Badge in Azure - Chapter 1288

Chapter 1288: Succumbing Quickly (Part 1)

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

The Dragon Remains Combat Vessel was hardly used by anyone else. The ship was being crafted as if it was a large-scale puppet. It had the basics of a warship, yet it was as nimble as a lithe boat.

 The materials of the warship had been broken here and there. After acquiring materials from Dragon Island, Saleen repeatedly added dragon bones to the mix, melding them with the ship with Water Flame.

 The melded product was then refined, patched and the entire ship changed size repeatedly dozens of times. It was currently 180 meters in length, yet it was over a hundred times sturdier than it had been in its earlier incarnation, finally making it truly look like a dragon.

 Saleen also used his knowledge of astrology to craft star charts on the dragon bones, making them capable of containing all manner of energy attacks. The dragon skeleton was extremely sturdy in its entirety. When it clung onto the flying ship, it simply raked with its claws and the entire lower section of the ship was torn apart.

 The dragon skeleton then clung onto the flying warship again and whipped its dragon tail about, shaking the ship in the air. The people who were in the ship were no longer able to hold their ground and dropped into the ocean one after another.

 Demons crewed the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel and they were all too familiar with such manner of combat. All of them fixed themselves onto something, so while the warship shook about as if the sky was about to come down, nothing would have happened to them nonetheless.

 While the flying warship was a piece of magic equipment in itself, it was not one designed for fighting up close and personal. When the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel shook the ship about, the mages aboard dropped from their magic arrays and out of the ship.

 The ones still in the hold frantically cast spells to escape.

 The dragon skeleton twisted about and tore the flying warship. The mages from the warship flew outside but were not able to do anything.

 The red-robed mage was already in the water when the explosions happened. While the explosions were so ferocious that not even magic shields would have been able to resist them, one could have stayed safe when diving over 100 meters deep.

 The sorcerers and golden grand sword masters around the red-robed mage were all out of luck. None of them had been able to avoid the magic attacks and the explosions that followed.

 All of the red-robed mage’s subordinates ended up dead. The mages gave up their pride and cast movement skills underwater, running in Alchemy City’s direction.

 The Winged Skull took notice from the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel. Finding no figures that were too dangerous remaining on the flying warship, they notified their jade skeletons before jumping into the sea with the Reaper Scythe in their hands.

 The level ten mage trainer was rather troublesome to kill, but the Winged Skull had no intention of letting someone like that escape. Their master spent a fortune on that venture, the cost of which could have only been recouped when they took Alchemy City.

 As such, they were to kill any that they were able to find. When someone like that were to make it back, they would have gained help either from magic amplifiers or magic towers, which would have made them very difficult to deal with later.

 The Reaper Scythe cleaved through the seawater from above. A black beam of light forced a huge ditch to open in the seawater. The water dragon cast by the red-robed mage was destroyed right there and then.

 The Reaper Scythe seemed to be imbued with an indomitable will, blocking that level ten mage trainer right where they stood.

 The Winged Skull’s Reaper Scythe became over eight meters long and was swiped. The red-robed mage was only able to cast a level ten Disturbance in time, yet quickly found that said Disturbance was completely ineffective.

 One would have needed to have mental powers greater than Saleen to be able to shock the Winged Skull. The skeleton was Saleen’s bonded creature. While their advancement was hindered because of that, they had huge benefits to gain nonetheless.

 Saleen’s mental powers were of such capacity that not even level 12 mage trainers would have been able to compare, let alone a level 10 one. All shock-type skills below level 13 were little more than child’s play to the Winged Skull.

 The red-robed mage never thought of any of that when they saw the Winged Skull. They thought such powerful spirits were a product of hasty summons. The mage was actually considered careful, as hastily summoned spirits had no loyalty to speak of.

 When they were frightened, there was a possibility that they would simply return to the spirit plane right there and then.

 The scythe was swiped side to side and the blue crystal armor was cleaved open. A wound appeared on the red-robed mage’s chest. The Winged Skull made a frowning expression. Displayed by that barren skull, it looked incredibly eerie.

 The Reaper Scythe was considered a formidable weapon, yet when it cleaved through its target’s defenses, it was only able to cut through cloth, leaving a superficial scratch in its wake.

 Boom!

 Seeing Disturbance failing to do its job, the mage instant-cast a level ten Demolition. The spell was a wind-based magic spell. The red-robed mage used elemental conversion and cast it while using the water element, amplifying its power at sea.

 They had only wanted to force the powerful skeleton away before using scrolls to escape.

 However, they should never have used Demolition. The Winged Skull forced them into the core of the spell and with a single beat from their golden heart, the energies in their body were invoked and manifested power at the level of a true might.

 Not even true mights would have had such a powerful body and heart. The charge made a crack in the spell. The Winged Skull charged all the way before the mage along that crack and swiped the scythe from below. It ended up tearing the mages from between their legs all the way upwards, splitting them in two.

 Such was the result of being closed in by a true might. The red-robed mage died fighting a good fight. No one would have expected a skeleton to be capable of human skills.

 A face appeared on the scythe, opening its mouth and swallowing the mage’s soul. It let out a satisfied laugh.

