Chapter 466: Descent
On the way back to Auckland, Councilor Weiss made a point of avoiding Leon (Lin Yun).
Honestly, Councilor Weiss was down on his luck. Everyone else in the party had gained something, more or less, but not only did he get nothing, his rank even dropped to Fifth Rank Title Archmage. Still, his insights remained, and it probably wouldn't take long for his strength to return to its peak.
The only thing worth celebrating was that, after the Avatar of the Wasteland Lord vanished, the two Grayfire flames afflicting him disappeared as well.
This massive party pushed forward without encountering any magical beasts that could threaten them. By late morning on the fifteenth day, they had already crossed the Aurich Mountains...
Now, Auckland was only about half an hour away. The area was sparsely populated by magical beasts, so they’d likely reach Auckland by afternoon.
Everything that had happened lately had left everyone a bit worn out.
Even Leon wasn’t immune. In the lowest floor of the tower, he’d drained the power from three magic relics just to seize that Soul Essence, and ultimately had to use the Death Tome’s power to suppress it. Forcing his rank up to Title Archmage had left him badly injured, and it wasn’t until half a month later that he finally started to recover.
No doubt about it—the Death Tome was one of his strongest trump cards for now. But the price of using that power was steep. If it wasn’t a life-or-death moment, he wouldn’t use it lightly.
He was lost in thought as he traveled, when suddenly, a strange magical ripple spread through the surroundings.
The moment he sensed that magical ripple, his expression shifted. He looked up at the sky, channeling mana into the Arcane Wheel and pushing his Mana Harness to the limit. That ripple wasn’t just familiar—it was overwhelmingly powerful...
Just then, a haze of black smoke spread across the sky...
The black smoke twisted strangely in midair, pulsing with a shocking magical energy. It exuded an aura of evil and bloodlust, startling the entire party into silence as they stared up, too shocked for words.
"Human mage, I told you there would be a price..."
The black smoke morphed into a twisted face, floating some twenty meters above the ground. Its huge eyes glimmered with an eerie light, and its voice was sharp and grating.
That voice sounded as if it came from the depths of hell. It wasn’t loud, but it rang clear in everyone’s ears, and in an instant, many mercenaries turned pale, a wave of terror rising in their hearts...
"Who... is that?"
Even Councilor Weiss, a Fifth Rank Title Archmage, couldn’t help but gasp when he saw that twisted face. He went pale and broke out in a cold sweat—the pressure from that face was overwhelming, as if he were being smothered by an unseen force, with the threat of being devoured at any moment...
There was no doubt—this was an extraordinarily powerful entity. With his experience, Weiss could tell it had to be a demon from hell!
And not just any demon...
Even if his power had fallen to Fifth Rank Title Archmage, he could handle ordinary demons. But the demon before him was something else entirely—the pressure it exerted was nothing like anything he’d faced before.
An archdemon...
The thought sent another chill down Weiss’s spine, cold creeping from his feet to the top of his head. He couldn’t help but shiver. He’d never seen such a terrifying being in person, but he’d heard stories—like the one about a Heavenly Mage who ran into an archdemon at its peak in hell, only to fall in battle.
Whenever an archdemon appeared in Northend World, it brought unimaginable slaughter. Archdemons from hell were bloodthirsty and evil, feeding on flesh. Even in Northend, their power was monstrous—sometimes even peak Title Archmages couldn’t defeat them...
And now, his party had run right into one...
Weiss simply couldn’t figure out how, out of nowhere, an archdemon had appeared—especially since it seemed to be targeting someone specific.
"Human mage, you’ve enraged me completely. Even if you hand over the gem, I won’t spare you or your family. Prepare to face my wrath!"
The twisted face let out a roar that shook the heavens, evil energy surging like a tide. Suddenly, a terrifying black pillar of light shot down from the sky.
"Still playing at being a ghost, I see. Why not crawl back and go to sleep? You’re running out of time..."
An astonishing magical ripple spread through every corner. Wrapped in flames, a crimson figure shot toward the twisted face in the sky. Spells surged like a flood, and with a thunderous crash, two forces collided, uprooting trees and sending dust billowing everywhere.
“Damn it, only three months and you already...” A sharp howl rang out as the smoke-formed, ferocious face twisted in frustration. After the roar, the demonic power receded like a tide, gradually dissipating in the air, and the evil aura vanished with it.
