Advent of the Archmage
chapter-311

Dragon Temple　

The Red Dragon Queen was in an exceptionally unstable state. The dragons were all busy trying to suppress the dark forces corroding the consciousness of their queen. No one had any time to care about Link and Elin.

The situation was indeed dire. Streams of dark forces could be seen emerging from the void, spinning itself around Red Dragon Queen as though it was weaving a web, pulling her bit by bit into the abyss of darkness.

Under the corrosion of the dark forces, the efforts of the Red Dragon elders were simply futile. They were like insects trying to stop the advancement of a war chariot, whose fate was to be completely obliterated.

Elin whispered, "Shall we run?"　

There were at least 30 Red Dragon elders. The weakest one was at least Level-8 in strength. If even such a powerful team could not resolve this issue, what could the both of them do?　

The best course of action now was to leave this place quickly. As for the fallen Red Dragon Queen—they would find a way to deal with it next time.　　

Link felt that he did not have the ability to intervene in this issue just yet. Although it was disastrous that the Red Dragon Queen had fallen, his power was limited. Furthermore, the fight with Osiris had completely depleted his Mana Points.

He slowly retreated as he whispered, "We will find Felina and take her with us."

He could care less about the other dragons. However, Felina was a friend. They also needed her instincts to show them out of his terrifying Dragon Valley.

Elin had no opinions on that. She nodded and said, "Be quiet, we will leave quietly.　

In order to not attract attention, the two of them retreated slowly while keeping their eyes on the elders. Link then waved at Nana, a signal for her to follow them.　　

Time was tight, and Link still had not fixed the damages on Nana's body. She did not possess the terrifying outburst of speed that she usually had, though she could still walk normally. If she put in her best effort, she could probably still travel at a speed of 300 feet per second.

Growl! The Red Dragon Queen howled loudly again. Her voice was filled with agony and insanity. It sent chills down the spine of everyone present.

More dragons appeared, arriving from all directions of the Dragon Temple. They turned into their dragon form and quickly transferred energy to the Red Dragon Queen in a bid to help her resist the dark forces of corrosion.

The Dragon Temple became increasingly chaotic. In front of these huge figures, Link, Elin, and Nana were like two small mice amongst a herd of elephants. They looked as if they were going to be trampled anytime.

Suddenly, Link saw a condensed drop of tears at the feet. He quickly glanced around, and after making sure that no one was keeping tabs on him, he picked up the tear stealthily. That was his second one! What a harvest!

As time passed, the situation became extremely grim.

The scales on the Red Dragon Queen's body was originally crimson red in color while shining with a crystal-like exterior. However, it was now turning sinister black. Her eyes, which were originally shining with golden brilliance, were now smoking with a black aura around them. Her claws which used to be metallic-gold had become dull-grey.　　　

Almost all the dragons in the Dragon Temple had arrived. There were around thousands of them. This included the Apocalypse Dragon Guards. Their numbers and strength were simply unimaginable. However, even this amount of strength was insufficient in the face of a Sacred Gear. Their attempts were futile. 　　

The Red Dragon Queen continued to howl in pain. Her motionless body started stirring and jerking uncontrollably. She was not trying to resist the corrosion of the Dark Sacred Gear but trying to unshackle herself from the control of the Red Dragon elders.

The strength of a Legendary individual was terrifying. Even with the entire group of Red Dragon elders who were Level-8 in strength and three of them who were Level-9 in strength, they could not even pin her down. They were blown away by the constant struggles of the Red Dragon Queen even when she had not unleashed her full power.　

The situation was getting out of hand.　　

Link and Elin were horrified at the scene. They stopped caring about stealth and ran for their lives.　　

They had no choice. Elin was only Level-7 in strength and specialized in Secret Magic. This type of magic was completely useless against a dragon. On the other hand, Link had only 400 Mana Points left. It was not even enough for self-protection.

It would be dumb to not escape when the Red Dragon Queen was about to go insane!

However, the Dragon Temple was simply too huge. They not only had to run at full speed but also dodge the huge claws of the dragons which threatened to trample them every step of the way. They were out of breath by the time they reached the entrance.　

