621: Pouring Fate into a Single Arrow!
On the arena, Locke, who had enhanced all his magic plants with Porcelain Moon Growth, stepped on a pair of Tyrant Giant Hummingbird Pineapples, weaving through the siege of Magic items.
Meanwhile, the Tyrant Fern Spear in its Abyss State shot toward Antoine like a meteor. Antoine gave a 'tch' and could only flick the pebble from his left hand to collide with the Tyrant Fern Spear.
The two forces met mid-air, producing a massive roar, and the surrounding area was filled with magical lightning triggered by the impact.
Antoine frowned; he had already used up the pebble in his hand, and his play had naturally been broken by Locke. Next, as long as Locke ignored him and released magical attacks from a distance, it would suffice.
The Tyrant Fern Spear, under the illumination of the Porcelain Moon, had received a comprehensive enhancement, and it seemed Locke's control over it had also been strengthened, making it appear even more flexible.
Not only that, Locke's Porcelain Moon Growth moonlight covered at least a tenth of the Cloud Arena. Every Botanical Wizard within its range saw a slight growth in their magic plants.
Many Botanical Wizards who were fighting the Black Wizards rushing out of the Demonic Realm passage looked up gratefully at the Porcelain Moon Growth in the sky that had boosted the combat power of their magic plants.
Witch Camilla of Magic Hub City summoned thirty Cannibal Flower Jungles to deal with the five Black Wizards in front of the Twin Demon Realm. At the same time, she turned to look at Locke, slightly stunned.
"Boosting all nearby Botanical Wizards? Was it casual? Or intentional? What grand spirit..."
A wizard's magic reflects their principles of thought and a certain aesthetic.
And from Locke's magnificent magic, Witch Camilla could sense a certain spiritual intent.
The five Black Wizards in front of Witch Camilla were currently locked in a bitter struggle.
Witch Camilla stood with her hands behind her back. In the finals of the Spell Fighting Competition, she was a One-Ring Wizard from a second-rate wizard organization, but before these Black Wizards, she was a powerful Chair Mage of Magic Hub City.
Two Official Wizards among the Black Wizards had their arms bitten by the cannibal flowers and torn right off.
Witch Camilla looked at them coldly. "With only this much skill, you dare to assault Golden Crown Mountain and the Cloud Arena where major wizard organizations gather. Truly laughable. Black Wizards."
The five Black Wizards looked at Camilla with hateful eyes, as if looking at a mortal enemy.
The world power of the Twin Demon Realm appeared behind them. A large mouth suddenly grew on a different part of each of their five faces; those mouths stuck out their tongues, licking a certain power in the air.
In the next moment, Witch Camilla's expression changed slightly because the witch porcelain originally located within her spiritual light had suddenly vanished.
A sixth Black Wizard stepped out from the shadows between the Cannibal Flower Jungles. This Black Wizard from the Twin Demon Realm had a mouth in the palm of his left hand and was holding Witch Camilla's natal witch porcelain.
"Hahahaha, so this is the witch porcelain of Magic Hub City? I've stolen it!"
Having lost her natal witch porcelain, Witch Camilla let out a scream, feeling all her magic plants attempting to inflict a magical backlash upon her.
The five Black Wizards of the Twin Demon Realm looked at Witch Camilla fiercely and said, "We participate in the Demonic Realm War because we are defiant! Why is it that we are all wizards, yet your talent can be higher than ours, while our talent must be lower?"
"Why is it that you are geniuses who enjoy teaching positions, while we have to work in black factories?"
Witch Camilla's expression shifted, "You are all wizards at the First Ring Crystallization Stage. To talk about working in black factories—that's impossible."
The six Black Wizards laughed wretchedly.
"First Ring Crystallization Stage? Oh, this magic power was stolen by us."
"You didn't think we would honestly study and research, did you? The world is like a rice field, and we are the reapers. You produce, we steal. Why bother with painstaking research?"
"The Twin Demon Realm gathers Black Wizards from across the world who are willing to steal for it. Not just from the Wizard World—the low-level wizards in the black factories of the Wizard World's various colonies in the Endless Void, those with poor talent, are all our members."
The sixth Black Wizard said, "When I joined the Twin Demon Realm, I was already a wizard at the First Ring Crystallization Stage. However, I didn't have the talent to become a Second Ring Wizard, so I offered my soul and body to the Twin Demon Realm."
