Failure, the Absolute End

Ailas retreated, and with a sharp whistle, four semi-transparent ghost wolves immediately emerged from the void, howling as they pounced on Li Lin. However, the halo floating in the void firmly blocked them from entering.

This is really tricky.

Watching the relaxed Li Lin, Ailas frowned. His bloodline endowed him with the talent of summoning, allowing Ailas to easily summon various animals to assist in his attacks. He was initially confident he could defeat his opponent single-handedly. However, after Li Lin easily deflected Ailas's magical weapons, he changed tactics, summoning various animals in an attempt to wear down Li Lin's strength. But this damned mage had clearly prepared numerous defensive spells, making it impossible for him to attack.

However, Ailas was still waiting for an opportunity. After all, he didn't want the duel to end so quickly. There was still no news from the Stone Tower, so he could just stall for time. Since the start of the battle, Li Lin hadn't cast any offensive spells. He had only focused on strengthening his defenses, resisting the attacks of the animals summoned by Ailas, and neutralizing targeted spells. Ailas, on the other hand, maintained his distance from Li Lin with his agile movements. He was confident that he could hold out until Li Lin ran out of spells, and even if Li Lin attacked, his magical equipment and two flaming longswords were not to be underestimated.

The battle appeared to be quite lively, with Ailas constantly summoning various beasts and launching attacks on Li Lin from different directions using various attack methods. Li Lin, on the other hand, behaved rather conventionally, doing almost nothing except casting spells to protect himself. The two Magic Missile he occasionally fired seemed more like a formality than a counterattack.

He must be a mage specializing in defensive magic.

Ailas stared at Li Lin, thinking to himself.

Only mages would be so afraid of death, but it's fortunate that they are; otherwise, defeating this man would probably have required considerable effort. Thinking this, Ailas revealed a cold smile.

In contrast to Ailas's indifference, the three archmages were filled with astonishment. They finally saw in Li Lin the form of arcane magic cast by Arcane Mage a thousand years ago—fluid, quiet, and the turbulent magical power in his hands was like a tranquil spring and stream, perfectly matching Li Lin's actions. It was as if, in this instant, Li Lin himself was magic, and magic had shaped his form. This was completely different from the magical application and manipulation techniques learned by mages today; it had reached the highest realm unattainable by mortals.

This is Arcane Mage.

At this moment, Li Lin was still leisurely protecting himself. After all, although Ailas possessed decent strength, unfortunately, he hadn't chosen to specialize in one area, but instead greedily studied both magic and martial arts. While the beasts he summoned were powerful, a simple low-level area- Banishment was enough to send them all back to their lairs. His current leisure was because he was communicating with Angela through a mental link. After all, in the plan, she and her sister were responsible for cleaning up the rebels in the Stone Tower. Now that even the most threatening Red Robe Mage was completely dead, there was no one left in the City of a Thousand Towers who could contend with the three old mages. For Angela and the others, this was a rare moment of leisure.

"Don't play for too long."

Li Lin lightly flicked his fingers, using twisted magical runes to banish the ice arrows shot by Ailas. At the same time, he spoke to Angela in his heart. Soon, he heard the little devil's clear, melodious laughter, like the sound of silver bells.

Clearly, the little guy was having a great time, indicating that things were progressing smoothly and were nearing their end. Therefore, Li Lin didn't intend to delay any longer. He silently chanted an incantation, then casually pointed forward. A bright magic circle instantly appeared in the center of the arena. The beasts summoned by Ailas immediately roared and then vanished again. Their connection with the caster had been severed, so Ailas could no longer maintain their presence in this space and could only return to where they originally came from.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Ailas was momentarily stunned. He had originally planned to summon a few more beasts, using their unique powers to weaken Li Lin's defenses once more. Because summoning magic is a very special spell, if Ailas wanted to summon even more powerful beasts, he would have to sacrifice the lower-level beasts he was currently summoning. However, his mastery of this spell was clearly not yet at the level to directly summon higher-level beasts. Therefore, he originally intended to use the beasts he had already summoned to reverse-control them, connecting them to higher-level beasts before sending them back to their original locations. The beasts, however, were completely destroyed by Li Lin's sudden attack. The beasts intended as sacrifices vanished under the influence of the Banishment, and his bargaining chips were instantly useless. Even more dangerous was the fact that his advanced summoning spell was already halfway through and couldn't be stopped. Although Ailas's own strength was far from sufficient to summon powerful beings, he had recently obtained a scroll from a traveling merchant and decided to use it now. Otherwise, the backlash from the spell would cause him to burst like an overinflated balloon.

With no other choice, Ailas gritted his teeth and finished chanting the incantation. Then he tore up the scroll he had always treasured and fled for his life without looking back. He only hoped that this would allow him to live a little longer and prayed that Li Lin would become that guy's first target.

The air in the hall suddenly became heavy, and everyone involuntarily held their breath, as if all the air around them had been sucked out. Except for a few powerful individuals, everyone else opened their mouths wide, trying to breathe in more oxygen. But in fact, the air in the entire arena was plentiful, and there was no danger of oxygen deficiency. It was merely a sign that some powerful being was about to manifest.

What happened?

The old mages stood up simultaneously, exchanging puzzled glances before warily surveying the empty arena before them, completely disregarding even Ailas, who was desperately trying to escape. Only Nia and Li Lin remained calm; Li Lin even leisurely observed the empty ground before him, flexing his fingers.

