Chapter 224: Combined Holy Artifact, War Fortress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 224: Combined Holy Artifact, War Fortress
Following Minian’s offbeat remark, we all looked up.
A group of figures, possessing the unique appearance of Dwarves, was looking down at us with curiosity.
"Huh? Why isn't it those Vampire guys?" the leading Dwarf suddenly blurted out, his voice filled with genuine confusion.
"Friends, since we aren't the Vampires you're looking for, perhaps you could leave? You are, after all, interrupting our tea party," Tan Han spoke up.
From her tone, it was clear she was hoping to avoid a fight.
This was the first time the Witches had made contact with the Dwarves. Tan Han wanted to test the waters and see if this long-isolated group was open to an alliance. If not, it was best not to make enemies. Tan Han felt that the Witch Academy’s current situation was already somewhat precarious.
If the other academies joined forces, it would be a significant headache for the Witch Academy.
"Tea party! What tea party?! Don't think we don't know that you Witches are already in the lead! We won't let you have your way any longer!"
That one sentence from the Dwarf instantly extinguished any hope of avoiding a conflict.
Tan Han didn't waste any more words. As one of the most influential voices in the Witch Academy's current group, backing down now would make them a laughingstock.
"Then I must ask you to leave."
Tan Han immediately cast a Transformation Spell, leaped out from behind the protective shield, and confronted the enemy.
"Keep watch over the tea party. I’m going up to take a look too." I set down my tools and removed my apron.
Though only a short moment had passed, Tan Han had already exchanged several blows with the opposition above.
"What's the situation? Are they troublesome?"
As soon as I ascended, I spoke up, but the scene outside immediately stunned me.
The entire upper level of the castle had been violently razed to the ground. Right before my eyes, a gargantuan contraption was practically shoved in my face.
"Another Witch? It makes no difference!"
The fully armed Dwarf glanced at me with contempt, having already forced back Tan Han in her transformed state.
"Their weapons... are a bit terrifying..."
Tan Han spoke. Her current transformation was a standard one, typically used for dealing with ordinary enemies or testing the strength of strangers.
From the looks of it, the opponent's equipment was indeed a bit tricky.
"Heh, come and experience the power of the pinnacle of forging wisdom—the Holy Artifact!"
Seeing Tan Han forced back, the Dwarf seized the opportunity to charge. Tan Han quickly cast a Summoning Spell to engage and tie him down.
"Holy Artifacts... are they similar to the Wizard Tools of the Wizard Academy?" I asked Tan Han.
"I'm not sure. They're fundamentally different, though they serve a similar purpose. Wizard Tools emphasize utility and are meant to assist Witchcraft, whereas Holy Artifacts seem more like pure equipment, yet their functions and effects are..."
"Analogous to our spellbooks?"
"If you want to put it that way, it's not wrong. Attack, defense, blessings, amplification... they're just not as convenient as spellbooks. However, Dwarves have powerful physical constitutions and broad compatibility with transcendent energy. They can better utilize the power of their so-called Holy Artifacts. And..."
As Tan Han spoke, she looked toward the massive object behind the Dwarf.
The Dwarves had done something more insane than any other academy: they had dismantled the Forging Ancient City and refined it into this mobile fortress!
"That big guy behind them is also a Holy Artifact?"
"What are you Witches muttering about over there?! You think you can pin me down with just a summon?" The Dwarf shouted angrily as he struggled to finish off the summoned creatures using his Holy Artifact.
"Let me try." I reached out to stop Tan Han, while a fireball—one that looked quite different from a standard Fireball Spell—appeared in my other hand.
"Alright." Tan Han nodded and said no more.
I aimed at the Dwarf and fired the fireball directly at him.
"A fireball! You have the nerve to bring that out?! Die!"
The fuming Dwarf saw me toss the fireball so nonchalantly and didn't even think of dodging. He simply swung the shield-like Holy Artifact in his left hand to swat the fireball away.
BOOM!
The terrifying explosion and massive shockwave automatically triggered a certain ability of the Holy Artifact. An energy shield flared out, protecting the wielder's entire body.
Even so, the horrific impact and high temperature scorched the Dwarf's hair into curls, sending him tumbling backward.
"Pah... what was that? A fireball with that much power? You're resorting to sneak attacks now?"