 “Shut up!” The Winged Skull shouted and the face stopped laughing right away, with the only sound heard being laborious gulping. It was difficult for a newly formed weapon spirit to gobble up the soul of a level ten mage after all. It was fortunate that the Reaper Scythe had enough power to suppress resistance from the mage’s soul.

 The seawater ditch closed up again by the time the Winged Skull killed the red-robed mage. No one was there to witness that. The fighting at sea turned even more intense. When the Winged Skull returned to the surface, there were already mages charging onto the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel.

 Mages from Alchemy City were not weaklings, especially the sorcerers. It was difficult to kill them all, despite having 600 demonic spirits onboard.

 The Winged Skull spread their wings and returned to the Dragon Remains Combat Vessel, beginning to pick on the mages that boarded their ship and killing them. The interception was seen as a perfect one. No reinforcements came from Devil’s Horn and the rate at which their enemy was crumbling accelerated.

 Grand Duke Iron Blood put his dragon away and took out the bow, killing enemies from afar with Saleen. There was little to worry about by then. There were still powerful ones on the island and none of the level ten mage trainers died.

 The magic towers were still as sturdy as ever, yet none of that would have changed the eventual outcome.

 The grand duke and Saleen crushed Devil’s Horn inch by inch without any concern for cost. All magic towers below level ten were toppled and plundered.

 Such bloody incidents had never taken place ever since a mage’s island was established there. Alchemy City never expected some dire outcome like that would have resulted from them taking away the elites and the flying warship.

 Otherwise, Devil’s Horn would have been able to hold on until reinforcements from Alchemy City arrived.

 Alchemy City dared not send out any reinforcements. From their perspective, the attack on Devil’s Horn was meant to draw mages away from Alchemy City’s magic amplifier. All of them were then intercepted while they were outside.

 That would have proved to be a decent tactic, but Saleen and the grand duke would have never spent that much just to attack Devil’s Horn. They were actually afraid of Alchemy City sending out reinforcements. Once Alchemy City sent enough mages on their way, the city would have soon learned of their true intentions.

 The fighting had to be done quickly. What they lacked most at the moment was time. If Alchemy City were to realize what was happening and doubled on their defenses, it would have made assault all that more costly to pull off.

 Both Saleen and the grand duke were acting the most leisurely at the moment. Eleanor stood beside Saleen, while all of the others were sent out to hold the level ten magic towers back.

 Eleanor’s Seven Nights caught the grand duke’s attention and his expression was a rather crazed one.

 “How much for this bow?” The grand duke asked right there and then.

 “I’d happily trade it for your bow,” Saleen answered.

 The grand duke fell silent immediately. Seven Nights were crafted using divine trees of the Goddess of Nature, so it was more or less similar to his bow, the Dragon Soul. However, given how he was a Dragon Knight, the attacks of the Dragon Soul would have been boosted exponentially while he rode dragons.

 While Seven Nights was a good weapon, it was more suited for elves.

 Eleanor found it rather funny. If the grand duke actually agreed to such a high price proposed by Saleen, he would have suffered quite a loss. While she liked Seven Nights very much, she had no problems trading it for Dragon Soul.

 Power brought forth by elfish royal arrows shot from the Dragon Soul would have easily made up for Seven Nights’ loss. She sat on the Wings of an Elf and watched the battle below, struggling with complicated feelings.

 She was a royal elf. If she had not left the elf plane, she would probably be leading great armies at that moment. However, she would not have been able to enjoy the freedom she enjoyed serving Saleen. As royalty, it was imperative that she be married to one who was deemed a suitable match.

 However, she was able to do as she pleased on Myers Mainland, falling in love with a human and using a human body. Saleen did not mind that at all and never required her to return to her elf form.

 If she were to return to her elf form, she would have turned level ten already, instead of being suppressed at level nine as she was then.

 “About time. The mages outside were all pinned down. Time for us to make a move,” Grand Duke Iron Blood pointed at the three level ten magic towers at the center of the island.

 The three level ten magic towers were precisely two miles away from each other, forming a triangle. There were quite a few magic buildings between the towers that had remained intact. They were well-preserved and most mages retreated there, hoping to hold the place with help from the level ten magic towers.

 If it had not been more for the higher number of mages being drawn away from Devil’s Horn, the resistance would not have looked so appalling, to begin with. From the perspective of those mages, as soon as reinforcements from Alchemy City arrived, the invaders would have been quickly crushed.

 “We’ll take them one by one.” Saleen pointed at the tower nearest to the west and added, “We’ll go with this one first. It has the least number of mages.”

 “Yeah.” Grand Duke Iron Blood nodded, took out magic equipment, and shouted a command to his own subordinates.

 The mist on Devil’s Horn was dispersed by a large number of flames lit up everywhere. The magic towers meant for stabilizing the mist were all destroyed. It was difficult to gather the mist again once dispersed. Looking down from the sky, over 100 large scale puppets were getting near the level ten magic towers.

 The westernmost tower was already surrounded by the grand duke’s sorcerers. Any attacks from within were taken out by the sorcerers in turns, preventing the attacks from harming the puppets.

The puppets climbed to the hills nearby and began a final attack on the level ten magic towers.