Advent of the Archmage
chapter-286

The road before the Necropolis' gate.

Faced with the charging high-level demons and Undead Knights, Joseph shouted, "Stop them! Stop them!"

With Joseph as the leader, the Royal Knights charged to the front and started fighting directly with the enemies! The ten Royal Knights all activated their Holy Grail Battle Auras. There was a gust of wind instantly, and holy storms swept from all the Royal Knights. The different halos appeared as well.

Protective Halo

All light organisms within 150 feet will have their defensive abilities against dark power raised by 50%. Their protective abilities against biological attacks raise by 100%, and speed is also raised by 50%.

Thorn Halo

Attacks suffered by all light organisms within 150 feet will rebound to the attacker at 30% of the original strength. The attack must not be higher than Level-8.

Brilliant Halo

All light organisms within 150 feet will have their elements raised by 20%.

Instantly, everyone was surrounded by a layer of thick white light. Various light runes flowed through it, making the sight extremely glamorous. The Royal Knights used their own power to create a territory of light in this toxic forest filled with darkness.

The next moment, the demons arrived. The first one was the Fodor Flaming Demon.

The vitality of high-level demons was honestly too strong. This Fodor Flaming Demon had been stabbed by Nana twice earlier and had its arm broken. Now, it looked completely fine!

The only difference was its weapons. It originally had two burning demon swords, but one had been destroyed so now it only had an average saber.

Seeing it charge forward, Joseph went to meet it without hesitation.

Cling. Clang. The two exchanged countless strikes without either gaining the upper hand.

Indeed, the Fodor Flaming Demon had near-perfect swordsmanship, but it had changed its weapon and was not yet accustomed to it. Earlier, its arm had been wounded by Nana too. It seemed okay from the surface, but it was still a problem in high-intensity fighting. Even worse, the Royal Knights had many halos, most notably the Thorn Halo. The demon could feel the reverberations from the opponent very clearly.

This made the demon hold back.

It was the opposite for Joseph. He had no concerns and put in his all. There was nothing to worry about; he just had to kill the demon before him. He displayed his strongest power.

With this shift, the Fodor Flaming Demon who could hold its ground with Nana was now incomparable to Joseph.

Milda fought too. She took out three fist-sized seeds and poured her Mana in. The seeds instantly glowed with green light. Then she tossed them forward. "Grow, my little soldiers!"

This was a Planting Spell unique to the High Elves. Right now, Milda used it to create the most powerful Plant Warriors of the High Elves—Golden Tree Spirits!

Golden Tree Spirits

Level-7 Planting Spell

Effect: When the seeds are filled with enough Mana and are introduced to oxygen, soil, and water, it will instantly sprout and turn into resilient Tree Spirits with shocking combat power. These Tree Spirits use vines with poisonous thorns as whips. Tree Spirits can also spray seeds with immense explosive power. It is enough for the opponent to feel their internal organs split apart.

(Note: This is a special spell of elven royalty. Each casting consumes large amounts of vitality and should not be used often.)

With a boom, the seeds dropped onto the ground. They immediately burrowed into the soil and started sprouting. After a few seconds, three 16-foot-tall Tree Spirits appeared amongst the mass of enemies.

These Tree Spirits were made entirely of dark gold vines twisted together. The wood material was very resilient, and their attacks were crude and aggressive. As soon as the thick and thorny golden vines appeared, they started whipping the demons and undead.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! The vines' sounds were impressive, surprisingly cracking in the air. Some Undead Knights were flung into the air from the hit; some unlucky ones got hit in the head, which instantly exploded.

The high-level demons were not much better. They were strong and just stumbled backward when they got hit once or twice. However, these Tree Spirits were too efficient. Their storm-like whips were unavoidable.

A Thousand Eye Demon was distracted for a second and was whipped dozens of times. Its flesh burst open, and a few dozen pairs of eyes went blind from the hits too. It writhed on the ground in pain.

This was not all. The vines of these Tree Spirits also had golden buds. They swelled up like balloons and exploded with pops, spraying out dozens of seeds.

Pop, pop, pop! The seeds exploded inside the undead soldiers. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Countless poisonous thorns wreaked havoc within the crowd.

The toxin was not very effective against the undead, but it was great against the demons. The demons could survive with their strong vitality, but they were still in immense pain, affecting their power.

