Chapter 111: The State of Gibraltar
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Link was shocked to see an undead breaking past his offensive barrage of spells. A ripple of doubt appeared on his usually calm demeanor. Spellcasting required a lot of concentration. Constructing the complex magic formation, converging elemental energy and locking down a target were steps that had to be executed to perfection.
Link was already at his limit by firing a Glass Orb spell every 0.5 seconds. To be able to fire his attacks in an orderly manner under such circumstances was extremely difficult and unthinkable even to most Magicians. Staying calm was key to achieving success in such situations. If Link was unable to maintain his inner peace, it would reflect immediately on his magic, messing up the tempo of his assault.
Link's Glass Orbs seemed to be firing in a random pattern only because of its fast speed. In actual fact, Link was firing them in a clockwise manner, constantly bombarding the undead and preventing them from crossing the boundary which ensured his safety. However, in the most recent assault, an undead managed to slip through the cracks. If Link were to remedy his mistake, the tempo of his assault would slowly begin to disintegrate.
As a result, more and more mistakes would appear and eventually result in a complete collapse of his spellcasting system. Link might even be lethally damaged by the rebound of his magic if that really happened. Link's battle experience hence allowed him to make the correct decision. He maintained the tempo of his assault and ignored the undead Warrior who slipped through his magic bombardment.
The glass orbs continued firing off from Link's staff at a fast pace similar to drops of rainwater traveling parallel to the ground, preventing the other undead Warriors from making it past the boundary.
As for the undead warrior who managed to escape, Link waited patiently until it was right beside him, before giving it a violent kick on the knee. These undead Warriors were weak, probably only around the strength of a Level-2 Warrior. It also did not expect a Magician to attack using a physical move, and took the full impact of the hit.
Link still had the buff of Jaguar's Agility and possessed unusual strength. He shattered the kneecap of the undead with one hit, causing it to fall helplessly to the ground. However, the undead did not give up. It flailed around on the ice platform and managed to get a slash on Link's thigh. It was an extremely deep cut which revealed the bones underneath.
A sharp pain shot through Link's body which affected his concentration. The violent magic assault took a temporary hiatus which gave the undead an opening to get closer to Herrera.
However, in the next moment, the violent wave of glass orb attacks resumed, and rose to an even higher frequency than before, forcibly pushing back the undead for another 1.5 feet. Link gritted his teeth and ignored the pain from his wound. This time, he included the undead who slipped through the previous wave of attacks into his calculations and fired a glass orb through his brain, effectively remedying his mistake.
Three seconds remaining.
To an ordinary human, three seconds might not even be enough to complete a sentence. However, Link could fire at least 45 glass orbs in this duration.
To Link, it was a painfully long time.
The siege of the undead became fiercer than before, while Link was now struggling with a splitting headache and a burning body. After a long period of concentration and Mana consumption, Link's body was starting to feel exhausted. He was constantly out of breath and barely had enough oxygen to sustain his energy consumption.
He was nearly at his limit.
"One, two, three…" Link subconsciously counted the number of glass orbs he fired. He had no idea when he was going to lose consciousness and was relying on his willpower to hang on.
Link's vision had completely blurred. However, at the corner of his eye, he noticed a huge shadow advancing towards the ice platform. It was the hydra that was forced to retreat! Now that it was fully revitalized, it had once again picked Link as its target.
"You still dare to come over?"
Link sneered and fired a whistle in the midst of his routine, risking his life by ignoring the tempo of his assault.
Shhhh! With a sharp piercing screech, the whistle accurately pierced the hydra's wound.
The hydra grunted in pain and stared at Link in disbelief. It once again stopped in its tracks. However, the whistle spell interrupted Link's original battle tempo, causing the undead to narrow the distance between them to merely three feet apart. It would not be long before Link was in range of their physical attacks.
"The time is up!" Link felt a huge surge of energy behind him. He knew that Herrera had completed channeling her Level-6 spell, Edge of Zenith.
Link heaved a sigh of relief. This knowledge seemed to revitalize him with energy, allowing him to resume his magic bombardment to its original state, pushing back the undead once again. Link had cast the Glass Orb spell so many times that it was almost second nature to him. He could already fire them instinctively without focusing much on the formation of magic structure and accumulation of elemental energy.
