Chapter 216

Chapter 216: Two Choices

Demon Shadow Flash.

Triple Slash.

Accelerated Thrust.

And so on…

Midi unleashed every skill from the four categories of Demon Swordman that provided acceleration, dashing, or teleportation effects. He didn’t care whether these skills had attack power or how much pure magic they consumed. With his Vanguard ship gone, distance now solely decided life or death.

Though Midi hadn’t witnessed the Lord of the Light City’s war god-like slaughter of three thousand Imperial army soldiers in his past life, the lord’s effortless hovering in the sky—combined with Midi’s battle Experience in the Sea of Clouds and heavens—let him roughly gauge the opponent’s power.

Simply put, any airborne opponent couldn’t be slow.

Not just fast—they likely possessed long-range teleportation skills, supersonic flying skills, all usable in an instant without chants.

What seemed like a vast distance to Midi might take this expert mere seconds to cross. Even if Midi ran his legs off, he’d never outpace the Lord of the Light City. His only hope was to spam every distance-creating skill he knew.

He even repurposed the Breaking Army Rising Dragon Whip for movement.

The Starfall whip lashed out repeatedly—not with its usual air-rending speed, but slowly, gently. Midi manipulated the high-level weapon like a willow branch, coiling around treetops to swing forward using their elasticity.

Arad’s legendary Demon Swordman, the genius commander, fled like a primitive ape through the woods.

Obstacles littered his path.

This was the Floating City’s Sea of Trees between Star Mountain’s peaks—a domain ruled by magical creatures and War Machines steeped in pure magic for centuries.

Occasionally, Midi encountered level 50 peak level beasts. He’d briefly considered luring them or baiting the Lord of the Light City into their nests, hoping chaos would create opportunities.

But he soon abandoned the plan.

These overlord-like beasts, which normally scorned humans, now ignored Midi entirely. One Gold Giant even frantically dug a hole to bury itself.

The Lord of the Light City’s Dragon’s might aura had already permeated Star Mountain. Its mere presence filled magical beasts with such dread that they abandoned easy prey to play sand-burying ostriches.

Midi’s hopes chilled further. Even if he led the city lord to a beast nest, nothing in Star Mountain could hinder him.

“Hm?” During a Demon Shadow Flash interval, Midi spotted a giant purple reef-like object by a distant stream.

An Awakening Crystal!

It lay quietly by the water, surrounded by smooth marble-like ground devoid of life. No vegetation grew here; no beasts dared approach. Much like Sky City’s pure magic barriers that blocked weak practitioners, the crystal emitted spiritual pressure that warped the environment into a natural barrier. Level 50 peak level beasts without awakening talent couldn’t breach it.

Beside the crystal crouched a winged dragon with black draconic scales!

Black scales meant level 51—an awakened creature.

This guy… might be useful.

Midi’s eyes lit up. While unawakened magical beasts feared the Lord of the Light City, perhaps awakened ones could buy him time to watch the fight from safety.

But before this idea fully formed, the black-scaled wyvern suddenly raised its head. It sniffed the air, dragon-like eyes widening with fear and reverence, then beat its wings to flee low along the treetops.

Like its unawakened kin, it had sensed the Lord’s aura. The creature abandoned both territory and Awakening Crystal in its panic.

"Damn!" Midi spat.

The Lord clearly surpassed ordinary Awakened Ones. When Sky City later opened and human Awakened Ones multiplied, none had ever caused mass evacuation of non-awakened beings across kilometers. This proved the Lord’s terrifying might.

After witnessing both awakened and unawakened beasts fleeing, Midi reached his conclusion – he must confront the Lord alone.

His gaze fell on the massive Awakening Crystal. Should he awaken now?

He shook his head. Practitioners entering awakening became defenseless for six hours – more than enough time for the Lord to kill him repeatedly. Moreover, this crystal barely exceeded the size he’d used in his past life, already depleted by Star Mountain’s beasts. Unworthy.

Even if gambling on forced awakening, he needed a crystal large enough for transformative power. Given the wyvern’s reaction, ordinary awakening might not suffice against the Lord.

Midi dissolved into smoke, plunging deeper into Star Mountain.

Awakening Crystals multiplied as he progressed. The mountain deserved its holy title – crystals littered the landscape, sprouting from soil that continually regenerated them. New crystals would emerge within decades even if current ones were exhausted.

Level 50+ awakened beasts appeared frequently now: 51st-level wyverns, 52nd-level Misty Bonefish, even 53rd-level Floating Stone Giants. Yet all fled or hid, ignoring the level 50 unawakened human.

Celestial ruins increased too – shattered temples, fallen towers, and broken marble structures entangled with the Sea of Trees created a maze-like environment. Even the Lord would slow here, granting Midi brief respite between skill uses.

Past-life memories surfaced. These heavenly ruins held value – some contained teleportation arrays. The Delos Empire had once used these to reach Sky City’s pinnacle, the Seventeen Halls of Azure Rock, accidentally rousing the Lord and sparking war.

But activating arrays required complex spells. Once initiated, they’d drain pure magic from underground veins, creating detectable disturbances. Though Midi remembered the activation spell from frequent past use, the Lord would likely arrive before completion.

Even successful teleportation offered no escape. As Sky City’s guardian, the Lord knew all array destinations. Hiding in Azure Rock’s halls would only delay the inevitable.

Awakening took too long and might fail. Teleportation risked detection. Both choices carried extreme peril.

Leaning against cold stone, Midi simulated scenarios using past memories and recent skirmishes with the Lord. Minutes stretched like years until clarity came. His starry eyes hardened with resolve.

"Never thought I’d use this," he mused, fingers brushing a hidden object.

He vanished into smoke, leaving no trace in Star Mountain’s depths.