Advent of the Archmage

Originally, the Elemental Puppet wanted to finish Jacker in just one hit, but something unexpected happened!

With his original power, he should have been able to destroy this shielded Warrior with ease, but the moment he raised his arms he felt a wave of lethargy overwhelm him. His power was decreasing!

A 30% decrease in power might not seem like much, but to an Elemental puppet with powers comparable to a Level-5 Warrior, 30% might well be the strength he needed to fight against Jacker. If he was not at his full strength, he might not be able to defeat Jacker who was a Level-4 Warrior.

Boom! A familiar sound reverberated through the cave, but the result of this clash was entirely different!

The Elemental Puppet's arm was easily deflected by Jacker and the shield smashed onto the statue's chest with full impact.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Elemental Puppet was continuously knocked back. He tried to regain his footing by stomping on the ground with his heavy, bulky legs, causing trembles in the cave. There were also fine granules on his chest from the impact with the shield.

Seeing that his attacks were working, Jacker regained his confidence. He knew that Link would definitely be able to deal with this guy!

Jacker rushed forward once again. He pounced on a retreating Morpheus and used his shield to protect himself, bracing for another impact.

However, Jacker was too full of himself this time round. His Warrior instincts wanted to fully humiliate the enemy and he acted too rashly!

The moment Jacker sped towards the enemy, Link knew he had to do something.

The enemy was careless the previous time, but this time, he would already be prepared!

This Elemental Puppet was not an easy opponent, he still had some battle skills up his sleeve. What they needed to do was to weaken the puppet one step at a time. Jacker was way too impulsive!

However, it was too late to stop Jacker now.

"Lucy, use the power of your Gale sword to save Jacker!" Link shouted.

Before he could complete his sentence, the Elemental Puppet raised his leg and stomped on the ground. A low rumble echoed throughout the cave and visible shockwaves emerged on the hard solid ground.

These shockwaves sped towards their target, Jacker. In an instant, Jacker's legs felt numb and incredibly weak. He then stumbled in the direction of the Elemental Puppet.

His inability to keep his balance exposed his head to the enemy. In front of him, the puppet was holding a stone spike in his hand, fully prepared to eliminate him!

Not good!

Jacker's eyes widened, however, he was currently hanging in mid-air and was unable to fully utilize his strength. He could only helplessly watch as he was flung towards the stone spike.

Link cast a spell.

"Vector Throw!"

This was only a Level-1 spell and was not able to change the trajectory of Jacker's Level-5 charging power, but, it still slightly reduced his speed.

"Lucy!" Link hollered. It was too late for him to cast any more spells, the only person that could save Jacker now was Lucy who had already rushed to his side to give support.

Wind element particles spiraled around Lucy's Gale Sword. The moment she made an attack, a gust of wind rushed towards Jacker. Confident that the gust would be enough to save Jacker, she changed the direction of her attack and made a dash for the puppet's eyes.

The Vector Throw and Lucy's wind element alone could not stop Jacker in his tracks but was still able to change the trajectory of his Battle Charge. Furthermore, Lucy's attack was extremely fast and she managed to reach the puppet's eye before Jacker was hurt. If Morpheus did not defend against Lucy's attack, he would have been pierced by the merciless blade.

At the same time, Gildern shot an arrow as a tag team attack with Lucy. He used a skill called Arrow of Punishment, an attack with unimaginable penetrating power aimed at the Elemental Puppet's weakest joint.

The Elemental Puppet suddenly found himself the target of many powerful attacks. The chemistry between members of The Flamingo Band of Mercenaries was truly something to be feared.

Now that Jacker's trajectory was changed, even if he continued to invest his strength into killing Jacker, his chance of success was low. Moreover, he would be heavily injured. Even with his sturdy exterior, he needed to be careful of this heavy assault.

Left without a choice, the Elemental Puppet shifted his focus away from Jacker.

He used the stone spike in his right hand to defend against Lucy's sword and his right hand to deflect Gildern's arrow. Jacker then flew past the side of the puppet onto the solid ground. Although he looked disheveled, he escaped unscathed.

"Get back on your feet; be calm and listen to me!" Link shouted.

Warriors fought with a burning passion in their hearts. This caused them to become easily agitated and impulsive, robbing them of their ability to make sound decisions in a fight.

There were only a few people in the world that could make calm decisions in the midst of a battle. Those people were termed as geniuses of their fields and clearly, the Flamingo Band of Mercenaries did not possess such a rare ability.

But Link did!

Jacker had a close brush with death. He pounded his numb legs and kicked them back and forth to circulate the blood flow. After regaining his senses, he stood up.

He would not be impulsive this time. He listened carefully for Link's instructions, while slowly skirting around the Elemental Puppet.

Royal Knight Anderson was in a daze this entire time. Link and his comrades were simply moving at a pace he couldn't keep up with. He started attacking only after the Flamingo Band of Mercenaries had fought the puppet for a round.

"Might of a Giant!" Link strengthened Anderson with his spell—he was assuming the role of a supporting spellcaster.

Anderson was also a strong Warrior. While his attacks were not as fast as Lucy and Gildern, he could still deliver heavy, powerful blows to the opponent. Every one of his attacks would be a great threat to the Elemental Puppet and thus, Link was happy to use his Mana points on him.

This spell alone cost him 60 Mana points. On top of the other spells he had cast, he was left with only 20 Mana points and a Mana Recovery Potion in his dimensional pendant.

Link hated the taste of the potion but he uncapped the flask and downed it in one gulp. His Mana points were almost replenished again.

Anderson felt a wave of power surging through him after being strengthened by the Level-3 spell. The Elemental Puppet had to defend against the attacks of the Flamingo Band of Mercenaries and had left his neck area open! This was his opportunity to attack! He swung his blade with full force.

Anderson currently held the power of a Level-5 Warrior—the force from this swing was extremely significant. A cut two inches deep could be seen on the puppet's neck.

Through the crack in the puppet's exterior, streaks of light could be seen flowing through its body.

Link was elated. "We just have to land one more blow on his neck to destroy its rune formation!"

Once the rune formation inside the body of an Elemental Puppet was destroyed, it would disintegrate!

Everyone was jolted out of their thoughts; morale was high.

Morpheus was powerful. However, with only two bulky arms here against so many attackers, he was not able to fully defend himself from the all-out assault. The puppet's body was severely damaged and Link and the others' victory was near!

"You, Magician—you have angered me!" It was the voice again, although this time the eeriness had been replaced by boiling rage.

Link originally thought it was just words of anger. However, an ominous premonition suddenly flashed through his mind.

Does he still have something up his sleeve?

Link heard footsteps slowly creeping up on him. He immediately spun around. It was Jacques! He had emerged from the corridor and was only six feet away from him.

Jacques might have just been afraid of staying in the corridor alone. That was Link's exact thought when he first saw him. But when he looked at Jacques again his breath got knocked out of his lungs. Jacques was heading straight for him and his expression was devoid of feelings, even fear. Most importantly, it wasn't until a moment ago when the sound of footsteps became audible.

Not good, this coward has been bewitched, he is on Morpheus' side now! He was transported here directly using the Dimensional Mirror! Link thought.

Jacques was timid, which translated into weak willpower. It was easier for these kinds people to suffer mental breakdowns and be targets of bewitching spells. At that moment, everyone was concentrating on bringing down the Elemental Puppet while Jacques, a Level-3 Warrior, was prepared to attack Link with his full strength.

There was no time to react!

Jacques had already readied his sword, his Battle Aura enveloping his entire body.

"Don't blame me, I want to live..." he mumbled.