Intermediate-Level Raging Waves, Total Annihilation! / A Scam? Embezzling What You're Supposed to Guard!

After Lu Jun could cast Metal Element Intermediate Level Magic, he realized that Artifact Control was not easy to manage. Controlling the shifting gravity, judging how far the Golden Radiance spread, and fighting in three dimensions across land, sea, and sky all required tremendous mental focus and spatial imagination.

Otherwise, not only would he fail to bring its power to bear, but he might also injure his allies.

Moreover, although Artifact Control made up for the Metal Element's weakness in close combat, its range depended on one's Spiritual Realm. The higher one's realm, the greater the range.

Fortunately, Lu Jun's Intermediate Level awakening of Mind Magic had solved both problems nicely. It also helped improve his mental cultivation. With the range granted by his current First Realm, he was more than capable of sweeping through Intermediate Mages.

If the Metal Element really became widespread, he would still be one of its most outstanding users. He had trained for a long time to get here.

The more he killed, the more grateful Lu Jun felt for the powerful support and mysterious qualities of the Mind Element. They boosted his other three Elements: Water, Metal, and Curse.

At last, his flying sword dancing through the city and its exaggerated Heavy Sword form had made him impossible to miss. He had even slain Demon Beasts before the eyes of fleeing crowds, showing off his prowess. Not even the rainy night could hide him; everyone had witnessed it.

"Look! Who's that person on top of the high-rise? Is he a mage?"

Beneath the Safe Zone's Light Screen, the people who had made it to safety were counting their blessings. Suddenly, a little girl shouted excitedly and pointed toward the building. "He's so cool! Is he the one killing the Black Vatican's Demon Beasts?"

Everyone looked up at the hazy figure atop the building. Even through the rain and darkness, the blue Water Windbreaker stood out and drew every eye.

The three-foot Platinum Sword Light that had roared through the city seemed to be the mysterious powerhouse's Magic Tool.

Someone shouted in support, "That's what I'm talking about! Give those bastards hell! Those damn, antisocial idiots!"

"Now that's a real man!" an experienced mage exclaimed enviously. "That Magic Tool must be extremely high-grade."

Amid the vast crowd, Mo Jiaxing pushed Ye Xin Xia's wheelchair as they gazed upward. Zhang Xiaohou stood beside He Yu, their fingers interlocked as they stared at the building, its silver-white sword jutting into the night sky.

Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, and the others were there too. The people who had been panicking over the sudden blood-red alert began to relax at the sight of this imposing display.

This time, Zhang Xiaohou hadn't been inspired by Zhan Kong's solitary stand against the Commander-level Winged Azure Wolf. But Lu Jun's disdainful gaze toward the heavens as he judged the Black Vatican had captivated him just as much.

He Yu had survived, and the love and sense of responsibility she had shown during the disaster were no less powerful than the desire for revenge.

Zhang Xiaohou squeezed He Yu's hand and looked down at her with determination. "He Yu, I want to be like that powerhouse and protect people from harm... I want to enlist."

He understood that he was only an Elementary Level 2 Mage, even though he was about to graduate high school. Even if he got into a university, he wouldn't be given much attention. Enlisting was one way forward.

"I understand," He Yu said gently. "And I want to hold up my half of the sky too, to become an independent, powerful female mage. I'll go with you."

"Quick, quick!" Many people eagerly pulled out their phones. "Take a video and post it online! He's so cool, slaughtering those Black Vatican bastards!"

Those people didn't seem to have any sense of urgency or gravity. If Lu Jun had been there, he would have felt relieved. Compared with the Original Timeline, when the entire city had been draped in mourning and families had been destroyed, leaving nothing but sorrow, this was a far better sight.

Wasn't this the greatest affirmation of humanity's guardians? The mages had kept every disaster at bay.

Suffering didn't make people grow. What mattered was what they experienced.

It was simply a matter of transferring the smiles from one group of faces to another.

Bo City was all smiles, while the Black Vatican was in misery.

Rumble!

On a certain street, a giant Heavy Sword, three yards long, plowed through the area like a tractor, carving out a deep trench with brutal force. When the trembling sword lifted, the trench was filled with corpses, like a slaughterhouse.

