Chapter 562: Nightmare
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Everything in the square turned black and white. The Crimson Dragon turned into a black dragon, and the fire it spat out became white. Those leaping tree men turned charcoal-black when they didn’t even reach the flames. Although the battle in this black-and-white world seemed dull compared to the vibrant world earlier, it was still something new for the spectators who had never seen a black-and-white world before.
Before Lin Li had released his Light and Darkness Domain, the tree men smashed by the Crimson Dragon and the grass burned by the dragon’s fire all returned to their original state instantly. However, in this black-and-white world now, the recovery of the Nature Domain was evidently much slower. This made Lin Li gradually relax his locked eyebrows. With William’s vision, he could naturally see that Lin Li’s life wasn’t threatened at the very least.
“How is that? Continue the bet! Nobody wants to increase his bet? Hey, old gambler, you’d better be clear with that betting list. If there’s any problem, I will go to your casino every day with my men,” Sienna yelled excitedly. He couldn’t help but feel excited, since those people who had bet against him had bet a total of more than 7,000,000 gold coins. Although these coins were not his yet, he believed that they were just temporarily in the hands of others now.
Seeing Sienna’s arrogance, the others didn’t mock him like before. Instead, they stared at the center of the square tensely, praying that the elf named Vidas wouldn’t disappoint them. They had thought the outcome of the battle was clear, and wanted to mock Sienna. That was why they had bet so much money, thinking it would still be in their pockets in the end. However, judging from the current situation…
They regretted their decision so much. They had outsmarted themselves.
Wilkinson and his companions stared at the center of the square with admiration. Nobody would believe the person standing on the back of the black dragon was just 20 years old. Nobody would also believe that he had already reached the level of a pharmaceutics Master. Though being a pharmaceutics Master and a Legendary-mage wasn’t conflicting, and was even a typical phenomenon, it was still unbelievable when it came to a youth who was just 20.
Wilkinson thanked his teacher who had sent him to the Tower of Dusk all the more in his heart. This training was a chance for him to achieve a meteoric rise in abilities. If not for this chance, he would still be a medium-level pharmacist, accepting all the flattery from others in the Pharmacist Guild.
The spectators each had different thoughts in mind, but all of them locked their eyes above the square to concentrate on the black-and-white but vigorous battle, not wanting to miss a moment of it.
Suddenly, everyone thought they had seen an illusion. The black-and-white scene flashed quickly for a few times as if they had blinked. Many people robbed their eyes hard simultaneously, only to realize the frequency of the flashing had increased.
Vidas finally retaliated. No matter how bizarre Lin Li’s Magical Domain was, the difference in level wasn’t so easily made up for. As he increased the power of the Nature Magical Domain by giving his all, the flashes turned longer, changing the scene from black-and-white to green for an instant each time. Even people who weren’t sure of the situation could see that Vidas had regained the upper hand now.
However, what Vidas was battling wholeheartedly was in fact merely the two pieces of the debris of the stars—Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Vidas’ real enemy, Lin Li, didn’t suffer much pressure from Vidas, and just stood there like a spectator.
This was the chance Lin Li had been waiting for. When Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had taken up all of Vidas’ attention and strength, withdrawing it all at once wasn’t an easy task.
Lin Li’s Summoning Lamp flashed, and the Magic Lamp that was first sealed—Lord of Nightmares—was summoned. This Lord of Nightmares was first used by Lin Li to deal with those mercenaries sent by Harvey back in the Blackstone Mountains. However, the Lord of Nightmares wasn’t so weak given the fact that it had once been a true Demon Lord.
However, the Lord of Nightmares didn’t pounce at Vidas directly. Its body spread all around the area like fog. Lin Li put away his Summoning Lamp, and resumed control over the Light and Darkness Domain. He exerted more pressure on Vidas in a bid to prevent him from being able to deal with external factors.
The Lord of Nightmares had completely lost its original form, and blended into the Light and Darkness Domain. It turned into a faintly discernible fog, slowly expanding in the Light and Darkness Domain. Nobody noticed that the fog the Lord of Nightmares had transformed into expanded more and more with every flash between the colorful and black-and-white world. The area it covered was even approaching the tree crown Vidas was standing on.
