Chapter 550: Clash

On the twentieth floor of the magic tower named 'Scepter of Destruction', Jennifer looked speechlessly at the figure before her—the magus Robespierre, who was debugging and controlling the entire magic tower at the central hub of the magical array.

"Lafayette, you said earlier that you would wait for him on the tenth floor."

"There is an Eastern saying: 'A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit,' meaning that even a small matter must be handled with all one's strength and seriousness. There is also a saying: 'Preparedness ensures success.'"

Robespierre showed no sign of embarrassment, his expression relaxed and at ease: "Moreover, for your brother, what difference does it make whether I use thirty percent of my power or all of it? That Scarlet Dragon Armor is powerful, but it depends on who wields it. You know my strength, Jennifer."

Jennifer snorted coldly, her pretty face darkening. She was still displeased to hear Robespierre speak of her brother in such a way. Yet she knew that what he said was the truth.

She had once witnessed him fighting against Edmund, and it was indeed a divine-like display of power.

"Rest assured, I will go easy on him."

Robespierre twirled the ruby scepter in his hand with confidence: "But I will also make sure he loses even more miserably, so that he gains a proper understanding and reverence for the power of a magus. With such an arrogant nature, if he doesn't receive a lesson and a setback, he will suffer in the future. I need to teach him how to behave—"

However, his expression lasted only until the next second. When he saw the spatial membrane split in two in the projected magical image, Robespierre's face changed instantly.

"Damn it, this is a conceptual divine authority related to severing and cutting!"

At the outer edge of the magic tower, Li Mochen had cut through the outer defenses of the 'Scepter of Destruction' with a single slash of his blade, entering the interior of the demiplane with an unhurried demeanor.

The ultimate 'Pierce' and ultimate 'Must-Cut' domains of the long blade 'Sakura Blood' in others' hands only made the sacred armament 'Sakura Blood' sharper and harder to resist.

But in Li Mochen's hands, he could directly extract divine authority power from them.

The moment Li Mochen entered the spatial membrane, dozens of powerful spells immediately bombarded him.

Lightning Storm, Power Word: Annihilation, Chaos Ray, Cloudkill, Sunburst—all related to destruction and devastation, their power exceptionally enhanced under Robespierre's divine authority.

Li Mochen ignored them all. His long blade 'Sakura Blood' slashed ten times in an instant, 'cutting' the vast majority of the surging spells.

He paid no heed to the remaining seven spells. Mounting his Shadowflame Dragon, he used a Shadow Trace to arrive directly outside the magic tower's gate.

Here, Li Mochen slashed again, cleaving the gate—made of various alloys and with defensive capabilities comparable to ancient dragon scales—into two halves. Then, before the numerous spells could land, he entered the tower.

At that moment, the trees, grasses, and vines planted throughout the demiplane around the magic tower underwent a transformation. Tendrils and vines climbed upward, reaching the seventh floor in an instant, and began to destroy the magical arrays on the outer layer of the tower, devouring its vast magical energy.

This was the wood-type divine authority seized from the 'Blue Swamp Magic Vine'! The Scarlet Dragon Armor had nearly perfectly absorbed all the power of the 'Blue Swamp Magic Vine', not only greatly increasing Li Mochen's strength but also granting him four of its divine authorities.

Wood-type was his weakest area, and he had studied it the least in the Original Dome Realm, yet when Li Mochen wielded this divine authority, it was far more powerful than that of the 'Blue Swamp Magic Vine'.

The extending vines were soon mostly destroyed by Robespierre's spells, but even more vines grew in their place.

Unlike the 'Blue Swamp Magic Vine', Li Mochen possessed profound knowledge. He could use various other types of spells and divine authorities to strengthen this wood-type divine authority. For instance, 'Life Divine Authority' made the plants exceptionally resilient; 'Bestow Intelligence' gave each vine its own consciousness; 'Endurance' granted them tenfold toughness; 'Fire Resistance' allowed them to resist burning.

Inside the 'Scepter of Destruction', countless spells were simultaneously triggered. Most were evocation or lightning-type, less spectacular than those outside the tower but more powerful.

Li Mochen's 'Sakura Blood' blade slashed continuously, still charging forward. He now began to use his innate spell 'Light Speed Movement' in combination with the Lesser Dragon Vein's 'Shadow Trace', making his movement trajectory more varied and even unpredictable.

At this moment, he sensed that the magus was using void energy to form a pair of illusory eyes in the interstice of the planes, observing him in greater detail.

Li Mochen chuckled: "I have arrived, Robespierre! Are you ready?"

Another flash of blade light, and the 'Void Eye' in the planar gap was slashed apart. An instant later, the ceiling of the first floor was cut three times, leaving a triangular scar.

Then Li Mochen's entire body burst through the barrier at the center of the triangle, entering the second floor.

