Chapter 260: Before the Tower
With the appearance of Li Wen and Moria, the tense atmosphere below instantly froze.
After the initial astonishment, Fu Qingyan and the others revealed unconcealable joy on their faces. Although they didn’t know why the two appeared here, in such a desperate situation, any non-hostile expert appearing was like a shot in the arm.
Spade K’s face, which was still filled with rage and killing intent, was replaced by an unprepared dullness. He hadn’t forgotten the cloaked figure who had played him and his woman like clowns on their ship.
Why were they here? And it seemed they had arrived earlier than himself.
“You again?” Spade K’s voice was squeezed through his teeth, anxiety and anger growing in his heart. In his eyes, everyone who appeared in such a place could be after the Divine Artifact.
To avoid any further complications, he couldn’t delay any longer.
“Leave them alone!” Spade K waved his hand sharply, his voice piercing and decisive, like a final ultimatum. “Joker, Heart A, finish them quickly! Clear out these troublesome flies below, then deal with the two above!”
He spoke casually, but in his heart, he had already decided that once Joker and Heart A were engaged with the people below, he would immediately rush to the spire and take the Divine Artifact by any means necessary. As for these two hired thugs, they were the best cannon fodder to cover his retreat at such a time.
The moment the order was given, a melee erupted.
Heart A let out an excited shriek and lunged at Fu Qingyan and the others like an arrow from a bow. She relished the pleasure of abusing weaker opponents, especially since this game provided ample feedback for kills, allowing her to savor the pain and despair on the faces of those she killed. It was a forbidden pleasure that was absolutely not allowed in reality. However, a steady figure suddenly appeared, precisely blocking her path.
Moria thrust out his longsword, the tip aimed directly at Heart A’s heart. His movements appeared plain and unadorned, but their speed was incredibly difficult to react to.
Heart A’s pupils contracted, and she only had time to block with her arm. However, the cold and sharp blade easily severed her arm, and with undiminished momentum, it cut a wound deep enough to expose bone on her chest. Heart A licked her lips. She caught her severed arm, placed it against the wound, and the flesh at the severed limb wriggled madly, rejoining within seconds. The wound on her chest also healed at a visible rate.
“Attacks of this level are useless against me.” She licked her lips, a dangerous glint in her narrowed pupils.
As for how much Mana was spent to recover from such an injury, no one would reveal that to an enemy, right?
On the other hand, Joker’s figure merged into the shadows the moment Spade K gave the order, disappearing without a trace. However, just as he was about to appear from the deepest darkness behind Fu Qingyan and the others to deliver a fatal blow, a shadow faster and more silent than him had already approached.
Li Wen’s figure appeared like a phantom. The Raven Feather Dagger drew a cold arc in the air, directly targeting the shadow where Joker was.
Clang!
After a crisp collision, Joker’s figure was forced to stumble out of the shadows. He narrowly blocked Li Wen’s attack with a poisoned short dagger in his hand, a solemn expression appearing on his face for the first time. He hadn’t expected his battle tactics to be guessed by the opponent, and his proud stealth and surprise attack abilities were easily seen through like a child’s trick.
The combat unfolded simultaneously in two areas, forming a stark contrast. Moria’s and Heart A’s battle was grand and sweeping. Every collision between blade and bone claws ignited sparks and splashed flesh and blood. Heart A, relying on her astonishing recovery ability, attacked ferociously, while Moria, using his far superior skill and experience, suppressed her. With the flash of his sword, he continuously inflicted potentially fatal wounds on Heart A. Even though those wounds healed rapidly within a short period, Heart A’s weakening offense was an undeniable fact.
Li Wen’s and Joker’s exchange, on the other hand, was a battle of extreme speed and skill. Joker’s figure constantly weaved and flashed through the shadows, each attack being cunning and deadly. However, Li Wen’s speed and reaction were superior. She seemed to predict Joker’s every move, always evading attacks with minimal movements. At the same time, her Raven Feather Dagger was like a persistent maggot, always appearing at the most appropriate time and in Joker’s most uncomfortable position, forcing him to abandon his attacks and defend himself clumsily.
