Advent of the Archmage

After Link once again left White Cloud City and reached its entrance, an in-game message appeared in his field of vision. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a mission.　　

Activate Epic Quest Series: Dark Legends

First Step: Corruption?

Mission: Find the Beastman army that was destroyed by the Legendary red dragon.

Reward: 100 Omni Points

Link fell speechless upon seeing this mission. What did this mission mean? Were the Sky Shattering Warlord and his troops already defeated?

This had completely destroyed Link's plan of fighting against Isendilan together with the Sky Shattering Warlord.

Felina knew something was wrong after seeing the changes in Link's facial expression. She then asked, "Master, what happened?"　　

Link knew that the in-game system had never lied to him. Many times, it would even provide him with additional clues. Now that it mentioned of the destruction of a Beastman army, it must be true.

He took a deep breath before saying, "I have a bad feeling. I'm afraid the situation with the Sky Shattering Warlord is not optimistic."

Felina was startled. A Magician would never have a bad premonition without any basis. This was especially so for a strong Magician like Link. If he said that something was amiss, he could not be wrong.

Masos heard Link's words as well. He was terrified as he knew Link's reputation in the human world. His words were taken extremely seriously. Masos then said, "Their last message was just three hours ago. They mentioned that everything was fine. They had over 1000 capable Warriors and even Sky Shattering Warlord Holun. They should be able to hold their ground for a while even against a Legendary dragon. Am I right?"

Link could not mention the in-game system to Masos and gave up on explaining. He said, "Perhaps I was wrong. Let's go and search for them."

"That will do," Masos said and continued forward with a heart shrouded in worry.

Masos was highly respected amongst the Beastman community. When they heard that he was going to bring a few powerful Warriors to support the Sky Shattering Warlord, they even lent him a few battle wolves which allowed them to travel faster.

They could ride on the backs of these wolves when traveling on the rolling plains.

The wolves could cover a distance of 150 feet in a second and were extremely durable. They could run at that speed for an hour without stopping.　

Although Link was more than used to such high-speed traveling, this was something new for Masos. He rode the wolf with enthusiasm, screaming at the top of his lungs as he sped. He seemed both excited and terrified.　　

After an hour, they had covered a distance of 60 miles and reached the battlefield.

Upon seeing the state in front of his eyes, Masos gasped, "Oh my lord, is this the strength of a Legendary dragon?"　

On the plains in front of him, the area in a 900 feet radius was completely charred. There were many spots that were emitting a green smog. The bodies of the fallen Beastmen were strewn all over the charred ground.　

They were completely burned from the inside out. Every so often when the wind blew past, cracking sounds could be heard. It was the sound of the dehydrated bodies splintering under the force of the wind.

"Felina, defend!" Link shouted seriously. He then jumped down from the wolf's back and carefully observed the battlefield.

"At least 700 Beastmen died in this battle. It was not a spell that resulted in this destruction. This was merely Isendilan's dragon breath. He used it for a total of three times. That was all it took for the Beastman troops to be annihilated."

Link then continued forward. He then picked up a broken spear on the ground and said, "This Warrior was at least Level-6 in strength. He threw this spear towards Isendilan using the last of his strength. However, the spear showed no signs of impact, though the body of the spear is broken. Isendilan must have blown it back using the force of his wings…He is truly devastating!"　　

Link went further into the battlefield and saw three bodies huddling close together. They were in a better shape than the other bodies, retaining most of their body parts and suffering less serious burn wounds.

Apart from their skin, the interior of their bodies was still largely intact, though their flesh had been thoroughly cooked by the high temperature.　　

Link then cast a Detection spell and carefully observed the magic fluctuations in the area. After ten seconds, he concluded, "The three of them should be shamans. They did not attempt to protect themselves after witnessing the terrifying dragon breath. Instead, they combined their forces to cast an extremely powerful Divine spell. This spell could very possibly have injured Isendilan."

Beastmen placed their faith in the God of Light as well, though they preferred to call their priests and bishops as shamans. Their application of Divine Skills was also slightly different than the humans. Their spells were often more offensive in nature.　

True to its name, Divine Skills are simply powers of the gods.　

The three great shamans were akin to the archbishops in Hot Springs City. A Divine Skill cast from their combined efforts was sure to deal damage to any being in the World of Firuman, even a Legendary individual.

After a few steps, Link had found evidence of Isendilan's injury. There were a few crimson scales on the ground which were still warm to the touch. When knocked against one another, they emitted a low rumble that was clearly non-metallic. It definitely had a special quality to it.

"The dragon scales seemed to be broken. There was also dragon blood on the ground. Ah, there is a half-broken axe here. This axe… is Epic quality. There are clear liquid marks on the blade of the axe that has solidified. It is congealed dragon blood. This should be the weapon of the Sky Shattering Warlord. He had managed to injure Isendilan with this Epic quality weapon…It seems like Isendilan has suffered greatly in this battle."

A Legendary dragon was incredibly powerful. He could destroy an ordinary troop in three dragon breath attacks. However, when facing against a Level-9 Beastman and three great shamans, he still paid a great price.

Link circled the battlefield for a long while before coming to a stop. He did not find a corpse powerful enough to be Holun. He knew that Holun must have escaped after the battle.　　

