by Zhuang Bifan
Although Lin Li also ended up getting attacked by the Lord of Nightmares because he had lost control over him, the Lord of Nightmares' level-22 power seemed to have become insignificant. It would mean that Lin Li and Vidas were put on the same level, and they both had to face an endless dream induced by the Lord of Nightmares' domain.
Lin Li had no idea what Vidas would be meeting with, nor did he have the time to make any guesses, because he had already begun a surreal journey in a dream.
The spectators were staring foolishly at the center of the square even though they could not see anything because of the thick fumes of smoke. Besides, everything seemed to have come to a standstill after Vidas spoke. No one knew what went on in there.
All Arathor could do was order his subordinates to supply the power core of the mageweath with more magical crystals to maintain the defensive force of the entire protective barrier. God knew what damage the two Legendary figures might do to the entire city if there wasn't a protective barrier to protect it.
Wilkinson closed his eyes slightly, and leaned back in the seat. Although he seemed to be resting, he had never felt so nervous before. Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were also staring at the square nervously. Although Sienna was extremely confident in Lin Li, he still felt nervous because he could not see anything at all.
The others on the viewing decks were feeling nervous and worried because they had bet heavily on Vidas. The power and abilities exhibited by the young Lin Li were extremely formidable and daunting. If the 20-year-old Legendary-mage, Lin Li, could win the battle, the Tower of Dusk would definitely become one of the strongest forces of the Breezy Plains. That would greatly affect the structure of the Breezy Plains. If he were to lose, no one would be surprised as to what it would entail, because they all thought that it was impossible for him not to have the support of some major force. If anything were to happen to him, there would definitely be a major shuffle in the forces of the Breezy Plains.
Everyone was feeling nervous, but the center of the square was bizarrely quiet, and nothing could be seen. All the spectators could do was wait patiently for the revelation at the end.
Lin Li had already lost track of time. His dreams seemed to be a microcosm of life where there were highs and lows, ups and downs, happiness and misery, and peace and danger. The initial absurdity began to fade as everything started to seem realistic. The Lord of Nightmares continuously adjusted the scenes in the dreams.
Before Lin Li decided to release the Lord of Nightmares, he had indeed considered his immunity to the dream, and felt that the greatest joy and most entertaining aspect of transmigration was the opportunity to experience a different life. For example, novels, movies, television dramas, and online games were actually opportunities for others to experience a different life.
However, when Lin Li truly sunk into the dream conjured by the Lord of Nightmares, he finally realized that it was possible for one to be fully immersed in a dream despite being aware that it was not reality. When one was yelling for a dream to stop, it was perhaps just the beginning, and when came the end of the dream would forever be unknown.
Lin Li had once been an Abyssal Demon which had been subdued by Osric's Magic Legion1. He had also been one of the hideous and grotesque goblins which got destroyed in a massacre carried out by the High Elves. He had been a dwarf who spent his entire life refining iron. He had also assumed other identities, like a soldier, bandit, aristocrat, and even king. He had experienced all types of lives, and had even once become an elf in the Emerald Forest. He'd learned magic under the strict guidance of his elders, respected and admired by his peers.
There were plenty of strange dreams, each one more dangerous than the one preceding it. One careless mistake would cause the dreamer to end up losing himself and becoming the slave of the Lord of Nightmares. If that were to happen to Lin Li, he would be the first unlucky fool to be enslaved by the creature that he summoned.
However, Lin Li's transmigration experience had indeed given him some immunity to all sorts of dreams, and his strong willpower allowed him to wake up from the dream in the end. In fact, Lin Li even gained more tenacity through the training and experiences he had in the dream. His mental strength increased, and he also discovered plenty of unknown secrets.
"Hey, hurry and look. The fog is dissipating, and the people within are appearing!" someone from the viewing deck yelled.
Actually, everyone on the deck had already noticed it even before that person reminded them about it. Although it was rather boring to stare at fog, everyone on the viewing deck never stopped paying attention to the scene. The black fog within the barrier gradually dissipated, and turned from black to gray, and then finally colorless. It revealed plenty of scenes.
The lush Nature Domain had long disappeared, and the square was also restored to its original appearance, including the tiles on the ground, which remained seamless. In the vast and flat square, there were only two figures remaining. Although none of them had fallen, it was obvious who the victor was.
Everyone could see how pale Vidas was, and they also noticed the horror in his eyes. He was just like a frightened bird that had already lost the demeanor that he ought to have as a Legendary level-22 figure. On the other hand, Mage Felic walked towards Vidas, smiling, and extended his arm towards him.
"Mage Felic, please show some mercy, please show some mercy!" Arathor shrieked in terror as he flew down the deck and dashed towards the square. However, he had forgotten that there was a protective barrier that even a Legendary figure could not break.
Thud.
Arathor's body slammed against the wall, which he then slid down along, leaving behind a clear trail of blood.
Lin Li c.o.c.ked his head towards the side and smiled. However, he did not stop, and instead grabbed the Helios' Scepter from Vidas and yanked it free from Vidas' hold.
The protective field was shut down. Arathor wiped the blood off of his nose before scurrying towards them.