"Okay, I admit, that guy's Holy Artifact is a bit of a pain," I said to Tan Han, shrugging.
"You! You Witches really have a way of getting under people's skin! But it doesn't matter. We'll crush you along with your pathetic Witch Tea Party!"
After taking a hit, I thought they would continue to charge head-on with their stubbornness. To my surprise, they chose to retreat cautiously.
"Taste this!"
As they retreated, they threw a spherical object at me to prevent a pursuit—likely a consumable Holy Artifact.
"Watch out!"
"I know."
Even without Tan Han's warning, I had already buffed myself with body strengthening and a shield. If the shield couldn't hold, I’d bolt in the next instant.
Anything thrown by the enemy was bound to be something meant to stop us or cause massive damage, like a grenade.
But I soon realized what it was: a Holy Artifact sealing a powerful spell effect.
Upon unfolding, the internal attack broke its restraints, and a terrifying crescent-shaped wave of energy surged out.
Even with my reaction speed, I had to momentarily dodge its brunt. However, the attack still clipped my shield, shattering it instantly.
"A Holy Artifact can do that?"
After narrowly avoiding that horrific, near-instant attack, the energy wave struck behind us with a thunderous roar. Now I knew how this castle had been leveled.
"They probably don't have many of those."
"Who knows?" I quickly stepped forward and picked up the now-damaged Holy Artifact. I saw traces of runes on it.
In other words, a ritual.
Runes are common; they constitute spells and spellbooks, and they are an indispensable tool in alchemy. It was likely that Dwarven forging was simply another way of mastering and utilizing runes.
As expected, Runes remained a vital field of study.
"We admit your Witch spells have some merit. But no matter how powerful your fireballs are, how will you deal with our War Fortress?"
"War Fortress? You mean this giant hunk of junk? By the way, is this thing also a Holy Artifact you forged? Completing this in one day... that's a massive workload."
"You Witches know nothing of our Dwarven Academy's forging arts! That's right, this is a Holy Artifact we forged—a Combined Holy Artifact!"
"Aren't you afraid we'll tear it apart? Also, you just came out of the Forging Ancient City and immediately tried to make an example of the Witch Academy. Do you even know what you're doing?" I questioned loudly.
"Tear it apart? Do it if you can! Of course we know what we're doing. The Witch Academy is ranked first, and your individual student rankings are all high. Aren't you the perfect targets to establish our dominance?"
As the Dwarves activated their massive War Fortress, exaggerated mechanical structures began to grind and turn. Judging by the smoke pouring out, they had likely found some kind of energy core within the Forging Ancient City and were using transcendent power combined with Holy Artifacts just to boil water.
Of course, "boiling water" was just my way of describing their propulsion; the Holy Artifact itself was still driven by transcendent power.
Furthermore, they called this thing a Combined Holy Artifact. Even if they hadn't told me, I could see it through my Spirit Vision. The outer layer of this behemoth was entirely covered in defensive Holy Artifacts, leaving almost no blind spots. The joints where they combined were even more heavily reinforced.
Transcendent power really is convenient. I had originally hoped to find a core or a weak point to take it down in one go, but it seemed there would be no shortcuts.
It was like facing a Transformation Spell; if I wanted to break the core, I first needed a way to pierce the opponent's minimum defense.
Looking at this giant thing, I begrudgingly viewed it as a "War Fortress Transformation Spell." Through Spirit Vision, the core was as blindingly bright as a sun.
I just needed to break through a local defense to destroy the core.
"Sister Tan Han, Sister Xiao Han, we're here to—Whoa! What is that thing?"
The others from behind had climbed up to support us.
In their minds, both Sister Tan Han and Sister Xiao Han usually dealt with enemies very quickly. Moreover, the Dwarven Academy had never been taken seriously, so those who hadn't seen the reality didn't have a clear impression of the Dwarves' threat.
"This... what a huge fortress. Did the Dwarves move the Forging Ancient City here?"
"Keep yourselves safe."
"You're all here! Good, good, good! Then you can all die together under the treads of our War Fortress!"
"No more talk. Tan Han, shall we do this together?" I asked.
"Yes. I'll go see if this big guy has any weak points."
"No need to look. It's covered in full-defense Holy Artifacts; there are no obvious weaknesses. Just help me break through a local defense."
With that, I charged toward the massive machine.
"Overestimating yourselves! Taste the power of firearms driven by Holy Artifacts!"
