Free Web NovelChapter 180: Chapter 178: Annihilation
"A sacrificial summoning... She’s summoning something!"
Gaga shrieked, "Ian, stop her!"
Of course, Ian knew.
His left arm was still bleeding, pulsing with excruciating pain, but he didn’t slow down.
As he charged toward Cold Crow, he unleashed several Frost Ash Beams, but they were blocked by an incredibly resilient Force Field.
He made a grasping motion with his right hand again, preparing to form a second Gravity Collapse Ball.
But it was too late.
Cold Crow’s body had completely shriveled, like a skeleton draped in human skin.
But in her eye sockets, two wisps of eerie green fire suddenly ignited!
"KYEHEHEHE..."
An inhuman cackle rattled in her throat.
She raised her hand, her withered fingers pointing at Ian as she grabbed at the empty air!
VMM!
Five dark green energy chains materialized out of thin air, lashing out toward Ian’s limbs and neck!
The surface of the chains was covered in fine barbs. Once they entangled a victim, they would dig directly into the flesh, draining their Life Force and Spiritual Power.
Ian gritted his teeth. The Gravity Collapse Ball in his right hand hadn’t formed yet, so his only option was to dodge.
He kicked off the ground and shot to the left, simultaneously raising his already injured arm to block one of the chains!
HISS!
The chain wrapped around his left arm. His formidable defense and the outer layer of Memory Soft Gold were pierced as if they were made of paper.
The barbs dug into his flesh, and dark green Energy drilled into the wound like countless tiny insects gnawing at him from the inside.
Ian let out a muffled grunt, the veins on his forehead bulging.
But he didn’t stop. He fought against the chain’s pull, dodging with great difficulty.
Seeing that Ian was still trying to cast Witchcraft, a bizarre smile spread across Cold Crow’s withered face.
She raised her other hand, and a complex Rune Array appeared in her palm.
Death Withering!
A dark green aura exploded from her, instantly expanding to a radius of hundreds of meters!
Wherever the aura passed, the wild grass withered and turned to ash, the ground turned scorched black, and even the air filled with the stench of decay.
The aura swept over Ian, and a stinging pain shot through his skin. His Life Force drained away like water from an open floodgate!
He bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain jolting his mind as he pushed the Furnace Body Tempering Skill to its absolute limit.
The Jade-like Radiance under his skin lit up again, barely resisting the withering Erosion, but his body became incredibly heavy.
At this moment, Cold Crow, despite her diminished intelligence, had surpassed the limits of a Level One Wizard.
Her withered, claw-like hand reached out, grasping at Ian’s head from a distance!
It was a critical moment.
"Ian!"
Gaga shrieked and burst from the shadows, his body instantly swelling to its maximum size.
He slammed recklessly into Cold Crow, his broad wings spreading like a black shield in front of Ian!
SSSHK!
The bony claw pierced through Gaga’s wing. Black feathers flew, and blood splattered.
"GAK!"
Gaga cried out in pain but didn’t retreat. He immediately activated his Omen Eye again!
Cold Crow’s body stiffened as countless tragic illusions flooded her mind, but she instantly dispelled them!
"Get lost!" she roared, her other hand grabbing for Gaga’s head. freewebnσvel.cѳm
But that brief delay was all he needed.
Ian’s Gravity Collapse Ball was finally complete!
A dim, marble-sized orb appeared in his palm, then vanished.
He sent a mental message to Gaga: ’Get back, now!’
The next second, the orb reappeared at Cold Crow’s chest.
Han Yuan’s pupils shrank. She tried to retreat.
Gaga’s form abruptly shrank, and his figure disappeared into the shadows.
"Die with me!"
She shrieked, and all the remaining Death Energy in her body erupted as she attempted to self-destruct.
But... the Gravity Collapse Ball detonated first.
A grayish-white mass of energy expanded, swallowing Cold Crow, the spot where Gaga had vanished, and even half of Ian’s body.
VMMMM...
The low hum lasted for three seconds.
The energy mass dissipated.
In her place, Cold Crow was gone, leaving only a small pile of Ashes.
Gaga had been thrown forty meters away into a patch of grass, a large, bloody hole in his wing.
His feathers were scorched black, his small eyes were half-closed, and his beak was still bleeding.
