Chapter 692: The Gap
Oracis struck three times in quick succession. The Wood Barrier, which Leon had battered with spells for nearly ten minutes without breaking, was reduced to a pile of splinters.
Over a hundred Dark Elves were knocked unconscious by the force, while the rest—many with blood trickling from their noses and ears—could barely stand.
"Oracis—everyone, run!"
"No, I don't want to die yet!"
"Why is Oracis here...?"
Shrieks of terror echoed through the air. The Dark Elves, already devoid of any fighting spirit, forgot to resist at the sight of Oracis—more than a dozen simply collapsed, waiting for death.
All three of Oracis's heads locked onto the hundreds of Dark Elves. With two massive claws, it grabbed up twenty or thirty Dark Elves in each paw.
A dozen Dark Elves were crushed to death in its grip, bones shattered to dust. The rest were left gravely wounded, their desperate, hopeless wails filling the air.
The Abyssal Demon head at the center of Oracis opened its bloody maw and, with a sweep of its hand, shoved a cluster of sobbing, screaming Dark Elves into its gaping mouth.
Splurt—
As Oracis snapped its jaws shut, blood sprayed from between its teeth, accompanied by the sickening crunch of bones breaking.
Then Oracis reached out again, snatching up more Dark Elves and stuffing them into the gaping maws of its left and right heads.
At this moment, the Dark Elf mages were nothing more than dishes on a platter—utterly powerless as Oracis scooped them up. In barely ten seconds, over a hundred Dark Elves were devoured alive...
Especially those who'd fainted—they were simply delicacies placed at the edge of Oracis's mouth.
Leon and his companions felt their hair stand on end. This Oracis was far more savage than the one they'd faced before...
They turned and ran, but had barely covered a hundred meters when the space ahead began to warp, as if the entire world was blurring.
Suddenly, swathes of pale wraithflame erupted from the ground, forming a wall of fire that blocked their path. The flames twisted and distorted with the rippling space, like some enormous abstract painting.
The lifeless flames burned fiercely, and even at several meters away, Leon could feel his clothes on the verge of igniting.
The group hurriedly retreated, but their faces were ashen with fear.
"Damn it, Ashen Cage!"
Anderson spat the words viciously.
Leon’s face was grim as he glanced back. Oracis seemed not to notice them, still preoccupied with snatching up Dark Elves—hundreds of fresh, tempting morsels far more enticing than their little group.
But no one expected this beast to be not only more savage than the last Oracis, but smarter too.
To unleash an Ashen Cage in such a short time meant it had cast the spell the instant it broke free!
Leon’s expression was tense, and his palms were slick with sweat.
This Oracis was no easy opponent.
Especially this Ashen Cage—it was different from the one cast by the previous Oracis.
Last time, Oracis’s Ashen Cage focused on spatial power, with barely any ashen fire burning within.
That version of the Ashen Cage was the strongest at trapping its victims—anyone below Sky Rank could forget about escaping.
But this Oracis’s Ashen Cage was entirely different—the spatial power only appeared during its formation, providing a brief trapping effect. Once the cage was complete, the spatial force faded to almost nothing.
The whole Ashen Cage was a massive prison forged from ashen fire.
Though it seemed less powerful at trapping than the previous version, it utterly cut off any chance of escape. Even approaching meant being burned to ash by the flames...
Who knew how thick those whirling ashen flames really were? If they were ten meters deep, anyone below Sky Rank who tried to force their way through would be incinerated.
This was absolute power.
If you could force your way through, you could escape the Ashen Cage. If not, no trick or spell could break through.
Hundreds of meters all around were shrouded in ashen fire—even the sky seemed to flow with a river of flames.
Every exit was sealed tight.
With Oracis towering over a hundred meters tall, this cage—just shy of a kilometer across—allowed its power to reach every corner.
After quickly analyzing the Ashen Cage, Leon immediately summoned Theo.
"Can you absorb the ashen fire now?"
Theo transformed into a ball of flame, sending a message. Leon nodded solemnly.
