Inferno Archmage Sastor was the god of the Fire Sect, the mastermind behind the Yan Empire, and an undefeatable figure at the pinnacle of Level-19.
Nozama was at the pinnacle of Level-19 too. In the game, he’d almost upended the Firuman Realm. The World Tree of the High Elves was a magic item at Level-19. It was powerful enough to fuse two separate realms.
In this realm, the pinnacle of Level-19 was a synonym of “incredible.”
The pinnacle of Level-19 was also the highest level a realm could contain. Any further and one would enter the divine state. Anyone in that state would either get repelled by the realm, or they would cause the realm to burst.
Of course, there hadn’t been any god who’d forcefully burst a realm yet. Even the frightening Ruler of Light and Darkness couldn’t.
To someone at Level-19, anyone below their level—even someone at the pinnacle of Level-18—could be killed with just a bit of strength.
This was why people at the pinnacle of Level-19 had “arch” before their title. Warriors were Archwarriors while Magicians were Archmages.
After Sastor arrived at the Isle of Eternal Winter, Snow Mountain Archmage Iyr did two things. One was to activate a defense spell, sealing his palace. The second was to leave the palace and fight Sastor thousands of feet in the air.
Sastor hadn’t come alone. Some of his men had come, but they were at Level-16. To Iyr, they were as insignificant as flies.
Of course, they were flies now. But if he kept fighting Sastor and used up a lot of energy, these “flies” could still influence the game.
That was alright though. Iyr didn’t care about life or death now. He had one simple goal, which was to send Link to the Firuman Realm so he had enough time to mature and counter the Ruler of Light and Darkness!
“Sastor, I used to respect you because you were the most talented Magician I’ve met. But now, I’m disappointed. No matter how talented or lucky you are, you’re just a dog.”
Iyr was calm as he spoke. Rather than insulting Sastor, he seemed to be stating an obvious fact.
To the proud Sastor, Iyr’s words were like an arrow to his heart. He felt his face heat up, but he just couldn’t utter any refutation. The fire simmered in his heart, and it felt so uncomfortable.
After many seconds, he finally gritted out, “Iyr, you don’t know what you’re facing at all. You—”
Iyr waved, cutting him off. “Cut the nonsense. Let’s start!”
Before he finished, beams of light already flashed around Iyr. The dozens of arrow-like crystal cones appeared out of thin air. They spun around Iyr in a complicated yet precise way. The iciness in the air thickened.
Sastor’s expression grew serious. “Retreat from the isle!” he called to his believers.
This was the battlefield for the Archmages. Everyone else would be swept up by the storm and be crushed easily. This time, even Saroviny didn’t delay. She was the first to turn and escape. Milda and the three Lava Knights quickly retreated too.
They’d been far behind the Inferno Archmage. After getting the command, they ran at full speed and quickly exited the Isle of Eternal Winter.
When the last Lava Knight retreated, deafening cracks came from the 200-mile-wide island behind them. The island and the frozen sea around it were instantly covered in a web of cracks.
The cracks deepened and widened. Less than ten seconds later, the entire island disappeared from the sea surface. The frozen sea also turned into warm water. In the distant horizon, there was a red and white ball of light. They entangled and collided, setting off ripples of shockwaves.
Under the colliding power, the members of the Fire Sect could feel the ground shaking despite being hundreds of miles away. The sea had started roaring too. Mountainous waves crashed towards all directions, creating tsunamis going towards land.
The furious waves forced the people back further.
This kind of power made one speechless. Milda and the Lava Knights had lost their words. Even Saroviny who called herself the daughter of a god was floored. She couldn’t believe a mortal could reach this level.
The battle went on for 16 seconds. At 17 seconds, the ball of white light at the horizon was scattered by the red light. However, the red light also paid greatly. His light was much dimmer than before.
If his light had been comparable to the sun before, he was now like a star at night that glowed a bit brighter than the others.
Inferno Archmage Sastor was extremely talented, but Iyr was a grandmaster too. Their skills were at the same level. The main reason why Sastor won was because he had the Divine Fragment and the support from his believers.
