Chapter 102: Who Will Annihilate Whom?
Second update, seeking recommendations!
Aiming for top ten!
———
The higher one’s cultivation level, the stronger their combat power. At the same time, the attack range of battle skills also improves to varying degrees depending on the individual’s level.
Advanced long-range combat skills for warriors are exceedingly rare; they usually possess only mid- to short-range finishing moves. However, as one’s cultivation advances, these ranges can extend.
Take, for example, a four-star versus a six-star cultivator: the difference in attack range can increase by ten to twenty meters, nearly matching the magic attack distance of mid- to low-level mages!
Xu Wen’s external cultivation level was only at the mid-tier three-star stage. Seated atop the Black Wind Eagle, the deputy captain immediately resolved to eliminate this menace after a single glance.
The item was already in hand, yet neither the Handsome General Mercenary Group nor the “Mitsui Fang” realized that Wang Xiaoshuai had entrusted the treasure to the weakest cousin within the group to break through. As long as Xu Wen, a chance witness, was eliminated, they could monopolize the treasure and all its secrets, keeping it from anyone else’s knowledge.
Without hesitation, the deputy captain gripped the Flying Dragon Spear and infused it with Wind Spirit Fighting Energy!
Whoosh!
A six-star peak-level expert’s full-strength throw closed the hundred-plus-meter distance to nearly zero in an instant.
By the time the aerial beast tamer noticed this move, the Flying Dragon Spear had already flown before him, slicing through the air!
“Blame yourself for seeing what you shouldn’t have!”
The deputy captain’s cold smile was laced with certainty, as if he already saw the spear piercing and shredding the tamer—although this throw wasn’t a formal battle skill, it was still at six-star level, and eliminating a five-star beast tamer would be no great challenge.
Yet…
At the moment he turned to leave, the Flying Dragon Spear suddenly emitted a crisp, loud crack midair and abruptly halted. The deputy captain looked up in disbelief.
“What?”
He saw the spear’s momentum completely stopped by a flash of red light, which then caught it in the air. It landed safely in the beast tamer’s hand—a scene so absurd it seemed like a dream.
An all-out strike was actually caught by a beast tamer?
Damn it!
The deputy captain’s expression darkened, sensing danger.
His palm flipped, producing a pill which he swallowed swiftly and efficiently.
“They really want to kill and silence me…”
Xu Wen muttered to himself, examining the Flaming Divine Shield that had taken nearly a third of the damage.
A lingering fear surged into a fierce anger, his eyes burning like lightning as he fixed his gaze on the six-star swordsmen arrayed on the ground.
If not for the protection of the Emperor-level Flaming Divine Shield, which automatically appeared to block the Flying Dragon Spear at the brink of life and death, he would already be a corpse.
To go all out against a mid-tier three-star cultivator…
The opponent’s intention to kill and silence was unmistakably clear!
“Very well!”
A flicker of cold killing intent flashed in Xu Wen’s eyes. He retracted the intact Flying Dragon Spear. The Black Wind Eagle uttered a sharp cry and dove fiercely toward the ground!
Even Little Black sensed the fury burning within his master.
Xu Wen busied himself in midair, rapidly summoning the “Flaming Fire Ring” while chanting the incantation for the “Concentrated Sunburst Wave.” With one hand, he wielded a molten lava staff, drawing a six-pointed star array in the void; with the other, he secretly activated a scroll from his treasure belt.
Though the enemy was only one person, their strength was at the peak six-star level and could not be underestimated. The only hope lay in these unexpectedly profound spells and the partial depletion of their strength from the previous battle.
The two below were unlikely enemies killing out of vengeance; they were clearly trying to kill to seize the treasure.
But within one day, two battles with the same purpose should not have occurred continuously in the same area. The only possibility was that these two were connected to the earlier two groups encountered.
Therefore…
To avoid unnecessary trouble, the fight must not drag on!
A swift and decisive victory!
———
“Hmph!”
“Quite bold!”
After the initial shock, the deputy captain had completely regained his composure.
The beast tamer who dived down with the young flying bird was clearly very young, his face still tender yet filled with rage. Even if he had no idea how the earlier attack was intercepted, the deputy captain was confident he could kill this reckless youth in the shortest time.
Feeling reassured, the deputy captain quickly showed surprise again.
The staff in the youth’s hand…
That dazzling molten color shimmer—
That was!
A top-tier intermediate mage’s staff?
The deputy captain was startled.
Having roamed the north and south for years, even with poor eyesight, he wouldn’t mistake a divine weapon from the God Weapon Pavilion!
“Could it be a direct disciple from a noble family?!”
The thought barely formed when the exquisite six-pointed star array had already formed before the youth. A mighty surge of magical power erupted above, with scorching waves of fire engulfing the sky!
Unease!
A strong, oppressive unease finally assailed the deputy captain’s heart.
Such a powerful magical surge! Such a wondrous way of chanting spells!
Damn it!
It was profound magic!
“Haah!”
The deputy captain’s face changed drastically as he roared. His longsword stirred a cone-shaped ripple like a gale, striking out like lightning. Infused with six-star fighting energy, it smashed against the descending magical assault.
Two attacks collided; the stronger would prevail.
