Advent of the Archmage

Awooga!

A deep horn sounded in the north side of the Orida Fortress.

Boom, boom, boom. There were rhythmic explosions, and the ground started shaking. Twenty huge demons over 90 feet tall walked out of the Black Forest.

Not only were they tall, but they were also extremely muscular. Each one was like a mountain of flesh. Their strength was terrifying too. Blackish red smoke continuously rose from their bodies. They only had one eye, and a ten-foot-long red laser beam shot out of it.

"It's the One-Eyed Mountain Demon!" someone yelled.

One-Eyed Mountain Demons were a type of high-level demon. Their name came from their mountain-like physique. The huge stature gave them terrible strength, and it was practically a nightmare to see them attack the city walls!

Link was already at the square between the three Mage Towers. At this time, he couldn't worry about anything else. His only duty was to watch out for Aymons' use of the Dark Serpent's godly technique.

"Get into position!" Link didn't use an amplification spell; he used his Dragon Power to roar.

His voice traveled into the ears of each Level-6 Magician. They'd saved their energy during the day. Now, they flew to their positions as during training.

Link stood in the center of the magic seal and roared, "Start converging Mana!"

This was the preheating step for the magic seal. After that, the Soul Slalom could be activated at any time.

If Aymons wanted to use the godly technique, he would most likely use it at the start of the battle. That way, he could damage the opponents' power the most and reduce his own loss.

That was why they must be fast!

Buzz, buzz, buzz. The 70 or so Magicians all glowed from the Mana within. Finally, the Mana streamed into the center—Link's body.

Link's body soon radiated with dazzling light. His entire body was glowing, and nine-foot-long Mana flames appeared around him. Three-foot-long beams of light shot out from his eyes.

In the surrounding air, countless runes rose up and died away at an unimaginable speed. The rings of light ripples were like a vortex in the sea, whooshing outward. A terrifying Mana aura spread out from here.

Boom, boom, boom. Organized footsteps came from outside the Mage Tower before stopping outside the walls.

It was Kanorse. He led 3000 Silver-White Warriors to surround the Mage Tower and yelled, "From now on, kill whoever approaches the Mage Tower!"

After a long while, Kanorse personally escorted Pope Innos here. He brought the Cardinals to the square, and they stood around the Mage Tower. The Holy Grail was brought out too. It was a small silver cup the size of a palm. It wasn't eye-catching, yet it held unbelievable sacred power.

The pope knelt onto the ground. He lifted the cup to the sky with both hands and prayed loudly, "Oh, merciful Lord, please cast down your glorious light and help your lowly servant fight against the endless evil!"

The 12 Cardinals knelt in a circle around the pope and began praying as well. While praying, they poured sacred power into the Holy Grail. It began glowing and grew transparent. Finally, it turned into a shadow formed by light.

Whoosh. With a soft sound, a storm of sacred power rushed into the air. The sky used to be covered in dark clouds, but now, a burst of golden power pierced the darkness. The light shone down and mixed with the sacred power.

From afar, it looked like a golden beam that connected the sky and earth. For a moment, the entire Orida Fortress was enveloped in the sacred glow.

The Warriors roared; the sacred light gave them endless courage.

Boom, boom, boom.

On the city walls, the magic cannons started going off, attacking in various ways. There were purple balls of light, thick bolts of lightning, huge whirlpool ice beams, and more. The various attacks all traveled over one mile, sweeping towards the Dark Army to block them.

On the prairie outside the fortress, the Dark Army was multiplying. They continuously surged out of the Black Forest; they seemed to be endless.

After the One-Eyed Mountain Demons, there were Fear Demons and Fodor Flaming Demons. Winged Howlers flew in the air. There were more than 500 of these high-level demons, and each was above Level-7. Innumerable low-level demons followed after that. There were at least 50,000.

The Dark Elves poured out too. More than 80,000 ghouls and elite Warriors rushed out of the forest.

The dark power of the Dark Army gathered, creating a thick black miasma.

The sacred light of the Orida Fortress could scatter practically all darkness, but it was helpless against this miasma. The light and dark sides were at a stalemate.

Aymons and the Dark Serpent emerged from amongst the Dark Elves. He felt the Mana waves coming from the top of the Orida Fortress and whispered to Lawndale, "I'm going to activate the godly technique. Go and tell Romand to prepare the Moon of Annihilation. Destroy the force trying to stop me from the mountaintop!"

"Yes, Tutor!" Lawndale bowed deeply. When he straightened, tears were streaming down his face. He knew that later would be Aymons' most brilliant moment but also his last moment.

After the godly technique, Aymons would no longer exist in this world.

Aymons had already charged forward. Reaching the prairie, he resolutely activated the godly technique of the Dark Serpent—the Swallowing Storm!

Swallowing Storm

Dark Godly Technique

Effect: The Dark Serpent opens its mouth and swallows all souls within a 12-mile radius.

(Note: After activation, the Dark Serpent's planar repulsion will multiply. The Divine Gear's power will decrease by 80 percent.)

