Chapter 1039: The Signpost (26)
Flash!!
A blinding, intense light flares, followed by a heat source that seems to incinerate the heavens and earth.
Hundreds of spell-based bombardments unfolded one after another on the sleek deck of the War-Mage Tower.
Beams of brilliant blue lightning struck the spot where Lennok stood at incredible speed.
[Lightning Cannon: Mana Pierce Activated]
[264 Thunder-Summoning Spellcraft Units Deployed]
[Heavy Tremor Bloom Thunderstrike Siege Cannon Initiated]
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!!!!
Lightning flashed from the storm clouds, and brilliant blue bolts continuously hammered the tower.
Every spell-based artillery battery installed on the exterior of the War-Mage Tower operated at full power.
They aimed at a single wizard and unleashed their full output directly from the deck.
Kwoo-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!
Spell-armaments implemented based on lightning magic. Bombardments, with magic shaped into projectiles, merged and overflowed like a tidal wave.
Innumerable lightning flashes and intense heat gathered, shattering the boundaries of the spellcraft and incinerating the very space they enveloped.
True to its epithet as the War-Mage Tower, this colossal fortress alone was a strategic weapon capable of conducting an entire war on a single front.
“…Insane.”
But the expressions of the engineers operating the tower’s main cannons were incredibly rigid.
Wiiiing!!!
The Thunderstrike Siege Cannon, fired at supersonic speed, was bent in mid-air without even being grasped.
The Thunder-Summoning Spellcraft, twisting and surging from all directions, halted before it could touch his body.
The Lightning Cannon projectiles, materialized from compressed lightning mana, ricocheted away without even exploding.
As if light refracting through a lens, all the pouring lightning strikes curved around Lennok’s body.
“They’ve applied more than three spellcrafts and combined them through a curse-binding. Have they borrowed the essence of sorcery?”
Boom-boom-boom!!!
The spell-based bombardment, warped and refracted around Lennok, tangled behind the deck and scattered ominous explosions.
Lennok glanced back at the blue pillar of fire erupting behind him and muttered.
“Photon control of the Thunderstrike Siege Cannon. Borrowing some elements of the Radiant Arcana shows it’s truly a War-Mage Tower that prioritizes practicality.”
Kwau-wooong!!!
Each time the halo of thunder roughly spun behind Lennok, all mana and will-thought directed at him were twisted and peeled away.
He parried thousands of spell-based bombardments aimed at him simply by rotating the lightning around himself.
A divine power that rendered all defenses and resistance null by merely walking into the colossal tower’s courtyard.
Lennok’s bizarre counter-measures, inexplicable even by calling him a monster, left the tower’s wizards speechless.
“He’s enduring more than half the firepower of the Thunder-Quake Main Cannon used in Magic Tower sieges…!!”
“I knew he was a wizard on a different level, but I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
“His Property Transformation ability surpasses even the Tower Lord’s. How is he enduring these spellcrafts without even transforming his body into lightning?”
The main cannons of the War-Mage Tower were not something that could be ignored simply by having strong spellcraft resistance or lightning resistance.
Their spellcraft, honed through conducting war businesses across the continent, had become so complex that it blurred the boundaries of matter, attributes, and will-thought, making it impossible to counter with a single type of resistance.
This War-Mage Tower, embodying the wisdom passed down through generations of Thorben, could supply enough power for a small city in terms of pure output alone.
But that wizard was individually applying different Property Transformations to each of the War-Mage Tower’s spellcrafts, distorting their trajectories.
It was proof that the archmage was seeing through and toying with the essence of the supersonic spell-based bombardments until the very end.
Even though he stood perfectly fine before their eyes, an immeasurable, distant wall seemed to lie between them.
Kwagwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!
The endless spell-based bombardment continued. Amidst the storm of flashing lightning, Lennok raised his head.
“I think I’ve seen enough of the spell-based bombardments. So, is it my turn?”
Lennok, with an impassive face, raised his head and asked.
Looking around the tower, now steeped in quiet silence, Lennok raised his index finger.
Crack-crack!!!
Above the finger he raised as if aiming at the sky, a brilliant blue light rotated, forming a sphere.
Hundreds of diverging photons gathered at Lennok’s fingertip, completing their convergence in an instant.
He extended his finger forward, casting the spell.
“I’ll return it as is.”
[Heavy Tremor Bloom]
[Thunderstrike Siege Cannon]
The upper section of the Lightning Tower was completely obliterated.
Booooom!!!!
“…!!!”
As if a colossal sun had grazed past the tower, only the circular scar of annihilation remained, collapsing.
Even Ron and Harlin, who had retreated immediately after the conversation and prepared for battle, were astonished at the sight.
“He seized the tower’s bombardment spellcraft in that short time…!!”
