by Zhuang Bifan
"I am here for another reason, it has nothing to do with Cheyenne." Sendros' voice was cold and hoarse. The words he spoke did not have any regard for Hutton's feelings, but there was nobody in the tent that felt that it was improper. Even Hutton himself did not think that Sendros' words were disrespectful towards Mentor Cheyenne.
With Sendros' strength and position, he naturally did not have to respect anyone.
"Be at ease, I will definitely deliver on what I have promised." Hutton smiled. He did not mind Sendros' rudeness. In fact, Sendros being able to attend was the best news for Hutton. At this time, he was just being rude with his words. Even if Sendros were to slap him, he would just smile and offer the other cheek.
"Alright."
After greeting Sendros, Hutton then chatted with a few others. After that, he called Jason and Emendas over.
"Pass down the order. Everyone prepare to move out."
"Yes!"
After half an hour, a gigantic adventurer party started to advance towards the Scar of Death.
…
At this point, Lin Li and the rest had already left the cave. They were moving along the steep and narrow path, advancing towards the canyon below the hillside.
The road ahead was even, and the surroundings were extraordinarily clean. During the journey, Lin Li and the rest did not see a single bone, and even that thick death aura had become much fainter. It was worlds apart when compared to yesterday's gloomy and ghastly scene.
But Adelo's expression did not relax a little at all.
On the contrary, Adelo seemed to have become another person after he had passed through the cave. His every move was very careful.
Lin Li did not dare to be careless after seeing him in this state, and was constantly using the Warlock's Eyes for surveillance. They had only left the cave and walked for a few miles, and he had already used at least 50 Warlock's Eyes.
Who knew that this surveillance would really allow Lin Li to detect something.
"F*ck, so many bats!"
Chapter 396 - Multicolored Potion
There were a lot of bats…
Within the Warlock's Eyes' field of vision, there was pitch-black flock of bats flying out from behind the hillside, which looked like a thundercloud coming before a storm.
This nightmarish scene made Lin Li's mouth wide open. This was not a joke! Every bat was a Vampire, and there were at least a hundred of them in this pitch-black patch. This also meant that more than 100 Vampires were waiting for them!
"This is too much of a joke…" In an instant, Lin Li felt that his mind was blank.
"So… So many?" At this time, Adelo started to panic as well. His face immediately turned pale when he looked at the flock of pitch-black bats, and beads of sweat the size of beans started to trickle down his forehead.
Vampires were in the Scar of Death. They had a terrifying speed like spirits, and were naturally proficient in all sorts of Dark Magic, causing them to be born with strength of at least level-10. Furthermore, one could not forget this was the Scar of Death, the Scar of Death that Gloomy Dark was lying in the depths of. Under the influence of Gloomy Dark's power, even Skeletal Warriors could reach level-eight. What about Vampires that were much more powerful than Skeletal Warriors? Duh.
This was just a tragic ending…
They had expanded a Herculean effort, and even used a Ironback Blue Wolf Summoning Scroll that was worth 20,000 gold coins before they finally escaped from the Skeletal Warriors' encirclement. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, they had encountered more than a hundred Vampires. Was there anything more ironic in this world than this?
If they'd known it was going to turn out this way, they would've rather fought it out with the Skeletal Warriors…
Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now. Just when everyone was dumbfounded, a few bats already descended from the sky. A black fog rose up, and instantly transformed into the shape of a Vampire with a pale face and razor sharp claws.
The Vampires were emitting a thick scent of blood from their bodies. They arched their bodies and gave out a low roar as though they were starving wolves. Lin Li knew that they were completely different from Norfeller—even though Norfeller was a Vampire, he had retained perfect memory and soul. Furthermore, he had formed a blood oath with Lin Li, making him not any different from a real human. As for those in front of them, they were totally Undead creatures. They had no thoughts nor consciousness, and only knew slaughter and destruction. The only thing that could control them was Gloomy Dark that was hidden within the depths of the Scar of Death.