Two Black Vatican Members in black robes cowered beneath the broken walls of some ruins, trembling. They had barely dodged the sword and nearly died.

Seeing this, Yu Ang was still shaken. He gasped for breath and asked, "Are you still planning to take the Earth Sacred Spring?"

Beside him, Bai Yang, his fellow sufferer, looked grim. "Let's wait and see. If we can't take it by force, I'll use my military status to take it by trickery."

"Good luck with that." Yu Ang was already terrified. "That person might not recognize me. I'm counting on you."

Buzz, buzz, buzz~

A moment later, Lu Jun raised his hand atop the building. A white streak flashed under the night sky, like a rainbow piercing the sun. A three-foot Platinum Sword Light shot back through the air and hovered around him. A murderous aura gathered around it, like a white wyrm lying in wait, ready to strike at any moment.

He looked down and murmured, "That should do it. I'd better conserve some magic energy."

At least a hundred Black Beast Demons had died by his sword. Blood stained the streets, and Tang Yue, Lu Mei, and Lin Yuxin had all been freed from danger. At his instruction, they had turned around and headed for the Outpost border.

The Civilian Mages in the Safe Zone had also been mobilized by the authorities, streaming toward the front lines as reinforcements.

Once Bo City responded, the Demon Wolves would be facing a tightly clenched iron fist.

There were still plenty of Black Beast Demons running amok in the city. They had endured the sword net's pursuit and paid a bloody price to reach the foot of Yin Mao Building.

At this distance, using Metal Element ranged attacks wasn't worth it for Lu Jun. His Metal Element Nebula had at most twenty percent of its magic energy left. Melee Combat used less energy, and its strength was no worse than ranged combat.

There was no helping it. Intermediate Level Artifact Control could remain active after being cast, but it consumed a great deal of energy.

Storm Wave at the Intermediate Level, a total wipeout!

Captain Liang had returned to the roof of the building. Panting, he said, "We're in trouble. I opened the basement, and Black Beast Demons got inside. I had no choice but to run back into the building."

"We'll hold this position for now and wait for the mages we sent out to return as reinforcements..."

He hadn't finished speaking when he spotted Lu Jun by the antenna above, controlling a Platinum Sword Light Magic Tool as it slaughtered the last of the enemies. He rushed to the railing and looked down at the corpses scattered everywhere, his eyes wide with shock.

Captain Liang drew in a sharp breath. "Did you really just graduate high school?"

Beside him stood a dumbfounded Mo Fan. He had been suppressing the urge to consume the Earth Sacred Spring, planning to cultivate obediently. But before even a few hours had passed, someone had dragged him up and told him about the blood-red disaster in Bo City.

After seeing Lu Jun and learning what had happened, Mo Fan swallowed and gave him a strange look. "Old Lu, you kept this hidden for so long, and now you're a damn Intermediate Mage?"

Outsiders looked at the Magic Tool; insiders looked at the magic energy.

Magic Tools that could be used for a long time weren't unheard of. For example, Guan Yu, a future member of Mo Fan's national team in the Original Timeline, had a set of claws. Mo Fan's Black Dragon armor counted too.

But greater power meant greater magic energy consumption.

No one could sustain that without an Intermediate Level Nebula.

"What do we do now?" Captain Liang asked worriedly. "Can your magic energy hold out?"

Just then, the building shuddered faintly. More than a hundred Black Beast Demons crashed against its walls below, piling together like a mass of dark, surging water. Several Black Robe Cultists followed behind them.

"We'll kill every last one of them."

Lu Jun's expression didn't change. Black Beast Demons were the Black Vatican's signature form of evil magic, made by refining humans. They were the product of Mind Magic and Curse Magic, and their strength was only average among Servant-level creatures—slightly better than a Giant Eyed Rat Demon. But there were so many of them, and they had a degree of intelligence and the ability to work together.

Captain Liang's mouth twitched. A hundred of them would make even several Intermediate Mages flinch. Remembering the reinforcements, he hurriedly asked, "By the way, where are Vice Captain Lin and the others?"

"They left." Lu Jun calmly wiped the blood from his Dark Gold Longsword. "I told them not to worry about this."

At those words, the world seemed to spin around Captain Liang. He was nearly at a loss for words.