"Castellan Arathor, according to the bet, this item belongs to me now. Surely you won't oppose it, will you?" Lin Li asked while fiddling with Helios' Scepter.
"Go ahead, go ahead…" What else was there for him to oppose? Lin Li had already defeated a level-22 Legendary-mage; hence, there was no reason for Arathor to oppose it at all. He was just concerned about Vidas' current condition.
However, when he walked towards Vidas, he discovered that the latter had lost his usual arrogance and his eyes had turned glassy. Fear was written all over his face, and he seemed to have gotten a great shock.
Wilkinson and the other pharmacists and William frantically chased after Arathor, scrambling towards the middle of the square. Their greatest concern at the moment was Lin Li's safety. After all, the battle had been way too intimidating, and it made them think that the young and ingenious Lin Li had already faced his defeat.
William scanned Lin Li from head to toe, and only heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that he did not sustain any obvious injuries. Still feeling a little worried, he said, "Master Felic, are… you alright…?" He sounded servient, and seemed to be trying to suck up to Lin Li. However, Wilkinson and the rest pushed him away in a hostile manner before Lin Li even answered.
Wilkinson and the rest had already considered Lin Li to be their teacher. Although the elven mage Vidas was the one who'd started the bet, they definitely didn't have a good impression of William. If it weren't because of William's invitation, Lin Li wouldn't have brought Wilkinson and the other pharmacists to the auction. If it weren't because of the auction, would the battle have happened? He didn't send the branch of the Tree of Eternity to the Tower of Dusk, and Wilkinson was infuriated by that. He thought, Did William think that Master Felic would shortchange him? Who else would be able to afford to pay 15,000,000 gold coins for it?
Of course, even though Wilkinson was displeased with William, his main concern at the moment was still Lin Li's condition. The bunch of pharmacists frantically surrounded Lin Li and asked about hi
s condition and whether he was alright. They wanted to know if he was unwell and if he needed some potions. They even offered the potions that they had concocted themselves, and introduced him to their respective effects, all for fear that Lin Li had sustained internal injuries from the battle.
Lin Li did not react much, but the other guests who rushed forth stared at him with their eyes wide open, all green with envy. Unfortunately for them, they did not have the rights to step forth to chime in, and could only watch from the side. This is all dream talk.
Chapter 564 - Set In Stone
No one had expected that the battle whose outcome they had been extremely certain of at first would turn out to have such a surprising end…
Actually, it was not everyone, for there were some who believed right from the start that Master Felic would win…
The thought of it made the gamblers' faces grow sullen, and they thought to themselves, Where the heck did Sienna get that insider information from? How did that scoundrel know that that Mage Felic would definitely win for sure? Damn it, he even won so crushingly. The level-22 Legendary-mage even almost got beaten into a nutcase by that pervert.
Lin Li triumphed over the elven Legendary-mage Vidas in the end. Apart from winning Helios' Scepter, he also achieved a breakthrough, which bestowed his abilities with a massive change. He was undoubtedly the greatest winner that day. The other winner was none other than Sienna, who was grinning widely from ear to ear…
No one had believed that Lin Li would win, and they were all waiting to see Sienna make a fool out of himself. Apart from those who dared not offend Sienna, everyone else placed bets that were worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, causing the c.u.mulative pot to end up amounting to almost 10,000,000 gold coins. Sienna placed a 500,000-gold-coin bet, and even if they were to win, they would only receive a few gold coins. However, now that Sienna had won, he would be receiving the entire pot of almost 10,000,000 gold coins. Of course he'd be thrilled about the windfall.
After reaching an agreement with the old gambler Jefferson, Sienna stepped onto the square with happiness written all over his face, and walked towards Lin Li. He obviously wouldn't dare to keep the gold coins without saying anything. Although he had already placed a bet, Master Felic was the one who allowed him to win it.
Those who were feeling upset, unlike Sienna, were unhappy not only because they had become fools because of Sienna, but rather because they discovered how formidable Lin Li was. Master Felic was the owner of the Tower of Dusk and the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, which housed the pharmacists they'd wanted to poach earlier on. Had they known earlier that the Legendary-mage Felic was the owner of the Tower of Dusk, they would have never dared to poach the pharmacists, for it was akin to courting death.
Some of them had long broken out in a cold sweat, and were nervously wiping the sweat off of their foreheads while feeling fortunate. They were not kindhearted people, and when the branch was auctioned off for 15,000,000 gold coins, they were thinking about snatching the branch from the upstart Lin Li after he left. They thought that Lin Li was just an arrogant idiot who knew nothing, and felt that the security in Roland City was insignificant.
However, in reality, the ridiculous thing was that the idiot turned out to be them instead. If it weren't because of Vidas, perhaps they would have been destroyed for trying to rob Lin Li. There was nothing more absurd and silly than that.
Although they were all leaders of strong, major forces, everyone knew that they were just an absolute joke in front of the Legendary powerhouses. Those Legendary-mages had the ability to destroy them and their city completely without much effort. It was apparent from the way the Harvest Square looked now. The millennium-old Harvest Square couldn't even withstand the damage that resulted from the two extraordinary mages' battle despite the mageweath arrays. It was ruined beyond recognition…
Only legends could compare to legends, especially those who had attained Magical Domains. Those below the Legendary-realm were all insignificant.
