Chapter 748: Encounter
A desperate situation, a miraculous escape—what everyone thought would be certain death never happened. The supposed Heaven-tier creature suddenly turned into a horde of Dark Elf wraiths, none higher than level thirty-six or thirty-seven. The difference was staggering...
Everyone seemed to spring up at once, leaping to their feet and unleashing a barrage of spells at the Dark Elf wraiths.
Anderson, who had resigned himself to death, now wore a wild grin on all three of his faces. Facing hundreds of spells, he laughed with genuine delight...
“Hahaha, you damned fools! If a Heaven-tier beast showed up, maybe Lord Anderson would consider waiting for death. But you idiots dare attack Lord Anderson? All of you can just die!”
Anderson's three faces twisted in laughter, shifting positions as he manipulated the Wheel of All Magic, spraying out torrents of spells. The wheel spun furiously, runes overflowing and fusing into new spells—flames, storms, snow, boulders—all erupting in a chaotic magical torrent that swallowed a dozen Dark Elf wraiths in the blink of an eye...
The others weren't much different. Even the injured Reina kept casting frost spells, her killing intent boiling over as if she wanted to wipe out every last Dark Elf wraith to vent her rage. No one even thought about running.
Hubert charged into the swarm of Dark Elf wraiths, brandishing Slaughter and howling. He ignored every spell that struck him, smashing wraiths to pieces with reckless abandon...
Leon gripped his Dragon Staff and held the Death Tome in his left hand, methodically casting spells—each one precisely killing a Dark Elf wraith.
After a dozen seconds, Leon frowned slightly. The surrounding wraiths weren’t high-level, but their numbers kept growing—soon, there would be nearly a thousand...
Of everyone, Leon was in the best shape—barely injured and the fastest to recover mana. With a natural demi-plane as his backup, it was almost impossible for him to run out of magical energy.
While the others rested, Leon released a dozen Wizard’s Eyes to scout the surroundings.
They were in a valley flanked by low hills. The valley was broad, with a river running through it.
There were only signs of small animals nearby—no real danger.
Still, Leon sent a dozen Wizard’s Eyes to both sides of the hills, wary of ambushes from the far side.
After a dozen minutes, most of the group’s strength had returned, and their injuries had improved.
Not daring to linger, they set out again as soon as they could fight. But as they reached the depths of the valley, the shrieks of wyverns echoed from the far end.
Dozens of wyverns flew in from afar, circling in the air, as the tremors of an advancing army rumbled closer.
The moment Leon and the others spotted the vigilant wyverns, the beasts had already noticed them. Hundreds of orc wolf riders charged on giant wolves, with thousands more orcs surging in behind.
From afar, they could see a giant Kodo beast, seven or eight meters tall, moving with the army. On its back was a massive throne, and a formidable Ashen Orc sat upon it.
Leon’s face darkened.
From the start, they’d tried to avoid the Ashen Orc army, but now they’d run into them head-on—at the worst possible moment.
At the sight of the orc army, Beta’s face went pale. He wrapped his head up and hid behind Hubert like a quail, terrified the orcs would spot him.
Leon frowned. The orcs must have spotted them first—the wolf riders and orc slaves were already charging. There was no avoiding a fight.
No one would act unless Leon did—it was a habit by now. Even facing so many orcs, even the battle-hungry Anderson just looked to Leon.
Leon raised his Dragon Staff, and a swirling vortex of flame formed in the air. Spears, arrows, and fireballs erupted from it, blasting into the charging Ashen Orcs.
Anderson let out a howl as the Wheel of All Magic thundered in front of him. Torrents of spells surged forward like a river, the crest a chaotic flood of four-element magic, five or six meters high.
The crest crashed down, orc slaves shouting as they raised shields—but they shattered instantly, swept away like mayflies in a river. The spell flood tore them to pieces.
The battle had begun...
Everyone began casting spells in attack. Orc slaves died in droves, but the Ashen Orcs pressed their assault, using the slaves’ lives to break through.
The orc wolf riders brandished their curved blades—these weapons, blessed by the tribe’s prophet, could even slice through spells.
Their goal was simple: charge, again and again, and after each charge, decapitate their foes.
But Anderson and the Alchemical Golem’s spellcasting was too strong—even just the two of them kept the wolf riders from charging.
The wolf riders weren’t expendable like the slaves. Orc slaves were weak but bred rapidly, born cannon fodder—if too few died, they’d overwhelm the tribe.
Wolf riders took years to train—Rodney wouldn’t let them die needlessly.
At the rear of the orc army, a group of orc demon warlocks began casting spells. Magical runes flared, and waves of abyssal energy rolled out—black smoke coalescing into flaming meteors that rained down on Leon’s group.
More abyssal spells poured out, suppressing Leon and his companions’ magic.
On the biggest Kodo beast, Rodney slowly stood. Black smoke poured from his body, carrying him forward above the army.
On Leon’s side, fiery wings sprouted from his back as he soared into the sky, ready to face Rodney.
At that moment, a faint spatial ripple swept through, triggering a chain reaction—space here began to tremble violently.
Leon and Rodney, both airborne, tumbled helplessly to the ground as waves of visible spatial distortion rippled outward.
In an instant, it was as if the world itself shattered. The earth trembled violently, terrifying black fissures split the ground as it was forcibly torn apart.
At the center of the battlefield, the ground surged upward, a massive crack stretching who knows how far. It seemed as if some colossal thing beneath was pushing the earth up.
Everyone staggered on the ground, unable even to stand straight as violent spatial and magical tremors shook them.
Within seconds, Leon and the orcs couldn’t even see each other anymore…
The earth was like a brittle cracker, forcibly snapped and nearly folded in half.
The ground at the center of the battlefield surged upward, while the rear collapsed downward, tilting hundreds of meters at a terrifying angle.
The surrounding mountains shook violently, peaks crumbling—every ruin trembled.
Seconds later, the earth seemed to shatter into countless pieces. The ground where Leon and his companions stood flipped over, burying them beneath. In an instant, they vanished from sight…
Beneath the surface, Leon and his companions tumbled downward with massive fragments, surrounded by darkness and falling debris tens or even hundreds of meters wide.
Space was chaotic, and magic churned in wild disorder.
Huge fragments collided midair, constantly changing direction—some even accelerated like meteors, plummeting downward.
Hubert clutched Slaughter and screamed as he fell. A massive boulder slammed into him—not fast, but the impact sent him coughing blood, his body flung like a meteor in the opposite direction.
The others were scattered, battered by the chaos. Elsa’s shield flickered as she tried to protect Beta, while Reina, still in human form, struggled to keep her balance amid the tumbling earth.
Anderson’s artifact body glowed faintly, absorbing stray magical energy to shield himself from the worst of the impacts.
Leon twisted midair, conjuring a protective barrier as a jagged stone nearly clipped his head.
The group plummeted deeper into darkness, the roar of collapsing earth and magic echoing in their ears.
For a moment, Leon wondered if this was the end—if, after all they’d survived, they would be buried and forgotten beneath the ruins.
But then, a faint blue glow shimmered from the depths below, drawing their tumbling forms toward it.
Leon reached out instinctively, channeling mana into the glow, feeling a pulse of ancient magic respond.
The fragments slowed, suspended in midair as the blue light enveloped them, shielding the party from further harm.
As the dust settled, Leon and his companions found themselves lying on solid ground, the chaos above sealed away by the mysterious barrier.
For now, they were safe—though the world above had changed forever.