Chapter 71: Cowardly Acts, I Will Never Tolerate
The interior of the Arcane Master Guild was as magnificent as a palace.
The load-bearing pillars were adorned with double-helix sculptures of Mithril, with liquid light flowing through the hollows, dyeing the hall a honey gold.
The white marble floor warmed underfoot. The entire wall had been transformed into bookshelves made of fragrant wood, with paulownia branches growing through enamelled book compartments, secured by alloy sheets as thin as cicada wings.
Mechanical lyres floated in the center of the hall. Layers upon layers of circular platforms shed subtle glows, and all sorts of luxurious furniture seemed to manifest from oil paintings, entirely dust-free.
Jiali’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but whistle. She sat down on the soft cushions of a sofa and exclaimed:
“Tsk, tsk, the ancestors of the ancient era certainly knew how to enjoy themselves. Their taste is quite good.”
Even a Scarlet noble known for their indulgence praised it, which spoke volumes about the interior decoration of the Arcane Master Guild. Doria and the others weren’t exaggerating when they said Thousand was the most prosperous place in the mortal world before the Cataclysm.
Yonglan and Enesyin, unlike the silver-haired girl, were not as relaxed. They gripped their swords tightly, observing their surroundings.
Unlike the clamor of artillery fire outside, the guild’s interior seemed to be its own world, tranquil and serene.
Jiali tapped the armrest of the sofa with her finger. Her alluring pink eyes sparkled with a peculiar light:
“【Gravity Reinforcement】【Spatial Stability】【Enchantment Restriction】【Material Fortification】【No-Fly Zone】… Heh, most of these Barrier Artifices are focused internally, making this place impenetrable with stability far beyond imagination.”
“Interesting, if I had the time, I’d love to analyze them thoroughly.”
Yonglan could blast open the outer walls with the Bow of Chasing the Distant Hunt, but he wasn’t sure he could cause much damage inside the guild.
With such an exaggerated layering of Barrier Artifices, the interior was an absolutely impregnable fortress.
“The ‘Hako niwa Labyrinth’ was right; the Arcane Masters lived too well.”
Yonglan looked up and said:
“Let’s save the analysis for later. I have a feeling we’ll encounter the true enemies of Thousand here.”
The Arcane Master Guild was the defense core of Thousand; only here would there definitely be operators.
All the way here, they had only encountered defense towers or Autonomous Golems. He almost thought someone was playing a “Kingdom Defense” game here.
It was too selfish; Yonglan also wanted to play.
Thus, the three-person team ascended the circular staircase, step by step, progressing towards the upper levels.
Fortunately, there were no cunning traps set up inside the guild. It was unlikely the Arcane Masters would be so insane as to place traps in their living and working spaces.
After leaving the empty first and second-floor lobby, Yonglan finally discovered non-Construct life forms.
On the stairs leading to the third floor, a figure resembling an “Arcane Master” was looking down at them.
The reason for the “resemblance” was that while the figure wore a robe, it hardly looked human.
It was like a phantom without mass or substance, the lower body of the Arcane Master, shrouded in a hazy purplish-black robe, floated in the air, surrounded by a luminous aura of artifices.
The spectral Arcane Master looked at Yonglan and the others and let out a hoarse, sharp roar:
“Blasphemers! Blasphemers! Shameful rebels!”
He extended his thin, withered hands, and accompanied by the flickering glow of magic, countless homing meteor missiles surged towards them.
“Clang, clang, clang—”
Yonglan did not dodge. He raised his arm, instantly strengthening his armguard with the Soul Forging Technique, blocking all the meteor missiles, and then sprinted forward to the Arcane Master.
Just as he activated the runes on his straight sword, the blade erupting with flames about to bisect the enemy, the figure vanished in a flash.
He scanned his surroundings and found that the enemy had already reached the upper level of the attic.
“Boom, boom, boom—”
At the same time, the entire guild seemed to be spinning.
Space was inverting, gravity was in disarray, Spirit Matter was being siphoned away… it seemed as though numerous artifices and mechanisms were being activated simultaneously.
The internal structure of the guild was almost entirely connected. Winding staircases, various tables, chairs, murals, and statues were all suspended in mid-air.
Besides the first Arcane Master they had seen, several more Arcane Masters were now present, simultaneously channeling spells within the guild.
“Ha, they’ve all shown up, as expected!”
Yonglan’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and he gripped his sword. He wondered what abilities the ancient Arcane Masters possessed, truly looking forward to it.
He used the Soul Forging Technique to conjure a spear and was about to open the battle with a precise throw.
However, he soon couldn’t laugh anymore.
He saw the Arcane Masters continue to flash away, and from a distance, they began to cast protective artifices on themselves.
【Spell Shield】【Ice Barrier】【Damage Reversal】【Slash Counter】【Principle of Refraction】… Ancient artifices, some familiar, some not, were being cast upon them.
These artifices, by modern standards, were no longer considered particularly advanced. Through research by the Xuntian Dynasty, far more convenient and powerful defensive artifices had already been developed.
But the sheer quantity led to a qualitative change. Such a complex layering of artifices was enough to construct a barrier no less formidable than modern top-tier defensive artifices.
The Arcane Masters, having finished their buffs at the fastest speed, began to flash away while simultaneously launching various missiles and spells, weaving a dense curtain of attacks.
This wasn’t all. Elite Constructs embedded in the walls also fell freely, smashing down to form a defensive line to intercept for the Arcane Masters.
If it were only this, it would still be manageable. Yonglan reinforced his armguard with the Soul Forging Technique and directly elbowed the tall Construct in front of him, pushing it away. He lowered his knees slightly and accelerated explosively towards the Arcane Masters.
However, the moment Yonglan got close, the enemy immediately interrupted their spell channeling and flashed away to a distance again.
It was one setback after another. As soon as Yonglan got close to an Arcane Master, they would retreat.
What? Are they that cowardly?
Yonglan was furious. This was the first time he had encountered an enemy that would actively flee. Ever since he started playing Sams, every enemy he had encountered fought to the death and never retreated! Who would keep flashing away like these guys, not even daring to engage head-on?
Have some shame! You should have shame!
“Cowardly acts, I will never tolerate!”
Jiali saw Yonglan’s angry expression and chuckled:
“The ancestors of the ancient era did not undergo the tempering of the Primal King. Unlike us, they didn’t value honorable combat, so their fighting methods were naturally despicable and shameful.”
“I do have a way to force their movements a bit. Help me attract some attention.”
The silver-haired girl concentrated Blood Crystals and, with a breath, conjured a grappling hook gun in her palm, shooting it directly upwards. Jiali’s figure then ascended to the upper levels at extreme speed, bypassing the entire vertical battlefield.
The Arcane Masters found it difficult to intercept and ordered the elite Constructs in the guild to attack her from above.
But once Jiali reached the higher ground, holding a dagger in one hand and a blood blade in the other, she moved with a dance-like grace, piercing and dislodging the joints of the Constructs. Before long, she had disabled these precision weapons.
