Chapter 60: Arrival
Half an hour later, on the ground that had been scorched to a glassy surface by the high heat, a spellcaster was crawling forward, two slash marks crossing on his back.
"I can't die, I am an apprentice of Lord Walker..."
A blade light struck, ending his life. It no longer mattered whose apprentice he was.
Amidst the flames, Su Xiao exhaled hot air. Of the 102 seventh-rank spellcasters, he had killed 73, and the rest had scattered in all directions.
After fighting these spellcasters, Su Xiao discovered that two abilities were practically divine skills against them. The first was Energy Interruption, a basic necessity for one-versus-many combat. The second was Absolute Magic Immunity.
Having actually fought spellcasters, Su Xiao noticed something. These spellcasters' mana manipulation was absurdly precise. In many people's impression, spellcasters needed a casting process when using high-level magic abilities.
But after engaging them in battle, Su Xiao realized this wasn't the case. Even for large-scale spells that could instantly cover a two-kilometer radius, the spellcasters only needed to raise a hand, and the spell would come crashing down directly.
The effect of Absolute Magic Immunity became prominent at this point. For attacks he couldn't dodge, he relied on Absolute Magic Immunity plus the Crystal Layer to tank through. The Crystal Layer was derived from Cyan Steel Shadow Energy and had exponentially increased defensive power against magic abilities.
Just now, Su Xiao had used Absolute Magic Immunity + Crystal Layer + his own powerful survivability to withstand a dozen seconds of relentless bombardment from over thirty spellcasters. Interestingly, as the spellcasters bombarded him, six of them died. Once Energy Interruption triggered, it could deal True Damage equal to 0.8 times the mana the enemy had already consumed.
Of the six who died from casting, four died from Energy Interruption, and two from Soul Gaze.
Mana Mentor Herlos? Quasi-eighth rank? There was no difference. Unless an eighth-rank spellcaster arrived on the scene, they could resist Energy Interruption. Energy Interruption had an upper limit to its intensity. When fighting eighth-rank spellcasters, the trigger probability would be much lower. However, as Su Xiao's strength increased, this problem could be solved.
The only issue when dealing with spellcasters was the consumption of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy during one-versus-many combat. At this point, Su Xiao only had a little over 3,000 points of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy left. Without the support of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, Energy Interruption could not be used.
From a while ago, the spellcasters had scattered and fled. Su Xiao didn't even bother chasing the space-type ones, nor the wind-type ones. These types of spellcasters ran at a mysteriously fast speed, and chasing them down was a waste of time.
This was his first time dealing with a large group of spellcasters, and Su Xiao had made a mistake. The deployment range of Energy Interruption was too large, causing a significant consumption of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy.
Crack, crack, crack...
Stepping on the glassy ground, Su Xiao stopped in front of Mana Mentor Herlos, who was now only left with his upper body.
"Hahaha, spellcasters, Law Destroyers. Over a dozen supreme-level spellcasters wiped out the Law Destroyers, and it's recorded in the Arcane Academy. How ridiculous."
Herlos was questioning his own existence. He felt that the murals in the main hall of the 'Arcane Academy' were utterly laughable. After personally fighting a Law Destroyer, he realized that it wasn't a question of whether magic abilities could kill a Law Destroyer; it was that he never even had a chance to use them. The mana he had painstakingly cultivated basically exploded on himself during the fight. His only saving grace was the Mana Colossus.
"Law Destroyer, we... will never meet again. This body died worthily."
The moment Herlos finished speaking, blade light filled his vision.
Meanwhile, on Arcane Eternal Star, inside the top tower of the Arcane Academy.
The room was very dim. With a splash, the bare-chested Herlos sat up from within a transparent liquid. His mouth was wide open, and his eyes were bloodshot.
After more than ten seconds, Herlos gasped for breath. The body he had shed was dead. Or rather, he had already died today. This was his strongest ability, Mana Shedding. When his strength reached the seventh rank, his body split in two. One body was used for combat, and the other was located in the top tower of the Arcane Academy, where he served as a mentor.
"This is... a Law Destroyer?"
Herlos's hands were trembling. This was the fear caused by the instant of death.
With a creak, the door to the top tower was pushed open. An old man, slightly hunched, wearing a white robe and a hood, entered the room. The magic lantern he carried emitted a faint blue light.
"I heard you encountered a Law Destroyer?"
The white-robed old man spoke hoarsely.
"Yes, Lord Walker, I..."
Herlos was about to speak when he was interrupted.
"You survived."
