by Zhuang Bifan
The five Ghost Warriors that surrounded Ujfalusi tried to cast spells from the distance, but had their spells suppressed by the Humerus Domain. Moving closer to use physical attacks did not work, either, for they always had to retreat from the attacks made by the humerus wyrm. Although the duration of the battle was not extensive, the energy waves on the bodies of the Ghost Warriors were subsiding gradually. It was clear that they had to have suffered from an Undead curse, and were sustaining their lives with high magic defense capabilities, and would be eliminated in a short while.
Although the other Undead servant, Vampire Norfeller, did not have an assistant like how Ujfalusi had his humerus wyrm, he was circling as quick as a lightning around four Ghost Warriors. The four Ghost Warriors could only defend themselves by back-facing one another. It was as if the four of them were surrounded by one man.
Regardless of whether it was magic or a physical attack, it would be in vain if the Ghost Warriors could not land any blow on their enemy. Although the four Ghost Warriors displayed tremendous combat energy, they had no chance of overwhelming Norfeller. Instead, Norfeller added new wounds to their bodies.
The Soul-Devouring Dagger Norfeller was using was said to be a treasure Immortal King bestowed Assassin Holler with. The Soul-Devouring Dagger that originally had immense death energy was boosted to its greatest potential after Lin Li fixed the Gem of Curse on it. The strong defenses of the Ghost Warriors did not seem to work against the attacks of the Soul-Devouring Dagger, and every new wound entailed a step closer to real death.
Norfeller's attacks that were hard to guard against sent chills down Joseph's spine. It was not that the Mithril Alliance had no Legendary-level Assassins, but that those from the Mithril Alliance were absolutely nothing compared to Norfeller. Now Joseph truly understood why Vampires were referred to as natural Assassins. He knew he would be Norfeller's victim if he did not pay enough attention himself.
The performance of the two Undead servants from the Tower of Dusk made Joseph grateful that he did not insist on finding fault with the tower himself when they were at Gran Town. Otherwise, he would've been at a great disadvantage.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%E2%80%99s-versatile-crafting-master_11275087605321405/hidden-abilities_48009016491694147 for visiting.
What truly made Joseph's heart skip a beat was not the two powerful Undead servants. Although the ability of his opponent was stronger than what he had expected, what really shook Joseph was the two other Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk. One of them was Basel, a Legendary-mage who had retreated into seclusion for years in Doland, and the other was Connoris, who resembled a High Elf.
Basel had been living in seclusion in the library of Doland for many years. There were two renowned hermits in Doland that no one in the Breezy Plains would dare to offend. One of them was the Ashen Warlock, and the other was Basel.
The Ashen Warlock was not to be offended for his deity-like formidable powers and all of his glorious and terrifying combat feats throughout history.
As for Basel, many knew that he was a Legendary-level mage, but none knew about his real ability. No one dared to offend him for two reasons: his unclear abilities and the fact that he lived in solitude. Basel's power was not as great as the Ashen Warlock's, but everyone knew that it would be extremely terrifying to enrage a Legendary-mage who was unrestrained by any relations that would hold him down.
It was only now that Joseph managed to catch a glimpse of Basel's abilities. Although he knew that Basel might not be exerting his full power, he could feel the tremendous wave of mana he emitted. If he was not at level-24, he had to be at the peak of level-23.
Basel did not display his Magical Domain or use any powerful Legendary-level spells. He displayed his proficient mastery of spells and used those that were below the Legendary-level—including Wind Entanglement, Frost Arm, and Earthquake Waves—to confuse the five Ghost Warriors. Although he did not cast his Magical Domain, Basel used these low-level spells to control the area around him. The five Ghost Warriors could neither advance nor retreat.
This alone was sufficient to showcase Basel's extreme proficiency in magic. At the same time, it meant that his mastery of the nomological laws was at its peak, and that he was a step away from surpassing mortality.
The Mithril Alliance had tried to persuade Basel to enter the alliance in the past, but no handsome rewards could persuade him to join or even make him waver. It would be great if Basel continued to stay this way. Why did he have to join the Tower of Dusk? The thought of being rejected by Basel made Joseph filled with jealousy and hatred.
As for the dude that resembled a High Elf—Connoris—Joseph thought that he was not as outstanding. It was extremely normal for him to battle three Ghost Warriors single-handedly as a Legendary powerhouse. He was no different than the normal Legendary-level powerhouses from the other forces.
But, since Joseph saw the Tower of Dusk as a thorn in his flesh, how would he not investigate the tower thoroughly? Although the Mithril Alliance did not manage to find out the origins of Connoris, they knew that his body was the perfect body Highlord Osric had left in the mausoleum. Moreover, the body had even demonstrated Sanctuary-level abilities before.
After all, the mission in which Lin Li's partnered Alanna Guild of Magic to explore Osric's mausoleum was not a totally secretive one. Just the battle with the perfect body alone had a big audience watching Connoris take over the perfect body. Even if the higher-ups could keep it a secret, it would be a challenge for the mages from Alanna Guild of Magic not to divulge anything. Furthermore, it would be a joke to trust that Rosen would willingly help Lin Li keep things a secret due to the tension between them before and after the mission.
