Versatile Mage c1-2021, page 435
The Black Sea Drake cried out in pain. When it raised its head, it was shocked to see black lightning strikes descending from the fierce storm.
A Black Sea Drake did have the Lightning Element, but the one previously did not have a chance to use it. However, the Maggot Drake no longer had to worry about the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish.
Black lightning descended continuously onto Mo Fan abruptly, tearing at him like the merciless claws of a demon.
The lightning landed on the sunken reef and blew parts of it into mere ashes. Mo Fan was forced to back away from the incredibly powerful lightning. He did not dare to challenge the lightning directly.
The Maggot Drake looked at Mo Fan who was currently in a miserable state disdainfully.
It uttered a roar into the sky, summoning more black lightning bolts to descend. More than ten lightning strikes came down at Mo Fan simultaneously, leaving him with nowhere to run to. He could only endure the lightning with his Black Snake Armor...
The Black Snake Armor was no longer able to fully nullify the attacks that Mo Fan received when he was fighting a Commander-level creature. Mo Fan felt like his bones were going to collapse when the lightning strikes landed on him. The strong buzz in his ears almost knocked him out!.
"Lightning...Lightning...Lightning Conduct!"
Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y attracting the lightning onto himself.
"Are you out of your mind!?" Mu Ningxue screamed when she realized Mo Fan's crazy intention.
It was basically suicide trying to conduct the black lightning summoned by the Maggot Drake. Even a Lightning Mage with a Domain would not dare to do such a dangerous thing, since it would overload their body and kill them if their body was unable to endure the lightning!
The black lightning danced wildly, some lightning arcs spreading more than a hundred meters away into the distance, wriggling like giant, black serpents. They were flickering wildly with Mo Fan at the center. The electrocution was so strong that Mo Fan's veins were clearly visible on his skin. It was very likely that any weaker Mage would have been turned into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke straightaway!
"I'll...I'll...I'll control it!" Mo Fan clenched his teeth as he f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y absorbed the lightning that made contact with him.
Lightning was the most restless Element of all. It was extremely difficult for Mages to control their own lightning, let alone the lightning unleashed by an enemy!
No matter how strong the Black Snake Armor was, it could not afford to take on the lightning that Mo Fan was trying to conduct, yet he was unwilling to let go of the power.
The Black Sea Drake was still roaring to summon more lightning strikes in order to disintegrate Mo Fan. However, regardless of the number of lightning strikes that the Black Sea Drake summoned, Mo Fan simply took them all without hesitation. He had absorbed quite a shocking amount of lightning energy, it was almost enough to trigger a Lightning Explosion!
"Have a taste of my Lightning Explosion!" Mo Fan let out a roar and unleashed the black lightning he had absorbed.
Two black lightning bolts sprang at the Black Sea Drake simultaneously, intersecting in front of it.
As the two lightning bolts collided, the purple and black simply devoured the whole place as it fell deadly silent. Only the brilliance of the lightning was left, soaring into the sky!
An enormous lightning bolt appeared, soaring into the sky like a purple lightning dragon. Its flesh of lightning flew across the white clouds and blue ocean. Most terrifyingly, the destructive force of the wild lightning was enough to evaporate ten thousand tons of seawater, blast the reef cave below apart, and even destroy the scales and skin of the Black Sea Drake, leaving it covered with bruises and wounds!
As the Maggot Drake's skin and scales were torn apart, they immediately saw that the inside of its body was not dragon flesh, but the white larvae that had eaten the previous Black Sea Drake. The larvae were still digesting the flesh they had consumed to construct the Maggot Drake's body!
The larvae fell from the hole the lightning had blasted open on the Maggot Drake. The previously shiny scales of the Maggot Drake were replaced with blistering wounds, its fresh blood pouring out!
Standing on the reefs that were no longer sunken under seawater, Mo Fan leaned forward with a pale face.
Mo Fan had long mastered the ability to conduct lightning, yet he had never absorbed such an overwhelming amount before.
At times, Mo Fan felt like his body was about to burst from the overwhelming energy of the black lightning, but he managed to hold his ground. He had to admit that the Demon Element had significantly improved the strength of his flesh. Otherwise, just the Black Snake Armor alone was far from enough to protect him!
The Lightning Explosion had clearly exceeded the strongest attack that Mo Fan could execute, inflicting serious damage to the Black Sea Drake despite its outstanding defense.
It had definitely been worth the risk!
Mo Fan had already learned how strong the Black Sea Drake was. Even by joining forces with Little Flame Belle, he could at most only deal some damage to Black Sea Drake after using his full strength. Mu Ningxue's Ice had only managed to immobilize the Black Sea Drake temporarily, it was extremely difficult to kill the Commander-level creature!
Their only hope was to use a stronger spell, hence why Mo Fan was so determined to conduct the lightning.
Mu Ningxue was having cold sweats after seeing Mo Fan's crazy approach. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw that he was still alive.
"Are you alright?" Mu Ningxue asked.
"I need some time to recover. Keep it busy, don't let it run away," Mo Fan said.
