Chapter 351: Mana Disruption
Herman didn't even bother to spend any more effort to respond...
He simply increased the power of the Hand of Devouring, letting the surging mana flood into his body...
Time ticked by, second after second...
By now, a massive amount of mana had already poured into Herman's body. Both Sylas West and Barlow could clearly see that Herman's entire figure had swollen, his robe billowing in the gale. He looked just like an overinflated balloon—absurd and almost comical...
But Sylas West didn't laugh, and neither did Barlow...
Because they knew that the seemingly ridiculous Herman was, in fact, at his most terrifying. What filled his body now was not air, but pure and immense mana.
If it burst forth, it could only be described as world-ending.
In fact, Sylas West and Barlow could already sense a world-ending aura brewing. Herman, still maintaining the Hand of Devouring with unwavering focus, was gathering mana to a critical threshold. Sylas West knew that once Herman reached that point, what awaited them all would be an explosion of pure despair...
Only Sylas West, who had personally experienced the Hand of Devouring, truly understood...
This is the most formidable aspect of the Hand of Devouring...
Back in the jungles of the Sungold Plane, Sylas West witnessed Herman battling a level 30 magical beast. At the time, Herman was only a ninth-level Archmage, yet he forcibly devoured more than half of the beast's mana, then unleashed that power in a single explosive attack, killing the level 30 beast outright.
That battle left an indelible impression on Sylas West...
The power Herman unleashed in that final moment far exceeded his rank. It was a strike that broke all limits—the mighty level 30 beast fell at Herman's feet without even a scream...
At the time, Sylas West had deliberately lured the level 30 beast in hopes of escaping, but he was so shocked by Herman's power that he forgot to run...
Now, once again, mana from the Hand of Devouring surged through Herman's body...
Sylas West knew that the young mage's time was running out. If he couldn't fight back immediately, the next moment he might end up like that level 30 beast—utterly hopeless before Herman's explosive power...
"Kid, your time is almost up..." The Hand of Devouring frantically siphoned mana as Herman savored the familiar sensation of power coursing through him, a cold smirk once again curling at his lips.
At this point, Herman had devoured enough mana. The power contained within that spirit artifact was truly astonishing. Now, Herman was confident he could unleash an explosion strong enough to defeat even a Title Archmage like Sylas West, let alone the young mage before him.
But Herman wasn't in a hurry...
Herman continued to maintain the Hand of Devouring.
Because Herman wanted to watch, to watch this young mage step by step descend into despair, to see that helpless expression on his face—just like all his previous opponents.
Everyone in the Black Tower knew that Herman’s greatest pleasure was tormenting and slaughtering those barbarians from the Caucasus, watching them despair, watching them cry…
But this time, Herman had miscalculated…
The Hand of Devouring had already been pushed to its limit, mana surging like a breached dam, yet the young mage before him showed no sign of panic. Instead, he smiled at Herman once again.
"Yeah, my time is almost up. It’s a pity I won’t get to study this fascinating ability more…"
"Huh?" For some reason, when Herman heard the young mage say this in a casual, almost teasing tone, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine…
This feeling was extremely rare for Herman…
Herman recalled that the last time he felt this way was years ago, when he infiltrated Som Magic City in the depths of the Sungold Plane to steal the Abyssal Evil Dragon’s eyeball, only to be targeted by the terrifying Dark Elf Queen…
Yes, the two feelings were almost identical.
Both were equally chilling…
But why?
A barbarian from the Caucasus, a mage barely in his twenties—why should they make him feel this way?
Unfortunately, Herman had no time left to ponder…
Because in the very next instant, Herman suddenly realized that the mana inside his body had become impossibly chaotic. It felt as if countless venomous snakes were writhing and biting within him…
In an instant, cold sweat drenched Herman’s back…
Herman was starting to panic. Mana disruption wasn’t new to him—after all, the Hand of Devouring was never meant for a mage. It was too sinister, too dangerous. That’s why Herman never tried to keep the mana he absorbed; he only used it for explosive attacks.
It was precisely this caution that allowed Herman to survive danger time and again…
In the past, Herman had encountered mana disruption before…
But never before had it been this severe, this sinister—this was the first time.
The pain was unparalleled, worse than any torture imaginable…
Panic, terror…
Herman’s expression twisted in agony…
Why was this happening?
Herman staggered backward, howling in pain, one hand pointing at Leon, the other clutching his chest, mouth agape but unable to make a sound…
"I told you, it’s a real pity…" Leon shook his head, his expression genuinely regretful.
At that moment, perhaps only Leon himself truly understood how regretful he felt.
Herman’s Hand of Devouring was so rare that even Leon, whose experience surpassed his era, had never seen it before.
Leon truly wished he could study this peculiar ability in depth…
Unfortunately, that opportunity was gone…
This time, Leon used his mana array gear—ten mana array gears, each with a different type of mana, plus two alchemical mana vortices. In other words, Leon was channeling twelve kinds of mana…
What does twelve mean…
It means Herman had devoured the mana of twelve mages in an instant. If he didn’t suffer mana disruption after that, then the Hand of Devouring would truly be invincible.
And if you add in the spirit staff from earlier, the result was inevitable…
"I’m really curious—what exactly is your meditation law?" Leon stood before Herman with a smile, having withdrawn all his mana. He didn’t finish the fight with an ice spike or wind blade, nor did he put up a shield. It was as if he’d forgotten they’d just been fighting for their lives.
Because Leon knew there was no need…
At this moment, Herman was so ravaged by mana disruption from twelve kinds of mana that he was nearly crippled. Forget counterattacking Leon—even moving a single finger would be harder than climbing to the heavens.
Yet Leon, facing the helpless Herman, didn’t strike immediately—no ice spike through the chest, no wind blade across the throat…
Because Leon was still curious about the Hand of Devouring…
"Heh…" Herman let out a bitter laugh, not even glancing at Leon.
This was the dignity of a Title Archmage…
Every mage who reached the rank of Title Archmage was extraordinary. Even in such dire straits, Herman refused to bow his head…
Especially not to a barbarian from the Caucasus.
"You… you want to know? Ha… haha…" Tortured by mana disruption, Herman had lost all composure, but his voice was filled with chilling hatred: "Fine… fine, come with me to the Black Tower. I’ll have… I’ll have the mages in the Obsidian Dungeon tell you all about this meditation… this meditation law…"
"No need for all that trouble…" Leon just smiled, ignoring the fallen Herman and gently rubbed the ring on his little finger…
"Damn it, doesn’t Lord Shaun deserve a good night’s sleep?" The spectral wolf who called himself Lord Shaun appeared again, his form more solid than when Leon first met him. Leon knew this was thanks to the pile of mana crystals, especially the soul mana crystal that had saved Lord Shaun from losing his rank.
Now, even if Lord Shaun hadn’t recovered his full strength, he wasn’t far off…
Interrogation was a trivial matter for him…
"Help out Mr. Herman here—let him recall the meditation law he learned. As for payment, I’ll give you a mana crystal of at least level twenty-five…"
After saying this, Leon didn’t care how Lord Shaun handled Herman. He simply smiled at Sylas West: "Lord Sylas, long time no see. You’re in charge of processing my batch of magical materials, right?"
"Merlin, long time no see…" Sylas West smiled, though his smile was tinged with bitterness.
After returning from Four Seasons Gorge, Sylas West was shocked by the young Archmage’s strength. Most of the time, he kept a respectful distance—if he couldn’t afford to provoke him, at least he could avoid him.
But today, Sylas West knew—he couldn’t even avoid him.