Mercenary Wars

Chapter 258 Spellcasting Levels
The two Gaussian Eye-Demon rays clashed, while Gaucano ran to a distance to watch. The roar of colliding energy echoed through the underground space, flickering in and out under the rays' beams.

Undoubtedly, the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon is significantly weaker than the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon. However, the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon has just been doused with two cans of holy oil and hit by two mana burns, so it is not in good condition.

Therefore, at the beginning of the battle, the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon did not show any obvious disadvantage. The two sides went back and forth, and the various rays emitted by the fourteen eyes crisscrossed in the dark space, and for a time they were evenly matched.

However, the difference between the two levels was still considerable. As time passed, the level eight Gaussian Eye Demon gradually weakened and began to retreat. Its body showed obvious wounds, and its movements became sluggish. Black demonic blood seeped from the deep, furrowed wounds, dripping onto the ground with a hissing, corrosive sound.

Upon seeing this, Gaogano immediately took out two black steel piercing arrows, coated them with holy oil, and added a swift breeze.

After reaching level seven, he could control up to fourteen Swift Breeze clusters at the same time, so he attached seven Swift Breeze clusters to each arrow.

There were also blood arrows.

With a touch of blood from his fingertip, the arrowheads of both arrows were immediately tinged with a faint crimson hue.

Then he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, aimed, and fired.

"call out!"

Two black steel piercing arrows shot out, tracing two symmetrical arcs, and almost simultaneously struck the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

The Holy Oil and the Blood Arrow were triggered simultaneously, instantly leaving two bloody wounds on the level 10 Gaussian Beholder. Golden and red light flashed at the wounds, like two dazzling flowers blooming on the demon's skin, causing the powerful Beholder to let out a scream.

The level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon opened its massive eyes, revealing a furious expression: "Damn humans!"

He really wanted to give Gaugano a launch line.

But the cunning human ran away after firing the arrow, giving him no chance at all. Gaucano, who had been prepared, moved with extreme agility, always managing to hide behind cover at crucial moments. Whenever the beams were about to lock on, he would suddenly change direction, causing the deadly beams to strike the hard stone walls, rendering his attacks ineffective.

At the same time, taking advantage of the moment he was hit by the arrow, the level eight Gaussian Eye Demon pounced on him, opened its blood-red maw, revealing a mouthful of sharp, knife-like teeth, and tore off a large chunk of flesh from his body, causing him to let out a howl.

"Boom!" He quickly fired a beam of light, sending the Level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon flying. The Level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon's body crashed heavily against the stone wall, sending debris flying, but it quickly floated back up, with bits of flesh and blood still hanging from its mouth.

The level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon then said, "Wait, let's kill this human first, otherwise we'll all become his hunters—ah!"

The level eight Gaussian Eye Demon responded immediately with a wounding ray, clearly having no intention of establishing a temporary alliance. Its eyes gleamed with a crazed light, the hatred born of its species overwhelming everything.

The level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon had no choice but to retaliate, but still said, "Let's kill this human and then decide the winner. That way, we'll have at least a 50% chance of surviving!"

"Ha!" The level eight Gaussian Eye Demon grinned, its gaping maw contorted in a grotesque display of mockery. Its laughter echoed through the underground space, sounding both jarring and insane. "You think I'd believe your nonsense? I don't even have a one percent chance of survival. It's better for us both to die together than for me to die alone! Besides... compared to being slowly consumed by the Cage of Sin, I'd rather die in battle!"

"The Cage of Sin!" The voice of the Level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon was filled with fear, and all eyes widened in terror.

The Level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon continued with a cold laugh, "Where do you think I came from? It felt like countless hands were tearing at me, peeling away my soul bit by bit—you'll experience that feeling soon enough!"

His words were filled with malicious glee, as if seeing a level ten beholder suffer the same fate would alleviate his own pain.

The two Gaussian Eye Demons continued to tear at each other and exchange blows. Gaucano, on the other hand, would occasionally fire sneak attacks at the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon, keeping both sides at a disadvantage in a closely contested battle.

Meanwhile, Pierce and others have arrived to provide support.

Although Gaucano had probably told them about summoning demons before, they were still quite surprised to see two such enormous Gaussian bewitches fighting each other.

"You've switched careers to become a demon warlock?" Pierce couldn't help but ask.

