"The corrosive power of Apep, is it?"

  Pierce's eyes flickered slightly, a glint of dark light passing through his pupils before vanishing.

  In less than 1 minute, over a hundred Mist Ravens had perished.

  The potency of the corrosive power combined with the Earth Elemental Power surprised him slightly.

  However, it was merely a slight surprise.

  The Earth Elemental Power granted the Madness Drinker formidable defensive capabilities; no matter how many wounds the Mist Ravens inflicted upon his rock-like body, as long as his feet remained planted on the earth, he could recover in an instant.

  The corrosive power was equally effective against creatures like Mist Ravens that lacked a true physical form, capable of instant-killing them upon contact.

  Undoubtedly, both abilities were extremely troublesome.

  But they were not without flaws.

  Neither the Earth Elemental Power nor the corrosive power possessed explosive, large-scale area-of-effect damage capabilities.

  Once faced with a multitude of enemies, he could only clear them out slowly.

  This was precisely why Pierce did not engage Riker in close-quarters combat, nor did he allow Mist Raven to fuse for gigantification.

  He intended to wage a war of attrition against Riker.

  Even the most powerful force had a limit; as long as Riker’s strength was exhausted, dealing with him afterward would be much easier.

  Riker also discerned Pierce’s intention and sneered inwardly.

  A Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice trying to outlast me in a battle of consumption? Simply suicidal!

  The strength of a Wizard Apprentice compared to a Knight lay in the explosive power of their spells. Once trapped in a battle of attrition, it meant their defeat was not far off.

  Could a Wizard Apprentice’s mental power possibly be more abundant than his physical stamina and Elemental Power?

  Even with a familiar, the result would be the same!

  "I want to see just how many more pets you can summon!"

  Riker’s gaze turned cold. He twisted his waist and punched forward violently. A visible shockwave of earth-yellow fist energy rolled out instantly, tearing through the flock of crows like a plow, forcibly carving a large blank space in the swarm.

  With this single strike, at least 30 or 40 Mist Ravens were obliterated.

  Not far away, Sia and Peyton’s expressions changed slightly upon seeing this.

  A cold sneer appeared on Riker’s face.

  But in the next second, the smile on his face froze abruptly.

  Black mist surged around Mist Raven, who was perched on Pierce’s shoulder, and another dense cloud of Mist Ravens flew out from within, joining the siege against Riker.

  The flock, which had thinned slightly, became dense again in the blink of an eye.

  Riker’s cheek twitched. He huffed coldly and continued to slaughter the flock.

  At this moment, Pierce raised his hand, aiming a Ray of Enfeeblement directly at Riker.

  Elemental Power possessed a certain resistance to spells. After the Ray of Enfeeblement hit Riker, the effect was noticeably weakened, and the duration was only 3 or 4 minutes.

  He had to refresh the debuff on Riker every so often.

  After the Ray of Enfeeblement hit, Pierce prepared briefly, then raised his hand to fire another Magic Missile.

  With the telepathic coordination between Pierce and Mist Raven, the flock would always precisely clear a flight path for the Magic Missiles to hit Riker.

  After taking 4 or 5 Magic Missiles in succession, although Riker was not injured, the faint yellow light on his body surface had dimmed somewhat.

  Annoyed by Pierce’s attacks, he simply ignored the flock’s assault and charged toward Pierce.

  However, it wasn't until his attack landed that Riker discovered with astonishment that the Pierce in front of him was another illusion.

  "Cunning brat!"

  Riker gritted his teeth in anger, decisively abandoning the futile pursuit.

  With the flock as cover, Pierce could use Silent Image to disguise his location at any time; Riker simply couldn't touch Pierce’s true body.

  "Wait until I clean up these crows, then let’s see where you can hide!"

  Riker swore inwardly and accelerated his slaughter of the flock.

  Under his ferocious offensive, the rate of Mist Raven deaths skyrocketed instantly.

  Watching the battle, Sia and Peyton subconsciously clenched their fists, their white knuckles betraying their inner tension and anxiety.

  But as time passed, looks of confusion gradually appeared in their eyes.

  Since the battle began, Riker had killed at least 700 or 800 Mist Ravens, yet the flock besieging him showed no obvious signs of diminishing.

  Looking again at Mist Raven on Pierce’s shoulder, the stream of crows flying out of its body seemed never-ending.

  "Exactly how many crows are inside its body?"

