Chapter 726 - Dare

You Dare

A dozen fierce explosions echoed as the meteor's size was reduced by half, but it didn't dissipate. It only fell in a different direction.

"Boom…"

The meteor crushed a treehouse, and the flaming impact reduced all the buildings within a hundred meters to pieces.

The 3rd Elder seemed displeased after that. "It looks like I still underestimated you…"

After muttering those words, the fluctuations specific to 8th Tier Spells started spreading in the surroundings.

Lin Yun frowned. He hadn't expected that the 3rd Elder, who had advanced to the 9th Rank not that long ago, could use an 8th Tier Spell.

Lin Yun decisively used the Mana Sealing Rune, and in an instant, countless runes appeared on the 3rd Elder's head. These runes converged into a single mysterious rune that imprinted itself between the 3rd Elder's eyebrows.

Just as the 8th Tier Spell was about to take shape, the mana fluctuations disappeared and the spell was forcibly interrupted...

The 3rd Elder's mana also seemed to disappear, and he let out a groan as his spell was interrupted, clearly not feeling well 

Although Dark Elves' magic patterns were considered instant-cast, that didn't mean they didn't require any time at all.

For every spell to be cast, the magic pattern would first need to shine, which indicated the convergence of mana into the magic pattern. Once enough mana was gathered, the magic pattern's spell would be released.

That time could be ignored for Low Tier Spells, but the magic patterns of High Tier Spells had huge mana requirements, and the time needed to gather mana was more apparent.

Of course, that time was nothing when compared to classic casting.

The 3rd Elder hadn't expected Lin Yun to be able to interrupt his spell. After all, there was such a huge difference in rank between them. How could a 9th Rank Archmage be interrupted by a 9th Rank High Mage?

But Lin Yun had the Mana Sealing Rune...

The spell was interrupted and the 3rd Elder's mana was sealed. At that moment, the 3rd Elder's mana was constantly attacking the power of the Mana Sealing Rune, and the imprint on his forehead kept shivering as if it would shatter anytime.

However, Lin Yun didn't take the opportunity to cast anything. Instead, he quickly chanted an incantation and waved the Draconic Staff as he poured some mana out. That mana transformed into runes that fell onto the earth.

In an instant, the surrounding Ancient War Trees woke up one by one.

The Ancient War Trees that reached up to several dozen meters in height had aged faces, and countless tree leaves flew down as their branches condensed into two huge arms spanning over twenty meters.

Their thick roots also came out of the ground and swayed. The Ancient War Trees stood up, supported by their numerous roots, the faces on their trunks filled with anger.

With a wave of these thick hands, several dozen subordinates of the 3rd Elder were sent flying.

Four huge Ancient War Trees moved towards Lin Yun, protecting him in the center. And not far from there, there were still four more of them clumsily moving over towards Lin Yun, and all the Dark Elves they met on their way were pushed aside like bugs.

The Dark Elves that were a bit slower were sent flying while puking blood, and even their mana shields were destroyed in one hit.

Only two seconds after the first four Ancient War Trees gathered around Lin Yun, the 3rd Elder broke through the seal of the Mana Sealing Rune, and with a fierce burst of mana, over a hundred spells condensed in the air.

The frantic spells were like a powerful flood that tried to smother Lin Yun.

At this time, the four Ancient War Trees around Lin Yun had already taken root and set their foundations in the earth.

Two Ancient War Trees swung their huge fists and blocked the area in front of Lin Yun. Those terrifying spells hit the fists, but were instantly destroyed.

All the spells collapsed as they touched the Ancient War Trees, transforming back into ordinary magic elements and dissipating.

These magic elements now in front of Lin Yun felt like a breeze when they reached him, not harming him in the slightest.

The 3rd Elder turned pale. "How could you control the Ancient War Trees? Quick! Capture them! Don't let them escape!"

The 3rd Elder issued that order in an instant. The awakening of the Ancient War Trees had completely messed up his plans. 

As for the 2nd Elder and the dozen Dark Elves following him, they fearfully rushed into the protective range of the Ancient War Trees.

The 3rd Elder's subordinate mage army made their move, and spells covered the heaven and earth, but they were forcibly dispersed after reaching the Ancient War Trees.

Even the 3rd Elder's spells couldn't go through the protection of the Ancient War Trees.

