บท 360: Battle of Liguang: Sacrifice (2)
Now that their safety was secured, Elizabeth and Freon exchanged a solemn glance. They understood that Ten Dawn Krogan had resolved himself. That being the case, they could not let this chance go to waste as they immediately began casting their strongest spells for the fourth time! This would also be their final time before their Cores ran dry which was to be expected because no matter how heaven-defying their abilities were, imitating the power of Low Condensed Drop with their Peak Gaseous Fog spells four times already stretched the common sense of the world. Any more required World Energy, but that was an extremely risky ordeal, especially for their strongest spells. The slightest miscalculation and they would backlash, if not die. When considering the risk-to-benefit ratio, anyone would hesitate. At the same time, their spells completed. Eclipsing Theatre! Infernal Dragon!
The same scene unfolded, sending shockwaves throughout the town, but there was a noticeable difference. The power of their spells was clearly diminishing. If the first attack claimed over a hundred lives, then the current attack could barely kill twenty to thirty. Elizabeth expected as much since the interference strength rose to restrict them by seven-tenths, but it did not lessen the disappointment in her eyes. She thought it was a pity that she could not do more. Of course, when considering her current accomplishments as a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist, no one would complain. As Elizabeth reaffirmed, the crux of the problem remained with Ten Dawn Yvonne and Rosemary. They needed to break through the Featherwind Sect's spell!
She glanced towards the two women. Unexpectedly, they were double casting! Although it was a famous technique that only Condensed Drop Arcanists could wield, Elizabeth felt numb to surprises today. How could it compare to destroying the town in a single strike? Ten Dawn Rosemary was using the water-type spells, Mist Shroud Ghost and Rainbow Foresight Crystal. Mist Shroud Ghost was a defensive spell that hid her location in a field of illusionary water images. As for Rainbow Foresight Crystal, whenever she peered through it, it would showcase Liguang in a myriad of colors. It could reveal magical traces as physical colors wherever Ten Dawn Rosemary pointed it. It was essentially a stronger and more versatile version of her own Magic Perception.
Ten Dawn Yvonne looked more impressive at a glance from her two spells: the light-type Moon Cricket Bowl and the darkness-type Yearning Dawn Owl. Moon Cricket Bowl was another defensive spell which resembled a bowl of moonlight in her hands where several glowing crickets resided. When an attack neared her, one of the crickets would disappear and block the attack for her. Yearning Dawn Owl was a black-feathered owl with eyes that sparkled like gemstones that sat on her shoulders. It possessed extremely terrifying senses towards the unknown which surpassed Perception Realms of the same rank. From time to time, it would also 'eat' one of the crickets from Moon Cricket Bowl and illuminate one of its feathers. After a short period of feasting, Yearning Dawn Owl would move from a Low Condensed Drop spell to Medium Condensed Drop! It could self-improve!
The two women were too engrossed in their spells to notice anything around them. The fighting had yet to reach the rear and their defensive spells provided the bare minimum protection in this hectic environment. With that, they could protect themselves against any stray attacks. The key to breaking through the Featherwind Sect's large-scale beguilement array was relatively simple. There were two methods. The first method was to find the appropriate method, unlock it from inside, and leave that way. As simple as it sounds, it was exceedingly difficult to put into practice. They needed a thorough understanding of the governing principles behind the spell, determine the correct countermeasures, and implement them successfully. Aside from the skill and effort required, it also relied on luck too. The second method was far more straightforward: brute-force! If they exceeded the Magic Array's tolerances, then they would break through. Since the spell's construction was beyond their understanding, the two women naturally opted for the second method.
Bang! A small explosion appeared in the air above Liguang. Ten Dawn Rosemary nodded and pointed in another direction with her Rainbow Foresight Crystal. In her view, there was a strange hovering ball of light in the sky which stood out amongst the dark and orange background. It moved languidly as it entered an irregular trajectory. She spoke a few words to the Arcanists nearby, having one of them attack the ball with a spell. Bang! Another explosion came as the ball of light disappeared. On the side, Ten Dawn Yvonne was also relaying her findings from Yearning Dawn Owl to her subordinates. Together, they launched attack after attack on these flying balls of light, clearing the sky of these invisible objects.
