Chapter 769: Section 557: Disappearance
"What on earth are you all doing? Haven’t you eaten?" Yijiu shouted angrily at the other duelists.
He was very annoyed.
He had originally thought that upon falling into the Divine Country, Honey Snow Tower would become an easy target to slaughter. Little did he expect Shuanglian to bring out a Legendary item, causing even Mei Lin to admit her mistake.
This made Yijiu, brimming with a desire for revenge, unable to vent his anger. The more he fought, the more suffocated he felt.
Previously, within the Half-plane, he had been manipulated by Shuanglian and Bu Quan from afar using Magic Arrays, to the point where he was bullied till he spat blood. Now inside the Divine Country, he still couldn’t breach the defenses of the Mage Tower, and he had been beaten up many times.
The Devil huffed coldly, "Out of everyone here, you’re the only one without reservations. Go on then, use all your strength, and break into the Mage Tower. Then, we can break through its defenses."
Yijiu sneered, "You think I’m going to be the vanguard for you to reap the benefits?"
Yijiu himself was injured. Although he had taken healing potions, his combat strength was only 80% of its peak.
He was confident he could infiltrate the Alchemy Workshop, but he had no faith in breaching the inner parts of the Mage Tower.
The most crucial point was that, even if he did get in, it would be very dangerous for him. Was there really no defensive force inside the Mage Tower? Obviously, that was impossible.
If Yijiu were to do this, he would bear the greatest risk personally. The key issue was the distribution of spoils; he would have a hard time getting an advantage and had no confidence in securing his deserved share.
Thus, even though Yijiu had already exposed his identity, he had not been fighting with all his might.
Even the increasingly fervent Rabbit-man "Qinghong Yan" was restraining himself, holding back his combativeness.
After all, he wasn’t alone; he had his own Rabbit-man tribe to consider.
Qinghong Yan had faced off against the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
But this time, backed by the Alchemy Guild, Shuanglian was a completely different concept from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
When Qinghong Yan wasn’t in a frenzy, he was still rational.
He didn’t want to bring significant trouble upon his tribespeople.
Honey Snow Tower.
In the control layer, Bu Quan exclaimed with joy, "Teacher, these Golden Levels are not so remarkable. They can’t break through the Mage Tower’s defenses."
"We are safe now!"
But Shuanglian shook her head, her face tinged with a faint worry, "They haven’t given their all."
Shuanglian’s eyes were much sharper and more accurate than Bu Quan’s.
Bu Quan was puzzled, "Why not?"
Shuanglian scoffed, "They fear exposing their identities."
"How many Golden Levels could there be?"
"In the entire Kingdom, there are only so many, and almost all Golden Levels are recorded."
"They secretly worship an Evil God, have established a secret organization, and even tried to exterminate me, an elder of the Alchemy Guild. They definitely dare not reveal their true identities."
"I can wield the King’s Tunneling Wand, capable of prying apart a portion of the Divine Country, and that terrifies them."
"Fearing that if I can send a message to reach the outside world, they will be hunted by the Kingdom!"
By this point in the battle, Shuanglian had also deduced the enemy’s thoughts.
Her gaze was fixed on one corner of the Magic Image, where Mei Lin stood.
Mei Lin had disguised her appearance, and the spells she used were common types, but Shuanglian always felt a familiar sensation regarding Mei Lin’s stature.
"I have definitely seen this Mage somewhere before!"
Of course, Shuanglian had.
Mei Lin’s popularity was high in the Kingdom; she was not only striking in appearance but also had strong influence and held a high position of power. Every time she appeared publicly, she would steal the spotlight and draw many gazes.
This is the world of the strong.
Each Golden Level was a star, and Mei Lin was a star among stars.
Bu Quan asked, "Then teacher, can we send out a distress signal to the outside world?"
Shuanglian sighed, "If it were possible, I would have done it long ago. Unfortunately, we can’t!"
"Ah!" Bu Quan was both shocked and disappointed.
Shuanglian quickly encouraged her, "No matter, once I use the Tunneling Wand and continue to pry apart the Divine Country to a certain extent, I believe we will be able to send out the signal."
Bu Quan eagerly said, "When will we be able to pry apart the Divine Country enough to send a distress signal, teacher?"
Shuanglian slightly shook her head: "The specific time is difficult to estimate..."
In fact, she didn’t have much confidence herself.
She had already made attempts, but the results of the practice were very dire.
"How can this unclaimed Divine Country be so hard to pry apart? We’ve already reached the limit!"
"Could there be something special about this Divine Country?"
Mei Lin was observing the Honey Snow Tower and Divine Country very closely.
"The late King’s Tunneling Wand was lacking in subsequent power; the fragment of the Divine Country it managed to pry open was not very large."
"Is this her intentionally holding back, or is it the limit of her abilities?"
"My lord is not complete, and yet His Divine Country is also special because of the presence of Anqiu!"
"It is very likely that until now, Shuanglian has not managed to successfully send a distress signal."
After observing to this extent, the anxiety Mei Lin held eased somewhat.
