Advent of the Archmage

Chapter 480: Power Beyond Comprehension

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

The Hell Beast Zampo bolted towards the flower garden area outside the cemetery, under the cover of the fog.

Once it started picking up speed, nothing could stop it.

However, this time, its pursuer was more than a match for it.

Link burst out of the cabin and began chasing after it. After no more than three steps, he vaguely sensed the beast’s intentions.

It seemed to be trying to lure him away from the cemetery. Knowing this, Link decided to strike first.

He thrust his sword out, a Despair Light Ball forming around its tip. In a flash, the Dragon King’s Fury sword appeared 200 feet away, right beside the Zampo.

“Spatial Shackle!”

With a soft hum, a fluid-like ripple began spreading out in the air, instantly trapping the beast like a net. Just then, the beast’s body began to turn transparent in an attempt to phase itself out of its restraints.

“Phase Lock: Activate!”

This was a Secret Spell. Its main function was to disrupt dimensional transference and all other magical fields.

In the realm of magic, it was a well-known fact that it was easier to disrupt a spell than to build it from the ground up. Disrupting his opponent’s Realm Conversion spell was a simple enough affair for Link, despite not being familiar at all with Realm Magic.

A rune began taking shape from the tip of Dragon King’s Fury sword and then impressed itself upon the Zampo’s body. With a violent tremble, its translucent body was pulled back to the physical realm.

At this point, the extra-dimensional creature had nowhere else to run.

Link walked towards it, his eyes not leaving the creature for a second.

It was approximately three feet long and completely covered in mucus. From afar, the creature resembled a giant toad. The only difference was that tentacles sprouted from its entire body. The same sticky fluid dripped from every tentacle and hissed sinisterly as it touched the ground.

“Ew, disgusting! It even smells worse than it looks!” Celine pinched her nose in disgust.

Link walked around the summoned beast and saw a contract rune shimmering through the layer of mucus on its back.

“The nerve to send such an abomination after me!” Link chuckled coldly and gave the rune a tap with his Dragon King’s Fury sword. He then infused his Dragon Power into it, tracing back an unseen path in the Void all the way to the Magician who had summoned the beast.

Three seconds later, Link widened his eyes. “Found you!”

The enemy Magician was hiding behind a tree, 800 feet away. He was almost surprised that someone would be bold and dumb enough to hide so close to the action. Link once again thrust his Dragon King’s Fury sword out, conjuring three Despair Balls in the air. In an instant, the sword’s tip appeared exactly 800 feet away, piercing directly into the Magician’s arm.

Once his sword found its mark, Link willed out a spell: Demonic Seal!

With his Dragon Power flowing through the Dragon King’s Fury sword, Link began etching out a simple, yet powerful rune formation. The runes began creeping into the Magician’s body and then into his bloodstream, effectively blocking off the flow of his power.

Dimensional Jump!

As Link activated Dimensional Jump with his sword, a white light began radiating from the Magician’s body.

Now rendered completely powerless, he could only watch on as his body rematerialized in front of Link.

Hum… There was a white light in front of Link. Half a second later, there was a thump on the ground. A Dark Elf in a black robe with silver stripes fell to the ground rather unceremoniously.

The Dark Elf quickly flipped himself over on the ground, trembling furiously as he stared at Link fearfully.

Before, he had felt the presence of someone in the cemetery. Gradually, he sensed that the intruders were more powerful than he could hope to handle. He had summoned the Zampo to lure them out of the cemetery and hid himself far away from the place so as not to be discovered. He did not expect that he would be caught so soon!

The Dark Elf’s opponent had an 800-foot casting range and was even capable of forcibly teleporting him to his side.

Exactly how strong was this man?

Link sheathed his sword back into the scabbard. He walked a step forward and swept his gaze across the Dark Elf Magician from head to toe. He then said coldly, “A Level-6 Summoner of the Silver Moon Council. Not bad.”

“You… You’re Link?” He recognized Link. Stories of his feats had spread far and wide across the Firuman continent alongside his description as a young, black-haired Magician. Among the human race, he was a peerless hero. But among the Dark Elves, he was a butcher who had slaughtered thousands of Dark Elf Warriors, the boogeyman Dark Elf parents told stories about to their children to put them to sleep.

The Dark Elf Magician trembled even more violently.

Link did not reply him. Instead, he asked, “What is the cause behind the city’s epidemic? Tell me everything you know. Or else…”

Saying this, he pressed a palm slowly into the air at the Zampo. Dragon Power streamed out from his palm as he began weaving an intricate magic seal in the air. From the seal, an indistinct ripple began extending outwards.

The ripple moved towards the creature inexorably till it finally penetrated its body.

Spatial Rend!

The beast, who was restrained in place by Link’s Spatial Shackle, suddenly shivered. A second later, there was a ripping sound from its body. The creature was disintegrated into a cloud of white sand which scattered across the ground.

The Dark Elf recoiled in shock upon seeing this. He was now gulping in irregular breaths of air.

He was more than familiar with the Zampo’s power level, and he knew that he would definitely be killed in an instant if the beast had decided to turn on him. However, after seeing with his own eyes the creature being disintegrated into dust so casually by the Magician before him, he felt that his understanding of magic had been completely subverted.

If he was capable of this much bare-handed, would the world itself crumble before him if he held a wand in his hands?

“Still not talking?” Link held a hand before the Dark Elf and began charging up Dragon Power in his palm. Magic runes appeared around his hand one by one, ready to send him off to the same fate as the beast he had summoned.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” The Dark Elf hugged his head and began screeching pathetically. “I don’t know much. I was only sent here to scare people off. The one responsible for the epidemic was Eilos. He was behind everything.”

“Eilos? Is he a Dark Elf as well?” Celine asked.

“Yes, he’s a Dark Elf. He once served the Spider Queen as her priest. He now worships the God of Destruction. The epidemic was his idea.”

“Where is he?” asked Link. He was now getting a clearer picture of the situation.

“I don’t know. He had already left early in the morning. He said… He said that the Envoy of Slaughter approaches and that he needs to hurry.” The Dark Elf’s tone was apprehensive, as if fearing that Link might not like what he had to say.

This was shocking news.

Eilos might be looking to accelerate the spread of the epidemic, and with no cure of the disease in sight, this may spell a catastrophe unlike any other… Link dared not think further on the subject.

Link took a deep breath and continued his interrogation. “Is there any way to stop this epidemic?”

The Dark Elf shook his head. “I don’t know, I’m just a Summoner. Disease Magic isn’t really my area. You’d better ask Eilos himself. He’s the expert on the subject.”

Upon hearing this, a game message popped up before Link’s vision.

Mission: Find the source of the epidemic.

Player will receive 100 Omni Points upon completion.

Player will also receive Scapegoat Doll (Legendary).

New Mission Activated: Find Eilos.

Details: Find Eilos, the one who has been behind the plague in the city, and retrieve the cure to the disease from him.

Mission Reward: 15 Jogus.

Link accepted the mission and then looked at the Dark Elf with a smile. “I’m sure you probably have some way of contacting this Eilos person. Tell me now, how can I reach him?”

The Dark Elf shouted, “I don’t know… I really don’t. We all get our orders from the Agatha Nagas. We simply obey them. There’s literally no communication among us Dark Elves. Please don’t kill me, I’ve told you all that I know. Really, that’s it!”

Celine whispered to Link, “I think he’s telling the truth.”

Link nodded. The Travel Magician’s scroll had said that the Dark Elves were basically the Nagas’ slaves. They had lost all autonomy and now served as the Nagas’ pathfinders and kamikaze troops.

If this was all the Dark Elf had to offer him, Link decided that he had outlived his usefulness to him. He drew out his sword in a flash and sheathed it back into its scabbard.

For a moment, the Dark Elf’s body ceased all movement. Then, a bright red line appeared on his forehead, and with a thump, the Dark Elf’s head rolled lifelessly to one side.

“Let’s go. We’ll need to go deeper into the cemetery,” said Link.

The fog in the cemetery had thickened. After walking a few hundred feet forward, a large tombstone appeared before them. On the slab of stone, Link could see the bloody runes as described in the cemetery guard’s records.

“I sense divine power coming from this place,” Celine said softly.

Link nodded. “It’s the God of Destruction’s power. There’s also a bit of Dark Power here. Stay outside the magic circle. I’ll take a closer look at the runes myself.”

As soon as he stepped within the boundaries of the circle, he could feel a sudden vibration running through him, as if something was trying to pierce through his body. Link shielded himself from this invisible force with his Dragon Power.

“It’s Level-7 power. No one in Gladstone could have resisted this level of power. Let’s take a look at the runes… As I suspected, the magic circle has the Undead Ray spell as its core, while being surrounded by divine runes. A curious combination indeed. With both Divine Power and Dark Power interlocked with each other so intricately, I fear that removing the influence of both powers from the bodies of the infected without harming any of them may be a far trickier business than I had hoped… I need more information on this spell,” said Link.

“Then we’d better look for Eilos, fast,” said Celine.

“Guess there’s no other way.” Link kneeled on the ground in the rune circle, intently looking for further clues. Half a minute later, he frowned. “The situation doesn’t look too good. Besides Eilos, there’s another Agatha Naga involved. From the footprints left on the ground, the Naga doesn’t seem to be physically strong. She must be a Naga Priest.”

Link stood up. “Let’s go, then. Our enemy did not seem to have bothered covering their tracks. We may be able to easily find them.”

…

Outside Gladstone City

Around ten shadowy figures had appeared in the woods. One of them was Katyusha, who seemed to be leading the party.

They ran through the dense forest and before long, reached an empty patch of land. There, they found what appeared to be a boat carved out of a single wooden log.

Katyusha approached the boat for a closer look at it and said, “I was right. Link is now in Gladstone. Let’s go, we need to smoke him out of the city!”

“Yes, Commander.”

The party of Nagas continued on towards Gladstone City in search of Link.

Chapter 481: You’re Surrounded!

A river cut through the entire city of Gladstone, running from the old parts in the North to the inner city. It passed by the main citadel, through the garden zone, and finally out the business zone.

Basically, everyone used water from this river.

The Dark Elf and Naga priestess’ aura went along this river. It was clear that they planned to poison it.

Celine grew fearful as she walked. “That Dark Elf is honestly so horrible. This way, it won’t take long before the entire city is infected.”

Link nodded. “They’ve already left for a day. I can sense very slight Dark aura in the water. It’s probably too late to stop the infection. The only solution we have now is to find a way to crack this spell.”

It had already been a day, and the aura left behind was very thin. Celine couldn’t sense it at all.

She stuck close behind Link. The two walked from the garden zone to the old city and reached the mouth of the river.

“They’ve left the city. Let’s go.”

There was a city wall that blocked their path. Link took out the Dragon King’s Fury sword and drew some runes in the air. With a light tap, a magic door appeared. The two moved through the wall.

Outside the city, they continued up the river.

At first, there were still some residents outside. After around three miles, the terrain became steeper. A mountain and a waterfall appeared. This waterfall was around 150 feet high. Water fell from the sky, crashing against the rock with a thick spray.

This time, Celine felt the thin Dark aura in the air. “It really is the water!”

Link nodded. He could feel the auras of the Dark Elf and Naga priestess. They were on top of the waterfall.

He gripped Celine’s waist and used the Void Walk to fly to the top. There, the terrain was much smoother. Forests grew on either side of the river. The water flowed slowly as well. Three hundred feet forward, the water started turning. Past that, there was another small waterfall of a few dozen feet high. There was a pool of water under it, surrounded by rocks.

Link saw their target on a flat boulder. A Dark Elf and Naga priestess were casting a spell.

A large number of runes hovered around them. The Dark Elf added in Dark power while the Naga used the God of Destruction’s power. Both formed a misty belt that extended and mixed above the pool of water, creating a ball of dark red light.

