by Zhuang Bifan
Without the hindrance posed by the Undead creatures, the speed at which the advance party moved became faster, and they had already gone through the windy and complicated network of tunnels.
Then, there was nothing but empty space in front of them…
This had to be the mountain's belly—all they could see was a vast empty space as though they were looking at an endless plain. The walls surrounding them were shockingly smooth and glossy. There would be intricate and mysterious carvings on these smooth walls every dozen meters or so, just as though they held some mystical powers. Anyone would know that these walls were not shaped by nature—there was no way nature could have created something like that or leave such smooth and glossy walls.
And the ones who did this were of course the High Elven aristocrats 1,300 years ago.
"How grand…" Lin Li looked from afar, and could not help but feel awed. Carvings aside, this huge granite wall would have taken a lot of manpower and time to polish until it was so smooth and glossy. The High Elven aristocrats were sadists indeed—such a strict sense of perfectionism could only be described as that. Even an eerie cave used to house a simply built research lab had to be done so perfectly.
"The altar is just ahead…" Adelo stopped before the smooth walls. "But be careful, my teacher said that the Undead creatures here are different from the ones outside…"
"Mm-hm." Lin Li nodded his head. While there were no bones around, and no disgusting stench of decay, Lin Li felt an aura of danger in the air. The Holy Light in the Ring of Endless Storm was also going berserk—just like it had when it'd first met the Gloomy Dark in the Well of the Sun.
This feeling of impending danger made Lin Li tense up. His mental strength was pushed to its limit as the Warlock's Eyes continued to scan around for any suspicious signs.
The 20 Death Knights summoned their Shapeshifters again as they spread incredibly cautiously around the advance party, forming a defensive formation. Adelo's right hand remained in his pocket as he held tightly onto the Teleportation Scroll that could save his life. Nobody knew better than him how dangerous this seemingly quiet place was. Even his teacher Cheyenne had said that if he met any danger here, he could immediately use the Teleportation Scroll to escape.
Almost everybody was tense as nobody knew what kind of dangers lay before them. The only thing they could do was to remain on guard so that they could react quickly once they met any danger.
This tension continued for a long time until they saw a glimmer of light in the darkness.
"There is the altar!" When he saw the light, Adelo's furrowed brows relaxed at last. After two grueling days and countless close fights, he had finally found the altar hidden in the mountains. Even though Adelo was a dignified person, he could not help expressing his joy and happiness.
…So much so that he forgot that he was in the perilous Scar of Death.
"Be careful!" Lin Li's expression changed almost at the same time, for he heard a familiar sound…
Just as Adelo quickened his steps to run towards the light, a strong wind started blowing in the air, and everybody felt as though they had been thrown into a pile of bones. The strong stench of decay the wind carried was like that of countless corpses piled together.
"My God…" Adelo looked up in shock, and the look of happiness on his face froze…
A large being swept past in the air, and its huge wings spread, covering everyone in its shadow. In his shock, Adelo seemed to have heard a long growl, and saw ice blue flames fall from the sky. In a second, all he saw was a world of blue lights…
Only when the icy blue flames fell from the sky did Adelo realize that it was a Humerus Wyrm…
But it was all too late.
The flame of a Humerus Wyrm was comparable to Legendary magic in power, and once he was hit, he would crack instantly even if he was made of steel.
All of this happened too quickly. Adelo had been lost in happiness, and had never thought that there would be a real Humerus Wyrm hidden in this dark. Moreover, this Humerus Wyrm was incredibly sinister, creeping up on them without a sound before attacking.
This is it… As the icy blue flames fell, that was the only thought in Adelo's mind.
Chapter 405 - Frost Dragon Gun
Almost at the same time the icy blue flames fell on him, Adelo felt his body become light as though he was rammed by a running horse, and his body felt like it was shattering into pieces. Adelo saw black before his eyes, and a gush of blood rushed out from his throat…
Before he could even throw up the blood from the impact, Adelo felt himself flying far away like a kite with broken strings.
