Chapter 1169
Morgan, standing beside Leon, hesitated briefly before speaking in a low, soothing voice.
"Archmage Leon, don’t be reckless. These orcs know the Blazeforge Battlefield far better than we do. They must have known about the Dark Night Phoenix from the very beginning.
They knew from the start there was no way to bring down that giant bird. Now, we can’t even drive it off. Let’s just let it go—what we’ve gained this time is already more than enough..."
Leon watched from afar as the Dark Night Phoenix perched atop the Alchemical Array, unmoving. His face betrayed no emotion.
"It’s just a gamble. I only need you to distract it for a moment—just enough for me to get close."
With Leon’s words, the orcs had no choice but to comply.
After all, the contract was already signed. If they fled now, it would be a breach of contract.
On the human side, more than half supported Leon—especially the four genuine Sky Rank mages, who all agreed to try Leon’s plan.
The allied army spread out, forming a loose half-encirclement as they advanced toward the Dark Night Phoenix. When they closed to just over a thousand meters, the Phoenix slowly turned its head, its icy gaze locking onto the approaching coalition.
"Archmage Leon, this is far too dangerous. No matter what trump card you have, that’s a Sky Rank Level 2 Dark Night Phoenix we’re facing. There’s no way we can stand against it. Maybe we should just give up?"
Morgan leaned closer to Leon, making one last attempt to persuade him.
Leon shook his head lightly.
"It’s fine. I just want to give it a shot. If it doesn’t work, we’ll leave this place for good."
Not far away, Joey, Lord Heron, and Rafael all wore troubled expressions.
Joey glanced at Helen, lowering his voice.
"Lord Heron, Archmage Leon is taking a huge risk. Even if he’s confident, we’re up against a Dark Night Phoenix whose power is enough to make anyone despair. If any of us face it alone, we wouldn’t last half a minute."
The chance of something unexpected happening is way too high. Against the Dark Night Phoenix’s attack, no defensive spell or artifact will do much good.
If anything goes wrong, we have to rescue Archmage Leon as fast as possible. We absolutely cannot let him fall here!"
Lord Heron nodded, and Rafael let out a soft sigh—they were already prepared to leap in and help at a moment’s notice.
On the other side, the Bloodbone Orc sneered coldly.
"That foolish human actually wants to get close to the Dark Night Phoenix. He’s just asking to die.
The Dark Night Phoenix’s body is wreathed in Dark Night Phoenix Fire—a deep blue flame born of the night, feeding on the shadows within one’s heart, and it clings to anything it touches with the power of Phoenix Fire.
Once it latches onto you, you’re as good as dead. And it’s not just the flames—the Phoenix’s massive body is lethal all on its own.
If that idiot human wants to get within a hundred meters of the Dark Night Phoenix, let him try.
Our job is just to keep the Phoenix distracted—it’s not especially dangerous for us. But for him, all it takes is one move from the Phoenix and he’s done for!"
Beside him, a Black Iron Orc Sky Rank warrior’s eyes gleamed with icy hatred as he let out a sinister chuckle.
"If not for the contract, I’d make sure the Dark Night Phoenix noticed him. What a pity...
But it doesn’t matter. That giant Phoenix’s wingspan is over a thousand meters, and this fool actually wants to get within a hundred meters.
He’s already dead. No matter what tricks he has up his sleeve, at that distance, there’s no way he’ll dodge the Phoenix’s attack. One hit and he’s finished!"
The orc powerhouses watched with cold, amused smiles. They’d seen Leon’s explosive strength before—especially when he summoned the phantom of the Equilibrium Codex. In that half-minute skirmish, he’d held his own against eight Sky Rank Level 1 orcs without falling back.
The most astonishing thing: Leon was still only a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage!
Such overwhelming power sent chills through every orc present. They couldn’t take Leon down, yet now he was marching off to his own death.
They could hardly wait for it. All eight Sky Rank orcs had made up their minds—thanks to the contract, they’d just stick to their assigned roles, but Leon was as good as dead...
The battle erupted again: eight Sky Rank orc powerhouses and five Sky Rank human mages led their factions, forming a loose half-encirclement to attack the Dark Night Phoenix.
But Leon had vanished—no one saw how he snuck in.
Facing the renewed assault, impatience flashed in the Dark Night Phoenix’s eyes. Black-blue flames blazed across its massive wings, and with each beat, torrents of fire swept out with the wind, turning into a meteor shower of black-blue fireballs raining down over two or three kilometers.
The sky filled with fireballs, each packing a massive punch—every one was as powerful as a seventh-level Flame Dragon Impact spell. The earth shook as every faction scrambled to defend themselves; only Sky Rank powerhouses could break through the barrage and threaten the Phoenix itself.
