Chapter 1103 - 856: More Than Just a Plan?

At that moment, Dana could do nothing but activate her mana shield; she had no way to cast any other spells and certainly no way to evade the locked-on Blazing Impact. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out a fragment of the Cosmic Stone from her personal space, while deploying her mana shield.

"Come on, feel this." Blazing Impact roared towards her, immediately followed by all the spells she had just cast, in exactly the same order they had been used!

Supported by the fragment of the Cosmic Stone, even though her mana was heavily drained, Dana herself faced no issues. Far from feeling discouraged, a surge of schadenfreude washed over her. If Ai Lin had chosen any other method of attack, maybe she would have been troubled, but Ai Lin actually chose the spell combination she had created herself—did she really think I would be defeated by my own invention?

No! That would never happen! You won’t just fail to defeat me, you’ll actually give me ample time to devise my next spell! And when you enter your cooldown period, I won’t waste time with idle chatter like you; I’ll use my strongest means to defeat you and obtain your powerful secrets!

With that mindset, Dana hid behind the mana shield, supported by the Cosmic Stone fragment, enduring the relentless onslaught of Ai Lin’s spells, patiently waiting for the moment they would end, which would be her turn to counterattack!

But Dana soon realized that even though the spells Ai Lin chose were no different from her own, Ai Lin’s spell-casting speed and power were both much stronger when using the same spells!

The reason her subordinates had been defeated by Ai Lin’s had been largely the same; back then, Dana simply thought her subordinates weren’t strong enough and that she could definitely beat them if she took matters into her own hands. Now, however, Dana abruptly discovered that she was not a match for Ai Lin either!

Moreover, Dana was shocked to realize that the power output from the Cosmic Stone fragment was not sufficient to support her mana consumption!

How was this possible? This was a fragment of the Cosmic Stone, a legacy of the Giants! How could it be suppressed by a mere Mage?

In her astonishment, Ai Lin was clear about the reason. In terms of understanding the Cosmic Stone fragment, there was likely no one on this plane more knowledgeable than Long Yi, who had told Ai Lin all about the properties of the fragment. Although it could enhance an individual’s spell power and mana duration, it actually resisted abrupt surges of mana consumption, leading to issues with mana output.

This resistance was based on an extremely complex principle related to how the Giants had intended to use the artifact. But now, Ai Lin employed that principle, casting powerful spells at a specific rhythm to oppress Dana’s Cosmic Stone fragment.

And this was the result.

Bang!

Without any warning, the Cosmic Stone fragment erupted into a cloud of dust, and with its support gone, the mana needed to power the shield weighed entirely on Dana. This sudden change was agonizing, especially since she had just consumed so much mana and hadn’t recovered much. In that moment, she truly panicked.

As her mana neared depletion, and if Ai Lin’s combination spell really followed her own sequence, it would mean that only half had been cast so far. How on earth was she going to resist the remainder?

But right then, Ai Lin stopped.

Dana was momentarily stunned. If Ai Lin’s inexplicable performance at the start could have been an accident, now it was evidently intentional.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Dana asked.

"Haven’t you figured it out? I’m simply buying time," Ai Lin replied.

"Why? Shouldn’t you quickly finish me off and help your people end the battle below?" Dana was even more puzzled.

"You’re joking, right? The victory below is already assured. But I don’t want them to win too quickly; after all, it’s hard to find a suitable training opponent like today. It would be regrettable to end the battle too hastily. So, let’s just stand here and watch. Isn’t it better to let those below fight their own battle?" Ai Lin said, looking down at the ongoing fight while speaking to Dana.

It was only then that Dana had her epiphany! She had initially planned a one-on-one duel but hadn’t expected that Ai Lin had already set her sights on her! Ai Lin had never considered Dana and her subordinates as significant; this battle was merely an exercise to test the readiness of her own soldiers.

And that was all there was to it.

Fury filled Dana’s heart, but she was helpless; Ai Lin seemed very young yet so mature and seasoned. No! She didn’t believe it!

"Who exactly are you! Don’t tell me you’re just a Nameless person, I won’t believe it," Dana said.

"Actually, there’s no harm in telling you, since you have nowhere to run," Ai Lin said as her whole body flickered, revealing her true appearance.

The instant Dana saw Ai Lin, the anger that had just ignited within her extinguished completely. Moreover, a chill took over her heart, for she knew she could not possibly win.

"Ai Lin, it’s you!" Dana muttered.