It was quite a fall indeed, having been from a height of at least 17 meters. Even if it were a hardy high-ranking Warrior in his place, he would not have fared much better, much less a physically weak mage like Adelo. Adelo felt his head spin from the fall, and saw lights dance before his eyes as though the world was spinning around him.
When Adelo came back to his senses, the huge shadow in the sky was long gone. There were only ice shards lying on the ground as well as a crater of at least 10 meters it left behind…
"…" Adelo's mouth was wide open, but he could not make a sound. All of this was too overwhelming. If the ice flame had fallen on him instead, he would have been dead by now even if he was 10 times stronger than he was…
Standing not far away from the crater was the young mage holding a magic staff. There was a light magical wave circling around him, and the crystal embedded on the top of his magic staff was glowing brightly.
Adelo was an experienced Archmage, after all, so even though he had just suffered a huge fall, he was still able to guess what had happened after seeing all of this. There was no doubt that he had the young mage to thank for the fall, but Lin Li's intention was not to hurt him—rather, it was to save him from the ice flame…
Adelo was well aware that that was the best method to use in the situation earlier.
The ice flame came at them too quickly for anybody to react to it, and even an Archmage like him would not have been able to conjure up a shield when the ice flame fell upon them. The only thing he could do was hope that someone from the advance party would save him. Thankfully, the young mage had done just that—he had used Power of Repulse to save him from the ice flame.
When Adelo thought about what circ.u.mstances the Power of Repulse had been conjured up in, he could not help breaking into cold sweat. This was all too strange…
How was Lin Li able to hit him with the Power of Repulse in such circ.u.mstances? Was this Felic still human? Adelo did not dare imagine what kind of mentality and reflex was needed to achieve such a feat, much less casting magic at such a speed!
How was Lin Li able to think of hitting him with the Power of Repulse in the face of this Humerus Wyrm? How did he finish the elemental sequencing as well as mana release all in a fraction of a second? That was far beyond what a human should be capable of! If Adelo really had to describe this feat, he could think of no better word than "miraculous"…
Adelo had lost track of the number of times the word "miraculous" had come to mind after meeting Lin Li.
And yet, Adelo would have never thought that this young mage who seemed to keep creating miracles in his eyes was now complaining as he stared at the disappearing figure of the Humerus Wyrm.
Damn it, why am I so unlucky…? Lin Li held the Aether Staff as he stared at the figure in the sky as he cursed at it in his mind.
This was all because the Warlock's Eyes had captured a tiny detail when the Humerus Wyrm swooped down from the sky…
There was a slender figure on the back of the Humerus Wyrm!
Even an idiot would know that it meant they were in huge trouble…
How mediocre could this person be if they rode a Humerus Wyrm? Ujfalusi had looked so powerful back in Syer Town, but that was all because he managed to combine a sliver of soul fire many years ago, allowing him to somehow summon a Humerus Wyrm…
While a Humerus
Wyrm was not a true Wyrm, it was given life by a true Wyrm magical crystal. The ways of a Wyrm were infused into its soul fire. How could a Dragon which had fought the Titans and ruled the sky at one point, being the most powerful creature in Anril, allow just anyone to ride on its back?
All of the ones in the history of Anril who were able to ride a Wyrm were great men of their era, and many of them were still praised in folk songs today. The most well known of them was the Night Dragon Knight, who had fought alongside Geresco during the Dark Ages.
Lin Li finally understood why Cheyenne lost so badly in the Scar of Death even though he was very powerful.
This was incredibly normal—who else could say they would be able to go against a Humerus Wyrm and its rider unless they were as insanely powerful as Apophis?
That was akin to going against two Legendary beings alone! Cheyenne was lucky enough to merely be severely injured. If he was slightly unlucky, he would have lost his life instead.
Unfortunately, it was now too late for regrets. Lin Li could clearly see that when he had frozen in his spot, the Humerus Wyrm had made a turn in the air, and the bone-chilling cold as well as the stench of decay was now approaching them. The slender guy on the back of the Humerus Wyrm had also stood up. Lin Li saw that he was wearing a black cloak, and was holding a long and thin magic staff. When he stood up on the back of the Humerus Wyrm, a strong magical wave suffused with death aura filled their surrounding…
"Another Lich…" Lin Li felt his heart clench as he could feel that this Lich was way more powerful than Ujfalusi.