They were just about to escape from the Dragon Temple when they were forced to stop. A huge magic barrier appeared at the entrance to the Dragon Temple. It stood in the way of their escape.　

This magic barrier was black in color and almost opaque. Countless black runes encircled the barrier, and an intense principle-based aura surged through the spell. 　　

Elin tried casting a Fireball spell onto the magic barrier. However, before the fireball reached the barrier, it fizzled out.

Link then walked forward and checked the runes on the barrier carefully. After a few minutes, he shook his head as he said bitterly, "This barrier contains the power of the principles. If I am not wrong, this should be the power of the Balanced Scale. We are trapped, together with all the dragons."

At that moment, the red dragons were still helping their queen. They seemed to not realize their predicament. However, the truth was that the moment their queen descends into insanity, everyone present would die!

Many screams could be heard, including the cries of the Red Dragon Queen and the bellows of the Red Dragon elders. 　　

"Your Majesty, you cannot give up!"

"Your Majesty, please stay sane. You cannot be controlled by the Balanced Scale!"

"My Queen, our race needs you!"

However, these cries of desperation were to no avail. The Red Dragon Queen continued slipping into the abyss of darkness.

From Link's observations, the Red Dragon Queen must have already recognized the severity of the situation and wished to fight against the dark forces. However, the moment of carelessness had already allowed the forces of darkness to break through her psychological defenses.　　

She was powerless now.

"What do we do?" Elin shouted.　　

As she said those words, her small body disappeared for a moment. After a split second, she appeared again and said in a tone of despair, "The Soul Realm has been sealed as well. We have no way out!"　

Link was calmer as he still had one last method he had not tried!　　

He walked towards Nana and unsheathed the dagger she kept tied at the side of her thighs. He then charged the dagger with mana, causing the space around the dagger to distort.

This distortion was not necessary. In fact, this was only a disguise, to conceal the true power of this dagger.

"Do you have a way to destroy this barrier? Does Spatial Magic work?" Elin thought that Link was going to try out some novel Spatial spells again. She did not even think about the special powers the dagger wielded.　

From her perspective, this dagger might be sharp and of epic quality, but Link's Spatial Magic was still the fundamental force at work.

"I'll give it a try!" Link muttered. He then walked towards the dark barrier and slashed at it with full force.

A light clinking sound could be heard. An opening could be seen on the sturdy and impenetrable Legendary Barrier!

That was not all.

When the opening appeared, the dark forces within the Dragon Temple trembled slightly. There was complete silence for a moment. Even the howls of the Red Dragon Queen seemed to have stopped. 　　　　

"It worked!" Link was elated. The Breakpoint dagger could really sever anything in the world, true to its name!

Link then made another attack on the dark barrier. Another opening then appeared, causing black smog to appear. Closer inspection would reveal that this smog was formed from countless tiny black runes.

As the smog dissipated into the air, the black barrier became dimmer and more transparent.

The Red Dragon Queen seemed to be coping better as well. The Red Dragon Elders who were suppressing the dark forces also felt the diminishing pressure from the Dark Sacred Gear.

"What is going on?" The elders were confused. There were too many huge dragons in the temple. They did not even see Link and company who were hiding behind one of them.

"Has the queen come around?"

"No matter what, this calls for a celebration. Increase the intensity of the power transfer, help the queen at all cost!" Chancellor Pettalong shouted. This instilled faith and hope in the dragons at the scene. They then increased the rate of power transfer to the Red Dragon Queen.　

Link was extremely excited as well. The Breakpoint dagger was truly a weapon comparable to that of the Divine Gear. To think that it could destroy a structure made by a Sacred Gear so easily. The power of the singularity was truly terrifying.

He then made use of the Cheetah's Agility spell and leaped high into the air, before plunging the Breakpoint dagger into the barrier. Following which, he slashed downwards with full force.

Psshh! Like a curtain that was completely torn apart, the Breakpoint dagger left a deep crack on the barrier. More smog then escaped into the atmosphere.

A Legendary Barrier was indeed different from an ordinary one.

