Chapter 174: Beyond Expectation, Within Reason (Part 2)

  It was only at this moment that Archmage Saye was certain that the reason the two Cardinals, whose fame shook the continent, would die at this person's hands was not just due to luck, but because of strength. Strength was not just combat power, but also included more subtle aspects, such as control over the battle.

  This person's reactions and agility were certainly first-class, but his observation and control of the battle situation were superlative. He could understand all the circumstances on the battlefield in the shortest amount of time, then mobilize and utilize all factors in the most efficient way. Even the enemy's strengths and strong points could, under clever and reasonable arrangements, be turned into weaknesses.

  The Mana Divine Eye could allow one to know the situation on the battlefield like the back of one's hand, unaffected even in such a situation where one was originally blind. This was the absolute advantage of Saye and Orrin. But only after Saye spoke out did he understand that he either shouldn't have spoken, or shouldn't have been so hasty and brief in his warning. He could see the situation in the field, but that didn't mean Orrin could see it too. And his spoken warning had, in fact, long been anticipated and arranged by the opponent.

  When Saye sensed the surging fire element, the scroll was indeed unfurled, and the magic power was already filled to its limit, but the person holding the scroll did not actually trigger it, like an arrow already on the bowstring but not yet loosed. While this was a very draining act in terms of magic power, it was necessary for the user, because he was waiting for Saye to sense it first, waiting for Saye to shout a warning, waiting for Orrin to dodge instinctively, and only then did he launch it. He deliberately wanted to delay these two blinks of an eye.

  In an instant of blindness, hearing his companion's urgent shout to dodge, Orrin would of course dodge. But he couldn't see a thing, nor did he know what kind of attack it was. In this situation, a person's only instinctive reaction could only be to jump upwards. This was undoubtedly the most common and normal way to dodge, but for a martial artist with superb skills, accurate judgment, and swift reactions, it was undoubtedly the worst way to evade. Especially when the opponent he faced was also a martial artist with superb skills and accurate judgment, who had long predicted his reaction, and was even actively arranging for him to dodge in this way.

  No matter how skilled a martial artist, once they leaped into mid-air, they lost any leverage to draw upon. At that point, even the most agile body was no different from a piece of meat hanging in the air. Saye didn't understand how this opponent could, like his Mana Divine Eye, see clearly in such intense light, but that dazzling orb of light did indeed lock onto him and fire suddenly just as Orrin leaped into the air. Even his ascending, mid-air trajectory had been calculated.

  If Orrin were still on the ground, or still in this alley, even if he couldn't see anything, with his skills, he might have been able to dodge after sensing the scorching heat wave. After all, the speed of this magic fireball was a bit slower than an ordinary arrow. As long as he wasn't hit head-on, with Orrin's Battle Qi and magic leather armor, he could probably withstand the surrounding shockwaves. But now, that orb of light, condensed with the magic power of a fire grandmaster, was heading straight for him, right on target, without any deviation.

  Besides fire-element creatures of the same kind who were completely immune to fire, absolutely no creature, or rather, any object, could survive under this top-tier fire magic. Although the magic leather armor on Orrin's body could be considered a masterpiece of magical equipment, the power of a top-tier attack magic like Blazing Might Shot was something that even a fire grandmaster's anti-fire wonder-art could not possibly withstand. Once hit, Erathia's number one swordsman would, without a doubt, instantly become a pile of charcoal along with his leather armor and sword, indistinguishable from one another.

  The pouring rain could not obstruct the scorching heat of the top-tier fire magic in the slightest. All the raindrops, more than ten meters from the orb of light, were completely vaporized, and then blew all other raindrops away, becoming the fierce momentum of the orb of light. But two balls of water suddenly broke through this momentum, blocking the Blazing Might Shot from below.

  These were not balls of rain. They were Archmage Saye's water elementals. Both Saye and Orrin had to shout in their hearts that they were lucky. Fortunately, this magic orb was not so fast that it was impossible to react to, and even more fortunately, two water elementals were right below Orrin, and were gathering power to launch a water arrow attack. With just a thought, Archmage Saye immediately transferred all the power prepared to shoot the water arrows to their feet, blocking them in front of Orrin at this critical moment.

  No one had ever tried what the effect of a Blazing Might Shot hitting two water elementals would be. These were both top-tier spells of their own element of magic; no grandmaster-level mage would be so bored as to conduct such an experiment. But if a basin of water were suddenly splashed onto a furnace of molten iron, everyone could imagine what would happen. The water contained within these two water elementals could not be measured in basins, and the heat of the Blazing Might Shot was far more than enough to melt a furnace of iron.

  A deafening boom almost made the entire royal city shake. A large amount of water was transformed into gas in an instant. The change in volume by thousands of times brought a massive expansive force, forming a scalding steam storm that swept across a region of nearly a li. Several civilian houses in the center, along with the two water elementals on the ground, were torn to shreds like they were made of paper. Countless raindrops were pushed away by this storm, rushing back towards the sky. This area abruptly changed from a cool, rainy night into a steamy hell of high temperatures.

