Last Chance

Isabel wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. A soft glow of healing magic gathered in her hand and slowly treated the severe injury to her abdomen.

At the same time, her gaze remained fixed on the hulking figure that was toppling houses one step at a time as it marched toward the academy.

The healing light in her hand faded. A faint trace of color returned to Isabel's pale, pretty face, and the internal bleeding caused by the heavy blow that had damaged her organs was slightly contained.

Meanwhile, the wound on the hulking figure's back, where Isabel had carved away a chunk of flesh, was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The arm she had nearly severed was also rapidly recovering.

After steadying her injuries, Isabel did not charge at the hulking figure again. In terms of strength and defense, it was now a Platinum Rank super expert. Trying to fight it head-on would be courting death.

Moreover, although she could still move, it was already impossible for her to gather all her Battle Aura and fight at full strength.

Seeing that the hulking figure had not come after her, the enemy who had injured it, but was instead heading toward the academy, Isabel guessed that this monster was being controlled by someone.

Perhaps the one pulling the strings was the alchemist responsible for this crisis. He might have sent the monster toward the academy to probe the academy's true capabilities.

Every house along its path was being destroyed, and there were still many residents inside. Isabel also had to get those people out of their homes to avoid even greater casualties.

Hidden in the shadows, the alchemist watched Isabel get blasted away by the hulking figure with ease and sneered coldly.

"The Titan Bloodline truly is formidable. If this race were not so dull-witted that they could only be reduced to slaves of the Mountain Spirits, perhaps it would not be the Human race ruling the continent today."

Then the alchemist's gaze shifted toward the darkness of a nearby alley, where Coles stood with clenched fists, watching everything that had just happened.

The hulking figure that had always stayed by his side had now turned into a powerful monster, one that even Isabel could do nothing against.

The hulking figure's strength had appeared in his mind many times before, but never like this.

In his imagination, the hulking figure's strength was something he could control, and it was not a monster that knew only slaughter.

He and his hulking figure were supposed to become honored guests of counts and even kings through their immense strength. The William Family, too, would rise to its peak in his hands.

Yet now, all of it had become a dream bubble. The hulking figure had become a monster, while he remained just as weak and helpless as ever.

When true danger came, he had no solution at all.

The alchemist's eyes seemed to possess magic, able to pierce through layer upon layer of obstacles and see into Coles's heart. When he saw the guilt, helplessness, and fury within him, the alchemist truly felt the urge to abandon this plan and simply take him away from here.

This was the most gifted alchemy genius he had seen in all his years. Even the so-called geniuses from those alchemist gatherings were worthless before him.

Truly, his talent made the alchemist consider giving up on seizing the divine artifact.

At this moment, in the academy plaza, the stored Magic Crystals had been divided into several portions and placed at the energy-absorption points. Their numbers were piled into small hills.

But despite the sheer number of Magic Crystals here, once the Magic Array began operating, they would still be nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

The lower-grade little ones were all sitting on the ground, panting from exhaustion. After all, they had carried these Magic Crystals out of the warehouse bit by bit.

At the center of the plaza, Chen Cheng and Professor Pempes finally carved the last Magic Rune.

In an instant, the engraved patterns on every magical device arranged throughout the plaza lit up together. Then the entire academy plaza did the same.

The Magic Crystals piled into hills at their designated locations began melting away at an unimaginable speed, their enormous magical energy completely absorbed by the array patterns on the ground.

This was a grand magical spectacle the little ones had never seen before. An immensely thick beam of magic shot out from the plaza, shattering Pembez's concealment measures and soaring straight into the sky.

Then, like a colossal pillar holding up the heavens, the magical beam began spreading across the sky. An enormous magic shield appeared overhead and descended to envelop all of Hui Dun City.

The next moment, Hui Dun City looked as though it had been covered by a great bowl. The Undead Skeletons endlessly attacking from outside the city were stopped in their tracks.

The soldiers fighting relentlessly atop the walls, along with Wisdom Shield and the others, all burst into cheers at the sight.

The commotion within the academy also alarmed both the city and its surroundings. The alchemist hiding in the shadows, who had thought everything was foolproof, saw this and his expression changed.

He had traveled across many parts of the continent and was naturally well-informed. From the surging magical energy alone, like a pillar holding up the heavens, he could tell that this defensive shield was at least Platinum Rank. And this was a large-scale defensive Magic Array.