Not to mention, the owner of the Tower of Dusk was not only a strong Legendary-mage, he had also defeated another Legendary-mage. However, he was only 20 years old. Although the guests had all lost the bet to Sienna, none of them were fools, especially since they had received an invitation to the auction. They were well aware of what the 20-year-old Lin Li signified.
Upon sight of Sienna walking towards the middle of the square, the people standing by the square looked at each other. Although there was no verbal communication involved, they shared tacit understanding through eye contact. Since their mistakes had been made, what they had to do now was not to escape reality, but to find ways to make up for it. Otherwise, their forces might just disappear from the Breezy Plains one day. At the thought of the tragic end that they might face, everyone could not help but shiver and step into the square.
Click!
The smooth and clean lapis lazuli of the square's ground shattered loudly and clearly like glass despite having endured countless gladiator competitions over the past years. The cracks seemed to have spread like a cobweb from the feet of the guests and towards the rest of the platform on the square. Next, everyone felt themselves losing balance and sinking downwards involuntarily. The firm ground seemed to have become hollow too.
Before they could even react, the 84 stone pillars surrounding the square also collapsed in all directions, causing thick layers of dust to fill the air. The huge stone pillars slammed heavily onto the ground, causing a loud and explosive sound that was accompanied by splashing stone debris. The pillars near the viewing decks completely ruined the decks too.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and the initially perfect Harvest Square was destroyed before them.
Everyone knew that the Legendary-mages were strong and formidable to the extent of being unparalleled. However, at the start, everyone had had no clear idea exactly how strong they were. They finally had a deeper understanding of how strong they were after the experience.
It would be easy to destroy a square, but not if the square was surrounded by a strong defensive mageweath. Achieving the latter would be an incredible feat. As the castellan of Roland City, Arathor was well aware of the strength of the mageweath of the Harvest Square. That was also the very reason he'd chosen to host the battle there. He'd been confident that the mageweath could withstand the damage inflicted by the two of them, but the Harvest Square was clearly in need of maintenance. Arathor stood in the pit and looked at the run-down square that had been destroyed on all sides, feeling extremely agonized.
Lin Li was not surprised by this situation at all. Although the nature domain used by Vidas was termed as a Magical Domain of the Small World Laws, the foundation was based on elemental Laws of earth element. When Vidas exhibited the nature domain just now, he also manipulated the earth element in addition to putting his mana to use. Hence, it was not surprising that the square had been destroyed.
This sudden change caused many people to be affected and dirtied by the debris, though Lin Li managed to use magic to protect Wilkinson and the other pharmacists in time. Hence, Lin Li and the pharmacists were the only ones in the square, standing on a small, circular patch that remained unaffected. Lin Li stood still and spoke to Wilkinson and others indifferently. He would occasionally respond to William, and did not seem like he had just fought a thrilling battle.
However, in his heart, Lin Li was constantly thinking about the Legendary battle that had been absolutely daunting. He was the only one who knew how tough and dangerous that battle had been just now. The elven Legendary-mage Vidas was undoubtedly a descendant of Helios. A level-22 Legendary-mage was definitely a powerhouse who would be at the top of the hierarchy in Anril. Except for those Legendary powerhouses that only existed in myths and tales, elven Legendary-mages were almost invincible. In fact, even a Legendary-mage could not afford to provoke them…
Lin Li was actually rather well aware of his own strength and abilities, though his self-aw
areness did not affect his confidence. Although he used to be a top level-20 Legendary-mage, he held three pieces of the debris of the stars, and had a terrifying advantage of being a master of all trades. However, he really was not as good as the elf, Vidas. The gap between them was not just in level, but also in terms of combat experience and understanding of the Laws. Even the magic that he was proud of was inferior when compared to the elven Legendary-mage's.
That was how formidable and unique the elves were. Apart from the High Elves who were deemed as the most perfect creatures in the world, the elves were perhaps the most unique mages. Their natural physical affinity with elements allowed them to acc.u.mulate magic at an unimaginable speed. Even a newborn elf would easily be recognized as a mage. That was impressive even if compared to the High Elves.
What made the human race even more jealous was the fact that the elves were the apple of the Goddess of Nature Monferra's eye. They had extremely long lives that granted them the opportunity to become formidable and unrivaled even if they were to use just one-tenth of their time studying magic. The only good thing was that compared to the huge population of humans, the number of elves had always been small. Otherwise, they would have long ruled the entire world of Anril like the High Elves.
As the descendant of Helios, the Legendary-mage Vidas was clearly a classic elf. His extremely long life had brought him incomparable combat power, and let him suppress Lin Li during the battle just now.
Chapter 565 - Terrifying Dream
Despite being under that unbearable pressure and suppression, Lin Li had actually made a breakthrough, and advanced from level-20 to level-21. That was an absolute difference in strength. Even though Lin Li had broken through to level-21, the Light and Darkness Domain that he had created actually was not on par with Vidas' Nature Domain.
