Chapter 335: Projection Technique

Thunderclap Technique forced the Dark Mage out, and the massive roar left him briefly dizzy.

Lei En's timing was extremely precise; the Exile Technique followed immediately after the Thunderclap Technique, giving the Dark Mage no chance to react. Before he could recover from the dizziness, a mysterious light descended from above.

The light formed a Void Prison that enveloped the Dark Mage's entire body.

But in the next instant, the prison vanished.

The Exile Technique was directly resisted.

Lei En flinched slightly; after all, the Exile Technique has only four rings, and the higher the target's magical resistance and Willpower, the shorter the exile duration. He didn't expect the Exile Technique to hold a legendary Mid-stage Dark Mage for long, but it shouldn't fail outright.

"He is carrying a protective Arcane item."

Lei En instantly understood, immediately abandoned the previously planned trap-and-kill strategy, and chose to go on the offensive.

The Arcane Flood Staff halted, and a massive Rainbow Light Beam erupted at near-instant speed, aimed straight at the Dark Mage.

"Hmph."

The Dark Mage finally shook off the dizziness, let out a cold snort, and let the Rainbow Light Beam strike his body, where a Shadow Shield blocked it, while he raised his hand toward Lei En.

A thick green beam, as thin as an arm, formed; it looked fragile and far less destructive than the Rainbow Light Beam, yet it silently pierced through the middle of the Rainbow Light Beam. The two beams overlapped, and the clash of differing energies produced a harsh sound.

Lei En's eyelids twitched wildly; this was the Six-ring Disintegrate.

The famed Disintegrate, once it hits, leaves one no choice but to rely on raw physical resilience if lacking magical protection and resistance.

If you can endure, you emerge unscathed.

If you can't, you are instantly reduced to ash.

Anyone facing Disintegrate's first thought is to dodge.

Even with great defense and physical strength, no one wants to stand their ground against Disintegrate; a failure leaves no chance for regret.

Lei En believed that his Third-level Steel Body, combined with his Fifth-level True Dragon Body, plus his blood-colored cloak, gave him a 99% chance to withstand Disintegrate, yet he didn't want to risk it.

He shifted his thoughts, and the Truth Will surged at full power.

In an instant, the whole world fell silent, as if time slowed, allowing him to see the Disintegrate's eerie green ray advance step by step within the Rainbow Light Beam, heading toward his own chest.

His Wind and Thunder Wings vibrated behind him, Electric Flash Teleport activated, and Lei En transformed into a bolt of electricity and vanished.

Disintegrate missed the stone house on the street by a hair, the eerie green ray entered it, and the entire stone wall disintegrated into powder finer than sand.

The Dark Mage was not surprised by the result.

He rose, looked toward Lei En, who had become a bolt of lightning shooting from midair, and raised his hand to summon a pitch‑black Dark Wall. The black energy wall was as thin as paper yet spanned a huge area, completely shielding the Dark Mage behind it, as if dividing the space on either side of the wall.

If anyone were to slam into the wall, they'd find themselves isolated in the Shadow Plane.

One must wait until the Dark Wall ends to return to the Prime Material Plane.

Lei En originally intended to charge to the opponent's side, forcibly altering the direction of Electric Flash Teleport to land at the edge of the Dark Wall.

He launched a Charge the moment he touched the ground.

The Dark Mage was finally taken off guard; he hadn't expected Lei En's reaction to be so swift. Not only did Lei En avoid getting trapped by the Dark Wall, he circumvented the obstacle as if he needed no thought, always making the optimal choice.

The speed of a Fifth-level Charge rivals that of a Flash.

Lei En's war hammer crackled with electricity, Ninth-level Power surged, even forming a shockwave-like gust.

When the caster is engaged at close range, it's the most dangerous moment.

The Dark Mage instinctively instant‑cast a Fear Technique, trying to curb Lei En's momentum; the spell formed but had no effect, like a mud ox disappearing into the sea.

Lei En had already charged forward, leaving no time to retreat.

Cornered, the Dark Mage let out an abrupt shout; the mouth area of his dark mask cracked open, spewing a stream of black breath.