The number of bats descending from the sky grew. In the midst of the black fog, there were bats transforming into the figures of Vampires, while the scent of blood in the surroundings grew thicker and thicker. In the blink of an eye, those Vampires had blocked off the escape route of the advance party.
Everything happened so quickly that nobody could react to it. The two high-level Warriors had just drawn their weapons when a large group of Vampires charged over. The razor-sharp claws tore the air, and the sizzling sound of the air being ripped apart were like venomous snakes swimming when heard. The strength of the Vampires was on a whole new level when compared to the Skeletal Warriors that were on the other side of the hill, and the high-level Warriors that could originally sweep through hundreds of Skeletal Warriors single-handedly were now out of breath when entangled by more than ten Vampires. The Combat Energy that was protecting their bodies could not defend against the Vampires' razor-sharp claws. In just an instant, the two high-level Warriors had slashes all over their bodies.
What was more frightening was that these Vampires did not attack blindly. At the same time when more than 10 Vampires were holding up the two high-level Warriors, even more Vampires used their speed to rush over. After that, those razor-sharp claws scattered the entire advance party. Almost every member of the advance party was surrounded by more than 10 Vampires. It was especially so for those two mages that had weak physically strength—they were surrounded by even more Vampires.
"F*ck, are you guys not embarrassed?" Lin Li was almost driven mad. It was as though these Vampires had taken stimulants and were risking their lives. A very thick ice wall was erected, yet they charged over without any hesitation. After that, they used their razor-sharp claws to tear open a pathway through the ice wall.
Li Li continued reciting and desperately strengthening the shaky and crumbling ice wall, but under the constraints of the spell's cooldown, the speed of strengthening the wall could not keep up with the Vampires' destruction thereof. In mere moments, the thick ice wall was battered.
However, Lin Li's situation was not the worst. Reggie, Johnathan, and the rest had it worse. Bandits were not a profession that excelled in direct combat, plus Vampires naturally had the speed of spirits. Although they were incomparable to Norfeller, it was more than sufficient when dealing with a few level-15 Bandits. In a series of sneak attacks, three out of four of the Bandits had suffered heavy injuries. Only Reggie was left, desperately holding on…
Even level-15 Bandits were in this plight, so there was no need to mention a level-14 Warrior. From the start of the battle, Johnathan could barely hold back a few, but the number of Vampires around him grew. This level-14 warrior was soon forced into a corner.
Other than them, Adelo was not having a great time, either. A large group of Vampires held him back, and the spells that required recitation could not be cast at all. At this time, Adelo really thought that he was going to die. Even though he had the power of a level-17 Archmage, he could not use it at all. There were too many of these damned Vampires. Without the cover of the two high-level Warriors, Adelo could not stop fighting to start reciting. He could only continuously use instantaneously cast low-level spells and hope that it could delay his opponents till the two high-level Warriors came back to rescue him.
Unfortunately, Adelo did not receive the high-level Warriors' assistance. Instead, he received an attack to his back by razor-shar
p claws…
In the moment that Adelo had cast a Flaming Storm, a Vampire had already sneaked up to his back. With a "tchh", razor-sharp claws pierced through Adelo's body. In an instant, there was warm blood spewing everywhere. After that, this Vampire pounced over just like a hunting dog that caught its prey, and using the powerful momentum, it pushed Adelo to the ground.
After that, Adelo saw two white fangs…
It's over… Adelo immediately thought as everything in front of him turned black.
"Boom!" But just as those two fangs were about to descend, a large fireball had flown over from afar, and landed directly on the Vampire that was about to bite him.
The power of this fireball was terrifyingly strong. A Vampire that was at least level-13 had instantaneously turned into ashes upon impact.
"Pyroblast!" Adelo, who had not recovered from his shock, raised his head and saw that young mage wielding a staff and firing large fireballs…
One, two, three, four… 10!