Anyone could see that the battle was almost one-sided. Whether it was Moria or Li Wen, they had firmly suppressed their opponents with their powerful strength and rich combat experience. Although Heart A was fearless of death, under Moria’s exquisite swordsmanship, she was almost like a sandbag that was constantly being dismantled and reassembled. Joker was even more frustrated; he felt like a rat being toyed with by a cat, no matter how much he twisted and turned, he couldn’t escape the opponent’s seemingly casual but already set trap.
Spade K did not join the battle. He stood a short distance away, his face as gloomy as a condemned prisoner at an execution ground. If it continued like this, his two “capable generals” who were hired with money would eventually be defeated.
“Trash!” he cursed in a low voice and no longer hesitated. He raised the cross ring inlaid with a ruby in his hand. All his other Magical Items and equipment had been swept away by the whirlpool along with the ship, and only this ring was tightly held by him at the last moment.
This was also his most valuable possession besides the astrolabe. The reason was that it was a purple quality equipment that fit his path.
“In the name of the stars, grant you divine speed and resilience!”
his class was called Star Weaver, belonging to the Path of Stars in the Aether lineage. It was a class with almost no combat ability but was highly specialized and advantageous in support.
The ruby on the ring suddenly lit up, and an imperceptible stream of light, as if composed of countless star fragments, shot out, splitting into two and accurately entering Heart A and Joker’s bodies.
The moment they received the starlight augmentation, the aura of both of them changed drastically.
The healing speed of Heart A’s wounds suddenly increased several times. What was originally just flesh wriggling and slowly recovering was now instantly restored in the blink of an eye. It was truly a surprising power. She let out an excited roar, her strength and speed both elevated by a notch. Her offense became more violent, and for a time, she battled Moria evenly.
Joker’s situation was even more bizarre. The shadows around him seemed to become deeper, revealing a viscous texture like liquid. Each of his movements left a blurred afterimage, making it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. In Li Wen’s perception, the opponent’s aura became elusive, and the previously clear attack trajectory was now as blurry as if he were in a fog.
The situation was instantly pulled back to equilibrium.
Spade K grinned and was about to rush to the front of the tower, but he was intercepted by Fu Qingyan, who had already seen through the situation.
“You seem to be in a hurry?” The girl had a faint smile on her face, almost making Spade K jump with anger.
In the chaotic situation, no one noticed that Yang Yi, who had been cowering at the very back of Fu Qingyan’s group, appearing timid and cowardly, had his eyes gradually replaced with excitement and fervor after a brief moment of panic. He glanced at the battling crowd and then at the faintly glowing spire in the distance. He quietly detached himself from the group, carefully moving along the edge of the ruins towards the spire.
His movements were clumsy, and he almost exposed himself several times by stepping on stones and slipping, but at this moment, all attention was focused on the fierce battle in the center, and not a single person noticed his departure.
Finally, Yang Yi tumbled and scrambled to the foot of the magnificent spire. He looked up at the magical runes flowing with light on the tower body, and the thin yet fearsome defensive barrier, the madness and excitement in his eyes difficult to conceal.
According to the voice in his mind, this was the Mage Tower of a powerful Archmage. Now that the Mage Tower had no owner, even a weak player like him could break through its restrictions.
He took out a short blade from his embrace, stained with dark brown grime and polished from some animal’s bones. Without any hesitation, following the instructions of the voice in his mind, Yang Yi forcefully thrust the short blade into his left palm.
Yang Yi’s face showed a twisted, triumphant smile. He smeared the spurting blood on the base of the tower, and at the same time, he began to stammer through an awkward and sinister incantation.
As he chanted, the blood on the tower base began to boil, then emitted thick black smoke, and the light of the magical runes on the tower body suddenly became erratic.
In an instant, the entire Mage Tower seemed to be fully activated.
A visible pillar of light, composed of pure Mana, suddenly shot up from the top of the tower, tearing through the seawater above and piercing the dark seabed, as if to reconnect this place of death, which had been silent for a hundred years, with the sky outside.
Boom—
An indescribable, colossal energy impact spread outwards from the spire like a tsunami.
The people engaged in fierce combat in the plaza, including Li Wen, Moria, Spade K, and others, were all violently blown away by this irresistible force. The intense battle came to an abrupt halt.
Everyone was shocked by this sudden change in the heavens and earth, looking up at the pillar of Mana piercing through the sky and the ancient spire that was now humming and exuding endless majesty, without understanding what was happening.