"I know, you didn't need to take such a huge risk, there's no way I will let the Drowning Curse Maggot get away either!" Mu Ningxue's eyes glittered. The surrounding temperature immediately dropped as a strong wind started blowing, with Mu Ningxue at its center.
"Calm down, don't hurt yourself!" Mo Fan realized something when he saw Mu Ningxue's reaction. He immediately advised against it.
Mu Ningxue's aura had suddenly risen, meaning that she was planning to use the forbidden move!
The forbidden move was not the evil magic that was banned across the world. It was only forbidden specifically for Mu Ningxue, since with her current control of the Ice Element, trying to use the Ice Crystal Bow f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y was basically the same as killing herself slowly!
Mo Fan knew using the Ice Crystal Bow would result in life-threatening side effects to her body, thus he immediately advised against it.
"Don't worry, I can now use it to a certain degree!" Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan's concerns. She purposely pointed it out as she was gathering her aura.
She did not want Mo Fan to be worried about her.
In the Intermediate Level, using the Ice Crystal Bow was indeed the same as killing herself, since the incredible attack would basically drain away the majority of her life force in an instant.
However, after achieving the Advanced Level, Mu Ningxue could use her Ice Domain freely. She was finally able to control the power sealed away in her body to a certain degree.
She still had to pay some price, yet it was nothing compared to the consequences of letting the Maggot Drake run away!
Besides, how could she allow Mo Fan to be the only one risking his life?
"Ice Crystal Bow."
A powder, like tiny pieces of diamond, appeared and circled around Mu Ningxue, forming a crystalline bow with an incredibly strong aura in front of her!
Mu Ningxue grasped the longbow firmly. Her slender index finger curled slightly as she held it parallel to her arm. She slowly pulled the invisible string of the bow back...
Mu Ningxue extended her arm. Her silver hair was drifting in the wind close to her glamorous face. As her arm reached maximum extension, more crystalline dust showed up and coalesced into an ice arrow held in position on the string of the bow!
"Kill!"
Mu Ningxue uttered the single world coldly, radiating a strong aura. Even the ocean shuddered in a way visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. The Maggot Drake immediately looked terrified.
The arrow sprang forward, stirring up an icy storm following right along its trail. It was flying right above the seawater, splitting the ocean in half. The displaced water froze into ice in under two seconds!
The Maggot Drake no longer had its previous arrogant and proud demeanor. It started fleeing for its life like a little bug that had lost its protective shell.
The arrow caught up to the Maggot Drake and pierced through its sturdy back!
The Maggot Drake's body stiffened, and its flesh turned into ice crystals right after the arrow pierced completely through it.
The ice arrow continued to fly into the distance, turning everything, including the ocean, the clouds, and the reef into ice. The sea instantly turned into a frozen body of water, and the Black Sea Drake broke into pieces stacking up into a pile...it no longer had any sense of life, let alone the imperious appearance of the Black Sea Drake!
In the distance, Bobby almost dropped his jaw onto the ice!
His eyes were wide open. The ocean had vanished, as everywhere his eyes could see was covered with ice. He had never seen such an astounding Ice Mage in his life!
Why did he even bother whistling at the woman? Was he tired of living!?
Somehow, Bobby felt like the first thing he should do after everything came to an end was not to remember his brother's death, but to thank Mu Ningxue for sparing his life.
On the other hand, Mo Fan was panting heavily to catch his breath, and swallowed despite himself. He glanced at the sight ahead and was having trouble finding any word to describe his feelings. Although it was not his first time seeing it, it was still stunning witnessing everything turning into ice instantly!
Chapter 1000 - Domain Soul-grade Seed
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Some time later, the ice magic finally returned control of the place to the sea. The ice slowly melted. The snowy-white scenery extending all the way into the distance slowly reclaimed its usual blue appearance!
Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were standing on the sunken reef. Both Mo Fan's Ultimate Lightning Conduct and Mu Ningxue's Ice Crystal Bow had drained all their energy.
If they actually tried to defeat the Black Sea Drake the normal way, they would only have a little hope of defeating it after fighting against it over a long period, and the creature might just escape in the middle of the fight.
Either way, Mo Fan was well aware of how important it was to improve his strength. Otherwise, he might actually die one day, especially considering how much of a busybody and righteous person he was…
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Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue recovered some after resting for some time.
Unfortunately, the boat was destroyed. They had no choice but to make their way back on foot. They were incredibly far away from the city; it was impossible to tell how long the journey was going to take.
However, the group was relieved that they had successfully secured the immune cells from the Maggot Drake. Once they returned to Tinuoaya City, they should be able to resolve the Drowning Curse.
"Does that mean no one is going to die to the Drowning Curse again?" Bobby said.
Lingling shook her head and said in a serious voice, "Every living organism never stops evolving. Even if we came up with the vaccine to prevent these invisible maggots from living in human bodies, these parasitic creatures still exist in the ocean. It isn't like they have been wiped out. They can still live on in other creatures… and it's hard to tell how many powerful creatures are actually the final form of these maggots. Perhaps one day, a scarier species will show up that's invulnerable to the vaccine."
Mo Fan fell into deep thought upon hearing Lingling's words.
If he were to observe a living organism, most living things, including humans were gradually growing stronger.