Leon gave the others a grave warning: "Oracis clearly sees us as the next course. After releasing the Ashen Cage, it's taking its time—once it's finished with the Dark Elves, we're next. We have to lock down its attacks!"
With that, Leon turned and strode toward the towering wall of ashen fire.
When he was within five meters, his clothes began to give off a scorched smell—the dormant flames radiated terrifying heat.
Leon cast Fire Elemental Avatar, greatly boosting his resistance to heat. As he approached the pale wall of fire, he immediately conjured a magic shield.
The swirling, nebula-like shield morphed and catalyzed at the surface, imitating the structure of a mana array and taking on the form of an ice shield.
Fixing his gaze on the shield, Leon stepped directly into the wall of ashen fire.
The instant surge of heat was so intense that even Leon, in his fire elemental form, felt scalded—as if a silent flame was burning him from the inside out.
(End of this section. Please click next page to continue reading the rest of the exciting content!)
Leon’s face flushed as he pushed his magic shield to its limit. The mana array spun wildly, and the shield shifted with its motion.
Then the shield began to split apart...
Fragile-looking ice shields shot from the main barrier, forcing back the surrounding ashen fire. Dozens formed a spinning vortex, slicing swathes of flame apart.
These severed flames lost contact with the wall, and Theo rushed in without hesitation.
A mass of ashen fire, taller than a man, burned quietly. Theo plunged into it, and within three seconds, the center collapsed like a funnel as the flames were drawn inward.
In five seconds, Theo had devoured the entire mass of ashen fire, leaving nothing behind.
Leon, ignoring the drain on his power, repeated the process—rapidly slicing chunks from the fire wall, letting Theo consume them one after another...
Outside the towering wall of flame, Oracis sensed the Ashen Cage being damaged. Its red serpent head immediately turned toward them.
Its icy, menacing eyes brimmed with violence and malice. Without hesitation, the red serpent head opened its jaws and unleashed a barrage of over a hundred fire spells.
The swirling fire spells merged into a raging cyclone, roaring toward them—covering hundreds of meters in just a few seconds.
A hapless Dark Elf was caught in the cyclone of fire spells—instantly turned into a living torch, and with a single scream, reduced to drifting ash...
Anderson wielded the Arcane Wheel, unleashing torrents of frost spells. Rivers of ice tangled with those cast by the alchemy golem and Reina, forming a wall of advancing frost.
Frost spells collided with Oracis's flames, erupting in violent explosions at the center—mushroom clouds slowly rising.
Shockwaves battered the Ashen Cage. The Dark Elves, already targeted by Oracis, were hit hard—many were sent flying, screaming and coughing blood, some thrown into the ashen flames and instantly burned to ash...
As the explosions threatened to sweep back, Reina transformed into a Frost Dragon and cast Ice Coffin, shielding everyone within.
She kept the spells from reaching Leon, who was busy dismantling the Ashen Cage.
Crack...
Sharp, brittle cracks spread across the ice coffin.
The flames subsided. Oracis saw that Leon and the others were still alive and flew into a rage—both its fiery and icy serpent heads turned toward them.
A torrent of fire and frost spells erupted from the two heads, interwoven with countless fire and frost runes. Twin streams—one red, one blue—twisted together like battling dragons, spiraling toward them.
On first impact, the Ice Coffin shattered. Reina grunted, reverting to human form, blood trickling from her lips.
As a Frost Dragon, Reina was level thirty-eight, and thanks to her draconic heritage, even stronger than most at her rank.
But facing this ancient beast Oracis—just shy of Sky Rank—Reina was like a toddler before a seasoned warrior.
She was utterly outmatched. In direct combat, she couldn’t even withstand Oracis’s two serpent heads, let alone its demon head busy devouring Dark Elves...
Anderson and the alchemy golem frantically unleashed defensive spells, but every barrier was shattered the instant it formed.
Countless shields and wards sprang up, holding the elemental torrent at bay just meters away—but Oracis’s power kept pushing them back, relentless.