Chapter 196: 196

The border count also knew the Time Stripping spell?

That spell was the reason he lost to an astrologer the last time. Sylvan’s Time Stripping spell appeared to be on par with the astrologer’s spell, if not stronger than that.

Under the pure white body, there was a power that was hundreds of times stronger than before. That power made him shudder from the bottom of his heart.

Phew!

Nightingale, who was on the sidelines watching the battle, exhaled a sigh of relief. She felt relieved. She had foreseen Lord Sylvan to lose, but as expected, Lord Sylvan’s might would not be conquered so easily. It seemed like the scenario had reversed.

Watson’s strength was not insignificant; he had forced Sylvan, who was the strongest mage in the kingdom, to that extent. That kid was not even comparable to her a few months ago, but it seemed like he had progressed to such a level. Nightingale sighed; it was what she had expected of the border count’s child. He had good genes.

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She was there when the astrologer and Sylvan discussed whether Watson was his illegitimate child. She heard Lord Sylvan acknowledge Watson’s identity, so she stood by and watched the battle as it progressed. She did not stop it. It was a father-son showdown, so she did not interfere.

“Watson, the battle is over. If you admit your mistake now and give me the rights to explore the ruins, I’ll let it go.”

After he entered the Time Stripping spell state, Sylvan’s voice overlapped, as if countless of himself spoke simultaneously.

“Who said I lost?”

Watson put down the hand that was rubbing his forehead and clenched his fists.

“What other trump cards do you have? Do you want to cast the Time-Stripping spell like I did? I advise you not to waste your energy.”

Among all the spells Sylvan had mastered, the Time Stripping spell had the most significant strength. The only spell that could withstand it was the same Time Stripping spell. At the same time, that also had the highest cost to pay.

The time-stripping spell would force him to weaken himself to take power from his past self constantly. In other words, it would take time to accumulate. He had stayed dormant at the border for ten years to nurture that spell. He could only summon a maximum of three thousand of his past selves.

How old was Watson? How many past selves could he obtain when he was only ten years old? How could he compare to him?

With that thought in mind, Sylvan noticed Watson take a deep breath and begin to chant the spell in Loen. Watson had tasted the sweetness after he tried to cast the spell in the Loen language.

Watson’s body condensed a layer of time aura as the spell formed. It was a prelude to the release of the Time Stripping spell, but it was not exactly the same.

When Sylvan noticed the long river above Watson’s head, he attempted to figure out what was unusual. It was the long river of time, and he could see the ancient castle ruins and shifting mountains and rivers in the distance.

More than 20 people walked out of the long river of time slowly. They looked like Watson, and their bodies had a platinum-tier aura as they arrived at Watson’s side.

“This is…Time Stripping? What kind of spell is this?” Sylvan was dumbfounded.

Time stripping was a spell that would fuse one’s past selves into one’s body, but the spell that Watson had used summoned his past selves instead.

While he was puzzled about that, Watson brought more than 20 identical copies of himself and rushed at him. At the same time, he spread his arms, and the World Tree branches flew out one by one and broke into wooden cards. The starlight that fused with the sky turned into golden cards.

There were 24 people there. Watson had created 24 cards and fused them into each of them. He cast the God’s Descent spell, and the clones immediately turned into mythical creatures.

There was a god who carried a scepter and wore a garment full of eyes, which symbolized the Fool. There was also a high-tier being who personified travel and lightning; he was known as Hermes. There was also a war god on a golden chariot and an angel with wings on his back; he held a horn in one hand and a longsword in the other.

Watson’s projection of the river of time had the potential to pull his previous selves out of the gaps in history, but it had a weakness.

His past selves could not carry any tools, so Watson used his original body to create the golden cards and gave his doppelgangers the ability to cast the God’s Descent spell. Then, he activated the Great Sin Mask, which had been fused with the World Tree’s shadow.

Roar!

A deafening roar erupted. Watson’s body was engulfed in black gas, which ballooned as if it were inflating. It grew into a massive black whale with a length of hundreds of meters. It had spikes on its back and a long snake-shaped tail that swayed behind it. It had huge fangs on its abdomen and mouth. The sharp fangs dissolved the snow-covered ground and turned it into a quicksand vortex.

That was Leviathan, the Envy beast and a Great Sin Beast; it could force equality and shadow clones.

The moment the 24 mythical creatures and the Great Sin Beast appeared, the base of the Dragonspine Snow Mountain boiled. Hundreds of thousands of magical beasts felt the pressure in their souls and knelt in unison. Then the Shadow Guards, including Nightingale, knelt too.

That was the bloodline’s repression. The magical beast and mythical creatures in front of them were superior to them.

“That must be Leviathan, the Envy beast. People said that it often roams the sea and could control tsunamis. It’s a terrifying magical beast! I don’t know the creatures around it, but judging from their aura, they must be comparable to the Great Sin Beast!”