"I suppose so," Gao Jiano said, pointing to the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon. "This guy is a full level 10. Even though there's another Gaussian Eye Demon to wear him down, we still have to be careful."

As he spoke, he drew his bow again and aimed two black steel piercing arrows at the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

The undead first scattered, then began to cast spells, and several ice arrows were shot out in succession.

After a while.

The disadvantage of the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon became increasingly obvious. Its body was covered with deep wounds, black blood gushing out like a spring. Several of its eye stalks were broken off, and the broken sections were a bloody purple. Covered in wounds, it hovered precariously in the low air.

He knew he was doomed.

Therefore, his only thought was to drag the level 10 Gaussian Beholder down with him. For Beholders and all demons with "species exclusivity," the death of their kind is almost as important as their own survival.

So he mustered his last strength, pounced, and bit down hard on the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon, preventing it from dodging the attacks of Gaussian Eye Demon and the others.

The undead's frost arrows rained down on the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon, each one leaving a frosty white mark on his skin, which was then covered by more and more frost. A thick layer of ice began to form on his body, like a transparent suit of armor.

"call out--"

Two more black steel piercing arrows came flying in.

However, neither of the two arrows was aimed at the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon; instead, one arrow was aimed at each of the two Gaussian Eye Demons.

After all, the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon was clearly nearing its end, so Gaogano naturally wanted to secure the kill and gain some experience.

The Blacksteel Piercing Arrow pierced through a wound in the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon, reaching deep into the demon's body, and then the Holy Oil and Blood Arrow were triggered simultaneously!

[Slaying a level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon, experience +439]

After the death of the Level 8 Gaussian Beholder, the Level 10 Gaussian Beholder immediately roared and flew towards Gaugano. Its movement stirred up a foul wind, and its enormous eyes blazed with long-suppressed rage and a dangerous light. Having freed itself from its kind, its first instinct was to exact revenge on this cunning human.

This time, Gaucano didn't run away. Instead, he activated Earth Skin and charged forward in a zigzag pattern.

Under the continuous influence of several undead ice spells, the frost on the level 10 Gaussian Beholder grew thicker and thicker, and its movements became noticeably slower. The thick layer of ice acted like heavy shackles, making this once agile beholder stagger.

Despite Gauss's beams, Gaucano, charging at full speed, could not hit his target.

In the blink of an eye, he sprinted to the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon, swinging the Holy Rope he had been holding in his hand.

The sacred rope unfurled in the wind, drawing a golden arc in the air before spinning and instantly binding the body of the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

"Ahhh—" A flash of pale golden light appeared, like thousands of fine needles piercing the skin at the same time, causing the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon to let out bursts of howls.

He quickly shook his body, trying to shake off the Holy Rope, while simultaneously firing rays from his eye stalk in an attempt to destroy it.

But Gaucano had prepared more than one rope.

Then a holy rope swung up and wrapped around the level 10 Gaussian Beholder. A second, a third... more holy ropes coiled around it like golden pythons, each one intensifying the Beholder's pain.

Taking advantage of the fact that the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon was too busy to deal with the situation, the undead also threw a barrage of Frostbolts, making its situation even worse.

In less than half a minute, the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon was entangled in several layers of the Holy Rope, and all six eye stalks were also bound and constricted. But being a level 10 demon after all, even when entangled in the Holy Rope, it still struggled fiercely. As its muscles bulged, one of the Holy Ropes was torn off, and the crisp sound of the rope breaking rang out, causing Gaussian to twitch his brow slightly.

It seems that it won't be long before the other sacred ropes are also torn apart.

Gao Jiano immediately rushed forward and activated the Cage of Sin.

As the cage of sin opened, his face transformed into a faintly glowing vortex. The vortex spun slowly, emitting a low hum, like a summons from the abyss.

In the eyes of the devil, this may be one of the cruelest faces in the world.

The level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon panicked immediately and struggled desperately. At the same time, all seven of its eyes shone brightly, and various rays shot out randomly.

He struggled frantically as he backed away, trying to get as far away as possible from the horrifying-looking Gaugano.

However, his entire body was already covered with a thick layer of frost, which severely hampered his movements, leaving him with no way to retreat.

