Advent of the Archmage

Chapter 610: The Army of Destruction’s Scheme

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

“My lord, a Beastman village is in flames up ahead! The fire’s really strong!” shouted the captain of the airship Merlin. A couple of his crew members began working the magic seals in the airship in order to pull up a visual of the Beastman village.

“The village is approximately 80 miles away from us. Look, 30 degrees to our left, demons!” said Merlin, pointing at the image.

The airship was new, and so were all the magic seals installed on board. All of them were the result of innovative work done by the Magicians of Ferde’s Mage Tower. Although they were 80 miles away from the village, its visual was displayed on board in exquisite detail.

Everything on the ground could be seen clearly, from the raging fire to one of the Demon Warriors chasing after a screaming Beastman villager.

“My lord, there are 37 demons in total on the ground, including one Fodor Flaming Demon, three Succubi, and two Demon Illusory Assassin. The rest are horned Demon Warriors. The Fodor Flaming Demon is at least Level-10. It must be the leader here,” reported one of the co-pilots beside Merlin in a feverish voice.

Celine intently observed the image and frowned. “These demons are acting strange. They don’t seem to be killing anyone. I think they’re just reveling in the Beastmen’s misery. Look at that demon over there.”

It was a Level-7 Demon Warrior. Before it stood an ordinary Beastman Warrior. The Demon Warrior had one foot on the body of a Beastwoman and one claw clutching the leg of a six-year-old Beastgirl.

The demon let out a terrible laugh as he brandished the little girl as a weapon at the Beastman Warrior. The Beastman’s movements were becoming sluggish due to the injuries he had sustained. He also had to take a step back every time the little girl screamed out, in case the demon managed to land a hit on him with her body.

“The girl must be the Warrior’s daughter, and the woman being stepped on must be his wife! These demons should be sent back into whatever hole they crawled out of!” said a Yabba man through gritted teeth.

In the visual, the Beastman Warrior looked on helplessly as the demon continued toying with his wife and daughter. Tears streamed down his face until his eyes were all red and puffed up. He roared at the demon until his voice went hoarse. The Beastman seemed to be on the verge of collapsing in exhaustion and despair.

Link noticed that the other demons exhibited similar behaviors in other parts of the village.

In the middle of the village, a couple of the demons had set up a bonfire and hung a huge cauldron above it. The cauldron was filled with water, inside which a couple of children who had not even learned how to walk were left to soak.

The water slowly began to boil until the children inside the cauldron started to feel uncomfortable. They then cried out, their little hands flailing about in the water in an attempt to climb out of the cauldron.

But the cauldron’s rim was too high for them to reach. It had also turned scalding hot. The children pulled their hands back immediately when they touched the cauldron’s walls. Hot steam was now rising from the cauldron. It would not be long before they were all cooked alive in it.

The demons had even tied their parents to wooden stakes that had been planted no more than three feet away from the cauldron. Just like that, they were forced to watch their own children being boiled alive.

The parents cried out as they frantically struggled to free themselves from their bonds and rescue their own flesh and blood, but the demons had done a wonderful job of tying all of them to the wooden stakes. The parents’ efforts were all in vain.

Such atrocities could be seen everywhere throughout the village. There was a demon who was munching on the flesh of a Beastwoman in front of her husband. A demon had forced a Beastman to cut off one of his legs and then cook it for the demon himself. There was even one who had twisted a Beastman’s arms into a ribbon. It was a terrible sight to see.

“This is literally hell on earth!” Celine could not stand this any longer. She took out her rifle and looked at Link. Her intent was obvious. She wanted to kill every demon on the ground.

“Duke, are we moving in?” asked Felina.

Nana remained silent, but she was already gripping the handle of her sword.

Any normal person would be filled with a sense of righteousness and hatred towards these demons after seeing such a horrific scene unfold before them. These demons were truly foul beyond belief.

Link nodded and then turned to Merlin. “Let’s move in, but pay attention to the village’s surroundings. This could be a trap.”

“Yes, my lord!” said Merlin, and he gave a military salute to Link. He turned around and gave his crew members a series of complicated orders.

Link then retracted the boost of power he had given the airship as he readied himself for battle. He gazed at the magical visual in the middle of the airship and then sank into a deep meditation.

What these demons had done was unspeakably evil, but Link had been hardened by his experience in the war between light and darkness back in Orida Fortress. The scene in the Beastmen’s village barely affected his judgment.

There was something strange about this. What are the demons trying to achieve by tormenting a village full of Beastmen? he thought.

This would not have struck Link as odd if it had happened near the Black Forest, which happened to be part of the Army of Destruction’s domain. However, they were now in the Golden Plains, and the Beastmen were no pushovers.

The demons were no fools. Why would they risk incurring the wrath of more powerful Beastmen by engaging in such meaningless acts of violence?

These demons may not be part of the crack troop that the scouts had spotted, which means that there may be more than 300 demons who had come out of the Black Forest. The Army of Destruction may have even sent two or three squads out to spread chaos throughout the Beastmen’s domain. There must be an even bigger scheme behind all this.

It was obvious to Link that the demons were up to something. The only problem was, what were they planning to do?

Link could not figure out what their plan was. He feared that they might already be playing into the demons’ hands.

At that moment, Link noticed that something had changed in the magic visual.

“Uhm, are the demons retreating?”

In the visual, the Fodor Flaming Demon seemed to have received some sort of message, as he took out a horn and blew into it. All the demons who had been tormenting the villagers suddenly stopped what they were doing. They then turned around and retreated towards the west.

When they were all grouped up, the Fodor Flaming Demon took out a scroll and triggered whatever spell it contained. Once activated, the group of demons ran off at an incredible speed of up to 700 feet per second.

Did they notice us? thought Link, surprised by this. This suggested that the demons had set up a powerful detection spell.

I did not sense anyone spying on us. Whoever was able to do such a thing without revealing themselves must possess a power superior even to mine. We may be dealing with some form of divine spell that was cast by a powerful servant of the God of Destruction. This was the only conclusion Link could come up with.

“My lord, the fire’s still raging in the village. If we don’t do anything about it, the villagers will be burned alive. But if we go down and save everyone now, those demons will…” Merlin did not finish his sentence, but everyone in the airship understood all too well that they would lose the demons if they decided to go down and help the villagers.

They could make any one of the demons spill the beans on their big plan by punishing them for their crimes at the same time. There was no way they were letting the demons flee!

However, Link had already made up his mind. He said firmly, “We’ll help the villagers. Once we’re done, we’ll go straight towards the realm crack!”

Whatever the Army of Destruction’s game was, Link would not take the bait. As long as they kept the crack safe, there would not be a problem.

“But my lord, those demons…” said Merlin with a low voice.

“The crack is our top priority. The safety of the entire realm hinges on it!” said Link coldly.

Merlin jolted. He then said apologetically, “Understood, my lord!”

The airship accelerated towards the village until they were floating a hundred feet above it. Three Water Magicians climbed to the deck and began to cast a Rainmaking spell in unison.

This was a non-offensive Level-3 spell. The only thing unique about it was that its area-of-effect could be expanded. The spell could even summon a torrential rain stretching across hundreds of miles with the use of magic seals and the involvement of other Magicians.

The three Water Magicians were at least Level-8. They began channeling their power into the spell together. Three seconds later, thick clouds began to churn in the sky above the village. Before long, heavy rain poured down, extinguishing the village’s fire in one fell swoop.

At that moment, a Magician appeared a few hundred feet in the air and used the Magician’s Hand to undo the rope tied around the limbs of every villager.

Once everything was done, the airship sped off towards the realm crack.

However, after flying for a hundred miles, Merlin caught sight of something in front of the airship.

“My lord, look. There’s a lake up ahead. Dark Elf Magicians seem to be trying to activate a dark magic seal in it.”

Link had already sensed the swirl of Dark Power. He was particularly sensitive to it. Not only was he able to sense the dark magic seal’s presence, but he could also tell what technique the Dark Elf Magicians were using.

He narrowed his eyes and began meditating. Five seconds later, he said, “It’s a realm teleportation seal. They’re going to summon backup through it. Increase altitude and bring us closer. Strengthen our detection seals and look out for any sign of ambush!”

The enemy would be able to musterl an even greater force if the Dark Elf Magicians were not stopped. They might even summon powerful Legendary demons through the magic seal. Keeping the realm crack safe would be impossible by then.

Merlin began giving out his orders.

Link then said to Celine, “Celine, get into position. Take your shot as soon as the Dark Elves enter your range of fire. Use your crystallized silver bullets just in case!”

Crystallized silver bullets were Link’s latest creation. Each one was tailored to deliver a Level-13 impact!

They were now in the midst of an operation. Link’s orders were curt. His face remained impassive even as he gave his orders to Celine.

“Understood, my lord!” Celine was a veteran soldier. She did not mind Link’s curtness. She carried her rifle and assumed her firing position on the airship.

At that moment, a message popped up before Link. He had triggered a new mission in the game’s system.

Chapter 611: Will We Succeed?

Player has activated mission series: Protect the Realm Crack!

Activate Step One: Army of Destruction in the Shadows

Mission Content: Investigate the Army of Destruction near the crack. Determine their motive.

Mission Reward: 40 Jogu

Seeing this reward, Link’s heart jumped. He’d made a promise with the Travel Magician to exchange 300 Jogu for the way to fully fix the realm crack. Skinorse had sent someone to bring him some Jogu recently. Now, he had 273. If he had these additional 40, he would be able to solve the problem completely.

In this case, Link accepted without hesitation.

During this time, the airship had risen to two miles in the air. The range of Celine’s large fire gun was 2.5 miles. This height was perfect, with some space for sudden changes.

She took out five Thorium bullets and pressed them one by one into the gun. Aiming at the Dark Elf Magicians in the distance, Celine said, “Shooter in position!”

“Fighters prepare,” Link ordered again.

All passengers on the airship had been trained. They weren’t very familiar, but all were above Level-8. Their brains worked quickly, and voices sounded within half a minute.

“Magicians are in place! Airship vector defense force field activated! Magic cannon charging, complete in 20 seconds.”

“Warriors in place!”

“Cannons in place. Ready to fire!”

Link felt the Mana within the entire airship. It seemed to be bubbling, but it was stable overall. This was the result of using many new spells. After ensuring that the ship was in perfect state, he said to Merlin, “Approach target. Prepare to attack!”

“Yes.”

Merlin turned to give his crew a series of orders. The airship had entered combat state.

Link didn’t stay in his position during this. He didn’t check the magic projection in the command cabin. Instead, he walked to the window and used his naked eye to observe the ground.

The lake below was very wide, more than six miles in diameter. There were many small islands in the center. Those Dark Elf Magicians were there. From his position, Link could see six Magicians in a circle. Thick Mana waves rippled from them. He could sense that each was above Level-7.

There was a stone tablet before each Dark Elf Magician. The tablets were covered in dark purple light that connected the tablets like a belt. Looking from the sky, he could see a dark purple six-point star.

Obvious Mana waves came from the star. He could see a 600-feet-wide pure black matter hovering in the center of the star.