The Ancient War Trees were the staunchest guards of the Dark Elven Clan, and apart from the fact that they were extremely hard to rouse into action, as well as the stringent requirements for their existence, they only had terrifying strong points. 

It was rumored that the Ancient War Trees were descendants of the World Tree. That World Tree was supporting a massive plane, and the entire plane's mana, elements, living creatures, and everything had derived from the World Tree. The Ancient War Trees naturally had the powerful ability, magic immunity!

It was as if they were innately good friends with all magic elements. All attacking spells would collapse when touching the Ancient War Trees, transforming into ordinary magic elements.

Although these War Tree weren't especially high in terms of levels, they were powerful enough to resist any spell under the Heaven Rank!

As long as they didn't leave the protection range of the Ancient War Trees, no matter how many spells came, nothing would happen.

The 3rd Elder's expression was extremely nasty. He had used an 8th Tier Spell, but that only made the Ancient War Trees sway a bit. They couldn't break through the defenses.

The Dark Elves with swordsmanship magic patterns also launched their attacks, but none of them were able to break through the defenses of the ancient War Trees, and the most terrifying part was that the other four Ancient War Trees had now arrived.

These four Ancient War Trees took root around the others, and light fell down from their treetops. A Dark Elf proficient in swordsmanship wanted to break through that side and sliced at an Ancient War Tree's arm.

But in an instant, the screams of that Dark Elf loudly echoed as a scar appeared on his body.

"That's an Ancient Thorn Tree! Don't approach!"

But it was already too late. In an instant, a dozen Dark Elves were sent flying. When they attacked the Ancient Thorn Trees with their power, at least half of their power was returned back at them.

All the Dark Elves took a step back.

Every single Dark Elf knew of the power of the Ancient War Trees, and some special Ancient War Trees had different abilities.

Thorn Halo!

Any Swordsman's ability attacking an Ancient Thorn Tree would bounce back at the attacker. These Ancient Thorn Trees could only return about half of the attack's power, but it was rumored that the most powerful Ancient War Tree's Thorn Halo could cover an entire clan and reflect the entirety of an attack.

The four Ancient Thorn Trees and the four ordinary Ancient War Trees were like a fortified castle protecting Lin Yun in its center, and the Dark Elves surrounding it were all wise enough to not launch any more attacks.

They knew that attacking was futile because they simply couldn't break through the defensive perimeter. Furthermore, the Ancient War Trees were the most powerful guards of the Dark Elves, and they weren't just defenses. The power of each Ancient War Tree could compare to powerful level 38 magic beasts.

It only took ten seconds for everyone to stop. Not a single Dark Elf within several hundred meters dared to approach.

The aged faces on the trunks of the Ancient War Trees were glaring, reminding them that they would ruthlessly tear them to shreds if they approached.

When they returned to the Dark Elven Clan from the crystal, Lin Yun had sensed something strange, giving him a bad premonition.

He had originally set up a crude array that used the power of the Life Pattern Crystal, but he hadn't thought that he would have to use it.

He used this power to awaken the sleeping Ancient War Trees, and they were extremely powerful in their strongest defensive battle mode.

After a while, the 3rd Elder bellowed, "Outsider, don't think you can do as you please just because you can control a few Ancient War Trees!"

At the same time, the 3rd Elder waved his hand and a ringing arrow rushed in the sky, the whistling sound spreading through the entire clan. Soon, Dark Elves could be heard rushing over.

After a few minutes, the surroundings were filled with even more Dark Elves.

The 3rd Elder proudly sneered at Lin Yun.

"Outsider, I shall have you know that more than half of the Dark Elven clan is here. Let's see where you can still run!"

Lin Yun was fearlessly shot back, "Don't regret this."

The 3rd Elder laughed heartily. "Hahaha… Me? Regret? I shall have you know, despicable outsider, that although I don't know what method you used to control these Ancient War Trees, there is something you are unaware of.

"Although the Ancient War Trees' defenses are formidable, there is a limit! I have most of the power of the Dark Elven Clan on my side. These few Ancient War Trees absolutely can't defend against it!"

After saying that, the 3rd Elder added, "The 2nd Elder definitely knows about this. A few centuries ago, an Ancient War Tree killed a Dark Elf for the first time…"

As the 3rd Elder said those words, the 2nd Elder's expression changed and he loudly shouted, "3rd Elder, you dare!?"