But profound magic differed from ordinary magic—it wasn’t easily nullified. The longsword plunged into the massive fireball, not dissipating the damage as expected but instead igniting a powder keg.
Boom!
Concentrated Sunburst Wave!
Thousands of fiery projectiles burst densely from the fireball, instantly engulfing the deputy captain.
Within fifty meters, countless craters were formed. Fireballs crisscrossed, and the air was thick with dry, intense heat. The deputy captain’s gear was damaged and charred; he looked horrified as the beast tamer retracted the Black Wind Eagle.
His heart ached deeply…
If he didn’t know what kind of opponent he faced, he wasn’t worthy to be deputy captain of a seasoned mercenary group.
The first wave of attacks had reached mid-tier five-star level. A three-star mage achieving this was not solely due to the superb weapon.
The second wave’s ferocity was terrifying: each strike powerful, numerous, and relentless—there was no evading them. Even at six-star level, he felt panic and dread as his fighting energy seemed torn apart. Afterward, he endured over twenty aftershocks from the fireballs, wounds covering his body!
This magic was undoubtedly of “Profound Heaven” level.
Such a young mage wielding Profound Heaven-level fire magic… besides Xu Wen, who had briefly appeared in the imperial capital and was praised by the six great clans as the direct disciple of Dean Harman… who else could it be?
Rumor had it the youth possessed pills to conceal his cultivation level…
His three-star rating was but a façade!
Realizing he had hit a brick wall, the deputy captain’s regret was profound. On one hand, he had caused unnecessary trouble; on the other, he hated that the boy had appeared at such an inopportune moment.
Being caught by the Handsome General Mercenary Group was one matter—they at least dared not openly deal with him to protect their treasure’s secret. But if Xu Wen died by his hand, there would be no place left for him in the Azure Cloud Empire, and the Blood Alliance might not be safe either…
Swift and decisive!
Destroy the body and the evidence!
———
Two cruel thoughts sprouted rapidly in the deputy captain’s heart. Ignoring the burning pain coursing through his body, he roared fiercely and forcibly activated Wind Spirit again, ghost-like closing the distance between them.
The fifty meters vanished in less than three seconds.
Close-range skill assassination was difficult even for six-star mages to withstand.
Yet…
The deputy captain’s speed was fast, but so was Xu Wen’s chanting.
At the moment the first spell erupted, the Flaming Fire Ring instantly appeared without incantation, thin as silk ribbons, wrapping around Xu Wen, guarding him.
Before the deputy captain could strike, four burly, heavily armored warriors silently appeared around Xu Wen. Moving in unison, two pairs brandished greatswords, blocking the deputy captain’s approach from left and right.
The successive surprises forced the deputy captain to step back two paces. Judging from their attacks, these four mysterious armored warriors were roughly early four-star combatants.
But what exactly were these four?
Humanoid contract beasts?
Death warriors?
Or something else…
The deputy captain swallowed dryly, cold sweat breaking out. “Just now was profound magic, and a beast tamer—could this boy also be a four-star summoner?!”
Reportedly, he was only fifteen…
A four-star mage, two-star beast tamer, and also a four-star summoner?
Since when did the Azure Cloud Academy produce such terrifying students?
Xu Wen had no intention of giving him more time to ponder. The deputy captain’s fighting energy, torn apart, meant he was vulnerable.
“Go!”
The “Golden Flame Wheel” appeared before Xu Wen with overwhelming momentum…
Seeing this, the deputy captain, entangled by the four armored warriors’ desperate tactics, completely lost morale, his expression one of terror.
Emperor-level… yet another Emperor-level magic!
“Is this kid really fifteen? Not some fifty-year-old old man?!” The deputy captain’s eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, he burst forth, forcing the four armored warriors to retreat and turned to flee.
Run?
Xu Wen smiled coldly. The Golden Flame Wheel, leaving a dazzling golden afterimage, chased lightning-fast behind the six-star swordsman.
Just as the enemy turned and swung a silver sword arc, the Golden Flame Wheel suddenly spun upward, leaping out of the attack range, then descended with even fiercer force from below.
The deputy captain could only raise his sword to block…
But the longsword was knocked far away, and the Golden Flame Wheel struck precisely on his silver porcupine mail armor, producing a sharp screech and a terrifying misaligned crack—the expensive armor was utterly destroyed.
Thanks to this block, the deputy captain narrowly survived. He kicked off the ground and broke free from the armored warriors, fleeing dozens of meters.
“You won’t escape.”
A tiger’s roar sounded as a three-eyed flame tiger materialized at Xu Wen’s thought, carrying him. The speed of a magical beast far surpassed that of any human. Moreover, the deputy captain was gravely wounded; after two battles, his fighting energy was nearly depleted, and the distance closed rapidly.
Seeing the thin red ribbons transform into a flaming fire ring, trailing fiery tails as it pursued from behind, the deputy captain’s heart sank completely.
He turned resolutely, shouting hurriedly:
“Don’t kill me! I have a rare treasure here… ugh!”
His words did nothing to stop Xu Wen’s assault. Three flaming fire rings struck his vital points with deadly precision.
The three-eyed flame tiger stopped before the corpse. Xu Wen leapt down, crouching beside it.
“The man’s dead. What else could possibly not be mine?”