Chapter 169 All Returns to Nothingness

The mage continued to call out. For the first time, he released a disruption spell and, with the help of another mage, quickly deflected Shaoke's attack. "We can join forces. I see no issue with this proposal." After saying this, he began preparing another spell because yet another mage had attacked him.

Shaoke ignored the mage's words entirely. After nearly a day of pursuit. He could no longer suppress his fury.

*Green Flame Manipulation*. Shaoke and another mage jointly attacked the mage who had once pursued him. Green flames roared through the air, and under the spellcaster's mental control, they deftly avoided the boulders along the way. The mage flew past.

That mage unleashed two second-level spells in quick succession. He hoped to disrupt the structure of the incoming spells through this method. This was the first time he had released such spells in this battle.

Under Shaoke's control, the green flames suddenly transformed into a slender tendril of fire, quickly splitting into two segments to evade the opponent's spell interception. One segment continued attacking the mage from above, while the other sank into the ground and vanished.

Although the mage released another spell at close range to block Shaoke's attack, he failed when dodging the spell attack from the other mage. Clearly, the other mage's precise control was no weaker than Shaoke's. A cyan wind blade struck the opponent's shoulder, tearing through two layers of his defensive spells.

Just then, the mage attacked by Shaoke quickly retrieved a scroll, tore it open, and released the spell sealed within. A faint white glow enveloped the protective barrier his robe had conjured.

Just as the white light from the scroll took shape, the other segment of the spell attack, deliberately released underground by Shaoke, finally arrived. Under the caster's control, green flames suddenly erupted from the ground behind the mage, slamming into him.

The newly formed defensive spell failed to block Shaoke's attack, but the robe's innate defensive enchantment fulfilled its purpose. After neutralizing the green flame attack, it dissipated.

Stripped of all his defenses, the mage frantically tore open scrolls and released defensive or attack spells sealed in crystals, but he still died under the rapid attacks of Shaoke and the other mage. A crimson beam pierced through the defensive spell he had just released and, under Shaoke's control at the cost of consuming a large amount of mental energy, slammed into the mage's shoulder. After tearing away most of his shoulder, it left a deep hole in the ground before disappearing.

The other mage cooperating with Shaoke finished the opponent off by blasting his body apart with a spell.

After losing one temporary collaborator, another mage who had once pursued Shaoke was killed by the three working together. In a near-frenzy, Shaoke released an enhanced Lava Ray, which not only pierced through two layers of the opponent's defensive spells but also tore a hole the size of a head in his abdomen.

After that mage crashed to the ground, everything fell silent. The howling mountain wind continued to blow. The continuous full-force spellcasting had not drained Shaoke greatly.

After pausing to catch his breath, just as Shaoke intended to speak with the other two mages, they began preparing spells again. Sensing the powerful surge of magic from a distance, Shaoke immediately began preparing spells as well. He did not believe the two mages could engage in a prolonged battle with him after the previous fight.

Shaoke quickly prepared some focus items. After floating a rune stone and a fire stone above his head, he began releasing spells in advance. Lava Rays. Crimson beams of light rapidly streaked across the sky, attacking the two temporarily cooperating mages. Facing the incoming spells from the opponents, Shaoke only relied on second-tier or even first-level spells to intercept them.

Facing the rapid attacks of two fellow mages, Shaoke mechanically released spells, tore open scrolls, or released spells sealed in crystals. His only thought now was how to blast the two mages to death, temporarily setting aside any other matters.

Just as Shaoke had guessed, the other two mages, having already engaged in a battle earlier and not yet recovered, slowed their casting speed after a short period of fighting with Shaoke. Shaoke, however, did not notice this and instead repeatedly increased his own casting speed. Sometimes, to intercept or disrupt the opponent's spells, he had to repeatedly use special spellcasting techniques to release spells in advance at the cost of additional mental energy. Although this greatly increased his consumption, it was a worthwhile price to pay in the face of the threat of death.

When one of the opponents released a wind blade that cut through Shaoke's defensive spell before he could dodge, Shaoke finally released the spell he relied on to defeat the two exhausted mages.

A blue scroll was quickly torn open, and a mass of blue mist floated out from the scroll.

Under Shaoke's mental guidance, this dense mist swiftly flew toward the other two mages.

A spell one mage had just prepared struck the mass of blue mist, but the scene of the mist dispersing did not appear before him. Clearly, the spell interception had failed.

A mental attack spell. The two mages quickly recognized this spell and thus no longer hoped to destroy the mist with spell attacks. Instead, they released their own mental energy or magical power, forming it into nets to envelop the blue mist. This method was the only way ordinary mages could defend against mental spell attacks.

One mage also took out a scroll, tore it open, and released a spell from within. Hundreds of golden spears, under the mage's control, split into two parts and whistled toward Shaoke and the blue mist. The other mage also took out a scroll and released an attack-type spell from it toward Shaoke.

Facing the attacks of the two mages, Shaoke only released an Elemental Hand to intercept their attack spells, allowing the golden spears to pass through his defensive spells and disappear into his body.

The golden spears quickly launched an attack on Shaoke's meditation space. However, all of this was easily resolved by the silver light within the space. Although spatial turbulence continued to occur, Shaoke, relying on the silver light to calm the turbulence, prepared another attack spell.

A crimson beam, stacked to the limit of the spell structure, whistled toward the mage who had torn the scroll to attack him.

At this moment, although part of the blue mist had been dispersed by nearly a hundred golden spears, some of the mist, under Shaoke's mental guidance, split into two masses and enveloped the two mages.

The mental attack quickly posed a great danger to the two mages. Shaoke's spell attack prevented one mage from preparing a spell under intense spatial turbulence. In the end, that mage detonated his staff, releasing the high-powered spells stored within to attack Shaoke. Facing Shaoke's attack, he only struggled to move his body, hoping to evade the spell.

A series of soft sounds. The crimson beam, with its power nearly doubled, easily pierced through three layers of the mage's defensive spells, left a blood hole in his body, and disappeared after striking the ground.

The spells, now without their master's control, did not lose their target. Instead, relying on the residual magical lock on Shaoke, they continued flying toward him. Spell Interference—a simple second-level spell completely cleared the magical lock on Shaoke. The spells, after Shaoke quickly fled his original position, merely struck the spot mechanically. Only some scattered stones posed a certain threat to Shaoke, but he managed to evade these scattered attacks at the cost of one layer of his defensive spells.

After interfering with the spell attack released by the mage's self-destructing staff, Shaoke allowed the rubble to collide with his defensive spells. Relying on the silver light's ability to calm spatial turbulence, he released another spell attack, targeting the other mage still enveloped in the blue mist.

Green flames took shape in Shaoke's hands. After some transformation, the flames formed a short javelin, which Shaoke released. The mage enveloped in the blue mist was still struggling to concentrate all his mental energy to resist the mental attack. For Shaoke's newly released spell, he only crushed a crystal sealing an attack-type spell for interception and had no other means of resistance.

Easily evading the opponent's spell interception, the green javelin, under Shaoke's control, tore through all of the opponent's defensive spells and shattered his ferocious face.

Everything fell silent. Yes, if the sound of green flames burning on a human body could be disregarded.

After easily evading the spell released by the mage before his death, Shaoke sat heavily on the ground, gasping for breath. With trembling hands, he took out a crystal ball and began probing the surroundings. After a mental probe, Shaoke found no other mages and sat on the ground without any regard for appearance, beginning meditation to recover from the consumption of the recent battle.