Advent of the Archmage - Chapter 390

Chapter 390: I Will Conquer This World

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

Balha was infuriated, and the whole Spring Leaf Village was in chaos. The only one who could stop him, Magician Rockman, was still recovering from his wounds.

Therefore, the whole of Spring Leaf village descended into an abyss of despair.

In fact, at this moment, Rockman was no longer in Spring Leaf Village. He had left two days ago and was now in a cart headed for Black Eagle City. Besides him, was a black-haired girl.

“Saroviny, you aren’t a Laguan or a dwarf. When we reach Black Eagle City and meet Lord Bal, if you are able to gain his favor, you may be able to get rid of your slave identity.”

“Understood.”

Saroviny made a noise to acknowledge Rockman’s words. Saroviny was dressed in a long black chiffon dress. The dress, however, was very thin. Besides the most important areas, the rest of Saroviny’s skin was pretty much visible. Her entire back was essentially exposed, showing off her radiant snow-white skin. Her gorgeous black hair tumbled down across her bare back. That combination of black against white was stunning and possessed incredible attractiveness.

Rockman did not dare to look at her long. He was afraid that he too would lose control of himself and make advances on this beautiful young girl. That would ruin all his plans.

However, he also could not bear for such a beautiful girl to be ravaged to death by Lord Bal. After hesitating for a while, he decided to give some advice. “Remember, Lord Bal sometimes prefers delicate and tender personalities.”

Saroviny revealed a cold smile on her face and retracted her gaze from outside the window, glancing at Rockman. Hypocrite!

Although she did this, there was still a trace of bitterness in her heart. Bal is it? Damn, how did I even end up in this situation where I need to rely on selling my body to survive? Link, don’t ever give me the chance, or I will let you experience the Anluval Twist torture.

The Anluval Twist was a torture method created by a demon from the abyss. It was very effective and would make the person being tortured go crazy within a short time. From ancient times till now, not a single person has lasted for more than five minutes.

Meanwhile, back in the cart, Rockman couldn’t read Saroviny’s thoughts. Noticing that she was ignoring him, he shook his head helplessly. “Do what you want. Whether you live or not has nothing to do with me.”

After saying that, he no longer bothered Saroviny. He brought forth a sword case that was resting in one corner and began to appraise the sword. As he looked at it, he sighed.

“Ah, what a great sword. What a pity that Balha messed things up, causing me to lose such a great student. Sigh.”

“Heh.” As he said this, Saroviny smirked and laughed. She looked at the old man with an extremely condescending look.

“What is it? Is the sword not good?” Rockman didn’t like her gaze.

“The sword is good, but the person wielding it isn’t worthy,” Saroviny couldn’t even be bothered to argue with Rockman. She had many things that she left unsaid. It was a joke that this businessman that reeked of money believed that he could take Link in as a disciple. He was led along by the nose by Link and didn’t even know it.

Rockman laughed it off. He didn’t argue with her. Anyway, it’s not like he lost anything because of her harsh words.

At this point, the chariot suddenly lurched to a stop.

“What’s going on?” Rockman shouted. Because of the sudden stop, he had dropped the sword case onto the floor. The sword fell out onto the carriage floor, clanging about. This made Rockman’s heart hurt.

“What in the world? Driver, hey driver, what’s going on?” Rockman asked angrily.

Swish. The front curtain of the carriage was pulled open, and the driver looked into the carriage. “Sir, the road up ahead is blocked by a ditch…”

Before he could finish his sentence, an arrow shot into the carriage from the forest and buried itself into his neck. Crack. The driver’s neck snapped, and his head was slammed into the car window by the immense force of the arrow. All the blood spurted out and made a mess of the car.

“Sh*t! An enemy attack!” Rockman’s heart clenched. He immediately reached over and pressed the carriage’s defensive talisman. A crystal light surrounded the four-sided carriage.

“Wait inside and don’t come out. I’ll go see who dares to cause trouble.”

Rockman opened the carriage door and walked out. Upon stepping out of the carriage, he was immediately stunned.

This was because the carriage was guarded by eight heavy armored Warriors. However, outside of this entrapment were 200 Laguans fiercely eyeing the horse carriage, bows in hand.

Rockman immediately recognized the leader. “Maude, you bastard. You dare to ambush me?!”

Immediately after he said this, Maude threw a bloody head in front of Rockman. This head had its eyes opened wide, and it wore an expression of incomparable misery.

“Ah!” Rockman took a step back. He recognized this head. It was none other than Spring Leaf Village’s Lord Balha.

It had only been two days since he left the village, how could they have killed Balha so quickly?!

Maude laughed coldly. “He was wasted. I baited him with a few people, and he immediately chased after us with a cavalry of 50 men. We prepared an ambush in the forest, and he jumped right in without the slightest hesitation. Hahaha. What Bloody Butcher? He’s more like a dumb pig going to the slaughter.”

Rockman knew that he was finished. However, he still couldn’t understand why the bandits dared to act this recklessly. “Aren’t you afraid of Great Lord Bal’s revenge?”

Balha was Bal’s son. Even if he was the third son that Bal did not look highly upon, now that the Laguans had killed Balha, Bal could not sit there and do nothing. That would be like giving up his power in the realm.

Meaning to say, the Blood-eyed mercenaries would soon face Bal’s frenzied revenge.

Maude, however, didn’t seem to care. “Bal wants revenge? Well, let me tell you, not long from now, all you Araguans will face the revenge of my fellow Laguans.”

As he said this, Maude gestured at the archers. “Shoot!”

Whoosh. Immediately, the arrows rained down like rain. The eight armored Warriors were turned into porcupines. Rockman waved his hand and shrouded himself in a light screen, creating a barrier around himself.

Patter patter. The arrows rained onto the light screen. However, it was like rain raining onto the leaves of a banana tree. No matter how hard it rained, it had no way to break through the cover of the tree leaves.

After the rain of arrows, Maude took the chance to rush forward. The sword in his hand flashed, and immediately, Rockman’s light barrier broke apart. Behind him were three experts. The moment the barrier broke, the three stabbed at Rockman simultaneously.

Wham. Rockman released yet another spell, causing the four halfling attackers to become crushed together and flung aside. They rolled for a few rounds before finally coming to a stop.

However, all this was useless. The three blades were already stuck inside his body.

Rockman retreated a few steps and rested against the walls of the carriage. He looked down to check his wounds and raised his head to see the approaching halflings. He had a bad feeling.

This time, the kingdom is probably finished.

After the thought entered his mind, he blanked out. Leaning against the carriage wall, he slowly slid down to the ground, leaving a long trace of blood on the carriage. Finally, Rockman crashed and collapsed onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Maude was picking himself up from the ground. His face was covered in dust. However, he was ultimately still the same level as Rockman. Rockman’s final blow was not unleashed properly, and it only managed to shock Maude, causing his insides to hurt. However, he was not actually injured.

Maude climbed to his feet and instructed, “Open up the carriage! Let’s see what treasures this old man has brought.”

Crash. The carved carriage door was broken off and flung to the ground by a halfling.

Another halfling charged into the carriage. After staring for a long while, he said, “Chief, there’s a sword inside the carriage. As well as an Araguan woman!”

The sword was exquisite, and the woman’s beauty was even more so. It nearly caused the halfling’s eyes to go blind.

“Bring the sword over, kill the girl!” Maude instructed without pausing to consider.

However, the halfling did not attack. He slowly turned and said, “Chief, I think you should come and take a look at her.”

“What’s there to see about an Araguan?”

Somewhat impatiently, Maude made his way to the carriage entrance and stuck his head in. He immediately froze.

On the floorboard of the carriage was a sword. A portion of the blade’s body stuck out of its sheath. The blade seemed as cold as ice and very mysterious.

On the carriage, seat was seated a girl. Her black hair flowed down her back, and her skin was fair as snow. She had beautiful eyes and delicate features, as well as a lovely figure. She smiled at him.

This… He really couldn’t bear to kill her. However, this was an Araguan. If he spared her, how could he still be the leader of the Laguans?!

He was their chief, and everyone knew that the hatred between the two races ran as deep as an abyss. The force of the hatred was as vast as the sky and deep as the oceans. Anyone who dared to stand in its way would bear the full brunt of the hatred.

“What do we do then?” Maude quickly ran through many plans in his head, trying to think of a way out of this situation. Then, he laid his eyes on the girl’s neck and noticed her slave collar.

Maude’s eyes suddenly lit up. He had found a way. “Lady, you are an Araguan woman. How did you become a slave?”

Savoriny obviously knew the danger involved here. Only an idiot would still claim to be an Araguan.

She shook her head vehemently. “My name is Saroviny, and I’m from Firuman. The Araguans are my mortal enemies!”

Maude was taken aback for a moment. Then, he grinned broadly and gave Saroviny an awkward bow.

“Although I’ve never seen or heard of Firuman before, we have a common enemy. Now, you’ve regained your freedom!” Maude said, smiling.

Saroviny also noticed the scars on one of the other halfling’s neck. The smile on her face became even more apparent. “Thank you for saving me. The Araguans killed my parents and brothers. I vow to kill them all and get revenge for my family!”

“Alright, let us fight together!”

Maude reached out a hand to Saroviny, which she took hold of. Then, Maude helped Saroviny out of the carriage. After she got out of the carriage, he picked up the sword that was left behind in the carriage and declared loudly, “This is Saroviny, from the distant lands of Firuman. From here on, she will be our comrade-in-arms!”

Under the sunlight, Saroviny’s beauty was beyond compare. All the halflings were enraptured by her beauty, and they started chanting fervently, “Comrade! Comrade!”

Hearing the chants, Saroviny squinted her eyes. Deep inside the pair of deep black pupils, a flame burned.

“Aragu, I, Saroviny, have come! I will conquer this new world!

Chapter 391: Prepare to Go Home

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

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

The situation progressed faster than Link had predicted. In the borderlands of Aragu, a Fire Sect arose. Deep in the Great Beast Forest, the first altar appeared in the Laguan village Greenleaf Stop.

This news secretly spread amongst countless Laguans. Every day, many Laguan slaves escaped to the village to search for freedom.

The priests at the altar didn’t disappoint them. The slave collar ring that symbolized restraint and submissiveness were easily taken off. The slaves were given freedom, and the Laguans grew stronger.

The news obviously reached Link’s group, so they secretly hurried over. In the forest outside Greenleaf Stop, the invisible Link said to Milda and Riel, “Go quickly and come back. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Okay.” The two nodded.

During the three months, Link, Milda, and Riel all entered Level-10. Link was the most advanced; he was at the pinnacle of Level-10, and his Dragon Power limit had reached 9200 points. Next was Milda at mid-Level-10. Riel entered Level-10 three days ago. Nana had accumulated much strange power and had reached Level-10 too. Link couldn’t figure it out. He’d have to look into it back in Firuman.

In Aragu, this was equivalent to Stage-2. It was very average.

These three were top geniuses in Firuman. It was natural to rise to Stage-2 within four months. However, they leveled up way too quickly. They had no time to really grasp the Legendary power.

Currently, other than Link who could release the Legendary spell Miracle Aura, Milda and Riel were just two super-soldiers with the raw strength of a Legendary Warrior. They could squash anyone under the Legendary level but faced with someone of the same level, they’d most likely be destroyed.

At this time, Milda wore ragged clothing and had rubbed dirt in her hair and face. She looked like an average Laguan slave. Riel was even more extreme; he only covered himself with a rag.

There were many slaves searching for freedom on the road. The two split up and didn’t attract any attention.

Link and Nana waited in the forest. Everything went smoothly. Around half an hour later, Milda and Riel came back one after another. Their rings were gone, but strangely, they both looked stunned.

“What’s wrong?” Link was curious.

“You’d never guess who I saw at the altar.” As Riel spoke, he tugged off his rag, revealing his stocky and tanned body. He didn’t care about being naked and quickly pulled on leather armor of good quality.

After almost half a year, he finally recovered his strength—Legendary strength, at that. He finally didn’t have to worry anymore.

Milda, on the other hand, hid behind a tree to change. She cast a cleaning spell to rid herself of the dust. Then she put on a plain brown leather dress. She also said, “We saw that demon commander. According to the believers, she’s now the holy maiden of the Fire Sect. Her name is Saroviny.”

Clack. Riel clasped the buckles on his armor and continued, “I don’t know what’s going on, but that demon’s power didn’t rise as fast as us. When we faced her, we didn’t feel much pressure. I think she’s around the pinnacle of Level-10 now, about the same as you, Link.”

