Chapter 288 - Psychic Storm
“You’re amusing, Patriarch Matthew. So many of us have come to the Demon Fall Valley, of course we’re here to retrieve some items. Do we look like we are on a holiday? ”
Lin Li maintained a polite smile throughout the conversation, while his words remained mild. Anyone would have thought he was chatting with an old friend.
Only Old Merlin thought otherwise…
He was hovering less than a hundred meters away from his opponent, and could clearly feel the strong magical wave coming from the young mage. It was an incredibly powerful force, and Old Merlin could not help feeling trepidation despite having prepared himself for it. This force was too strong, and made him feel out of breath—it felt like he was facing a huge dragon even though he was still situated at the outer boundary of the magical waves.
My God… Old Merlin’s heart sank as he knew that this young mage had grown beyond what he could imagine.
Even though he’d already known of this young mage’s astounding talent back in Jarrosus, and was aware that he would reach a scary heights one day, Old Merlin never knew that that day would come so fast. It had merely been months ago that he had been a level-8 mage, yet now he had become an existence that Old Merlin was no match for…
“Sigh… ” Old Merlin sighed quietly, and for the first time felt like he had made a mistake. If he had known that this would happen, he would have kept Cromwell in check instead of letting him mess with the Emerald Tower, and all the more kept him from messing with this scary young mage. Then, all of this would not have happened. While he could not change the fact that the Emerald Tower ruled over Jarrosus now, he could have continued to live there, and Cromwell would not have died in the Daylight Square…
Even though the Emerald Tower had unified Jarrosus now, when Gerian saw the Psychic Storm scroll, he still couldn’t help but swear. It had been one of the most valuable magical items in Emerald Tower’s collection. There was a level-18 Psychic Storm magic transcribed on it, but the scariest thing was that the scroll had been specially treated, and could be triggered by any Archmage. As long as there was sufficient mana, one could maintain the effect of the Psychic Storm until the last trace of their mana had been burned…
“Damn it, Felic is in trouble… ”
In his panic, Gerian really wanted to use a Levitation Spell to fly over to the Demon Fall Valley and stop Old Merlin. Unfortunately, his magical force was broken, and even using a Wind Blade was too much for him. At this point, the only thing Gerian could do was to cup his hands around his mouth toward Lin Li, who was chanting in a low voice, and shout desperately, “Quick, Felic, stop that old fogey, don’t let him open the scroll!”
Unfortunately, Lin Li could not hear him at all as he focused on chanting the Pyroblast spell.
Then, the scroll in the hands of Old Merlin shone a dazzling gold. In an instant, his whole being was shrouded, and if one looked closely, they would see a golden thread glimmering between the two Archmages…
This was a sign of guiding magic…
“It’s over…” Gerian’s fat face suddenly became pale. He was painfully aware of the power of the Psychic Storm—once this dazzling golden light fell on a mage, it would swallow their power within 10 seconds. Even a mage with nearly unlimited power like Lin Li would not be spared by this level-18 magic. The only difference was that it might take a little longer, but what difference did that make? Whether it was 10 seconds or 20 seconds, as long as Old Merlin’s guidance was not interrupted, his magic would be completely swallowed sooner or later, and the longer it took, the more pain he would feel…
The only way out was to interrupt Old Merlin’s guidance.
However, the Psychic Storm was a level-18 magic, so how could it be easy to interrupt? One should know that in addition to burning mana, the Psychic Storm itself was able to restrict magic. Under the cover of the Psychic Storm, even someone as strong as Felic would not have an opportunity to cast a spell. How would one interrupt Old Merlin’s guide without magic? By poking with their finger?
Then…
Lin Li answered Gerian’s question with a simple action.
He did not seem flustered at all despite being covered in the golden light, and even had a smile on his face. It was as though his rapidly depleting mana had no effect on him. At this moment, Lin Li only did one thing, which was to gently lift the Aether Staff in his hand…
At that point in time, Gerian thought he saw the gem at the end of the magic staff glow a faint yellow.