What was pure black matter? It was something that light could enter but never come out of. The most direct characteristic was that it was darker than anything around it. It was an abnormally pure blackness.

Inside it, Link sensed a horribly distorted space. He looked down at the Eye of the Realm bracelet on his wrist. The crystal had a weak red glow. This meant that there was a passage to another realm here. The pure black matter must…was probably the exit to that passage.

Since it could activate the Eye of the Realm, this meant that the Dark Elves were probably summoning some powerful existence. It would be bad news if they succeeded.

So he had to stop them.

But for some reason, Link felt that something was wrong. It was like he’d missed something when calculating earlier.

What’s the problem? Link stared at the magic seal on the island, brows slightly furrowed.

At this time, Merlin reported loudly, “Lord, we’ve arrived at the attack position!”

His voice shook Link awake. He thought for half a second and then ordered, “Shooters attack at will. Magic cannons, prepare!”

The magic cannon was the most powerful and most large-scale weapon on the airship. Its core was a meteorite Gildern had found from the Free Trade Confederation black market in the South. The original idea came from one of the Mage Tower’s apprentices called Akeers. After Link, Eliard, and the others perfected it through deep research, it resulted in this magic cannon.

Its range reached three miles, and its attacks reached Level-16. One attack could cover 1000 feet in diameter. After recharging, it could fire three times consecutively. On this moving platform, it was Ferde’s most powerful weapon.

Celine started shooting as soon as Link gave the order.

Bang! With the gunshot, a white-gold beam shot down from the airship. It crossed almost two miles instantly and shot into a Dark Elf Magician’s head.

The crystalized Thorium bullet was at Level-13 and had impressive anti-magic elements. It should be able to break through any defense barrier in Firuman.

But then something happened.

When the white-gold arc was 150 feet from the magic seal, a huge lattice shield made of many runes suddenly appeared. It shone faintly with a blue glow. After appearing, it easily blocked Celine’s attack. This shockingly penetrative bullet hit it and disappeared without a ripple like a leaf falling into water.

Seeing this, everyone on the ship widened their eyes. Someone even gasped, muttering reflexively, “How is this possible?”

Everyone in Ferde knew how powerful Celine’s fire gun and especially the Thorium bullets were. Link had created the Thorium bullet, but many Magicians had participated in the design process. To Magicians, these bullets were the kryptonite for magic barriers.

But now, it was easily blocked by a shield. This was incomprehensible.

Link squinted at the shield. His vision was shocking. The collision had happened quickly, but he’d seen every detail. With his bottomless magic knowledge now, he figured out the shield’s general operation mode after thinking for a little bit.

“This shield is interesting. It isn’t strong in itself, but there are many latent magic seals 150 feet around the shield. They can quickly absorb the energy of attacks and use it to strengthen the shield. The stronger the attack, the stronger the shield.”

“Lord, will our cannons be unable to get through too?” a Magician asked.

“Not sure, but the situation is very strange. Use the cannons for unexpected events. Don’t use them too casually.” Link trained his eyes on the magic seal. A few seconds of silence later, he smiled. “This shield is powerful, but there is a fatal flaw. Watch me.”

He continued, “Felina, you all follow me to the deck.”

“Yes, Lord.”

The weakest of the eight Red Dragon Warriors was at the pinnacle of Level-8. Felina herself was at the pinnacle of Level-9. In addition, dragons had extreme recovery rates. This was a powerful force.

Arriving at the deck, Link said, “Transform into dragon form. I need your dragon breath flames!”

The eight Warriors jumped up. When they were 300 feet above the deck, a red light flashed past. Eight young dragons over 150 feet long appeared. They formed a circle and looked down at Link, waiting for his order.

Link stood on the deck and raised the Ode of a Full Moon sword. Mana surged into it. Half a second later, a six-foot-wide Spatial Distortion sphere appeared at the tip. It started rising.

“Blow fire at this with all your might for at least 20 seconds!” he ordered.

Roar! The eight dragons started at the same time. Eight thick beams of fire spewed from their mouths, burying into the sphere. They all wanted to show off their power before Link, so they used all their strength. Everyone lasted for 25 seconds. Felina even maintained it for 35 seconds.

When Felina finished, Link’s Spatial Distortion sphere had turned into a blue “lava” sphere. It kept vibrating and spinning. It seemed unstable as if it could explode any time.

The eight dragons were all shocked. They could clearly see the power contained within the thing. If it exploded within the airship, it could blow it to smithereens. If they were hit, they would be cremated directly.

They all subconsciously moved away from the dark blue lava sphere.

Link took a deep break, focusing his thoughts. “Singularity transformation!” he whispered.

Around 500 points of his Realm Essence followed the Ode of a Full Moon to the sphere. Under the restraint of this force, the huge “lava” sphere instantly shrunk to the size of a sesame seed. It didn’t glow either. If one didn’t pay attention, one wouldn’t notice its existence.

Then Link reached out and grasped the tiny thing with horrible power.

“Okay, you can come down.” Link walked to the edge of the deck with the thing and ordered Celine, “Listen to my orders. Be prepared to shoot at any time!”

“Understood.”

Link threw the tiny sphere down towards the island. When it was around 300 feet from the shield, Link suddenly said, “Shoot!”

Bang! A white-gold arc flew down. An instant later, the blue shield appeared again with a soft buzz. Here, Link used his thoughts to activate the Spatial Distortion sphere.

That moment, everyone on the airship saw a blinding flash on the lake. They were all forced to squint.

After the blue light faded, the Dark Elves, magic stone tablets, and even the island had disappeared. All that could prove that the island had once existed was a bubbling patch of lava on the lake’s surface.

The entire island had melted!

That moment, Dark Magician Glyn felt something from hundreds of miles away. Furrowing his brows, he said to Molina, “The trap in the lake has failed. He already undid my shield.”

“That fast? Is his power damaged?” Molina frowned slightly. She didn’t think to use the shield to defeat Link. She’d only wanted to weaken him and raise the chance of success. Now, it seemed that it hadn’t been effective. The opponent’s feelings hadn’t been affected by the demons at all. They were still terrifyingly calm.

How can there be such a frightening Magician in the world? Dammit! A shred of doubt appeared in Molina’s heart. Would their carefully prepared plan… No, she couldn’t think that. Her master’s wisdom was boundless. If he attacked personally, that mortal would definitely die!

Glyn shook his head. “It only took three seconds. He didn’t use brute force to undo it. Instead, he used a tiny flaw in the shield’s Mana cycle. This trap probably didn’t weaken him.”

Molina let out a long sigh, pushing down her worries. “The Ferde lord is definitely troublesome, but our magic seal is the true tactic. Glyn, go get ready.”

“As you wish, Saint.” Glyn bowed to Molina. His body blurred and then disappeared.

Chapter 612: Legendary Magic and Divine Retribution

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

The Flying City airship continued flying forward.

“My lord, the realm crack is 200 miles up ahead. We’ll reach our destination in five minutes,” reported Merlin.

Link nodded. His eyes were glued to the windshield, intently watching the ground getting closer in front of the airship.

Half a minute later, he heard footsteps coming up behind him. It was Celine.

“There’s something strange about all this,” she whispered.

Link’s eyes did not budge one bit. In truth, he had already sensed that something seemed wrong as well. The demons setting a village on fire and the summoning ritual that the Dark Elf Magicians were conducting earlier all seemed to point to the fact that the enemy had a good idea where Link and his lot would be.

The Army of Destruction had made preparations to deal with them. The first two incidents had been harmless distractions, but it was possible that they heralded something grander and more likely to kill them all.

The main problem was, what did the enemy have in store for them?

As the airship flew forward, Link began to feel even more anxious. They were now flying over the Korora Mountain Range where the sun was shining and the trees grew abundant. From above, the forest on the mountain range was a magnificent sight to behold.

However, to Link, the sunlight was of a cold pallor. The leaves were a sickly, rotting green. The whole mountain range was a bleak grey, and the whole world seemed deprived of all life. In Link’s eyes, it was a scene not unlike hell.

Something big will happen a few minutes from now, thought Link. Whatever it is, it will pose a huge threat to my life. It’s even managed to mess with all my senses!

Link’s time magic book stated that time was multidirectional and that in reality, the concepts of past, present, and future were mere constructs conceived by intelligent life on Firuman to make sense of time itself.

As no natural law dictated that time should move only in one direction, it was possible that both the past and future would be able to affect the present. The time magic book also dealt with the subject of cause-and-effect cycles. Discussions on the subject were carried out on the assumption that the past and future assumed causal roles, while their effects were expressed in the present.

These concepts of time introduced by the book were extremely esoteric. The effects brought upon the present by the past and future differed from each other in some respects, and the magical concepts underlying these effects were especially complicated. Link had been studying the time magic book for a long time, and he barely scratched the surface of the subject. At the moment, he only had a general idea about time magic.

My life’s in danger, and I have no idea what form this threat will take. There’s not much else I can do about it, other than heighten my vigilance for now.

Link had a general understanding of how time worked. He knew that time itself was replete with variables, and that however right his actions might seem at the moment, there was a real chance they might set off a chain of events in the future that would ultimately end in his death.

Right now, he would be better off thinking up a couple of countermeasures to deal with the imminent danger rather than trying to change the current course of his actions.

The more countermeasures he had in hand, the more likely he would be able to survive the impending threat.

Link checked the number of Omni Points he had in hand. He still had 750 Omni Points and 23,000 Realm Essence Power points remaining at the moment. This was enough for Link to cast a Level-13 Legendary offensive spell or a Level-15 supplementary spell.

Link continued observing the scenery in front of the airship in order to divine where the danger might come from. In the span of half a minute, the anxiety intensified in him as the sky had darkened considerably from his perspective.

The world darkened even more with each passing second around Link as if all hope had fled off in the face of this danger.

Link took the encroaching darkness to mean that the danger was drawing closer than ever towards him and that the time he had to react to it grew even shorter. It seemed to Link that the approaching danger was something he would not be able to handle alone.

This was the first time Link had encountered such an ominous sign.

“Link, I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. It’s as if my whole world’s completely engulfed in darkness!” said Celine. Her voice sounded distant.

Link turned around and saw her standing stock-still behind him. Her pupils quivered uncontrollably. She was endowed with the gift of clairvoyance. Though it had its benefits, the effect it had on an actual clairvoyant was ten times worse than that received by a non-clairvoyant as an imminent danger approached!

Most clairvoyants had been driven mad by their own visions of the future. This was the price that came with such a double-edged gift!

Link looked at the other Magicians. They were all above Level-8. Still, they appeared ill at ease as well.

The only person who was still able to remain calm was Nana.

Though she might look like a living being on the outside, she did not have an actual soul inside her physical body. As such, she was not as capable of any form of precognition as a Magician would be.

All of a sudden, a thought flashed across Link’s mind.

Is waiting the only thing I can do in the face of this danger? No, there should be something I can do about it!

The game system was his only hope of salvation at this point.

Link then gave his order. “Power, I need power. Magicians, prepare your nodal magic seals this instant!”

“Yes, my lord,” said the Magicians of Ferde in unison, and they all began carrying out his order.

