1201 Layford
“Mafa Merlin, you have failed to live up to our kindness and you’ll pay the price for it. We’ll take back that Steel City. As a last token of kindness, I’ll overturn your pitiful family after your death.”White’s Extraordinary Power blossomed and completely pressured Lin Yun. Lin Yun only had a faint layer of mana fluctuations covering his body, but it looked like his mana was suppressed and couldn’t be released.
A three-meter-big Corrosive Sphere appeared in front of White, and with a soft wave of his magic staff, the Corrosive Sphere flew towards Lin Yun.
“Mafa Merlin, I’ll only cast this little spell. As long as you can resist it, I’ll take it that fate was on your side and let you go. But you can only complain about your poor luck if you die.”
The Corrosive Sphere was emitting a rich Extraordinary Power aura and carried a terrifying pressure. This was a single-target 9th Tier Spell with terrifying corrosive power that could easily tear through a 9th Rank Archmage’s s.h.i.+eld and make them completely disappear from the surface of Noscent.
Next to Lin Yun, Enderfa’s three faces simultaneously sneered. He had no intention of helping and calmly looked at that terrifying Corrosive Sphere flying over.
Lin Yun had a calm expression and didn’t do anything to protect himself, but once the Corrosive Sphere was three meters away from Lin Yun, it looked like it was caught in a huge invisible hand. It didn’t explode, it also didn’t move, it was just floating in front of Lin Yun.
Two seconds later, the huge pitch-black sphere became dim and translucent. Three seconds later, the huge Corrosive Sphere transformed into pure darkness mana and dissipated.
White was still smiling cruelly, but shock could be seen in his eyes.
‘d.a.m.n, how could the spell matrix collapse? Could it be that something was missing when I cast the spell? That guy is really lucky, this kind of thing hasn’t happened in decades…
‘But no matter, I’ll just get rid of him.’
Just as White was about to make another move, a large amount of runes appeared in front of Lin Yun.
“White, right? As long as you can take on this spell, I will be merciful and won’t kill you.” Lin Yun coldly said.
In an instant, those chaotic law runes combined together and terrifying mana fluctuations burst out of Lin Yun. It was like a fountain of pure mana suddenly burst out with liquid mana.
A three-meter-long pitch-black Wind Blade instantly appeared in front of Lin Yun and spatial rifts kept flickering at the edge of the Wind Blade.
It was even more powerful than before. Not because the spatial rift was unstable, but because the power was too formidable. The spatial rifts were instantly shattered by that terrifying power before opening once again. It looked like pitch-black small lightning bolts were coursing along the pitch-black Wind Blade.
The Wind Blade slowly faded and dissipated. At the same time, horror could be seen on White’s face and all the law runes contained within his Fusion s.h.i.+eld burst to the surface as the pitch-black Wind Blade was already slicing his Fusion s.h.i.+eld.
White was frightened as a crack rapidly appeared on the surface of his s.h.i.+eld. He then unhesitantly shattered a magic scroll and a layer of pure black radiance appeared, transforming White’s body into a pitch-black phantom. The pitch-black phantom was cut in half by the Wind Blade while White appeared a dozen meters away.
White didn’t have time to relax, elemental fluctuations surged and a Four Element Bomb fiercely exploded on his body, sending him flying before he could cast a s.h.i.+eld.
Even while he was still in the air, blue fireb.a.l.l.s dragging long radiant trails ruthlessly fell on his body as a dense spell storm thoroughly submerged him.
A few seconds later, the earth was completely scorched black. Even the heavily reinforced area had turned into charcoal. As for White, he was at the bottom of the newly-created hole. The surface of his body was burnt black and a layer of mana lingered on his skin. Blood was seeping out of his orifices, and if not for his defensive Magic Tool, he would have already been killed.
A Heaven Rank powerhouse was almost killed instantly…
After he fell into the hole, White’s eyes felt empty and blood kept spurting out of his mouth like a flowing river.
White was thoroughly stunned when he saw that completely cracked Magic Tool covering his body. The pain he felt was so sharp that he could no longer feel his body, he was completely numbed. He knew that this was because his body had suffered a heavy injury and his body was protecting him or he would absolutely feel like dying from the pain.
‘Didn’t Sir Layford say that this Mafa Merlin was only a 9th Rank Archmage who was slightly stronger than other 9th Rank Archmages? That he could only burst with the power of a 1st Rank Heaven Mage?
‘Didn’t he say that he was definitely not my opponent? That he wouldn’t dare to defy our Jackson Family? What just happened?! I’m a true Heaven Rank powerhouse! I already established my Demiplane! How could this happen?!
