Chapter 401: Life Force

Helag hadn’t expected the old man to be so fragile. A single slap sent his head flying.

From the magical fluctuations emanating from the old man, Helag could tell he was a crystallized wizard.

Originally, Helag had planned to quickly get close and severely injure him.

But it turned out the old man was already at the end of his rope, his life force nearly extinguished.

The quill the old man had been using wasn’t just drawing with blood—it was also draining his life force.

By the time he finished inscribing the runes, his life was almost spent.

“You killed me, but it doesn’t matter. The portal is already open. You can’t stop it,” the old man’s head said, rolling on the ground, his eyes still fixed on Helag.

Helag, having dealt with Abyssal cultists many times, was unfazed. He knew the old man was using some kind of dark magic to sustain his life.

He turned his attention to the large worm and David, both lying within the ritual circle.

The worm, once plump, was now rapidly deflating like a punctured balloon.

After observing for a moment, Helag realized that the worm was storing a vast amount of life force.

This life force was being drained from the worm and absorbed into the ritual circle below, not a drop wasted.

Helag quickly understood: the life force was one of the energy sources powering the ritual.

He couldn’t just stand by and let the ritual absorb all the worm’s life force. If it did, something terrible would surely happen.

But stopping the flow of life force was tricky. It was intangible, and Helag figured only a necromancy-specialized wizard would have the means to handle it.

After a moment of thought, Helag remembered a talent from his bloodline: the Death’s Withering.

This ability allowed him to absorb the life force of other beings to enhance his own.

Helag had never used it before, as it was clearly an Abyssal Plane ability, and he was reluctant to rely on it.

But here, in the polluted zone, it didn’t matter. David was his ally, and the situation was urgent.

If the ritual absorbed all the life force, who knew what might happen?

“I’ve spent years preparing for this, finally gathering enough life force. It’s hard to kill so many people at once. Even Franz, after all his planning, failed,” the old man continued, a smug smile on his face. “But I’m different. I’ve been accumulating life force bit by bit, and now, everything is ready!”

The old man seemed pleased with himself, confident in his plan’s success.

Helag ignored him, flashing into the ritual circle and grabbing the worm.

Seeing this, the old man sneered, “It’s useless. You can’t kill it. Killing it will only make its life force drain faster.”

Helag paid no attention to the old man’s words. Holding the worm, he activated his Death’s Withering ability. (tln : wraith’s skill. when helag chasing the monkey)

Immediately, Helag felt a pure stream of life force flowing from the worm into his body.

Seeing that it was working, he increased the absorption rate, drawing the life force faster and faster.

The worm, already deflating, shriveled even more rapidly under Helag’s influence.

The ritual circle was also absorbing life force, but Helag’s Death’s Withering was far more efficient, as if they were competing for the worm’s life force.

To Helag’s surprise, his ability was even more powerful than he had anticipated. He was absorbing life force much faster than the ritual circle.

In just a few dozen seconds, Helag had absorbed 60% of the worm’s remaining life force, with the ritual circle taking the remaining 40%.

As the life force flowed into Helag, it spread throughout his body.

He didn’t feel much different, except for a surge of vitality.

Helag knew his lifespan had likely increased significantly, though he couldn’t tell by how much.

The sheer amount of life force suggested the old man had caused countless deaths to gather it.

The old man, watching in shock, gasped, “How… how are you doing that?”

Life force wasn’t something just anyone could absorb. Aside from necromancy spells, most people couldn’t do it.

A normal person’s life force was limited, only so much.

A first-level wizard’s lifespan was around 300 years, not even close to that of many powerful creatures.

Seeing Helag absorb life force so freely left the old man baffled.

Helag ignored him. Once the worm’s life force was fully drained, the old man would die as well.

His priority now was to get David out of there.

Since the ritual hadn’t absorbed enough life force, it began drawing from Helag and David.

Helag quickly walked over, picked up David, and moved out of the ritual circle.

Though David was burly, he was like a small child compared to Helag’s four-meter-tall form.

Helag took some healing potions from his spatial ring and gave them to David to prevent his injuries from worsening.

“Helag, what are you doing here?” David asked, struggling to find the words.

“I heard about the airship crash and knew you were on board, so I came to find you. I couldn’t just let you die out here,” Helag replied with a smile.

David was deeply grateful. Though he had much to say, he knew now wasn’t the time for a reunion.

After treating David’s injuries, Helag prepared to leave.

He glanced at the ritual circle.

Though it hadn’t absorbed enough life force, the amount it had taken was still enough to activate it.

Above the circle, the black vortex had grown large, with a faint crack visible within it.

Helag could feel the ominous aura emanating from the crack—an aura from the Abyssal Plane.

Small cracks like this would normally be repaired by the natural forces of the plane.

But if someone on the other side was actively widening the crack, it was a different story.

The ritual circle continued to operate, working in tandem with the forces on the other side, causing the crack to expand.

Helag conjured several fireballs, aiming to destroy the circle, but they had no effect.

The ritual was already fully formed. The only way to stop it was to analyze its structure and break it, just like before.