However, facing this tremendously powerful spell, the Gnome Emperor only sneered, then slowly rose, picked up a crude but rare material spiked club nearby, and swung it lightly. Bang!
With a thunderous crack, the giant ice pillar that had fallen from the sky shattered on impact, apparently failing to cause him the slightest trouble.
The Royal Astrologer immediately frowned.
Although the result had been predictable, actually seeing it confirmed still dealt him a heavy shock.
That move was far from his full strength, but it was unquestionably a serious attack, not some casual trick.
Yet the Gnome Emperor dismantled his spell effortlessly, as casually as if dealing with a Heroic Realm adventurer.
Clearly, the gap between him and the Gnome Emperor was visible from this single encounter.
That was not surprising; even before the Dark Tide variable appeared, his strength had already trailed the Gnome Emperor somewhat.
Back then, however, the difference had not been this large.
At least in the Royal Astrologer’s view, without the Dark Tide’s hidden augmentation, the Gnome Emperor would have needed to exert some effort to handle his move.
But now, with the Dark Tide’s boost, the other’s power had reached at least mid-Legendary Realm.
And that was when the Dark Tide’s power hadn’t even been fully concentrated—only a portion had energized the Gnome Emperor; the majority remained scattered among the many gnomes and goblins.
If the remaining forces were fully channeled into the Gnome Emperor alone...
The Elven High Priest’s assessment proved correct: even if the two of them joined forces, together with others’ help, they could not contend with him.
Still, whatever the case, first they had to force that condition to appear.
Thinking this, the Royal Astrologer wasted no more hesitation and struck again.
This time, unlike the earlier probe, it was a genuine full-force attack!
An icy chill blanketed the surroundings, pushing back everyone nearby with that powerful magical pressure. Countless ice crystals condensed at his side, forming what looked like a “domain.”
No—this was not just like one.
It truly was a domain.
A domain is a power attainable only at the Legendary tier.
Simply put, it’s when one’s energy overflows so strongly that it carves out a zone of space around oneself filled entirely with the energy one emits.
It’s somewhat similar to a barrier, but compared to a barrier, a domain forms far faster and is much more powerful.
Fighting within one’s domain is the hallmark of a Legendary-level powerhouse.
This outward domain consumes massive resources but greatly amplifies the user’s skills. Once activated, it signals that the Legendary is seriously engaging in combat.
Even among the continent’s top fighters, few had personally witnessed a domain unfold, so everyone present was stunned by the Royal Astrologer’s dramatic display.
“Is that not true Legendary power?”
“It’s terrifying. Just the aura spilling out feels like it could kill you…”
“Indeed, everyone beneath Legendary is like an ant!”
“The gap is just too huge, there’s no space to intervene.”
“However, it seems we still have things we can do…”
While the two Legendary figures fought over there, the nearby battlefield saw powerful gnomes launch assaults.
These were the last remaining high-tier gnomes from the Gnome Kingdom.
Many had fallen in earlier battles, but the remaining number was still considerable.
Originally there weren’t this many; many gnomes were only Transcendent-level. After receiving the Dark Tide’s boost, they had risen to the Heroic Realm, significantly supplementing the gnomes’ high-end forces.
The Legendary duel over there was completely untouchable to them.
Their task was to clear out these high-tier gnomes—to reduce carriers of the Dark Tide—so that subsequent advances would go much more smoothly.
This was a real decisive battle; the clash between the two sides was about to erupt.
Lin Mo was not idle either. His main job now was to support with Holy Light Power; nothing else concerned him, so he could fight without reservation.
However, Lin Mo didn’t choose to challenge those gnomes who had reached the peak of the Heroic Realm. He targeted slightly weaker opponents.
This operation was essentially all-in, and the Allied Forces had many experts present. Even though the gnome race had gained massive Dark Tide power, in terms of high-end combatants they were not inferior and even held some advantages.
So, theoretically, there was no need for him to shoulder more pressure. In that case, Lin Mo preferred to act as a “harvester,” extracting as much proficiency from those gnomes as possible.
After all, these were Heroic-level experience packs! Each kill yielded rich rewards.
Thus, Lin Mo directly targeted one who had just reached the Heroic Realm.
Time was short and the task urgent, so Lin Mo skipped the small talk and flashed right in front of him.
The next moment his sword fell.
He struck with the extremely fast move Twin Dragon Flash. With Lin Mo’s current strength, even the ordinary Twin Dragon Flash was enough to handle a newly Heroic target.
The strike severed the opponent’s head.
After finishing, Lin Mo felt a bit of regret. At this stage of the battle, there was no need to keep conserving Mana and Qi and Blood, so he should have used his Magic Sword skill to earn extra proficiency.
He learned his lesson with the next strike.
Again he flashed in and used Twin Dragon Flash, but this time he combined it with the Frost Storm spell. A biting chill accompanied the blade; as the edge cut the gnome’s neck, what sprayed out was not blood but a cloud of freezing mist.
Twin Dragon Flash proficiency +500 (+250)
Flash proficiency +500 (+250)
Frost Storm proficiency +500 (+250)
Nice!
Lin Mo cheered inwardly.
