The debris from the cellar’s ceiling fell on the void barrier and disintegrated at once.
RAWRGH!
An ear-deafening roar shook the whole surrounding.
Anette covered her ears and hunched down, trying to protect herself from the tremor and shockwave that followed.
Kyran, on the other hand, could only grit his teeth and use the Regis techniques to their fullest capability as he was forced on his knees while maintaining the void barrier. The shockwave this time was more potent than the one they felt underground because the cause was right above them. When they were underground, he was only using his Void Scales, which had a low concentration of void magic. This time, his barrier’s void concentration was higher and should have nullified any magic or physical attack coming from the outside. Still, the shockwave penetrated inside, meaning the shockwave was not just a residue of magic attack but might also be another form of attack, which was similar to the mutated Basilisk’s.
“Ergh…” Kyran gritted his teeth as the roar of the beast, and the shockwave that followed went on.
The ringing in his ears worsened, and if it were not for the Regis Body Tempering Technique and Defensive Technique, his brain might have turned into mush already. Still, he managed to make a mental note to research other forms of attack and include a defensive array against it, not only on his coat but also his mask because his coat could only protect his body and not his head.
At this time, Anette raised her head and looked at Kyran. She immediately saw his bloodshot eyes as well as a thin line of blood trickling down from his ears.
“Kyran!” She exclaimed in concern.
Kyran turned to her and saw the look of concern in her eyes. He knew at once how bad he might have looked, and he immediately said, “I’m fine.”
Anette wanted to say something but instead thought of something else and lowered her hands. The moment she removed her hands on her ears, the beast’s roar and shockwave penetrated her ears, and she almost fainted on the spot. Anette immediately urged the surrounding energies and raised her magic defense around her ears before rummaging inside her coat pocket to take out two pairs of what appeared to be earplugs. She wiped off the blood that trickled down from Kyran’s ears to his jawline before plugging one earplug on each of his ears. Then she also plugged the other pair on her.
The earplug’s effect was instant. It filtered out the beast’s roar and the shockwave. Though it did not completely remove it, at least now, it was tolerable.
Kyran was surprised. He guessed these earplugs were not ordinary and might be a magic item.
As if apprehending Kyran’s thoughts, Anette gave a faint smile and explained, “These earplugs are made of Sonorum roots and Coconut fibers, both of which have an ability to absorb shock and filter sound. I made these in the past and it is a good thing I kept them with me—.”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions resounded above even before the beast’s roar, and the shockwave subsided.
Kyran and Anette looked up just in time to feel the object that landed above ascended. Both of them knew that the ‘object’ was actually the beast and they were shocked to find how big it was after it flew.
Yes. Fly.
Because the void barrier destroyed most of the debris that should have fallen on them, there were gaps enough for them to see the beast’s underside.
Anette was doubly surprised. Earlier she suspected what the beast might have been, and she was half right. It was half right because it was the same species but half wrong because the size she had imagined was different. This one was bigger than those from Archadia.
“What an enormous Quilin!” She exclaimed.
Though Anette sounded a little muffled because of the earplugs, Kyran heard her just fine with his enhanced hearing.
‘Quilin?’ Kyran thought in surprise.
He had read of Quilins from the Regis Archive when he was younger. They were said to be an offspring of a lesser dragon and a unicorn. Their head and scales looked like a lesser dragon with a horn and a body of a unicorn. As lesser dragons, they possessed the physical semblance of a real dragon. However, they did not have even an ounce of real dragon blood. Thus, their magic was considered mediocre. Of course, this comparison only applied to real dragons, but if compared to a human mage, a young Quilin could easily compare to a Grand Master Mage. Kyran read that the darker a Quilins’ scales were, the older and powerful they were. Meaning, the older they were, the higher probability of them having Magus level magic were.
The Quilin’s scales above were a combination of dark red, violet, and lilac. The dark red part dominated its back, while the violet part on its body and the lilac covered the bottom half. Judging from this, the Quilin’s magic might be equivalent to an Exalted.