Then, the golden light suddenly dimmed, and disappeared like snow in the sun.
“Ah… ” Old Merlin sighed under Gerian’s shocked stare, for he knew that he had wasted the last chance to save himself. He had prided himself on his mana, but it now seemed pathetic in front of this level-16 Archmage—Old Merlin could neither retaliate nor escape, and even the Psychic Storm scroll which was his last resort only seemed like child’s play to his opponent.
“How unfortunate, Patriarch Matthew… ” Lin Li still had an easy smile on his face as he chanted quickly. The moment the golden light vanished, a Pyroblast was sent out…
“BOOM!”
The sound was so loud and intense that even people standing hundreds of meters away heard it clearly, and sparks flew as the flames burned strongly. Having lost the protection of his Elemental Shield, Old Merlin seemed unusually weak under the effect of the Pyroblast, and burst into flames just as it hit him. There was no struggle and no cry for help as he landed in the Demon Fall Valley like a ball of fire…
“… ” Gerian looked at the falling fireball as he was suddenly filled with mixed emotions. Matthew had single-handedly led the Merlin Family to glory, and was once ranked alongside him as the strongest mage in Jarrosus. Yet, he had now met with a sudden death… In the past, Gerian would never have believed Matthew would die in this manner…
The magical attack on the cliff suddenly stopped as all eyes were fixed on the burning ball of fire, especially those of the leaders of the 16 forces. It was a mind-numbing scene, and frightened them all. The patriarch of the Merlin Family, the same Old Merlin who was as powerful as Gerian, was not capable of retaliating against Mage Felic. The whole battle had not been shocking at all, as though it was logical for this young man to have easily killed the strongest mage of Jarrosus…
“Damn it, retreat!” The death of Old Merlin was the last straw that finally caused Ronald to collapse. Now that the entire Demon Fall Valley was under a magical attack, and the most powerful mage under him had died suddenly, Ronald knew that he had lost, and it was an utter defeat at that…
Retreating was the only option they had now.
While the Demon Fall Valley was prosperous, it was not worth the lives of all his men.
No matter how strong the Shadow’s Nest was, it was no match for the entire city of Jarrosus, not to mention that damned Mage Felic. Damn it, how did this monster come about? Not only did he bring all the mages in Jarrosus City, he also killed Old Merlin so effortlessly. Was he really not a legendary magical beast disguised as a human?
A pity that Ronald did not have much time left to think.
At the same time Old Merlin fell down in a burning ball of fire, Ronald ordered a retreat.
The order had just been given, but everyone already reacted. Hundreds and thousands of bandits emerged from all directions, rushing to the Forest of Whispers like game chased by predators. The whole scene was both chaotic and pathetic as infighting and trampling broke out during their escape. Who knew how many weaker bandits had died at the feet of their companions…
“Trying to escape?” Lin Li hovered quietly in the sky as he stared at their every action with an almost cruel gaze.
Having brought so many men, surely he wanted to do more than just chase the Shadow’s Nest away, no?
In this world, there would never be a shortage of ambitious forces. They might’ve come across the Shadow’s Nest today, but who was to say that they wouldn’t meet another one called the Light’s Nest tomorrow? Lin Li had had a lot of experience dealing with such forces—the only way to deal with them was to truly teach them a lesson, one that they would remember distinctly for hundreds of years and still feel the pain like it was only just yesterday. Only then would those who plotted against the Emerald Tower think twice before they act and realize that they could not actually afford to pay the price of offending the Emerald Tower…
For some reasons, Lin Li felt like he was suddenly able to empathize with Osric as he hovered in the air…
However, he was not anxious to act, as he merely followed behind the defeated fighters of the Shadow’s Nest using the Levitation Spell. He remembered Aaron-Mazi had told him before that there was a fast-flowing river not far ahead from here…