Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1754  Breaking The Barrier

The entire team was already pushing themselves as physically and mentally hard as they possibly could against Idore. But seeing how effortlessly the Grand Magus was able to brutally injure, and possibly kill, their main line of defense in Tilion, the horrific reality of the situation set in. They knew with absolute certainty that they had to push even harder than before, or they would all die on this floating fortress.

They readied themselves, launching a relentless onslaught of desperate attacks. The Pagna warriors and their allies struck from all conceivable angles, throwing everything they had into the sky. Yet, remaining as calm and arrogant as ever, Idore simply hovered in the air. He didn't even bother to raise a physical shield. He just allowed his passive spatial magic to work, causing their devastating strikes to be misguided, seamlessly absorbing into invisible portals and spitting out harmlessly into different areas of the battlefield.

"All of you just waste your precious energy," Idore said, a mocking lilt to his voice. "It will only make it that much easier for me to sweep away your ashes."

True to his terrifying word, Idore started to do exactly the same thing as he had done before. He began drawing in a amount of ambient mana, forming a gigantic, swirling fireball and rapidly condensing it down into a blinding, hyper-dense core.

The others on the ground felt a suffocating wave of despair wash over them. It felt like all they could do was helplessly watch their impending doom take shape. Because the second he was done condensing that miniature sun, he was going to fire it at their next target, and there was no telling who that would be.

But in this fleeting moment of chaos, Liam had managed to see something crucial.

His sharp, analytical eyes tracked the exact trajectories of the failed attacks. He quickly moved around on the elevated earth platforms B had created, jumping from pillar to pillar to get exactly where he needed to be. With his hand spread out wide, he fired out several piercing, red energy beam lasers.

By forcefully refining his Qi and utilizing the unique red system he possessed, he was converting his internal power into pure, destructive energy, fundamentally similar to the terrifying abilities that Red and Zon could use. The rapid-fire attack looked like several dozen glowing crimson needles shooting out through the air.

Just like all the other attacks before it, Liam's crimson needles hit the invisible spatial barrier protecting the Grand Magus and instantly vanished, only to shoot right out from the back of the barrier, striking nothing but empty sky. But as Liam's attack exited the rear, there were other warriors frantically attacking from behind Idore at the exact same time. Their attacks entered the rear portal and exited the front.

Watching the crisscrossing trajectories, Liam's eyes widened. He noticed a specific, underlying mechanic to the invincible spell.

When he landed heavily back on the solid ground, he intentionally positioned himself right next to Forma, who was currently stationed slightly at the back of the group's formation. She knew perfectly well that as a lethal ranged sniper, she would most likely be a priority target of Idore's, but due to her legendary weapon, she was able to safely attack from far away anyway.

Liam quickly leaned in, keeping his eyes locked on the glowing Magus above, and whispered urgently into her ear.

"…I think I see a flaw in his spatial loop. This is the only way to break it. Get ready. Count to ten…"

Forma didn't ask questions. She trusted him implicitly. She gave a firm nod, her expression hardening with absolute resolve. Immediately, she widened her stance, pulled back the string of her magical bow, and pointed it high up into the smoke-filled air.

"Ten thousand arrows…" Forma whispered, beginning the countdown. "One… two… three…"

As Forma started her steady countdown, Liam was already moving. He sprinted away from her position, running as incredibly fast as his Qi-enhanced legs could carry him, tracing a wide arc around the very edge of the battlefield to reach the exact opposite side of Idore. His sudden, blazing speed caught Idore's glowing eyes for a split second.

'What are the little ants planning now? Do they really think they can do something about this?' Idore thought, a cruel smirk playing on his lips as his fireball grew denser. He now knew which of the two isolated targets would be his next victim: either the sniper at the front, or the swordsman flanking behind.

"Eight… nine… ten!" Forma called out, her voice cutting through the roar of the flames.

She released the bowstring. The single, glowing arrow was shot high into the air, rapidly forming a , condensed red blob just like it had done before. Then, erupting outward from that central mass, a torrential rain of thousands of magical arrows started to pour down from the sky, angling directly towards the front of Idore's barrier.

At the exact same moment on the opposite side of the battlefield, Liam made his move. Placing his all-cutting sword smoothly into its sheath, he stretched out both of his hands, channeling every ounce of his red system. He fired out a blinding barrage of red energy lasers directly from his fingertips, aiming straight for the back of the Magus's barrier.

'That was their big, grand plan?' Idore thought, almost disappointed by the sheer simplicity of it. 'To just do a coordinated mass attack on both sides at the exact same time? It will just transpose through the space and hit each other.'

However, seeing this deliberate setup, Alba, Cronker, and the rest of the Crimson Crane, along with Amir and Lince, decided to put their absolute trust in their allies' bold plan. They knew Liam wouldn't try something so basic unless it was a calculated strike. Powering up their Qi to its absolute maximum limit, all of them prepared their strongest, most devastating attacks, waiting for the signal.

At the exact, perfect microsecond, the tidal wave of Forma's raining arrows and the pinpoint strike of Liam's red energy needles struck the invisible spatial barrier from the front and the back simultaneously.

As the two overwhelming forces hit the spatial thresholds at the exact same time, something incredibly strange occurred. None of the attacks materialized and shot out on the other side.

Because the spatial portals were perfectly linked, and an overwhelming mass of energy was entering both ends simultaneously, the spatial coordinates deadlocked. It almost looked like the attacks were just violently exploding right around the invisible edges of the barrier, unable to transpose through the occupied space. The shield was overloaded, glitching under the paradoxical strain of two attacks occupying the same spatial exit.

"Now!" Following right into the blinding flash of the spatial collision were the combined, ultimate attacks of the rest of the group. Not getting too close to the blast radius, they struck with , localized amounts of destructive Qi from all different angles. Slashes, shockwaves, and pure martial energy went flying violently through the air.

And this time, the invincible defense failed. There was no spatial barrier to redirect them. The chaotic glitch in the portals allowed their attacks to punch straight through the mess of explosions that were occurring on the perimeter.

Before Idore could even realize his absolute defense had been shattered, and before he could fully stabilize and unleash his condensed flames, the combined Qi attacks slammed directly into his hovering form.

The catastrophic physical impact violently disrupted the delicate balance of the hyper-condensed mana in his hands. Unable to contain the energy, the spell destabilized and detonated prematurely.

A , blinding explosion, a giant, roaring ball of uncontained solar flames, detonated right in the exact position where Idore once hovered, engulfing the Grand Magus in his own apocalyptic magic. The shockwave rattled the very foundations of the floating fortress, sending a blistering wave of heat over the warriors below.

Shielding his eyes from the blinding light, Lince narrowed his gaze at the inferno in the sky.

"I have a terrible feeling that an explosion like that is still not going to be enough to permanently get rid of a monster like him," Lince said, his voice grim but steady. "But breaking his invincible shield... this is definitely a start in the right direction."

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