End of the Magic Era

The others weren’t proficient in alchemy and at most had some basic knowledge of it. Thus, they wouldn’t think too much about an Artisan and wouldn’t know how difficult it was to reach that stage. However, all the mages of Sky City needed to master alchemy as well as magic.

Their status was directly related to the height they reached in alchemy, and it was even more important than their magical strength. Sky City had two Artisans, one of whom was only a 5th Rank Archmage, but his position in Sky City was the same as that of a Heaven Mage.

Not far from there, Jouyi sighed as he answered Raphael’s question. “Sir Merlin is really an Artisan. He is the most talented person I’ve ever met, and he might become a Saint Alchemist after a few decades. He would be the youngest Saint Alchemist in Noscent’s history.”

Raphael was reverent and no longer displayed his doubts.

But Dylas still didn’t dare to believe it and loudly shouted, “This is impossible! That guy is definitely pretending! Even an Artisan can’t use four crystal pens at the same time…”

Lin Yun didn’t even look at Dylas as he casually nodded at Raphael, “Sir Raphael, we don’t have time to waste. We have to work as fast as possible…”

Raphael nodded. A genuine Artisan’s basic rune-carving technique would definitely be a few times above a Master Alchemist’s.

His huge pool of knowledge could bring speed and stability that had nothing to do with hand speed.

Lin Yun nodded, and he held a crystal pen in each hand while controlling the other two magically.

He cast Sharp Mind and Haste on himself before countless runes started appearing in his eyes.

In an instant, Lin Yun’s hands turned into shadows, while the floating crystal pens turned into mirages.

A large number of runes and patterns appeared like flowing water.

The speed was extremely fast, a few times faster than the four mages of Sky City working together!

Raphael was instantly stunned. And it wasn’t just Raphael; everyone watching foolishly.

Raphael was looking at Lin Yun drawing the array with shock. It was as if he was looking at a living God.

‘Damn, is this even something a human can do? An Artisan can have such a speed? He not only used Sharp Mind, but he also cast Haste on himself?

‘Is his natural hand speed unable to keep up with his thoughts? Such incredible speed, while still being able to maintain the neatness of a textbook… Are Artisans that formidable?’

The bottleneck for alchemists was always the speed of their calculations and analysis, not the drawing speed. This was an accepted truth, yet this person was shattering this truth. Raphael felt that the world had changed. He had always felt that being a first-rate Master Alchemist was worth being prideful about.

But he wouldn’t dare call himself a Master Alchemist from now on. It was too shameful…

Everyone from the Odin Kingdom gaping at Lin Yun as he set up the array. Not a single sound could be heard for ten seconds.

Although Jouyi, Harren, and the Azurewave Sword Saint were amazed, what they felt even more strongly was pride.

The Andlusa Kingdom was truly too far behind the Odin Kingdom. The Odin Kingdom had always been looking down on them, especially in the field of alchemy. Yet now, they had been able to display a level of alchemy that could even stupefy the citizens of the Odin Kingdom. They could finally let go of that bad feeling that they had been holding in.

Dylas opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he couldn’t find anything to criticize when looking at Lin Yun’s artistic performance. Anything he could say would just invite disgrace upon himself.

He had yet to come up with anything to say when Raphael suddenly glared at him.

“Sir Dylas, pay attention to your own task.”

Dylas coldly snorted and walked back to the entrance of the valley and replaced the mage there.

With Lin Yun personally making the array, the runes, which would take most of the time, were rapidly dealt with, and the rest of the alchemists weren’t able to process magic materials fast enough to keep up with Lin Yun’s speed.

In less than twenty minutes, Lin Yun completed the entire array on his own.

Sky City’s three alchemists were looking at Lin Yun with admiration. He drew the array so incredibly quickly while using four crystal pens. The array, runes, and patterns could all be used as textbook materials, and many areas had been refined.

The diverse areas that Lin Yun had refined were a lot more effective.

In the world of alchemy, the most formidable ones obtained respect, regardless of where they were from.

After he finished drawing the array, he joined in with arranging the array, doubling the speed at which the array was being put in order.

The array ended up being deployed in less than half an hour. They would have already activated it if they weren’t still waiting for the Burning Tower’s people to arrive.

After five more minutes, Dedale arrived at the valley after following the magic beacon.

The array was activated, and numerous runes started moving on the ground as a several-hundred-meter-wide array blossomed with terrifying mana fluctuations.

These mana fluctuations instantly gathered back, and ripples spread at the entrance of the valley. It was like a curtain of light sealing the entrance of the valley. Dusky halos covered all the life auras, mana fluctuations, and scents within the range of the array.

