Iritina could no longer care about alerting the adepts. She quickly climbed to the entrance of the ice cave and used a ferocious soundwave breath to shatter the clear crystal barrier before taking to the skies.
Grene Dragon Ohgu hesitated for a moment and finally followed Iritina into the air, unfurling his wings and flying toward Dragoncliff.
Dammit!
At this moment, all the elves in the cave were cursing the reckless actions of the dragons. However, they had no choice but to follow them out of the cave.
The crystal sealing the cave had been carved with God of Luck Visenna's divine emblem that could prevent them from being discovered by the witches' divinations. Now that their ice crystal had shattered, their location had been exposed, and there was no longer any value in remaining hidden.
"I will go ahead and stall them. You people hurry over as soon as possible!" The Fourth Grade Storm Sword Saint was decisive and immediately gave the order to attack.
He turned into a speeding tornado and charged down, hurrying toward the cave fifteen kilometers away with a speed that was unrecognizable to the eye.
The other elves either started running, transforming, or jumping onto their flying magical beasts and charged out of the cave with a series of battlecries.
…………
Fifteen kilometers away at the green dragon's den.
Greem and Uzzah stood upon the flying ship and could very clearly see everything that had happened on the peak of the snow mountain.
Seeing that everything was moving forward as prophecized by Alice, their anxieties and doubts were mildly calmed.
"Don't worry. Now that you have paid me, I will be certain to help you until the very end," A wicked smile flashed across Uzzah's sinister face, "As long as this flying ship is as effective as you described, I will help you stall that Fourth Grade Sword Saint. Hmph! A barbarian that only knows how to swing a blade. How could he possibly be a match for us noble adepts?"
"Then I'll leave it to Lady Uzzah!" Greem smiled when he heard this. He then lifted his leg and lightly stomped on the flying ship.
Several magical messages were transmitted into the flying ship, and this giant metallic monster floating in the sky started to descend rapidly. It crushed the surrounding trees and smashed pieces of rock off the tall mountains.
The flying ship did not flee but instead started to descend and seal off the entrance to the den with its massive hull.
The Fourth Grade Sword Saint who was using Windwalking to hurry to the den was shocked. A solemn expression appeared in his calm and intimidating eyes.
That wasn't right. Something had to be off when things were going against their usual expectations!
The strongest one amongst these adepts was no more than an intermediate Third Grade. Why were they not trying to escape when they saw the elves running at them? Why were they fortifying themselves on the spot instead? Could there be something wrong with the situation?
Before he could put in more thought, a massive tide of black mist suddenly surged out of the half-exposed hull of the metallic ship and quickly formed into the shape of a middle-aged witch with a sinister look and a black staff in her hand.
The Fourth Grade Storm Sword Saint Agassi slowly stopped as he sensed the sinister and chilling aura. He looked at this six-meter-tall Dark Witch with an expression of shock and terror, even as he hovered in the air on an oak branch.
With his sensitive instincts, Agassi could clearly feel that this odd witch's grade was also Fourth Grade! Though the enemy's power was far too chaotic for him to determine if she was a beginner or intermediate, there was no denying that she was Fourth Grade.
Agassi couldn't believe this.
It didn't matter whether it was all the battles at the start or the holy decrees given to them by their gods. All these pointed to the fact that the enemy's most potent force was no more than a Third Grade Dark Witch.
If that was the case, then where had this Fourth Grade Dark Witch appear from?
Agassi couldn't help but howl from the bottom of his heart.
Chapter 704 The Might of Fourth Grades
The appearance of the mysterious Fourth Grades terrified the charging elves so much that they stopped dead in their tracks.
A Fourth Grade; there was actually a Fourth Grade among their enemies?
Before they could find the answer to this question, a new problem appeared in their minds.
If a battle broke out between the two Fourth Grades while they were standing here, wouldn't that be dangerous!?
The previously courageous elves turned back and started running without any hesitation. Many of the elves even activated the precious consumable speed-boosting items they had on them so that they could get away faster.
It was the first time Uzzah had experienced such ferocious and immense magical energy surging around her. Her gaseous form smiled wickedly at the fleeing elves as the arrogance in her heart caused her blood to boil with excitement.
It was important to note that many of these fleeing ants were individuals of the same grade as herself! Yet now, they had no choice but to flee at the very sight of her.
This…this intense joy of grasping the lives of enemies within her hands was intoxicating!
Uzzah let out an unrestrained laugh and immediately fell silent. A chilling and cruel smile appeared on her face formed of black smoke as she extended her right hand at the escaping elves.
At that moment, the faster elves were already a kilometer away, while the slowest still had seven to eight hundred meters of distance between themselves and Uzzah. However, this distance was no obstacle in the eyes of Fourth Grade adepts!
An odd sizzling sound rang out in the air.
A massive black phantom hand suddenly appeared behind the fleeing elves and caught five of them in a single swipe.
Four of these elves were Second Grade, while one of them was Third Grade!
The elves that were usually known as top-tier powerhouses on Garan had now become sheep to the slaughter. It didn't matter how they struggled or resisted; they could not break free of the phantom hand or its tremendous pressure.
