Advent of the Archmage
chapter-269

"Link, what do we do?" Doria's voice was shaking as he spoke. There was no helping it; he was extremely nervous. If not for Link's assistance, he would already have died twice from the previous attacks.

This place was way too scary!　　

"Don't fret. Their assault had ended," Link whispered. Even if it was the work of a magic equipment, based on the mana intensity in the World of Firuman, two consecutive Level-7 spells should be enough to completely deplete their energy.　

Link estimated that the other party probably still held one trump card in their hand. However, this time around, they would not cast it as easily as the first two unless they were sure of securing a kill. Hence, they were safe for now.

Clang! The sound of swords clashing against one another could be heard from the woods in front of them. Occasionally, a strong wave of energy could even be felt. The situation there must be chaotic and heated.

Behind them, an unknown professional was lurking in the shadows like a venomous snake, waiting for the right moment to strike. After a few seconds, Link said, "Let's go, we will proceed in front to see the situation."

If he was not wrong, the person behind them was there for the special girl as well. He could not possibly stand by and watch, and they would have to take action if they moved forward.

"Alright then. It's all up to you." Dorias then focused and leaped forward.

From the moment Dorias leaped up, Link pointed his Wrath of the Heavens Wand towards the woods beside him without warning. In an instant, a single-directional Flame Blast spell took form and spewed fiery demise throughout the forest after a deafening explosion.

"Where can you hide this time!"

In that instant, when the lurking shadow was attempting to strike while they were in mid-air, Link noticed his movements and retaliated before he could even react.

Amongst the eruption of flames, a figure stood out. It was enveloped in a dark purple Battle Aura, and Link could not make out his features from afar. Their speed was insanely fast, and in half a second, they managed to escape from the casting range of the Flame Blast spell.

This person was extremely decisive. The moment they realized that they were exposed, they escaped without hesitation. Strangely, the moment this person got out of the flames, their figure immediately blurred, as though their presence was about to disappear into thin air.

"You are planning to escape?" Link then focused and locked onto his opponent who was on the run and cast a Vector Field spell.

As Link deepened his understanding of space, his control over field-type spells also increased. He could already control them almost perfectly, manipulating the angle and strength to his own liking.

This spell came out of the blue and hit the enemy at the perfect angle. It was impossible to defend against.

The figure stumbled upon this impact. After the disruption, the figure once again became apparent.

Due to their insane speed, it was difficult for the figure to regain his balance. Link would also not give them the chance to regain their composure. Link was looking for a fatal flaw in his opponent movements to finish him off once and for all!

This person was clearly experienced in battle. They could roughly guess Link's intentions and immediately gave up on regaining their balance. They then allowed their body to fall to the ground, and while in mid-air, they pointed a thing similar to a wooden stick in Link's direction.

A purple colored ray shot through the forest.

This was supposed to be a game-changing attack. It took advantage of the enemy's upper hand and retaliated the moment the enemy let down their guard. If it was anyone else, they might already be defeated.

However, Link had been through many battles and was a Master Combat Magician. He would not make such mistakes.

Whoosh! The sound of space distortion rang through the air as though Link had predicted his opponent's every movement. A space lens appeared around Link, and when the ray hit the lens, it's trajectory was forcefully manipulated to veer away from its original path.

Around 0.1 seconds later, Link canceled the space lens spell and started retaliating with full force.　

The purple ray grazed past Link's body. The nearest it got was merely ten centimeters away from Link's body. However, as with all light-based spell, accuracy was of utmost importance. Even one centimeter would become an insurmountable distance.

At that moment, that figure was still in mid-air, and they could not regain their balance. They had also used up their trump card and was completely open to Link's attack.

Link then immediately used his signature move, the Titan's Hand.　　

Whoosh! The wind howled as the fire elemental concentrated on Link's wand. A huge hand took 0.2 seconds to take form and grabbed the figure tightly.

Link then exploded the fire elementals within the hand without hesitation.

Boom! Boom! The first sound came from the explosion within the Titan's Hand. However, the second one came from the figure, who had exploded their Battle Aura to escape from the attack.

Link had already seen through their ultimate retaliation move. They thus had no intention to be entangled with Link any longer. The moment they escaped from the Titan's Hand, they started running in the opposite direction.　

This figure seemed to be using all their strength this time around, releasing their Battle Aura constantly and evoking a Battle Skill meant for escaping purposes.

Whoosh! Three identical dark purple images appeared in the air and ran in three different directions. Link then had to choose one of them to attack.

Dorias was completely dumbfounded by the Battle Skill. He muttered, "The one on the left is real... no... it's the one on the right... that's not correct either. Don't tell me it's the one running straight?"

He basically said a bunch of crap.　　

If it was another Magician facing this figure today, he would definitely have escaped. However, Link was an exception. Link was not all that powerful, but he recognized this exact tactic.

"I was still thinking who this was. So it is you, Dark Prince!"

The Dark Prince was the third successor to the throne in the Dark Elves Pralync Kingdom. He possessed the royal Silver Moon blood and was known to like adventures. He had an extremely high reputation and was a highly-regarded Dark Elf Ranger.　

This man was blessed by fate and had great talent in both Battle Aura and magic. He was especially skilled in crafting magic equipment.　　

The purple ray just now was from his prided weapon called the Remnant of Death. Its special effect was its ability to fire three Level-7 spells consecutively. However, after the third time, it then had to be recharged before it could be used again.