If this military operation turned around and exposed the secrets here, the responsibility on Mei Lin would be enormous!
"Is my tactic too aggressive? Should I be so intent on capturing Shuanglian and Bu Quan?"
"In fact, rescuing Yijiu and then withdrawing wouldn’t have led to the current situation!"
Mei Lin was still reflecting on her own actions.
As an excellent commander, reflection is essential.
There was a flaw in Mei Lin’s tactics, not that it was her mistake in command, but who could have imagined that Shuanglian, a Golden Level, could actually bring out a Legendary item?
And of all the Legendary items, it had to be the late King’s Tunneling Wand!
This item was the perfect counter to space and planes.
The Divine Country might be unique, but it was still subject to restrictions.
"Mei Lin, since you don’t allow us to use our true strength, we won’t possibly break through Shuanglian’s Mage Tower in a short time!" the Devil muscled his displeasure, "You’d better come up with a good plan now."
Mei Lin glanced at him quietly, her tone indifferent: "I have no better plan."
"We invoked Divine Grace for our prayers, and such attacks couldn’t breach the Mage Tower; even if we exert all our strength, there’s little hope."
"You can use your full strength, that, I merely strongly advise against it."
The Devil’s complexion changed, and he cursed under his breath, ultimately refraining from making another move.
His last gaze fixed upon the Mage Tower: "How pointless! If we can’t break through this turtle shell, then staying here is a waste of time."
"Mei Lin, you too are so disappointing."
"Notify me once you think of a method!"
After speaking, the Devil kneeled on the ground, offering a prayer.
Then, the space produced ripples visible to the naked eye.
When the ripples disappeared, so did the Devil himself.
He had left the Divine Country of Anqiu.
His departure quickly triggered a chain reaction.
"We’ve already won, Shuanglian cannot leave the Divine Country, and she must use a lever to maintain defense."
"Yes, I don’t believe she can last half a year."
"Once her reserves of Snow Honey are depleted, what might could the Mage Tower have?"
"Let’s leave it like this for now, it’s not yet time for the final angling."
The duelists left one after another.
"They’re gone, look quickly, Teacher," Bu Quan exclaimed with glee.
Shuanglian’s expression remained calm: "Whether or not the Mage Tower is impervious, the number of people is irrelevant. They’ll leave one or two behind to monitor us. Once our mana reserves can’t maintain the current defense, they will quickly gather, and even more enemies will surround and attack us."
Bu Quan’s face turned pale.
Shuanglian thought to herself: "Before that happens, we must find a way to save ourselves, or at the very least, manage to send out a distress signal."
"Too bad Da Dou wasn’t brought inside."
"Perhaps he could’ve found a way."
Main Plane.
Deserted Island.
Da Dou, frozen into an ice block, suddenly let out a low growl, his body erupting in hot flames.
The scorching flames blazed fiercely, quickly melting the ice encasing him.
Seconds later, he flailed his arms, breaking through the increasingly thin ice, gaining his freedom once again.
Boom.
His legs empowered by mana, he shattered the seawater, leaping up and eventually landing on the sandy beach.
He kneeled, gasping for air, the flames on his body surging with his breath.
At last, the flames receded, condensing into the Flame Totem on his body.
"What’s going on?"
"Why has Shuanglian suddenly stopped!?"
Da Dou looked around, confirming that Shuanglian had indeed left the place.
"Has something unexpected occurred?"
"Or does she have some other sinister scheme?"
Da Dou was at a loss for answers.
Because the duelists’ surprise attack had taken place within Shuanglian’s Half-plane—a place beyond Da Dou’s sight.
"That was a close call just now, but I still retained the power for one more strike."
"As long as she continued attacking me, letting the Flame Totem sense the danger, it would burst forth Divine Power. The Divine Power would help me break free from the frost seal."
"Shuanglian had me under control, yet she didn’t strike immediately. Had she sensed the Divine Power stored within the Totem??"
"No matter what, I haven’t been captured!"
"I haven’t lost the giant."
"It’s best to leave this place quickly!"
Having learned his lesson, Da Dou no longer skimped on his Tunneling Wand.
He immediately took it out and used it consecutively, exhausting all its charges.
Still, he didn’t linger.
Instead, using the Flame Totem, his body became a streak of fire, flying over the sea with extreme speed, continuing his strategic retreat.
One day later.
Snowbird Port, the dock.
"There’s still no news from Shuanglian..." Sanda paced the cabin, his face full of anxiety and worry.
He stopped by the porthole to look out.
How he wished to see the figure of the Mage Tower flying over from the horizon.
But there was nothing.
Sanda had repeated this action countless times.
"Not only is there no message, but we’ve also lost contact with the Honey Snow Tower!"
"Something must have happened."
"But how is that possible? That is a Mage Tower we’re talking about, a five-layer Mage Tower, with a Golden Level Mage like Shuanglian!!"
"Could they have encountered an enemy of Holy Domain Level?"
"Or has Shuanglian captured Da Dou, only to discover the Big Guy’s true potential? So she simply chose not to return?"
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