falling towards the ground. It smashed into the plains outside Orida Fortress.

Boom! Immediately after, the magic crystal that was powering the airship exploded, causing a 90-foot-wide cloud of deep purple smoke to rise from the wreckage.

The ten or so Winged Howlers that were flying away from the wreckage were instantaneously engulfed by the smoke, perishing.

Looking around, the dead bodies of the Dark Army numbered at least over a thousand. However, that was but a slight dent in the Dark Army’s forces. At the fortress entrance, the Dark Army was like a flood of black, surging towards the fort.

There were 30,000 people posted on the first wall. At this moment, there were only 8,000 left. The rest had fallen in battle.

“Arrows!”

“Fire!”

“Block them! Shoot down those winged demons!”

From the second wall, the officers were constantly shouting instructions, making the battlefield sound very chaotic. Everyone who could fight was fighting, and the battlefield was just one big mess.

As the overall commander of the Light Army, Duke Abel no longer had any control over the direction of battle.

Boom! Whoosh! Clang, clang!

Spells were constantly exploding around. The second wall was also armed with magic cannons as well as a few low-level Battle Magicians. The magic spells rained down on the battlefield.

Some of them were effective, others merely grazed the demons and ghouls, unable to inflict any serious injuries. Although the Divine Gear had disappeared, the ghouls were still very powerful. Their life-force was tremendous, and until now, there were still 20,000 of them left.

As for the high-level demons, there were also many of them left. Three hundred demons still lived, from an initial count of 500. Every single one of them was at least Level-7 in strength. They swept through the battlefields, and no one was able to stop them.

Boom, boom, boom!

These were the Fordor Flaming Demons assaulting the fortress gates. Gradually, the anti-magic gates over a meter thick were slowly changing shape.

Screech! A Winged Howler swooped down from the sky onto the fortress walls, screeching and swinging around a broadsword that blazed with dark demonic fire. Wherever it went, no one could block him.

Fortunately, because of the fighting with the Yabba airships earlier, there were not many Winged Howlers left. There were only ten left. If there were any more, this battle would essentially be hopeless.

“Shoot! Shoot them down!”

Facing the threat of the Winged Howlers, the only means to deal with them were to use the Dragon Ballistae and the Yabba musketeers to attack from afar.

This was only somewhat effective, but unfortunately, the demons were too strong. Especially for those demons that were over 9 feet long, their wings were extremely tough and could act like two giant shields. Even if they were attacked from afar, they would not receive much damage.

The Winged Howlers rapidly cleared out a space on the fortress walls, enabling the ghouls and demons below to climb up and find their footing to battle.

The Light Army was rapidly losing the advantage in the battle. Even worse, the casualty rate among the Light and Dark armies were roughly equal. However, in this defensive battle, adding up all the Yabbas and dwarves, the total army was only 80,000 strong.

Meanwhile, the Dark Army had 80,000 elves, over 500 high-level demons as well as numerous low-level demons which numbered over 90,000. This was almost twice the size of the Light Army, and furthermore, they were stronger too.

If the casualty rate kept up this pace, eventually, the Light Army would be completely wiped out, handing the victory to the Dark Army. Orida Fortress would soon be overrun!

In a small tower behind the wall, Duke Abel and the Dwarven King of the Mountains, Riel, were gathered. As for the the Yabba airship formation commander, he had long since perished. There was no need to talk about the High Elf Magicians, as each of them had fainted and would not be able to do much for a while.

Dwarf King Riel surveyed the top of the city wall, his eyes bloodshot. In his opinion, it was only a matter of time before the second wall was breached too.

“Ahhh! Kill them!”

“Save us!”

As all sorts of sounds of fighting reached the tower, Dwarf King Riel exhaled slowly. He said, “Duke, I can’t sit by any longer. I’m going to fight!”

He was a Level-7 Warrior and was ranked amongst the ten strongest of the dwarven race. His weapon of choice was two war hammers. Without waiting for Duke Abel’s reply, he dashed out of the tower, shouting in rage, “My Warriors! Great Hammer Riel is coming!”

As he shouted, he dashed towards a Winged Howler. His war hammer shown with yellow light as he smashed it towards the demon.

