Above the mage

Chapter 370 Favorable Timing and Location

A branching lightning bolt flashed by, tearing through the night sky shrouded in dark clouds.

The world briefly transitioned from night to day, illuminating every tiny detail hidden in the darkness.

Rumble!

A thunderous roar followed, shaking the heavens and the earth.

"A storm is brewing." Startled by the thunder, Aldrich subconsciously looked up at the sky and muttered.

He tightened his hood, completely concealing his face.

Because of the weather, Aldridge wore a knee-length waterproof oilcloth hooded overcoat and a pair of high-top leather boots.

That way, even if it rains heavily later, you won't get wet.

Muttering to himself, Aldridge subconsciously held his breath slightly.

Because he was already close to the shore of the Marco district.

In the lagoon, green bubbles occasionally bubbled up from the brownish-gray sewage, and a nauseating smell hit you, making your eyes sting.

"It still stinks so badly. I don't know how these lowly people can stand it and stay here. We can't even get rid of them!"

Aldridge grumbled and cursed, his dissatisfaction and disgust barely concealed.

If he could drive away the poor in the Marco district, it would be a great achievement for him, and the reward would certainly be very generous.

Unfortunately, the sea sentinels have been diligently and regularly coming to exterminate the water beasts.

While releasing them, they are also being eradicated. To be honest, the measure of releasing aquatic animals is no longer very meaningful.

At least that's how he sees it; he just doesn't know why the higher-ups haven't cancelled the mission.

However, Aldridge didn't have time to think about it. He was paid to do things, it was that simple. Other things were not his concern.

His gaze strained to look ahead in the darkness.

Aldridge was carrying a clay pot with a rope loop over it for easy lifting and carrying.

Today is the scheduled time for the handover of the putrid salamander eggs, and he has "condescended" to come here for this purpose.

This matter is of great importance. Under the laws of the dynasty, releasing aquatic beasts to harm and maim civilians is an absolutely heinous crime.

Therefore, absolute secrecy is essential; the fewer people who know about it, the better.

Therefore, the handover was not only done by him personally, but also took place late at night.

He has been able to work for big shots in the city for so many years without ever getting into trouble, so his "professionalism" is top-notch.

Although those important figures broke their promise and used spiritual essence instead of the agreed-upon "spiritual burning liquid" to deal with him, it made him furious.

But Aldridge ultimately lacked the courage to confront the other party, so he had to continue doing these dirty work.

If you've chosen to continue, you have to do it well; otherwise, it's better not to do it at all.

Aldridge naturally understood this principle, but resentment still lingered in his heart.

So when he discovered that his younger brother, who was supposed to be waiting for him on the shore, was not there, his face immediately darkened.

"How dare they disregard my instructions? Was I too lenient before, or have these people grown too big for their britches?"

After suppressing my anger and waiting for a full ten minutes, I finally heard a faint splashing sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet environment and gradually grew louder as it approached.

In the pitch-black night, a flat, narrow boat could be vaguely seen emerging from the densely packed shacks in the distance, rowing towards the shore.

Another thunderclap streaked across the sky, illuminating the world.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of "daylight," Aldridge made out the figures on the small boat.

The other person was rowing with their head down, but Aldridge recognized them at a glance by their silhouette and clothing.

It was Hack, the leader of the seven men he sent to carry out the mission in the Marco district.

Rumble!

The thunderclap arrived belatedly after the lightning had faded.

"Hack" rowed very fast and soon arrived at the shore.

"I've been waiting for ages," Aldrich said coldly, his displeasure evident in his expressionless tone.

Although, in reality, he only waited for less than ten minutes.

"Boss, something unexpected happened." Because it was late at night, Hack consciously lowered his voice, causing a slight change in tone that made it different from his usual voice.

"An accident?" Aldridge raised an eyebrow and pressed, "What happened?"

"Boss, you get on the boat first, I'll talk to you as we walk," Hack said urgently.

"Okay." The situation was urgent, and Aldrich had no time to think. He lightly stepped onto the small boat.

The small boat sank sharply as he moved.

"Yesterday, we were attacked without warning," Huck said as Aldrich boarded the boat, rowing rapidly.

The small boat sped towards the shantytown not far away.

"An attack? What happened?! And then?" Aldrich was surprised and uncertain upon hearing this, and his mind had already become wary.

"It's the Sea Sentinel Mage," Hack said.

"The sea sentinel mage who was sent to drive away the water beasts."

