CH165 - CH166

CH165

The old man hovered in the air, clutching a red crystal, surrounded by corpses and the stench of blood.

He glanced around, muttering, "Where's the wizard array core?"

The red crystal was a tool for seizing control of the wizard array, needing the core's location to work.

After circling the residential area without success, he flew toward the potion garden to investigate.

***

As Terry headed north to the castle, he noticed the flourishing potion materials in the garden.

These thriving plants would soon belong to the Moss family, he thought, focusing on eliminating the boy in the north.

Terry had long been in the liquefied phase, confident in handling a newly advanced gaseous wizard without difficulty.

Approaching the castle, Terry used magic sensing to assess the situation.

Inside, he detected two ordinary people, a man and a woman, posing no threat.

In the basement, a woman with strong magical energy, likely a third-level apprentice, caught his attention.

Terry noted her presence, then focused on the man in the courtyard, matching Helag's description as a first-level gaseous wizard.

Muttering incantations, Terry summoned a flame shield around himself.

Despite Helag's lower rank, Terry intended to fight with full force, giving Helag no chance.

Ignoring the hiding Lennon and Mary, Terry entered the courtyard.

Helag, facing the stars, had his back to him.

"You're here?" Helag said calmly.

Terry was puzzled. "Were you expecting me?"

Helag seemed to know he was coming, waiting there intentionally.

If he knew, why not attempt to escape?

Though Kent Valley was sealed, surely he wouldn't just wait to die.

Terry sneered, "Good you know there's no escape. Saves me trouble. I'll make it quick."

He sensed Helag's spirit power, confirming his gaseous phase.

Helag turned, calmly facing Terry. "I've pondered if absolute power can overcome all. You're just right for an experiment, not too strong, not too weak."

"Perfect."

Terry disliked Helag's dismissive gaze, feeling underestimated.

"Rage of the Blood Bull."

Helag applied blood to his palm.

Terry, initially wary, relaxed seeing a mere zero-level spell. "What good is that?"

"Blessing of the Mountain Spirit."

"Blessing of the Wind Spirit."

"Absolute Defense."

Helag cast three spells, his body glowing, a multicolored shield forming around him.

Terry frowned. The buffs seemed unimpressive, but the odd shield felt off, his instincts sensing danger.

"Giant Body."

Helag's body expanded, clothes shredding.

Terry was stunned, looking up at the muscular giant, feeling uneasy.

"Dark Armor."

Helag quickly donned dark armor, covering himself entirely.

He activated the Primordial Thunder God bloodline, electricity crackling over the armor.

Terry instinctively stepped back from the dark, imposing figure.

He hastily formed a fireball, launching it at Helag.

Helag stood firm, the fireball exploding harmlessly against him.

"Fire energy specialization? Unfortunate for you," Helag remarked.

With high fire resistance, such magic couldn't harm him in this state.

Watching the dissipating sparks, Helag said, "My turn."

Muscles tensed, Helag launched himself, electric light trailing.

In an instant, he was before Terry, fist clenched.

A simple punch, but it brought a fierce wind and roar.

Terry's pupils shrank, unable to react before Helag's fist struck his flame shield.

The shield cracked like a spiderweb, shattering.

Terry's body ignited in flames, his innate spell.

Helag's punch hit Terry's chest, bending him backward, blood and flesh spewing, internal organs shattered.

Terry flew back.

His flames couldn't withstand Helag's power, barely hindering him.

Helag followed, appearing behind Terry, delivering a powerful kick to his tailbone.

A clear crack sounded, Terry flying again, landing at the courtyard's edge, body twitching.

Helag blinked beside Terry.

Terry, still alive, turned his eyes with difficulty, seeing the armored giant, fear in his gaze.

Too fast.

Terry hadn't reacted, his spells unused, Helag's blows leaving him gravely injured.

Lying there, Terry felt no pain, his body numb.

Unbeknownst to him, his body was grotesquely twisted, his waist bent unnaturally.

Helag felt confident as Terry entered the courtyard.

With his speed, Terry, unprepared, couldn't react.

In peak condition, Helag's activated bloodline power made him incredibly fast.

The short distance allowed Helag to easily overpower Terry.

Though a liquefied wizard, Terry's physical resilience was no match for Helag's overwhelming strength.

CH166

Helag looked at the twitching Terry at his feet, shaking his head. "Too weak, didn't meet the experimental expectations. I should've given you more chances to fight back."

Helag had been cautious, going all out both times he attacked.

