Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 428
Chapter 718 - Bait
Seemingly having sensed the fear and terror in everyone's hearts, Eminos smiled humbly, and said, "Lowly humans, how dare you disturb Master while he's resting. You are all going to die today!"
When everyone heard the word "die", everyone began shivering instinctively as if the temperature had suddenly gone below zero. A cold chill emerged from everyone's hearts and gradually surged through them to the deepest parts of their souls.
"Continue casting, no one is allowed to stop!" Lin Li yelled when he saw Eminos' figure vanishing abruptly.
Although Eminos' strength was close to the Sanctuary-realm, even a Legendary-mage couldn't resist the attack of Wind Blade, just like what Eminos said himself. In order to launch a sneak attack, Eminos would have to abandon all his magical equipment and not put up any magical defense. Otherwise, he would just be a moving target. Besides, without a magical shield, Eminos could be attacked and hurt even by low-level magic.
"Ah!" one of the members from the team yelled as one of the Archmages was shot in the c.h.e.s.t by an Ice Spear when he stopped for a moment to reapply a magical shield for himself.
That was the terrifying thing about Eminos. As a mage, he knew the duration as well as the casting interval of various magic spells. Besides, all of the weaknesses of the mages were known and exposed to him. He had the immense mental strength of a Legendary-mage, and he could sense every change in the magical wave of the target and capture all the opportunities that he could make use of.
The death of the Archmage was not meaningless. Instead, it was a wake-up call for everyone to keep fighting on and a reminder that they could never make a mistake if they want to live. Any negligence would give the terrifying Mage Killer a chance to kill them. It was a true battle for their own survival. Everyone went all out and released their greatest potential.
Suddenly, the magic that was surging to the surroundings became a little more violent. A black ray of lightning suddenly burst out from the brilliant magical lights before turning towards the team in search for a new prey without stopping.
"Don't relax, he might still be there!" Lin Li shouted loudly. To him, such tricks were nothing new. Everyone had seen the 36 strategies in the world that he came from.
After seeing the black ray of lightning that was the enemy's clone vanishing, the mages indeed felt a little relieved and relaxed a little, but fortunately Lin Li managed to remind them in time. They continued to cast spell after spell. As expected, Eminos' figure appeared outside the range covered by the offensive spells.
Staring at Lin Li who was standing in the middle and continuously giving commands to the mages, Eminos smiled derisively. Then, his body flashed, and he disappeared again in plain sight before appearing on the other side, only to be forced into retreating by the endless attacks.
"Felic, do you really think we'll be able to defeat Eminos by keeping this up? You're being too naive." Rosen's face began to grow sullen while watching the mages resist the attacks continuously. He did not wish for Lin Li to gain too much prestige amongst the mages through his commands.
Of course, Rosen had also stated a fact. If they were to keep up with the defense, they might be able to sustain it for a day, but what would happen afterwards? After all, humans were not machines, and their defense would crumble eventually.
Actually, Rosen was not alone in thinking so. Even Aldwin, Andoine, and the rest had all thought of that issue. However, they did not doubt the plan, because they trusted Lin Li.
When Lin Li was trapped in the chaos of time and space, Andoine actually made the effort to find out the whole process from him as he was much more meticulous than the rest. Due to the fact that he was Lin Li's teacher, neither Cheyenne nor the elves hid anything from him. Hence, Andoine knew better than the rest how amazingly Lin Li performed in the Sky Castle.
The current situation seemed to be unsolvable, but Lin Li seemed rather confident about it. At the thought of everything that Cheyenne had said, Andoine decided to trust Lin Li blindly despite the doubts he had. Besides, so what if he didn't trust Lin Li? No one could come up with a better solution anyway.
"Is that so? Do you have a better idea? Let me guess, you're thinking of using some of them as a bait, right? Do you really think Eminos is an idiot?" Lin Li retorted coldly with a sneer while giving commands to the mages.