Everything that could be discovered by the Undead was bound to this array.

From outside the array, it would seem that the entrance to the valley had disappeared, replaced by ordinary mountain rock, as if there had never been a valley to begin with.

That illusion also had a bewilderment effect. Not only would it appear as if there was a mountain wall on one side, but it also prevented anyone from walking to the front of the wall.

That basic illusion and bewilderment effect should be enough against the Undead. As for the array’s primary effect, concealment, it should be enough against the two Heaven Ranks.

Half an hour later, the Undead Army appeared, and many of the Undead carried black burn scars.

The 150-meter-tall Ghost Behemoth was like a small mountain that slowly walked past the valley. That massive nose kept sniffing the air, searching for traces. Its scarlet eyes were like two huge magic lamps that swept the surroundings.

The army of the Undead was silent as death aura swept past the entrance of the valley.

Everyone was sweating as they prayed for the Undead to not discover them.

The array would definitely be discovered if the Ghost Behemoth casually touched this location. They would be done for if that happened.

The simpleton Ghost Behemoth quickly left the entrance of the valley. After a while, they saw the Death Shaman arrive, hovering in the air while being protected by a group of stronger Undead creatures.

There were still more than ten thousand Skeletal Wyverns in the sky protecting the Death Shaman at all times.

It took no less than two hours for all of the Undead to pass the entrance of the valley.

Their huge numbers made everyone feel a chill. There were so many of them below Level 20 that they simply couldn’t be counted. And there were at least four thousand that were above Level 30, as well as the Death Shaman and the Ghost Behemoth.

This force could sweep through everyone. Even if they appeared in the Raging Flame Plane, they would be able to easily trample any force there.

After waiting two more hours, everyone sighed in relief.

That was enough time for the Undead to walk very far away. At the very least, they wouldn’t discover their tracks again.

The Odin Kingdom’s royal family let out a large falcon magic beast that flew very high and surveyed the twenty kilometers around them. It saw no threats at all… It could only see the tracks that the Undead left behind.

After feeling relieved, everyone left the array and kept walking further into the depths of the valley. There was no way they would go back. Who knew if that wretched Death Shaman had left some detection spells behind? If they fell into a trap, their position would be exposed.

Just as they walked a kilometer into the depths of the valley, Raphael doubtfully asked himself out loud, “How come this feels so familiar? It feels as if I’ve already come here…”

Raphael studied the surroundings, and the more he looked, the more familiar it felt. He hadn’t noticed earlier as they were still fleeing, but now he felt more and more puzzled.

Raphael flew up and looked around the valley before exclaiming, “Hell, isn’t this the Black Burn Scar?”

Raphael landed on the ground, shock visible in his eyes.

The others were also startled when they heard Raphael’s words. Black Burn Scar… This was a well-known place.

“Raphael, are you sure?” Even Dedale looked unnerved.

Still feeling shocked, Raphael nodded and said, “I shouldn’t be wrong. This place looks exactly the same as the Black Burn Scar. I just saw many peaks shaped the same way. The structure of the mountain rocks is also identical.”

The people of the Odin Kingdom weren’t the only ones who were shocked; a few individuals from the Andlusa Kingdom also had horrified expressions.

It was because the Black Burn Scar was too famous. The place was currently under the control of Sky City and was full of chaotic flame power. An ordinary mage couldn’t walk in, or they would be burnt to ashes.

Even a mage close to the Heaven Rank would need to use a huge amount of their mana for defense if they wanted to enter. Moreover, they wouldn’t be able to stay inside too long. If they met a situation where the flames burst, any mage under the Heaven Rank would die.

This region was famous because the Black Burn Scar left a legend in the Raging Flame Plane.

It was said that in those days, the Black Burn Scar was the most fertile area of the Raging Flame Plane and had been called the Essence Heartzone. The resources produced by one of its canyons would be far more valuable than an entire mountain range.

This was the Raging Flame Plane’s most fertile mining site, which had a large number of valuable ore veins and contained the first-rate magic metal of the Raging Flame Plane, and in a shockingly large quantity.

It also produced an outrageous number of precious magic gems, including first-rate magic gems that would even make a Heaven Rank powerhouse personally act.

Back when humans had yet to enter the Raging Flame Plane, the Black Burn Scar’s overseers had been the royal family of the Golden Beastmen. However, all eight Tribes could benefit from it, as the royal family would have immediately been jointly attacked if they ever tried to keep everything to themselves.