Chapter 211: Chapter 103: Promotion to Level 7, the Boss Battle Begins
The Jade Gray Mist Waves surged ever more violently, transforming into titanic waves as tall as mountains.
Whirlwinds of death howled across their crests.
"RUMBLE..."
The massive waves slammed viciously against the Spirit Realm’s barrier.
It was as if a towering Divine Spirit sought to obliterate the barrier and the ants cowering beneath it.
Zorn, Lady Sun, and the other members of the Garrison.
Each one of them stood like a reef in the sea, firmly entrenched within their Steam Towers.
They garrisoned the Spirit Realm, fighting back the great influx of Jade Gray Mist.
After hundreds of waves of assault,
the barrier of the Steam Spirit Realm was no longer as stable as it had been at the start.
With each impact, a larger amount of Jade Gray Mist poured in.
The bizarre creatures within were exceptionally cunning.
They could clearly sense that the Steam Smoke Tower, now without the Old Wizard, had weaker defenses.
After the jade waves passed,
the Jade Gray Mist would first rampage through the Spirit Realm before immediately turning to attack the Old Wizard’s Steam Smoke Tower.
Zorn was too far from the Old Wizard’s Steam Smoke Tower to offer any effective support.
The Garrison members who were closer, however, had their hands full.
They joined forces to eliminate the strange creatures.
They did everything they could to protect the Old Wizard’s Steam Smoke Tower.
Even without a garrison, the tower’s very existence strengthened the ritual to some extent.
If the Old Wizard’s Steam Tower was destroyed, it would spell big trouble.
Zorn, having found a rare moment of respite, redoubled his efforts to absorb and digest the Sacred Marks, Fighting Essence, and Spiritual Essence from the steam ritual.
"GURGLE..."
After another dozen or so waves of the Jade Gray Mist’s assault,
Zorn could feel the opportunity for a breakthrough firmly within his grasp.
Zorn glanced at the tower in the Old Wizard’s direction, his brow furrowed for a moment. Then, he relaxed his mind and began his breakthrough.
Suddenly,
"BUZZ... BUZZ..."
the Old Wizard’s Steam Tower roared to life. It spewed out massive amounts of steam as layer upon layer of Steam Source Energy lit up the tower’s floors.
A Tower Guardian has taken residence!
’Have the enemies been repelled?’
Seeing this, joy appeared on many faces, and all eyes turned to the Steam Tower of the Old Wizard, Fanuos.
"Hahaha..."
Just then, the sound of Old Wizard Fanuos’s booming laughter swept across the entire Spirit Realm.
He stood fearless, even in the face of the towering jade waves.
"Everyone... farewell!"
The Old Wizard’s voice rang out, strong and clear.
"The bunkers have fallen! The Ancient Porcelain Gate is about to be breached!"
"I will not survive this. Now, I will sacrifice myself to buy as much time as possible for this Steam Ceremony Tower."
The reverberating sound of Old Wizard Fanuos’s voice rolled across the entire Spirit Realm.
"Hahaha... We Transcendents of the Northern Border Region would rather die fighting in the Spirit Realm, would rather sacrifice ourselves, than ever bow our heads to Saintisman after being suppressed for over a hundred years!"
"The great wave is upon us! This is the perfect moment for us to pioneer new Sacred Marks and write our own immortal sagas!"
"I... will take my leave first. Hahaha..."
With Old Wizard Fanuos’s booming laughter,
his body, Spiritual Energy, Sequence, and life all dissipated in a final act of self-sacrifice.
"WHIIIIINE..."
And the Steam Ceremony Tower he had garrisoned, empowered by the sacrifice, roared with a surging intensity several times greater than before.
It even drowned out the rumbling of the encroaching Jade Gray Mist Waves.
The Tower Guardians watched the self-sacrificing Old Wizard.
A bitter sorrow filled each of their hearts.
They were all Tower Guardians.
If they failed to guard their towers, this would be their fate as well!