If an ordinary barrier were to suffer such damage, the structure would have disintegrated a long time ago. However, the Legendary Barrier was different. This barrier had already suffered many cracks, and opening's from Link's attacks and could still hold its integrity. It even attempted to repair the damage done to it.

Link would not give it the chance. He could only think about escaping at this point. He slashed with fervor and insanity, chipping away its strength bit by bit.

Elin stared at the scene in disbelief. Her eyes were wide opened as she asked, "Link, what kind of power is this? Is Spatial Magic really so powerful?"

Link then spouted some nonsense, "I am using a type of Spatial slash. This attack can destroy any being on the World of Firuman. However, my Mana is limited, which reduces the scale of the attack. That doesn't matter though! I will be able to destroy this barrier. When that time comes, we will be able to escape."　

"Yes!" Elin was extremely inspired. She then praised heartily, "Link, you are so powerful!"　

Her eyes blinked in admiration as she said those words. Elin thought, This human is undoubtedly the Chosen One! His power is out of this world!

On the other side, the Red Dragon elders could clearly feel the weakening of the dark forces.　　

Pettalong shouted in excitement, "The dark forces are being suppressed. It is weakening fast. Quick! The Queen will be saved! Press on, my brothers!"

This Red Dragon elder lost all his indifference and became extremely passionate. He transferred his dragon force to the queen without hesitation. He seemed to believe that this was due to the combined efforts of the red dragons.

This situation lasted for three minutes.

Three minutes later, a cracking sound could be heard. Something had been destroyed. Following which, a ragged and torn Balanced Scale fell from the void. It landed on the ground before shattering into fragments. Its surface seemed to be ridden with dents and cuts, as though it were sliced mercilessly before its destruction.

"This is...?" The dragons stared at the Balanced Scale in shock.

"Could this be the proverbial Balanced Scale? It does not look like it," a voice rang.

"The scale is broken?"　　

At that moment, the Red Dragon Queen had awakened. The dark forces corroding her had been completely dispelled, and she had returned to her normal state.

"What happened to me?" The queen shook her head and was still in a trance.　

This immediately caught the attention of the red dragons at the scene. Pettalong exclaimed, "My queen, are you alright?"　　

"I have a slight headache, but that should be all. Hey…Why did the Balanced Scale turn out like this?" She said as she fixed her gaze onto the debris on the ground. The exquisite and immaculate Sacred Gear was now heavily deformed and damaged. The light enveloping it had also disappeared. It was simply a pile of scrap metal now.

The red dragons exchanged glances apprehensively.

"Does this mean that we destroyed the Sacred Gear?" a voice rang. This was unimaginable.

"Do we even possess such power? This does not make sense."

"It should be due to the power of the queen."

Everyone on site, including the Red Dragon Queen, was confused by the destroyed Sacred Gear. They also felt an inexplicable sadness. After all, this was the only Sacred Gear the dragon race possessed. It was such a waste that it was destroyed.

At that moment, none of the dragons realized that two small figures had left the temple stealthily.　　

"Elin, when the queen asks about the Sacred Gear later, do not mention anything about me. I cannot afford to repay the dragon race another Sacred Gear," Link hid behind the door to the temple and whispered into Elin's ear.

"Alright, but this Sacred Gear doesn't seem all that impressive," Elin seemed to have forgotten her fears. She hid behind the door and peeked through the gap between a thick dragon leg. She simply saw a pile of scrap metal on the ground with no resemblance to a majestic Sacred Gear.　　　

Link fell speechless. He was just trying to break out of the dark barrier. Little did he know that his dark barrier was the Balanced Scale itself. To think that he destroyed a Sacred Gear just like that while saving the Red Dragon Queen at the same time.

He did not expect it at all. He was just trying to escape.

Looking at the dagger in his hand, Link gulped nervously and quickly handed the dagger back to Nana. After witnessing the Breakpoint dagger's true power, Nana seemed to have taken a liking to it. She put it away carefully.

At that moment, Red Dragon Queen Gretel's voice could be heard, "Where did our guests go?"

She seemed to have remembered Link and Elin.