His Battle Aura was unique as well. Half of it was from his family traditional Battle Aura stance while another half was of his own innovation. This Battle Aura had many advantages, the unique one being its invisibility effect. If the Dark Prince did not receive any damage of interference for three seconds, he could enter the invisibility state.

The current skill he was using to split himself into three images was called The Dark Flower Blossoms.

This was the Dark Prince's most prized escape technique. He could produce two completely indiscernible images of himself and had never failed him before. At least, that was what happened before he met Link.　

Link paid no attention to the three images. Instead, he once again cast the Titan's Hand and grabbed the area in the center of the three images. He then exploded the fire elementals within it without hesitation.

Argh! A cry of pain shot through the air. The Titan's Hand had caught the real Dark Prince!

The reason was simple. The three images formed by the Dark Flower Blossoms Skill were all fakes. The real Dark Prince would be forced to stay in the original position for around 0.2 seconds after casting such a complicated Battle Skill.

If someone did not know about this trick, this Battle Skill would have been the perfect skill to use for escaping purposes. However, once someone had discovered its true form, this 0.2 seconds would be fatal to the Dark Prince.

The Titan's Hand then brought the Dark Prince back to Link's side. He was now barely hanging onto life.

With a thought, the Remnant of Death weapon on the Dark Prince's hand was transferred to Link. After observing it for a moment, Link said regretfully, "It can only be activated using a special Battle Aura. It won't be of any use to me. Forget it; the material is still good. We will disassemble it and use them for other purposes next time."

He then stared at the Dark Prince held in the air by the Titan's Had before saying, "Walter?"

This was the Dark Prince's name.

Walter then sighed as he said, "Since you recognize me, I don't wish to live anymore. Please give me a quick death."

The human race and the Dark Elves were deadly enemies. They would not end a fight without one party dying. There was nothing left to say.

Link then shook his head and said, "That will be going too easy on you. You are here for the same reason as us. Both of us want to get our hands on that woman, but along the way, you have also protected her multiple times. She seems to be your friend and probably would not bear to see you die. I can use you to coerce her into giving me information."

Upon hearing Link's words, Dorias was slightly puzzled. What did he mean by here for the woman? Didn't they track the Undead Warriors down all the way without knowing what exactly was happening?

He was just about to clarify things with Link when he felt a pinch on his back. He then had the sudden realization that Link was trying to trick information out of this Dark Elf.

Walter indeed thought that Link already knew the situation and sneered, "You have gotten the wrong idea. Alloa is my enemy. I attempted to kill you only because you are Link."

Alloa? Link gasped. Alloa. Human and Dark Elf mixed blood.

In the game, she first served the Dark Elves and subsequently joined the humans after the Dark Elves started summoning demons from other dimensions.　　

Her magic talent was merely ordinary. Even in the late game, she merely just reached the strength equivalent of Legendary. However, she possessed amazing talent in terms of insight and observation skills, a talent that even put Eliard to shame.

Hence, she had another alias called "the Maiden of Truth."

In the game, Alloa was of great help in their fight against the dark forces. Before her death, she cast her final spell, Ripples of Destruction, in an attempt to stop the demon army from heading South.

Destruction Ripple

Ungraded Rank

Forbidden Curse

Effect: By taking advantage of the flaw in the principles governing the World of Firuman, it creates waves of destruction ripple in a hundred-mile radius that can eradicate all beings in Firuman with the exception of Divine Gears!　

The official site of the game had also created a detailed cutscene for the explosion of the spell. Link had witnessed its power first-hand, and he could testify that even a Legendary spell did not possess even a thousandth of its prowess.

The game company even created a special documentary titled the "Fall of the Maiden of Truth" due to the popularity of this scene.

Using the power of the Destruction Ripple spell, Alloa destroyed the entire demon army in one blow. Almost 50000 high-level demons were reduced to nothingness, though she had also disappeared without a trace. No one knew her whereabouts till this date.

Link did not think that the Maiden of Truth would betray the Dark Elves so soon in this timeline.

After he heaved a long sigh of relief, Link felt something moving in his field of vision. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the message for the completion of the quest. A new mission then appeared.

Mission: Rescue

Task: Help Alloa regain her freedom.

Reward: None　

Alright, this was the first mission that would offer no reward at all. However, simply from the fact that Alloa had created an immortal body, she was worth saving.

Link believed that he would benefit greatly if he saved Alloa.

He then looked at Walter and asked, "Since she is an enemy, why wouldn't you kill her... you won't answer my question, so let me guess. She must have found something peculiar that you want. Therefore, you people want to force her to hand it in. Am I right?"

Walter then sneered, "Even a fool would realize that."

Dorias was infuriated. If Link was a fool, then what would that make him? He pressed his paws against Walter and said, "Link, let me end him!"

Link the shook his head, "No, he is Dark Elf royalty. He will be useful. Take him to the Northern Fortress and hang him on the castle wall. I believe the Dark Elves' expressions will be fun to watch."

"Damn it, kill me now! Kill me!" Walter started struggling while he bellowed.

Dorias then gave him a hard smack on the head to knock him out.

Link then dismounted from Dorias' back and said, "Dorias, bring this guy back to the Scorched Ridge. He is important, do not let him get away."

"No problem at all. What about you?"

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend. I am going to save her," Link said.