Chapter 339: The Variable (Part 3)

  "Above!" With Elder Lloyd's loud shout, all elves raised their heads and saw the swiftly descending figure, but their first reaction was astonishment, not alarm.

  Within the Sunwell's anti-magic field, Feather Fall was impossible to use. Judging by the speed of this figure's descent, they fell from at least several thousand meters in the high sky. No matter what kind of person this was, it seemed being smashed into a pulp was the only outcome. If it weren't for the vigilance and alarm caused by Aimee just now, some elves might have even prepared a way to catch him.

  "Full alert!" Elder Lloyd, however, did not relax in the slightest, but shouted tensely. He knew this person fell from the high sky at least five thousand meters away. The scrying radius around War Ancient Tree was over ten li, but to extend this radius, the altitude had been lowered. But even so, that was still a height of five thousand meters; even a pegasus or a griffin could not fly to such an altitude.

  Someone who could approach this place from such a high altitude and aim for the Leaves of the World Tree as they fell—being smashed into a meat patty would absolutely not be their goal.

  Sure enough, when they were still a hundred meters from the ground, this person suddenly shook open a large piece of cloth from their hand. It had ropes tied to its four corners and was held in their hand. As this cloth caught the wind and billowed out like a large parachute, it cupped the surrounding air, and the person's figure began to descend slowly. The elves with good eyesight cried out in alarm. They could now see this person clearly. Dressed in black clothes, their figure looked hazy and indistinct, like a wisp of insubstantial smoke. The most conspicuous thing, however, was the dark golden skull mask on their face. It was demonic and strange. It looked less like a person wearing the mask, and more like the mask wearing a man-shaped wisp of smoke. Their body was covered in white frost, which had condensed from the several-thousand-meter-high altitude.

  "A Necromancer!" With the cries, arrows like rain shot towards the black-clothed figure in the sky. And these arrows were nothing special. Two strange-looking branches let out a strange rumble, and then two giant green spheres of light whistled out.

  The light spheres were so dense they seemed less like light and more like leaves directly formed into a ball. Even the arcs of energy pulsating on their surface showed a penetrating green. The arrows connecting to these light spheres all decomposed, turning directly into a cloud of green smoke and dissipating in the air.

  The Necromancer in mid-air suddenly released the two ropes of the cloth parachute in their hand. The billowing parachute immediately shook into a single piece of cloth. The Necromancer's slow descent suddenly accelerated again. Countless arrows and two green light spheres powerful enough to injure a giant dragon flew past their head into the sky, while they continued to descend towards the altar below. This height of a hundred meters was but a blink of an eye. They were now less than ten meters from the Leaves of the World Tree on the altar.

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  The treants around the altar, under Elder Lloyd's command, had raised their giant arms. Dozens of giant wooden stakes smashed, pressed, and squeezed towards the person in mid-air.

  Without using magic, unless one had wings, it was impossible to change direction in mid-air. No matter how slow the treants' movements were, they could have caught this person. With a loud thud, the dozens of treant arms collided all at once, trapping the Necromancer in the middle.

  But there was only the dull thud of wood colliding and flying sawdust. Amidst it, not a single drop of blood or flesh was sent flying. This Necromancer was like an intangible shadow, or perhaps a pool of water that could freely change its shape. They dodged, weaved, flowed, and trickled. They even seemed to split into two or three streams before re-forming. Incredibly, they passed right through the dozens of intersecting, colliding arms of the treants, landing directly upon the altar.

  "Bastard, how is this possible?" Including Elder Lloyd, all the elves stared dumbfounded. Within the Sunwell's anti-magic field, aside from the elves' magic and spatial magic cast with Star-Eye, no other magic could take effect. But this Necromancer could actually perform such an unimaginable feat.

  This Necromancer wasn't necessarily skilled only in magic. It was a movement made purely with their body, relying on unimaginable skill, coordination, and agility. This wasn't to say, or perhaps not solely, a mage. Elder Lloyd was the first to understand and react. He waved his hands, chanting several loud phrases. At the same time, the elves' arrows, summoned giant poison bees, and various poisonous insects also swarmed towards the altar above.

  The Necromancer's hand trembled. The black cloth that had been a parachute danced into a sheet of black shadow. The poisonous insects and arrows were all swept away by the gust of wind kicked up by this black shadow. Within the black shadow, the Necromancer's hand could be vaguely seen grabbing the verdant Leaves of the World Tree. The elves all cried out in alarm.

  Following Elder Lloyd's chanting, several more branches on the War Ancient Tree shook simultaneously. The thick branches instantly softened, extending, and became vine-like tendrils as thick as an arm, covered in sharp barbs the size of a normal longsword. They looked like living pythons that had come to life and pounced over.

  With a loud series of clanging sounds, wood chips and stone blocks flew everywhere. Even the treants preparing to stomp were smashed like rotten wood under these giant vines. But amidst the wood chips and stone blocks, that black shadow remained unharmed, floating out. In the blink of an eye, they were beside Luya, grabbing the chanting Luya. Then in the next blink, they were beside Elder Lloyd, likewise grabbing him with one hand. Elder Lloyd also fell into their hand.

  "Don't any of you move." A hoarse voice came from beneath the dark golden skull mask. Although this Necromancer used only one hand, they held both Luya and Elder Lloyd firmly and securely. Both felt that behind their backs, there were clearly only a few fingers, yet not a single part of their bodies could move.

  Only when they were completely still could they see clearly that this Necromancer's body was actually very thin and small. They still gave off a strange, hazy feeling, but there were bloodstains where they stood, proving they were indeed a living person. The previous storm-like assault had not harmed them in the slightest.

  All the elves held still. Even the few pythons like giant snakes stopped their movements. Everyone could see that attacking further would only result in the death of the two elders. This Necromancer would most likely just dodge.

  Elder Lloyd let out a long sigh and said, "I should have adjusted the high-altitude scrying range to ten thousand meters."

  "Less talk, let's go. Please, you two elders, accompany me out of here." The Necromancer said slowly, and began to move while holding the two of them. This Necromancer didn't look strong, but holding two elves taller than them, they showed no sign of strain.

  "Oh, right. And give me that human girl as well."

  Aimee, in the cage of thorns, stared with uncomprehending eyes at the Necromancer. Thanks to the incredible toughness of this thorn cage, she had not been injured in the shower of wood and stone just now.