Nos's expression gradually shifted from ferocious anger to an icy silence. The scattered magical energy around him rapidly gathered and merged into the dozens of armored statues adorning the banquet hall.
Through the combined power of magic and psychic energy, these unconscious inanimate objects sprang to life, wielding giant axes and bows. They marched in perfect formation towards Lynn.
Lynn dodged five incoming arrows and then pointed his hand at the ground. Ripples of magic swept through, transforming rows of tiles into fine sand.
[Fossil to Mud]
The approaching psychic guardians, like rolling gourds, sank into the sandy ground, and then these sand piles, infused with magic, began to stack up.
Psychic magic - [Summon Lion-Headed Humanoid]
Lynn followed Nos's lead and attempted to use psychic magic, although not proficiently. The sand piles gradually took the form of a humanoid upper body with a lion-like lower half.
However, being his first try with this new magic, the appearance of the Lion-Headed Humanoid was quite distorted, resembling a figurine molded by a child. After sending a few approaching psychic guards flying with a punch, it was obliterated by a fiery explosion, losing half of its body.
[Magic Missiles]
Realizing that his half-baked psychic spell wouldn't provide much help in combat, Lynn resorted to his most adept form of magic. Dozens of glittering magic missiles hovered in the air, resembling a dense rain of arrows, shrouding most of the banquet hall.
Accompanied by a series of explosions, the remaining psychic guards were reduced to fragments, crashing into the solid Magic Barrier in the rear.
Each missile was like a cannonball, immediately bursting upon impact with the magical barrier.
In just two seconds, the sturdy Magic Barrier was covered in cracks. Just as the barrier was on the verge of breaking, Nos opened his mouth.
A sharp sonic wave echoed continuously in the banquet hall. Over a dozen "Magic Missiles" that were about to hit the barrier instantly burst into pieces, and Lynn's movement halted for a moment.
It was the "Soul Wail".
Seeing Lynn's obvious pause in response to the Soul Wail, Nos immediately understood that Lynn's soul power was weaker than his own. He raised his wand without hesitation.
[Magic Beam]
The tip of the wand lit up with intricate runes, and then a powerful beam of magic shot out, directly targeting Lynn, who was immobilized by the "Soul Wail".
However, Nos quickly realized with horror that Lynn, who should have been immobile, effortlessly lifted his arm. A faint flame condensed at his fingertip, rapidly expanding into a gigantic hand made of endless flames – a fiery avatar of a demon. It collided head-on with the incoming magical beam.
The raging white phosphorus fire almost instantly devoured the beam of magic, imprinting itself fiercely on the already fragmented magical barrier.
"Crack."
A crisp sound resonated as the entire Magic Barrier crumbled. Following that, [Flame Demon's Hand] swept across every inch of the banquet hall with an overwhelming force, obliterating everything in its path. Finally, it charged towards Nos at the back.
Nos only had time to release a "Mage Shield" before being engulfed by scorching flames.
A piercing scream soon echoed from the raging sea of fire. The feeble "Mage Shield" clearly couldn't withstand the "White Phosphorus - Flame Demon's Hand," which had reached the limit of third-tier magic. In just a moment, the white phosphorus flames made intimate contact with Nos's body.
It was like flames from hell, greedily clinging to his body, using flesh and blood as nourishment, corroding every inch of his skin.
While his originally outstanding regenerative abilities had become a form of torment, under constant cycles of repair and destruction, Nos's spirit was on the verge of collapse. His magical energy quickly dwindled, and his physical recovery slowed down.
Lynn raised his hand and extinguished the white phosphorus flames.
Nos's body had been burnt beyond recognition, looking almost like a dried corpse. However, his massive soul power allowed him to retain some consciousness. His crimson eyes stared fixedly at Lynn, seemingly not understanding how Lynn had suddenly broken free from the "Soul Wail."
"I was just fooling you, you fool." Lynn said coldly.
Having become a psychic after consuming the essence of the Eye of Death, Lynn's soul power was not inferior to Nos, who had devoured a large amount of soul power. So when Nos used the "Soul Wail," Lynn was affected, but not to the extent of being unable to move or cast spells.
He deliberately acted as if he were under control to make Nos lower his guard, allowing Lynn to unleash his deadliest magic.
Nos widened his crimson eyes, blood trickling from his mouth. His body convulsed, as if trying to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his life force vanished completely.
"Did I anger him to death?" Lynn shook his head and approached Nos, placing his right hand on the scorching head of Nos. He activated psychic magic to retrieve Nos's memories.
However, he quickly found that Nos's memories were in disarray and rapidly dissipating. It seemed that the person who set up this array couldn't escape the fate of being consumed.
Lynn glanced at the unresponsive AI brain, confirming his suspicions.
The AI brain's transformation and absorption of spirits were not without limitations. Apart from the requirement of being close to the target, there seemed to be a strength requirement. Judging from the fact that the energy reserves converted didn't exceed ten percent, it seemed that only the souls of wizard apprentices were directly captured and absorbed, and they had to be in a state separated from their physical bodies.
Just as Lynn was pondering, sounds of explosions came from outside the banquet hall.
Lynn's expression remained unchanged. This was the result of his controlling the rodents and gray crows to quietly use liquid bombs to destroy several array nodes in the manor.
However, Lynn quickly realized that the situation seemed to be different from what he had expected. The Soul-Devouring Array, which covered the entire banquet hall, did not end; instead, it continued to spread outward.
The guards, who had rushed to the array nodes upon hearing the explosions, suddenly showed painful expressions and collapsed on the ground. Bluish spirits emerged from their bodies, and then sank into the ground.
Not only that, the hunting dogs patrolling the manor, the horses and camels in the stables, did not escape the fate of having their souls extracted.
The Soul-Devouring Array strengthened once again, flickered with an emerald green glow and surged towards the entire southern city district.