Chapter 154: Turn (Part 2)

  The steel magic-breaking arrow was over a meter long, slightly thicker than a thumb, practically a small spear. Engraved upon it were three magic formations—one for eliminating air resistance, one for armor penetration, and one for concentrating force—far superior to ordinary magical weapons and better suited for ranged attacks. Crucially, the strength, technique, and fighting spirit of the one who wielded it were likely the greatest on the continent.

  Gru caught the arrow, stepped back, and threw it back. Wilskey's surprise flashed across his face. He didn't dodge. Behind him stood several Templars; he knew that even if he could evade, they might not. So he drew his bow again. Just as Gru hurled the arrow back, his second arrow left the string.

  Golden light simultaneously flared on the Temple Knight and the golden great bow, transferring to the loosed arrow. Though this second arrow lacked the overwhelming momentum of the first due to haste, it was still fiercely powerful. The moment it left the string, the surrounding air was once again filled with the roar of displaced atmosphere—like thunder, as if the very air was roaring.

  In contrast, the magic-breaking arrow Gru threw made no sound. It was like a swift, tangible yet intangible white flash. The ground beneath it silently began to crack, soil flying upward, carving a trench along its path.

  The silent white light met the magnificent golden radiance. The majestic, powerful sound and the golden light instantly shattered, scattered, and vanished—like a mighty god wielding a gleaming weapon suddenly beheaded. The white light seemed to encounter no resistance, continuing toward the Temple Knight.

  None of this produced any sound—or rather, it happened too quickly for sound to form.

  Wilskey, who had barely managed to loose his arrow, had no room to evade. Though he wore Radiant Battleplate, such an arrow would pierce not only armor but even a glowing battle shield. In this critical instant, a figure threw himself in front of him—it was Templar Javi.

  Seeing Gru catch the arrow and his throwing posture, Javi had snatched a shield from a Templar behind him and leaped forward. He seemed to know Wilskey wouldn't dodge and certainly couldn't block this arrow. As he lunged, he shouted to Talise, positioned diagonally behind Wilskey: "Divine Aegis!"

  Wilskey's arrow had just been loosed and shattered when Javi reached him, raising his shield to meet the silent, speeding white light.

  The shield used by a Templar was naturally high-grade, capable of deflecting most attacks. Unfortunately, the arrow before him defied classification into "most attacks." Before the white light, the steel shield shattered like paper, scattering fragments silently.

  But Javi behind the shield, and Wilskey, weren't torn apart by the arrow. The white light, while shattering the steel shield, also slightly altered its trajectory, grazing Javi's arm toward Talise.

  Talise hadn't fully understood when Javi lunged forward and shouted his warning, but she activated the Divine Aegis of her Radiant Battleplate. A gem on her bracer shattered, forming a purely magical shield on her arm just as the deflected arrow streaked toward her.

  The Divine Aegis shield required the immense magical force released when a whole high-grade magic sapphire shattered, transformed by the Radiant Battleplate. It lasted only minutes. The cost of such a sapphire could equip an army of over a thousand. Beyond the Celeste Temple Knights, few could afford such extravagant equipment.

  Yet, extravagant as it was, when this magic shield functioned through the Temple Knight's will, its defensive power surpassed even legendary artifacts.

  The target was clear. Talise's shield condensed to its smallest, thickest, strongest state. A dense, opaque screen of light, a foot square, blocked the bolt-like white light.

  Finally, a colossal sound erupted. It was the accumulated noise of Gru's arrow tearing through the air, shattering Wilskey's arrow, pulverizing Javi's steel shield, and striking Talise's Divine Aegis. All this happened too fast, too violently. Audibly, the events were indistinguishable.

  The two white lights—one silent, one dynamic—collided. Amid the thunderous noise, Talise's body flew like a stone from a catapult, crashing hard into a large tree ten meters away. Wood chips flew. The trunk bore a significant dent. Talise fell to the ground, kneeling. Her face was deathly pale, making the trickle of red blood at her lips starkly visible.

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  The Divine Aegis shield had dissipated completely. The female knight's armor where the shield had manifested was deeply dented, twisted at an odd angle as if hollow inside. Patches of blood seeped through the gaps in her arm armor.

  Javi's right hand, which had held the shield, was a mangled mess. He hadn't blocked directly; he'd held the shield vertically, its surface nearly parallel to the arrow's path, angled slightly outward. This deflected part of the arrow's force as it shattered the steel shield, altering its course. The angle couldn't be larger, nor dare he deflect it upward or downward—only toward Talise, the only one capable of possibly catching it.

  The magic-breaking arrow lay on the ground where it had struck Talise. The pure steel shaft still faintly glowed with white light. Its metallic gleam had never more vividly conveyed its lethality—like a raging monster finally exhausting its terrible power. Taming this monster had strained two Temple Knights and a Templar to their limits. Their combined strength and skill had barely deflected the blow.

  Even this all-out defense had been perilously close. The slightest error—whether by Javi or the Templars behind Wilskey—would have seen them instantly torn apart by the arrow.

  The other Templars nearby, including Cardinal Adela, were stunned by this thunderbolt-like attack and its tightrope-walk defense. They briefly froze, knowing full well what would have happened had they been the target.

