Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Argus gaped at the sharp bolt; he realized he couldn’t even cry if he wanted. He couldn’t imagine how a dignified level-16 Archmage like him could end up so miserable. If he could, he would rather not have come to the Fire Plume Ridge by himself, nor send someone to keep watch on the Silver Hand camp.
Unfortunately, it was too late to say anything…
Argus was a piece of meat on their chopping board at present; the only thing he could do was to look pitifully at the fellow resurrected from death, hoping that the latter could be gentler with his actions later.
Lin Li held the vampire fang in his hand, and looked at Argus with ill-intentioned eyes while offering a few hypocritical words of comfort. “Relax, it won’t hurt much…”
“…” Such a look—like that of a wolf staring at a sheep—made Argus’ hair stand on ends.
“Please believe me, it’s just like a mosquito bite!” Lin Li’s smile was very light, but there was a violent shake of his wrist, followed by a spatter of blood; the sharp bolt was plunged deep into Argus’ back.
“Ah!” Argus released a feeble scream, but it lasted only for a moment, for the sound of the earth shaking covered it up again.
The fellow who came back to life did not lie—it was really like a mosquito’s bite. Argus did not feel any pain at all; but, what it brought him was fear more unbearable than excruciating pain. When the bolt was plunged into his back, he could feel his back go numb as if he had just been bitten by a venomous snake.
At the same time, the mana that he took pride in was rapidly leaking along with this numbness…
The horrifying rate of loss was like the flood that had opened the floodgates, surging outward like a torrential tide. Argus lay prone on the ground; his wickedly handsome face turned pale with terror. For a mage, the mana was always the most precious thing. If he had lost the mana that he took pride in, what was the difference between him and a cripple?
In face of such a tremendous fear, Argus suddenly gained a burst of energy. He began to struggle desperately; but, how was he going to compete against Sean in his current state? Almost as soon as he moved, he was stepped on his head by Sean’s foot, and he jumped like a lizard having its tail stepped on.
Hot mud was stuffed into his mouth, scalding a few blisters in it. However, under the foot of the freak black bear, Argus could not even resist at all. He could only beat the ground desperately to protest against the shameless abuse of the two guys.
“Be quiet, Mr Argus. It’s going to be over soon.” The mageweath on the vampire fang was shimmering with a faint blue light. The complex lines on the Mass Energy Ward reflected a glittering translucency under this faint blue light. Plumes of visible halo flowed slowly along the magic circuit. Three magic nodes ran continually, transforming the mana from Argus’ body into energy that could be absorbed by the Mass Energy Ward.
And this energy, through the Mass Energy Ward, was constantly strengthening the Divinity Metal on the vampire fang…
Lin Li gently patted Argus on the head, but his eyes were fixed on the complex yet perceivable transformation process. This small bolt was of extraordinary significance to Lin Li—not only because of the use of the Divinity Metal, but also because it was the first piece of equipment he’d designed after he came to Anril.
Even for Lin Li, this was a completely new attempt.
He did not use any ready-made blueprints, nor imitate any known equipment. It was a completely independent design. Everything was only built on theoretical knowledge. Even Lin Li was not sure whether the bolt—made from a vampire fang and Divinity Metal—would really be able to achieve the effect he desired…
The answer came out very soon.
Argus, who was lying on the ground, was getting weaker by the moment. Lin Li could clearly feel that Argus was losing his mana at an alarming speed. The level-16 Archmage, who had just overwhelmed Lin Li with his strength and rendered him powerless, had fallen from the realm of an Archmage.
And, all this happened in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps in less than a minute, the level-16 Archmage would be sucked into a complete scrap.
The fang of a high-level Vampire was no joke.
“Mr Felic, what’s wrong with him? How…” Sean was a level-10 warrior at present. He was far more sensitive to changes in strength than when he’d first come to Alanna. Moreover, the current Argus was a completely different man compared to a while ago. Even if Sean was slow, he could also sense something from it.
“This question, eh… it’s very complicated.” Lin Li scratched his head. For a moment, he really didn’t know how to explain it to Sean.
The process was truly too complicated…
It looked simple—it was a mere plunge of the vampire fang, and Argus became a scrapped man. However, the principle behind it could not be covered in two or three words.