Nodal magic seals were a technique developed by Ferde to concentrate power into a single point. Through these seals, weaker Magicians would be able to pool all their power in one place and then purify it to produce a steady flow of Realm Essence Power for the use of high-level Magicians.

The seal was structurally simple, and all Magicians in Ferde were required to be equipped with it at all times so that it could be used anywhere in the world. At Link’s order, the Magicians onboard the airship began channeling their power into the signets they were wearing around their fingers.

The power inside their signets was then purified and redirected into Link’s own signet.

A moment later, Link’s signet turned transparent. The space around it was visibly distorted by the high concentration of power in it. Golden ripples of light began radiating from his ring as well.

As power flowed into his ring, Link quickly read through all the available Legendary spell cards in his mind, some of which were as high as Level-15.

With his power alone, he would be able to cast a Level-15 Legendary supplementary spell. However, with the added power of six other Magicians, Level-17 Legendary supplementary spells would definitely not be beyond his power.

In his vision, these high-level cards shimmered with an assortment of colors. There were purple Secret spells, iridescent Elemental spells and Spatial spells which were enveloped in rippling light. Finally, Link’s gaze settled on the darkest spell card in the collection.

The card was so dark that its edges had merged completely with the darkened background in front of Link. An eye was traced out with silver lines on the card.

Looking at the eye, Link took a deep breath. It was the highest-level time spell in the game: the Eye of Agramma.

The Eye of Agramma (Oblivion-type spell)

Level-18 Legendary Supplementary Spell

Initial casting cost: 30,000 points

Subsequent cost: 500 points per second

Description: Invented by the Time Magician Agramma. With this spell, the caster will be able to peer into the most profound secrets of time magic.

Side-effect: Due to the immense power this spell holds, when it is cast, the disturbed flow of time will return to normal. The caster will completely forget the existence of this spell and will be punished by the realm itself.

(Note: The world may not hold any secret from me, but curiosity still kills the cat.)

In the game, Link had always thought that this spell served no purpose whatsoever and that its cost was also way too high. Its effect, which supposedly would allow the caster to look into the future, was simply impossible to activate in the game world. In reality, almost all time spells in the game could not be activated due to the fact that influencing the flow of time was just impossible back on earth.

However, in Firuman, time magic was powerful enough to turn the whole world on its head, which was why the realm would only allow such a spell to be activated once. Once a time spell was cast, the laws of the realm would undergo a drastic change. If one wished to continue using it, he or she would need to rewrite the laws governing the realm in order to allow the spell’s continued use.

The Soul Dominator had once said that mastery of Prophecy Magic could only be obtained through the realm’s blessings rather than one’s efforts. The same could be said for time magic.

It certainly held incredible power, but the use of time magic always came at a high price.

Once he selected the spell, Link whispered, “Acquire.”

There was a bang, and suddenly, the Eye of Agramma card dissolved into countless points of light. A second later, a new spell settled in Link’s mind.

At that moment, the nodal magic seals were almost done channeling the Magicians’ power into Link’s signet. The total amount of Realm Essence Power points he could use right now had reached more than 40,000 points, which would be enough for him to cast the high-cost time spell he had just acquired.

Link’s sense of foreboding was now screaming at him. He felt as if he was at the bottom of a mountain, and an avalanche was thundering down the slope in his direction, moments away from swallowing him whole.

“There’s no time to lose.” Link activated the Eye of Agramma spell immediately.

In an instant, the whole world went black. Countless shapes of light floated in front of him. Some of them seemed immaterial, while others showed clear images which played out before Link in the blink of an eye.

“These are strands of timelines!” said Link, understanding what was going on. He then composed himself and closely observed the shapes of light playing out in front of him.

At that moment, the airship was now 30 miles away from the seal surrounding the realm crack. They were about to reach their destination soon.

On the ground, Molina had seen the airship which was hurtling through the air at top speed. She breathed in deeply and then stabbed her Staff of Destruction into the ground.

“Divine Retribution: Dawn of Darkness!”

Chapter 613: Judgement from a True God!

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

“Lord, look over there!” Merlin started yelling. “Oh, oh my god, what is that?!”

Right now, Link’s eyes were listless. He seemed to see it, or he did not. His two black eyes reflected the strange sight before the airship. There, a beam of dark red light fell from the sky, landing somewhere on the ground.

The place it landed in was very tall. One couldn’t see the top. The beam was also thick—more than 1000 feet wide. Around the solid beam of red light, there were countless dark red storm clouds spinning counterclockwise. They swept up the rocks and clouds of the forest and the water vapor and clouds in the air.

From afar, a world-ending red storm was being born.

Less than two seconds after Merlin yelled, the destructive force of the dark red storm already affected the airship.

“Merlin, the wind speed is rising and affecting the ship’s balance. What do we do?”

Clack, clack, clack. The ship shook clearly as it was blown towards one side.

“Add more Mana to the turbine power. Keep it steady, steady!” Merlin cried.

The wind strengthened. After the airship added more power, the two forces turned the airship into a tug of war. The ship shook even more.

Clang, clack, creak… The ship shook violently as if it would fall apart.

After three seconds, Merlin knew this couldn’t continue. He immediately changed his order. “Retreat, retreat. Follow the wind back—”

“No! Go against it!” Link suddenly said. His eyes were still blank, but his voice was abnormally determined. There was no room for negotiation.

“Lord, the ship can’t survive it…Ah, go against the wind. Hurry, left turn!” Merlin followed Link’s orders in the end. He knew the ship would definitely fall apart, but this was the army. They were fighting an unknown force. He must follow the lord’s orders.

The crew immediately turned and started going against the wind.

During this short period, the windstorm’s range had expanded again. The wind had doubled in intensity too. The airship had adjusted its direction and was going against the wind, but its speed was pitifully slow. They could only go 300 feet per second. Usually, it could go at almost 2000 feet per second!

The wind continued strengthening. The airship continued slowing. After three seconds, its speed had been halved. It could only go 150 feet per second and was shaking violently.

Crash! Clang! Creak… All types of sounds formed a cacophony. It was about to scatter into pieces.

“Lord, we can’t keep going!” Merlin saw many magic seals had already lost control. If they continued, the airship’s core would explode.

“Keep going…keep going…turn 90 degrees to the right. Right now, hurry!” Link made another crazy order!

They’d been going against the wind. If they made a right angle turn, they’d be going straight into the storm. Any logical person could see that this was the same as suicide.

But this time, Link’s voice contained a spiritual spell. As soon as his voice sounded, his intent carved directly into Merlin’s brain. He couldn’t refute at all.

“Right turn, right turn, extreme output of power. Charge!” Merlin yelled. The bright voice unique to the Yabbas rang throughout the command cabin.

Every crew member was terrified, but they instinctively followed the orders. The cabin charged towards the storm at full force.

Creak, creak, creak. The noises made one’s insides curl. Runes on the floor and walls kept breaking apart. Many places already had cracks. The only fortunate thing was that the critical parts had all been specially fortified. They were still as strong as before, undamaged by the windstorm.

Just as the ship charged towards the storm, a ten-foot-wide black beam of light flashed past the end of the ship. It was so close that it practically brushed past the airship. There were less than 100 feet between them.

It had already reached the outer edge of the airship’s defense barrier. The magic seal inside immediately displayed its stats.

“Level-13, power scale of 13000, a powerful Dark Magician is secretly attacking us!” an operating yelled in terror. Everyone in the airship paled. They couldn’t imagine the consequences if they were hit.

It was Level-13 and at 13000. If the airship was hit, it would be decimated immediately. Less than ten people would survive. Now, the airship had used a series of strange and illogical actions to avoid this fatal attack.

The instant the beam brushed past the airship, Link ordered, “Retreat with the wind. Now!”

He didn’t have to worry about disagreements. Merlin immediately yelled, “Right turbine! Open lower right wing…”

The airship shook and made a turn. The huge ship nearly flipped over as it retreated to the outside of the windstorm.

Almost simultaneously, Link used the Spiritual Transmission spell to order the Magicians from Ferde, “Magic cannon, shoot at coordinates 78, 751, 281, 232!”

These were spatial coordinates that corresponded to numbers on the Magic Locking Wheel. Though the airship had been damaged in the windstorm, the cannon was the core. It had been fortified and was still unaffected.

Half a second after Link sent the order, the cannon fired.

Whoosh! The entire airship shook. Below, a white-gold arc around 300 feet wide appeared. Like a sword of divine punishment, it cut to the source of the black beam.

The cannon attack reached Level-16 and was unbeatable. When the white-gold arc streaked past, the space in its path distorted. Rings of spatial ripples spread in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the attack reached the ground.

Kaboom! There was a ground-shaking explosion. A huge white-gold fireball burst from the earth. It glowed blindingly, turning the entire battleground snowy white.

This was the cannon’s first true attack. Its power captivated everyone on the airship.

“Slow down and stop!” Link suddenly made another strange order.

This time, Merlin didn’t hesitate at all. The airship was already outside the storm. The wind wasn’t strengthening anymore. He easily stopped the airship in the sky.

At the same time, Link ordered the Magicians again. “Second attack, coordinates 89, 232, 231, 2323. Fire!”

Boom! The airship shook again. Another “white-gold sword” pierced down.

Almost at the same time, the white flash of a transmission came from the target destination. One could make out a Magician with a black robe and curled horns under the light.

It was Black Blood Demon Glyn.

He hadn’t completely materialized from the transmission when the airship’s attack arrived. The Level-16 attack was unstoppable.

The demon Magician was powerful too. Faced with this situation, he screamed, and the transmission light flashed again. He’d forcefully started another transmission.

One must know that before the first transmission ended, the surrounding space wouldn’t fully consolidate. If one started another transmission, the Magician would use up immense energy. Accidents were also highly possible. It was quite common for one to lose limbs from the second time. In more extreme cases, one could lose a head too.

But the Magician should be praised for his decisiveness. If he’d hesitated at all, he would have been destroyed by the cannon.

Boom, kaboom!

Almost the exact moment that he left, the attack arrived. An instant later, Glyn reappeared miles away. This time, the Magicians on the airship saw him. As soon as he appeared, he collapsed onto the ground, spitting out blood. He was clearly hurt.

Seeing him, a Magician asked, “The cannon only has one attack left. Should we continue?”

If they continued, the demon Magician would definitely die. But strangely enough, Link didn’t order a third attack. He kept silent.

It stretched for two seconds. On the battlefield where changes happened instantly, two seconds was like a year. Then Link said, “Cannon prepare. Coordinates 2342, 2325, 52, 987, standby!”

As soon as he finished, everyone realized that the dark red pillar of light was fading. The windstorm around it reduced too. Around three seconds later, the storm that was about to destroy the world disappeared completely.

“What happened?”

“What?”

“Look, there’s someone under the light. They’re so tall!”

“Looks like a Naga Warrior!”

On the ground in the center of the pillar, a female Warrior with dark red skin and bloody wings appeared. She was more than 30 feet tall and grasped a blood-red spear with dark gold flashes of lightning.

Perhaps because of her power, the air around her distorted clearly. From afar, it looked like a translucent dome.