In the following moments, Li Mochen broke through to the fifth floor of the 'Scepter of Destruction' magic tower with an unstoppable momentum.

Here, the magic was even more狂暴. With the magical arrays inside the tower, Lafayette de Robespierre's spellcasting frequency became faster, densely covering every inch of space, leaving one astounded.

Even with 'Light Speed Movement', Li Mochen could not completely avoid the spells. But at this point, three types of magic patterns had appeared on the surface of his 'Scarlet Dragon Armor'.

—Solidity! Indestructibility! Magic Resistance!

This mythical equipment, besides the 'Gladiator Divine Authority' and 'War Divine Authority', also possessed four ultimate domains. Under Li Mochen's command, each was elevated to the level of divine authority.

The next moment, Li Mochen, enduring the surging tide of destruction magic, slashed open the magical barrier of the sixth floor.

"It's useless, Robespierre! Are you still not going to take me seriously? If so, then today, be prepared to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat!"

At the top floor of the 'Scepter of Destruction' magic tower, Lafayette de Robespierre's expression was now solemn, his gaze cold.

Li Mochen's unstoppable momentum made him realize the enemy's difficulty.

"Wow—"

Jennifer was equally shocked, thinking: Is that godlike, invincible figure really my brother?

It took her a long time to snap out of it, and then she looked at the magus in the array with a strange expression: "He's right. If you don't go all out, you'll end up being taught a lesson by him."

"What do you know?"

Robespierre snorted lightly: "I just don't want to destroy my own magic tower. Repairing it is troublesome, and I don't have that much money."

The forbidden spells and divine authorities he wielded were all immensely powerful. But the downside was that fighting on his own turf was especially painful for his wallet.

Robespierre was already regretting letting Li Mochen enter the 'Scepter of Destruction', but faced with a powerful melee-type mythical equipment like the Scarlet Dragon Armor, only a magic tower could ensure a mage's personal safety.

—André's displayed combat prowess also confirmed his foresight.

At that moment, as Robespierre pressed down his scepter, Li Mochen on the seventh floor felt immense pressure bearing down on him.

This was 'Gravity', a powerful spell above level 30. The gravity exerted on Li Mochen was nearly at the limit his body could withstand.

Next came 'Magic Silence', similar to Li Mochen's 'Silence Domain', which could interfere with spellcasting. It targeted the Lesser Dragon Vein, making it difficult for him to use void and shadow techniques.

Then came 'Heavenly Chains', not a magical artifact but a spell created by the magus based on the prototype of the divine artifact that could bind the gods.

As these layers of spells were cast around and on Li Mochen, a white light from above blasted toward him.

Li Mochen flickered three times in the narrow space within the magic tower, but when he slashed again to forcibly break open the ceiling of the seventh floor...

Robespierre's formidable divine presence locked onto him once more. That white radiance also struck Li Mochen's body.

This was the Transfiguration spell—the same spell that 'Nightlord of the Void' Delfinia had once cast on him, capable of turning people into sheep, rabbits, even mice, various pieces of furniture, edible cakes, and so on.

Li Mochen knew that one of Robespierre's forbidden spells was 'Mass Transfiguration,' an exaggerated spell that could simultaneously turn tens of thousands of living beings into mice, sheep, or tables and chairs.

This meant that his single-target 'Transfiguration' was also exceptionally powerful, reaching the level of a forbidden spell.

Yet Li Mochen showed no fear, charging upward against the white light. At this moment, his Scarlet Dragon Armor radiated a fourth kind of luster.

This was another divine power derived from the ultimate domain—Eternity!

This was a combination of the divine powers of time and concept, fixing oneself in a certain state, making it impossible for external forces to change or shake it.

Wenjian Taoran had not mastered or studied this 'Great Way,' but Li Mochen himself had accumulated a solid foundation. After obtaining the 'Scarlet Dragon Armor,' he used the Wish Spell and the merit energy accumulated in the 'Divine Cloud Purple Gold Pagoda' to aid his research, easily mastering the ability to derive divine power from this ultimate domain. The colorful spiritual light he spent for this was less than a thousand strands.

At this moment, in Bessel Einstein's 'Supreme Truth' magic tower, the three apprentices of the Archmage all had stiff, cold expressions.

Even Cristy Brad, who had bet on Li Mochen not losing, stared unblinkingly, her expression shaken.

She believed that Einstein valued Li Mochen for a reason, and her recent interactions had made her realize that this was a man who could create miracles—even Andre himself was a miracle.

But she also never expected that Li Mochen, wearing the 'Scarlet Dragon Armor,' would be this powerful.

"It's Eternity—"

The middle-aged mage adjusted his glasses: "It seems he doesn't need anyone's help. The Wiltonshire family can now rank among the supreme families."

"It's already been over three minutes!"