The knowledge of this news made Joseph fear Connoris the most out of the many Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk. The young President of the Tower of Dusk who was said to have gotten rid of two Legendary powerhouses from the Dark Blade would not pose a greater threat for Joseph as compared to Connoris.
Although Lin Li rose to his present abilities extremely rapidly, Joseph was certain that Lin Li would have the problem of a shaky foundation. He believed that Lin Li only managed to succeed due to two solid reasons: the suppressed abilities of the two powerhouses and pure luck. Ultimately, Lin Li was still a traditional mage. With his unsteady foundation, Joseph was sure that Lin Li would be exposed in a battle with other Legendary-mages in the same level.
Of course, what Joseph did not know was how Lin Li had been intentionally suppressing his mana waves since he met up with Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Otherwise, even powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm would not be able to tell Lin Li's true ability due to his immense mental strength.
Chapter 870 - Battle Formation
It wasn't the same for Connoris. Despite knowing that Connoris was not able to cast any Sanctuary-level spells after he took over the perfect body, it was a perfect body that was comparable to the body of deities, after all. Although Connoris was not able to reach the Sanctuary-realm, he definitely had the potential to display tremendous combat energy.
Joseph felt that he had gained a clearer awareness of the Tower of Dusk's strength after looking at the situation over there. Knowing that it would be impossible to watch the tower make a fool of themselves, he turned to Claus and said, "Patriarch Claus, this is only the second level of the mausoleum. Perhaps we shouldn't stay here for too long,"
Although the Ghost Warriors were powerful, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family actually had yet to put in their best in the battle. They had been waiting to bargain with the Tower of Dusk when they requested their assistance, but it seemed that this wish would never come to be. Hence, it wouldn't be advantageous if they were to continue to delay the mission.
After speaking to Claus, Joseph took out his King of Flames Staff and cast a gigantic fire dragon at a few Ghost W
arriors. Then, he flew towards the rest of the Ghost Warriors…
The sight of Joseph's entering the battle put a mysterious smile on Claus's face. He turned to assist the troops from the Caesar Family shortly after. He was gleeful when he thought about the Caesar Family's decision not to agree to Mithril Alliance's request to confront the Tower of Dusk prior to this battle. Although they had a little tension with the tower, it was fortunate that the Caesar Family did not establish an enmity with the Tower of Dusk.
On the other side, Lin Li and Hoffman did not immediately intervene in the battle, either. They hovered mid-air, and were observing the situation on the entire battlefield. They deemed the sneak attack from the Ghost Warriors as an advantageous move as it helped to spur the people into their most alert state of mind. This was not something that could be achieved with mere verbal reminders. It'd help the team to be more prepared for more formidable enemies in time to come.
"Felic, I didn't expect you to master the Net Array so excellently in such a short time. I can even imagine the extreme disappointment Joseph feels," Hoffman remarked as he squinted his eyes. Although he was gossiping about Joseph, he was definitely awed himself.
The rise of the Tower of Dusk was coupled with the amount of sales they made, and the tremendous improvement their mages had in the two years. When he witnessed the perfection of the Net Array, Hoffman just could not imagine what the young President Felic was unable to achieve!
Lin Li naturally could guess what the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had been thinking about before they entered the battle, but he was just too lazy to take it to heart. Hence, when he heard Hoffman's words, Lin Li only laughed. "Master Hoffman, the battle formation employed by your men seems really well-trained as well. That definitely required great camaraderie between mages and Warriors for their formations to complement one another."
Lin Li was not trying to be humble. The battle formation the Glittergold Trade Union was using was definitely something worthy of praise. Although it was not like the Net Array that had the ability to link the mana of all the mages together, the seamless cooperation between the mages and Warriors as well as their exquisite positioning certainly helped to unite the entire formation. It perfectly enabled the different occupations to complement one another's weaknesses.
The dozen Ghost Warriors that were initially positioned in the middle of the formation started to disperse due to the transformation made to the formation. Very quickly, it became as if each of the Ghost Warriors had to deal with the entire formation single-handedly. There was no space for teamwork between the Ghost Warriors. If the Ghost Warriors had had the power to cast Magical Domains, they would have been able to suppress the Glittergold Trade Union by a little, but they didn't. Hence, with the seamless integration of the mages and Warriors, it seemed like the Ghost Warriors had little chance of overturning their plight.
"Hehe, this battle formation was discovered by Master Thomas at one of the High Elves' ruins. The owner of the ruins was said to be a proficient developer of battle games. This battle formation was one of his creations for a game. It is also called the Double-kill Formation of Magic and Martial Arts," said Hoffman. He paused and smiled bitterly. He knew that the Net Array used by the Tower of Dusk was from the God of Mages, Geresco. As compared to something designed by High Elves for a game, the difference between the power of both formations was simply evident.
Lin Li only smiled and said nothing. He switched his gaze onto the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Lin Li had read about the battle games Hoffman was talking about in many historical records. They were one of the types of punishment in the brutal ruling by the High Elves.