Hearing this, Link knitted his brows. “Did she discover you two?”

In the Abyss, Saroviny had true Legendary power. She was only one at the pinnacle of Level-9 in Firuman because of the laws. Now, she recovered her Legendary power. Even though it was only Level-10, her combat ability was incomparable to a regular Level-10 Warrior in Aragu!

If a Laguan reached Level-10, they were still soldiers with no experience. Saroviny though was a true Legendary fighter. They were two different concepts.

Reality proved this point. Otherwise, Saroviny wouldn’t become the holy maiden of this Fire Sect.

“I don’t think so.” Milda had finished changing and walked out of the grass. Even though it was a simple dress, it was like muslin around the moon on her. She was shockingly beautiful.

It couldn’t be helped. A goddess-like beauty could blind anyone with her looks by just dressing up a little.

Fortunately, Link and Riel had been with her for so long and were used to it. They just found her pretty but didn’t lose their minds.

Milda started combing her brilliant golden locks while saying, “There were many slaves around the altar, at least 1000 people. Saroviny just passed by the altar. She glanced in our direction and then walked away. I didn’t sense anything amiss.”

“I see.” Link was more relieved. Seeing that the two had changed, he said, “Saroviny is very scary. In case anything happens, we’ll leave now!”

They now all had Level-10 Legendary power. During the three months, Link had gone to the cave outside Black Eagle City and successfully found the spatial coordinate. It was time to leave the horrifying Aragu. Milda and Riel were both excited.

With Link’s current power, he couldn’t break through the realm for the portal in a regular place. He could only do so where the realm’s laws were weaker. The Black Eagle City cave was that place.

The four hurried towards the city without waiting another second.

After around ten minutes, Link suddenly stopped. Not only him, but Milda also flinched. Riel even took out his battle axe. “Fck!” he cursed. “That btch pretended not to see us. I waited for half a year. I want a good fight now!”

Footsteps came from the forest behind them. They were hurried with obvious malevolence. There were at least ten people, and they didn’t hide their presence at all. Each one was above Level-10 with the highest at Level-11. The aura at the front was the most familiar—dark, chaotic, and evil, it was undoubtedly Saroviny.

She brought Laguan Warriors after them.

“Are we fighting?” Milda looked at Link. She’d already taken out her wand.

Times were different. Before they were squashed by Saroviny, but now, they were all at Level-10. Even though the enemy had more people, this was a forest. It was a game of guerrilla fighting. They weren’t afraid!

Link’s thoughts flashed like lightning as he weighed the pros and cons. “We can’t fight here. Only ten came, but there are countless reinforcements. Let’s go!”

With that, Link activated the Dimensional Jump without hesitation. He was very familiar with teleporting groups now. His speed was faster than before, and the usage of Dragon Power had lowered. Now, it only required 750 Dragon Power points. With his current level, he could continuously cast the spell dozens of times.

And that’s what he did.

Buzz. The four disappeared and reappeared thousands of feet to the north. As soon as they arrived, a light flashed again. Buzz. They moved forward thousands of feet. This went on ten times; they’d moved more than five miles in an instant.

After that, Link cast a Traceless Spell for everyone to hide.

“Let’s go. Even if they don’t give up, they won’t be able to find us quickly,” he said.

His Dragon Power was recovering at 35 points per second. He’d used up 7500 points just then and could be recovered in three minutes. It didn’t delay anything at all.

Riel wasn’t satisfied. Waving his axe, he said, “I wanted to fight.”

Milda thought more deeply. She said while walking, “The Fire Sect is strengthening extremely quickly. Saroviny is the holy maiden. With her power and tactics, she will most likely control the sect. After we go back, will she use the power here to find us in Firuman?”

This was a very real problem. Link had been thinking about it and had some ideas. “It’s possible but not likely.”

Link didn’t purely wait the last three months. During this time, they traveled about, observing the Aragu Empire. They now had a comprehensive understanding of Aragu.

The Aragu Empire wasn’t weak. In contrast, they were terrifying powerful. The Fire Sect could grow so quickly because it was sudden. The large empire couldn’t react yet. But once they did, it would be harder for the Fire Sect to grow more. The two parties will clash violently.

Both sides had pillars of support. The Fire Sect had a Level-19 Archmage while Aragu had countless years of accumulation. No one would win in a short time.

“The Fire Sect’s rise will cause war throughout Aragu,” Link muttered. “Countless people will die, but both Laguans and Araguans will be sapped of resources. With all the deaths, a great amount of space for living will be opened up. The hatred will be released too. The two parties will probably come to a stalemate.”

Here, he looked at Milda. “This is the most likely result. It doesn’t suit the Laguans’ or Araguans’ interests, but it’s what the Archmage wants. He’ll try his hardest for it to happen.”

Milda’s thoughts cleared as well. She continued, “So then Saroviny won’t have time to come to Firuman. She’ll always be faced with the threat of the Aragu Empire.”

Link nodded then shook his head. “These are all hypotheses. No one knows what will really happen. Even a Level-19 Archmage can’t sway the trend of the world. It can become uncontrollable too.”

But this was all in the future. They couldn’t do much with their current power. It was most important to hurry back to Firuman at the moment.

Milda sank into silence.

…

The other side

When Link used the Dimensional Jump, Saroviny felt it. She immediately stopped chasing because it was meaningless. She couldn’t keep up.

You’re fast, but it’s useless even if you run back to Firuman. Just wait. I’ll bring my army to you.

Not only was she the holy maiden of the Fire Sect, but she was also the Lord of the Deep’s daughter. Her father was Nozama and not a bit weaker than the ruler behind the Fire Sect.

She’d also secretly contacted her father.

“Father, this new world is my gift to you.”

Chapter 392: Someone Needs to Restrain Her

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

Three days later

Link’s party arrived at the cave on Darrow Peak, near Black Eagle City.

They were all ready to leave Aragu, even though the three months’ deadline wasn’t up yet. The demon army outside of Orida Fortress had lost their commander, and future developments were unpredictable.

Anyway, after the three of them had reached Legendary level, their growth rate decreased significantly. It would do them no good to spend any more time here, and they might as well return as soon as they could.

At the cave entrance, Link looked at Milda. “Are you sure?”

Milda nodded. “It’s too dangerous to leave Saroviny here alone. At least, we must have someone here to restrain her.”

It was true, but Link would be hard-pressed to take up this responsibility. He had many other responsibilities to handle. Riel was even less suitable to do this. Milda was naturally the best choice. As an elven princess, Milda had beauty comparable to Saroviny.

At their level of strength, it was obvious that they would not speak without due consideration. Once Milda made her decision, it would be hard to change her mind.

“Milda, your strength is not comparable to Saroviny’s, you won’t be able to fight her,” Riel advised. He also hadn’t expected Milda to really offer to stay behind. Riel actually did not have a good impression of her before. He thought that she was short-tempered and petty. Now, though, he had a newfound respect for her.

“I won’t be alone. There’s still the Level-19 Archmage. As the strongest in this world, he definitely would not let Saroviny take control of the Fire Sect by herself. He will definitely do something to prevent her from growing too quickly. As for me… I brought some Legendary spell books with me. Given some time, I’m sure I’ll be able to master Legendary spells too.”

She had been keeping it a secret until now, but at this point, there was no longer a point in hiding it.

Although what Milda said was true, it did not diminish the danger. This was especially so in the beginning while she was still weak. Furthermore, Milda was exceedingly beautiful. Even if she entered the Fire Sect, she would attract unwanted attention and may ultimately meet a bad end.

Fate was completely unpredictable. Even if one put in their best effort, things still may not turn out as desired.

After thinking for a while, Link said, “Alright, Nana will stay here with you.”

Nana was a Warrior. Unlike Magicians, their strength would immediately increase upon reaching the Legendary level. Although they would not have the versatility and special abilities that Magicians possessed, for Nana, her speed was already her hidden trump card. Furthermore, she had the Breakpoint dagger. Link decided that this was for the best.

Link turned and said to Nana, “Nana, come here.”

Nana walked to Link’s side, and Link reached out his hand, which now glowed with the light of transformation magic. He reshaped Nana’s ears to become pointy and also changed some of her facial features. Now, Nana looked much more like an elf. This would prevent her from being attacked by the Laguans.

After he was done, he instructed, “Protect Milda as you would protect me.”

“Nana understands,” Nana replied. She walked over behind Milda.

Link pondered for a little more, then he took out a talisman-inscribed rock and handed it over to Milda. “This is a Loco Stone that I created; it can provide me with your coordinates. If you meet any danger, you can use it to contact me, and I will come over to help. However, dimensional teleportation takes up a lot of energy. After using it once, I will need time to recover, so it would be best if you could give me half a day’s warning if you know you’re going to go into a dangerous situation.”

“Understood.” Milda nodded her head. She solemnly received the Loco Stone from Link. Not only was this a hidden trump card, but it was also an escape route for her. It was very valuable.

“Then, we’re leaving.”

Link indicated to Riel to get ready and turned to enter the cave. Before he could walk off, he heard a sound behind him and was immediately hugged from behind in a warm embrace. It was Milda. At the same time, he felt her push a necklace into his hand.

“This is a Thorn necklace. Only qualified members of my race are allowed to wear it. Bring this to my mother and tell her this is my decision and that she doesn’t have to worry.”

“I will,” Link promised.

Milda continued softly, “Also, if I perish, help me erect a tombstone in Ferde. On it, write “Milda Morani,” okay?”

Link shuddered. He turned around and embraced Milda. “I will!” Link promised.

Link lowered his head and kissed Milda softly on the forehead.

Then, he let go of Milda and said to Riel, who had not spoken a word since earlier, “Let’s go.”

Riel didn’t move. It seemed like he had just made a hard decision. After a few seconds of silence, he reached into his dimensional bracelet and took out a large crystal. The crystal shone brilliantly, reflecting five beautiful colors that flowed like water. He walked over and handed it to Milda.

“This is for you. It’s called the Heart of the Mountains, a treasure dug out from deep inside the mountains. I was planning to use it to make a weapon for myself, but I now give it to you. I hope you’ll use it well. Quick… Quick! Take it, don’t let me see it anymore!” Riel said. His face twisted in pain.

Milda was really amused by his behavior. She received the Heart of the Mountains from him and bent down to kiss his forehead. “Goodbye, friend.”

This caused Riel’s dark face to flush. He felt faint and giddily followed after Link. Even after reaching the cave entrance, he was still faint and did not recover.

Finally, Link activated the teleportation spell. White light flashed, and a few seconds later, Link and Riel vanished from within the cave.

Milda watched until the two men completely disappeared. She sighed. Turning to Nana, she said, “It’s just the two of us now.”

“Master will return,” Nana replied, smiling.

Milda laughed too. “Yeah, he will.”

She walked down Darrow Peak. When she reached the foot of the mountains, she found a quiet area and took a deep breath, kneeling onto the ground.

“Honorable one, Greer Seymor, Lord of the Flames, savior of the Laguans, I implore you, receive my loyalty,” Milda said softly.

There was no reply.

Milda did not find this surprising. If a god replied every time someone invoked his name, the god would become a slave of the people.

Milda was determined, and she repeated it once more, twice, thrice. When she repeated it for the fifth time, she felt something stir and had the feeling she was being watched by some existence.

Under that gaze, Milda felt as though her secrets were being seen through and her soul was facing a burning fire.

A voice sounded in Milda’s heart. “Mortal from Firuman, I’ve heard your calls, but I know that you cannot truly be loyal to me. Tell me, what do you want from me and what do you hope to gain from me?”

A Level-19 existence was unfathomable and could see through Milda in a glance.

Milda was shocked. Nonetheless, she had prepared for all these possibilities. She said humbly, “The flames helped me remove the slave collar and returned me my freedom. Your cause will need the help of many mortals. I am willing to become one of these mortals.”

The voice did not reply, but the gaze was still there.

This lasted for about five minutes before the voice spoke again. “I see somebody inside your heart. She is called Saroviny, and she is the Holy Maiden that I have selected. She can help me expand my influence, but as for you, she is your enemy. Tell me, why should I accept you?”

Milda continued, “Saroviny is a sharp and dangerous blade. She is the incarnation of destruction and slaughter. Your cause cannot be achieved with just this. You require creation and order. The sharpest blade will require a good sheath to protect its edge, just like after burning through the fields, you need to till the ground and plant good seeds to get a harvest.”

