Chapter 1000: Want to Fight?
Any magical beast capable of advancing to Sky Rank will create its own demi-plane. Unlike humans, magical beasts do not study magic deeply; they rely almost entirely on their demi-plane to accumulate mana. Leon cast a sidelong glance at the battlefield, reflecting that for all their brute strength, beasts never bothered with the finer points of magic theory—how typical.
Sky Rank beasts, especially the stronger ones, possess mana that can surpass mages of the same rank by a hundredfold—precisely because of this reason...
The bizarre Ice Ape before us has reached level forty, but it hasn't awakened intelligence, nor can it wield true Sky Rank power.
It's just like an ordinary Ice Ape...
At best, it can only be considered a pseudo Sky Rank. Other than its instinctive ability to launch destructive energy spheres, it poses almost no real threat...
Leon cast spells with full concentration, frowning as he pondered, 'If only these beasts put half as much effort into study as they do into smashing things, maybe they'd be more than walking mana batteries.'
The Ice Ape was suppressed, unable to lift its head. As it screamed, a thick layer of frosty armor covered its body, and then it began to flee...
Everyone was shocked at the sight—even Leon's face showed a hint of astonishment. Of course, he’d seen stranger things; in this world, surprise was just another flavor of daily disaster.
A Sky Rank beast, actually forced to flee by a group of Title Archmages? Hubert would be bragging about this for weeks, Leon thought, rolling his eyes internally.
What the hell is going on? Hubert’s confusion was almost palpable—he’d expected a brawl, not a beastly retreat.
Seeing this, everyone chased after the Ice Ape, bombarding it with spells. Its fur, marked by its bloodline, was scorched black, and its escape grew slower and slower...
Just as the Ice Ape was about to be slain, something unexpected happened...
Suddenly, four streaks of orange light appeared in the sky, shooting down rapidly to land at the four corners around the Ice Ape. A terrifying surge of magical power erupted—clearly the aura of Essence Relics.
They were four spear-like objects, entirely orange crystal. The lower halves were sharp as lances, while the upper halves were carved with countless magical beast statues, each topped with a Smart Beast figure whose eyes glowed as if alive.
Smart Beast is more of a nickname—its real name is Smart. It's a very special kind of magical beast, born with awakened intelligence, like a human child whose wisdom grows with age. They're uniquely good at learning.
Their species is tiny—even as adults, they're no bigger than a housecat. Their combat power is abysmal; in a straight fight, a level thirty Smart Beast might not even beat a regular level twenty magical beast.
But no sane magical beast ever attacks a Smart Beast. Legend has it they're the Beast God's favored pets—the wise ones among magical beasts. Their direct combat ability may be laughable, but they possess a truly formidable power.
Sealing and barriers!
Anywhere Smart Beasts live, dense barriers protect their territory. Their sealing abilities are incredibly strong—given enough time, a level thirty Smart Beast could seal away a level thirty-five magical beast alive.
These magical beasts are almost never seen nowadays; it's been over a thousand years since their last recorded appearance.
The four crystal spears, each carved with Smart Beasts, stabbed into the ground. The Ice Ape seemed to sense something, roaring in panic and fury.
In the next moment, the tops of the four crystal spears released four Relic Spirits, all in the shape of Smart Beasts. As these four appeared...
Instantly, blinding orange light burst from the spears, transforming into four screens of light that formed a square orange Barrier, five hundred meters wide, completely enclosing the Ice Ape.
The Ice Ape's attacks hit the Barrier like drops of water vanishing into a calm lake—only ripples appeared, but it couldn't break free at all...
As soon as the Barrier appeared, a large ship floated swiftly toward the trapped Ice Ape. The vessel was over twenty meters long and six meters high, covered in runes and alchemical patterns, and loaded with defensive magical relics. Though all low-grade, they were integrated by an alchemical array, greatly boosting the ship's defenses.
It had no weapon systems, just astonishing defenses, but was still worth a fortune. In this era, it's not like the future Northend World at its peak, where any Title Archmage could easily acquire a low-grade arcane battleship.
The energy supply system for arcane battleships is a huge problem in this age. Building a ship without weapons is already a major feat; a fully armed arcane battleship is simply beyond this era's capabilities—only the greatest powers, sparing no expense, could possibly construct one.