“Impossible. That spellcraft isn’t made for a human body to use!!”
But the onslaught of bombardments didn’t stop, despite the shock of half a tower collapsing.
The light of the bombardment, traveling between sky and ground, fiercely battered Lennok’s Jurisdiction and the Domain of the Funeral Ship to the Sea of Return.
The moment Lennok realized this wasn’t the end of the War-Mage Tower’s preparations, he raised his gaze.
Crackle…!!
Standing atop the half-collapsed tower, Lyraiel, Thorben’s great-granddaughter, channeled her mana.
She plunged her staff between the tower’s tiles and formed hand seals with both hands.
Lennok smirked as he observed the will-thought rapidly expanding as she formed the seals.
“Quite straightforward.”
“Domain: Deploy.”
Lyraiel chanted with a cold expression, bringing her hands together in a prayer-like gesture.
Domain: Deploy
Root-Tier Mindscape Manifestation
[Shattered Bloom Thunder-Net]
Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo!!!!!
A colorless ripple spread from Lyraiel’s entire body, covering the War-Mage Tower. The moment Lyraiel’s Domain unfolded over the collapsing tower, hundreds of sharp lightning spikes surged upwards.
Crackle, crackle…!!!!
The lightning spikes, covering the entire tower like a hedgehog, resonated with each other, emitting intense electricity.
The lightning extending from the spikes resonated and incinerated, burning away even the surrounding mana.
“The Tower Lord, too, but the Thorben wizards handle their Domains in a rather interesting way,” Lennok mused, tilting his head at Lyraiel.
“Is she inverting the Domain’s effect to project outwards, at the cost of drastically narrowing its range?”
Lyraiel, when deploying her Domain, did not include Lennok within its range.
Instead, she limited the Domain’s scope to only the tower she stood upon, merely redirecting its power outwards.
“Inverting the function of a defined Domain would require a special kind of sensibility. It seems the Thorben bloodline possesses considerable talent then.”
Lennok himself, having done something similar in the final battle of Machina, knew how difficult it was to tamper with a Domain’s functions.
It was proof that even if not a wizard of Akendrias’s caliber, this great-granddaughter, Lyraiel, possessed exceptional intuition and aptitude.
Lennok’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Lyraiel, who slightly bowed her head.
‘She’s forcibly linking mana and lightning, incinerating them. A lightning net that destroys the harmony of spellcraft.’
Mana around Lyraiel’s deployed Domain was twisting. Each time the lightning spikes surging from the tower resonated, mana rapidly burned away, disturbing the surrounding mana flow itself.
Slam!!
With a dull thunderclap, wizards descended from all sides of the deck, riding lightning.
Wizards, clad in flashing blue robes, chanted different spells.
Lennok fell into thought as he looked at the wizards rapidly preparing for battle around him.
‘The enhancement effect other wizards gain within the Jurisdiction is considerable. Is it due to the nature of lightning magic?’
The Conjunction Spell Master’s Life Domain wasn’t a Domain specialized for combat, so he had never experienced such an enhancement effect from the Domain itself.
But the War Domain, unfolded around the tower, was a force truly specialized for war, exponentially boosting spellcraft capabilities.
It wouldn’t be strange if the lightning attribute, specialized for momentary output amplification and power maximization, resided in the War Domain, but to Lennok, the extent of it was unusually severe.
From Lennok’s perspective, it almost seemed as if higher-level wizards who had mastered lightning magic more deeply received greater enhancement effects.
“Your Property Transformation, which endured the spell-based bombardment bare-handed, is astonishing, but within this War Domain, we can gauge a meaningful chance of victory against each other.”
Lyraiel’s eyes gleamed as she channeled her mana once more.
“From now on, we’ll go all out.”
Click!!
The heavy sound of War-Mages, who had descended from all sides of the tower, drawing out firearms and polearms.
Predator machine guns, Sightglass sniper rifles, automatic shotguns. Top-tier firearms, familiar even to Lennok’s eyes, appeared everywhere.
“Firearms, not bad.”
But instead of protecting himself with his Iron-Plated Wings, Lennok stepped further into the tower.
He turned towards the wizards chanting spells in the corridor of the half-destroyed tower’s front entrance.
The War-Mages, discarding their magazines into the air, simultaneously began pulling their triggers.
Tatata-tatatatang!!!
Thousands of bullets poured onto Lennok’s body, sparking innumerable flames.
[Axe-Cleaving Fragments]
[Flicker-Draw]
Kagaga-gagak!!!
The lightning, spreading in a semicircle, incinerated and vaporized the bullets.
In the brief moment Lennok’s figure vanished beyond the flashing lightning, heavy Iron-Plated Wings crashed down among the War-Mages, suppressing everything around them.
Kwa-aaang!!
