End of the Magic Era

“Hey, what’s the rest!?” Solomon was still puzzled as Lin Yun completed a dozen arrays.

“Look behind you!”

“What? Behind…” Solomon turned, feeling that this was all rather dubious, only to cry out in alarm. “Fuck, how could there be so many!”

He saw a dozen Green-Faced Sly Monkeys scuttling through the bushes. These creatures were natural killers in this jungle. They moved at the speed of wind, and their venomous claws would even make a High Mage worried if they brushed past them.

These scuttling Green-Faced Sly Monkeys were yelling with shrill voices as they pounced towards Lin Yun with their sharp claws. Even in this darkness, Lin Yun could see a faint light.

“Badrack!”

“Got it, High Mage Solomon!” Badrack, the head of the Flash Arrow Mercenary Group, was skilled, but didn’t have as much fighting experience as Sasu.

Just as the Green-Faced Sly Monkeys appeared, that 9th Rank Spirit Archer was already nocking his arrows. Three magic arrows flickering with golden light flashed between his fingers as he didn’t even take the time to aim before three trails of light flew towards three jumping Green-Faced Sly Monkeys. They didn’t even have time to scream before the arrows struck them.

An explosion followed as the fire spells sealed within the magic arrows burst. The three Green-Faced Sly Monkeys were burnt to charcoal before they even fell to the ground.

At that time, Lin Yun took a quick glance over before going back to writing, tuning out the jumping Green-Faced Sly Monkeys as well as the sounds echoing from the forest.

This was the reason Lin Yun had chosen Badrack. It couldn’t be said that Badrack was the strongest in Thousand Sails City, as Cadgar and Lys were definitely stronger, yet Lin Yun didn’t ask them.

He had asked Badrack to come because archers were experts at forest battles, especially someone like Badrack, who was a peak Spirit Archer and was very experienced. Solomon and Xiuban didn’t even need to make a move as Badrack used his bow to suppress the dozen Green-Faced Sly Monkeys.

“Looks like I don’t have to help,” Solomon said with a regretful tone.

But he quickly had to take those words back…

Because after Badrack shot down the dozen Green-Faced Sly Monkeys, fragmented sounds of footsteps had emerged from the other different sounds echoing in the forest. Only lights could be seen flickering among the bushes. These looked eerie and sinister in the dark forest.

After some time, some wolves could be heard howling one after the other, but their location was unclear. They could only see various shadows…

“Shadow Wolves!” Solomon was suddenly startled. He could detect a pack of several dozen Shadow Wolves…

Just thinking of the speed and strength of the Shadow Wolf that had ambushed Merlin at the entrance of the Four Seasons Canyon made Solomon feel worried. That had been a level 15 creature…

“Xiuban, go!” Lin Yun, who was still busy with the arrays, once again looked back.

“Eh?”

“Eh what? You are a Beastman Fighter, aren’t you?”

‘But… But I’m a Highland Beastman…’

Xiuban’s face turned white. Highland Beastmen didn’t have much experience in direct fights.

The Draconic Beastman looked pitifully at Lin Yun before drawing two curved blades from his waist and letting out a powerful battle roar to encourage himself as he rushed towards a group of Shadow Wolves…

Highland Beastmen were still Highland Beastmen…

The fighting instinct in their blood couldn’t be altered. Xiuban’s two curved blades quickly stopped the advance of the Shadow Wolves. Blood splattered as the blades flashed, making it hard to see if he was also bleeding or if it was just the color of his skin.

With Xiuban covering for them, Solomon and Badrack quickly took the opportunity to open fire. A 9th Rank High Mage and a 9th Rank Spirit Archer, two peak powerhouses of Thousand Sails City, were both unleashing a power that ordinary people could never imagine…

A third of the Shadow Wolves collapsed in a blink. It like like grass being mowed down as the Shadow Wolves were scattered about, leaving behind corpses.

But Solomon didn’t dare to express his regrets this time.

