288 Psychic Storm

"You're amusing, Patriarch Matthew. So many of us have come to the Demon Fall Valley, of course we're here to retrieve some items. Do we look like we are on a holiday? "

Lin Li maintained a polite smile throughout the conversation, while his words remained mild. Anyone would have thought he was chatting with an old friend.

Only Old Merlin thought otherwise…

He was hovering less than a hundred meters away from his opponent, and could clearly feel the strong magical wave coming from the young mage. It was an incredibly powerful force, and Old Merlin could not help feeling trepidation despite having prepared himself for it. This force was too strong, and made him feel out of breath—it felt like he was facing a huge dragon even though he was still situated at the outer boundary of the magical waves.

My God… Old Merlin's heart sank as he knew that this young mage had grown beyond what he could imagine.

Even though he'd already known of this young mage's astounding talent back in Jarrosus, and was aware that he would reach a scary heights one day, Old Merlin never knew that that day would come so fast. It had merely been months ago that he had been a level-8 mage, yet now he had become an existence that Old Merlin was no match for…

"Sigh… " Old Merlin sighed quietly, and for the first time felt like he had made a mistake. If he had known that this would happen, he would have kept Cromwell in check instead of letting him mess with the Emerald Tower, and all the more kept him from messing with this scary young mage. Then, all of this would not have happened. While he could not change the fact that the Emerald Tower ruled over Jarrosus now, he could have continued to live there, and Cromwell would not have died in the Daylight Square…

But it was too late for anything now.

The Merlin Family had fallen, Cromwell was dead, and even he himself had to reside in the Shadow's Nest—all of this had already happened.

The regret in Old Merlin's eyes faded as soon as it appeared. When he raised his head again, his eyes were filled with determination. It was too late to say anything now; he had to defeat this young mage and fend off Emerald Tower's attack before he reinstated the glory of the Merlin Family with the aid of the Shadow's Nest. This was his only chance—even if it had but an almost negligible possibility of success…

The magical waves from both of them exploded almost at the same time, and it felt like a strong wind swept past at that moment. Their black cloaks were caught in the wind as magical waves started surging, and the air in the Demon Fall Valley began to feel volatile.

Old Merlin's chanting was unusually throaty as even he had to admit that he did not have an ounce of confidence going against this scary young mage.

This was perhaps the least confident Old Merlin had been in a fight in his whole life—even when he faced Gerian in Jarrosus, he always believed that all he needed was a stroke of luck. Now, however, he knew he needed a lot more than just luck…

That was because he now saw an aqua-colored light coming from the young mage.

Old Merlin knew that it was a Water Shield—one that was coming from a level-16 Archmage…

Lin Li was not in the least bit concerned about what Old Merlin was thinking at that moment as he was concentrating on his chanting under the protection of the Water Shield. The chanting of a Chilling Touch spell began flowing in the air…

Both finished their chanting nearly at the same time.

One was a Chilling Touch, while the other was a Flaming Storm. In a split second, the two contrasting forces shone blindingly as they were suspended in the sky above the Demon Fall Valley. Amid floating snowflakes and flying sparks, one was shining a crystal blue, while the other was a fiery red; the two lights twined together, forming an almost ethereal array of colors.

They were both Archmages, and their understanding of magic way surpassed that of other mages. The speed at which they used magic would look unbelievably fast to anyone else as they had already exchanged a few attacks in the blink of an eye.

Whether it was Old Merlin, who had already enjoyed decades of fame, or the young mage, who had taken the whole of Jarrosus by surprise, both showcased exemplary capabilities in the fight. This was easily the fight of the highest standard in Jarrosus in the last few decades as every mage stared in awe at the two figures moving rapidly in the sky…

"The heck, an Archmage indeed… " Gerian gulped as he could clearly see now that the youngster hovering in the sky above the Demon Fall Valley had indeed reached the realm of an Archmage. That Levitation Spell had nothing to do with magical equipment nor pharmacy, it was purely the strength of an Archmage!

And one of level-16 too…

Gerian felt slightly enraged when he thought of that.

Damn it, on what grounds was he able to achieve this?

On what grounds is it that I have been studying magic for decades, yet I remain a level-15 Archmage while this rascal merely spent a couple of months in Alanna and managed to reach level-16? Matthew and I had been of equal standing when we fought, but he isn't able to retaliate against this rascal at all… How is that possible…

"What kind of logic is this… " Gerian cursed angrily as he vented his anger on the bandits of the Shadow's Nest.

After Lin Li flew up to fight Old Merlin, the authority to command the rest naturally fell onto Gerian. The middle-aged fatty started waving his hands wildly as he gestured for the mages behind him to attack the Demon Fall Valley again and again.

A moment later, the Demon Fall Valley was filled with smoke as the torrential magical elements rushed into the Demon Fall Valley as though they were water bursting through a floodgate. Storms, flames, lightning, and snow, everything seemed to boil over at once as waves and waves of magical attacks hit the Demon Fall Valley, not leaving even an inch of land untouched.