Seeing that the distance between the two sides was rapidly shrinking, he had no choice but to disregard everything else and aim all seven eyes at Gaucano, sending out rays as far as possible.

"Boom boom boom——"

Gaucano dodged left and right. Rays of various colors whistled past him, some even grazing his body and leaving scorching marks in the air.

However, during the rapid approach, he was still hit by a wounding ray.

"boom!"

With a deafening impact, even with the Earth Skin protecting him, Gao Gano still felt a violent, intense pain sweeping through his entire body, almost causing him to collapse to the ground.

But he knew that if he fell at that moment, even more intense rays would follow.

Therefore, he quickly adjusted his posture with the help of the swift breeze, gritted his teeth and continued to move forward. Half a second later, he leaped up and jumped onto the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon. Then, he grabbed the Holy Rope and pulled it, and the glowing vortex on his face was facing the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

An immense attraction enveloped the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

The Gaussian Eye Demon's struggles became even more frantic.

But with Gaucano on top of him, his most dangerous central giant eye was rendered useless, leaving only his six eye stalks with room to launch an attack.

But bound by the sacred ropes, the six eye stalks were also severely constricted and unable to turn. The golden light burned them like a branding iron, making each movement of the eye stalks accompanied by intense pain.

A few seconds passed, and as the light in the vortex grew brighter, the allure of the Cage of Sin intensified.

"Do not--"

The Gaussian Eye Demon let out a final howl, filled with deep fear and resentment, which echoed for a long time in the underground space. Then, its massive body was sucked into the Cage of Sin! With a flash of distorted light, the enormous figure completely disappeared into the vortex.

Gao Jiano fell from mid-air, panting heavily as he hurriedly took out several blood crystals to heal his injuries.

The beams of a level 10 Gaussian beholder were no joke. Although he only took one hit, he was still seriously injured, especially his chest, which was hit directly by the beam and was now a bloody mess. Some wounds were so deep that bone was visible, and blood kept gushing out. The sharp pain made him dizzy with pain.

Only after a short while, thanks to the regenerative effects of bloodletting, did these injuries gradually heal.

Gaucano calmed down.

Although it was somewhat dangerous, he still managed to seal the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon.

He examines the current prison of sin.

【Cage of Sin: Gaussian Eye Demon (Level 10)】

[Attribute Bonuses: Constitution +2, Spirit +2, Intelligence +6]

[Normal Ability: Eye of the Beholder, Spellcasting Level +1]

[Demonic Abilities: Mana Burn, Wounding Ray, Paralyzing Ray, Frenzied Ray, Casting Level +2]

[Duration: Three years, the demonic state's duration depletes faster]

……

The bonus from a level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon is even more powerful.

An additional two points of intelligence.

Even under normal circumstances, there is a level 1 spellcasting level bonus.

After being corrupted, it gains an additional two levels of spellcasting ability!

In other words, now, after being corrupted, Gaugano's spellcasting level can reach level ten!

What is the concept of a level 10 spellcasting level?
He can easily cast fifth-circle spells, and barely manage to cast sixth-circle spells.

Even without entering a demonic state, the level 1 spellcasting bonus in normal state allows Gaucano to reach level 8 spellcasting, which is enough to barely cast fifth-circle spells.

Other abilities, including the Eye Demon's vision, are also significantly stronger than those provided by an eighth-level Gaussian Eye Demon.

Gaucano couldn't help but feel a little excited.

At the same time, an idea popped into his mind.

This prison of sins seems to have only a limit on the number of demons it can hold—it can only seal one demon at a time, but there is no limit on the level of demons it can hold?
Level 8 demons can be sealed, as can level 10 demons, and there is no sign of the seal being unstable.

He couldn't help but imagine what kind of powerful blessing he would receive if he could seal in a demon of an extremely high level, such as a level 20 demon!
Of course, this idea is obviously impractical.

After all, the seal of the Cage of Sin is not instantaneous, but rather takes time to activate.

And it is clear that the higher the level of the demon, the longer the sealing process takes.

It took only about half a second to seal the level 8 Gaussian Eye Demon, but several seconds to seal the level 10 Gaussian Eye Demon, with the time consumption clearly increasing exponentially.

A level 20 demon might need to be sealed for three days and three nights. During that time, the demon would probably have already been crushed into dust.

(End of this chapter)