Mage Manual-Chapter 1344 - 984: Demon War

Allstars is the cage for Angels and the grave for Demons. At the unprecedented feast, the greediest monsters of this world tore off their polite façades and raised their fiercest butcher knives towards each other.

Regardless of how long they have lived, how great their achievements, or how grand their dreams, the so-called Mages are inherently vile creatures at their core.

Because they are humble, because they are weak, they become insatiable, they steal power. But if they don’t feast on the greatest carcass, how can the ants glimpse the pinnacle of the scenery? If they don’t tear off the mask of justice and morality, how can the weak savor the taste of strength?

They know they neither represent justice nor goodness, so they call themselves Demons. They know better than anyone that the Source Angel is the world’s balancer, they know better than anyone the chaos that would arise from the fall of the Source Angel, and they even receive more favor from the Source Angel than anyone — with each act of goodwill released to the world by the Source Angel, those at the top receive the greatest benefit, which thins as it trickles down.

Yet ever since they became aware of the Source Angel’s existence, their Killing Intent has never wavered.

Is immortality enough? Is dominion over the earth enough? Is ruling the Heavenly Kingdom enough?

Never! Enough! Forever!

"Sigh..."

Ye Jian’s chest bore a bloody hole, and just as he lost focus, his eyes shattered like glass beads, his left hand, left leg, and right leg were torn apart, and his body burst with countless blood sprays, plummeting like a broken doll to the earth. Demons never mind kicking someone when they’re down and bullying the weak; the defeated are meant to be trampled into dust, never to rise again! 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Despite the torture, despite being the first to exit the game, there wasn’t a trace of anger or sadness on this young boy’s face. He looked towards the sky with empty, bloodstained eyesockets and calmly said, "This time, I’ll let victory rest in your hands, but I will soon reclaim it."

Demon Ye Jian, dead!

Boom. Three Demons simultaneously landed on the Canaan car roof, Long Yuan wielding two War Axes in a Shadow Evil Dragon-man Status; Le Huai wasn’t empty-handed; he armed himself with Flame Blade arms; only Yin Zhi still wore a frilly cake dress, her hands empty as if she were on an outing.

Ye Jian’s exit is an important sign, symbolizing the second phase of the Demon war. From the start of the battle, they knew Ye Jian must be the first to exit; no Suggestion was necessary, as they tacitly drove Ye Jian into a dead end.

This isn’t to say that Ye Jian’s true strength is inferior to theirs, but the issue is that this war doesn’t allow them to display their true strength. Everyone could only use the Mage’s Technique Spirit armor. Even if there are followers who perform Technique Spirit Transformation with Magic, fights at the Legendary level were still too trivial for them.

As an analogy, they’re like a group of adults using paper weapons to hack each other. There’s damage, and carelessness might be fatal, but overall, the battle is within their calculations.

The true determinant of victory is Magic Power.

Whoever exhausts their Technique Spirit first will have to exit. Thus, everyone’s battle strategy has turned into a math problem even a child can understand: how to use the least Magic Power to drain the enemy’s Magic Power the most.

Ye Jian’s biggest weakness lies in the fact that "Death God’s Walk," the Miracle of Tiramisu Technique Spirit Transformation, lacks any defensive capabilities. Although its damage is high and its area of effect large, other people’s Magic can counteract "Death God’s Walk" with minimal cost.

Long Yuan’s Magic "Traveler Mode" allows for infinite Instant Teleportation, Le Huai’s Magic "Too Late" can delay all attacks, rendering "Death God’s Walk" utterly meaningless to them.

Meanwhile, Yin Zhi’s Magic "Break All Arts" is quite unique; strictly speaking, it has no combat ability because its effect is that it allows all Fist Claw Miracles to touch intangible things like flame, time, death aura.

If Amilo used "Break All Arts", she might use a Fist Claw Miracle to smash others’ intangible Miracles, like shattering waves of Sword Qi with one punch. But in Yin Zhi’s hands, the "Break All Arts" Magic uncovers its true sharpness—with her understanding of Magic, she can dismantle all enemy offensives with the least cost Miracles. Her hands are no longer just hands but precision, cruel scalpels!

With the unbeatable teleportation of Long Yuan, the ultimate defense of Le Huai, and the all-in-one attack and defense of Yin Zhi, Ye Jian, forced to endlessly attack, soon exhausts his Magic Power and falls at the scene.

However, Ye Jian is no easy target; even though he couldn’t outlast them in a battle of attrition, upon his exit, he drained three Demons of three quarters of their Magic Power. Hence, in the second round, the Demons tacitly abandoned the Magic Power-consuming long-distance Air Combat, opting instead for the lower-consumption yet fiercer close combat!

Without warning, Long Yuan and Le Huai suddenly teamed up to besiege Yin Zhi, Flame Blade arms and War Axes targeting the seemingly weak female. Yin Zhi bent backward, touching the ground with her hands, her legs slicing upward like razors, drawing the most elegant arcs toward the two!

But in the next moment, Long Yuan teleported overhead to strike down at Yin Zhi; Yin Zhi changed her leg technique to shave toward Le Huai, and Le Huai changed his direction to strike at Long Yuan!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After several rounds of furious attack and defense, all three Demons were injured, their organs ruptured, yet in the blink of an eye, healed their injuries with Miracles. Even in close combat, they seized opportunities to use Miracle Magic to injure the enemy while minimizing Magic Power consumption on defense; thus, taking injuries also became an option.

Healing, moving, wounding, defending, allying, backstabbing... Numerous tactics calculated and strategized in their minds as they continually assessed the enemy’s and their own strength; ganging up on whoever had the advantage, suppressing whoever was at a disadvantage.

The ruined train entered the northern land of torrential rain, the shattering of the Allstars Heavenly Curtain already affecting the world, with abnormal weather about to sweep in, but it was of little concern, as the world would face a judgment of Fate before the rain stopped.

The violent wind and rain hardly affected the heated battle, even the Rain Curtain was sliced by the Demons. Inside the carriage, the Supreme Holy Grail had half-formed, and the light flowing from Rose transformed shimmered past the roof, illuminating the Demons’ frenzied yet serene eyes.

"You know me," Yin Zhi’s hands danced, leaving afterimages, seemingly grasping the boundless Rain Curtain, "Once I become Supreme, I will share my harvest with you, helping you reach the seventh layer of the Void Realm too!"

"Continue fighting, and even if you win, you’ll be in tatters. The Supreme Holy Grail might be snatched back by that Dazzling Star girl. You might as well give up, I’ll definitely remember your credit, is there still doubt about my integrity?"

"I’m sure you’ll offer us irresistible terms, extracting us to the limit without letting us achieve our goals," Le Huai’s Flame Blade arms sliced through rain, heat steaming: "If you don’t want to risk it, I propose we split the Supreme Holy Grail and negotiate when we return."

"Not out of the question," Yin Zhi showed a thoughtful expression, "Long Yuan, what do you think?"

"I’m not as bored as you two," Long Yuan’s War Axe scraped the roof with a piercing sound, "Even at this moment, speaking nonsense everyone knows isn’t believable!"

"Can a throne be shared? Can royal power compromise? Those who bear Hell are the Angels, the destroyers of order are the Demons!"

"With our flesh, let us commemorate the passing great era!"

The burning Flame Blade arms shone brighter, the girl’s delicate hands grew more ethereal, the heavy War Axe wilder. Their actions became more fierce, more daring, even actively dragging battles into a mire from which no one could escape. All the Demons realized that this mutual exhaustion could lead to mutual destruction; only more chaotic situations could seize the fleeting opportunity!

*

Le Huai, dead!