Black liquid from the ball of light dripped into the river.

Link studied the rune matrix and felt for the density of the Dark power in the environment. He quickly concluded, “They’ve maintained this magic seal for half a day. That’s enough time for the magic to seep into the entire underground water system of the city.”

In other words, it was possible for all average citizens under Level-4 to be infected right now. This was the absolute majority of Gladstone City.

“Should we act?” Celine held her big fire gun, ready to blow their brains out at any time.

“Wait, I’m recording their magic runes… It’ll need five minutes,” Link whispered.

These guys were Level-7 and eight. Their lives weren’t valuable; Celine could kill them with two bullets. The most important matter now was to find a way to decode this spell and save the citizens of Gladstone.

When a spell was operating, fine ripples would appear in the Mana. A powerful Magician could use these ripples to calculate the spell’s theory in reverse.

And Link was that type of Magician!

He was now a Level-11 Magician while the opponents were only using a modified Level-3 Undead Ray. The only difficulty was that the God of Destruction’s power was involved but other than that, it was an easy task.

The seconds ticked by. Around three minutes later, Link had an idea. He was clear about the specific way the Undead Ray and the God of Destruction’s power were combined.

He realized that it was the God of Destruction’s power that made the divine spells ineffective. It wasn’t much, but it was heavy in nature, much heavier than the God of Light’s power in most divine spells—reaching Level-8. The density of divine power in spells cast by Gladstone’s highest bishop was only around Level-5. Even the Battle Priest of the Orida Fortress was only at Level-7. They couldn’t get past the Undead spell’s protective layer at all.

A bunch of foam could never destroy metal.

It was easy now. If Link raised the density of Light power and supplemented with some magic, he should be able to get rid of this plague.

Thinking of this, Link said to Celine, “Alright, get them.”

Celine propped up the big fire gun and adjusted the scope. She aimed with practiced ease and pressed down hard on the magic runes. Poof, a bullet flew out.

A second later, the Naga priestess was hit. A fist-sized hole opened up in her head. She cried out and fell over, ending the plague spell immediately. Her death shocked the Dark Elf greatly. He froze instinctively and then jumped behind the boulder, getting ready to run.

He was honestly in panic and even forgot to activate a defensive spell… Of course, it wouldn’t work even if he did.

When he was mid-air, Celine’s bullet arrived, digging into his back. Boom. The powerful force threw the Dark Elf 15 feet away, his body snapping in half.

He was totally dead.

“Done!” Celine wiped the metal shards off the muzzle with a clean white cloth. Then she blew on it and put the gun away. “Now what?”

Link already had plans. “Go to the church in the city and find a priest. Only their divine spells can defeat the God of Destruction.”

Gladstone’s church had many priests. They weren’t at high levels, but only they had the divine Light power. Their level didn’t matter. Link could create a focus crystal to raise the density of the power.

“Then let’s go.”

“We’ll fly back invisible.”

They had to find clues when coming, so they’d been a bit slow. They didn’t have that worry now. Link picked Celine up, cast the Traceless and Void Walk spell, and started flying to the church.

The church was between the garden and business zone. It wasn’t too far, but it was nighttime. Link couldn’t see far, so he didn’t fly too quickly.

Around ten minutes later, they landed in the square before the church.

As soon as he landed, something felt off. Link sniffed and gripped his sword. “It smells like fresh blood. Someone has just been killed!”

Shocked, Celine grasped her guns.

Link continued forward, quickly getting to the white stone steps before the church. The bloody smell was heavier here with a chaotic aura mingled within. It was the Naga power.

Stunned, Link quietly unsheathed the Dragon King’s Fury sword and continued walking. A few steps later, he found a corpse behind the pillar by the door. It was a young priest around 20 years old. There was a hole in his chest; the fresh blood stood in stark contrast to his white robe.

“It’s the Nagas! I can sense the commander’s aura. She was here!” Link narrowed his eyes, murderous intent rising within.

The church’s door was pushed open to allow a person in. Walking through the crack, Link saw that corpses were strewn across the room.

Regular priests, Holy Knights, bishops, and even the servants had all been killed. No one was spared.

Link and Celine walked over. Every corpse had the same wound—a clear hole. The Nagas liked using spears. They definitely did this.

There weren’t many signs of struggle, meaning the Nagas were powerful and the priests had no way of fighting back.

Going through the church, Link searched every room but found no survivors. Corpses were everywhere. The divine objects had all been destroyed too. Even the holy water of the repentance pool was polluted with dark magic.

“The commander guessed my plan and destroyed the source of the solution!”

Only a god’s power could counter another god. This was the rule!

The Nagas had killed all light priests in the city. Even if Link found a way to cure the plague, he would have no way of doing so. He could only watch helplessly as the plague rampaged through the city.

With the physiques of the regular people, their bodies and souls would be destroyed by the plague. Even if he got rid of the disease, it was useless.

“Those Nagas are so cruel!” Celine’s blood ran cold.

Link sank into deep thought. The priests here were gone, but there were still some at the Orida Fortress and neighboring cities. With Link’s speed, he could transport them over.

So they must have just done this offhandedly to create trouble for Link…or even to lure him over.

Thinking of this, Link’s heart twitched. If he’d guessed correctly, this place was already surrounded. It was easy to confirm this. They knew he was a Spatial Magician. To trap him, they would lock the surrounding space.

He activated his Dragon Power and cast the Spatial Detection spell to test the spatial frequency.

A red dot of light appeared and exploded like fireworks. One second later, Link confirmed his guess. The space here was completely locked. “We walked into a trap,” he whispered to Celine.

As soon as he spoke, a seductive voice rang out. “Link, I’ve waited for more than an hour.”

The black-haired Naga walked in from the entrance.

Link smiled, totally unmoved. “Great, I was looking for you too.”

Chapter 482: A Lapse in Judgement

Gladstone City, in the church

If Link was still trapped in space as he had been half a year ago, there was a chance he would not be able to make it out of this. However, things were different now.

He now had at his disposal unlimited Dragon Power and had even mastered the way of the sword. His knowledge of the secrets of magic far surpassed any ordinary Magician at this point. To top it all off, he had even acquired an array of Dragon Spells from the Dragon Valley.

Besides Spatial Magic, the new Link had a few other tricks up his sleeve!

When Katyusha entered the church through its great door, Link sensed the presences of her Naga cohorts behind her.

There were 13 other Nagas, three of whom were Naga Priests. The Naga Priests spread out around the church in a triangle, 200 feet from each other, and began chanting a divine spell to seal up the space within. Two Nagas stood beside each priest to ensure their safety.

As the other nine Nagas were occupied with sealing the area, four remained facing Link and Celine.

“Just you four?” asked Link. “I’m offended.”

Katyusha swung the Spear of Victory in her hand. “With this on our side, we are more than a match for the likes of you.”

Saying this, she beckoned at the others. “Sisters, let’s show this foolish human just what we Agatha Nagas are capable of!”

Just as Katyusha finished speaking, three of the Nagas began taking furtive steps towards Link and Celine in the middle, each of them exuding Level-9 power.

On one side stood a Level-10 master holding a Legendary weapon and three other Level-9 experts.

Facing them on the other side was a Level-11 Spatial Magician with limited Spatial Power, accompanied by Celine, a Level-7 Pinnacle master with Level-9 attack power.

There was also a hidden disadvantage on Link’s side: He needed to exercise extra caution while casting some of his more powerful spells. For example, though he may be able to decimate the Nagas surrounding them with a single Void Destructor spell, due to the spell’s sheer power, half of the buildings in Gladstone City would be caught in its area of effect. The scorched air, as a result of the spell, would incinerate the rest of the population living in the other half of the city.

Unless he really had no choice, Link would not resort to such drastic measures.

Judging from their current circumstances, it seemed that the Nagas had the upper hand.

The atmosphere was stretched taut in the church. It was as if the air had condensed around them as both sides continued staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Half a minute passed, and Katyusha suddenly shot a glance at the Naga behind Link.

“Kill!”

The Naga stretched her mouth wide open till the sides of her mouth almost reached the bottom of her ears. She let out an ear-rending screech, and with an explosion of Destructive Power, she lunged forward, her spear held forth like the tip of a dark red screw. The electricity and wind in her wake split open cracks across the ground like cobwebs. The tip of her spear was aimed not at Link, but at Celine who was standing beside Link.

Celine’s attack power was impressive, but she lacked in defensive power. If she were to be taken down first, there would be no one else standing between Link and Katyusha’s Spear of Victory.

But Celine had Link.

At that moment, Link cast a spell of his own.

Miracle Aura!

This was the first Legendary defensive spell he had learned from the game system, and he had once used it against Isendilan back in the Golden Plains. It cost 15,000 Mana Points, but now, he needed only 6800 Dragon Power points to cast it.

Its effect also seemed different. A crimson light erupted from Link’s body, spraying forth in all directions around him. In an instant, a red, seemingly flimsy barrier had enveloped both Link and Celine.

When the Naga’s spear was one foot away from piercing into Celine’s back, an invisible force prevented it from going any further.

Sparks flew out from the point of collision between the spear tip and the invisible barrier. No matter how much she tried to drive the spear forward, the weapon refused to move any further.

Despite a mere one-level difference between the Level-9 spear attack and the Level-10 Legendary barrier, the gap in power level was just too great. The spear simply stood no chance in penetrating the shield.

The Miracle Aura also had an added advantage to it: it was capable of blocking all attacks from one side. In other words, she could strike back at her enemies while being impervious to attacks from them.

Celine was more than able to take down a Level-9 Naga by herself within two seconds. However, she knew that the one both of them had to look out for was the black-haired Naga holding the lightning spear in her hands.

Ignoring the attacks of the Naga behind her, she focused all her attention on Katyusha and her spear.

Katyusha noticed immediately that the tables had been turned on her when Link activated the Miracle Aura and nullified all her underling’s attacks on Celine. She was now the only one left who could deal any damage to Link and Celine.

She would be left vulnerable to Celine’s long-ranged attacks if she were to focus her attacks on Link. If she were to focus on the woman instead, Katyusha would instantly be incinerated by any one of Link’s spells.

Katyusha was the one now with her back pushed up against a wall. She let out a sharp scream, but instead of retaliating, she took a few steps back. As she retreated, Katyusha whirled the Spear of Victory in her hands till it was a dense rotating blur, dissuading Link from advancing any further.

Link still had 7000 Dragon Power points. With a recovery rate of 37 points per second, he was still at full strength. He watched Katyusha edging backwards slowly. Instead of going after her, Link turned around at the Naga behind him.

Without casting any of his spells, he drew out the Dragon King’s Fury sword and struck back at the Naga.

His swordsmanship had not faltered one bit, as he would take out his sword to practice during his downtime. Even the most basic swordplay could be lethal when performed by a Magician with a Legendary body type.

The Naga who had launched the first strike was still behind Celine, futilely trying to break through her defenses. Link took a step back and swung his sword at the Naga.

Caught off guard, the Naga tried to parry the attack, but her movements were sluggish before Link’s eyes. With one swift, silent stroke of his sword, Link sliced through the Naga’s throat.

Without even looking at the Naga behind him, he pulled his sword back and charged at the Naga to his left. Though he never mastered Charged, basic swordsmanship had entailed learning basic footwork. Coupled with the explosiveness of his body, Link shot forward in a red blur towards the second Naga. Before she could even react, Link’s sword had already struck her.

Seeing Katyusha retreating away from them, Celine aimed her pistol at the third Naga to her right.

She was able to pinpoint her target’s position through her acute hearing. Without looking at her target, she fired her pistol.

A soft bang resounded, and a bullet flew out from the magic pistol’s barrel. The Naga panicked and tried to dodge the attack. However, the bullet planted itself squarely through her chest, as if she had dodged into it herself.

