Chapter 938: Undead Creature Elemental Dragon
The two teams united their defense, and the pressure they were under when defending indeed reduced. The alchemist from the destroyed Alchemy Colossus could only escape because the machine was paralyzed. However, his expression showed he was completely overwhelmed with panic.
Archbishop Martin and Donald exchanged opinions, and began commanding their teams to retreat slowly. However, this time, the difficulty of defending had somewhat eased up, and they no longer retreated that slowly.
Finally, the teams retreated to the edge of the square. Even though they did not take too much time, everyone felt like they had spent a century doing so.
At this moment, the group of mages from the Tower of Dusk had already gotten ready after receiving Lin Li’s orders. When the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom retreated, the mages united to form a Magic Net Array, and jointly cast defensive spells to share some of the burden.
With the addition of the mages of the Tower of Dusk, Archbishop Martin and Donald, the two powerhouses at the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm, were finally able to take their hands off the defense. After trying to cast offensive spells a few times, they finally walked towards Lin Li helplessly because they discovered that the enemy’s defenses were just as strong as their attack. Their instantaneous defensive magic spells were cast one after another. They could not break through at all.
“Master Felic, do you know what’s going on? The other party obviously doesn’t have the aura of the Sanctuary-realm. Why does it have such a strong mana?”
Archbishop Martin still couldn’t figure out what the enemy was. It was clearly only at the peak of the Legendary-level, yet it was not on the same level as him at all. At the peak Legendary-level, being able to instantly cast Legendary-level magic spells was not considered much, but being able to cast endless Legendary-level magic spells instantly was too terrifying.
Facing such a frightening enemy, Archbishop Martin had lost almost all hope of exploring the Sky Castle. However, the problem was that, given the current situation, it seemed that being able to retreat safely was also an extravagant wish.
The only way to leave the Sky Castle was through the Teleportation Portal. However, the Teleportation Portal wouldn’t take everyone away at once. Since there were so many of them, they could only be sent away in batches. However, the three forces could only resist the insane attacks of the enemies by uniting. The last ones to leave would be the most unlucky. How could they retreat then?
“President Felic, why did the Tower of Dusk stay still at the back without doing anything while we were fighting hard at the front!?” Donald was extremely displeased with the Tower of Dusk’s behavior. Hence, he questioned Lin Li furiously as soon as he saw him.
The team from the Rotterdam lost 11 Alchemy Colossuses in a short while, which was absolutely a massive loss. Besides, in Donald’s opinion, although the strength of the Tower of Dusk was not enough to change the situation even if they joined the battle, they could at least share some of the burden and relieve their pressure. Perhaps they would not have had to lose those Alchemy Colossuses then.
Moreover, when the three forces discussed cooperation previously, Lin Li had also mentioned that he had explored the Sky Castle before. Donald couldn’t help but suspect if there was a conspiracy behind the Tower of Dusk’s decision to stay in the back. He wondered if Lin Li had long found out about the existence of the enemy, and planned to let the enemy kill them.
Of course, although he was incomparably heartbroken about the losses that his team had suffered, Donald still stayed a little level-headed, and did not voice out his conjecture. Otherwise, he would probably have fallen out with the Tower of Dusk.
Upon hearing the words of Archbishop Martin and Donald, Lin Li did not have any special expression on his face. He looked at the battle taking place in front of him, and calmly said, “The Tower of Dusk is a small force. How can we not be careful? That’s an Elemental Dragon[1]. You’re a major force, you can ignore it, but I’m not so idiotic as to take my people to go toe-to-toe against it.”
“An Elemental Dragon!”
Upon hearing that, the faces of Archbishop Martin and Donald grew sullen. Although they had never seen an Elemental Dragon before, they knew quite a bit about the legends of the Elemental Dragon, which was the most powerful existence of the ancient wyrm clan and mastered the four major elements. Although they were in disbelief, they couldn’t help but believe the truth after comparing the actual Elemental Dragon with the legends.
The endless and massive mana, as well as the infinite Legendary-level magic spells that could be launched instantly, were clearly only at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Other than the Elemental Dragon that was depicted in legends, they could not think of any other creature that would possess such terrifying power.
However, knowing that the enemy was an Elemental Dragon did not seem to result in any changes to the current situation. In fact, it made them feel even more hopeless because they knew that no matter how hard they tried to persist, they still could not exhaust the mana of the Elemental Dragon.
They did not continue questioning Lin Li, and instead returned to their respective teams. Despite knowing how terrifying the enemy was, they could not just give up, could they? The only thing to feel fortunate about was that the Elemental Dragon was only at the peak of the Legendary-level. Although that made them feel that they could not win, it was, after all, still below the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, they might get a chance at changing the situation.
Of course, they knew that the chance was slim.
There were no signs of the intense battle easing up. Although the pressure that each force suffered had decreased after regrouping, they were still unable to change the fact that they were in a passive position where they were getting beaten up.
The Elemental Dragon that was flying in midair might be just a ridiculous skeleton, but the power contained in its skeleton brought about infinite horror. The four great elements, the Annihilation Flames, Extreme Frost, Meteorite Disaster, and Infinite Storm, displayed their most terrifying forms under the manipulation of the Elemental Dragon, making them feel hopeless. The entire Sky Castle seemed to be trembling with the roaring magic spells.
The Elemental Dragon was casting incredibly powerful top-tier Legendary magic spells like they were ordinary spells. There was barely any time lag between them as they continuously blasted above the magical defense of the expedition. Apart from defending, there was nothing else the expedition could do. They were enduring the endless offensive spells with all their might, as if they were struggling in an apocalyptic disaster.
