by Zhuang Bifan
More importantly, the dragon corpse was soulless, but its combat power was insane. It was no longer an issue of its defense, but rather a crazy offensive ability. Cardson and Gilded Kingdom returned after escorting the people of Gilded Kingdom away, but they soon left again. One was in great pain after being whipped by the dragon corpse's tail, while the other was disfigured by the dragon breath. If they didn't dodge fast, they would really die there.
As for the others, the peak Legendary powerhouses basically quit the battlefield as they would end up dying by staying there for any longer, regardless of how many trump cards they had. Elvis and the other four pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were all wounded, but their condition wasn't severe to the extent that they would lose their fighting ability. Hence, they were barely hanging on.
Even Lin Li who had received the guidance of Geresco and gained a lot of combat experience in the Barbarous Arena almost suffered a huge loss when facing the Dragon of Destruction's corpse. If he hadn't dodged fast enough with the Space Robe, he would probably have died.
Lin Li and the others seemed to be besieging the dragon corpse in this battle, but they knew that they were the ones who had lost the upper hand. No matter how intense their attacks were, they could not hurt the dragon corpse, but once the dragon corpse began to counterattack, they would be in a frenzy and even flee anxiously to avoid being forced into a desperate situation.
However, after facing such a scenario a few times, Lin Li suddenly found a key problem, and that was that the dragon corpse only had battle instincts left, yet it would miss its enemy many times. Just now, he observed that there were several occurrences where the dragon corpse almost had the opportunity to kill Elvis and others, but suddenly retreated back into the sky above Cage Island.
Could it be that this dragon corpse is like a dog on a chain, and can only move within a certain range of activity? Lin Li couldn't help but come up with such a conjecture. Even though it was just a guess, he could take advantage of it once it was proven to be true.
In order to confirm his guess, Lin Li gave a few more instructions to the others, such as telling them to fly far away from the sea area of Cage Island whenever they encountered danger.
With Lin Li's instructions, Elvis and others immediately fled even more quickly than before. As long as the situation was amiss, they would immediately fly away from the sea area of Cage Island. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Li observed and discovered that the dragon corpse really seemed to have been chained to Cage Island, and could only move freely in the sea area.
So, what exactly was the reason for the dragon corpse to stay at Cage Island? After all, the Gilded Kingdom failed to reinforce the seal, and since the dragon corpse was able to break through, the seal had probably lost its function. Could it be that there was some other seal to limit its range of activities? Of course, there was another possibility—that the dragon corpse purely wanted to guard something there, or could not bear to leave.
Although those were possible reasons, the difference between the two was very big. If it was a seal that held it down, there might be a way to fix the seal, and make the dragon corpse stay under Cage Island again. However, if it was simply the dragon corpse itself, Lin Li would be ready to flee because that meant that the dragon corpse would dash out of Cage Island without hesitation. If things were to reach that point, Lin Li would probably give up.
In order to verify the suspicions in his heart, Lin Li reduced the frequency of his attacks even though he was still on the battlefield. It was almost like he could gradually fade out of the battle. He was not slacking, but rather trying to preserve energy, and was hoping to find some clues from this space.
Elder Zumar had long begun secretly cursing Lin Li for his behavior. After all, among these people, Lin Li and he were the only ones who were a match for the dragon corpse. Now that Lin Li had faded out, all the pressure was on Elder Zumar, so he was obviously displeased.
As for Elvis and the others, they were still strictly following Lin Li's instructions, although they couldn't figure out what Lin Li was going to do. They continued to fight with the dragon corpse, but none of them had any complaints. At this point, they were completely convinced with Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse, and they were sure that he would have great accomplishments in the future. He might just become a powerful figure like Geresco. If they didn't take the opportunity to suck up to him now, they might never get the chance to do so again.
Lin Li's decreased output of attacks caused the battle to develop quickly to a very dangerous point. Elder Zumar, who was a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse, was forced into a dangerous situation by the dragon corpse after bearing most of the pressure, while Elvis and the others were extremely disheveled. Although they were not the focus of the dragon corpse, the difference in strength was too large in the end. It was as if they might be annihilated at any time.
After all, it was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas. Even without its soul and Dragon Crystal, its strength was still at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.
Chapter 1074 - Must Fight
Besides, unlike other peak Sanctuary powerhouses, it was a corpse that had a divine position, which meant that there was a fundamental difference between them, just like the difference between pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and actual Sanctuary powerhouses who were generally said to be half a step away from godhood.
The dragon corpse had a powerful fighting instinct, and there was also a wisp of godly power in its power, which was left behind because it had reached the realm of gods. That wisp of godly power was not to be underestimated. Although it was considered nothing to the true gods, it was a terrifying power to the Sanctuary powerhouses below the realm of gods.