The voice was silent again. This time, the silence did not last long. After five seconds, the voice said again to Milda, “You are a wise Laguan and possess a beauty that exceeds most mortals. You will indeed be useful to my cause. However, you are the disciple of the God of Light. Okay… we will make a loyalty contract.”

“I obey your orders, Lord of the Flames.” Milda breathed a sigh of relief.

The next moment, a force pressed down onto Milda from out of nowhere, and Milda felt her forehead getting hot. This lasted for a few seconds before receding. Finally, the voice said again, “Go to the Great Beast Forest. My little lambs are ready to receive their new Holy Flame Envoy.”

Finally, the gaze was retracted.

Milda summoned a mirror and used it to look at herself. She could see a bunch of silver flames dancing on her forehead and knew that this was the binding agreement between her and the existence from before.

…

After activating the teleportation, Link and Riel found themselves in an unknown realm. In this place, they could see strange lights and grotesque scenery. Everything was distorted, filled with colorful lights and even traces of lightning. Link could hear Riel’s rough breathing beside him.

He could feel that they were moving forward rapidly, as though in a high-speed car. He could also feel infinitely many disorganized Mana strands rushing towards him, as though they wanted to tear him to pieces!

He knew that if he allowed the Mana to rush into his body, he would likely explode into pieces.

Link activated his Dragon Power to defend against this torrent of Mana. It worked! He was not wrong; Legendary power could indeed defend against the pressure from space.

The Dragon Power diminished at a very fast rate. Just when he thought he could not maintain the consumption anymore, whoosh! Immediately after that, his surroundings became calm, and the chaos vanished.

He found that he was in a wide cavern that was at least 60 feet high. A short distance ahead was the exit.

That first Yabba who found herself transported between dimensions mentioned disappearing from a certain cave. This was probably that very cave.

“Ahhhh! Waahhhhh!” Dramatic screams came from beside him and lasted for two whole seconds. Crash. Link felt the floor shake. Turning to see what happened, Link found Riel lying on a crushed stone in the cave. The floor was imprinted with the shape of his body.

“Argh! That hurts!” Riel was rolling around the floor screaming. However, considering that he was still so full of vigor, he probably did not have any serious injuries.

Link focused on checking the condition of his body.

He had 300 Dragon Power points remaining, but they were recovering quickly. Even then, they recovered at 18 points per second, much slower than in Aragu. At the same time, Link noticed that he had received a “Void’s Aura” status.

Void Aura: After traveling through the void, the chaotic aura from the void will stick to the player, preventing the payer from using spells. This effect will begin to disappear after 300 hours and will fully disappear after 30 days.

Link was stunned. He attempted to cast a spatial spell. However, he quickly realized that once the Dragon Power appeared outside his body, a mysterious force would interfere and disperse the Dragon Power, preventing it from forming into a spell structure.

Link slapped his forehead and sighed. “Alright, 300 hours is about 13 days. At least that isn’t too long.”

“System, was the data from the teleportation recorded?”

Dimensional teleportation involved traveling through the spatial void. This was extremely valuable data, and using it, Link would be able to make great developments in his understanding of space.

It has been saved as “Dimensional Teleportation: Void” and can be accessed at any time.

“Good.”

Link was pleased. He reached out a hand to Riel.

“Ouch, ouch, my bones are going to shatter,” Riel whined. He was still lying on the ground, however, the moment he saw Link’s hand, he grabbed it and pulled himself up. After dusting off the dust from his body, he sighed. “I’m finally back. This teleportation was truly vicious; all my strength is gone.”

Riel was somewhat weaker than Link and also had a much lower recover speed. His situation was clearly much worse than Link, and without a few days of time, he probably wouldn’t be able to recover his fighting strength.

“It’ll recover shortly,” Link said, as he walked towards the cave exit.

Upon exiting the cave, Link found that they were halfway up a huge mountain. In the distance, there was an enormous yellow light shield.

Boom, boom! One after another, purple balls of light flew towards the city, exploding on the barrier. It could be seen that underneath the barrier was a majestic city.

“That’s the Yabba capital, Lirico! Over there are… Dark Elves and demons. It’s the Dark Army!” Riel said, following behind Link.

Link immediately understood what was going on. “The Dark Army’s main force is attacking Orida Fortress, but they left a smaller force here to pretend to continue attacking. This is to prevent the Yabbas from joining the battle.”

Based on the time difference, they had spent half a year in Aragu, but that was only about two days here. The news from Orida probably had yet to reach the secondary army here.

With a glance, Link could see that this secondary army was not weak. Using his powerful eyesight, he counted over 4,000 demons, including 30 Winged Howlers flying in the air. The Dark Elves were also numerous, numbering over 8,000.

Something flashed in his vision. Link turned to look. It was a mission.

Rescue Mission: Deliver the message.

Description: Infiltrate the Dark Army’s encirclement and inform Lirico about the situation outside the city.

Mission Reward: 200 Omni Points.

Link thought for a moment and decided to accept it. Orida needed reinforcements anyway, and the Yabba’s flying ship division were extremely powerful reinforcements. The problem was, right now, he was unable to use any spells. Riel too was in an extremely weak state. It would definitely be difficult to deliver the news to Lirico.

Chapter 393: Weird Equipment Reward

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

Hoo, whoosh!

At the cave entrance outside Lirico City, Link waved the Dragon King’s Fury magic sword. After a few strikes, he nodded in satisfaction.

“My strength has mostly recovered. Even though I can’t use magic and don’t have any battle techniques, my basic swordsmanship can be used to its fullest.”

Strangely, Link and Riel weren’t rejected by the laws of the Firuman Realm. After returning, their power didn’t change. This meant that Link was still at the pinnacle of Level-10 and Riel was at the lower stages. They were both Legendary fighters.

Riel already knew Link’s plans, but he still needed a few days to recover. He couldn’t help. However, the dwarves and Yabba were both residents of the Hengduan Mountain Range. He was much more familiar with the Yabba race than Link.

At this time, he stood outside the cave, looking at the mighty magic shield before the Lirico City. He explained to Link, “The Yabba shield isn’t only defensive. They also have great offensive power. Look carefully at the fireball flying to the shield.”

Link squinted and quickly saw the profundity. He discovered that when the cannons outside the city were about to reach the magic shield, strands of purple light would appear. They were bent like lightning and were extremely fast. They flashed and extinguished. They hit the fireball in an instant, activating it beforehand.

The benefits of this were obvious. Causing the fireball to explode beforehand reduced the damage to the shield to the max.

“Did you see?” Riel asked. “Those purple lightning streaks are small and can only reach around 150 feet, but they’re shockingly powerful. They’re at Level-9. They are controlled by an intelligent core and actively attack anything that tries to approach the shield until all are obliterated. So if you go to send a letter, you have to let the Yabba know your purpose. If you just approach the shield, it can be very dangerous!”

“I see.” Link’s brows knitted.

If that was the case, Link couldn’t approach without warning even with his power at Level-10. If a bunch of purple lightning bolts attacked him, he’d be fried to crisp.

If Link could cast spells, it would be easy to make a signal. He could even teleport straight into Lirico City. But now, he was disturbed by the Void’s aura, and he couldn’t get rid of it. He’d have to think of something else.

Link stood outside the cave and observed the geography.

Lirico City didn’t have city walls, and it was actually quite large. It spanned the entire valley. There were even Yabba houses not too far from the cave Link was at now.

Even though the shield was mighty, it actually only enveloped the center of Lirico.

Most Yabba homes were made of wood. Some were made of stone, but they were few. These wooden cabins were scattered about. Each one was finely made with their own garden and grassy yard. Some were set on fire, billowing with black smoke. Others were taken by demons.

Many demons flew in the air. There were only 30 Winged Howlers, but there were thousands of Level-5 or Level-6 demons. They sealed off all paths approaching Lirico. Flying demons had exceptional vision. High-level ones, especially, were comparable to dragons. Under the scrutiny of so many demons and the inability to use an invisibility spell, it was a hassle for Link to approach the shield.

“What should I do?” Link hit his forehead.

“What about a bomb?” Riel suggested. “I have some that we use to bomb mountains. It’s not that powerful, but it’s loud. It’s enough to attract attention. What do you think?”

Riel took out a few fist-sized metal nuggets. They looked like grenades from earth, but these were magic bombs. Each one was carved with many runes. Link could feel that there were fire elements sealed inside.

Link took one and looked. They were made intricately with a turntable on the surface and tick marks. They were time-delayed explosive equipment.

“Great!” Link was overjoyed. Getting an idea, he asked, “Can sound pass through the shield?”

If it could, he might not have to risk getting through the demons. He could detonate the bomb outside and use the frequency of the sound to pass the message. With the Yabbas’ intelligence, they should be able to understand.

But unexpectedly, Riel shook his head. “No. The shield blocks most types of energy. Not even light can pass through easily, let alone sound. Look at the shield. Things look blurry inside, right? It’s even blurrier from the inside. It’s basically opaque.”

“That’s illogical. Isn’t it hard to observe the outside, then? What if something changes outside?” Link was shocked.

Riel waved his hand quickly. “No, it’s very logical. This is all from precious experience. Like the soundwave barrier, for example, is because the Yabbas have learned their lesson. You know, they’re pretty weak. One thousand three hundred years ago, they had a conflict with the Dark Elves. In one battle, the Dark Elves used a Level-8 Thunder Roar. The strong sound waves passed through the shield and killed 60 percent of the residents from the vibrations… It was horrible.”

Alright, Link’s nice plan was ruined by the Yabbas’ experience.

Riel pointed at a few lighthouses. “Those are for observing the outside. The Yabbas have actually left some leeway. Look at the statues outside the city.”

Link looked over and saw statues of varying sizes. There were many inside the city, but they were all broken. “Aren’t those decorations?”

Riel nodded. “Yes, but they’re also magic detectors. Through them, the Yabbas can look outside the shield. However, the demons seem to know this secret too. They’ve all been destroyed by force. I think that the Yabbas inside the shield know vaguely what’s going on outside but they can only guess at the specifics.”

“There must be a spy within them,” Link said.

“There must be. Very few people know that secret. The dwarves and Yabba are close, and I’m the brother of our king, so I know a bit.” Riel sighed.

Link decided to let this go for now. He must approach the shield first. “How many bombs do you have?” Link asked. “Give them all to me.”

There were 15 bombs, but it wasn’t enough. Riel turned his hands over. “There are no more. I only brought them with for fun.”

“Alright.” Link hit his own forehead. “Then I’ll set out. Be careful and hide.”

“No problem. This is a cave, and I’ve recovered some power. I can still kill some demons.”

Link nodded. He walked to the cave exit and checked the direction. He took out a bomb, adjusted the tick mark and hurled it to the left. His power was a bit too much now. The tiny bomb was less than two pounds. With the throw, it whooshed out and flew more than 2000 feet. Just as it was about to land, it detonated.

The bomb was only at Level-5, but as Riel had said, it was really, really loud.

Link saw a blue-white fireball three times bigger than a Level-4 Flame Blast shoot into the air. Around it, there was an obvious white shockwave.

Three seconds later, the shockwave reached the cave Link was at. Boom, boom! The huge explosion came like mountains crashing into the sea. The cave also started cracking, and many broken rocks fell down.

The demons flying in the air instantly noticed the commotion.

Now was the time. Link shot out of the cave. Using the foliage as a disguise, he sprinted and traveled 500 feet in three seconds. He jumped into a cabin that he’d aimed at.

He’d controlled his speed too. If the geography was flat and he ran at full speed, he could easily travel 650 feet in a second. This was the powerful strength he possessed after entering the Legendary level. He couldn’t be compared to Nana, but for a living creature, it was frightening.

After jumping in from the window, a shadow flashed before Link. It was a low-level demon, around Level-4. It was probably taking a break here. Seeing Link appear, it probably felt Link was danger and tried to run.

It was about to get to the door. Link arched his back and lunged while slicing down with his sword. With a squelch, the demon was halved.

The room was silent.

The Yabbas were short, so their houses were built low as well. However, it was still more than seven feet tall. As long as Link didn’t make big movements, he wouldn’t hit his head.

There were three corpses on the ground—two big and one small. It was probably a Yabba family. The father’s body was already gnawed at by the demon, and less than half of it remained.