Ian was on one knee. The spot on his left arm where the Death Chains had been wrapped was now festering and blackened.
His chest, where the Withering Aura had swept over him, was covered in a large, scorched black mark, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
But he was still alive.
He caught his breath, pushed himself to his feet, and staggered over to Gaga, squatting down beside him.
"Gaga..."
Gaga opened his eyes. Seeing Ian, his tiny wings twitched. He tried to stand, but failed.
"Ian... We won... caw..."
His voice was weak, but held a hint of a smile.
A lump formed in Ian’s throat. If Gaga hadn’t risked his life to buy him that brief moment, he wouldn’t have even been able to cast his spell.
He took a Strong Healing Potion from his Dimension Ring, uncorked it, and carefully poured it onto the wound on Gaga’s wing.
As the Potion made contact, white smoke rose from the wound, and the flesh began to regenerate rapidly.
He then took out a Spirit Recovery Potion and brought it to Gaga’s beak.
"Drink this."
Gaga opened his beak and drank in small sips. After he finished, his spirits seemed a little better, and the bleeding from his wing had stopped.
Only then did Ian tend to his own injuries.
The Death Chains on his left arm had disappeared, but the wound was still festering.
He rinsed it with a Healing Potion, disinfected it with a Purification Potion, and finally sprinkled on some Hemostatic Powder before wrapping it tightly with a bandage.
As for the scorched skin on his chest, he used a small knife to scrape away the dead flesh before applying medicine, the pain causing sweat to bead on his forehead.
Once he was done, he walked over to the pile of ashes, squatted down, and began to sift through the remains.
He found a Dimensional Ring and a Token from the Purple Iris Flower Commerce Association.
He poured everything from the ring onto the ground.
There weren’t many Magic Stones—just over two hundred High Level Magic Stones in total—along with some miscellaneous materials, Potions, and Scrolls.
But a few items made Ian’s expression turn grave.
The first was a pair of secret letters found inside the Ashen Ring.
They were written in a shadow cypher. Seeing that Gaga had recovered some of his strength, Ian had him decipher them.
"Target: Ian Marcus, Level One Alchemist of Shadow Moon Tower. Highly suspicious, suspected to be related to the death of Steward Hector. A ’Curse Bearer’ squad has been dispatched and will arrive within ten days. They must find the treasure Hector spoke of."
The other letter was from someone in the Deep Red Royal Court, providing some intelligence support. "Their goal also seems to be investigating the cause of Barton’s death, but from a different angle, with the focus on ’recovering the Secret Scripture’."
After reading them, Ian was silent for several minutes.
The trouble from the Underworld had finally caught up to him.
The Deep Red Royal Court must have used some kind of Secret Technique to track a trace of the Crimson Secret Scripture.
But Hector... back in the Underworld, he’d felt something was off about him.
The man’s objective had been too clear. He must have received specific information to have appeared in the Withered Forest.
’As expected,’ Ian thought, ’there’s no such thing as a free lunch.’
Ian shook off these distracting thoughts and put the useful items into his own Dimension Ring.
He incinerated the useless items with a Frost Ash Beam, scattering them and her remains into the wild grass.
This battle had made him clearly recognize the limits of his own strength.
Below the rank of a Level Two Wizard, with Gaga by his side, he was virtually unrivaled.
In the entire Shadow Moon Tower, even counting some of the old monsters, there were probably fewer than ten Level Two Wizards.
’Every Liquidation Wizard is a serious threat. They all have desperate, last-ditch Secret Techniques. I’ll have to remember that from now on.’
That woman, aside from not having a Level Two Wizard’s Crystal Silk Thread Soul Attack, was not much weaker than a Level Two.
’Fortunately, despite the unexpected turns, the outcome was still good.’
Once his Realm advanced further and his Spiritual Power became more refined...
He walked back to Gaga, picked him up, and gently stroked his head.
"Does it hurt?"
"It hurts... caw..." Gaga mumbled, snuggling into his arms. "But we won, so it’s okay."
"Yeah, we won," Ian said. "I’ll give you an extra treat when we get back. The best Blood Essence, as much as you want."
"Really, caw?"
"Really."
"Then I want ten!"
"Fine. You can have twenty."
Ian held Gaga as their figures gradually faded away.
The wind blew, scattering the ashes, leaving not a single trace behind.