“How can a person turn into so many monsters? What kind of magic is that?”

A few Shadow Guards knelt on the ground; their voices trembled when they spoke. They had experienced great storms, but they were still shocked by that scene. They were no match for any of the monsters that Watson had turned into, and there were 24 of those beasts.

It was no surprise. Watson’s combat strength was already at its peak when he combined a peak platinum-tier spell and tool.

Roar!

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Watson, who had transformed into the magical beast Leviathan, roared again. A massive vortex suddenly appeared beneath Sylvan’s feet. Countless shadow arms reached out from within to wrap around him; it gradually weakened the powerful aura that his body emanated. That was the Envy beast’s Forced Equality skill—it could force his opponent down to his skill level.

“Interesting.”

Sylvan’s attitude changed as he stared at the 25 gigantic monsters of various shapes and sizes in front of him. Instead, things took a severe turn. “Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back any longer! Come out now, peak platinum-tier fusion spell, Super-elemental Giant Summon!”

The vortex beneath his feet vanished as soon as he spoke, and the shadow’s arms shattered. The ground continued to churn in its position, and enormous giant rock golems climbed up one by one.

They towered over a hundred meters above the ground; they even blocked the sun’s rays. Other than the rock golems, there were lava golems as well—hot lava flowed on their body as the smaller rocks on them whirled in the green storm. They were not connected.

At least 50 elemental giants sprang from the ground and crashed with Watson’s transformed behemoth. A violent storm was formed by the collision of roughly a hundred platinum-tier beasts. The ring-shaped wind, which had shattered rocks, flames, and frost, dispersed in all directions. Cracks appeared on the ground soon after, and Dragonspine Snow Mountain next to them was plagued with holes as well.

The entire world seemed to be in the grip of an apocalypse. A massive rock golem hugged a mythical creature with eight limbs and three heads on its back. A storm giant and a mythological creature with dense and enormous wings on its back were fighting. They conjured thunderstorms of their own.

Sylvan and Watson were in the thick of the battlefield. Sylvan embedded himself inside the body of a giant rock golem and engaged in combat with the Leviathan, the Envy beast that Watson had transformed into. The ground beneath them sank a few centimeters. They fought and conversed at the same time.

“Do you notice the difference between you and me, Watson? I must say that you are quite gifted, but that is all. I will reiterate what I already said. I will forgive you as long as you admit your mistake.”

“Border Count, what are you talking about? I don’t understand at all! Is there a difference between us? I can’t feel it anyway.”

“Do you really dare say that? I’ll teach you a good lesson today.”

Following that, continuous sounds of collisions were heard.

“Those two guys are father and son, indeed. They’re really cut from the same mold. They can get so angry in a fight!”

Nightingale and a couple of Shadow Guards were in front of the astrologer. He looked up at the sky as he flipped his right palm to release a layer of protective shield for them. “Stop fighting. The surrounding terrain will be damaged as a result of your battle. It will not be beneficial to anyone if the ruins are destroyed.”

Crack!

Almost as soon as he finished his words, the astrologer saw a crack in the ancient ruins in front of him. The Leviathan behemoth that Watson had transformed into was pressed onto the Dragonspine Snow Mountain by the giant rock golem controlled by Sylvan. That happened to be the location of the ruins.

“D*mn it! I knew that your fight would destroy the ruins. Those ruins are from 10,000 years ago. The words, items, and even a stone in there are all treasures. Do you know how much value you will lose if you destroy it?”

The astrologer looked at the Dragonspine Snow Mountain with heartache; he used a spell to amplify his voice. However, it seemed that they did not hear what he had said. Watson and Sylvan fought even more fiercely. At that time, it was Watson’s turn to wave Leviathan’s thick and long tail. The giant rock golem’s neck snapped before it was thrown onto the wall of the Dragonspine Snow Mountain. It added two new cracks to the ruins.

“I told you to stop fighting. Did you not hear me? You’re destroying the ruins!”

When the astrologer saw that the ruins were about to be destroyed, he grew enraged and cast the Time Stripping spell. His body was imbued with a diamond-tier aura; it gave him a youthful and attractive appearance. Then he stomped his foot, and it caused the earth to crumble around him. Whether it was Watson’s clone or Sylvan’s summoned giant, they all vanished into thin air among the tremors.

The ruins on the walls of the Dragonspine Snow Mountain also disappeared with them. The ruins could not endure the collapse because they had been devastated for an extended period and then were subjected to such intense vibrations. Snowflakes and broken rocks pelted the ground. When the astrologer glanced at his masterpiece, his angry expression froze.

Meanwhile, Watson and Sylvan deactivated their transformations at the same time and looked in his direction. They had strange expressions on their faces as they spoke in unison.

“Master, why did you destroy the ruins?”

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