184: Chapter 185 Wells: We Must Destroy the Future of Xia Kingdom

"This... how is this possible?!"

Wells, this SS-Rank Expert of the Black Night Alliance known for his calmness and caution, found his hand holding the black magic book trembling slightly at this moment.

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the stretch of sea ahead that had just been swirling with ominous blood-red light—now, it was completely empty, with only the dark seawater and the occasional glowing small fish swimming by.

The entrance to that legendary-rank secret realm had completely vanished, not even leaving a trace of spatial ripple behind.

Vanishing meant completion. Only when a temporarily generated secret realm was completely conquered, and its core destroyed or purified, would the entrance dissipate so thoroughly and calmly, rather than slowly closing or becoming unstable.

But how could it be so fast? From the moment they discovered the entrance to this secret realm, to notifying the Black Night Alliance, and then organizing personnel to rush over... it had been less than an hour, all things considered!

Furthermore, according to his previous detection, there should have only been the energy signature of "one person" inside the secret realm!

Now, the person had come out, and the secret realm was gone. And it wasn't just one person who came out.

"This... who are these people? Where did they pop out from?" The companion behind Wells, a burly man holding a lava battle-axe, couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

They had clearly been monitoring this area the whole time, so how did these people appear out of thin air? Teleportation? But there weren't any spatial fluctuations!

"Wait... that Eastern kid in front..." Another female ranger with a tall figure, wearing form-fitting leather armor and carrying a longbow on her back, had sharp eyes fixed intently on Lin Muyang's face, as if trying to recall something.

Suddenly, her pupils constricted, and she gasped: "It's him! That Summoner genius from the Xia Nation who has been making waves recently! Lin Muyang! I've seen his image in international news and internal intelligence reports! It's definitely him!"

Lin Muyang?!

This name exploded in the minds of Wells and the other four members of the Black Night Alliance like a thunderclap!

Lin Muyang! That monster rookie who, at level fifty-something, summoned unprecedentedly powerful summons during the Provincial Tournament of the Summoner Competition, crushing everyone along the way and easily defeating all opponents, including experts over level one hundred!

That super genius who was regarded as the future hope by the Xia Nation, highly watched by various international forces, and even vaguely viewed as a potential threat!

Shouldn't he be in Zhongnan City, preparing for the National Tournament finals? How could he appear here in the deep sea of the high seas, ten thousand miles away? And walk out of an 82nd-level legendary-rank secret realm that had just vanished?

An absurd yet impossible-to-ignore thought uncontrollably surfaced in everyone's mind.

"This kid... could he have soloed that legendary-rank secret realm by himself?" The burly man holding the lava battle-axe swallowed hard, his voice dry.

"What a joke! What level is he even? Even if he performed well in the Summoner Competition, that was just the Provincial Tournament, and no matter how strong the opponents were, they were limited! This is an 82nd-level legendary-rank secret realm! A ten-man team might not even be able to clear it!"

Another Elementalist wearing robes and holding a crystal ball immediately retorted, but there was a weakness in their tone that even they didn't find convincing.

If it wasn't a solo run, how could they explain that only he and a group of summons came out? Where were his teammates? All dead? But looking at how relaxed and unscathed they were, did they look like they had just experienced a brutal battle?

"Don't forget how he instantly killed his opponents in the competition. If his damage output really reached that unfathomable level, combined with these summons... soloing a legendary-rank secret realm might not be entirely impossible?"

The female ranger's voice was low, and her eyes, looking at Lin Muyang, were filled with wariness and a trace of undisguisable greed. "The news about him has been overwhelming lately, all saying he is a once-in-a-century miracle for the Xia Nation... I didn't expect to run into him here."

"Heh, come to think of it, is this kid out here all alone?" The last thin, tall man who had been silent the whole time, shrouded in shadows, let out a hoarse, cold laugh. His eyes swept over Lin Muyang and the young ladies beside him like a viper, finally lingering on the few storage rings on Lin Muyang's fingers that looked ordinary but vaguely made him feel palpitations.

"And, he just cleared a legendary-rank secret realm..."

All alone, in the high seas, having just obtained all the spoils from a legendary-rank secret realm!

This sentence, like the sweetest poison, instantly ignited the suppressed flames in the eyes of Wells and the others. Shock and suspicion were quickly replaced by scorching greed and killing intent.