During the day, Celine had managed to counter the Spear of Victory with her pistols. After recovering from her exertion, she now felt that her precognitive abilities had grown stronger than before. Before taking her shot just then, without even directly looking at her target, she was able to tell where the Naga would be half a second later. As a result, the Naga crumpled to the ground when she fired her pistol.

In no more than two seconds, all three Level-9 Nagas lay dead on the ground.

The barrier on the two remained unbroken. Both Link and Celine looked at each other, and the message was clear between them: Wipe the Nagas out, teach them a lesson they would never forget!

While not as physically strong as Link, Celine had put herself through rigorous training, and together with her awakened powers, she was capable of fending for herself. She rushed forward, covering at least 30 feet of ground per second. Link did not cast any supplementary magic on her, in case any of his spells somehow interfered with her precognition. He followed closely beside her.

A second later, they were now on the white stone threshold of the church’s great door. On one corner of the church square in front of them stood a Naga Priest and her two bodyguards.

Katyusha had retreated to where the Naga Priest stood.

“Quick, destroy his Legendary barrier!” she ordered the Naga Priest. The priest possessed destructive divine power which was the only other thing capable of breaking through Link’s Legendary barrier besides Katyusha’s Spear of Victory.

What about setting up a seal to prevent Link from escaping?

Be damned with the seal, she thought. Right now, the only thought on her mind was survival.

But she had failed to account for the fact that the Naga Priest was not specialized in combat. Her divine spells were indeed effective against Link’s Legendary barrier, but her combat sense and reaction time were far inferior to Link’s.

When she began casting a divine spell, the spatial seal was immediately undone. Link saw the opening and thrust his sword out. A Despair Ball appeared in front of the sword’s tip, letting it pass through. When it reappeared, it had penetrated through the Naga Priest’s forehead.

The Naga Priest’s divine spell was forcibly interrupted by a sword thrust from Link.

Shocked, Katyusha pulled the Spear of Victory back, intending to use it on Link. Just then, she turned around and noticed that Celine stood beside Link, staring at her coldly without even moving to attack.

Katyusha remembered the woman all too well. Celine was the one, after all, who had managed to deflect the Spear of Victory with her bullets. She was the shield standing between Link and the Legendary spear that was said to hold sway over destiny itself.

In a moment of misjudgment, Katyusha had failed to account for Link’s other Legendary powers besides his spatial magic. One Legendary Warrior was most certainly not enough to defeat Link; she needed at least two or three more by her side to finish the job.

Due to her miscalculations, her Naga minions had all fallen before Link. If she stayed on any longer, she would be killed off as well.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Katyusha activated Charge with a burst of Destructive Power and streaked out of the church square, abandoning her underlings behind her.

In her desperation, she had bolted away from the battle at such an incredible speed that she had turned into a blur.

Celine fired her pistol at the fleeing Naga’s back. Judging from its trajectory, her bullet would surely hit its target, but the Naga showed no intention of blocking or dodging as she fled for her life.

Celine was stunned by such a bold move. Even if her opponent was a Legendary Warrior, not even a leather armor would be able to stop a Level-9 shot.

All of a sudden, she realized that her bullet’s speed was not able to match her opponent’s, and would not be able to catch up to her.

“She sure can run fast she wants to!” she said.

Watching how desperately the opponent had fled from him, Link could only smile wryly at the rapidly vanishing silhouette in the distance. He would be able to catch up to Katyusha by himself. What stopped him from doing so was her Spear of Victory. With the Dragon King’s Fury sword still far from reaching Boundless Sharpness, his only other way of countering the spear was his Scapegoat Doll.

While there was a chance he could defeat Katyusha and her spear by himself, it was too risky, and certainly did not allow any room for error. Also, if he were to go off chasing after Katyusha, Celine would be left behind to fend off the remaining Nagas by herself. The eight Nagas remaining were Level-8 and Level-9 adversaries; Celine would surely be overwhelmed by such a number.

After pausing to ponder on this for a while, Link decided not to chase after Katyusha, and turned around to face the Nagas behind him.

Within ten seconds, all eight Nagas, unable to pierce through Link’s shield, were slaughtered without any chance of victory.

By that time, Katyusha’s figure had already disappeared without a trace in the distance.

Link returned to Celine’s side once more and pulled her waist into his arm. He then activated Void Walk and sprang into the sky. Another outbreak was about to happen in Gladstone City, and he was running out of time.

He suddenly remembered that there was a church in another town called Hapsburg 80 miles from Gladstone City where he could probably find all the priests and priestesses he needed to curb the epidemic.

Chapter 483: Let the Hero Fall in the North

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

Orida Fortress

The fortress army was ready. At daybreak, 20,000 soldiers would depart from the fortress to control the plague in the southern Gladstone City.

The night before they departed, General Abel was frozen on a chair in the corner of his room in the fortress. He grasped his sword and breathed heavily.

Various fantasies of murder flashed past his mind. Like bubbles in boiling water, he couldn’t stop them at all. He had no energy to think about the current situation. The only thing he could do was use all his might to control his thoughts and sit in that chair.

After a long while, his emotions were slightly calmed. I’m going to lose control soon. I wonder if Annie has sent the message… If Master Link received it, he’ll be on his way to the North. If he comes, what should I do?

Panic set in. This was the fear of the impending judgment. No one could wait for death calmly.

Abel had once read countless epics of heroes. He’d seen countless sacrifices with his own eyes too. He had once thought that it was glorious and brave, but when it was up to him, he felt fear.

What does death feel like? I’ve killed so many people. Will my soul fall into the abyss to be devoured by countless demons?

A thought came up in his mind. He’d read the Firuman Epics. One of them was about demons. It described the tragic endings of various bloody killers and what would happen to their souls after death, placing emphasis on the horrible state of hell and the Abyss.

Eloan lay in the pit of poisonous snakes, countlessly bitten by them every day. When his flesh is eaten clean, and he is turned into a white skeleton, his flesh grows back the next day. The snakes come back to continue, and the cycle goes on for an eternity of torment.

This was how Eloan, a tyrant from 700 years ago, suffered in the hell of poisonous snakes. Abel could tell that many details were from the imaginations of the author, but applied to him, he fell into terror.

What if… that was real?

His body trembled as he grasped his sword tightly. The dragon leather around the hilt was cool to the touch. The power surging in his body gave him some sense of security.

But then the image of Link killing the demon army alone reappeared in his mind. Abel now had Legendary power, but after leveling up, he discovered that he could only kill at most 5000 demons in a direct fight. An entire army? That was an unreachable goal.

He is so powerful. I don’t have any chance of surviving. Instead of being killed out of punishment, why don’t I…

He looked at his sword. This was an Epic sword passed down the Abel family. Named the Lion’s Fury, it was an advanced weapon to the average man. But to someone of the Legendary level, it was just like a metal rod.

Supported by his sudden thought, Duke Abel applied some force. He lifted the Lion’s Fury and pointed the dark, cold blade towards his neck.

If he moved his sword, all the evil, all struggles, and all pain would be gone with the wind.

“Coward!” someone exclaimed from the corner.

Duke Abel’s hand shook. The voice killed all the courage in his heart, and the sword fell down. He looked to the source of the voice. A black shadow appeared—it was the woman who had lured him.

This time, he realized she wasn’t alone. There was also a black-haired woman. She stared at him with disdain and sneered. “Molina, is this the killer you mentioned? He looks like a worm to me.”

The Naga known as Molina shook her head. “Katyusha, you’re wrong. You don’t know the duke. He just hasn’t thought it through yet. His thoughts have been restricted by too many mundane values. We must help him break through the restrictions so he can release his great potential.”

As Molina spoke, her sharp features softened a lot. Swaying her hips, she walked over to Duke Abel and knelt down. Reaching out, she caressed Abel’s face. “Duke, I know you’re in pain. You feel tortured, repenting every night. I know I shouldn’t have guided you onto this path of blood. But if I was wrong…”

Here, Molina’s hand slid down and grasped the duke’s sword. Then she ripped her clothes open at the chest. Two pearly breasts sprang out, and the two red dots stole the duke’s eyes.

Molina pulled the sword to her chest. The dark sword, snowy white skin, and two tall mountains overlapped, forming a heartrending image.

She looked up at the duke, translucent tears rolling out of her eyes. “If I was wrong, kill me now.”

“You…” Duke Abel stared at this woman in disbelief. She had led him astray—this much was indisputable. But she’d also given him much power. Abel hated her but seeing her like this, he felt that he couldn’t bring his sword down!

Molina knelt so submissively before Duke Abel and pleaded, “Duke, there are two paths in the world. One is the mortal path. You must always consider everyone’s thoughts, consider their actions. You worry that they want your power. The other path is the undying path of gods. If you follow your own heart and go forward, you will become stronger, stronger, and stronger, until you are immortal. Duke, do not hesitate any more. A mortal’s life is temporary. The Abel family and the Norton Kingdom will turn to ashes. But if you choose the second path, you will stand for eternity.”

Duke Abel was convinced. He was a strong-willed man. If the other used some kind of evil plan to tempt him to fall, his self-esteem wouldn’t allow it. He would resist naturally. But now, Molina was begging him and used that type of logic. His inner struggles relaxed greatly.

“But Link is coming. I’m not his match.”

Katyusha, who hadn’t said anything all this time, burst into laughter. “Ha, I thought you were worried about something. Take this sword. Replace that crappy thing you have.”

She tossed a dark red sword over.

Duke Abel caught it and studied it. The sword was around four feet long and weighed 30 pounds. There were many runes he couldn’t understand carved on the body. If the sword was placed somewhere for a while, dark red fog would rise up around it. The fog thickened and many runes started glowing dimly.

He could feel that this was many times better than the Lion’s Fury sword.

He gently touched the blade to the Lion’s Fury. Cling. The sword was completely unharmed, but the Lion’s Fury was chipped.

“Great sword,” Duke Abel couldn’t help but praise.

“Of course it is,” Katyusha said. “Its name is Hero’s Dusk and was once a Legendary Assassin’s weapon. Take it. When Link comes, Molina and I will help you take care of him. Also, use the fortress’ army so he won’t dare use wide-ranged attack spells. No matter how powerful he is, he won’t be our match.”

Duke Abel hesitated again. He could feel that both Molina and this black-haired Naga were both powerful figures. If the three of them teamed up, threatening the lives of the entire army, they should… probably… maybe could defeat Link?

Katyusha lost her patience. “What are you worried about? Are you really a coward?”

Duke Abel finally made his decision. “Then let’s do it!”

It was strange. When he went all-out and stopped caring about his family’s glory, the fate of the kingdom, and other lofty values or the sins of murder, he instantly felt a long-lost sense of peace.

The chaotic desire to kill disappeared. All that remained was a subtle murderous intent. He could now feel clearly that as long as he wished it, the intent would emerge like a prehistoric beast. It would multiply his combat ability. But when he was calm, it would shrink back, no longer disturbing his rational judgment.

Molina and Katyusha sensed it. They exchanged glances and smiled.

“Congratulations,” Molina said. “You’ve successfully stepped foot upon the undying path.”

Katyusha smiled too. “This is how a general should be like.”

Duke Abel breathed deeply and grasped the Legendary sword. “Link is a hero. He’s the savior of light. He’s filled with light, blinding people. He shouldn’t exist! Since this sword is called Hero’s Dusk, then let this hero die in the North!”

…

The next day, Orida Fortress’ army set out. People had expected 20,000 soldiers, but the number doubled, reaching 40,000. All the elites had left. Only 10,000 new soldiers remained in the fortress.

Before leaving, Duke Abel yelled, “Everyone, the plague has started spreading in Gladstone. We do not have a priest’s cure or a Magician’s fantastical thoughts. We only have the swords in our hands! The priests and Magicians couldn’t resolve this plague, but we will resolve it with our swords!”

The army roared in response to their general.

