Chapter 280: What Does It Matter If They’re Killed

The seventh-tier mage had never encountered a spirit attack spell like this. However, based on the books he had read, he promptly identified the type of spell and wisely refrained from intercepting or evading with spells. Instead, he quickly unleashed his mental power to resist. The other two six-tier mages failed to recognize it; they rapidly cast interference spells in hopes of disrupting the caster's mental lock-on.

Leaving the six golden spears locked onto the three mages, Shaoke retrieved another scroll. The golden-yellow scroll was one of the few he possessed that contained spirit attack spells. He tore the scroll, and three more golden spears flew toward the mages in another estate a kilometer away, guided by Shaoke's mental power to target the three mages, focusing mainly on the seventh-tier mage.

Each mage had three golden spears assigned to them. The two six-tier mages lacked the ability to resist spirit attacks, and by the time they realized they should counter with mental power or magic, it was already too late. The golden spears easily penetrated their bodies, swiftly attacking their meditation spaces.

The seventh-tier mage, facing Shaoke's spirit attack, remained relatively calm. With his formidable mental power, he not only resisted the spirit attack but also sent out a distress signal early.

As Shaoke began attacking the distant mages, the four mages who had just joined his makeshift group were forced into battle. They knew that even if they didn’t fight, the external professionals who broke in would not spare them—they would not only steal the newly acquired goods but also take their lives.

When Shaoke unleashed the spirit attack spell, the white-robed cleric beside him steadied her mental power and began turning the pages of the golden book in her hands. As the cleric chanted, magical runes flew from the book, and under her direction, they swiftly merged into Shaoke’s body to assist him in battle.

With the cleric’s support, Shaoke’s mental power and magic began to recover rapidly, and the mental strain from controlling his spells decreased further, allowing him to cast spells once more.

Death Slash: a black line over twenty meters long suddenly emerged from Shaoke and, under his control, sliced through the thin courtyard wall before striking the warriors outside.

Shaoke then ignored the attacks from the low-ranking warriors, focusing entirely on casting spells against the seventh-tier mage.

With the cleric’s aid, Shaoke’s spellcasting speed was nearly three times faster than an average sixth-rank mage. Streams of green flames quickly flew toward the mage, exploding violently not far away, forming a massive fire web that enveloped all three mages in endless burning.

Continuously using the sixth-tier Green Flame Manipulation for attack placed immense strain on Shaoke. Fortunately, with the cleric’s help, he still had about half his mental power and half his magic. After a brief pause to catch his breath, Shaoke produced three high-grade rune stones. These pale white stones floated in a pattern above his forehead, further reducing his casting and control consumption.

The two six-tier mages struck by the spirit spell were quickly incinerated by the green flames, along with their staves and magic bags. They were too busy defending against the attack on their meditation spaces to adjust their sixth-tier defensive spells. The seventh-tier mage, meanwhile, was busy fighting off the three golden spears while dodging and resisting the green flames, leaving him unable to assist others.

With the two six-tier mages eliminated, Shaoke could concentrate more on manipulating the green flames to attack the seventh-tier mage. Under these circumstances, the seventh-tier mage had no time to cast a powerful counterattack spell. He had to rely on his subordinates, hoping they would quickly kill the mage who had violated the rules.

Meanwhile, the four mages with Shaoke were struggling in combat. Not only had some warriors broken through the courtyard and charged in, but over a dozen mages from a distance were also casting spells at them. Fortunately, those mages dared not use large-scale attack spells here, so the four could rely on their battlefield experience to dodge single-target spells. The white-robed cleric beside Shaoke also began using the scrolls he had given her.

Although most were third-level spell scrolls, the cleric’s rapid use successfully intercepted many mage attacks, relieving some pressure on the four. With the abundance of scrolls, she even attacked the advancing warriors with them, curbing their progress.

Shaoke did not concentrate all his efforts on controlling the green flames; instead, he began preparing another spell. Law: Ice Vortex. A few simple ancient magical runes were chanted over a longer period by Shaoke. As soon as he finished chanting, the green flames surrounding the mage were forcibly altered in nature. The searing heat instantly cooled, and the green flames transformed into deep blue ones, spinning rapidly and expanding outward.

The absence of any change in magical fluctuations alarmed the seventh-tier mage. He used Blink, the most powerful escape spell for a seventh-tier mage, by expending a great deal of mental power through a special technique. A white light enveloped him, and he reappeared not far from the blue vortex. The three golden spears, now significantly weakened, broke free from the blue vortex and flew toward the seventh-tier mage again.

But just as the mage’s Blink ended, the blue vortex, spanning about twenty meters, shrank to half its size before expanding without any delay under the caster’s control. This expansion was highly effective; the vortex engulfed nearly half the small estate. The seventh-tier mage, unprepared, was caught in the blue vortex, and his defensive spells tore like fragile paper beneath his protection.

Even though the seventh-tier mage tore three or five scrolls in the process, he could not prevent his death. The estate was completely destroyed by the spell; afterward, even stone tables were ground to powder by the blue vortex. The area of about five acres was left with nothing but a layer of pale blue ice powder, while other regions suffered only minor damage from the spell’s shockwave.

Only after Shaoke’s spell dissipated did the massive magical fluctuation slowly reach the site of their fight. The intense magical disturbance made all combatants pause; even the low-ranking warriors who had charged close to Shaoke could clearly feel it.

Law: Death Slash. After a few simple syllables spoken over a slightly longer time, Shaoke once again used ancient magic language and an archaic casting method to unleash this sixth-tier spell. A black wave fifty meters long and wide appeared in the air, then, under the mage’s control, glided flatly toward the warriors and the remaining mages on the street.

No magical fluctuation. No sound. Only the sight of that black line cutting through aura and flesh, even the walls of estates on either side of the street, unable to escape its reach. The street was only about thirty meters wide.

Some quick-reacting warriors crouched, hoping to avoid the black line, but as they did or leaped, the black line automatically changed according to the mage’s fuzzy mental lock-on, quickly splitting into shorter strands that cleanly severed those professionals.

The far-off spellcasters frantically tore scrolls to bolster their defenses and fled, while others cast spells or tore scrolls to intercept the spell, hoping to dispel it. Unfortunately, their spells were too ordinary and of too low a tier to counter it.

Thus, the black line flew for about a kilometer before suddenly dissipating. By then, it had caused considerable harm to spectators on the street or people in the surrounding estates. All this was due to Shaoke’s new casting method, which he had learned after reaching the sixth rank.

After the black line vanished, the intense magical fluctuation radiated outward. This was entirely due to the peculiarity of Shaoke’s recent casting.

The white-robed cleric, without heeding caution, quickly healed Shaoke. A golden beam composed of magical runes pierced through his two layers of defensive spells and merged into his body, disappearing. Under the cleric’s aid, Shaoke, who had just used the law-type casting method twice in quick succession, felt slightly better. However, the excessive consumption caused violent turbulence in his meditation space.

This turbulence also resulted from the rapid expenditure of magic and mental power in a short time. Silver light kept exploding, quickly calming the disturbance. But it seemed largely ineffective, as the law-type spells were extremely draining. Due to insufficient mental power and magic, Shaoke had overused some special energy from his meditation space, causing the instability.