“Ugh…!!!”
“In terms of supplementing physical force, there’s room for it in spell-based combat, too.”
Lennok, snatching an automatic shotgun from the hand of a wizard crushed and fallen by the weight of the wings, laughed as he loaded a magazine.
“Reminds me of the old days. Shall we continue like this?”
“Charge!!”
Click!!
Simultaneously with loading the shotgun, he fired at the lightning shield that had descended from the air.
Taking advantage of the scatter shot, he swung the Iron-Plated Wings behind him, slamming them down.
Cr-crack!!
The Iron-Plated Wings split into five branches, spreading out like a giant’s hand.
They seized a wizard, who was charging with flashing lightning, and slammed him into the opposite direction.
Kwa-aaang!!
“Kaha…!!!”
The wizard, impaled headfirst into the deck, rolled his eyes and foamed at the mouth.
Behind the fallen wizard, dozens of lightning spells were simultaneously chanted.
“Ooooooh!!!!”
The wizards, wreathed in blue lightning, unleashed their magic towards Lennok at tremendous speed from all directions.
[Residual Thunder Body]
[Eight-Shot Lightning Rain]
[Seven-Flash Lightning Mirror]
Crackle-crackle-crack-crack!!
Dozens of lightning bolts rotated and surged, and the resonance of electricity exploded, deafening them.
Lightning fragments, scattered like shot, flew above their heads, flashing.
The War-Mages rampaged wildly amidst the pouring rain of lightning magic.
Kwa-aaang!!!
The spellcraft aimed at Lennok collided, changed direction, twisted, shattered, and tore apart.
A storm of lightning that, regardless of close or long range, pushed its way to their very breath the moment a gap appeared.
But Lennok, even as he watched the dazzling lightning magic pouring from all sides of the corridor, did not chant a spell.
Instead, he merely ignited a faint lightning aura and leaned his body low, forward.
Swoosh!!
[Concealed Thunder]
[Grand Blossom Azure Flight]
Lennok’s figure flashed and disappeared behind the lightning bolts that pierced through the wizards.
A powerful lightning explosion bloomed like a flower then faded on the wide corridor of the tower, and Lennok’s body flickered, accelerating.
Having even deactivated his Iron-Plated Wings, he charged at the War-Mages without even a coat.
With just that, Lennok’s figure began to break through the ranks of the lightning wizards at tremendous speed.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!!!
“Aaahh!!”
“Ugh-ugh-ugh…!!!”
Each time Lennok’s lightning-wreathed hand moved, the wizards blocking his path stiffened as if electrocuted, falling to their knees.
Lightning struck the brow of a wizard who recklessly tried to confront Lennok, and eerie tearing sounds echoed from all sides.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!
Streaks of lightning flashed among the wizards. Brilliant blue, distorted lightning flashed dozens of times in an instant before vanishing.
Thunderclaps and screams alternated, mixed with the dull sounds of their skin colliding.
‘This man completely disregards Lyraiel-nim’s Domain effect…!!’
Ron, the young boy who had been running alongside Lennok, overwhelmed by dozens of War-Mages, trembled with a rigid expression.
‘Is he planning to deal with all of us with simple lightning manipulation?’
Within the War Domain, Lyraiel’s Shattered Bloom Thunder-Net had limited the control of surrounding mana.
But in this extreme environment where mana rapidly incinerated from all sides, Lennok remained utterly unaffected.
“It’s a matter of compatibility, isn’t it?”
As if reading Ron’s thoughts, Lennok, gripping a War-Mage by the collar, channeled mana and turned his gaze.
Crackle!!
“Ugh…!!”
The lightning flashing from his fingertips flowed into the body of the wizard gripped by the collar.
The young man, appearing to be of similar age to Lennok, grimaced and tried to resist, chanting a spell.
But the electricity piercing his body ignored his magic with absurd ease, striking him directly.
“You fundamentally have a habit of mixing Property Transformation into every incantation. Should I call it typical of a War-Mage?”
Sizzle!!
Lennok said, tossing the young man, who collapsed without even screaming, to the ground.
“But if you awkwardly discuss mana transformation in front of me, you’ll only lose control.”
“Awkwardly? That’s a cruel word.”
Ron grimaced, bringing his hands together in a prayer-like gesture.
“I believe the Gerold who just fell is around your age.”
Kiiing!!
The moment Ron clasped his hands together, something behind him began to burst through space.
The instant Lennok noticed it and immediately reached out to neutralize the spell towards Ron.
Harlin, who had sprung from the side, twisted her Lightning Broadsword and parried Lennok’s lightning.
Crash!!!
Harlin, staggering and blocking Lennok, clicked her tongue.
“Ugh…!! My hands are tingling, and it’s not even magic.”
“You’re that wizard from before.”