"It's been so long since I've seen my old friend."

He muttered to himself, then watched as a huge figure suddenly appeared in the arena.

As the most powerful beings in the Prime Material Plane, apart from Arcane Mage, only dragons can bear this title. Right now, the powerful and enormous red dragon has appeared and almost filled the entire arena. It roars angrily, and the huge sound waves it emits even cause the city to shake, and countless small pebbles begin to fall, creating a terrifying scene of the impending apocalypse.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the giant dragon, the crowd fell silent for a moment, as if everyone had forgotten how to speak. Then, a chaotic shouting erupted as everyone desperately tried to escape. However, the undisguised and enormous Dragon Fear's might completely paralyzed them to the ground. Everyone struggled to crawl backward, rolling their bodies. They shouted loudly, their teeth chattering, unable to utter a single word.

The three old mages were also taken aback by the scene before them, but before they could make a move, Nia reached out to stop them.

"Humble human beings!! Who is calling upon my service?!"

The enormous red dragon slammed its fist on the ground, and the earth immediately began to tremble.

"You're still the same old you, so violent."

Li Lin took a step back, dodging a piece of gravel that nearly hit him on the head.

"I remember Xiamier telling you many times before that you should learn to eat vegetarian food..."

Who is it?!

Although Li Lin's voice wasn't loud, he was speaking in dragon language. Therefore, after hearing Li Lin speak, the red dragon narrowed its eyes and looked at Li Lin in front of it.

"Humans?"

Its snake-like eyes narrowed.

I don't know you, human.

"How heartless."

Li Lin frowned.

"Back then, when you held little Shaluo and begged me to save her, you said you would remember my kindness for the rest of your life. Does this mean I really need to prepare a gold collar for her so that she can constantly remind her of her savior?"

"Luoxia?"

Upon hearing this, the red dragon's eyes widened suddenly.

You're still alive?!

You'll see.

Despite the red dragon's surprised expression, Li Lin maintained his calm and leisurely smile, spreading his arms wide. The red dragon, however, stared intently at the man before it, then a glint flashed in its eyes, revealing the truth hidden beneath all concealment. It then snorted, and a flame emerged from its nostrils.

"Hmm... It really is you. You're still alive..."

As it spoke, the red dragon looked around, then flicked its tail and swept up Ailas, who was Dragon Fear and unable to move from the ground.

"You summoned me, why?!"

The red dragon stared at the half-elf before it. This time, unlike when it spoke to Li Lin, it didn't use Dragon Language, but instead used Common Tongue. Faced with this unexpected turn of events, the half-elf trembled. Frankly, he lacked systematic magical knowledge and had little understanding of magical beasts like dragons. Self-taught skills might lead him astray, but a proper education was precisely to prevent such situations. Although summoning dragons was far simpler than summoning wild beasts due to the connections between magic, it was still no easy feat. Ailas's knowledge of dragons remained confined to legends and written records. For dragons, a race that had long since left the continent and lived in seclusion, many people never even saw one in their entire lives, and the stories and lies they fabricated based on their imaginations became the only way for many to understand these terrifying yet magnificent beasts.

Ailas had originally hoped to summon a powerful dragon to command, just like summoning ordinary beasts, since legendary dragon riders all possessed loyal dragons as mounts. The half-elf, skilled in summoning magic, relied on his past experience controlling beasts and made his own judgment and decision. Now, it was time for him to pay the price for his foolishness.

"I... I..."

With the power of magic, Ailas could easily sense the magical threads connecting him and the other party. These threads were meant to bind the power between the caster and the summoned, like a leash for a dog. But the half-elf felt like a dwarf trying to pull a bull, completely overwhelmed by the other party.

However, even under these circumstances, the half-elf still came up with a good idea. The fact that the dragon was still asking him meant that the summoning spell was still effective. As long as it was there, suppressing the three mages, or even those Red Robe Mages, would probably not be a problem. Thus, a strong desire dispelled the Dragon Fear's might that had originally frightened him, and the half-elf actually raised his hand and pointed at Li Lin, who was standing in front of the red dragon.

"Dragon, in my capacity as the Lord of Summoners, I command you to annihilate this human! I will provide you with ample compensation; now, obey my command immediately!"

Nia, unusually, burst out laughing at the half-elf's words. Li Lin's lips twitched; he was using his absolute rationality to suppress his emotions, trying to maintain a normal demeanor instead of laughing until his stomach hurt. The red dragon stared in utter astonishment at the human whose tail it had curled around, its eyes filled with disbelief. For a pure-blooded dragon to be ordered around by a half-elf was utterly absurd, so much so that it forgot to be angry.

The red dragon swayed its tail from side to side, seemingly sizing up the half-elf before it. Then, it opened its mouth and bit down on the half-elf's body. The half-elf's legs twitched reflexively, struggling, but the red dragon swallowed him whole in just a few bites.

With a satisfied burp, Red Dragon lowered his head again, gazing at Li Lin before him.

"It has indeed been a long time, Luoxia. If you have time, I hope you can come and visit our Dragon Island. It has changed a lot since a thousand years ago."

I accept your invitation.

Li Lin bowed slightly.

"In fact, I also have some matters that I need to discuss with the Dragon King."

The red dragon said nothing more. It roared to the sky and spread its wings. With the death of the half-elf, the summoning power immediately weakened. Soon, the red dragon's originally huge body disappeared in the center of the arena, leaving only a scene of devastation.