Besides Lin Li, Ujfalusi and Norfeller had also felt the strong magical wave. Ujfalusi was especially s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to this magical wave filled with death aura as he had once been a Lich. Just as the Humerus Wyrm let out a long growl, Ujfalusi's face became pale with fear.
"Master—" Ujfalusi opened his mouth, wanting to tell this the owner of their Soul Contract.
"Yeah, Ujfalusi…" Without waiting for the ex-Lich to speak, Lin Li cut him off as he knew what he was about to say. "You don't have to tell me, I know that he's a Lich. Damn it, we're really in trouble, these bloody High Elven nobles really had nothing better to do, coming up with this damned place and these two freaks…"
Lin Li cursed angrily as he took out the Holy Light from the Ring of Endless Storm…
However, once Lin Li did so, he could not make up his mind whether to channel mana into it, as this place was far too near the Gloomy Dark. If he activated the Divine Power in the Holy Light, there was a high chance that he might wake the Gloomy Dark as well. When the two forces of Light and Dark collided, it'd instantly bring disaster. By then, the whole advance party would be buried in the collapsed cave without needing these two freaks to do anything…
But if he didn't…
Instant death was probably a better idea than having the dozen of people here fight a Humerus Wyrm and a Lich…
It was a dead end both ways. Lin Li felt his head ache at the thought.
The worst thing was that the Humerus Wyrm in the air did not intend to give him any time to ponder any further, as it spat another gust of ice flame at them just as he was speaking to Ujfalusi..
"Damn it, you've got guts!" The burst of ice flame came at them too suddenly, and Lin Li did not have time to react. Hence, he could only put up an ice wall hurriedly while he cursed at the Humerus Wyrm in a frenzy.
But it was merely a level-15 Ice Wall Spell, and could not withstand the ice flame of the Humerus Wyrm at all. A second later, they could see the ice blue flame explode, followed by a crunching sound as many cracks appeared in the ice wall. Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, the thick wall of ice fell down with a loud boom…
Thankfully, all of this had been within Lin Li's expectations. After he'd conjured up the ice wall, he continued to chant, and the Dragon's Eye atop his magic staff glowed brightly as walls of ice sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a rain.
In a short period of time, Lin Li had conjured up seven walls of ice. The Humerus Wyrm's ice flame destroyed them in an equally short amount of time, and the ground was soon covered in pieces of shattered ice as the whole place became a mess even though it'd been spotless just moments ago.
But, they did block off the ice flames at last…
"Norfeller, Gravity Spell!" After saying that, Lin Li raised his head and chugged a bottle of Multicolored Potion.
"Yes!" Vampires were naturally gifted in Dark Magic, and high-ranking Vampires like Norfeller were especially talented at the Gravity Spell. As Norfeller started chanting in a deep and husky voice, a black light appeared around the Humerus Wyrm, and its flying speed decreased…
How could a Humerus Wyrm with a Wyrm magical crystal be tied down by a Gravity Spell? With a long growl, the large wings spread out in the sky, and a strong wind started blowing. Everyone felt a bone-chilling sensation, and the weaker ones on the team like Johnathan and Reggie immediately felt as though their blood was freezing up. Even the stronger ones like the level-17 Warriors had to channel all their Combat Energy to withstand the sudden surge of cold.
Lin Li was the only one who was not fazed by the cold. He'd already started chanting immediately after Norfeller used the Gravity Spell, and when the Humerus Wyrm spread its wings, Lin Li was finished with the last line of the spell. The Dragon's Eye glowed brightly, and a huge Frost Gun appeared…
"I'll teach you to spit at me!"
The Frost Dragon Gun1 sliced through the air with a deafening noise, the projectile flying towards the Humerus Wyrm in the sky…
The Dragon Gun was called so because it was a gun used to slay dragons. The weapons used by the Titans to fight against the Wyrms were called Dragon Guns; the only difference was that the Dragon Guns used by the Titans were forged from lightning, and even a Wyrm would not be able to escape an attack from the Dragon Gun unscathed.
