Advent of the Archmage
chapter-417

Whoosh, whoosh. Felina flapped her wings lightly and descended gradually. A few seconds later, there was a thud. She landed beside the soldiers.

"Alert… Wait!" Celine saw Link on the dragon's back.

The moment before, her lips were pursed and her brows furrowed. She gripped the fire gun, eyes looking left and right in solemn caution. It was as if she was about to face a storm. But now, a smile bloomed like clear skies after rain.

Dorias roared happily and jumped towards Link. When he was closer, the big tiger laughed. "Link, look, look, I kept your girl safe. She didn't get hurt at all."

He circled around Link, but he was a bit hobbled. Link noticed that there was a long scorch mark on Dorias' right hind leg. The wound was very deep, and even the muscles had been torn. Link realized immediately that it was caused by a demon, most likely a Fodor Flaming Demon.

Link's temple pulsed. Now he knew why Celine was so tense earlier.

He jumped down from Felina's back and patted Dorias. "Don't move. Let me see your injury."

Dorias stopped and looked back at his injury. He was shocked too. "Hey, no wonder my butt hurts. I didn't think it would be this bad."

He'd been too preoccupied with escaping and didn't realize this.

Celine also jumped down from Dorias' back. She was shocked too when she saw the injury. "I'm sorry," she said guiltily. "I didn't see it."

"Ah, it's nothing. It's just… ah! It hurts. Why is it suddenly hurting?!" Dorias caved in. His wounded leg suddenly lost all power.

Link walked over. He took out liquid Sacred Silver, added Dragon Power and gave it a shake. The Sacred Silver turned into a ball of silvery-red mist. Then he used the Magician's Hand to put the mist around the injury.

Dragon Power was able to heal wounds quickly while Sacred Silver could drive away demonic energy. Dorias was now a Magical Beast at the pinnacle of Level-7. He was very strong physically. Three minutes later, when Link sucked the Sacred Silver from Dorias' body, the wound had already started closing.

Dorias moved his back leg and grew happy. "Hey, it doesn't hurt anymore, really. Link, your healing method is so advanced. I use Sacred Silver too, but it always takes a few days before it stops hurting."

Link smiled. He patted Dorias' front leg and said, "Rest well these days."

Dorias recovered his energy and laughed. "Of course. I'm going to feast and get all the blood back."

At that time, Link looked to Celine. Upon closer inspection, she had lost a lot of weight. Her cheek was bleeding from getting hit by a branch. Celine looked at him too. Then she hurried over and buried herself in Link's arms.

After a long while, Celine finally looked up. "Is the North resolved?"

"Mostly," Link said, smiling. He gently smoothed Celine's hair and asked, "Were there pursuers in the forest?"

"Ah, a little trouble." Celine looked frustrated. "Recently, some demons appeared in the forest. They're difficult to deal with, and the fire gun isn't powerful enough. I can't kill them with one bullet."

"Demons?" Link thought about it. They probably came from the northern fortress. There weren't many of them, so they weren't likely to go to a well-protected city. The Southern Kingdom of Delonga used Dark Power, so they probably joined in.

"Tell me in detail what kind of demons," Link said as he walked to the fortress with Celina.

"They're mostly low-level demons, around Level-4 or 5. They're not that difficult, but there were also some Sword Demons and Claw Demons. Those can be killed too. But there's one Fodor Flaming Demon that's really dangerous!"

Dorias followed behind Link. He added, "That demon is too powerful. If I didn't run so fast, Celine would be dead."

Celina smiled gratefully at the tiger. "Yes, Dorias saved me so many times."

Link shuddered at the thought. "You did well," he said to Dorias. "When we go back, I can fulfill three of your wishes."

"Really? Great! I want to eat 100 black sheep from the Doska Kingdom. They have to be made by Chef Arak too. That's the first wish. Let me think about the other two."

Felina heard this and couldn't help but roll her eyes. Link's promises were so valuable, but this guy wasted one on some sheep. What a waste!

Link laughed heartily. "Alright, take your time thinking." Then he turned to Celine and asked, "Do you know the approximate location of the Fodor Flaming Demon?"

"It doesn't stay in one place, but it keeps coming to kill me. If I go to the forest, it'll appear within half an hour. Its nose is more sensitive than a dog's."