The breath resembled acid, highly corrosive and extremely wide‑ranged, filling all space before the Dark Mage; it hardly seemed to come from a human mouth, more like a dragon's breath.

In fact, the spell was the Black Dragon's Powerful Acid Breath!

Lei En was hit squarely by the dragon breath, yet he paid no mind, ignoring the corrosive pain, and swung his war hammer with full force at the Dark Mage.

Bang!

A deafening blast erupted with electric arcs; under the amplification of a thunderous strike, Ninth-level Power unleashed terrifying force, flooding the area within dozens of meters with lightning. Several charging Horned Demons were swept in, and after a howl of agony they turned into corpses.

The primary target, the Dark Mage, even as a legendary Mid-stage, had his Shadow Shield boosted to Seven rings, yet the shield still shattered under the blow.

At the critical moment, the shield‑broken Dark Mage turned into a wisp of Black Smoke and fled.

"Trying to leave?"

Lei En let out a cold snort, did not pursue, but locked onto the Black Smoke and fired a Rainbow Light Beam. With a splat, the shieldless Dark Mage's flight was interrupted, and he fell clumsily.

From start to finish, the Dark Mage was cloaked in a layer of shadowy black robe; the robe was pierced by the beam, losing large sections, yet his true form still did not appear.

He didn't even shed a drop of blood.

Lei En was surprised internally, but his hand movements remained swift.

Taking advantage of the opponent's shield not yet fully raised, he launched another Rainbow Light Beam.

The beam struck the Dark Mage's body, still showing no wound; instead his entire silhouette twisted, emitting wisps of shadow energy like mist, producing a strange howl, as if he were no longer alive.

Lei En kept the beam barrage, cautiously staying back.

Sizzle…

The beam clashed with the shadow energy, splashing indescribable light, and Lei En simultaneously raised his Thunder Hammer, triggering Summon Thunder.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder roared through the underground space; he expended all four uses of Summon Thunder in one breath, each massive lightning bolt a Three-ring spell, hammering the Dark Mage's head, causing him to tremble wildly, his form expanding outward, no longer humanoid.

At this point, the Dark Mage had no strength to resist, yielding to the assault.

"No one dares defy the master's Will… Earl of Glamorgan, one day you will kneel before the master and beg for forgiveness!" the Dark Mage screamed angrily.

Lei En ignored it, an Electric Blast Orb coalescing in his hand, which he hurled at the enemy.

Boom—!

A deafening explosion roared, electric serpents danced, and after the smoke cleared there was no sign of the Dark Mage, no corpse or flesh on the ground, only a black mask.

They're dead?

Lei En cautiously surveyed his surroundings, but did not find a Dark Mage, nor any soul that he had absorbed.

That indicates the opponent is not dead.

The Abyss fissure above his head, after the Dark Mage's explosion, was rapidly sealing, and the Purgatory Horn Demons summoned took the chance while Lei En and the Dark Mage fought to swarm Shi Weifute and the Extreme Warrior, but they were cut down to nothing.

Most of the Horn Demon souls were absorbed by Lei En, with only a small portion, bearing its primal consciousness, returning to the Abyss.

The shadowy canopy that had enveloped the surroundings also vanished.

Lei En let out a sigh of relief; these signs show that even though the Dark Mage hasn't died, it has already been repelled.

"Legendary Mid-stage Dark Mage... Seven-ring Projection Technique..."

He shook his head and finally remembered.

The Projection Technique can be called the Dark Mage's signature move; it is a supreme Arcane Element that can use shadow energy to create a projection, anchor it onto a powerful magical item, and act as a substitute.

And the Dark Mage, hidden in the shadows, manipulates it; even if the projection is destroyed, it itself will not be harmed.

"No wonder I always felt something was off; it was just a projection, not the true body."

A legendary Mid-stage Dark Mage is not so easily slain.

Lei En let out a low sigh, walked over and picked up the black mask; it felt heavy, and the metallic touch instantly sensed the mask's material. Inside were intricately etched runes, a Dragon Language rune system he was unfamiliar with, clearly forged by the dragon race or an alchemist adept in Dragon Language runes.

After a brief examination, Lei En felt a thrill of surprise in his heart; it turned out to be an epic-level magical mask!

(End of Chapter)