The ship sped toward the Barrier. A group of people flew out, rushing above the Barrier and unleashing endless spells upon it.
The Barrier only rippled under the Ice Ape's attacks, but remained utterly unaffected by the barrage of spells from outside.
Already gravely wounded, the Ice Ape was doomed to be slain soon. Now trapped in place, it could only endure the endless barrage of spells.
On the other side, Leon and the others arrived in pursuit. Their spells struck the Barrier, causing only ripples—it was impossible to break through. Leon couldn’t help but think, ‘So much for magical firepower. Maybe I should’ve brought a sledgehammer.’
When Leon's group finally arrived, the Ice Ape inside the Barrier let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground like a mountain. Leon watched with a detached curiosity; he'd seen plenty of magical carnage, but this was almost theatrical.
As the dying Ice Ape fell, one side of the Barrier dissipated, leaving only the section between Leon's group and the others—blocking their way. Leon muttered under his breath, 'Figures. There's always a wall when you need a door.'
But as the Barrier faded on one side, something unexpected happened—the dying Ice Ape suddenly sprang up, unleashing its last strength in a desperate bid to escape.
The moment the Ice Ape leapt, a Black Hole appeared beneath its feet. Instantly, everything nearby was sucked in—as if it were a bottomless abyss, devouring all.
The Black Hole quickly expanded to over ten meters across, its suction force surging, holding the leaping Ice Ape fast as if to swallow it whole.
Terrified, the Ice Ape roared, planting its limbs in the ground to resist the Black Hole's pull. But waiting for it was a barrage of spells from the lavishly dressed mages.
A pitch-black sphere smashed into the Ice Ape's head and exploded, like a giant's palm slamming down, pinning the beast to the ground.
Then a rain of Shadow Arrows pierced the Ice Ape's skull. Amid its dying, furious screams, its life force rapidly faded away.
Amid the spreading clouds of dust, a silver rope—swift as a venomous snake—slithered into the Ice Ape's wounded skull. Seconds later, it wrapped around a deep blue Mana Crystal and vanished into the ship as the smoke cleared.
In the distance, Leon hovered in midair, a glint flashing in his eyes—never missing a trick, especially when rare loot was involved.
The Barrier not only blocked sight, but also magical sensing. On the other side, spells rained down chaotically amid rolling smoke—no one else noticed the Ice Ape's Mana Crystal had been stolen.
But Leon caught a faint glimmer. When the Mana Crystal appeared, he sensed a trace of its aura—and he recognized that silver flash. Some people hoarded gold; Leon preferred magical secrets.
It was a very special Essence Relic called Spirit Serpent.
Spirit Serpent is essentially a rope, but it's made with a rare material called Dust Mithril. In Northend World, it's incredibly scarce—only found in the Endless Sea, or drifting in veins in the Endless Void. All Dust Mithril discovered here comes from meteorites that fell from beyond.
With Dust Mithril, the Spirit Serpent can awaken its Relic Spirit. But this avatar can't leave the relic itself—the rope only becomes as lifelike as a real creature.
Yet it has no magical fluctuations, no life aura, not even temperature. Unless seen with your own eyes, almost no detection spell can find it—not even magic itself gives any feedback.
At Northend World's peak, it was the best relic for theft and reconnaissance—far more precious than most mid-tier Essence Relics.
Leon's lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile. He said nothing, pretending he hadn't seen a thing. Sometimes, the best way to keep your treasures was to act as if you didn’t care.
Leon kept his expression neutral, feigning ignorance, as if losing the prize beast barely registered. Let the others rage—he’d rather watch the chaos unfold than join it.
Leon said nothing, but his subordinates erupted in fury. After all their hard work, the Ice Ape had tried to run the moment it realized defeat was inevitable. A pseudo Sky Rank beast dead-set on escape could exhaust its pursuers to death. Now, just as they were about to finish it off, someone swooped in to steal the kill? Typical. Leon almost pitied them—almost.
The moment the Barrier dissipated, Hubert charged forward with his greatsword, rushing toward the Ice Ape’s corpse and roaring in fury.
'Damn bastards! Hubert’s been fighting this beast for hours, almost had it dead, and you lot come to steal the prize? Want to fight? Come on, come on! Hubert’s sword has been itching for blood!'
Hubert was livid, face flushed and neck bulging with rage, while the rest looked equally grim.