“Go!” Duke Abel pointed his sword in Gladstone’s direction and galloped forward on his horse.

…

Gladstone

At dawn, Link brought more than 30 priests from Hapsburg to Gladstone. He worked the entire night and finally completed the Divine Power Focal Crystal. He also hurriedly created a spell to rid the plague with some bishops.

As of now, they didn’t know if the spell would be effective. After reaching Gladstone, they went straight to the church.

When the archbishop saw the corpses strewn on the ground, he cried out in pain. “Oh, oh my, these demons!”

Complex emotions filled the eyes of the other priests. There was fear, terror, and horror.

During this, Link already grabbed a group of people from the streets. They had pale complexions, and their eyes were slightly bloodshot. When they walked, they trembled and breathed heavily. These were symptoms of a deep infection.

“Father, time is short. The plague will erupt soon,” Link urged. “Hurry and test the spell’s effect!”

Nine out of ten people on the streets of Gladstone were like this. Link could already sense chaos in some corners. He estimated that the plague would erupt in two hours!

Chapter 484: The Melting of the Snow

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

The sound of a man panting heavily could be heard.

The man whom Link had brought with him had a glazed look on his face. His body swayed about restlessly when he was seated on a chair. Even though he was surrounded by the corpses of fallen priests and fresh blood on the ground, he did not seem at all concerned.

He stared dumbly at nothing in particular, as if the world around him had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

All the priests on the scene were shocked at the sight of him.

“He’s close to losing all reason. We need to start treating him now,” Link said to the archbishop. With a rush of Dragon Power, Link gently raised a piece of rock from the ground till it reached a foot high and formed a cylindrical platform.

Link then set a white translucent crystal, almost as big as one’s head, on the platform.

The crystal was a dodecahedron. There was a transparent layer on its surface, almost an inch thick. Deeper within the crystal, a jumble of runes swirled around like a white fog. One would actually pass out from any attempts to make sense of the swirling motion within.

This was the Divine Power Focal Crystal that Link had spent a whole night sculpting.

The archbishop placed a hand on the left side of the crystal, with Link on the right. Both of them looked at each other, then released a flow of their power into the crystal.

When both powers entered the crystal, milky white on one side and crimson on the other, the runes within began swirling even more quickly. Its color had changed as well; after letting both powers seep through, the entire crystal was now a milky white shade.

Half a second later, there was a soft hum, and a pale red ray of light shone forth from the crystal.

Link already had a Spatial Distortion spell waiting outside the crystal. Once the ray of light hit the distorted space, it would immediately be refracted onto the body of the infected.

The infected man trembled violently, his empty eyes now forced wide open. The man’s body shook for 20 seconds, before falling forward to the ground. He lay there, devoid of any sign of life.

The archbishop swallowed, then said nervously, “He’s dead.”

Their Dispel spell had failed. With the whole city in the grip of the epidemic, if they could not come up with something to deal with it soon, the infected would be left running rampant throughout the city and eventually spilling out across the city borders. The archbishop dared not imagine what would happen later at that point.

Unfazed by this, Link kneeled down beside the corpse with one hand holding the Burning Wrath of Heavens. He then proceeded to prod at the infected man’s body, scanning for any abnormalities in it.

Half a minute later, he stood up. “I found the reason why the spell didn’t work.”

The disease had been dispelled in the man’s body, but it could not withstand the strain of the two powers clashing in it.

Now, he knew that he only needed to add a healing spell around the Dispel spell. This would mend any damage caused by the clash of powers in the infected person’s body.

He went back to the Focal Crystal and began making a few modifications to it.

The archbishop waited patiently on one side, while the other priests began carrying away the bodies of their fallen brethren. Three minutes later, there was a commotion outside the church. Inhuman screams could be heard from it, and in the midst of the pandemonium, someone was calling for help.

Celine rushed out through the great door. A moment later, there was the sound of gunshots from outside. Ten seconds later, Celine came back in, with a few other common folk following behind her in a state of panic.

“How’s the situation?” asked the archbishop quietly.

“Some of the people have started showing symptoms and are now randomly biting others in the city,” whispered Celine.

The archbishop went pale, then turned to look at Link. Link kept working on the crystal, as if he had not heard a word from their exchange. His hand was radiating off a crimson cloud of light. Bits of it seeped into the crystal like drops of red ink.

Upon closer inspection, the red light spreading across the crystal was actually composed of thin, spidery filaments, each of them manipulating a rune in the crystal with surgical precision.

Five minutes passed, and Link, who had been working on the crystal without moving an inch, finally let out a deep breath. The red light in his hand faded away, and he looked completely exhausted.

Link had been hard at work on the crystal, studying the magic behind it without rest ever since he reached Hapsburg. Even at peak physical condition, maintaining his concentration for ten minutes straight had put a considerable strain on his mental faculties.

Celine was most familiar with Link’s physical condition. Seeing the look of exhaustion on his face, she asked with a tone of concern, “Do you want to rest for a bit?”

“I’m alright.” Link recollected himself, then said to the archbishop, “There seems to be no problem now.”

He swept his gaze across the people who had entered the church. His eyes fell on a middle-aged woman with a dazed expression. “Let’s start with her.”

At that point, Link did not bother asking for anyone’s permission to be used as a guinea pig. He no longer had the time to blame himself for accidentally killing any of his subjects during his experimentations. RIght now, Link simply needed to make all the necessary adjustments to his spell till he found an effective cure for the epidemic, no matter how many times he had to fail.

Considering the urgency of the matter at hand, the archbishop did not object to this. He infused his Divine Power into the crystal alongside Link’s Dragon Power once more. A ray of dim red light shone out from the combination of both powers in the crystal.

This time, the ray of light seemed softer than before. A layer of mist could be seen surrounding it as well, as it hit the middle-aged woman.

The lady’s body began trembling violently for a long period of time.

As she trembled, all the priests in the church had their eyes fixed on the woman’s face, hoping that the spell would work this time.

After about a minute, the woman’s trembling began to slow down. Finally, she stopped shaking altogether. Her previously lifeless eyes now came alive. She looked around at her surroundings, perplexed. “What happened? Why am I here?”

Her speech was clear, and the lifelessness on her face from before had disappeared without a trace, as her cheeks were now flushed with life.

The middle-aged man beside her, presumably her husband, shouted with joy, “Mileia, you’re cured! This is great news!”

He then turned towards Link and the archbishop, and knelt down on the ground before them with a thump. He said with tears of gratitude, “By the God of Light, my humblest thanks to both of you!”

The archbishop and the other priests let out a collective sigh of relief. They were told that the the epidemic in the North was all but incurable, even with their divine spells. When they got here, the nightmarish state of the streets had sent a chill down their spines, and they all feared that there was nothing they could do at that point.

But now, they had finally found a way to purge the city of the disease!

The archbishop looked at Link and said, “Master Link, thank the heavens you’re here with us!”

Link too was overjoyed at this, but he knew this was just the beginning. “Alright, now’s not the time to celebrate. There’s still a lot of people out there who needs our help.”

He held out a hand which shone with the same red light, and directed the light once again into the crystal. Seeing this, the archbishop followed suit, and infused his Divine Power into the crystal as well.

Around ten beams of light radiated out of the crystal at the same time, hitting the remaining refugees in the church.

Unlike the middle-aged woman, the other ten people were not as seriously infected. When the beam of light entered their bodies, their bodies trembled as well, though not as violently as before. A young man shook only for a few seconds before returning to normal.

He leapt up in joy, then said, “I feel better than ever!”

“Yeah, me too. My joints don’t hurt as much as before,” said an old man. This must be a side effect of Link applying his Dragon Power in his treatment.

Though none of them knew the archbishop, they had heard rumors of the Magician known as Link.

Now cured of the disease, every one of them came forward to express their gratitude for curing them.

Of course, Link had no time for any of this. He turned to the archbishop and the other priests behind him. “Let’s go, to the church square. There’s still many of the infected running rampant in the city. We need to cast the Dispel spell on a larger scale.”

The Dispel spell would be used on ordinary folk. On account of the exceedingly low amount of magical toxin in a normal human body, he only needed to expend no more than 0.1 Dragon Power points every time he cast the spell on someone.

The priests were all Level-6. Altogether, they possessed at least 10,000 Divine Power points, which was more than enough to overcome the Level-8 Naga Priest who had been spreading the epidemic. In theory, they could dispel the epidemic completely with their current power level.

Of course, they were on a deadline, as the infected were all scattered throughout the city. To speed up the process, they would need a particular magical technique.

Only Link knew how to go about this.

When everyone finally reached the church square, Link began etching out magical runes across the square. He was using a high-level magical sealing technique.

Dragon Power flowed out from him, and began shaping itself into runes in the air. The runes then hit the ground with a bang, sending bits of dirt flying up. Before long, a magical rune spread out across the ground clear as day. A band of light whirred through it, indicating that the rune was fully charged up.

Three minutes later, a magic seal with a diameter of more than ten feet began taking form across the ground. It activated itself immediately upon completion. Above the seal, a half-transparent silhouette with a diameter of more than a hundred feet hung in the air.

Link threw the Focal Crystal at the silhouette. The crystal dangled in the translucent shape as if caught in an unseen web. An instant later, runes rushed out from the crystal till they completely covered the silhouette in the air.

The silhouette was now a magnified version of the Focal Crystal.

Link shouted, “Priests, concentrate your Divine Power into it!”

Stunned momentarily by this, the priests regained their senses immediately and did as they were told. Link stepped forward and projected his Dragon Power into the silhouette as well.

With the infusion of the two powers, the silhouette gradually grew brighter and brighter till it was almost blinding, as if the sun itself had fallen to the earth.

The priests had all but exhausted most of the Divine Power, and some of them had collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion. Even the archbishop could not bear the strain. He staggered, on the verge of collapse, but was helped up from behind by the people of Gladstone who had been cured by him.

At that point, Link only had 3000 Dragon Power points in him.

“Now!”

Link willed the dazzling ball of light up into the air. He levitated alongside it, and together, both of them flew up 2000 feet into the air before coming to a halt.

Just then, none of them could see where Link was in the air, as he was completely overshadowed by the brilliant ball of light.

The orb of light was overflowing with Divine Power, turning all heads in Gladstone City towards it in the air. 80 miles away on the main road, Duke Abel, Katyusha and Molina, too, felt the power radiating from it.

“Such power!”

They looked at each other with a mix of dread and shock.

Back in Gladstone City, the light orb hovered in the air for a few seconds, then exploded with a bang like fireworks.

Countless beams of red light fell from the sky like a meteor shower. This luminescent rain fell over all of Gladstone City like a blessing from the God of Light.

On the ground, the archbishop and his priests, as well as the people who had been cured back in the church, all knelt on the ground, both hands clasped together in prayer.

“O almighty God of Light, thank you for blessing us with your light. Our most magnanimous God of Light, thank you for gracing us with the presence of the Child of Light!”

Before, the rumor that Link was the God of Light’s chosen one never warranted any serious thought from anyone, but now, everyone on the church square believed wholeheartedly that Link, who had blessed them with this miracle, represented the God of Light in human form.

The dim red light bathed the city, and in an instant, like the virgin snow under the sun, the epidemic melted away without a trace.

The archbishop felt it. He whispered, “The snow has melted.”

A hundred feet away, Duke Abel and the others felt the sudden change in the air as well. As the Naga Priest, Molina was able to sense it most clearly. She stopped walking, then let out a sigh. “Didn’t really think he would be able to dispel the epidemic.”

“What do you mean?” Katyusha was shocked.

Duke Abel turned to her as well, waiting for an explanation from her.

Both of them heard Molina perfectly, but her words did not make an ounce of sense to them.

There were over 10,000 people in Gladstone City, and most of the infected were scattered throughout the city. Letting the infection loose among them was a simple affair. All it took was simply introducing the toxin into the water supply of the city.

