Chapter 518: Borrowing
It was precisely for this reason that he planned to borrow Lord Shaun's power to sever the Chieftain's connection with his ancestor.
And Lord Shaun did not disappoint him...
At the very moment the Chieftain's soul was severed from his ancestor, he unleashed all his power without reservation, entering Infinity—ignoring spell exhaustion. The Death Knight and the Lich also erupted with full force...
Such an onslaught, even if only for an instant, was more than the Chieftain—reduced to a Sixth Rank Title Archmage—could withstand. The final outcome, as expected, was the Chieftain's complete demise.
"You think that's too much... Merlin, can we ever work together happily after this? You have no idea how terrifying that orc soul Lord Shaun just faced was..." Lord Shaun gritted his teeth, then, as he spoke, his self-admiring expression returned: "Luckily, it was Lord Shaun who acted, solving that problem for you. Never mind, Lord Shaun won't hold it against you. Lord Shaun is going to..."
Yet, halfway through his words, Lord Shaun—in his spectral wolf form—suddenly stopped...
The self-admiring look vanished from his face, replaced by an expression as if he'd seen a ghost. Staring at the Chieftain's corpse, he nearly jumped in fright, his voice tinged with fear: "Dammit! That bastard still hasn't disappeared..."
"What?"
Leon was clearly stunned. It was the first time he'd ever seen Lord Shaun lose his composure like this. Instantly, he realized something was wrong. Then, he sensed a strange ripple slowly rising.
Then, following Lord Shaun's gaze, he looked over...
He saw, above the Chieftain's corpse, a sudden surge of dark red smoke. The smoke twisted eerily in the air, distorting the void, while a terrifying heat spread in all directions.
A faint, almost inaudible roar echoed as the smoke rushed skyward, coalescing into a massive orc apparition that dominated most of the sky. Its cold eyes stared down at everyone...
"Shit!"
Even Leon couldn't help but curse at that moment, staring in horror at the orc apparition in the sky. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, beads gathering as realization dawned—he finally understood who Lord Shaun meant...
It was the Forgefire Ancestor!
This was no joke—the Ancestor, such an ancient entity, possessed a power that could only be described as terrifying.
Every tribe worships its Ancestor, generating a faith-like power. After millennia of accumulation, the Ancestor becomes unimaginably strong—far beyond the likes of Joey or Heron, at least at the Sky Rank...
However...
The only saving grace was that such Ancestors are inherently repelled by the Plane's Source Power, so their true bodies cannot descend. Only through special means can their power be transmitted. Just like before, the Chieftain used the Forgefire Clan's Totem Pillar as a medium to communicate with the Ancestor, allowing its power to descend upon him.
In other words, what appeared now might just be an incarnation of the Ancestor.
After all, their true bodies can never manifest within the Blazeforge Realm...
Thinking of this, Leon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Humans, you will pay for what you have done today! I swear, when my true body descends, you and your factions will be consigned to endless hell..."
At that moment, the massive orc apparition in the sky let out a deafening roar. After several howls, its blurry face twisted, countless dark red runes appeared, and it transformed once again into a cloud of dark red smoke. A streak of red light flashed across the sky and finally vanished to the north...
"Archmage Merlin..." Only after the orc apparition completely disappeared did Councilor Weiss, clutching the Totem Pillar, walk over to Leon, his face pale and drenched in cold sweat—clearly shaken by the sudden appearance of the Ancestor's apparition. "If there's nothing else, we should head back as soon as possible..."
"Alright, let's head back first..." Leon nodded, not wanting to linger here. He glanced at Councilor Weiss, then fixed his gaze on the Totem Pillar. "Councilor Weiss, could I borrow that for a while?"
"Uh..."
Councilor Weiss hadn't expected the young mage to make such a request. For anything else, he wouldn't have hesitated.
But this Prime Soul Relic Totem Pillar...
For the sake of this magical relic, the Black Tower had poured countless resources into it over the past century. This time, they had mobilized nearly all the top experts in the Blazeforge Realm, paying a huge price just to wipe out the Forgefire Clan.
But now, the young mage was asking to borrow the Totem Pillar with just a word, leaving Councilor Weiss extremely hesitant.
It wasn't that he was overly suspicious—it's just that this Prime Soul Relic Totem was far too important to the Black Tower...