"F*ck! Kill these damn things!" Half of the Thousand Eye Demon's eyes had gone blind. It roared in pain and charged at the Tree Spirits.

The three Golden Tree Spirits had terrifying combat power. They battled with a large amount of Undead Knights as soon as they appeared, while also fighting with five high-level demons.

Therefore, the Royal Knights only truly faced two high-level demons. Joseph dealt with one, while the other nine Royal Knights fought the other one. They were evenly matched.

During this, Link was gathering the Holy Power. A spatial lens appeared beside him. The Holy Power was guided out, and it entered the spatial lens to be further agglomeration so it could achieve a higher combat effect.

Link had used this in the Black Forest against Auselia.

However, last time he had used this to gather the power of the light runes. Now, he was using it to save the Holy Power of the statue. Yes, the statue contained enough Holy Power to cast a Level-9 spell, but if he purely guided the power out and then let it explode, it would be a waste.

Without the restrictions of the Mana structure, the Holy Power could reach the level of a Level-9 spell. However, the cohesiveness would only be around Level-7. That sort of power could force the Undead Knights back but was not very threatening towards the high-level demons. They only needed to hide for a bit and come straight back after the explosion of Holy Power. It would be a tragedy at that point.

Therefore, Link prepared to use only half of the Holy Power. Then he would use the spatial lens to agglomerate the power into high-intensity Holy Power rays. That way, he could save some power and also be truly threatening to the demons.

Of course, this needed time. Even if it was only half of the Holy Power, it was still a lot and was difficult to control. He needed at least five seconds.

"Huh, they actually do have some skills," Misamier's voice rang out. She didn't join in at the start but seeing this situation with the human Magician's Holy Power aura growing heavier, she had to act.

"Kid, don't do small tricks behind my back," she said with a smile. When she said the first word, she was still 250 feet away. By her last word, she had already crossed the battlefield and was beside Joseph. She was so fast it was almost instantaneous.

Since she was beside Joseph, who was fighting the Fodor Flaming Demon, she offhandedly whipped him. The whip slashed down and didn't hit Joseph, but he suddenly felt unable to breathe as if he was suffocating.

That's her power? It's terrifying. I can't handle it! Joseph was entirely shocked. He immediately realized that he didn't even have the chance to block this hit. He couldn't do anything other than wait for death.

But he wasn't alone!

Just as the whip was about to hit him, Nana's short sword, the Last Nightmare, appeared beside him. With a snick, it blocked the strongest whip and sliced down, cutting the whip.

Oh? Interesting. Misamier collected her whip and dodged Nana's sword. She shook her arm slightly, and the whip seemed to come to life. It twisted and streaked towards Nana like lightning.

Crack! Nana was hit!

It wasn't because she reacted too slowly. She had just never fought against whips in her past battle experience. After she blocked it, the whip twisted, bypassed her sword, and broke through her defenses. It hit her square in the chest.

The attack seemed simple, but its damage was horribly shocking!

Nana's sturdy leather armor instantly exploded and flew out like butterflies. Using her battle experience, Nana stepped back the moment the whip reached her body. She successfully avoided 90% of the hit. The remaining ten percent hit her body and actually left a deep gash in the outer skin.

Thankfully, she was able to automatically recover. The wound lasted for two seconds before disappearing.

Such a fast magic puppet, you little thing. Were you the one who defeated Auselia? Misamier was taken aback, but she wasn't shocked. This little thing was fast, but it didn't pose a threat.

Misamier only had Level-8 strength, but she had a powerful soul; it was strong enough to control legendary strength. She could easily follow Nana's speed with her eyes and make the needed reactions.

Since one whip was dodged, she lashed out again. Her whip was almost ten feet long. When she released the long whip, she also flew forward. The whip went at Nana's face like a poisonous snake.

If Nana was hit, it would be over for her. She instantly waved her sword to block it.

Ha, you didn't learn? Misamier shook her whip to bypass the blade just like last time.

But the next moment, Nana's blade moved as well. Her other sword, Whispers of the Forest, followed quickly. After some quick movements, it entangled the whip and the main sword, the Last Nightmare, sliced down.

The whip was instantly cut and it shortened by at least three feet.