"Firearms? Firearms are just a means of comparing resources, not a representation of true strength! At least in the transcendent world, those rules have been rewritten. Clunky things like this should have been phased out long ago!"
I headed straight for the point closest to the core. If that giant "water boiler" was destroyed, this thing would become nothing more than an immobile iron turtle.
The moment they retreated into this so-called War Fortress, their defeat was already set in stone.
Even in the modern world, tanks require infantry-tank coordination. This War Fortress was so massive—did they really think they were invincible just because they were covered in defensive Holy Artifacts?
At least as far as I was concerned, it was far too early to call it invincible.
I started by activating the Flame Fairy Transformation and the blessing of the Fire Spirit. This allowed me to concentrate my attacks to the maximum degree.
Their cannon muzzles extended at that moment.
Tan Han was not to be outdone either. A powerful Evocative Spell slammed into the same spot as my attack.
"The defense of this Holy Artifact is strange."
"They probably used the original structures from the Forging Ancient City. This defensive strength is off the charts," I agreed, nodding.
"But no matter how strong the defense, it cannot withstand an attack concentrated on a single point."
Even without using my Practical Learning Spells, I was beginning to feel a spark of inspiration. Concentrating a magical attack on a single point was indeed a promising direction.
The spells I possessed seemed numerous, but as the exchange competition progressed, I found my options becoming increasingly insufficient—especially when faced with defenses I couldn't breach.
My most commonly used offensive spells were basic-consumption Evocative Spells. Even the Fire Spirit's blessing, the transformations, and the summons had become tools for horizontal development rather than vertical destructive power.
In fact, the Fire Spirit's blessing had essentially become a buff for my Evocative Spells, used to increase my elemental affinity and control.
"Xiao Han, step back for a moment. I'll try something else."
"Okay." I nodded and retreated a few steps.
Tan Han had far more spellbooks than I did, and she certainly had many with high offensive power. Although she couldn't "mod" her spellbooks like I could, the power of those high-consumption spellbooks was not to be underestimated.
After all, my so-called "modding" was essentially raising the power of low-consumption spellbooks to the level of high-consumption ones.
Compared to the time-consuming and laborious process of modding, it was more cost-effective for Tan Han to simply acquire more powerful spellbooks.
Furthermore, if my modded spellbooks didn't see a breakthrough in conversion efficiency, their consumption would also increase. Sometimes—or rather, most of the time—their power and effects might not even match an equivalent high-consumption spellbook.
Of course, no one could say that such effort was in vain.
As I retreated, I was also contemplating another technique for Evocative Spells besides "Floating" and "Resonance"—a technique to concentrate power into a single point for an explosive burst.
Though I hadn't quite figured it out yet.
It wasn't the same principle as a "Compressed Fireball Spell," though compression could achieve something similar.
But that didn't meet my expectations. Compression has a limit. What I needed was for the spell's effect to be concentrated at a single point from the very beginning.
"Haha! Watch us blow you to bits! Don't run!"
"Flies that only know how to zip around! Using this on you is like using a cannon to hit a mosquito!"
"Are you having fun?" I asked with a smile, standing by their viewport.
"You! When did you climb up here?!"
"I've been here the whole time. You've just been playing with my clone."
"Damn it! You're wasting our resources! But so what? You can't break our defense! This is the ancient forging technique of the Forging Ancient City!" The Dwarf was still talking tough, but in the next instant, the entire fortress began to lurch. A massive recoil force sent me flying back.
"Xiao Han, I've almost torn through the defense there. Behind this..."
"Behind this is the thing they use to boil water. If we wreck it, they'll be stuck here forever," I said with a laugh.
"Is that so?"
Hearing my words, Tan Han grew eager. Although she had wondered why Xiao Han was fixated on attacking this spot, knowing it was the core meant it was the right place to hit. She didn't care how Xiao Han knew; at a time like this, he wouldn't lie to her.
"How is that possible?! Focus fire on that Witch! Don't let her get near! Quick, perform an emergency replacement! Reinforce the defense!"
"Oh? So you admit that this hunk of junk's core is right there?"
"You! You Witch, you tricked us!"
"And what if I did?"
I smiled at them through the energy shield of the defensive Holy Artifact. Although I had known all along, it felt good to rile them up and mess with their heads.