For Class Transferees of the American Empire, especially members of organizations with strong expansionist and predatory tendencies like the Black Night Alliance, Lin Muyang's rise was by no means just a simple case of a "genius from another country." He represented another strong ascent of the Xia Nation's future national destiny, a variable that could break the existing international resource distribution pattern.

In the era of universal class transfer, top experts and the forces they represented directly influenced the competition for Dungeons, secret realms, and rare resource points. Once a monster like Lin Muyang fully matured, the share of the global resource cake that the Xia Nation would take would inevitably increase significantly, which was something the American Empire and its vassal forces were absolutely unwilling to see.

Privately, no one knew how many foreign forces and experts had long regarded Lin Muyang as a thorn in their side, secretly planning various assassination operations. It was just that the Xia Nation's official protection was tight, and Lin Muyang kept a low profile, so they never found a suitable opportunity. And now... the opportunity had unexpectedly been delivered to them in such a way!

The deep high seas, desolate and uninhabited. The opponent was only one person, while they were five, all experienced, with crushing levels, and carrying various high-level scrolls and items issued by the Black Night Alliance...

"If we were to... right here..." The thin, tall man in the shadows licked his lips and silently made a throat-slitting gesture.

Wells's heart pounded wildly, but his long-standing caution prevented him from ordering an attack immediately. He stared fixedly at Lin Muyang, trying to see a trace of panic or vigilance on the other's face.

However, what made him uneasy was that the young Eastern youth had remained calm as water from the moment he appeared until now, even carrying a faint, subtle indifference, as if looking at ants?

The beautiful young ladies beside him also looked relaxed, curiously observing the surrounding deep-sea environment, or snuggling beside the youth, completely devoid of the tension of being surrounded.

Something was wrong! Very wrong!

But the arrow was on the string, and it had to be fired. Greed and confidence in their own strength ultimately overcame the slight warning sign in their hearts.

"Attack! Lock down the space, don't let him use a teleportation scroll to run! Quick battle, quick decision!" Wells gritted his teeth, a look of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, and shouted in a low voice in the language of the American Empire.

At the same time, the black magic book in his hand flipped open without wind, rustling to a certain page, and the obscure incantation was completed instantly!

"Prison of Demon Phantoms!"

He let out a low roar and held the magic book high! Surging dark magic power gushed out from the book like ink, instantly merging into the surrounding seawater!

Pitch-black magic patterns spread and intertwined crazily around him, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a huge hemispherical black barrier with a diameter of over three kilometers, enclosing Lin Muyang and the five of them inside!

The inner walls of the barrier flowed with viscous dark energy, and space seemed to be frozen and stuck; ordinary teleportation magic and spatial scrolls would be completely ineffective here. This was one of Wells's trump card control skills, specifically used to deal with difficult targets possessing escape methods.

In his view, a genius like Lin Muyang must be carrying top-level spatial teleportation scrolls granted by the Xia Nation for self-preservation. He had to strike first and cut off his retreat!

However, this move, which he considered comprehensive and ruthless, was like child's play in Lin Muyang's eyes.

Lin Muyang didn't even raise an eyebrow. Under the insight of 【Divine Sight】, the energy structure, weaknesses, and the caster's mental connection points of this so-called "Prison of Demon Phantoms" barrier were all completely visible. To break it, he had at least three methods to do so instantly.

But he didn't move. He even wanted to see what tricks this group of self-righteous guys could pull off. It just so happened that his strength had greatly increased in the secret realm, and using these few blind guys to test his blade seemed pretty good?

Seeing that the barrier was formed, Wells felt slightly relieved and shouted sternly: "Attack together! Go all out, don't give him a chance to summon more monsters! Use scrolls!"

He knew well that the difficulty of a Summoner lay in the quantity and unknown nature of their summons, so he had to end the battle quickly and kill the main body with thunderous momentum before the opponent could react!

However, before his voice had even faded, he felt an unspeakable, terrifying suppressive force that seemed to originate from the rules of the world itself, suddenly descend!

Lin Muyang didn't even make any obvious casting movements, just a slight shift in his thoughts.

God-Tier Aura — 【Space Interruption】, activated! 【Silence Domain】, activated! 【Attribute Suppression】, activated! 【Damage Inhibition】, activated!...

