Han Jin turned his head toward Yalina who was confidently smiling. This enormous matrix was a combined effort between her, Jeddes, Hogan, and Cain that had taken a whole month to finish. She was confident no one could easily destroy it! Especially not by these probing volleys which the matrix could almost completely ignore.
Boom… boom… One after another, explosions of spells flashed and trembled under the ship, but the ship itself was not affected at all, and continued steadily sailing forward.
“Impressive defense!” Ronning exclaimed.
“Raphael, does this ship have a name yet?” Guevara suddenly asked.
“No, do you have a suggestion?” Han Jin smiled.
“Let’s call it God of War. What do you think?” Guevara slowly said.
“Great name, very imposing!” Moxinke shouted.
“Agreed!” Saxon also looked excited.
“…And wherever the God of War sailed, the enemies in its path crumbled in terror…” Cessacioun put his dedication as a bard on full display, except these stories should really be told by the next generation, not by Cessacioun himself…
“Exactly.” Guevara smiled. Although he was talking to Han Jin, he glanced at Majordomo Gail from the corner of his eye.
Jeddes smiled with his back turned. Among everyone on this ship, he, Guevara, and Gail all had equal amounts of power and experience, and had thus formed a triangle of influence. He knew clearly who Majordomo Gail was, and understood the undertones in Guevara’s suggestion even more so.
“Don’t forget to credit Yalina for the God of War’s future glory.” Majordomo Gail calmly smiled like his usual self as if he didn’t understand Guevara at all.
“And me too.” Cain smiled.
“Me too! Don’t forget about me!” Hogan hurriedly tried to credit himself as well.
Guevara was surprised. A conversation between two men with so much experience was usually very subtle, but Guevara had still caught Majordomo Gail’s message: he had a plan that could satisfy both sides! Guevara glanced at Sunier, then at Yalina. That… seemed impossible.
Han Jin sat back on his seat as the giant ship slowly rose higher into the air. Strictly speaking, this ship was still an artifact that he controlled, which meant he must expend vital energy to support it. Thus, it would be wise to conserve energy whenever possible. Even though Yalina and her team had set up a sturdy defense matrix, it was pointless to suffer volley after volley of spells.
The spells that flew out of the black mist became more and more powerful. The Abyssal Mages saw Han Jin’s retreat as a sign of fear, and that the flying behemoth had almost been defeated.
Jets of fire, meteorites, and extremely corrosive rain all started landing on the ship in droves.
Aside from their unique Abyssal spells, most Abyssal Mages were also experts in manipulating fire and earth because they had spent most of their lives living in the depths of the continent where lava filled lakes and rivers provided an environment filled with earth and fire elements. Thus, compared to the magicians above ground, they could cultivate much more effectively.
The defensive matrix surrounding the ship slightly trembled, though the ship itself still kept steady. Han Jin calmly observed the fireworks of spells as if he were enjoying a show. As his past experience had taught him, it was better to trust himself than others. The defensive matrix Yalina had set up was only a bait. As an artifact he had crafted with all of his power, the ship itself was the best defense. It simply wasn’t time to show that yet.
“Master, should we retaliate?” Hogan shouted. He wasn’t the only one eager for a fight. Yalina and Cain also looked like they wanted to teach the Abyssal Mages a lesson. It wasn’t their style to sit idly while under attack.
“Wait, no need to rush,” Han Jin said in a light voice.
As time passed, the whirlpool Harley had created increased in size. The Abyssal Mages also seemed to notice, and started to fight Harley for control of the mist . Despite being in a different world, Han Jin still followed his way, or Dao, and as it turned out, he had been correct. Harley was a ghost, and could be nourished by anything with Yin Qi. Now, even though he was fighting at least a hundred Abyssal Mages, he showed no signs of defeat.
The black whirlpool occasionally slowed, and sometimes even stopped completely. However, as time passed, it slowed less and less frequently, which meant that Harley was getting the upper hand. Finally, after a long battle, all the black mist within several miles had been cleared.
Han Jin’s giant ship immediately started diving down with a sudden burst of speed, shooting toward the whirlpool like a lightning bolt. At the same time, the whirlpool extended upward, funneling all the black mist from the ground toward the sky. At this point, Harley returned to his normal form: a giant skeleton that looked as tall as the sky, even several times bigger than Han Jin’s ship.
Yalina, Cain, Hogan, and the rest of the magicians all stood at the ship’s rails clutching their wands, all waiting for the black mist to completely clear so they could simultaneously unleash a hailstorm of spells on the exposed Abyssal Mages.
