[You have killed the Void Eye for the first time, earning 20 skill points, 8000 blue essence, and 800 orange essence.]
[You have killed 6 Void Eyes, leveling up by 1 level and gaining 18,000 blue essence, 1800 orange essence, and 30 skill points.]
[Congratulations! Your level has increased to level 85.]
[...]
Li Lin ignored the system notifications in his mind as he gazed down into the abyssal rift below.
Amid the eerie purplish-red glow, various distorted Void Spirits—none of them identical—turned their heads towards Li Lin in the sky, watching him, whether they had heads or eyes.
"Li Lin! You really scared me!" Kassadin's voice rang out from the communicator.
Seeing the Void Eyes and Li Lin being swallowed by the powerful beam of light that had fallen from the sky moments ago, Kassadin had been horrified, his heart in his throat, filled with worry.
"The force field shield can block even divine magic. This is nothing," Li Lin responded in a playful tone.
Technically, this energy shield wouldn't hold against the controllable nuclear fusion missiles he had developed, a feature he had discovered during a previous battle against Xerath while piloting Gaboga.
After eliminating the recently spawned Void Eyes, Li Lin marked his coordinates and ordered the Titan Beast and the War Lords to open fire with all their might.
Before the gigaton cannons and quantum explosive bombs arrived, he quickly teleported back to the tower and called for Kassadin to leave the area.
Returning to the mountaintop that overlooked the city of Icathia, the two turned around to see the concentrated barrage of ultra-long-range firepower destroying the twisted land near the ancient battlefield and devouring countless Void Spirits in the abyss.
The system notifications in Li Lin's mind kept coming, signaling a continuous influx of skill points, blue essence, and orange essence.
Yet, even the six Void Eyes only provided enough experience for a single level-up. The countless minor Void Spirits provided negligible amounts of experience, barely worth mentioning.
The frequency of system notifications became nearly nonexistent, and Li Lin didn't level up again.
Kassadin, gazing at the "fireworks" before him, felt somewhat numb.
Having witnessed the massive, super-special strike that had just fallen from the sky, he was now unfazed by these small skirmishes.
After several rounds of bombardment, the corrupted abyssal color emerging from the cracked earth had dimmed, and most of the core areas within it were destroyed.
Li Lin deployed a drone for aerial observation, preparing to launch another gigaton cannon once the Morning Star satellite had cooled down.
However, now, he had a new target.
"I think I've found Malzahar." Li Lin turned his gaze further south.
"Did your drone spot him?!"
"No, not exactly. One of my drones went offline, but no powerful Void creature was detected there. The only entity capable of detecting my drone would be Malzahar."
Li Lin hovered in mid-air. Kassadin didn't hesitate, following closely behind, and took out his Void Stone.
The two circumvented massive cracks in the earth and deep, bottomless rifts, avoiding the Void Spirits lurking within, and in just a few minutes, they arrived at the location where the drone had gone offline.
"This is the spot."
Li Lin looked around, but didn't notice anything unusual. There was no trace of the missing drone, and the energy scans from his AI appeared normal.
"Malzahar is a sly one, possessing the ability to foresee part of the future. He's probably anticipated our arrival," Kassadin said, eyeing the surroundings with caution, his tone tinged with concern.
"The Void portal here has already been closed. Even if he can slip into the Void, it won't help him escape. He can't leave this place."
Li Lin then released more than ten drones into the sky, planning to thoroughly scan the area.
Today, he had to deal with Malzahar, the lingering threat.
After an initial scan by the AI, the area seemed clear, with only the occasional aimless Void Spirit wandering about. No Void Eye as powerful as the previous ones had been detected, those capable of rivaling an ancient being like Nasus.
Just as Li Lin and Kassadin were preparing to adjust behind a fissure, the AI suddenly triggered an alarm:
[Void energy detected incoming!]
Li Lin reacted instantly, activating the force field shield, while Kassadin was a beat too slow and had to rely on the AI to assist in activating his shield.
In the next moment, the space around them cracked open, and dozens of purple, ominous rifts appeared, releasing an overwhelming wave of Void energy.
Li Lin and Kassadin, now in combat suits, used their blink functions to quickly escape the area.
But that was only the beginning. As more Void portals opened, an endless swarm of Void insects began pouring out.
They came in various forms, but all shared some common features: skull-like heads adorned with three eyeballs and four legs covered in chitinous armor, supporting their oval bodies.
The Void Spirits emitted sharp, ear-piercing screams. Without the protection of their combat suits, Li Lin would have been fine due to his body enhancements, but Kassadin—still human—might not fare as well.
"Li Lin, these sudden Void Spirits must be a trick. They were probably summoned by Malzahar. This isn't the time to hold back; let's give it everything we've got!"
With that, Kassadin extended his arm, unleashing an energy shockwave in a fan shape, followed by opening his back-mounted armor to launch a barrage of material-disintegration cannons.
