Chapter 92

Striking

The black-haired acolyte had a silver chain coiled around his waist, and from time to time there were blue lightning sparks igniting between his hands, making a crackling noise.

"Haha... Jayden, I mentioned it before. One day you will land in my hands!"

The black-haired acolyte laughed wildly. With the wave of his hand, a blue streak of lightning faster than supersonic directly landed on Jayden's armour of vines.

* Sssii! *

Jayden was sent flying, as if a train had knocked into him, and crashed onto the ground forming a large hole.

"How is it? Where is the arrogance back then when you stole my piece of lightning core?"

The black-haired acolyte taunted, before casting another spell at Jayden. It opened a gap on Jayden's body.

The green vines had a huge opening now, revealing Jayden's skin. A large patch of his skin was charred, and Leylin could faintly catch a whiff of barbeque smell.

"Don't think a broken magic artifact can save you!"

It seemed like the hatred the black-haired acolyte had for Jayden was not small, as his glee in seeking revenge was shown on his face.

"A.I. Chip! Inspect Jayden!"

Leylin did not dare to scan the black-haired acolyte and chose the severely injured Jayden as his target.

[Beep! Jayden. Strength: 1.9, Agility: 2.7, Vitality: 2.1 (3.5), Spiritual force: 3 (10.8). Status: Mild injury. Paralysis!]

No matter how much the opponent taunted him, Jayden did not speak a single word. He only used an icy gaze to stare at his enemy.

"Not good! Jayden is also a level 3 acolyte now with a magic artifact, but he actually could not beat the opponent!"

Leylin's thoughts quickly surmised.

Leylin was attracted by Jayden's name to this place out of curiosity but did not intend to risk his life for him.

To tell the truth, if Jayden's enemy was not strong, Leylin would have struck as Jayden had disclosed information to him previously. But now the enemy's strength seemed to be extremely strong, and Leylin was somewhat hesitant.

"A.I. Chip! Inspect the target's data and calculate the winning rate in a battle!"

Leylin ordered.

[Beep! Mission establishing, beginning fight simulation....]

The A.I. Chip calculated rapidly and came to a conclusion. [Host's winning rate is 77%. Possible scenario: Death of the target, light damage to the host!]

"This probability is rather low!" Leylin's brows furrowed.

"Look! There are really people there!"

Just was Leylin was hesitant, the voice of a female travelled over. It was extremely familiar, and Leylin even heard the alluring pants of its owner not too long ago.

On the other side of the battlefield, Bicky and another female acolyte came over.

"It's Bicky! Why would she come here?"

Leylin inhaled deeply. He suddenly felt that things were going to be extremely troublesome.

"There is someone fighting. Ah! Senior Jayden!"

The female acolyte with Bicky recognised Jayden, and she seemed to have some affection for him. Once she saw him injured, she hurried over.

"A girl? Your friend?"

The black-haired acolyte's brows furrowed and suddenly clapped. "You brought me shame by stealing my possession. Today I will return it in multiple folds to you. For instance, claiming this woman right before your eyes...."

The black-haired acolyte sniggered lecherously, and his hands moved and fluttered like a butterfly.

* Sssii! *

The blue lightning of snake continuously formed on his hands and transformed into a metal chain.It pierced the fireball casted hurriedly by the female acolyte, and knocked her to the ground.

"Molly!" Bicky was frightened, and she hurried over too.

"This idiot!"

Leylin helplessly shook his hand as he got up.

He still harboured some feelings for Bicky, and would take a risk for her under the circumstances that his life was not threatened.

Of course, his largest assurance was the winning rate that the A.I. Chip provided him!

If the A.I. Chip's calculation did not give him such a winning rate, he might have chosen to leave. After advancing into a rank 1 Magus he would then return and seek revenge for Bicky.

Furthermore, Leylin was completely unwilling to help if he had to pay the price of being critically injured or even death to win.

On the other hand, if it were only some mild injuries, Leylin felt that Bicky deserved his help.

"Actually, deep down I am an extremely rational, not to mention unfeeling and apathetic person!"