The fight between the two Archmages had ended. Sastor quickly turned and ran from the battlefield. At the same time, a voice rang out in the minds of his believers. Iyr is dead while the Ferde lord is still unharmed. I will continue to lock the realm so he can’t escape. You all work together to kill him!
By the time he finished, the Inferno Archmage had already vanished.
Milda and the others all had reverent expressions. Only Saroviny looked in the direction Sastor went in deep thought. “He ran so quickly. He must have been hurt badly and is too scared to face the Ferde lord now.”
Iyr may have died, but the Inferno Archmage had paid greatly for it.
“Let’s go,” Milda said. “Let us go meet that Ferde lord… Saroviny, are you okay?”
Saroviny’s injuries were healed by a divine spell, but it had been a serious wound. It would still affect her combat ability. Milda didn’t want something to happen at this critical time.
Saroviny never liked this High Elf. If Milda wasn’t here, Saroviny would be the most powerful in the Fire Sect and be worshipped by the thousands of believers. After Milda came, she took all this glory away. No wonder Saroviny hated Milda.
She scoffed. “Worry about yourself, Milda. I heard that the Ferde lord’s your old lover. Don’t get soft and cause trouble!”
Milda smiled thinly. “Since you’re arguing with me, I guess you’re fine. Let’s go.”
This annoyed Saroviny. She wanted to tear apart this pretty and clever High Elf, but she still knew her place. She was much more powerful than Milda, but the three Lava Knights were all on her side. Milda’s Prophecy Staff was powerful too. Saroviny might not be a match if they got into a fight. She would get reprimanded by her father too.
She never did things with no benefits.
Huffing, Saroviny opened her territory and rushed towards the palace in the heart of the island. Milda and the others followed.
The Isle of Eternal Winter had completely sunk. All they could see was the blue sea surface. After flying for more than 100 miles, they finally saw something different.
There was a lonely stone pillar in the middle of the sea. The pillar had the damaged palace. At the entrance, there was an elder holding a staff with both hands. He stood there quietly. It was Iyr, the Snow Mountain Archmage.
“Ah, Iyr isn’t dead!” a Lava Knight yelled.
“Oh my god, what do we do?”
At the front, Saroviny’s pupils constricted. Her heart skipped a beat too. She’d just witnessed an Archmage’s power. No matter how brave she was, she didn’t dare fight an Archmage. That was suicide!
But she quickly realized that even though Iyr was standing, he had no power aura. His body was completely frozen too. This was a lifeless corpse.
“Don’t freak out. He’s dead!” Saroviny called.
Everyone looked carefully and was relieved when they realized it was true.
“This damn old guy. He’s scaring us even when he’s dead,” a Lava Knight cursed.
As soon as he spoke, footsteps sounded from the ruins of the palace. Clack, clack. A few seconds later, a young man with black hair, black eyes, the Crown of Eternal Night, a silver-black battle robe, and a long sword walked out.
He stopped at the door and bowed to the Snow Mountain Archmage Iyr rooted there. Then he raised his head and looked at the Lava Knight who’d spoken. “Everyone will die. Some die without any meaning. Others should be respected, even in death. Knight, kneel and apologize.”
The Lava Knight shuddered under Link’s gaze. Then he realized the opponent was alone while his side had five people. It boosted his courage. “I am the Blazing Fire Lauste. I’ll say what I want!”
Link wasn’t looking at him anymore. The sentence before was announcing the other’s end. There was no need to say more to a dead person.
He turned to Milda.
A century had passed, but as the Fire Sect’s Saint, she had top skills and maintained her beauty well. In fact, she looked more graceful and elegant now. If Milda had been like a lily growing beside a creek before, she was now like a blooming rose being cared for in a royal garden.
Thinking back, the past had become smoke. The smoke now transformed into a faint smile. “After so many years, we’ve become rivals. We’ll meet with our weapons later. I can only say sorry.”
Milda opened her mouth. She wanted to speak but found herself speechless. Now that she actually faced Link, her calm disappeared. All that remained were complicated feelings.
Seeing this, Saroviny pulled out her sword. “Link, you won’t defeat me even if we fight again! Come at me!”