Advent of the Archmage

On the plains.

Todelron chuckled as he glanced at Link and said, "The Duke has unimaginable intellect. How could a mortal like you ever hope to understand the mystery of my resurrection?"

His contemptuous look was extremely irking.

Felina could not hold in her age anymore and charged forward, mercilessly giving Todelron a punch in the face. She then hollered, "Stop spouting nonsense! Reply Master Link properly!"

Todelron then shouted in rage, "Felina, how dare you side with another race. If you are indeed so capable, battle with me!"

Felina was already trying her best to hold in her rage. After hearing those words, she erupted, "Outsiders? Look at what you have done! Our race was tasked with the mission to maintain the balance in the world. Look at what you are doing! Taking the lives of the innocent!"

"Balance? Why must we care about balance when we are so strong? Let me tell you, balance is all but a lie. The only truth in this world is raw power!" Todelron smirked.　

Link shook his head at this endless argument and said, "Alright Felina let him speak. After all, he is just a loser."

Felina then stopped talking, merely staring at Todelron with a cold glare.

Link walked forward with a calm expression. He did not feel insulted or infuriated by Todelron's words. He then said, "Your power seems to increase every time you resurrect. However, Isendilan does not seem to be killing you again and again to increase your strength. This means that there are still some limitations to this resurrection technique, am I right?"

"What do you know!" Todelron shouted as he rolled his eyes.　　

Link then continued, "Such power should not exist in the mortal world, nor is it possible for a mortal to master such techniques. Even Divine Skills have difficulty accomplishing such a fear. I believe that Isendilan has obtained some kind of peculiar power pertaining to the principles of this world."　　

"Hmph!" Todelron smirked and did not answer Link directly.

Link did not press on. He observed Todelron's body carefully. From his aura, he seemed just like an ordinary red dragon. This explained that Isendilan's techniques had reached a level beyond that of dark magic.

In the game, Isendilan had cooperated with the Demon God. However, he had never obtained such peculiar strength. Link could not rely on his ingame knowledge this time around.

He then asked the Storm Lord's sword in his mind, Have you ever seen such a resurrection technique?　

"I have never seen it…However, I have a feeling that this spell comes at a very, very, very steep price," the Storm Lord replied.

For example? Link asked.

"Destruction of this world's principles, a rift in time-space, and the disintegration of the world." The Storm Lord's sword mentioned three scenarios that sent shivers down Link's spine. 　　

"How could that be? How could Isendilan obtain such power?" Link was startled at those words. It was too horrifying to even think about the result of using such spells.

The Storm Lord's sword then continued, "I am not sure as well, though I can definitely feel some things change in the world. It is a very subtle change that I cannot describe. I am also not able to determine how it will affect the world."

The sword then fell silent.

Link listened to those words with a heavy heart. After a moment of thought, he said, "I cannot figure out what this is about as well. Bring him along, we will study him when we get back."　　

He had an idea, which was to bring Todelron to White Cloud City and show him to the exiled God. Naturally, he would not mention this in front of Todelron.　　

"Alright." Felina walked forward and was just about to carry Todelron on her shoulders.

Todelron then suddenly shouted, "Don't get too cocky! Let me tell you, the Duke would rather have me dead than let me land into your hands. Pray that you can escape from the pursuit of the great Duke Isendilan!"

Link and Felina shuddered at that thought.

Isendilan was a Legendary strength red dragon. If he were to enter the battlefield, they would definitely be slaughtered on the spot.

Todelron was truly a threat to the entire group.

Felina then stared at Link as she asked, "What are we going to do?"

Link fell silent.

This was due to his negligence. In the game, Isendilan was merely an insane Magician. He would simply stay in his fortress and experiment with different kinds of magic. Nothing could draw him out from his fortress. However, the situation was extremely different in this timeline.

Link could no longer predict Isendilan's actions. He could not afford to take risks.

Three seconds later, Link told Nana, "Kill him."

Todelron instantly burst out laughing as he said, "I will be back very soon, Magician!"　

Nana then pierced Todelron's heart in one swift action, ending his life.

Link then said, "We will bring this body to that exiled god. He should be able to give us an answer."　　

A dead body should be enough.

Dragging Todelron's body along, Link and company quickly caught up to the group of Beastmen. Masos then came to welcome them and asked, "How did it go?"

Link said, "We killed one of them and defeated the rest, though the situation is still grim. They have a high chance of appearing again."　

Masos then informed them with a piece of good news, "The Beastman shaman has already contacted the shaman of White Cloud City just now. They have received news that Sky Shattering Warlord of the Beastman clan was coincidentally at White Cloud City. He is already on his way to render help."

Upon hearing this name, Link heaved a sigh of relief.　

Beastmen were generally blessed with a stronger physique than humans, especially in the area of strength. They were exceptionally good Warriors, and the difference in strength between their levels was extremely huge.