Although the dwarves were a short race, their bodies were thick and strong, and their life force was immense. Not only that, they had immense strength. Dwarf King Riel ducked to avoid a Winged Howler’s swipe of the wing and immediately arrived in front of the demon. He swung his hammer towards the demon’s kneecap.

Smash! The demon’s leg crumpled, and he fell down to the ground, losing his balance.

Dwarf King Riel dashed onto the demon’s body, swinging his war hammers. The hammers fell onto the demon’s head like rain, and under three seconds of attack, the demon’s head was smashed into a paste.

He immediately dashed towards another Winged Howler. This time, he ran into a Level-8 demon.

His opponent was fast and had long since noticed him approaching. It swiped its wings, blowing the ten human Warriors surrounding it away. It then drew out a sword knocking aside a ballista arrow aside. Now, it turned to face Dwarf King Riel, dashing and swinging down its sword.

“Die, dwarf!”

Even though he had not reached the Dwarf King, the force of the wind from his attack buffeted Dwarf King Riel, making Riel unable to open his eyes. The thick demonic energy was suffocating. Against this speed and strength, Dwarf King Riel had no way to defend or dodge.

Is this it? Dwarf King Riel rubbed his red nose. He didn’t even attempt to dodge, but rushed forward, roaring, “Let’s go down together!”

However, he still underestimated the strength of a Level-8 demon. With a mere wave of his sword, the demon cut off Dwarf King Riel’s path. Then, with a second wave, the sword continued slashing towards Riel.

“Die together? Dream on!” The demon laughed.

The demon’s sword was six feet long, ten inches wide, and it blazed with dark demonic fire. Getting cut by it would undoubtedly result in one turning into a meat paste.

Looks like this is the end. Dwarf King Riel sighed. In the end, all he could do was to raise his hammer and block in front of him.

Bam! Suddenly Dwarf King Riel’s saw a flash in the corner of his eye. Immediately after that, a streak of lightning struck into the Winged Howler.

The electricity was terrifying, and it immediately paralyzed the demon.

Reinforcements? Dwarf King Riel’s heart suddenly lit up with hope. He turned to look and saw a human Warrior wearing a Silver-White battle outfit. He held a one-handed sword in his hand which sparked with electricity and was dashing over.

“Dawn Swordsman Kanorse!” Dwarf King Riel instantly recognized the figure.

Kanorse also recognized him. He laughed. “Commander, leave this demon to me!”

In the midst of his laughter, Kanorse dashed forward, appearing beside the Level-8 demon.

Crackle. The electricity flashed, and the demon who had just regained feeling in his limbs was paralyzed once again. Kanorse slashed out with his sword, cutting off the demon’s legs.

The demon lost its balance and knelt down on the floor, exposing his neck. Kanorse swung his long sword, decapitating the demon.

He did not stop after slaying the demon but immediately went to seek out another demon on the fortress wall.

The Dwarf King looked at him, mouth gaping. “The Dawn Swordsman eh. Truly powerful!”

Kanorse was the first to arrive at the battlefield. After him was Nana, followed by 2,000 Silver-White Shield Warriors who were responsible for guarding Link and the magic formation.

These were all elites of the kingdom, and their addition to the battlefield caused the tides of battle to swing.

Nana did not act on her own. It was as though she received some order, and she followed closely behind Kanorse, killing the demons that escaped him.

Both of them were top experts. Although they were cooperating for the first time, after killing about ten demons, their cooperation started to improve. As they fought their way towards the walls, demons fell to their swords. None could stand in their way. From afar, they looked like they were splitting the waves.

Once the Dawn Swordsman arrived at the scene, the human soldiers received a boost in morale. The previously depressing atmosphere started to improve rapidly.

However, this was just the last burst of strength before death.

Those who understood the flow of battle knew that the addition of Kanorse and the Silver-White Shield Warriors could only delay the eventual fall of the wall. They could not reverse the battle.

…

In the tower behind the fort, Duke Abel was also excited. However, just then, a calm voice reached his ears. “Duke, at this rate, we are sure to lose.”

The duke turned his head and saw Link walking in.

Link took five minutes to walk here from the top of the fort. In this five minutes, Link recovered 3000 Dragon Power points. The Dragon Power within him was almost full again, and under the influence of the pure Dragon Power, the fatigue he felt from operating the magic formation had also disappeared.

