Chapter 224: Combined Holy Artifact, War Fortress
With Minian’s nonsensical remark, we all looked up.
The uniquely dwarven figure was curiously staring down at us.
“Ah? Why aren’t you bl**d clan guys?” The leading dwarf suddenly voiced this soul-searching question.
“Friends, since we aren’t the bl**d clan you’re looking for, can we leave now? After all, you’ve interrupted the normal proceedings of our tea party,” Tan Han said at that moment.
From her tone, we could clearly tell that Tan Han hoped for no fight to break out.
After all, this was the first time the witches had contact with dwarves, and Tan Han wanted to test whether this isolated group of dwarves had any inclination to cooperate. If not, it was best to avoid making enemies; Tan Han also felt that the current situation of the Witch Academy was a bit precarious.
If other academies teamed up against the Witch Academy, it would be quite a trouble.
“Tea party! What tea party! Don’t think we don’t know that you witches are already ahead! We won’t let you continue to be complacent!”
The dwarf’s words directly severed the slim possibility of avoiding conflict.
Thus, Tan Han did not waste time with further conversation. As one of the most significant speakers for the Witch Academy at this stage, if she showed any sign of retreating, it would become a joke.
“Then please leave.”
Tan Han immediately cast a transformation spell, leaping over the protective shield to confront the opponent.
“You all guard the tea party; I’ll take a look up there.” I set down the tools in my hands and took off my apron.
Although it was just a brief delay, Tan Han had already engaged in several rounds of combat with the adversaries.
“What’s going on? Are they difficult to deal with?”
After coming up, I spoke directly, but the scene outside shocked me.
The entire upper level of the ancient castle was being violently destroyed and flattened, and the enormous entity in front of me was almost right in my face.
“Another witch has come, but it’s all the same!”
At this moment, the fully armed dwarf glanced at me disdainfully, having already forced Tan Han, who had transformed, into a retreat.
“The opponent’s weapon… seems rather terrifying…”
Tan Han said, noting that her transformation spell was quite a conventional one, generally used against ordinary enemies and to gauge the strength of unfamiliar foes.
Now, it was clear that the enemy’s equipment was a bit tricky.
“Hehe, come and experience the power of the crystal of forging wisdom—Holy Artifact!”
Seeing Tan Han forced back, the dwarf seized the opportunity to charge at us, and Tan Han quickly cast a summoning spell to engage him in combat, entangling him.
“Is the Holy Artifact similar to the witch weapon of Wizard Academy?” I asked Tan Han.
“Unclear. Essentially, they are different things, but their functions are somewhat similar; however, witch weapons emphasize techniques and assist witchcraft, while Holy Artifacts are more like pure equipment, yet their roles and effects…”
“Compared to our spellbooks?”
“If you must put it that way, then yes, there’s no issue—attack, defense, enhancement, amplification… it’s just that they aren’t as convenient as spellbooks. However, dwarves have strong physical qualities, and their extraordinary energy is versatile, allowing them to better utilize the power of what they call Holy Artifacts, and…”
As Tan Han spoke, she glanced at the massive figure behind the dwarves.
The dwarves had made a move crazier than any other academy; they had dismantled the ancient forging city and crafted it into a moving fortress!
“Is that massive thing behind them also a Holy Artifact?”
“What are you witches rambling about over there! Just thinking to use summoned creatures to entangle me?” The dwarf, having struggled somewhat with the summoned creatures, angrily approached us.
“Let’s give it a try.” I reached out to stop Tan Han, while my other hand conjured a fireball that was somewhat different from the standard fireball spell.
“Mm.” Tan Han nodded and did not say anything further.
I aimed at the dwarf and shot the fireball directly at him.
“A fireball! Are you serious? d*e for me!”
The furious dwarf watched as I casually threw the fireball his way. He didn’t even think to evade but instead brought his left hand’s shield-like Holy Artifact down toward the fireball.
“Boom!”
The terrifying explosion and tremendous shock triggered some kind of activation in the Holy Artifact, unleashing an energy shield that enveloped the wielder’s entire body.
Even so, the dreadful impact and high temperature curled the dwarf’s hair, and his whole body flipped backwards.
“Pfft… what is this? A fireball with such power? You’re trying to sneak attack, huh?”
“Alright, I admit that the dwarf’s Holy Artifact is rather tricky,” I shrugged and said to Tan Han.