A minute later, the Dark Night Phoenix slowly rose, spreading its wings wide. With a piercing cry, visible shockwaves rippled outward, and as it beat its wings, endless black-blue flames howled with the gale.
In an instant, sound, flame, and wind combined—like ripples spreading through water—crashing out in every direction with indiscriminate force.
Everyone struggled to hold their ground. Even the Sky Rank powerhouses were suffering—no one could get within a thousand meters of that monstrous beast.
Thirteen Sky Rank fighters—all their power devoted to defense, with no strength left to attack.
Flame, sound, and wind merged into a storm of destruction. Each faction huddled together, like travelers caught in a desert sandstorm—forced to wait it out, hoping the storm would pass.
[Irrelevant passage—skipped.]
Just then, beside the Alchemical Array, a patch of sand suddenly collapsed, revealing a three- or four-meter-wide tunnel.
Leon burst out from within.
The Dark Night Phoenix, having just unleashed a massive spell, was sneering at the struggling allied army in the distance. Suddenly, it sensed a surge of magic beneath its feet and was instantly startled.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Dark Night Phoenix opened its beak and spewed a jet of pure black flame—over ten meters wide—straight at Leon.
In the distance, Morgan, Joey, Lord Heron, Rafael, and Leon’s followers watched, eyes red with desperation. But with the Phoenix’s storm at full force, even the Sky Rank mages could only stand their ground, shields up, enduring the onslaught and waiting for it to pass.
Everyone watched as the Phoenix’s source flame shot forth, powerless to intervene. No one expected the Dark Night Phoenix to unleash its strongest source flame at Leon the moment he appeared—the origin of all the black-blue fire burning on its body.
Space itself twisted and tore beneath the flames. It was as if the fire didn’t occupy space at all—like seawater being parted by a surging force. Any spell relying on spatial barriers was useless against this jet of black source flame; nothing could stop it.
Everyone’s eyes burned red, but there was nothing they could do. They could only watch, helpless.
On the other side, the orcs endured just as much—but suddenly, the Bloodbone Orc’s eyes lit up and he grinned widely.
As expected, that foolish human was finally doomed. He sure picked his moment—appearing just when everyone was tied down by that ugly giant bird.
He’s actually trying to face a Sky Rank Level 2 Dark Night Phoenix at close range—the Phoenix’s source flame, no less. That’s the closest thing to the legendary Undying Phoenix Fire.
There you have it—this foolish but powerful human can finally die...
Beside the Alchemical Array, Leon stared coldly at the Dark Night Phoenix as it spewed out the jet of pitch-black source flame. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes.
If he couldn’t get close to the Phoenix, Leon wouldn’t have tried at all. But he’d remembered—the Sandflow Tower mages had dug a tunnel leading straight to the Alchemical Array.
The entrance was buried, but the tunnel itself wasn’t completely blocked. By clearing the entrance, he could emerge right beneath the Phoenix’s feet!
That distance was more than close enough!
Seizing the moment as the Dark Night Phoenix unleashed its storm of sound, flame, and wind, Leon decisively broke through the tunnel entrance and leapt out.
Blazing flames rushed toward him. Leon shot skyward, spitting out a rune—a radiant gate, over two meters tall, appeared before him in an instant.
At the same time, in the demi-plane’s sky, the Divine Flame Embers spun along their pre-set path—until a two-meter-wide gate of light abruptly appeared ahead of them.
The Divine Flame Embers followed their trajectory and plunged into the gate, vanishing from sight...
Outside, as the ten-meter-wide jet of pitch-black source flame closed to within ten meters of Leon, the scorching heat instantly activated his shield. Rule rune shields flared, all their runes whirling at top speed—the temperature alone, even ten meters away, pushed the shield’s defense to its absolute limit...
Just then, a fist-sized fireball shot out from the gate of light. Instantly, Leon’s shield returned to normal, as if an irresistible force had swept away the deadly heat.
In its place came a pressure that weighed down on the soul itself.
Unless you were within ten meters, no one could sense the power of that fist-sized fireball.
The fireball drifted forward, colliding with the massive jet of pitch-black source flame. When the Divine Flame Embers and the giant source flame drew within five meters of each other...
The raging source flame caved in, like a ball pressed down by a giant’s hand. The Divine Flame Embers plunged into its core, and within five meters, the Dark Night Phoenix’s source flame couldn’t even get close.
In the blink of an eye, the Divine Flame Embers pierced into the heart of the massive source flame. A second later, the Phoenix’s source flame exploded with a bang, while the Divine Flame Embers still flickered calmly—right at the center of the Phoenix’s chest.
A shrill, terrified screech rang out. The Dark Night Phoenix thrashed its wings in panic, as if confronted by something truly terrifying, and shot skyward in a frenzy.