Advent of the Archmage
Page 294Chapter 294: Insect, Don’t Run!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Passageway outside the underground palace's last room.
Link and the others were retreating quietly when a hoarse and low voice rang out from the room. "No, my palace still has rats! Soldiers, go kill them all!"
It was clear that he could sense Link's presence but didn't know his specific location due to the blocked view. In the passageway, Link took out his wand. He tossed out Space-Time Orbs as he retreated.
The Space-Time Orbs were very small, probably only the size of a sesame seed. It couldn't be seen on the ground. Even more interesting, the spell had no power waves.
This was the characteristic of spatial magic. To space itself, size held no meaning.
With spatial magic, large-scale spatial strength, such as Firuman's force field, was very weak and twisted. It didn't have any destructive abilities. However, something the size of a seed contained power that could destroy the world.
Morrigan didn't understand what Link was doing. "Master Link," he whispered. "The armor of those High Elf Mummy Warriors are much fancier than the ones in the room. I bet they're powerful. Will your small-scale spell be effective?"
As he spoke, Morrigan also began setting up a trap spell on the ground. It was a Level-3 Flame Rune Trap, a trap that would be set off when someone stepped on it. He cast these spells quickly—one every two seconds.
"Don't worry. It'll be effective," Link answered with a smile. Then he turned to Felina. "When they come, get ready to attack. Nana, you too. I'll restrain them!"
"Okay."
"Understood."
Around half a minute later, High Elf Mummy Warriors appeared at the corner up ahead. They had a full set of defensive spell armor and all held weapons. They had a finely made magic sword in their right hand and a shield shining with magic in their left.
Morrigan's eyes brightened, even forgetting about the danger. "Wow, these weapons have such strong magic presence, and they're so pretty. These are from the High Elf's golden era. I bet you can sell these magic swords for 10000 gold in the Hot Spring City! The shields are worth at least 5000 gold!"
"Shut up!" Felina was pissed. She was already upset at being tricked into the tomb, and now this guy was coveting the dead's relics. She wanted to beat this grave robber to death.
Adventure King Morrigan instantly shuddered, not daring to say anymore.
At this time, the first Mummy Warrior stepped on Morrigan's Fire Trap. It exploded with a boom and filled the entire passageway, enveloping the group of Mummy Warriors in the front.
Disregarding the power of the spell, the timing and angle were all perfect. "Nice," Link complimented.
Morrigan smiled instantly. He knew that ten of him still wouldn't be a match for Link in terms of spells, so his ego was boosted to the max at this praise. As if on steroids, he speedily cast more Flame Rune Traps on the ground.
Felina didn't like him, so she just scoffed. "Huh, these mummies are at least Level-6 and are wearing anti-magic armor. Your flames are just scratches for them!"
Morrigan shrugged. "I don't have anything else!"
If he was here by himself, he would just explore the tomb, grab some stuff, and scram. Now, they were in the core area and faced the tomb owner's personal mummy guards, his most important task was to keep himself alive.
To do that, he obviously had to rely on Link and Felina. Now, he hid behind the two.
By then, the mummies had charged to Link's first Space-Time Orb.
"Get ready!" Link ordered quietly.
As he spoke, eight mummies had reached the orb. Their positions had also blocked the mummies behind them, making it the best timing for an attack.
"Restraint!"
With a soft buzz, the Space-Time Orb's effective range instantly magnified countless times, sealing the 12-foot-wide passageway.
From here, they could see that the eight Mummy Warriors were shrouded by a ball of fog-like power. At closer inspection, it didn't look like fog and instead like countless tiny air waves…but it didn't look like that either. It was just an indescribable phenomenon.
In this fog-like area, the mummies didn't move at all… No, they were moving but very slowly, scooting forward one millimeter at a time.
This was the best chance to attack!
Felina and Nana charged. Felina used her dragon claws, each claw as sharp as a dagger. With one swipe, she slashed the mummies' bodies and armor into several parts. Nana's two epic swords went without saying. She felled one mummy with each move.
Strangely, the Space-Time Orb was only effective against the mummies. Felina and Nana weren't affected at all.
The result was that under two seconds, the eight restrained Mummy Warriors were all beheaded as if they had lined up to die.
"Retreat 30 feet!" Link called.
Felina retreated 30 feet without hesitation, not an inch more or less. Nana also followed her like a shadow.
After the eight mummies, there were many more Mummy Warriors, at least 20. They were all around Level-6 with no fear at all. When the traffic jam disappeared, they swarmed forward again.
After 20 feet, the Space-Time Orb exploded again. This time, it restrained ten mummies. Once again, they blocked the passageway. The Mummy Warriors behind them yelled but could only jump up and down impatiently.
Felina and Nana stepped forward again and started cutting off the heads.
"Retreat 25 feet."
Chop, chop, chop. That was the sound of Felina and Nana "chopping vegetables."