Looking at those fireballs roaring past, Adelo was completely stunned. The shock that these 10 fireballs gave him far surpassed the shock from those two white fangs.
As an Archmage at the peak of level-17, Adelo was very clear what type of spell the Pyroblast was. The depletion of mana after one Pyroblast was comparable to that after two level-17 and above spells. Even with his own abilities, he could cast only five of them before he had to rest. To release 10 at once, he would require stimulants…
But today, there was young mage in his twenties that had fired 10 Pyroblasts in his face.
Plus it was almost simultaneous…
After temporarily escaping from the Vampires' entanglement, Adelo had enough time to observe that young mage's spell-casting. This time, he clearly saw that that young mage's recitation speed was something that he had never seen before. From the beginning till the end, there was not a single pause. A recitation that should be 10 seconds long had been completely in just five seconds, and from the sound of it, there was not a single flaw. It was natural and effortless, and had a bizarre but smooth rhythm.
The young mage gripped his magic staff tightly. The complex and mysterious incantations were spilling out of his mouth smoothly as though every word had a mysterious power, and the gigantic fireballs were like the judgment on doomsday, blasting open a bloody pathway in the encirclement of countless Vampires…
At this point, Adelo even thought that he was dreaming…
"Mage Adelo, are you alright?" It was only when this young mage had charged through the encirclement of Vampires and reached Adelo's side before this Archmage that was good at concealment finally regained his senses.
"I'm… I'm fine." Adelo's voice suddenly became rather hoarse, and the gaze he fixed on Lin Li started becoming intricate.
"Seems like we really have to cooperate for once…" Lin Li smiled; he looked rather exhausted. While the Multicolored Potion could stimulate mental strength, it also pushed the body to its limits. However, there was no other choice—Lin Li had no other way out. The 10 Pyroblasts had killed 10 Vampires, which seemed rather perverted and violent, but looking at the surroundings, one would realize these 10 Vampires were just a drop in the bucket. It totally did not dampen the power of this Vampire army. Lin Li had no choice but to borrow the power of the Multicolored Potion if he wanted to escape from so many Vampires…
"I really did not think that Mage Felic's true abilities were so powerful…" Adelo looked at Lin Li with an intricate expression; when he discovered that the other party looked rather weak, his mind felt more stable. This Archmage that was good at concealing promptly thought that this type of exhaustion was due to those 10 Pyroblasts…
Unfortunately, Adelo did not know that it was the Multicolored Potion that worked this way—as the body got weaker, mental strength would get stronger.
"Mage Adelo, you praise me too much…" Lin Li spoke as he raised the magic staff in his hands. He erected a thick ice wall in front of the both of them. "Ok, this ice wall should be able to hold off those damned Vampires, but it won't be for long. Mage Adelo, we need to think of a solution quickly."
"How do you want me to cooperate?"
After hearing this sentence, Lin Li smiled, satisfied. "I need you to be honest…"
Chapter 397 - True Abilities
If Lin Li had said this at the start, Adelo would have just ignored him. Even though he had known from Harvey that this young mage was not simple, and that his true abilities were at least those of an Archmage, what was Adelo's status? He was a Legendary-realm mage's disciple, and he himself had the abilities of an Archmage at the peak of level-17. Why would he hold an average Archmage in high regard?
From Adelo's perspective, this Felic only had a decent talent at best. He was still far from being truly powerful.
However, Adelo did not dare to look at it this way anymore…
A mage that could shorten the recitation of the Pyroblast to five seconds and consecutively cast ten Pyroblasts was definitely worthy of being called "powerful" no matter which aspect he was viewed from. Furthermore, it was not an average sort of powerful. At least Adelo doubted whether he had the capability to do so. Master Cheyenne was able to, but what was the status of Master Cheyenne? He was a true Legendary-realm mage that was standing at the peak of the Magical Domain.