Only when the flashing stopped and the world was fixed as black-and-white did people realize in shock that a thick fog had enveloped the spot that Vidas was standing at. This fog didn’t stop just right there. After the Light and Darkness Domain stabilized, it spread throughout the entire domain with astounding speed.
“Finally no more flashes!” Many spectators groaned as they rubbed their foreheads. The high-frequency flashes between a colorful and black-and-white world had made all low-ability spectators very dizzy. They even thought they were under some magical curse. Now that the world was fixed as black-and-white, they felt much more comfortable and less worried.
These people were just dazed by the flashes, but didn’t understand anything about the battle at all until now. A battle between Legendary powerhouses couldn’t be understood by people who hadn’t reached the Legendary-realm yet. They could only know something about the battle from legends and hearsays.
Not to mention these people, even the knowledgeable appraiser, Master William, couldn’t figure out what was going on now. Arathor’s lips moved, but he didn’t dare to ask William, and only stared at the center of the square with many thoughts in mind.
Everyone was staring at the square, but the square had nothing to see. There was no sign of Vidas or the lush forest in the Nature Domain. Only thick fog was visible.
“Hmph! This is ridiculous! Do you think you can defeat me just like this?” Vidas sneered in the fog. This sudden change didn’t affect his confidence. He mocked, “The difference between level-20 and level-22 is uncompensable. I acknowledge your abilities and techniques. After all, you were able to reach Legendary-realm at such a young age. However, don’t forget that there’s still different standards in the Legendary-realm. With your current abilities, you can’t control a complex domain well. Give up! If you persist, you will only be injured by your own domain. I won’t be harmed at all.”
As Vidas’ voice rang out, those people who were worried about their bet now jumped in joy. Although they weren’t sure about the Legendary-realm, everyone knew what the difference in levels meant given that Vidas had said it so outright.
However, Lin Li neither responded to Vidas nor stopped his actions. The fog in the Light and Darkness Domain continued to toss and turn. It didn’t get thinner as it spread over a larger area, but rather became thicker till it turned opaque. Under the puzzled glances from the spectators, the fog tossed and turned until Lin Li was also engulfed by it.
Everyone watched the square with a stunned face. That area was like a crystal jar filled with thick fog. Other than fog, all they could see was still fog.
The Lord of Nightmares was originally the Abyssal Demon Lord sealed in this Summoning Lamp after being defeated by the Magic Legion led by the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric. According to Connoris, there were 12 Summoning Lamps at first, prepared by Osric to be used as weapons for the Eternal Furnace. However, the High Elves’ regime was completely overthrown before he could finish building the Eternal Furnace. Hence, the 12 Summoning Lamps all disappeared without a trace.
This lamp Lin Li held onto now was a gift from Englos from the Brilliance Shrine, given to Lin Li when he was appointed the President of the Guild of Magic. However, he hadn’t gotten it for nothing. Pope Rosario had been poisoned by a prehistoric viper, and needed a cure, which was a potion hard to concoct.
Though the Lord of Nightmares had only been the Demon Lord of the first few levels of the Abyss, it still had the power of the Legendary-realm. However, its strength decreased immensely after being sealed by Osric. Although Lin Li was the owner of the Summoning Lamp, he couldn’t gain full control of the Lord of Nightmares’ power. He could only borrow a fraction of its power every time he summoned the Lord of Nightmares.
Instead of saying summoning the Lord of Nightmares, it was more accurate to call it unsealing. After all, Vidas was a level-22 Legendary-mage, and just summoning a shadow of the Lord of Nightmares wouldn’t do any harm to him.
After the Lord of Nightmares had integrated itself into the Light and Darkness Domain, its sealed power was immediately recovered, and its strength increased exponentially, making it even more powerful than at its peak. An endless dream was created, and trapped both Lin Li and Vidas inside. This power wasn’t violent, but it seamlessly reached the bodies of people without any defense.
The spectators stared at the center of the square, stunned, but they couldn’t see anything other than that jar of fog. Moreover, they hadn’t heard anything else after Vidas had spoken. Hence, nobody knew what was happening inside.