A series of silent yet heaven-defying weakening and suppression Auras spread out from Lin Muyang, instantly covering the sea area for more than ten kilometers, firmly locking onto Wells and the other five!

"Not good!" As a mage, Wells was the most sensitive to changes in energy and rules. The moment Lin Muyang's Aura took effect, he felt his connection to his magic book and the surrounding magic elements suddenly become sluggish and weak! The mana surging within him seemed to have been shackled by heavy chains, its circulation speed slowing down by several times over! Even worse, he discovered that he was unable to mobilize his mana to release any skills! Whether it was attack, defense, or support, all skill icons had turned gray, as if suppressed tightly by an invisible giant hand!

"My skills... I can't use them?!" The Elementalist screamed in terror. He tried to activate the crystal ball in his hand, but discovered that the elemental power, which was usually as easy to control as his own arm, was now completely unresponsive to him.

"It's a silence effect! He's using a silence-type Aura ability! Use scrolls! Quickly, use scrolls!" The experienced female Ranger was the first to react. She shouted a warning, and at the same time, without hesitation, pulled a magic scroll engraved with frost runes from the pouch at her waist and tore it open instantly!

Scroll — 【Frost Erosion】!

A bone-chilling cold current erupted with her at the center. The surrounding seawater crystallized at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading rapidly toward Lin Muyang. Wherever it passed, even some deep-sea fish that could not dodge in time were instantly frozen into ice sculptures.

The others also reacted. At this life-and-death moment, they no longer cared about the cost and all took out their trump card magic scrolls. These were high-quality items provided by the Black Night Alliance, possessing immense power, intended precisely for dealing with such emergencies.

The thin, tall man in the shadows tore open a scroll engraved with eerie runes. A grayish-white Aura expanded outward — 【Silence Domain · Enhanced Version】, attempting to counter Lin Muyang's silence effect, though the effect was negligible.

The burly man holding a lava battle-axe roared and tore open a crimson scroll. Violent fire elements gathered, forming a ten-meter-long phantom of a flaming slash on his battle-axe, which he slashed down fiercely toward Lin Muyang! 【Flame Mountain-Crushing Slash · Scroll Version】!

However, the most lethal attack came from the blond woman who had been reticent all along, draped entirely in black robes. She had not said a single word from the beginning, but now, facing Lin Muyang, the coldest killing intent erupted in her eyes. She extended her pale, slender fingers and took out a palm-sized box wrapped in black velvet from her bosom. Opening the box, a scroll lay quietly inside; its material was neither metal nor wood, entirely pitch-black, with an evil crescent moon outlined in dark gold on its surface.

mythic grade magic scroll — 【Dark Moon Erosion】!

This was her greatest trump card, a treasure she had obtained during a near-death exploration of an ancient ruin, kept hidden until now, never having been used. But at this moment, facing Lin Muyang, a target labeled as "extremely high risk, extremely high value" within the Alliance, she took it out without hesitation, injected mana into it, and activated it!

"Dark Moon... Descend!"

Her cold voice seemed to carry a certain magic. The scroll turned to ashes in her hand, and the next moment, a crescent moon over five meters in diameter, pitch-black all over, with dark gold evil light flowing along its edges, appeared out of thin air in the seawater between Lin Muyang and the five attackers!

The instant this black moon appeared, the surrounding light seemed to be swallowed by it; even the glow of deep-sea bioluminescent creatures dimmed. A pure, deep, dark energy, filled with an Aura of corruption and destruction, permeated from the black moon like a living thing! The surrounding seawater was instantly polluted, bubbling with countless pitch-black, churning, and bursting foam, emitting a pungent, corrosive odor. The seawater itself seemed to have turned into concentrated sulfuric acid; any substance tainted by it was rapidly dissolving and rotting!

The power of a mythic grade scroll was terrifying indeed! It had already exceeded the scope of ordinary legendary magic, touching upon corruption and destruction at the level of rules!

Facing this overwhelming barrage of scroll attacks from different directions and with different attributes, especially that "Dark Moon" emitting a heart-palpitating Aura, the young ladies just summoned by Lin Muyang remained calm, even appearing a bit curious?

Elabess's crimson eyes looked at the pitch-black moon with great interest, as if she had seen some amusing toy. She felt the surging dark energy within it, which was of the same origin as hers but deeper and more complex, and a graceful yet dangerous curve appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Dark power? Truly... trying to show off before an expert."