Hence, Adelo only hesitated for a moment before he asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you want to know?"
"I want to know that cave really exists—don't be in a rush to deny it. Mage Adelo, you and I both know each other's backgrounds. There is no meaning in lying right now. If that cave actually does not exist, I hope that you can tell me earlier so that I can think of another solution sooner…" After he said this, Lin Li paused. "Of course, if it's real, then it's even better. It would mean the best chance for us to escape from the Vampires…"
"It is real." Adelo nodded with certainty. It was as this young mage had said: there was no need to lie at this point anymore. It could be said that everyone was in the same boat; even though there were inevitable conflicts between them, that would have to wait till everyone escaped from the Vampires' claws…
"Very well." When Lin Li heard this, he immediately heaved a sigh in relief. As long as Gloomy Dark was really hidden in that cave, and not in some damned place that was hundreds of meters underground, these damned Vampires did not pose much of a problem. After finding Gloomy Dark, Lin Li would have hundreds of ways to make them disappear. "Where is that cave?"
"It's further ahead, about two kilometers from here. That is the end of the Scar of Death. If we can escape from these Vampires, we will be able to find it quickly. Back then, my teacher went in once, and made a map of the terrain of this area…"
Adelo took out a map from his pocket as he spoke.
"No wonder…" Lin Li opened the map and took a look. His expression immediately had a shred of realization.
The map in Emendas' hands was, as expected, incomplete…
Once these two maps were compared, the differences were immediately apparent. They both had the terrain of the Scar of Death, but the one in Emendas' hands was far too different. It had simple routes and monster distribution, but had none of the finer details, whereas the one that Adelo took out was completely different—it was especially so for the information about the Scar of Death. From the three-way crossroad to the Skeletal Warriors, and from the Skeletal Warriors to the entrance of the cave, not a single detail was left out. It even had fine print reminding the map's owner to be careful of certain places and what to take note of in certain areas. It gave a feeling that it was like holding their hands and teaching them how to walk.
These Vampires were probably the only thing that was left out in the map…
Based on the map, the place where these Vampires lived should be pretty far away. With the speed of the advance party's movement, it should be almost impossible to encounter them, but something happened in the process, which actually allowed the Vampires to discover the advance party's tracks. Th
us, it resulted in this battle that was full of danger everywhere and Adelo cooperating with Lin Li…
No matter what it was, it was still better to have a map than having none.
After Lin Li looked at it, he was not polite with Adelo, either. He just conveniently rolled up the scroll and placed it in his own pocket. After that, he shouted at Norfeller and Ujfalusi, "Hey, you two. Stop slacking, we have work to do."
"What?" Adelo was rather confused. He thought to himself, The battle has already progressed to this stage, who still dares to slack? But after that, Adelo's face had a shocked expression.
It was because he clearly saw that those three Adventurers that had been in a stalemate with the Vampires in a corner suddenly erupted with powerful combat strength. That sort of feeling was like a gentle sheep had suddenly transformed into a man-eating tiger. The pale-faced young man among those three took out two daggers mysteriously. After that, he transformed into an afterimage. The two daggers had an impressive radiance, and they instantaneously pierced through two level-14 Vampires on the left and right.
That young man's speed was too fast—he was just like a stroke of black lightning. When those Vampires that were like Spirits were compared to him, they instantly became slow like snails. Adelo did not even see his movements clearly, and two Vampires already collapsed below the daggers.
Additionally, that mage that had been reserved had started to become different as well. Initially, the magical wave coming from his body was only at the standard of a level-10 Magic Shooter, but his magical waves started becoming stronger and stronger after the pale-faced youngster unsheathed the daggers. In just an instant, it had broken through to the Archmage level…
"What the hell, another Archmage!" Adelo's jaw almost hit the floor. He did not imagine that two Archmages were actually disguised as noobs under his nose. Furthermore, they were in disguise for several days, and he actually did not notice it.
