Chapter 1022: Mana Crystal
Gorswothy's towering figure continued to grow taller, eventually transforming into a giant over three meters high. Each strand of his hair hardened like refined steel, bristling upward.
In that instant, Gorswothy's aura surpassed the limits of a Title Archmage or Sword Saint. The terrifying pressure swept down, making it hard to breathe for anyone within a thousand meters—human or orc alike.
In the distance, Joey stared at Gorswothy in shock.
"Sky Rank—damn it, this guy can actually fuse with the ancestral spirit worshipped by the Golden Orcs, boosting his power to rival Sky Rank! The legends are true. No wonder the Golden Orcs are unstoppable. It's over—here on the Blazeforge Battlefield, no one can stand against this monster..."
After a brief test, Gorswothy keenly realized that Leon's strength far exceeded his expectations, so he immediately unleashed his full power, determined to kill Leon here.
Leon frowned as his flame elemental avatar dispersed. Streams of magma surfaced on his body, and in an instant, he re-cast Lava Avatar, transforming into a nine-meter-tall magma giant.
A beam of violet light shot from the Dragon Staff, forming a massive phantom purple dragon over a hundred meters tall behind Leon. The purple dragon phantom wrapped around the enormous wheel-shaped shadow behind him.
Immediately, the runic torrent flowing through the wheel-shaped shadow became even more violent and numerous. Leon's Lava Avatar grew taller, reaching thirteen meters.
In his left hand, a book appeared, ancient and iron-bound. The chains binding it snapped open on their own, and the pages fluttered. The Elemental Chapter and the Forest Chapter simultaneously radiated light, causing Leon's Lava Avatar to grow to eighteen meters.
In an instant, an aura no weaker than Gorswothy's erupted from Leon. Endless elemental power surged toward him, making the ground tremble and shatter. Chunks of earth broke apart, fusing with boundless earth and fire elements, transforming into jets of magma that shot skyward.
From a distance, it looked as if a volcano were about to erupt beneath the ground. Waves of magma burst forth, hovering around Leon. Within seconds, a magma pool spanning two to three hundred meters formed around him.
Seeing this, the killing intent in Gorswothy's eyes intensified.
So young, yet able to unleash such power—and he's definitely not a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage yet. If he breaks through to Ninth-Rank, I might not even be his match.
Such overwhelming talent must be destroyed here. He absolutely cannot leave the Blazeforge Battlefield alive. If he escapes, there may never be another chance to kill him.
With that thought, Gorswothy swung his massive Totem Pillar. Instantly, a dark red flame vortex appeared behind him, exuding an ominous, abyssal aura. Meteors tinged with gold erupted like a rain of shooting stars.
Countless meteors spun together, forming a thick torrent that surged toward Leon, aiming to crush him.
Leon gripped his staff in one hand and the Death Tome in the other. He uttered a rune, and the rolling magma beneath his feet transformed into six massive lava vortices.
Endless lava spells erupted forth, as if volcanoes were exploding in the sky. The torrent of lava spells shook the heavens, colliding head-on with the meteor storm.
Rumble...
Thunder exploded, making both sky and earth tremble. In less than two seconds, hundreds of meters around were filled with chaotic, violent magic from countless spells.
Neither side gained the upper hand—Gorswothy couldn't overpower Leon, and Leon's torrent of spells couldn't break through. The fierce magical collision lasted for a full minute.
Suddenly, Gorswothy retreated.
Once off the battlefield, Gorswothy dispelled the aura surrounding him and stowed away his Totem Pillar.
Leon frowned, watching Gorswothy. He didn't seize the chance to attack, but instead observed coldly.
Gorswothy shot Leon a cold look.
"Matthew Merlin, your strength is beyond my expectations. I never thought there'd be someone on the Blazeforge Battlefield who could fight me to a standstill.
For now, your head stays on your shoulders. I'm letting you live—for now. We don't have time to waste here; the final battle hasn't come yet.
Cherish this time. When the final battle comes, I'll personally sever your head and hang it in my bedroom as a trophy."
With that, Gorswothy flew off into the distance. The fighting below ceased as well—the Golden Orcs glared menacingly at Leon's forces and the Cloudspire Tower mages, sneering and watching for sneak attacks as they slowly retreated.
Leon watched the Golden Orcs retreating into the distance and let out a cold laugh.
