A heavy impact exploded against the Flame Archangel's chest armor.
The Flame Archangel staggered uncontrollably backward, retreating about three meters before its wings flapped powerfully to stabilize itself.
Tang Zheng examined the Flame Archangel's chest - aside from slight denting in the armor, the creature showed no visible damage.
"Truly a tank. Compared to other aspects, its defensive capabilities are remarkably outstanding," Tang Zheng praised with a delighted smile.
Among summoned creatures - angels, demons, and undead - these three types held slight advantages over other summoned beings of the same tier.
Angels possessed excellent physical resistance.
Demons had stronger magic resistance.
Undead? Well, they had numbers.
"Now, let's see what's inside that armor." Tang Zheng swung his iron sword, his eyes flashing coldly.
With a single step, Tang Zheng's figure dashed before the Flame Archangel.
The Flame Archangel hastily raised its flaming sword to strike.
But Tang Zheng moved faster.
A cold gleam flashed through the air as rapid, ear-piercing clangs erupted from the silver armor on the Flame Archangel's chest.
Brilliant sparks sprayed across the armor's surface!
The seemingly sturdy armor was forcibly split open by the iron sword, sending the Flame Archangel plummeting toward the ground.
Quickly reacting, Tang Zheng grabbed the Flame Archangel's wing and yanked upward, preventing its collision with the floor.
[Muted] only eliminated sound.
With that impact force, the Flame Archangel would have cratered the ground.
"Whew~" Tang Zheng exhaled. "That was close to being discovered."
"So there's nothing inside after all," Tang Zheng observed the opened chest cavity of the Flame Archangel.
Only faint white light emanated from within - completely hollow.
The Flame Archangel's body shuddered before dissolving into particles of light.
"Decent durability," Tang Zheng remarked.
"It seems summoned creatures don't provide experience points."
Glancing at his status panel's experience bar with slight regret, he analyzed:
"Compared to warriors of the same level, this Flame Archangel has simpler attack patterns and no speed advantage."
"But its excellent physical resistance and flight capability could stall same-level opponents effectively."
"If numbers were increased..."
Tang Zheng turned toward the white papers on the table, smiling.
"Even a powerful Warrior Captain would eventually be worn down."
In the anime, when the Slane Theocracy dispatched the Sunlight Scripture (one of the Six Scriptures) to assassinate Warrior Captain Gejiefu, only Ainz's unexpected intervention prevented success.
The summoned Flame Archangels alone could have exhausted the Warrior Captain without their leader Nigun even needing to act.
And the Sunlight Scripture's only cost would have been some mana expenditure.
Returning to the wooden table, Tang Zheng picked up the second-tier paper.
"I forgot to ask earlier - is parchment absolutely necessary for second-tier magic scrolls?"
Placing his hands above the papers, Tang Zheng mentally activated the skill.
The papers stirred without wind, dozens rapidly converging toward the center.
Within a breath, a pure white magic scroll materialized in Tang Zheng's palm.
Tang Zheng stared blankly at the effortlessly created scroll.
Perhaps because his previous attempts at alchemical solutions and healing potions always encountered issues, this sudden success felt strangely unnatural.
"Pure white - different from the parchment-mixed scrolls at the Mage Guild," Tang Zheng observed while examining the scroll and remaining papers.
"The quantity seems off too."
Originally 1400 sheets, now only 1380 remained - meaning this scroll consumed 20 second-tier papers.
If he recalled correctly, the Mage Guild's formula used 1 parchment plus 10 second-tier papers.
"So the Guild mixes parchment not just for mana stability, but also to reduce paper consumption?" Tang Zheng raised an eyebrow.
Indeed, compared to magic-infused paper, parchment was far cheaper.
"Next step - magic infusion."
Tang Zheng's expression turned serious as he unfurled the white scroll, pressing a finger to its center.
Following Master Belorui's method, this was the critical stage requiring precise mana control to imprint the desired spell.
Naturally, it also demanded deep understanding of the spell itself.
Most spellcasters in this world mastered magic through study and research.
But Tang Zheng simply spent skill points.
This cheat-like approach inevitably meant shallow spell comprehension.
Tang Zheng recognized this limitation, but noticed Master Belorui's infusion technique resembled his [Magic Swordsman] class's passive ability: [Mana Channeling].
Back in Tob Forest, this ability had helped him produce qualified alchemical solutions.
Perhaps it could assist in scroll crafting too.
"Sink or swim, let's test this passive effect." Tang Zheng pressed firmly on the scroll. "Mana Channeling!"
The white scroll shuddered violently as blue radiance spread across its surface, mana currents creating invisible suction.
The sudden convulsion startled Tang Zheng - he'd witnessed exploding scrolls at the Mage Guild, a memorable sight.
Seeing the scroll stabilize without detonating, he relaxed slightly.
Focusing his mind, Tang Zheng began channeling the second-tier [Angel Summoning] into the scroll.
If Master Belorui's scroll crafting embodied precision and fluidity,
Tang Zheng's version felt downright brutish.
The scroll trembled again as the blue radiance contracted, automatically rolling itself up on the table.
Blinking, Tang Zheng examined the faintly glowing scroll before immediately casting:
Item: Magic Artifact - Crafted - Magic Scroll
Description: Contains spell [Angel Summoning]
"It actually succeeded!" Tang Zheng exclaimed joyfully, instinctively ruffling the nearby Hellhound's head.
Then his eyes gleamed with calculation:
"I thought it impossible before, but now I might be able to scheme for that special magic item."
What others didn't know:
In E-Rantel existed a magic item ranked [High-tier - Lv.40], just shy of [Supreme-tier].
This artifact represented the highest-level magical item Tang Zheng could obtain in the early stages!
Originally, Tang Zheng planned to acquire the [Cursed Knight] class from the Bahāruth Empire first before attempting to secure this item.
Now with scroll crafting mastered, his success probability had increased dramatically.
Though the danger remained extremely high!