**Chapter 111: Trap (Part 2)**
For wizards of too low a level, higher-grade artifacts weren’t always better.
Take first-level wizards, for example. Normally, their combat prowess could dominate any other plane’s first-level beings.
The more exceptional among them could even challenge “ordinary” second-level beings and remain undefeated.
But against “special” second-level beings, only a handful of geniuses stood a chance of victory.
With a high-level artifact, even an average first-level wizard could, in a sneak attack or with preparation, take down such a second-level being.
However, in a sudden encounter, the odds for a first-level wizard wielding a high-level artifact plummeted.
As artifact grades increase, so does the mental energy required to activate them.
While negligible for wizards of the same level, who could activate them with a thought, for lower-level wizards, there was a noticeable delay.
Artifacts above sixth level were beyond a first-level wizard’s ability to activate.And against a third-level enemy, even the weakest of them, a first-level wizard—regardless of high-level artifacts—stood no chance under normal circumstances.
Facing a third-level enemy, a first-level wizard might not even have time to activate a high-level artifact before the enemy sensed the danger.
A third-level being’s speed surpassed a first-level wizard’s reaction time, able to evade their mental energy and visual lock, potentially killing them before they could react.
Even if a higher-level shield was activated in time to save their life, it couldn’t deal significant damage to the enemy.
Moreover, artifact shields had a limited duration. Once they expired, the first-level wizard’s fate was sealed.
This was why, despite ample funds, Jie Ming only purchased a few fourth-level artifacts—higher grades would be pointless and slow to activate.
Of course, with a death wish, a first-level wizard could activate a high-level group spell for a self-destruct attack, possibly killing the enemy.
But that required preparation and a sneak attack on a third-level foe.
What about an encounter battle?
An unsettling pulse of mysterious energy, like a heartbeat, emanated from the altar’s depths, rapidly spreading through the mine, causing cracks to spiderweb across the rock walls!
The trio simultaneously unleashed their Alchemy Technique, clearing the obstructing stone walls to reveal the altar.
“What… is this?!” Victor exclaimed.
“No wonder… it didn’t have any subordinates,” Amy said, her voice trembling.
Before them stood a stone altar, seemingly crafted from a crystal-like mineral.
Clearly, this was the mineral they sought for their mission.
But unlike the intelligence describing it as faintly translucent yellow, the entire altar glowed a vivid red, like an enormous ruby.
The reason for the color change was obvious—the pile of underground demon corpses stacked beside it.
Sensing the same “vibration” from the altar as the demon elder’s, Jie Ming’s pupils constricted.
He realized instantly—the mindless demon elder was bait!
Its death was the trigger for the trap!
At the same moment, Victor and Amy felt the oppressive force from the altar, their faces paling.
The instant they saw the altar, Victor instinctively reached for a high-level artifact in his robes.
But as his fingers grazed the artifact—
*Slash!*
A blood-red blade flashed like teleportation, severing Victor’s arm holding the artifact, sending it flying with a spray of blood!
The stump was a mess of flesh and bone, hot blood staining the ground.
Victor let out a pained grunt, the swift cut leaving no time for a scream.
Only then did they see it.
Above the altar, a towering figure with four wings had emerged.
Clad in blood-red armor, its face stern and majestic, its four massive wings exuded a bloody wind pressure.
Its energy fluctuations marked it unmistakably as a third-level being.
A Blood Angel!
Jie Ming’s eyes narrowed.
From the cultural knowledge of the Elosia plane he’d acquired, he recognized this as a Blood Angel, a servant of the Blood War God, revered as a demigod by Elosia’s natives—a true third-level being!
Among Elosia’s “demigods,” angelic beings were the weakest, but they still bridged the gap between gods and mortals.
Killing three first-level wizards like them would be effortless.
The Blood Angel’s cold gaze swept over them, its indifferent eyes filled with disgust for “heretics” and “demons.”
Raising its longsword, it began a habitual chant, its voice like an ancient prayer laced with icy divine power: “Foul heretics, sinners who defile our god, your souls shall…”
It intended to finish its elegy before striking, but before it could, Victor, arm severed, staggered forward two steps and collapsed to his knees with a thud!
“Spare me! Great Angel! I-I’m willing to betray the wizards! I’ll join the gods’ side!” Victor sobbed, his face etched with terror and despair.
He spoke rapidly, words tumbling out like a machine gun: “I’ll provide all the wizards’ secrets! Their weaknesses! Their bases! I’ll say anything! I’ll kill these two heretics to prove my sincerity! Just spare my life…”
His performance was utterly wretched, as if the pain of his severed arm and the threat of death had broken him, his face pale from agony and blood loss.
