Chapter 264: Creatures Behind the Gate

"Do we still need to go further inside? Sir, I have a bad feeling," Mo Lei Nuo said to Naimi Xisi, sounding somewhat worried.

Leisurely, Juan Ce Long rode a phantom steed across the snowfield that Xianai and the others had entered, then suddenly stopped.

He sniffed a bit, puzzled: "There's a familiar scent."

After thinking for a while, he couldn't recall where he'd smelled it before, so he gave up.

Mo Lei Nuo watched the man before him ignore him, yet dared not be sluggish; in fact, along the way he had already been frightened by the opponent's extraordinary rarity.

The past living dead, the Undead that could launch ice spikes, and the huge shadow worm hiding beneath the wasteland, ready at any moment to swallow passersby whole.

All were dealt with with a wave of his hand, the wreckage turning to ash.

As an adventurer, Mo Lei Nuo knew quite a bit about Spellcasters; his former party even had a four-ring Mage.

However, he had never seen a Mage cast spells so effortlessly.

No incantation, no gestures—just in an instant, he could create a terrifying spell capable of bombarding a radius of hundreds of meters.

All along, not even a day had passed, and the time to recover Spell Slots hadn't arrived.

With abundant Spell Slot reserves and spontaneous instant spells, Mo Lei Nuo simply couldn't associate the man before him with the traditional Mages he knew.

Kai De, however, would drain his highest-ring Spell Slots just by casting an 【Ice Storm】 or 【Stone Skin】—a rookie.

Therefore, Mo Lei Nuo held great respect for this being who likely possessed an extremely high Mage rank.

The two continued walking in silence, and soon a vague black shape appeared in the distance, its sky shrouded by a pitch‑black blizzard.

With keen eyesight, Naimi Xisi had already spotted that it was a fortress gate.

"There are traces of intelligent beings here?!" Mo Lei Nuo was shocked; all along they'd only encountered mindless Monsters, and he had thought they'd entered the legendary Underworld.

The creatures inside the fortress seemed to sense the strangers' arrival, and the path between Naimi Xisi and the gate suddenly began to quake wildly.

"Something's coming!" Mo Lei Nuo drew his longsword, his expression solemn.

Naimi Xisi glanced at the ground, a thin white light flashing in his eyes; he had already seen what the underground creature was.

He lazily extended his hand, his pale fingers, each joint distinct, pointing at the earth.

Three-ring Shaping Energy Spell — 【Instantaneous Local Earthquake】.

The spell, originally able to cause only a mild tremor within a 30‑foot line, became a earth‑tearing spell under the amplification of a power gem.

Naimi Xisi's fingertips glowed with a yellow aura as a powerful magical force surged forward, striking the ground before them. In an instant, the earth emitted a deep, booming rumble, as if ripped by an invisible giant hand. A crack hundreds of meters long spread across the earth at astonishing speed, hurling soil and stone, with clouds of dust billowing.

Within the torn earth, a worm dozens of meters long, its thickest part as wide as an adult's waist, was shredded by the quake. Its body, covered with rough, oddly patterned hard scales, was flung everywhere by the immense force.

But that wasn't the end; the worm was merely a warning from the monsters behind the fortress. Now that their dispatched henchmen had been slain, it fully ignited the darkness's fury. "Die die die die die!"

The dark blizzard seemed provoked, emitting a low, muffled roar. Countless bat‑shaped Monsters made of shadowy black mist flew out from behind the fortress gate.

They formed a black mist that obscured the sky; countless specks of red eyes glittered in the darkness, making Mo Lei Nuo's scalp tingle.

"Should we run?" Mo Lei Nuo said weakly, though he thought the Mage was indeed powerful, the scene before him was truly terrifying.

With so many dreadful flying Monsters, under normal circumstances he might have given up hope and prepared to end his own life.

Naimi Xisi ignored him, simply raising his hand elegantly and snapping his fingers.

Five-ring Shaping Energy Spell — 【Instantaneous Wall of Fire】.

Boom!!

In an instant, a raging wall of fire surged from the ground before the Mage, the flames like an angry dragon soaring skyward, its scorching aura spreading wildly. The wall stretched over a hundred meters long, dozens of meters high; the blazing fire emitted terrifying heat, warping the surrounding air.

The entire mountain path was blocked by the towering fire wall; the shadow bat swarm, upon seeing this, showed no fear at all, charging at him like a black torrent, heedless of everything.

But when they touched the scorching fire wall, they let out a piercing wail. Under the intense heat, the bats' bodies vaporized instantly, turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated. The powerful fire wall acted as an impenetrable barrier, keeping all incoming shadow bats at bay.

!

Naimi Xisi curled his lip, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes; indeed, they were being controlled.

However, the puppeteer behind them lacked sufficient Spiritual Power, only able to give these shadow creatures vague attack orders.

This made the monsters' attacks extremely stiff and clumsy.

Two successive attacks were nullified, and the black blizzard behind the fortress gate grew even angrier, a harsh roar echoing from the storm, shaking the air with a ripple.

However, the creature seemed to develop caution toward the intruders, unwilling to readily send monsters to kill those attempting to ascend the mountain path.

But Naimi Xisi would not let it go so easily.

The phantom steed galloped, rapidly closing on the fortress gate, while Naimi Xisi whispered a chant, gathering astonishing magical power in his hand.

Seven-ring Divine Transformation Spell — 【Advanced Stone Shaping】!

The spell that once could only shape stone now, under enhancement, can twist even the hardest metal at the caster's will.

A gray‑white ray struck the gate; the next moment, under the magical impact, the metal gate began to undergo strange changes, its shape gradually warping as if invisible giant hands were kneading it.

The shadow‑steel gate emitted a "creak creak" sound, as if in painful struggle. Yet the Mage's spell power was too great; the metal gate could not resist. Under continuous distortion, cracks appeared on its surface, quickly spreading.

Finally, under the Mage's mighty spell, the metal gate collapsed completely, but that was not the end; an extremely evil force adhered to the metal, causing the shadow‑steel surface to sprout foul, putrid flesh. This flesh, highly corrosive, oxidized the hard shadow‑steel into a crumbling residue at the slightest touch.

Naimi Xisi looked satisfied; indeed, against a metal foe, Zha Er Tai Ke's flesh divinity proved remarkably effective.

(End of Chapter)