As soon as she appeared, a voice rang out through space. “Mortal, accept a true god’s judgment!”

Here, a Magician who reacted quickly understood what was happening. “Oh, God of Light, please!” he yelled. “This is the God of Destruction’s divine punishment!”

Chapter 614: In the Name of the Realm, I Sentence You to Death!

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

Divine retribution was what would happen when a god decided to directly punish an offender in the mortal realm.

There were two ways a god could go about this. Firstly, he could descend to the mortal plane via an altar. He would usually be summoned to an altar in order to punish an offending follower of his religion. Secondly, a god could mete out his punishment via a messenger. He would simply need to channel his divine power into the body of a willing representative, allowing him or her to carry out their god’s vengeance against any of their enemies in the mortal realm.

It was evident that the airship from Ferde had found itself on the receiving end of the second form of divine retribution.

Throughout Ferde’s history, there had been more than 15 instances of divine retribution, eight of which had been carried out by a god’s messenger.

Each time a god’s vengeance was delivered, the result had always been the same: the complete disintegration of an entire people.

There had never been records of mortals surviving a confrontation with a god.

The Magicians, Red Dragon Warriors and Sunlight Warriors on board the Flying City airship knew all too well about their chances against a god’s power. The appearance of the 33-foot-tall winged messenger before them had literally put the fear of God in everyone.

“Save us, God of Light!” One of the Magicians had fallen to his knees and began praying in despair.

“No, I don’t want to die!”

“Oh god, what should I do? Is there any way out of this!”

The airship was now in chaos. Through the uproar, the airship captain Merlin shouted, “My lord, what should we do now?”

Link did not immediately reply him. He waited for a few seconds before giving his command. “Ready the cannons and fire!”

As soon as he gave the order, there was a low hum. Then, a streak of white light shot out towards the god’s messenger on the ground.

Just when the light was about to hit it, the messenger suddenly let out a roar and thrust the crimson lightning spear in its hand forward.

As the spear began picking up speed, the red electricity around its tip gradually thickened until it formed a net-like electrical barrier which shielded the messenger’s entire body.

In the next second, the cannon fire struck the electrical barrier.

Crackle! Boom!

Spatial ripples spread out from the point of impact. The sky thundered, and the earth rumbled as the Level-16 magical cannon attack collided against the messenger’s shield.

At that moment, Link gave his second command. “Abandon ship, everyone out of the airship now!”

“My lord?!”

Merlin was stunned by what he had just heard. The Flying City airship contained all the magical innovations made by Ferde and the Yabba race. It was one of the most advanced airship in history. To Merlin, the airship held an even more important place in his heart than his own family. He only had it for less than a month and had barely gotten to know every corner of it. Even in the face of death, Merlin could not bring himself to abandon the ship.

“Out, now!” said Link, accentuating his every word.

Saying this, he activated the Dimensional Jump spell. A white light engulfed the whole cabin. An instant later, only Link remained inside the cabin. Everyone else had been teleported out of it by him.

The other passengers outside the cabin were all scared witless by the god’s messenger as well. Upon hearing Link’s order, none of them hesitated for a moment before fleeing the airship.

Confident in their own physical prowess, the Sunlight Warriors on deck had jumped straight out of the airship. The Magicians exited the airship by casting the Levitating spell on themselves, while the Yabba crew members released their parachutes as soon as they jumped out of the airship.

Three seconds after everyone disembarked the airship, the shockwave from the cannon fire’s impact against the shield hit the vessel. In the wake of the shockwave, everyone who had jumped out of the airship was simply blown about in the air and was able to come out relatively unscathed.

The same could not be said about the Flying City airship.

The vessel hung huge and heavy in the air. The shockwave hit it like a giant hammer traveling at the speed of sound.

Bang!

With a screeching sound, cracks spread out across the walls of the cabin. The entire airship trembled violently in the air as it was pushed back upon impact.

The airship’s structure had already been weakened by the storm earlier. It now seemed to be on the verge of splitting in two after having received the brunt of the shockwave.

It was as if an invisible hand had struck the airship, crippling it instantly.

At that moment, there was a flash of white light on the ground a few thousand feet below the airship. The light faded away to reveal Celine, Felina, Merlin and the others who had previously been inside the airship’s cabin.

They were able to catch a glimpse of what had happened to the airship in the air just in time.

Celine looked around and suddenly shouted, “Where’s the lord? Where’s Link? Why isn’t he here?”

Felina looked around as well. Suddenly, she remembered the last thing she saw before they were all teleported out of the cabin. The white light had enveloped everyone in it, all except Link.

She shouted in reply, “The lord did not teleport himself out of the airship. He’s still inside!”

Hearing what she said, Celine suddenly sensed from the airship an aura which she knew belonged only to Link. Startled, she raised her head and stared at the airship which had spun out of control in the air. She shouted, “What’s he still doing in the airship?!”

A realization suddenly dawned on her. Is he trying to buy us some time for all of us to escape by distracting the god’s messenger? But that would be suicide! Has he lost his mind? If he dies, who will be left to defend Ferde from the Isle of Dawn? What will happen to me if he dies? thought Celine, dread now creeping into her heart. Before she could even react, a red glowing figure launched itself into the air. At the same time, a thunderous voice boomed out.

“Mortal, you dare to defy a god?”

It was the god’s messenger!

The sky and earth were painted in a shade of blood red in an instant. The only object that remained untouched was Link’s airship.

A white light was pulsating around the airship. Even though the light was barely holding its own against the sanguine light, anyone could see the difference in power between the two sides. It would not be long before the blood-red light swallowed the airship.

“No! No!” shouted Celine desperately. She took out her rifle, rapidly stuffed her silver bullets into it and fired a few times at the blood-red figure.

None of her shots hit her target.

The messenger headed straight towards the airship without even making an attempt to dodge Celine’s bullets.

Even her precognitive prowess was of not much use against a god’s power.

Felina and the others had taken on their dragon forms and rushed into the sky to Link’s aid. Still, no matter how fast they flew, they could not catch up to the blood-red figure.

The god’s messenger had outclassed all of them in terms of power and speed.

…

The airship’s cabin

Even though the airship had been split in two and the cabin’s walls had cracked, the cabin remained an integral part of the airship and was at the moment the only thing keeping the entire vessel from breaking apart completely.

Link still had his feet anchored firmly to the floor. He was holding the Ode of a Full Moon in his right hand and the Soul Dominator’s Book of Revelation in his other hand.

As the god’s messenger drew closer towards him, Link began flipping through the book with the Magician’s Hand spell and channeling all his power into it at the same time.

Link had spent more than 33,000 Realm Essence Power points in order to cast the Eye of Agramma spell and keep it activated all this time. His power had depleted so much that he now had no more than 10,000 points of power to channel into the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation’s Divination of the Fates spell may not be able to kill the messenger, but it should be able to buy me some time, thought Link.

Just then, there was a flash of light in the corner of his eye. It was a message notifying him that he had completed his mission, and that he had been rewarded with 40 Jogu pieces. He now had more than 300 Jogu pieces in total.

At the same time, a new mission popped up.

Player has activated the second phase of the mission series: Avoiding Divine Retribution!

Description: Flee from the God of Destruction’s messenger and cross over the realm crack’s seal.

Mission Reward: Astral Whetstone

Due to the urgency of his current situation, Link only managed to glance through the message before accepting his new mission immediately without giving much thought to the mission’s reward.

He then channeled his power into the Book of Revelation, which began to glow.

The light around the book rippled like water in the air. Looking closely, one would be able to see that it was in fact composed of countless transparent magical seals.

Just then, Link felt an indescribable power flowing into his body. No, it was not power that he felt, but rather an authority over the fates of all existence in the realm.

Link’s body began to float in the air, not because he had cast a Levitating spell on himself. Rather, it was the world which had prostrated before Link in recognition of his authority.

In other words, it was the entire world which had lifted him up in the air in exaltation.

Mastery of Prophecy Magic could only be granted via the realm’s blessing. Link now fully understood what this meant.

He then walked out of the collapsing airship, calmly taking each step in the air as if he was walking on a level surface.

The God of Destruction’s messenger was still making a beeline towards him with all the fury of a storm.

With the Eye of Agramma spell, Link was able to predict the most probable development in the near future. Two-point-three seconds from now, the messenger would unleash its attack at him, and there would be nothing he could do to stop it. The only possible outcome of the messenger’s attack would be his complete annihilation.

If he hoped to survive the attack, he would have to strike the messenger down first.

And so, Link did just that.

With one hand holding the Book of Revelation and the other pointing the Ode of a Full Moon sword at the messenger, he announced, “In the name of the realm, I sentence you to death!”

His voice was soft at first, but it gradually grew louder until it rocked both heaven and earth like thunder. It continued to echo for what seemed like an age with no sign of losing momentum.

“I sentence you… sentence you… to death!”

Just then, something inexplicable happened.

The shade of blood-red that had filled the sky moments ago suddenly vanished. A moment later, the God of Destruction’s messenger let out a blood-curdling scream as she began falling from the sky like an angel whose wings had been clipped.

Chapter 615: Don’t Worry, I Still Have Strength!

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

What happened in the sky was incomprehensible.

“What happened?”

Felina was the closest to the Saint and saw most clearly. She saw the Saint get tied up by some force. The Saint struggled, but the force stuck to her like a spider web. Her hand couldn’t break free.

“Is this the lord’s true power?” Another Red Dragon Warrior gulped. His wide eyes were filled with incredulousness.

After all, it had been a divine punishment!

A true god’s power had descended into the mortal world, but the lord had said to take care of her on the spot. Judging from the current situation, the lord hadn’t been bluffing. If this true god’s Saint was really taken care of, then Ferde’s lord would undeniably be the strongest Magician in the history of Firuman!

On the ground, Celine’s group was shocked too. Faced with the Saint, everyone had felt some despair. But what happened afterwards was incomprehensible to the Yabbas, Magicians, and Sunlight Warriors.

Is the lord’s power really to this level? everyone thought.

Magic puppet Nana was the calmest. She couldn’t fly or help Link, so she just stood beside Celine to protect her.

Further away, demon Magician Glyn looked up despite the intense pain from all over his body. A few seconds ago, he’d been about to watch the Ferde airship get destroyed by the Saint. Now, he saw the Saint get tied up by the Ferde lord!

As a Legendary Magician and a subordinate of Nozama, the Lord of the Deep, he was more knowledgeable and had seen more.

When the Saint was trapped, Glyn immediately noticed the magic book in Link’s hands. Oh, even if that book isn’t divine gear, it’ll definitely be magic equipment of the Legendary Pinnacle. Amazing!

Ferde’s lord had such powerful magic equipment. Glyn felt that he wasn’t safe here anymore. I’m injured, and the Saint doesn’t seem to be the Ferde lord’s match. If I stay here, I’ll die!

The demons were only temporary allies with the God of Destruction’s servants. He was already being nice by not turning on the servants in their trouble. They’d be dreaming if they wanted him to help!

He was decisive and immediately prepared to leave. But a few steps later, he saw a somewhat familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Looking closer, he saw that it was a young girl with dark purple hair. She had a finely made fire gun.