“You! The way you witches speak really infuriates me! But it’s fine, we will crush you along with your so-called Witch Tea Party!”
After getting hit once, I thought they would continue to charge at us head-on, but unexpectedly, the other side chose to retreat cautiously.
“Let you all experience this!”
As they decided to retreat, to avoid us seizing the opportunity to attack, they deliberately threw a spherical object at me, likely a type of disposable Holy Artifact.
“Watch out!”
“I know.”
Even without Tan Han’s reminder, I had immediately reinforced my body and activated a shield, ready to run if the shield couldn’t hold.
What they threw must be something capable of stopping us or causing us significant harm, like a grenade or something.
But soon, I found out what it was. It was a Holy Artifact sealed internally with powerful spell effects.
As it unfolded, the internal attack broke through its limits, unleashing a terrifying crescent-shaped energy.
Even as I witnessed it, I needed to evade its edge for a moment, but the attack still struck my shield, shattering it.
“Can a Holy Artifact do this?”
After narrowly dodging this terrifying attack, which was similar to instant casting, the strike released a horrifying sound behind us, and I understood how this ancient castle met its demise.
“That kind of tactic is probably limited.”
“Who knows?” I quickly moved to pick up the now somewhat damaged Holy Artifact, noticing the traces of runes on it.
This was what one would call a ceremony.
Runes are quite common; they compose spells and can also form spellbooks, serving as an essential means in alchemy. Perhaps the dwarven forging also utilizes runes as a method of control and manipulation.
Sure enough, runes remain a crucial field of study.
“We acknowledge that your witches have some means in spellcasting, but even if your fireball is powerful, how will you respond to our War Fortress?”
“War Fortress? Are you referring to this massive lump? By the way, did you also forge this thing? Completing it in a single day… that’s quite a workload.”
“You witches know nothing about our dwarven academy’s forging techniques! Yes, this is our forged Holy Artifact, and it’s a Combined Holy Artifact!”
“Are you not afraid we’ll dismantle it? Speaking of which, you just emerged from the forging ancient city and aimed to establish authority over our Witch Academy. Do you know what you’re doing?” I questioned loudly.
“Dismantle? Go ahead and try! We certainly know what we’re doing. The Witch Academy ranks first, and the personal rankings of its students are also high. Isn’t this a great opportunity to establish authority?!”
As the dwarves activated their massive War Fortress, the enormous and exaggerated mechanical structure began to move, but from the smoke rising, this power seemed to have borrowed some kind of energy core from the forging ancient city, using extraordinary power combined with the Holy Artifact to boil water.
Of course, when I mention boiling water, I am merely referring to their mode of movement; the Holy Artifact itself is still driven by extraordinary power.
Moreover, as for the claim that this giant was a Combined Holy Artifact, even if they hadn’t told me, I could tell through Spirit Vision that the outer layer was composed entirely of protective Holy Artifacts, leaving almost no blind spots, and the points of combination were thoroughly fortified.
Indeed, extraordinary power is convenient; I had initially thought I could find the core and a weakness to crush it, but it seems that attempt is no longer viable.
It’s just like facing a transformation spell; to break through the opponent’s core, the first requirement is to have means to breach their minimum defensive threshold.
This giant before me, I can roughly consider it a War Fortress transformation spell, with the most critical area appearing like a huge sun under the Spirit Vision’s perspective.
As long as I breached a part of their defense, I could damage the core.
“Sister Tan Han, Sister Xiao Han, come help… Wow! What is that thing?”
At this moment, the few behind us climbed up, preparing to support us.
After all, they remembered that both Sister Tan Han and Sister Xiao Han dealt with enemies quickly, and facing dwarves—an academy that had always been overlooked—they couldn’t form a solid impression of them based on practical experience.
“Wow… such a big fortress; did the dwarves move the forging ancient city here?”
“Protect yourselves.”
“Everyone’s up! Great! Then perish under the crushing of our War Fortress!”
“Enough nonsense; Tan Han, shall we attack together?” I asked.
“Mm, I’ll see if this massive thing has any weaknesses.”
“No need to look; it’s all covered in protective Holy Artifacts, with no obvious weaknesses. Let’s just breach some of the local defense together.”
After saying that, I headed toward the giant.
“Overestimating yourselves! Let you experience the might of hot weapons powered by Holy Artifacts!”