"Now, I possess the [Thief Magic] system of the Twin Demon Realm. Lifespan can be stolen, Magic items can be stolen, everything can be stolen—even your emotions can be stolen!"
This Black Wizard raised his left hand, and a large mouth opened in his palm, triggering a magic siphon aimed at Witch Camilla.
Witch Camilla smelled a certain fragrance, and her spirit began to falter. Faced with the opponent's magic siphon, her thoughts could no longer hold their ground and began to collapse.
A thousand threads of thought, countless ideas flew wildly.
Next, the sixth wizard glanced at Camilla's state, then looked up into the sky at the Third Ring Wizards of the Twin Demon Realm who were fighting with the Third Ring Wizards of Golden Crown Mountain, before locking his gaze onto the Thief Saint Wizard.
The Thief Saint Wizard nodded slightly while fighting. Immediately, this wizard held a small altar in his hand, which then shot a beam of black light toward Witch Camilla's body.
Soon, Witch Camilla's magic power began to spiral out of control, while her magic pressure automatically mimicked a death state. Combined with the special incense she was smelling and her being distracted by her thoughts, her body actually mistook itself for being in a state of death.
And when a First Ring Wizard dies, it is the day a demigod falls, the time when heaven and earth mourn, and the moment a whale sinks.
A massive magic tide converged toward Witch Camilla's body.
She clearly hadn't died, but under the ritual of the Black Wizards, she was forced into the [Echo State].
The sixth Black Wizard raised the small altar treasure toward the witch, and the altar released faint azure magical runes.
Streams of magical power converged toward the altar; those echoes were all being absorbed.
In the sky, the Thief Saint Wizard was extremely powerful. He had successively stolen the heartbeats, breathing, and soul pulsations of two Fischer wizards...
In almost an instant, the two were forced into a state of the living dead.
The Thief Saint Wizard walked as if strolling through a courtyard, stealing something with every step. He wore a faint smile, but a flash of wariness crossed his eyes when he looked at Witch Catherine.
Even among the Third Ring Thrones, there were differences.
He and Yekaterina had been rivals for many years. He knew she was developing toward becoming a Fourth Ring Wizard, and... he wasn't confident that he could steal something from Witch Catherine without being severely injured by her in that same instant.
Witch Catherine said, "First, you had the wizards of the Twin Demon Realm steal the identities of others to sneak into the venue and confuse the Demon Hunters' sight... then you also stole the presence of your vanguard wizards this time, so that the Demon Hunters always sensed you but could never determine your location."
"As long as enough of your people come here, you can use the Demonic Realm War to open a Plane portal and start a Plane war."
The Thief Saint Wizard replied, "Entirely correct."
Although the Demonic Realm War environment is an objective environment, it is certainly more favorable for the party that initiates it.
After all, they have the ability to choose where and when to start the war.
The Five Great Wars of the Cloud Marsh were essentially harassment-like wars launched against the Wizard World by groups who were confident they wouldn't be located by the wizards of the Cloud Marsh, or by worlds that could not be destroyed for some reason.
And the Twin Demon Realm was a world of Black Wizards.
It wasn't that the Cloud Marsh lacked a Black Wizard Alliance, but rather that the Black Wizard Alliance of the Cloud Marsh possessed an entire Twin Demon Realm hidden within Cloud Lake.
The Twin Demon Realm, located in Cloud Lake, was a reflection of the Wizard World, another possibility.
No one knew how the Twin Demon Realm was first created. In short, it was a world that wanted to be exactly like the Wizard World in everything, learning everything from the Wizard World—a world parasitic on the Wizard World, hidden within Cloud Lake.
That world originally had nothing, existing by copying and stealing concepts from the Wizard World.
Later, the Twin Demon Realm allied with some Black Wizards, and thus, slowly, the Demonic Realm War appeared.
The Twin Demon Realm had gradually become a symbol among Black Wizards, holding a pivotal position within the Black Wizard community.
And the Thief Saint Wizard before her, with a pair of black wings on his chest, was a famous figure of the Twin Demon Realm—a terrifying existence who once emptied a medium-to-large Wizard Academy organization overnight, causing its collapse.
Witch Catherine looked at the echoes of wizards appearing one after another below the Cloud Arena. "So that's it. Only in the Echo State can a wizard's memories and certain traits be plundered. This is what you call stealing talent."
"Though saying it that way is a bit of a stretch, you can put it like that if you insist."
