"Felic, how is it? Did you see anything?" Andoine asked Lin Li worriedly. Now, Andoine's trust in Lin Li had increased to another level. Lin Li had conquered the Pharmacist Guild with pharmaceutics, and defeated the Adventurers Guild with forging. Furthermore, Lin Li had shown his understanding of magic gears and traps. Andoine didn't know what his student couldn't do.
Lin Li and Angelano looked at each other before turning around, and saying, "It seems peaceful here, but it can be said that there are traps everywhere. If we are not careful, we might all die here."
Actually, no one was surprised by Lin Li's words. Although they couldn't understand the various designs in the palace, they could guess that it was impossible for there to be no defenses here. Even Rosen, who had always been against Lin Li, only moved his lips, but didn't say anything else.
Lin Li and Angelano were considered to be the most knowledgeable about magic gears and magic traps in the team. Hence, the two of them continued to walk in front of the team, and carefully explored the traps hidden in the luxurious palace. Although Lin Li had comprehensive knowledge, and Angelano had a deep understanding of Osric, no one dared to let their guard down.
It was definitely not an exaggeration to say that they were exploring inch by inch. Even a snail would probably advance faster than the team. In a day's time, Lin Li and Angelano had dispelled more than 10 magic traps, but the team had only advanced by more than 10 meters. Although nothing happened during these dozen or so meters of distance, everyone walked in an extremely hair-raising manner. It was as if they were hovering between life and death at every moment.
Every time Lin Li and Angelano discovered a magic trap, everyone in the team would immediately have their hearts in their throats, and they didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that they would affect Lin Li and Angelano's work. That was because they could also guess that the magic traps left behind by Osric were definitely not low-level things like arrow traps. If they were to really explode, no one would have a chance to escape.
On the contrary, Lin Li and Angelano, who were continuously dispelling the magic traps, did not look nervous at all. Instead, they seemed to be discussing various problems with the magic traps in a relaxed manner. Of course, being relaxed did not mean that they were looking down on the traps. However, Lin Li knew that it was meaningless to be nervous at this moment. In fact, it might even affect his performance when dispelling the traps. Lin Li did not want to lose his life because of a slight tremble of his hand at the critical moment.
"The Quick-Freeze Trap was created by me, Lord Angelano. Once it's activated, anyone below the Legendary-realm will be instantly frozen from the inside out. Osric actually used it here. I'm afraid he didn't expect me to walk into this place one day, "Angelano said smugly as he looked at the newly discovered magic trap.
Highlord Osric had used the magic trap that he had created in the Eternal Furnace. To Angelano, it was indeed something to be proud of. However, Lin Li pursed his lips disapprovingly, and pointed at the magic circuits in the trap. "Is that so? I've almost figured out the principle of this trap, but take a closer look and see if there's anything else in it."
"What? What else?" Angelano stared at the place that Lin Li was pointing at, and observed it carefully for a moment. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Magic Ignition Curse! That fella actually added a Magic Ignition Curse to the magic trap that I created. This is a joke. The power of the Magic Ignition Curse will burn away all the mana, so how can the Quick-Freeze Trap exert its power? Has he gone senile!?"
"Take a closer look. The magic runes here are used to limit the target of the curse. In this way, even a Legendary-realm powerhouse will be in trouble if he gets hit by it." Although Lin Li was a mage, he was no stranger to curses. The effect of the Magic Ignition Curse was to stop the maintenance of magic such as the Elemental Shield. It could instantly burn away the mana of the maintenance magic. However, what really surprised him was not the curse, but the combination of the Magic Ignition Curse and the Quick-Freeze Trap.
The Quick-Freeze Trap could barely be considered a Master-level trap. After it was combined with the Magic Ignition Curse, it reached the peak of the Master-level in terms of both technique and power. Even a Legendary powerhouse could fall prey to this trap if he was not careful. That should be one of Osric's characteristics. He liked to combine two things into one, such as the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath, or the powerful weapons hidden in the exquisite decorations.
The magic traps that Lin Li had cracked previously were all individual traps or were connected to each other. However, it was the first time that he had encountered a magic trap that had a combination of two effects, or rather, a compound magic trap. Moreover, Lin Li had a hunch that the magic traps in the future would become more and more terrifying from here on out.
Regardless of what would happen later, Lin Li had to think about how to get past the obstacle in front of him. He quickly thought about how to crack the trap. Such a compound magic trap was not simply a combination of two traps. The magic circuits were inextricably linked, and whichever one was cracked first would cause the entire trap to explode. Hence, there was almost no way to crack it.
However, after careful observation, Lin Li turned to look at Angelano, who was at the side. He stared at the Goblin until he shivered. "Angelano, I'm afraid you'll have to sacrifice yourself for this trap."
After some haggling, Lin Li agreed to compensate Angelano with a level-15 magical crystal. Angelano, on the other hand, controlled the alchemy machine and walked unwillingly to the trigger point of a magic trap.
After Lin Li was ready, he yelled for the start. Angelano did not dare to delay any longer, and immediately triggered the magic trap. The Magic Ignition Curse was immediately activated. The entire alchemy machine was quickly shrouded in a faint layer of red, and it began to tremble continuously. Angelano sat on it and screamed as if he was in great pain.
At the same time, just as the Quick-Freeze Trap lit up, Lin Li waved his hand and created an illusion. His body changed positions as if he had teleported, and the magic circuits that had lit up dimmed in an instant. In less than a second, Lin Li's figure appeared from the illusion, which meant that the compound magic trap had finally been completely cracked. Fortunately, Angelano's alchemy machine could withstand the erosion of the Magic Ignition Curse. Otherwise, Lin Li would have to formulate his own potion to deal with the curse.