Duke Abel did not doubt Link’s words for a second. In truth, he had also realized subconsciously that the fortress would eventually fall.

“Sir, what should we do?”

Link had a plan in mind. “We only have about 15,000 men left. These are all precious seeds among our Warriors. We must keep our losses to the minimum. Importantly, Kanorse, Dwarf King Riel, and the outstanding talents must survive… Right now, let’s have everyone begin to retreat into the fortress to the Magic Tower.”

Link decided to use the area of effect of the Dragon King’s Wrath magic sword and his newly found swordsmanship skills. With the terrain advantage, he was confident in blocking the Dark Army all by himself.

Of course, the reason he dared to do this was because the Dark Army had no more experts that could single-handedly rock the battlefield. All the high-level Magicians had retreated, and no one could hinder him. With his boundless Dragon Power, he essentially had unlimited energy.

He was probably the strongest on the battlefield right now!

“Sir…” Duke Abel could not quite believe his ears.

“Trust me. Right now, the Dark Army is all gathered on the fields, and I have a magic spell, a very powerful spell that can deal with them. If our soldiers are mixed in, they will undoubtedly get caught up in the attack.”

At this point, Duke Abel did not raise any further disagreements. He said, “I understand. We will start the retreat now.”

Then, he turned to his deputy, “Go, sound the horn, order the retreat.”

Half a minute late, Hoorrrnnnn, a sharp horn blasted through the air. This was the signal for retreating. The soldiers on the wall did not know what was going on, but this was a military order. They immediately started pulling back from the city wall.

“Quick! Quick! Retreat into the fortress!” An officer shouted, directing the troops.

In the Black Forest, Lawndale smelled that something was off. “What’s going on? They could clearly defend the fort; why would they retreat now?”

The black-haired girl said doubtfully, “Could they be preparing to release another powerful spell? But their Magicians must be spent from dealing with the Dark Serpent, aren’t they?”

When the Dark Elves’ Silver Moon Council high-level Magicians used the Legendary magic spell, the 100 of them who participated in the spell were all drained.

Even if the opponents had talented High Elf Magicians, they were dealing with a Divine Gear. The drain on them would definitely be larger. How could they possibly have the strength to release another powerful spell now?

She could not understand. Neither could Lawndale.

Lawndale said, “If they want to retreat now, then this is our chance to break through the fort in one shot!”

“No, something’s wrong. We can’t attack, we must retreat. They must have some secret killing move!” The black-haired girl shook her head. She instructed a Winged Howler beside her, “Go, send my orders, have the soldiers retreat!”

Chapter 369: The “Stubborn” Demon Princess

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

“Duke, what’s wrong? Why did you retreat?” The dwarf King Riel was covered in blood. He looked back at the citadel in confusion.

“This is my idea,” Link said.

“Master, you…you’re here? You still have energy?” Riel didn’t count on Link joining the direct battle. He’d already blocked the dark godly technique for the army. As a Magician, Link had done enough.

Link nodded. “My power has mostly recovered, but we don’t have enough soldiers. I checked, and there are less than 13,000 now. If this continues, we will be defeated—”

Before he could finish, a loud screech came from the Black Forest.

The sound was grating. It was the typical cry of a Winged Howler and reverberated across the entire battlefield. After this, the demons that had been violently attacking the city walls were momentarily dazed. Then they retreated.

The demons climbing the walls started jumping down. The Fodor Flaming Demons ramming against the gate were stunned before sprinting back. The low-level demons on the square retreated like a tidal wave, leaving the confused Dark Elves behind.

What was happening?

So many Warriors had died, and one wall had finally been breached. All the walls were about to be broken through. Why did they give up now? Were the demons stupid?

Other than the Dark Elves, the Light Army was stunned too. No one expected this change.

Riel tugged at his whiskers in disbelief. “Was the demon commander kicked in the back of his head by a mountain goat?”

“No, no, he probably guessed we’ll use magic,” Duke Abel said quietly. He looked at Link. “Master, what do we do now?”

“We’ll continue retreating. The Dark Elves haven’t left yet.” Link was shocked at the demon commander’s boldness too. No matter what, retreating when things were going well was too bizarre.

