Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 554: Sorcerers’ Last Stand II

CH554 Sorcerers’ Last Stand II

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[Secret Mystic Art — Extinction Dragon]!

Fire, lightning, and darkness mana gathered before the outstretched finger, compressing into a reddish-purple-black orb that pulsed with destructive power.

Boom!

The orb fired forward like a bullet from a high-powered sniper rifle, leaving behind a lifelike serpentine, dragon-shaped afterimage as it tore through space.

Both the artefact projectile and the mystic art arrived at the same moment, colliding just before the berserk human.

Vroom!!!

There was no loud blast at first— only a throb in the air.

Instead, the collision between artefact and mystic art produced an eerily silent detonation, releasing a blackened sphere of energy that engulfed the berserk human entirely.

The sphere suddenly contracted, swallowing the berserk human within its core.

Then—

BOOM!!!!

Only then did it explode with a thunderous blast.

The explosion raged for more than two breaths.

’That should have killed it,’ the sorcerers believed.

However, when the dust cleared...

’What?!’

To their horror, the berserk human’s body had not disintegrated into dust as they had expected.

Its head and torso still remained.

Though limbless, energy dissipated and gravely injured, if left alone the berserk human would eventually recover, rendering everything they had done meaningless.

But all the sorcerers were completely spent after that sequence of attacks. Their mana reserves were empty, and the aftereffects of the Overload Potions were beginning to surface.

Ken, Sana, Ray, and Shin could not even move a muscle, while Jin focused solely on preventing himself from bleeding out.

Lina could care about nothing else as she concentrated on tending to her fiancé, who would most likely suffer the worst aftereffects after manifest-drawing a talisman far beyond his limits to restrain a creature stronger than himself.

As for the three disciples of the Heaven Secret Sect, they too were low on mana.

Due to their proximity to the berserk human during the explosion, they had not only needed to shield themselves from the blast but Jin and Shin as well.

However, seeing that no one else could move to finish off the gravely injured berserk human, Hiro gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet.

He picked up Shin’s artefact wooden sword.

Fortunately, the sword was completely drained of energy. Otherwise, it would have resisted him— violently.

He dragged his body forward through sheer grit towards the berserk human— whose flesh twitched and writhed disgustingly, a clear sign that regeneration was about to begin.

As he inched closer to the injured creature, relying solely on determination and stubborn will, the words of his master —the Heaven Secret Sect’s Sect Master of this generation— echoed in his mind.

—

’This is a dark time. Our world is watched by evils beyond and traitors within. The world needs a hero who can save it from this darkness. And I believe you are that hero, Hiro.

’In the darkest of times, when all hope is lost, when everyone else has given up... you must rise— always.

’You must become the light— the guiding light that will bring our world and its people salvation.

’You will be the hero of our world, Hiro— you must.’

—

”Yes, Master.” Hiro’s eyes flashed with renewed resolve.

While his body screamed in agony, Hiro effectively hypnotised himself with his master’s words, forcing himself to ignore the pain.

The other sorcerers watched as he dragged himself forward, one agonising step at a time.

Still lying on the ground, Leo and Samir exchanged a glance. Determination hardened in their eyes.

Ignoring the state of their own bodies, they re-established the connection of the [Earth Concordance] mystic art and channelled whatever drops of mystic energy they had left into Hiro.

’Go, senior disciple!’

Hiro felt the faint inflow of energy entering his body.

It was negligible compared to his energy at peak condition. However, mosquito meat was still meat.

Hiro continued dragging himself until, finally... he stood above the berserk human.

The berserk human gazed coldly at the unblessed human standing over it.

It did not plead for mercy. It simply watched... almost expressionless as death approached.

Then again, Hiro could care less about what it felt— or whether it felt anything at all.

He raised the sword high. Then, with every last ounce of strength he could muster, he drove it down through the berserk human’s eye socket and into its skull, severing its brain.

With that, the Were-croc Berserk Human finally breathed its last.

Hiro collapsed directly onto the remains of the creature’s body.