She whispered to herself, then elegantly raised an arm as white as jade, and with her slender fingertips, lightly tapped toward the "Dark Moon" that was emitting terrifying fluctuations.

There was no incantation, no flashy magical brilliance. But the moment her fingertips tapped, the pitch-black moon, which seemed capable of corroding everything, shuddered violently! The violent dark energy circulating within it, as if subdued by an invisible monarch, or as if it had found a higher-level destination, had its trajectory instantly reversed by 180 degrees!

The pitch-black corrosive energy and foam that had been spreading toward Lin Muyang's side suddenly halted, and then... with a force several times more ferocious and concentrated, like an enraged black tidal wave, it surged back, roaring toward its owner—the blond woman in black robes, and Wells and the others not far from her!

"What?!" The blond woman in black robes exclaimed. For the first time, a violent emotional fluctuation appeared on her cold face—it was unparalleled shock and disbelief! She felt her connection to the energy released by the 【Dark Moon Erosion】 scroll being instantly severed and usurped! The black moon she had summoned had now become a weapon of destruction aimed at herself!

No, not just her! The surging black tidal wave also completely engulfed Wells, who was bearing the brunt of it!

"No—!!!" Wells's eyes were bloodshot. He desperately tried to mobilize his mana, trying to activate his life-saving items, but in the face of Lin Muyang's multiple suppression Auras and this sudden backlash, all his efforts seemed so futile. He could only watch helplessly as the viscous dark energy, emitting a pungent, corrosive odor, wrapped around his body in an instant like countless vipers.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

A hair-raising corrosive sound rang out. The magic shield on Wells's body shattered instantly like a soap bubble in the sun. The precious black magic book in his hand bore the brunt of it; the demon face on the cover emitted a silent wail, and the pages quickly turned black, curled up, and turned into ashes.

Immediately following were his robes, skin, and muscles... Under the erosion of the mythic grade dark energy, this level 178 SS-Rank Expert mage could not even manage a complete scream; his entire body was corroded into a mass of twisting, black-smoke-emitting mist within just two or three seconds, and finally completely dissipated into the cold seawater, leaving no corpse behind!

The commander of the Black Night Alliance's operation this time, the SS-Rank genius mage Wells, had fallen!

The remaining four were terrified to the core! They could never have imagined that their side's strongest control barrier and greatest trump card not only failed to hurt the opponent in the slightest but instead turned against them in an instant, instantly killing the strongest among them, Wells!

"Run! Run separately!" The female Ranger reacted the fastest, screaming sharply. She turned and swam frantically toward the edge of the barrier, while tearing open an acceleration scroll. The other three also snapped out of their daze, no longer caring about attacking, and fled for their lives in different directions, using all sorts of acceleration, blink, and invisibility scrolls as if they were free.

However, would Lin Muyang give them this chance?

He did not even move a step, but simply said to the small, golden dragon-shaped bracelet on his wrist, "Qingyan, take care of them. Keep it clean."

"Yes, Master." A cold, melodious, yet supreme, majestic female voice seemed to ring directly in the depths of everyone's souls in the deep sea.

The next moment, the small golden dragon tattoo coiled around Lin Muyang's wrist suddenly lit up with dazzling golden light! A dragon roar, as if coming from the primordial era, majestic and vast, pierced through the barrier of ten thousand meters of deep sea and boomed across this sea area sealed by the barrier!

The golden light surged! In the terrified gaze of Wells and the others, a sacred giant dragon with a body length of over one hundred meters, covered entirely in golden, glass-like dragon scales, with prominent horns and sharp five-clawed talons, tore through the seawater and appeared in the dark deep sea! Golden light flames flowed around her body, illuminating the pitch-black seawater, and a sacred, majestic, ancient, and powerful Aura came crushing down like a physical tsunami! It was exactly Ao Qingyan, who had fully unleashed her power and transformed into her divine dragon form!

"Dragon... an Eastern Dragon?!" The four fleeing individuals froze in unison. Looking back, all color instantly drained from their faces, and their eyes were filled with boundless fear and despair. That was a creature that only existed in legends and totems! It was a sacred being from Eastern mythology that governed the clouds and rain and possessed boundless power! This Lin Muyang, to think he could summon a real dragon?!