End of the Magic Era

The few people next to Laibo and Mariana all had desperate expressions. This was more cruel than waiting for death, but death would come regardless. They would be next once the eight Heaven Puppets got rid of Lin Yun.

Right now, they were just a bunch of trashes that weren’t even worthy of the puppets’ energy, because they were already dead

Constantine had an unwilling expression. He looked at Lin Yun’s battle with despair and resentment.

‘It’s because of that guy! If not for him, we wouldn’t have come to this damned array. Why didn’t he discover this problem ahead of time? Isn’t he an alchemist? How could he have not discovered so many puppets?!

‘We barely managed to survive so far but we are going to die here, waiting for a group of damned puppets to cut us apart. I don’t want this! I am the youngest genius of the Secret Monastery, the most promising disciple with the highest chances of becoming a Heaven Rank powerhouse… Yet I have to wait for my death here.

‘It’s all because of that damned Mafa Merlin. Wasn’t he very powerful? Why is he about to be beheaded, no, torn apart. His body is even going to be cut into pieces and his soul will be destroyed…’

Constantine was unresigned, and so were the others, including Lin Yun himself

Lin Yun’s power remained at the same level throughout the fight due to the Natural Demiplane supporting him. He had endless mana to support himself in battle, but as the high-intensity battle lasted longer and longer, the power he could display unavoidably started decreasing.

The battle with these puppets required a huge energy consumption. Their coordination was perfect, which forced Lin Yun to keep fighting perfectly to resist.

But the pressure increased as the Steel Body Puppet slowly approached with its raised shield.

The fight was still going on ten seconds later, a minute later, three minutes later, five minutes later…

The encirclement of the eight puppets was getting smaller and smaller, while the strength they were displaying kept increasing. More importantly, that Steel Body Puppet was already ten meters away, and the Critical Hit Puppet, protected by the Steel Body Puppet, could already burst with its strongest attack.

Suddenly, an Exploding Ray hit the Ten Thousand Spell Wheel and Enderfa rushed back into it with a scream as the Magic Tool was sent flying.

At the same time, the Heavy Strike Puppet’s weapon fell onto the Book of Mantras and sent it flying.

Having lost Enderfa and Syudos’ help, Lin Yun’s counterattacking power instantly decreased by half.

Lin Yun’s face was pale and devoid of color, yet was as calm as a peaceful lake. But in the depths of his soul, the raging flames were becoming even fiercer.

‘Can’t die, have to win, can’t die here…

‘I absolutely can’t die, I have to survive! I have to establish the Shelter Tower and learn the truth about the end of the Magic Era, I have to transcend…

‘I haven’t advanced to the Heaven Rank yet, how could I die here! I can’t be killed…’

The intense battle and deathly pressure squeezed every bit of potential. This was also the first time Lin Yun didn’t have any distracting thoughts during battle since his rebirth.

Faintly, that illusory skull emitting a multi-colored radiance merged with Lin Yun’s skull and truly integrated with him.

The endless void within his mind already turned into a world of colorful radiances with the ancient gate standing in the center. A clear crack could already be seen on the surface of the gate.

But it was already too late. And Lin Yun had already forgotten about that matter, the only thought remaining in his mind was survival. It was a simple instinct, a pure thought coming from his body and soul.

Lin Yun’s expression was still calm but he had already forgotten himself in this battle. His body was like a puppet controlled by a battle system, accurately completing the fighting procedures.

He could only display the power of the 1st Rank of the Heaven realm, yet was able to forcibly resist the eight Heaven Puppets. And among these eight Heaven Puppets, four burst with the power of the 2nd Rank.

The eight puppets together could easily get rid of a 2nd Rank Heaven Sword Saint, yet Lin Yun was able to resist with the power of the 1st Rank.

Ten minutes passed and the Steel Body Puppet finally forced its way within five meters of Lin Yun

This was the attacking range of the Steel Body Puppet, and this also meant that the number of attacking puppets had increased from six to seven.

The Steel Body Puppet was most proficient in defense, but that didn’t mean that its attacking power was weak, it could also display the power of the 1st Rank of the Heaven realm.

A Frostbolt hit Lin Yun’s shield, closely followed by an Exploding Ray. The Heavy Strike Puppet then shook the Law Runic Shield once more while the Monstrous Strength Puppet, the Steel Body Puppet and the two Lightning Speed Puppets’ attacks landed almost simultaneously.

The seven puppets’ attacks landed within a second and their coordination was perfect, the time interval was also perfect.

The weakening Frostbolt arrived first, and not only did it weaken Lin Yun’s defenses, it was also the first wave of impact which was closed followed by the most powerful Exploding Ray. Moreover, the explosion caused extra damage because they were of opposite elements.

Then, the Heavy Strike Puppet used the permeating power of the Heavy Strike to shake the law runes and make the shield’s defenses instantly fall sharply. At the same time, it increased the number of law runes roused.

