Badge in Azure

Lex possessed the Fire Enchantment, but the duration of this spell was too long. That would cause Bain and Cuisi, who were hidden below, to be defenseless. The attack this time around was an experimental one. If it was effective, and the Fire Blast was resolved, then this level-6 magic scroll would be much cheaper than a level-7 scroll.

Lex did not have many level-7 scrolls in her possession. Since she did not know how many dwarf demons were there underground, the consequences might be disastrous if she had used all of her scrolls.

“Abominable creatures!”

Even Lex’s brows were locked in disgust. Dwarf demons were unorganized creatures, they did not have a fixed leader. The one-thousand dwarf demons which had appeared in this warehouse might have a dozen commanders, and even if these commanders had died, the dwarf demons would continue attacking, making them more challenging to be dealt with as compared to demonic spirits. A demonic spirit did not contain as high magic resistance and defensive power as a dwarf demon.

Lex had zero sympathy for these dwarf demons, and Saleen felt the same way too. When a creature could not even be extirpated by the gods, one would not feel any compassion for them.

In the subcontinent plane, dwarf demons would have gone rampant and seized all the lands had the demonic race not brought them under control.

Orange flames spewed out from the ground. The dwarf demons shrieked wildly, rolling about haphazardly. The temperature of the flames was extremely high, and their armor was crude, so they could not isolate the flames no matter how good the armor’s material was.

It was unknown what technique Cuisi and Bain used, they remain shrouded within the flames, but they did not expose themselves. Those dwarf demons could not hold out any longer. The Fire Blast and the Fire Enchantment were similar, they were spells which were suited to be cast in a sealed space. Even though this warehouse was colossal, there was a hole around the top, this caused the flames to be sucked upwards, increasing the power of the spurt exponentially. Several tiny dwarf demons were flung up by the flames, it was their unlucky day. Their face guards were melted away, and in the blink of an eye, their faces were burnt to the bone.

The flames found their way through the damaged face guards. The magic resistance of the dwarf demons was still inadequate to handle level-6 magic. Following the destruction of the face guards, these dwarf demons suffocated first before getting killed by the high temperature within their armor. The moment the interior of the armor was invaded by the flames, the armor actually became a receptacle which could withstand high temperatures and high pressures. This caused the dwarf demons to die off abnormally quickly.

As hundreds of dwarf demons were killed, the Crystal Guardian had been broken by a dwarf demon outside the door. This dwarf demon who entered the warehouse this time around was a different variant. It was over two yards tall, wielding a gigantic poleaxe.

By now, the Fire Blast had ended. The dwarf demons who dashed in were stunned, then they surrounded the tall dwarf demon and began hollering. Dwarf demons had a language, but it was very unrefined. Their language was the worst throughout the abyssal plane. When dwarf demons talked, it seemed like they were quarrelling with one another.

Saleen did not pay much attention to the tall dwarf demon who entered the warehouse. At this point in time, that dwarf demon over two yards tall suddenly leaped into the air, waving the poleaxe about as it tried to slash Saleen. It was possible that this dwarf demon could tell that Saleen was the easiest target to pick on out of the three humans.

What made Saleen astounded was that this dwarf demon had leaped fifty yards in the air. Since it possessed such a horrifying jumping ability, coupled with immense strength for support, it was no wonder then that the Crystal Guardian could be broken. Even though the dwarf demon’s poleaxe was a magic weapon, the poleaxe was not mosaicked with any magic nucleus, it was merely a little sharper and heavier.

Saleen never dared underestimate a person who could destroy magic using brute strength. He had a companion like that beside him. Even if Sika was not holding any magic weapon, she wouldn’t give a hoot about low level magic. Be it the Fire Ring of Resistance, Invisible Shield, Stone Skin spell, or other similar spells; Sika could destroy them just by hitting them with a mere stick.

This dwarf demon might have consumed some substances which spoilt its tummy, causing it to mutate and grow to over two yards in height.

The poleaxe descended in mid-air. Even though that dwarf demon could not determine Saleen’s specific position, Saleen had released too small a cloud. The dwarf demon’s perception was not weak, it remained charging towards Saleen and slashed at Saleen’s shoulder. This time around, Saleen did not dare block with his Water Shield. There was no use casting a few more Water Shields, Saleen could move in mid-air.

Barely dodging the dwarf demon’s poleaxe, a water flow flew out from the calabash hanging around Saleen’s waist. The water flow immediately entrapped the dwarf demon, tightening its grip around it. At the same time, the dwarf demon got bound by the water flow, crashing towards the ground. The water flow darted about its armor rapidly, but it could not slice the armor. The dwarf demon’s poleaxe had been broken by the water flow.

Saleen sighed in his heart, “It is really difficult to cast spells in mid-air when I am not a sorcerer yet. If I only release scrolls, it will not be as flexible as magic. It will be great if I had refined the water puppets instead of the Current Cutter. A water puppet can cast their own spells while flying, they are much more flexible than a sorcerer.”

It was risky for a mage to release magic while flying. A sorcerer could minimize the danger, but it was very onerous for them to cast spells effortlessly as opposed to when they were on land. In this aspect, a holy master had the upper hand. A holy master had a small range of Divine spells, unlike a mage who had a plethora of abilities to choose from.

That dwarf demon slammed against the ground. The nearby dwarf demons immediately tossed their weapons aside in a frenzy to undo that water flow. This water flow was not made of rope. When the dwarf demons tried to break it, a few of their fingers were cut off by it. The gloved portion of the armor was the weakest and the dwarf demons had placed their fingers in between the water flow and the armor. Given the high speed of the Current Cutter, these dwarf demons suffered greatly.

