Chapter 58: Law Destroyer VS Spellcaster
The various elemental attributes scattered in all directions. The three-plus months of effort by Mage Mentor Herlos and the others vanished in an instant.
After the initial shock, Herlos lowered his gaze. Although he knew that killing Su Xiao here would be a golden opportunity to skyrocket, he remained vigilant in his heart. The enemy was a Law Destroyer; if they had an ability that could kill instantly, he would die far too unjustly.
Herlos now had two choices: have someone contact Arcane Eternal Star to rush reinforcements, which would then seal off the entire waste planet.
If he did this, Herlos would indeed receive a reward, but it would be far less than what he would gain by personally killing the Law Destroyer.
Should he play it safe and contact Arcane Eternal Star, or temporarily conceal the appearance of the Law Destroyer? This was the choice facing Herlos. The final gains from the two methods differed by a hundredfold.
After only a moment of thought, Herlos decided to contact Arcane Eternal Star. Sometimes, what the eyes see isn't necessarily the truth. If that Law Destroyer had hidden certain abilities during the Strongest Warrior Tournament, leading to a miscalculation of combat power, it could cost him his life.
Herlos didn't consider himself a genius. The reason he had reached the peak of the seventh rank, just shy of the eighth, was his self-awareness. He had proactively taken on the busy position of Mage Mentor instead of first thinking about building his own magic tower. Though being a Mage Mentor was arduous, it allowed him to accumulate a vast network of connections.
Facts proved that Herlos, with his quasi-eighth-rank strength, displayed caution commensurate with his power and a serious regard for any enemy.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, for the sake of my brighter path, please die here. I will take your corpse back to Arcane Eternal Star."
Herlos's lips curled up, as if struck by a blow to his intelligence. From his words, one could tell he wanted to kill Su Xiao on the spot and temporarily not contact Arcane Eternal Star. Yet his right hand was hidden behind his back, making a gesture to the several spellcasters behind him. This gesture meant: send for reinforcements, immediately contact Arcane Eternal Star!
This was why Herlos hadn't acted immediately. He was stalling for time, prioritizing stability, which fit his style as a mentor.
The several spellcasters behind Mage Mentor Herlos maintained calm expressions. Using the cover of other spellcasters, they gathered together, and one of them pulled out a fist-sized crystal ball.
The drifting natural elements quickly dispersed. Su Xiao stood still. With his current strength, facing 102 same-rank contractors simultaneously, he would have to retreat temporarily. But if it were same-rank spellcasters, that was a different story.
The Cyan Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao's body rapidly depleted, quickly exceeding 7,000 points. Silently, the branch ability of Cyan Steel Shadow, Energy Interruption, was fully activated.
Energy Interruption (Active): When used against a magic-type enemy, there is a 57% chance to forcibly interrupt their spellcasting, causing them to enter a judgment-free paralysis state lasting 0.7 to 3 seconds, and dealing true damage equal to 0.8 times the mana consumed by the enemy.
Tip: This ability has no cooldown trigger time. If the magic-type enemy exceeds the Cyan Steel Shadow energy's tolerance limit by one rank, this ability's effect will be reduced.
...
After the Cyan Steel Shadow energy had fully spread, Su Xiao knew it was time to act. The enemy was stalling for time and had likely already contacted Arcane Eternal Star. It might not be long before the waste planet was completely sealed off.
Clang~
The Dragon-Slaying Flash at Su Xiao's waist was drawn. The moment he pulled the blade, a spark appeared a few meters behind him. The fluctuation of this spark was very weak, as if it didn't exist.
Centered on this spark, fire elements suddenly converged, forming a flame giant with only an upper body. The moment it formed, it compressed at its chest as a focal point, creating suction from all directions.
Rumble...
The ground was torn up, and a terrifying suction spread. Reaching a critical point, it suddenly exploded.
Boom!
Magma splattered everywhere, a spectacular scene. The flying magma formed into molten birds, converging toward Su Xiao within the flames.
"Element, Cataclysm."
A plain-looking spellcaster clasped his hands together. His robe fluttered without wind, and his pupils turned ice-blue.
Crack, crack, crack...
Ice spread at the explosion point of the magma, instantly transforming it into ice, freezing into a massive ice block.
'Gravity Shift.'
A spellcaster with dead fish eyes made a grasping motion with one hand. A walnut-sized black light sphere appeared in his hand. At the same time, the giant ice block rapidly shrank, enduring immense gravitational pressure.
The dead-eyed one clenched his fist. The black light sphere in his hand turned into energy, spreading toward his right arm.
He pressed his single hand downward. With a boom, a circular, bottomless pit appeared in the distance. Everything fell silent.
The dead-eyed one's expression remained normal. He could use an attack of this level several times in a row without issue. However, one thing puzzled him: their firepower seemed far too weak. Normally, there wouldn't be a foothold within several kilometers, and the only place to stand would be right under their feet.
The dead-eyed spellcaster turned his head. What he saw made cold sweat seep from his spine. Of their 100-plus members, more than two-thirds were now lying on the ground, flickering with blue arcs of electricity, their bodies occasionally twitching.
Mage Mentor Herlos was half-crouched, his breathing slightly rapid. Just now, he had been "attacked" without warning. His body instantly lost sensation, and his brain felt like thousands of needles were stabbing it. Even now, he still saw double.
The battle had begun, but before Su Xiao could even charge forward, a large number of spellcasters had already fallen.
"Spread out! Red Servant, go block him."
Herlos pressed a hand to his head. As he spoke, a giant monster behind him straightened up. This was a servant Herlos had modified using magical energy.
The Red Servant was a melee type that feared no death. Once the magical energy within its body was activated, it drew a hooked blade from its lower back. The reverse-curved blade was covered in serrations.
Several dozen meters away, Su Xiao stood on curled ice shards. Burn marks appeared on his clothes. The spellcasters used their abilities without warning and at incredible speed, each attack covering a vast area. It was hard to dodge completely. The Void Overlord, Arcane Eternal Star, did not have an undeserved reputation.
Bang!
The ice shards beneath Su Xiao's feet shattered. He vanished from his spot, charging toward the spellcasters several dozen meters away.
A sound of wind breaking came from beside Su Xiao's ear. He slightly tilted his body as he charged forward, and a black energy hand grabbed at empty air.
Boom!
A heavy pressure came from above. Various magic abilities rushed toward him from the front, so dense that it was impossible to count how many types there were. Su Xiao knew this place was about to be carpet-bombed by magic.
Clang, clang!
Two intersecting slashes of blade light swept across, forming a massive X-shape. All the magic abilities rushing in were dispersed.
Crackle~
A three-meter-long lightning spear, condensed into solid form, shot straight toward Su Xiao's face. Its speed was so fast that it gave no time to react, but in Su Xiao's eyes, this wasn't even the fastest.
As Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge, a crystal layer climbed onto his right hand. He flicked the long blade in his hand, gathering all the Cyan Steel Shadow energy on the blade tip.
With a sizzle, the straight flight path of the lightning spear changed. Using the momentum of his charge, Su Xiao flicked the long blade.
Bang!
An air blast expanded. The lightning spear changed direction, thrown back, flying past the ear of a female spellcaster, lifting her long hair. She could even feel the lightning stinging her cheek.
The lightning spear pierced through the head of a spellcaster. Paralyzed all over, he didn't even have a chance to dodge before being carried backward by the spear.
With a thud, the spellcaster with the pierced head crashed heavily to the ground.
"Th... thrown back?"
The recovering Herlos was dumbfounded. In his entire life, he had never seen anyone throw a spellcaster's ability back. Theoretically, this was impossible.