The Monstrous Strength Puppet and the Steel Body Puppet only raised the number of throbbing law runes, while the Lightning Speed Puppets’ attacks landed on Lin Yun’s back.

Numerous thin swords kept flickering, attacking a few dozen times at the same spot. The operating process of the Law Runic Shield focused on the spots that were suffering frequent attacks, and the surrounding law runes were all gathered and kept increasing the defensive power.

But as the law runes on Lin Yun’s Law Runic Shield gathered towards the back, the Critical Hit, who had been standing on stand by, finally appeared before Lin Yun with its dagger in hand. A fierce and oppressive power converged at the tip of the dagger as it ruthlessly stabbed towards Lin Yun’s front.

In the distance, Laibo faintly sighed before struggling to stand up, weak deathless aura flickering on his body.

“Get ready, Sir Mafa has been fighting to the bitter end like a true warrior. It’ll soon be our turn to show our final radiance and make these puppets experience our Secret Monastery’s radiant aura.”

Laibo had a calm expression, it could be seen from his gaze that he had already accepted death. As for Mariana and the other six, they were either unresigned, despairing, or resentful, but they could only hold their weapons for the final all-out battle.

In the center of the battlefield, the Critical Hit Puppet’s dagger pierced at the weakest part of the Law Runic Shield. The Law Runic Shield had been at its limits, and just being touched by the Critical Hit Puppet’s dagger made it explode like a bubble.

That attack absolutely had the power of the 2nd Rank of the Heaven realm and it fiercely hit Lin Yun on his chest.

And the various attacks pressuring the Law Runic Shield landed alongside it.

“Boom…”

A fierce explosion echoed as the radiance and fierce power covering the entire sky thoroughly burst out. The Critical Hit Puppet passed through the explosion area with the dagger in its hands.

The power of the dagger was already dissipating, and that hit had clearly made Lin Yun’s body explode. Bone fragments couldn’t even be found.

In the distance, Syudos and Enderfa came out of their Magic Tools and seemed to have gone crazy.

Enderfa’s three faces appeared dejected as he shouted, “Merlin! You b*stard! How could you die like this!”

As a Magic Tool Incarnation, he felt his connection to Lin Yun being severed in an instant. There was only one explanation, his master had died.

The eight Puppets also stopped their attack at that moment and calmly turned to look at Laibo and the others. Only one of the puppets remained in its fighting state. It raised its weapon as it looked at them.

But then, an ancient and boundless faint aura surged at the spot Lin Yun exploded from.

The puppet that was about to get rid of Laibo and the others immediately changed direction and looked towards the chaotic area. The other seven Heaven Rank Puppets also reactivated their fighting state and data flooded their red crystal eyes.

That wisp of aura made people feel like they were drifting within a vast starry sky, and the chaotic energies in the center of the battlefield dissipated, seeming expelled by an irresistible power.

A multi-colored illusory radiance shone in the center of the battlefield, multi-colored flames pierced through the ancient aura and an ancient gate appeared before their eyes.

After the ancient gate appeared, it rapidly expanded up to nine meters before calmly standing there.

The gate seemed to have been carved out of stone and its surface was full of ancient patterns. They seemed to lack meaning, but those simple patterns contained a lot of information.

The flickering crystal eyes of the eight puppets suddenly stopped flickering. The calculations they did on that door almost burnt their computing system.

And the strangest thing was that the gate was standing there, but no matter the angle, the gate was facing its onlookers.

“Senior… Senior apprentice brother Laibo.. What is this thing?”

Mariana had a lifeless expression as she stammered while looking at the door.

Laibo was also stunned, he didn’t know what was happening;

“I feel that Sir Mafa might still be alive, and we’d better stay away…”

Laibo led the team from the Secret Monastery to keep withdrawing, but as they walked alongside the barrier into the distance, Mariana couldn’t help doubtfully inquiring, “Senior apprentice brother Laibo, what is that thing? I feel like my soul is being pressured, and no matter where I walk, that gate is still facing me…”

In the distance, Syudos and Enderfa controlled their Magic Tools and flew in the air. Seeing that ancient gate, Enderfa’s three faces were stunned and his disbelief soon turned to joy.

“Syudos! Do you know what that thing is?”

Enderfa’s face distorted as he looked at Syudos. Syudos’ eyes were filled with doubt as he didn’t truly understand.

“Of course you wouldn’t know, even I didn’t expect that thing to really exist. Merlin really didn’t die. I knew it! How could puppets kill Merlin…” Another face howled with laughter.

The middle face was twisting in joy.

“The Gate of Rebirth, damn, it’s actually the Gate of Rebirth. That scoundrel Merlin really possesses the legendary perfect foundation and used the perfect attitude to advance on the magic path. Now, he is undergoing rebirth, he is evolving into another kind of extraordinary lifeform!”

