novelHalf a Step into the Sanctuary-realm
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"T-This... This is the power of the Sanctuary-realm!" the once helpless men exclaimed in unison. A glimmer of hope flashed in their hearts. Even Rosen did not care to be jealous of Lin Li. He only hoped that Lin Li could get rid of Osric immediately.
Although the several Legendary-mages had been close to exhaustion, they forcefully gathered all of their remaining energy, mental strength, and mana into the fight. They whipped up an even more ferocious attack aimed at Osric to buy time for Lin Li.
Finally, Lin Li managed to point the Crossbow of Reincarnation at Osric. He gritted his teeth as he lined the three pieces of the debris of the stars on the heavy crossbow. There was an integration of three different glows of light that shot towards Osric majestically. The blinding light created discomfort in all the men, but they tried their best to follow the trajectory of the three arrows. They were all hoping that that could give Osric a critical blow.
Lin Li had once made use of the power of the three pieces of the debris of the stars to defeat Thunderbolt etched on the Stars of Fury. Now, Lin Li was at the peak of level-23, and he had even seen the vague shadow of the gate to level-24. The Crossbow of Reincarnation had gathered enough mana from the remains of the Stars of Fury, and was up to a certain standard. The impact created when the three projectiles were released had to be many times more powerful than the previous time. They had the chance to hurt any powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm.
However, Osric did not have any expression when he saw the three arrows coming his way. It was as though the three pieces of the debris of the stars was a mere illusion, as if their target wasn't him. He only took action when the three arrows got closer to him. He merely raised his Spear of Nothingness towards the arrows.
There was neither a loud noise nor a blinding ray light. Everything ended as though nothing had happened. It was as though the three arrows that were shot simultaneously were an illusion. Lin Li's expression turned pallid. No one had better understanding of the power these three pieces of the debris of the stars than he. It was supposed to be his trump card. However, it was obvious that such a force was not presentable before Osric. It did not even manage to push Osric a step back.
At this moment, even Lin Li himself could not help but feel helpless at his plight. This was the difference. Nothing would be able to bridge a difference when it was wide enough. Any trump card would turn into a joke before such a difference.
Osric put away the spear, but he did not attempt to attack the helpless Lin Li. Instead, he appeared before Rosen in the blink of an eye, and he drew a void in front of Rosen's chest. The glow engulfed Rosen's elemental shield and started to draw Rosen towards it.
It was fortunate that Rosen was not a noob without any combat experience. His rich experience and speedy response allowed him to cast a Gas Blast Spell to pull himself away from the crack. Although he had managed to avoid the danger, he was not entirely safe, either. Fresh blood flowed out from his large wound. His energy was also depleted at the same time. Osric who was a few steps from him could use his spear to end his life any time.
Rosen knew that he was doomed. It perhaps would be a glorious death if he were to die in the hands of Osric. The thought of this encouraged Rosen to shut his eyes. Although he felt indignant, he could only give up on struggling and await that critical blow that was about to end his life.
However, Rosen did not feel that last blow despite the continuous sounds of explosions of magic. There was a force behind him that dragged him away from the scene. Then, he felt somebody touching his wounds. He opened his eyes and saw two mages from the team of mages. One was about to apply a healing potion on his wounds, while the other was gripping onto a bandage nervously.
Why didn't Osric kill him when he could very well do that by moving one or two steps towards him? He could very well wave his spear, and no one would be able to save him! Lin Li was incredibly doubtful of Osric's intentions. His mind continued to replay the scene that happened earlier. Why did Osric put away his long spear when Rosen had already given up on struggling? Why did he change his target to Andoine and Aldwin all of a sudden? This is fishy!
Osric was a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm. Powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm would never play such childish tricks on their enemies. They would never be affected by any emotion as well. To them, every action towards their enemies would be with the intention to defeat and kill them. Could there be any reason behind his unusual actions?