Seeing it, Link sighed. He walked to the window on the other side and looked out.

Now, he was 6500 feet away from the shield. Not only did he have to get close to it, but he also had to let the Yabbas inside know that he was coming. Otherwise, he’d just be looking for death.

Link didn’t advance hurriedly. He looked at the shield in deep thought. I can’t send a signal with the bomb and light won’t work. I can’t use magic either. How do I alert the Yabbas?

After a long while, Link still had no clue.

What do I do? What do I do?

While thinking, Link’s gaze fell on the Yabba corpses on the ground and got an idea.

If there are bodies, it means that the Yabbas outside Lirico didn’t all leave. With so many houses here, it’s very possible that someone’s still alive. If I can find a living Yabba, he can give me a way into the city safely.

With that thought, a message appeared in Link’s vision.

Mission Activated: Survivor

Mission: Search for surviving Yabbas in the ruins outside Lirico City

Mission Reward: Assassin Robe (Epic)

The game system had started rewarding equipment, and it was called the Assassin Robe? The name sounded contradictory.

Whatever. Just accept it now and worry later!

Chapter 394: The Yabbas are Bi-gender!

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

Link could not use his spells because the Void Aura around his body interfered with the formation of his Dragon Power into spells.

In his body, however, his Dragon Power still circulated freely.

This gave Link an idea.

He held the Dragon King’s Fury in his right hand and clenched a fist with his left, channeling the Dragon Power into it. Soon after, Link’s left hand was clad in a crystal red light.

Originally, once the Dragon Power exited Link’s body, it would naturally expand into a Dragon Power ball two feet wide. However, under the influence of the Void Aura, the Dragon Power could not even form a ball an inch wide before dispersing. This disruption completely prevented Link from casting any spells.

However, within that small space just around his fist, he could still use a minor support spell. Link used Clear Sign.

Whoosh. Suddenly, all the chaotic noises disappeared. The cannon fire and the beating of wings by the flying demons; even the sound of the wind disappeared.

Other less obvious, yet extremely important sounds suddenly became a lot more apparent.

A hundred and fifty feet away from a wooden cottage, in a small alley, three lesser demons were chattering away. On a beam in the cottage 210 feet away, a cat was trembling in the eaves of the house. Further away, a slight and unnoticeable scent drifted over.

Not only did the Dragon Power enhance his eyesight, but it also enhanced his hearing, sense of smell and taste.

This smell was extremely faint, such that even the demons were unable to discover it. However, under the effects of Clear Sign, Link detected it.

Sniff, sniff. Link’s nose twitched lightly.

Only a living person would give off this scent… There is even the fragrance of food… It’s meat stew. He’s cooking meat stew, and there’s also the smell of wine. He’s actually hiding in a wine cellar… He’s alone… but which direction is he in… Found him. Here! He is about 1500 feet away.

Whoosh. Link canceled Clear Sign, and the background noises instantly returned.

In just this short time, Link already used up 2000 Dragon Points. It could be seen how powerful the Void Aura’s interference was.

From outside the house, came the clear sound of flapping wings. Based on the sound, there were three demons. They were attracted here by the smell of Link’s Dragon Power.

Link hid in the corner of the house. Not moving at all, he focused his ears and listened to the movements outside.

There are the demons. Based on the sounds of their footsteps, they are Gargoyles. This type of demon has a tough body. In order to kill them, their heads must be cut off… They’re coming, they’re probably 15 feet away… One is outside the door, nine feet away; one is in the corridor, and the last is on the street, reaching the entrance… Now!

Link was able to tell their positions based on the sound, but never like this. Now, he was essentially using his ears to “see”!

One Gargoyle stood at the doorway. He was five-feet-tall, and his skin was pale grey. He had bat-like wings, a membrane that extended from his back to his underarms. His claws were extremely sharp, protruding from his hands and feet. They could easily smash through steel.

Once the Gargoyle appeared, Link charged forth like the wind. His figure instantly vanished.

A blade flashed, and one Gargoyle’s head flew off. Before the head could fly far, Link stamped hard on the ground and changed directions. The blade flashed again and the second Gargoyle’s head flew off.

He paused. Earlier, the two Gargoyles were indoors. When their heads flew, it wouldn’t fly far and attract the attention of the flying demons. The third Gargoyle was out on the street though, but Link had already made preparations.

After killing the second Gargoyle, he threw out the last grenade which he had set beforehand. It landed somewhere in the city and exploded. Bang! From 1,800 feet away, came an earth-shaking explosion.

All the demons, both in the sky and on the ground, looked over to where the explosion occurred. Many even flew over. Meanwhile, the Gargoyle on the street had just noticed Link and was about to react. Hearing the explosion, he was startled.

In this brief instant, he lost his last chance to call out. Link dashed over and rolled; then he stood up before slashing his sword across. Swoosh. The Gargoyle was split into two.

Immediately, Link continued towards a wooden house that he had identified earlier. He kept his sword raised in a defensive position and didn’t slow down for even a moment.

Outside the wooden house, the three lesser demons were still talking when the explosion happened. They were just about to go over to investigate when Link appeared in front of them. Before they could react, Link’s blade flashed past, and three lesser demon heads flew into the air.

Link continued onwards until he entered the wooden house.

It was only now that the first Gargoyle’s head hit the floor.

Link exhaled slowly in relief after he entered the wooden house. Earlier, he had expended all his strength. Had there been a single mistake, he would have attracted the attention of all the demons. Under the circumstance in which he could not use any spells, he would be hard-pressed to deal with so many demons. Even if he did not die, he definitely would not return in one piece.

Link took a moment to catch his breath. After he had recovered, Link walked towards the window and looked to where he had first detected traces of life.

From the house 1200 feet away at the base of a hill, there was a stone cottage. The left half of the cottage was already wrecked by cannon fire; even the roof was gone. There were no demons in that area.

From where Link was to the stone cottage, there were no other trees except a huge Silver Tung tree. It was so thick that not even three people could wrap their arms around it. Besides the tree, there was also a huge broken statue. These two were spaced about 400 feet apart, and in fact, provided sufficient cover.

Flap, flap. Link heard the sound of beating wings approaching—demons were coming. They probably discovered the slain Gargoyle and lesser demons; that was inevitable.

While the demons had yet to arrive, Link retrieved another grenade and adjusted the timing. Gathering his strength, he flung it out in another direction.

BOOM! Another explosion shook the air.

Link did not waste even a second and dashed out of the cottage. He used all his strength, running as fast as he could. Not only was he fast, but he was also silent.

A second later, he arrived at the broken statue, and beneath the statue was a Yabba Warrior’s corpse. Link noticed a musket lying next to the corpse.

“Good find!”

Link picked up the musket and inspected it. The casing was a little dirty, and the scope was slanted, but these weren’t serious problems. Link quickly did some necessary maintenance.

The musket had three bullets loaded, and Link searched the corpse to find another 15.

Keeping the musket in his dimensional pendant, Link looked up to check on the demons. Five demons, including a Screaming Demon, were flying to where the demons were killed.

Link thought for a moment before retrieving another grenade. Adjusting the timing of the explosion to 30 seconds and checking the angle, Link lightly threw the grenade. The grenade followed an ideal path, landing softly near the dead Gargoyle 900 feet away.

The grenade was just the size of a fist, and the demons did not notice it. Link waited.

About ten seconds later, the five demons landed and approached the corpse. They still did not notice the grenade.

Link mentally counted down in his head. 10, 9, 8, 7… 3, 2, 1, explode!

BOOM! The grenade exploded. From where he was, Link saw three Gargoyles flung 150 feet into the air by the force of the explosion. Their bodies were contorted at a weird angle, and they were charred black. Clearly, they were dead.

Screeeeee! The screaming demon was still alive. Of course, it was a Level-8 demon, and a Level-5 grenade could not kill it. It started alerting the rest of the demons by screeching.

The screeching was very loud and immediately attracted the attention of numerous demons who started moving towards it.

Taking this chance, Link darted out from the statue and dashed forward to the large tree. When he reached the tree, he paused and looked back. None of the demons had noticed him. Meanwhile, the screaming demon was still screeching, and all the demons in the sky were flying towards it.

Link dashed out again from under the tree. A second later, he had entered into a portion of the broken down stone cottage.

He had entered into the hall. The hall was filled with rubble, and the ceiling was already split. One column had collapsed and was leaning against a wall, forming a triangular structure. Hidden beneath this triangular structure was a small passageway.

Link crawled into it and discovered that this was the kitchen.

Sniff, sniff. Link’s nose twitched. Very quickly, he found the entrance to the wine cellar. The entrance to the cellar was blocked by a giant stone totaling at least one ton in weight. It was essentially sealed. The traces of life he had detected came from inside this cellar.

“We detected danger and hid in this cellar. Do you think we managed to escape the disaster?”

After checking to make sure there were no demons within 300 feet, Link began to clear away the stones.

To the Yabba people, the stones were definitely impossible to move. For Link, however, this wasn’t a problem. The biggest stone was 660 pounds. Link only needed a bit of strength to clear it aside.

After doing this, Link listened again and checked for danger. Detecting nothing, Link attempted to open the cover to the cellar.

Creak, creak. the cover shook but didn’t open. It was locked from the inside.

That wasn’t a problem. Link used a little strength and pulled, feeling where the resistance came from. Then, using the Dragon King’s Wrath sword, he stabbed at the spot and cut sideways. The lock immediately broke.

Pulling aside the cover, Link jumped in.

Before he had even reached the ground, he heard a bang. Something flashed in the darkness and a thought passed through Link’s mind. Musket fire!

The Yabba inside must have heard the commotion outside and thought the demons were coming. Therefore, they had opened fire.

To be able to shoot at him while he was falling in mid-air, and furthermore accurately target his chest—this gunner’s skills were not bad.

If it were before this, Link would use Spatial Shackle to defend himself. Unfortunately, he had to rely on his swordsmanship now.

Judging from the sound of the bullet, Link could determine the trajectory of the shot. Link waved the Dragon King’s Wrath sword, and crystal red light flashed in the air as the sword intercepted the path of the bullet. Twang!

The cellar was dimly lit by a small fire that was built on top of a broken barrel in the cellar. On top of the fire was a pot, inside of which something was boiling. A piece of rat skin could be seen floating inside.

A young Yabba eyed Link in fear.

This Yabba’s face was very youthful. He did not have a beard, and his skin was still white and tender. He even had a bit of baby fat. His eyes were like little crystals, which, because of fear, were now opened as wide as they could be.

Honestly, if not for the flat chest, Link would have no way of telling his gender… Wait! That did not eliminate either possibility. Was this Yabba a male or a female?

Link was confused.

Once he laid eyes upon this Yabba, a system message appeared in Link’s vision.

Mission “Finding Survivors” has been completed. Continue with the rescue.

Player has obtained Assassin’s robe. It can be worn anytime.

An image appeared in his vision and Link took a look. It was a dark blue robe with dark silver inscriptions on it. It looked pretty fine, possessing an Assassin’s cool demeanor as well as a Magician’s mysteriousness.

Link didn’t have time to investigate further. He looked at the Yabba child and gestured with his hands, whispering, “Relax, I’m not a demon. I’m a human… messenger. I’ve come with a message.”

Unexpectedly, after hearing Link’s words, the Yabba youth was even more frightened. He huddled up and shouted, “You’re lying! You hesitated just now; you’re definitely lying!”

His voice was also very shrill and did not help in differentiating his gender.

“Wow, that’s some keen observation skills you have there,” Link said. Link was stunned, that really was only a short pause.

Chapter 395: The Suspicious Little Thing

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

Wine cellar

The Yabba obviously didn’t believe Link. This was quite awkward.

Thinking a bit, Link said, “Look at me. I can’t be a demon right?”

The little Yabba held a short-handle musket. It was like a handgun from earth. At the moment, the muzzle was shaking but still pointed at Link. “Demons are the best at disguises. Those demons outside aren’t scary. It’s the evil demons pretending to be humans that are. Like Akensser, he’s a respected artisan, but he betrayed us all!”

Thus Link learned that there was a traitor from Lirico. It was the artisan Akensser, just like in the game.

Link looked helpless. “There’s no point for me to hurt you, right?”

“Yes you do!” the little thing yelled. “Kill me, hurry! I won’t say anything.”

This intrigued Link. The Yabba definitely knew something.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard a soft noise outside. Shocked, he listened closely and gestured at the Yabba in the corner of the wine cellar to be quiet. Then, looking left and right, he saw a few wine jars.

