Chapter 747: Balak’s Magical Crystal
The Gordon Demon was lying on the ground. Its slow recovery speed was almost imperceptible. The three impressive Legendary-mages, Andoine, Aldwin, and Rosen, were all pallid. Their hair was in a mess, and they had blood dripping out from the sides of their eyes and nose. Their mana had been compressed to the extreme.
Finally, the deadlock caused by the five Scourged Ankylodons and two Mammoth Behemoths ended. The Magical Domains of the Legendary powerhouses had been compressed to the maximum. The powerful Zago Demons had gained the upper hand in the battle. The elimination of the human team seemed to be really close.
Despair surfaced in the eyes of every man. It did not matter whether they were the superior Legendary-mages or normal Archmages. It did not matter how much determination they’d once had. It was not that they had lost the will to fight, but their knowledge told them that there was no use fighting back anymore.
In this moment of despair, Lin Li, who was under the giant crystal coffin, started to move. The crystal inscription pen in his hands created a glow, and he left many lines and magic runes on the freakish mageweath array.
If the matter did not concern his survival, Lin Li really would not bear to destroy the masterpiece. This had to be the most perfect artwork in the field of Inscription. Lin Li’s actions dimmed the Guru-level mageweaths on the work. That violent magical wave turned silent as well.
“Huff!” Lin Li sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He put away his crystal inscription pen, and reached with his trembling arm towards the magical crystal lying at the core of the mageweath array.
The enormous silver magical crystal fell into Lin Li’s hand. It lost the restraint from the mageweath array, and started to emit an aura of evilness. The vigorous wave of mana gushed out like a tidal flood. The mana outside the magical crystal was like silver flame.
The sensing of the aura from the magical crystal helped Lin Li ascertain that this magical crystal that had unlimited mana had to belong to the Lord of Disaster, Balak. Although it was what he had predicted, Lin Li could not help but feel an unspeakable sense of surprise when he had gotten hold of the crystal. It meant that Osric, that infamous man in the Dark Age, actually had gone to the 72nd floor of the abyss alone! He’d killed the ultimate powerhouse, the ancient deity Balak, despite countless troops of Zago Demons!
Lin Li sped away from the crystal coffin with Balak’s magical crystal. He hovered in the air gently. The battlefield that was once full of commotion turned silent. The gray clouds in the sky and the Zago Demons on the ground stopped moving. There was no sound.
The special aura from Tyrant Balak calmed all of the Zago Demons down instantaneously. That was the unshakable law of the Endless Abyss. Although there was only a bit of aura from Balak from the magical crystal, it was sufficient to silent every Zago Demon.
“H-has it ended…?!” Angelano exclaimed. The Alchemy Colossus he had been controlled raised an arm to wipe the non-existing sweat. It was a traumatic experience. Despite following Osric for so many years, and going through countless battles, Angelano had never felt so desperate in any battle. His weak heart continued to tremble crazily.
Angelano had guessed Lin Li’s plans the moment he took his leave. Yet, he did not expect Lin Li to succeed. After all, those were mageweaths created by Osric. Although he had not seen how monstrous the mageweaths looked, his knowledge of Osric’s ability convinced him that Osric would never let anyone destroy his coffin. He was sure that common men would never be able to get close to the coffin, let alone deactivate the mageweaths on it to take down the mana source.
Angelano was totally impressed with the young human mage. The sight of the tiny figure in the distance gave him a trace of distant memory that was somewhat obscure.
The crisis had created tremendous despair in the men. How could it have been resolved all of a sudden? The survivors of the crisis slowly shifted their gaze from the stationary Zago Demons on the ground to Lin Li who was in front of the crystal coffin. They were bewildered.
Andoine rubbed his already groggy eyes and looked at Lin Li in astonishment. It was just too sudden. Although he felt that he had a good understanding of Lin Li, he still could not believe what he saw. However, he threw this astonishment to the back of his mind very quickly. What replaced it was amazement and pride. After all, Lin Li was his student.
The transition from hell to heaven was too sudden. Aldwin could not help but suspect that the situation was an illusion created by Osric. It wasn’t until he felt the cooling sensation from his staff that he discovered that it was real. The staff Geresco had left behind would definitely not let him fall into an illusion. Also, there was certainly no reason for the Zago Lord to play tricks on people on the verge of their deaths.
The sense of delight that surfaced in Aldwin’s heart, however, vanished very quickly as his gaze landed on his team of mages. It had been a team of over 200 men when they first entered the mausoleum, yet there was barely 50 mages left standing now. The decrease in numbers from over 200 to barely 50 was a drastic one. It was definitely a huge death toll to Alanna Guild of Magic. After all, each of the mages in the guild was the fruit of Aldwin’s efforts. Aldwin just could not feel happy when he saw the number of remaining mages.
Aldwin felt that he had suffered great losses in this mission. Although he acquired the magical crystal of the Fire Demon King and a Commander’s Badge from the Magic Legion of the High Elves, it was a fact that manpower was the core of everything. It would not help if he had powerful magic equipment and insufficient subordinates.