Lin Li thought about the time when he lost his ability to defend himself after he launched the three pieces of the debris of the stars at Osric. That was a really good time for Osric to get rid of himself, and Osric had readied himself to slay Lin Li. Why did he change his target to Rosen all of a sudden? Could it be that the butcher had become merciful? No, it definitely wouldn't be the case. Then, if it was possible, could there be anything that was restraining Osric that contributed to his unusual actions?
Lin Li did not believe that Osric would be resurrected at such a coincidental timing. His slumbering body probably woke up in surprise when the men were prepared to touch the crystal coffin. There was also a possibility that he was disturbed in his sleep when the men were battling the Zago Demons. If he really woke up before the desired timing, his perfect body would not be perfect, either.
It could have been due to the prematuration of this body or that the integration with the soul imprint happened too quickly. No matter what, this was certainly the key to resolving this adversity! The thought of that rejuvenated Lin Li's spirits. He continued to work with Andoine and Aldwin as they attacked Osric. While he did that, he tried to observe Osric very closely.
"Could that be due to... the distance?" Lin Li muttered as he thought about the battling scene earlier on. Osric had never moved out of a certain perimeter when he was dealing with both the Zago Demons and the Legendary powerhouses. Of course, that did not exclude that Lin Li and the rest were too weak to be a threat to Osric. However, Osric's actions of ending his battles abruptly seemed to best prove this hypothesis.
With this in mind, Lin Li managed to direct more focus onto Osric's movements. His plan helped him to notice certain details that he'd failed to pay attention to before. Osric certainly did not just give up on Lin Li and Rosen. There were many times in the current battle where Osric had great chance of killing them if he chose to advance forward. Yet, he always turned away to deal with other enemies after a while. This was the reason that helped Lin Li and the other men sustain this battle. Otherwise, Osric's ability could very well doom them without any effort on his part.
Seeing that Osric could neither use magic nor move out of certain boundaries ascertained Lin Li's perception that Osric had yet to put in any effort in the battle. It was definitely not that he was merciful, but of his inadequacy. To test out his theories, Lin Li headed into the danger zone he had been suspecting. As expected, his initiative invited Osric towards him immediately. This time, he did not use any powerful spell on him, but merely focused on dodging Osric's attempt to attack. He inched towards the edge of the boundary slowly.
Finally, Lin Li saw Osric turn away from him. He was delighted. He was now extremely confident of his theory. He discovered that Osric was restrained to 100 meters in radius from the crystal coffin. He would turn away if he were about to get any further than that.
This crystal coffin that was made of the Resting Crystal was the real Eternal Furnace. The secret that was limiting Osric's movements had to be inside the Eternal Furnace. However, knowing Osric's weakness was one thing, but making use of it was another. Not to mention that he had no idea what would happen if he were to lure Osric out of the boundary. There was no one with the ability to invite this level-26 or 27 figure out in the first place.
Actually, things might have worked out if they had escaped from Osric earlier on. Unfortunately, they had all been shocked by Osric, and they thought that wrestling with the man was the only way out. Now, it was not impossible to leave Osric here and call for a retreat, but after discovering the issue, Lin Li did not intend to give up like that. After all, his four pieces of the debris of the stars were all within the crack of the space. If he were to leave, wouldn't he be suffering a huge loss?
After estimating the scope of Osric's movements, Lin Li's gaze started to flicker back and forth between the crystal coffin and Osric. He started to calculate possible ways to deal with him. Suddenly, he thought about the incident before when Norfeller tried to save him. Although his forceful employment of the abyssal force did not manage to suppress Osric, it was one spell that a little effect on him.
With this knowledge, Lin Li suddenly had an inspiration. A plan formed in his mind gradually."Angelano, have you died? Respond to me if you don't wish to die."
"What, have you thought of an idea?" Angelano asked timidly from afar. He had been hiding far from the battlefield in his damaged Alchemy Colossus. He had lost courage to participate in the battle against Osric.
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