On the other hand, dispelling this kind of destructive magic was a more troublesome matter.

The caster needed to disperse the combination of Dark Magic Power and Destructive Power from the infected person’s body, and shield the body from any resulting damage at the same time.

To cure one person was possible, but curing tens of thousands of people at the same time was just beyond the realm of possibility.

Such a feat was not unlike trying to unravel a heavily jumbled bundle of rope.

“I don’t know how he did it. Is this the power of a Legendary Magician?” Molina sighed again.

“What now?” Duke Abel asked. With the epidemic purged, he had lost all justification to slaughter the inhabitants of Gladstone City.

Katyusha chuckled coldly. “Why, we proceed as planned. Only we know the epidemic has been purged, but the soldiers don’t. Since you’re the marshall here, who’s to stop you from doing whatever you want?”

Duke Abel paused at this, then nodded. “Alright, let’s move on!”

He was now a faithful servant of the God of Destruction at this point.

Chapter 485: Legendary Battle

Mountain forest

Felina hid behind a big tree and looked at the large mass of soldiers in the distance. After carefully counting the number, she jumped down and whistled. Then she ran towards Gladstone City.

After a while, two companions appeared beside her.

“Did you see? There are two Nagas with Duke Abel,” Felina said while running.

“I saw. It seems he’s completely fallen.”

“This is a disaster.”

Felina nodded. “We must tell the duke now.”

Another figure jumped down in another direction of the forest. It was Skinorse. He started sprinting deep into the forest while mumbling, “I knew Abel had problems. This guy actually dragged all the soldiers to massacre the city. Holy crap.”

After a while, he reached the waterfall where Kanorse and the others were hiding. “Morrigan,” he yelled. “Open the door.”

After calling three times, the waterfall split open, and Morrigan walked out. He cast a Levitation spell from 150 feet away before Skinorse could jump in. Once inside the cave, he explained everything he’d seen.

Annie was awake by now, though she was still very weak. She was curled up with a blanket in the corner. Hearing Skinorse’s news, her expression darkened. Feeling down, she sat in the corner without a sound.

No matter what, Duke Abel was her father. The others couldn’t comfort her about this. They could only stay silent with her.

After a long while, Kanorse suddenly asked, “How’s the plague in Gladstone?”

“Not sure, but Master Link’s there. I’m sure there won’t be a problem… Don’t look at me like that. I ran around so much, and my legs even got thinner. I need to rest.”

Kanorse shook his head. “My injury is already better. I can’t just watch the general do this. I must stop him even if I die!”

Duke Abel must have feared Kanorse would stop him last time in Garrason, so he sent Kanorse away. When he returned, the killing was already over.

If he had been present, he definitely wouldn’t let the general do that.

Skinorse couldn’t understand this. Throwing up his hands, he said in disbelief, “Hey, you’re not his match at all. Abel’s power is too deep to understand now. I just glanced at him from afar, and he seemed to notice. He looked over at my hiding spot many times. My soul almost flew out in shock. I think that you should just rest up first. It’ll be better if you break into Level-9. Then it’s possible to defeat him!”

Beside them, Morrigan also urged, “Kanorse, didn’t you hear Skinorse? Duke Abel has 40,000 people with him. You’re injured. If you go, you’ll just waste your life.”

Kanorse shook his head. “No, my father was a stable hand for the Abel family. It was the general who gave me the chance to learn martial arts when I was young. If he wants to venture into darkness and murder, he must step past my body.”

As he spoke, he walked to the mouth of the cave. “I’m going. Please take care of Princess Annie.”

Without waiting for anyone’s reply, he jumped out of the cave. After he disappeared, everyone exchanged glances awkwardly.

“He’s going to die if he goes. No doubt about it.” Skinorse shrugged.

“Not exactly,” Morrigan said. “The Ferde lord will be there too, and you said he has King Leon. Maybe he can successfully revoke Duke Abel’s military control?”

Moya, who hadn’t said a word all this time, suddenly said, “You’re wrong. Those 40,000 soldiers aren’t to fight against Master Link. The military control is meaningless too. Those soldiers are there to restrict the master’s power.”

“What do you mean?” Morrigan was just a Level-5 Magician. He didn’t really understand a top Magician’s power.

“Let me put it like this,” Skinorse explained. “At the Orida Fortress, Master Link once used a ranged attack to destroy the Dark Elves and demon army. Each time, he killed more than 30,000 within ten minutes. A mortal is powerless against him. If he tries, the 40,000 soldiers will be obliterated instantly. But he won’t do that, obviously. With the soldiers present, Master Link must restrain himself while fighting…”

Morrigan gulped. He was first shaken and then worried. “Holding yourself back in a battle of life or death… According to you, General Abel already has Legendary strength. The black-haired Naga is at the Legendary level too, and the other Naga isn’t weak either. How can we fight?”

Skinorse sighed. “I don’t know. This is tricky.”

The cave fell silent again; the mood was depressing. After a long while, Priest Moya said, “I think we should go too.”

Morrigan was the first to disagree. “Are you crazy?” he exclaimed. “This is a fight between Legendary figures. What can we do? We might even distract Master Link.”

As soon as he finished, a weak voice came from the corner. It was Annie. “Morrigan, you don’t know him. He won’t get distracted… If I go, maybe my life will make my father feel a bit of guilt. So, if possible, please bring me over, if only to a close proximity.”

“Are you crazy too?” Morrigan really couldn’t understand anything that happened today. He’d never seen people fight to die before. A madman had just jumped out of the waterfall. The other madman now wanted to follow him.

But after he spoke, the cave grew quiet. No one answered him; Moya and Skinorse were both deep in thought. A few seconds later, both spoke at the same time.”

“You go first,” Skinorse said.

So Moya said, “Princess Annie, I’ll take you over.”

Skinorse arched an eyebrow. “Alright, I was going to say that too.”

Morrigan was the only one left. He looked side to side and finally sighed dejectedly. “Great, you’re all enthusiastic and hot-blooded, that’s wonderful…” Morrigan said sarcastically. “I’ll go full-out this time too. I’ll go too.”

If Master Link lost, General Abel would definitely cause a catastrophe. If he watched his companions sacrifice themselves while he retreated, he would be wrought with guilt later. He wouldn’t be able to live happily no matter what.

In that case, he would go now and hide in the distance to look for an opportunity. Maybe both sides would be destroyed and be hanging onto a thread. Then he would come into play. As the saying went, a stalk of hay could break a camel’s back. He might be the stalk to defeat Duke Abel.

With that, Skinorse patted his shoulder and chuckled. “I knew you’d go too. Let’s go. If we run faster, we can catch up to Kanorse. That guy is too straightforward. If he gets there, he’ll just try to block their way. It’ll be weird if he doesn’t die.”

They wanted to help, but they truly weren’t strong enough. They must plan well.

…

Whoosh, whoosh. Amidst the sound of wind, Felina and two other Red Dragon Warriors flew towards Gladstone in their dragon forms. Finally, they saw Link on the main road outside the city. He wasn’t alone. Other than Celine, King Leon, and some fire gun Warriors, he also had around 30 people dressed as priests.

After curing the plague, the priests of Hapsburg completely revered Link. They didn’t wish to leave after hearing about Abel. They wanted to stay and face him together.

“Duke, did you cure the plague?” Felina asked, seeing their relaxed expressions.

“Yes… but Orida Fortress sent the soldiers, right?” Link asked. Seeing Felina’s furrowed brows, he knew there was a problem. In the end, Duke Abel couldn’t resist the desire to kill. He had probably completely fallen now.

Felina sighed and explained what she’d seen in the forest.

Everyone present listened carefully. Afterwards, Link estimated, “Gladstone is more than 160 miles from the Orida Fortress by road. The army will take at least three days to arrive. During this time, we can hatch a plan.”

When they met in three days, the Dragon King’s Fury sword would have finished leveling up. By then, he’d have nothing to fear of Katyusha’s Spear of Victory.

King Leon was a bit worried. “My brother John has always been the general. He personally enlisted these soldiers. Now that he’s become so powerful, he must be reputable amongst them. I’m afraid that if he insists on killing even with the plague cured, the soldiers will still follow his orders.”

A general’s command must be obeyed. As long as Abel was still the general, the soldiers would obey no matter how bizarre his order was.

Link nodded. “Indeed. Therefore, we cannot just wait here. Let’s go intercept them!”

King Leon had another worry. “If we take away John’s position, the soldiers would still follow him if he called.”

Link thought for a bit and said, “Yes, but that’s okay. The Warriors won’t dare to fight against me.”

He was highly confident in this because he knew he had another name—”army killer.” He could destroy an entire demon army; a human army was nothing.

The old soldiers of the Orida Fortress all saw him kill the demon army with their own eyes. When they saw him at the fortress, they would practically fall to their knees. Facing him now, they wouldn’t have the courage to fight back.

He knew Abel’s plans. The general just wanted to use the soldiers’ lives to restrict his power.

Two Legendary figures and a powerful Naga priestess—Katyusha, your Spear of Victory has lost its effect on me. I’d like to see what else you can do!

Chapter 486: Legendary Battle (2)

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

A newly renovated road branching off the King’s Lane lay between Orida Fortress and Gladstone City

During this time, resources were transported through this path to Orida Fortress due to the war in the North. Having undergone repair work, the road was now smooth and approximately 20 feet wide.

Small wooden huts were built along the road, at intervals of 50 miles, for travelers to rest their weary feet. These huts were known by the people of Firuman as rest shacks.

Link and his party were recuperating in one of these rest shacks a hundred miles away from Gladstone City, as they waited patiently for the arrival of the Orida Fortress army.

On the second day, around three in the afternoon, a clear ting sounded in the hut. It was not loud, and still, it carried itself through the air in the rest shack. Everyone turned to where the sound had come from.

The sound had come from Link’s sword in his hand. Aside from the sound, there seemed to be nothing odd going on with his sword. Everyone around him assumed that Link had simply flicked a finger at the blade, and so returned to whatever they were doing before.

Only Link knew then that it was the sound of the Dragon King’s Fury sword leveling up. He looked at the sword and noticed that its in-game information had changed.

Dragon King’s Fury—Flaming Sky—Silent World

Lower Order Legendary

State: Half-sealed.

First effect: Activate the Dragon King’s Fury blade by spending 1400 Flawless Dragon Power points. When activated, the caster’s power will be magnified by 15 times, and their speed will be increased eightfold. This state will last for three seconds.

Second effect: All magical power will be increased by 870 percent.

Third effect: The sword will be able to cut through anything with its Boundless Sharpness. (Perfect State)

Fourth effect: All attacks will automatically activate an area-of-effect attack. The range of this secondary attack is 400 feet, and its attack power is equal to 15 percent of the player’s attack.

(Note: Only the strongest is worthy of holding me!)

The sword’s stats had all been upgraded as it leveled up. It had already surpassed the Burning Wrath of Heavens wand in terms of magical amplification. However, one of the more significant changes to the sword was its Boundless Sharpness. Before, its in-game message was cluttered with explanations of how it could slice through both physical objects and magic. Now, it simply stated that it could cut through anything. There was no telling which was stronger at this point, the Dragon King’s Fury sword or the Breakpoint dagger.

Upon the sword’s upgrade, Link let go of all concern he had about the final battle.

Half a day went by. At five in the evening, just as the sky began to darken, there was a rush of wind from outside. Felina had returned from her reconnaissance.

Felina entered the hut and reported to Link, “My lord, the army is now setting up camp on the main road ten miles away from here.”

Link thought for a while, then said to King Leon who sat beside him, “Your Highness, it is time to act.”

King Leon was somewhat startled by this. There was no turning back for any of them at this point. He stood up and said, “Then let’s go.”

The marksmen and priests had been resting in the shack for two days, and they were all in excellent physical condition. Upon hearing this, they stood up immediately, ready for deployment.