The High Elves had an extremely long lifespan. During the time of the leadership over the entire world of Anril after the Dark Age ended, there weren't any legitimate battles to dispel their boredom. Hence, they developed all sorts of games. Battle games were one of the most popular games among the noble High Elves. Each of these games would require two teams to battle against each other in the battlefield. It was just like an evolution of wrestling.
Of course, the teams were made up of humans, beastmen, dwarves, and other races under their leadership. It would be considered as cheating if the High Elves were to join as one of the fighters. At that time, although humans could learn magic, the lousy environment made it extremely hard for them to do so. Hence, there were too few mages to form a team that was purely made up of mages.
The High Elves were a group of extremists who had tremendous ambition to emerge victorious in every circ.u.mstance, including games. Hence, they would invest immense time and energy to research every game. After all, they had the luxury of a really long lifespan. Doing so would never be seen as a waste of time.
Seeing that Lin Li had shifted his attention to the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, Hoffman rubbed his non-existent chin. "The formation they are using was passed down from the High Elves' battle games. It was said that the 13th generation of the Mithril Alliance specialized in providing battle games for the High Elves as a form of recreation. It was just like an operator of the arena."
In fact, Lin Li could see from Mithril Alliance's formation that there was a resemblance with arenas. Additionally, as the Caesar Family was once a member of the Mithril Alliance, there were many similar formations used by both forces despite their separation many years ago.
In the battle formation of both the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, boundaries were distinct within the different occupations; the team of Warriors consisted of the Great Shield Warrior, Great Ax Warrior, Long Spear Warrior, and Shield-sword Warrior, and they were respectively in charge of defending, attacking, and strategizing; for the team of mages, they had some who were in charge of attack and others who had the duty to support the Warriors with their spells; as for the Assassins, there were some who were in hiding, ready to strike at their enemies with the most critical attack, and those who stood behind the Warriors with their crossbows, being in charge of supporting the Warriors with further attacks against their enemies.
Every occupation was split into their respective roles, and every one of them was committed to their own duties. Yet, after joining forces, they were just like a delicate and highly functional war machine with zero faults. Although such a formation might not be the most flexible, its structured approach made it difficult for its enemies to locate their weaknesses.
However, the battle formation of the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family was still lacking as compared to the Double-kill Formation of Magic and Martial Arts from the Glittergold Trade Union, not to mention the Net Array from the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li only needed a few glances to spot some of the loopholes. What was worthy of his attention was the abilities of the few higher-ups in the Legendary-realm.
There were at least a total of 20 Legendary powerhouses in the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. A few of them had just entered the realm not long ago, and were at level-20 and level-21. Their ability would barely pose a threat to Lin Li and his Tower of Dusk.
Of course, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were not to be trifled with. Their ability to survive a thousand years in the Breezy Plains to emerge as the top forces of the Breezy Plains was not mere luck. The first person who caught Lin Li's attention would be Elvis, who suggested the partnership. Despite being old and blind, he was more powerful than anybody would expect him to be.
The present Elvis was totally not as beggar-like as before. His white hair moved with the wind, and the ebony Dragon's Eye Staff in his hands radiated with a blinding light. The Magical Domain he created was of Frost and Magic Storm, where streaks of silver hurricane moved in the wind persistently, entrapping the six Ghost Warriors within it. The Frost and Magic Storm continued to drain their energy.
The six Ghost Warriors were not less powerful than six Legendary powerhouses, but they were like lost sheep in the midst of that Frost and Magic Storm, only capable of staying put where they were. Regardless of whether it was physical techniques or magical sp
ells, they were all dissipated by the force of the storm at the very moment they were released or cast. Their immense defense against magic also appeared to be no match for the slowing effect brought about by the Frost. It caused the Ghost Warriors to become not as agile as before.
If one were to disregard their hidden cards, Elvis would be the most powerful among the many Legendary powerhouses from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Of course, Joseph and Claus were not fools. They would not want to expose all of their trump cards before their competitors on such a critical mission.
It was said that Elvis relinquished all of his responsibilities a few years back to prepare for his last l.a.p towards the Sanctuary-realm, but while it seemed that Elvis had the ability to dash towards the Sanctuary-realm to Lin Li, it would be a different matter if one were to look at the distance he was from the Sanctuary-realm.
Many new Legendary-mages would choose to use Frost to create their first Magical Domain. One of the reasons was the fact that spells that were made of ice element were not weak. Most of them would have enjoyed using such spells before they entered the realm, so they were more familiar with it. Another reason would be the fact that the Frost Domain was an extension of the Water Domain. Apart from clashing with the Frost Domain, it had great endurance facing other types of laws.
Of course, it was not impossible to use both Ice and Fire to craft one's Magical Domain. After all, Lin Li had the ability to create a contradicting Magical Domain of Light and Darkness. It was just that the difficulty was not something any common man could overcome. Normally, most Legendary-mages would be able to use their understanding of every other rule (apart from fire) to enhance and refine their Magical Domain after they created one with Frost.