  The same thought flashed through Sia and Peyton’s minds simultaneously.

  They had seen Mist Raven’s summoning ability many times before, but only now did they suddenly realize they had never seemingly seen the limit of the flock’s numbers.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Even when dealing with over 20 heretics before, Pierce had only summoned 500 or 600 Mist Ravens.

  They had thought that was the limit of Pierce’s familiar, but now it seemed it was far from it.

  Equally bewildered was Riker.

  By now, the Elemental Power in his body was more than half depleted, yet the surrounding flock remained abnormally dense, occupying almost his entire field of vision.

  At this point, he finally realized something was wrong.

  "Damn it! How many crows does this kid have?"

  Riker was filled with a mix of shock and rage, accompanied by a creeping trace of panic.

  Things had developed to a point beyond his control.

  At this moment, the assurance of victory he held earlier was gone, leaving only horror and doubt in his heart.

  After fighting fiercely for a while longer and killing over 100 more crows, Riker found that the flock still showed no sign of decreasing. The last shred of luck in his heart finally dissipated, replaced by the thought of retreat.

  This kid named Pierce was simply a monster!

  He was clearly only 16 years old, yet he was more formidable than those veterans who had been immersed in the Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice realm for years!

  If he continued to fight, he might very well capsize in the gutter.

  He certainly wanted to leave the Northern District, but if he had to pay with his life for it, it wasn't worth it at all.

  It was better to leave quickly.

  As for the agreement with Harlan... let him go to hell!

  At worst, he would continue hiding in the Northern District; he didn't believe those wizards could blockade the area forever.

  Thoughts spinning rapidly, Riker quickly made up his mind and began to break out in the direction opposite to Pierce.

  Pierce detected Riker’s move immediately, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

  "Planning to run already?"

  "Didn't you want to offer my soul to Apep?"

  "Or is your loyalty to your so-called Lord God only to this extent?"

  "Though I suppose that makes sense, considering he is just a broken rock."

  "You!!" Riker was furious, his face turning iron-green with rage.

  But in the end, he didn't fall for Pierce’s goading; he just glared viciously at the latter and continued his breakout.

  Pierce shook his head secretly.

  Apep’s business capabilities were lacking.

  A dignified mid-level cadre of the sect, having his Lord God insulted like this, could actually swallow his anger.

  It seemed his level of faith wasn't that high either.

  While silently criticizing, Pierce’s hands did not stop. With a thought, Mist Raven finally unleashed its full power, and a massive cloud of black mist erupted from its body.

  Whoosh!

  The black mist shot into the sky like a pillar of smoke. Thousands of crows rushed out from the mist, pouring down from the high sky like a torrential flood, their target pointing straight at Riker.

  Looking at the flock that blotted out the sun, Riker’s expression changed to one of horror.

  By now, how could he not understand that he had fallen for Pierce’s trap?

  This kid clearly had so many familiar constructs, yet he had kept them hidden and hadn't summoned them, instead wearing down his strength slowly like boiling a frog in warm water.

  If he had known from the start that Pierce had such a massive scale of familiar constructs, he would definitely have turned and fled without a second word.

  And now, with less than twenty percent of his Elemental Power remaining, facing the encirclement of thousands of crows, his hope of escape was grim.

  "Despicable fellow!"

  Amidst Riker’s impotent roar of fury, the oppressive mass of crows drowned him like a flood.

  Not far away, Sia and Peyton watched this scene dumbfounded, their mouths dry, unable to recover their senses for a long time.

  They had vaguely guessed that Pierce possessed a large number of Mist Ravens, but they never imagined it would reach this extent.

  Looking at that dense, scalp-numbing number, there had to be 2000 to 3000 of them!

  And one had to remember, those were not ordinary crows!

  Any single one of them had the strength to crush a High-level Knight!

  Over 2000 familiar constructs comparable to Peak Knights—this was enough to crush a fully armed legion of ten thousand City Guards in a frontal assault!

  For a moment, Peyton stared blankly at Mist Raven on Pierce’s shoulder, his awe-struck gaze looking as if he were beholding some kind of legendary creature.

  Sia was equally astounded.

  No wonder the Knight instructors who taught them always spoke with a tone of yearning when mentioning Wizards.

  To cultivate a crow to a level comparable to a Legendary Knight, the means of a Wizard were indeed unfathomable.

