Chapter 1100: Chapter 853 Magic Transformation
Dana didn’t say anything either, her attacks growing denser as she set her mind on the battle, no longer speaking. If she couldn’t defeat Ai Lin today, she knew the authority she had worked hard to establish in front of her own people would vanish instantly.
Ai Lin, sensing Dana’s tight and intensive offensive, knew she couldn’t keep dodging any longer. With a soft shout, the Auffa Ring unfolded behind her as well. She raised a shield and engaged Dana in a magic duel.
This was exactly the situation Dana had hoped for, as she was eager for Ai Lin to start a face-off because she was very confident in her own magical prowess. In her view, the level of magic advancement of the Ancient Mage Tower far surpassed all land-based worlds on this Plane, and anyone from the land attempting to defeat her in a magic duel was dreaming.
So when Ai Lin’s magic clash came, Dana initially felt excited. But soon she discovered that not only was Ai Lin not at a disadvantage in the duel, she was actually dominating. And the one who was supposed to be pressured, the one Dana planned to suppress, turned out to be herself!
This was absurd! Ai Lin’s casting speed was twenty percent faster than hers! That twenty percent might not seem like much, but it ensured that every time, her attack spells landed before Dana’s could. To put it more extreme, if both sides cast five identical spells simultaneously, by the time she finished the fifth, the opponent would have already hit with the sixth!
Having always been called a genius, Dana naturally had her own unique way of seeing things. She closely identified the spells Ai Lin cast, and even though they were the same spells, every step from preparation to condensation to release was significantly different from her own! Especially the formulas involved, which were completely unheard of to her!
"Damn it! How is this possible! What formulas are you using!" Dana shouted loudly.
"What an amateur question to ask, can I really tell my enemy?" Ai Lin said, shaking her head.
Finally, Dana realized she had indeed underestimated them.
This was a colossal mistake. Dana knew she couldn’t go on like this; she had been outmaneuvered from the start, and although she still had some trump cards, this was not the time to use them. But her goal had been achieved; she at least understood why these people in front of her were so powerful, because they had mastered a series of new formulas. Although she was still unclear if the common soldiers becoming Sanctuary Mages and these formulas were related, at the very least, it seemed there was definitely a significant connection.
It was time to leave.
Dana secretly signaled the people behind her, and suddenly, those in the rear launched a collective spell, filling the sky with a barrage that obscured the line of sight.
"That’s all there is to it, next time we meet, it will be your end!"
Dana turned and retreated, under the cover of the barrage, all mages of the Ancient Mage Tower began to rapidly withdraw, vanishing into the distant sky in the blink of an eye.
When Dana turned to look, she found that Ai Lin hadn’t pursued at all.
Dana couldn’t help but sneer, "You’re not so clever, not taking the chance to strike at me when I’m at my weakest. Once all my people are assembled, you’ll never have the chance again!"
She was completely unaware that Ai Lin had another plan.
"Commander, aren’t we going to pursue?" the deputy officer asked Ai Lin.
"There’s absolutely no need to chase," Ai Lin said.
"Now by letting them go, when their troops converge with ours in the future..."
"That will be the perfect opportunity to annihilate them," Ai Lin concluded.
That was Ai Lin’s plan.
When the Emperor was rescued, he was wearing common civilian clothes, his visage haggard. Though uninjured, it was evident that he was extremely weary.
"I knew it, Saint Jialin would never just stand by!" the Emperor said, his eyes brimming with tears.
The forces of the Ancient Mage Tower were immediately cleared out from the Imperial City, loyalty to the Emperor was restored among the troops, and officials and tycoons who had sided with the Ancient Mage Tower knelt before the Emperor, pleading that they had been forced into their actions. However, the Emperor still beheaded them harshly. Such a thing had happened once before, and it was hard to guarantee it wouldn’t happen again with them. The Emperor no longer considered stability; to him, their actions were no different from rebellion.
The army that Dana had organized was not left idle either. The Imperial Guard captured a group and executed them on the spot, without any room for negotiation. The majority of the others fled outside the city, reportedly in search of Dana.
After pursuing them for a while and killing several, Ancient Mage Tower mages appeared to reinforce the escapees. The Imperial Guard could only watch helplessly as the fugitives left. The Ancient Mage Tower mages had sought revenge on the Imperial Guard, but fortunately, troops from The Divine Auffa Empire arrived shortly after to provide support, and only then did the Ancient Mage Tower mages hurriedly flee.
Out of over five thousand people, close to four thousand escaped, a figure that was not optimistic.