He paused, took a breath, and continued, "After clearing out the water beasts, he didn't leave Lagos City. Instead, he returned and discovered our practice of releasing rotting water salamanders. Therefore, he directly attacked us, intending to bring us to justice!"

"A sea sentinel mage!" Aldrich paused, then sat up straight. "How did he find you?"

"I don't know either," Huck thought for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. "We clearly left before he even reached the Marco district."

"Could this Sea Sentinel Mage truly possess extraordinary abilities?"

"That's impossible. If they were really that good, they would have found you years ago. How could they have waited until now?" Aldrich casually refuted Hark's statement, frowning repeatedly. "You must have been careless and given yourself away."

This matter has been exposed, and things are in trouble now.

Once that sea sentinel mage takes this news back to report, and the sea sentinel's high-ranking mage comes down to investigate the matter, given the nature of those big shots, they will definitely "cut ties" with him in no time and make him take the blame.

No!

The thought made Aldrich panic.

"How is the Sea Sentinel Mage doing now?" he quickly asked.

"Wait a minute," Aldrich said, not even waiting for Hark to answer his question. "The Sea Sentinel Mage is at least a first-ring mage, with astonishing combat power. You seven are just mage apprentices. How come you're still unharmed after being attacked by him?"

Light precedes sound.

Another bolt of lightning rolled across the sky, tearing through the dark firmament and illuminating Aldridge's astonished face.

Then a thunderous roar, like a thousand horses galloping, exploded in his ears, drowning out Aldridge's unfinished words.

It was at this moment that the small boat suddenly began to tremble inexplicably, its hull rocking violently as if it had encountered some kind of wave.

However, it was clear that the water was very calm at this time.

"Boss, there's a water beast!" As soon as the thunder subsided, Hack's urgent and panicked voice rang out.

A water beast?!

Aldridge was startled and quickly looked out of the ship, whereupon he saw a black shadow dart past.

It was moving so fast that he only caught a glimpse of a fleeting afterimage.

With a whoosh.

The black shadow came to the bottom of the small boat and suddenly thrust upwards.

The narrow boat, which was not very stable to begin with, was overturned by that black shadow.

In an instant, the small boat flipped over on the water.

Two thuds.

Aldridge and Huck both fell into the murky seawater.

"Damn, it stinks!" Aldrich cursed as he nearly swallowed a mouthful of sewage. He then held his breath and reached out to touch the small boat, trying to climb back in.

But when my hand landed on the edge of the boat, it felt greasy and slippery, and I couldn't grip it at all.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the edge of the small boat was covered with an extremely smooth layer of grease.

"This is bad!" Aldrich thought to himself.

After all, he was a member of a gang, someone who had climbed his way up through the ranks and was a seasoned veteran. Recalling the strange things he had noticed before falling into the water, he instantly realized what was going on.

Without thinking twice, he immediately cast a [Shield] spell on himself.

Magic quickly gathered around him, forming a transparent, shimmering shield.

And Aldridge's decision was absolutely correct.

A crystal-clear longsword, radiating a chilling aura, pierced through the murky sewage, like a cold glint of light, and was delivered to us.

Using [Disguise+] to impersonate Hack, Godd successfully lured Aldrich into the water. He lightly touched the ice block he had just condensed with [Water Manipulation] as a point of leverage, and shot several meters away like an arrow, "shooting" towards Aldrich with extremely fast momentum.

Low-level mages cannot fly, and once they fall into the water, they lose their footing and become slow and inconvenient to move around.

The same applies to Gaode Maps.

However, he had already cast the [Wolf Speed+] buff on himself when he fell into the water, gaining the ability to leap like a wolf.

Before even reaching the shore, he cast a [Light Feather Step+] on himself to avoid movement interference caused by the difficult terrain.

Therefore, the thin layer of ice felt like flat ground under Gaode's feet at this moment.

His right hand gripped the North Wind, which had frozen to the bottom of the ship long ago.

In the instant the boat capsized, Gao De had already drawn the sword from its sheath.

He didn't know any sophisticated swordsmanship, and he hadn't even mastered the basic sword techniques.

However, Gao De did not intend to defeat his enemy with swordsmanship. He simply used the extreme cold of the North Wind itself as a means of attack, like holding an electric baton, only seeking to touch the target's body.

Gaode had rehearsed all these actions countless times, so they were performed smoothly and were completed in an instant.

The north wind, at his extreme speed, licked Aldridge like a white snake.

Water droplets splashing around the sword condensed into ice beads due to the chill emanating from the north wind. When they fell onto the sword, they made a series of clattering sounds, like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate.

