Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: Land of Magic (4)
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Kuooooooo.
The massive hexagram split in half. Both the one on the ground and the one in the sky.
Lodrus had never imagined such power could be unleashed and frantically tried to block it, but to no avail.
The ultimate power that embodied everything Rokan had to offer permitted no resistance.
Destruction.
The power of the hexagram, which enveloped the entire city, shattered, unleashing a shockwave.
“No, no……!”
The destroyed hexagram stripped away all the power it had bestowed. Like a black hole, it sucked in mana and even drained the life force of the spellcasters.
“Urk.”
Rokan fared no differently. The only distinction was that his infinite mana and immortal authority resisted the theft of his mana and life force.
And as they withered into mummified husks, a massive explosion erupted.
Kuuuuaaaang!
An explosion beyond the ultimate devoured the city.
[You have leveled up.]
Those who had even their last scraps of mana stolen could do nothing. They simply perished with eyes wide in shock.
Even Rokan could barely protect his head and endure, giving a sense of the blast’s power.
“Whew, that was close.”
From the ruins of what had once been a city, Rokan stretched out flat amid the throbbing pain, taking a deep breath.
He had somehow won, but he was in bad shape.
Though his level was Grand Master, he had thought his combat prowess had already reached Majesty Master tier, but apparently not quite.
If he had found the solution too late, or if Lodrus had stalled longer, the outcome might have been different.
Even if he had killed Lodrus, he might have been done in by the remaining phantoms.
Knowing this, Rokan could be objective about himself.
“Not a pushover, huh?”
As the throbbing muscle pain eased slightly, Rokan grinned.
This was how it should be for it to be fun.
If his subordinates were this tough, what level would the King of Magic be? He was genuinely curious.
He would find out soon enough.
Flashing a feral smile, he recalled his next plan.
Now it was real war.
“Evil Spirit Domination.”
The next place Rokan, now recovered, headed to was not on the Land of Magic.
It was the Spirit Realm.
A world dominated by ethereal beings.
Perhaps because they weren’t affiliated with the Demon Gods, the spirits over level 400 put up quite a fight, but Rokan resolved it with a simple method.
Crunch crunch.
He evolved the Demon God’s Tooth Belt one step further.
After feeding it the gear stripped from American and Russian players, plus high-grade equipment from his hunts, it gleefully chewed them up and evolved another level.
He had no idea how far it could evolve or how much more it needed to reach the pinnacle, but one thing was clear: its power had grown stronger.
Kieeeek?
The ghosts that had ignored him now clearly fell under his command.
They still seemed capped around level 430, but that was plenty. They were powerful enough on their own, and above all, their numbers were immense.
A full thousand. After wiping out an entire village in the Spirit Realm, Rokan led them back into the Phantom Realm.
“Shall we start a real war?”
Beings from the Spirit Realm, natural predators of phantoms. They crossed the border in droves, invading the Phantom Realm en masse.
Being on the opposite side of the Dreamscape meant it bordered the Spirit Realm.
Though phantom numbers wielding magic lethal to Spirit Realm denizens had prevented large-scale invasions until now, the ghosts under Rokan’s mental control ignored such concerns.
Being a hard counter just meant they could strike more easily—it didn’t mean the ghosts were weaker than the phantoms.
“Follow me.”
Rokan led them somewhere.
A frontal assault risked interception by alert phantoms before reaching the city, so he chose another way.
A tunnel.
The path dug hastily by Dig Dog was narrow, but since they were incorporeal spirits, it posed no issue.
They lined up or piled atop one another, filling the cramped space with a thousand ghosts.
“Go! Rampage to your heart’s content!”
As they neared the surface, they burst through the remaining earth at Rokan’s command.
The moment they emerged, they latched onto patrolling phantoms, shattering their minds and seizing their bodies.
Heeekekekekeke!
Being spirits, their movements were swift and stealthy. The city’s guardians fell without a chance to react.
Kwaaaaang!
Chaos erupted in an instant. Phantoms meant to defend the city turned to attack its interior.
Not just one, but a thousand.
Seizing the cover of night, they unleashed spells simultaneously, slaying sleeping phantoms before they even realized the uproar.
Kyakakakakak!
The ghosts cheered amid the rising death, growing even more frenzied in their rampage.
“Ghosts?”
“The Spirit Realm is invading!”
“Defend the city!”
But many avoided getting swept up in the chaos.
They raised mana to counter, but having lost the initiative, blocking the madly spell-spamming possessed phantoms was no easy task.