Dimly, Zorn saw the Old Wizard’s illusory afterimage of Spiritual Energy outside his own tower, waving farewell to him!
RUMBLE...
The jade wave crashed down.
Zorn’s heart trembled along with it.
The thick stench of gunpowder and war filled his nostrils.
This was the battlefield of the endless war between the nascent Steam Empire and Saintisman.
And this... this was the nest where he had taken shelter and grown!
Zorn tore his gaze away from the churning jade waves and began to focus all his efforts on his breakthrough.
After a new wave of jade had subsided,
Lady Sun’s light swiftly dispersed a large amount of the Jade Gray Mist.
Her voice, gentle yet powerful, rang out across the Spirit Realm.
"Everyone, Spiritual Mage Fanuos and the area he garrisoned have been breached."
"According to the intelligence I’ve received, Saintisman’s Upper Rank Powerhouses are currently in a standoff with three of our own Upper Rank Powerhouses within the Steam Spirit Realm."
"The Upper Rank Powerhouses are currently unable to defend the Ancient Porcelain Holy City. We need to rely on our own strength to secure the Steam Spirit Realm."
"Right now, among those formidable Saintisman experts, we’ve tentatively identified two at Level 10, three at Level 9, and as many as seven or eight Level 8 powerhouses. And this is only the data I’ve gathered from combat intelligence. I do not know if Saintisman has even more forces hidden in reserve."
Two at Level 10, three at Level 9, and another seven or eight at Level 8.
So many Transcendents... Even Zorn felt his scalp tingle slightly.
’This lineup...’
’If Zorn Corick were to defend the Divine Kingdom to the death, he would surely be annihilated.’
"Currently, I’ve had the Lord Archbishop gather our forces. If anyone comes under heavy attack again, you must report it immediately."
"It will be trouble if we let Saintisman’s people pick us off one by one."
For a moment, all the Tower Guardians fell silent.
The brutal, life-or-death battle was coming!
Inside the 13-story Steam Tower,
Zorn silently proceeded with his crucial breakthrough.
"CRACK... CRACK... CRACK..."
Zorn had seized the critical tipping point.
Without a sound,
Zorn swiftly completed his promotion from Level Six to Level 7.
He felt his Evil Energy, Gang Qi, Sequence framework, and Holy Witch Spirit Body all metamorphosing toward Level 7.
Zorn let out a soft breath, and much of the gloom on his brow dissipated.
’After advancing to Level 7, it will take several hours for the Sequence’s transformation to finish solidifying.’
’And for the entire framework to stabilize and form a combat-ready ability, that would take two or three days.’
’But as long as I die and get a Resurrection, the Sequence framework will stabilize immediately.’
Having completed his breakthrough, Zorn wasn’t in a hurry to sacrifice himself just yet.
’If I’m going to kill myself, I should do it inside the Divine Kingdom, while fighting the enemy.’
After the group of Saintisman Transcendents finished hunting down Old Wizard Fanuos, they seemed to vanish without a trace.
But everyone knew that Saintisman’s forces were searching for their next target.
After his Sequence had stabilized a bit,
Zorn opened his system page. Two brand-new Skills had appeared on the panel.
[Star Trace Fighter]
Power of the Golden Giant Dragon: Level 0.
Looking at this strange, bloodline-type passive, Power of the Giant Dragon,
Zorn couldn’t help but be a little stunned.
’This isn’t a bloodline power that a Fighting Master can awaken.’
After a moment of careful thought, he came to a rough conclusion.
’I drank a Power of the Giant Dragon potion before.’
’And the Power of Gold from Tarktos’ Hand is extremely potent.’
’It seems the two created an extraordinary reaction, which is how I obtained this passive power that doesn’t belong to the Fighting Sequence.’
[Power of the Golden Giant Dragon]
Zorn narrowed his eyes, examining this bloodline ability closely.
’Now this is interesting. By consuming potions similar to Dragon Blood, I can continuously absorb and master the Power of the Giant Dragon.’
