Chapter 137: Why are you so skilled?
Although Shady noticed that Roger’s magical power was abnormal, the order had been given. His well-trained elite troops, driven by muscle memory from repeated drills, attempted to capture Dio. The Dawn Corps and the Sea Kingdom forces joined forces, forming a pincer movement against Roger.
Roger, facing a coordinated assault from multiple enemies, showed no panic. He first cast an enhanced Mirror Image spell on himself. Ten Diodes appeared, occupying different positions on the battlefield. With synchronized movements, they cast defensive spells and buffs on themselves before unleashing a magical barrage on the advancing enemies.
The Empress of Eternal Night not only lent Roger immense magical power but also bestowed upon him formidable mastery, allowing him to cast most spells instantly. Furthermore, the power of these spells was several times that of a normal legendary mage. For instance, this Mirror Image spell created nine duplicates, each with 70% of the original’s combat power, capable of withstanding twice the damage. These duplicates could also cast shields and cast supportive spells to increase their evasion and luck.
However, for a typical mage, even at the legendary level, casting ten spells simultaneously would quickly drain their mana, rendering such combat power somewhat impractical. A wizard’s spells were usually reserved for critical moments, with daily output relying on staves, crossbows, and a sufficient number of hired combat specialists.
But the Empress of Eternal Night was an anomaly among mages, possessing an almost cheat-level amount of mana. Roger, wielding the Empress’s power, had no worries about running out of mana. After all, he was connected to an entire ocean! The Demon Emperor’s Command restricted the flow, allowing only 30% of the Empress’s maximum output, but it didn’t affect his sustained combat ability. Roger could simply spam spells without concern. Therefore, this highly effective Mirror Image spell wasn’t a gimmick but rather a complete liberation of Roger’s combat potential, maximizing his output!
A sky full of fireballs, lightning, acid, and dark energy… As the ten Diodes maneuvered, cast spells, and unleashed their attacks in mid-air, the sky above Mysteries City erupted in a fiery spectacle. Roger single-handedly suppressed the Dawn Corps’ firepower! Despite being the aggressor and having a numerical advantage, the combatants of the Dawn Corps and the Sea Kingdom felt as if they were the ones surrounded by him.
Was this something a human could do? “Hey, brother, take it easy!” “Vice-captain, say something!” Thirty-four seconds into the battle, the Dawn Corps suffered its first casualty. Roger then tore open a gap in their front line, which only widened, leading to a rapid increase in deaths and incapacitated personnel.
Shady had anticipated Roger to be an advanced mage at most, her primary concern being Dio’s escape routes. Thus, she and her troops were lightly armored for pursuit. Her spellcasters had prepared a plethora of detection, search, and perception spells to ensure the target couldn’t escape. However, what they expected to be a pursuit had devolved into a frontal assault from the outset, catching them off guard.
Dio, who was seemingly alone, showed no intention of fleeing, instead engaging them directly in a magical duel! A one-vs-hundred battle, where did he get the courage? Ah, the Empress, in that case, we apologize for interrupting… even more tragically and despairingly, the side with superior numbers was losing the battle. Their melee combatants couldn’t even get close to Roger! Their meticulous preparations and well-planned ambush had been shattered by a single advanced mage, reducing them to scattered units! The thought alone was utterly mocking!
Compared to the Empress of Eternal Night’s unrestrained outpouring of magic and overwhelming saturation coverage, which crushed enemies before they could even breathe, Roger’s casting frequency and intensity were far from hers. However, in terms of magical control and combination effects, Roger’s combo execution, driven by muscle memory, was even more proficient than that of the cheating Empress. With skillful linkages and ten coordinated firepower points, they disabled nearly a third of the enemy’s combat strength in a single round.
Of course, after the initial shock, the enemy’s legendary powerhouses unleashed their legendary skills, reaching Roger’s side through various means and unleashing terrifying damage. Three of his duplicates were instantly obliterated, and two were locked in close combat. However, only the duplicates were destroyed; Roger’s main body, with luck, evaded the brunt of the attack, continued to reposition, and kept up the offensive!
“Damn it! This guy is not right!” Even Shady, who had traveled across multiple dimensions, was startled by Roger’s instantaneous burst of power. By her estimation, this was the level of the Empress of Eternal Night! Shady decisively chose to join the fray. At this rate, it wasn’t a question of whether Dio would receive reinforcements but whether her own forces would be wiped out.
As a mage beyond the legendary level, Shady’s entry significantly altered the course of the battle. She countered most of Roger’s spells, safeguarding her spellcasters who were being targeted by Roger and giving them a chance to breathe and retaliate. With openings appearing in the encirclement, the Dawn Corps and Sea Kingdom forces launched their counterattacks. Roger’s two damaged duplicates were the first to fall, and his main body was subsequently locked onto by the enemy.