“Hot weapons? Hot weapons are merely a method of resource comparison, not a representative of strength! At least in the extraordinary world, such rules have been rewritten; cumbersome things should have been eliminated long ago!”
I made my way towards the spot nearest the core. If that massive boiling water apparatus were destroyed, it would become an immobilized iron turtle.
Moreover, with their retreating back towards this so-called War Fortress, defeat was already destined.
Even in modern society, a tank needs combined operations with infantry; this War Fortress is so massive. Do they really believe that complete coverage of protective Holy Artifacts makes them invincible?
At least to me, declaring invincibility is a bit premature.
At this moment, I directly used Flame Fairy Transformation and the Blessing of Fire Elementals to maximize the concentration of attacks.
Their cannon barrels also extended at this time.
Tan Han similarly didn’t hold back, unleashing her powerful shaping spell, colliding with my attack.
“This protective Holy Artifact’s defense seems a bit off.”
“Perhaps it’s due to the original structure of the dismantled forging ancient city; this defense level is somewhat beyond the standard,” I nodded in agreement.
“But no matter how strong the attack is, it can’t resist an attack concentrated at a single point.”
Even if I hadn’t employed my flexible spells, I could still derive some inspiration. Concentrating spell attacks at a single point is indeed a solid direction.
Though I currently possess what seems to be many spells, during the inter-academy competition, I found my means increasingly lacking, especially when confronting realms of invulnerability.
The most frequently used attacking spell is the basic consumption shaping spell; even with the Blessing of Elemental Spirits, those transformation spells and summoning spells have become lateral development means rather than vertical destructive power.
Even the Blessing of Elemental Spirits has turned into a support spell for my shaping spells, used to enhance my elemental affinity and elevate my control over elements.
“Sister Xiao Han, step back; let me try other methods.”
“Mm.” After nodding, I stepped back.
Tan Han has many more spellbooks than I do, certainly possessing plenty of powerful offensive spells. Although she can’t modify spellbooks, the high-consuming ones pack quite a punch.
After all, what I called modification is essentially just enhancing the power of low-consumption spellbooks to the level of high-consumption ones.
Compared to the time-consuming and labor-intensive practice of modifying spellbooks, obtaining more powerful spellbooks is much more cost-effective for Tan Han.
Furthermore, if the spellbook I modified doesn’t break through in terms of conversion rates, the consumption will also increase, and sometimes, or rather often, the power and effects may be less than those of equally high-consumption spellbooks.
Of course, no one can deny that this effort is futile.
At this moment, as I stepped back, I was also contemplating besides “Floating” and “Resonance,” another method, a technique that concentrates power at a single point for explosive force.
Although I still haven’t managed to develop it.
This isn’t the same principle as compressing the fireball spell, but compression can similarly achieve similar results.
However, this doesn’t align with my expectations; compression has limits, while I need a spell’s effects to be concentrated from the beginning for an explosive release.
“Hahaha! Watch us blow you all up! Don’t hide!”
“Just mindless flies running everywhere! Using this to hit you is like using a cannon to swat a mosquito!”
“Are you having fun?” I stood at their window, smiling.
“You! When did you climb up here?”
“I’ve always been here; you’ve just been playing with my clones.”
“d*mn it! You’re wasting our resources, but so what? You can’t break through our defenses at all! This is the ancient forging technique from the forging ancient city!” The dwarf was still stubborn, but the very next moment, the entire fortress started moving, a tremendous recoil throwing me back.
“Sister Xiao Han, I’ve nearly torn open the defense there; behind this is…”
“Behind this is the apparatus they use to boil water. If it’s destroyed, they’ll be permanently stuck here,” I said with a smile.
“Is that so?”
Hearing my words, Tan Han also became eager. Although she was previously curious about why Xiao Han was focusing on this spot, now knowing it’s the core, she was hitting the nail on the head—regardless of why Xiao Han knew, the other side wouldn’t be able to deceive her in this moment.
“Impossible! Focus fire on that witch! Don’t let her get near there! Quickly execute an emergency replacement! Reinforce the defenses!”
“Oh? So you admit that spot is the core of this lump?”
“You! You witch, trying to turn our words against us!”
“And so what?”
I smiled as I looked at them through the energy shield of the protective Holy Artifact. Even though I already knew, it was amusing to tease them a little and play with their mindset.
At this moment, after employing the flexible spell and the hints of practical application, I had made some preliminary mastery over what I named “Dot.”