The dwarf demons shrieked, but none of them dared take any further action. The water flow harassed the tallest dwarf demon persistently. In a minute, it finally cut open its exterior armor, slashing the mutated dwarf demon into shreds.

At this point in time, Saleen had realized that if he did not mind the consumption of time, this unique water flow could kill the rest of the dwarf demons. The dwarf demons did not possess the ability to disperse magic, they would not be able to resist the cutting by the water flow over long durations no matter how tough their armor was.

Saleen could not waste any more time on these dwarf demons, so he could only rely on scrolls to massacre them already. The problem was that scrolls were very costly, even Saleen could not bear to waste such a huge amount of resources. A level-5 or level-6 scroll was needed to kill a dwarf demon, but a level-4 scroll could only release a single spell.

Lex could use tens of thousand Fossilization spell scrolls without any hesitation because those were low level scrolls. As long as there was money and a huge number of low grade mages, these scrolls could be produced anytime. The probability of success was more than ninety percent.

The price of an intermediate level scroll was drastically higher, and the probability of success was less than fifty percent. Even if a sorcerer produced it, the success rate would not be ninety percent either. When the need arose, one could not even use gold coins to purchase intermediate level scrolls.

“Saleen, the bones of these dwarf demons and their armor are very valuable, why are you still being so stingy.” Sika swayed her cudgel as she reminded Saleen.

“That’s right!” Saleen was abruptly awoken. An intermediate level scroll might be precious, but these dwarf demons could be wiped out with one-hundred and eighty scrolls. The armor of these dwarf demons had been crafted from gorilla metal, and mixed with some random precious metals. If all these materials were abstracted, it could make up for the losses of the magic scrolls.

Lex had also been confused by the dwarf demons. To creatures who were like cockroaches, it was simply not worthwhile to kill them using intermediate level scrolls. If they were not killed, they would go rampant. The moment Lex heard Sika’s reminder, she steeled her mind in that moment, then told Saleen, “We cannot leave either, so we shall do it. How many intermediate level scrolls that are above level-5 do you have?”

Saleen contemplated, then said, “I can take out fifty group attack scrolls, you can take out fifty too. If they are still not obliterated yet, we will think of another solution.”

Since the two of them had made up their minds, this issue could be easily resolved. Lex cast the Crystal Guardian once more, sealing the gates. Saleen and Lex began casting intermediate level scrolls, slaughtering the dwarf demons.

The dwarf demons had almost no retaliation ability. Occasionally, a mutated dwarf demon would appear, but it would get killed by Saleen’s water flow, it could not even pose a threat to the mages flying in the air. Saleen did not know that the dwarf demons would devour anything. There was a large reserve of arrows in the underground palace, but the dwarf demons were not adept at shooting, so they ate all the arrows and the wood on the bows. If these thousands of dwarf demons fired into the air, Saleen and Lex would be in trouble even if the shooting was not accurate, and their release of scrolls would be affected.

The dwarf demons had a very strong will to live, their reproductive ability was horrifying and they were powerful in close combat. If the dwarf demons did not have any weaknesses in long range combat, they would have dominated the abyss already.

Each time, Saleen and Lex could kill about eight-hundred dwarf demons. After two to three rounds of attack, they would have to utilize their spatial equipment to collect the bodies. The dwarf demons charged into the warehouse endlessly. Later on, some began scaling the walls, trying to ascend to the top via the hole. Unbeknownst to Saleen, the dwarf demons had little food left, if they did not get out, they would starve to death gradually in the underground palace even if they did not die in Saleen’s hands.

The two people had used up all one-hundred intermediate level scrolls, but the dwarf demons continued swarming in, causing Saleen to feel numb. Saleen and Lex might possess a strong mental strength, but casting scrolls in mid-air would consume several times more mental strength. If this went on, the two of them might consume too much mental strength.

Boom!

As Saleen was tossing a Stone Giant scroll, the Crystal Guardian sealing the warehouse gates was destroyed by a ten yard tall dwarf demon. This dwarf demon was the most fearsome mutated dwarf demon of all, it was wielding a twenty yard long spear. If the support structure of the goddess’ temple was not built so tall, this dwarf demon could not even move in a normal building.

With a whoosh, Cuisi’s whip mysteriously extended over, binding the legs of the monster tightly. Bain, who was hiding beside the door, attacked for the first time. A flash of golden light appeared, as the neck of this dwarf demon was sliced wide open by Bain’s dagger. Its head jerked backwards, and blood started gushing out.

This dwarf demon did not actually die yet. Its spear jumped up. Bain’s finger tapped on the tip of the spear gently, then he was sent flying into the air, directly through the hole Cuisi had busted into the ceiling, then he disappeared.

Saleen could feel his heart shudder, “The magic array on top has been ruined by Cuisi. If I obstruct this cavity recklessly, that dwarf demon killed by Bain’s sneak attack can possibly re-open it.”

Bain flew out. He could feel his internal organs vibrating vigorously, he only suppressed his injuries after spitting out a mouth of blood. The power of this dwarf demon was too petrifying, if it could fly, it would be the nightmare of every mage out there.

When Cuisi attacked, he also exposed himself at the same time. Saleen’s Stone Giant was affected. Before it could be fully released, the scroll exploded, so Saleen had tossed it out in advance. In the warehouse, over eight-hundred dwarf demons surrounded Cuisi. Cuisi wasted no time, a pair of wings grew out of his back, and he flew towards Saleen straightaway.