Oh? I think it’s the princess! As Nozama’s subordinate, he was familiar with each daughter. Their features were carved in his soul. He could recognize them even if they were turned to ashes.

Celine’s power had been purified and barely had any demonic aura, but Glyn was sensitive. He recognized her after a few glances.

Right now, he was less than two miles from Celine. The other was completely focused on the Ferde lord in the sky. If Glyn ambushed her, he could probably capture her successfully.

Lord Nozama misses Princess Celine. If I can take her back to the Abyss, I will definitely be rewarded heavily!

Looking back up at where the Ferde lord was, Glyn clenched his teeth and snuck towards Celine. Capturing the princess could distract Link, help the God of Destruction’s Saint, and also help himself get on Nozama’s good side. It was three birds with one stone and wasn’t that risky. Only an idiot wouldn’t do it!

On the other hand, Link had used up almost all his power to restrain the God of Destruction’s Saint. He had less than 1000 points and couldn’t maintain the Eye of Agramma anymore.

After stopping the spell, he felt his head spin like something had disappeared from his body. Thinking back, he had no information about the Agramma spell. He’d forgotten it all.

He knew this was one of the side effects. According to the instructions, he would get punished by the Firuman Realm too. But time was tight now. The Saint could break free at any time. Even one-tenth of a second’s delay would make a difference between life and death.

He had no time to figure out what punishment he got. Using his remaining strength, he cast a Dimensional Jump spell towards the realm crack.

He was the Saint’s target. The further he ran, the safer the others would be. Thus, he began running without hesitation.

Buzz! With the soft sound, the white transmission light flashed. The next moment, Link was miles away. He only had around 800 points left. With his recovery rate, he could generate 120 Realm Essence points per second. If he waited two minutes, he would be back to normal, so he didn’t care.

After this jump, Link jumped again, moving forward around ten miles. If he jumped again, he would be close to the realm crack.

But then he discovered a change in his body. No, my recovery rate slowed down!

How slow exactly? As soon as he thought that, the game system answered.

Current Recovery Rate: 13 points per second

Player currently in a negative state: Time Abomination

Time Abomination: Usage of time magic disrupted the flow of time. The user will suffer from time’s backlash. Under the disruption, the user’s body will be greatly affected, their power lowering to 10% of the original rate. Unless time returns to normal, this effect will last forever.

This was a horrible negative state, but Link didn’t regret using the Eye of Agramma at all. If he didn’t use the spell to see the future at that time, they would’ve died without a doubt.

The entire airship might be reduced to ashes.

Mortals always had to pay when faced with divine punishment. Only his recovery rate had slowed down. He could accept this.

Thinking of this, Link felt calmer. He was less than six miles from the barrier now. He prepared for a third transmission.

As long as he escaped into the realm barrier, he could use the powerful magic seal created by the thin piece of time. That seal was at Level-23. It was definitely enough to kill a Saint.

White light flashed around him again. The transmission was about to start. Just then, Link’s heart jumped. An avalanche of anxiety surged in him.

The Saint escaped! he thought.

The next instant, the sky turned blood-red again. At the same time, he heard a resounding voice behind him. “Mortal, you’ve angered me!”

She’d underestimated Link earlier and had been fooled by the little trick. It was truly insulting. Now, she wouldn’t give him another chance!

Link looked back. He saw semi-transparent spatial ripples appear around the Saint dozens of miles away. The ripples spread with incredible speed.

Link was shocked. No, I can’t use the transmission anymore!

The spatial ripples traveled at an inhuman speed. In Firuman, it could travel tens of thousands of miles in a second. Even if he didn’t die, he would be gravely injured.

Link immediately canceled the transmission and used the Void Walk, rushing towards the barrier. He was less than six miles away. The Void Walk gave him a speed of around one mile per second. He would need seven seconds!

Seven seconds…isn’t enough! Link saw that the Saint had already started charging. Her speed was even faster. With a flap of her wings, her entire body turned into a beam of red light.

Even if Link was the fastest in the mortal world, she was still closing in on him around five miles per second.

Six miles in a second. That’s so much faster than me. So is this divine power? Link was shocked. He forced himself to focus and planned while sprinting.

No, a true divine-level figure wouldn’t exist in this realm. Otherwise, the God of Destruction would have come long ago. This Saint is at most at the pinnacle of Level-19. She’s powerful and Legendary, but she isn’t different in nature from me. She’s just more focused and of a larger scale.

Thinking of this, he asked the sword spirit in the Ode of a Full Moon, “How powerful do you think she is?”

The sword spirit’s past owner was the Storm Lord, who was at the pinnacle of Level-19. It must have seen many people at that level. Even though Link had seen those in the game too, that was only the game. It was still quite different from real life. Thus, he had nothing to refer to.

The sword spirit knew this was urgent too. As soon as Link asked, it replied, Judging from her performance, she isn’t higher than Level-17.

“Level-17?” This was lower than what Link had expected, but it was still terrifying.

The higher one was in the Legendary realm, the harder it was to cross that chasm. The gap would be wider too. In lower levels, Link could perhaps use his superb battle techniques to overlook the difference in levels. For example, when fighting against Bryant, Halino, and Eugene, he’d defeated them despite them being stronger. But this wouldn’t happen when the other’s level was much higher.

Even in the game, it was impossible for a lower level to win after reaching Level-14. The difference was hopeless!

Yes, she should be Level-17. If she is truly at Level-19, we wouldn’t have the chance to fight back. The Book of Revelation wouldn’t be able to stop her…but I still can’t fight against this.

Indeed. Link’s eyes brightened and then darkened again.

He now had 820 Omni Points and around 600 Realm Essence points. This was too little. He hadn’t been a match at his full status. Now, it was basically hopeless. How could he fight against the Saint’s attack?

There wasn’t much time. Link’s mind whirred as he worked to find an idea. During this time, the Saint traveled close to six miles again. She would catch up the next moment.

What do I do? What do I do?

Don’t worry. I still have strength, the sword spirit suddenly said.

Chapter 616: Mortal, You Will Be Judged Soon!

The Ode of a Full Moon sword indeed still had some power left in it!

During his downtime, Link would channel his power into it in order to raise the sword’s quality.

Link was already able to recover more than 100 Realm Essence Power points every second. With such a high recovery rate, he could afford to store most of his power inside his sword whenever he could. Upon careful calculation, he realized that the power he had stored within the Ode of a Full Moon sword had reached an astronomical figure.

As soon as he heard the sword spirit’s voice inside his head, he began to feel a huge surge of power inside him. He could see in his field of vision his own power level beginning to rise. 1000… 2000… 3000… His power was restored completely before a hundredth of a second had even passed.

Do you still need power? There’s more where that came from! said the sword spirit.

“How much do you still have left?” asked Link. He had opened up the game system’s spell card shopping interface.

He still had 820 Omni Points, which was enough to buy a Level-19 spell and enable him to defeat the God of Destruction’s messenger.

I’ve used most of the power you’ve given me to improve on the quality of my blade. I can probably replenish your power twice over if I have to.

“Twice, you say?” Link quickly did the math. This meant that the sword could provide an additional 45,000 Power points to him. Adding to the 22,000 Power points already restored in him, he would have approximately 68,000 Realm Essence Power points in total.

Sixty-eight thousand Realm Essence points would be the equivalent of 300,000 Mana points, which would be enough for Link to cast a Level-17 Pinnacle offensive spell.

Link quickly flipped through the pages of spell cards on display and was able to find four Level-17 offensive spells that he had used before in the game world.

Time Hex: Calamity. Costs 5000 Power points to activate. An extremely powerful spell, with an extremely long casting time… Not what I’m looking for. Infernal Secret Art: Twilight of the Gods. Costs 58,000 Power points. Explosive and impactful, but it’s an area-of-effect spell, which means that its power is not particularly concentrated in one point. Don’t think it would be of any use against a god’s messenger. Wait, this is…

His eyes fell on the third spell card, on which was written, “Glorious God: Judgement.”

A Level-17 single-target offensive spell. It can be cast instantly with a 60,000 Power point cost. Once the spell is cast, its target will be immobilized and rendered incapable of retaliating!

Recalling how the spell had worked in the game world, Link could not help but sigh. In order to attract more players, the game had added a lot of gaudy effects to the spell. As a result, its power was reduced considerably. Still, this is the only offensive spell I can use right now.

In the game world, Link had acquired the spell in order to show it off to others. Back then, he had thought that the spell was extremely powerful. Now, after actually acquiring the spell, he felt that it was a spell simply meant for showboating.

Nonetheless, he had no other choice. Without any delay, he purchased the spell card.

One-hundred and seventh Omni Points were instantly deducted from him. In his field of sight, the spell card dissolved into countless points of light, which was then absorbed by his body.

The God of Destruction’s messenger was already 1000 feet away from Link when Link concluded the transaction. Electricity crackled around the blood-red spear she was holding in her hand. Its tip was pointed straight at Link. “Mortal, time to receive your final judgment!”

Just as her voice boomed in the air, the electricity around the spear began expanding until it formed a huge net which covered a 500 square-foot-wide area. The net then descended rapidly toward Link.

Link noticed that there were ripples spreading from the blood-red electricity. Upon closer inspection, he also saw that there were countless spatial cracks left by the ripples in the air.

It was clear that the electrical net had completely sealed off the space around Link. There was no place he could run. His only option now was to confront the attack head-on!

The Red Dragon Warriors who were hovering ten miles away in the air saw what was going on.

Unable to do anything else, the Red Dragon Warriors could only look on at the scene as they kept themselves afloat by flapping their wings against the wind.

Felina’s face contorted in horror. She began muttering to herself, “No, how can this be? There’s no way it would end like this for the duke.”

Floating alongside the Red Dragon Warriors in the air, the Sunlight Magicians were also watching what was happening in helpless horror.

The power they had witnessed had simply surpassed the imagination of all the Magicians on the scene!

The Magicians were so shaken by this that most of them were unable to maintain their concentration and fell straight out of the sky. Had it not been for the fact that they were able to strengthen their bodies in time with Sunlight Power, most of them would have died on impact.

Perched atop the trees in the forest, the Sunlight Warriors of Ferde were also able to see what was going on in the sky.

Most of them began trembling so violently that they could not keep a firm footing on the treetops. Unable to react as quickly as their fellow Magicians, some of them even tumbled to the ground.

Celine was standing on top of a tree as well. She gaped at the horrific scene before her, a tear rolling down her cheek from the corner of her eye.

“Is this it?” she murmured.

At that moment, the times she had spent with Link flashed before her eyes.

She remembered the moment she first met Link in Flemming Magic Academy. Back then, Link was just a clumsy initiate in the mystic arts, whose furtive glances he would shoot at her from time to time did not escape her notice. She remembered the time he had come to save her in Opal City on his own. She also remembered the tender moments she had shared with him, as well as the look of concentration on his face every time he forged magical equipment for her.

All these scenes raced through her mind until finally, all she could see now was the horrifying display of blood-red electricity that had filled the sky in front of her.

It was over.

Grief overcame Celine like a raging river. Her mind was now filled with thoughts about Link and nothing else.