He hadn't expected Terry to react so slowly, failing to use any countermeasures.

Helag felt a bit disappointed that the battle ended so quickly, yielding little experimental data.

But safety was paramount, so holding back wasn't an option.

Glancing at the dying Terry, Helag clenched his right fist and delivered a powerful punch, resulting in a loud crash.

Terry's body stopped twitching, his arms falling limply to the ground.

Helag removed the space ring from Terry's finger, then conjured a fireball to incinerate the body.

He cast several fireballs to ensure complete cremation.

Not finished, Helag used Evil Spirit Perception to locate Terry's spirit.

Terry's spirit stood blankly before him, motionless and unaware of its surroundings.

"Last time, Luen's soul was retrieved by Malcolm, causing me big trouble. I can't let that happen again."

Helag summoned a white sword of light, the Sword of the Undead, a necromancy spell learned from Ms. Moran, capable of harming spirits.

He swung the sword at Terry's spirit, creating a gaping hole, though it didn't dissipate immediately, as wizard spirits were stronger.

One strike wasn't enough, so he followed up with several more.

Soon, Terry's spirit completely vanished.

Helag cast another fireball to erase traces, finally feeling at ease.

"That should take care of it."

Terry was dealt with, but the crisis wasn't over.

Helag glanced toward the potion garden, where a crystallized wizard remained.

The Moss family elder had searched all the potion gardens without finding the wizard array core.

Growing anxious, he needed to locate the core quickly, as time was running out.

Seeing the elder flying around, Helag deduced he was searching for something.

He checked his rune stone, finding a message from Brack: "Hold on, the family is on their way. Stay alive!"

Helag had already informed Brack of the situation: a crystallized wizard and a liquefied wizard.

Brack realized the gravity of the situation, knowing how they got in was irrelevant now.

Kent Valley was the Terchy family's most crucial potion garden base, not to be lost.

But with two formal wizards against Helag, a newly advanced gaseous wizard, the outcome seemed bleak.

Brack hoped Helag would survive, though he knew the odds were slim.

The Terchy family realized they'd been played, with Kent Valley as the true target.

Distractions elsewhere had diverted their defenses, leaving Kent Valley seemingly secure under the second-level wizard array.

Unbeknownst to them, the enemy had long planned for this, striking at the critical moment.

The Terchy family dispatched reinforcements, using the flying network for speed.

Even so, it would take five to six hours to reach Kent Valley.

By then, it might be too late.

The enemy's confidence indicated they had means to seize Kent Valley.

***

Meanwhile, the Moss family elder found the wizard array core in a vegetable garden.

This garden was the core's location. The elder needed only to plant the red crystal in the ground and wait to seize control.

Landing in the garden, he planted the red crystal, which quickly glowed, a red beam shooting skyward, visible throughout Kent Valley.

Standing by the beam, the elder glanced toward the castle, muttering, "Why hasn't Terry finished?"

He began chanting, the red crystal trembling, complex runes appearing on the ground.

Helag observed from afar.

Noticing the elder's actions and the glowing red crystal, Helag sensed trouble.

After pondering, he decided to intervene and disrupt the elder's actions.

If the elder succeeded, Helag would face dire consequences.

Though he considered fleeing the valley, that would hand Kent Valley to the enemy.

The Terchy family would suffer greatly, and Helag might lose their protection.

Moreover, Larry had been kind to him, and Helag felt obliged to act when capable.

After the battle with Terry, Helag had a better grasp of his strength.

While he might not defeat a crystallized wizard, he could make it difficult for them to deal with him.

His goal was to disrupt the elder, not engage in a life-or-death struggle, confident he could delay long enough.

With the Terchy family en route, Helag needed only to buy time.

He took a Mental Stabilization Potion to replenish his magic, then headed to the garden.

The Moss family elder opened his eyes, spotting Helag approaching, and stopped chanting. "Where's Terry?"

"Dead," Helag replied calmly, as if discussing something trivial.

The elder stepped out of the garden, eyeing Helag's black armor. "Seems he was careless."

Helag nodded. "Perhaps, but his carelessness didn't change his fate."

The elder sneered, floating into the air. "Judging by your spells, you're a close-combat type. Terry must've let you get too close, catching him off guard."

Helag remained silent, watching the airborne elder.

His main issue was maximizing his combat power only in close quarters. If the elder kept his distance, like flying, Helag's strength would be wasted.

Crouching, Helag leaped, vanishing mid-air, reappearing behind the elder, swinging a punch at the back of his head.