’If I absorb enough Dragon Blood... I might even be able to master the terrifying power of a Giant Dragon itself.’
Zorn was naturally very satisfied with this "bloodline-type" ability, which was a perfect fit for a Fighting Master.
But the "Divine Kingdom Forbidden Curse" he gained this time as an [Evil Spirit Wizard] satisfied him even more.
Holy Judgment: Arrow of Concealed Sin (Divine Kingdom Forbidden Curse): Level 0.
’It’s a powerful Divine Kingdom Forbidden Curse with an execution property and extremely high stealth. As long as the ’Crown of Death’ faintly appears on a target, a single shot from this arrow can execute them directly.’
’A Divine Kingdom Forbidden Curse is inherently destructive.’
’What’s more, this [Holy Judgment: Shadow Sin Arrow] is a charging and resonance-type Forbidden Curse.’
’When empowered by the Spiritual Realm and the Divine Kingdom, its effect will be explosively powerful.’
After advancing to Level 7 and obtaining another powerful Divine Kingdom Forbidden Curse, he felt much more confident about the upcoming boss battle.
Several more jade waves passed.
"Everyone, Saintisman’s forces have appeared outside my position. They seem to be about to attack my Shadow Fortress. I have to go garrison the Shadow World."
After speaking, a Level 8 [Shadow Wizard] Tower Guardian hastily left the Spirit Realm.
Not long after, another voice spoke up, a Level 7 [Sun Mage].
"I’m also facing a powerful assault. I need to return to my castle in the real world and help the others defend."
Two Tower Guardians in a row returned to the real world.
Everyone realized this might be a feint, but it was one they couldn’t afford to ignore.
The attacking enemies were exceptionally cunning.
Sensing the time was right,
Zorn also announced in a loud voice,
"I’m being invaded. They’re using a Spirit Bridge-type method to enter my Steam Castle."
"I need to return to the real world for a moment."
With that said, Zorn directly left the Steam Spirit Realm.
After leaving the Steam Spirit Realm,
Zorn immediately opened the "Divine Kingdom Gate."
Self-sacrifice was most effective within the [Divine Kingdom].
The second boss form he would enter after death would be significantly stronger than if he died in the Spiritual Realm.
At the same time, its duration would be much longer.
[Divine Kingdom]
"RUSTLE..."
The flesh and bone of the self-immolating Zorn rustled into ash and merged into the Divine Kingdom.
WHOOSH...
Bizarre whirlwinds of Calamity Black Mist surged up.
Turbulent Spiritual Energy and the faint light of the Divine Kingdom’s power intertwined.
The [Evil Spirit Wizard] bathed in the Divine Kingdom’s halo and returned, Resurrected.
His Level 7 Sequence framework instantly solidified, becoming as stable as the Divine Kingdom itself.
Through the act of self-sacrifice, the Divine Kingdom fed immense power back into Zorn.
It brought his personal Sequence strength directly to the standard of a Level 8.
’The strength of a Level 8 World-level BOSS.’
Zorn closed his eyes, carefully sensing the dense, heavy power of a Level 8 Sequence.
It was as if the entire Divine Kingdom was under his control.
’No wonder so many Players like the ’Sacrifice Playstyle’. Getting stronger just by dying once... it feels amazing!’
Taking a deep breath, Zorn harnessed the power of his Divine Kingdom.
He unleashed the power of the Forbidden Curse "Upper Rank: Ringed Snake’s Eye" and peered into his surroundings.
The grinding of the gears of fate seemed to click and whir in that moment.
Through the thick, heavy layers of fog, Zorn saw the buried truth.
’The attacks on the others were just feints.’
Zorn suddenly clenched his fist, a cold smile touching the corners of his lips.
’I... am their true core target for the next phase!’
’A pity...’
As the master of his Divine Kingdom, Zorn’s killing intent was like a blood-red scythe, tearing through the gray mist to spill forth a thick spray of blood and death.
"You chose the wrong target."
"Welcome to the boss battle!"