Those two monsters instantly pushed both Twin Dragon Flash and his previously level-6 Frost Storm to max level, and the Flash skill, which had recently evolved to Legendary, also rose to level 5. The leveling speed was astonishing.
Lin Mo quickly glanced at the floating notifications.
“Skill Flash Lv4 (600/600) upgraded!”
“Current skill Flash Lv5 (150/1080)”
“Gained base attribute Mana +10!”
Ten base Mana points secured.
Then came the evolution route choice.
Please choose evolution direction—
Evolution Route 1: Distance II: Increase Flash distance, maximum distance becomes 4,500 meters.
Evolution Route 2: Cooldown Shrink I: Flash usage interval reduced by 50%.
Seeing this, Lin Mo’s eyes lit up.
This was the second choice to evolve Flash. The Distance II upgrade did not diminish in strength compared to the previous Distance I.
Before it had increased from 1,500 meters to 3,000 meters; now it would go from 3,000 to 4,500 meters.
There was no hesitation—of course he would choose to increase Flash distance.
As noted before, Flash’s interval was already low; halving that further wouldn’t yield as much benefit.
Increasing distance was far more practical.
Of course there is an upper limit.
From a combat practicality standpoint, once Flash reaches a certain range its battlefield effectiveness caps out; further increases won’t produce meaningful benefits.
For example, if Flash reached over 10,000 meters, further increases would be pointless. In normal fights, 10,000 meters is already more than enough; there’s seldom a need to dash or transfer over more than that range.
Also, unless fighting in the air or on vast plains, distances over 10,000 meters would likely be obstructed by trees or buildings—often you couldn’t even see that far.
Beyond that range further increases shift from combat value to travel convenience.
But Lin Mo didn’t need that—besides Flash he had Teleport, the true travel god-skill.
Next were two other skills that had completed evolution.
“Skill Twin Dragon Flash Lv8 (2000/2000) upgraded!”
“Current skill Twin Dragon Flash Lv9 (Max)”
“Gained base attribute Strength +4, Agility +6!”
“Automatically evolved into new skill—
Nine-Headed Dragon Flash!”
“Learned skill Nine-Headed Dragon Flash! Gained base attribute Strength +4, Agility +6!”
Nine-Headed Dragon Flash Lv1 (0/60): Channeling Qi and Blood, launch an assault at extreme speed, delivering nine slashes in rapid succession once in close range!
How many?
Staring at the skill description, Lin Mo was momentarily dumbfounded.
Nine slashes?!
Previously Twin Dragon Flash only launched two slashes—this jumped from two to nine. That’s a massive increase.
No wonder it was a Legendary skill—it packs a punch.
Previously, Twin Dragon Flash had the advantage of blazing speed but lacked somewhat in raw power compared to other skills of the same tier.
Although the Magic Sword ability could supplement it, now the skill itself had been greatly strengthened, which was even better.
And nine consecutive slashes... the tactical options were enormous.
Lin Mo could think of many interesting combos to test later.
Oh right, there was also the evolution route choice.
Please choose evolution direction
Evolution Route 1: Accumulated Slash I: After the skill completes, spend double Qi and Blood to immediately perform another slash, reactivating Nine-Headed Dragon Flash.
Evolution Route 2: Flash Counter I: When hit and this skill is used, trigger a counterattack effect, adding 30% skill damage and imposing one second of forced “immobilize” and “spell seal” on the target.
Hiss—!
Looking at these two enhancements, Lin Mo sucked in a breath.
Both routes are brutal!
It felt like, even compared to the Shattering Void Fist, this Nine-Headed Dragon Flash’s caliber was noticeably higher.
Skills of the same tier can still vary in rank; Lin Mo already knew that.
Perhaps because he had personally conceived this skill?
After all, another skill he originated—Shadow Split—was also overpowered.
So which evolution to choose?
Route One allows an immediate second release after the initial cast, at the cost of double resource consumption for the second release—altogether consuming the equivalent of three Legendary-level skill costs.
The cost is enormous, even absurd, but the payoff is correspondingly huge.
Two consecutive Legendary burst skills, and as a Spellsword he could even layer magic on top—instantaneous peak damage would be terrifying.
Route Two is no slouch either: releasing the skill upon taking a hit not only boosts damage but, more importantly, provides forced crowd control for one second.
One second seems short, but at the Heroic or Legendary level that second can decide battles. It forces opponents off guard and leaves them no time to react.
Finally, another epic skill had hit max level and evolved.
“Skill Frost Storm Lv8 (2000/2000) upgraded!”
“Current skill Frost Storm Lv9 (Max)”
“Gained base attribute Mana +10!”
“Automatically evolved into new skill—Ice Age!”
“Learned skill Ice Age! Gained base attribute Mana +10!”
Ice Age Lv1 (0/60): Use massive Mana in resonance with Ice Element, then release an explosive outward burst, dealing damage and freezing a wide surrounding area!
Undoubtedly, this is yet another extremely powerful large-area AOE.
Lin Mo couldn’t hide the joy on his face—he had just gained two powerful Legendary skills at once. Who could hold back a smile at that?
Chapter 406: Two New Legendary Skills: Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, Ice Age!
9 min read