Leylin scoffed at himself and hurriedly moved, closing the distance of a dozen metres and held onto Bicky.

"Don't go over!"

"Who... Are you?" Bicky gave a puzzled stare to the guy in front of her.

Leylin's Shapeshifting spell was still in effect and even his voice was altered through potions. Therefore, Bicky did not recognise Leylin at all.

"A person who has come to save you!" Leylin's voice was hoarse, and directly locked gazes with the black-haired acolyte.

"An interesting insect. It was you who was hiding in the corner earlier, huh?"

The black-haired acolyte clenched his fist, as blue lightning coiled around it, emitting sparks every now and then.

A few bolts of electricity were shot into the ground, and each exploded, creating many small holes. The shattered stones and mud flew up beside Leylin, and were blocked by his acolyte's robes and soon fell back to the ground.

"An electric element acolyte and it also seems like his affinity towards it is rather high!"

Leylin gradually withdrew the cross blade hung on his waist, "This will be a tough battle that I never had before!"

To prevent Bicky from recognising him, he could not use some common methods used by Potion Masters. He could only use those that he learnt when he left the academy.

"However, this is also the best chance to test my abilities! Back then in Extreme Night City, Murphy and the rest were all people who had retired, and their battle abilities were rubbish! As for the acolytes in the market, I could not strike, if not I would have become their sworn enemy!"

And this acolyte in front of his was obviously strong in his academy.

Leylin licked his lips and suddenly felt a strong battle desire surging from his chest and spreading to his four limbs. He could even hear the blood which was rapidly coursing, and made his eyes a little bloodshot.

This was a man's hot bloodedness and desire for battle!

"Haha... Look what I found? Merely a level 1 acolyte who dares to draw a sword against me?"

The black-haired acolyte sneered and his expression became colder and more resolute, "Kiddo! I will give you one last chance. Hurry and kneel to the revered Lord Torash and admit your wrongdoing, and beg for my magnanimity! On account of my good mood, I may even pardon your sins...."

* Shing! *

In an instant, a silver arc of light flashed. It crossed the distance of a dozen metres and struck at the black haired Torash.

The silver arc of light materialised into a cross blade which brought on a heavy killing intent. The aura emitted from it even pressed down on the grasses.

The black-haired Torash had a startled expression. Suddenly, several green runes formed by lightning appeared underneath his leather shoes and crept to his thighs.

As if under some stimulation, Torash jumped backed several metres and avoided the attack.

* Bang! * The cross blade landed and slashed a cross shape hole on the ground.

The grey shadow flashed, and Leylin appeared at the original position of the black-haired acolyte. He gripped the cross blade in his hands and put on a regretful expression.

With some lingering fear, Torash touched his face and felt a gash, which was several centimetres deep, on it.

Although Leylin's attack earlier did not strike the opponent directly, the force it brought already caused a gash on his face.

"So fast! If not for the hastening lightning rune my professor gave me, I might have been a corpse already!"

Very soon the fear subsided from Torash's face and it turned into a contorted expression of rage.

"You... You actually dare to harm the mighty Lord Torash, I'm going to kill you!"

However, his rage did not muddle his mind. Although Torash's expression showed that he couldn't wait to kill Leylin, he retrieved a scroll from his waist sack.

"I admit that your speed is extremely fast. You should, at least, have the physical ability of a Knight, right? But so what? Although a Knight's body is stronger than a regular human and is not afraid of steel swords and large axes, it is just meaningless under a magician's spell!"

* Sssii! * Torash pulled the scroll open, and an icy cold spell was activated, covering the whole of the battlefield.

Countless white mist condensed in the air, turning into ice and spread across the land.

The surrounding temperature decreased by dozens of degrees. Bicky pulled the friend on the ground to the back of Leylin. Her body shivered as she looked at Leylin's back, obviously grateful and puzzled at the same time.

Although she had no memory of this person, Bicky had a strong feeling that she knew this strong person who had suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Who exactly, are you?" Bicky looked at Leylin's figure, her expression complicated.

At this moment, Torash's scroll had finished its activation. With him at the heart of it, the domain of several hundred metres was covered by frost. There were even a layer of snow and ice on the trees and plants as if it was the coldest period of winter.