The young mage shrugged, looking helpless: "Well, all the assets I've accumulated over ten years, lost in one go. Teacher, I have to thank you; you've let me witness a brilliant battle. Without a doubt, this is a war between gods."

His expression was focused, unwilling to miss a single detail.

Bessel Einstein's magical abilities were exceptionally powerful. Not only did he exploit the internal disturbance of the 'Scepter of Destruction' magic tower to reveal the situation inside, but he also displayed the changes in magical energy, divine power, spells, even laws and origins, in meticulous detail before them.

"Greatly beneficial!"

The middle-aged mage nodded in agreement: "Especially those conceptual divine powers. I've been studying them recently, and although our paths differ, they can still inspire me. The Scarlet Dragon Armor lives up to its reputation, and it has found its best master, one who can fully unleash its abilities. I'm now starting to look forward to what happens when the Blood Crown falls into his hands—"

"Better not!" The young mage's lips twitched: "That guy will become an Archmage killer. In fact, he already is! Our magic is useless against him now, isn't it?"

At the top floor of the 'Scepter of Destruction' magic tower, Robespierre's expression was also somewhat twisted.

"The divine power of Eternity! What the hell."

—Even such a powerful conceptual divine power was mastered?

"Eternity?" Jennifer looked at him with a strange expression: "Giving you a headache?"

"Of course it's a headache!"

Robespierre rubbed his brow: "Solidity, Inviolability, Magic Resistance, and Eternity! Although they are all elementary conceptual divine powers, the Scarlet Dragon Armor itself is very sturdy, and the combination of the four divine powers makes it even more troublesome. Ordinary magic can no longer break through the defense of the Scarlet Dragon Armor. I remember it can ignore demigod-level spells. This is troublesome—"

His voice abruptly stopped, realizing that saying these things in front of Jennifer might not be appropriate.

Jennifer couldn't help but laugh: "I don't mean to be sarcastic, Lafitte. I think you should be more serious. It seems my brother is not an opponent you can easily dismiss."

"Yes, yes! But could you please be quiet, girl? I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now!"

Robespierre snorted darkly: "I do need to get serious, but I might not be able to hold back from now on. Pray for his luck, Jennifer. Hope he doesn't get killed by my forbidden spells."

Just as Jennifer's brows furrowed, anxious over Robespierre's threat, Robespierre had already changed into a set of pitch-black robes, with strands of purple lightning coiling around him.

"Now then, MAX state Lafitte de Robespierre has arrived. Ready to face the fate of defeat, little one?"

On the ninth floor of the magic tower, Li Mochen's surroundings were engulfed in a storm of blazing white and destructive energy.

Robespierre's forbidden spell 'Matter Annihilation' continuously produced nuclear-explosion-level blasts around him, not only raising the temperature near Li Mochen to millions of degrees Celsius in an instant but also filling the entire space with lethal radiation. In comparison, the resulting shockwaves were secondary. The terrifying high-temperature radiation alone was enough to directly melt any demigod-level powerhouse!

At this moment, any observation-type spells had become ineffective. Even Bessel Einstein's spells could not withstand those nuclear-radiation-level shockwaves; he could only increase the distance to maintain the stability of the observation spell.

As a result, the people here could only see a patch of blazing white, unable to make out Li Mochen's figure at all.

"This is Robespierre's terror! The 'Matter Annihilation' forbidden spell combined with the divine power of destruction makes him the No.1 in attack power among all Archmages."

The young mage sighed: "He's starting to get serious. I suspect the temperature at the center has already exceeded 20 million degrees, close to the sun. Is that guy still alive?"

Cristy Brad pursed her lips bitterly, thinking that her senior Elaine would most likely win this bet.

"I just feel sorry for Robespierre."

The middle-aged mage shrugged: "He's going to wreck this 'Scepter of Destruction' magic tower himself. He must hate Andre to death."

The three present couldn't help but smile knowingly, filled with schadenfreude.

But at that moment, Bessel Einstein, not far away, tapped his pipe, causing ripples in the magical image.

Although the scene inside did not change, still a patch of blazing white, the three all sensed that the scene displayed in the image had shifted.

"This... already the fourteenth floor?"

The young mage was shocked and incredulous: "He's already broken through to here? While we were talking, what happened? Did he use spatial teleportation?"

But all he saw was a patch of blazing white. Robespierre had obviously also used the forbidden spell 'Matter Annihilation' on this fourteenth floor, so the high-temperature radiation here was still astonishing.

However, they all noticed that the overall radiation and temperature here were actually lower than on the ninth floor.

This was because Robespierre had to divert his attention to other matters, slowing down the frequency of casting 'Matter Annihilation.'

"It's time!"

The middle-aged mage said thoughtfully: "I can sense the clash of time powers, and it's very intense."

The other two had already noticed this as well, exchanging horrified glances.