Once hundreds of mages had a geographical advantage in the fight, the explosion of strength coming from all of them at once was definitely nothing short of terrifying. An endless amount of magic rained down from the cliff, and covered the whole of Demon Fall Valley as towers were burned into ash and tents were sealed in ice. As for the members of the Shadow's Nest who were busy running for their lives, many of them were beheaded before they even realized it…

This was a brutal and violent battle, without any chance for surprise attacks or turnarounds. Everyone fought honestly, unleashing all magic they were capable of. This was a simple process that even a level-5 mage apprentice would not find challenging, but when there were hundreds of mages doing the same thing, it turned into an incomparably scary sight…

"This is ridiculous… " Ronald held on desperately to his Combat Energy, and was scarcely able to protect himself from being injured by magic, but his men were falling down one by one. There was no choice, since the attacking magic was too dense, and there were no corners for him to hide in in the Demon Fall Valley—the only thing he could do was to watch them fall one by one…

Ronald did think of counterattacking, sending a group of bandits to try and sneak amongst the mages to create a distraction by stabbing them—this had worked for him when he attacked the Demon Fall Valley. Unfortunately, everything that seemed to work in the past only proved to be a laughable failure today.

The 30 bandits had met with a mass massacre just when they left the exit of the valley. Hundreds of Wind Blades sliced through the air, and then through their bodies as well, leaving the ground covered in corpses and blood in a flash.

Ronald could not cry even if he tried now; he really wanted to know who had thought of such a useless idea for an attack.

Damn it, did he think this was child's play? He dared to stand at the entrance of the valley and use such laughable tactics just because he had hundreds of mages under his command. Damn it, do you even know what tactics are, how to make use of troop formations, and how to round up your enemy?

Damn it, he knows nothing of it, yet he is able to suffocate me like that… Ronald was so angry he coughed up blood as he could only watch as the damned mages burned the Demon Fall Valley into ashes.

At this point, Ronald really had no way out; the only thing he could count on was Old Merlin. He hoped that Old Merlin would kill that Felic as soon as possible and then quickly come and help him. Without the help of Old Merlin's magic, his bandits and warriors were unable to even raise their heads under the mages' suppression.

Actually, Old Merlin really wanted to go and help him.

Unfortunately, he was unable to help even himself now, so how could he think about helping Roland?

Gerian was vicious indeed. Old Merlin was able to resist Felic at the start of the fight, but Gerian could already tell that this Archmage who was comparable to himself would surely be no match for Felic.

And truth was, Lin Li only spent a minute to prove Gerian right.

Just as Old Merlin fired a fireball, only for the Water Shield to spin, Lin Li reacted differently from what he had done earlier. Instead of retaliating immediately, he manipulated the Levitation Spell to retreat quickly, then used a Mana Retroaction…

"Oh, no!" Old Merlin's mouth opened just as the expression on his face suddenly froze. At this moment, Old Merlin felt a chill rise on his back, making him feel as though he had fallen into an ice hole. Never had he thought that there existed such a horrifying technique of casting spells—it was like the legendary ability, the prophecy. From the moment he started chanting to the moment his mana flow was cut off, the whole process could not have lasted more than one-tenth of a second—it was as if everything had been planned…

Old Merlin suddenly paled just as his flow of mana was cut off.

While the fight had been exhausting, at least neither of them was able to best the other. Now that Mana Retroaction had been used, it seemed that this would no longer be the case.

Old Merlin fixed his gaze on Lin Li as sweat covered his forehead. The only thing he could do now was to bet on his last resort. He retreated nearly 10 meters using the Levitation Spell as he quickly retrieved a scroll from his pocket…

"What the hell?! " The middle-aged fatty who had been excitedly commanding the mages cursed suddenly when Old Merlin revealed the scroll, taking all the mages by surprise.

"Damn it, this despicable old fellow!"

While other mages might not recognize the scroll, how could Gerian not? That was the Psychic Storm scroll that the Merlin Family had bought cheaply from them when the Emerald Tower was at its lowest!

Even though the Emerald Tower had unified Jarrosus now, when Gerian saw the Psychic Storm scroll, he still couldn't help but swear. It had been one of the most valuable magical items in Emerald Tower's collection. There was a level-18 Psychic Storm magic transcribed on it, but the scariest thing was that the scroll had been specially treated, and could be triggered by any Archmage. As long as there was sufficient mana, one could maintain the effect of the Psychic Storm until the last trace of their mana had been burned…

"Damn it, Felic is in trouble… "

In his panic, Gerian really wanted to use a Levitation Spell to fly over to the Demon Fall Valley and stop Old Merlin. Unfortunately, his magical force was broken, and even using a Wind Blade was too much for him. At this point, the only thing Gerian could do was to cup his hands around his mouth toward Lin Li, who was chanting in a low voice, and shout desperately, "Quick, Felic, stop that old fogey, don't let him open the scroll!"

Unfortunately, Lin Li could not hear him at all as he focused on chanting the Pyroblast spell.