The Light Army was retreating because they couldn’t hold the city walls for much longer. Though they retreated a bit early, it was still understandable. But what was with the demons?

…

Black Forest.

Lawndale gaped at the black-haired girl. “Your Highness, why did you do that? We were about to win!”

To him, the humans were retreating, but they needed time. If they immediately attacked and caught up before the humans retreated, even the strongest magic would be useless. Would the Magician kill his own soldiers?

Furthermore, the Orida Fortress’ sturdiness was obvious. After so many deaths, it was about to be breached, but now they gave up… Did all those soldiers die in vain?

After they retreated, the humans would recompose themselves, reconquer the city wall, and repair the hole. On the other hand, they lost so many high-level demon Warriors. It was doubtful whether they could attack again.

Ah, this woman is crazy!

“Are you calling me crazy in your mind?” the girl asked with a smile.

Lawndale froze. He shook his head violently. “No, not at all. I just can’t understand your actions. You must know, the Orida Fortress is a very sturdy iron fortress. The humans clearly couldn’t hold on any longer. Retreating into the fortress is normal, and it’s not highly possible for a powerful spell to appear. The human commander isn’t stupid. If they really have a spell like that, why didn’t they use it at the start? Why would they save it until so many people died?”

The black-haired girl nodded. “You’re right, but I’m the commander of the demon army. I like retreating at this time. You can’t do anything about it.” Near the end, the girl pursed her red lips and jutted her chin out. She huffed through her nose arrogantly.

Lawndale was speechless.

His Tutor, Aymons, was already dead. As Aymons’ right-hand man, Lawndale automatically upgraded to the commander of the Dark Elves. Things had been going well, but then the demons suddenly retreated. Now, he was conflicted as to if he should have the Dark Elves retreat too.

At this time, a hoarse voice traveled over. It was Romand, the chancellor of the Silver Moon Mage Council. He walked up and said confidently, “Don’t retreat. Continue attacking. There’s no way they’ll use a powerful spell. Blocking the godly technique is enough to use up any mortal Magician’s strength!”

There were more than 40,000 Dark Elf Warriors at this time and almost 2,000 ghouls. It was many times the size of the Light Army, who had given up and was retreating. This was the best chance to snatch victory.

Only an idiot would retreat!

Lawndale had been conflicted but, hearing Romand’s words, he immediately made his decision. “Pass down the order, continue attacking!”

Woo, woo woo. The Dark Elves used bone horns. The sound was eerie and chilling. It carried the Dark Elf commander’s thought to the frontline.

The Dark Elf army was still dazed. Hearing the command, they ignored their stupid demon allies and turned around to attack.

Countless hooks with cables were shot onto the city wall from crossbows. Ghouls and Dark Elves continued climbing up. On the wall, they met sparse resistance. The human and dwarf Warriors had all retreated, leaving behind a few soldiers with shields who fought as they retreated.

“Stop chasing and open the gate! Fortify the camp!” a Dark Elf general said.

It was none other than Lund, the one who once attacked Gladstone City at night and was known as the Blood-hand Demon. He was now a Level-7 Warrior and was the strongest Dark Elf general with the highest military rank.

Hearing his voice, the Dark Elves instantly stopped pursuing. A portion went to open the city gates while most collected the bodies. They pushed the bodies into the passageway, creating the simplest and bloodiest barrier.

While the Dark Elves were busy, the Light Army had all retreated. The demons all returned to the Black Forest.

The Orida Fortress, filled with murderous cries earlier, had become almost deathly silent.

“See?” Romand sneered. “The humans have no tricks. They just wanted to hide into the citadel like rats.”

Lawndale had still been worried but seeing that there was still no action or abnormal magic waves, he felt assured. Nodding, he said, “Seems like it’s safe now.”

The black-haired girl clapped and laughed. “That’ll be the best. Lawndale, we’re allies. I’ll be sad if something happens to you all.”

A smile bloomed on her delicate face. She didn’t look like she’d just retreated alone without caring about her allies earlier.

What could Lawndale say? He remained silent.