As the Archdemon faded, Leon (Lin Yun) descended slowly with the help of Levitation, exhaling deeply. What had just appeared was the magical incarnation of the Charlotte Family’s Thousand Souls Ritual artifact. Three months ago, when Leon first obtained the Star Gem, he’d been ambushed by Hanson Charlotte. After killing Hanson, a portion of the demon’s power residing in his body manifested...
Back then, only by using the Chapter of Truth did he narrowly manage to destroy the Archdemon’s avatar. The Archdemon had sworn to descend in person three months later and kill him.
Sure enough, the threat came true...
If not for the benefits gained in the Turin Mountains, his strength multiplied tenfold, Leon might still have struggled against the Archdemon’s true form. At its peak, the Archdemon could rival Sky Rank beings. Even though it was seriously wounded and had spent a millennium recovering as the Thousand Souls Ritual’s artifact incarnation in the Charlotte Family, it had regained much of its power.
During their brief clash, Leon realized the Archdemon’s power was nearly at the thirty-seventh tier’s peak. So, without hesitation, he entered his Limitless State, barely managing to fight the Archdemon to a standstill. Otherwise, he would have been overwhelmed. The Archdemon was cunning and, sensing danger, fled...
If Leon had used every trump card he had, even a peak thirty-seventh tier Archdemon might not have been his match. But the Archdemon was far too sly—at the first sign of trouble, it retreated, and Leon wasn’t entirely confident he could kill it outright.
Still, that Archdemon couldn’t threaten him either...
Given the situation, he didn’t want to reveal his true strength too soon.
"Magus Merlin, that thing just now..." When the Archdemon finally vanished, Dalson regained some color in his face and looked at Leon, still shaken. That power had been terrifying—if Leon hadn’t intervened, none of them could have stood against such a dreadful Archdemon...
"It’s nothing. Let’s head back to Auckland first..." Leon shook his head, not intending to explain. The Charlotte Family didn’t want outsiders knowing about the Thousand Souls Ritual, and neither did he. The peak True Spirit artifact, the Thousand Souls Ritual—how could he not covet it? But for now, he wasn’t fully confident he could suppress the Archdemon.
There would be plenty of chances in the future...
"Alright..." Dalson nodded, wisely choosing not to press further.
A swirl of black smoke, carrying a terrifying aura, swept across the skies above Auckland.
It was the same incarnation of the Thousand Souls Ritual artifact that had attacked Leon not long ago.
During the violent clash just now, though it hadn’t suffered grave injuries, it had been thoroughly outmatched by Leon. The demon knew that with Leon’s current strength, killing it would be difficult, yet in that instant, it sensed a dangerous aura from Leon and decisively fled back to Auckland.
It was unwilling to accept such a defeat.
As a peak True Spirit artifact incarnation—and an Archdemon—it had never suffered such provocation before.
But there was nothing it could do; three months ago, that frail human mage had now grown at least tenfold in strength!
Ever since being gravely wounded and turned into the Thousand Souls Ritual’s artifact incarnation, it had lain dormant in the Charlotte Family for nearly a thousand years, slowly regaining its power. In fact, this was the first time it had revealed its true form to the outside world. It knew well that Auckland was a perilous place for it; a handful of powerful beings here could pose a threat.
Even if it was determined to kill that human mage, it dared not show itself in Auckland—only lying in wait outside the city, hoping to ambush him.
But it failed...
Still, it had no intention of letting that human mage go. Once it recovered a bit more, it would surely kill him. All it needed was time...
"You dare make a move in Auckland..."
Suddenly, from the direction of the Cloudspire Tower, a voice rang out, brimming with authority. The Thousand Souls Ritual incarnation, now fleeing in panic, shuddered at the sound. Just from the voice alone, it knew this was a being who could threaten it—one of Auckland’s top powers.
It was also the one it feared most.
A tremendous magical ripple spread through the void; a beam of golden light flashed, growing brighter and larger. It was an immensely powerful magical ray—before the Thousand Souls Ritual could even react, it screamed, pierced by the spell. Its twisted face contorted in agony as it forced itself toward the Charlotte Family estate.
There was no way it could withstand a being of that level. If it didn’t flee, it would surely die here.
"Hmph!"
Just as the Thousand Souls Ritual incarnation was wounded and fleeing, a heavy, cold snort echoed from the direction of the Black Tower. The force in that sound alone nearly knocked it from the sky. By now, its aura was extremely weak; after two pained cries, it became a black shadow and darted into the Charlotte Family estate...