However, his response was equally simple: he cast another enhanced Mirror Image spell on himself. A mature player, as long as the boss did not have a targeted counter to their current strategy, would not rush to change tactics. He would continue to pressure the enemy’s trump cards with this skill set. Roger’s seemingly wild and arrogant attacks were delivered with a calm mind, constantly wary of the Dawn Corps’ potential ace in the hole, with at least half his attention focused on her.
“*&*%@#￥!” Seeing the number of Diodes in the sky suddenly surge to fourteen, Shady, the Dawn Corps, and the Sea Kingdom erupted in curses in their native tongues. Was this guy playing unfairly? However, their predicament was that area-of-effect attacks had little effect on Roger’s protective spells. Targeted attacks, if the real body couldn’t be identified, would only destroy duplicates and likely wouldn’t keep up with the enemy’s replenishment speed, proving to be a complete waste of time and magic! This Dio was not only powerful but also infuriatingly slippery; they had been clashing for so long without even touching his true form. Shady couldn’t help but look at her target with newfound respect. At Roger’s age, even with his talent, he shouldn’t possess such skilled combat techniques alongside this level of magical power. Did his year have more hours than others? Didn’t training magical techniques require mana and time?
Shady’s magical power level was at least one-tenth that of the Empress of Eternal Night, and her combat skills were not inferior. This Dawn Corps instructor was by no means a mere bookworm spellcaster. However, Roger possessed 30% of the Empress of Eternal Night’s mana, and his combat skills were the culmination of countless accumulated experiences from high-level players, honed through countless hours in various games. In terms of sheer combat experience and unorthodox fighting methods, a player who could use the Save and Load Method to test scenarios had a significant advantage over a native mage like Shady, who had only one life. Shady’s strength lay in her magic, which she had cultivated painstakingly, mastering each spell with greater nuance. Roger’s abilities were acquired out of thin air, but players were accustomed to such a combat style, focusing on executing combos. Who would dare to compete with this mentor in terms of individual spell power?
Realizing this approach was unsustainable, Shady took out an ancient, time-worn magic scroll and tore it open with visible pain. The complex magical script reflected in her eyes, and the world around her shimmered with magical auras of varying colors based on their intensity. The scroll’s purpose was to enhance her perception to an extreme degree for a short period, allowing her to distinguish up to a billion colors. This would enable her to accurately pinpoint the intensity of the enemy’s magic and identify Dio’s true form!
Unfortunately, Roger had been wary of her all along and noticed the anomaly in Shady’s eyes. “Biu biu biu.” Before Shady could pinpoint Roger’s location and strike, three gusts of wind appeared. Roger summoned three Wind Element Lords, obscuring Shady’s vision and launching an assault on her. He had originally intended to summon only one, but this casting triggered his passive skill, Multiple Spellcasting. The three Wind Element Lords whipped up a tempest, completely blocking Shady’s view and separating her from her subordinates.
Unable to see Roger, her precious magic scroll became useless. Hearing the screams from nearby, she knew Roger had re-established his control over her subordinates and was engaged in a one-sided slaughter. The reinforcements from the Sea Kingdom were already contemplating retreat, but the spatial lockdown in the vicinity had become their obstacle. “Why are you so skilled!” Shady gritted her teeth in anger. “Envious? It was bought with my life!” Roger responded with a cold laugh. A game character’s life was still a life, and his skills were accumulated through countless deaths, so it was indeed true!
The nature of the battle thus shifted. The critical point became whether Shady could destroy the three Wind Element Lords first or if Roger could eliminate her subordinates. “Attack the Left Chancellor first!” An idea flashed through Shady’s mind, and she ordered her subordinates to feign an attack on the Left Chancellor to distract Roger. The Sea Kingdom experts were the first to respond, but they couldn’t find Marguerite’s figure, only to realize: “Damn, how did that half-blood devil run so fast!”
That little fan was clever, not the kind of foolish woman who would tag along with a burden. Recognizing Dio’s combat power reminiscent of Her Majesty, and realizing her own strength would only be a hinderance, she immediately entered a game of cat and mouse. Because she had created distance earlier, even the Sea Kingdom legends had room to maneuver while searching for her, relieving Roger of the need to be distracted. Meanwhile, the city defense forces and the Night Watch were working outside, attempting to break through the spatial blockade imposed by the Dawn Corps.