At this time, no one in the Black Forest could see that in the Orida Fortress a figure stepped through the blood and bodies in the passageway filled with corpses. He advanced step by step. At the point with the highest pile, the person stopped, gazing at the Dark Elves hundreds of feet away.

At first, only one or two Dark Elves saw him. After a few seconds, a wand appeared in the man’s left hand. With a soft pop, a ball of light burst out.

Now, all the Dark Elves on the wall saw him.

Some stopped involuntarily and looked quietly at this young black-haired human. Many were confused, unsure what was happening.

Link wasn’t in a hurry. His fatigue wasn’t quite gone, and his body hadn’t recovered to his peak. Since that was the case, he could spare the time for a few sentences.

He scanned all the Dark Elves. Finally, his eyes focused on General Lund. Smiling, he said, “Hey, you, yeah, you. Do you still recognize me?”

Lund’s brows knitted. He found the human familiar—very familiar, especially the eyes. He’d definitely seen those eyes before. He studied Link and gradually, a memory formed.

One and a half years ago, he’d led an army to attack Gladstone. There was also a black-haired young man, though much thinner, who forced him off the city walls with a flame spell. At that time, the man had worn an average Magician’s Apprentice’s robe. He’d been so thin it looked like he would fall over in the wind.

The man in front of him now was muscular with a rounder face. He wore a fine short robe that only Master Magicians could wear. But those eyes—cold, deep…they were the exact same.

Before Lund could fully remember him, a Dark Elf recognized Link and screamed, “It’s him! It’s the human Demon Slayer!”

The voice reminded Lund like lightning. Fury rushed out from the bottom of his heart like lava, and his eyes turned blood-red!

“I knew it!” He gripped his Bloody Sword of Glory and settled in a combat position. “One year ago, you stopped me from attacking Gladstone. At that time, you had countless reinforcements, and a demon princess helped you. Now, you’re alone. How can you stop my 40,000 brave Warriors?”

Link chuckled. “Yes, what a coincidence. We’ve met twice, and both times, you’re attacking the city I’m protecting. But last year, I was an amateur that had just started learning magic. Now…well, have a taste of it yourself!”

As soon as he finished, the light spell at the end of Link’s wand turned into a crystal red ball of light. With a whoosh, the ball stretched into a long whip. It was the Demon Slayer Whip!

It flew out hundreds of feet as soon as it appeared. It reached Lund instantly. Piercing light shot out from the tip, curling at Lund’s head.

The attack was too sudden. The hair on the back of Lund’s neck shot up. His head shrunk back and he swung his sword.

Clang! There was a huge vibration. Lund’s Bloody Sword of Glory met the hit but couldn’t block it. The sword flew out of his hand.

Link was a Level-8 Dragon Mage. With the reinforcement of the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand, the Demon Slayer Whip reached Level-9. Lund was still at Level-7, and the difference was too large. He wasn’t Link’s match.

The whip forced the Bloody Sword of Glory away but didn’t stop. It cracked against Lund’s face. With a pop, Lund’s head exploded. His body flew backwards and plummeted down the wall!

This was the tragedy of not having a powerful fighter there. Misamier, Aymons, or even the fallen angel that had forced Link to pathetically escape could easily make Link escape. But now, these powerful fighters were all dead.

Link wasn’t as strong as them, but he was still alive, so he’d become the undisputable top fighter on the battlefield.

Lund was the commander and strongest of the Dark Elves. Even the ghouls weren’t his match, but he’d been killed instantly. All the remaining Dark Elves exchanged glances awkwardly.

In the faraway Black Forest, Romand’s eyes flew open. “Pinnacle of Level-8 strength…is that him? How does he still have strength?”

Lawndale was shaken too. “How can one man face the entire army?”

The black-haired girl laughed. “Ah, seems like my worry has come true. I’d like to see what spell he’ll use. Would it be a Legendary spell?”

When she said that, both Romand and Lawndale’s faces turned so white they were almost transparent. Link had used Legendary spells before. Aymons had proved this and had said before that many wounds had appeared on Link’s body because of it.

Secret spells like this couldn’t be used often. Link hadn’t done anything in the earlier battle, so they didn’t worry. But now, Link appeared by himself. The situation was odd.

Romand and Lawndale met each other’s eyes. Could the demon princess be right?