"If you don't try it, how do you know it's not possible? Can you make Eminos admit defeat and give up using your method?" Rosen retorted angrily.
Lin Li waved his staff with a serious expression and covered himself with a magical shield. He then said to Rosen, "I'm not as generous as you to use someone's life as a bait. So what if we can only stall him for a few days? By then, your staff should be able to work."
"You!!" Rosen was a little speechless, especially when Lin Li mentioned the staff and reminded him of yesterday's events which were definitely not a pleasant memory.
Fortunately, the magic equipment worn by the mages was of top quality—the best in Anril. With the recovery abilities provided by the magical equipment, the mages would not suffer any depletion as long as they did not make any mistakes. After all, they were casting low-level magic, which would not consume much mana even if cast continuously.
Looking at Lin Li who was holding the Helios' Scepter and standing in the middle of the team, Eminos gritted his teeth angrily. No matter how much he tried to jeopardize their plans, the human mages seemed to often stabilize quickly under the command of Lin Li. It was not that Lin Li was good at commanding, but rather that no matter what tactics Eminos used, Lin Li would only respond by opening his magical shield and covering the surrounding area with magic.
In the face of the endless magic attacks, Eminos did feel rather troubled. Although all of them were low-level magic, it was definitely terrible to suffer them because he could not use any defensive spells. However, if he were to give himself some defense, he would definitely be bombarded before he could even assassinate anyone.
Eminos' figure was constantly surrounding the humans and lingering along the edge of the range of magic attacks, looking for opportunities to break through their shield. Unfortunately, the team of Archmages was also one of the top forces in Anril, and had also experienced countless battles. Hence, it was unlikely for them to slip up.
Seeing that the Mage Killer was stuck outside the magical shield, the mages began to see some hope, and the fear within them gradually vanished. It turned out that the legendary Mage Killer could be at a loss for what to do!
Lin Li naturally also saw that Eminos was loitering outside. He exclaimed, "That's all the Mage Killer can offer. It's now our time to fight back, and we shall all cast a joint spell. Elemental Shield!"
Hearing this command, the mages who had already gotten use to Lin's commands immediately stopped without any objections. They raised their Crescent Staffs one by one, chanting the Legendary Elemental Shield spell.
However, Rosen, Aldwin, and Andoine were all taken aback by Lin Li's orders. What a joke. Enduring is already difficult as it is. Why does he want to retaliate now? That's the legendary Mage Killer. He's killed so many of us, how can we fight back?
"Felic, are you really sure!?" Andoine asked worriedly as he began to waver at this moment.
Meanwhile, Aldwin wanted to stop him, but it was clearly too late; the mages were already at the last stage of casting, and Eminos had yet to take action. Hence, they thought that it might be a good chance for attacking.
As the mages chanted the last syllable of the spell, Lin Li's staff emitted a dazzling ray of light that enveloped the entire team.
However, as the light faded, the mages were surprised to find that the Elemental Shield that shrouded the entire team flickered a little like candlelight in the wind, and slowly began to dissipate.
Casting failed! Everyone was filled with disbelief as they had practiced the spell countless times before. Yet, they failed.
Aldwin looked at the dumbfounded mages and took a deep breath. Although they were still the same people, they were no longer standing as one team.
At this moment, everyone immediately thought of the fact that since they had failed to cast the Elemental Shield, they were standing in front of the terrifying Mage Killer without any protection! What would happen to them!?
Chapter 719 - Titan-level Alchemy Colossus
Everyone was stunned. The magic backlash brought by the failure of the spell was not that great, since everyone was sharing the burden. However, it also prevented them from casting any magic anytime soon. They discovered that the Mage Killer Eminos, who had been roaming outside, had somehow disappeared when they were not paying attention to him.