Because he could already feel that there were more magic beasts gathering around them, possibly on the scale of that magic beast tide. They were only fighting a dozen Green-Faced Sly Monkeys and several dozen Shadow Wolves right now, but for how long? They might soon be flooded by a beast tide of various magic beasts…

“Merlin, hurry up!” At this time, Lin Yun was their only hope. Solomon sped up his reaping of the Shadow Wolves while urging him along.

“Give me ten minutes!” Lin Yun was just as anxious, but this was already his quickest speed. The arrays on that ancient tree were at the True Spirit level. Even Lin Yun could only use the Ultimate Sharp Mind to crack them in a forceful way.

This couldn’t be done in a short time. The entire array had been broken down into countless smaller modules in Lin Yun’s mind. He threw away the useless parts and focused on breaking the truly important ones…

In other words, Lin Yun needed to break over a hundred modules in ten minutes.

Such a workload was something that an ordinary Master Alchemist would never imagine attempting.

As time passed, Lin Yun completed one array after the other, and numerous lesser arrays were filling the tree trunk.

Lin Yun had already cracked most of the key modules and was slowly approaching the core of the array. He could clearly feel that the aura of life was getting stronger in the surroundings, almost taking shape.

Lin Yun knew that he had already touched the defense mechanism of the array, and although the array itself couldn’t counterattack, that rich life aura would bring an even stronger beast tide over to them.

But he couldn’t think too much about that for now…

The quill quickly wrote on the tree trunk as over half of the Melting Snow Ink had already been used on various lesser arrays, splitting the entire array.

“Shit, Merlin, hurry up, we won’t be able to handle it for long!” Solomon once again issued a cry for help. At this time, the three of them were already facing the 6th wave. The quantity and quality of the magic beasts rushing over to attack them had far exceeded that of the Shadow Wolves from earlier.

The Draconic Beastman was cut all over. There were plenty of claw marks and no lack of bite marks, as well as other injuries that could only have been caused by magic. The Draconic Beastman was already covered in blood. There was no way to tell how much of it was his own, and how much was the blood of some magic beast. Moreover, he was only holding one curved blade; the other one had been lost at some point during the battle. It had been replaced by the toxic hand-crossbow Lin Yun had given him, as he was doing his best to hold off several dozen Thunder Elephants.

Solomon didn’t stop casting spells all this time. He chanted many powerful incantations while pouring his mana out like a flood, fluttering through the runes and the dazzling lights. Bloodstains could be seen on that 9th Rank High Mage’s robe.

But Solomon couldn’t worry about such minor injuries in this situation. A Flame Burst exploded on a Flame Lizard while a Frost Python over ten meters long was already pouncing at him. Solomon had no choice but to turn and use an Ice Wall to save himself from that bloody maw. However, a Shadow Wolf had already rushed out of the bush to attack him from behind, its sharp claws tearing into Solomon’s arm.

Badrack, behind him, was the busiest among the three. Various kinds of flying magic beasts covered the sky: Common Ravens, Bullhawks, Toxic Dragonflies, and Wyverns. With the Green-Faced Sly Monkeys added on top, Badrack could only lament that he didn’t have eight hands. He used his Spiritual Longbow to continually fire arrows with all kinds of properties, fully displaying the power of a 9th Rank Spirit Archer.

But…

It was all futile in front of the magic beast tide. Magic beasts would keep appearing, stronger and more numerous. Solomon already felt a surge of mana fluctuations from the distance, carrying a frightening aura. That had to be a true level 30 magic beast…

“Fall back, get closer to Merlin!” They already couldn’t resist the beast tide, so Solomon led Xiuban and Badrack to retreat, casting spells to hold back the numerous magic beasts as he ran towards the ancient tree.

Ultimately, the three of them lined up behind Lin Yun. This was their last line of defense. Even the Draconic Beastman’s eyes were resolute, because they knew that if the beast tide broke through this perimeter, they would all be finished…

“Got it!”

At this critical time, Lin Yun drew the last mana circuit on the tree’s bark.