With the appearance of the godly technique, the world changed!

The sacred light that had been fighting against the dark power, the golden beam that connected the sky and earth, was suddenly shattered by a mysterious force!

Black clouds covered the battlefield again. Lightning cheered behind the clouds while the clouds started spinning, creating a huge whirlpool. The terrible soul-swallowing force appeared.

Under Aymons' control, the Dark Army was safe. However, shadows immediately appeared above the Warriors of the Orida Fortress. One was their actual body; the other was the soul being tugged out.

The Warriors all grasped their heads. The weaker ones rolled on the ground, crying out in pain. The stronger ones gritted their teeth against the horrible pain.

At the top of the Orida Fortress, Link immediately yelled, "Soul Slalom, release!"

All Magicians started pouring Mana into Link. It felt like his body would burst. He might not be able to take it before, but now, he had a strong body.

"Ah!" While roaring, Link used the anger of a dragon king and streamed the horrible strength in. After going past the magic sword, it rushed back into the sky.

Buzz, buzz! A deep blue beam of light shot out from the sword. At first, it was a light beam. After flying 100 feet, it expanded and rotated.

Under Link's guidance, the deep blue whirlpool spun in the opposite direction of the dark vortex. Every beat was reversed!

The two forces—one from a mortal Magician, one from a Divine Gear—began battling in the air.

Crack, crack! Lightning appeared violently between the two. There were explosions and great booms of thunder. It was terrifying.

However, the battle in the sky had intensified to the max. Then the Dark Serpent's attractive force actually disappeared.

"Ah, a miracle!"

"We're saved!"

"The Magicians saved us!"

The Warriors cheered, joyous after escaping death.

There was another citadel on the Orida Fortress's second wall. Duke Abel stood there, looking at the deep blue whirlpool extending from the Mage Tower. He clenched his fists and waved them excitedly.

Then he waved his hand. A soldier beside him raised the flag of a golden lion. Abel unsheathed his sword. Looking at the officers beside him, he declared, "Gentlemen, the future of the kingdom and the survival of humanity shall be decided with this battle!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The generals roared, and the soldiers roared. The dwarves and Yabba roared angrily too. The godly technique had been repressed, and the Light Army's power was at its extreme!

So what if it was the Dark Serpent? So what about the godly technique? They had the wise and powerful Magicians!

The Dark Army had started charging down the prairie too.

Aymons was frightened. The longer the Swallowing Storm lasted, the stronger it would be repulsed by the world's laws. After one minute, it would be forced out of Firuman.

Now, it had already been 15 seconds. He didn't have much more time.

"Romand! The Moon of Annihilation!" Aymons yelled urgently.

The moment he spoke, silver light rose from the Black Forest, calming the entire forest. The light was 30 feet long, like a silver moon. It seemed slow, but it was actually rising up extremely fast. It flew and crashed against the Mage Tower at the mountaintop.

This was the Legendary spell, the Moon of Annihilation!

All Magicians of the Silver Moon Mage Council had gathered together and combined their power to create this terrible attack.

At the top of the mountain, the pope took a deep breath. "Glorious Lord," he said softly, "May your glory remain for eternity!"

With that, he put all the sacred power he possessed into the Holy Grail.

His slightly fat body immediately caved in, turning into a bag of bones. His breath disappeared in an instant as well. If not for the 12 cardinals supporting his body, he would be on the ground already.

Receiving this burst of sacred power, the Holy Grail glowed radiantly again.

The silver moon came up, but on its way, a semicirclular wall of sacred light suddenly appeared, blocking the silver moon.

The two collided and intertwined. There were bursts of thunder. After five seconds, the enchantment created with the cost of the pope's life disappeared. The silver moon didn't succeed either. It advanced 30 more feet and then exploded with a bang, turning into fireworks.

In the Black Forest, Romand collapsed to the ground. His face was ghastly pale, and blood appeared around his lips. Behind him, the Magicians of the Silver Moon Mage Council looked exhausted too. They'd all temporarily lost the ability to cast spells.

"Dammit!" Aymons saw that the deep blue whirlpool remained in the sky. His heart trembled, losing confidence. He could only forge on.

Now, he could only hope that the human Magician would break down before him. That way, his godly technique could still damage the Light Army. Even if he couldn't kill them all, he could at least halve their combat ability.

The One-Eyed Mountain Demons had reached the city walls. They started pounding Orida's walls with their bare hands.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The human Warriors where they pounded the walls were shaken to death.

The demons weren't well off either. The Yabba musketeers and dragon archers were all aiming at them. Balls of blackness shot down at these One-Eyed Mountain Demons. One was already killed.

The city wall became extremely chaotic.

In the Black Forest, a black-haired girl watched it all. She sighed and shook her head. "The Dark Elves are unreliable. Noyo, it's already chaotic enough. Sneak in and kill that Magician."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Noyo suddenly disappeared and instantly appeared almost 1000 feet away. It was like teleportation.

"Noyo, you only have 30 seconds though," the lovely voice continued in Noyo's ears like a low murmur.