Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074
Page 241
When he thought of how scary Sendros was, Vanskore could not help but grumble at Hutton. Fancy doubting what the Syer Bandits were capable of after having worked together for so many years! He had even brought all the elites of the Syer Bandits in order to help Hutton this time, and they would be more than enough to deal with 10 mages, much less a young mage in his twenties! Why did he have to bring that monster Sendros into the picture?
"Master Sendros has already agreed." Hutton could tell what this ruthless bandit was thinking with just one look, but he could not explain anything to Vanskore in such circ.u.mstances, and thus that was all that he could say.
"…" Vanskore lost his voice after hearing that.
There was no way he could say no to this. Who was Sendros, after all? A Necromancer in the Legendary-realm, and the most powerful High Priest of the Darkness Shrine! Who would dare go against his words? They would have to be tired of living…
Vanskore was both happy and afraid when he walked out of the tent—happy because he would finally have a chance to vent his anger, and afraid of the monster that was Sendros at the same time. While gathering his men, Vanskore could not help but think that he would be plagued by nightmares for a while after this…
Vanskore was indeed a good working partner as he had brought along almost all the elites of the Syer Bandits to help the Malfa Family. There were over 300 men, and they were all above level-10, including a dozen who were above level-15. They were a formidable force no matter where they were.
All 300-plus men were Bandits who were experienced with breaking into homes, and thus they were naturals at sneak attacks. Vanskore only used 10 minutes to arrange everything, and soon, the road leading from the Scar of Death to the campsite was covered with traps.
As the sky darkened and the blood-red sun sank beneath the horizons, all the bandits held their breath as they waited quietly for the fight to start.
There were suddenly another dozen or so figures alone the rocky mountain road of the Scar of Death.
"Mage Felic, thank you so much for your help and for letting me copy down the treasure map of the Immortal King. I'll be sure to tell my teacher Cheyenne everything when we get back." Adelo thanked him continuously as he had owed him a huge favor indeed. After all, this Mage Felic could very well have taken both relics at the Scar of Death and killed Adelo and the other two Warriors…
No choice. The difference between their strength was too huge indeed, so there was no way they could have defended themselves. A Legendary-mage and a Humerus Wyrm, that was power far beyond what an Archmage like him could comprehend. The Legendary-mage did not even have to lift a finger, either, as all he had to do was to summon the Humerus Wyrm, and they would be smashed to pieces.
Luckily, this Mage Felic was merciful indeed…
He did not attack them after getting both relics, and even graciously allowed him to replicate the map.
It seemed like he would have to tell Hutton that this Mage Felic was a man worthy winning over. It would be worth any price they had to pay if they could do it.
Oh, right, he would have to get Hutton to teach his brother a lesson this time. That was a stupid move on Harvey's part indeed. How could he offend him without making sure whom he was dealing with? He almost got himself into huge trouble. Thank goodness that this Mage Felic was merciful, and did not take what Harvey and Hahn did to heart…
"Mage Felic, you're very gracious indeed…" Adelo was in a good mood, and could not help praising the man in his heart again.
"You're too kind, Mage Adelo…" Lin Li had a humble smile on his face, but he already sent a Warlock's Eyes to scan the surroundings of the rocky mountain road.
After he reached level-19 in the fight with the Lich, Lin Li realized that his mental strength became much more s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e. It was as though he suddenly had another pair of eyes, allowing him to react quickly to whatever happened around him—just like earlier, when he stepped on the rocky mountain road, for he could already sense that there were hundreds of pairs of eyes staring him down, full of malicious intent…
Lin Li would not feel it so clearly in the past, but after he reached level-19, all of this could be seen clearly by him. He could even tell for certain how powerful the owners of those eyes were.
Under his control, the Warlock's Eyes swept through the bushes at an incredible speed, and it was only a moment before it detected nearly 10 traps ahead of them.