"How is this possible? How could a tiny Kingdom of Como possess such a powerful defensive Magic Array?"

Watching it all, the alchemist roared inwardly, nearly hysterical.

He had completely lost his earlier calm composure. Even if he wanted to flee now, he could not. The entire Hui Dun City had been wrapped within this defensive barrier.

On the city walls, Jamir repelled another wave of the undead army's assault, then turned to look into the city behind him.

His face filled with shock, and he finally understood why the academy's instructors and senior students had arrived so late.

"Old man, I never expected you to have such a trump card. It seems the Church underestimated you."

Jamir withdrew his gaze. He knew that this crisis had passed, and that his contest with Adolf and Wisdom Shield would have to wait until after it was over.

When they saw the magical beam shooting into the sky, Wisdom Shield and the others atop the city walls knew that the previous plan had truly succeeded. The nightmare of city walls falling and people dying that had haunted Wisdom Shield's heart was finally about to end.

When the shield covering the entire city truly descended and blocked the charging undead outside, everyone let out earth-shaking cheers.

Yet beneath those cheers, Huidun Academy was plunging into a grave crisis.

The instructors and senior students had all been sent by Pembez to defend the city walls. Now, aside from Pembez himself, the academy had only Chen Cheng and the other junior students left.

The overwhelming majority of them had not even managed to inscribe the most basic Magic Runes. It could be said that the academy was now at its weakest.

The increasingly crazed alchemist also knew that this was his final chance. Whether he wanted to obtain the divine sword or escape, he had to destroy the array core within the academy.

All the walking corpses scattered throughout the city were summoned by him to charge toward the academy. Together with the hulking figure's body, which had temporarily reached Platinum Rank combat power by consuming life force, he was making his final gamble.

Just as everyone in the academy thought the crisis was over, the appearance of the swarming walking corpses shattered their relaxed hearts.

Especially when the hulking figure's giant body appeared, Pembez knew the battle was not over yet.

The old professor flashed forward and arrived before the hulking figure. He could not allow it to charge into the academy. Otherwise, the Magic Array, balanced in an extremely fragile equilibrium, might collapse from an imbalance of power.

The charging walking corpses frightened the little ones until their faces turned pale. At that moment, Chen Cheng called out.

"Students who have already inscribed basic magic, step forward! We must work together to defend the academy gates!"

Chen Cheng aimed at a walking corpse rushing at the front. He activated the basic Small Fireball Spell within his body, and with his chant, a small fireball shot toward the walking corpse.

Seeing this, Fini shouted at the students who were still standing there in a daze.

"Stop standing around like fools! Didn't you hear Brown? Those who have inscribed basic magic, get up there first! And you from the warrior division—when we can't hold them any longer, remember to draw your swords and hold the line.

"Believe that Headmaster Adolf and the others will return soon."

Fini's words jolted the stunned little ones awake. Then those who had already inscribed basic magic gathered their courage and launched attacks at the approaching living corpses.

Though these walking corpses looked terrifying, once the small fireballs struck and ignited their clothes, they could still be burned to death by the flames.

The students who, like Chen Cheng, had inscribed basic fire magic followed his lead and began attacking the walking corpses at the front.

The magic of students with other attributes might not have possessed much offensive power, but they still did an excellent job of slowing the walking corpses' advance.

Meanwhile, Fini used her Wind Magic to condense arrow after arrow of wind, then fired them straight at the walking corpses' heads.

Every arrow she fired could pierce through a walking corpse's skull. Once their heads were penetrated, those living corpses fell to the ground and could not rise again.

Yet beneath this seemingly favorable situation, Chen Cheng knew that magic apprentices like them could not hold out for long.

And the true situation was exactly as Chen Cheng had expected. After killing only a few walking corpses, several little ones had already exhausted their magic power. Without Magic Runes inscribed within their bodies to store magic power, they simply could not cast magic for long.

By now, only Chen Cheng and a few others whose spiritual power was stronger than that of the other students could still use magic, forcefully connecting to the magic power of the outside world with their spiritual power to keep going.

Chen Cheng had no good solution either. Since he had needed to sort through the shattered Magic Runes in his body before, he had never inscribed any magic-storage runes.

Even if he could still cast one Super-class Magic now, it would be futile against the endlessly surging walking corpses outside.