That was not merely intensity; the time and space of the fourteenth floor of the 'Scepter of Annihilation' magic tower had been stirred into a tangled mess, and the temporal-spatial expansion caused by the forbidden spell 'Matter Annihilation' had only exacerbated this change.

Thus, they were not surprised to find the magical image shifting again.

This time, it was the fifteenth floor. The disturbance of 'Matter Annihilation' on time and space had clearly bolstered Li Mochen's temporal abilities, allowing him to once again cleave through the ceiling of the fifteenth floor—in fact, the latter, under the ravages of 'Matter Annihilation,' was already riddled with holes.

Perhaps Robespierre had not yet had time to cast 'Matter Annihilation'; they were fortunate enough to see Li Mochen's figure once more. The latter's scarlet dragon armor was now enveloped in black flames.

The three here all recognized at once that it was Robespierre's other forbidden spell, 'Divine Flame of Destruction.' However, between the black flames and the scarlet dragon armor, there was also an additional layer of purple-gold source energy armor and ice armor. The latter resisted the 'Divine Flame of Destruction,' constantly melting and collapsing, yet always repairing itself instantly, effectively isolating the 'Divine Flame of Destruction.'

This made the three mages look grave; being able to contend with Robespierre's 'Divine Flame of Destruction' meant at least a power of medium divine authority!

This imposing armor made Li Mochen's figure appear even more indestructible.

At this moment, Bethel Einstein conjured another magical image. They then discovered that the vines and trees in the demiplane had already spread to the seventeenth floor of the 'Scepter of Annihilation' magic tower! They infiltrated the tower relentlessly, with some parts extending deep inside, damaging part of the tower's array structure.

Although Robespierre continuously destroyed them with spells, even using his 'Erasure' divine authority to wipe these increasingly terrifying plants from the world like an eraser, he could not keep up with their growth rate. Their vitality was immense, and their roots were ceaselessly devouring magical energy from within the tower.

This scene made the atmosphere even more tense.

"What a terrifying fellow!"

The middle-aged mage murmured, "Well, it seems I haven't won either. I'm really curious: which path will he choose in the future? It can't be omnipotent creation, can it?"

Clearly, in the clash of divine authorities outside the magic tower, Robespierre was at a disadvantage.

On the sixteenth floor of the magic tower, Li Mochen encountered another obstacle. Eight towering construct warriors appeared around him.

Their strength was extremely formidable, almost rivaling demigods. Under Robespierre's divine authority, each blow matched the power of Robert wielding the 'Fang of the Wind God'! Only their speed was slightly inferior, but the combined force of the eight construct warriors compensated for the lack of speed.

Moreover, this was a complete set of construct puppets, with excellent coordination and a sense of joint attack.

Li Mochen also felt a divine authority acting on the little dragon vein.

The magus clearly intended to hold nothing back, attempting to 'erase' the little darkfire dragon from this world, cutting off his powerful ally.

Helpless, Li Mochen could only toss the little dragon vein several layers of space away, far from the battlefield. But by now, the scales of victory had tipped in his favor, and the battle was entering its final phase.

"Freeze!"

At that moment, the eight construct warriors were frozen in place.

The divine authority of ice and the innate spell 'Time Delay' allowed Li Mochen to create near-absolute zero!

Although the eight construct warriors struggled, and Robespierre's 'Erasure' divine authority tried to erase the freeze—even casting the forbidden spell 'Matter Annihilation'—this had already bought Li Mochen time. At this moment, a mysterious rune flashed on the outer layer of the scarlet dragon armor—the precursor to the mythical equipment's forbidden spell 'Thunder of Godslaying'!

"Thunder of Godslaying?"

Robespierre, at the top of the tower, sneered again. He glanced sideways at the focused Jennifer and said, "My puppets are made from celestial holy stone. That forbidden spell cannot destroy them."

Jennifer took a deep breath: "But he has already fought his way here, hasn't he? My brother, he is still very young!"

Robespierre paused, then said somewhat reluctantly, "Indeed, he has earned the right to contend with a magus. In the future, he may become stronger than me. But this time, I will defeat—"

Then he saw a massive bolt of lightning disperse, combining with the electromagnetic storm raised by Robespierre's 'Matter Annihilation' to paralyze all the construct warriors, even temporarily robbing them of thought.

Li Mochen himself slightly withdrew the longsword 'Sakura Blood' in his hand, assuming a peculiar stance.

"Slay!"

The next instant, countless fierce blades 'spewed' from before Li Mochen, thrusting upward like a mountain of swords and a tide of blades. Then Robespierre found the floor of the twentieth floor where he stood pierced by countless blades wrapped in source energy.

The four layers of barriers before him, each with defenses at the level of a weak god, were penetrated by Li Mochen's sword energy like tofu!

And at that moment, a term flashed through Robespierre's mind—Piercing Divine Authority! And at the medium rank!