Advent of the Archmage

Rumble, Rumble!

Half a mile outside the scientific capital of Lariel City, the magic cannons belonging to the Dark Elves were bombarding Lariel's magic defenses.

Lariel had no city walls. Instead, the city was surrounded by a magic dome barrier. This barrier was extremely strong and possessed the strength of a Level-9 expert. It was extraordinary, at least 30 feet thick, with a diameter of over 2.5 miles.

Every shot from the magic cannon was equivalent to the power of an expert Level-6 attack. Yet, although the Dark Elves had continuously bombarded the city for three days and expended over a thousand cannon shells, the magic barrier had only thinned slightly.

When Aymons arrived at the scene, the cannons were still going off without stopping.

"What's the situation?" Aymons immediately went to the commander's camp to ask his disciple, Lawndale.

In this sneak attack on the Yabbas, Aymons was the overall commander. The commander amongst the demons was Misamier, while Lawndale was Aymons's deputy commander, as well as his greatest assistant.

"The strength of the barrier has decreased by 8.3% from three days ago. At this rate, we will be able to reduce its strength to under 50% in 20 days. At that time, with the strength of the alliance between the demons and us Dark Elves, we will successfully break into and conquer Lariel City," Lawndale reported, being very precise with the estimates.

"Twenty days? Can the magic crystal keep up with the consumption?" Aymons asked.

The magic cannons were powered by special magic crystals obtained from the Yabbas. They had obtained this technology from previous Yabba cities that they conquered, and as for the magic crystals, the only way to obtain them was from the sky city Pollol. Because that was the only factory that produced these crystals, the crystals were extremely limited.

If it weren't for the limitation because of the crystals, they would have fired way more than a thousand shots in the last three days. In fact, they might even have broken through the barrier by now.

Lawndale replied confidently, "There shouldn't be any problems. Actually, I've discovered the blueprints for the crystal factory and am constructing one such crystal factory for our clan. It should be ready to begin production in half a month. At that time, our rate of attack can increase by one fold!"

Aymons revealed a slight smile. He loved to see his disciple's confident demeanor. Then, he asked, "How many cannons we have now? What about airships? I want an exact number."

Lawndale found this queries strange, but he reported the numbers nonetheless. "We have 500 cannons, of which 200 are being used in battle. Among them, 50 were built by us, although they aren't as effective. We also have five airships, and each airship contains 50 more cannons. Although we can maneuver them in the air now, it will take a bit more practice to properly use them in battle."

"The airships can't be deployed yet? Isn't there a team of Yabba pilots?"

Lawndale replied, "Teacher, I was just about to report this to you. The Yabba puppets that are controlled by the Dark Serpent are completely useless. Operating the airships is a very delicate process. These puppets' minds are not in perfect condition, and they can't do it. In fact, they've already ruined one airship."

Hearing this report, Aymons pondered in silence.

Then, Aymons went to the frontlines of battle. The moment he revealed himself, multiple musket shots were fired in his direction by Yabba musketeers. They were very fierce and precise, and it was because of them that the Dark Army had taken such damage.

Of course, this attack was ineffective against Aymons. Around his body appeared a barrier. Clang clang clang. Upon hitting the barrier, the bullets simply dropped to the ground.

Aymons inspected the thick magic barrier around Lariel and sighed.

The Yabba's magic barrier was not only incomparably thick, but it was also extremely well-designed.

It was not simply one thick piece of barrier which would collapse upon breaking. No, it was made of multiple layers of small barriers, such that even if a few were destroyed, the other layers would still be unaffected.

With this kind of defense, it would be useless even if Aymons used the Divine Gear to attack. All he could do was to open an isolated hole that, were his forces to use to enter, would incite an attack from the Yabbas all around it. Such an attack was doomed to fail.

Over the course of history, the ancient Yabba people had faced many such attacks. Their history was only slightly shorter than the even more ancient Yabba people.

After observing for another ten seconds, Aymons turned around and said to Lawndale, "Prepare to retreat!"

Lawndale was shocked. "Teacher, but why?"

Aymons responded with an explanation that was not really an explanation. However, he knew that his disciple would understand. "Link has mastered a Legendary magic spell. Furthermore, he has returned to Orida Fortress with news of our attack."

Lawndale immediately shut his mouth.

He knew that this attack on the Yabbas was a covert operation. This was why they had done all they could to prevent information from leaking out. Once the alliance got wind of their activities, the Dark Army would have to face an attack from two sides. Furthermore, Link had unexpectedly mastered a Legendary spell. That would make him a Legendary-level Magician. How could he have ascended so quickly?

Aymons continued, "Misamier and I went to subdue him. In the end, Misamier was killed, and I had no choice but to teleport away. Not only has he mastered a Legendary spell, but his puppet also possesses enough power to oppose the Divine Gear. I suspect that Link gained some knowledge on how to fight against the Divine Gear from the dragons."

Lawndale was shocked, but his mind still ran through his plans quickly. "In that case, we've got to take down Orida Fortress before our opponents are ready. No matter what, we need to take down this stronghold."