Magic’s high destructive power came with collateral damage, so stopping the possessed phantoms meant accepting harm to the city.
Yet how could the city’s defenders casually destroy it themselves?
That mindset gap widened the damage.
“Kraaaagh!”
“Hold out! Until the guard arrives!”
Forced into defense, they were mere punching bags.
The ghosts ruthlessly drained life force once mana ran dry, exploiting the possessed phantoms until their souls were spent, amplifying the destruction.
And if the body broke down?
Whoosh.
They just jumped to another phantom.
Even if killed by attacks, the ghosts themselves didn’t vanish, so they quickly possessed another, siphoning life force to recover and continue assaulting.
‘Tricky bastards.’
While they caused havoc, Rokan, who had dug through and surfaced, watched with admiring eyes.
Good thing he had Evil Spirit Domination—if they tried that on him, it would’ve been a headache.
His Unyielding Will would block possession, but if a ghost hopped hosts relentlessly and reached Majesty Master tier, could he win?
Setting combat power aside, the time limit would make it tough.
Knowing Evil Spirit Domination worked up to level 430, he needed countermeasures.
It was fine in the host-scarce Spirit Realm, but he should prepare for facing them amid hordes of other beings.
But for now, focus on the battle at hand.
Drawing his battle axe, he stealthily dashed toward the inner keep.
“The Magic Corps and Sword-Magic Corps—annihilate them!”
Soon after, the one in charge of this city appeared.
Magic Corps and Sword-Magic Corps. In simple terms, battalions of mages and magic swordsmen, unleashed upon the city to purge the invading ghosts.
With him, the defensively focused phantoms gained breathing room. Emboldened, they shifted from defense to offense.
His orders meant they could fight all-out, city damage be damned.
Kieek!
In moments, possessed phantoms were being cut down.
The ghosts mixed mental attacks with the phantoms’ innate abilities to resist, but they were overwhelmingly outnumbered.
Even if one fell to confusion, another instantly filled the gap and charged, so most lost their hosts without mounting proper resistance.
Likely because most phantoms here were spell-focused.
Relying on magic made them vulnerable to sword-magic phantom types.
“Urk! Reinforcements here!”
“The firepower’s too much. Call the Magic Corps!”
But it wasn’t entirely one-sided. Realizing their disadvantage, the ghosts began clustering together.
By choking chokepoints and concentrating fire, they made approach impossible without taking losses.
The possessed phantoms were city elites, after all—their destructive power was no joke.
Of course, it was per Rokan’s strategy.
“Out of the way! I’m coming!”
Then, he stepped forward. The city’s overseer.
[Phantom Swordmaster Gordun][Lv 447]
Higher level than Lodrus. Nearing Majesty Master.
But levels weren’t everything.
“Gale Incarnation, Full Body Peerless, Blood Awakening, Martial Soul Awakening!”
This time, the Heavenly God’s power awakened. The Demon God’s Tooth Belt’s Martial Soul needed more rest time.
But in some ways, it was better. Potent divinity dwelled in Rokan’s body, boosting abilities and resistances alike.
“Ah!”
The phantoms’ hasty spells and weapons for cover bounced off harmlessly.
Blocked by Rokan’s divinity, Gordun, who had poured immense energy into his sword, flinched and twisted away in surprise.
“Too late, punk.”
Slaughter Strike severed his arm.
Clang.
Gordun’s desperate dodge meant it was his left arm instead of the right, but it sufficed. If Rokan meant to end it in one blow, he would have used Ultimate.
But his goal wasn’t just killing Gordun or destroying the city.
Long-term, he needed more experience.
Clashing with true powerhouses over level 400 to hone his skills would help far more.
That was why he used Slaughter Strike over Ultimate.
Sure, lopping off an arm made it unfair, but so what? They would try overwhelming him with numbers anyway.
In a one-on-one, he would fight fair, but that wasn’t happening, so he needed his edge too.
“Who the hell are you!”
Gordun retreated, dangling his severed arm, bellowing.
As if Rokan would reveal himself like some courteous villain.
“Think knowing that’ll give you pocket change for the afterlife? Tell the King of Hell yourself—it won’t mean much. I’ve killed plenty.”
“Grit! Did you destroy the other city too?”
No learning curve? Or did he expect an answer?
Despite Rokan showing zero intent to reply, Gordun doggedly pressed, apparently curious if he was behind yesterday’s vanished city.
“Take another hit, and maybe I’ll tell you.”
Rokan charged at the time-waster who fought only with words.