At that moment, there was only one person who was still able to calmly observe the scene before them.

It was Nana, who had not spoken a word all this time.

She had seen the blood-red web of electricity, and still, she did not feel a hint of despair. The reason was simple. Through her contract with her master, she did not feel a single hint of despair from her master as well. This meant that he still had something up his sleeve to deal with such an attack.

The web of electricity that had filled the sky did not faze her in the least. During the last hundred years, she had spent in the Aragu realm, she had experienced countless Legendary battles. She even had the chance to witness the duel of two Archmages once with her own eyes!

A duel between two such individuals could reshape even the geography of an entire continent.

The battle between her master and the god’s messenger was certainly one of grand proportions, but it was not enough to disconcert Nana.

Nana stood beside Celine, surveying her surroundings. Just then, she sensed that something was watching them.

She needed to be careful now.

In the sky, Link took a deep breath as the electrical web began descending toward him. He then raised the Ode of a Full Moon sword and infused his Realm Essence Power into it. In an instant, the sword began shining with a blinding light.

From afar, it looked as if a sun had emerged from the ground!

“Glorious God: Judgement!” muttered Link as he activated the Level-17 Legendary spell.

Hum. The Ode of a Full Moon sword began vibrating violently until Link could barely hold it in his hand.

Suddenly, the concentrated light from the sword shot upward into the sky. When it reached a few hundred feet in the sky, the light began spreading outward, slowly forming a golden throne.

One could see a vague silhouette sitting on the golden throne in the sky. When the silhouette appeared, the entire light construct shone fiercely like an actual sun, pushing back the electrical web that was pressing down from the sky toward Link.

The radiant throne continued expanding until it reached more than 5000 feet tall. From afar, it looked as if a golden mountain had risen abruptly from the ground.

Overlooking the god’s messenger, the figure sitting on the throne boomed, “Messenger of the God of Destruction, I now find you guilty!”

Both heaven and earth quaked when the voice sounded, and it echoed on for a long while.

“I find you guilty!”

“Guilty!”

“Guilty!”

Any mortal, be they an ordinary being or a Legendary master, would have been scared witless as soon as they heard those words.

The condemnation of the whole world now weighed heavily on the God of Destruction’s messenger. Everyone throughout the world was now judging her, reviling her. One could only imagine the stress she was feeling right now.

“Who are you?” roared the messenger. She tried to bring down the electrical web on it but soon realized that the figure was a lot stronger than her and was able to resist her attack.

The figure on the golden throne ignored her. It gazed on at the world below it indifferently, as if the god’s messenger was nothing more than a grain of dust.

Then the voice rumbled once more, “I now banish you from this realm!’

Something happened as soon as its words fell.

The messenger sensed that her power was depleting rapidly. Strands of blood-aura aura were now seeping out of her pores and into the Sea of Void.

Her 33-foot-tall body was also rapidly shrinking and losing the luster that had enveloped it moments ago.

“What are you doing to me?” roared the messenger. She tried to rush toward Link, intent on killing him. However, she sensed that an incredible power had bound her up. Even the simple act of walking proved difficult.

The inexplicable conditions that the messenger now found herself in had driven her mad. “Argh!!! Get away from me!”

She struggled on desperately, swinging her blood-red spear around in a frenzy.

There was a cracking sound from the golden throne. Link was now having a hard time keeping her restrained after having spent much of his power siphoning the messenger’s power into the Sea of Void.

Sensing that her restraints had weakened slightly, the messenger struggled even more desperately against her unseen fetters, convinced that freedom was now within her grasp.

Her power was still receding rapidly from her body, which was shrinking as a result, but the golden throne was also breaking apart in the air. Fragments of it glowed for a moment as they fell from the sky, before evaporating completely in the air.

Both parties had sustained heavy injuries at this point.

The ground trembled furiously during the course of the battle, as if the entire world itself was gripped by terror in the face of these two extraordinary beings.

Everyone on the scene had stopped what they were doing and simply gaped at the spectacle.

This included everyone from Ferde, the elite soldiers of the Army of Destruction who had been watching the fight unfold from afar, and the dragon guards inside the barrier protecting the realm crack. Even the Demon Magician Glyn, who was intent on taking Celine prisoner, had stopped in his tracks as he saw what was happening in the air.

Glyn had wanted to make his move, but he noticed that there was a female Warrior standing beside Celine. She appeared ordinary, but every time he tried to move closer toward Celine, the female Warrior would turn her gaze in his direction unconsciously.

Glyn had never seen Nana before. He also did not have a handle on her power and so remained unsure whether he should move in on Celine now. Then, he saw the fight between Link and the God of Destruction’s messenger.

Glyn was stunned by what he saw. “That’s a Level-17 Pinnacle spell. Is the lord of Ferde really that strong?”

Even back in the Abyss, his power was only Level-16. Upon entering Firuman, the restrictions imposed by the realm had reduced him to Level-13. The fact that the other party was evidently stronger than Glyn even when he was in his full power certainly came as a shock to him.

He now had doubts about capturing Celine.

The clash between the golden throne and the god’s messenger lasted for 15 seconds. The messenger was now seven feet tall, while the golden throne had used up all of its power in an attempt to keep her down.

Then everything was silent.

Link still had 8000 Power points left in him. He stood on the ground, looking on at the messenger who was a few thousand feet away from him.

The messenger’s power had been depleted completely as well. Link could clearly sense that she was now only as strong as a Level-12 Legendary master. Although she still had plenty of power in her, there was nothing overwhelming about it.

This was now a fight to the death between Link and the messenger.

Ding! Link was now filled with killing intent. The Ode of a Full Moon sword quivered in his hand, and a sound as clear as a bell rang out in the air. It was incredibly resonant and could be heard a few thousand feet away.

The god’s messenger floated a few hundred feet in the air, looking at Link with an inscrutable expression on her face. She remained silent for around three seconds and then said, “Mortal, you will be judged again soon!”

Saying this, she spread out her wings and flew off into the distance.

Seeing this, Glyn bit his lip. He looked at Celine who was still perched on the treetop, then at the unknown female Warrior standing beside her, and sighed. Forget it, I did not come fully prepared for this. It’s just too risky. I had better report this to my master.

Finally making his decision, Glyn immediately turned around and left the place.

Chapter 617: Each with Their Own Plans

“Master, are you okay?” That was Nana. Her voice was the calmest as if everything that had happened was normal.

“Lord!” That was the Magicians and Warriors of Ferde. They stared at Link with reverence. Worship was written all over their faces.

“Duke, how are you?” That was the Red Dragon Warriors. The dragons were known as the Legendary Race, but they’d been shocked by Link’s performance.

This was the first time in Firuman’s recorded history that someone could remain unharmed after facing a divine punishment!

Link also let out a sigh of relief. The earlier clash had been thrilling to the max. Even though he used the Level-17 Legendary spell, he’d had to use extreme effort to stabilize the spell and restrain the Saint.

During this process, any flaw would allow the Saint to break free and ruin everything. He would still be killed.

Thankfully, he’d succeeded.

At this time, the crowd suddenly fell silent and parted to the side. Celine walked over. Her eyes were slightly red, and there were faint trails of tears on her face. She’d been crying.

Link could obviously guess why. Without speaking, he walked up and hugged her. They embraced silently. The surrounding people kept silent too.

After a long while, Celine whispered, “After going back, I’m going to study Soul magic! I want to get stronger! Even if we fail in the end, it’ll be a failure after we worked together. I don’t want to watch from the side anymore.”

Celine’s voice was calm, but Link could hear a determination that hadn’t been present before.

Link was too familiar with Celine’s personality. She would either not do something or use her whole heart and keep going even at a dead end. She wouldn’t stop even if she was defeated.

In the game, she didn’t want to become her father’s slave, so she went from hiding to doing everything to attack. During this process, she’d experienced unimaginable pain and torture. Her personality had even become twisted, but she still kept going.

Since she’d decided, Link wouldn’t disagree. He would do his best to help Celine get stronger so she could take less wrong turns in this process.

Patting her back, Link murmured, “Okay, that’s my girl.”

There were many people watching. After the initial outburst, Celine calmed down. Seeing all the people, her cheeks turned hot. She tried not to act abnormally and pretended to be composed as she broke free from Link.

Link looked up at everyone and smiled. “Alright, the danger is over. Our airship is destroyed, but the magic material inside is still good. Let’s recycle them and then go to the crack.”

“Yes, Lord!” No one objected.

Everyone turned to the ruined airship. Link walked in the crowd, but his mind was on the Jogu in his spatial ring.

He now had 309 while he needed 300 to completely fix the crack. He could summon Travel Magician Aisenis now.

I’ll summon him after we get inside the crack barrier, Link decided.

Just as they were cleaning up the battlefield, Glyn and Molina regrouped at the border between the Golden Plains and Hengduan Mountain Range.

Molina was in bad shape. Her face was horribly pale, and her breaths had a bloody smell. At closer inspection, one would see that her bare skin had cracked, covered with web-like fissures. They were extremely deep and revealed red flesh.

This was the side effect of divine power forcefully entering her body. Earlier, the Saint had used her body.

Glyn was in bad shape too. He’d forcefully used transmissions under the interference of the outside world. Even though he’d succeeded in the end, his internal organs had moved. He wasn’t hurt on the surface, but his internal injuries weren’t any better than Molina. He was a demon, but he was also a Magician. His body was weaker than demon Warriors.

When the two regrouped, they stared at each other speechlessly. Even something as extreme as the divine punishment couldn’t kill the Ferde lord. What more was there to say?

After half a minute, a sudden eagle’s caw broke the silence. Glyn coughed softly and asked, “Priestess, how are your injuries?”

“I’m alright. I can recover after some rest. How about you?” Molina was embarrassed. She’d embarrassed her master today. In order to hide the awkwardness, she had to say this nonsense.

“I’m alright too.”

After that, they were silent again.

The wind blew past. After another pregnant pause, Glyn spoke again. “What happened today was actually an accident. The Ferde lord must have been prepared. That’s why he could fight against the divine punishment. His background probably isn’t that simple either.”

“What do you mean?” Molina asked.

“The humans say that he’s the God of Light’s chosen one…”

Molina froze and then shook her head. “I don’t think so. My master hasn’t seen the glory of the chosen one on him. He never prays to the God of Light or contacts the church either.”

“Uh…” Glyn didn’t know what to say. He obviously wasn’t as familiar about religion as the priestess. But he had his own reasons. “How do you explain his last move?”

The huge with a huge figure, the tone of the figure… Everything looked as if a god had come to the mortal world.

Glyn had been far away. To him, the fight between the Ferde lord and Molina had seemed more like the representatives of two gods fighting rather than divine punishment.

“No, no, no. That was only a spell,” Molina explained. “He just made it fancier. It was around the pinnacle of Level-17 and didn’t contain any divine power. I could feel it.”

This shocked Glyn even more. “Pinnacle of Level-17? He’s already at the pinnacle of Level-17? This…”

Reaching Level-17 using divine power and reaching it on your own were two totally different concepts.