So much effort too. Lin Li chatted with Adelo as though nothing was happening while he silently praised them in his mind.
Much effort had been put into making these traps indeed. Unfortunately, this effort was misplaced. While these traps stood a chance against an average person, they were useless against a level-19 Archmage—terribly futile.
Lin Li was perfectly capable of destroying all of them with just a snap of his fingers.
The only reason he did not do so was because he was in no rush…
He thought that it was too time-consuming to seek them out one by one. Why not just wait for all of them to reveal themselves…?
Of course, he could pull a few tricks to make them reveal themselves faster…
It was about 200 to 300 meters away from the road leading to the Scar of Death. This was where the first toxic fume trap was laid—right at the end of the road. When Lin Li neared the trap, he coincidentally tripped on a rock, and fell unceremoniously…
Then, a "pop" was heard before greenish toxic fumes started spreading along the mountain road, and covered the surroundings in a pungent stench. Lin Li was entirely engulfed by the fumes as he was right at the front.
Then, a piercing sound followed as hundreds of arrows flew towards the green toxic fumes.
Adelo had been walking alongside Lin Li, but just as they were reaching the trap, Lin Li picked up his pace and created a gap of a few meters between the two. It was only because of this gap that Adelo had been spared from the burst of toxic fumes.
When the hundreds of arrows came firing, Adelo conjured up a Frost Shield, and thus even though he was the nearest to Lin Li, he was left unscathed even after the violent attacks.
"Mage Felic, are… are you alright?" Adelo's face was pale, and his voice trembled as he already guessed who was behind these attacks.
The Malfa Family's campsite was less than 300 meters away. Given how cautious Hutton was, how would he allow anyone else to set up a trap here? Adelo was willing to bet his life that this attack was permitted by Hutton.
Adelo was ready to die at this moment…
What was Hutton thinking? How could he think of attacking now, and even use such terrible methods? He was dealing with a Legendary individual who'd got rid of a Lich by himself! What good would such terrible methods do besides angering him?
Unfortunately, it was all too late now as the terrible ambush had become reality, and Adelo could not stop it even if he wanted to. He could only pray that this merciful young mage could be merciful yet again and forgive Hutton for being a fool.
However, just as Adelo was praying, a strong wind started blowing within the green fumes, and Adelo heard the young mage he'd thought merciful begin chanting…
Chapter 419 - Murder
Then, Adelo saw a beautiful snowflake…
Nobody knew how many icicles sliced through the air in that instant as a piercing sound rang out, sending a chill down their spines. The crystal-clear icicles painted an ethereal picture against the backdrop of a blood-red evening sun, yet beneath the facade of this ethereal beauty were heart-wrenching cries.
There was originally woodland with short shrubs at the end of the mountain path. It was jade-green, but as the beautiful snowflakes fell on it, the picturesque jade-green was painted with spots of bright red, almost as if a careless artist had splattered paint on his canvas.
The scary thing was that these bright red spots were growing in numbers at a frightening speed, and in a split second, more than half of the jade-green had been covered in bright red…
The wo
rd quieted down all of a sudden, and it was as if time stood still at that instant. Everyone was shocked by the gruesome sight as they knew that every bright red spot meant that a life had been lost to the icicles. They were unable to imagine how many people had to have died to the icicles in that short period of time for half of the hill to be painted bright red…
Lin Li was the only who knew that there were 137 of them.
That was the difference between level-18 and level-19. While a level-18 Archmage was powerful, their mental strength was somewhat slower, but this would all change once they reached level-19. Their mental strength was now akin to another eye for them, and an incredibly sharp one at that. They would be able to clearly tell what was going on with just a glance.
In that split second, there were 137 arrows fired at him; hence, Lin Li released 137 icicles.
The arrows fell on the floor just as the icicles pierced their c.h.e.s.t.
None of the 137 people ambushing him were spared—all of them lost their lives in that split second.
