Chapter 231: Battle and the Death of an Eighth Tier

I think these mages had no idea what was happening when they died," Mage Yisier added. "If we let them go around killing mages who survived the battlefield, I fear one day we'll be killed by them for some reason too."

"Maybe it's not just about them clashing with those mages; maybe it's because the Blizzard Legion refused to carry out orders from certain people in the military command," Shaoke said with a soft sigh. He knew that today's events had escalated to the point where a large-scale battle could break out at any moment, because among the dead mages, he spotted a Cleric—a rare female cleric. He knew this Cleric had good relations with many mages and was already a Fifth Tier Cleric, capable of providing Support Spells to Seventh Tier Mages.

The Cleric, who had been heavily protected on the battlefield, didn't die in combat but was killed by that Eighth Tier Mage for other reasons.

"I think you owe us an explanation. Why did you cruelly kill Cleric Moweier, a Fifth Tier Cleric? How could you just kill her like that?" A Seventh Tier Mage cast an Amplification Spell and shouted loudly toward the manor, but his voice carried to other parts of the small town. Although this Seventh Tier Mage wasn't in Shaoke's group, Shaoke had seen him at the outdoor spell practice grounds and had spent a long time practicing spells with him. He knew this Seventh Tier mage had been hurt once and was healed by the dead cleric.

"An explanation? Pinch to death some insignificant little things, is there any need to explain the reason to other insignificant beings?" The Eighth Tier Mage floating in the air replied emotionlessly to the Seventh Tier Mage's words. "You know who you're talking to, right?"

"If you want to leave this world early, then keep talking," the Eighth Tier Mage from the Blizzard Legion said. A pitch-black spellbook suddenly rose out of his magic bag, rapidly expanding until it was two or three times the size of an ordinary book. Various magic scripts emerged from the spellbook and quickly swirled around it.

"In fact, the one who should leave this world early is you," the Eighth Tier Mage from the imperial capital responded, doing the same, though his spellbook was a light pure white, looking much nicer.

The fight kicked off right away. The Seventh Tier mage who lost his companion began preparing a spell—a Seventh Rank targeted area attack spell: "Cracking Flame." Just as he started casting, the Eighth Tier Mage from the imperial capital attacked him with a spell, but it was intercepted by the Blizzard Legion's Eighth Tier Mage. At that moment, dozens of High-rank Warriors leaped out from the manor, charging at the mage, apparently intent on killing the Seventh Tier Mage who was about to cast.

Dream Mist—a pale blue mental attack spell—was released by Shaoke. The Fourth Rank Dream Mist spell he'd just learned was cast instantly, expanding into a mist dozens of meters wide. Although the targets weren't mages, the spell could still damage their mental strength, and the effect was even more pronounced.

As Shaoke chanted, three pale purple spears materialized above his head. This was another mental attack spell he had learned after advancing to Fifth Tier Mage: "Victory Spear." Though the name made Shaoke uncomfortable, it was very effective in combat, especially as a Fourth Rank mental attack spell capable of crossing tiers.

The three spears popped up almost instantly before three warriors not enveloped by the blue mist. Their solid Aura seemed to vanish as the spears easily sank into them, killing the three warriors, who were at least Sixth-rank warriors. For mages, the mental strength of anyone below Eighth Tier Warrior was extremely low, and once their mental strength was destroyed, no enemy could survive.

After firing off two mental attack spells in a row, Shaoke had consumed over half of his mental energy. Without pause, he began preparing another spell: Death Slash. Black threads appeared again, easily cutting through the stone courtyard walls and attacking those fighting inside.

As Shaoke cast his spell, the other mages launched their attacks. They didn't let the warriors reach the Seventh Tier Mage; hundreds of various spells easily blasted the warriors into fragments. Then, without stopping, the nearly thousand mages gathered here began fighting the imperial capital visitors in the manor in their usual combat style. There was no dodging, only frantic interception and attack. Just as Shaoke's Death Slash was released, the Seventh Tier Mage preparing the area spell finished his casting.

The manor, spanning a hundred meters in radius, burst into flames. Massive fire exploded in the air, and the ground cracked into fissures that randomly sealed shut. The area spell caused heavy casualties in the manor. Although many High-rank Warriors and some mages survived the attack, following the Sleazy Officer's command, over a hundred Blizzard Warriors charged madly into the still-burning manor. Some mages shifted their targets as two Eighth-order Practitioners now floated in the air, and the mages focused their attacks on them.

Crimson Aura enveloped all the Blizzard Warriors. A fat Great merchant, who had survived under the protection of a magic item, was slashed by a saber. The protective barrier shattered easily, and his large body was torn in half.

The attacks from Shaoke and the other mages had almost no effect on the Eighth-order Practitioners. They moved swiftly in the air. One, who appeared to be a warrior, joined his companion in attacking the Blizzard Legion's Eighth Tier Mage. The other practitioner, also a mage, leisurely cast spells at Shaoke's group. Each spell easily tore through the Low-rank Mages' Defensive Spells, shredding the mages into pieces. Only the Seventh Tier Mages could offer some resistance, but it was ineffective.

While dodging quickly, the mage prepared a white orb. The orb danced in the air as hundreds of magic scripts from the flipping spellbook in front of him rapidly merged into it. With a short-range Blink, the mage appeared diagonally above Shaoke's group. The orb, casually thrown, exploded violently, turning into hundreds of thin beams of light shooting toward them.

The Sleazy Officer, who had been locked in combat inside the manor, quickly abandoned his opponent and moved to block the beams. A pale golden barrier appeared in front of Shaoke's group. Then, the officer threw a blue dagger infused with golden Aura, which heavily struck his former opponent, but the opponent blocked it with his own Aura. The opponent then floated up and charged toward the officer's back, easily knocking aside any mages in his path, shattering their Defensive Spells and even crushing their bones and internal organs.

The pale golden barrier didn't fully block the white beams, as the warrior punched the officer in the lower back. The golden Aura protecting the officer was shattered, and his lower back was pierced by the opponent's Aura. Under such a blow, the officer couldn't maintain the golden barrier. It shattered, and a few beams flew into the mage group.

The mages tried to dodge the Eighth Tier mage's spells, but it was no use. Shaoke only managed to twist his body. His three layers of Fifth Tier defensive spells couldn't withstand the beam's attack. One beam pierced through his thigh, and though it wasn't thick, it passed through and struck another mage behind him. However, the weakened beam only broke through two layers of that mage's Defensive Spells before dissipating.

Just as Shaoke's group was hit by the beams, the Sleazy Officer, whose lower back had been pierced, twisted his body violently. A surge of golden Aura enveloped him and rapidly gathered in his hands. The rapidly fleeing Eighth Tier Warrior couldn't evade the officer's counterattack. The officer shot up into the air—his first and last time flying in front of the mages. Years later, Shaoke still remembered the officer's final counterattack.

The officer tightly grabbed the warrior's arm, but the warrior's Aura resisted. The officer hugged him firmly and began headbutting the warrior's head. After three or four rapid impacts, the officer exploded violently. His body turned into a cloud of blood mist that tightly wrapped around the opponent. The warrior, protected by his Aura, couldn't escape the mist. The mist merged into his Aura and began corroding him. The warrior screamed, flying off toward the city outskirts. But before he got far, he slowly vanished, leaving behind only a white light orb, while the officer left behind a golden one.

Two fist-sized orbs of light floated in the air, slowly fading away. Though the process was gradual, it was undeniable that the orbs were fading away.