“You can call me Harlin, senior.”
Harlin, the woman who revealed her name, grinned.
“That skill you used to beat up the Tower Lord, may I see it for myself?”
There was no answer.
Harlin, clutching her blade, and the War-Mages following her, raced along the tower walls.
Sharp magical energy pulsed, defying gravity and gliding through the air as they pushed mana forward.
The moment the Lightning Broadsword, slashing through the air, and Lennok’s fingertips intersected in mid-air, thunder exploded.
Kwa-aaang!!
Ignoring the shockwave that pushed his entire body back, he continuously slammed the lightning wreathed around his fingertips.
But Harlin, with astonishing speed, parried all the lightning Lennok unleashed by swinging her blade.
Lennok looked down at Harlin and smirked.
“Your reaction speed is incredibly good. Have you accelerated your bio-electrical signals to be almost instantaneous?”
Lyraiel watched and tried to block, rotating her blade, but Lennok’s hand surpassed her reaction speed and pressed her down.
“But if your reactions are fast, you’ll have to react to feints at that same speed.”
Crackle-crackle!!
“Kaha…!!”
Lightning wizards flew away like toys from all directions, and Harlin, who was enduring at the center, was pierced.
Harlin struggled, gasping for breath, but Lennok pressed her without stopping.
A Saint Wizard-level War-Mage. And one who had honed both magic and close-quarters combat abilities.
Her appearance at this moment, simply to buy time, was for the young wizard named Ron.
If it were ordinary magic, he could have stopped it long ago, but what that boy was chanting wasn’t lightning magic.
Sizzzzzt!
Ron, biting his lip to draw blood and dipping his fingertip in it, completed his incantation.
“Summoning Spellcraft.”
At that moment, a colossal Thunder Bird, wreathed in intense lightning, burst through space.
[Kiiioooo!!!]
The moment the Thunder Bird flapped its wings, the upper section of the tower was shattered and collapsed, and dozens of lightning bolts rained down from beneath its wings.
The wizards, pouring all their effort into this situation, didn’t care at all about the tower’s damage.
Lennok, looking up at the Thunder Bird amidst the falling rain of lightning, smirked.
“Have we met before?”
[…!!]
The moment the Thunder Bird flinched at Lennok’s gaze and averted its eyes, the remaining wizards chanted spells towards Lennok.
Each gripped lightning, its attributes altered in different directions, and struck Lennok.
Crackle-crackle-crack!!!
The dazzling light emanating from all sides was so bright it seemed to blind them.
But Lennok didn’t even think to avoid or block them, raising his hands instead.
Ignoring the lightning striking from all directions, he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in a prayer-like gesture.
“Summoning Spellcraft.”
[Oooooooh!!!]
The head of a house-sized Thunder Toad surged up, swallowing all the falling lightning bolts into its mouth.
Kwoo-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!!!
It burst out, shattering the deck below Lennok’s feet, and devoured the lightning pouring from the wizards.
The Thunder Toad, chewing and swallowing the lightning, shielded Lennok with its thick jaw, acting as a living shield.
“No way. I’ve never seen such a summoned beast anywhere in the Spirit World…!!”
[Croak]
Ignoring Ron’s astonished voice, the Thunder Toad opened its mouth wide.
The moment the Thunder Toad’s long tongue began to sweep the surroundings at tremendous speed, thick electrical cables connected to the deck were violently torn out.
Thump-thump-thump!!!
[Rumble-rumble-rumble]
The Thunder Toad, its mouth full of thick bundles of cables, emitted fierce electricity from its entire body.
The connection points that supplied power to the spell-armaments installed on the deck.
Harlin, realizing Lennok’s intention in having the Thunder Toad hold them, immediately raised her Lightning Broadsword.
“I was wondering how a Magic Tower this size could float in the air.”
Lennok laughed amidst the storm of lightning.
“There’s no reason to refuse such teaching material.”
[Floating Magic Tower Engine Power Section Hacked]
[Automatic Flight Algorithm Duplication Complete]
Whoosh!!!!
The moment Davi began hacking, using the Thunder Toad summon as a medium, the air within the tower surrounding the three individuals changed drastically.
She completely stole and duplicated the War-Mage Tower’s automatic flight algorithm, interfering with its authority itself.
As Lyraiel’s expression changed at the sensation that the very will contained within the Magic Tower’s Domain was shifting, Lennok flicked his finger at the Thunder Toad, channeling mana.
“First, let’s take control of the War-Mage Tower.”
[Control Seized. Floating Engine Overload Initiated.]
[Ascending at full power from its current position.]
Kwoo-ooooo!!!!
The War-Mage Tower, which had been struck within the Domain of the Funeral Ship to the Sea of Return, changed direction and began to soar into the sky.