"Hey, you said that it wouldn't hurt. My butt is about to be roasted. You have to at least compensate me with a Legendary magical crystal." Angelano had already jumped to the ground, and was rubbing his butt while spinning the alchemy machine.
"I'm a very trustworthy person, so I'll definitely not change my promise of a level-15 magical crystal." Lin Li casually threw a magical crystal at Angelano.
Angelano grabbed the magical crystal, and while changing the source of mana for the alchemy machine, he yelled in dissatisfaction, "Don't expect me to help you again in the future!"
"In that case, I don't have to give you the notebook," Lin Li said as he waved his hand and took two steps forward, only to be stopped by another magic trap.
"Humans are indeed the most shameless creatures," Angelano muttered as he manipulated the alchemy machine and walked towards Lin Li.
Indeed, as Lin Li had expected, compound traps became the mainstream magic traps in the following journey. Osric had maximized the integration of the technology, and at the same time, the complicated magic circuits became more hidden and difficult to figure out.
The speed of the team's advancement was once again greatly reduced. Every time Lin Li began to crack a trap, it was not just Angelano who helped him. Even Andoine, Rosen, and even Aldwin and his team of mages might be assigned to participate in the cracking of the traps.
To everyone in the group, every step they took on this seemingly short journey was extremely thrilling. It was more frightening than all the adventures they had experienced in the past. If possible, they would even rather fight the wyrms to the death than endure the invisible pressure and torture at every moment.
However, to Lin Li, danger was accompanied by rewards. Every time he cracked a compound magic trap, it meant that he had mastered a new kind of knowledge. It was not just about the setting of magic traps or magic gears. The direct use of magic, curses, and even nomological power involved were all the crystallization of Osric's wisdom. These were all displayed in the massive calculations Lin Li made during the cracking of the traps.
Angelano, on the other hand, was still nagging non-stop about the origin of the magic traps. Of course, he was always involved in it. If it weren't for the fact that he was indeed useful in dealing with the magic traps, Lin Li would have beaten him up a long time ago.
As time passed by quickly, the team slowly moved towards the interior of the palace. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were advancing at a speed of a few meters per day. Although it was so slow that it was infuriating, they were still advancing towards the core area of the palace.
As they entered the core area of the palace, Lin Li felt more and more familiar with the surrounding scenery. It seemed that this place was very similar to the Eternal Furnace when he found Connoris. The main paths and facilities were exactly the same. It was as if this was another Eternal Furnace.
However, this discovery did not make Lin Li relax at all. After all, the Eternal Furnace had been emptied by Osric, and nothing was left behind. When he entered the Eternal Furnace back then, he almost did not encounter any danger, but this place was definitely different. Compared to the former Eternal Furnace, this place should be considered Osric's real finished product. The dangers that he did not encounter back then might appear here.
Of course, Lin Li was not too disappointed. It was better to be familiar with the environment here than to be unfamiliar with it. Compared to the others, Lin Li had an invisible advantage in this aspect. Although Rosen had been quieter recently, Lin Li did not think that such a state could be maintained forever. The conflict between the two would probably break out eventually.
However, what Lin Li had to worry about now was obviously not Rosen. Highlord Osric's wisdom was the real headache. Just when Lin Li thought that he had cracked another magic trap, there was suddenly an unexpected burst of magical wave. Then, he saw the 16 statues that were erected around him walk down from the stone platform.
Fortunately, when they cracked the magic trap, everyone was prepared. The 16 statues that were taller than two men rushed towards the team aggressively, but did not make them panic. Under Aldwin's orders, the mages immediately got ready to fight, and the New Moon Staffs glowed with a dazzling magical light.
The 16 tall statues rushed to the front of the team in a few steps, and the spears and heavy swords in their hands were wrapped in a layer of Combat Energy. With a cold murderous aura, they collided with Lin Li and the others fiercely. Although the statues were tall and used heavy weapons, their movements were extremely agile, and their cooperation with each other was almost comparable to that of the mages.
"Didn't you say that you have cracked the magic trap? What's with these statues!?" Rosen, who had been holding back along the way, naturally would not miss the opportunity to reprimand Lin Li.
Lin Li seemed to be dismissive of Rosen's accusations, and could not be bothered to respond at all. He stood directly in a safe place, and obviously did not intend to participate in the battle. Although each of the 16 statues had strength close to the Legendary-level, there was still a huge gap between them and the mages' combat power. They were not enough to pose any threat at all.
However, Angelano, who had participated in cracking the magic trap, was extremely displeased with Rosen's accusations. He immediately reprimanded in a sharp voice, "If Osric's trap was so easy to crack, would it be your turn to take advantage of it? If you have what it takes, don't follow us. In front of me, Lord Angelano, you have no right to complain!"
"BOOM!"
The heavy sword in the hands of the statues slashed at the magic shield, but it only caused a ripple. Immediately afterwards, countless magic spells blasted out, and the statues were instantly drowned in a storm of magic. When the light of magic dissipated, there was only a pile of remains of the statues left on the ground.
Such a result was somewhat beyond the expectations of the mages. They originally thought that the enemies they encountered in the palace would be stronger than those outside, but now it seemed that these statues were even inferior to the silver-armored Death Knights. No matter what level of power they had, at least in terms of magic resistance, they could be considered pathetic.
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