Chapter 454: Strategy

"I'll handle that monster."

Möbius wore a solemn expression, swung his cane-sword, and slashed open a portal, stepping through and appearing instantly deep within the thunderclouds, facing off against the swarm.

Conjuration spells excel in domains such as summoning extraplanar beings, creating objects, long-range teleportation, and healing.

In terms of raw destructive power, they are actually inferior to evocation spells that directly manipulate energy.

Yet here and now, only he could step up.

Fifth-circle conjuration spell: 【Steel Wind Slash】!

No incantation needed, Möbius gripped the hilt and slashed downward diagonally, his body dissolving into the wind and instantly flickering behind the swarm.

The blade, wreathed in field energy, slashed toward the cannon barrel mounted on the swarm's back.

Clang—

The blade was firmly blocked by the half-mechanical long tail.

The swarm, having just absorbed massive electrical energy from the Ravenscourt Park substation, glowed with eerie blue light along its dorsal spines, channeling torrents of electricity toward the tip of its tail.

Zzzt!

The surging current instantly melted the cane-sword midair.

A series of gemstone-shattering sounds rang from Möbius's body, each crack symbolizing the absorption of a portion of external damage.

Unfazed, his retinas reflected the grotesque tail hurtling toward his chest; his left arm suddenly accelerated, intercepting it before his torso.

Sixth-circle conjuration spell: 【Mystic Gate】.

Two circular teleportation arrays formed in an instant—one blocking before Möbius, the other appearing behind the swarm's neck.

The effect of Mystic Gate is to open two portals connecting two spatial points.

Similar to the portal gun in the classic game Portal.

The mechanical swarm's tail, momentum undiminished, plunged into its own vulnerable nape.

Opportunity lost cannot be regained—Möbius thrust his right hand into the portal and unleashed the fifth-circle conjuration spell: 【Plague Swarm】.

Shhh—

Countless grotesque insects, blending features of locusts and scarabs, fluttered their wings into existence within a spherical space beneath Möbius's palm.

Sensing the scent of blood, the insects grew wildly excited and surged toward the wound on the swarm's nape.

Of course, they couldn't pierce the swarm's forged, battle-hardened flesh—but they slipped into every crevice, clogging its ventilation holes.

Then chain combustion!

These insects were a unique species from a script world rooted in ancient Egyptian mythology, normally fed high-calorie tar-like substances.

Now, all simultaneously ignited; blazing oils flowed into the swarm's ventilation channels.

【Detected respiratory system temperature exceeding safety threshold by 37%. Classified as Class A threat. Initiating emergency response protocol.】

The mechanical swarm violently twisted, sweeping its giant scythe-limbs in a horizontal slash, forcing Möbius back.

【Initiating internal cooling protocol. Core processor switching to redundant heat dissipation mode.】

Inside the swarm, an industrial-grade air conditioner bearing the portrait of Boss Dong roared to full power, blasting freezing winds that extinguished all burning oil.

【Initiating damage assessment subprogram. Logging combat style into Möbius file. Integrating with player forum conjuration mage database to update combat strategy and optimize battle plan.】

The swarm's thought patterns were already machine-like; after being revived and fused with machinery by Li Cheng, it became even more akin to an AI program.

Its highly developed brain, bristling with computational units, refined its combat strategy in an instant.

Its upper limbs, giant scythes, long tail, shoulder-mounted machine guns and cannons, and dorsal electromagnetic cannon—all usable parts—launched a storm of concentrated attacks at Möbius, denying him any chance to reestablish distance.

Simultaneously, the mechanical swarm's cybernetic eye flickered, projecting a 3D image.

It showed Möbius affectionately embracing the elderly British Queen as they lay together on the roof of Buckingham Palace, gazing romantically at the stars.??? What the hell is this?

Möbius's hand trembled; his newly reforged cane-sword was cleaved in two by the giant scythe, and his body was severed at the waist.

Crack.

Beneath his coat, another magical artifact shattered, absorbing the fatal blow on his behalf.

Möbius flickered a kilometer away; his wounds healed instantly—but the swarm was already charging toward him, and this time, its cybernetic eye projected another photo.

【Möbius presenting flowers to a pregnant prince in marriage proposal.】

Such an absurd scene amid such intense combat filled the mage with a peculiar emotion called "laughing in fury."

Undoubtedly, the swarm had gleaned from player forum data that Möbius valued his reputation and held national loyalty to Britain—and used AI-generated images to disrupt his psyche.

Even a mere 0.1% or 1% interference effect could tip the balance of victory or defeat.

Wait—hold on. It's not just images.

The projected image came alive, transforming into a vivid, audio-equipped video, broadcast across the storm clouds above London, reaching every citizen awakened by the explosions.

——————

Have you ever been elbowed at light speed?

Most players would answer no to this question.

The Zhong Lou group was no different; their bodies shimmered with the glow of various passive magical artifacts.

Some generated multiple illusory duplicates that moved in sync, aiming to confuse Master Pi Fu;

Others passively defended by teleporting the user a kilometer away upon detecting violent external attacks.

Even so, the Zhong Lou mages remained on razor-edge alert—the curvature engine's physical destruction was too brutal, and they doubted whether their magical artifacts activated as fast as light speed.

Beyond Möbius, the others scattered across alleys and rooftop terraces, silently casting spells in perfect coordination.

【Silent Casting】—slightly increases mana cost in exchange for casting without verbal incantation.

【Arcane Acceleration】—speeds up all spell casting.

【Alliance of Allies】—shares a percentage of one's own beneficial buffs with teammates.

【Arcane Link】—connects mage teammates, reducing casting difficulty.

The group worked in tacit coordination, as if connected by an invisible web, jointly channeling arcane energy to form a grand spell known as "Time-Space Stasis."

Hum!

The air within thirty meters around Li Cheng instantly turned thick and heavy, taking on a gel-like texture.

Time felt wrong — it had simply slowed down.

Raindrops drifted slowly through the gel, and the music drifting over from the nightclub, under the Doppler effect, grew low and sluggish.

"Hoo."

Nicolas let out a breath of relief. If he could, he truly didn't want to fight Master Pi Fu, but as a member of the Guild, he had no choice.

He drove his cane into his abdomen, using self-harm as the price to overdraft his future spiritual power and channel the release of the skill 【Planar Banishment】.

The other mages in the clock tower left three behind to continue channeling and maintaining the grand spell 【Time-Space Stasis】,

while the rest either flung out green beams of Disintegration, blasted fireballs, or shot lightning from their fingertips.

All manner of attacks, upon entering the time-space gel, were likewise slowed in sync, creeping forward as sluggish as snails.

And once 【Time-Space Stasis】 was lifted, these attacks would return to their original speed and instantly strike Master Pi Fu all at once.

Just as the mages were calculating in their hearts, they saw a phantom of a cowboy — face beaming with a brilliant smile, leather whip in hand — drift out, ignoring the time-space stasis field.

(End of this chapter)