As the ghostly black hand clenched tight, a shocking blood mist spurted out from its palm. All the elves had been crushed into meat paste, and their bones snapped and cracked from the pressure.
Blood, limbs, and pieces of flesh rained down from the sky.
The mad Uzzah opened her ghostly right hand and revealed the unrecognizable mess of flesh.
Blood, bones, limbs, and weapons had all been forcefully crushed by her terrifying strength and squashed into one entity.
At this moment, the five elves had utterly assimilated with each other. There was no longer any distinction!
The other elves watched this tragedy unfold with wide open eyes, but only a surge of helplessness rose from the depths of their hearts.
Low-grade creatures could not fend off a Fourth Grade powerhouse that stood at the very peak of the plane. Even the Third Grade elves could only flee helplessly.
The difference between the strong and the weak, and the living and the dead, was simply this large. It was so vast that it was difficult to compensate for the difference with numbers or technique!
"This is not your power!" Even though the Fourth Grade Sword Saint had just witnessed a terrifying scene occur before him, he had managed to see the truth because of it, "You borrowed this power."
The towering Uzzah made of black smoke let out a wild laugh.
"I couldn't fool you in the end, but so what if you saw through my power? The power of a Fourth Grade is still the power of a Fourth Grade, even if it is a borrowed power!"
As Uzzah cackled wildly, she waved the staff in her left hand, and thousands of dark spears manifested in the air before firing toward the Fourth Grade Storm Saint. Meanwhile, she unclenched her right fist and controlled the giant ghost hand to slam toward the remaining elves.
All those elves were a kilometer away from her by now. Sadly, when the gho
st hand descended their usually light and agile bodies became incomparably burdened and heavy. Their movements were as slow as statues carved from mud, rendering them only capable of crawling forward with comically slow movements.
All the elves lifted their heads in terror and looked at the terrifying ghost hand that had enveloped the entire sky.
Despair and fear filled their faces. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't even complete such a simple act of changing expressions.
Yet, at this moment of life and death, a blinding gold light that transcended time and space erupted at the center of the ghost hand, instantly slicing it into five distinct pieces.
That overwhelming aura crumbled with the destruction of the hand.
The unexpected joy of surviving appeared on the faces of the elves that had escaped the grasp of the hand. However, they couldn't even muster the courage to turn back and look. The elves could only continue fleeing into the distance
Aaaaaah!
A thousand meters away, Uzzah abruptly clutched her right hand and let out a scream of agony.
No one knew when, but crisscrossing golden lines had appeared on her hand of smoke and mist, stirring and disturbing the form of her right hand into chaotic black smoke.
The Fourth Grade Sword Saint across her nonchalantly sheathed his sword and stared at Uzzah chillingly.
"Only a mere fake Fourth Grade only. Did you think you could fight with a true Fourth Grade with borrowed power? Today, let me show you how true Fourth Grades fight!"
The next second, the elven Sword Saint vanished from his original spot three hundred meters away.
The wounded Uzzah felt alarms go off in her mind. She couldn't care about treating her wounded right hand and quickly drew a line around herself with the staff in her left hand. A thin Dark Barrier silently rose around her.
This Dark Barrier appeared at just the right time!
Almost at the same moment that the barrier arose, hundreds of deep blade marks had been imprinted upon it.
Without the protection of the Dark Barrier, Uzzah would probably have been sliced into pieces by the elven Sword Saint at this moment!
It had been 1300 points!
It was hard to capture every single attack of the Fourth Grade Elven Sword Saint Agassi, but the might of each attack was not insignificant. One thousand, three hundred points; an attack of this level was enough to split a Second Grade adept in half even if they had defenses activated.
The adept probably wouldn't even have the chance to react or dodge.
Agassi silently appeared opposite Uzzah and the two locked eyes through this thin barrier.
Agassi coldly regarded Uzzah, then assessed this barrier made of highly concentrated shadow substance before shifting his gaze to the flying ship beneath the witch.
His sensitive instincts were giving him a very clear feeling!
This mysterious power of darkness did not belong to this Dark Witch but came from the metal ship below. The metal ship that had wobbled as it landed in front of the dragon's den was like a furnace of magical energy, constantly pumping power into the witch's body.
It was the sustenance from the flying ship's energy that allowed this Dark Witch to maintain astounding strength that reached the level of a Fourth Grade.
That said, this was borrowed power after all; it did not belong to her. That was why Uzzah's actions seemed so stiff and delayed when she struck. Otherwise, a single strike from a Fourth Grade should have exterminated the majority of the two dozen Second and Third Grade elves. The situation would never have been as challenging to deal with as she made it seem.
Could there be an adept's tower hidden within this metal ship?
Agassi couldn't help but make guesses of his own.
It wasn't the first or second time the elves had clashed with the witches. Naturally, after such a long period of fighting with each other, they had gained some understanding of their opponent's battle methods.
The strongest trick that the witches used to protect themselves was probably the adept's tower!