The Thief Saint Wizard's expression didn't change as he continued to fight the two Third Ring Wizards. At the same time, he smiled at Witch Catherine: "Witch Catherine, haven't you noticed? I've stolen your time. Your current perception of time... is wrong..."
"I'm not confident about dealing with you, so the best way is to steal time to delay you. By the way, our boss has also come this time."
He pointed toward the sky.
A dark purple passage to the Twin Demon Realm opened beneath the solar eclipse, and something seemed to be coming out, which pinned down the Fourth Ring Truth Wizards currently guarding Golden Crown Mountain.
Witch Catherine's expression remained unchanged, appearing not at all surprised by the arrival of the Fourth Ring Wizard from the Twin Demon Realm.
The Thief Saint Wizard looked at Witch Catherine in surprise. "I shouldn't have stolen your hearing, so why do you seem so unmoved?"
Meanwhile, at Arena No. 1.
Locke was still fighting Antoine, and both sides had reached a fever pitch.
Locke relied on the boost from Porcelain Moon Growth to continue the battle.
At this moment, that Wizard Cole had already jumped onto Arena No. 1 and was looking fiercely at Locke and Antoine.
"Stop fighting! Watch me steal your echoes; I'm going to steal everything you have!"
In the next moment, Locke condensed a Peach Arc Thorn Arrow. "Get lost."
An arrow containing the spirituality of the Sacred Dragon was shot out. The arrow transformed into a sun in mid-air, and a white dragon emerged from within that sun.
At the same time, Antoine's eighteen Magic items shot directly at him. "Don't get in the way."
And so, caught between the two attacks, the Black Wizard died instantly.
Antoine looked at Locke with a serious gaze. "You are the only one I must defeat immediately. Otherwise, your existence is a denial of my twenty-eight years of life!"
"I don't need competitors, I don't need fellow travelers, I don't need competition."
"Locke, since the match is suspended anyway, there's no restriction against using the Eternal Defense Field anymore. Let's fight with everything we've got!"
Locke did not refuse. His magic pressure rose steadily in the confrontation with Antoine; their mana gradually increased to the limit, pushing toward the Second Ring stage.
Both were on the verge of entering the soul decline period.
Arcane lightning appeared around Antoine. "This is my Eternal Defense Field, a construct no one in the Senate has completed in five hundred years—Absolute Reflection!"
An Eternal Defense Field manifested.
An incredibly terrifying and powerful invisible force field appeared in the surroundings.
In the sky above, Wizard Fischer couldn't help but look back at Antoine. Confusion showed in his eyes; he didn't understand why, in just one battle—especially since the match was already suspended—he would use his final trump card before the outcome was decided.
Antoine, what on earth are you doing!
The voice of the Thief Saint Wizard appeared by Wizard Fischer's ear. "Oh my, old man, you actually dare to be distracted while fighting me? Look what I've stolen... your Great Magic!"
Wizard Fischer's face changed abruptly as he saw the Thief Saint Wizard standing beside him, holding his Great Magic, [Elastic Storm].
Wizard Fischer's expression shifted drastically.
Because this magic of his had been forged four times, a fully forged Great Magic, and it belonged to the type of Great Magic with an exceptionally large attack range.
It was the aesthetic crystallization of the Kinetic School of magic. Even in its initial state, it could use the magical knowledge of the Kinetic School to create a type of elastic air possessing a certain elastic potential energy.
It could add a new physical rule to a small world, developing more possibilities.
In that world, it would be as if shock-absorbing spray had been added; the entire world would become slightly better, and hurricanes and tsunamis would be weakened.
The original Elastic Storm created pulse storms that bounced continuously, seismic echoes, and atmospheric slingshots.
But currently, his Great Magic had transformed into something even more terrifying—an existence that could make the world bungee jump.
If the opponent were to use his Great Magic on Golden Crown Mountain...
At this moment, Wizard Fischer's face was pale with shock, and his heart was filled with immense regret. He had been so foolish as to let the opponent steal his Great Magic because he was distracted.
The Thief Saint Wizard smiled, tossing the Elastic Storm in his hand. Under the wary gazes of everyone, he seemed to be considering whether or not to release it.
For a wizard of his level, such a fully forged Great Magic could only be released once.
But if it were released just once...
The entire Golden Crown Mountain would be like a drawn great bow—no, it should be said the entire world would become a great bow.
This was a terrifying magic that could destroy a small-scale Plane in an instant.
The Great Magic forged by wizards basically all possessed the power to completely destroy the physical rules of a small-scale Plane in an instant.
