48: The Tower Master has fallen! My lord, times have changed!

“Who is it—!!!”

“Who dares to desecrate my temple of knowledge!!!”

The roar, as if carrying the weight of ten thousand thunderbolts, crashed down from the top of the tower.

The entire library—no, the entire Tower of Truth—shook violently under this terrifying pressure.

The air seemed to solidify, and every player felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on their shoulders, making even breathing difficult.

The players who were looting books froze in unison.

Li Qiang (Also a Ruthless Person) had just torn the cover off a copy of "Necromancer Scourge Summoning Art" and hadn't even had time to stuff it into his robe before the force nearly pressed him to his knees.

“Holy crap! The final boss!”

“This aura... it's at least Golden Legend tier!”

“Don't panic! Health bar! I see the health bar!”

A sharp-eyed player pointed at the library's dome and shouted at the top of his lungs.

From the hall's dome, an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a magnificent starry sky mage robe, slowly descended.

He held a staff tipped with a massive blue crystal, surrounded by visible lightning and arcane runes. In his eyes was an endless fury capable of freezing the Soul.

[Tower of Truth Branch Master · Khadgar LV.50 (Lord Tier)]

“Humble insects, thieving rats...”

Khadgar's voice seemed to come from the Nine Heavens, every syllable carrying the majesty of judgment.

“You shall pay the price for your stupidity and greed within the endless torrent of elements!”

He slowly raised his staff, and the crystal at its tip erupted with blinding light.

The magic elements throughout the library began to riot, and the air was filled with the scent of destruction.

This was a forbidden-tier Spell.

The players even saw a thirty-second casting bar appear above his head!

[Forbidden Spell: Elemental Annihilation]!

“Damn! A thirty-second cast time? This bastard wants to blow the whole tower into the sky!”

“Quick! Interrupt him!”

“How? He's flying so high! My hammer can't reach him!”

Just when everyone was at their wits' end, thinking they were about to be wiped out...

Li Qiang suddenly pulled out a... brick from his backpack.

It was a high-quality red brick he had brought from the Wasteland world, with a solid texture and a heavy feel, specifically meant for hitting people on the back of the head.

He weighed it in his hand, his arm muscles bulging. Aiming at the Tower Master in the sky who was focused on chanting and posing for world destruction, he threw it with all his might!

“You talk too much! Shut the hell up!”

Whoosh—!

The red brick traced a graceful parabola through the air, carrying the simplicity and power of physics, and landed with a precise... “Smack!”

A crisp sound.

It hit Khadgar right in the mouth while he was chanting the ancient incantation.

“Ugh...!”

Khadgar's chanting came to a screeching halt.

He was completely stunned by this sudden "physical attack." The string of world-destroying incantations in his mouth was forcibly smashed back halfway.

He clutched his mouth, looking down at the group of ants in disbelief.

What... just happened?

An insect interrupted my forbidden Spell with a stone?

The entire place fell into a dead silence.

All the players stared at Li Qiang in stunned silence.

You can... do that?

“What are you looking at! Why are you all just standing there!”

Li Qiang raised his arms and shouted, as if he had found the meta-answer.

“He's casting! Interrupt him! Don't let him release the skill! This is common sense!”

His words woke everyone up like a splash of cold water!

Right! Who cares if it's a forbidden Spell? Just interrupt it and be done with it!

“Wang Wei! Where are your magic-breaking bombs! Blast the hell out of him!”

“I can't, Brother Qiang! Those things have a long cooldown! They're not ready yet!”

“Then use something else!”

The players instantly displayed an astonishing level of creativity.

“Sound team! Get ready! Play 'Most Dazzling Folk Style'! Max volume! Don't let him concentrate!”

“Lighting team! Turn on all your flashlights! Strobe mode! Blind his dog eyes!”

“Biochemical team! Dragon dung! Chili powder! Throw it all up there! Stink him out!”

In an instant.

The entire library turned into a massive disco scene.

The ear-splitting music of Phoenix Legend echoed through the air. The strobe lights of dozens of high-intensity flashlights were blinding, and a "biochemical rain" of dragon dung, smoke bombs, and various spicy seasonings fell from the sky.

Khadgar was going completely insane.

He had lived for five hundred years and had never seen such a bizarre, such a despicable way of fighting.

