127: same level of competition

Unfortunately, this time he was facing a Chrono Legionnaire with Space Magic jumping abilities. The Chrono Legionnaire within the black mist simply flashed and appeared outside of it.

"Ah, impossible! This is impossible! No one can escape my dark energy. Could this be the long-lost Space Magic?" Austin raised an eyebrow and looked the Chrono Legionnaire up and down. Suddenly, his pupils constricted sharply. Through the energy fluctuations just now, he was certain that his opponent was also a Saint Archmage level mage.

"No one can defeat the Commander. Our enemy is the same—the Magic Empire. Actually, we could cooperate. As for Jian, isn't he just a nephew? Is he really that important?" The Chrono Legionnaire, under Wei He's orders, spoke slowly.

"Bullshit! Although I, Austin, am not a good person, I want to be the Emperor of the Magic Empire, not betray it. Most importantly, Jian is my nephew, the only heir to our family. You and your Commander must die; none of you will escape!" A ruthless glint appeared in Austin's eyes. He secretly calculated that even against a Saint Archmage level mage, if he unleashed his full power, he might still have a chance at victory.

Thinking of this, Austin extended his hands, held them out to his sides, and began to chant slowly. A vast amount of black mist emerged from around his body and spread outward at an extremely rapid speed.

In just a few minutes, the surrounding area of five or six kilometers was shrouded in black mist. This black mist rapidly absorbed the life force and energy of all living creatures within its range. The group of Chrono Legionnaires who had long been lying in ambush here instantly used their Space Magic jumping ability to flash outside the range of the black mist. Dozens of Chrono Legionnaires flashed away.

Austin's eyes widened. He had originally thought that having one Saint Archmage level Space Mage was already the limit for a person like Wei He. He had not expected there to be dozens of Space Mages of the same level, which instantly made him feel that he was in danger.

The black mist was still absorbing the life force of all living creatures within the range, but Austin sensed that the energy absorbed this time seemed somewhat different. The energy absorbed this time was too powerful—so powerful that his body was almost bursting. Moreover, this energy was rampaging and destroying things inside his body; he had to use the vast majority of his energy to suppress it.

If it were just the life force of the surrounding plants and animals, it would be impossible to generate such a massive amount of energy. There must be other unknown Ability Users within the black mist.

Just as Austin wanted to retract the black mist, a powerful energy was rapidly spreading across the ground. Cold sweat instantly poured down Austin's face. He sensed danger, lightly tapped his toes, and without even having time to retract the black mist, he instantly leaped into the air.

In the air, he retracted all the black mist and finally saw the situation on the ground. Ripples of green radiation layers were filling the area he had just covered with black mist. This radiation layer contained tremendous Nuclear Radiation Energy, and Austin knew this was a power he could not withstand.

It turned out that a Radiation Engineer had been within the range of Austin's black mist. The massive energy absorbed by the black mist had been drawn from the Radiation Engineer.

The entire radiation layer, centered on the Radiation Engineer with a radius of 6000 meters, caused all animals within this range to turn into a puddle of green pus, and the trees withered rapidly. It was unclear whether they had withered when Austin absorbed the life force of the trees, or if they only began to wither when the radiation layer ripples covered the entire area after the Radiation Engineer deployed.

On the base's screen, Wei He saw that the Chrono Legionnaires who had flashed out of the black mist had suffered slight damage to their health bars after being shrouded for only a short while. The Radiation Engineer, who had stayed in the black mist the longest, had its health bar drop by a small fraction. He couldn't help but exclaim: "As expected of a Saint Archmage level dark mage! The power is truly formidable!"

Austin looked at the Radiation Engineer on the ground with great confusion; it was actually also a Saint Archmage level Ability User, and its energy was even higher than that level. He shouted down to it: "Are you also a helper hired by Wei He?"

"Commander, I hope you will consider it carefully: let's conquer the Magic Empire together and drive Emperor Alexander off the throne!" The Radiation Engineer, under Wei He's orders, continued to speak.

"Another one of Wei He's subordinates. Why are there so many Ability Users willing to help Wei He? Regardless, I will not betray the Magic Empire. Let me test just how powerful you are. It's been a long time since I've seen so many Ability Users of the same level!" Austin's fair face instantly flushed red like a ripe apple, his brows knit together, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

Austin's hands condensed a layer of black mist, which he swung straight toward the Radiation Engineer below. The black mist stretched into a straight line, connecting to the deployed Radiation Engineer. From Wei He's perspective, the Radiation Engineer's health bar was dropping rapidly. Just as the health bar had dropped to nearly half, Austin suddenly spat out blood, and the black mist connecting to the Radiation Engineer dissipated into the air.

"Ah, what is this? How can there be such bizarre energy?" Austin spat out blood while fleeing into the distance.

"What happened? Wasn't he launching an attack on the Radiation Engineer from the air? Logically, the Radiation Engineer shouldn't have been able to hurt him! Why did he spit blood and run away?" Wei He sat in front of the base's screen, staring at the fleeing Austin, and asked in confusion.

"Oh, a dark mage's black mist is used to absorb the energy and life force of living creatures to strengthen their own power. He must have absorbed the Radiation Engineer's Nuclear Radiation Energy. The nuclear radiation caused damage inside his body, which is why he is like this!" Ravich, who had just walked in not long ago, explained to Wei He.

"Is that so? Isn't that like the Star-Sucking Great Skill?" Wei He summoned the Chrono Legionnaires who had been around Austin. After questioning them, he discovered that they had indeed had their energy absorbed by Austin. He raised an eyebrow sharply and said in shock.

"With such a miraculous ability, he still lost the battle for the throne. How exactly did Emperor Alexander win? This is truly terrifying!" Wei He's heart skipped a beat. Thinking that he was about to go to war with the Magic Empire, his mind went blank.

"I heard that back then, it was Emperor Alexander, Grand Duke William, and Grand Duke James working together who managed to defeat Austin. After all, Austin's dark magic ability to absorb energy is simply heaven-defying!" Ravich heard Wei He's words and explained softly.

On the East Plague Island, east of East Throat Mountain, Austin dragged his painful and exhausted body back to his courtyard. He sat cross-legged on his bed and channeled all his dark magic, attempting to suppress the Nuclear Radiation Energy. Unfortunately, he had absorbed too much Nuclear Radiation Energy, and just as he was about to lose control, a servant walked in carrying tea.