  Gru, who had thrown the arrow, also caught his breath, his movements pausing. After all, this had been his full-strength attack in his current state.

  This exchange ended in a temporary draw.

  As Gru caught and threw the arrow, Lancelot and the others recognized Wilskey's danger from the full-force throw and saw their opportunity. Lancelot attacked Gru. Christine and Aldric lunged toward Sedros.

  But none succeeded. Sedros blocked them all.

  A caster attempting to block three top-tier warriors at near-melee distance? Anyone with basic combat knowledge would think the mage was either mad or courting death. But Sedros was neither mad nor dead. He did block them—almost knocking two Temple Knights down.

  Enhanced by dozens of auxiliary spells, his reactions and movements, though inferior to the three Temple Knights, far exceeded ordinary humans. He first hindered Lancelot's group, giving Gru the opening to intercept Wilskey's arrow. The tacit understanding between him and Gru, plus his grasp of the battle's flow, let him instantly anticipate Gru's actions.

  The Temple Knights' strategy was sound. Archers are natural counters to casters, and Sedros was undoubtedly strong offensively but weak defensively. Hence, Wilskey targeted him first.

  Conversely, archers are also strong offensively but weak defensively. Outnumbered, Sedros and Gru's only chance of victory lay in eliminating a foe with devastating ranged power. Gru's immediate full-force attack forced Sedros to face two Temple Knights alone while also blocking Lancelot.

  If the earlier four spells from three schools had merely surprised the Temple Knights, the successive mixed magic that followed instantly showed them a casting art utterly different from common knowledge.

  Sedros waved his hands. A stretching wall of raging fire instantly appeared before the three. The white-hot flames rose over three meters high and two meters wide. Even Hilton's trio far away felt the oncoming heat wave. A bull charging through would have been scorched.

  This instant-cast Fire Wall was perfectly formed. Its power matched what a fire-specialized mage from the Tower of Fangs might produce. But the three Temple Knights didn't hesitate. As if the glaring flames were mere illusion, they flew forward toward their original targets—neither circling nor leaping over.

  Battle opportunities vanish in an instant. No time for hesitation. Besides, even if this fire spell could roast a bull, it meant little against the Radiant Battleplate's magic resistance. Crucially, crossing two meters took them but a blink.

  But the instant they entered the wall, they discovered the ground beneath wasn't solid. Their feet found no purchase; beneath was quicksand.

  Quicksand wasn't high-level magic. Master earth mages could cast it instantly. But controlling its range to fit precisely within the fire wall—or rather, to perfectly overlap it—was a feat fewer than five in the world could manage. And to instantly cast Quicksand after a Blazing Wall, controlling it so perfectly? Only Sedros.

  Flame concealed the quicksand; quicksand bought the flame more time. This dual-school, synergistic effect might be fatal to any foe, but to Temple Knights, it meant little. Even when Sedros added a well-timed Slow and Weakness spell, the three Temple Knights were only briefly delayed in the flames, emerging almost simultaneously.

  But their movements slowed upon exiting. The fire hadn't greatly harmed them, but escaping the quicksand had cost effort. Inability to breathe in the flames had slightly unbalanced them. Plus, obscured vision hindered them. The three vast sheets of white, cold light rushing toward them were unavoidable.

  Facing the imminent Thunder Frost, Lancelot actually felt relief. No matter how profound Sedros's magic, his rapid-fire spells weren't high-tier. But magic wasn't mud to be thrown casually. These three Thunder Frost spells were likely his limit.

  Against Radiant Battleplate, Thunder Frost's offensive power was like scratching an itch. The only concern was its freezing effect. Just then, the colossal impact of arrow on shield echoed. Gru's momentum faltered. Lancelot swung his sword, dispersing the cold light before him. Christine likewise swept her silver great sword, shattering the Thunder Frost before her. This seemingly effortless spell-breaking swordplay alone placed them among the continent's top ten. Only Aldric, weaponless, had to stand and endure the spell. Instantly, a thin layer of ice coated his body.

  The three Thunder Frost spells covered a wide area. Sedros had clearly poured extra magical force into them. Lancelot, with his rich combat experience, instantly recognized these spells were Sedros's limit.

  Indeed, after the sword-sweep, Sedros's face was etched with fatigue. This machine-gun-like spellcasting was spectacular but strained his body. Yet, despite his weariness, he didn't stop. Though he could cast no more spells, he wasn't defenseless. In his hand, he gripped a wand.

  Carved from a whole unicorn horn, its tip featured a skull sticking out its tongue, holding a Magical Jade. This was among the highest-grade wands—its materials and craftsmanship were superb, and it stored powerful instant-cast spells. Even Celeste possessed few such high-grade wands. But this precious, priceless magical treasure was now damaged. The skull was cracked; the Magical Jade in its mouth crumbled, falling like grains.

  Sedros didn't use the wand—hidden in his belt at his back—as a club. It broke simply from being used too fast, too frequently. Though spells stored in wands were instant-cast, there was a recovery limit. Like a repeating crossbow firing three or four bolts in one breath, even the finest materials couldn't withstand it.

  Four round spheres of light now faced the three Temple Knights. Fist-sized, pure white, surrounded by crackling electricity—they looked almost beautiful. But the Temple Knights who saw these four Thunderblast Bombs turned pale.