Chapter 576: Who Is Most Suitable
But...
The Flame Serpents appearing now were clearly more than just a handful—a writhing horde, hundreds strong, closed in from all directions and completely surrounded the two.
This was getting a bit terrifying...
Suddenly, two silver figures appeared within the Howling River, catching Anthus and Reid Watson's attention. One of them, upon arrival, unleashed a deafening dragon's roar. Instantly, a massive Frost Dragon emerged. Its scales gleamed like white gemstones, shimmering with silvery light. A bone-chilling cold radiated from its body, snuffing out countless flames.
Rumble...
The Frost Dragon's enormous claws seemed to wield indescribable, terrifying power, smashing one Flame Serpent after another into pieces. The muffled crashes echoed incessantly...
A cold light flickered from the Frost Dragon's maw as its Absolute Zero Breath burst forth and spread outward, freezing nearby Flame Serpents into ice sculptures. For elemental creatures like Flame Serpents, losing their fire meant death. Trapped in ice, their flames gradually dimmed and, within seconds, were snuffed out completely.
In less than ten seconds, the Frost Dragon crushed nearly a hundred Flame Serpents. It was effortless, almost casual destruction.
The other silver figure was the Sky Rank Golem. Its fighting style was even more direct. Wielding the Doombringer Staff, it rivaled an Eighth-Tier Title Archmage. Rays of magic crisscrossed, piercing Flame Serpents. The staff flashed violet, unleashing multicolored dragon breaths like a heavenly curtain, washing over the Flame Serpents.
Three minutes later, the battle was completely over. Not a single Flame Serpent remained in the area. The Frost Dragon transformed back into human form and left with the Sky Rank Golem.
Only Anthus and Reid Watson were left, standing there in a daze...
After watching that brief battle, they were both drenched in cold sweat. They hadn't intervened at all. In just three minutes, the Frost Dragon and the Sky Rank Golem wiped out hundreds of Flame Serpents. It was almost unbelievable.
Thinking back on what had just happened, both men couldn't help but shudder. When their eyes met, they saw deep terror reflected in each other's gaze...
To have survived at the hands of those two terrifying beings—what luck...
Especially Anthus, a Seventh-Tier Sword Saint—seeing the Frost Dragon again left him pale as a ghost. He still vividly remembered that claw strike from before, like a nightmare he couldn't wake from.
Soon after, Reid Watson and Anthus left as well, rising back into the air...
Not long after, Councilor Weiss of the Black Tower made his move, using isolation spells to once again block the flames flowing through the Howling River. The group descended, and before them lay a pitch-black rift, radiating intense spatial fluctuations.
Normally, mages of Northend would choose to construct a planar road to reach another plane—but the prerequisite was having the plane's coordinates...
But Leon and his group didn't have any coordinates—they could only grit their teeth and pass through the spatial rift to reach another plane.
Everyone knew the risks—only Sky Rank powerhouses dared to traverse spatial rifts at will...
But reality didn't give Leon and his group any choice...
At that moment, Felton, who had been silent in the group, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the rift ahead, suddenly spoke: "This is far too risky..."
Everyone froze, turning their attention to Felton in his black robe. Then they realized he was talking about the danger of crossing the spatial rift.
But honestly, that was stating the obvious—if they didn't cross the rift, what other option did they have?
Just as everyone had that thought, a cold laugh rang out. Cyrus Watson had already voiced the question: "Lord Felton, you say this is too risky—do you have a better idea? If you really think it's that dangerous, maybe you shouldn't go in at all..."
From Cyrus Watson's tone, it was clear to everyone that the old man from the Watson Family's ancestral grounds held deep hostility toward Felton.
Reid Watson, Councilor Weiss, Councilor Suville, and the others found it strange—if memory served, this was Cyrus Watson and Felton's first meeting. Where did all that hostility come from?
Maybe, aside from the two involved, only Leon understood. Cyrus Watson saw Felton as a rival—of course he'd be hostile...
"There is one way—we could send someone in to test it first..."