He immediately started moving. He stacked the jars one by one beside the entrance. When they almost reached the entrance, Link glanced at it. He estimated the measurements, and then stabbed his sword into the wall. He sliced it lightly as if it was tofu, cutting out a slab bigger than the entrance.

The Yabba’s wine cellar was very low-hanging, only eight feet high. Link picked up the stone slab and gently put it on the jars of wine. It sealed off the entrance perfectly. During this entire process, Link was extremely fast. More importantly, he didn’t make a sound. Even when slicing the wall, it only made tiny snicks. One couldn’t hear it without listening closely.

When he finished, he realized that the Yabba had put down his musket.

Link was slightly relieved. He brought his finger to his lips to gesture the Yabba to be quiet. The little thing also heard the noise outside. He didn’t dare breathe loudly, and his body was shaking. At this moment, even though he still suspected Link, he’d pushed it to the back of his mind. The demon outside the cellar was more terrifying.

The two didn’t make a sound. They just waited inside the cellar. Link stood beside the entrance with his sword, ready for anything.

After around two minutes, the ceiling vibrated. Thud, thud, thud. Those were the demons’ footsteps. Judging from the sound, there were at least three demons. They weight more than half a ton. Link could also tell that one was a Fodor Flaming Demon.

They got closer and closer to the entrance and Link could hear the Abyss language.

“Do you smell it? It smells weird, like wine.”

“A little. Sniff, sniff. Smells nice.”

“Hey, leader, there’s a sealed entrance. It looks like it’s been moved.”

“Oh? Let me see.”

Hearing this, Link tightened his grip and pressed the sword’s tip against the stone slab. As soon as the demons realized something was wrong, he would stab.

Crash! They opened the lid above the cellar. Heavy breathing traveled from the stone slab above Link’s head. It was getting closer and closer.

At this moment, not only was Link completely focused, but the Yabba in the corner also picked up his musket nervously again. Rather than aiming at Link though, it was pointed at the stone slab.

The breathing sounds lasted for three seconds before leaving.

“It’s just a stone slab. There’s nothing there.” The demon’s voice resonated deeply. This meant he had big lung capacity. Judging from his footsteps, this was the Fodor Flaming Demon. He was at Level-8 too.

The footsteps faded into the distance. The demon seemed to have really left. Link let out a breath and turned around. “Hey, we can’t keep wasting time. We need to leave now. The demon might come back any time.”

Actions spoke louder than words. Link’s earlier actions had greatly reduced the little thing’s doubts. He stared at Link with huge eyes. “You really are the human messenger? What’s your name?”

“I’m Link Morani. This is my noble seal, and this is my wand… Hurry, we don’t have time!” Link urged.

The Yabba was shocked. “You’re the Ferde Lord. Why don’t you use magic?”

“Something happened. No time to explain. Follow me!” Link’s heart jumped. This meant there was danger, and he had to leave as soon as possible.

This time, the Yabba seemed to believe him. He kicked the jar above the fire, putting the fire out. Then he ran over to Link. “Do you have food? I haven’t eaten in three days.”

Approaching the Yabba, Link realized that his lips were cracked and he looked frail. Link took a baked potato from Aragu and a pot of water out of the dimensional storage bag for him.

The Yabba took a bite and smacked his lips. “It tastes weird. I’ve never had it before, but it’s nice. I like it.”

Link then took out a shirt. He tore it into strips and tied them together. He reached out and put the busy eating Yabba onto his back. At the same time, he ordered, “Hold on tight.”

“Ah, oh… okay.” The Yabba was frightened, but he had to follow through. He clasped his thin legs tightly around Link’s waist. He also hugged tightly with his arms but didn’t forget to eat his potato. He was honestly starving.

Link finally realized from the body hugging him that the Yabba was a girl but was completely flat-chested.

Link wrapped the rag around until it got to the Yabba’s neck. He turned around. Seeing that she was still eating, he took the potato away. “Enough. Don’t eat too much at first.”

“But I’m hungry.” She stared imploringly at Link.

He was unmoved. Link continued wrapping the rag until her head was firmly fixed to his back.

“I’m going to die if you tie me like this.”

“I’ll run very fast later. If I don’t fix your head, your neck will turn into twisted rope.”

She didn’t believe him. “You’re lying again! Let me see how fast you run!”

After tying her, Link listened to the outside. It was quiet, but he couldn’t lower his guard. He clenched his fists again. Dragon Power surged and activated the Clear Sign effect. Instantly, Link could perceive all sorts of signals.

The ground trembled lightly. There were four demons nearby, including the Fodor Flaming Demon from earlier. He was talking 150 feet away.

The Clear Sign effect collected his voice.

“Look, this seems to be footprints. They’re fresh too,” he said.

“Something passed by. He must have tossed the bomb earlier too,” another demon said. Judging from the voice, it was a Winged Howler.

“He walked the entire way to the wine cellar from earlier, but it was sealed… Is it a secret room?” the Fodor Flaming Demon muttered. After a pause, he said, “Let’s go back!”

Then footsteps got closer. It sounded hurried; the demons were running quickly. In order for them to not sense the Dragon Power, Link canceled the effect. Then he whispered to the Yabba, “I need to send a message to Elin, the Lady Fortuna. How can I do that?”

Link didn’t say that he needed to enter the city’s defensive shield. That would raise suspicions and make the Yabba become guarded again. By saying that he needed to send a message and let the girl do it, she wouldn’t suspect him.

“Tell me what Elin looks like.” The Yabba was quite careful.

“Emerald eyes, under three feet, likes wearing colorful robes with red, blue, and green. She has pigtails, but her hair isn’t long. They look like horns—”

“Alright, I believe you. Elin is inside the crystal wall, but we can’t go in. We can’t send messages either. The demons destroyed all the investigation statues,” the Yabba replied softly.

“The crystal wall? Is it that yellow light shield?” Link asked despite knowing the answer. He guided the Yabba closer and closer to the answer he wanted.

“Yes, it’s that magic shield. No information can pass through, unless… I can’t tell you. I don’t trust you completely!” She suddenly stopped.

Link shrugged. He didn’t continue asking because that would make his intentions clear. The Yabba’s suspicions would skyrocket. He put his attention on the demons outside the sealed entrance.

Thud, thud. The Fodor Flaming Demon returned. This time, his steps were hurried. From the screams in the air, Link predicted that he would shatter the stone slab.

In the span of a thought, Link made his calculations. He didn’t attack or retreat. He just went into the corner, hiding behind a jar of wine.

Crash! The demon stomped the slab and broke it. He had rich battle experience. To prevent anyone under the slab from attacking, his stomp carried powerful demon power. Not only was the stone broken, but Battle Aura also reverberated. The entire cellar entrance caved in, creating a gaping hole.

The jars of wine were shattered. Wooden splinters flew and wine splattered. The cellar was filled with the thick scent of wine. It was the Yabbas’ favorite red berry wine.

The commotion was too big like the world shattering. The Yabba screamed instinctively, but before she could make a sound, Link covered her mouth. All other auras in the cellar were covered by the smell of wine.

“Go in and look,” the Flaming Fodor Demon said. As a high-level demon, he was over ten feet tall. The cellar was too small for him.

Thud, plop. Two smaller low-level demons jumped down. Link could feel that the Yabba’s heart quickened instantly. Even her breathing became faster. She was clearly frightened.

Seeing the low-level demons, Link’s mind whirred. He thought of various solutions, and a lightbulb went off. He took the Yabba’s musket and reached into the wine jar. Distinguishing location by sound, he made three consecutive shots.

When he fired, Link also gently pinched the Yabba’s legs. Even though he did it gently, she couldn’t take it. She instantly screamed in pain, and her big black eyes fogged up. A teardrop hung in her eyes. It hurt.

Bang, bang, bang. Every bullet hit a low-level demon, and their heads exploded. They died without putting up a fight.

The commotion obviously alerted the Flaming Fodor Demon outside the cellar. Not only did he hear the musket, but he also heard a Yabba’s cry. He cackled. “I was wondering what’s hiding down there. It’s a little trigger-happy thing. They taste good. Seems like I’ll get a good meal today too.”

Not only did Firuman know about the Yabba’s muskets, but the Dark Army had also experienced them from all the battles. So when the demon heard the musket, his first thought was that a Yabba was hiding in there. To him, Yabbas were just slabs of fresh meat. They weren’t a threat at all.

A Winged Howler spoke from the distance. “I want one too. I want one too.”

“If you want to eat, help me dig up the cellar. These little things are just like rats. You have to dig them out.”

Thud, thud, thud. The Winged Howler walked over and really did start helping. The two demons were both at Level-8, and the stone slabs couldn’t stop them.

Boom, boom. The cellar was stomped on continuously, and the entrance widened. Link retreated to the border without a sound. After a few more seconds, a ten-foot-tall figure jumped in. He squatted to look for the “rat.”

As for the rat’s musket, it was only a threat to low-level demons. His skin was rough and thick. Even if he was hit, it would only be a scratch. While he was getting used to the darkness, Link acted.

He rushed to the demon’s side instantly and kicked his knee. With a crack, his knee broke, and the demon stumbled. He opened his mouth to scream, but Link had already used the momentum to shoot upward. There was a small scraping sound. He chopped off the Fodor Flaming Demon’s head cleanly, cutting off the scream.

Rushing out the hole, Link saw the Winged Howler. The demon felt something was wrong and opened his mouth to scream. He also spread his wings and jumped into the air.

The Winged Howler’s voice attack was very strong. Link could resist it easily, but the Yabba on his back would die from the soundwaves.

In this critical moment, Link lunged as fast as lightning. His foot hooked onto a stone and grabbed the demon’s ankle as he shot up. Link yanked the 14-foot-tall demon from the air.

Boom! Link threw the Winged Howler onto the ground, disorienting it.

Without hesitating, Link charged. He stepped onto the demon’s head and activated his Legendary power. With a burst, the demon’s head exploded like a watermelon under pressure.

As soon as he finished, Link heard screams from the air. It was the Winged Howlers. Link was finally discovered by the demons in the air.

Taking a deep breath, Link composed himself. Then he turned around and started running towards the dense cluster of buildings. Since he was discovered, he’d take advantage of the geography.

“Go left. There’s an entrance to an alley,” the Yabba suddenly said.

At the same time, a message flashed in his vision.

Activate New Mission: Breakthrough

Mission: Break through the demon’s blockade and enter the underground world of Lirico City.

Mission Reward: Assassin Pants (Epic)

It was another piece of gear. The name was similar to the Assassin Robe too. If he finished all the missions, would he get an entire set?

Link had never heard of this set in the game, but he didn’t care. He accepted the new mission.

Chapter 396: Unbelievable Strength

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

Screee, Screeee!

Screeching filled the air as the vibrations from the sound waves became visible.

In the distance, hordes of demons were approaching, some flying, many others running. Link could see ghouls, demons and other creatures heading towards him.

If he could use his spells freely, these creatures certainly wouldn’t pose a threat. Coupled with the special ability of the Dragon King’s Wrath sword, he could single-handedly finish them off. However, right now, his hands were tied. If he fought desperately, he could take out 2,000 demons, but ultimately, he would still be dead meat.

More importantly, his task now was to deliver a message, not to kill the demons.

“My ear hurts!!! Ahhh my ear!!” The little thing on his back started screaming. She was completely tied down onto Link’s back and had no hands to cover her ears. The screeching from the demons made her ears hurt badly.

As Link dashed away, he tore off a corner from his shirt and crumpled it into two balls, stuffing the balls into the little thing’s ears. As he was done with this, he heard the sound of wind behind him as a Gargoyle lunged towards him.

Link stamped hard onto the ground as he pivoted, slashing with the Dragon King’s Wrath sword. Smash! A crystal red light flashed, and the Gargoyle’s body split into two.

Countless demons were still rushing towards him from all directions. The demons numbered over 50. There was no way to deal with them by himself; that would only get him caught up in the fighting.

Link’s mind spun quickly, and he came up with a plan.

He untied the little thing on his back and held her in front of him instead. At the same time, he supported her neck and head with his other hand. Finally, he took out a grenade. Listening to the sound of the wind behind him, he waited.

Three seconds later, he threw the grenade out behind him.

“Three, two, one, hold on tight!”

