Chapter 671: Monster
Those pitch-black Wind Blades were only slightly stronger than ordinary ones, yet they couldn’t shake Leon’s Rune Shield at all.
But after these few Wind Blades collided with Leon’s Rune Shield, something abruptly changed.
A crack suddenly split open on the side of a Wind Blade, and from it emerged a mouth lined with jagged fangs...
That mouth full of fangs bit down hard on Leon’s Rune Shield. The shield didn’t shatter, but Leon felt the magic within it being bitten off in a huge chunk, as if it were a sweet, delicious cake...
The Wind Blade shattered. It was clearly a low-level spell incapable of breaching his defenses, yet it devoured a massive amount of magic—comparable to casting a sixth-level spell...
Leon’s expression grew grim, and the others were much the same. Whenever they blocked these ordinary low-level spells, some of their magic would be swallowed.
And those dozens of Wind Blades were just the beginning. The monster twisted its face, howling and shrieking, and with the power of a ninth-rank Title Archmage, it could unleash dozens of these low-level spells at once...
When it cast these low-level spells at full force, the sheer number was even more overwhelming than the spell torrent from the Arcane Wheel...
A deluge of low-level spells filled the air—Fire Dragon Spell, Wind Blade Spell...
Any spell in the hands of this monster turned pitch-black, each one infused with a sinister, evil power.
With every contact, these spells would drain a bit of magic from everyone.
Everyone was steadily falling back...
Defending would cost less magic, but if they tried to strike back, the monster's dozen fanged maws could devour nearly half of their counterattacks...
All that power kept making the monster stronger and stronger...
At first, the monster had only just reached the ninth rank of mage, but after a dozen minutes of fighting, its strength had completely surpassed its initial level, and it kept getting stronger...
Dodging more than thirty pitch-black, sinister spears of flame, Leon’s face grew pale. Casting spells required magic, but with the monster devouring his magic, the rate of loss was only slightly slower than when its tentacles had him...
Anderson wore a bitter expression. Just minutes ago, he’d been worried about the Heart of Blazeforge overflowing with magic, but now he was anxious about running out too quickly. If this kept up, even the Heart’s magic would be drained.
Reina’s face was sickly pale too. The monster’s spellcasting was bizarre—when a Mana Hand brushed past her, it turned into a giant mouth midair, taking a huge bite and draining her magic. Even her protective spells were sucked dry and collapsed.
Even Reina, a mighty dragon, couldn’t withstand this devouring.
Even the Alchemical Golem’s spells were constantly devoured. Whenever a giant maw was destroyed, another, even stronger one would instantly form.
The Alchemical Golem was all but useless now, unable to contribute anything.
Only Hubert was coping well. He wasn’t worried about his magic being devoured, and with his tough hide, he hadn’t suffered much damage. But his power was too low—he couldn’t even get close to the monster.
After half an hour, more than thirty fanged maws had formed around the monster—the largest was already six or seven meters wide...
Just that one fanged maw in front of the monster could devour any spell thrown at it.
The monster’s strength had already risen to mid-ninth rank Title Archmage. With a flick of its finger, it could instantly unleash hundreds of low-level spells, and every second, hundreds of first- and second-level spells swept out in a storm...
Most of the spells it cast were low-level, but thanks to its bizarre devouring ability, Leon and the others couldn’t even lift their heads.
Suddenly, Leon burst out laughing. After all this time, he’d finally figured out the vague suspicion he’d had at the very beginning.
You almost managed to trick me...
As soon as he said this, the smile on the monster’s face froze.
Mortal, stop bluffing. Prepare to die!
As it spoke, the monster seemed to bristle with rage, baring its teeth and casting high-level spells. Rapid incantations spilled from its mouth—this was an eighth-level spell...
Leon’s face was pale, but he sneered and opened the Death Tome...
He flipped to the Chapter of Truth, pouring magic into it. Ever since he’d used the Death Tome to open a rift to the demi-plane, Leon sensed the Chapter of Truth had finally submitted.
The Elemental Chapter, which he hadn’t paid much attention to at first, turned out to be the key—allowing the Death Tome to open a demi-plane rift in an instant, and strengthening its power so much that even the unruly Chapter of Truth quieted down.
When the smoke surged into Reid Watson’s body, Leon remembered to use the Chapter of Truth.
But ever since the Chapter of Truth had fully merged with the Death Tome, it hadn’t behaved, so Leon had subconsciously ignored it.
He also hadn’t quite figured out what was wrong. After half an hour of fighting, Reid Watson grew stronger and the monster more excited. There were just too many flaws in its words...
As Leon activated the Chapter of Truth, the Crystal Phoenix seemed to come alive, poking its head out from the Death Tome. With a cry, it glanced at Reid Watson, beams of light shooting from its eyes.
In an instant, the beams pierced through the fanged maws and struck Reid Watson.