The white-robed old man let out a low chuckle.
"Wh, what?"
Herlos looked blankly at the white-robed old man.
"There were only a hundred of you. For you to survive is already quite good."
"I..."
Herlos was speechless. He had thought he would face some kind of punishment, but from Lord Walker's tone, it seemed that a hundred spellcasters fighting a single Law Destroyer of the same rank, and surviving, was a glorious thing? Thinking of this, Herlos questioned his existence even more. His worldview was being gradually refreshed.
"Herlos, how do you think we won back then?"
"I... don't know."
"At their peak, the Law Destroyers numbered a hundred. By the end, only a few remained, so we won. Yet our source of power is something the Law Destroyers were best at controlling and had the highest affinity for. If they had controlled the power of the elements, no, if they had controlled the elements, they would no longer be strong."
"..."
Herlos's worldview was completely shattered.
"Herlos, don't spread what happened today. You'll get a share of the next batch of Black Maple Tree yield."
Leaving these words, the hunched white-robed old man walked out of the top tower, leaving behind a somewhat dazed Herlos. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. He had fought a Law Destroyer, been cut down like a grandson, and survived only because of his special ability. Yet he had received praise from an elder, an elder who had lived since the era of Law Annihilation.
"What exactly are they hiding? Why are the Law Destroyers hostile to spellcasters? Do the Law Destroyers have a stronger elemental affinity? Then why don't they fight by controlling the power of the elements? Or does fighting by controlling the elements have some irreversible effect?"
Herlos muttered to himself. He didn't actually care much about losing the battle. He was a mentor of the Arcane Academy, not a battle-hardened spellcaster. Compared to fighting, he preferred exploring the unknown. In his view, there were two most important things in life: becoming stronger and exploring the unknown, with the latter being greater than the former.
Or rather, Herlos became stronger precisely to explore more of the unknown. He was a dream chaser, a dream chaser who didn't know where the end was.
"I can't investigate. I'll die. I will definitely die. But... didn't I become a spellcaster to explore the unknown? If I don't even dare to explore this kind of secret, what meaning is there in my living?"
Herlos muttered to himself, sitting dazed in the pool of liquid. No one would have thought that an Elemental Scholar was 'born' at this moment.
...
On Hui Dark Star, in an area that looked like it had been hit by a meteor shower.
Su Xiao crouched down, his finger touching the ground, sensing if there were any living enemies nearby.
After confirming there were no living enemies, Su Xiao walked over to the vicinity of the chariot and saw the twisted, pretzel-shaped chariot. The 'Scavenger' had been sacrificed.
"You haven't awakened Soul Severing Shadow yet? Oh, I see. You can't find a way to awaken it."
Holy Maiden Seat floated down from above, with a wisp of faint blue electric arc at her fingertip.
"You know about Soul Severing Shadow?"
"Of course. I'm very familiar with Green Gillian. Familiar in many ways."
When Holy Maiden Seat said this, her expression became a bit unnatural. She recalled the look that crazy woman had given her, and the words, 'I'll lock you in a cage sooner or later.'
Remembering this, Holy Maiden Seat involuntarily shuddered.
"The Empty Seat Banquet is about to begin. Let's go together."
After mentioning the female Law Destroyer Green Gillian, Holy Maiden Seat seemed a bit flustered. Without any visible action from her, a piece of ground floated up. Then, with a bang, Holy Maiden Seat and that piece of ground both disappeared. She was so flustered that she forgot to bring Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha.
Su Xiao stood in place, his clothes fluttering in the strong wind. His raised arm froze in mid-air as he looked at the dust settling in front of him.
Bubu Wang and Baha behind Su Xiao were both a bit dumbfounded. Weren't they supposed to go together?
A moment later, Holy Maiden Seat arrived in front of a towering wall of mist that reached the sky.
"We're here. Spectacular, isn't it?" Holy Maiden Seat looked at the wall of mist in front of her, her mood calming down. Unfortunately, no one answered her. She turned her head to look. "Hey? Where is everyone?"
"Holy Maiden Seat, long time no see."
A very magnetic voice came over. A figure was sitting on the steps in front of the mist wall, with mist drifting around him.
"I have something to do. Talk later. Ah~, that crazy woman is already dead. Why am I still afraid of her? How embarrassing."
Holy Maiden Seat disappeared. After a while, she returned, with a piece of ground floating behind her.
Su Xiao jumped down from the ground floating in mid-air, followed by Bubu Wang and Baha. The location for the Empty Seat Banquet had been reached.