This was definitely impossible in the past.
Although the fangs of high-level Vampires were powerful, they were not powerful to such a sick extent. Otherwise, the Vampire clan would be invincible long ago. Be it the Dragon or the Lich clan, they could just suck them dry in one go. Wouldn’t they rebel against the Heaven, then?
The real reason, in fact, was still because of the fat beating Sean had delivered a while ago.
A level-16 Archmage was beaten into a pulp by a level-10 warrior—this was a plain humiliation. Even if Argus had a strong mind, he could not stand such a brutal mortification. At this moment, Argus was in his most vulnerable state, both physically and mentally. In particular, he had almost completely given up on the control of his mana.
And at this point in time, Lin Li had plunged the bolt into his body.
The power of the vampire fang, coupled with the channeling of the Mass Energy Ward, ultimately produced this amazing result.
To be honest, Lin Li was hesitant at the beginning.
After all, Argus was a level-16 Archmage. In case this bolt failed to produce the desired effect, but instead gave him a chance to fight for a breathing space, it would be a big problem for Lin Li.
At that time, Lin Li even thought of killing him off and being rid of this menace.
But, after a short hesitation, Lin Li decided to take the risk.
Lin Li was afraid of death, so the most intolerable thing for him was someone threatening him with his own life. In order to continue living, he could do many things that others could not do.
Since the Marathon Family could send the first Argus, then they could send the second, third or even to the nth Argus. Lin Li disliked sitting and waiting for death, nor did he like to simply be crushed to death, so he had to fight back. He had to grasp more chips in his hand, and Argus was undoubtedly the most powerful of these chips.
Being able to hang around Wilhelm’s nephew and at the same time act as Matthias’ magic instructor… no matter from which aspect, it seemed like his position in the Marathon Family would not be too low.
At such a delicate time, to be able to gather as much information as possible was certainly what Lin Li needed the most now. Facing a giant like the Marathon Family, the more he knew, the greater his hopes for survival would be.
Hence, Lin Li chose to risk it.
A living Argus was much more valuable than a dead Argus.
The blue light flowing on the bolt made Lin Li heave a strong sigh of relief. This was very crucial for him. In the face of a powerless Argus, Lin Li had countless ways to deal with him. Even if he were a mute, Lin Li had the confidence that he could get Argus to tell him what he wanted to hear. A certain pharmaceutics guru was really good at doing this kind of thing…
The blue light glowed brighter and brighter. As he watched the level-16 Archmage being left with strength around that of level-10, he abruptly pulled out the bolt.
“Sean, do you still remember the way?”
“Yes.” Sean nodded his head, looking very sure.
“Very well, you take this fellow with you. Let’s go out first.” Lin Li took a bottle of Recovery Potion from his pocket. He grasped Argus’ mouth and poured half of the bottle down. Then, he poured the remaining half on the wound on his back, and helped him stop the bleeding.
“Okay.” Sean nodded his head, and reached out to lift Argus up. The Argus at present was nothing like a level-16 Archmage. His magic strength had fallen below level-10, and his body was bruised all over. Faced with these two guys, he had totally resigned himself to his fate. He was without even the slightest hint of resistance as Sean held him in his arms. He stared blankly at the ceiling with a deadened expression.
“Boom!” However, just then, there was another loud blast outside the cave.
And then, Lin Li seemed to see ripples circle in the gently flowing lava before them.
At first, it looked like ripples caused by stones; but, as the ripples spread, the movements in the lava grew bigger and bigger. After that loud noise, the lava was even making gurgling sounds as it bubbled. Subsequently, the ground broke, and bits of lava splashed up, making sizzling sounds when it fell on the hot ground.
Amid the earth-shaking scene akin to the end of the world, the lava began to simmer.
“F*ck, damn it!” This spectacular scene fell into Lin Li’s eyes, and immediately gave rise to an ominous feeling.
If he remembered correctly, there was a type of creature called the Ore Devouring Beast that liked to make its appearance in this way…
“Run!” Lin Li yelled. He pulled Sean with him as he planned to leave this place.
But as soon as he moved, he saw the splattering of a monstrous firelight. A lump of lava spurted out, blocking the way of the two men like a wall of fire. An extremely striking red shadow was in the midst of that lump of lava…