Enderfa was so overjoyed he couldn’t suppress himself. He originally thought that Lin Yun had died but hadn’t expected such a great surprise instead.

It was one of the legends of the Era of Gods that disappeared over the course of the Nesser Dynasty.

It was because this legend had no basis. In the legends, a lifeform could establish a perfect foundation, from the very start of their path to the Heaven Rank. Every single step had to be perfect to establish that perfect foundation.

And that perfect foundation might be so powerful that it couldn’t be broken. The difficulty in advancing to the Heaven Rank would be inconceivable, but as long as that lifeform broke through, they would complete the most perfect Extraordinary Transformation.

The degree of completion of the Extraordinary Transformation related to the path they walked, and during the Era of Gods, the most perfect foundation belonged to Constance, the God of Wisdom. Even that theory was said to have come from the mouth of the God of Wisdom.

But Gods were born without going through these processes. That so-called legend was only one of the countless unreliable legends and didn’t spread during the Nesser Dynasty. No one knew about it now.

Aside from Gods who were born at the Heaven Rank, no one could perfectly complete the Extraordinary Transformation.

Humans were just humans, no matter how they completed the Extraordinary Transformation, they were transformed based on their original bodies’ foundation. The degree of their transformation was already determined and was related to a mage’s limits.

The higher the degree of completion of the Extraordinary Transformation, the further they could walk on the path of magic. Even if that matter wasn’t absolute, it was classified as an universal truth.

Just like those people who took the Golden Temptation Potion. Their future limit might be at the 5th Rank of the Heaven realm and it would be very difficult for them to advance from there.

But this wasn’t absolute, because too many mages stopped at the 9th Rank of the Archmage realm until their deaths, but if they advanced to the Heaven Rank, they would have had a lot of time to continue searching a path forward.

Those who relied on their own strengths to advance to the Heaven Rank and broke their own limits to complete the Extraordinary Transformation would just have better prospects to make it further on the path of magic.

And the Gate of Rebirth would only appear in the depths of a mage’s sea of consciousness when their foundation was perfect enough. If a crack could be opened on the Gate of Rebirth, the resulting Extraordinary Transformation would far surpass the ordinary Heaven Mage.

Like that, as long as they didn’t die mid-way, they would be able to advance to the 9th Rank of the Heaven realm, and it would only be a matter of time before they transcended the Heaven realm.

But no one ever thought that the Gate of Rebirth was real.

Because a perfect Extraordinary Transformation wasn’t a transformation of the original foundation, it was a true rebirth, even hair would be reborn.

The Gate of Rebirth’s huge power would destroy the mage’s body when summoned and everything would undergo perfect rebirth. Then, the body that underwent the perfect Extraordinary Transformation would push open the Gate of Rebirth, coming out from within the gate.

And the most important sign of the Gate of Rebirth was that no matter the angle, everyone could only see its front, because only the mage itself could leave the Gate of Rebirth, not having to face its front.

After the rebirth, the mage would be faced from every angle. This was attracting everyone’s gazes, forcibly drawing their attention!

The Gate of Rebirth’s appearance meant that Lin Yun already started his Extraordinary Transformation. The Extraordinary Transformation process started when his body was torn apart. It could even be said that the Critical Hit Puppet’s fierce attack slightly helped Lin Yun.

The Gate of Rebirth was calmly standing there, its aura becoming thicker and thicker. That pressure, almost forcing people on their knees, was becoming stronger and stronger. The aura obviously wasn’t irresistible, but there was a clear gap in quality, a gap in soul. It was similar to the gap between a Chromatic Dragon and a pig.

As the aura became increasingly stronger, the eight Heaven Puppets were no longer able to resist that aura. Their computing ability was completely ineffective, but as puppets that awakened wisdom, they knew that they were in danger.

In an instant, all kinds of bolt spells started falling onto the Gate of Rebirth. The Monstrous Strength Puppet, the Lightning Speed Puppet, the Heavy Strike Puppet, and even the Critical Hit Puppet launched their strongest attacks on the Gate of Rebirth.

But these attacks instantly dissipated as they fell onto the nine-meter-tall Gate of Rebirth, their power simply couldn’t break through that barrier.

Syudos controlled the Book of Mantras and was ready to act, but Enderfa’s three faces were looking at the puppets with ridicule as he stopped Syudos.

“Syudos, don’t worry. Let these fools continue. This is the Gate of Rebirth, it’s not some spell, this is the power of the world, Merlin’s power, and Law Power taking shape.

“Unless it’s a power that could destroy Noscent in an instant, no matter how powerful their attacks are, they absolutely can’t destroy this Gate of Rebirth. Let these idiotic iron cans continue, Merlin will come out soon…”

The eight puppets’ frantic attack had no effect on the Gate of Rebirth. The eight puppets were still attacking even after a few hours slowly passed.