At this moment, everyone's heart was filled with dejection, and no one knew who would be doomed next. They had no idea when Eminos would kill them silently, but they knew that the legendary Mage Killer would only require a tenth of a second to kill. Although Eminos could not assassinate everyone within a short period of time, it was the uncertainty that plunged everyone into endless fear. Even the few Legendary-mages wouldn't be able to immediately cast a low-level magic shield to protect themselves within this tenth of a second.
However, just as the Elemental Shield dissipated and Rosen and the other Legendary-mages cast magic shields on themselves, the Helios' Scepter in Lin Li's hands emitted a dazzling light. It was not a defensive spell, but a powerful offensive spell, Meteor Shower. The target of the offensive spell turned out to be Lin Li himself.
While countless fireballs bombarded them with a loud roar, Lin Li did not waver nor stop, and instead immediately launched his own Light and Darkness Domain, which blasted against his own flames.
Lin Li's almost self-abusing behavior made everyone confused, but the shriek that sounded in the sky a short while later made their eyes widen in shock. However, Lin Li did not stop. Instead, he condensed his Light and Darkness Sword and swung it forcefully in the direction of the shriek.
A burning man emerged from the Meteor Shower and landed on the ground in front of them.
He didn't extinguish the flames on his body immediately, and instead said to Lin Li in a hoarse voice, "H-how did you know that my target is you…"
Lin Li stepped out of the crowd and walked towards the man in flames who was clearly already on the verge of dying. He smiled, and said, '"I'm the youngest one here, so I'd naturally seem like a pushover."
Rosen was still getting ready to reprimand Lin Li, but when he walked towards the edge, he immediately stopped because he heard Lin Li's answer.
He wondered if Eminos was pleased with Lin Li's answer. As the flame gradually diminished, Eminos' body was charred, and no one could tell if he was dead or not.
Of course, age was just the reason that Lin Li had come up with randomly. In fact, from the moment that he'd recognized Eminos to be the Mage Killer, Lin Li had already begun doing his best to hatch a plan and perform well for this moment.
When Rosen called out Eminos' name, Lin Li began to work hard at recalling all the information about Eminos, and also gained a general understanding of the characteristics of the legendary Mage Killer. For example, in order to sneak away, Eminos couldn't cast any defensive spells or use any magical equipment with protective effects. In addition, most of the magic he learned was focused on stealth and assassination. He enjoyed using low-level single-target magic spells, and disliked learning powerful Legendary magic and so on.
Hence, Lin Li began to perform. He first obtained the temporary commanding right from Aldwin, and then tried to behave as a young mage who was a great commander. That was actually not difficult. As long as the mages obeyed him, it would be enough to show how good he was at commanding.
Next, Lin Li suppressed his own magical waves. Although his strength was at the peak of level-23 and it was hard for him to disguise himself as an apprentice in magic, Lin Li believed that Eminos wouldn't use his mental strength to sense his power, because that would expose his tracks. If the fluctuations in his mental strength were captured, Eminos would immediately become the target of the mages.
While suppressing the magical waves, Lin Li put up his magical shield and avoided casting other high-level magic. When casting the magical shield, he also behaved like a mage between level-10 and level-15. That required good acting chops as an over-exaggeration would arouse Eminos' suspicion. Fortunately, Lin Li did not take too long to advance from an apprentice to the way he was now; hence, he could still remember how he behaved when he was an Archmage.
Through the performance, Lin Li portrayed himself as an extremely important commander of team, and at same time pretended to be weak. At first glance, he did seem like a pushover. If Lin Li were the Mage Killer, he would definitely choose himself as the first target of assassination as well.
In the eyes of the Mage Killer Eminos, Lin Li was just like a bait that he could not refuse, but that did not mean that he would take it desperately without caring about anything else. Hence, Lin Li needed to give Eminos an opportunity that would allow him to take the bait without any worries—the mages' failure to cast the spell.
What happened yesterday had undoubtedly caused a crack in the team of mages. Although they were the elites of the elites, and might not let the crack affect their tacit cooperation during the battle, they still could not solve their psychological issues easily. The cracks would definitely cause their joint spell to fail, and Eminos definitely wouldn't miss the chance to attack.
