Chapter 60: Lightning Element
Lightning leaped, tearing through the atmosphere. The 'fist' of the lightning humanoid bloomed with a radiance comparable to the sun within the narrow mountain cave. The surrounding mana was fully activated by this strike, instantly turning chaotic, forming a small anti-magic field.
Without special means, within this range, no magic could communicate with the elements of the outside world.
But just as this fist was about to strike Joshua, the warrior's entire body erupted with a dazzling golden light. Pure life energy resonated at his heart, causing the battle qi on his skin to form a repulsive ring that rejected all foreign elements. The lightning humanoid's hand instantly disintegrated under this light, collapsing into large patches of light particles. A silver sword light then swept across horizontally, cutting it in half at the waist.
"As expected, one can never be too careful when facing elemental lifeforms."
Having temporarily used Avatar of the Gods to gain immunity to all magic effects, Joshua dispelled the magic-immune state. He gripped his greatsword and giant axe, assuming a stance, and coldly watched the lightning humanoid, which had quickly retreated and was slowly reassembling itself nearby.
In nature, lifeforms like lightning elements do not exist. The power of lightning is so violent and powerful that it can destroy everything, making it nearly impossible for any intelligence or will to be born within it. However, under the runes of mages, nothing is impossible. Generations of mages' painstaking research allowed the light of wisdom to shine, giving lightning life and bringing lightning elements into existence.
Similar to stone golems, lightning elements are common guardians used by high-level mages to protect their towers. But the difficulty of construction and the difference in strength between the two are worlds apart. The weakest lightning element cannot be below Mid-Gold Rank, and their bodies and speed are their greatest weapons. Because they have no physical form, lightning's speed far surpasses that of flesh. Due to these inherent advantages, ordinary warriors simply cannot fight them. Only experts who have mastered magic-immune skills like Avatar of the Gods can contend with them.
Due to the dense mana in the atmosphere, this lightning element's regeneration was exceptionally fast. As a 'white blood cell' within the Thunder Mountain's interior, it had no hesitation. The moment it reformed its body, it lunged at Joshua again.
But the warrior's expression was very calm. He even lowered the greatsword and giant axe, the manifestations of Ying and Lin, without making any offensive or defensive moves, as if allowing the opponent to attack.
If the opponent were a human, they would surely hesitate because of Joshua's demeanor. But how could a lightning element observe an invader's expression and demeanor? Its very existence was to eliminate external destroyers like Joshua. Faced with the warrior's unusual behavior, it had no hesitation and continued its charge.
Then, it was stopped five meters in front of Joshua, unable to advance an inch.
"After all, it's just a puppet. It has no intelligence at all."
Because it was blocked, the lightning element immediately increased its output. Endless lightning spread, and a bluish-white light gradually outlined the shape of a cage in the air. Joshua stood inside this cage formed by his battle qi, watching the lightning beside him being channeled into the ground, shaking his head and sighing.
Single attack pattern, too simple a thought process. It fell into a trap so easily. If the opponent were human, it would never have come to this.
Lightning Prison. This was a self-created skill invented by a player in the game who used lightning battle qi. Utilizing the high plasticity of his own battle qi and its ability to conduct electricity at any time, he created a fully conductive cage based on the principle of a Faraday cage, used to defend against attacks from lightning-using bosses. Although Joshua did not use lightning battle qi, under the effect of the Ultimate Essence of Technique, he could temporarily achieve the same effect.
Even a living lightning bolt cannot violate the most fundamental laws. The Faraday cage constructed with his battle qi was enough to isolate lightning strikes of this level, and could even temporarily imprison it.
The cave flickered with lightning, and the air was filled with the smell of scorching and ionization. Amidst the countless arcs of electricity flowing around him, Joshua raised his greatsword. He looked at the lightning element, which was still struggling to release its power, trying to break through this barrier. He pushed off with his feet, and his figure vanished in an instant.
In that moment, the warrior's speed was faster than lightning. Just as the lightning element instinctively sensed a life-threatening crisis and rapidly retreated, trying to break free from the cage, a majestic sword light had already cleanly split it from head to tail. The violent battle qi was released, instantly destroying the magic array that formed the core of this elemental lifeform.
**[10/30]**
The wind pressure generated by the greatsword's swing distorted the light and surrounding mana. The residual force struck the cave wall, creating a trench over ten meters long with a loud bang. Seizing this momentum, Joshua pressed the attack. Amidst the scattered light particles of the dissipating lightning element, he began to gather strength, preparing to directly shatter the stone wall ahead and head to the energy core of Thunder Mountain.
But he forgot one thing.
This was not an ordinary cave.
This was the interior of Thunder Mountain's body.
The stone golem aggregate, sensing the failure of its internal purification system, began to counterattack by manipulating the vast mana.
A tidal wave of mana surged from various parts of the mountain and converged at the core. Joshua was shocked to find that lightning began to bloom in the air around him. The hundreds of mana light points left from the lightning element's disintegration rapidly expanded. With each breath, the mana and lightning surrounding those light points grew rapidly.
If one lightning element wasn't enough, then a hundred. A true monster is not a boss in a game—they don't play by the rules.
Instantly understanding the opponent's intention, Joshua couldn't help but grip his weapon tightly. This number of lightning elements was not something a half-baked Faraday cage could withstand. Now, besides cursing the unreasonable power of Thunder Mountain in his heart, he had only one choice left.
Destroy the opponent's energy core before their counterattack took shape.
Tensing his legs and gathering strength, the warrior did not hesitate. After a brief charge, he immediately charged towards the stone wall ahead.
The stone wall separating the energy core of Thunder Mountain had a metallic appearance, reflecting a silvery-white light under the illumination of magic runes. It was smooth and seemed extremely sturdy. But Joshua swung his giant axe and struck it fiercely.
The giant axe, wrapped in crimson battle qi, possessed an unstoppable force. The sharp serrations scraped against the wall, sending sparks flying everywhere. Amidst the harsh noise, the stone wall was split open, creating a large pit. But there was still a layer behind it. At this moment, the hundreds of lightning elements behind Joshua had mostly taken human form, seemingly ready to attack at any time.
The warrior did not panic. He calmly launched another attack. The silvery-white greatsword was wrapped in a constantly vibrating ripple. The high-frequency vibrating blade cut through the rune stone wall, which was as hard as mithril and adamantite, like cutting through butter, blasting another large hole.
This time, the wall was truly breached. Violent magical energy gushed out through the hole, surging outward. The lightning elements that were still gestating rapidly took shape in the sudden influx of mana. However, due to this unexpected mana interference, they temporarily lost control and began to violently destroy everything around them.
Hundreds of lightning elements released their power simultaneously. The scene was like the end of the world. Blazing white lightning swept across, instantly turning the surrounding stone walls into dust.
But none of this affected the warrior, who had already passed through the stone wall and arrived on the other side.
Outside Thunder Mountain.
A voice suddenly appeared in the black dragon's mind.
"The bloodline of the ancient dragon."
The voice carried a hint of sanctity, along with layers of echoes. It seemed to be spoken by countless people simultaneously, echoing in the half-dragon's mind: "Do you wish to help your master?"