The nurturing of the 200 elite mages had not only taken Aldwin plenty of quality resources, but also much time. Not every mage was as freakish as Lin Li. One could not simply take two years to rise from a mage apprentice to a Legendary-mage. While the team of elite mages were mostly made up of middle-aged men, there were also oldies in their 60s. Just like Gryffindor, they had been called talents in the field of magic. There were more people that did not have the fate of becoming Magic Shooters in their lifetime.
Being left with barely 50 men, the team of mages was as good as entirely wiped out. Even Aldwin, the person who groomed this team, could not help but feel dejected at the thought of recovering the scale of the team. It was hard for him to have the confidence to nurture another group of people up to that standard.
There was another man who expressed no delight. That was Rosen. He clutched his staff and was panting heavily. He was incredibly jealous of Lin Li’s achievement. Rosen could not believe that it was an idea that just sprang out of Lin Li’s mind. He was convinced that Lin Li intervened at such a late timing after letting the Zago Demons exhaust his energy and waste his opportunity of summoning the wyrms. He felt that it was part of Lin Li’s plan to snatch the treasures.
Rosen became even more convinced about his guesses after he looked at the present situation. While he had lost his chance of summoning the wyrms again, and Aldwin’s team of mages was left with barely 50 men, only Lin Li’s followers seemed not to have suffered too much. Lin Li only lost some Alchemy Puppets and Death Knights. Especially that unidentified creature the size of a palm that emitted pure dragon menace seemed to be unaffected in terms of its combat energy.
Lin Li was not concerned about what was on the minds of the survivors. There was no hint of delight on his face. Instead, he gripped Balak’s magical crystal with a grave and serious expression.
Had the crisis ended? Lin Li did not believe that it had. Although the Zago Demons stopped moving after they sensed Balak’s aura, Lin Li knew that although the soul brand of Tyrant Balak had been erased by the Highlord, the remains of his aura would never be able to resolve the issue at its root. It was a fact that although the Zago Demons lacked brains, their leader was a manifestation of intelligence. He was certain that the Zago Lord would be able to respond to this situation after some time. Then, it would be doom that would await the men.
Lin Li’s worry was valid. Although not much time had passed since he had gotten hold of Balak’s magical crystal, he could see the gray clouds in the sky moving restlessly. That was the Zago Lord trying to figure out whether Balak’s aura would pose a threat to him. If it would not, he would continue his attack on the people.
The only way to overcome these Zago Demons completely was the rebirth of Tyrant Balak. Unfortunately, the Balak’s soul imprint within the magical crystal had been erased by Osric. Even if it was still there, Lin Li would not have any way to bring Tyrant Balak back.
Suddenly, a thought flashed in Lin Li’s mind. Oh yes! While there is no way for Balak to be reborn without its soul brand, I am still able to create another Balak with his magical crystal!
The thought of it prompted Lin Li to retrieve the Summoning Lamp that had the Fire Demon King sealed in it. He let the unlucky fella out of the lamp with a recitation. He said, “Fire Demon, I am going to give you a chance not to be sealed in his lamp eternally, and there will also be a hope for you to be reborn with a great boost in power. Would you want that?”
“H-how… How could you be so kindhearted?” the Fire Demon King asked suspiciously. He had always feared and hated Lin Li. Thus, he could not help but feel cautious when he heard Lin Li’s words.
“Nah, I might not be that kindhearted. Before that, I need to establish a Soul Contract with you to ensure that you will not turn against me with your newfound power,” replied Lin Li. He continued to talk about the contents of the soul contract, and its conditions were even stricter than those of a slave contract. To sum up, what Lin Li wanted was to have full control over the Fire Demon King without giving the demon any advantage.
“Erm… For that…” the Fire Demon King responded hesitantly. He was a little moved by the possibility of a good deal offered by the freakish and cunning human.
However, Lin Li did not wait for the Fire Demon King to make his decision. The expression on his face changed. “I am just being polite by phrasing it as a question. If you take my offer, you will be able to live on with perhaps a bit of advantage. If not, I need no trash with me. It will only take me minutes to purify you,” spoke Lin Li cold-heartedly. He retrieved the debris of the stars and circled them around the Fire Demon King.
Although the Fire Demon King had lost its body, he could not help but tremble with the impact from the Holy Light. He knew that Lin Li was not boasting. It was not a difficult task to purify him with that sphere. The thought of this convinced the Fire Demon King to get rid of any hesitation. He quickly adhered to what Lin Li told him. He recited that Soul Contract and sent a ball of soul fire to Lin Li.
After getting hold of the soul fire, Lin Li continued his recitation which he had just learnt from Connoris through mental strength. He raised an arm and held out Balak’s magical crystal in his palm. The recital of the spell drew the Fire Demon King forcefully over towards the crystal.
The magical crystal in Lin Li’s hand had a new soul. Although it was not Tyrant Balak’s soul, it did not matter to the Zago Demons. What mattered was the fact that there was a soul in the crystal. Balak’s energy had been inherited by another demon, and that that made this demon the new Lord of the Abyss despite being a mere soul.
The Fire Demon King had an unspeakable sense of disappointment. He was released from the Summoning Lamp, but was immediately sealed in the magical crystal. It was like a transfer from cage to cage. Although the magical crystal was extremely formidable, without his body, the Fire Demon King would never be able to leverage on it.