The little thing obviously recognized this grenade and figured out what Link was trying to do. She immediately retracted her limbs and buried her head into Link’s chest.

Instantly, Link leaped off from the ground.

As his leap took him to a height of 15 feet, a loud boom shook the ground behind him. Light blue flames exploded out and surged towards Link.

The explosion also engulfed the many flying demons behind Link.

Link could feel the heat on his skin. Of course, it wouldn’t pose a problem to him, but as for the little thing, she would be burnt to crisp. Link released some Dragon Power, creating a crystal red barrier that would protect her.

Amidst the burning inferno, Link felt a strong force pushing from behind him. Being in mid-air, this generated a pushing force that boosted his jump forward. He shot out of the explosion like a bullet, flying into the air.

In his embrace, the little thing was screaming non-stop. The incessant shrill screaming made Link’s ears numb.

Five seconds later, Link had shot out 450 feet. As he landed, Link huddled his body into a ball and rolled along the ground to dissipate the momentum. He protected the Yabba within his embrace the entire time.

Actually, with the tenacity of his body, Link could have landed standing up and still be fine. However, the impact would be too much for the Yabba. In the worst case, her body would be held still within his embrace, but the impact would severely rattle her brain and internal organs, causing internal hemorrhage and resulting in her death.

Nonetheless, although Link had done his best to disperse the force of the impact, the little thing was still knocked giddy. She said breathlessly while in Link’s arms, “My head is spinning, the ground is up, and the sky is down, ughhh!”

“You’ll be fine soon,” Link reassured her. He took out the cloth strip from earlier. This time, instead of tying her to his back, he tied her to his chest.

Once she was tied stably, he instructed, “As I walk forward later, help me keep a lookout behind and quietly warn me of any danger. If I’m going to increase my speed, I’ll warn you first. You’ve got to close your eyes tightly immediately, understand?!”

If she didn’t close her eyes, the moment Link picked up speed, that adorable pair of crystal-like eyes would immediately pop out of their sockets. Now that would be ugly.

“Okay,” the little thing whimpered. Link could feel her heart beating rapidly. He knew that she was terrified.

The grenade earlier had wrought a fair amount of chaos. At least 20 Gargoyles were killed, and many surrounding houses were destroyed. Because of that, there was a lot of noise and confusion. Making use of the chaos, Link instructed, “Close your eyes!”

The little thing immediately shut her eyes. As she did, the sound of wind rushed past her ears, and a great feeling of inertia pushed against her body, pressing her into Link’s chest. Her face especially was buried into his body, and her nose was being flattened against his chest.

Half a second later, the pressure disappeared, and she carefully opened her eyes a slit.

She saw the scenery flash by in a blur as they shot past at high speed.

She had once seen such a sight before; that was when she was on a small airship as it neared the ground. The ground had also passed her by in a blur.

However, that was an airship, a machine. Right now, that speed was being exhibited by a human—a human!

She was stunned. It was said that the Ferde Lord had spells that were undefeatable. Could this be one of those unknown spells?

All doubt about Link had long since vanished.

Along the entire way, she knew that Link had done all he could to look out for her safety. How could someone like this be a dog of the demons?

Meanwhile, Link had used the opportunity to run 1500 feet. Not far in front was Lariel City’s outer district. It was now in ruins, and many places were emitting black smoke.

At the entrance of the district, a squad of demons was obstructing the way.

There were ten demons among them. One was a Level-8 Fodor Flaming Demon. Three were Level-6 sword demons, while the remaining six were Level-4 demons.

The demons adopted a defensive formation as they noticed Link.

From afar, Link also noticed them. He did not decrease his speed in the slightest but merely asked, “Where is the tunnel? I need to adjust my angle of approach!”

“Just go straight along this road, and at the third junction, go right 300 feet. There will be a small alley on your right-hand side, inside that alley is the entrance.

Even in this situation, the little thing’s directions were very precise. It wasn’t something anyone could do.

Not long ago, Link had met another Yabba called Melinda. After meeting him, she did not hold any sense of suspicion but immediately broke down and lost control of herself.

It wasn’t that Melinda was wrong, but in terms of emotional control, the little thing tied to his chest was much stronger than Melinda. This was the difference between a normal human and an elite.

Link guessed that this little Yabba must have some kind of background.

At this moment, Link had already rushed in front of the Fodor Flaming Demon. He drew the Dragon King’s Wrath sword, and with one hand protecting the little thing’s head, he stabbed towards the Fodor Flaming Demon.

Link’s speed was simply too fast. Besides the Level-8 demon, the rest of the demons could not even track him with their eyes. Hence, right now, he only needed to deal with the attacks from the flame demon.

The Fodor Flaming Demon’s weapon of choice was a huge war hammer that was emitting flames. The handle was 6-feet-long, and the hammerhead itself was a large metal block that appeared to weigh 440 pounds.

This Fodor Flaming Demon itself was ten feet tall. As Link approached, he swung the hammer and smashed it towards Link. The demon didn’t care about precision with this attack. After all, the hammer was so heavy that as long as it connected with its target, the target would immediately be smashed to bits anyway.

This attack was too brutal, and so Link didn’t dare to take it head-on. The pure Dragon Power improved his vitality, but it did not give him extra defenses. Although his body was stronger than the average human, it was still far from being able to take a Level-8 expert’s attack head-on.

In an instant, Link ducked. Whoosh. The huge hammer swiped across Link’s head, missing it by just a few inches.

After Link had dodged this attack, he entered the flame demon’s defensive range. The demon’s speed was far from being able to keep up with Link, and it was impossible for him to defend against Link.

At this moment, the Fodor Flaming Demon was just like a sitting duck.

Link stood up straight and leveled the Dragon King’s Wrath sword, striding forward. His sword slashed across the flame demon’s thigh. Swoosh. The demon’s leg was sliced off.

“Ahhh!” The demon cried in pain. As his leg was sliced off, he lost his balance and fell towards Link. Link drew his sword upwards in an arc and conveniently slashed off the Fodor Flaming Demon’s head. Flaming hot demon blood spurted out, turning into bloody rain.

Within the bloody rain, Link continued moving forward. As he walked through, the bloody rain fell. It looked as though he walked out through the rain, but not even a single drop of the demon’s blood landed on him.

Behind the Fodor Flaming Demon were three Blackshell Sword Demons.

These three Blackshell Sword Demons were six feet tall, and their bodies had natural armor. The swords in their hands looked threatening, and they appeared to be very vicious. However, ultimately, they were low-level demons whose strengths were only at Level-6.

Against Link, it was like three street bullies meeting a real martial artist. They looked like monkeys trying out new tricks.

Link used the footwork he learned from Kanorse. Stepping forward to the left, he stabbed once, then took another step and delivered a level strike. Finally, he stepped back to the left and struck once more. In this manner, he easily broke through the three sword demons’ defenses.

After he had rushed 30 feet past the demons, blood finally spurted out from the demons. It was like they only realized they were killed when their heads finally hit the floor.

Link was already extremely well-versed with this technique. Even if Kanorse were here, he would not likely be able to give Link many pointers.

This technique did not escape the notice of the little Yabba girl. Link gave her a feeling that he, the lord of Ferde, was immeasurably strong.

Every demon here would be a threat to the Yabbas, even the smallest and weakest ones. The Yabbas required their weapons and could only attack in groups of three. Otherwise, they ran the risk of being completely obliterated.

As for the Blackshell Sword Demons and the Fodor Flame Demons, they would require the heavy-duty magic cannons to deal with them.

However, Link was killing them like he was killing chickens. The entire time, he had been holding onto her and protecting her head with one hand.

What kind of strength was this?

At this point, there were only six low-level demons blocking the way. How could they even dream of standing up to Link? They yelped and scampered to the side.

“Eyes close!” Link instructed. Half a second later, he dashed forward again.

He had now successfully reached the third junction and could see, once again, that many demons were charging towards them.

Among them were ghouls, Dark Elves, and even a few Dark Elf Magicians.

Having the support of Magicians greatly increased the threat of the incoming attack.

Link didn’t dare to take any risks and immediately escaped forward. Based on the directions by the little thing, he dashed to the left and continued for another 300 feet. Then, as she had said, there was an alley to his right.

Link entered the alley and ran for 150 feet until he reached a dead end. Here, he noticed a pile of rocks on the ground. Hidden beneath the pile of rocks was a passage to a tunnel.

The little thing noticed the pile of rocks and exclaimed, “Oh no! The entrance has been discovered by demons!”

“Are there Yabbas in the passage?” Link asked, frowning. He could hear the thunder of footsteps. It meant that pursuing troops were approaching.

“Of course! And not just a few,” the little thing said.

Lariel City had a complex network of sewage pipes. When the demons attacked, she saw many people evacuate under the city. If not for the fact that she lived in the outer districts of the city and didn’t make it in time, she would have taken the chance to hide there as well.

“Understood,” Link said. He looked back to see the demons entering the alley. Without any more hesitation, he jumped into the passage.

Because the entrance to the passage was wrecked, the fall down into the passage was very deep, about 30 feet. As he landed, Link rolled a few times to disperse the impact of the fall.

Almost at the same time, something flashed in his vision.

Mission complete: Break through.

New Mission: Assistance.

Description: Assist the Yabba people in resisting the enemy in the underground passages of Lariel City.

Mission Reward: Assassin’s Helmet (Epic)

Chapter 397: Big Terrifying Demon

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

The underground world of Lirico City reached in all directions. A stranger would definitely get lost within ten minutes. Link was no exception.

Thankfully, he had a guide.

“Go left. The ride side is going out the city,” the Yabba directed.

“Where are we going?” Link asked. At the same time, he listened closely for any noise behind him. There were many footsteps. Many soldiers had followed him into the underground tunnels.

However, the tunnels were very complex. No demons had caught up yet.

The little thing explained in a low voice, “We’re going to the sewage treatment area. It’s the lowest part and most complicated. There are also many sturdy valves there. If there are any survivors, they’ll most likely be there.”

“I see.” Link crept forward.

After around 300 feet, Link realized that the noises behind him had become extremely weak. Thanks to the complex layout, Link had easily lost the pursuers.

He let out a breath of relief and continued.

“Left side… Careful!” the Yabba suddenly called.

Her alert was unneeded. Link had realized earlier, and a low-level demon charged out of a corner. Link swung his sword and chopped off the demon’s head.

He turned the corner and saw a 150-square-foot room. The Yabba yelped at the sight and buried her face in Link’s shoulder, not willing to look anymore. Link narrowed his eyes as well.

The room was filled with bodies. There were around 20 Yabbas and four low-level demons. There was even a Blackshell Sword Demon. The ground was covered in spilled intestines, broken limbs, and a shattered magic musket. The Blackshell Sword Demon was dead too. He was killed by a Yabba’s suicidal bomb attack.

That Yabba’s body was completely broken. Only half of his face remained. He’d stuffed the bomb into the demon’s mouth, exploding the demon’s head.

“Wah, wahh.” The little thing began crying. She’d turned around at some point and saw that face. “I know him. He’s Ferrion, a major. He’s really brave, smart, and had so much potential. He was going to be the commander of an airship.”

Link patted her back and continued walking.

There was a very sturdy gate at the back of this underground room. Fifteen dim runes flashed around the door. Link looked at it and realized this was a password. If he activated the runes in the wrong order, the door wouldn’t open.

“Little thing, do you know the password?” Link asked while checking the runes.

“Don’t call me that. My name is Lannie. I don’t know the password either, but we can go another way,” she said.

But Link didn’t move. He was still checking the runes.

“It’s useless. You can’t decipher it. It’s a magic lock. If you don’t know the password, there are tens of thousands of ways to input it. This door uses the sturdiest metal of our race. It’s really sturdy and… hey, how do you know the password?”

While Lannie was speaking, Link had already started touching the runes. By the time she finished, a soft click had come from the metal door and then it swung open soundlessly.

“It’s an innovative rune lock, but it’s not that hard. Don’t forget that I’m a Magician.”

Link entered the tunnel and then looked at the runes behind it. After ten seconds, he pressed lightly. With a click, the door closed again.

Lannie was speechless. After a long while, she said, “Then how come you know swordsmanship? And you’re so good at it?”

“I learned it in my free time… Shh… don’t talk. This space doesn’t feel right,” Link whispered.

There was a long passage behind the door, with many pipes in the passage. They should be from the sewage system. They looked undamaged, but Link noticed that the spatial frequency was a bit off.