By Level-7, they would be able to master the Titan's Strength Battle Aura, a Battle Aura that was passed down the generations in the Beastman race, increasing their strength exponentially. When they reached Level-8, their strength would already be comparable to that of the dragon race.

If they ever reach Level-9, they would be able to utterly destroy dragons and high-level demons in terms of strength alone!

The Beastmen termed any Warriors who had achieved Level-8 and above "Warlords." Link understood that there were three great Warlords in the Beastman race: Sky Shattering Warlord, Glorious Warlord Avatar, and Storm Warlord Parmese.　　

The three of them each had their flairs. The Sky Shattering Warlord Holun was the strongest, while the Storm Warlord Parmese was the fastest. Parmese could probably hold his own against Nana in a battle of speed. However, if one were to talk about Battle Skills, Glorious Warlord Avatar would definitely come to mind.

In the late-game, Holun's strength was even comparable to that of the Lord of the Deeps, Nozama. They were evenly matched until Nozama finally decided to use a spell, resulting in Holun's defeat.

Link did not know how strong Holun was at this stage in the game, though he was definitely above Level-8 in strength. He would definitely be a strong aide.

"That is good news," Link's face lightened up as he said.　

"Well, I suppose so," Masos laughed.

Felina continued to patrol the skies for the rest of the journey. Todelron's body was moved onto the back of one of Masos' horse to lighten their load.

On the other hand, Link was resting and conserving his energy. That Demon Slayer spell that he cast was strong but extremely mana-consuming. It depleted 7000 Mana Points in one second.　

Suddenly, Masos cry could be heard, "How strange. Look, this corpse is glowing."　

Link looked over and sure enough, a golden brilliance could be seen enveloping Todelron's body. He immediately walked forward for a closer observation.　　

It became clear after a while. Todelron's body was not emitting a golden brilliance. More accurately, his entire body was turning into a beam of golden light.　

This light turned into fine threads and emerged one after another from Todelron's body. As this light grows more intense, Todelron's body started reducing in size.

"Oh my god, his entire body is turning into light!" Masos gasped.

Link was perplexed as well. He could not feel any magic presence in this entire process. He then touched Todelron's body with his bare hands and felt a slight warmness enveloping his hands. This golden light seemed to ignore all obstacles, passing through his hands and the horse before disappearing into the air.　

"Isendilan must be reviving it!"

Link thought for a moment before he decided to give Spatial magic a shot. He raised his wand and muttered, "Folded Dimensions!"

A light ball the size of a small dot landed on Todelron's body before exploding. The dimensions within then started folding in an unpredictable manner. Even light was not supposed to escape this dimension. They would be trapped inside forever.　

However, this was to no avail. This golden brilliance ignored the change in dimensions and pierced right through it. The only difference the Spatial spell made was to dim the brilliance a little.　

To think that Spatial Magic would be useless!

Link immediately waved towards Nana. He then removed the Breakpoint dagger from the side of her thigh and lightly slashed the area around Todelron.

It actually worked!　

The atmosphere around Todelron seemed to tremble for a moment before the threads surrounding his body broke and became extremely scattered.

The Breakpoint dagger truly could sever everything in the world.

Link continued cutting those threads.

The golden threads then disintegrated at an insane rate. The threads would lose its brilliance after being severed from Todelron's body before disappearing into the air.

Around five seconds later, all the threads had been severed. He then stared at Todelron once again. His body had become dull and lifeless. At the same time, countless injuries started appearing on his skin, similar to that of a melted candlestick. He looked terrifying.

Link had a feeling that Todelron was completely dead.　

Following which, a feeling of panic rose in his heart. This feeling was suffocating. Link felt as though the surrounding area was closing in on him. Even Masos felt this immense pressure, evident from the expression of fear on his face. The horse who was originally carrying Todelron fell onto the ground from the shock, lying motionless while trembling in fear.　

The next moment, Link felt a voice rang in his head, "Who are you? Why are you getting in my way?"　　

Damn it, I must have alarmed Isendilan!　　

Link knew that Isendilan must have used some method to locate him. However, he was not afraid. This was because he had the means to deal with this spying spell. His Breakpoint dagger could easily sever this spell.

He instinctively wanted to wave the Breakpoint dagger around to sever this connection, though he stopped the next moment.

I cannot sever it now. I'm amongst the Beastman. If I sever the connection now, Isendilan would rush over and all these people would die! I have to find another location.

Upon this thought, Link turned to Masos and said, "I might have angered a terrifying existence. I can no longer protect you guys. This will cause great misfortune to befall the entire group."

Following which, he cast a swiftness spell on himself and quickly left the main group. Nana followed behind and Felina, though unaware of what happened, also did the same.

Don't even think about running! You are dead! The voice in his mind grew clearer by the moment. Link then told Nana, "Carry me and go full speed ahead."

No matter how powerful Isendilan was, if they could not locate him, it would all be for naught. This applied even to a god.