Age doesn't matter.
Seraphina's tone was full of confidence:
"Only the weak need to accumulate strength over the years to become stronger, and battles between High Tier are not just about rank and level, but also about Authority and ability."
"Is your Authority more powerful?"
Upon hearing Ed's question, Seraphina revealed an almost flamboyant smile:
" The Red Dragon's flames are the hottest fire in the world."
Is this an objective fact or her subjective perception?
Ed didn't ask any more questions. Having spent so much time with Seraphina, he already had a very good understanding of the dragon.
Furthermore, Willow's notes contained extensive records of the racial characteristics of intelligent beings, from which he also learned some aspects related to dragons. Therefore, Ed knew one fact—
A dragon's most powerful weapon is not fire or claws, but pure confidence and arrogance.
The confidence and arrogance ingrained in their genes make them go all out in every battle, so every living dragon has never been defeated. The only defeat in their dragon lives is when they are killed.
Ed nodded silently, then added:
"Based on my deduction, that demon most likely won't fight you with its full strength; that's not its goal. But if you absolutely must fight, remember not to destroy my Valhalla."
"Okay, I'll try my best."
Go and prepare.
Seraphina disappeared behind Ed, leaving him alone at the castle gate.
He glanced at Marba, who was steadily approaching the steps, and gave a slight snort with a smile:
"You like playing dumb? Then go eat the feed."
A ghostly blue light flickered in his single eye, and Ed conjured a phantom card in his hand. This card was not real; it was merely a remnant of some childish memories from Ed's past life.
Just as analyzing Seraphina's genes allowed one to wield a portion of the Red Dragon's power, the lich's figure slowly emerged on the illusory card.
In Ed's mind, Little Green, equally engrossed in the role, became the narrator:
"[ Ed Adrian - Lich Warlock]."
The moment Ed used Willow's power, Ed felt his body growing cold, his skin turning pale, and a large amount of Psionic Energy swirling within him.
Unlike Blood Corpse, this doesn't mean Ed is rushing headlong towards death; rather, it means he's gradually transforming into pure Psionic Energy, which is the very essence of a lich.
His Psionic Energy vision automatically activated, with an effect far superior to that of normal use.
Is this the world as Willow sees it?
Ed was astonished as he looked at the radiant humanoid figures nearby and the countless chaotic darkness in the distance.
No wonder that lich usually doesn't like to activate his Psionic Energy vision; it turns out that in the eyes of a true lich, this world, completely polluted by Psionic Energy, is no different from a junkyard.
Thinking of this, Ed suddenly felt a pang of emotion. The Demonic Tide was far too hostile to the lich race. Their excessively high Psionic Energy Compatibility meant that even if they survived the Demonic Tide, they would still have to face such a world.
To place liches in a world corrupted by Demonic Tide is like placing a human in a world made entirely of garbage—a world of decay and pollution, where everything is rotten and polluted...
It's truly remarkable that Willow hasn't developed any mental issues, but that's most likely because she never witnessed the good times before the Demonic Tide...
As the original emerald Little Green gradually turned a pale blue and ethereal, Ed could feel his Psionic Energy Compatibility attribute soaring without even opening the panel...
A Holy Crusaders officer below had already stepped onto the remaining stone steps on the ground, and was about to break through the barrier of the chaotic gravity field to reach Ed.
He slowly extended his right hand, his five fingers slowly but firmly closing together.
Countless fragments of the ancient castle moved toward the largest, first-level main structure as he moved, and the speed was constantly increasing.
"Bang!"
A Shattered brick struck a hole in the first-floor wall, its texture fitting perfectly with a crack in the wall.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The dull thuds continued, starting with the smallest, fist-sized pieces, then the medium-sized fragments like broken walls, and finally the large pieces that contained several rooms.
The sound started softly and then grew louder. In just a few seconds, the castle that Shattered for half a year in the players' eyes was reassembled into a complete building in the air.
Marba sensed the unfamiliar Psionic Energy fluctuations, his eyes gleaming with excitement:
Such precise manipulation, on such a large scale, yet it produced only such a tiny fluctuation!
Such exquisite Psionic Energy, almost like a work of art, could it really be...?
To his and all the Holy Crusaders ' astonishment, the castle began its descent from the sky, its target being the castle's foundation directly beneath the main structure.
At this moment, everyone realized that this thing would definitely fall onto the foundation, because the castle was not complete at this time, and the foundation with steps was the last and largest piece of the castle fragment.
The shockwave swept through the snow surrounding the castle's foundation, blowing away all the snow accumulated since the beginning of winter and revealing the withered grass and shrubs below.
A castle, almost half the size of the Fir City Cathedral, appeared before everyone, and everything seemed so reasonable, as if the building had stood there for hundreds or thousands of years.
The first Holy Crusaders to step onto the steps took the lead, striding up the stone steps and reaching the wide-open gate of the ancient castle in just two strides.
He leaped into it, his left and right hands simultaneously beginning their Directed Alienation.
In the dark hall of the ancient castle, the Holy Crusaders officer saw a pair of blue eyes.
"This is the goal," he thought to himself, then raised his left arm, aimed ahead, and pulled his finger.
The crackling sounds of impact echoed in the empty hall, but the expected muffled thud of flesh breaking did not come.
The bullet seemed to have hit something metallic rather than a human, and the next moment he saw a pair of blue eyes rapidly approaching him.
The officer realized something was wrong, because those eyes were getting bigger and bigger, far exceeding the size of ordinary human eyes.
Bathed in moonlight, he saw the owner of those eyes just before he was knocked away—
An alchemical golem covered in Psionic Energy runes.
"Bang!"
A heavy punch landed on the officer's chest, sending him flying backward, spitting blood.
This scene astonished the remaining Holy Crusaders outside. They had already lost all their squad leaders in the previous chase and in the bizarre, Aberration plant breeding ground, and now, their leading company commander had been so easily knocked away... Did they really still have a chance of winning?
Everyone's gaze followed the platoon leader who had been knocked away, and soon they saw him fall into the crowd and be chopped into mincemeat by the Soul Returner.
They dared not look any longer and turned their gazes forward. A colossal alchemical golem, almost perfectly aligned with the castle gate, strode out, and on its shoulder stood a boy with only one eye.
He looked down at the enemy below and shouted:
" Soul Returner, launch the attack!"