Chapter 793: Power of the Elder Gods and Demons
After appearing atop the Earth Elemental Dragon, Leon invoked his Earth Elemental Avatar. The flames burning across his body were swept away by the wind, replaced by a towering stone giant nearly four or five meters tall. Leon stood at the very core of this stone giant, charging forward alongside the Earth Elemental Dragon.
The ground kept turning to sand, yet the Earth Elemental Dragon charged through it with undiminished speed.
Roar!
With a thunderous dragon cry, the Earth Elemental Dragon opened its massive jaws and unleashed a torrent of yellow sand. The sand collided with Duncan’s Voidrend Blade, and countless grains instantly buried the razor-sharp spatial fissures.
Bang...
A crisp sound rang out as three thick, black Voidrend Blades were shattered under immense pressure. Yet, from within one of the blades, a rune lit up—a sweep of black light instantly froze a three to four meter area of sand into solid black ice.
Leon’s face twisted with unease, his features shadowed by the weight of imminent disaster.
Just as expected!
Duncan hadn’t inscribed the Arctic Freeze Rune into every Voidrend Blade—only a few bore it. Now that it was confirmed, Leon couldn’t afford to gamble; who could guess which blade carried the rune?
Leon raised the Dragonstaff, unleashing earth spells in rapid succession. Massive boulders materialized in midair, descending in a relentless barrage toward the enemy.
Leon erupted with power, but the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan only sneered, unmoved. Their strategy remained unchanged—methodically tightening the encirclement.
After charging a hundred meters, Leon suddenly felt the pressure intensify ahead.
Four or five Voidrend Blades exploded in succession, precisely one every second. A sweep of black frost surged forth, instantly freezing dozens of meters of ground into black ice.
The next moment, another wave of black frost formed a ring, crashing into Leon’s defenses.
Five consecutive strikes forced Leon’s advance to a halt—the Earth Elemental Dragon’s foreclaw was now encased in black ice.
The ice shattered, and waves of yellow sand surged from beneath the earth. The Earth Elemental Dragon quickly regenerated its claw.
Trapped again. Even a torrent of spells couldn’t break through—Black Dragon Warlord’s magic pressed from behind while Duncan’s relentless ice sealed the front.
Even with the Violet Dragon Avatar and the Elemental Chapter amplifying his spells, Leon still found himself utterly outmatched by Duncan. His face turned ashen, the chill of defeat gnawing at his resolve.
The encirclement had shrunk to less than two hundred meters. This was the final warning range—once it closed to one hundred meters, the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan would strike with full force.
At this range, if they attacked together, their spells would strike indiscriminately—any corner within a hundred meters would be obliterated, not even an ant could escape the bombardment.
When that moment came, death was inevitable.
Beyond brute force—no scheme, no trick would matter. This was the crushing weight of absolute power.
One hundred and fifty meters...
One hundred and twenty meters...
The encirclement kept shrinking. Now, the Black Dragon Warlord was losing patience, intensifying his spellcasting—the frequency of falling magma meteors grew ever faster.
Leon directed the Earth Elemental Dragon to cast Earth Barrier. A yellow-brown radiance shimmered from its body, and in an instant, a massive shield enveloped dozens of meters.
A heavy, ancient aura—like the earth untouched for millennia—filled the air. Under the barrage from Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan, faint ripples flickered across the barrier, but it held firm for now.
Leon’s face was set—crisis only made him colder, calmer.
This terrain was truly his greatest disadvantage.
Suddenly, Leon caught sight of the massive heart floating above the Abyss in the distance—a flash of insight struck him.
The encirclement had shrunk to a hundred meters. The Black Dragon Warlord laughed maniacally, pouring all his magic into the assault. Endless magma meteors rained down on the Earth Barrier, and Duncan’s eyes blazed as he unleashed his full power. Voidrend Blades formed in the sky, each massive and black, each inscribed with a pulsing rune.
The Spellbook of Ages had appeared in the Dark Elf tribe’s prophecy...
It was also the key to controlling the Dauntless...
And the Dark Elves once served Constantine the Sage, Lord of Wisdom; the Dauntless’s captain, Redbeard, was also his loyal vassal...
The final clue, most crucial of all: in the future, a widely spread legend would emerge—even now, it lingered in the secret histories of many families.
Constantine the Sage was regarded as the origin of all wisdom. The most credible claim was that he personally created the incantations for every spell in existence!
Putting all this together led to a single, inescapable conclusion.
The Spellbook of Ages was intimately connected to Constantine the Sage! Even if the legends weren’t all true, the ties between the Spellbook and the Lord of Wisdom were undeniable.