Link began laying out his plan. “Celine, hide in ambush a few thousand feet away from our point of convergence with the enemy.”

Saying this, he gave a red rune stone to her. “This is an Escape Rune. If there’s trouble, just break it, and it will teleport you a thousand feet away.”

“Understood.”

Link then said to the marksmen, “All of you keep your distance from the vanguard at more than 500 feet. Open fire when a confrontation happens. Do not worry about hitting your own in front.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Next were the priests. Their levels were not as high. However, what they lacked in combat skill, they made up for with their healing prowess. Link said to them, “You are to wait two miles away in the woods. Should we lose our edge, just retreat from there. If we manage to push back at the enemy, you have my permission to come out from the woods and start taking care of the injured.”

“Understood,” said the archbishop, nodding.

Finally, Link said to King Leon and the other three Red Dragon Warriors, “You four are with me.”

King Leon’s presence there was essential to Link’s plan. On the other hand, the three Red Dragon Warriors were Level-8 Warriors. Their powers should come in handy later.

Once everyone was assigned their roles, Link and his men exited the rest shack and headed off for the enemy camp.

Half an hour later, they finally reached the vicinity of the army. Link gestured at his men, and everyone began marching on.

The sun had sunk completely behind the mountains, and the sky was now a dark canvas dotted with stars. Campfires were lit one after another throughout the enemy camp. From afar, the light was almost imperceptible.

As Link’s intention was to revoke Duke Abel’s authority, he would be knocking on the front door of the enemy with as much fanfare as possible. He raised the Dragon King’s Fury wand in the air, and then cast a large-scale magic light spell.

A ball of white light with a diameter of around two feet shot forth from the sword’s tip into the air. When it reached a few thousand feet in the sky, the ball of light exploded, lighting up the whole place for miles till it was almost as bright as day, as if a second sun was shining down now from the sky.

The whole army was taken aback by the sudden explosion of light.

“Who did that?” shouted some of the military Magicians. Though the magic light spell did not present a serious threat to any one of them, it was a Level-5 spell, and it was even capable of illuminating the area to such an extent. A feat like this was simply incredible.

“Is it an enemy attack?”

“Look, someone’s approaching from there!”

“Wow, I’ve never seen such power!”

Link had appeared before the enemy. He began releasing a bit of his Dragon Power around him, and an almost dazzling crimson aura billowed around him as a result.

One of the Warriors recognized Link as soon as he came up close to the camp. “It’s Master Link.”

“The Lord of Ferde is here.”

“Who’s the guy with the crown beside him?”

“Isn’t that King Leon? What’s going on?”

The unexpected visit by two such important personages had caught everyone off guard, but none of them dared stop either of them in their tracks and simply allowed them to walk on through the camp.

The camp was huge, occupying a total area of around one square mile. The marshall’s tent was erected in the middle of the camp. When Link and his entourage arrived in front of the tent, a crowd of people had gathered around him, from Generals to military Magicians and Priests. Numbering at 300, most of them were high-ranking officers of the army.

This was what Link had wanted.

A small patch of ground lay before the marshall’s tent. Duke Abel stood in the tent’s entrance, accompanied by two Nagas and ten of their followers.

Upon seeing Link, Marshall Abel stood motionless, a cool smile playing on his face. “If it isn’t the Lord of Ferde himself. To what do I owe the honor of such a visit?”

Marshall Abel simply shot a glance at King Leon, pretending not to see him standing beside Link.

Link knew that the marshall was trying to use to his advantage the fact that some of the Warriors in his service did not recognize the King himself. He took a step back and stood behind King Leon. “Actually, I’m only here as part of the royal escort of the king of the Norton Kingdom.”

Link’s volume was not high, but with the aid of his Dragon Power, he used a special magical technique to amplify his voice. All the Warriors in the camp were able to hear what he had said.

The Warriors of the Orida Fortress all knew in that instant King Leon was in their midst. Duke Abel’s intention to keep silent on the king’s identity had been foiled without even given a chance.

This sparked an uproar throughout the whole camp in an instant.

Abel’s royal family had ruled the northern half of the continent for close to 300 years. Fear and reverence towards the king’s authority had since been rooted deeply in the hearts of the people. Some of the generals around them had been exchanging their suspicions with each other. But upon hearing Link’s confirmation of the king’s identity, all of them fell to the ground in a half-kneel before the king.

Watching them kneel in acknowledgment of his royal authority, King Leon regained some of his confidence, and he began acting out his part as an actual king.

He spoke with a low voice, “The reason for my visit to the North tonight is because of the massacre in Garrason Town.”

As he said those words, Link once again cast his spell, amplifying the king’s voice all over the camp.

“Never in my life have I dreamt that my subjects would be culled so callously by my own soldiers, and that the one carrying out such bloodshed would be my own brother. Out of the 30,000 inhabitants in the city, more than 20,000 were slaughtered in cold blood, when in actual fact, only 10,000 were affected by the epidemic. Instead of looking for a way to cure the disease, my own brother, a marshall of Orida Fortress and a duke of the Norton Kingdom, had earned himself a reputation as a bloody butcher by killing for sport. Through his actions, he has brought great shame to the Abel family and the whole kingdom.”

Finally, King Leon announced with firmness in his voice, “Jon Abel, from now on, you are no longer the marshall of the Norton Kingdom, nor are you a duke. I hereby find you guilty for the slaughter of 4589 people!”

When he finished, the whole place descended into pandemonium.

Out of the 40,000 people in the army, 30,000 of them had not participated in Garrason Town’s massacre. When they had first heard about it, they too had thought that the marshall had gone too far. As soon as they heard King Leon’s conviction of his own brother, many of them shouted in righteous vehemence, “He’s a murderer! He’s not fit to lead us!”

Still, some of them remained loyal to the marshall, as they shouted back, “You know nothing! Not even the King does! He’s been enjoying himself in the South all this time, oblivious to the dangers we face every day in the North. He’s not fit to be our king.”

Though they seemed to be in the minority, they were all heated up in righteous anger, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

The discontent among the Warriors had begun bubbling up to the surface and was now on the verge of exploding!

“Silence!”

A low voice boomed throughout the camp. All excitement among the Warriors died down immediately, as a sudden cloud of lethargy fell on them. At that point, none of them could even muster the energy in them to start a fight among themselves.

It was Link who had cast the Koan of Kund spell on everyone.

With just one spell, the whole army had ceased its uproar!

King Leon, who had fidgeted apprehensively at the chaos around him, was now able to relax a little, and said to his brother, “Well, Jon, what have you to say for yourself?”

“Nothing,” roared Duke Abel. Even without magic, his voice was loud enough that it could be heard by everyone in the camp.

“I have no need for words. Now’s the time to act!”

Duke Abel let out a cruel laugh. “I will slay you now, brother. Lord of Ferde, you too will not escape me. You’ll all die, here and now!”

The Generals were all startled upon hearing this. Watching Duke Abel laughing away maniacally, they all believed that the man had gone mad. Even those who had been speaking in favor of the duke’s actions had now started to question his sanity.

Duke Abel had announced his intention to commit treason against the Norton Kingdom by executing both King Leon and Link in front of everyone. Since Duke Abel had chosen to oppose the king himself for having revoked his title as marshall, nothing else could be said to help the duke’s case.

Though King Leon was never a remarkable military leader, he never acted out of order. During the great war in the North, he was the one who had funneled food and other resources to the army there. Even when Hot Spring City came under attack, King Leon chose not to ask for reinforcements from the North. Now, with Link the Legendary Magician and the Lord of Ferde himself on the king’s side, almost no one was willing to stand on Duke Abel’s side.

The generals all drew out their swords beside King Leon.

Duke Abel, on the other hand, had no more than 30 followers beside him, which paled in comparison to the number of Warriors on the king’s side.

Ignoring the stark gap in power, Duke Abel stared straight at Link and said something that raised a few brows among the Generals. “Link, I have with me 40,000 people. Are you sure you’re ready to face me?”

King Leon’s speech before had been nothing more than a formality. The only thing that mattered now was the clash between two Legendary masters.

From the duke’s point of view, absolute truth belonged only to the victorious!

Chapter 487: Legendary Battle (3)

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

“They’re gonna fight over there!”

On a piece of high land beside the royal avenue, Skinorse squinted through a fine telescope to look at the situation inside the camp.

Kanorse, Annie, Magician Morrigan, and Priest Moya were beside him.

Skinorse looked over to them and reported the situation. “It looks bad. Duke Abel’s side is three people while Master Link is alone. He has to protect King Leon and consider the soldiers around them. He’s so restricted. How can he fight?”

Anyone with a bit of experience would see this and realize how troublesome it was.

Master Link should either fight with his full power or get out of here and not care about it. If he had to care about it while considering the soldiers, he might die without a corpse.

Hearing this, Kanorse was filled with anxiety. Link was his savior and had once taken an extreme risk to save him from the North. Now, he couldn’t help but say, “No, I can’t just watch here. I must fight too.”

“Me too,” Annie said.

She wanted to ask personally. If her father was set on going with those so-called Agatha Nagas, she would give up. As his daughter, she would give her life back to him.

And she would never let Link die!

Kanorse picked Annie and got ready to jump down.

Skinorse hurriedly stopped Kanorse. “Honestly, why are you two so impatient? Isn’t Master Link a Spatial Magician? If he’s going to lose, he can run!”

“But we can’t just sit here and watch.” Kanorse’s brows were furrowed.

Skinorse sighed deeply. He turned to Moya and Morrigan. “Friends, we should do that now, right?”

Moya nodded. “We can’t wait anymore. Let’s start.”

Morrigan was in pain. “Ah, that’s my treasure. Now it’s going to be gone.”

As he spoke, he took out a white-gold disc, eight inches in diameter, from his spatial bracelet. Runes flowed through the disc. There was also a colorful shine. From the looks of it, it was nothing average.

“I found this from a High Elf tomb. It’s called the Revelation Disc. Its one use is to add strong power to someone… We don’t have much time. They’re going to fight soon so let’s start!”

With that, Morrigan pointed his wand at the disc. Mana surged into it, and the colorful shine grew heavier. Priest Moya also walked over. Milky white sacred light emerged from her hands and poured into the disc.

Whoosh. The colorful haze spread to around three feet in diameter. The white-gold disc was almost transparent.

“Skinorse, Princess Annie,” Morrigan called. “Hurry and pour in all your power. Don’t keep anything back… Kanorse, you don’t have to!”

Skinorse and Annie walked over. Their Battle Aura lit up at their hands, and they gripped the disc. Skinorse was a Level-8 Assassin now while Annie was at the pinnacle of Level-7. Though she was weak, her Battle Aura had recovered a lot during these days of rest. When their power entered the disc, the colorful haze shot out to nine feet wide.

Next, Morrigan pushed the shiny side of the disc towards Kanorse and activated a rune. Crack. With a light sound, the disc cracked. First, a web of fissures spread across the surface. Then it broken into shards and finally, into countless dots of light. They melted into the air like ice on a stove.

At the same time, the others used up all their energy and collapsed onto the ground.

Next, the colorful haze in the air contracted. It transformed into a fist-sized ball of rune light. It flew, crashing into Kanorse’s chest, and entered his body.

He stumbled back from the hit. One second after he steadied himself, his body started glowing. His eyes especially radiated with shocking light. The others couldn’t meet his eyes.

Kanorse looked down at his hands. “I can feel unprecedented strength,” he murmured.

Morrigan made a face. “Yes, you are a Level-9 Warrior. The Revelation Disc raises one’s power one level. You are now at Level-10 and in the Legendary state. You obviously have unprecedented strength. But my poor treasure…”

Skinorse picked up a pebble and tossed it at Kanorse. “What are you waiting for? The time is limited. You only have five or six minutes. Ah, this weak feeling is scary. I’d spent a night with a Beastwoman when I was young, but even that wasn’t this tiring.”