Shady was suddenly filled with despair. Roger single-handedly surrounded the elite forces of the Dawn Corps and the Sea Kingdom, Marguerite was playing hide-and-seek to the fullest, and the defending forces of Mysteries City had already arrived. To be fair, the forces deployed by the Dawn Corps against Dio were indeed luxurious, even without Shady, it would have been enough to eliminate the headquarters of the city defense: Over ten veteran legends from the Veronica Dynasty, nearly half of them spellcasters. Eight secret guards trained through various methods by the Dawn Corps, using secret arts to stimulate their potential, with combat roles comparable in stats. The Sea Kingdom Crown Prince’s accumulated resources also included five legends present. Combined, over twenty legendary powerhouses instantly dismantled Marguerite’s escorts, proving their combat effectiveness.
Shady had always been cautious, deeply understanding the principle of even a lion exerting all its strength to catch a rabbit, and certainly did not underestimate her enemy. “Your Highness, my abilities are limited; I truly cannot do more!” The Dawn Corps was, after all, merely a terrorist organization under the guise of national restoration. The powerful individuals before Roger represented the absolute limit of what Shady could mobilize. She even risked exposure and pursuit by the empire, personally intervening to minimize variables. Who would have thought that a variable would still appear, and it wasn’t someone else, but Dio himself. If he were merely an “advanced mage” with limited escort forces, there would be no hope of a comeback. She wouldn’t even have time to commit suicide before being taken by her and presented to Naliner. Unfortunately, Shady could not have predicted the Empress of Eternal Night’s rapid progress, reaching a point where she could easily break through divine means and transmit mana across planes. Furthermore, their intelligence on the Dawn Corps was thorough.
“I can only go all out!” Determination flashed across Shady’s face, and immense magical power surged into her, manifesting as countless magical patterns on her body. The white gauze dress adorned with numerous flowers appeared, and she wielded a staff made of冥骨鹿角, emitting a powerful gust of wind. Her true trump card: she was actually a battlemage!
Wielding her staff with impressive speed, she broke through the defense line formed by the three Wind Element Lords within ten seconds through close-quarters combat. The lingering effect of the ancient magic scroll allowed her to easily discern Roger’s real body, and she charged directly at him. “Have we finally reached this stage?” Roger, upon seeing Shady’s battlemage form and her greatly increased combat power, showed no surprise but rather a sense of relief. They had reached such a critical juncture, and the Dawn Corps’ cunning saint still hadn’t revealed any skills beyond what was shown in the game; it seemed her limit was here. In that case, there was nothing to fear!
Roger’s true form was exposed, but he remained unfazed. He immediately summoned the Dream Shield and actively moved closer to the Dawn Corps instructor. He cast large-area direct damage spells at his own feet. The Dawn Corps instructor, in this state, possessed high attack speed and evasion, but her main body was still a mage with a relatively low defense. Therefore, area-of-effect attacks that couldn’t be dodged were most effective against her. The defense of the Dream Shield had been tested and could withstand the Dawn Corps instructor for several minutes. However, Roger’s area-of-effect attacks centered on himself were something Shady could not endure!
Shady wanted to capture Roger, and Roger also wanted to capture her alive to interrogate her about the Seven Gods. He had been waiting for her to make the first move, wary of her hidden trump cards! The world of magic was incredibly wondrous; an enemy beyond the legendary level could, with just one mistake, create a miracle of a comeback. But upon entering the battlemage state, Shady’s combat power increased significantly, but her spellcasting ability greatly decreased. The probability of her using strange magic to turn the tide naturally plummeted. In game terms, Shady in this state had increased panel stats but had removed those messy mechanics, making her easier to deal with. With the Empress of Eternal Night’s mana support, Roger was also a numerical monster!
The Dream Shield and a continuous stream of magical output… Shady, upon reaching Roger and finding her attacks ineffective, suddenly recalled the intelligence she had been forced to read countless times. She exclaimed in horror, “You are actually Roger…” “You even know that?” Roger was greatly surprised. So the Dawn Corps instructor wasn’t after Dio but was actually here for him! In that case, he couldn’t let her go! “It seems you already knew about my actions… Damn it, retreat!”
In reality, Shady’s realization was not what Roger assumed. She meant that Roger was the magic puppet created by the Empress of Eternal Night, deliberately leaving openings as bait… But even as a magic puppet, Roger’s mana was extraordinarily impressive. Why did the empire always produce such monstrous individuals? Was destiny actually on their side? Shady prepared to retreat, but Roger leaped above Shady’s head and activated the active form of the Dream Shield. With a boom! In his mind, he became a massive tower shield, deeply plunged into the ground! Shady, beneath him, was thus stomped into the ground by Roger, and both lost their mobility.
Utilizing the Dream Shield’s active effect’s drawback of immobility, Roger turned a disadvantage into an advantage, pinning Shady in place and preventing her escape! As long as Shady could not break through his mental power shield with increased defenses, she would remain stuck in the ground. Simultaneously, the spatial lockdown of the Dawn Corps was forcibly broken from the outside.
