Chapter 1190: Chapter 938: Battling the Ascender
```
His strength was beyond doubt, and so was his faith. In fact, Long Yi had retained his own consciousness, and it was only when necessary that he would take control with his consciousness. And he would never realize that it was Long Yi controlling him; he would always believe it was his own will.
Thus, the Ascender assembled his own army.
Watching this happen, Lyd Jon almost wanted to burst into laughter. Long Yi was indeed a genius, seizing any opportunity swiftly, while Elma hadn’t even realized just how dangerous this was. As the master of the Ancient Mage Tower, he should have never allowed the emergence of a second army, especially one that was not under his control.
Of course, Lyd Jon would absolutely not tell Elma about this, and even if he did, Elma might not care.
In the blink of an eye, the agreed upon challenge had arrived.
The Ascender’s one hundred Holy Temple knights were to battle against Lyd Jon’s one hundred Semi-Crazy Demons. Initially, Elma intended for Lyd Jon to directly send in the Black Crystal Mages, but Lyd Jon shook his head, telling Elma that those Black Crystal Mages were very strong, and if they were sent out directly, what if the Ascender lost? Would it not affect the relationship between him and Elma?
Elma thought this made sense too, so he did not interfere.
On one side, one hundred Semi-Crazy Demons were ready under the leadership of a former bandit turned battlefield commander.
On the other side, under the lead of the Holy Temple Knight Commander, one hundred red-robed Holy Temple knights gazed ahead with cool and stern eyes.
At Elma’s command, the battle began. He had thought it would take at least a few exchanges, but from the start, the Holy Temple knights demonstrated Mana Resonance. Then, with a simultaneous raise of their hands, red light sprayed out from their palms. The hundred Semi-Crazy Demons in front didn’t even have a chance to struggle and were instantly knocked down in large numbers. In an instant, the Semi-Crazy Demons turned into pure Crazy Demons, these Crazy Demons about to charge forward when the Holy Temple Knight Commander suddenly bellowed, and a huge roar shattered all crystals. Then, powerful beams shot out from all the Holy Temple knights’ palms, shattering all the Crystal Cores still attempting to reform in mid-air.
Within two rounds, victory was absolute and overwhelming.
Despite losing one hundred Semi-Crazy Demons, Elma was very pleased, because he could feel the strength of those Holy Temple knights. And naturally, the strength of the Holy Temple knights was the strength of his Ancient Mage Tower. Compared to the unsuccessful Semi-Crazy Demons, these Holy Temple knights were evidently a better fit for himself.
"Not bad, I underestimated you, and for that, I apologize," said Lyd Jon. "But next, you better be careful!"
Lyd Jon graciously accepted his defeat, which in fact, was an anticipated defeat by everyone. It was a well-known fact that the combat power of the Semi-Crazy Demons was not high. In most situations, Semi-Crazy Demons needed to quickly enter the state of Mana Resonance to gain an advantage. The characteristic of Mana Resonance is that the more units entering the resonance simultaneously, the more powerful the enhancement provided by the Mana Resonance. As a result, during the battle just now, it was the Holy Temple knights who first entered the state of Mana Resonance, leading to a victory as easy as overturning rotten weeds.
What truly surprised Elma was that these Holy Temple knights could also enter the state of Mana Resonance. It was known that Mana Resonance was a very precise form of Magic, difficult to achieve for most people. Long Yi relied on the Arrays within the Divine Armor to precisely trigger Mana Resonance, while Semi-Crazy Demons relied on Crystal Poison to precisely trigger Mana Resonance. And just now, those Holy Temple knights had also triggered Mana Resonance—what did they use? Faith?
```
Elma suppressed the uncertainty in his heart; he was determined to ask for clarification later. But for now, the resonance of mana meant growing stronger, and growing stronger meant further narrowing the gap between himself and Long Yi, which was simply perfect!
The Black Crystal Mages entered the fray, and the commander this time was well aware of what belittling the enemy could lead to. So right from the start, he ordered all Black Crystal Mages to enter a state of mana resonance; at least from the looks of it, the pressure exerted by both sides’ mana was almost equal.
This was enough to excite Elma. He knew very well that the pure Crazy Demons, along with the Black Crystal Mages clad in Dragon Scale armor, still had limited combat power, especially since they weren’t very smart, which was a problem. But the knights of the Holy Temple didn’t have this concern.
The battle began, and both sides quickly exchanged a barrage of spells, but this time, neither side was able to gain the upper hand. The knights’ attacks were clearly more powerful, but the Black Crystal Mages, with their Dragon Scale armor, greatly reduced the damage of the spells. The Black Crystal Mages’ magic was slightly less powerful, while the knights simply used their mana to withstand the enemy’s magic attacks.
After the first exchange of spells, it was a complete stalemate.
And now, it was time to see the commanders’ tactics come into play.
