MMORPG: Divine Mech Hunter
Chapter 1636: Seizing the Ship

Chapter 1636: Chapter 1636: Seizing the Ship

The lich was horrified to find that not only was the magical energy of the ghost ship suppressed, but even his own mana seemed trapped in a quagmire.

In other words, his spellcasting speed and the power of his spells were infinitely suppressed.

Chains whipped through the air as the lich frantically gathered mana. Spells that he could previously cast dozens of in an instant, like Ice Arrows, now took several seconds to conjure just one. And even then, the Ice Arrow was so feeble it was nearly falling apart, let alone carrying any significant power—it might not even reach its target before dissipating.

"My lord, we can’t cast magic anymore," the female vampire said grimly.

"Damn it! Do you think I don’t know that?" the lich roared in fury, casting an enraged glance at the banshees and ghostly spirits under his command, all of whom looked weak and dispirited.

There was mana in the surroundings—he could feel it—but no one could channel it. It was as if a fish had been yanked out of water, leaving it gasping and helpless.

Only the skeleton generals seemed unaffected, but what use were they alone? In contrast, the high elves appeared as if they were cloaked in shimmering magic armor.

"An artificial magic net? How is that even possible?" The lich was on the brink of madness, utterly unable to comprehend how the high elves had achieved such a feat.

Li Yao spoke slowly, his tone brimming with disdain. "With your pitiful intelligence, you’d never understand why the high elves are called the Kingdom of Magic. And to think you have the audacity to act so brazenly in their territory! Tell me, who gave you this insane courage? Even when the Scourge Legion invaded, their first move was to destroy the barriers. But here you are, walking straight into the trap like the ignorant fool you are."

"Ghost ship, ascend! We’re leaving!" The lich shrieked in panic.

"My lord, our army is still below!" the female vampire protested in disbelief.

"Do you want the army or your life?! Damn it, ascend now!" The lich quickly evaluated the situation. Under these circumstances, any hope of fighting back was a joke, and staying here was nothing short of suicide.

As for the army, there were too many of them. It would take far too long for them to re-board the ship, and the high elves weren’t exactly going to sit idly by. If he delayed any further, there would be no escape whatsoever.

"Trying to run now? How naive and adorable. Even after all this, you still haven’t understood my true intentions—or the situation you’re in. What I’ve been after this entire time is your ghost ship!"

Li Yao tossed a crystal to Morning Breeze. "Triple Restriction!"

"Understood." Morning Breeze was far more skilled at such tasks—after all, he was a professional magician.

Pure magical energy was injected into the crystal, and all opposing undead suddenly felt as though they were sinking into a swamp. Then, the third layer of the restriction activated.

In the void above, blue chains materialized one by one. These chains locked onto the ghost ship, holding it fast in the void, unable to move.

"I’ve no problem telling you: the Barrier of the Tower of the Windwalker and the Village of the Windwalker form a Twin Barrier. If one is restored, the other can function for a short time as well. When this place was built thousands of years ago, our high elf ancestors designed it with the possibility of an invasion in mind. My vanguard’s battle with your forces was merely a diversion. Our real objective was to take back the village so our magicians could repair the damaged nodes of the barrier." With each word Li Yao spoke, the lich’s blood-red eyes burned with greater fury.

"You wretched brat, how ruthless of you!" The lich seethed with hatred, his anger so intense it felt as if no amount of the seas could quench his fiery loathing. For one who had pridefully survived countless schemes—even emerging unscathed from the battle of the two kings—he now faced the bitter realization that his painstaking calculations had led him to sacrifice most of his subordinates just to save himself.

"Oh, by the way," Li Yao said with a smug smirk, "in case it wasn’t clear, you might’ve had a chance to escape when the barrier was newly activated. But now? The ghost ship is mine."

"Overload the systems! We’re leaving!" The lich glared at Li Yao, his voice dripping with venom. "Brat, I’ll remember you! But mark my words, you’ll see me again."

"No, you won’t dare. Nor will you have the opportunity," Li Yao said, standing with his hands behind his back. His army remained motionless, silently watching the ghost ship struggle in the sky.

The ghost ship began to glow with an eerie light as if it were trying to slip into another spatial dimension.

The ship’s ascent accelerated, and the void restriction chains from the barrier began snapping one after another. Although new chains instantly appeared to replace the broken ones, the ghost ship climbed ever higher.

Morning Breeze’s expression changed. He quietly whispered to Li Yao, "My lord, the Twin Barrier is incomplete and can’t achieve its full potency. It can’t fully restrain the ghost ship. I suggest deploying the air force to play it safe."

"No need. I have my own plans. Just watch," Li Yao said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Heh heh! I told you—you can’t stop me!" The lich’s expression finally brightened ever so slightly.

"Oh, really? Then let me show you what I’m capable of today." Li Yao whistled sharply.

Suddenly, a massive shadow appeared in the sky.

With an ear-shattering Dragon Roar, the colossal frame of the Black Dragon Queen materialized in front of the ghost ship. Her enormous dragon claws latched onto the bow of the ghost ship, far larger than even her massive form.

The ghost ship’s upward momentum instantly slowed to a crawl. As Li Yao’s level continued to approach Tier 6, the Black Dragon Queen’s strength had been growing exponentially. Once he reached the max level of Tier 6, her power would recover to 90% of its original peak.

At that point, the Black Dragon Queen alone could challenge Demon Marshals of legendary status, utterly humiliating them without breaking a sweat—nothing like the desperate, grueling battle from before.

"Damn it! Kill him for me!" the lich roared desperately, ordering the skeleton generals on the ship to attack.

"Insects," the Black Dragon Queen sneered, opening her massive maw. A stream of Dragon Breath erupted, covering two-thirds of the deck. The skeleton generals immediately turned into blazing infernos, their figures reduced to torches. Even the lich was engulfed in the flames.

In a frantic attempt to defend himself, the lich cast Ice Shield, but his casting speed was so slow that his body ended up partially incinerated before the spell took effect. The two alluring female vampires beside him fared even worse, collapsing with screams of agony.

Before the lich could even utter a word, Li Yao’s face turned green. "What the hell are you doing?! That’s my ship!"

Unable to maintain his composure, Li Yao whistled again, summoning a host of pets to the ghost ship.

The massive body of a hydra appeared on the deck, its weight almost halting the ghost ship’s ascent entirely.

Then came the fire eagle, Xiao Man, and Death God, diving below the deck to clear out the undead manning the ship.

Meanwhile, the lamia intercepted the lich, relentlessly tormenting him as he struggled, unable to cast any spells.

"Still not enough," Li Yao said as he summoned yet another companion. A colossal sea monster emerged from the water below, spraying a chain made of seawater onto the ship and tightly binding it, rendering the ghost ship completely immobile.

"Morning Breeze, Magician, Withered Sun—come with me to take possession of our ghost ship," Li Yao commanded, his metallic wings spreading wide as he launched himself into the skies.

Morning Breeze and the others hastily used their own methods to board the ship. Morning Breeze and the grand magician blinked directly onto the deck, while Withered Sun, ever the diligent captain, summoned his flying mount and followed from below.

The players witnessing the scene were utterly dumbfounded, their jaws practically hitting the floor. They could hardly believe their eyes...