‘That attack must have been done by a 1st Rank Heaven Mage, I must have been hallucinating. Right, it definitely was an hallucination, this is all fake, right, why else would I not feel my body and not feel any pain…’
White lied down in the hole and looked at the sky with a foolish expression. He was completely stunned and kept spitting blood mixed with pieces of his lungs. But White didn’t take it seriously, he convinced himself that this was an illusion.
Lin Yun stopped after his burst attack, he kept his word: as long as White survived his attack, Lin Yun wouldn’t kill him and would just leave him half-dead.
In the sky, Raphael’s battle also headed towards its conclusion. Raphael had advanced to the Heaven Rank in the Raging Flame Plane and reached the level of an old Heaven Rank powerhouse straight away without needing the adaptation process.
Moreover, he had won a Hurricane Core Gem in the bet with the Hardward Family, and after merging that gem with his Demiplane, Raphael’s strength had increased once again. The speed at which his Demiplane evolved had greatly sped up. The path to the 2nd Rank was almost completely paved and he only needed time to tread that path.
That Heaven Mage of the Jackson Family was at a complete disadvantage. Layford had been getting ready to act until he noticed that the fight on the ground had ended in a matter of seconds. He also saw White lying half-dead in a hole with his hair completely burnt, 90% of his skin burnt black, and the right side of his chest caved in.
Layford was suddenly alarmed and he promptly flew to the hole. He took a few healing medicines from hid Spatial Ring and even tore a Heal magic scroll.
Milky white light sprinkled down and enveloped White’s body. The burns on White’s body rapidly dissipated and new tender skin kept growing.
As he got better, White felt the terrible pain covering his entire body and instinctively struggled while letting out a blood-curdling scream. He spurted out even more blood, and after spurting out a big mouthful, his eyes lost focus and his body unconsciously twitched a few times before he became motionless.
“White, sh*t, are you okay?! What happened?”
Layford was shocked and tore three more Heal magic scrolls before pouring a bottle of Life Potion in White’s mouth, but White still looked as if he was dead.
His body slowly recovered and his life was no longer in danger, but White still didn’t regain consciousness, he was in a coma.
Shock could be seen in Layford’s eyes. He used a Magic Tool to protect White and then walked out of the hole before sharply glaring at Lin Yun.
‘Is this d.a.m.ned guy really an Archmage?
‘How could this be?! How is it possible to exert such formidable power before advancing to the Heaven Rank, without having completed the Extraordinary transformation and grasping Extraordinary power?!
‘Sh*t, what kind of information did the intelligence team gather? This guy is far stronger than just being on par with a 1st Rank Heaven Mage. He isn’t just able to draw a tie with a 1st Rank Heaven Mage, he can even kill one!
‘d.a.m.n, an Archmage actually crossed the boundary between ordinary and extraordinary, he is powerful enough to kill a 1st Rank Heaven Mage. It could even be said that almost all 1st Rank Heaven Mages might not be his match.
‘White isn’t an ordinary 1st Rank Heaven Mage, he was on the verge of becoming a 2nd Rank Heaven Mage, yet, Mafa Merlin only needed a few seconds to take care of him. He is definitely on par with a 2nd Rank Heaven Mage.
‘Crossing the limit of mortals and skipping a rank to deal with Heaven Rank powerhouses, how could this kind of thing be possible…’
Layford’s expression was as cold as the coldest winter, but the gleam in his eyes couldn’t hide the horror in his mind. If not for being on the scene, Layford would have never believed this.
After all, being able to display the power of the Heaven Rank and taking care of a Heaven Mage were two completely different things.
“Mafa Merlin, right? Good, very good. You have successfully angered me, you have successfully infuriated our Jackson Family.
“Of those who infuriated the Jackson Family, only the Demons who fled to the Abyss are still alive. Not a single one was able to survive in Noscent.
“We were kind out of pity, but you failed to live up to it. You gave up on survival, and now, your death will be miserable. And it’s not just you, your Merlin Family will also suffer the retaliation of our Jackson Family.
“All the Merlins in the Raging Flame Plane will die and we will take over everything.”
Layford took out his staff and a shadow-like layer covered the surroundings. The light slowly dissipated and only Layford remained in the darkness. Countless voices seemed to be whispering malicious and evil curses amidst the darkness.
Those whispers became even more powerful in less than two seconds. It felt as if countless sinister Devils were hidden in the darkness, issuing malicious curses like annoying flies buzzing around Lin Yun’s ears.
Lin Yun suddenly felt dizzy, his mind became weary and it felt as if heavy objects were attached to his eyelids. He looked like someone that hadn’t slept for several days.
Lin Yun instantly cast three Mind Defenses before feeling a little bit clear-headed. He then rapidly chanted an incantation and cast a Soulwake Spell and a Sharp Mind before he finally recovered his normal state of mind.