While Kyran and Anette were still looking at the Quilin, multiple magic arrays in light brown, green, and red appeared surrounding it. Then several condensed earth and fire magic energies shot out from the light brown and red magic arrays. The green magic arrays amplified the attacks before they went straight to the Quilin.
The Quilin’s scales shimmered as an invisible force field appeared around it, protecting itself from the bombardment.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Kyran immediately wandered his eyes near the Quilin and found three people in full-body golden armor, suspended in midair.
At the top of some tall buildings below, mages in gold and red robes holding a staff with green, light-brown, or red stones, aimed at the Quilin and assisted the three.
One of the three people in gold armor brandished a golden spear and rushed toward the Quilin. Another one lifted its long golden staff, and a green magic array appeared behind the first one, while the third person lifted his arm holding a golden bow.
‘Templar Code’s combat mages!’ Kyran thought as he saw the three people in midair.
He read from the Conclave’s records that the Templar Code’s elite combat mages wore full-body golden armor. Even their weapons were made of Aurum Stone; a stone said to be the highest form of Gold Stone. Its ability to withstand and support magic energy was known to be second only to Diamonds.
Kyran’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the three Templar Code combat mages.
Light-gold magic arrays circled the first combat mage’s spear as it swept up toward the Quilin. A light-gold force appeared at the tip of the spear and flew in the direction of the beast.
The green magic array on the first combat mage’s back glowed, and soon the gold force from the spear increased in size.
The third combat mage finally aimed the bow at the beast. Small white magic arrays appeared around the combat mage’s fingers as thin white magic energy condensed from the tip of his finger, holding the string to the bow’s arrow rest. A ball of white magic energy formed in front of the bow’s arrow rest, and after its size had reached a three-inch radius, the combat mage released the string. The white magic energy shot out at speed almost hard for human eyes to follow. As the energy reached halfway to the beast, it split into three, with the two on the sides changing direction—all three aimed at the beast at the front and both sides.
‘Homing magic energy arrows?’ Kyran wondered.
While the attack was nothing special, he knew how hard it was to form and control pure magic energies. Not to mention, split it into three and maintain it in different directions.
RAWRGH!
The Quilin roared again as it raised its front hooves. Semi-transparent magic energy gathered in front of its opened mouth, slowly forming a huge ball. As the Quilin stomped its hooves down in the air, the ball of magic energy shot out and met the first and third Templar Code combat mages’ attacks from the front.
RAWRGH!
But the Quilin did not stop. After it released the ball of energy, it roared once more as its dark red horn glowed. Five white orbs appeared around the Quilin. Two of the orbs shot out and intercepted the two incoming arrows from the sides, while the other three flew toward the three combat mages.
The mages on top of the buildings below started to chant. Several colored magic arrays once again appeared around the Quilin.
At this time, the Quilin and the combat mages’ attack finally collided, and a massive explosion followed, causing another round of shockwaves below.
“This is not good,” Anette said as they ducked once again to avoid the shockwave.
“We have to get away here fast. That Quilin, is not something to be taken lightly. It is clearly at an Exalted level and yet the ones dealing with it are only at Master or Grand Master level!”
Kyran nodded in agreement. She was right. The strength of an Exalted level beast was not similar to an Exalted Mage. Because at the end of the day, a human’s magic reserve was that of a human level, unlike a beast that was comparable to a vast sea.
“I’ll warp us—.”
“No, no, no, no, no!” Anette rejected vehemently, shaking her head.
Kyran’s brow twitched from her reaction. Was the experience of warping really that bad?
“But—.”
Before he could continue, an enormous magic fluctuation burst above them.
Kyran and Anette looked up just in time to see a huge magic array appear above. Its color was deep red, and the magic energy that started to converge had a very ominous feeling.
Anette’s eyes widened as she recognized the magic array.
“This is the Blood Sacrifice Array!”
