Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Hiss—hiss—hiss—"

The moment the protective shield shattered, several ice spikes pierced the chest of an apprentice with pinpoint accuracy, riddling him with holes. He didn't even have time to let out a scream before his body fell straight down.

The pupils of those around them contracted sharply, and the fear that had been suppressed by the bloodthirsty red light surged back like a tidal wave.

If Hughes's World Shattering Impact was an overwhelming destruction, then the attacks of these cloud puppets were endless attrition and torment.

"Focus on breaking through the formation of the puppets on the left; there are the fewest puppets there!"

Sotadis roared, clutching his still throbbing chest. Although his broken sternum had healed under the red light, the psychological pain still lingered.

These puppets fire at an astonishing rate; if they don't attack proactively, their magic will eventually be exhausted.

Several apprentices responded immediately, conjuring up fiery magic with their hands. The scorching fire snakes twisted and merged rapidly in the air, transforming into a giant python.

The giant python opened its blood-red maw and charged straight at the cloud puppet group on the far left. However, as soon as the fire snake touched the puppet's body, it was instantly extinguished by the cold air it spewed out, turning into sparks.

Although the nearby puppets were smaller, they still fired another round of ice spikes, attempting to knock down one of the spellcasting apprentices.

At this critical moment, a dazzling blade of light suddenly shot from the rear, not only accurately shattering the ice spike aimed at the apprentice, but also scattering several puppets.

It was Sotadis who made the move, holding a golden staff with a constantly rotating ball of light at the top.

"These puppets have no core, just break them apart!" Sotadis roared.

As he poured more magic into the staff, the light from the orb at its tip suddenly surged, and the next second it unleashed another light blade that slashed at the group of puppets.

Several cloud puppets instantly disintegrated, and a large gap was torn open in the puppet group on the left, revealing the dilapidated town behind.

This scene inspired everyone, and they all switched their spell types. Various large-scale spells surged towards the cloud puppet on the left like a wave.

"Boom boom boom—bang—bang—bang!!!"

This time, the cloud puppets finally couldn't withstand the opponent's wave of magic. The ice spikes they shot shattered instantly. As the wave of magic swept in, the cloud puppets on the left side scattered one after another, leaving only a few scattered puppets floating.

"They're just turrets! Let's charge straight in! Search Cyrus's house! And—tear that gray-haired apprentice to shreds!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the apprentices were suddenly illuminated by various colored magical halos, and they all rushed towards the opening on the left.

Sotadis rushed to the front, transforming into a golden meteor as he hurtled toward the faintly visible "Starlight and Manuscript" cabin ahead.

At the same time, two figures appeared in front of him. Booth and Hughes had arrived at the rear of the puppet army and were watching the battle unfold.

Seeing Sotadis approaching, Hughes's lips curled into a cold smile. He slowly raised his right hand, and a ball of icy blue mist suddenly condensed in his palm.

The next moment, a crystal-clear ice cone emerged from the ice mist. It did not emit any cold air, but a faint ice-blue halo flowed within it.

With a flick of his wrist, Hughes sent the ice spike hurtling toward Sotadis, whistling through the air as it transformed into a blue meteor that instantly caught up with and collided with Sotadis.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!"

A deafening bombardment resounded, and the blue and golden lights that erupted from both sides surged violently and collided wildly.

The ice spike contained terrifying icy energy, and the explosion created a huge crater in the ground, covering the surrounding area with thick ice crystals.

As the light faded, Sotadis's disheveled appearance was revealed; his black robe was torn, exposing his body, which was now covered in frostbite.

His body was frozen stiff, his skin was frozen purple, but he still gritted his teeth and gripped the golden staff tightly in his hand.

Just as he was about to get up and fight back, a scene that filled him with despair appeared behind him. The cloud puppet that he had identified as a "turret" had transformed into various weapons, all pressing down on the apprentice below.

In an instant, the scene became chaotic, and the apprentices of the Tunotian family had to stop and fight against the eerie white mist.

Although these cloud golems had a simple fighting style, their forms were bizarre and varied, and with their numbers several times greater, they still managed to suppress the apprentices of the Tunosetian family for a short time.

"How is that possible..."

Sotadisna's face turned deathly pale. He looked at the puppets whose fighting styles were flexible and varied, and then at the family members behind him who were fighting against multiple opponents. He had already foreseen their fate.

They not only had to deal with these troublesome puppets, but also had to be wary of Hughes, who had fully recovered, and the mist demon with purple eyes beside him.

Their only hope now lies with Lord Redigan, who is currently engaged in a fierce battle in the sky. Once he defeats Cyrus, even the most skilled third-class apprentice will be no match for a formal wizard.

Just then, several golden crystals fell from the sky and landed at Sotadis's feet.

A bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart again. He looked up sharply and saw that Reddiggan had fallen from the sky at some point.

The cracks on his crystalline body became more and more obvious, and the blue corrosive energy on them spread almost all over his body.

"Ka-bang——!!!"

Before Redigan's body could hit the ground, it suddenly disintegrated in mid-air, turning into huge crystals that crashed heavily to the ground.

In mid-air, a blue figure flashed past, catching Redigan's head safely. It was Cyrus. He glanced at the battle below and said calmly to Hughes:

"Hurry up and finish this, we need to evacuate."

After saying that, Cyrus's body shimmered with blue light, carrying him towards the wooden house.

On the other side, Sotadis stared blankly at the golden crystal on the ground, the shouts behind him gradually fading away.

The apprentices of the Tunotian family had little power to resist; only a few remained to fight back, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the dense cloud golems and hacked into a bloody mist.

Sotadis knew that his death was inevitable, and that Hughes on the other side had once again gathered his magic power, preparing to finish him off.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!"

In an instant, blood-red light surged around Sotadis, and his previously frozen body instantly recovered, even his wounds quickly healed.

As the bloodstains dissipated, Sotadis's aura surged several times over, but his hair had turned white, a sign that his life force had been exhausted.