The former was like a regular person getting a magic fire gun. They could easily kill a regular person. Even a strong figure might not be their match. But their weakness was obvious too. They couldn’t use the spell to the max.

The latter was like a person with strict training who had a magic fire gun. Their combat ability could make someone feel hopeless! A Level-17 Magician was someone who could make others feel despair. Glyn had Level-16 power in the Abyss, but he could only look up to someone at the pinnacle of Level-17. He could only worship those in Level-19, just like how he worshipped Nozama.

If there really was this powerful of a human, there was no point in the war anymore. The Army of Destruction should just disband, the demons returning to the Abyss, Nagas retreating, Dark Elves back to the Dark Hell, and High Elves back to the Isle of Dawn. Everyone should hide and try not to get destroyed, waiting painfully until this Legendary figure died.

Glyn suddenly felt the urge to go back to the Abyss and never come back to Firuman.

Molina shook her head. “No, he isn’t that strong. I could feel that he used some divine gear to temporarily reach that strength. It can’t be maintained, and he must pay for it somehow. I could feel some unknown chaos enter his body. Of course, he is still a force to be reckoned with.”

Glyn was slightly relieved, but he still wasn’t sure. “Really?”

Molina nodded lightly. “Yes! God gave me power and also blessed me with superhuman perception. Right now, the Ferde lord should be at the pinnacle of Level-12. That is power, but not undefeatable. There will be a way to deal with him. Even if we can’t, Princess Ellie will be able to. She’s very strong.”

Glyn finally relaxed. He was really mentally scarred from seeing Link’s performance against the Saint. After thinking, he said, “But that guy is truly strong. In the windstorm, he could even dodge my sneak attack and attack immediately. He almost killed me. No, my wound is too serious. I must rest for a while.”

He had to report the princess’ situation to his master. Nozama had been missing Princess Celine; he would love this news. He had to report today’s battle too so his master could be prepared.

With that, his body vaporized into black fog and disappeared into the mountains. Even Molina didn’t know where he went.

Seeing Glyn leave, Molina cursed, “Tricky bastard. You run fast, huh.”

She couldn’t stay here any longer either. After a short rest to recover a bit, she ran towards the Black Forest. Princess Ellie should learn about the situation.

There was still a lot of divine power within her. After a while, her wounds were mostly healed, and she’d sped up too. Traveling like this, she reached the Skeletal Fort in the north of the Black Forest by noon of the next day.

After finding Princess Ellie, Molina reported the battle in detail.

At this time, Eugene had been reading in the Skeletal Fort. After listening to Molina, his body shook in disbelief. “Even the divine punishment was useless?”

Molina didn’t answer. After all, this humiliated the God of Destruction.

Eugene tapped against the bone table and fell silent. A few minutes later, he asked, “You said that Link was hurt?”

“Yes.”

“Can he recover soon?”

“Probably not. These injuries pertain to the power of the principles. The Ferde lord isn’t that strong.”

“Oh.” Eugene fell silent. A few minutes later, he asked again, “So can we do a divine punishment again?”

Molina froze, her expression darkening. “Your Highness, please watch your language! We mortals should be humble before the gods!”

This divine punishment had used up so much divine power, but this person wanted to do it again. Did she think that a god could be used like a tool? This was blasphemy.

If they really did it, Molina would punish her first!

“Okay, okay, we won’t talk about that. I’ll think of something else,” Eugene quickly said. She knew that fervent believers had no logic. They would throw away all logic for their religion.

Squinting her dark eyes, Eugene’s thoughts whirred. Finally, her gaze landed on Morpheus, the Shadow Walker in the South.

That guy is an upstart, but he’s still powerful. Maybe I can borrow some power from him.

At this time, Eugene didn’t know that Link had finished cleaning up the ruins and reached the crack barrier. Link was also thinking something similar.

…

Very good, Army of Destruction. I can’t be fooled by you every time. This time, you can taste my power!

With that in mind, Link started contacting Aisenis.

Chapter 618: Take Care, Kid

“I take it you have some good news for me?”

Aisenis’ appearance was abrupt. No energy fluctuations preceded it. He had appeared as a shadow, which then solidified into a physical body, from which sounded the Yabba man’s clear, melodious voice.

As Yabba people were generally short, Aisenis would always appear on an elevated platform so that he would not have to keep his head raised to speak with someone.

At that moment, he had decided to make his entrance on a long table.

Link smiled. Without saying anything, he took out the Jogu pieces and began lining them up one by one on the table.

“Oh, are these Jogus? That’s quite a collection. How did you manage to amass this much so quickly?”

Aisenis stared at the rows of Jogus. He stooped down and began inspecting each white stone on the table. After inspecting ten or so pieces, he turned around and looked at Link, “So you’ve collected 300 pieces of Jogu in total?”

Link nodded, “As per our agreement, 300 pieces of Jogu in exchange for a way to completely seal up the realm crack.”

Hearing this, a troubled look crept up Aisenis’ face. He rubbed his hands together unconsciously as he stared at the sky outside the window for a long while.

Finally, he spoke, “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think you would be able to collect this much Jogus. If I were to give you the means to repair the realm crack, I’d automatically be an enemy of the God of Destruction. I wouldn’t be able to stay in this realm for long, as he’d be sending his servants after me soon.”

Link frowned. “We had a deal. Don’t tell me you’re going back on your word now?”

Link’s words seemed to have touched a nerve, as Aisenis leaped up and said loudly, “No, of course not! I would never do anything to jeopardize my reputation as a respectable Travel Magician!”

Link shrugged. “Then what are you making such a fuss about? Every transaction always comes with its own risk. Just tell me what I need to hear and consider our business concluded.”

Aisenis looked at the pieces of Jogus lined up neatly on the table. He picked one up and began gently stroking it. After a while, he sighed, “Mortal, if you ever have the chance to leave this realm and take a trip to the Sea of Void, you’d understand my misgivings about this. Also, this is a lot of Jogus, even for me… Alright, alright, I’ll keep my end of the bargain!”

He handed a brown goatskin scroll over to Link. “It’s all in this scroll. The procedure’s a bit complicated, but it doesn’t require much. You’re a lord now. You probably have a lot of subordinates under you. I figure you’ll be able to pull it off with your resources.”

Aisenis waved a hand, and all the white Jogu stones on the table vanished in an instant. In the next moment, the Travel Magician began to fade away, ready to leave the place.

“Wait, I still have something I would like to talk to you about,” said Link in a hurry.

Aisenis reverted to his corporeal form. “I’m listening.”

“I still have a couple of Jogus left. I would like to buy a piece of information with them.” Link initially had 307 Jogu pieces in total. After giving Aisenis 300 pieces, he still had 7 pieces to spare, which probably would be enough to purchase a small piece of information from the Yabba man.

Looking at the stones in Link’s hand, Aisensi hesitated for a moment, then said, “Keep your Jogus. Whatever it is you want to know, just ask. Consider it a parting gift from me, as I don’t think we will ever have the chance to see each other again.”

Aisenis’ face broke into a bitter smile. Curiously enough, Link could sense a hint of sympathy in his eyes as the Travel Magician looked at him.

Is he feeling sorry for me? Or is he just feeling sorry for himself? thought Link, puzzled. What was even stranger was the fact that Aisenis had always expressed a fervent passion for these Jogu stones. What would have made him turn down Link’s last remaining Jogu stones?

Link figured the Travel Magician would not tell him his reasons even if he had asked. Putting these questions aside, he decided to take up Aisenis’ offer and asked, “There seems to be a new commander in charge of the Army of Destruction. I would like to know more about this mysterious figure. For instance, his habits, his past, important figures under his command. I would like to know them all.”

Aisenis shook his head. “That’s way too many questions for a freebie from me. I can only tell you this. Yes, the Army of Destruction has a new leader, but you already know him. He’s called Eugene.”

“The Dark Magician Eugene?!” Link was taken aback. However, after carefully thinking it through, this made a lot of sense. He had interfered with Eugene’s affairs not too long ago, and so it would be natural for him to stir trouble up for Link in return.

“Is there another Eugene I don’t know about?” Aisenis shrugged. He then began to fade away once more. Just when he was about to disappear completely, his voice rang out, “Argh, I’m such a softie. Young man, I’ll give you my last piece of information. It’s already written in the last paragraph of the scroll’s content. It concerns Firuman’s future, or at least, the most likely future I was able to see. What will you do in the face of such a future, I wonder?”

Saying this, a beam of light shot out from Aisenis’ fading form and hit the scroll in Link’s hand. Finally, he was gone. Link did not have the faintest idea where he could have gone off to, or whether he was still in Firuman.

Recollecting himself, Link unfurled the scroll in his hand and began reading its content.

A magic seal was depicted at the beginning of the scroll. It was extremely sophisticated. More than half of the runes inscribed on it had surpassed Link’s comprehension. However, he was still able to make sense of a couple of structures in it. They all seemed to involve gluing the torn edges of space together.

This all seemed legitimate, though Link would need to spend some time studying the magic seal in order to use it properly.

Aisenis’ final words had piqued his curiosity. After giving a cursory glance at the magic seal, he moved on to the second paragraph of the scroll.

The paragraph was titled ominously “The Age of Darkness.” Below it was an introduction of a few hundred words, which gave a brief account of Firuman’s history.

Link continued reading the rest of the paragraph.

A year from now, after the realm reunification, the Aragu realm will be able to subdue all of Firuman with its overwhelming military might.

In the first year after the reunification, the Inferno Archmage will burn the World Tree down. As a result, the Isle of Dawn will sink into the depths of the ocean. Most of its inhabitants will perish, and any survivors will be forced to seek shelter on the continent.

In the third year after the reunification, Shadow Stalker Morpheus will fail at his ascension to godhood. The Southern Free Trade Confederation will be annexed by the Yan empire as a result. As the representative of the entire Norton Kingdom, Ferde will form the Alliance of Light with the Beastmen.

In the fourth year after the reunification, the War of the Green Valley will erupt. The Beastmen will be brought to the brink of extinction as a result of the war, and the alliance will be disbanded. With the God of Light’s influence weakened considerably, the lord of Ferde will later be exiled from his domain. Three months later, he will join forces with the Aragu Empire.

In the seventh year after the reunification, the Inferno Archmage will successfully ascend to godhood and later defeat the Aragu empire’s protector, the Snow Mountain Archmage. The Yan empire will seize this chance to unite the realm and slaughter all the important personages of the Aragu empire. The former lord of Ferde will perish in battle, while an imprisonment seal will destroy the Black Forest in the North, pushing the Dark Elves to the brink of extinction.

In the eighth year after the reunification, the Yan empire will achieve dominance over all other races.

In the eleventh year after the reunification, the Yan empire will collapse and split into ten smaller countries, in which all races will be able to achieve independence.

Anything beyond the eleventh year of the reunification is a blur. Nothing of substance could be gleaned from it.

There was a sentence scribbled at the end of the paragraph, which read, “Eleven years of strife. Casualties will amount to five million, which makes up at least 90% of the realm’s current population. In the coming eleven years, the world will be plunged into an endless pit of darkness and despair. Take care, kid.”

Link’s brows furrowed as he read this.