Li Lin, not missing a beat, summoned his plasma cutting sword, swiftly slicing through the rapidly advancing Void insects, and then activated both overload charging and overdrive functions. He released a high-energy plasma field, clearing a significant number of Void Spirits that surrounded them.
The next moment, both of them ascended into the air, hovering just above the ground. Their weapons fired continuously, and the Void Spirits below—lacking intelligence and driven only by instinct—quickly stacked into a "meat ladder," attempting to climb up toward the two, who intentionally stayed low in the air.
Li Lin seized the opportunity, raising his arms and unleashing two full-powered energy lances, cutting through the crowd of Void Spirits.
The spear-like energy projectile precisely struck the optimal location, and the explosive dispersal of energy consumed countless bugs.
The attack came in wave after wave, with ethereal purple flames suddenly igniting above the two of them, completely obscuring Li Lin and Kassadin's vision.
Fortunately, Li Lin had the magic shield from his Banshee's Veil, and Kassadin had his Void Stone, which could immunize him from the Void's corrosion. The Void magic had no effect on either of them.
This was the Starcaller's Illusion!
Thanks to the personal status display from the system, Li Lin realized that this was a spell cast by Malzahar, the Void Prophet, which could influence people's minds and create terrifying illusions.
But for some unknown reason, even now, the AI had not located Malzahar's exact position.
Could it be that Malzahar's Void barrier was obstructing the AI's detection?
"Kassadin, Malzahar is nearby!"
With this thought in mind, Li Lin quickly reminded Kassadin, then immediately dove towards the ground, intending to spot Malzahar's hiding place with his own eyes.
Though Malzahar was the Void's champion, his power was far from that of a divine warrior, and nowhere near as formidable as Malphite.
From Li Lin's calculations, Malzahar's system panel combat power was probably between 90 and 100; even if it exceeded 100, it wouldn't be excessive. After all, he was essentially still a "human," a living being affected by the Void's power.
Opening Void portals to summon Void energy and swarm bugs was already the extent of his abilities. At most, he had one ultimate, the "Grip of the Netherworld," which could suppress a target—something that posed no real threat to Li Lin.
In an attempt to hide from them, Malzahar continuously summoned Void portals to release Void energy.
Kassadin instinctively dodged, but Li Lin's battle armor shielded him with a force field that would last for another twenty to thirty seconds. He endured the attacks while searching for the Prophet's trace.
Seconds later, the AI pinpointed a flash of purple light behind a massive underground ridge on its holographic display.
[Name: Malzahar]
[Race: Shuriman]
[Class: Void Prophet, Void-Connected, Believer of the Void Queen Vel'Beth.]
[...etc.]
"I've found you!"
Li Lin's eyes narrowed as he locked onto the area, his full-body armor expanding. He fired the Matter Disintegration Cannon at full power while raising both arms to launch concentrated energy particle spears.
Dozens of Matter Disintegration energy spheres, along with the energy spears, covered the area in the blink of an eye.
The Void energy portals in the air and the portals summoning ethereal spirits were completely shut down. On the other side, Kassadin breathed a sigh of relief and flew towards Li Lin before the explosion's aftermath dissipated.
"Did you eliminate Malzahar?"
"Not yet…"
Li Lin frowned. Until he heard the system's confirmation, Malzahar was likely still alive.
What shocked him was that Malzahar's Void worship had ties to Vel'Beth, which only strengthened his resolve to eliminate this being.
For the next few moments, Li Lin continued to bombard the target area with his attacks.
But Malzahar hadn't died. Instead, a beam of bright purple-red light suddenly shot out from the energy wave, speeding directly toward Li Lin and Kassadin. It was so fast that even Li Lin didn't have time to react.
[Warning! High-energy Void energy fluctuation detected!]
Instinctively, and with the AI's assistance, the two of them dodged the beam just before it made contact.
However, perhaps due to the energy spent in fending off Li Lin's artillery, Malzahar did not pursue them further.
Once the energy projectiles completely dissipated, a figure in tattered purple robes appeared in their view. His face was masked, and his brain had transformed into a Void core, separated from the outside world only by a nearly transparent, soft membrane.
"Wait for obliteration!"
A hoarse, weak voice escaped his mouth. His eyes, burning with ghostly blue flames, lifted and scanned Li Lin and Kassadin, seemingly with disdain.
"The great Void Queen will devour this world!"
"Malzahar!" Kassadin roared, immediately swinging his Void Blade and launching several Void Energy Orbs at him.
However, before the orbs even came close to Malzahar, he drew a corrosion blade from his waist and plunged it into the membrane covering his head, stabbing into his brain's core.
"Your time… is running out."
With that final ominous warning, Malzahar collapsed heavily to the ground. His body turned into purple particles and dissipated into the air, all of it sinking into the earth below.
The only traces of his existence were his tattered robes, a corruption mask exuding Void energy, and the dagger he had used to end his life.
(End of Chapter)
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