At that moment, after using a Practical Learning Spell and the suggestion of "Unity of Knowledge and Action," I gained a preliminary grasp of the application I had named "Point."
As for the specific name, I would only officially name it after testing its effects.
After all, the techniques I currently mastered for Evocative Spells were "Floating" and "Resonance." If the next one was just called "Point," it would sound a bit plain.
"You're dead! Witch, don't think this scares me! Get ready to be buried!"
"The ones being buried are you." I held up my hand, mimicking a pistol pointed at their viewport's defensive Holy Artifact.
"Bang~"
I provided the sound effect as if playing a joke. But before they could mock me or talk more trash, a thin, searing line of heat shot from my fingertip.
The spell collided directly with the defensive Holy Artifact. In just a split second, the shield emitted a piercing, brittle crack.
Then, the Holy Artifact shattered. The power of the attack wasn't even fully spent; a muffled explosion echoed from within their cabin.
"The power seems decent. Let's call it 'Point Focus.'" I casually named the technique. It was simple and clear: concentrating firepower into a single point.
"Now, try yapping at me again."
I reached in and grabbed the Dwarf inside by the neck. He was nearly catatonic from the terrifying sound of the shield shattering. If that attack had been just a fraction of an inch off, he would be dead!
How could he not be stunned?
Even if you can respawn after dying in a dream, the body's instinctive fear of death doesn't just vanish.
Before he could speak, I yanked him out. This was the cockpit, and from the look of it, the space was quite cramped.
It seemed that in order to make this "War Fortress" move and include various functions I hadn't seen yet, they had made significant compromises.
Just then, the War Fortress underwent a violent tremor, and a loud bang sounded from deep within.
"Xiao Han, the interior has been destroyed."
"Good. Thanks for the hard work," I said with a smile.
Upon hearing this disastrous news, the Dwarf's face filled with disbelief. They knew the War Fortress too well; they knew exactly what that tremor signified.
The Dwarf in my grip looked like he had lost his soul.
"You... you people! What have you done! Our War Fortress, the one we worked so hard to assemble... you... you..." The Dwarf was so livid he could barely breathe; he was literally being fumed into a faint.
"I admire your masterpiece. Before entering the academy, you must have been very passionate about this sort of thing, right? I respect your hobbies, which is why we destroyed your creation in the most respectful way possible."
"You... you understand?" The Dwarf seemed to regain his energy upon hearing my words. "You said you admire our masterpiece, right? You called it a masterpiece!"
"Uh... yes. It's great, truly breathtaking. But it needs improvement."
I hesitated for a moment before following along. I felt like I might have said something a bit too significant. I swear I was just offering a bit of flattery; aside from being a bit ugly, the thing really was spectacular.
"Yes, exactly! It needs improvement! But... but we... probably won't have the chance..." The Dream Exchange Competition was a rare opportunity. The nature of the students who entered the Dwarven Forging Academy was mostly revealed in this moment.
But regarding improvement, it was clear that in the current situation, they had no chance of a comeback.
Last night, they had taken the lead with their War Fortress to complete the ritual, suppressing the Angel Academy and even making the Wizard Academy temporarily retreat. Now... they had finally stumbled.
"Xiao Han, something's wrong. Stop chatting; people from other academies are coming."
Tan Han's words pulled me back to the present. I immediately let go and disabled the Dwarf's Holy Artifact to prevent any resistance.
"Other academies?"
"It seems our ritual has stirred up a hornet's nest. And we're facing the worst-case scenario."
"Worst-case scenario?" I pulled out my broom and flew into the sky.
Once my field of vision opened up, combined with visual enhancement, I saw figures in the distance.
"Why are the Holy Angel Academy and the Wizard Academy moving together?"
"They probably ran into each other. In this situation, they've likely formed a temporary alliance due to the pressure of our ritual."
"Does this mean the final battle is coming early?" I asked with a grin.
"At worst, we just give up on the ritual. It's not quite the final battle. With two points already in the bag, we can afford to let it go."
"Hey, hey, Tan Han, don't start talking like a loser before the fight even begins. We're both Pre-Witches with High-consumption Spellbooks, aren't we?"
"But against so many people, a High-consumption Spellbook might not necessarily..."
"No, Tan Han, did I give you psychological trauma with that one hit? The power of a High-consumption Spellbook isn't as weak as you think, okay?"