He walked to the side and touched the wall. His hand came back with a layer of gray-white powder.

Lannie found it strange. “This wall is reinforced by transformational magic. It should be strong and smooth. How come there’s powder?”

“It’s caused by fine spatial ripples,” Link said.

He started looking carefully. After around ten seconds, he stepped back and whispered, “A Dimensional Demon appeared here… And look here.”

There were many footprints on the ground. Most were small and scuffed, left behind by retreating Yabbas. Behind them were footprints three times larger.

“The footprints are trapezoidal and very wide. There are claws too. These are the characteristics of a Dimensional Demon. Judging from the remaining aura, these are from one day ago. Hurry!”

Link sped up.

After around 200 feet, the first Yabba corpse appeared on the ground. Only the upper half of his body remained. His eyes were open wide while his small body was halved with some sharp blade. There was a musket beside him, broken in half. In the distance, the wall was charred black. It was cracked, and there were stone shards on the ground.

After a few seconds, Link came to a conclusion. “The retreating Yabbas discovered that someone was after them. This Warrior was left behind to stop the demon. He was broken by the Dimensional Demon, but he took the chance to detonate a bomb. There is a drop of black blood here. The demon was wounded.”

Link picked up the broken magic musket. Seeing the smooth cut, his brows knitted. “This demon is very strong. I fear he’s reached Level-9. It’ll be a bit difficult.”

If they fought face to face, Link would have nothing to fear. However, Dimensional Demons loved hiding in spatial folds for sneak attacks. If anything went wrong, they’d hide back into the spatial fold. Dimensional Demons were Assassin demons and extremely fast. This was troublesome.

More importantly, Link couldn’t use magic now. If he could use spatial magic, he could use Spatial Rend to destroy the demon if he tried to hide in space.

What a pity.

“Are we going to keep chasing?” Lannie asked fearfully. She wished Link could keep going to save her people, but he said there was a Level-9 demon up ahead. This was scary.

“Of course, but I need to prepare.”

With that, Link looked into the corner and thought, Accept reward.

Whoosh. A shirt and pants fell from the air. They were the Assassin Robe and Assassin Pants.

Link undid Lannie’s ties and set her on the ground. Then Link took off his leather armor. Putting on his new clothes, he explained, “I recently made these two pieces of gear and couldn’t bear to put them on before. I have to use them now.”

He spoke calmly this time. The gear had dropped out of thin air as if he’d taken it out of the dimensional storage. Lannie, observant as she was, didn’t suspect anything.

When Link was done, she studied him and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it a robe? It’s pretty.”

It was indeed. The clothing was of dark blue material. One could faintly see many elegant dark silver patterns. There was a faint blue glow around the robe. Looking closely, one could see countless specks of light flying around.

Link didn’t notice the appearance. He checked the robe’s profile first.

Assassin Robe (Set)

Epic

Current Set Status: 2/6

Effect One: Magic resistance increases by 80% as long as it doesn’t affect the spell-caster’s magic conductivity.

Effect Two: Shadow effect. When the spellcaster stands without moving, a ball of fog three feet wide will appear from their body. This effect can protect the spell-caster from being attacked at critical body parts.

Effect Three: Activate the “ready” status. Under this status, the spell-caster can cast any spells instantaneously. This effect can be used once every ten days.

Link looked at the pants.

It also had three effects. The magic resistance and shadow effect were the same as the robe. The third, called “Godspeed,” was different.

The player could activate this status and increase their speed by three times. The effect could last one hour but had to cool down for one month.

This effect was pretty good. Link could use it to both attack or defend. If his current speed was tripled, he’d be close to Nana. After his magic recovered, he could pair this with Dimensional Jumps and no one would be able to catch him.

The set also had its own attributes. The two pieces of gear already activated it. Link looked over and saw a halo.

It was the Focus Halo. This halo was permanent and had a 30-foot range. Within it, anyone the spell-caster focused on would receive the effect. Their speed would increase by ten percent and their spell-casting speed by five percent.

Not bad. With this set, he was much more confident in dealing with the Level-9 Dimensional Demon.

“Let’s go. Is it okay if you follow behind me?” Link asked.

“Of course. I’m great with the musket.” Lannie took out the musket she’d put in the holster by her leg and twirled it.

The two continued forward.

After around 300 feet, there was another door. It also had runes, but they didn’t glow.

Lannie looked at it strangely. “The door was damaged but how? And how do you use this?”

Link didn’t speak. He was looking for a way through the door. He tried the Dragon King’s Fury magic sword. It sizzled and didn’t give in easily, but he still forced the sword through. This seemed to be the easiest way.

He spent ten minutes and finally cut an opening into the door. The two climbed in.

Once in, Lannie and Link were stunned by what was behind the door.

The walls here had all collapsed. Broken stones were everywhere, practically blocking the tunnel. There were many black bloodstains on the ground. The most eye-catching was a black thing that looked like a lizard’s tail.

Seeing this, Link recreated the scene in his mind and couldn’t help but praise, “So powerful!”

The Yabbas were very smart. They’d figured out the Dimensional Demon’s characteristics and sealed the door. They forced the demon to teleport using its dimensional abilities. The moment he appeared from the spatial waves, the bomb detonated.

Caught by surprise, the Dimensional Demon was hurt badly. His tail even fell off.

Link walked to the tail and studied it. After one second, two seconds, three seconds, his brows knitted. “No, the tail isn’t right.”

“What happened?” Lannie was frightened.

Link looked up to her. “I underestimated the demon. Look at his tail. The scales are very fine and have rings of blue-gold light. A regular Dimensional Demon wouldn’t have these things. If I’m not wrong, this must be part of the royal family!”

Lannie was quite knowledgeable too. Her eyes widened. “You mean, this is a Dimensional Phantom?”

Dimensional Phantom

Dimensional Demon Royalty

Royal Talent: Soul-absorbing Stab. With every kill, the Dimensional Phantom can turn a portion of the target’s soul into their own power. To protect the purity of their power, the rate is not very high, but it builds up, especially on the battlefield. A Dimensional Demon can kill a great amount of creatures in a short period.

“No wonder this Dimensional Demon has Level-9 strength. If he was Level-8 at the time of summoning, then he must have killed more than 3000 Yabbas… We must catch up to him!”

This demon chased so relentlessly and so impatiently probably wasn’t just to kill them all. It was highly possible that he was about to advance to the next level.

Chapter 398: Completely Convinced

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

Whoooo, Whooo. The sound of the wind howling came from nearby.

Lannie said softly, “Up ahead is the center of the shallow portion. From the sound of it, the air formation has been activated. It will purge the stale air from the tunnels out from above.”

Link nodded his head and rubbed his nose. He said, “The situation probably isn’t too good. I smell a thick scent of blood.”

Even though the system was circulating the air, Link could still smell the blood in the air.

The smell of everyone’s blood was different. It differed based on body mass, Mana quantity, and other minute differences. Normally, people would not be able to tell the difference, but Link could.

Link could smell that in the center area, there were at least 30 corpses. Perhaps they were too late.

However, Link did not say a thing and walked ahead with Lannie.

After about 300 feet, they reached a circular pool about 150 feet across. In the center of the pool was a round platform. Connected to the platform were four walkways supported with semicircular bridges. At the top of the sewage, chamber was a light spell formation which emanated warm light, lighting up the entire underground chamber.

Lannie took a single glance and immediately shut her mouth and sobbed silently.

Up ahead, corpses were piled over each other. There was not a single corpse that was complete. Some brains were split in two, while others had their bodies separated into two or more pieces. On both, the left and right side were pools of dried blood. Some places of the floor were crumbled, perhaps from cannon explosions.

Corpses, rubble, and cannon shells were strewn across the area. The only thing that didn’t seem to be around was the Dimensional Demon. Not even a trace of black demon blood could be found.

Lannie sobbed. “No, no, all these are Warriors, I’m sure there are civilians still alive. There must be.”

Lannie was about to jump into the sewage to look for people, but Link held her back. She struggled fiercely. “Let me go! I’m going to take a look!”

Of course, her struggles were futile. Link restrained her with little effort and pulled her back beside him. He glanced around the space and warned her softly, “Lannie, you’re right. There are survivors, but it is because there are survivors that is why it hasn’t left.”

Lannie trembled and quieted down. Swoosh, she drew out a musket.

However, this musket’s firepower was unfortunately far too low. It was useless. In all likelihood, it would not even be able to penetrate the demon’s armor.

Link took out the musket he had picked up and handed it to Lannie. “Here, I picked this up along the way.”

This gun’s firepower was much higher. Although it could not pose a serious threat to a Level-9 demon, at least it would be able to inflict an injury. Lannie obviously couldn’t do anything by herself, but she could support Link and create a distraction when he was battling the demon.

Lannie nodded, “I can use this.”

“Good, okay follow me.” Link said as he stepped forward carefully. He was in a state of high alert.

However, the Dimensional Demon did not appear. As Link walked through the sewage chamber to the platform on the other end, all they could hear was the howling of the wind in the chamber.

“Strange,” Link said, frowning. He couldn’t seem to see through the demon’s intentions.

In front of him was a wide passage. At the end of the passage, there was a large door. Along the passage were many footprints and lots of blood.

Link knelt down to inspect the trails. “The footprints are heading towards the door. There were at least a hundred people, it’s probably the survivors I think.”

As he said this, he turned to Lannie. “Stay close by my side, we’ll continue going forward.”

Lannie nodded, hugging the larger musket to her chest. She kept close behind Link, looking around attentively the whole time.

After walking about 60 feet into the passage, Link suddenly shouted, “Stop, there’s a spell formation here. Seems like there is a Magician among the survivors. Based on their skill… They’re probably Level-7.”

The space up ahead seemed completely clear, and nothing seemed odd about it. There wasn’t even any trace of Mana left behind. This level of spell formation couldn’t be done by a Magician without sufficient skill.

Lannie was short and could see things on the ground and at low angles more clearly. She suddenly pointed to the base of a sewage pipe and said, “Look! There are many bullets stacked over there. Those are incendiary bullets possessing about Level-6 strength. There are about ten of them.”

Link followed the trail of Mana that existed in the air and quickly understood what was going on. “This is a trap. This trap is very well done, even if you pass through without touching the floor or the walls, the trap would still be activated and explode. The explosion would even affect the Dimensional Demon’s other dimension and tear it apart. I believe it is because of this that the demon does not dare to enter. The survivors must be inside.”

“Do you have a way to break through this?” Lannie asked.

“Of course,” Link nodded. He carefully observed the flow of Mana in the spell formation. After ten seconds, he stretched out his finger and used his Dragon Power to poke at a few random spots in the air.

One second later, the magic web of the spell formation shattered. Finally, it disappeared in a trail of white smoke.

The moment the web shattered, there was a commotion from behind the door. Some were crying, others were breathing heavily. There were even sounds of shock and teeth grinding.

Obviously, the people inside were aware that the spell formation had been broken.

Link listened carefully and estimated, “There are about 200 people inside. Lannie, call out to them and tell them we’re here.”

At this moment, they didn’t dare to make any rash actions. Everyone inside was tense. If they were alarmed, one of them might set off a grenade and kill everyone inside.

Lannie nodded. “Everyone, I am Lannie Alliway. Don’t worry, I’m here to save you. I’m not alone, I’m with the Lord of Ferde from the south, Magician Link. He was the one who broke the formation just now, don’t be afraid.”

After Lannie shouted, there were about ten seconds of silence. Then, the door opened. Behind the door was a huge room packed with Yabbas.

The person who opened the door was an old Yabba man. His hair was white, and he wore a blue Magician’s robe. When he saw Lannie, his eyes lit up. “Lannie! You’re still alive!”

Lannie was delighted too. “Master Green, it’s great to see you!”

When the Yabbas in the room saw this, many stood in joy. They thought that they would be saved. However, the Magician didn’t think so. He asked, “When you guys came in, did you see the Dimensional Demon?”

“No, but we were chasing it on the way here,” Lannie said, shaking her head.

The Yabba called Master Green’s face paled. He looked at Link and was a little confused. “You must be Master Link. Why does it seem like you are using a sword?”

Link had been standing there unmoving for a while now. The Assassin’s Robe special ability activated on its own. Link was wrapped in a blackish-blue fog, and his features weren’t clear.