Looking back at history and the passing down of civilization, all living things never stopped evolving.
The existence of the demon creatures had forced humanity to team up and grow stronger. Humans could not stop killing the demon creatures, they had to keep their numbers under control. In other words, both the humans and demon creatures would never be able to wipe out their natural foe. The only species that would go extinct were the ones that failed to move forward. They were the species or tribes that could not adapt to the ever-changing environment, eventually ended up as a page in history.
Perhaps many years ago, humans were like livestock in the eyes of demon creatures, an existence that they could butcher and feed on as they wished. However, the unyielding spirit of the human species eventually turned into magic technology, cities, and Mages, allowing humanity to defend itself from the demon creatures. However, if humans stopped improving, they would eventually be replaced by little demon creatures like the maggots, or be wiped out by some other powerful species of demon creatures!
Although Lingling's father was only determined to fulfill his sacred duty as a Hunter, it was also a way forward for mankind. The person making the step forward might die, but at least the step was helping to preserve mankind and push it forward!
If not a single person in this world was willing to sacrifice themselves to fulfill their duties and roles, perhaps humans and their Mages would soon become history easily flipped over to the next page by some other civilized species.
A species like the Drowning Curse Maggot would never go extinct, and the vaccine that Lingling had acquired would only protect humans from the Drowning Curse for a time.
However, it was the most they could do. They could only hope that a Hunter like Lingling, who was taught by her father to stay firm to their roles as Hunters, would be willing to step forward when a potential threat that could endanger mankind was discovered!
That being said, in Mo Fan's case, he was not really interested in being that person. He was only wondering if the reward pool of the Drowning Curse had increased by another ten million...
---
Mo Fan let Lingling handle the vaccine. He soon heard from the Hunter Union that his Hunter rank had been raised, meaning that he could acquire more information and had more privileges in the Hunter Union.
Not long after, Mo Fan saw a headline on some news articles describing the Drowning Curse.
The Clearsky Hunter Agency has solved the mysteries of a Curse that has been troubling the world, earning the huge reward pool of money!
Lingling purposely listed the Clearsky Hunter Agency as the contributor since she preferred to keep a low profile. It was mainly because she was worried that exposing her age would simply stir up problems among the Hunters.
Think about it: if the Hunter Masters in their fifties and sixties who had spent most their time trying to resolve the Drowning Curse discovered that the mystery was actually solved by a little girl around the age of ten and a young man in his twenties, wouldn't they feel utterly humiliated?
The Clearsky Hunter Agency was quite reputable, thus it was fine to put its name down as the group responsible for solving the mysteries.
As for the reward, Lingling did not really need the money. She asked Mo Fan to keep it on behalf of her, but normally, Mo Fan would simply use it all.
As a man with Double Innate Elements, he needed a huge investment to ensure that each of his Elements could come in handy. Luckily, the jobs he did as a Hunter were able to provide him some relief from the shocking expenses!
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"Mo Fan, don't tell me that you two were away because you were busy resolving that Drowning Curse?" Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and asked in a serious voice.
"You're pretty well-informed," Mo Fan raised his brows and said.
The media had only just reported it, but Zhao Manyan already knew Mo Fan was behind it. Mo Fan was actually quite impressed.
"What nonsense! The only ones that are still active in the Clearsky Hunter Agency are Lingling and you; who else would it be if it weren't you two!?" Zhao Manyan said.
"Ugh… you're right about that," Mo Fan said.
It was true that the Clearsky Hunter Agency had been around for quite a long time. However, the only people that were fairly active at accepting jobs were Mo Fan and Lingling. The remaining Hunters were in a half-retired state. They were extremely picky with their jobs in terms of their difficulty, reward, and distance...
As a matter of fact, there were not many people left in the Clearsky Hunter Agency. The Eldest Senior Sister, Leng Qing was a Vice Head of the Magic Court. Old Bao was once a Senior Hunter, but Mo Fan had not heard of him accepting any job since Mo Fan had joined the agency. There was a bald Hunter Master too, but he rarely visited. They also had an Eldest Senior Brother, but Mo Fan had never met him before. He did not even know his name.
Therefore, it was just like Zhao Manyan had said: The only people that were active in the Clearsky Hunter Agency were Mo Fan and Lingling!
"I'm quite jealous of how much money you got as a reward!" Zhao Manyan sighed.
Zhao Manyan's family was insanely rich, but it was not like their family could make money like performing a magic trick. If he asked his family to give him three hundred million, it was very likely that the elders in the family would consider tossing him into the Huangpu River instead!
"You know how desperate I am when it comes to money. I can't even feed myself if I don't make money as a Hunter," Mo Fan was holding a piece of blazing red crystal and feeding it to Little Flame Belle on his shoulder as he was speaking.
Little Flame Belle munched happily. Her face was brimming with happiness.
Little Flame Belle was enjoying it, but Mo Fan actually felt his heart bleeding. He glanced at Zhao Manyan as if he was trying to say, See? Have you ever seen milk powder that cost millions!?
"But you will be glad that you've raised your daughter nice and well in the future!" Zhao Manyan replied.