And that heart drifting above the bottomless Abyss in Nightfall Gorge—it was Constantine’s heart!
With this realization, Leon had no time to hesitate—time was running out!
The encirclement pressed ever closer to a hundred meters! The Black Dragon Warlord was already itching to launch a full assault!
Leon channeled a surge of magic into the ring on his left hand—Lord Shaun poked his head out, shrieked, and tried to retreat inside.
Leon grabbed Lord Shaun, face grim. "There’s only one chance. When I say go, unleash Soul Roar with everything you’ve got."
Lord Shaun trembled, eyes wide with horror. "Merlin, Lord Merlin, have mercy! If I survive this, could you let me stay in your demi-plane?"
Leon said nothing, his mind wholly immersed in the Spellbook of Ages. All defenses now relied on the Earth Elemental Dragon—how long it could hold was anyone’s guess. But Leon knew: even at full strength, the Earth Elemental Dragon could last no more than twenty seconds!
Earth Barrier was strong, but the Earth Elemental Dragon was only rank thirty-eight. Opposing him were two monsters, each with a foot in the Sky Rank.
Leon poured a torrent of mana into the Spellbook of Ages, using it as a conduit to reach out to the massive heart above the Abyss.
As more mana surged in, a faint, elusive connection suddenly appeared.
"Merlin, what are you doing? Hurry! The Earth Barrier won’t hold much longer!"
Lord Shaun was frantic, spinning in circles in terror.
The encirclement had shrunk to a hundred meters. The Black Dragon Warlord laughed maniacally, pouring all his magic into the assault. Endless magma meteors rained down on the Earth Barrier, and Duncan’s eyes blazed as he unleashed his full power. Rift Ice Spikes formed in the sky, each massive and black, each inscribed with a pulsing rune.
Leon, pale and hollow-eyed, slumped to the ground in exhaustion. At that moment, the Spellbook of Ages shimmered—the sealed page was forced open by a surge of otherworldly power.
As Leon gazed at the revealed secrets, his breath caught—each word seemed to pulse with the gravity of fate.
Lord Shaun cried out in fear—the Earth Barrier had turned fully to stone, meaning its power was about to run out!
At that moment, a thunderous heartbeat echoed from the depths of Nightfall Gorge. A ripple shimmered across the heart, unleashing a terrifying surge of power!
Leon shouted, "Now!"
In an instant, Lord Shaun transformed into a giant spectral wolf and let out a mighty howl at the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan.
The sonic wave swept out—though the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan were formidable, both were gravely wounded: one barely conscious, the other nearly undead. Struck by Lord Shaun’s desperate Soul Roar, their bodies fell into paralysis.
Unfinished spells hanging in midair collapsed at that moment...
But from Constantine’s heart, a surge of power erupted, forming an ancient stone gate in midair. As it appeared, it tore through space like ripping a sheet of paper.
As the gate opened, a wave of abyssal energy flooded out—thick with the stench of sulfur.
"Banishment!"
Leon gripped the radiant Spellbook of Ages, gritting his teeth as he uttered two ancient runes.
Instantly, a vortex formed on the stone gate—a terrifying suction pulled the surrounding space into the gate. Paralyzed, the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan were helplessly drawn in.
The moment they entered the gate, Soul Roar’s effect ended, but they were powerless against the gate’s pull. Hundreds of meters of space collapsed into the gate—they could not escape.
"Damn rat, you’ll regret this!"
"I’ll be back!"
With those final threats, the stone gate closed, and the Black Dragon Warlord and Duncan vanished.
The stone gate disappeared as well.
Everything fell silent, save for the shattered, scarred earth...
Leon dispelled his Earth Elemental Avatar, and the Earth Elemental Dragon returned to its plane.
Leon, pale and exhausted, slumped to the ground. At that moment, the Spellbook of Ages shimmered—the page that had been sealed was forced open by a surge of power.
Leon’s breath caught as he gazed at the contents.
This was something only revealed at Sky Rank!
In that instant, Leon forgot everything else, greedily absorbing the page’s secrets. Moments later, the glow faded, and the Spellbook of Ages snapped shut.
He tried to open it again, but as before, only pages matching his current rank were accessible.
After restoring his mana, Leon walked to the edge of the Abyss, gazing at the massive, slowly beating heart in silence.
The Spellbook of Ages truly could connect to the heart, even drawing forth a sliver of its power.
Even after countless years, Constantine’s heart still held power—the power of the Elder Gods and Demons!