"Heh..."
Gorswothy held back, but so did Leon. This guy is the strongest among the orcs this time—able to wield Sky Rank power. And with the Blazeforge Battlefield's boost, he might even be stronger than Dubois.
Defeating someone like that is hard enough—killing them is nearly impossible.
If a real fight broke out, no matter the outcome, both sides would suffer greatly. Judging by what he said, it seems there are more pressing matters right now. Fighting to the death would be utterly irrational...
Leon pondered for a moment, then landed and let his subordinates recover some of their spent strength.
The Golden Orcs are incredibly strong—the weakest among them is an Eighth-Rank Sword Saint, and they even have an Orc Shaman with them. When they go all out, they're no weaker than my own people.
Plus, Golden Orcs have powerful bloodlines, making them stronger than humans of the same rank—especially Sword Saints. Even their warlocks who reach Ninth-Rank Title Archmage level have strong bloodlines, and they're at least as powerful as human mages, if not stronger than most.
With the battle over, the Cloudspire Tower mages took life and mana potions, recovering most of their strength. But less than half of them remain—Cloudspire Tower suffered heavy losses this time.
If not for Joey's protection, none of the remaining Cloudspire Tower mages would have survived.
"Archmage Merlin, we truly owe you this time. If not for you, we might all have..."
Joey looked dejected—this loss was massive. Three Ninth-Rank Title Archmages were lost, the strongest in Cloudspire Tower, plus one Eighth-Rank Title Archmage who was a key focus for the tower.
Just thirty-five years old and already an Eighth-Rank Title Archmage, with no major bottlenecks ahead. The chance to reach Sky Rank was high, but now he's gone too.
To save the survivors, three Soul Relics were destroyed—including Cloudspire Tower's top-tier Soul Relic, the Astral Reflection, which deterred threats in Andalusia.
With this relic, Cloudspire Tower never feared attack. Astral Reflection could create a spatial labyrinth, like stamping the shadow of the stars onto reality, and reveal terrifying environments—a rare top-tier Soul Relic with spatial power.
Now it's destroyed—the relic's avatar collapsed and vanished. Without it, Cloudspire Tower's status in Andalusia might suffer.
If other factions learn of this, Cloudspire Tower's dominance in Andalusia will be shaken for sure.
With such heavy losses, everyone was wounded. Plus, the threat of the Golden Orcs made Joey decisively request an alliance with Leon.
Calling it an alliance was just a polite way of saying it—they were really relying on Leon's protection. Cloudspire Tower wouldn't share in Leon's spoils, only gathering their own resources. All Pseudo Sky Rank Beasts belonged to Leon.
After a few days, Leon had already gathered twenty Pseudo Sky Rank Mana Crystals.
When all twenty mana crystals were placed together, a sudden change occurred.
All twenty crystals lit up at once, resonating with a spot up ahead. Leon could clearly sense the resonance point just twenty kilometers away.
At first, a single mana crystal only pointed in one direction. Now, Leon could pinpoint its exact location—and even get a rough sense of the surrounding environment.
Putting away the crystals, Leon led his group at full speed. In just over ten minutes, they reached the place where the crystals resonated.
What greeted them was a massive temple.
A thin layer of mist swirled around the temple, protecting it. As they passed through the mist, an ancient aura washed over them.
The temple stood over a hundred meters tall, its facade lined with twelve thick stone pillars covered in carvings of magical beasts and dense, ancient orcish script.
At the very center was a round stone gate, sixty-six meters high—strangely shaped, not a normal door, but pieced together from three triangles.
Around the gate were countless ancient runes and carvings of extinct magical beasts.
Even without any magical reaction, everyone felt a soul-crushing pressure, as if a mighty being once stood here—the weight of its presence pressing through time itself.
A hint of surprise flickered in Leon's eyes. This temple and gate together formed an ancient and powerful Alchemical Array.
Without a special key, it's impossible to activate this vast, ancient Alchemical Array. The faint, soul-level pressure comes from the dormant array itself.
The stone gate was divided into three parts, each with thirty-six slots. Leon took out a Pseudo Sky Rank Mana Crystal and studied it—the slot's shape matched the crystals exactly.
When Leon first obtained these crystals, he noticed that regardless of their elemental type, all were identical in size and shape.