The specific name will only come after testing the effects, as I wouldn’t want to simply call it “Dot” without trying it out.
After all, the techniques I mastered regarding shaping spells include “Floating,” “Resonance,” and the next one, if simply called “Dot,” sounds a bit unpleasant.
“You’re going to d*e, witch; don’t think I’m afraid of you just because of this! Wait and see!”
“The ones who should be entering the earth are you.” I extended my hand, forming a g*n-like gesture toward their shield of the protective Holy Artifact.
“Bang~”
I mimicked a sound effect jokingly, but before they had a chance to retort with mockery, a thin, fiery line shot out from my fingertips.
That spell directly collided with the protective Holy Artifact, and in just a fleeting moment, the shield of the Holy Artifact let out a piercing crackling sound.
Then, the Holy Artifact shattered in response, and the force of the attack had not yet been dissipated, directly echoing throughout their interior.
“Looks like the power is impressive; let’s call it ‘Focus Point.'” I casually named this technique—simple and straightforward, concentrating firepower at a single point.
“Now, try barking at me again.”
I reached out, grabbing the neck of the dwarf inside; he had nearly been stunned by the terrifying rending sound earlier. If that attack had been off just a little bit, he would have been dead!
How could he not instinctively be dazed?
Even if dying in a dream can lead to revival, the body’s innate fear of d*ath doesn’t simply fade.
Before he could utter a single word, I roughly pulled him out from within, as this was the cockpit, and the space here was quite cramped.
It seemed that to make this so-called War Fortress operational and equipped with various features that I had yet to witness, they had to make considerable concessions.
At that moment, their War Fortress underwent a terrifying shift, an explosive sound ringing out from within.
“Sister Xiao Han, the inside has been breached.”
“Alright, thank you.” I smiled.
After hearing the dreaded news, the dwarf’s face displayed disbelief. However, they were far too familiar with the War Fortress, recognizing what this unusual movement signified.
The dwarf I held now appeared extremely pale.
“You… what did you do! You’ve wrecked our painstakingly assembled War Fortress…!”
At this moment, the dwarf struggled to articulate, almost breathless from the shock.
“I admire your work; before joining, you must have had a passion for this field, right? I respect your interests, so we destroyed your creation in the most respectful way possible.”
“You… do you understand?” At this time, the dwarf regained some energy upon hearing my words, “You just said you appreciate our masterpiece! That’s what you said, right?!”
“Uh… Yes, it’s magnificent and awe-inspiring, but it needs improvement.”
I hesitated but said so, feeling that my previous words might have carried significant weight; I swear I was only slightly complimenting them—after all, aside from its ugliness, this thing was indeed very spectacular.
“Yes, exactly! It needs improvement! But… we… shouldn’t have another chance…” The dream exchange competition was a rare opportunity, and the constituencies of students entering the dwarven forging academy were mostly being unveiled.
However, when it came to improvement, it was clear they had no chance to turn things around.
Last night, they led the War Fortress at the forefront of the ceremony, overwhelming the Angel Academy, even forcing the Wizard Academy to retreat temporarily. Now… they had ultimately stumbled.
“Sister Xiao Han, something’s off; stop chatting. Other academies are coming.”
At that moment, Tan Han’s words snapped me back to the current situation, and I released his Holy Artifact to prevent resistance.
“Other academies?”
“It seems our ceremony stirred a hornet’s nest, and we’re facing the worst possible situation.”
“Worst situation?” I whipped out my broom and flew into the air.
Once my view opened up, reinforced by my vision augmentation, I spotted figures in the distance.
“How did the Holy Angel Academy and Wizard Academy end up together?”
“They likely encountered each other halfway; this situation must mean they’ve temporarily allied due to our ceremonial pressure.”
“So this means the final battle is arriving sooner than expected?” I asked with a smile.
“The worst-case scenario is just abandoning the ceremony; that doesn’t qualify as the final battle. With our two points already secured, we have the capital to forfeit.”
“Hey, hey, hey, Tan Han, don’t speak negatively before the fight even starts! We’re both preparatory witches with Excessive Consumption Spellbooks!”
“But against so many people, the Excessive Consumption Spellbooks may not necessarily…”
“No, Tan Han, are you psychologically haunted by my one blow? The power of the Excessive Consumption Spellbook is neither as weak as you imagine!”