Link moved slightly and walked out of the fog. He explained, “I did a dimensional teleportation a while ago and got affected by the Void Aura. I’m temporarily unable to use any spells, so I’m using the sword to make up for it instead.”

“Dimension… Dimensional teleportation? Make up?” Master Green couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Link’s appearance still matched the description in the stories, but the things he was saying were completely foreign.

Dimensional teleportation was a skill belonging to the Legendary realm, wasn’t it? And furthermore, what was a Magician doing with a sword? Is it something one could randomly pick up to make up for being unable to use spells?

However, the Ferde Lord was said to be very intelligent, and the ridiculous things that he was saying were not things an intelligent person would say.

Lannie knew that Master Green had misunderstood. She quickly said, “Master Link really knows swordsmanship, and he’s really good at it. Along the way here, he killed many demons, including high-level demons too. It’s true! You’ve got to believe me.”

Master Green was still skeptical, but nonetheless, he still believed that Link was strong. Anyway, Link didn’t bother replying to his doubts. He informed Link, “Master Link, the Dimensional Demon is still hiding somewhere. Do you have a way to deal with him?”

This entire time, Link had been observing the Yabbas. Most of them looked like they were prepared to die. Everyone had bombs strapped to their bodies. This was probably to prevent a sneak attack from the Dimensional Demon.

Link was also thinking of a way to deal with the Dimensional Demon. Link said after a moment, “I’m afraid it’s observing us right now and is prepared to take action. Master Green, do you know how strong it is?”

As he said this, Link was keeping an eye on the movements in the space. The moment he detected anything, he would immediately take action and retaliate.

“Okay,” Master Green replied. “He…”

The moment Master Green started speaking, Link felt a disturbance in the space. This was something only a Spatial Magician could detect.

In a Spatial Magician’s eyes, the space was like a sea. Those that could pass through the space were like fish. When a fish emerged out of the water, even if normal people couldn’t detect it, but a Spatial Magician could see it based on the fluctuations in the space.

The fish has come out, where is it? Hmmm, there!

Link stabbed out at the spot he identified, a short distance from Magician Green’s forehead.

Clang. Link hit something as a slit opened in the air. It appeared like a black dot fleeting through the air. Many Yabbas with sharp eyes could see it, and Magician Green could see it too.

He stared at Link in shock. The entire way here, they had been plagued by the Dimensional Demons attacks which left no trace. Link, however, could accurately determine where the demon’s attacks were coming from and could even defend against them.

This made Magician Green completely convinced of Link’s strength. He shrouded himself in a defensive barrier and asked, “Master Link, what do we do now?”

Chapter 399: Let Me Borrow Your Mana Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio | Editor: Vicky_

 

Underground sewage treatment cesspool

Link didn’t make a sound. He sensed the surrounding situation quietly like an experienced fisherman observing the fish swimming from the changes in water current.

The Yabbas were afraid of disrupting Link’s thoughts. They didn’t even dare breathe loudly. A mother muffled the mouth of the child in her arms as soon as she cried out.

After around five seconds, Link said, “He’s around 150 feet from us right now. He should be around the cesspool. Master Green, I need your help to fight him.”

Master Green replied without hesitation, “No problem. Tell me whatever you need. I’m willing to even give up my life to kill it!”

Link shook his head. “It’s not that grave. I just need to borrow your Mana.” With that, he looked at the little one. “Lannie, you stay here. Master Green and I will deal with him.”

He couldn’t use spells now, but with a Level-7 Magician aiding him, that Dimensional Phantom would definitely die as long as it didn’t escape.

“I can help… oh, fine,” Lannie surrendered after withstanding two seconds of Link’s stare.

Link turned to Green and said, “Let’s lock the room first.”

“Set up a magic net?” Master Green asked.

“Something like that.” Link took out his notes and flipped to a certain page. Pointing at the spatial Mana structure, he said, “Construct your Mana according to that.”

Master Green looked at the notes. Half a minute later, he said, “It doesn’t look too hard. What spell is it?”

“Spatial barrier. Just follow it,” Link explained simply.

Master Green followed his instructions. He raised his small wand and inserted Mana according to Link’s structure. Around ten seconds later, a tiny ball of Mana light appeared at the wand’s tip.

The Mana ball was like a mist. It was around ten millimeters wide. One could faintly see the fine structure within it, but that was all.

This was only Mana without producing any specific spell. There was no sign of the Spatial barrier.

Master Green maintained the structure while looking at Link strangely. It was easy to understand what he was thinking. Why isn’t it working? Is it a broken structure?

Link was now multitasking between sensing the Dimensional Phantom and paying attention to the Mana ball. “No, you didn’t finish it,” he said in a low voice. “The rune’s position and frequency of vibrations must be adjusted precisely. Listen closely.”

Master Green nodded. It was his first time using spatial magic and felt reverent. He listened closely.

“Move the alpha rune south 0.01, move the beta rune along the spatial vector 0.2, 0.03, 0.85… Increase the Mana output of the wheeler rune… Yes, just like that. The main rune has started vibrating. That’s the frequency, yes, that’s it…”

Master Green had a strong foundation in magic. He could follow Link’s instructions immediately.

Half a minute later, after 30 precise adjustments, the space around the ball of light at the wand’s tip started changing. It rippled like water. Master Green’s heart actually started pounding. So this is spatial magic. Tsk, it’s too hard, too precise, but I feel so accomplished to see my own Mana disturb this mysterious space.

He was already 80 years old, but he was still stunned. However, he must be calm when casting spatial magic. His emotions had caused abnormal waves in the spell. The spatial ripples started slowing down.

Link sensed this and growled, “You’re not done yet. Compose yourself!”

“Yes!” Master Green hurriedly composed himself.

Link didn’t speak. He felt abnormal waves in space again. The Dimensional Phantom had returned to stop Green from casting the spell. Link narrowed his eyes. Without moving, he continued instructing, “The auxiliary runes have started vibrating as well. The frequency trend follows the vegetta formula.”

As soon as he finished, Link’s sword suddenly moved. It stabbed into the air behind Master Green. With a soft cling, Link hit another black blade.

Because of the spatial ripples, the Dimensional Phantom needed some time to build up his power, but Link wouldn’t give him the time. As before, this attack came quietly and was forced back quietly.

The commotion was tiny, but the murderous intent stunned all the Yabbas. At this time, all of them looked at Link. He was the only one who could save them.

Master Green trembled inwardly as well. He now knew that he’d become the Dimensional Phantom’s target to be killed without a doubt. However, he was still a Master Magician. His heart was steady and calm and had rich experience. His heart trembled, and a small ripple appeared, but he smoothed it out within two seconds.

He handed his safety to Link and focused entirely on the spatial magic. The structure wasn’t that complex, but during the process, there were many runes to control. The controlling method was extremely complex as well. It was difficult to truly cast the spell so he must put all his effort into it.

Cling. Link forced the Dimensional Phantom back again and said, “Alright, now complete the vibrations of the last flank rune. The trend follows the Arak formula… Yes, now maintain it for more than five seconds!”

Sweat beaded on Master Green’s forehead. A faint light glowed in his eyes, signifying that his soul was operating at the max.

The spatial ripples at the wand’s tip began spreading and spreading. After five seconds, there was a buzz, and the tunnel was sealed with a thin film of light. The spell calmed down.

Whoosh. Master Green exhaled loudly. He looked tired but mostly excited. “This is spatial magic? What’s it called?”

Link shook his head. “There’s no official name. It’s just a spatial barrier that I created in my free time. It can block all spatial transmissions. If someone tries to cross through forcefully, it’ll break down immediately. The breakdown process will cause a violent spatial rend. I think that the Dimensional Phantom won’t like that feeling.”

With that, Link walked towards the cesspool while saying, “Let’s go. Now that they’re safe, we can deal with him.”

He could feel that the Dimensional Phantom hadn’t left. The demon seemed to not give up. Link scoffed inwardly. If you’re not leaving, then prepare to die.

“Okay!” Master Green nodded. He shook his head and moved his small legs, jogging behind Link.

Soon, they reached the circular podium in the center of the cesspool. Link flipped through his notes to a certain page. “This time, use this Mana structure.”

Green glanced at it and seemed uncomfortable. “This looks a bit troublesome, but I’ll try my best.”

Link nodded. “You’ve never cast this type of spell before so don’t think. Just follow my instructions step by step.”

This spell truly was a bit difficult; its level was second only to the Spatial Sphere that Link often used. Even a Level-7 Magician with detailed instructions would need at least three months of practice to cast it alone if they didn’t have the foundation. But now, Link, the spell’s creator, divided the casting process into countless tiny steps. He would instruct bit by bit while Green only had to follow him. The difficulty was lowered almost ten times.

At this moment, Green was like a soldier while Link was the general.

“Let’s start!” Link said.

“I’m ready.”

On the platform, one spoke while the other acted. After a minute, the spatial ripples appeared again. The ripples spread ring after ring, moving through the space of the sewage treatment center like waves of water. They were like the radar detection waves.

Three seconds later, Link suddenly said, “Coordinates 25, 52, 3, vibrate auxiliary Aravin formula!”

Green obeyed.

The spatial ripples instantly trembled. Immediately after, they grouped in the direction that Link pointed out like a net.

Hiss! There was a scream, and a black shadow tumbled out of the air. It was the Dimensional Phantom!

“Start attacking!” Link immediately said.

Master Green reacted speedily. He gave several Yabba firebombs to Link while throwing another bomb at the shadow.

Link through a bomb too.

Boom, boom, boom! Blue fireballs around ten feet wide continuously exploded on the black shadow.

Hiss, hiss! The screams kept coming. The Dimensional Phantom’s voice was tinged with pain. It had just been forcefully dragged out by the spatial ripples and had delayed reactions. During this time, he couldn’t protect himself well. The Yabba took advantage of this and bombed his tail.

Now, he faced the incoming bombs and was hurt again.

“He’s going to run!” Master Green panicked. He discovered that the demon’s body had blurred.

“Protect yourself!” Link had already discovered this. While roaring, his body was covered with the crystal red Dragon Power. He lunged and instantly arrived near the demon. His sword sliced down.

Link was very, very fast. The Dimensional Phantom didn’t even have time to sneak into the spatial ripple and waved his arm to block. His weapons were blue arm blades on both arms.

Clang! The sound reverberated.

Instead of a light attack, they truly clashed this time. Power burst after the attack and rings of white airwaves spread in all directions. The convergence of power was many times more powerful than the bombs.

In the path of the shockwaves, corpses flew, and sewage water splashed. Master Green had already cast a defensive shield for himself, but he was still knocked to the ground from the power.

He sat on the ground in shock. If not for the shield, he’d be dead already.

The other side

Link’s Dragon King’s Fury sword activated an extremely dense attack. Each move was a basic technique but forced the demon to endlessly go into defense. He had no time to fight back, let alone escape into space.

Link was shocked too. The Dimensional Phantom’s physical strength was no weaker than his. The demon power showed signs of reaching the Legendary level. While Link’s Legendary Dragon Power could restrict him, it couldn’t defeat him easily.

Of course, another reason was the Void’s aura around him. His Dragon Power scattered as soon as it left his body, reducing his direct combat ability.

After more than ten moves, Link finally got the chance. With a squelch, he hacked the demon’s left arm.

Hiss! The Dimensional Phantom screamed in pain and his power suddenly exploded. He used his demon power without caring for the consequences, and his speed multiplied suddenly.

Link knew immediately that the guy was getting ready to escape.

If other demons went crazy like this, Link would choose to go onto the defensive and wait for it to end. Dimensional Demons were different. They had spatial abilities, so they would try to escape as soon as things went wrong.

Link couldn’t give him the chance. He covered himself with Dragon Power for protection and started attacking faster!

Hiss, hiss! The demon cried out multiple times. He still wasn’t as powerful as Link. Even if he used all his might, he still couldn’t force Link back.

Five seconds later, he used up all his strength. Link shot forward and waved his sword. With a disturbing sound, the demon’s head flew off.

The Dimensional Phantom was killed.

The message Mission accomplished flashed past his vision.

Link let out a sigh of relief. During this entire time, the guy would escape if he made a single mistake. After that, there would be endless trouble. It was very good to successfully kill him now.

Link looked back at Master Green. The man had been thrown to the corner, but he had a shield. Though in a pathetic state, he was fine.

He looked relieved to have survived. Seeing Link look over, he chuckled, both tired and relaxed. “I’m old now. My bones were almost shattered by you, youngling.”