[Beep! Host is affected by frost. Speed is estimated to decrease by 43%] The unfeeling A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

"No matter how fast a Knight is, as long as his speed is rendered useless, then it would just be a sitting duck, waiting on a dining table to be feasted on!"

Looking at Leylin's figure whose hair and brows have already been frozen in ice, Torash smirked. "I can slightly alter this spell. The frost on you is definitely more at a lower temperature than the two girls. How is it?"

"A pity!"

Leylin felt rather regretful in his heart. Looking at the spell formation of this acolyte's shoes and the scroll, he knew that Torash had a high attainment in spell formation. If not, it would mean that his professor was an expert in this area, to be able to customise this spell for Torash.

Chapter 93

Activation

Leylin clenched his fist tightly — the hand grasping the sword hilt was clearly somewhat stiff.

His face appeared pale and petrified as if he had gotten frostbite.

One must know that Leylin had a vitality of 3.7. If it was any regular human, they would have long since frozen to death!

"I don't have any intention to go against you. As long as you let go of those two girls, I will leave immediately!"

Leylin used the cross blade and pointed at Bicky's direction, in return for her grateful gaze.

"No! Get him to release senior Jayden, if not I'm not leaving!"

The girl beside Bicky, who was saved, still maintained her resolve.

Leylin rolled his eyes, if not for Bicky; did she really think that he would appear in the name of justice? Moreover, looking at the situation again, Jayden had apparently deeply offended the other party previously, so why would he let go of Jayden so easily?

As expected, after listening to the female acolyte, Torash's gaze turned frostier, and immediately he waved his hand. A thick and long lightning streaked across the sky, directly landing onto Jayden.

* Bang! * The vines on Jayden's body fell and he fainted. Moreover, his whole body turned into a black colour, as if like a pile of scorched rubble.

"My apologies, I don't wish to let anyone present go today!"

Torash waved his hands.

According to the A.I. Chip's detection, although Jayden's outer appearance seemed to be terrifying, there was still a life force pulsating in him. Therefore, Leylin did not bother anymore about him. Instead, Leylin was more cautious about this acolyte in front of him.

"A Lightning element is indeed one of the stronger powers. Although Jayden's magic artifact belongs to an attack type with minimal defense, he was still defeated so quickly! No, it could be that the other party had been toying with him the same way a cat would with a mouse!"

"Now, it is my turn!"

Torash, who was on the other side charged directly at him and brandished a short black staff in his hand.

"Hng! Trying to be mystifying!" Leylin snorted and used the cross blade to slash at him.

* Peng! * The two weapons clashed. Under the frost effect, Leylin speed unavoidably took a slower turn. The original mirage effect could now not be used by him, where Torash caught dozens of his sword slashes.

Leylin's strength was obviously higher than his opponent, and his cross blade was of superior quality to his opponent's short metal staff.

After the two weapons clanged, Leylin used the force in both his arms and pressed the sword down on his opponent.

"Hehe... Your strength isn't too bad!"

Although the blade was just centimetres away from his face, there was no fear on Torash face. Looking at Leylin, his gaze held some ridicule and... the savage thrill of retaliation?

Leylin felt something was amiss, and hurriedly let go of the cross blade as he jumped away.

In that very moment when he released his hands, several bolts of lightning extended from Torash's arms and shot at the cross blade, even up to Leylin's hands!

In the moment when the lightning current was about to hit him, Leylin forwent his sword and evaded the attack.

"Too late! Torash looked at Leylin's figure and chanted an incantation.

The current from the staff directly bore through the mud and extended like the root of a tree. In the blink of an eye, it caught up to Leylin.

* Zzzii! "Once the black lightning landed on the ground, it reappeared from the ground right in front of Leylin.

As if a poisonous snake, the blue lightning charged at Leylin.

"Ah!" Bicky who was on the other side involuntarily screamed and she clasped her mouth.

* Ping! * Suddenly, a layer of silver membrane appeared on Leylin's body.

This layer of membrane immediately draped over Leylin's whole body covering every inch, even his orifices were not left out.

