Picking Up Attributes From Today

Panda Novel

As though churning waves, the red ant tide stretching on for several hundreds of kilometers attacked the Great Dragon Blood Wall in a frenzy.

Ballista bolts hurtled through the air, arrows shot and flew through the air, and spells bombarded the ant tide.

The guarding militants fought on desperately in the bloody battle.

Countless Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants were sealed in ice, burned into ashes, electrocuted into charcoal, impaled like hedgehogs, slashed into ribbons…

However, it still couldn’t stop the crazy ant tide. They advanced wave upon wave, endlessly, fearlessly, and with no end to them.

The attacks didn’t have any effect on them!

They were getting near now!

The ant tide got nearer and nearer, about to flood the North River Pass any moment!

“We can’t stop them!”

“We can’t stop them at all!”

“We’ll be ripped into shreds!”

A few students broke down at the sight of this and began to scream and shout like lunatics. They were hysterical and had lost their marbles.

“Shut up! Don’t affect the soldiers’ morale!”

Upon seeing this, Dirk Norway glared at them viciously.

Boom!

As though a heavy hammer had struck them, a spiritual attack that had physically manifested knocked out those few students, and they collapsed limply on the ground.

With a wave, Dirk Norway barked in a low voice, “Bring them down!”

“Yes, sir!”

A few soldiers hurriedly carried the students away. Dirk Norway let out a faint sigh as he gazed at them from the back.

He knew that those few students were now useless for good. Even if they woke up, it would leave behind serious psychological trauma in their hearts. It’d be very tough for them to amount to much in the future.

However, Dirk didn’t find this a pity.

Students like them were psychologically fragile by nature. No matter how good their magic talent was, there would surely be a limit to their future achievements, so they wouldn’t have amounted to much anyway.

“Remember this!”

Dirk Norway’s gaze swept across Hart and the others. “Do you think you can become strong just by relying on your talent? That’s nothing but just a daydream! Talent is just a prerequisite! Hardships and setbacks are an expert’s real trials and tribulations!

“True experts must undergo trials of blood and fire. They must undergo innumerable battles and setbacks, and they must endure hardships and pain that ordinary people find hard to even imagine!”

2

Dirk Norway’s gaze was cold and frosty. “Excellent talent doesn’t count for much. Neither does having a sham of a cultivation realm. Breaking down the moment you enter the battlefield? You’re still a good-for-nothing all the same and will bring harm to others and yourself!”

Awe and reverence filled Hart and the others. They couldn’t help but lower their heads, not daring to meet Mr. Dirk’s eyes.

Dirk Norway’s gaze swept across every one of their faces one last time. Then, he turned and got on top of the parapet and began to launch attacks.

“O’ the omnipotent wind fairies, with air as your bow and light as your arrows, please accept the power of my will and cut across the skies in the far distance… Death Tempest!”

Buzz, buzz!

The Wind Elements in the universe began to converge in a frenzy, and a black tornado completely made up of wind blades and measuring several hundred meters wide, and thousands of feet tall quietly took shape.

Ninth-Grade Spell… Death Tempest!

Boom!

With a devouring power that could destroy the heavens and earth, Death Tempest landed in the center of the ant tide in an instant. Amid earth-shaking explosions, countless Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants were devoured by the tempest and wrung into dust.

“Spin!”

With a wave of Dirk Norway’s magic staff, Death Tempest began to spin around in the battlefield, appearing in one spot one moment and another spot the next.

Everywhere it passed by, the ants were reduced to nothingness.

“That’s so awesome!”

“The mighty Mr. Dirk!”

“That’s so impressive!”

“As expected of Mr. Dirk!”

Hart and the others’ spirits were greatly roused. The shadows looming over all the soldiers were swept away at once, and they began to see the hope of victory.

Death Tempest’s destructiveness was too fearsome.

In just a short breath, it’d already killed almost 10,000 Bloodthirsty Iron-Crystal Ants. If he could unleash a few more Death Tempests, wouldn’t the ant tide be reduced to dust?!

“Everyone! Let’s charge, too!”

“Mr. Dirk is right! Even if I must bite them…”

“Kill!”

The students were greatly encouraged, and all of them stepped onto the parapet. They imitated Mr. Dirk and also began to chant magic incantations.

For a moment there, all kinds of magic elements converged around them.

The horrifying scene continued on…

A thick, dense bloody aura shrouded the battlefield!

Time slipped by bit by bit!

Unknowingly, an hour had gone by!

Despite every single soldier fighting desperately, the ant tide showed no signs of decreasing at all, and their momentum didn’t weaken in the least. On the contrary, more and more of them showed up, and their momentum also became stronger and stronger.

This was even under the circumstances where Dirk Norway, a Great Ninth-Grade Magician, was fighting desperately against them. If he hadn’t been here, the North River Pass would have fallen a long time ago.

“We can’t hold them back! The ant tide’s momentum is too strong! If this goes on, we won’t be able to defend the pass at all!”

Marchioness Cesia had an awful look on her face. “Where are the reinforcements? How long more before the fastest reinforcements reach us?”

A soldier quickly replied, “My lady, an hour!”

“An hour? If this goes on, we won’t even be able to last half an hour, much less an hour?” Marchioness Cesia gritted her teeth. “Urge them to hurry! Tell the reinforcements to hurry here with everything they’ve got! Get them to speed up!”

After she spoke, she strode up to Dirk Norway and asked somberly, “Mr. Dirk, even at the earliest, the reinforcements still need at least an hour before they can arrive. How long more can you hold out?”