Link nodded, murderous intent surging in him. "Good, very good. That demon has pissed me off. We'll rest for a while to get our energy back. Then we'll go into the forest. Just the two of us."

Celine was shocked. "Just us? Isn't that too dangerous?"

Felina laughed. It would be dangerous indeed—however, it was dangerous for the Delongan army instead.

"What are you laughing at?" Celine was confused.

Dorias made a face. "This dragon has problems. She even laughed at me. She doesn't know how delicious Arak's sheep are!"

Felina didn't explain. She just kept laughing.

The group soon entered the fortress. It was actually a huge castle with a wall more than 500 feet wide around it. There were many magic cannons bought from the Yabbas on the wall.

"There are five of these castles on the border between the Ferde Territory and Girvent Forest," Celine explained. "Each one contains 2000 soldiers. With the cannons, crossbows, and bombs from the dwarves, we can manage to fend off the Delongan army."

Link looked at the castle. It felt like a defense force built solely from money. This was a good technique, and he liked it. He remembered that he hadn't developed the Magnetic Magic Island yet. No one would dare to fight him over it now. It was time to turn that island into power too.

After entering the fortress, all the soldiers who saw Celine immediately saluted with respectful expressions. It seemed that Celine had really made a name for herself.

Inside the fortress, Celine had her own room. "I'm all dirty from playing hide-and-seek from those people," she said, smiling. "I'll go wash up."

Link nodded. He prepared to go wait in the main hall with Felina, but then Celine smiled brightly and said, "Link, you're dirty too. Do you want to come?"

"My honor." Link obviously wouldn't say no.

The bath was amazing. Link wasn't a weak Magician now, and Celine's talent had continued awakening. She was now at Level-5, and because of training every day, she was fit too. They matched each other well.

Afterwards, Celine changed into dark leather armor. She looked like a lovely flower and Link was enamored. He wanted to have another round.

Celine quickly pushed him away. "I can't do it anymore. There are more important things."

Link finally gave up. They walked to the main hall in high spirits.

"Felina, I'm going to the Girvent Forest now. I'll be back soon."

"Go, go. Don't scare your girl." Felina waved her hand. Seeing Link and Celine together, she wasn't in a good mood.

Leaving the fortress again, Link took out the Nightingale Statue and summoned the two-person mount. "We'll ride this over."

"Really just the two of us?" Celine still wasn't confident. Even though she'd felt Link's power and strength earlier, it was still scary to stroll into enemy territory with just the two of them. What if they get surrounded?

"Let's go. It's getting late, and we have to get back for dinner." Link grasped Celine's thin waist and set her on the Nightmare Beast. He also climbed up and guided the mount to run towards the Girvent Forest at an average speed.

"Where are the headquarters?" Link asked.

"The River Cove Town. There are around 15,000 Dark Warriors there… Hey, why are you going there? There are many people there—all Dark Warriors and some of them undead." Celine panicked and pinched Link's arm.

Link chuckled and then wiped his smile away. "It's better when they're together. We can kill them all!"

Celine could feel his thoughts and fell quiet. After a few seconds, she asked, "Are you really sure? Their commander is a Level-8 Dark Assassin. There's also a group of 50 Battle Mages and more than 1000 Dark Griffin Knights, in addition to demons."

Link laughed. "I was worried they'd escape… Listen, someone's coming."

He could hear footsteps already. A cloud of dark aura appeared at the same time. The wind blew over a sulfuric scent. It was the characteristic smell of Fodor Flaming Demons.

Link slowed the Nightmare Beast. "The demon really does have its eyes on you. We've just entered the forest, and it's already here."

Celine didn't speak. She took out her fire gun, but Link stopped her.

"Don't worry. If it comes out, it'll die within three seconds."

Whoosh, whoosh. Wind blew through the forest, and the sulfuric scent grew heavier. He could clearly feel that the Fodor Flaming Demon was getting closer.

This continued for three minutes, and then something shocking happened. The wind suddenly stopped, and the sulfuric scent disappeared. The forest grew peaceful again.

Celine's heart tremors stopped. She blinked, confused. "I think it left. Why?"

Link smirked. "I guess it's smart so I'll let it live a bit longer. Let's continue to River Cove."