Thunder flashed in the sky, and a thick and twisted bolt of lightning shot toward the ground. Immediately after, a dozen meteorites covered in flame followed. Meanwhile, Hogan also unleashed a blizzard, and countless tiny but sharp ice shards rolled toward the Abyssal Mages like a tsunami.
The Abyssal Mages, who were Zaganide’s most seasoned veterans, immediately gathered tighter once they realized they had lost the mist. With their combined power, they erected a defense matrix that covered all hundred of the Abyssal Mages. The defense matrix shook and violently twisted as the lightning bolts, meteorites, and Hogan’s blizzard landed on it, but ultimately held fast.
Yalina was clearly annoyed and raised her wand again, but just then, a minotaur that looked to be the Abyssal Mages’ leader threw out a scroll, and an even bigger magic matrix unfurled. As soon as the new matrix was erect, the minotaur spread his arms wide and raised them toward the sky. The rest of the Abyssal Mages all quickly followed.
Harley didn’t seem to enjoy being ignored. He slammed a bone staff made out of mist that was at least several hundred meters long at the magic matrix, but unfortunately, he didn’t have much in terms of offense, and the magic matrix didn’t budge at all.
Waves of strange fluctuations came from within the matrix, which seemed to be resonating with something in the air. It felt almost unreal, yet it could clearly be felt. The feeling was too strange to put into words.
“They have a high-grade Minotaur Shaman!” Guevara’s face turned solemn. “He is… he is casting a spell based on siphoning magic, Revelation of the Abyss!” Among them, Guevara was the most experienced with the Abyssal Race, and immediately identified the spell.
“Revelation of the Abyss?” Yalina’s eyes widened in shock, then immediately shouted, “Raphael, we need to leave! Leave right now!”
“Too late!” Guevara let out a dull shout and glanced at Han Jin. “Raphael?!” The defense matrix Yalina had set up could not stand against a forbidden spell like this, so their only hope was with Han Jin. He wanted to see whether Han Jin had an answer to this or not.
But Han Jin was still quietly sitting in his seat with his eyes half shut, and his face calm, as if he were oblivious to the incoming attack.
The magic fluctuations became increasingly intense, and one after another, Abyssal Mages fainted on the ground as their magic was siphoned.
“Raphael?!” Guevara shouted again.
“Why are you so anxious?” Jeddes smiled with his back toward the mast. He looked so leisurely that one could mistake him for a tourist.
“What do you…”
“If Raphael only brought the three of us, then… it would be hard to judge, true, but he brought everyone. So, I ask again, why are you so anxious?”
Guevara immediately understood Jeddes. Without enough confidence, Han Jin would never bring Sunier, Moxinke, and every one of his friends on the ship. Or else, if the ship suffered a catastrophic attack like this, he, Jeddes, Majordomo Gail, and Yalina might be able to protect themselves, but everyone else would be doomed!
To be fair, Guevara wasn’t being anxious because he was being rushed. He had simply met Han Jin before he had become powerful, whereas, by the time Jeddes had met Han Jin in the Tarasha Mountains, he had already become a powerful and mysterious figure. Thus, Jeddes seemed overly trusting of Han Jin, while Guevara appeared overly anxious.
“Understood.” Guevara sighed. “Then… let us wait and see.”
Maybe because they had heard the conversation, or maybe because they had seen Han Jin’s calm smile, but the anxious atmosphere on the ship calmed down. Sunier, Cessacioun, Gibran, and the rest all curiously glanced around, waiting for the forbidden spell to land. At this moment, they were entrusting their lives to Han Jin.
The whole sky suddenly turned red as the Minotaur Shaman’s incantation also neared its end. His body slightly shook, while his voice almost turned into a coarse roar.
“So it’s fire…” Han Jin slowly opened his eyes. “The Heaven rises as the Earth sinks; follow the harmony of Wuxing: water rises, and fire fades!”
No one could understand Han Jin’s ‘incantation,’ but everyone could feel an imposing pressure. At the same time, the Minotaur Shaman also let out a final roar, and an incredibly brilliant ball of flame appeared in the sky. It rushed toward Han Jin’s ship like a moth diving toward a flame. By that time, there were only less than a dozen Abyssal Mages still standing; the spell contained the power siphoned from at least a hundred Abyssal Mages!
Everyone, including Jeddes and Majordomo Gail, had never thought flame could be this brilliant – so bright it swallowed everything around it, yet also incredibly colorful. It seemed to be rushing toward the ship from all directions, covering both Heaven and Earth.
The defense matrix Yalina had set up barely lasted a moment before being swallowed by the endless flame. Everyone could do nothing but watch as the fire engulfed them from the sky. At that moment, no matter how much faith they had in Han Jin, everyone held their breath.