Then, the scroll in the hands of Old Merlin shone a dazzling gold. In an instant, his whole being was shrouded, and if one looked closely, they would see a golden thread glimmering between the two Archmages…

This was a sign of guiding magic…

"It's over…" Gerian's fat face suddenly became pale. He was painfully aware of the power of the Psychic Storm—once this dazzling golden light fell on a mage, it would swallow their power within 10 seconds. Even a mage with nearly unlimited power like Lin Li would not be spared by this level-18 magic. The only difference was that it might take a little longer, but what difference did that make? Whether it was 10 seconds or 20 seconds, as long as Old Merlin's guidance was not interrupted, his magic would be completely swallowed sooner or later, and the longer it took, the more pain he would feel…

The only way out was to interrupt Old Merlin's guidance.

However, the Psychic Storm was a level-18 magic, so how could it be easy to interrupt? One should know that in addition to burning mana, the Psychic Storm itself was able to restrict magic. Under the cover of the Psychic Storm, even someone as strong as Felic would not have an opportunity to cast a spell. How would one interrupt Old Merlin's guide without magic? By poking with their finger?

Then…

Lin Li answered Gerian's question with a simple action.

He did not seem flustered at all despite being covered in the golden light, and even had a smile on his face. It was as though his rapidly depleting mana had no effect on him. At this moment, Lin Li only did one thing, which was to gently lift the Aether Staff in his hand…

At that point in time, Gerian thought he saw the gem at the end of the magic staff glow a faint yellow.

Then, the golden light suddenly dimmed, and disappeared like snow in the sun.

"Ah… " Old Merlin sighed under Gerian's shocked stare, for he knew that he had wasted the last chance to save himself. He had prided himself on his mana, but it now seemed pathetic in front of this level-16 Archmage—Old Merlin could neither retaliate nor escape, and even the Psychic Storm scroll which was his last resort only seemed like child's play to his opponent.

"How unfortunate, Patriarch Matthew… " Lin Li still had an easy smile on his face as he chanted quickly. The moment the golden light vanished, a Pyroblast was sent out…

"BOOM!"

The sound was so loud and intense that even people standing hundreds of meters away heard it clearly, and sparks flew as the flames burned strongly. Having lost the protection of his Elemental Shield, Old Merlin seemed unusually weak under the effect of the Pyroblast, and burst into flames just as it hit him. There was no struggle and no cry for help as he landed in the Demon Fall Valley like a ball of fire…

"… " Gerian looked at the falling fireball as he was suddenly filled with mixed emotions. Matthew had single-handedly led the Merlin Family to glory, and was once ranked alongside him as the strongest mage in Jarrosus. Yet, he had now met with a sudden death… In the past, Gerian would never have believed Matthew would die in this manner…

The magical attack on the cliff suddenly stopped as all eyes were fixed on the burning ball of fire, especially those of the leaders of the 16 forces. It was a mind-numbing scene, and frightened them all. The patriarch of the Merlin Family, the same Old Merlin who was as powerful as Gerian, was not capable of retaliating against Mage Felic. The whole battle had not been shocking at all, as though it was logical for this young man to have easily killed the strongest mage of Jarrosus…

"Damn it, retreat!" The death of Old Merlin was the last straw that finally caused Ronald to collapse. Now that the entire Demon Fall Valley was under a magical attack, and the most powerful mage under him had died suddenly, Ronald knew that he had lost, and it was an utter defeat at that…

Retreating was the only option they had now.

While the Demon Fall Valley was prosperous, it was not worth the lives of all his men.

No matter how strong the Shadow's Nest was, it was no match for the entire city of Jarrosus, not to mention that damned Mage Felic. Damn it, how did this monster come about? Not only did he bring all the mages in Jarrosus City, he also killed Old Merlin so effortlessly. Was he really not a legendary magical beast disguised as a human?

A pity that Ronald did not have much time left to think.

At the same time Old Merlin fell down in a burning ball of fire, Ronald ordered a retreat.

The order had just been given, but everyone already reacted. Hundreds and thousands of bandits emerged from all directions, rushing to the Forest of Whispers like game chased by predators. The whole scene was both chaotic and pathetic as infighting and trampling broke out during their escape. Who knew how many weaker bandits had died at the feet of their companions…

"Trying to escape?" Lin Li hovered quietly in the sky as he stared at their every action with an almost cruel gaze.

Having brought so many men, surely he wanted to do more than just chase the Shadow's Nest away, no?

In this world, there would never be a shortage of ambitious forces. They might've come across the Shadow's Nest today, but who was to say that they wouldn't meet another one called the Light's Nest tomorrow? Lin Li had had a lot of experience dealing with such forces—the only way to deal with them was to truly teach them a lesson, one that they would remember distinctly for hundreds of years and still feel the pain like it was only just yesterday. Only then would those who plotted against the Emerald Tower think twice before they act and realize that they could not actually afford to pay the price of offending the Emerald Tower…

For some reasons, Lin Li felt like he was suddenly able to empathize with Osric as he hovered in the air…

However, he was not anxious to act, as he merely followed behind the defeated fighters of the Shadow's Nest using the Levitation Spell. He remembered Aaron-Mazi had told him before that there was a fast-flowing river not far ahead from here…