If it weren't for the scabbard which could insulate him to some extent from the chill of the north wind, even if he were frozen to the bottom of the ship, Aldridge would probably have felt the cold and realized something was wrong, even through the thick layer of ship planks.

登！

When Aldridge was only centimeters away, a metallic clang was heard.

Aldrich immediately cast Shield, which stopped the north wind.

With the inherent chill of the north wind, most shield spells would be frozen and broken.

However, Aldrich is a second-circle mage. Although Shield is a first-circle spell, at the second-circle level, after being upgraded to the next level, its defensive power is far superior to that of Shield cast by a first-circle mage.

Otherwise, how could a second-ring mage easily crush a first-ring mage simply by using the method of ascending to ring?

The faint protective shield rippled under the biting cold of the north wind, remaining steadfast without breaking instantly, while Gaode's momentum vanished in the next moment, plunging into the water.

The shimmering shield returned to calm.

"Who are you?! How dare you attack me!"

Aldridge shouted his questions from the water, both as a question and to attract Gao De's attention and buy himself some time.

He had already been silently activating the spell model.

"Aldrich, ordering your men to release aquatic beasts to harm people is a grave crime. As a Sea Sentinel Mage, I have the duty to bring you to justice." God's voice boomed in the night.

He wasn't too discouraged when his carefully prepared attack failed.

"Die!" While slightly shaken by the origin of God's self-destruction, Aldrich did not hesitate for a moment and shouted sharply.

The seawater instantly converged, forming a huge, rapidly spinning vortex in front of Aldrich, with the water flowing inside rubbing against each other and emitting a piercing whistling sound.

With astonishing momentum, it hurtled towards Gaode's location, the tip of the water stream sharp as a cone, like a sharp spear, seemingly intent on piercing through anything in its path.

[Water Flow Impact], a first-level Evocation spell!

Within the water, the power of [Water Flow Impact] is further enhanced. Combined with the rising ring spell, one can imagine that if this strike were to land on him, Gao De would be severely injured even if he didn't die.

However, after evolving with [Adaptive] and developing an extremely high ability to sense water flow, Gao De noticed Aldridge's move early on.

He no longer cared about the filth and stench of the seawater. With a twist of his waist, he plunged downwards with incredible agility, like a swimming fish, and with unbelievable speed.

If you look closely, you'll notice that a thin webbing has quietly grown between Gaode's fingers and toes.

The webbed feet swayed gently in the water, like fish fins, giving him the incredible speed and ability to swim like a fish.

The Sea Sentinel's exclusive spell, 【Ocean Touch+】.

The water is his home ground!

The water rushed over Gao De's head, and although it didn't hit him, the powerful water pressure it generated still made Gao De feel a bit of pressure.

This is the oppressive power of a second-ring mage!

"What a quick reaction!" Aldrich, realizing his spell had missed, stared wide-eyed as he frantically searched for God's figure in the dark waters.

Where can we find it?

The waters of the Marco area are already murky, not to mention the current lack of light.

The current environment is far too harsh for him.

It was the dead of night, just before a torrential downpour. Dark clouds filled the sky, making it as dark as a canvas soaked in ink, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

If one has mastered darkvision, then one can remain unaffected.

But Dark Vision is a second-circle spell, and he has only been a second-circle mage for less than half a year, so how could he have mastered it?

Another point is that it is now in the water.

Lagos is a traditional fishing city located right next to the sea, and Aldrich, as a local native, must have mastered the skill of swimming.

But humans are not fish after all; even if they can swim, moving around in water is still very inconvenient.

Aldridge's disadvantages are precisely Gaode's advantages.

As a first-ring mage, although he did not master [Dark Vision], [Adaptive] greatly enhanced his ability to see in the dark.

Even if it doesn't reach the level of "dark vision," Aldridge still has a significant advantage over Aldridge.

The combined benefits of "Ocean Touch+" and "Adaptive" enable Gaode Maps to thrive.

This is the advantage of timing and location.

call!

The next instant, Gao De's head emerged from the water not far from Aldridge.

Garbage and rotting matter splashed and gushed along with the flowing water.

Gao De suppressed the urge to vomit as a spell model in the Spell Star Sea had already been activated.

A faint light shone on Aldridge's skin beneath his clothing.

At first, it was as small as a bean, but it spread rapidly, transforming into a unique, mysterious, and complex totem.

A rare first-level spell, [Hunter's Mark+]!

(End of this chapter)