”Hahahaha.” Unknowingly, he broke into tired laughter.

’I did it. I did it!’ he told himself.

He felt vindicated. He felt he had honoured his master’s trust. He felt he had proven —to himself— that he could indeed become a hero.

Become the hero the world needed.

The group of sorcerers all heaved sighs of relief at the sound of Hiro’s laughter. It was clear that the Holy Son of the Heaven Secret Sect had successfully finished off the stubborn berserk human.

Now, they had to tend to their injuries and manage the aftereffects of the Overload Potions to mitigate the eventual consequences on their cultivation progress.

Lina finished treating Ray and carefully helped him drink a potion that quickly lulled him into sleep.

’Fortunately, the potion was a high-purity make from my master, and he only drank a third of it... otherwise this could have become far worse,’ she thought.

By her estimation, Ray could forget about progressing to the Fourth Circle for at least three months.

Fortunately, the Craftsmanship Sacred Land prioritised craftsmanship over cultivation, and internal competition was not excessively strict. Otherwise, it might have meant Ray losing his position as Holy Son.

Such a demotion would be a severe stain on his reputation. It might even prompt the elders of the Alchemy School to annul their engagement.

At least now, there was still a fighting chance.

After assisting Ray, Lina moved to tend to her own condition. She was far from safe herself.

An indeterminate amount of time passed, and the sorcerer group gradually recovered.

Well, recovered as much as they could, given the situation and environment. They were far from peak condition, but at least they were combat ready.

And although they still kept each other at arm’s length, surviving such a difficult battle together had fostered a measure of cautious respect among them.

They would not stab each other in the back— at least, not until they returned to their respective Sacred Lands.

”Let’s go. We’ve found the next gate,” Hiro said.

The gate now stood where the berserk human had initially been when they first encountered it.

The Chosen Children felt grim and solemn, yet they knew they had to continue... and so they did.

To their surprise, and elation, the scene beyond the door was not another labyrinth chamber.

Instead, before them lay a sorcerer’s cave dwelling.

”Is it...?” Sana muttered.

”Yes, it is!” Hiro replied with a wide smile. ”We have done it. We have passed the trial,” he said confidently.

He walked ahead through the entrance and into the inner chamber of the dwelling.

There, they found a larger room. At its centre stood a solitary statue of an average-looking middle-aged man sporting a chest-length beard.

”Ancestor!” Realisation dawned upon the three Heaven Secret Sect disciples.

They immediately stepped forward and kowtowed.

The other surviving Chosen Children froze in shock, but a moment later they moved as well.

”Honoured Senior!” They bowed respectfully.

However, unlike the Heaven Secret Sect trio, they did not kowtow. After all, they were not members of the Heaven Secret Sect and thus had no need to display such profound reverence.

Shake! Rumble!!

The statue suddenly trembled.

It slid backwards, causing the entire room to shake with it.

Fortunately, the trembling subsided before long.

A pedestal rose from the ground where the statue had originally stood. Upon the pedestal rested a nameless book.

Instinctively, each of them understood what it was— the objective of their expedition, the inheritance of the mighty Ancestor who had established the Heaven-Earth Concordance talisman field.

Hiro excitedly retrieved the book.

However, the moment he touched it, a brilliant light engulfed the sorcerers’ vision. When the light faded, the group found themselves outside the talismanic field, standing upon the mountain from which they overlooked the formation’s mountain-eye.

And with that, the expedition came to a successful conclusion.

”Let’s head back to the Sacred Lands. We’ll let the elders decide what to do with the inheritance,” Hiro said.

The other Chosen Children understood that these were largely empty words. The Heaven Secret Sect would not relinquish the book willingly— or at least not without compensation.

However, they were all far too exhausted and had no desire to fight amongst themselves.

Not after what they had experienced together.

They turned and began making their way out of the area.

Unbeknownst to them, while they had been inside the cave dwelling... they had not been alone.

Also present within the dwelling were an old man with a long beard... and a silver-haired youth with ruby-red eyes.

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