Indeed, Nana had never met an opponent who used a whip before but now she had. One had to pay a price for trying the same trick twice on her. After cutting Misamier's whip, Nana started up again. With extreme speed, there was a boom in the air, and her blade was zooming toward Misamier's forehead.

Huh, she's quite powerful, but I can still use my whip.

There was a crack, and the whip again slapped toward Nana like a snake. This time, Misamier used all her strength. The whip seemed to be directionless and impossible to predict.

Boom. Nana didn't dare to risk it. She quickly retreated in mid-air. The force fields on her feet activated, and she veered to the side, dodging it. The opponent's techniques were too strange. She'd never seen them before, so she didn't want to risk it. If she was hit again, she might really be damaged.

You hide pretty quickly but the person you're protecting…

The whip turned halfway through and went toward Link. He was about to get hit! Romilson, who hadn't been doing anything other than maintaining the defensive spell finally acted—Jade Crystal Shield.

Jade Crystal Shield

Level-7 Spell

Effect: Creates a crystal jade-like light shield. When blocking an enemy's attack, it can rebound 30% of the strength.

(Note: A High Elf spell.)

Romilson had been holding this defensive spell in his hand since the start of the battle. Casting it now was very effective.

With a crack, the whip struck the Jade Crystal Shield. Misamier was a Level-8 Warrior, and a Level-7 Shield obviously couldn't withstand her. It trembled and disappeared. However, its rebound power had an effect.

Misamier felt her arm vibrate and even feel a bit numb. The originally smooth and perfect whip suddenly had a flaw. Nana snatched this opportunity to zoom back. The Last Nightmare sword stabbed Misamier's ribcage. The Whispers of the Forest was ready for any of the whip's attacks!

This was the technique Nana had concluded from before. It was offense and defense in one.

Huh? Misamier finally felt pressure; she was forced back.

Just at this time, Link completed the spell!

He moved his wand lightly. The spatial lens before him suddenly hovered 30 feet in the sky. Then, there were countless zaps as Holy Power beams shot out!

Every high-level demon on the battlefield shook. Clear wounds appeared on the heads of at least six demons. The only one who dodged this was Misamier. At the last moment, she turned to the side as if she had predicted this and escaped from the terrifying Holy Power.

The wounds were in the head and went clean though. It was also the Holy Power, designed specifically to counter demons. With wounds like this, even a demon would die instantly.

After that one attack, six of the nine high-level demons fell directly to the ground. Two demons dodged at the last moment but still had a gaping hole in their bodies. The Holy Power burned away most of their combat power.

The Royal Knights instantly turned them into meat pie!

Misamier realized this situation was off. She glared at Link and uttered, "Magician, I'll remember you!"

With that, she sped backwards at extreme speed. Nana chased after her. Misamier's whip lashed out, and Nana immediately blocked it with her sword.

With a snick, Nana sliced off the whip again. However, she also flew backward from the whip's great force. In that timeframe, Misamier had retreated into the white fog and disappeared.

"Nana, the Undead Knights!" Link called her back.

With the high-level demons dead, the Undead Knights were even less advantaged. The Golden Tree Spirits whipped down furiously, the Royal Knights supported, the three Magicians reinforced, and Nana was even more powerful. Within three minutes, the hundreds of Undead Knights were all taken care of.

A message flashed across Link's vision.

Completed mission to defeat the demons.

Player received magic spell book, Flame and Purification

Start mission: The Last Battle

Mission content: defeat Wavier, capture Wavier's undying soul.

Mission reward: Flame magic spell book, Slayer of Demons

Link received three books about flame spells at once. He didn't have time to read them, so he just accepted them.

There was still a patch of fog before his eyes. He looked towards everyone. "Now, only Wavier is left!"

…

Necropolis.

Wavier looked at the miserable succubus. "It hasn't even been half an hour," he said in confusion. "Why are you back?"

"Sorry, I'm not at their level. I couldn't stop them." Misamier looked quite pitiful.

Wavier glanced at the 4000 people who still hadn't been sacrificed and furrowed his brows. "You're such a disappointment!"

He could already feel the approaching light aura, making him even more frustrated. After thinking for a few seconds, he cackled coldly. "With all these living people here, you'll definitely want to save them. Ha, I won't let you get your wish!"

He turned to an Undead Knight and ordered, "Go and kill them all! Don't leave a single one alive!"