"Exactly." Aymons was pleased with his disciple. Whatever he entrusted to his disciple, it would be completed to his satisfaction, with no gaps left behind.

"Teacher, there will certainly be no problems for our army to retreat. But what about the demons…?" The demons weren't under the control of the Dark Elves, and since Misamier was dead, they had lost their chain of command.

"Leave that to me. I will contact Nozama, Lord of the Deep."

After leaving the frontlines, Aymons immediately went to the summoning blood pool.

The entrance to the blood pool was deep in the forest. Around it were numerous high-leveled demons guarding it. It was so heavily guarded that not even a fly could enter. Even Aymons who was the summoner of the demons could not simply enter as he wished.

As he approached the forest, he was stopped by a fear demon. "Sir Aymons, now is not the time for summoning. What business have you?"

Aymons knew that this fear demon was not the only guard in the area. Around them were hidden at least three-dimensional demons. If he made any suspicious moves, he would immediately come under attack by these demons. Maintaining his composure, he said, "I have something important to discuss with your lord. Please lead the way."

The fear demon was silent for a while. In fact, he seemed to be distracted. Aymons knew that the demon was using some secret art to communicate with the demon guarding by the side of the summoning blood pool, and so he waited quietly.

After a moment, the fear demon asked, "Where is commander Misamier? Why isn't she here?"

"I was going to discuss that with your lord. Misamier has met a bad end."

The fear demon was shocked. "What! How could she have died? Who killed her?"

Aymons was beginning to lose his patience. "This is exactly what I am going to discuss with your lord!"

The fear demon looked distracted again, and finally, after a while, he moved aside. "Please enter."

Aymons walked forward, entering into a thick fog. In the fog was a mysterious passage, and as he walked into the passage, Aymons had a sense that time and space was being distorted.

He knew that this was a teleportation portal. Although it looked short, it was actually over 250 miles long and lead into a deep valley within the Black Forest.

Just like this, in five minutes, he found himself in a wide-open field. From the ground wafted up black and red columns of smoke which filled the air with a thick scent of sulfur and helium. The sky was painted a blood red, and within it could be seen waves of ripples, as though it were a sea of blood.

In this field, there was a circular blood pond over 90 feet wide. The blood within the pond bubbled, emitting white gases. As these white gases spread out, they formed into a miserable looking face.

It was very horrifying.

Maintaining his composure, Aymons manipulated the Dark Serpent, using it to carry himself forward. After walking forward 30 feet, a black figure soundlessly appeared by his side.

This black figure was 5'5''l which, by demon standards, was rather small. Its body was cloaked in an oversized mantle, and it made absolutely no sound as it moved, as though it were made completely of gas.

Aymons did not dare to take this fellow lightly. He could feel the strength of a Level-9 expert from this figure. At the same time, he knew that this was Lord Nozama's strongest Assassin Noyo, also nicknamed "The Guide to the Netherworld."

According to history, this Assassin had appeared only three times in the world of Firuman. Each time he appeared, he had either directly or indirectly caused the collapse of various northern human dynasties. His most acclaimed achievement was the assassination of a certain Elf Queen and his subsequent retreat, which left him unscathed.

After Noyo appeared, he didn't say anything but merely followed beside Aymons. After a short distance, he vanished completely into thin air. How he came and how he went, as well as when he went was something Aymons would never know.

In front of the summoning blood pool, Aymons stopped and took a deep breath. Then, he started to chant a contract spell.

As he chanted the spell, the bubbling in the blood pool grew faster, even starting to rise up. After a minute, a blood-colored figure stood in the middle of the pool.

"Why did you summon me, Aymons?" The voice shook Aymons out of his trance. The voice was sonorous, deep, and made one feel extremely comfortable listening to it.

If not for this creepy environment, just based on the voice alone, Aymons would never have imagined that it belonged to Firuman's most vicious demon lord.

"Lord, Misamier has been killed by Link."

"I already know that. I collected the remains of Misamier's soul. She told me everything. It's not pleasant news."

Aymons had nothing to reply. He kept his silence for a while. Then, he continued, "Our sneak attack on the Yabbas has been discovered. I plan to immediately converge our forces onto Orida fortress. I hope your army can support me."

The blood figure stared intently at Aymons and asked. "Hmmm? Aren't you afraid that the Yabbas will go to aid the Orida Fortress?"

"The Yabbas have already been cowed by our army. As long as we leave our magic cannons at their city to continue the bombardment, they wouldn't know that we have left, at least not for a short while. Once we reach Orida Fortress, using the power of the Dark Serpent, I believe we can quickly take down the fortress," Aymons explained the plan he had long prepared.

Originally, Aymons had planned to gather their strength before heading to Orida Fortress. This way, once they took Orida Fortress, they could rapidly expand their warfront and achieve a swift victory. However, now, that was not possible.

Lord Nozama did not respond to agree or disagree. He sank into silence.

Looking at the blood figure, Aymons could not read what the demon lord was thinking. He could only wait.

After a few minutes, Lord Nozama's voice sounded once again. "Let Noyo follow you. Send some Assassins with him; he will help you get rid of Link. This way, they would be unable to deal with the Dark Serpent at least."

Aymons let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much!"