These people had no sense of martial honor!

“Enough!”

Khadgar roared, slamming his staff down.

Hum!

A stronger Arcane Barrier enveloped him, blocking out all sound, light, and smell.

“Think you can stop me like this? Naive!”

He floated within the shield, a cruel sneer on his face, and began to chant again.

This time, it was an instant-cast Chain Lightning!

“It's no use, Brother Qiang! He's gone invincible!”

“We can't break this turtle shell!”

“Everyone, move aside!”

Just then, Wang Wei's (Luban No. 7) voice rang out again.

He squeezed through the crowd, not holding a bomb this time, but carrying a strangely shaped pressure spray gun connected to a massive metal tank.

“Based on industrial adhesives from the Wasteland world mixed with Goblin Shaman mucus, I've developed the latest 'High-Molecular Polymer Powerful Viscous Agent Sprayer'!”

Wang Wei adjusted his goggles, the confidence of a mad scientist on his face.

“To put it simply, it's Super-Double-Strength Glue!”

Li Qiang's eyes lit up: “Can this thing break his shield?”

“No,” Wang Wei shook his head. “But it can coat his shield and his entire person in goop!”

“...”

“Do it!”

Wang Wei grinned and pulled the trigger on Khadgar in the sky!

Sssshhh—!!!

A thick, yellow-green, foul-smelling viscous liquid shot out from the spray gun!

The liquid ignored the energy defense of the Arcane Barrier, splattering directly onto the shield's surface before quickly solidifying into a translucent, amber-like gel.

Khadgar, inside the shield, was dismissive at first.

But soon, he realized something was wrong.

He tried to move, but found the shield seemed glued to the air, unable to budge.

He tried to speak, but found his mouth covered by a thick layer of glue, only able to make “muffled” sounds.

He tried to Spellcasting, but found the glue had even seeped through the shield, sticking his hand holding the staff and his other hand—prepared to form a seal—firmly together!

Khadgar, a high-level Archmage who had lived for five hundred years, a powerhouse who could command the elements of heaven and earth with a single gesture.

Right now, he was like a fly stuck to flypaper, fixed in mid-air, unable to move.

Despite having a body full of world-destroying magic, he couldn't utter a syllable or make a single gesture.

He looked at the players below who were howling and starting to form a human ladder to climb up and catch him. The greed in their eyes sent a chill through his heart like never before.

This wasn't a battle.

This was... a premeditated kidnapping of a god!

“Brothers! He's crowd-controlled! Get him!”

Li Qiang took the lead, stepping on a brother's shoulders to be the first to climb up.

Then came the second, the third... hundreds of players used the most primitive “human pyramid” tactic to build a “mountain of flesh” in the center of the library.

Thud!

Khadgar, stuck in mid-air along with his hard shield, was crushed down by this “mountain of flesh” and slammed heavily onto the ground.

“Strip him bare!”

“The staff is mine! No one steal it!”

“This robe is Epic-tier! Rip it off, quick!”

The once-lofty Tower Master couldn't even last three seconds after losing his ability to resist.

He was pinned to the ground by the ravenous players and stripped clean.

His mage robe, staff, space ring, mana necklace, and even his gold-trimmed underwear were all snatched away.

Ten minutes later.

Bruised and swollen, with only a tattered pair of underpants left, Khadgar was bound with magic chains and dragged to the top of the tower like a dead dog.

Then, amidst cheers, he was hung from the highest and most prominent flagpole at the top of the tower, swaying back and forth in the night wind.

A player stood at the top of the tower, looking at this once-arrogant mage. With a cigar freshly looted from the Tower Master's bedroom hanging from his mouth, he blew a smoke ring.

In a voice full of world-weariness, he sighed softly.

“Sir, times have changed.”

In the next second.

The System announcement echoed across the entire server like celebratory cannons.

[Server Announcement: Congratulations to the players for successfully conquering the team dungeon “Tower of Truth (Silvermoon City Branch)”!]

[Server Announcement: First kill of BOSS “Tower Master · Khadgar.” All participating players are rewarded with 5,000 Contribution Points!]

[Version Update Preview: Detected that players have obtained a large amount of basic knowledge. The System Mall will soon list “Universal Meditation Method.” Transcending will no longer be a dream!]