Kanorse automatically ignored Skinorse’s last sentence and nodded. “I see!”

With that, he turned and jumped down the high land. With another burst of power, he ran 900 feet and shot towards the camp like an arrow.

…

At this time, Duke Abel slowly pulled out his sword. “I call this sword Hero’s Dusk,” he said darkly. “Link, you are the youngest of a small noble family. You shouldn’t have anything, but you somehow broke through your lowly fate and became a Legendary Magician. You’re a hero, so I will use this sword against you.”

Those who could break through the shackles of fate were all heroes!

As he spoke, Link stepped to the front of King Leon. “Your Majesty,” he whispered. “Take the Warriors back.”

Duke Abel sneered. “You want to protect my brother? No matter. He is destined to die today. It’s just a matter of time.”

Link’s expression was unchanged. His calmness was difficult for an average man to comprehend. Like a mirror, he could reflect every change in the outside world but wouldn’t be affected personally.

This was the effect of fighting with magic for so long.

When King Leon started retreating, he unsheathed the Dragon King’s Fury. He was ready.

At the same time, his vision flashed. He knew it was a mission and took a glance. It was telling him to defeat Duke Abel. Skipping the other specifics, he accepted it.

On the other side, Naga priestess Molina started retreating too. Her power was more for reinforcement, so hiding was the best choice. Katyusha walked to Duke Abel’s right and prepared to attack Link from another direction.

Link didn’t move. He stood firmly like a lifeless statue but created great pressure. Katyusha moved very, very slowly. She feared any misstep would cause Link to explode.

The two sides were in a stalemate. An extreme pressure spread in all directions. The generals, Magicians, priests, and Warriors even further away were all weighed down and couldn’t speak. Their only reaction was to keep retreating.

Duke Abel allowed them to retreat. They could only reach 300 feet away while that only took an instant in a Legendary battle.

The seconds ticked by. Each second was terrifying long; each second was truly like a year.

Two seconds later, Link felt something.

Someone was coming. He had Legendary power, was friendly…was familiar… It was Kanorse. Overjoyed, Link started acting without hesitation.

He activated the Miracle Aura.

Its effect reached 1500 feet and could protect everything within it. Once activated, white light swept behind Link like a tidal wave. Instantly, a thin shield appeared on countless Warriors.

A shield also appeared on Kanorse who had just arrived in the proximity.

Across from Link, Katyusha immediately reacted. “Die!” she screamed.

Wielding her spear, she stabbed. The spear shot across the 90 feet between them.

As the spear came, Link’s mind shook. He felt targeted.

He knew that reality was definitely different from the game. In the game, Katyusha would only use the Thorn of Fate every two seconds. But in real life, her every stab was probably a Thorn of Fate.

The spear was super-fast. From the move’s inception to appearing before Link’s eyes, it was less than one-tenth of a second. It was right when Link was casting the other spell so he couldn’t use any other spells.

Back in the day, Link would either die or need Celine’s help. Now, his Dragon King’s Fury could cut through the time between cause and effect.

He twisted to the side and blocked with his sword. Katyusha’s Spear of Victory instantly changed according to Link’s moves. His sword changed too. Within one-tenth of a second, the two weapons changed 15 times. They were both so fast that they looked illusory.

But one-tenth of a second later, the two collided like fate. During this fight, both sides were at the same level.

Link had a dragon’s physique and was at Level-11. Katyusha was a Naga, and physical strength was her attribute too. Though she was slightly weaker, she had the advantage of acting first, so they were tied.

Cling.

An instant later, the sound of the collision finally rang out. Under the sharp scream, an insignificant layer of white light spread out from the collision. After spreading for 15 feet, it had turned into a gust of wind. Sand and pebbles flew; the tents in the camp were all blown away.

If not for Link’s Miracle Aura, many people would have died. But with the light enveloping them, no soldier was hurt.

Katyusha was shocked at this. “How is it possible?!”

Behind her, the Naga priestess was dumbfounded too. She’d been casting a spirit spell to target the gunner who could apparently disturb the Spear of Victory’s tracks. But before she could find the gunner, the spear was blocked.

Molina didn’t have more time to think though because someone had started attacking her. It was those automatic gunners Link had brought.

Their weapons could shoot from up to 3000 feet away and were hidden within the crowd now. They also had the Miracle Aura’s protection. They could send a stream of bullets to Duke Abel’s side without any worry.

These bullets were Level-6. Some hit Link’s shield but most swept towards Duke Abel’s group.

Dozens of Abel’s trusted aides were riddled with bullets instantly. Duke Abel couldn’t attack either. He was forced to keep blocking the bullets with his sword.

“Dammit!” Molina quickly cast the divine spell Destructive Halo!

Destructive Halo

Divine Spell

Effect: Within the halo’s proximity, a destructive shield will appear around all targets marked as friendly, destroying all incoming attacks.

(Note: Replace defenses with attacks!)

As soon as the shield appeared, the bullets lost their effectiveness. When they hit the dark red shield, they turned into flashes of light and were destroyed.

Though the shield could destroy these Level-6 bullets, it wasn’t much against Legendary power.

On the other hand, Katyusha was stunned that her spear had failed. Link snatched this moment. He thrust his sword forward, attacking instead of defending.

Just as the sword was about to stab her throat, Katyusha wrenched her spear back at an incredible angle. Clang. She blocked Link’s sword.

But even though she blocked it, the difference in strength grew obvious. The Spear of Victory was pushed back, and her move was distorted.

“I’ll help you!” General Abel saw that Katyusha was at a disadvantage and rushed over.

Link was powerful, but he was alone and had concerns. If the three worked together, they could definitely kill him!

But just as he stepped forward, a figure shot out from behind Link. Then there was a blinding white streak of lightning that blocked Duke Abel’s path.

Kanorse had arrived!

Chapter 488: Legendary Battle (4)

A streak of lightning lashed out at him all of a sudden. A series of explosions rang out in the air, and the light blinded Duke Abel momentarily.

Then he saw someone unexpected.

“Kanorse?” He was taken aback. He knew that Kanorse had Level-9 power, but the power he was giving off right now was bearing on the Duke with such oppressive weight. His attack power was on the same level as the Duke’s.

Kanorse did not stop there. Lunging forward with his sword held in one hand, ready to pierce through Duke Abel’s heart, he shouted, “Marshall, I’m here to stop your madness!”

Hearing this, Duke Abel’s rage reached a fever pitch in him. “I’ve had enough of your words! You mortals really are something! Always trying to get to me with your venomous tongue!”

His eyes had turned blood red, as a dark red aura swirled around him like a cyclone. He then swung the Hero’s Dusk sword at the bolt of lightning that had come for him.

“Murder is the absolute truth of this world!”

Duke Abel’s voice was filled with indescribable savagery. “I’ll kill anyone who gets in my way! I’ll kill anyone who upsets me! I’ll exterminate all life and rain death and destruction upon this world!”

Saying this, he managed to shatter Kanorse’s lightning attack and blocked an attack from his magical lightning sword. A tremor then ran through the Duke’s sword, threatening to smash Kanorse’s weapon to pieces.

However, thanks to the abundance of combat experience he had accumulated over the years, when Kanorse felt the vibration of power from the Duke’s sword, he immediately pulled his lightning sword back. He knew that it was no match for the enemy’s weapon. Kanorse was able to do so with such speed; it was as if he was holding not a sword, but a feather in his hand.

Failing to land a hit on his enemy, Duke Abel let out another one of his joyless laughs. He activated the special effect of his Legendary sword: Eternal Dusk!

Kanorse was caught off guard by the activation of the Battle Skill. He sensed that the sky that had been illuminated by the large-scale magic light spell before had now darkened considerably as it turned blood red. His surroundings were instantly transformed into a desert, where he stood alone in the face of thousands of cavalrymen charging at him.

Even a lone hero would not last long against such an overwhelming number.

“The sword can even affect my senses?”

Just when it looked as if he was about to be swallowed up by the incoming torrent of horseback soldiers, a beam of light came down from the sky and transformed into a huge hand. The palm of light stretched across the sky for thousands of miles. The whole sky lit up when it appeared. The hand then descended from above, and with a huge thump, crushed all soldiers and horses alike beneath it.

The illusion was dispelled, and Kanorse saw that a magic hand brimming with brilliant white light was holding fast onto the Duke’s sword. He also noticed that the sword was half a foot away from piercing through his body.

Link had conjured the magic hand from his wand in one hand, stopping the Duke’s sword just in time, while fending off the spear attacks of the Naga with his sword in the other hand.

This was the Titan’s Hand, a Flame spell that Link had once used to terrorize the Black Forest. He rarely found the occasion to use it these days, but in his downtime, he had made a few adjustments to it. The scale of the spell had gone down drastically ever since, but the spell’s potency had been increased to Level-10.

Also, due to the spell’s simple structure, Link was able to casually cast it without much difficulty.

Just like that, he was able to interrupt Duke Abel’s Battle skill with it just in the nick of time.

Kanorse saw the opening in front of him and began his counterattack!

Though his sword could not hold a candle to the Duke’s, and he had just recovered from his injuries, Kanorse had a talent for combat unlike any other. On the other hand, Duke Abel may have attained Legendary power, but his combat skill did not receive the same upgrade.

Despite wielding a Legendary sword, Duke Abel was only able to fight Kanorse to a standstill.

However, Link and Katyusha’s battle had now shown a distinct difference in power between the two. While her combat skill was on par with Link’s, Katyusha’s overall power had never been a match for his. Her only advantage throughout the whole fight was her Spear of Victory’s Thorn of Fate effect. But now that the Thorn of Fate had been rendered useless, she was no longer a foe worthy for Link’s full strength.

Link seemed to be casually jabbing at her with his sword, but each strike was aimed at any one of her weak points, and she was forced to either dodge or block his sword in a delicate dance that could spell her death at any moment.

After receiving five jabs of Link’s sword, she screamed, “Molina, hurry up and attack!”

Something was off. They had been fighting for more than four seconds. What kind of divine spell had a casting time of more than four seconds?

“I’m being targeted!” Molina’s voice rang out tremulously. “It’s the sniper; she’s got her sights locked on me and is now waiting to strike the minute I lose focus. I sense that her attacks can pierce through my Destructive Barrier!”

Katyusha was speechless. From the corner of her eye, she could see Molina just standing there like a brick.

She felt a chill in her blood. Molina was a Naga Priest capable of casting powerful divine spells. If she had been compromised, what chance did any of them stand to win this fight?

In an act of desperation, she thrust her spear at Link’s chest with all her might, discarding all concern for her own safety.

Link simply took a step back to avoid the tip of the spear.

Katyusha then retreated immediately to Molina’s side and said, “You stop Link, I’ll deal with the sniper!”

Molina nodded. With a burst of destructive Divine Power, she pointed a finger at Link, and directed a divine spell she had already prepared: Frenzy!

Frenzy

Destructive Divine Spell

Description: The target will be sent into a frenzy by the spell and will begin attacking anyone and anything in its vicinity in a blind rage. The spell’s duration depends on the target’s power level, the longest being a whole day.

(Note: Surrender yourself to madness, mortal!)

The one closest to Link now was Kanorse. Under the effect of the spell, Link would target him naturally. Flanked from both sides, Kanorse would be killed in an instant.

Also, one of the characteristics of the spell was that unlike most other spells, it had a subtler method of activation, and so was especially difficult to interrupt.

Though Link still had the Miracle Aura around him, it was ineffective against this particular divine spell. In an instant, Link felt something taking over his mind, clouding all his senses.

“Not good, it’s a psychic divine spell!”

Link reacted in a flash, and activated the Dragon Bloodline Spell: Dragon Soul!

Dragon Soul

Bloodline Spell

Description: The user increases his or her psychic defenses exponentially, depending on the user’s own level.