  The first to bear the brunt was General Orrin, closest to the center of the storm. Although he instinctively curled his limbs into a ball, with the defenses of his Battle Qi and magic leather armor fully activated, and the explosive airflow did not directly harm him much, the immense impact force still sent him tumbling and flying far away, like a small cloth doll that had been viciously kicked.

  Archmage Saye, in comparison, was a little better off. He already had several high-level magic shields on his body, and his position was slightly farther away. He also lowered his altitude at the moment of the explosion, weakening the impact of the airwave. Although he was also blown away, he could at least maintain his balance.

  And now, although his situation in the air was a little better than Orrin's, his own mind was already tense and concentrated to the extreme. His body was being pushed by the steam storm, but his mouth and hands were not idle. Instead, he was loudly chanting incantations and making hand gestures, preparing to face the opponent who was chasing up swiftly, leaping between the rooftops in the hazy steam.

  Even the lightning in the sky could not pierce through the water vapor pervading the steam storm. The naked eye could not discover any opponent. But in the Mana Divine Eye, operating at full capacity, Saye could clearly see a figure running with the force of the storm.

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  Unless one was a top-tier grandmaster of the air element who had specialized in it to the limit, it was impossible to freely control flight magic in such an airflow storm; one could only be swept away by the airflow. Saye knew this himself, and the pursuer naturally knew it as well, which was why he carried such a heavy killing intent and murderous will. This was the determination to kill this isolated individual in this airflow storm, and it was indeed the only chance to kill himself, a high-level controller of magic.

  Watching this pursuer running towards him so clearly, like watching a wolf up close opening its bloody maw and breathing its foul breath towards him, Archmage Saye was only tense, not panicked. The Archmage of the Erathian court was not famous for nothing. Facing this life-and-death moment, his spirit instead concentrated to an unprecedented peak. The Mana Divine Eye, closely linked to his spirit, was pushed to its limit, seeing the opponent coming towards him with perfect clarity, even the Battle Qi surging within his body, the boiling magic power, and the several glands above his kidneys and below his brain that, due to the excessive killing intent, were injecting large amounts of hormones into his blood, causing his blood pressure to soar and his heart to beat rapidly—all of it was seen with perfect clarity.

  Ethan's heart was indeed beating very fast. All his Battle Qi and fighting spirit were mixed together, surging through his body along with his blood.

  When he discovered that what Talise was carrying was actually this most aggressive type of magic scroll, he had arranged all his tactics around how to ensure this scroll would hit its target. The tactics were almost perfect, and they almost succeeded, but he had never expected that Saye could, at the critical moment, command two water elementals to block that determined-to-succeed Blazing Might Shot. Even less did he expect that after the Blazing Might Shot hit the two water elementals, the situation would be like this.

  To hope that this large-scale airflow storm would actually kill two top-tier experts in a true sense was impossible. Although the steam explosion storm was scalding hot, everyone had been soaked through by the rain. They would not be burned. The only thing it brought was the separation of the two by the airwave. The direction Orrin was thrown and the direction Saye was blown were completely opposite.

  Although he had not expected this situation, Ethan made a judgment in an instant. He knew he must take this opportunity to deal with this isolated mage who could not fly freely in the storm. Otherwise, once he recovered and continued to use the Mana Divine Eye from high altitude, he would never be able to escape. So he even dropped the unconscious Talise and gave chase like mad, riding the storm's airflow.

  But this was, after all, the court mage of Erathia. Just by seeing that he could silently summon four water elementals and also use flight magic, it was enough for him to stand among the top-tier mages on the continent. One scroll and one crystal mirror from Talise had already been used up. He had to rely purely on his own strength to hunt down this enemy.

  As the last note of the incantation left his mouth, a silver-white mist rolled out from between Saye's hands, and wherever it went, a large wall of ice crystals instantly froze into existence out of thin air. This massive, sharp wall of ice crystals blocked Ethan's path. Generally speaking, anyone who knew this magic would never be willing to clash with these things head-on. This was not just an ordinary ice wall; it was also imbued with freezing magic damage. A person who crashed into it would usually be pierced and then frozen solid, becoming part of the ice crystals.

  Whether this pursuer knew this, Saye didn't know, but what he did know was that this person would absolutely not retreat, dodge, or yield. This could be seen from the tense muscles, the forward-charging momentum, and the killing intent in his blood, boiling as if being fried.

  Although Ethan did not retreat or dodge, and indeed crashed head-on, he was not pierced through and frozen into a block. Instead, he threw a punch first, then the Battle Qi in his entire body suddenly surged. This wall-like ice crystal, which was even harder, thicker, and more dangerous than a wall, was shattered just like that.

