Once again facing Lucius, the Black Elf sorcerer seemed much more cautious, with six of the largest demons guarding him on either side, while the rest spread out to prevent Lucius from breaking through with a powerful spell.
Lucius' tactics had also changed noticeably. The high concentration of dark elements clung to his clothes, forming a solid texture like a cloak. With a single roll of his coat, he blended perfectly into the night, appearing elusive and deadly each time he revealed himself. His seventh-level melee spell exploded through the chests of the demons, blasting them into scattered dark elements, perfectly demonstrating what it meant to be a battle mage assassin.
But it still wasn't fast enough.
After dispatching another demon, Lucius once again disappeared into the darkness, his face growing pale. Although the seventh-level elemental explosion was only a fraction of the damage caused by a large spell at close range, it was still a formidable weapon for a combat mage like him, who could both physically overpower and bombard with spells.
Using it consecutively more than a dozen times, along with the Shadow Cloak and the earlier Black Sky Descent, had already exhausted him greatly. "How can he keep summoning them? What kind of book is that?" Lucius muttered to himself as he watched the Black Elf sorcerer summon more demons from the unknown book to fill the gaps left by his kills. The sorcerer showed no desire to attack, only defending and delaying, clearly intending to buy time.
With his dwindling mana reserves and no hits on the opposing sorcerer, Lucius found this strategy frustrating. "I'm going to be laughed at by Ciella again... Sigh." Hidden in the shadows, Lucius stared at the sorcerer, who remained on high alert, slowly lowering his body.
If he continued to deplete his mana, he would be the first to be exhausted. Furthermore, he had no idea how the situation was unfolding underground. The only way to break the stalemate was to go all out and blast the sorcerer directly with a large spell.
With determination, Lucius chanted long and complex incantations, quickly drawing symbols in the air with his hands... Using his remaining mana, he prepared a powerful attack that combined control and lethal force. If he failed to kill the sorcerer with this, he would have to rely on Chi for a direct confrontation.
Adjusting his breath and mana flow, Lucius reached his optimum state. He stared at the sorcerer, guarded by six high-level demons, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But before that moment arrived, he felt a slight tremor on the ground. Snow-like debris falling from the ruined walls of the headmaster's office, a result of the initial attack, confirmed his suspicion.
Suddenly realizing something, Lucius' pupils contracted. He turned his gaze to one of the towers behind the Ivory Tower, one of the main buildings of the academy. It collapsed without warning during the violent shaking.
"Hey, what's going on? Why is there an earthquake...Holy crap, they're demolishing the academy!"
As he leapt upwards, he parried the final desperate attack of the Black Elf warrior with a swift arc of his spear, then landed on the roof of the second floor. The last enemy below had already been defeated by his other teammates who had arrived. Joshua finished him off with an ice spell, encasing him in ice with only his head exposed.
For this team of students sent to clash with other academies, the invaders posed no threat. Both their individual strength and teamwork were superior. Add to that the guidance of the headmaster, allowing them to quickly locate and neutralize targets. It had only been half an hour since the attack began, and the team had already eliminated seven dark elemental creatures and two Black Elves.
But before they had a chance to enjoy themselves, there was a seismic commotion coming from the Heart Island.
The few of them exchanged glances and saw the astonishment in each other's eyes. The headmaster was at the college, why the hell did they demolish the tower? Were those damn Black Elves cheating?
"F*ck, are these guys cheating... Why can someone who doesn't even have the level of a great Mage cast such powerful Magic? Are Mages really allowed to do whatever they want? I want to change my profession, headmaster!"
After the tower was demolished, Lucas's communicator started ringing again. It was the voice of the teacher in charge of patrolling, but it no longer sounded as cheerful as before. Instead, it sounded angry and ready to kill.
"So, you still have the nerve to complain to me?"
"Because I took care of these few guys," the voice relaxed again, returning to its lazy and cunning tone, "Thank goodness the Magic didn't fully unleash. You owe me a favor, Old Lucas. If I didn't stab this guy's kidney, you would've been sent to the sky with the tower."
"Did you manage to defend it?" Ignoring the previous nonsense, Lucas caught onto this important information and breathed a sigh of relief. Although he usually had a sharp tongue and a carefree manner, his strength was still there. At least he didn't have to worry about his back anymore.
"Of course, don't forget who I am, the famous Gale Swordsman! It's just that little Kek got hurt. It'd be best to call Lawrence over."
"Okay, I'll take care of the rest over here..."
"Damn it."
Another swear word came from the communicator, causing Lucas to feel a bit uncomfortable. But before he could remind someone about their choice of language, the voice spoke again,
"Old Lucas, I suspect I've been cursed by a god or some dirty thing recently. Why am I so unfortunate? Why are these guys so relentless?! Have all the teachers outside died? Why did they let three more in? Am I being punked?! I'll teach them a lesson, damn it, you bastards!"
This former swordsman teacher was now completely unable to find any joy.
The communication suddenly turned into a noisy explosion again, and the headmaster's state of mind exploded along with it.
"Mr. Lucas, I'll ask you one more time, do you need help?"
Suddenly, Star's voice resounded in Lucas's ears. Subconsciously, he looked up in that direction, towards the broken window frame. There, Star with his black clothes and black hair lazily blinked at him, holding the tea cup from earlier in his hand. There was still about half of the tea left, so he really was drinking tea during that situation!
