Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

Soon, a large open space was cleared next to the rune array that trapped the Flower of Solomon.

Dago already knew that Valentine and his group were competing with the other two major wizarding factions of the Thorn Ring, namely the Painful Thorns and the Blackroot Thorns.

Both sides have more people than their side, so if the contest is conducted in the form of a duel, they will have more freedom in the arrangement and selection of personnel.

Dargo now understood why Valentine and the other wizards had become even colder towards him after their discussion; they probably thought he was holding them back.

Thinking that the wizards in the first duel had already taken the stage, it had nothing to do with them.

The two wizards participating in the duel came from the Bitterthorn and the Blackroot Thorns, respectively.

Both were male wizards, at the late stage of the first ring, one specializing in fire magic and the other in water magic.

The two were "incompatible," and immediately activated their soul seals upon entering the arena. Golden fireballs and jets of water collided repeatedly, releasing wave after wave of scorching heat and sweltering steam from the intertwined water flow.

The battle lasted for a short time, and ended with the Blackroot Thorn's water-type wizard emerging victorious.

The two combatants were not actually that far apart in strength, but unexpectedly, the water wizard also mastered a remarkable close-combat skill, which was very characteristic of Blackthorn and that he could learn close-combat spells.

As soon as the wizards on both sides stepped off the field, they quickly took out recovery potions and drank them down, looking like they had exhausted themselves.

The second match was still against the Thorns of Pain, but this time it was against the wizards on Dago's side.

A fair-skinned, tall girl with a ponytail emerged from the thorny path. She looked very young and had a somewhat nervous expression.

"Steven, you go."

Valentine said in a low voice, and a bald male wizard with rugged features slowly walked out from their side.

The bald wizard named Steven possessed strong spiritual energy fluctuations and an aura that was both mysterious and obscure. Within the entire group of eight, he was almost second only to Valentine.

Clearly, Valentine is prepared to win this match decisively and boost everyone's morale.

"The Hand of Mist Silver!"

As soon as Steven entered the arena, he immediately activated his Soul Signature [Silver Hand of Mist]. Behind him, a large number of energy particles gathered in mid-air, condensing into a huge silver hand that was somewhere between illusion and reality.

The Silver Hand spread its five fingers, crushing layers of air, and pressed straight down on the ponytail witch opposite it, attempting to directly intimidate her with its aura and make her understand the difference in their strength.

【Silver Hand】is a powerful offensive sign in the Silver Tower. Its effect is to summon a semi-illusory silver energy giant hand from the spirit world to strike the opponent.

Steven had clearly mastered this sign to a very high level; the summoned [Silver Hand of Mist] was not only exceptionally large, but its movement speed also far exceeded that of ordinary spells.

"Sizzle~~Sizzle~~"

The ponytail witch rose into the air, retreating to create distance as she unleashed a blinding torrent of lightning, directly slowing down and blocking the ferocious silver energy hand.

However, the [Silver Mist Hand] split into several smaller hands, and the several silver mist hands overlapped and attacked, the energy particles they stirred up carrying an overwhelming force that rushed straight at the ponytail witch, frightening her into a look of terror.

Seeing this, the wizards on the Silverthorns side were all certain that Steven would win. They knew his strength best. When Steven formed this overwhelming momentum, the outcome of the battle was basically decided.

Steven has mastered the Soul Sign 【Hand of the Mist】 to perfection. Even if the ponytail witch on the other side can withstand this combined attack, the giant hand will split into more hands and strike down until Steven's mental energy is exhausted.

However, just as the ponytail witch was about to be defeated, she gritted her teeth and pulled out a magical artifact that looked like a volcanic eruption pot from her hand.

The ponytail witch's face turned pale in an instant, and her spirits withered away in a flash.

An unprecedented surge of energy particles erupted around her, and a blinding light suddenly burst forth from the watering can magic tool. Immediately afterward, an indescribable crimson wave of fire descended from the sky, even carrying a trace of the aura of a domain.

Steven's several large, misty silver hands were completely incinerated by the terrifying wave of fire in a single exchange, and the rolling crimson flames poured down, causing the surrounding wizards watching the battle to pale in shock.

"A second-ringed ritual implement?!"

Someone blurted out in disbelief.

"boom!!"

The fire surged onto the ground, scorching a large area of ​​the open space black, and even affecting the runic array that trapped the Flower of Drogon not far away.

Previously, the Flower of Solomon had been attacking frantically inside for so long without any reaction from the magic array, but now it was shaking terribly from just a slight impact from the aftershocks of the magical fire wave.

"Cough! Cough!!"

Steven emerged from the aftermath of the flames, covered in soot and grime. The runes on his silver robes were dim, and large patches of his skin were charred black.

He hurriedly took out a high-quality healing potion from his storage pouch and drank it. His skin quickly healed and peeled off, with patches of charred skin falling off in a flurry. Then he decisively chose to admit defeat.

The ponytail witch held back during the battle; otherwise, if he had been hit head-on by that terrifying magical fire wave, he would have been reduced to charcoal without any chance of recovery.

The Silverthorns suffered a defeat in their first battle, and all the wizards, including Valentine, looked grim.

But there was nothing that could be done about it. No one expected that the seemingly ordinary ponytail witch in the Thorns of Pain would possess a second-circle magical artifact that could be successfully activated by a first-circle wizard, and with such terrifying power.

Even if Valentine were to play, he would probably have to admit defeat, or at most, he would just lose in a more entertaining way.

In the third match, it was Painful Thorns' turn to face Blackroot Thorns. Valentine's team huddled together, whispering their strategy, completely ignoring Dago.

"I'll play next."

Meanwhile, Valentine had also made a decision: he was prepared to take the stage himself.

Their team had the fewest wizards and was the weakest of the three factions on the field. Their chances of winning were already slim, and if their morale were further damaged, they would probably miss out on the Flower of Solomon.

The two sides' wizards were locked in a fierce battle on the open battlefield, which was watched with great interest by the spectators.

Suddenly, a fierce wind arose in the sky, and a massive mental force field, far exceeding that of everyone present, abruptly descended upon the area.

The air in the arena seemed to suddenly become thick, and even the many wizards who were all at the late stage of the first ring felt a sense of difficulty breathing.

A figure slowly emerged in mid-air. It was a man in his early forties, with dark skin, wearing a gray robe with exquisite black embroidery on the lapels, and holding a beautifully carved high-grade magic wand.

Judging from his appearance alone, he was an extremely ordinary-looking middle-aged man. He even had a slight receding hairline and sparse gray hair on his head.

However, the aura emanating from him was anything but ordinary. His vast and pure spiritual energy field caused the air around him to "condense into fluff," as if invisible feathers were slowly pressing down from mid-air.

He was like a miniature sun high in the sky, radiating energy and heat that scorched everyone below.

"A second-circle wizard!"

The second-circle wizard who suddenly appeared in the arena did not look at anyone present, as if the wizards below were ants, and their battle did not arouse his interest in the slightest.