  Looking down from high above, the center of the wide street looked as if a giant black cocoon had appeared out of thin air.

  Inside the black cocoon, earth-yellow light flashed occasionally.

  That was Riker exploding his power in an attempt to break out.

  Unfortunately, it was of no avail.

  Although every outburst could kill a large number of Mist Ravens, compared to the airtight flock, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

  After several attempts, the activity inside the black cocoon died down, and no more light flashed.

  After 10 or so breaths, the flock suddenly dispersed, revealing Riker inside.

  The rock body of this Madness Drinker was long gone, torn to pieces by the claws of the Mist Ravens.

  His exposed body was dripping with blood, covered in shocking wounds.

  As the flock scattered, he seemed to lose his supporting strength and collapsed to the ground, dying, with none of the arrogance he had when he first appeared.

  Pierce waved away the flock and walked up to Riker, looking down at him.

  Meeting Pierce’s gaze, Riker tried hard to open his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but his throat was blocked by blood, and he could only emit a few indistinct groans.

  Pierce’s gaze was dark. With a flip of his wrist, a refined steel longsword fell into his palm.

  With a flash of sword light, Riker’s voice stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he lost his life.

  Thus, the last Madness Drinker of Apep’s forces in Aurora City died at Pierce’s hands.

  Seeing Pierce end Riker’s life with a sword, Sia and Peyton breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted, followed by expressions of heartfelt surprise.

  They had thought they would die here tonight, but unexpectedly, Pierce displayed godlike power and turned the tables to kill the Madness Drinker that all Wizard Apprentices feared like a tiger!

  It was truly amazing!

  Gazing at Pierce’s figure, Sia couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

  The more she interacted with Pierce, the more she felt he was unfathomable, with endless methods emerging one after another, impenetrable like a deep pool.

  "Too amazing!" Peyton’s vocabulary was poor, and after holding it in for a long time, he could only squeeze out this sentence.

  Sia rolled her eyes at him and walked toward Pierce, a bright smile on her face.

  "Lord Pierce..."

  Just then, a sudden change occurred.

  A figure appeared behind Pierce like a ghost. The sharp blade in his hand slashed through the air, striking toward the back of Pierce’s neck with lightning speed.

  Under the night sky, the cold-glinting blade flashed with a faint layer of red light—Fire Elemental Power!

  Sia and Peyton’s faces changed color simultaneously, and they screamed a warning.

  "Careful!!"

  Before the words had even left their mouths, the blade had already viciously struck Pierce’s neck!

  Crack!

  Contrary to everyone's expectations, the anticipated scene of blood spurting did not occur.

  Pierce's body surface flashed with a faint light, as if an invisible suit of armor had shattered, turning into a breeze and scattering.

  However, the blade was also blocked.

  As if he had anticipated this situation long ago, Pierce turned around without panic, dazzling starlight having gathered at his fingertips at some unknown point.

  The next moment, 20 Magic Missiles emerged from the void, shooting toward the sneaker like a torrential storm.

  At such close range, the sneaker had no time to dodge and was instantly blasted by the Magic Missiles.

  Even with the protection of Elemental Power, he was made to grunt by the violent energy fluctuations of the explosions, stumbling back more than 20 meters before stabilizing his figure, looking at Pierce with a mix of shock and anger.

  "Harlan!"

  By the moonlight, Sia quickly saw the sneaker’s face and couldn't help but cry out in a low voice.

  Peyton was also greatly shocked.

  Harlan didn't even look at the two of them. His gaze was fixed dead on Pierce, and he gritted his teeth. "You knew I was here all along?"

  Pierce smiled faintly, tapping the Recording Ring on his finger, and said unhurriedly, "Regardless of whether that Madness Drinker killed me or not, you would come to retrieve the Recording Ring, wouldn't you?"

  Hearing this, Sia and Peyton were stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

  The Recording Ring had the function of recording images. To prevent leaving evidence, Harlan would definitely come to retrieve the Recording Ring.

  Thinking of this, the two couldn't help but feel ashamed.

  They considered themselves Pierce’s guards, yet they hadn't even thought of this point.

  Fortunately, Pierce had predicted it; otherwise, if he had been ambushed during his most relaxed moment after killing the Madness Drinker, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

  Hearing Pierce’s words, Harlan was silent for a long time. When he spoke again, his tone was as cold as ice.

  "You are indeed outstanding, but the more you are like this, the more I want to kill you!"