Sigh, humans really are dull. Servant, finish off these ants fast. Hill, don’t let those ants bother me. I’ll read for a bit.

Xinuo drew out a chair, settled like a crane by water, and opened a book like autumn leaves unfolding.

Mm-hmm! Leave this spot to me! His voice rang bright, like a bell in a quiet courtyard.

Hill nodded. Her small frame breathed fierce Dragon Aura, pressure like a mountain wind that kept everyone within a hundred meters at bay.

Xinuo, got it. I answered, cold steadiness like iron under frost.

I turned my gaze on the mages around us and on Intela ahead. Scorn rose like smoke. You think you can catch me? What a joke.

Damn it! All together! Let this bastard taste the might of our Mage Corps! Intela’s shout rolled like a war drum.

He roared, lifted his wand, and layered shields on himself like glass petals, then began to chant.

O water between heaven and earth, become ice; pierce the foe with razor chill—SS-class spell: Crystal Ice Arrows!

An ice-blue magic circle three meters tall bloomed behind him. From it, ice-forged arrows poured out, screaming through the air at me like winter hail.

Die! You dared offend the Mage Corps—you’re courting death, like stepping on a tiger’s tail!

Intela flicked his wand. The ice arrows blazed faster, vanishing to the naked eye, their numbers swelling like a blizzard. In moments, hundreds rushed me.

Explosive Fireball!

Torrent Burst!

Blizzard!

Voices rose like a storm front breaking.

The surrounding mages hurled spells one after another, rain of magic falling from all sides.

Bad—cold dread washed up like a tide. So many spells, and Crystal Ice Arrows is SS-class. My thoughts spun like wheels, searching for a sword art to break this crisis.

Frustration bit like frost. I found several techniques that could smash them in one stroke, but every one needed charging.

Wait—there’s one more. A newborn technique I forged days ago, a seed I’ve never planted. I don’t know if it’ll bloom.

Stop thinking. Gamble once. Resolve struck like flint to tinder.

If I keep thinking, those spells will hit me. I gripped the Shattered Light Sword with both hands and spun, body like a windmill under a squall.

Sword Qi Storm!

The instant I turned, a tornado of Sword Aura burst out from me, coiling like a dragon and whirling at blistering speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Sword Aura tornado slammed into the swarm of spells, thunder and sparks spraying like meteors.

Crystal Ice Arrows earned its SS-class. Dozens of icy shafts punched through the storm like wolves through a fence.

If I hadn’t chopped them apart with the Shattered Light Sword in time, I’d already be bleeding, a red thread on cold stone.

Five seconds later. The incoming spells were gone. The Sword Aura tornado faded. The street lay pitted like the moon, and several buildings had collapsed like sand towers.

Minutes ago, this street was lively as a market. Now, aside from me, Xinuo, Hill, the mages, and a few stubborn onlookers, no one remained. The crowd fled like startled birds, afraid of stray blows.

How is that possible? All those spells blocked? Intela stared, jaw slack like a fish on dry shore.

Nothing’s impossible. My turn to strike! Sword Aura Slash!

I raised the Shattered Light Sword and sent several arcs of Sword Aura at Intela, crescent moons slicing through night air.

Not good! Guardian Shield, open!

Intela gripped his wand with both hands. The gem at the tip blazed like a rising sun. A five-meter golden shield rose before him, etched with deep runes like river glyphs.

Boom!! The shield blocked all my Sword Aura. It shattered after, glass under a hammer, but it still shocked me, a chill under the ribs.

What are you standing around for?! Form the array and kill him! His fury cracked like a whip.

Yes, Captain Intela! The mages answered, respectful as temple acolytes, then arranged themselves around me in measured steps, chess pieces clicking into place. Intela stepped in with them.

Formation? I tilted my head, baffled, watching the ring tighten like wolves herding a stag.

No rush. You’ll know soon. Whether you’re alive then—who knows. His voice was winter water, clear and cruel.

All-Slaughter Annihilation Formation, activate!

What?!

A giant magic formation bloomed under my feet—no, it rose and enclosed me like a net of thorns. Black-and-crimson runes crawled over it, reeking of slaughter, danger coiling like snakes around my ankles.

I noticed Intela and the mages wore the same pendants, each glowing faintly like foxfire. So the formation came from them. In other words, those pendants are the array’s eyes.

Attack!

I had no time to think. Intela and the mages launched their assault, a floodgate flung open.

Draw Sword Technique!

I whipped the Shattered Light Sword. A half-moon of Sword Aura cut toward the incoming spells like a silver tide.

But—boom!! My Sword Aura only barely held, a cracked dam against a swollen river. And I’d charged that strike.

A prickle ran up my spine—bad omen like needles. I leapt aside on instinct.

Zzzzt… The spot I’d stood hissed with red lightning, corrosive as acid rain eating stone.

Lucky you didn’t get fried! But rest easy—inside this All-Slaughter Annihilation Formation, our magic’s boosted tenfold, and danger blooms everywhere. One misstep, and a random strike will kill you. Come on, let’s see how long you last—hahaha! Intela laughed, a cat savoring the mouse’s panic.

…

My heart sank to the seabed. I hadn’t thought this formation would be so strong and so uncanny. Call it a prehistoric crisis—no exaggeration.