"They're coming up." Lu Jun noticed the gaunt, terrifying shadows scampering along the building's exterior, leaping across the eaves as they surged up the silver-white tower like a black tide.

Truthfully, Lu Jun really disliked Black Beast Demons. They were humans transformed into monsters, produced no Spirit Essence, and didn't even leave behind a Remnant Soul. They were cursed creatures.

No matter how many he killed, it was a losing proposition. Over the past two and a half years of hunting Demon Beasts, he had gathered only six Servant-level Spirit Essences in total. Six of the stars in his Metal Element Nebula had been strengthened. He needed just one more to obtain Metal Element Elementary Level 4 Magic!

Right now, Lu Jun was eager to go out and kill Demon Wolves. He had no time to fool around with these minor creatures.

Splash!

Captain Liang was about to speak when he stared in shock as Lu Jun cast a spell. Brilliant azure light burst from him, illuminating half the sky above the high-rises. Wave after wave of mighty water vapor rolled outward.

Lu Jun's eyes shone azure as an azure Star Chart unfolded beneath his feet, conjuring the scene of a flood sweeping everything away. He had broken through to the Intermediate Level half a year ago, and his Level One Storm Wave was already well practiced.

After a single breath, the immense energy within Lu Jun had finished building. He punched forward, and the pouring rain gathered around him in a spiraling torrent. The vortex formed by Water Shield · Cycle surged, then came crashing down.

Tide · Storm Wave · Drive Them Back!

Rumble! Under Mo Fan and Captain Liang's stunned gazes, Lu Jun unleashed a surging azure river, ten yards wide—more than thirty meters across. It rushed down with overwhelming force.

An ordinary Storm Wave might have been only ten meters wide. Its area of effect was much greater than that of Intermediate Fire Element magic, but it was nowhere near as powerful as Lu Jun's Tidal Spirit Seed, which tripled its strength.

From afar, the azure tide seemed to cover one side of the hundred-meter-tall silver-white building inch by inch, sweeping down like a mighty waterfall. It plunged three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way had fallen from heaven!

Thump, thump, thump! The Black Beast Demons scrambling up the building crashed into the torrent. A string of dull, meaty impacts rang out as the heavy Storm Wave's kinetic force crushed their bodies on contact.

Boom! Boom!

The waterfall then swept more than twenty Black Beast Demons down the hundred-meter building and slammed them into the ground. They were crushed into pulp. Blossoms of blood burst across the pavement, spreading into countless branching streams. The water changed from azure to dark red—a horrifying sight.

The remaining eighty or so Demon Beasts were startled and scattered, trying to attack Yin Mao Building from other directions.

But Captain Liang had already sealed the entrances on each floor. Breaking through would take time, and Lu Jun wasn't about to give them the chance.

He drew a deep breath, then cried out with a voice that seemed to hold divine authority, "Storm Wave!"

The water-element magic power that had begun to dissipate around Lu Jun gathered again. Specks of black-red light rose from the azure river below, the magic energy of the Black Beast Demons.

The next Intermediate Level Storm Wave was stronger still.

Rumble!

When Lu Jun unleashed another surging river, it gleamed a deep, dark blue. Profound and mighty, the thirty-nine-meter-wide waterfall churned with tremendous force. It struck the ground and sent waves surging dozens of meters into the air, making the building tremble faintly.

Splurt. Just as expected, more than thirty Black Beast Demons still on the ground were crushed to death.

"Storm Wave!"

One of Lu Jun's eyes turned black and the other white. With a powerful mental command, he took control of the newly surging magic energy. His aura was demonic, his figure imposing, and the sea and sunset light illuminated half the sky behind him.

The third Storm Wave burst forth. A vast river, forty-six meters wide, swallowed three floors. Joining the two waves that hadn't yet dissipated, it swept the last fifty-odd Black Beast Demons eight hundred meters away. Floodwater covered the streets in every direction.

Seen from above, this part of Bo City looked like a disaster movie: the flood had swallowed everything. The first three rows of small buildings had been flattened. There was no doubt that every Black Beast Demon had died, crushed by kinetic force, torn apart by swirling currents, or drowned.

Only then did Lu Jun slowly withdraw his power. The azure light around him dimmed, and even the nearby water element was drained away. The dark cloud above dispersed, leaving the strange sight of rain falling everywhere except around Yin Mao Building.