Such was the power of a level-19 Archmage. Once a mage attained this level, it would be hard to ambush them as their incredibly s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e mental strength would be capable of detecting and locating anyone harboring ill-intent towards them.
The bandits might have been able to live for another 10 minutes had they not made the first move. They were the elites of the Syer Bandits, after all, and there were over 300 of them. Lin Li would have to take some time to search for them one by one.
Unfortunately, the moment they released their arrows was also the moment they handed their lives over to the Grim Reaper…
It had not taken more than a few seconds from the moment Lin Li stumbled upon the toxic fume trap to the moment the bandits were killed. Everything had happened so quickly that nobody was able to react in time. To put it simply, the greenish toxic fumes had yet to dissipate even when half the mountain was painted a bright red…
It was at this moment that Adelo knew that he had made a mistake, a grave mistake…
Adelo was the one who had interacted the most with Lin Li after the advance party entered the Scar of Death. While everyone held their guard up at first and plotted against each other, even getting into minor conflicts at times, Adelo still had a relatively good impression of this young mage when they left the Scar of Death.
Truth be told, the young mage had put on an impeccable facade in the Scar of Death as he was always calm, while his attitude was never overbearing or cowardly in any sense. However, it was his gentle and friendly smile that'd left a lasting impression on Adelo as it felt like he was meeting an old friend when he was with Lin Li. He never had to worry about accidentally provoking him.
It was that same delusion that led Adelo to think that he would still be magnanimous and forgive Hutton when the ambush happened.
However, the mountain slope painted in red reminded Adelo once again that this was no old friend of his, but a powerful mage who had defeated a Lich!
Adelo finally realized that he was wrong—this young mage was definitely nowhere as gentle and friendly as he seemed to be. Even though he still had a smile on his face, there was not a trace of pity or hesitation in his eyes, and he looked just like a seasoned executioner as he took more than a hundred lives in mere moment…
And the most terrifying thing was that this executioner did not look like he was going to stop after taking those lives. He held the magic staff with the huge gem at the tip and slowly walked out from the toxic fume trap while four Solar Spheres of yellow, blue, red, and green circled around him quickly.
Once he saw the four Solar Spheres Adelo knew immediately that this young mage was out for blood. Those four Solar Spheres were the ultimate form of the earth, water, fire, and wind Four-element Shields. That was a level-19 Elemental Shield, and purely in terms of defense was equal to at least 10 Source Shields. Only Legendary-level magic or a blow from a Sword Sage would be able to penetrate the Elemental Shield…
However, the Elemental Shield required more than 10 times the mana expenditure compared to a Source Shield. When a mage used an Elemental Shield, it meant that he was about to do something big.
The toxic fumes still had yet to dissipate, but with the Elemental Shield, Lin Li did not even fear Archmage-level magic, much less that bit of toxic fumes. Hence, Lin Li walked right through the toxic fumes without giving them a second look.
"You idiots, what are you waiting for, start… start moving and get rid of this fellow!" Vanskore was scared silly, and only managed to come back to his senses now, yelling wildly while he retrieved his crossbow from his back.
Perhaps it was because of Vanskore's orders, or the fear of imminent death, but after hearing Vanskore's yelling, the equally stunned Syer Bandits all came to life at once, roaring. Thousands of arrows sliced through the air as they came flying towards Lin Li like a swarm of flies; at the same time, about 30 mages hidden behind the mountain started chanting…
Unfortunately, none of this held any meaning in front of a level-19 mage…
The four Solar Spheres circled quickly as they formed an impenetrable shield around Lin Li, rendering the swarm of arrows and magic hurled at him useless. The arrows clattered as they fell to the ground, and the magic was engulfed by the shield in an instant while Lin Li continued walking through the toxic fumes and up the mountain amidst the torrential attacks…
"Don't you dare stand back, all… all of you move at once and get rid of this fellow!"
