Chapter 473: Destiny Cannot Be Defied
Advent of the Archmage
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Waterfall cave
Skinorse read the contents of the letter.
"Master, I cannot control the demon in my heart... The will to kill is eating away at my soul. A sinister existence is tempting me. She also planted a plague in Gladstone... Ah, I must control myself... no, no, thatâs too hard. I donât know what I may do. I just want to kill right now. I want to kill everyone... I need power... ah, I canât control myself anymore!"
Both the letterâs content and handwriting were messy. There would be pauses occasionally too. One could feel the writerâs conflicted thoughts. Skinorse read softly; the content made everyone in the cave quiet down.
When he finished, the cave was silent. The only sounds came from Priest Moya. She was treating Annieâs wounds. Her expression was still calm, and her movements were steady. She didnât seem affected at all.
After a long while, Kanorse said, "I saw General massacre Garrason Town with my own eyes. Many innocent civilians were killed just for interacting with victims of the plague. There were more than 30,000 people in the town. Less than 800 survived. If Gladstone really had the plague, Iâm afraid..."
Gladstone City had a population of more than 100,000. The army had gone once the plague erupted. With the generalâs current state, there must have been an unprecedented massacre.
"Iâm afraid Master Link might be the only one to stop Duke Abel," Morrigan said. "We must bring this letter to him."
"Whoâll do it?" Skinorse asked.
As soon as he spoke, everyone looked at him, including Priest Moya.
"Your Battle Aura is now at Level-8," Morrigan said. "Youâre best at sneaking around, and youâre fast. You arenât hurt either. You are the most suitable."
"By myself?" Skinorse wasnât confident. Nagas had stopped Kanorse earlier. This meant that they knew about the letterâs existence.
He knew first-hand how terrifying the Nagas were. If he ran into them on the way, he would basically be dead meat.
At that time, Moya pulled all wooden shards from Annieâs back. She took out a thin silver needle and threaded it to start stitching up Annieâs wound. While threading carefully, she said, "Princess Annie and Kanorseâs injuries are very grave. This is a juncture. Especially Kanorse, I can feel that his energy has changed. When he recovers, he might level up to the Legendary state, but this requires rest. He shouldnât exert too much energy for the next month."
Morrigan shrugged. "Iâll only hold you back. My magic is needed to keep this cave hidden as well."
Skinorse made a face and scratched his head. "I shouldnât have looked at the letter. Now Iâve dug a ditch for myself."
If he knew this would happen, he wouldâve minded his own business instead of saving them.
Kanorse looked apologetic. "Should I go with you?"
Skinorse sighed, shaking his head. "Itâs fine. Youâre so injured, youâll kill me."
He put the letter away and said to everyone in the cave, "Alright, Iâm going now. This will be very dangerous. If you have any lifesaving things, please give me some."
Moya tossed over a bottle. "This is a highly effective potion, equal to a Level-7 healing spell. Use it when needed."
Morrigan tossed him a ring. "Apparition Ring. This is what keeps me alive. You know how to use it, right?"
"I know; Iâve wanted this ring for a long time. Thanks."
Kanorse thought for a while. He didnât have anything and could only shrug. "Sorry."
Skinorse wasnât surprised at this. Kanorse was a pure Warrior and only knew how to fight head on. He wasnât from a high-class family either. The only good thing on him was the sword that Link had made for him.
If he had any lifesaving things, he wouldnât get beaten by the Nagas so badly.
"Itâs alright. These things and Princess Annieâs crossbow should be enough." Skinorse put everything away and said, "Time is tight, so Iâll go now. Moya, if anything happens, donât cry for me. Just pray, and Iâll go to heaven happily."
"Psh!" Moya rolled her eyes and went back to the treatment, ignoring him.
Skinorse chuckled. He turned to look at the waterfall and took a deep breath. Then he said to Morrigan, "Give me a waterproof shield."
