Chapter 977: Negotiation
The Four-Element Bomb exploded against the Origin Shield, its terrifying blast instantly enveloping the shield. The surrounding elemental energies were swept away, leaving only violent, destructive power.
But the assault wasn't over yet—two more Four-Element Bombs detonated in succession against Dubois Charles's Origin Shield, blasting his body and sending him flying backward.
Thunder roared and surged as a vortex formed in the sky. A river of lightning cascaded down, engulfing Dubois Charles.
Dubois Charles, eyes blazing with fury, let out a furious roar.
"Leon Merlin! You're courting death! You're dead meat!"
The thunderous river, over ten meters wide, crashed down and surged into Windfire Fortress, instantly obliterating half the magma pool. Leon flickered through the chaos, the river of lightning relentlessly chasing him.
Buildings were torn apart, reduced to fragments, and in the blinding light, everything was pulverized into the finest dust…
In just four or five seconds, the central tower of Windfire Fortress—over thirty meters tall—collapsed with a thunderous crash…
As the tower crumbled, Dubois Charles was suddenly jolted awake.
Nearly a thousand meters at the center of Windfire Fortress had been all but destroyed. If the battle continued like this, the devastation would soon reach the area where the Plane Path was hidden...
Leon was dodging straight toward that direction, and in ten seconds at most, the Hidden Plane Path Chamber would be engulfed by the magma pool. That chamber couldn't withstand the burning and devouring of the magma...
The alchemical array hidden inside couldn't possibly endure the aftermath of the battle either...
If the alchemical array was destroyed, the Plane Path would be severed completely, and there would be no hope of ever finding that demi-plane again...
Dubois Charles gritted his teeth so hard they creaked, his body crackling with lightning, ready to explode—his hair standing on end...
Dubois Charles panted heavily, nearly bursting with rage, but he had no choice but to stop.
Earlier, they could fight to a draw, neither able to defeat the other. Now, he seemed to be falling behind—his Origin Shield forced out, and brute force alone could never reclaim Windfire Fortress.
Even if he took it back, it would be nothing but ruins, the demi-plane gone. What would be the point?
Dubois Charles clenched his teeth and stopped casting. The thundercloud vortex above his head slowly dissipated.
As the thunderclouds faded, the dark sky began to clear, sunlight spilling down once more.
Just then, three thick beams of light shot across a thousand meters, slamming into Dubois Charles’s Origin Shield and nearly sending him flying.
Dubois Charles spun twice in midair, his face shifting from pale to livid, barely restraining himself from retaliating...
"Leon Merlin, let's talk."
Dubois Charles squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, even dispersing all the lightning around him to show sincerity—leaving only his Origin Shield for protection.
Leon glanced up at Dubois Charles in the sky, sneering with disdain.
He’d known all along that Dubois Charles wouldn’t dare keep attacking. If he did, the Plane Path would be destroyed. The buildings in Windfire Fortress could be rebuilt in a few days, but if the Plane Path was gone—it would be gone for good...
That demi-plane was useless to Leon, but for Dubois Charles, it was as valuable as a transcendent magical artifact...
Dispelling his Lava Avatar, Leon didn’t even glance at Dubois Charles, striding toward the plaza on the side of Windfire Fortress.
The plaza was now piled high with metal ores, refined magic metals, and massive boulders freshly mined—each a vein of magic metal, and all containing companion gemstones.
Clearly, these three-to-four-meter-tall boulders had been mined by orc slaves, who had no idea how to extract the companion gemstones inside. Mishandling them could easily destroy the gems.
If any precious companion gemstones were destroyed, the loss would outweigh that of an entire vein of magic metal...
These gems must be mined personally by mages; each type requires a different extraction method. Some rare companion gemstones are even encased within magic metal. If you mine them with brute force, you’ll only end up destroying them...
Leon was about to get hands-on and mine the companion gemstones himself.
No one could predict what companion gemstones might appear in these magic metal veins. Even at the peak of the Norset era, it was impossible to know for sure. At best, you could guess which types might be present, but until you mined them, it was anyone’s guess...
It became a kind of thrill—selling raw magic metal ore so mages could mine the companion gemstones inside grew into a massive industry.
Many Sky Rank mages loved the thrill of gem hunting. Spend a few tenth-level magic crystals, and you might uncover a rare companion gemstone worth tens of thousands of soul magic crystals...
Leon picked up his tools, carefully chipping away at the boulders, exposing the magic metal ore and searching for companion gemstones within or around it.
Soon, he’d casually tossed aside more than twenty ordinary companion gemstones. Focused as he was, it was as if Dubois Charles floating in the sky didn’t even exist...
Up in the sky, Dubois Charles’s eyelids twitched, his chest heaving, and his magical aura growing chaotic...
It took Dubois Charles a good ten seconds to suppress his anger. His voice rumbled like muffled thunder as it reached Leon.
"Leon Merlin, I admit—I underestimated your strength. I can't defeat you, but you can't do anything to me either.
If we keep fighting, it benefits no one. Now, if you hand over Windfire Fortress, I can pretend none of this ever happened—I’ll forgive your transgressions.
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But you must compensate me for my losses—all damages to Windfire Fortress. Once the Blazeforge Realm business is settled, we’ll deal with our grudge then. Until then, I won’t go after you or anyone by your side."
A trace of humiliation lingered on Dubois Charles’s face. For a Sky Rank powerhouse to yield to a Title Archmage...
And the other side had even taken his main base and left it in ruins...
The Black Tower elites in Windfire Fortress were all gone—who knows how many were lost. They were Dubois Charles’s core team, and every loss felt like having his flesh carved away. Especially those Title Archmages—the loss of even one was a major blow.
Even now, it was unclear whether the three Ninth-Rank Title Archmages had perished...
Humiliation—utter humiliation for a Sky Rank mage. It was a disgrace that would make everyone sneer...
Dubois Charles felt he’d made an enormous concession. As a Sky Rank powerhouse, he’d already backed down—surely that was enough face...
But...
"Ha! A fist-sized Blue Blood Gemstone—now that's luck. Hmm, time to upgrade the Magic Reaction Core..."
Leon was lucky—he’d mined a fist-sized Blue Blood Gemstone. It was sky-blue, like crystal, but inside swirled viscous blue liquid. When shaken, you could see the liquid moving...
This companion gemstone was even more precious than a Bloodstone, containing terrifying power. It could easily supply core energy for a low-tier Sky Rank alchemical golem’s Magic Reaction Core.
If he refitted the Magic Reaction Core in Gray Orc Fortress, using the Blue Blood Gemstone and Bloodstone as fuel, the resulting power would let the fortress barrier withstand Dubois Charles’s attacks for at least three more days!
Leon stowed the Blue Blood Gemstone in a box and kept mining the magic metal ore...
It was as if he hadn’t heard a word of Dubois Charles’s "sincere" offer...
Dubois Charles nearly choked with rage, his fists sparking with lightning, eyes blazing, his mana almost running wild.
Thunder rumbled overhead as dark clouds began to gather...
Inside Windfire Fortress, Leon—still ignoring Dubois Charles—suddenly reacted, dropping his tools and summoning his Lava Avatar once more, glaring up at Dubois Charles in the sky...