After recovering, he saw a dozen Corrosive Spheres rus.h.i.+ng towards him. Those Corrosive Spheres looked like black mud pouring down onto his Law Runic s.h.i.+eld. The numerous law runes jumped out and resisted the Corrosive Spheres’ powerful corrosive power.
A large amount of mana blossomed and flames rapidly rose up as pure heat dispersed the surrounding darkness. The dark Corrosive Spheres submerging him were dissipated by the large amount of flames and the terrifying heat.
On the other side, Layford was already chanting an incantation.
Those annoying buzzing whispers echoed once again, apparently mixed with Devils’ shrieks and savage laughters.
Those voices’ penetrating power was quite formidable. Even with the added Mind Defenses and a Silent Boundary, Lin Yun couldn’t completely resist and the whispers directly echoed in his ears. These alluring voices slowly started whispering in his mind.
“Devil’s Whispers, a dark curse….”
Lin Yun’s expression turned unsightly. He hadn’t expected Layford to actually be a dark curse mage, and one that knew Devil’s Whispers. This kind of voice wasn’t just a voice, it could pierce through a Silent Boundary and the incantation was in the Devils’ Infernal Language.
According to the legends, once someone was marked by a Greater Devil of h.e.l.l, their whispers could cross through countless s.p.a.ces to echo in the marked’s ears. A Death Curse could even cross planes.
What was most troublesome about dark curse mages was that unless one could use some power countering them, they would be unable to resist. Mind Defenses and Silent Boundaries could only offset a part of the power.
The previous Eternal Rest Curse could greatly reduce a mage’s thinking speed, and if they were unable to resist, their thought process would be bogged down while their mind and body would sink into an eternal rest. Unless a Heaven Rank holy light priest personally removed that curse, they would keep sleeping until the world’s destruction.
And the current curse was a Mana Exhaustion Curse. His mana would be continuously exhausted and his consumption speed would increase between three to ten times. It also couldn’t be resisted.
Lin Yun had the support of the Natural Demiplane so he didn’t care about this curse, Layford Mana Exhaustion Curse couldn’t influence the Natural Demiplane’s mana. But who knew what that guy had up his sleeves.
Ordinary curses weren’t too bad, but dark curses released from Devil’s Whispers couldn’t be defended against and the effects could only be forcibly resisted.
In an instant, the Purple Dragon’s shadow flew out of the Draconic Staff and the Crystal Phoenix came out of the Truth Chapter. The evil-shattering light spread out and greatly weakened Layford’s whispering curses.
Layford only grasped darkness mana, not the power of Devils. Thus, the Truth Chapter couldn’t completely restrain him, it could only weaken him.
Enderfa’s three faces had horrified expression, dark curse mages were existences that could get rid of Magic Tool Incarnations. Their curses could sever the connection between a Magic Tool and an Incarnation, possibly causing the Incarnation’s death.
After all, a Magic Tool Incarnation wouldn’t have the slightest defense against the curses unless they were hiding inside their Magic Tool.
Syudos also appeared to help. Lin Yun used all of his strength aside from the Scales’ shadow.
Elemental storm, flood of flames, spell storm, law runic spells, everything was used to pressure Layford.
Layford’s body was hidden in the darkness. The endless darkness was his protection, which kept growing even with all the spells tearing at it.
The fierce storms tore through more than half of Layford’s darkness protection and faintly revealed Layford’s body.
But Lin Yun suddenly felt the Devil’s Whispers echoing in his ears once again. He even faintly felt like a huge hand was grabbing something within his chest.
Lin Yun instantly became deathly pale and a third of his hair became as white as snow. His glossy skin darkened and wrinkles already appeared on his skin.
As for Enderfa, he let out a blood-curdling shriek as his three faces distorted and could no longer condense.
“d.a.m.n b*stard, Sacrifice Life Curse. That moron actually signed a pact with a Devil… No, a Greater Devil! That guy wants to sacrifice all our vitality! Merlin, hurry up and do something or we will die…”
Lin Yun’s expression turned cold. His young twenty-year-old appearance was rapidly aging to that of a middle-aged fifty-years-old man.
The Magic Array was operating at full capacity and even the entire Demiplane’s mana started fluctuating. The shadow of a pa.s.sage faintly appeared behind Lin Yun as a huge amount of pure mana rushed into Lin Yun’s body as if it was erupting.
Four Element Bombs kept condensing and over twenty of them appeared within a second, and even more were being condensed as the numerous Four Element Bombs flew into the s.p.a.ce of darkness.
The violent power, combined with Enderfa’s and Syudos’, forcibly tore the darkness apart.