On the silvery membrane, there were several pale reflections of flickering red jewels, giving off a mystical lustre.

The blue lightning took on the shape of a python with a crazed leer and opened its jaws. Lightning-made razor-sharp teeth directly bit on the membrane.

* Sssii Sssii! *

A similar sound to metal smashing porcelain was heard, and the ear piercing noise travelled across the whole battlefield. Bicky involuntarily covered her ears, to let her nerves calm down.

The lightning on Leylin's body exploded, and from time to time a few poisonous-snake-like lightning currents converged and let off an explosive noise.

Looking on, Leylin seemed to be a silver statue, who was receiving the blessings of lightning bolts.

The lightning attack lasted for close to thirty seconds before it dissipated.

There was a shocked expression on Leylin's face as he looked at the indication given by the A.I. Chip.

[... Host is subjected to Lightning-based attacks. Degree of power: 9! Fallen Star Pendant has automatically activated, energy consumed: 23.99%. Host has successfully blocked the attack and sustains no injuries!]

"Too careless!" The opponent's lightning could actually pass through normal physical materials. Moreover, it could use the layer of frost on the ground as a conductor to initiate the attacks!

Leylin looked at his hands. Knowing that his opponent excelled in the Lightning element, Leylin had already put on leather gloves before the battle.

However, the hands that gripped the cross blade earlier were still rather numb.

There was also a precursive condition for the Fallen Star Pendant to be activated. Leylin had customised it to activate only when his life was in peril. Otherwise, any raindrop from the sky would activate the Fallen Star Pendant and finish the consumption of energy in the magic artifact.

Previously, because Leylin had let go of his sword early on, the damage from the electric current to his body was extremely little. It was not enough to achieve the criteria to activate the Fallen Star Pendant.

Of course, due to the conductivity, the lightning was too fast, and Leylin still received an attack from it in his hands.

At last, Leylin backed away and under his opponent's chase, he suffered a 9 degree lightning attack. If he did not defend further, his life would be in peril. Hence, the criterion for the activation of Fallen Star Pendant was achieved, where a layer of membrane immediately appeared from his body.

The Fallen Star Pendant's defense could negate attacks up to 15 degrees. This is to say, if Torash attack could not exceed this degree, Leylin's body was like a turtle shell until the energy of the Fallen Star Pendant was depleted.

"How is this possible?" Gazing at Leylin who seemed injured, Torash's mouth was opened widely, enough to fit several duck eggs in it.

"This is an attack my professor has personalised for me. It complements with my affinity and my degree of attack is at least 9! How could you be fine?"

"I understand now! You definitely must have a defensive magic artifact on your body!" Black-haired Torash pondered and quickly understood the truth.

"Although it is only a low-grade defence magic artifact, there will definitely be many official Magi who will be interested in it...."

Torash licked his lips and a fervent greed appeared on his face.

For this bloodbath, both sides signed an agreement not to use any strength that was above an acolyte!

Any person, scroll of magic artifact which exceeded this criterion would be teleported out in a flash and had no chance of getting in the secret plane.

Although Leylin's magic artifact was precious, it still belonged to the low-grade series.

In Leylin's eyes, these low-grade magic artifacts had might below that of official Magi.

Any rank 1 spell's degree of attack was 20 and above. If Leylin used the Fallen Star Pendant to block against them, he would definitely be slain immediately, not leaving a trace behind.

However, amongst the acolytes, the Fallen Star Pendant was a divine item!

Furthermore, even an official Magus would not mind having an extra layer of defense, no matter how small it was. However, the defence from Fallen Star Pendant was activated from the pendant and did not affect the owner in one bit.

The value of a low-grade defence magic artifact was at least 5 times that of Jayden's attack type magic artifact!

Which is to say, right now, besides the A.I. Chip, the most valuable thing that Leylin had was this magic artifact!

"Kill him! Kill him! Then that magic artifact is mine!"

Torash's eyes turned bloodshot, "Even if it is a magic artifact, there is a limitation. Once it's depleted of energy, before the next recharge, it would be a piece of trash! However, could I last until that long?"