novelAlta Chapter 455: Returning the Favor with the Same Trick
Chapter 455: Returning the Favor with the Same Trick
At the border of the Emerald Forest.Unlike the ground forces that had only just begun their close-quarters combat, the battle in the high skies above was far more intense.
Even though the Domain [Emerald Kingdom] had been "poisoned," setting aside the Domain for a moment, Aetherass was still a dragon as high as level 17.
The loss of her Domain’s effectiveness had far less impact on her than it would on other professionals.
She still possessed a massive body comparable to a war machine, and her spellcasting abilities and power over nature remained completely undiminished.
At this moment, the venomous breath she released was condensing into numerous phantom projections of emerald green wyrms, which autonomously lunged and bit toward the Spellweaver’s position.
For the Green Dragon Queen at this stage, her breath had become deeply integrated with her magical abilities and the surrounding environment—it was no longer a simple attack product manufactured by her own bodily organs.
Moreover, while level 17 was considered Epic-tier, there was one enormous difference from level 16: a level 17 could already attempt to learn 9th-circle spells.
Whether one could truly master them depended on their means and talent, but it was still a solid, tangible threshold.
Given the natural magical talent of a True Dragon, relying on vast amounts of accumulated time, mastering them should eventually be no issue.
The Spellweaver, Erich Xavier, flickered in and out of sight.
As a Grand Mage, even if his Domain had been fundamentally altered, his magical foundation remained as solid as a mountain.
Those capable of breaking through to the Epic realm were legends in their own life stories.
They would naturally maximize their strengths, and for weaknesses that were unavoidable, they could use many methods to conceal them.
Regarding space magic, a spell that allowed both offensive and defensive flexibility, Erich Xavier had placed great importance on it ever since he stepped into the Master stage in his youth.
Among the mages with Epic potential, his talent in space magic was neither good nor bad.
So, lacking talent meant only relentless repetition.
Through day after day of monotonous practice, various space magic spells had become as instinctive to him as breathing.
In particular, the 7th-circle [Teleportation] spell had been honed into his uniquely signature Cocoon technique.
Over short distances, the casting interval of Teleportation was drastically shortened, and a single cast could trigger several consecutive spatial displacements.
During teleportation, the mana threads surrounding him formed a sturdy defensive layer, preventing the shockwaves of impact from interrupting the teleportation.
Even if the enemy’s attack truly managed to seize the fleeting opportunity and break through the Cocoon’s defenses, his Cocoon technique could alter the original teleportation coordinates, instinctively bouncing the caster to a relatively close spatial coordinate.
Watching the Spellweaver Erich Xavier flicker madly like a slippery loach under the assault of her hundreds of venom mist wyrms, the Green Dragon Queen’s draconic pupils were filled with suspicion.
But she still tested him verbally.
"You’re still using the same tricks from a hundred years ago. It seems that during all this time, aside from scheming to decipher my Domain, you haven’t made any progress at all."
To kill her, relying solely on sealing her Domain and Erich Xavier’s previous abilities was far from sufficient. What hidden methods was he still concealing?
Though Aetherass had, from start to finish, verbally belittled the Spellweaver as an ant, in action, this seemingly powerful dragon was cautious enough to be laughable.
On paper, her strength completely crushed Erich Xavier, yet she acted like the weaker side, refusing to approach this old man and instead testing him ceaselessly with magic and provoking words.
This was the difference between True Dragons.
If it were an adult Red Dragon, it would defeat its opponent with absolute frontal force. As for what hidden preparations the enemy had? That was not its concern—its monstrously powerful physique would withstand all open and covert attacks.
But Green Dragons were different. Their physiques were far inferior to Red Dragons, and compared to brute force, they preferred to think.
For Aetherass, this was undoubtedly a dangerous enemy consumed with hatred for her, as evidenced by the fact that he had endured over a hundred years of curse torment just to crack her Domain.
Given the strength he had displayed, whether he could kill her should be clear to him.
So, what was the hidden trick he was hiding?
As the Border Lord of the Emerald Forest, Aetherass did not truly care about the outcome of this war.
Even if she won decisively and drove straight in to occupy the entire Coldjade Province, she would have to face attacks from more directions, and whether she could hold onto victory was still unknown.
If she lost, it would merely be retreating into the forest and hunkering down using the natural terrain defenses.
Her eternal concern was always her own safety.
As for the lives of the Green Dragon Army, that was a problem for later.
She could always cultivate a new monster legion at any time.