Moreover, in the face of the godly power that was almost undetectable, Elder Zumar and other Sanctuary powerhouses all clearly felt that their power was suppressed by some kind of existence. However, at their current level, they still couldn't detect the existence of that wisp of godly power, though they somehow felt that they could not exert all their power.
That caused the dragon corpse to become even more menacing, while Elder Zumar and the others were forced to run for their lives. They were simply being oppressed by the dragon corpse, and they would be thankful enough to remain alive, let alone to seal the dragon corpse again.
Outside the battlefield, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were also nervously watching the battle above Cage Island. Although their realm was still far inferior, they could tell that the situation on the battlefield had already become quite unfavorable for them. They were six Sanctuary powerhouses who lost the upper hand to a massive dragon corpse that they were besieging. That was simply too terrifying.
Although Cantory was not qualified to participate in a battle of such a level, he had good eyesight, and he soon discovered Lin Li's shameless act of idling on the battlefield. He was originally filled with resentment towards Lin Li when he had to ask for help. Now that he had seen Lin Li's lack of effort, he was filled with even more hatred.
Atrocious, does he want to get everyone killed!? Cantory clenched his fists and teeth so hard that he was about to crush them. He hated the fact that he had yet to step into the Sanctuary-realm. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to go around begging for help, tolerating their attitudes, and giving in to their greedy requests.
In Cantory's opinion, he would definitely become an elite Sanctuary powerhouse as long as he could enter the Sanctuary-realm, just like how he was now in the Legendary-realm. He could even imagine how he would take revenge on the Tower of Dusk and every force in the Breezy Plains.
At this moment, Lin Li, who everyone thought was slacking off on the battlefield, suddenly seemed to be deep in thought. During his careful observation of the battle just now, he finally discovered something strange: among the various kinds of power that filled the entire space, there were those that belonged to that dragon corpse, as well as those that belonged to Elder Zumar and the few pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. Howeve
r, there was a vague wisp of power that did not belong to any of the individuals present.
That power was very weak, like a candle flame that might get extinguished in the wind at any time. However, it was extremely tenacious. Whenever Lin Li felt it was going to disappear, it would persist and seem very different in the space that was filled with all kinds of violent power.
What kind of power is this? Lin Li couldn't help but think of that question. If there was anything unusual on the entire battlefield, it would probably be that unknown power. Although the power didn't seem massive, it was extraordinary since it could exist in this space filled with all kinds of violent powers.
Could it be that this is the power that makes the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction unable to leave Cage Island? Putting aside the possibility that the problem lay with the dragon corpse itself, Lin Li felt that the most suspicious thing in the entire battlefield was this power of unknown origin. Although it seemed a little unbelievable that such a weak force could restrain the dragon corpse which was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li really couldn't find anything else that was suspicious apart from it.
Although Lin Li's attention was fully focused on it, he was just as aware as the others of the changes in the situation on the battlefield. Of course he was aware of what kind of situation Elder Zumar and the others would be in under the crazy attack of that dragon corpse. In fact, he might even be more aware than Elder Zumar and the others. How long more did they have to persist more in the face of the dragon corpse?
This seemingly weak power should be the only clue Lin Li could find now. He knew very well that he had no other better choice, and that Elder Zumar and the others could not buy themselves any more time to find other possible clues under the attack of the dragon corpse.
In the current situation, Lin Li had no choice but to continue pursuing that clue. If his conjecture was right, everything would be better, but if the clue turned out to be useless, Lin Li would have to leave immediately.
Lin Li still had an acute self-awareness, and knew very well that he definitely couldn't compete head-on with the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction with his current strength at all. After all, it was a difference in realm, which was not something that could be made up for with skills or experience. Even Geresco might not be able to defeat this dragon corpse with the power of a god if he was at Lin Li's level.
"President Felic, how long are you going to observe for!?" Elder Zumar finally hollered as he couldn't curb his anger anymore after dodging a fatal blow from the dragon claws. Now, he truly resented Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. If the situation continued to progress in such a manner, Elder Zumar and the other elites of his kingdom would probably have to be buried in this hellhole before they could even complete their mission.
Naturally, Elder Zumar thought that Lin Li was just avoiding battle in a bid to reap the ultimate benefits after the two parties fought toe-to-toe against each other. However, in his opinion, it was an extremely stupid decision. If the two ended up suffering heavy losses, that would be fine, but given the dragon corpse's terrifying strength, it was obvious that the battle was one-sided, and there wouldn't be a situation where they both incurred huge losses.
Faced with the blatant urging of Elder Zumar, no one who had a decent sense of pride would continue to shamelessly slack off at this moment. They would at least have to make an effort to look like they were trying hard. However, Lin Li continued dodging the attacks and otherwise staying still without releasing a single fireball, as if he hadn't heard anything.