The Blood Angel smirked mockingly, about to taunt the pathetic traitor.
But in that instant, an inexplicable sense of danger surged in its heart!
Its face twisted with fury.
Victor, kneeling and tear-streaked, revealed a sinister grin!
As he looked up, a vacuum blade radiating terrifying force sliced silently toward the angel’s head!
Under Victor’s robes, a necklace he’d worn lost its glow, crumbling to ash.
Using his acting, Victor had seized a fleeting moment of the angel’s underestimation, pouring all his mental energy into his trump card!
But the gap in strength was too vast.
“Hmph!” The Blood Angel snorted coldly.
With a casual flick of its longsword, a blood-red sword light flashed, deflecting the vacuum blade into countless tiny air currents.
Then, with its mere presence, a surge of divine power erupted like a tidal wave, blasting Victor backward!
“Pfft!!”
Victor spat blood, flying like a broken kite, crashing into the rock wall with a sickening thud, sliding down, his fate unknown.
As the Blood Angel raised its hand to finish him, it suddenly felt an indescribable stiffness in its joints and the connections of its four massive wings!
Looking down, it saw tiny ice crystals forming on its joints and wings.
The crystals weren’t the cause—rather, an uncontrollable cold within its joints had birthed them.
This cold, like a lingering parasite, hindered the smooth flow of its divine power.
Following the energy’s source, it turned sharply toward Amy.
Her face was ashen, sweat beading on her forehead—she had unleashed the freezing ability with all her might!
Though Amy often used fireballs for their versatility, her true genius lay in her self-crafted wizardry model, far more complex than it appeared.
Her model wasn’t mere “fireball wizardry” but a fusion of fire-based wizardry, Alchemy Technique, and Extraction Technique, creating a deeper “heat manipulation”!
She could absorb ambient heat to form fireballs, but in critical moments, she could reverse it, draining heat from a target to cause freezing rigidity.
Yet, the gap between a third-level being and a first-level wizard was immense.
Even with Amy’s full effort, she could only achieve a brief freeze.
The faint chill, under the angel’s surging divine power, began to melt, nearly vanishing.
But in the moment it was distracted purging the cold, an unprecedented sense of danger struck.
It spun around, only to see Jie Ming holding a massive crystal ball, glowing brilliantly, aimed directly at it!
The Blood Angel instinctively raised its now-lithe arm, slashing with a divine-powered strike toward Jie Ming!
But as the strike neared, it saw a “sly” grin on Jie Ming’s face.
The glowing crystal ball was cheekily withdrawn.
The terrifying third-level strike stopped a foot from Jie Ming, blocked by an invisible, unyielding barrier!
The transparent shield rippled under the attack but held firm!
“Idiot, it was just to distract you!” Jie Ming taunted, eyeing the shocked angel.
He opened his other hand, revealing two dimmed fourth-level defensive artifacts.
“You despicable wizards!” the Blood Angel roared, turning to slash at Amy and Victor.
But its two blood-red sword lights were blocked by transparent barriers before them!
Seeing their relieved yet mocking gazes, the angel realized, its eyes blazing with fury and humiliation.
It understood!
Victor’s “plea,” Amy’s “freeze,” and Jie Ming’s feigned “attack artifact” were all to buy time.
Just for a fraction of a second, to distract it, allowing Jie Ming to activate his fourth-level defensive artifact and shield them against its attacks!
Jie Ming sighed in relief.
The gap between a third-level being and first-level wizards was vast!
Without effort, the angel could overwhelm their reaction limits.
In that situation, if the angel hadn’t underestimated them, it could have killed them before they activated their artifacts.
Amy and Victor’s actions bought Jie Ming the time to activate the fourth-level shield!
And Jie Ming’s actions, including his taunt, were to distract the angel, giving him time to activate shields for Amy and Victor!
The Blood Angel’s face contorted with rage, realizing it had been outwitted by these “insects.”
But it quickly calmed.
Having fought wizards for so long, it knew their tactics.
Such “special magic tools” had limited duration and would soon fade.
“When your little tricks run out, you’ll pay!” the Blood Angel threatened coldly.
Jie Ming ignored its words, focused on something else.
The angel finally noticed—behind Jie Ming, countless fingertip-sized crystals appeared.
These crystals, glowing faintly, swarmed from Jie Ming’s internal space.
Under his powerful Alchemy Technique, thousands of offensive rune artifacts unfolded behind him, rapidly forming a massive ring several meters wide.
As the ring formed, the Blood Angel attacked.
But it found Jie Ming had set the shield’s range wide from the start, protecting the rune artifacts, as if he had anticipated this move.