Though she had launched this war with such ferocity, if the situation turned unfavorable, she might flee far away the very next moment.
That was the extremely flexible bottom line of being a Green Dragon.
Thus, facing such a Green Dragon utterly devoid of honor, merely being stronger than her was useless. One needed overwhelming, crushing power, preferably one that could cut off all her escape routes.
If she was determined to flee, even Epic-tier powerhouses of level 18 or 19 might not be able to completely take her down.
And that level of Epic powerhouse, in an era when Legends did not emerge, was nearly a pillar of heaven-shattering strength.
Moreover, this war was not only erupting at the border of the Emerald Forest. Without receiving definitive intelligence, Aetherass would not have acted as the bird that stuck its neck out.
It was not just her; at this moment, the Lords of the other six borderlands had also launched war against humanity.
And deep in the southern monster nation, a massive monster army was assembling, with great demons quietly arriving at the borderlands and standing ready. Their purpose was to send a clear signal to these seven Border Lords.
The monster nation intended to continue the unfinished war from before.
Seeing the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass retreating further and further in battle, the Spellweaver Erich Xavier finally flashed a sneer on his face.
Just like over a hundred years ago, this "powerful one" still had no shred of honor.
That was why she had abandoned the hundreds of thousands of Green Dragon Army troops and other monster legions on the frontal battlefield.
And ruthlessly attacked the location of his family deep in the hinterlands.
At that time, bolstered by the formation’s nodal power and possessing the inherited family relic, he could briefly contend with her in terms of combat strength.
Aetherass had left the battlefield partly to lure him away from the formation’s node, and partly, even if the scheme failed, she could legitimately evade a battle with the risk of falling.
Facts proved she was indeed right.
After he received the enhancement and his combat power soared, Erich Xavier did slaughter hundreds of thousands of monsters. But after the enhancement faded and the might receded, she returned to the battlefield, cleanly shattering his inherited relic and leaving a curse that affected his entire life.
His path forward was severed, while she could continue to advance triumphantly.
"But this time, you won’t escape."
Catching the faint hint of withdrawal in the Green Dragon’s draconic pupils, Erich Xavier’s gaze gradually hardened.
He would certainly not let her leave.
He was already so old; his current strength was merely a final burst before the end.
After these few days, his power would drain at an unimaginable speed.
One could say, this was his last chance.
He looked at the oblivious Green Dragon Queen, a proud smile spreading across his face.
He had succeeded!
In this world, aside from the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass, he was absolutely the one who understood this evil dragon the best. In some aspects, he might even understand her better than she understood herself.
Just now, he had not merely been sealing her Domain.
Far away, the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass, who had been slowly flying backward, finally noticed something wrong.
"???"
She had clearly flown a great distance backward, but when she looked down, she was still above the main battlefield.
"What’s going on?"
Terror surged in her heart.
Was space magic affecting me?
But as a noble True Dragon, how could she fail to detect a spell effect being cast on her?
With this thought, she didn’t even bother pretending anymore. She violently flapped her wings and flew toward the direction behind her.
She could tolerate losing the war, but what terrified her was losing the initiative to retreat.
After attempting, the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass quickly confirmed that she could not withdraw!
Whether it was physical flight or using space magic to try to leave this place, she could not achieve her goal.
Thinking this over, she suddenly found this method surprisingly familiar.
"Erich Xavier, you have cast 'Deception' on me?"
Aetherass’s expression darkened.
She felt a deep-seated humiliation.
She had actually been controlled by her enemy using the very technique she was most proud of.
Moreover, this Deception power was even more refined than her own application. The force was too solid, looking as if it were an iron law.
No matter what method she used, every force around her was deceiving her, forcing her to be unable to leave this land. And their battle had only just erupted—achieving this in such a short time truly exceeded her imagination.
The Spellweaver had cast a single-directional Deception, specifically only preventing her from escaping the battlefield.
"Very good! Very good!"
Aetherass looked at Erich Xavier, her eyes showing fierce hostility.
Now that her retreat was cut off, she would completely transform into a ferocious beast.
As long as she killed the Spellweaver Erich Xavier, she could regain her freedom.
However...
Her gaze turned toward the direction of Erich Xavier.
The worst possible thought slowly emerged in her mind.
Since he had already restrained her...
"Boom!"
The dense venom clouds in the sky suddenly dissipated.
The space not far from Erich Xavier began to violently tremble.
It was as if space itself had been torn apart, and three figures burst forth through the rift.
"Erich, I didn’t expect you to actually succeed," the newcomer’s voice carried an indescribable tone of emotion.