None knew that Lin Li's mental strength had already started following that strange source of power and searching for its source at this moment. The force was extremely weak, as if it could break at any time. Hence, while tracing the source, Lin Li also put in a great deal of mental strength, and was not having it better than those who were fighting. However, it was impossible to manifest what he was doing; hence, it didn't seem as loud and frighteningly powerful as the intense physical battle.
It would be difficult and dangerous for an ordinary person to spread their mental strength out in such an environment that was filled with all kinds of violent power, let alone chase an almost untraceable force. Even Lin Li was putting all his energy into the source of power. At the same time, he was also dealing with the everchanging situation on the battlefield. How could he have the energy to explain to others?
"Elder Zumar, Master Felic must be thinking about countermeasures, our task is to do our best to buy him time." After all, Elvis had once explored Prince Brahere's mausoleum together with Lin Li, so he also knew that Lin Li would never be a person who couldn't set his priorities straight. Although he, too, was clueless about what Lin Li was doing now, he was also certain that he definitely wasn't idling about. They just couldn't understand his actions.
Hence, despite being in a dangerous situation, Elvis nonetheless reminded Elder Zumar, lest he intentionally or unintentionally led the dragon corpse to Lin Li and caused a disruption in Lin Li's plan. Of course, more importantly, he was trying to win Lin Li's favor by showing his unwavering trust in him as he felt that it would definitely have a considerable impact on the future relationship between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk in the future.
Upon hearing Elvis's words, Elder Zumar was on the verge of vomiting blood out of anger. He's slacking off so righteously. How can there be such a shameless person!? It was his first time cooperating with Lin Li, and although the latter had previously shown strength that surprised him, he did not think that Lin Li was really capable of suddenly turning the situation on the battlefield around. Hence, Elvis's words sounded like an attempt to curry favor with Lin Li to him.
However, Elvis's attitude still made Elder Zumar somewhat scrupulous. Even though Lin Li was shamelessly slacking off in the battle, he was still receiving the support of a few people. If he were to anger them, he might have to resist the strength of the terrifying dragon corpse alone.
In the end, Elder Zumar had no choice but to temporarily drop the idea of causing trouble for Lin Li, and hope that the latter was really looking for a weakness of the dragon corpse to come up with a solution to turn the situation around like Elvis said.
Lin Li was aware of that situation. Although he could not divert some attention to handle it at the moment, he had gained a good impression of Elvis for his sensibility. At this moment, the source of that faint power had finally gradually emerged after Lin Li's careful scrutiny.
Just as Lin Li expected, the source of the weak power came from a certain location under Cage Island, and the power was indeed connected to the body of the dragon corpse. Although Lin Li could not judge that power based on those clues alone, the fact that it could restrain the dragon corpse was enough to make it suspicious.
However, Lin Li encountered a great resistance when he was about to move his mental strength deep into the sea below to confirm the source of the power. The power of the dragon corpse had completely seeped into this space, including the entire sea area around Cage Island. Although the dragon corpse did not have its soul and magical crystal, the sea area around Cage Island was already equivalent to the Magical Domain of the dragon corpse. Lin Li's mental strength was akin to a needle trying to be driven into an iron plate. It was incredibly difficult.
Fortunately, Lin Li's mental strength had long been refined by the control crystal of the Sky Castle, and was far beyond that of ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. If there really was a realm above the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li's mental strength would probably be at that realm.
After Lin Li's unremitting efforts, his mental strength seemed to have really penetrated the sea. Although he encountered a great resistance after that, it was still a good start. Hence, the following events were no longer too difficult to deal with. Following the faint force that he traced, Lin Li's mental strength broke through the heavy resistance, and explored all the way to the bottom of Cage Island.
Just as Lin Li's mental strength was exploring deep bel
ow the Cage Island, the battle situation above Cage Island had also developed to a dangerous stage. The dragon corpse that had a terrifying strength had completely taken control over the battle. Everyone in the battlefield, including Elder Zumar, who was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, was facing the greatest crisis of their lives.
Should we flee? As soon as that thought formed in Elder Zumar's heart, he immediately severed it. Not only was it embarrassing to run away, he could not care less about the others even if he ran away from such a powerful dragon corpse. The elites of the Gilded Kingdom would definitely die there too. If the team he brought over was killed without even completing the mission; how could he answer to the king of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati?
Although the others were unaware, Elder Zumar, the leader of this operation, was very clear of the importance of the operation to the Illuminati. The success of the operation would have a great impact on the future survival of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.
He had to go all out and fight!
Although the Sanctuary powerhouses would rarely put their lives at risk because of their incomparably long lifespans, Elder Zumar had no other choice now. If he failed and caused them to incur great losses, Elder Zumar would definitely lose all his glory, and might even be punished severely. He would rather die than face that.