Elizabeth naturally knew they were attacking the Magic Array's Cores. The Cores provided a central distribution point for Magic Energy from the Arcanist. If the Cores collapsed, then the spell would naturally come undone. This was the so-called brute-force method. However, locating the Cores was a tricky business, which required an extremely refined skill and Magic Perception. Both Ten Dawn Yvonne and Rosemary had to use their most powerful investigative methods here. If they were facing a normal Magic Array, then things would have been easier. Unfortunately, they were facing the Elder Terus's Bloodline Ability: Starry Caged Sky empowered by a fragment of the Superior Noble Grade Featherwind Pearl. This meant that the spell's level was approaching Peak Condensed Drop! How could the Magic Array prove easy to unravel? There were over fifty Cores scattered around Liguang in all sorts of weird locations, hidden from detection. The growing interference strength aided in their efforts, but they had only destroyed twenty since the battle started. It would take longer still until they broke through.
Elizabeth drew a deep breath. Since Ten Dawn Krogan already went to such lengths to help her and everyone else fought with their lives on the line too, then it felt wrong to hesitate. She glanced at Freon, and it seemed like he made the same decision. In that case, then they would commit their all! Elizabeth's Peak Gaseous Fog Core was nearly depleted when the last remaining wisps of energy were sucked away in a flash. She raised her bow and channeled it into her fifth spell: Eclipsing Theatre! Her Magic Aura flourished again but fell short from her peak. Her limit was four spells only, so her fifth time was destined to fail. Therefore, she had no choice but to do something drastic. Her eyes flashed with determination as she drew upon her innermost reserves of energy. World Energy!
Pain immediately rose from every part of her body as her expression contorted uglily. She was drenched in sweat as blood trickled out of her mouth and nose. Her Channels and Core felt submerged in lava! This was the punishment for using her lifeforce! It was so painful that her concentration slipped for an instant, nearly causing her spell to spiral out of control. Thankfully, her rational mind kicked back in time and allowed her to regain control. If her spell backlashed at this point, with that much energy stored up, forget dying, even her corpse would be hard to reassemble! She had experienced the pain accompanied by her Core's collapse after the Lannisail explosion before, so this was nothing much to complain about. Well, she had to admit it was still pretty painful, but when she thought about what Ten Dawn Krogan was probably going through right now, her emotions turned as calm as ice. Her breathing gradually calmed down as she focused on controlling her World Energy.
Freon fared much better on the other hand. In the first place, his pain tolerance had risen significantly because of his uncle's training. Although if Freon could word it differently, it would be less training and more of a sadistic torture. Every day, his Channels and Cores had been assaulted with unimaginable pain! This ritual tempered his body and mind to steel, which allowed him to exercise his Bloodline Ability as freely as he did. Otherwise, how else would a High Gaseous Fog Arcanist such as himself do what only Condensed Drop Arcanists could achieve? There was an appropriate price to pay with anything. Coincidentally enough, the effects of using his Bloodline Ability were like abusing his World Energy, making his body and mind far more resilient than his peers in this regard. He guided his World Energy smoothly into his Magic Circle while keeping a close eye on his condition.
Despite threading on a thin line, where one misstep could mean death, they managed to eventually complete their spells. For the fifth time, Eclipsing Theatre and Infernal Dragon swept through the backlines with ferocious momentum. At least, that was what they hoped when half-way through both spells lost their form and dissipated into nothing. Elizabeth and Freon nearly spat out a mouthful of blood at this sight. They endured that nightmarish pain for this? Their efforts literally went up in smoke. However, it was not entirely unexpected. The interference strength had reached seven-tenths and they were supplementing their strongest spells with unstable World Energy. Under these circumstances, it would be a miracle if their spells were completely successful.
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