Mage Manual-Chapter 280 - 241 Poison Mist Swirl and Refraction

Chapter 280: Chapter 241 “Poison Mist Swirl” and “Refraction Curtain

Chapter 280 -241 “Poison Mist Swirl” and “Refraction Curtain

“Run, run!”

Inside the sports car, unlike Ash who still had the energy to taunt, Sonia and Diya tensely grabbed Ash’s shoulders in the front row, pressing their voices to urge the driver to flee, their legs going soft with fear.

There was no way not to be afraid!

Numerous mature scorpion serpents and eight mature quill-bird dragons were not ordinary herd animals but large creatures on par with Two-winged Mages, each capable of challenging one Sonia!

Especially the quill-bird dragons—they could maneuver and fly, excelling in long-range aerial attacks and knew to use “golden rain” to camouflage themselves, ranking as dangerous enemies to be highly cautious of in the Time Continent knowledge biological chart.

Sonia still remembered the countermeasures for quill-bird dragons mentioned in “Time Continent Survival Strategies”: “Kneel on the ground, stick your butt out, cover your head and protect your vital parts, and curl up as much as possible.”

“This way, you’re more likely just to damage your buttocks, and even if you die, you’ll only lose the soul of your butt. Apart from feeling a bit empty when taking a shit, it won’t affect your real life much.”

Since it was a library book, many seniors had left their comments on these strategies, highly rating the butt-protruding technique and even sharing many tips for it.

Though it seemed quite comical, Sonia didn’t laugh when she read it; instead, she memorized it seriously. Because these annotations are the crystallization of Mage wisdom, and the seniors would be pleased if they realized their hard-earned experiences were not being ridiculed—Mages who disrespect knowledge deserve to pay a heavy price.

If even a Two-winged Mage couldn’t beat a quill-bird dragon, that was normal; every Mage had their strengths and weaknesses. Just like Weak Mages could counter all close-range physical enemies but were vulnerable to long-range enemies proficient in applying negative curse damage. Even the most talented and versatile Mages would encounter Void Realm creatures they couldn’t handle.

Even Legendary Mages had weaknesses they couldn’t cover.

As a Mage, one must aim to compensate for weaknesses but also learn to manage risks. Even cheating players like Ash and Sonia couldn’t avoid death, let alone others. It took Diya two years to set foot in the Time Continent, not due to restrictions from the faction realms.

As long as it could reduce the consequences of death, one wouldn’t mind sticking their butt out or even doing a handstand to shit if necessary.

Death in the Void Realm was just a part of life; no Mage would vow to exterminate all Fish-Slicing Dragons from suffering an early defeat, nor was there a “Fish-Slicing Dragon Conservation Society” targeting Ash for specifically hunting Fish-Slicing Dragons to explode swordsmanship Treasure Beads.

“The Void Realm is a place of madness, Mages against Mages, Mages against knowledge creatures, knowledge creatures against each other; although every creature there is killing each other, there’s no enmity among them. Everyone is driven by the fear of death yet also marching toward it.” —”Sen Hall Second Floor·Void Realm Library·Famous Quotes”.

That’s why the Sword Maiden and the Witch were so afraid.

They weren’t naturally timid or scared, being braver than Ash when fighting the ferocious wolf dragon half an hour ago, so it wasn’t death they were afraid of but coming out at a loss!

If they were to die here, snake scorpion dragons and quill-bird dragons taking turns tearing at their souls, they might lose most of their spirit, causing their bodies to be paralyzed in reality, possibly taking months before their next venture into the Void Realm.

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If they were to die, they preferred to die far away and be bitten fewer times by knowledge creatures!

“Don’t rush.”

The roar of massive monsters was already close at hand, and the defensive barrier started making ticking noises; the barrier’s energy bar was rapidly declining, with danger seemingly about to crush them all in the next second.

However, Ash felt not a hint of fear—no excitement either, only as calm as if he were watching a documentary.

During the past two days of battle, he had occasionally entered this peculiar ‘zoned out’ state, a new occurrence that made Ash wonder if the feng shui of the Time Continent was mismatched with his fate.

But under this special observational state, Ash could notice many details that usually went unheeded and, like a veteran used to overused plots, accurately predict the enemy’s next moves.

The battles these two days weren’t smooth-sailing; the three of them were still newbies to the new map, and group battles needed coordination. Thus, the Sword Witch faced deadly threats several times. But because Ash almost always entered this special state in the nick of time, he could protect them with the “Sword Barrier” just in the nick of time, helping the team survive the initial teething period unscathed.

The Sword Maiden and Witch certainly noticed his skillful operations, but they had their share of perfect micro-maneuvers during fights and wouldn’t pay extra attention to Ash’s show-off; at most, they nodded in recognition, even thinking this was the expected level of an Observer. Meanwhile, Ash thought this was just a fleeting spark of inspiration—he was past the age of shouting over a pentakill, so naturally, he wouldn’t boast deliberately.

But this time, the moment of inspiration… seemed to last a bit longer?

“The real show is about to begin,” Ash calmly pressed the virtual operation keys, and the sports car, like a violently spinning top, rammed into the group of snake scorpion dragons on the left!

Diya let out a scream, her hair turning mostly red, obviously having switched over to ‘little red’; Sonia almost bit through her lip, suppressing the panic in her throat, her hands tightly grasping the Observer’s coat…huh?