There weren't very many Fourth Grade powerhouses in Faen Plane, but they would have no problem gathering a group of ten. Meanwhile, the Fourth Grade witches that the Pale Witches sent over were only two or three individuals. The difference between the highest level of combat force was so immense, yet the natives of Faen had not been able to expel the witches from the plane. The main reason for this was the effect of the adept's tower.
The protection and enhancement provided by the adept's towers allowed every single witch to display superhuman strength two to three times more than their original. That was why the continuous assault of numerous Faen powerhouses had failed to remove the witches from Shadow Island which was guarded by an adept's tower.
That was why the powerhouses had decided to defend their own lands instead, preferring to endure the constant harassment of the witches instead of assaulting that impregnable island.
However, through the enhancement of a mysterious power, a Dark Witch that clearly only had Third Grade powers had now come into possession of strength resembling a Fourth Grade. Could the adepts achieve this effect with any other ability apart from an adept's tower?
Uzzah took advantage of the barrier's protection and quickly mended her wound. She couldn't help but coldly cackle when she saw the Sword Saint looking at the flying ship below, "So what if you figured it out? You will have to get past me if you want to wreck the ship!"
Having said that, Uzzah waved her staff as yet another thousand dark spears blasted at the Sword Saint.
Agassi used Windwalking and rapidly weaved around Uzzah, dodging her storm of dark spells while gathering strength and slashing at the barrier.
Due to his exceedingly fast moves, the second blade mark would be imprinted on the barrier before the first had even faded. The Dark Barrier couldn't possibly endure such concentrated and pointed attacks, regardless of how tough it was. With a crisp cracking sound, the barrier protecting Uzzah finally collapsed!
Naturally, Agassi would not give up such an opportunity in combat. He stepped back and instantly appeared at Uzzah's side.
Just as he prepared to use his rapid array of blades to slice and dice the enemy, an instinct for death that emerged from the depths of his soul silently crept across his body.
Agassi had always valued his instincts and didn't dare to hesitate. He quickly turned and dodged a hundred meters away in a single instant. It wasn't the teleportation or flickering abilities of the spellcasters. It was merely an illusion created when an individual moved at extreme speeds.
The next second, a large cloud of shadow substance that emerged from Uzzah's body completely enveloped an area of a hundred meters around her. Agassi would not have escaped the corruption and assimilation of this shadow substance if he had been caught in the attack.
The Sword Saint turned back in terror, for he felt a despairing lethality from these shadows.
Seven thousand, five hundred and twenty-eight points!
Chapter 705 Fighting Against Fate
The battle between the two Fourth Grades was still ongoing.
Meanwhile, everyone inside the flying ship below Uzzah was wholly occupied.
All the metal cabins in the ship had their walls taken down so that their rooms could be joined together. All unnecessary facilities had also been removed. The inside of the cabin was carved and inscribed full of profound runes that glowed with blinding light when magical energy coursed through them.
Several thick metal pipes filled the cabin, guiding the magical energy from the space furnace to every part of the massive ship.
Due to the crude workmanship caused by the impromptu modifications, magical energy of shocking intensity would occasionally leak out of where the pipes connected. Every time this happened, the goblin engineers would start yelling and commanding the repair robots to go weld the pipes again.
Even though there were a dozen goblin engineers, three dozen goblin technicians, and over a hundred constru
ction robots constantly maintaining the system, the magical energy leaking from the pipes had still reached a terrifying degree.
The excessively concentrated magical energy had formed horrifying death zones in some regions of the ship. Any ordinary goblin that got close to these zones could be instantly killed.
As such, these areas could only be left to the adepts who had extremely high magical resistance and powerful defensive magic!
The flying ship had already lost its ability to take to the skies. All 'unnecessary' and 'ineffective' facilities had been taken apart and transformed into metal pipes used to transport the magical energy from the furnace. The flying ship had also turned, in the blink of an eye, from the flying transport of the adepts to a temporary adept's tower.
What was an adept's tower?
It was no more than a unique magical facility used to aid the day-to-day activities of the adepts along with bolstering their combat power!
The most important part about constructing an adept's tower was creating the source of magical energy.
Most of the power in ordinary adept towers came from the elemental altars taking in energy from the outside world.
The flying ship had no such altar, but the space furnace fitted in its core could become the power source of an adept's tower with the simplest of modifications. Moreover, the power from the furnace was more ferocious and violent than that from an altar.
The flying ship had been undergoing this structural modification during the extended downtime they had spent on the isolated island. It would not be able to fly under its own power once it landed at the dragon's den.
However, the immense source of energy, paired together with the variety of arrays carved onto the walls of the cabin, had successfully turned the flying ship into a temporary adept's tower.
It didn't have durable walls made of excellent materials as its medium. As such, it used the thick metal hull of the ship. It had no runic circuits across the body of the tower to function as paths of energy transfer, so it used the crude metal pipes as a substitute. It had no mysterious tower spirit to organize and manage the chaos; Greem unhesitatingly stood forth and took the place of one, taking on the role of a central control crystal.
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