The heavy rain Wu Ku had created was perfect for a Water Element mage to show off. Lu Jun's power had been several times greater than usual. He couldn't even imagine how powerful a Water Element mage would be in the open sea.

"This, this... That was at least the peak of Intermediate Level Water Element magic, wasn't it? What kind of Spirit Seed is that?"

Captain Liang stammered. Then he suddenly realized what it meant and exclaimed, "You have two Intermediate Elements?!"

The other man had clearly used up a Nebula controlling that powerful Magic Tool. Now that he had unleashed such power with his Water Element, he must have at least two Nebulae. Was this really a high school student?

Lu Jun replied casually, "Of course. My Water and Curse Elements are Intermediate."

That was a lie. In his Spiritual World, the platinum-white and azure Nebulae occupied the center, each with its own distinctive character—one like a heavenly sword, the other a vortex. Tiny black-red and transparent Star Clouds were squeezed along the edges.

The Metal Element was the one that had reached the Intermediate Level, but Lu Jun wasn't going to say that.

Mo Fan's mouth twitched. With Lu Jun's powerful "Magic Tool" on top of everything he had just seen, he was falling further behind. He had worked hard for more than a year, yet the gap hadn't narrowed. It had only grown.

Foolproof trickery? A thief guarding his own loot!

Without paying the two of them any mind, Lu Jun carefully savored the Water Element spell he had just cast. He had to admit that large-scale attacks were incredibly useful. He had killed over a hundred Servant-level Demon Beasts in one go. Even a mage at the peak of the Intermediate Level couldn't pull off something so outrageous.

The Tidal Spirit Seed's special effect probably wouldn't be so powerful for an ordinary Water Element mage. By the third Storm Wave, he had already felt it slipping out of his control and had needed to use his mental focus. It suited him perfectly; only in his hands could Tide have such power.

Captain Liang had been left reeling by one shock after another, and he remained speechless for a long time.

The two Black Vatican Members hiding in a remote part of Bo City below also swallowed nervously. Bai Yang hesitated. "We really can't take it by force. I'll try to get it through trickery."

He straightened his clothes and regained the upright, righteous air of a soldier. Riding his Summoned Beast, the Ghost Wolf Beast, he leaped forward and charged across the water toward the building. As he ran, he shouted, "Is Captain Liang there? I was sent by Military Governor Zhan Kong. How's the Earth Sacred Spring?"

The three people upstairs froze and looked down. Their expressions differed: Captain Liang breathed a sigh of relief, Mo Fan frowned, and Lu Jun gave the newcomer an amused smile.

A moment later, the two sides met on the rooftop.

Bai Yang was panting, but his expression was solemn. He gave a military salute. "I'm under Bo City's Military Governor, Zhan Kong. He sent me to retrieve the Earth Sacred Spring and have the military protect it, so the Black Vatican can't take it."

Captain Liang was delighted. "Great! With the military stepping in, it'll be safe. How are things outside the city now?"

Mo Fan sensed that something was off. He hesitated, unsure whether to speak.

"Hold on." Lu Jun immediately stopped them. "I have a question."

Bai Yang's heart jumped. He had a bad feeling, but kept a stern frown. "What else is there to ask?"

Lu Jun scoffed. "First, why are you coming here to claim credit after we've already cleared out the Black Vatican? Second, I suspect your identity."

"Comrade, what kind of thing is that to say?" Bai Yang protested heatedly. "How can you suspect that there are bad people in the Defense Department?"

Captain Liang tried to smooth things over, but Lu Jun acted first. He combined Mind Magic with Curse Element magic, which he hadn't used much so far. His normally clear black-and-white eyes gleamed; his left eye turned pitch black, while his right turned pale white.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

He used the Elementary Level Mind Impact and Elementary Level Fearful Haze at the same time.

A powerful mental force burst from his eyes, carrying a cold, ominous aura. It struck Bai Yang directly. First, transparent ripples broke through the defenses of Bai Yang's Mind Lake. Then a Level Three nightmare took shape, shrouding his mind in a haze.

Bai Yang froze in place, his face filled with panic. No one knew what he was dreaming of, but his eyes reflected black and white.

Captain Liang was shocked. "What are you doing? Attacking the military?"