The Black Crystal Mages, on one side, maintained a pirate-like manner of fighting, exhausting the enemy with rapid spells, then going for an all-out attack after accumulating a certain advantage. It was a strategy with hardly any flaws, which might not bring about a quick victory, but could certainly provide enough time for a swift retreat when the tide turned unfavorable.
The Holy Temple knights, however, adopted a very classic tactic: They committed to positional warfare, sacrificing individual flexibility and instead relying on the advantage of their group to focus on and take down isolated enemies.
"Ascender, sir, I don’t know what it was like thousands of years ago, but positional warfare is out of fashion now," Lyd Jon suddenly said to Long Yi.
Immediately, Elma pricked up his ears, waiting for the Ascender’s reply.
"I don’t know what tactics are popular now, but this kind of positional warfare happens to be the most suitable for them," Long Yi said with a smile.
"Is it true that Ascender is Long Yi’s teacher?" Lyd Jon asked again.
"Yes, he once studied knowledge under me," Long Yi said.
"Then, Ascender, do you think Long Yi became so powerful because of your knowledge, or because of his own genius?" Lyd Jon suddenly asked.
"That’s an interesting question," Long Yi shook his head and said, "Long Yi is a rare genius, that much I must admit. But without my knowledge, even a genius wouldn’t be able to become a powerhouse on his own, right?"
Lyd Jon nodded and said, "Your words are truly words of wisdom. So what do you think about Master Elma’s level of genius?"
Long Yi laughed, "Elma’s talent falls just a notch below mine."
Elma immediately became discontent, was it because Long Yi knew you earlier? How could he say I am not as good as him?
"But there is one thing he has that Long Yi cannot match," Long Yi continued.
"Oh? What is that?" Lyd Jon asked.
"Diligence," Long Yi said seriously.
"Diligence?"
"Yes, the Long Yi I know is a genius, but it’s precisely because of his genius that he lost his diligence. He studied under me for many years, but the knowledge he truly learned from me is limited. If he had learned all my knowledge, you might have been destroyed by him even before you met me."
Upon hearing this, Elma’s eyes brightened.
So Long Yi hasn’t learned all the abilities of an Ascender yet! But even so, he is already so strong! If I could learn all his abilities, wouldn’t I be even stronger?
The battle on the battlefield remained in a stalemate, with neither the steadfast tactic nor the pirate-like tactic gaining the upper hand over the other. However, a discerning observer could immediately see that the Holy Temple Knight Order seemed to have more stamina, and their power appeared to be continuously rising as time went on.
"Is this the so-called power of faith?" Lyd Jon asked next.
"Yes, they believe in me, and my power can in turn affect them," Long Yi said.
"Like a contract?"
"No, it’s a rule, a rule of the Ascenders, and a powerful rule capable of challenging the authority of Giants," Long Yi sighed, lifted his head at a forty-five-degree angle to look at the sky, a look of loneliness and nostalgia appearing on his face.
"Then, can I also obtain this power?" Lyd Jon seemed somewhat tempted.
"Of course you can, as long as you truly believe in me," Long Yi lowered his head and said with a smile.
"Then forget it, I’m used to being free," Lyd Jon said.
At this moment, the battlefield underwent another change, with the combat effectiveness of the Black Crystal Mages with their pirate tactics noticeably decreasing. Their actions were no longer agile, while the fighting style of the Holy Temple Knight Order remained firm and unchanged.
"We surrender, you have won," Lyd Jon said.
"So, do you know what you wanted to find out?" Long Yi asked with a smile.
"Yes, I think I do," Lyd Jon said.
"You are an interesting man, and I think there’s a certain fate between you and me, would you like to become my Apostle?" Long Yi asked.
"No, I think not yet. I still have many things undone, and I don’t have the time to spread the faith for you," Lyd Jon refused outright.
"No, that’s fine, I have all the time in the world," Long Yi said with a mysterious smile, and then he left.
He is Long Yi! No doubt about it!
Now, Lyd Jon could fully confirm the guess in his heart!
Elma looked at Lyd Jon excitedly, the recent victory confirmed another aspect of Elma’s correct judgment. While Lyd Jon simply nodded and said, "I must admit, the Lord Ascender surpasses me in both wisdom and power for the moment. But that doesn’t mean I fully recognize his position in this Ancient Mage Tower, the commander of the army can only be me."
Elma laughed, "Are you worried about that? I think you can put all your worries back in your belly, because the Ascender lacks interest in these matters, just like he has said to all his believers."
Lyd Jon was taken aback, "What has he said to his believers?"
After thinking for a while, Elma imitated the tone of the Ascender and said, "I do not require you to believe in me, and the power you gain from believing in me is not given by me actively. It is merely the Ascension Power you have obtained through belief."
With this, Elma burst into laughter, and Lyd Jon laughed along with him. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