Felton ignored Cyrus Watson's hostility, seemingly unfazed. His pitch-black eyes slowly swept over the group. With a withered hand emerging from his black robe, he fished out two violet crystals from his pocket. His gaze settled on Leon, and in a tone that brooked no argument, he said, "You'll do it. Take one Whisper Crystal—once you reach the other plane safely, report back to me with its situation..."
With that, he handed one of the Whisper Crystals to Leon.
But just as Felton finished speaking, Councilor Weiss looked troubled as he turned to Felton. "Lord Felton... isn't this a bit much?"
In truth, Weiss was already extremely nervous at this point...
He really wanted to tell Felton that treating young mages like this would only lead to disaster...
Just being commander of the Mage Legion meant he shouldn't be sent on such a dangerous scouting mission, let alone one this risky. If things went wrong, he'd be lost forever inside.
Even Weiss felt it was unfair to treat young mages this way.
Of course, the most important factor was the young mage's strength...
With his own power and a slew of magical artifacts, he could easily defeat a Seventh-Tier Title Archmage. If he played his trump cards, he might even contend with an Eighth-Tier.
And besides, the young mage had a real dragon at his side. Even in human form, with its power diminished, it was probably about as strong as Weiss himself. If it reverted to dragon form, its power would definitely be above level thirty-eight.
He had no choice but to speak up—otherwise, if the young mage got angry, it would mean big trouble...
Even Lord Heron was somewhat wary of the young mage, suspecting that a mysterious Sky Rank powerhouse was lurking behind him. And anyone who could train a disciple like that probably wasn't an ordinary Sky Rank...
"What's wrong with it?" Felton frowned, his gaze growing cold as he fixed it on Weiss.
Weiss instantly felt a bone-chilling cold sweep up from his feet, spreading through his body. In a flash, his face went pale and sweat beaded his forehead...
"Heh, I have to say, Lord Felton, your idea isn't so great..." Cyrus Watson let out a cold laugh, shooting Felton a provocative look. "Leon Merlin is, after all, the commander of the Merlin Family's planar legion. How could he be sent on a job like that?"
Standing behind Cyrus Watson, Mark Watson's face turned pale as he listened, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. Was his grandfather out of his mind...?
In fact, perhaps only Cyrus Watson himself knew—he wasn't defending the young mage at all. He just wanted to go head-to-head with Felton, kicking off their first showdown.
"Then what do you suggest...?" Felton looked at Cyrus Watson, frowning even deeper.
"Since the idea was yours, Lord Felton, why not go yourself instead of Leon Merlin? Besides, you're the only Eighth-Tier Title Archmage in the group..."
"I think you're the better candidate, Lord Cyrus..."
No one is more suitable than you...
......
The argument lasted four or five minutes before finally ending. Neither side would give in, so they compromised: everyone in the group would enter the spatial rift together.
Fortunately, the rift was large—over ten meters long and two or three meters wide, big enough for ten people to pass through at once. A few minutes later, the whole group poured into the rift. Their vision blurred, plunged into darkness for half a minute before a faint light appeared.
Only then did everyone breathe a collective sigh of relief...
Yet in the very next instant, everyone felt their bodies plummeting out of control. It was only then that they realized they'd emerged high above the ground...
Emerging from the rift and sensing something was wrong, they quickly calmed down after a brief panic, casting Flight and Levitation spells in an orderly fashion. Below them stretched a vast lake.
"Find a place to land as soon as possible—let's see what this plane is like..." Felton's brow was furrowed. As an Eighth-Tier Title Archmage, he'd gained deep insight into the rules, and upon arriving he immediately noticed that the four fundamental elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—were already quite complete here...
Felton's slightly hoarse voice rang clearly in everyone's ears. The group followed his direction, preparing to cross the lake.
Rumble...
Suddenly, the once-calm lake rippled, and a massive shadow appeared. The group came to a halt, staring at the water as the shadow grew larger—a gigantic serpent's head burst from the surface, trailing a foul stench.
Before anyone could react, another 'rumble' sounded—another serpent head burst forth, then another, and another, until there were nine identical heads. Yet each radiated a distinctly different magical aura.