As far as he could tell, Aisenis possessed incredible power rivaling that of a god. Naturally, this meant that he was able to accurately predict the most likely course time would take. Events would unfold as he had described in the scroll for the next eleven years after the realm reunification, ushering the whole world into an age of darkness.

However, Link had seen the future from Aisenis’ perspective. Whatever choices Link decided to make from now on with this knowledge in hand could affect the future drastically.

If Link was an ordinary being, his actions would only be able to affect the future to a trivial extent. A few details would be shifted out of alignment here and there, but otherwise, everything would remain largely the same. However, Link was a Level-12 Legendary Magician at the helm of Ferde’s army. He was an influential figure in the politics of Norton Kingdom who also had close ties with the dragon race. Simply put, the power he wielded was enormous.

The future had entered a state of flux the moment Aisenis revealed what he knew about it to Link. Someone with Link’s influence would definitely be able to change the world’s current course in order to prevent such a bleak future from happening.

In other words, he still had a chance to make things right!

Slowly rolling up the scroll, Link walked to the window and admired the scenery outside. He was now inside the barrier around the realm crack, and the scenery outside the window belonged to the Korora Mountain Range.

Mountains stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see. Dragon guards circled the sky above him, while Red Dragon Magicians remained in their positions, closely monitoring the barrier’s condition. Not too far away were the Warriors and Magicians of Ferde.

The Magicians of Ferde were either analyzing magical techniques or monitoring the operation of the magic seals with their Red Dragon counterparts, while the Warriors of Ferde dueled with their Red Dragon counterparts, sharpening each other’s skills.

Not everyone seemed outwardly happy about this, but the general atmosphere was one of peace and optimism for the future.

These are all elites of Firuman. Once both realms are reunited, most of them will die in battle, thought Link. The few who manage to survive will be forced to submit to the Aragu realm’s indomitable might and endure a life of discrimination and scorn from their oppressors for the remainder of their lives with no hope of reliving the glory days. Though Ferde may be enjoying a prosperous existence right now, it will all soon come to an end once the age of darkness descends on all of us. I won’t even be able to survive the first seven years after the realm reunification event. When I’m gone, Celine probably won’t fare any better than me in the new world as well.

This all hinged on the matter of the realm reunification.

Not too long ago, Link did not think that the realm reunification would pose a huge threat to him and had simply wondered how he would have to adapt to a reunited realm. However, with the threat of an all-out war looming over him right now, Link had begun giving serious thought about stopping the realm reunification process entirely.

This was without a doubt a difficult hurdle to overcome, but in Link’s experience, there was no such thing as the impossible in this world.

There’s no time to lose; I must act quick!

Chapter 619: Celine’s Bloodline Talent

This was Link’s 18th day at the crack.

Nothing else happened these days, perhaps because the powerful barrier kept the enemies away or perhaps because Link’s fight against the divine punishment had been too great. Link could focus on studying a magic seal to heal the Realm Crack.

To increase efficiency, he didn’t keep it a secret. He publicized the magic seal to all the Magicians there so they could all participate in the study.

There were hundreds of Magicians within the barrier. The weakest was at Level-7. Through their mutual effort, they successfully created a small experimental magic seal after 18 days.

Now, Link and the Magicians were testing it.

The healing seal was printed on a runestone of more than 20 centimeters long. Five Magicians were feeding their power into it. Link stood to the side, making precise adjustments.

Maybe because the realm took care of them, the experiment was very successful. Half an hour later, cheers erupted from the crowd.

“Success!”

“The Realm Crack will finally disappear!”

“Duke, you saved us!”

All sorts of voices rang out, filled with irrepressible joy. Some dragons were even crying from the excitement. Only the heavens knew how much pressure the crack gave them. A single mishap could cause the crack to expand and swallow the Korora Mountain Range, Dragon Valley, and even the entire realm.

Even without this problem, the crack led directly to the boundless Sea of Void. If another Void Tyrant or even more terrifying creature burst free from it, even a divine-level defense barrier wouldn’t be able to protect them for long.

But now, this crisis was over!

Link also sighed in relief. Since the experimental spell had succeeded, the next step was just enlarging the scale of the spell. It wasn’t hard.

In other words, this crack that had been threatening Firuman all this time was finally resolved.

He looked around at each Magician and smiled genuinely. “This runestone is the result of everyone’s efforts. It also represents the friendship between Ferde and the Dragon Valley. Everyone, let’s keep working hard and create a magic seal that can truly mend the crack to prevent any accidents.”

This was the truth.

A Red Dragon Elder walked up and declared, “The duke is right. As long as the crack still exists, we can’t relax, understand?”

“Understood!” the dragon Magicians replied in unison.

The elder was pleased but kept his emotions checked. The younger dragons didn’t care about that. Many waved their fists energetically, ready to do something big. Many more gazed at Link with burning and reverent eyes.

Suddenly, a young dragon Magician asked loudly, “Duke, will you stay here during this time?”

Everyone knew about Link’s power and wisdom.

In the past, he’d also created many miracles. He had uncovered the dukes’ evil plot, defeated the traitor Isendilan, quickly broke through the Mist Maze, defeated the impossibly terrifying Void Tyrant, and even defeated the God of Destruction’s Saint. His Ferde was now one of the most flourishing places on the mainland!

To most young dragons, their duke was the only one who could lead them to victory. As long as they could keep going with him, they would have no fear. Even the queen couldn’t give them this sense of security.

Thus, when that dragon asked, the other Magicians also looked to Link. Both young and old all had similar expressions. They hoped Link could remain.

However, the Ferde Magicians were the opposite. Their lord was only the dragon duke in name. It was only an alliance. Their lord was already generous to provide the method to mend the crack. Why did these dragons want the lord to do everything?

Did they want to steal their lord?

If the Magicians didn’t know how important the crack was, they would definitely protest now. But even though no one spoke, they all glared at the dragons.

Link scanned the crowd and saw all of their inner thoughts. Thinking, he said, “I will stay for one more month. During this time, I will fortify the barrier and lead the creation of the magic seal’s core.”

He couldn’t stay for longer. After that, he must return to Ferde and plan to attack the Army of Destruction and lower their confidence. He also had to find a way to prevent the fusion of realms.

All these things were important. He couldn’t stay at the crack.

Hearing this, the dragons were a bit disappointed, but they couldn’t say anything. After all, Link wasn’t a true dragon duke. They’d all accept that, but Link also had the powerful Ferde. He might not be impressed by the weakening Dragon Valley.

The dragons weren’t as strong anymore and had lost confidence.

The Ferde Magicians couldn’t argue either. The crack was too important, and nothing could go wrong. Everyone knew this. There was nothing disputable about Link’s actions.

Seeing everyone quiet down, Link clapped and said, “Alright, let’s start now.”

Since the test succeeded, everything else was basically just physical labor. Neither the Red Dragon Magicians nor Ferde’s Sunlight Magicians lacked physical strength. With Link’s supervision, their speed was unexpectedly fast.

One day, two days, three days… Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The magic seal was at least 60% complete. The core was completed, and all that remained was the outside.

This was much faster than Link had predicted. However, he said he would stay for a month, so he didn’t go back on his words. He just had more free time when his workload lessened.

Of course, Link didn’t relax completely. When he was free, he spent most of his time inside his room. There, Celine was studying the Book of Revelations. Link would also struggle with this Legendary Pinnacle book. Both studied Soul magic together.

Celine was serious this time. Her improvements in Soul magic were shocking.

At first, Link was responsible for tutoring while she learned. However, Link was very average in the aspect of Soul magic. A few days later, Celine could start to truly discuss with Link. The two helped each other and learned even faster.

Perhaps the Book of Revelations had activated Celine’s blood talent. Her power increased almost twice as fast as before. She would soon enter the Legendary level.

Sensing her improvements, Celine worked even harder. She wasn’t far off from how Link had been at Creekwood Village. She was truly invested in it, and Link naturally supported this.

The Mana density around the crack was higher than other places, but it still wasn’t high enough. Link specially set up a magic seal around the house to raise the density by 50%. When Celine was tired, Link would sometimes cast a dragon recovery spell for her and give her some delicious food. Occasionally, when Celine was tired of the book, Link would accompany her on walks and talk about light topics.

These actions were all effective. Celine had no worries and improved quickly. If others knew, they would be dumbfounded.

Twenty days after creating the magic seal to mend the crack, it was basically complete. They were in the last steps. Every Magician involved felt like they’d accomplished something historic.

The same day, Celine felt that something had changed when she woke up in the morning. She was filled with endless strength.

After being purified of her Demon Power, Celine’s eyes had been dark purple. After leveling up into Legendary, her eyes returned to pure black. They looked like Link’s, but there were two balls of dark purple light inside. They pulsed like flames.

Link discovered this change before Celine herself. Pleased, he smiled and asked, “Do you feel anything different?”

Celine had just woken up and was still bleary. After a blank moment, she cocked her head at Link. A few seconds later, she laughed. “I realized that I can see your thoughts.”

Link froze and then shook his head in disbelief. “No way. I didn’t sense any invasions.”

Celine was confused too. She hit her forehead. “Weird. I saw it earlier, but now you’re guarded, and I can’t see it anymore.”

“Okay, I’ll relax. Guess what I’m thinking.”

With that, Link stared at Celine’s juicy red lips without talking.

Celine looked seriously at Link. A few seconds later, her milky cheeks reddened, and she hit Link. “So annoying! Why are you thinking that?”

“You really can see it?” Link was shocked. He’d just thought of their past experiences in bed. Looking at Celine’s expression, she must have seen it.

Celine wasn’t really angry. She just wanted to hide her embarrassment and quickly recovered. She didn’t know why it was like this. After a while, she said, “I think that maybe this is my bloodline talent.”

“It probably is.” Link looked at Celine and quickly thought of the talent’s use. “If you pair this talent with spells like Soul Comfort or Serene Spirit, the target will have no secrets… Ah, no. There might be another use.”

“What do you mean?” Celine was interested too.

Link climbed out of bed and hurried to the window. He saw a strong Red Dragon Warrior practicing in the distance. Link distorted space so the other’s image was projected before Celine. “Look, he doesn’t know you’re here, so he won’t have any guards. What is he thinking?”

Celine looked and said, “I really can see his thoughts, but they’re very messy and broken. Most are battle techniques and such. He also has a goal, which is to keep strengthening and become a Legendary figure.”

“Oh, that’s normal. Another one.” Link changed the target to a female Magician from Ferde.

After seeing her, Celine said, “She’s thinking of her children in Ferde. Her son is five, and her daughter is only three. She’s worried that the servants can’t take good care of them. Yes, they’re very cute.”

“Oh, and this one?” Link changed the target to another Ferde Magician.

“He’s thinking of his pretty girlfriend. He’s worried she’ll like someone else and cheat on him.”

“Seems like I should bring them back to Ferde… What about this one?” Link changed the target to a young dragon. He knew this guy. He was Piceno and had just become of age. He was talented and was already at the pinnacle of Level-8.

“This…oh? I can’t see anything… No, I see darkness. No, it’s coming at me. It’s a soul trap!”