Chapter 286: Premeditated Mad Testing

The fiery lines suddenly changed, a three-to-five-meter-long fiery line snapped and ignited a building before vanishing, while the other fiery lines plunged into the mass of dark clouds, exploding violently within to disrupt the spell structure and intercept the opponent's attack. Following Shaoke's assault, several mages promptly adjusted the positions of their spells; under their control, seven or eight released spells also struck the dark clouds.

After a violent explosion, Shaoke's fiery lines and the dark clouds both disappeared. At this moment, the mages, relying on the mental power that had been locked onto the Seventh Tier Mage, quickly sensed him preparing a new spell, but this time Shaoke was not alarmed. A Rending Ray flew toward the Seventh Tier Mage before he could complete his preparation. Although the mage used his stronger mental power and rapid movement to interfere with the Rending Ray's trajectory, his spell was still not released.

Just then, a green flame suddenly appeared not far behind that mage, heavily crashing into his Seventh Tier protective spell. The close-proximity explosion disrupted the spell structure he was about to complete, undeniably ending his spellcasting.

Blink. After the spell was disrupted, the mage, lacking time to calm the turbulence in his meditation space, quickly used this life-saving spell used by Seventh Tier mages to leave his original position, because during Shaoke's attack, three Sixth Tier Mages had also simultaneously locked onto him, forcing him to briefly dodge. Though they could still lock onto him afterward, he had ample time to prepare a new spell.

While Shaoke and his group launched their frenzied assault, a large number of warriors and archers appeared behind their formation. Over a hundred archers launched a sudden volley. If it had been a group of low-rank mages or an inexperienced mage squad, heavy casualties would have been likely—such groups rarely reserve mages for detection and vigilance. But Shaoke's team suffered no losses. Since there were no Divine Archers among the assailants, thanks to their Sixth Tier protective spells and simple magical intercepts, the arrows caused no casualties.

The archers' attack signaled the start of the assault by the resting mages. Shaoke then noticed the situation behind him and cast a harsh glare at the mages responsible for mental detection, wondering why they hadn't attacked as soon as the archers were detected.

But he had no time to inquire, as a team of over a dozen high-rank warriors charged out from the estate, protected by their aura, madly rushing toward Shaoke's group.

At that moment, several extremely powerful mental powers and mana suddenly enveloped the entire area, and an aged voice loudly ordered the battle to stop immediately, warning that anything that followed would be beyond Shaoke's control.

Edict: Glacial Vortex. Half a dozen ancient magic scripts took Shaoke the time of a single Sixth Tier spell to cast. A massive blue vortex suddenly appeared in the most densely populated area of the estate. Shaoke then abandoned control of the spell, letting it develop freely.

An area of five mu (about 0.33 acres) was instantly cleared, while the blue vortex continued to spin rapidly, only to vanish when it had consumed all mana and mental power.

This outrageous spell stunned the mages still engaged in battle. They hadn't expected a Sixth Tier Mage like Shaoke to unleash such an attack. To them, its power surpassed many Seventh Tier spells. Was this the power of a Death Mage? Those familiar with Shaoke's identity couldn't help but marvel again at the might of death mages.

As the blue vortex still spun, a golden beam struck it, causing it to quickly disappear, leaving only a pile of blue crystals on the ground. "I said, large-scale combat within the city is forbidden." A very old male mage floated in the air, clearly aware of who had just released that area-of-effect spell. His immense mental power locked onto Shaoke, increasing pressure steadily, which gave Shaoke a hard time.

Under the suppression of a high-rank mage, Shaoke could not resist at all; his mental power could only protect himself a short distance in front, incapable of any counterattack.

"Honorable Mage," Shaoke respectfully saluted the mage. "We have just arrived here and were unaware of this rule." As he spoke, he noticed other high-order practitioners flying over, hovering above the battlefield. One mage took out a small spellbook from his magic bag, flipped through a few pages, and released a few magic scripts that flew into the estate, extinguishing the large fire there, including Shaoke's green flame.

"Any city forbids large-scale conflict within its walls," the aged mage said sternly, staring at Shaoke and continuously increasing the mental pressure, showing his displeasure with Shaoke's actions. "A few days ago, you already released an area-of-effect spell attack here. You were not punished then because you might not have known, but I don't believe you are still unaware of the rules now." He glanced at the White-robed Cleric nearby and said no more.

"Who gave you the right to punish others?" A crisp voice came from afar, followed by a blue-robed mage flying over. The Eighth Tier Mage from the Bloody Fortress. Shaoke recognized her voice and respectfully saluted the Eighth Tier Female Mage, then quietly informed his fellow mages of her identity, prompting them to salute in unison.

"My strength," the aged mage replied, turning to look at the Eighth Tier Female Mage. He shook his staff, which radiated immense magical power. "The rules I set cannot be changed by anyone." As he spoke, he withdrew the mental pressure on Shaoke, as the Eighth Tier Female Mage had already taken out her spellbook to lock onto him, forcing him to focus on defending against an attack from a peer.

"Isn't it just killing a few people? Those ridiculous rules have been broken many times before. Do you think you can still stop them now?" A burly warrior swung his large axe forcefully; a white aura detached from the axe and struck the ruined estate, creating a man-deep crack, which was then restored by the fire-extinguishing mage with some magic scripts.

"If we allow more and more low-rank practitioners to break the rules, this Fallen Imperial Capital will be destroyed again, or lose its former prosperity due to unchecked violence," the mage who had been performing rescue work sighed softly, glanced at the other practitioners, and put away his spellbook. "Have them follow the rules: duel outside the city. The loser vanishes forever." With that, he quickly flew away, ignoring the others.

"Honorable lords, their attack has caused us great casualties," a middle-aged noble dressed in finery emerged from the ruined estate, having survived the chaotic battle thanks to two or three high-rank magic items and his guards' protection.

"It's him," the White-robed Cleric said, grimacing, to Shaoke.

"He's the actual leader of that mercenary group." The cleric seemed to recall something and gripped her golden book tightly, catching the attention of both Shaoke and Mage Roman.

Seeing this, Mage Roman led little Lan Wei'er closer to the White-robed Cleric and spoke softly to console her, hoping she would calm down—excessive negative emotions could easily disrupt a mage's mental power. Prolonged negativity could affect a spellcaster's meditation space.

"Just some deaths. Do you want them to compensate you?" The aged mage looked calmly at the noble, then added, "If you kill them, do you need compensation? Those without strength, even if killed, it's their good fortune." He then turned to Shaoke and his group. "Leave here. If you want to fight, go outside the city. I don't want to sense area-of-effect spellcasting here again." With that, he nodded to the other practitioners and vanished instantly. The other high-order practitioners also exchanged nods, some flying away, others disappearing.

"Mage Xueye, I think you should kill him now," the Blue-robed Female Mage said, studying Shaoke carefully before nodding slightly. "Only area-of-effect attacks are prohibited here." She then suddenly took out a small scepter and tossed it to Shaoke before slowly flying back the way she came. Her reminder was not lost on Shaoke and his team. Thus, the killing resumed, this time without any interference, and everything went smoothly.

First release.