"For now, no..." Lucas hesitated for a moment, thinking about the two Magic spells that were already prepared, and wanted to have another go.
"Is that a good idea? Protecting what lies beneath is Mr. Lucas's responsibility, right? Now is not the time to challenge oneself or worry about face," Star gently reminded him.
"...As if being splashed with cold water, Lucas stiffened, and the expression on his face gradually relaxed from tightly clenched teeth to a self-deprecating smile.
Damn it, he always demanded calmness and composure from himself, why was it so easy for his mind to heat up in a fight? That's right, now was not the time to prove anything, protecting what was underground was the reason he came to Milt alone, leaving his sister and mother behind. It should take priority.
"Thank you for the reminder, then, excuse me." As he spoke, the surging magical flow at his fingertips concealed itself, Lucas sighed and released the effect of the Dark Night Cloak, standing easily in front of the Black Elf mage.
"Sure, sure," the corner of Hoshimi's mouth curled up slightly, taking a small leap forward and kicking a small pebble that hit a demon spirit, grabbing the attention of those dark elemental creatures and the black Elf wizard.
The astonished wizard, who had never noticed Hoshimi's existence from the beginning, launched an attack in an instant. The two demon spirits swung their dark sharp claws towards Hoshimi, their agile and robust figures contrasting sharply with her seemingly delicate appearance, as if they could tear her body apart in the next moment.
But Hoshimi didn't even spare them a glance. The deep black pupils reflected only the moonlight and the countless stars in the sky.
To talk about astrology, it was just a kind of feudal superstition in the Western Continent, something people did for fun after tea and dinner. Nobody believed in it, at most they just laughed it off.
However, in the Eastern Continent, the significance of astrology was completely different. The power systems in the East and the West were very different. The Western Continent mainly focused on the development of human physical abilities for knights and warriors, which manifested as a mysterious existence called "Chi". Magic users simply manipulated the elements that floated in the air.
In the East, whether it was martial artists or spellcasters, their ultimate goal was the so-called "Heavenly Way," to integrate themselves with the heavens and the earth, borrowing the power of the earth, the power of the sky, and the power of all things in the world.
This kind of philosophy only appeared at the Holy Rank level in the Western Continent, so it brought a certain impact during bilateral exchanges.
Fortunately, even though the philosophy was on a higher level, it was not something that ordinary people could grasp and cultivate by comprehending the rules of the world. So even in the East, the number of people who truly reached this level was similar to the number of Holy Rank individuals in the West. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been friendly exchanges between the East and the West, and the Eastern Empire would have long conquered the world across the sea, right?
Once one truly comprehended the "Heavenly Way," which was the power of the law, the Eastern Continent's powerful individuals undoubtedly became quite terrifying. But unfortunately, since the official at the Milt Academy had no idea about Hoshimi's arrival, the unfamiliar black Elves naturally didn't expect that besides Ciella, there was another monster-level presence here...
"Starry sky, ah—"
Hoshimi's actions didn't have the splendid elemental effects of an ordinary Magic user. It was just as if the sky had received some command and cast a beam of light that enveloped the two approaching demon spirits. The gentle moonlight was like a soft veil, leaving behind a bright moonlight on the dark bodies of the demon spirits, making them shimmer and pause in motion under the radiance.
Then, she leisurely moved with gentle steps, her snowy white fingertips touching the demon spirits in an instant, causing the two powerful bodies that were filled with explosive strength to disintegrate like dust.
Unlike when facing Lucius, the black Elf wizard's face clearly showed fear. He wasn't an idiot; he could naturally tell that the power had already reached a level beyond his own capability to resist.
"It's too late to run now."
Lucius was somewhat puzzled.
The gap in power was now fully revealed. In the face of the Holy Rank, the methods he used to deal with himself were ineffective, but this black Elf wizard was still standing there stubbornly, thinking about trying to resist?
Wait a minute...
Something seemed off.
The body of the black Elf wizard was trembling, and it didn't seem to be out of fear, but rather the kind of trembling that occurred when all the muscles in the body were exerting force. And cracks began to appear on the ground beneath his feet.
Was it gravity? Lucius suddenly realized that the gravity in that area had been strengthened by some means, making it difficult for the black Elf wizard to even move his body.
Then even the imps around him couldn't maintain their flight, and they fell to the ground like stones.
"@[email protected]#&~*!" The dark Elf mage struggled to pull out the book that summoned the imps and planned to resist, but Xingjian didn't give him the chance anymore.
"Descend."
It wasn't a beam of light or an energy explosion, it was so imperceptible to the naked eye, but Lucius could indeed sense a "force" descending from above, like a heavy hammer in the hands of a god.
Within a circular area with a diameter of about 30 meters where the mage stood, the ground suddenly cracked and sank, creating a sharp drop of nearly half a meter compared to the surrounding area. A series of cracking sounds echoed, and anyone within, be it imps or mages, didn't even have time to scream before being knocked down to the ground. In the subsequent second wave of impact, they were crushed, and not even a scene of blood splattering occurred. Instead, it all turned into a dark red liquid that spread on the ground, forming a bizarre painting.
"Well, that's enough." Xingjian put down his right hand and brought the teacup in his left hand to his lips, drinking the last bit of tea.
Sizzle...
After a burst of static, the voice of a certain sword master teacher came through the communicator for the N+1th time, finally without any bad news.
"Old Lu, those three guys just got turned into abstract paintings for no reason. Did they do too many bad things and got punished by the heavens..."