Finally, all of Lin Li's efforts were not in vain. The legendary Mage Killer who had instilled fear within countless people during the Dark Age truly became history after more than 1,300 years.
Looking at the flames that were dying out and the scorched corpse, the mages who had escaped from the verge of death could not help but gasp in shock that they had been suppressing for a long time after a moment of disbelief. The Mage Killer Eminos, who was one of the butcher Osric's sharpest weapons and a legendary figure of the Dark Age, actually died like this…
"Haha, Felic, I didn't expect this Mage Killer to die in your hands!" Andoine walked towards Lin Li smilingly and patted his shoulder.
The terrifying thing about assassins was the fact that no one would know whom they were targeting until the latter was on the brink of death. However, once the conditions had been determined, the assassin would only become an idiot no matter how sharp and shrewd they might be.
Seeing that the Mage Killer had died, Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest could basically tell what Lin Li's plan was since they were not fools. Rosen glanced back and forth at the Mage Killer's corpse and Lin Li several times, and had to admit that Lin Li's method of making Eminos take the bait was really not something that ordinary people could do, especially with a menacing Mage Killer.
"Felic, although you were lucky enough to have your plan succeed, you've put everyone in danger just now. I hope that if this happens again, you'll explain your plan to everyone. Otherwise, others would be danger while you're in a safe position. Don't you think that's being unfair to them?" Rosen chided indignantly. Clearly, Lin Li had already gained some prestige amongst the mages through killing the Mage Killer. That was definitely not something that Rosen wanted to see.
Lin Li stopped Andoine who was going to flare up, and turned to look at Rosen smilingly. "Thank you for the reminder, Master Rosen. I almost forgot that I have to thank you for your help in allowing me to successfully killing the Mage Killer. If it weren't for your help, I'm afraid it might not have been easy for the mages to fail in casting a joint without looking like they were pretending."
Lin Li's words made Rosen's face grow extremely sullen, while the other mages appeared rather guilty. Everyone knew that if it weren't for Rosen's behavior yesterday, the mages wouldn't have slipped up. The failure of the joint casting had caused the mages to lose their battle power. At the thought of this, Aldwin glowered at Rosen angrily.
Rosen c.o.c.ked his head towards the side, turning as pale as a sheet. After all, it was impossible for Aldwin to fall out with Rosen; hence, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and begin to count the number of casualties amongst the mages. However, it still hurt Aldwin, who now felt like his heart was bleeding. Under the assassination of the Mage Killer, the mages actually lost 17 Archmages who were all elites of the Alanna Guild of Magic. Every Archmage had been nurtured painstakingly by him.
However, Aldwin also knew that they were in Osric's mausoleum, and the team had encountered a Mage Killer who had already been famous since the Dark Age. Actually, if it weren't for Lin Li, none of them would have survived. The only thing to rejoice about after the Mage Killer Eminos appeared was that it implied that Osric's mausoleum was probably not too far away.
At this time, the sky was completely dark. Although there were some conflicts among the leaders, there was no room for mistakes when exploring Osric's mausoleum. They had no choice but to sit back together with sullen expressions and discuss their next move.
However, just when Rosen and Antoine were arguing whether they should continue to move forward or rest overnight on the spot, a sudden tremor came from the ground underneath, and gradually became stronger. There seemed to be a giant object approaching them rapidly. Soon, the mage acting as sentry issued a warning signal, and everyone immediately got up and stayed alert.
The ground began to shook violently, and a huge figure began to shine brightly as if it were tearing the night sky apart. With rumbling footsteps, it quickly approached everyone, and when that huge figure appeared, they all could not help but gasp in horror.
The Alchemy Colossus! It was a massive Alchemy Colossus!
"Damn it, it's a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. It definitely is Titan-level!" Lin Li looked at the huge body of the Alchemy Colossus opposite, and was filled with horror that he could not describe.