"Yes, it’s been me all along," Ai Lin said with a smile, reveling in the thrill of the ruse.

"I really didn’t expect it. I never would have thought that someone as strong as you would do such a thing," Dana said, head lowered.

"Did you think that someone as strong as me would just stupidly rush towards the enemy and blow them all to smithereens?" Ai Lin retorted.

Dana actually had no idea what to say now; she just felt unwilling to accept defeat. In her view, if it had been any other commander standing here today instead of Ai Lin, then the entire outcome of the battle would have been rewritten, and she was certain she would have been the victor!

"It seems that today is my loss," Dana said.

"Yes, you lost," Ai Lin agreed with her point of view.

"Since that’s the case, I suppose I am certainly going to die," Dana said.

"Not necessarily, the nature of your fate will ultimately depend on your cooperation," Ai Lin remarked.

"I think I won’t cooperate with you, so I am bound to die. But before I die, I have just one small request, please grant it," Dana said, her tone filled with melancholy.

"Speak," Ai Lin nodded.

"Please return this to a man for me," Dana took out a box from her private space, a box meant for holding a ring.

Ai Lin reached out and took it, while Dana, with tears in her eyes, said, "If you meet him, please tell him, I can’t marry him!"

Boom!

The box in Ai Lin’s hand suddenly exploded, mana disruptions blocking out everything, and at that moment, Dana tore open a teleportation scroll.

This wasn’t a scroll used to return to the Ancient Mage Tower but one to return to her secret hiding place. This ring box was the most ingenious thing she had considered, the final gift of a dying beauty to the man who pursued her. If the receiver was not a bloodthirsty killer, they would surely be moved by the hidden emotions behind the story. That moment of stirring emotions was also the perfect opportunity for her to escape.

The hiding spot was at the very bottom of the Imperial Palace. When Dana first arrived here, she had scouted out the entire palace interior and finally selected this spot as her secret refuge. She prepared plenty of supplies here, enough to sustain her for half a year. And once the commotion settled, she could escape at any time.

Indeed, all of this was planned.

Dana considered herself a clever person, which was why she had arranged all this in advance. But it was only out of caution, as she didn’t think she would ever truly need these things. However, as it turned out, her preparations came in handy.

Looking around, there was nothing here that required mana. This was also part of Dana’s planning, because if mana was needed, she might be discovered.

Now, Dana knew she was no longer in control; she could only wait patiently for a chance to leave this place.

Meanwhile, Ai Lin could only purse her lips, giving a self-deprecating chuckle.

Indeed, although she believed herself capable of rivaling warriors like Long Yi, in matters such as this—the ones young girls dream about—she had still been fooled.

If it had been any other item, Ai Lin would have been on guard. But a box containing an engagement ring had truly touched a soft spot in Ai Lin, and that had momentarily made her let her guard down. However, she still maintained a hint of vigilance, so the explosion, while it obstructed her view, didn’t harm her in the slightest.

Seeing Dana vanish, Ai Lin felt no panic because traces of the spatial magic hung in the air. The teleportation scroll was not particularly clever; it couldn’t conceal the destination to which the other party was sent. Ai Lin spent only a little time cracking the spell’s destination and then directly cast a teleportation spell to take herself to the other end as well.

When Ai Lin emerged in the secret chamber, Dana was just preparing her bed with bedding in hand. Ai Lin’s sudden appearance startled Dana, who immediately gave a bitter smile, because if the other party could even track her teleportation scroll, then any attempt at escape was meaningless.

"I didn’t expect to still lose by a move to you," Dana dropped the bedding, giving up resisting. Facing an opponent of Ai Lin’s caliber, escape was her only option; if escape was impossible, then the only outcome of any resistance would be death.

"No, it’s not as simple as losing by just a move to me," Ai Lin said, "You see, I haven’t even gone to the front line, nor did I bother with them."

Dana shook her head and replied, "You are too confident. Your subordinates don’t have the same strength as you."

Ai Lin carelessly found a stool and sat down, declaring, "It’s not confidence. If they can’t deal with a team made up of monsters and fools, then they don’t have much reason to exist. But on another topic, I’m actually very curious about what Master Elma and the others are really doing. Now that everyone is calm, why don’t you help me clear up some doubts?"

"Will I die afterwards?" Dana asked.

"I don’t know, that might depend on whether or not the answers to your questions are useful," Ai Lin said casually.

Dana sighed deeply and could only nod helplessly, asking, "What do you want to know?"

Ai Lin let out a sly laugh, "Everything you know." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)