Meanwhile, the Frost Dragon Gun used by Lin Li was created by generations of mages, who had taken inspiration from the only surviving Dragon Gun of the Titans. While it was far less powerful, it was particularly effective when used against large creatures… like the Humerus Wyrm in the sky now.
Even though the Humerus Wyrm was quick to escape its restraints, it was still not quick enough to escape Lin Li's Frost Dragon Gun, and just as it had spread its wings, the attack was already right before it eyes. In a split second, all they heard was a deafening noise before the meters long Frost Dragon Gun's attack exploded violently. The large amount of magical elements it contained was released in the explosion, causing an earthquake to occur in the cave.
Even though the Humerus Wyrm's body was incredibly tough, it still suffered a big injury after being hit by a level-20 magic out of the blue. Shattered pieces of bones fell down like rain, followed by a long, pathetic whimper issued by the Humerus Wyrm. Norfeller's Gravity Spell could no longer hold down the enraged creature, and the huge figure swept past above their heads as it disappeared into the endless darkness.
The Frost Dragon Gun conjured with the help of the Multicolored Potion had allowed them to fend off the ferocious Humerus Wyrm for now, and they finally managed to catch their breath after having been suffocated by the cold. By then, even the wary high-ranking Warriors were fully convinced that if they wanted this mission to be a success, they could only rely on this young mage…
He was able to fend off the powerful Humerus Wyrm with just a spell. Surely even a Legendary mage was no better than that?
However, Lin Li had no time to celebrate his victory, as he knew very well that even though the Frost Dragon Gun was powerful, it was still not a true Titan Dragon Spear, after all. While he'd managed to injure the Humerus Wyrm earlier, that injury was far from lethal. Moreover, there was Lich far stronger than Ujfalusi standing on the back of the Humerus Wyrm…
He was a true Master of Necromagic. If he was willing, all he had to do was spend some time to make the Humerus Wyrm as powerful as it was in its prime.
The real fight had only just begun… Appar
ently it's a spell rather than an actual firearm.
Chapter 406 - All-Knowing Potion
After firing the Frost Dragon Gun, Lin Li hurried back a few steps so that he was back under the protection of the Death Knights. Honestly speaking, the 20 Death Knights were not as powerful as he would have liked them to be. They were not real Retribution Knights, after all, and so were nowhere near the level of a Humerus Wyrm or a Lich in terms of magic or melee capability. However, Lin Li could not be bothered much; he only hoped that they'd be able to buy him enough time…
Enough time to drink this potion…
After retreating a few steps, Lin Li slowly reached into his pocket, and took out a sky blue potion bottle.
This sky blue potion bottle was made from the Dream Crystal that Balbo had given Lin Li during the inauguration ceremony—the Life Bottle that was coveted by every pharmacist. The Life Bottle was precious because any potion that was placed in it would be infused with some of the aura of the Tree of Life, which would increase the potency of the potion as well as purify it so that the potion could be taken continuously without any harmful effects on the body.
Even Lin Li had to admit then that he was very lucky to have it.
Lin Li had used the black lotus immediately after the inauguration ceremony, and spent an entire week coming up with an All-Knowing potion.
Honestly speaking, the name "All-knowing" sounded very tacky, but it had always been a legend amongst mages. Every mage knew that the effect of this "All-Knowing" was that it'd allow the potential of the mage who drank it to skyrocket, raising their abilities to a shocking level. Moreover, this effect could allow one to cross realms from a Magic Shooter to an Archmage, and from an Archmage to a Legendary-realm mage…
This upgrade was not to be belittled, as it was different from the effect that came along with the Multicolored Potion. The Multicolored Potion merely allowed the mage who consumed it to have unlimited mana as well as cast magic beyond their level for a short period of time—just like Lin Li had done earlier. He had been able to cast a level-21 Eternal Light Spell with the help of the Multicolored Potion even though he was only a level-18 Archmage.