"It seems like the time I need to construct the magic formation of the Glass Orb spell is now negligible. Did I somehow enter the State of Gibraltar?" Link laughed.
The State of Gibraltar was a special Supreme Magic Skill that referred to a state of the soul after casting the same spell for a long time at an extremely fast pace. It was said that the soul would be integrated into the spell and form a soul magic formation, a rare phenomenon that was rarely seen.
A spell formation appearing in a soul would remove the need to construct any form of magic formation, effectively reducing spellcasting time. Coupled with the Domingo Crystal, Link could almost fire a glass orb instantaneously. At that moment, Herrera rose from her position.
Her body emitted a brilliant glow comparable to that of the sun before condensing into a 150 feet long sword of light. The sword was crystal clear with blinding light emanating from its blade. It swung towards Inosa much like a god passing judgment on a ferocious beast. Without a doubt, Inosa's body was completely severed.
At that moment, Link 's Mana Points were also completely depleted, putting a stop to his State of Gibraltar and naturally, his bombardment of glass orbs. This was the chance the group of undead had been waiting for. They rushed desperately forward, the nearest one already making contact with Link's body.
As Link was about to get overwhelmed by the horde of undead, Herrera's gentle voice rang through the atmosphere, "Sacred Sanctuary!"
Sacred Sanctuary
Level-4 Defensive Spell
Effect: Creates a powerful nine-foot light barrier, extremely effective against the dark forces.
(Note: Angel of Light specific spell)
A glorious light emerged and enveloped Link in a blinding glow. The group of undead were all forced to retreat.
Link was safe.
He took a deep breath and sat down on the ice platform, wiping the sweat from his forehead. In the last 20 seconds, he fired 15 glass orbs per second on average, killing near 300 undead in total.
His Mana Points were now completely depleted. If Herrera were to channel her magic for a few more seconds, he would have had to use the 100 Omni Points he kept as a triumph card.
Herrera entered the protection of the Sacred Sanctuary and immediately rushed towards Link, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine, just that I am out of Mana. What about you?" Link sighed. He still had a splitting headache, but it was a trifling matter compared to the depletion of his Mana Points.
Herrera also had a pained expression, "Mine as well. I can at most cast one more Level-4 spell."
One Level-4 spell had a maximum offensive power of a Flame Blast spell. If it was cast at the right time, it could probably take out 100 undead Warriors, provided that they were clustered tightly together. However, they still had at least 600 undead Warriors circling them at this point, all fairly dispersed.
"It seems like we have to deal with the Necromancer another day." Herrera was disappointed.
The unexpected appearance of Inosa drained them of their Mana. In their current state, even if they could find a way to enter the Mage Tower, they would not make it out alive. Since the chances were slim, there was no reason for them to continue. The 100 Omni Points could be used to help them escape from their predicament.
In the Black Mage Tower.
…
Shade heaved a sigh of relief. Before the battle began, he never expected the two Magicians to put up such strong resistance. He thought he would simply win by a landslide.
In the end, he lost Inosa, his three strongest undead Warriors, and over 300 ordinary undead Warriors. The incandescent Edge of Zenith, and the impossibly fast spellcasting struck fear into his heart. If he had faced them head on, he would have had no chance of winning.
"To attain this amount of strength at such a tender age. What a waste that I have to kill them." Shade shook his head in pity. Despite some losses, he was still the ultimate victor.
On the ice platform, the Sacred Sanctuary was starting to fade. Herrera spoke apologetically, "Link, I should not have dragged you into the war between the light and dark forces. I am sorry."
She should have waited until Link became even more powerful, at least at a level where these undead warriors could do nothing to hurt him. Judging from his growth rate, it should not be a long time. She was simply too anxious and endangered him instead.
Link was confused, "We have not even gotten to the last step, what are you talking about?"
Herrera smiled, "Stop lying to me. Your Mana is completely depleted. Even if you still have a powerful spell up your sleeve, you will not be able to cast it. I am also at my limit and can release at most two more Level-4 spells with the help of a mana recovery potion. There is no way we can escape."
Their nightmare would not end even after eliminating all the undead Warriors in sight. The Necromancer was still nowhere to be seen. They were already exhausted, but their opponent was still completely unscathed.
From Herrera's perspective, this was a hopeless situation!
