Advent of the Archmage

Eugene desperately tried to keep the Book of Death intact.

For some reason, the Book of Death trembled even more violently until finally, it was too much for her to handle. The book instantly dissolved into countless specks of light.

Eugene could feel sudden nausea rising in her chest. The magical energy in her body was all clogged up as if it was now stuck in a mire of some sort.

She could no longer use any of her power.

“What’s wrong?” Mordena was stunned. Even though they were enemies, he was familiar with the Dark Elf Princess’ grasp of the mystic arts. She could not have made such a low-level mistake like that.

“Someone’s disrupting my spellcasting!” said Eugene, her heart now pounding against her chest rapidly. She never even sensed her enemy’s presence as the Book of Death crumbled. That was the most terrifying part.

Imagine, for a moment, that you were facing an enemy that you could not even see. Maybe you were lucky enough to dodge their first attack, but what about the next ten attacks?

As Eugene remained dazed by what had just occurred, King Mordena suddenly looked toward Orida Fortress. “It would seem that another airship has just arrived bringing backup from Ferde to the Magicians in the fortress.”

“Could this be the work of one of the newcomers? But there’s no way any Magician in Ferde is capable of such magic!” said Eugene. The brows on the Dark Elf Princess’s elegant face furrowed, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Suddenly, Molina spoke out, “It’s the lord of Ferde. He’s come to the fortress’s aid.”

“What?” shouted Eugene and King Mordena in unison.

The High Elf Magicians around them began whispering among themselves in hushed tones. They looked at each other nervously, clearly troubled by what they had just heard.

The lord of Ferde had gained quite a reputation across the continent, not just for his sheer power, but for his wisdom as well.

In just a few short years, he had managed to transform an impoverished Ferde into one of the most prosperous cities in the Firuman continent. Ferde’s Mage Tower threatened to usurp the High Elves from their 10,000-year place as the leading race in magical innovation. The mystical wisdom the lord of Ferde had accumulated over the years had far surpassed the comprehension of ordinary Magicians. Anyone who had seen his magic first-hand would immediately lose all will to fight him. Weak-willed individuals who knew him only through his reputation would not even dare pick a fight with him.

And now he had arrived at the battlefield. Without even letting his presence be known, the first thing he did was dispel the Level-14 Dark Elf Princess’ Book of Death.

Such a move was enough to strike fear into anyone.

Eugene looked at Molina. “Molina, didn’t you say that he had just lost his dragon form, that he had lost most of his power? Why do I get the feeling that he’s even more powerful than before?” she asked in an accusing tone.

Molina shrugged. “Maybe something happened to him after that. In any case, everything I told you was the truth.”

King Mordena was now a lot more composed than before. There was even a faint smile on his face. “It’s just one person. Even if the lord of Ferde had a miraculous encounter on his trip back to Firuman which restored his power back to Pinnacle level, he’s still just a Level-13 master. His presence here is troubling indeed, but it doesn’t mean we’ll lose.”

To his surprise, he was immediately shot down by a scathing remark from Eugene. “Hmph, shows how much you know!”

Eugene had thrown all decorum that was to be expected from a Dark Elf Princess out of the window. She began pacing with her hands behind her back. She then noticed the offended look on King Mordena’s face. “Do you know Halino the Light Magician?”

“Halino? Yes, I’ve heard of him.” Though Mordena was fuming inside, he still maintained a semblance of courtesy before the princess.

“Halino, a Level-13 Light Magician, roamed the continent for centuries. I’ve never met the person myself, but I heard that he was killed in the northern ice plains by Link, even when he had the upper hand by holding the Red Dragon Queen hostage. One swift stroke from his blade is all it would take him to kill you as soon as he sees you. How do you intend to defeat someone like that, especially when he’s back at the Legendary level?”

Eugene did not actually witness the event with his own eyes. However, knowing Halino, Eugene was able to guess what happened to him that day. She deliberately omitted herself from her account of the event, lest Mordena or anyone else manage to figure out who she was.

Mordena was not satisfied by mere hearsay. He might not be able to go toe to toe with other more reputable masters in head-on combat, but he just could not believe that anyone would be able to kill him with just a single blow.

In the end, he simply let out a discontented huff.

Eugene knew what Mordena was thinking at the moment. Ignoring him, she turned towards Molina and said, “Priestess, the only reason we mobilized the entire army was because the lord of Ferde had left Firuman. Now that he’s entered the battlefield personally, there’s no way we’ll win this fight! There’s no point in prolonging a losing war, so I say we retreat for now.”

The High Elves and Dark Elves all frowned at this. She only had her magic undone by the lord of Ferde. Was it really necessary for her to be so unnerved by this? Her sudden display of cowardice certainly was at odds with the unyielding resolve she had shown in the past.

Frowning, Molina said, “The entire army is ready to see this fight through to the bitter end. All our arrows are already nocked on our bowstrings. We can’t just pull back now!”

Eugene was stunned for a moment by Molina’s words. She then heaved a long sigh.

Indeed, she was now the commander of an army. If she were to order a retreat now, she would have to take into account the men’s morale, remaining reserves, whether the enemy would give chase, and many other considerations.

If they pulled back now, the Warriors of Orida Fortress would certainly come after them from behind, and that would be the end of them. If that was the case, they might as well see this war through to the bitter end. They still had a chance to come out victorious in this war, however slim it might seem.

Eugene sighed inwardly. “Alright then. We’ll proceed with the war as planned.”

Suddenly, someone pointed at the fortress wall. “Look, there’s a magical illusion above the wall.”

Everyone turned towards it and saw that a ten-foot-tall image of a black-haired young man had appeared above the fortress wall. He was wearing a silver-black battle robe and had a sword dangling from his waist.

Everyone knew exactly who he was. It was the lord of Ferde.

“He looks like he’s about to say something,” said King Mordena, frowning.

In the next second, the illusion spoke out, “Ellie Danas, I have something to say to you.”

At that moment, Eugene was seething with hatred at the sight of Link. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into his flesh and grind his bones to dust. However, since he had asked so politely, Eugene figured that there probably would not be any harm in hearing out the man at the very least. Magically amplifying her voice, she spoke out, “If it’s about surrendering yourself to me, I’m all ears.”

The image of Link above the fortress’s wall smiled faintly. “I would like to ask if Mordena, King of the High Elves, is beside you right now?”

King Mordena nodded to Eugene, who replied, “He’s here.”

“The Doomsday Meteor from three days ago, was he the one behind it?” asked Link.

Eugene did not know why Link would ask her such a thing. However, she was beginning to sense that something was wrong. Unable to figure out what had gone wrong, she simply remained silent.

What is this guy up to? thought Eugene. She really could not understand what Link’s game was.