Was it the reflection from the Witch’s hair, or the visual twist from the rotation, or…

Did the Observer’s deep red gradation coat really flicker like breathing lights?

Boom!

The blade of evil perfectly split the snake scorpion dragon in half, the sports car using all its might to spin and return, its tires drawing a crescent, perfectly avoiding the subsequent arrow rain, then roaring as it collided with the rushing snake scorpion dragon troops!

Boom! Snap! Boom! Snap!

The limbs of the snake scorpion dragons passed the protective barrier, their dark red blood spraying over the sports car like watering plants, but due to the transparent barrier, the blood was suspended in mid-air, only visible to Sonia and Diya if they looked up to see the blossoming blood flowers.

But behind the blood curtain was the ink-green poisonous fog thick enough to obscure the sight!

Thud! Thud!

At that moment, the serpent dragons had finally caught up to the sports car, with their sharp poison stingers, their dual pincers like crushing stones, and their dangerous serpent kisses all simultaneously assaulting the car. The barrier emitted sounds of unbearable burden, threatening to shatter like an eggshell at any moment!

But just then, a piercing scream resounded from above the cave!

“Squawk—”

Thousands of bird dragons, while screaming, fell down, being the first victims of the poison mist!

Their tactical objective was completely achieved, Ash drove the sports car at breakneck speed, shaking off the serpent dragons and safely fleeing the cave just a second before the barrier shattered!

This was their daring challenge against the Heroic Soul Army— the “Poison Gas Surge” and the “Refraction Curtain”!

“Refraction Curtain·Level 6: The automatic vehicle is enveloped in a curtain with 4000 life value, reducing all damage to the curtain by 32%.

Level 6 special effect: Additionally reduces damage from long-range attacks by 30% (32+30=62%).

Next level requires 630 Ore Essence/630 Wood Essence/315 Mercury Essence.”

“Poison Gas Surge·Level 4: The exhaust pipe releases a soul-corroding poisonous dense mist that also obscures vision, protecting the operators inside the vehicle from the effects of the poison.

Next level requires 600 Mercury Essence/300 Wood Essence.”

To upgrade these two car peripherals, the resources they had painstakingly accumulated over the past few days were almost completely exhausted, but it was all worth it—without the Refraction Curtain, they would have been turned into targets by the bird dragons long ago, and without the Poison Gas Surge, they could never have dealt with this large group of sentient creatures!

Why did Ash have to gamble this time? Because he realized that if he missed this chance, he might never have the opportunity to unveil the mysteries of the Heroic Soul Army again— the Heroic Soul Army had just walked into a cave severely restricted by spatial areas, and he just happened to have resources to upgrade the curtain and the poison!

All elements were indispensable; it had to be in the cave, there must be the curtain and poison mist, and neither the serpent dragons nor the bird dragons had methods to stop movement. Then, everything proceeded exactly as Ash had planned, fitting together seamlessly like a perfectly original puzzle, creating a scene akin to a Miracle.

—They brutally trapped and poisoned the Heroic Soul Army inside the cave!

At this moment, Sonia didn’t know if she was flung around by the car or what, but she found herself sitting in the front seat, clinging tightly to Ash’s right arm, looking at the cave unsettled, “Are they, are they all dead?”

“Not yet.” Ash glanced at the Void Realm Map, “The bird dragons should be all dead, but half of the serpent dragons are still left.”

“Then we should run fast! They’re going to chase us!”

“No, we should block them in the cave and fight to the death!”

The Witch’s voice sounded like a duet. Ash and Sonia turned their heads and saw, for some unexplained reason, she too had moved to the front seat. Fortunately, the car was large enough that Ash, sitting in the middle, didn’t feel cramped.

The Witch’s hair at the moment was very peculiar, showing a gradient from black to red.

Each witch sister had their unique hair color; the Secret Princess’s was bright black, the Black Butler’s was pale purple, the White Queen’s was pure white, the Red Death Cultist’s was blood red… When the hair was a single color, it represented a single dominant personality; when the hair showed multiple distinct colors, it meant there was one main personality with several sub-personalities assisting.

However, this gradient color was the first time Ash and Sonia had seen such.

It looked as though… different pigments were directly mixed together.

However, given the urgent situation, no one was in the mood to contemplate the latest hair dye technology the Witch had used. Ash pressed a virtual button, and the sports car again fiercely gripped the ground and swiveled, emitting a heart-wrenching scream as it turned its front back toward the cave.

“We’re neither running away nor blocking the entrance.”

Buzz!

With a powerful thrust, the sports car charged back into the cave, meeting the serpent dragons just coming out with a French wet kiss!

Just as the sports car’s blade split a serpent dragon in two, the other serpent dragons in the poison mist quickly retaliated, causing the overly worked Refraction Curtain that had just started on its first day to suddenly fail!

Ouch!

The protective barrier was broken!

Sonia grabbed Ash’s hand while also touching the hilt of her sword; Diya, tense all over, pulled out the aqua thread, ready to leap out and fight the serpent dragons any moment.

“Don’t leave the car.”

Ash spoke calmly; the sports car was about to turn back into the poison mist-draped cave, leaning against the leather backrest, looking to the left.

At the same time, Demilo, driving a serpent dragon, burst out of the poison mist cave. He slightly turned his head, meeting Ash’s eyes.

One side was a calm black stagnant water, the other was a still lake reflecting a myriad of scenes.

“The next round is about to start.”