(Note: Burn in the heat of a dragon’s soul!)

Upon the activation of the bloodline spell, Link felt a sudden explosion of heat in his head. The cloud that had settled on his consciousness was in that instant burned away without a trace.

The whole process lasted no more than a second!

When he regained his senses, Link heard a ting from Katyusha’s direction. It was one of Celine’s bullets that the Naga had managed to deflect.

At that moment, a dark red light radiated from the Naga Priest’s body. Behind her, a vortex of dark red feathers sprouted from her back.

Link did not know what kind of divine spell she was about to unleash. What mattered right now, though, was that in that brief moment, no one was keeping him down, and he could now begin casting spells of his own back at the enemy.

He managed to summon a spatial sphere which exploded and sent translucent ripples hurtling through the air. It enveloped Duke Abel, the Naga Priest and Katyusha in its area of effect.

“Spatial shackle!”

All three were momentarily frozen in place. As they all possessed Legendary power, they should be able to break through their spatial restraints in at most a tenth of a second.

But this was more than enough time for Link and Kanorse!

Kanorse immediately seized the opportunity presented to him and stabbed his sword through Duke Abel’s chest. A bolt of lightning exploded from the blade, electrocuting the Duke until he dropped to the ground lifelessly on his knees. With a rattle, his sword too fell from his hands to the ground.

On the other side of the battle, Link sent his sword through a Despair Ball, and the sword’s tip entered Katyusha’s chest, piercing directly into her heart. He then twisted the blade, rending the Naga’s heart to pieces. At the same time, his Dragon Power flowed through the blade and began its rampage through her insides.

Unable to even scream, Katyusha simply stood there, a dull look on her face. Her eyes darkened as all life fled away from her.

“Argh!!!”

The Naga Priest managed to break free of Link’s Spatial Shackle. She let out a shriek, before grabbing Katyusha’s body before it hit the ground. She closed the pair of dark red wings behind her around both of them.

Their bodies then began blurring. They were trying to flee!

Link had no intention of leaving any survivors at this point.

He gave another stab of his sword through a Despair Ball, and the sword’s tip immediately pierced through the Naga Priest’s back.

Celine’s bullet hit her as well at the same time.

It whistled through the air and through the Naga Priest’s body, before finally hitting the ground behind her.

The Naga Priest had vanished on the spot before Link’s sword, or Celine’s bullet managed to hit their mark.

Link frowned. He had never seen such an escape technique before.

He walked over to where the Nagas had vanished and cast three detection spells: Spatial Ripple Detection, Dimensional Detection, and Planar Detection. The three beams of magical light shone over the area, but could not find any spatial abnormalities whatsoever.

The enemy did not use any teleportation spells, nor did they travel to the Isomerism Realm.

The two Agatha Nagas had simply evaporated like morning dew to god knows where.

Link could not make any sense out of their disappearing act.

Chapter 489: Three Pillars of the Realm: Time

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

Plop. Duke Abel couldn’t kneel anymore. He sprawled onto the ground.

He didn’t die and was just badly hurt. Kanorse had held back in the last moment, but he was close to death now anyway. In fact, he might be even worse off.

The Naga priestess and Katyusha had escaped, but he remained here to await judgment!

By now, the camp was already turned to ruins by the shockwaves. Link’s Miracle Aura was in effect, but it could only protect 1500 feet. The shockwaves traveled past it, and Link couldn’t do anything.

In the end, more than 2000 soldiers were hurt. Thankfully, they were only light injuries. A few dozen unlucky souls had died though. After falling, they’d been pierced by sharp objects.

Hapsburg’s priests and the army’s priests started treating the wounded.

Link walked towards Duke Abel. He picked up the sword and added Dragon Power to check it. Confirming that there were no problems with it, he tossed it to Kanorse. “It’s yours.”

Kanorse caught it. Brandishing it, his eyes lit up and put the sword away.

“I lost. Kill me now.”

Duke Abel struggled a bit and rolled over to face the sky. Kanorse had stabbed his abdomen. There was a bloody hole, and the skin around it was charred by the lightning. However, his vitality was strong, and he just won’t die.

Link didn’t speak. He pointed the sword tip at Abel’s chest and added in Dragon Power. Using a sealing spell, he sealed Abel’s power. Then he cast a dragon healing spell to keep him alive.

“Why?” Confusion appeared in Duke Abel’s bloodshot eyes.

Link shook his head. “I’m only responsible for taking your power, but I’m not the one to decide your future. That should be King Leon.”

As he spoke, he retreated to the side. King Leon walked over with a woman. Her face was pale and covered in tears. It was Princess Annie.

Seeing his daughter, Duke Abel trembled and quickly looked away.

Annie walked to his side. “Are you still my father?” she asked, voice quivering.

Duke Abel shook violently. He covered his face with one hand and waved at Annie with his other. “Go away! I don’t deserve to be your father! Go!”

It wasn’t his wish for this to happen.

He’d taken the wrong first step and then was lured by the Agatha Nagas. He’d been easily persuaded, mostly because of his mistake at Garrason. There was no way to turn back, and so he was forced to step onto this path of destruction.

Annie’s tears were like rain.

King Leon also sighed. He looked to Link and shook his head tersely. It was clear—he didn’t wish to kill his own brother.

Even if he was the king, he couldn’t make the decision. In the Norton Kingdom now, Link had the power of the final decision. If he said Duke Abel must die, then no one could change that fact.

Link understood this, but he knew even more clearly that though his power to determine one’s fate was useful, there was a horrible side effect. Power was always a two-sided blade!

For example, if he killed Duke Abel now, King Leon would become guarded against him. Princess Annie would stay away from him too. Kanorse, who had purposely kept the duke’s life, would hold a grudge too. Link would also be known for killing the duke and enter the forefront of the Norton Kingdom’s political stage.

This way, Link would lose many allies while also being swept up in the political whirlpool. He’d run into many troubles.

What would he receive?

He would just get the rush of adrenaline from deciding someone else’s fate. Link wasn’t too interested in power. The nice feeling wasn’t necessary either, so he wouldn’t gain anything.

In reality, Link understood his position long ago. He was a protector, not a king, judge, or anything secular like that. This way, he definitely shouldn’t take part in these secular matters.

So when King Leon asked him like this, he just bowed slightly and said, “Your Majesty, my duty is to remove the kingdom’s threat. Duke Abel has been defeated now and is no longer a threat. My duty is completed.”

His message was clear. He wouldn’t take part in the duke’s trial. If King Leon didn’t want to kill his own brother, Link wouldn’t interfere. As long as Duke Abel didn’t commit any more crimes, he could live out the rest of his life as a wealthy man.

Once Link said that, King Leon trembled slightly. After a few seconds, he understood what Link meant.

He let out a deep sigh. Before this, he’d always thought that Link would someday replace him as the master of the North. Now, it seemed that he’d underestimated this young man.

Link didn’t want to become a king in the mortal world. He wanted to become a supernatural saint!

Thinking of Link’s past, he had always done this. He’d created the now-flourishing Ferde territory but gave all the authority to a group of average people. Many Ferde citizens only interacted with Lucy. As for Lord Link, he was just a Legendary figure.

He was a protector who could calm the people by just existing.

Duke Abel found this strange too. He’d always thought that Link would kill him. This was also why he’d been so scared and finally started on the path of destruction. He didn’t expect this ending.

If he knew this would be so, why would he have been scared? It was just being removed from the general’s position! He was tired of the damn fortress long ago.

At this time, the generals who’d retreated crowded over. When King Leon saw that everyone was present, he proclaimed his decision about General Abel.

“I, Leon Abel, patriarch of the Abel family, king of the Norton Kingdom, hereby announce that John Abel is no longer a member of the Lion family. He committed crimes of murder under the deceit of the God of Destruction rather than his own will. Thus, he is absolved of the death penalty. He will be stripped of all power and banished to the South to live his life in captivity!”

For a noble, this punishment was harsh. Though he could live, the rest of his life would be miserable.

Duke Abel exhaled loudly, and his body slumped. He felt a weakness that he’d never felt before. The chaotic energy quickly left him like a tidal wave returning to the sea.

His body changed at a speed visible to the naked eye. His face paled, skin wrinkled, hair whitened, and his powerful muscles shriveled. He aged at least a decade.

Seeing this, Annie cried out in worry.

Link looked over. He checked and said, “The God of Destruction took back his power. He’s abandoned. He looks like this because of over-exerting his body and will recover after some rest.”

Of course, he couldn’t recover completely. After all this, Duke Abel’s lifespan was reduced by at least five years.

As he spoke, Link waved at a priest beside him. The man walked over to treat Duke Abel’s wounds. When the Light power shone down, his body didn’t fight back at all. He’d become a regular senior.

Annie sighed. She wiped her tears and supported her frail father. To her, this was the best result.

Without the destructive power’s interference, Duke Abel was completely calmed. He gazed at his daughter’s pallor, feeling both guilt and fortune. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

The generals kept mum at this. They’d resented the duke before but couldn’t say anything now.

Link saw that King Leon was in grief too. He walked up and reminded quietly, “Your Majesty, the army needs a new general.”

This brought King Leon back. He nodded. Thinking a bit, he looked to Kanorse.

Kanorse was known as the Dawn Swordsman, and his reputation in the army was second only to Duke Abel. He was skilled, loyal, and a commoner. He didn’t have any family behind him and had a good relationship with Link. He was the best candidate for the new general.

“I want to choose him,” King Leon murmured.

Link nodded. “I have no objections.”

He could tell that Kanorse was about to enter the Legendary level. At that time, Link would make some powerful equipment for him so his combat ability would multiply. He would become the first human general with Legendary power. With his personality and power, he would definitely turn the Orida Fortress into the first iron fortress of the human race!

“When they return to the Orida Fortress, there should be a grand ceremony,” King Leon said.

Link thought for a bit and said, “Yes… Let’s set the date for one month later. I will create some magical equipment for the general during this time so nothing similar would happen in the future.”

King Leon nodded. He obviously didn’t have any objections.

With this settled, only some mundane tasks were left. Link didn’t care about it at all. He circled the spot where the Naga priestess had disappeared, occasionally casting some detection spells. He wanted to find clues about their disappearance.

After half an hour, he still had nothing.

Helpless, he asked the sword spirit in his mind, “Do you have any suggestions?”

This is some powerful divine spell, but I’ve never seen it, and I don’t know where it’s from. It should belong to a god.

At this time, Celine walked over. “Did you find anything?” she asked.

Link shook his head. “Nothing at all. It’s strange.”

Celine couldn’t do anything either. She wandered around with Link until Link gave up after another half hour.

“Whatever, I’ll stop looking. They really escaped!”

If there were some clues, he could still go and kill them. Now, there were no clues at all—not even a shred.

He promised to create equipment for the new general, and so he couldn’t waste time here.

“Let’s go back to the camp.”

The camp was actually still in ruins now, but the weather was nice. The Warriors lit a bonfire and rested under the sky. Link naturally didn’t have to worry about a place to stay.

Inside the tent, Link waited for Celine to sleep before checking the mission status.

Mission Complete: Remove Military Power

Evaluation: Perfect

Player receives 200 Omni Points.

Player receives 25 Jogu.

Player receives magic book.

The first two rewards were normal, but the last one excited Link. Time, time. The Spear of Victory uses the power of time. Would the Naga priestess use a divine spell of that sort? Did she use a time spell?

Otherwise, he couldn’t explain how they had disappeared without a trace.

Thinking this, Link immediately chose to exchange the rewards.

Clack. A book with a black cover appeared in his hands. A dark gold hourglass was drawn on the center of the cover. Strangely, the hourglass seemed to be real; the sand inside kept flowing.

Link flipped it open and started reading. When he saw the first sentence, he felt like a whole new world was opening up before his eyes.