Morrigan took down a Level-2 Protective Barrier. A glassy glow enveloped Skinorse, and he started running. At the mouth of the cave, he jumped in a standard diving form. He burst out of the waterfall. Only his voice traveled back to the cave, "Everyone, the amazing hero has stepped onto an epic path again."
Everyone in the cave was speechless.
Outside, Skinorse slid down the waterfall and quickly entered the pool of water below. He struggled for a while before he was free from the fast current. By the time he climbed onto the bank, the protective spell was already dim.
However, its job was done. Skinorse was still dry. His Battle Aura vibrated and broke the enchantment. The light gray Battle Aura emerged, obscuring his body.
He ducked into the forest and disappeared.
Not long after, a Naga appeared by the water. She circled the place. After a while, she sped towards the direction that Skinorse had disappeared in.
However, successfully pursuing someone depended on brains instead of speed.
The Naga wasnât very successful. After half an hour, she had to stop because sheâd completely lost Skinorse. She paced around, seemingly very agitated. A few minutes later, she sped towards another direction. After many miles, there was an empty space around 150 feet wide. It was an empty camp surrounded by a wooden wall.
Two big and meaty demons stood by the entrance as guards. There were seven or eight Nagas and more than 20 Dark Elves inside.
A Dark Elf went up to the Naga. "Lord, youâre back."
The Naga nodded and tossed her spear to the Dark Elf. She went towards the round-topped wooden cabin in the center of the camp. At the door, she knocked lightly. "Commander?"
"Enter," a soft female voice said. At the same time, the door creaked open.
The Naga walked in. Inside, a black-haired Naga was twisting around in incredible postures on the ground. She was working out.
Other than the impossible flexible body, the black-haired Naga looked just like a human girl. Her body was even smaller than the average Naga. The only special characteristic was a dark red spear mark on the left side of her forehead.
Seeing her subordinate, she brought her feet down from the back of her head. Glancing at the subordinateâs expression, she asked, "Why did you fail? Was Ellie killed?"
The Naga nodded and spat, "We were going to succeed, but a human Magician popped out, saving them. I found their aura later, but heâs very tricky, and I lost him."
"Did they take the generalâs letter?" The black-haired Naga covered her forehead. She seemed to have a headache. The human general was about to become the masterâs killer, but then something like this had to happen.
After a few minutes of silence, she suddenly said, "Link destroyed Masterâs altar. This means he will go north soon. Since we canât stop the letter, letâs go stop Link."
"How? We donât know how heâll get there."
"Thatâs easy. Link has Yabbas in his territory, and he has their airships. Since heâs going north, heâll most likely use their ships. That way, heâll go in a straight line from Ferde to the Orida Fortress. If we go straight south, weâll definitely run into him."
The other Naga was still hesitant. "Commander," she said softly, "Link is a Legendary Magician who specializes in spatial magic. Iâm afraid weâre not his match."
Earlier, heâd destroyed three altars and killed two pets. This type of ability was honestly terrifying.
The black-haired Naga scoffed. "Heâs powerful, but we have more people. I want to experience his power too! I believe that even if I canât kill him, I can definitely defeat him. We donât have much time. Letâs go now!"
As she spoke, she stood up and grabbed in the air. Light flashed, and a spear crackling with silver lightning appeared in her hands.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
It wasnât just lightning. At closer inspection, one would see that when the spearâs tip cut across the air, it would create ripples. The silver-white body also had a line of golden Agatha runes.
Translated, it meant, "Destiny cannot be defied."
Seeing the spear, the Naga Warrior was stunned. "The Spear of Victory! Did Master give it to you?"
The Spear of Victory was an upper order Legendary weapon. It was ranked fifth of all the Legendary weapons in Agatha history. Usually, the God of Destruction would only give it to his most beloved and talented Agatha Naga.
The black-haired Naga looked proud. "Yes, he gave it to me. I believe it will bring victory to us, just like in history!"
The Naga Warrior lowered onto one knee and sighed. "That human Magician is going to be in trouble!"