"In that case, as agreed, leave this to us."
The figure of the newcomer was initially shrouded in a halo of light, but as his words fell, his appearance gradually became clear.
He had light purple hair and deep purple eyes.
This was the hallmark appearance of the direct bloodline of the Karos royal family.
The King’s Hand, Eli Karos, a level 19 Grand Mage. As early as the war over a hundred years ago, he had already become famous and slaughtered countless demons.
Even the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass turned pale instantly upon seeing him.
And beside him, the elderly man was Milo Dalton, the High Priest of Lathander the Morninglord, a level 18 priest with the title of Holy Judgment Flame.
The other woman with deep red hair was also no small figure. Mabel Burns, who in her youth had received the teachings of the legendary Sword Saint Roland in his later years. Though she was too young at the time, and the Sword Saint lacked energy, she hadn’t formally taken him as her master, but she could be considered half a disciple of the Sword Saint.
At just over sixty years old, she was already a level 17 sword-wielding professional and was recognized as one of the promising Legendary prospects of the Kingdom of Karos.
Coupled with the level 16 Grand Mage Erich, who was extremely knowledgeable about the Green Dragon Queen Aetherass, the ambition of this lineup was clear.
They had been remotely teleported here with the goal of killing the Green Dragon—and doing it quickly!
Why hadn’t they descended when the war started?
Because strategic-level combatants like them were so pivotal that moving them would affect the whole situation. If they appeared here, other areas’ defensive forces might be left empty, allowing the enemy to make targeted arrangements.
If the attack was effective, it would be fine—the upper echelons of the human kingdom could tolerate a certain degree of exchanging pieces. But if they transferred their power here and failed to keep the Green Dragon Queen, the situation for the Kingdom of Karos would be highly unfavorable.
Even if they later slaughtered the Green Dragon Army to the last, it couldn’t compensate for the losses and risks incurred elsewhere.
The forces the Green Dragon Queen had deployed in the first wave weren’t even her absolute main force.
But the Spellweaver, Erich Xavier, had staked his own honor as a guarantee. Before the war officially broke out, he had requested this support from the kingdom’s high command.
He stated bluntly that he possessed the power to bind the Green Dragon and prevent her from fleeing. After listening remotely, it was ultimately the King’s Hand, Eli Karos, who made the final decision for this operation.
Eli Karos also had to bear significant pressure. By pulling himself away from the kingdom’s central command, other battlefields that required support might face uncontrollable risks.
Yet Eli came anyway. His conscience was indeed burdened. This Grand Mage of the Xavier family had sacrificed his family to save tens of thousands of soldiers, and after the war ended, Eli had strongly persuaded him to give up personal grudges for the sake of peace.
Seeing this once-brilliant mage, now hunched and decaying from the curse’s torment, he ultimately decided to trust him one more time.
And clearly, the Spellweaver had not disappointed him.
Now, all they had to do was quickly kill this Green Dragon that couldn’t escape. Afterward, they would use remote teleportation to move to the nearest large teleportation array, then teleport back to the capital, ready for immediate support across the entire kingdom.
"Go!"
Eli Karos exchanged a glance with Erich Xavier.
He said nothing more.
Speed was paramount now.
High Priest Milo Dalton waved a flame emitting a holy white light, but his target was not the distant Green Dragon; it was Grand Mage Eli Karos.
In an extremely short time, the Grand Mage’s body was enveloped in a powerful blaze. He took not a single trace of damage; instead, his aura began to surge at an unimaginable rate!
"9th-circle spell, Holy Flame Blessing!"
"Forbidden Slash!"
The red-haired woman, who had disappeared without a trace, had already appeared beside the Green Dragon’s massive body.
Thousands of spatial slashes locked the Green Dragon firmly in place like countless seals.
Now, not only could she not escape the Emerald Forest, but all her other movements were directly sealed.
And with the Blessing’s enhancement, Eli Karos also waved his staff.
"Boom!"
The surrounding air seemed to change.
Looking up toward the higher sky, a scorching heat suddenly descended.
The thick, dense emerald green clouds burst apart violently.
A meteor blazing with fierce flames tore across the sky, dragged down from high above the material plane, smashing toward the entrapped Green Dragon Aetherass. The inclined landing point was directly aimed at the location of the Green Dragon Army’s formation.
Down below on the battlefield, countless people raised their heads to gaze at this near-miraculous spectacle.
This was a power completely beyond what ordinary people could imagine—even the might of the gods was nothing more than this.