The Thief Saint Wizard looked at Witch Catherine and asked, "How about it, old friend? Should I let it loose?"
Witch Catherine's expression didn't change at all.
This gave the Thief Saint Wizard a slight sense of foreboding.
...
On Arena No. 1, the match was actually still being broadcast live, and many wizards watching were left speechless.
Because Locke and Antoine were actually still fighting.
Furthermore, both had directly deployed their Eternal Defense Fields, fighting with their full strength.
Locke shot a Great Sun Arrow at his opponent, but the moment his arrow entered the Eternal Defense Field surrounding the other, its power was neutralized and then reflected back.
The arrow transformed into a white dragon, and the moment it shot toward Locke, it was automatically brought back under his control.
Locke held the Peach Arc Thorn Arrow and the Tyrant Fern Spear, his body now shrouded in Mist's Power.
"A fine Eternal Defense Field. It seems capable of Absolute Reflection against all offensive magic. Moreover, it can accelerate and reflect them back in the form of increased speed."
Antoine smiled. "But I didn't expect it would still be unable to deal with you. Your arrows have the spiritual blessing of the Sacred Dragon, so they automatically protect you."
"So even if I reflect them back, it's completely useless."
Wizard Antoine charged fiercely toward Locke. Just then, a Black Wizard suddenly rushed in front of him, attempting to slam an altar onto him.
That Black Wizard cried out in joy, "I'm going to succeed!"
In the next instant, the Great Sun Arrow Locke had shot at Antoine killed him instantly, yet it was once again reflected back by Antoine's Absolute Reflection.
Locke and Antoine both seemed not to have seen the wizard just now, ignoring him completely. Locke used his Mist's Power to collide with Antoine's Eternal Defense Field as Antoine charged at him.
The collision between the two sides created a massive conflict.
Antoine clearly hadn't expected that someone could use an Eternal Defense Field to fight him to a draw.
Two Black Wizards from the Twin Demon Realm at the First Ring Crystallization Stage, refusing to believe what they saw, charged at Locke and Antoine again. But as soon as they drew near, they found that the terrifying force field formed by the collision of Mist's Power and the Absolute Reflection field had turned into a storm, directly engulfing them.
As Locke stubbornly pitted his field strength against the other's Absolute Reflection, the force field cycled back and forth between the two. Every reflection was intensified by Antoine, but Locke possessed two types of Mist's Power.
However much he accelerated it, Locke used his natural field to push it back.
He used Life Reload to create infinite mana for himself.
The two at the center of the confrontation between the two force fields were fine, but the Black Wizards who tried to take this opportunity to sneak attack them showed expressions of terror on their faces.
"Is this the aftermath of a battle between First Ring stage wizards?"
"No!"
*Bang~*
Both Locke and Antoine reached their limits, and then the two great force fields exploded. Mist's Power lashed out in all directions.
That was Mist's Power, specifically designed to counter defense fields!
Consequently, the two Black Wizards who had just entered the First Ring Crystallization Stage and tried to ambush them died instantly.
The five Black Wizards around them who tried to get close were sent flying, spitting blood.
Antoine and Locke were both blown back simultaneously.
Behind Locke, the phantom of a Golden Two-headed Dragon appeared, seemingly roaring. In the next moment, this phantom was crushed under the foot of a terrifying dark dragon that had... three heads.
At the same time, Locke's pupils turned into vertical slits, and he laughed wildly. "So that's it. I finally understand what you are."
Wizard Antoine climbed up from the ground, his magic robes already in tatters. "Fighting you is really expensive."
Wizard Antoine wiped his mouth, looking at the dragon filled with destructive power behind Locke. "On the contrary, the more I fight you, the less I know what you are."
"Locke, continue fighting me. I want to prove to myself that I don't need an opponent!"
Locke snapped his fingers and used Summoning the Great Demon King. The Great Demon King crawled out from the Fallen Blood Gate.
The Great Demon King looked majestic.
At the same time, the Great Demon King looked at Locke, and the look in his eyes was no longer reverence, but fear. "Great Dragon of Extinction."
"For what purpose have you summoned me?"
Summoning the Great Demon King had a special effect: at the moment of summoning, it would absorb the opponent's negative energy particle field to gain information about the enemy.
Antoine was stunned for a moment. "An archaeologist? Locke, you can indeed be my opponent. But you'd better not know what I am, otherwise you will only feel despair."
At this moment, the Great Demon King pointed at Antoine and said, "His soul was once a Thir