Vanskore's yells continued to resonate on the mountain slope, and the torrential attacks continued pouring down on Lin Li, yet none of this seemed to exist to Lin Li.
Then, the gem on the Aether Staff suddenly glowed…
The stunned bandits were unable to react before they were hit by the gory stench of blood, which was then followed by pathetic cries. A bandit who was well-concealed in the shrubs did not even have time to struggle before a blood-red vine coiled tightly around him. Then, it was followed by two and then three vines, until there were dozens of vines coiled around him…
In the blink of an eye, this unlucky bandit was covered in at least a few dozen vines that coiled tightly around him, covering him from head to toe without a single gap. The vines then grew and dragged him over until he was in front of Lin Li.
With a wave of his hand, the vines loosened, and revealed the terrified bandit.
"Syer Bandits again?" Lin Li knew immediately by looking at his armor that it was the bandit group ranked in the top 10 in the Breezy Plains.
"You… Help!" This bandit was unlucky indeed as he had just crawled out from the mess of vines, only to see that it was the scary mage before him. He had got out of the frying pan, only to fall into fire indeed. Thus, he cried for help without thinking twice in the midst of his shock and devastation.
"Shut up." Lin Li frowned while lowering the Aether Staff in his hand, and with a dull thud, the unlucky bandit fainted on the spot.
After knocking out the unlucky bandit, Lin Li turned around to look at the people wildly attacking him. One of them was a tough-looking man with a crossbow in one hand and a machete in the other, screaming hysterically. Lin Li secretly guessed that he had to be Vanskore, who had been summoning him repeatedly…
"I'm in luck…" Lin Li looked at Vanskore from afar, and suddenly smiled.
Honestly speaking, Lin Li was very happy to bump into the Syer Bandits, who had attacked Black Clouds Town twice. Even if he had not met them here, he would have searched them out in the Dragon Mountains and got rid of this bandit group that dared challenge the authority of the Tower of Dusk.
For a force to become one to be reckoned with, it would have to be done at the expense of getting rid of another in a place like the Breezy Plains. Lin Li already had his eyes on Syer Bandits as they were quite well-known in the Breezy Plains, and did not have a complicated background. On top of that, they were not too powerful. Lin Li could not think of a better target than the Syer Bandits even after racking his brains…
This was great—he had not even had the time to seek them out himself, and they came to him instead…
"But there are too many people. It'll be bothersome for me to do this myself," Lin Li muttered to himself before retrieving an oil lamp from his pocket…
Chapter 420 - You once took off my pants
The bandits were all on the verge of breakdown at this point, but the most depressing thing on earth was not some ruthless demon lord, but annoying pests. Even though Lin Li had killed more than a hundred men right from the start and frightened the whole Syer Bandits, they did not collapse entirely, as they knew that Lin Li was scarily powerful, and they would not have a chance to escape. Hence, all they could do was to grit their teeth and fight it out with him.
However, once the bandits realized that they could not harm him at all no matter what they did, their initial resolution started to waver…
The feeling of futility spread like an epidemic and infected all of them. They started to panic and lose hope, and began to look for ways to escape. If not for the presence of Vanskore, the remaining 200-some bandits would have been reduced to an army of headless chickens.
But even Vanskore was unable to prevent the breakdown of the bandits.
The last straw was a cloud of black fog that started spreading.
A cloud of black fog started appearing after Lin Li channeled his mental strength into the oil lamp, and the space around the mountain slope contorted weirdly. Before they could figure out what kind of magic this was, a deafening growl shook up the place…
"My God!"
"Monster, it's a monster…"
"Good heavens, what kind of a creature is this?!"
"Run, my brothers…!"
The Humerus Wyrm was at least a few dozen meters long, and took up half the space on the mountain slope the minute it appeared. As it spread its bony wings, it took up the other half of the space on the mountain slope. Apart from Vanskore, the rest was at most at level-15, and some of them were only at level-10. How could they have seen anything as scary as a Humerus Wyrm?