His countenance solemn, Dirk Norway replied, “Ninth-grade spells are too taxing on my magic power, so I can’t hold out for an hour. It’s possible if I cast sixth- or seventh-grade spells the whole time instead, though!”

“There’s a limit to sixth- and seventh-grade spells’ destructiveness. North River Pass will fall in less than an hour!” Cesia shook her head repeatedly. “Mr. Dirk, how long can you hold out for if you keep casting ninth-grade spells with a scale like Death Tempest’s?”

“Half an hour at the most.” Dirk Norway gave her a resigned smile. “The amount of magic power large-scale ninth-grade spells like Death Tempest consume is terrifying. If I continue this for another half an hour, all the magic power that I’ve accumulated over my entire lifetime will be exhausted for sure, and I’ll need a very long time before I can recover.”

“Half an hour…”

Cesia fell silent.

At that moment, a soldier approached while panting heavily. “My lady, this is terrible! The ant tide 30 miles away is attacking the city walls!”

“My lady, the city gate tower 100 miles away has been occupied by the ant tide!”

“My lady…”

More than 10 soldiers hurried over in succession, yet the news that they brought rammed heavily against everyone’s hearts like a hammer. Everyone’s faces were deathly pale, and hopelessness arose within them.

19 areas of the city walls had fallen to the ant tide—that was a whole 19 areas!

Would more and more fall after this?

“Are we ultimately unable to defend the pass after all?” A dazed Marchioness Cesia murmured, “To be honest, in the instant that I saw the ant tide’s scale, I knew that it was impossible to defend the pass. I’ve ultimately still underestimated the ant tide’s might… Sigh!”

Dirk Norway also let out a sigh and stayed quiet.

The ant tide stretched on for 300 miles, which meant that more than 300 miles of defense line were simultaneously under their attack.

How much military manpower did the North River Pass only have? And how many Magicians?

Without any reinforcements, breaking past the pass was inevitable.

Cesia said solemnly with a sigh, “Mr. Dirk, while the ant tide hasn’t reached this area yet, hurry and leave with your students. They are the kingdom’s future. Nothing must happen to them!”

Dirk Norway closed his eyes, a look of affliction and struggle surfacing on his face. He knew what withdrawing signified and also knew what the falling of the pass meant.

Lives would be plunged into great misery and suffering.

Countless lives would be lost.

But there was nothing he could do.

There was nothing he could do about it.

He was ultimately just a single, lone person.

He couldn’t stem the raging tides and save the world from a crisis.

In the end, after a long internal struggle, Dirk Norway waved his arm and brought out a magic airship anyway. He ordered, “All students, board the airship and withdraw at once!”

“Mr. Dirk, are we going to give up just like that?” Hart couldn’t accept such a conclusion. “If we leave and the ant tide breaks past the pass and surges in, what are the people in the city going to do? They’ll be exposed to those sharp teeth of the ants.”

“There’s no other way. There’s nothing I can do!” There were tears in Dirk Norway’s eyes as he said, “The ant tide is invading with a vengeance, yet our line of defense is heavily damaged. It’s like an old ship in the great ocean that’s leaking in every corner. There isn’t even any way to block the holes. There’s really nothing I can do about this!”

Hart fell silent at once upon his response.

“There’s ultimately a limit to a person’s strength. How can anyone possibly oppose a natural disaster?” Dirk Norway wiped the tears from his eyes and instructed, “Let’s go. There’s nothing we can do to help even if we stay here. Let’s leave as soon as possible!”

“I understand, sir!”

Hart and the others hung their heads and boarded the airship one by one.

Dirk Norway looked at Marchioness Cesia and asked softly, “Marchioness Cesia, what are your plans now?”

“We can only withdraw!” Marchioness Cesia had a complicated look on her face. “It’s just that I’ve guarded the North River Pass for over 10 years. Today is the first time that I have to abandon the city. I can’t accept this!”

Dirk Norway was silent in response.

At that moment, someone suddenly pointed at the far distance and exclaimed, “Look! What’s that?”

“Huh?”

“Could it be the reinforcements?”

Everyone perked up greatly upon their words. Then, they noticed a black dot speeding rapidly toward them—it was a magic carpet! And someone was standing on top of it!

“Who is he?”

“Is he here to help us fight against the ant tide?”

“He doesn’t seem like much of an expert if he’s riding a magic carpet…”

Very soon, everyone became sorely disappointed. With the ant tide threatening to break past the city’s defenses any moment, even the troops were getting ready to withdraw. Sending even another 100,000 people wouldn’t be of any use. Not to mention just a lone person?

Besides, he was even riding a magic carpet. Just a look at him, and one would know that he wasn’t anyone strong.

Fatty Hart was the only one that picked up a pair of binoculars and watched the figure in alarm and uncertainty. Then, he suddenly exclaimed, “What the heck! Isn’t that old bro?!”

“Old bro?”

Abbe and Tanna were startled at the same time. “Are you saying that’s Meng Lei?”

“Yes, it’s him! I asked him to come and help previously. Little did I expect that he’d really come. As expected of my buddy. How loyal!”

Fatty Hart’s face was full of agitation.

“Who’s Meng Lei?”

Upon hearing the trio’s exchange, Marchioness Cesia immediately perked up. She asked, “How strong is he? Is he a Great Ninth-Grade Magician? Can he help us to fight the ant tide?”

“He’s my student!” Dirk Norway replied with a wry smile, “He’s probably a Fifth-Grade Magician.”

1

“…”

Cesia’s facial expression froze.

“Let’s just give the order to withdraw!”