"I only need to borrow it for half a month, and I'll remain in the Blazeforge Realm the whole time. If Councilor Weiss can't decide, you can report this to Lord Heron..." Leon smiled casually.
He wasn't worried at all...
He could clearly see how much the Black Tower valued the Totem, but in reality, it was completely worthless in their hands. Once Lord Heron realized this, he'd be furious. So borrowing the Totem wasn't really a problem...
Of course, Councilor Weiss didn't know any of this. After thinking for a moment, he finally said gravely, "Rest assured, I'll report this to Lord Heron as it is. If he agrees, I'll personally deliver it to you..."
Soon after, the team retraced their steps, left the Sanctuary, and regrouped with the troops outside the valley.
Three hours later, the two factions officially parted ways. The Black Tower mage legion departed for Darkmoon Fortress, while Leon led the Merlin Family's planar legion back to Inferno Fortress.
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However...
Early the next morning, Councilor Weiss arrived at Inferno Fortress and handed the Totem Pillar to Leon...
After a brief exchange with Weiss, expressing his gratitude to the Black Tower and seeing him off, Leon hurried to Specter Valley with fifty archmages. Now, the entire northeastern Blazeforge Realm was under the joint control of the Merlin Family and Black Tower, with no orc forces remaining in the area...
Soon, Leon and his group arrived at the site of the Dragon Revival Array. Excavation had been completed half a month earlier, and several alchemical arrays had been casually set up. Leon descended deep underground, gazing at the dark red protective power tightly encasing the Dragon Revival Array.
Then, he took out the Totem Pillar...
In an instant, a terrifying wave of heat erupted from the flame atop the Totem Pillar. At the same time, the dark red protective force was greatly affected—countless dark red runes churned and showed signs of disorder, but it didn't last long before they condensed again.
"Just as I thought..."
Seeing this, Leon's face lit up with joy. His earlier judgment had been correct—the protective force, though incredibly strong, would require considerable effort for even a peak Title Archmage to break. But it had a fatal weakness: a powerful burst of flame would disrupt the runes forming the barrier, and once a critical threshold was reached, the entire protection would collapse.
But he didn't dare do that just yet...
Because he knew that the moment the protective force vanished, the true power of the Dragon Revival Array would surge forth—especially the core Five-Colored Dragon Core. Its power was terrifying, and if fully unleashed, all of Specter Valley would be razed to the ground.
If Specter Valley were destroyed just like that, the Black Tower would definitely be displeased...
More importantly, even with his current strength, Leon might not survive the shockwave from the Dragon Revival Array.
Thinking this, Leon couldn't help but frown and force a bitter smile. At this point, he had no other options—he could only use the Totem Pillar to slowly wear down the protective force. The process would be long, at least ten days, but much safer than opening it directly.
"This is the only way..."
With a hint of helplessness, Leon pulled out a crystal pen, dipped it in specially prepared ink, and quickly inscribed runes on the ground as time ticked by...
Soon, a seemingly crude yet practical alchemical array was completed. Leon carefully placed the Totem Pillar at its center, and instantly the flame atop it began to surge, releasing intense heat and constantly battering the protective force.
With each impact, the protective force weakened—though imperceptibly—bit by bit...
After finishing everything, Leon stretched and returned to the surface.
But he didn't leave; instead, he found an open patch nearby and entered a meditative state. His magical array gear kept running at full speed, allowing him to sense everything within several kilometers.
After all, activating the Dragon Revival Array was a critical matter. Any accident could spell disaster and unimaginable loss for him.
During this period, he had to remain here at all times—both to prevent interference and to observe the changes in the Dragon Revival Array.
The fifty archmages weren't idle either. Led by Edgar Merlin and Uriel Merlin, they spread out to meditate and form a powerful defensive line.
Faced with such overwhelming power, even a Black Tower councilor like Suville—a Seventh Level Title Archmage—couldn't break through unscathed.
The next few days passed quietly, with the Dragon Revival Array being steadily dismantled, and no accidents occurred. Until the eighth night, while meditating, Leon suddenly detected a faint magical fluctuation—strange and elusive, neither human nor orc, nor elemental creature.
The fluctuation was erratic and well-hidden. If not for his magical array gear, it would have been almost impossible to detect. Leon frowned, his eyes unusually bright in the dim night, staring east with a thoughtful expression.