This repeated twice. The powerful Mummy Warriors had all lost their heads. They weren't dead, and the Flame of the Souls in their skulls were still glowing, but they were no longer a threat.
Nana walked up and smashed the skulls one at a time. The Flame of the Souls extinguished.
Practically 30 Level-6 Mummy Warriors were killed just like that. The entire process was so easy that Felina wasn't even breathing heavily.
"It's over?" Morrigan was dumbfounded. Had the powerful enemy been killed that easily? This wasn't right. They should've had an intense battle!
They were both Magicians, but Link's spell was completely beyond Morrigan's understanding. They were learning different types of magic.
"No, it's not." Link shook his head. "There's still Derrac. He is different from these Mummy Warriors that only have their fighting instincts. He still has basic consciousness and is a bit more difficult."
Felina understood Link. She knew Derrac most likely had Level-9 power, but Link only said that he was a "bit more" difficult. This meant Link already knew what to do.
"Just say what we should do now," she said.
"Don't worry. Next, only Nana and I need to go. You two wait here."
Without waiting for Felina and Morrigan's response, Link waved at Nana and started toward the door at the end of the passageway.
If Derrac really was a Level-9 Magician, he would definitely run as far as he could without hesitation. However, Derrac was just an undying spirit. After thousands of years, his consciousness was close to annihilation and his intelligence couldn't be much higher than the NPC in the game. There was nothing to be scared of.
There was a corner at the end of the hall; after that was the entrance to the room. Link hid in the corner and summoned a Light Mirror.
With this, Link carefully peered into the room. He saw Derrac with a scepter sitting in the tallest jeweled throne. He was unmoving, and the only difference from before was that his eyes shone.
He had no reaction to Link spying on him as if he couldn't see Link. This meant Derrac had very delayed reactions. He basically overlooked the non-threatening strengths.
Link still wasn't assured. He hid in Derrac's blind spot and tossed a Space-Time Orb at the door. Then he whispered to Nana, "Do you see that broken tile? Pick it up and throw it at him."
"Understood." Nana strode over to the door and picked up the tile. Gathering her power, a horrible gust of wind appeared. The tile hurled towards Derrac like a cannon. It had the strength of a Level-3 spell.
Boom! The tile was blocked by Derrac's magic shield at the last moment and turned to powder. Then Derrac began roaring. "Damn rat! I'm going to kill you!"
Countless flashes of lightning appeared with the sound. They streaked over 230 feet from the jeweled throne. When it reached Nana's side, the magic waves in the entire room were in an uproar. The lightning was as powerful as a tsunami!
This was at least Level-8 power!
The lightning charged into the fog and instantly slowed down. In the frozen space, he could see thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts snaking towards Nana like the sprouting roots of a tree.
Nana immediately hid beside the door.
The next moment, there was a crack. Link's Space-Time Orb was extinguished. The Level-8 spell was too powerful, and Link could only restrain it for less than one-hundredth of a second. If it was Felina, she might not have been able to hide in that time.
Whoosh! The lightning brushed past Nana and struck the wall outside the room. It lasted an entire three seconds!
After the three seconds, there was a 15-foot-deep hole in the wall, the stone in the hole melting into steaming hot lava. The power was shocking.
Then Derrac's voice traveled from the room. "Rat, don't hide. I know where you are!"
Footsteps sounded, and a ball of terrifying Mana aura approached. Derrac was going to fight personally now.
"Go, Nana. Let's retreat!" Link turned and ran. As he ran, he tossed down Space-Time Orbs. Their Mana structure wasn't complicated, but the frequency of each rune had to be grasped precisely. Thus, Link couldn't spend more than 200 Mana points on each orb. With his Mana and methods of replenishing it, he could cast 55 in succession. It should be enough to deal with Derrac.
When he ran behind Felina, Link said, "Go. Derrac's here, and we need to retreat to the first magic trap."
As he spoke, Link felt that his first Time-Space Orb was disturbed. He activated it without hesitation.
Crack! The sharp crack sounded from behind them. Then there was a burst of powerful strength. Derrac's roar traveled over. "Using these small tricks against me? What a joke!"
Link's Space-Time Orb still only lasted one-hundredth of a second. Derrac's strength was absurd!
Felina and Morrigan's faces changed. If Derrac caught them, it would be over. Even worse, the path ahead of them had been sealed. This was a dead end!
"Link, just say what your plan is!" Felina couldn't stand it. A level-9 Magician could turn her into dust with just a look. She had no confidence.
Link was still calm. "Don't worry. He'll die today without a doubt! Follow me and don't hesitate."
He ran towards the exit. Felina and Morrigan had no choice but to follow. After a few dozen feet, Link activated his second Space-Time Orb. One-hundredth of a second later, there was a crack. Once again, Derrac broke through the spatial restraint easily.
"An insect's tricks are so troublesome," Derrac roared. He was unbothered but hearing this, Link smirked.
These were an insect's tricks, but insects weren't scared of the undead.