"I have finally... finally reached above the clouds! Ha... hahaha—"
Bellmoru, in his white robe and with white hair, laughed maniacally, his arms spread wide in jubilation. Throughout history, countless powerful beings have been shackled by these clouds. And now, they lay beneath his feet! The chief wizard of the Royal Court was the unparalleled pioneer of this age!
Like a child on his first visit to an amusement park, Bellmoru looked around with eager excitement. He noticed a thick, semi-transparent substance flowing atop the clouds, and upon closer inspection, he was struck with awe!
It was an extraordinarily concentrated form of magical essence!
"Liquid magic stones?"
Bellmoru pondered, sensing he had perhaps stumbled upon one of the world's hidden truths. Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, he felt a sudden chill!
He quickly raised his face, expression frozen. There, an imposing giant was gazing down upon him!
From Bellmoru's perspective, only the outline of the giant's upper body was visible, his features obscured as if by some veil. Yet, the palpable pressure was undeniable!
"Is this... the true form of the Celestial God?" Bellmoru murmured to himself.
In his eyes, the deep-sea dragon, massive though it was, was merely a plaything in this deity's hand. One could only imagine how insignificant he must appear to such an entity!
"With such a formidable deity watching over, the feud between the Divine Realm and the Kingdom of Storms was fated from the start... How laughable!"
Bellmoru's face wore a bitter smile. His previous plan had been to use the deep-sea dragon to shatter the Divine Realm's rear, alleviate the Kingdom of Storms' predicament, and then, with ample preparation, break through the clouds to explore the world's summit... In hindsight, how naive and ignorant that seemed!
But it was too late; Bellmoru was well aware that his series of actions had been nothing but provocations against the divine. He likely wouldn't return to the ground alive today...
Huff—
Seeing the giant hand reaching towards him, Bellmoru, now resigned to his fate, felt his fear diminish. He swiftly recited incantations and brandished his staff. An ancient, eye-shaped light pattern emerged on his abdomen, one of the bay world's legacy artifacts, a quarter of it, which Bellmoru had named [Lust for Magic]!
"Since you claim to be a god, then I am challenging your divine might... Behold, Bellmoru, the world's first wizard, as I perform my final magic!"
As he spoke, a defensive net composed of nine prismatic screens appeared around him, layered four times, resulting in thirty-six shimmering prismatic shields!
[Superior Arcane Barrier]! A ninth-tier protective spell!
Crack, crack—
Shadows enveloped him; when the divine right hand gripped the [Superior Arcane Barrier], the outer two layers, eighteen prisms, shattered instantly!
The inner two layers would surely not last much longer...
But a few seconds would suffice!
[Superior Mana Amplification]!
[Awakening]!
[Arcane Focus]!
A dense aura of magic enveloped Bellmoru, resembling miniature auroras dancing. Adjusting his body to its optimal state, he began what would be his final spellcasting!
Strings of incantations swirled around him, forming intricate magical arrays, layers of mana converging at the tip of his raised staff. Bellmoru, with his beard and hair bristling, shouted aloud, "Frostfire Arrow!!"
Just then, the remaining two layers of the [Superior Arcane Barrier] shattered, and a cone-shaped beam of light shot towards the giant palm above!
The exterior of this cone glowed with a brilliant icy blue, the result of Bellmoru's years of studying the deep-sea dragon, inspired by the [Frost Breath] to develop this chilling magic. The inside was a surging, multicolored flame, Bellmoru's own mastery of arcane magic, ignited by his life force!
Boom—
The [Frostfire Arrow] struck the palm with force! Outside, Wang Hui frowned as his reaching hand was momentarily halted.
Yet, it could not alter the inevitable outcome.
Blood trickled from Bellmoru's mouth as he looked regretfully at the descending giant palm. "Is this the extent of my utmost effort? The power of a god is truly boundless; I have so much more to learn..."
The giant hand closed, encompassing Bellmoru's whispers as the brilliant light of the [Frostfire Arrow] faded into oblivion.
Moments later, Wang Hui released his right hand. The white-haired wizard, crushed between his middle finger and palm, lay dead, his white robe stained red with blood.
The Chief Wizard of the Royal Court had met his end!
Wang Hui's gaze fell to his palm, where a clear scar was visible, causing a subtle pain. It felt like holding ice for a while, then burning the palm with a lighter, the initial cold making the subsequent burn even more pronounced!
Considering Wang Hui's B-level life tier, his physical strength far surpassed that of an ordinary human, yet he was still injured, indicating how extraordinary Bellmoru's final strike had been!
As his life force waned, the [Lust for Magic] from his abdomen ascended, turning into specks of light that were absorbed into Wang Hui's hand. He felt invigorated; his [Current Available Essence] increased from B-60% to 70%, and scenes from history contained within this quarter of the legacy artifact, [The Eternal Eye], flooded his mind.
This time, it was mainly the historical progression of the Kingdom of Storms and the Northwestern Sea, interspersed with Bellmoru's memories, giving Wang Hui deeper insight into this chief wizard's life journey.
"A boy once pure in his pursuit of learning and magic, gradually becoming obsessed, arrogant, and insufferable... Does living too long inevitably corrupt one's mind?"
Wang Hui sighed.
What was commendable, however, was that Bellmoru's final spellcasting had transcended his previous limits. In terms of actual power, where Thunder High Priest Sariman's [Lightning Storm - Hammer of Destruction] had been the pinnacle of the ninth tier, this [Frostfire Arrow] undoubtedly reached the tenth tier!
Even Wang Hui's own hand was injured; had he used his projection body to take this hit, the damage would have been significantly worse. If it had been Divine Servant Huyan Wu, he might have been killed outright by the [Frostfire Arrow]!
"I am not yet a complete true deity; I must not underestimate the strength of these micro-world warriors. Strengthening my life force and expanding my influence is the true path..."
Bellmoru's sacrificial strike instilled in Wang Hui a new sense of urgency. Blind arrogance would lead to downfall, much like certain seemingly invincible antagonists.
With a flick of his left hand, Wang Hui tossed the small dragon back into the sea, planning to deal with it later. He then projected himself, using half of the legacy artifacts to forcefully challenge the world's rules, landing on an island not far from where Bellmoru had perished.
Wang Hui spread his light wings, ascending into the sky; the clouds, which greatly restricted micro-life, were effortlessly penetrated by him. Soon, his projection reached the scene, looking at Bellmoru's corpse lying upon the clouds.
"The chief wizard's possessions, I shall gratefully accept!"