That was a complete ravage. With its infinite mana, the Elemental Dragon did not have to think about the consumption of mana. There was no need for it to consider any technique or strategy. It was just using the highest mana output to display the strongest offensive spells, suppressing the opponents mercilessly.
Under the lead of the Elemental Dragon’s Element Domain, the Ghost Mages seemed to have been injected with stimulants as they bombarded the expedition with the strongest magic spells they could cast. Even though their power was far inferior to the Elemental Dragon’s, the draining of the expedition’s defensive power caused by the combined power of nearly 200 or so Ghost Mages was similarly astonishing.
After sustaining the attacks for a few moments, they had no choice but to start replacing the magical crystals of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam. Even if they used Legendary magical crystals as the power source, they would never be able to last long with such a huge consumption rate. Besides, due to the overdraft, the Alchemy Colossuses began to experience all sorts of problems, and no one knew when they would suddenly collapse.
It was the same for the humans. The priests of the Brilliance Shrine had been maintaining that intensity of spell casting; hence, their bodies had also ended up in a state of overloading. Many priests were gritting their teeth and persisting. However, blood was continuously oozing out from their eyes, mouths, and noses. They all seemed to be in a terrible state. The problems appearing in the Alchemy Colossuses could be resolved with repairs. The humans needed treatment as well. However, the current situation left them with no time to rest at all.
Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk joined the battle later, and opted for a defensive stance from the moment they joined the battle, it did not mean that it was any easier for them. Through the Magic Net Array, the mages combined everyone’s power, and they jointly reached the peak Legendary-level. However, it was still extremely inferior compared to the Elemental Dragon. In fact, they were considered pathetic and small.
“After this training, I believe that their comprehension of magic as well as their understanding of the Magic Net Array will be greatly increased,” Basel said to Lin Li while standing beside him and watching the mages who were struggling in the battle. However, he did not look worried at all. He knew that Elemental Dragons were indeed extremely terrifying, but he also knew that the young President beside him was even scarier. With a Sanctuary powerhouse beside him, there was nothing for him to be worried about.
Compared to the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were having a harder time as they were in a more dangerous situation. The teams of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom were defended by the Legendary powerhouses, but the mages of the Tower of Dusk could only rely on themselves.
Under Lin Li’s orders, no one else except the mages joined the defense, simply because they wanted to let the mages get the most experience out of that situation.
Actually, the greenhorn mages were not the only ones who needed training. The other members of the mage team needed to be trained as well. There were many Archmages who were at the peak of level-19 among the team of mages, and most of them were so-called infinitely close to the Legendary-realm. However, the root cause of Alan being the only one to advance to the Legendary-realm despite the good conditions that Lin Li had provided was the lack of training and actual battle experience.
The environment for learning magic in the Dark Age was extremely harsh, yet it produced the God of Mages Geresco, the three arbitrators, and batches of outstanding legendary figures. The mages now were not necessarily less talented than the people of that era. Besides, they also had a great learning environment. However, they could barely compare to the real legendary figures.
The reason that the mages had fallen to such a pathetic state was because they lacked actual combat experience.
How many battles had Geresco experienced in life to become the God of Mages? Putting aside the battles that happened at the end of the Dark Age, the battles that he fought during his growth process in the Dark Age were absolutely unimaginable to the mages of that era.
It was the same for the three arbitrators, High Priest Rogge, and the various legendary figures of that era.
Geresco had mentioned before that knowledge was the highest faith of mages, but books were not the only source of knowledge. Actual combat was not just another important way to gain knowledge, it was also one of the most important ways to test one’s grasp of knowledge.
Talent in magic was certainly one of the reasons Lin Li was able to have the achievements he had now. However, the various battles where he’d been on the verge of death also played an irreplaceable role. Without that experience, Lin Li would’ve probably only been an Archmage with incredible talent in magic if he were to rely on his aptitude. Perhaps he could’ve worked hard for years and understand some logic before barely making it to the Legendary-realm. However, he could’ve dreamed on about the Sanctuary-realm.
Although Lin Li didn’t quite agree with their proposal to start a battle in the Sky Castle, he also firmly believed that fighting was the best and only way for mages to break through.
The power displayed by the mages of the team had only reached the peak of the Legendary-realm through the Magic Net Array. It could be said that it was of almost no help to Lin Li’s exploration of the Sky Castle. The main reason that Lin Li chose to bring the mages there was so that they could have a chance to have an actual battle. Such an opportunity was rare in Anril. Hence, how could Lin Li ruin it?
Even though the mages seemed to be in a difficult situation, and some of them had already been injured for various reasons, Lin Li would have a solution to treat them as long as they were not dead. In that case, there was no point in worrying.
Lin Li was not concerned about the situation in the battlefield at all. He simply watched the mages gradually get tempered by the enemy’s powerful attacks.
In the battlefield, the attacks of the Elemental Dragon did not decrease at all. That was definitely a fact that made everyone feel helpless. Although there were barely any casualties among the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, all of them looked rather weak, as if they had been pushed to the limits.
Inconcealable worry was written all over the faces of Archbishop Martin and Donald. They were well aware that the team was almost on the verge of collapsing. Perhaps, casualties would inevitably appear next, and that would signify the team’s collapse.
However, in the face of the Elemental Dragon, they could not find a chance to change the situation at all. They initially planned to counterattack with their remaining forces, but they were all devoted to putting up the defense. The only thing they could do was to try and sustain the attacks for a second longer.
At this moment, they also noticed the performance of the Tower of Dusk’s mages. To their surprise, the Archmages were the ones who were fighting, and none of the Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk joined them.
[1] The author is using a different word, so it’s a different creature from an Elemental Wyrm like Lin Li’s Xiaohua. Or the author changed the name (he’s using two different terms for dragons, hence dragons and wyrms).