Storm and thunder intertwined, arcs of lightning spiraling as they lashed out at every living thing nearby.
Following Aedin forward for a short distance, Lin Jun was met with the sight of a miniature storm elemental.
Miniature? It was still two to three meters tall.
Clearly a “legacy” of the storm lord.
Its core explosion zone had become a persistent contamination field. Low-tier elementals spawned in droves.
The imbalance would take ages to fade. For the trapped Silver Thorns, those elementals spelled doom.
Ivan teleported the four teammates plus Aedin to Redstone’s basement. The S-grade crystal popped out ruined. The old mage foamed at the mouth and passed out.
The basement was now a scene of utter devastation.
Aedin stood with one arm gone and his gear in ruins, while half-dragon Gar lay barely breathing after taking the worst of the battle, and Nova, half-alive herself, poured every last drop of mana into keeping him from slipping away.
Only Nightowl stood combat-ready. The rest were forced to hunker down. A fatal mistake.
If Ivan were still conscious, he would have immediately ordered everyone to evacuate, but there are no "ifs".
The storm lord never looked back. It marched north.
But its newborn offspring found them.
Weak individually, but Nightowl was the only fighter.
She guarded the entrance. Couldn’t let elementals in. Couldn’t move the wounded.
As time passed, Night Owl grew increasingly exhausted, while the elementals seemed to be growing stronger…
Fortunately after rest, Aedin regained enough juice for illusion escape. No combat power.
He never mentioned the Wood Core. At this point, Silver Thorns wouldn’t hand it over now. It was his leverage to bring rescue.
If Nightowl fell, he’d grab the Core and one teammate. Extra hassle. Risk bad blood.
Fortunately, shortly after fleeing Redstone, he spotted creep spreading.
“So the Wood Core is still in the lord’s manor basement?” Lin Jun asked.
“For now,” Aedin answered precisely.
“How long can they hold?”
“Two, three days max.”
There was still plenty of time.
Aedin soon sensed mana pooling in the creep. Puchi embryos rose from the surface.
Half a day of accelerated spawning produced thirty-plus elite Puchi. Aedin took command to fend off roaming elementals.
Next batch: special Puchi.
One skill: [Mana Storage LV8].
They stayed on the creep, charging nonstop.
Another half-day.
Hundreds of battery Puchi packed the zone.
Inanna’s marching column quietly lost a few hundred cannon-fodder Puchi. They collapsed into the creep sea. No one noticed. Restock later.
All that mana for one purpose.
[Achievement: Minion Creator (Rapidly create a minion)]
A massive mana vortex forced Aedin back. The battery Puchi and their stored power were devoured.
“Aedin, watch. This is noble Puchi fusion summoning!”
Direct [Minion Creator] on one creep patch capped at one gold-tier Puchi.
One gold wasn’t enough.
Solution: pre-stack mana with batteries. Trade half a day for a diamond-tier, no-symbiote weakened knight.
The vortex drew distant storm spirits. They streaked in.
Aedin readied elites. Lin Jun struck first.
[Mushroom Cannon LV10]
A blinding beam fired from the fading vortex. It nailed the lead elemental. Total disintegration.
Shockwave staggered the other two.
In that gap, the newborn knight Puchi leapt between them.
[Blade Storm LV8]
Whip-blades spun like a cyclone. Storm versus storm.
The remaining elementals shredded instantly. Dissolved into air.
“Aedin, lead the way!”
…
At the basement Entrance, Nightowl looked frail in the flickering lightning.
She had just shredded a third gold-tier storm spirit with shadow hops and enchanted daggers.
Residual energy faded at her feet. Exhaustion etched her face.
Days without sleep ground her down like a dull blade.
Her prized speed had dropped. Accuracy slipped.
Three golds shouldn’t have been this hard.
She glanced into the depths.
Ivan lay in the corner, ashen, breath barely there.
She wondered if forcing the S-grade crystal and overload teleport had broken him permanently. Would he ever wake?
Nova leaned against the wall, pale, funneling scraps of mana into the faint healing halo over Gar.
Gar was worst off. Burned, eroded. Only Nova’s efforts kept him breathing.
Aedin left two days ago.
Unless a miracle occurred—and unless he encountered a strong rescuer close by, she wouldn’t last long enough to see his return.
A cruel choice loomed.
She could shadow-carry one person out.
The rest? Torn apart soon after.
“Why me? Ivan, wake up!” Stress made her bite her nails.
Suddenly, familiar thunder roared outside.
“Can’t I get five minutes…” Owl complained, gripping her dagger tighter.
However, this time the storm seemed exceptionally louder.
A diamond-tier elemental filled the passage.
Nightowl’s expression turned stark.
“Diamond-tier?!”
(End of Chapter)
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