  With just this one collision, his Battle Qi was already about seventy percent consumed. Saye clearly saw the Battle Qi within this pursuer's body change from a torrential flood to almost nothing. But this collision finally allowed the pursuer to close the distance between them, to a distance where an attack was possible. Saye saw the magic power condensed within the opponent's body give off the black, corpse-like stench of Necromancy, and then, in the chaotic manner of fire magic, it erupted from his body towards the outside in the simplest and quickest way. Then a blue-green rocket appeared at this person's fingertips, shooting towards him with the speed of a crossbow bolt, carrying the stench of a corpse. Saye could see that the poison and the corrosive power of decay contained in this fire arrow were enough to kill an elephant.

  If one were to suddenly face such a magic, with immense destructive power yet so simple and direct that it didn't seem like magic, perhaps any mage would be flustered for a moment. Then they would be hit, caught off guard by the crossbow bolt-like speed. But Saye would not. All of this opponent's movements and attacks had already been seen clearly in the Mana Divine Eye. While the opponent was condensing his magic, he was also condensing his own. A Thunder Frost, with just the right amount of power and accuracy, blocked this incomparably swift blue-green fire arrow midway, turning it into a thick cloud of blue-green smoke that was then swept away without a trace by the steam and airwaves.

  Just this seemingly simple magic consumed ninety percent of the user's magic power. Half of that magic power was used for accelerating the magic and for the instant, silent casting. Saye had to admit that this method of simplifying the complex was actually the most effective. If not for the Mana Divine Eye, he was certain he would have become a pile of stinking, charred flesh.

  Saye did not relax because he had blocked this attack. At the same moment he blocked the strike, he also saw this opponent take out a small object from his robe, from which vibrant magic fluctuations emanated. It was the scent of the elves' nature magic.

  The next moment, this small object flew from the opponent's hand. It suddenly swelled in mid-air, becoming a centipede over a meter long. But this centipede had just taken form when it was immediately hit by a blast of cold air from Archmage Saye. It was frozen into a stick and fell stiffly to the ground.

  This method of using insects to store magic was actually similar to making magic scrolls. Using it suddenly once to catch people off guard could certainly have the effect of a surprise attack, but to a great mage who was fully operating the Mana Divine Eye and had already seen this kind of trick, using it a second time was just child's play.

  The airflow had weakened. The two of them had reached the edge of the storm caused by the steam. As long as he glided a little further forward, Saye could manipulate his flight magic to rise into the air to a height where he would be completely out of reach of attack. But at this moment, the distance between the two had shrunk to its minimum, almost within arm's reach. Ethan condensed all his strength, roared, took a step, and leaped straight up, charging towards Saye in mid-air.

  Even with only this remaining thirty percent of his Battle Qi, this punch, infused with Battle Qi, was absolutely fatal to a mage.

  Although the shield around Saye could block arrows and raindrops, it could not withstand a powerful impact and collision. The circle of light that had always surrounded the court mage twisted slightly, then immediately shattered before this fist. The mage's robe on him rippled and tore in the wind stirred up by this fist.

  But this punch did not truly hit the archmage's body. Instead, it grazed the flesh of his chest, bringing up a spray of blood as it passed.

  "You have lost." Saye looked coldly at the falling Ethan. The Mana Divine Eye above his head, with its pupil larger than a fist, also looked coldly at this falling loser. He used his flight magic to its utmost to raise his body a little, dodging this punch.

  Ethan's heart went completely cold. He knew he had indeed lost. This mid-air leap had been his all-or-nothing gamble. There were no more houses below, only streets, and the power of the steam storm was already failing. Archmage Saye would immediately rise into the air. Most importantly, every one of his attacks had been completely blocked. And finally, the court mage, with the body of a mage, could dodge his attack in such an extremely risky way. This showed that he had no possibility of defeating a great mage who was fighting with the Mana Divine Eye at full power. His every move, even the twitch of every muscle, was within the opponent's line of sight. Any strange, unpredictable tactics had lost their meaning. Apart from winning through overwhelming, frontal strength, there was no other way. His fighting spirit had vanished.

  Although the Mana Divine Eye still did not dare to relax in the slightest, focusing all its attention on the opponent who was now falling, Archmage Saye could now spare a bit of his mind to think. It was indeed a bit surprising that this person, who made even Orrin and himself feel pressured when they joined forces, was not his match when fighting him alone. But Saye immediately understood that this was also within reason. Although their combined strength was undeniable in absolute terms, their spirit and fighting will had slackened, creating a loophole, which was why the opponent had used clever tactics to put them in such a sorry state.

  Now, there would be no more loopholes, no more slackening. Saye had decided not to consider the situation with Orrin and the female knight. He would immediately rise into the air, then, from his high vantage point, use a rainstorm-like magic attack to kill this guy first, to blast him into a pile of bloody, icy sludge.

  But at this moment, the Mana Divine Eye suddenly gave a warning. The magical eyeball above Saye's head turned at the same time. Unfortunately, it was too late. A figure shot upwards from the shadows of a building behind, like a hunting spider, and firmly embraced him in mid-air.