Link had already gotten a grasp of the situation. He then took the half broken axe to Masos.

Masos gasped upon seeing this weapon. He said, "I recognize it. This is Holun's axe. Oh my lord, has Holun died?"

Link shook his head and said, "No, I could not find his corpse. There is a total of 803 bodies around here. I believe that Holun must have left with around 200 of his troops."

"Escape? Since he has escaped, why is he not returning to White Cloud City?" Masos uttered in confusion.

Felina walked forward and said, "He must be trying to divert Isendilan's attention to prevent the Uda Town tragedy from repeating itself."　　

With Isendilan's strength, he might be able to massacre the entire city if he wanted to.

Masos fell speechless instantly.

Felina stared at Link and asked, "Where did they go?"　

Link pointed to the East and said, "That way. From what I know, there is a huge lake in that direction. They must have been trying to make use of the lake water to defend themselves from Isendilan's flames."

If that was the case, then these Beastmen were too naive.　　

This would be a good way to defend oneself against an ordinary dragon. However, it was futile against Isendilan. He had already obtained the power of the principles; his flames could even ignite and incinerate water.　

However, this was not to say that there was no way around it.

Link then mounted the battle wolf and led the way. He said, "From the state of the battlefield, I suspect that Isendilan is also heavily injured. We are currently in the Golden Plains, the territory of the Beastmen. Isendilan probably would take caution and hide in a safe spot to recover. We should be safe in this period and have to rendezvous with them fast."

"Understood," Felina and Masos nodded as they said.　　　　

The traces of the Beastmens' retreat were obvious. After around six miles, they saw the body of a Beastman Warrior at the side of the road.

The Beastman Warrior seemed to be abandoned in haste. He had suffered burns on multiple areas, and his flesh almost melded together with his armor due to the intense heat. He appeared to be in pain.

Link said, "I believe that they have another reason for going to the lake. They must have been trying to ease the pain of burns on their body."

These surviving Warriors must have been burned as well. A red dragon's breath had a corrosive attribute to it. One would feel extremely uncomfortable after suffering a burn injury from a dragon's breath. Even if one were to survive the initial onslaught, most would die from the endless pain that tortured their body and minds.

Felina's face sunk as she said, "If those Beastmen were affected by Isendilan's flames, they might not live."

As a dragon herself, she knew how powerful Isendilan was.

On the other hand, Link was a lot more optimistic. He said, "There is actually a cure for the corrosion of a red dragon's breath. I have seen it once in a magic book. It is not very difficult to create."　　

"Oh, really?" Felina was slightly unsure. As a red dragon, she was immune to the corrosive properties of the dragon breath. She would naturally have no knowledge of ways to counter it.　　

Link nodded affirmingly and continued, "It's true. The main offensive property of a dragon breath is still its intense heat. The corrosive property is secondary and not that powerful. I remember the cure is called Pure Water Black Jade. It can easily neutralize the poison within."

When Link was playing the game, this antidote was a compulsory item if one wanted to defeat the Isendilan quest.　　

This was because one would be afflicted with the poisoned status the moment one came in contact with Isendilan's dragon breath attack. If this status was not dispelled, it would stack and accumulate, causing the player to lose a huge chunk of health per second. If one were to be afflicted with five stacks of such poison, they would suffer instant death.

However, alchemy potions were simply too expensive. In order to reduce cost, guilds would try to search for cheaper alternatives. Link's guild naturally did the same. The Pure Water Black Jade was something that they created. As is was frequently used and easy to create, Link could clearly remember the steps to brewing this antidote.

As Link spoke, they had covered another three miles. They saw at least ten other bodies along the way. This was not a good sign.　　

"Master, we have to hurry. They don't look like they are in a good state," Masos eagerly urged.

"I know…Wait, something is amiss."

Link cast his gaze into the sky and saw over ten black dots hovering in the air. Felina then did the same before she gasped, "It is Theron. The person beside him is Olisa. The rest are merely dragon beasts. They do not possess the dragon breath, though they are all at least Level-5 in strength."

"Olisa?" Link said in an incredulous tone. He clearly remembered that she was captured. Did the Dragon Valley overlook her threat to their race and merely exile her?

They were simply laying the path to their own deathbeds.

Link was horrified at the sight of these dragons, though it quickly turned into euphoria.

This meant that Isendilan's injury was probably more serious than he expected. If he was still able to battle, there was no need to summon so many helpers. They might even be able to defeat Isendilan without the Red Dragon Queen's assistance this time around!

Upon this thought, Link shouted, "We have to be quick!"

Although Isendilan was injured, they still needed the help of the Beastmen to defeat him, especially the help of Sky Shattering Warlord Holun. He was able to injure Isendilan in the previous battle, proving his capabilities.　

...

In the sky.

Theron had noticed Link as well. His eyes widened in fear as he turned to Olisa and said, "Look, that is the Magician that prevented Todelron from resurrecting!"

Olisa's face sunk as well. She had once fought Link in the Dragon Valley and was nearly killed. She could still feel the chills running through her body upon seeing Link.

Olisa was extremely wary of Link. She quickly added, "We will not be able to defeat him. We have to find the duke quickly and kill this guy. No one can predict what he is going to do!"