At this point, the Emperor had already begun to reorganize everything. The soldiers of The Divine Auffa Empire were also stationed here. Despite being Sanctuary Mages themselves, compared to those from the Ancient Mage Tower, they were much more welcomed. After all, the two nations were traditional allies, and these soldiers had been chosen from among ordinary people. Even if they now carried some pride as Sanctuary Mages, they were not as unbearable as those from the Ancient Mage Tower.
Another group, however, was not treated so kindly.
Dana, leading a group, hid in the deep mountains, and those who followed her soon joined the ranks, bringing with them a great deal of food and other essential supplies.
All this was within Dana’s calculations.
"Your Majesty, what do we do next?" one of Dana’s subordinates asked.
"Next, I must make a decision," Dana said.
"A decision?"
"Yes, I have a spell that can greatly enhance a mage’s strength, but this spell has certain side effects. If it fails, the person will turn into a monster," Dana explained.
"You plan to..." Dana’s subordinate looked at the group of people in the distant camp and said.
"Yes, otherwise what use could these people possibly have? Even if they turn into monsters, they will be monsters that obey my commands, and their combat power will be much stronger than now," Dana replied.
"So, what do you need us to do?" the subordinate asked quietly.
"Make sure no one is afraid, no one runs away. If anyone runs..." Dana did not continue, but what she meant was clear without saying it.
When Dana announced this matter, a part of the people were very excited, while another part were very afraid. Success would certainly be good, but failure would turn them into monsters!
Some people tried to sneak away but were almost immediately killed by magic falling from the sky.
The mages from the Ancient Mage Tower were patrolling in the sky, shouting loudly, "It is an honor you couldn’t gain in several lifetimes for Empress Dana to use the supreme magic from the Ancient Mage Tower to enhance you. If anyone dares to refuse this honor, then your lives no longer need to continue in this world!"
This so-called honor was actually a very special rune combination. It wasn’t entirely Dana’s creation but something she snatched from a brilliant yet not so clever researcher, who had obtained it by studying a Giant’s legacy, invoking a person’s full potential in a very violent manner. Dana originally planned to revise some details after getting her hands on it, trying to make the method gentler and to lower the chances of people turning into monsters. But it seems there wasn’t enough time for that.
"Come, feel this honor that belongs to you!"
Dana threw the runes into the air, and a strange glow enveloped the four thousand people. Some immediately felt discomfort, while others had no reaction and looked at their discomforted peers in confusion.
"Ah!" A scream rang out as one person fell to the ground, blood spraying from their body, and then they died just like that.
It seemed it wasn’t just as simple as turning into monsters, was it? Dana nodded to herself, making a mental note to study this in detail later.
At this moment, Ai Lin was blending in with the crowd, having taken on a new appearance. With the crowd so large, no one paid her any attention. She had mingled in to see exactly what Dana intended to do.
When the rune appeared, Ai Lin immediately realized that this object seemed to be a crude imitation of the Giants’ genetic modification ability. Most of the content inside was wrong, and it was this inaccuracy that made it hard to work for most people. Even if it did work, it would cause great damage to a person. The number of people who could actually survive the transformation was sure to be exceedingly small.
Ai Lin’s judgment proved correct; people around her began dying one after another, their deaths agonizing. Some people’s bodies started to inexplicably swell, growing taller, sprouting sharp teeth, and their bodies becoming stronger while bone armor emerged on their skin, completely changing their appearance.
And there were still over five hundred people without any reaction.
Oh? This ratio is higher than I expected.
Ai Lin disguised herself as one of the unresponsive group, pretending to be as surprised as the others around her.
Suddenly, someone roared, and an inexplicable rune appeared on their forehead. Immediately after, the mana fluctuations in their body surged to unparalleled levels, and in the blink of an eye, an Auffa ring popped up behind them!
With the first, similar runes appeared on the foreheads of others around them, and Auffa rings started popping up one after the other.
The Sanctuary! What fast speed!
Dana herself was stunned; this was her first time experimenting with this magic, and she hadn’t expected such astonishing results! Even though the success rate was only one in eight, the sensation of creating Sanctuary powerhouses out of thin air was so overwhelming it made Dana tremble!
Ai Lin, imitating those around her, created a fake rune on her forehead and also popped open an Auffa ring. She also noticed that these newly born Sanctuary individuals seemed somewhat dazed, their eyes lacking any sparkle!
Ai Lin glanced at the nearly one thousand monsters and then at the foolish-looking Sanctuary powerhouses, nodding to herself in secret—it seemed this military strengthening exercise was going to be a fruitful one.
Dana, feeling the presence of the powerful Sanctuary powerhouses and monsters before her, saw all her worries vanish. Dana’s subordinates were equally astonished, their eyes wide, unable to believe that in such a short amount of time, so many Sanctuary powerhouses and seemingly powerful monsters had appeared.
With this, we should be able to win, right? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation vote and monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
