Above the mage

Chapter 708 Violent Mage

The element of air, or wind, launched the first attack.

Its body suddenly expanded, and the whirlwind that was originally two people tall expanded into a rotating air wall covering a radius of thirty feet.

The air whistled sharply as it spun at high speed.

Countless visible streams of air darted through the air wall like blades.

In an instant, five eagle-beasts were swept up in it.

They lost their sense of direction in the whirlwind, their wings could not vibrate normally, and they were swept up by the airflow and spun and tumbled in the air wall.

The wind blades cut through the air with a whooshing sound, striking the eagle beast's wings precisely and producing a clanging sound like metal clashing against stone.

A sharp whistling sound mixed with the mournful cries of eagles echoed through the cave.

At the core of the air element, the "eye" formed from condensed air currents coldly scanned the trapped eagle beast, while the whirlwind continued to accelerate.

At the same time, the fire element launched its offensive.

It took a step forward, its right hand coalescing into a blazing fire whip.

The long whip lashed out in an arc of light, striking a Ironfeathered Eagle Beast with pinpoint accuracy.

boom.

The flaming whip exploded the moment it touched the eagle's feathers.

Although the iron feathers could withstand some of the high temperature, the intense heat of the flames still burned the eagle beast's flesh through the gaps in the feathers.

The eagle-beast let out a mournful scream and desperately flapped its wings to try to extinguish the flames on its body.

But the flames, like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone, only grew tighter and tighter.

The fire elemental flicked its left hand downwards, conjuring a long whip of fire that struck the other eagle beast with precision.

It attacked from both sides, its two fiery whips weaving into a fire net in the air, managing to entangle six eagle beasts all by itself.

Each strike of the flaming whip inflicted continuous burning damage, causing the eagle beasts immense suffering, yet they were unable to break free.

The earth elemental crouches on the ground behind the reef. Its attacks are not as flashy as those of the air and fire elements, but they are just as deadly.

It crouched down, digging its hands deep into the rocks beneath its feet.

The ground began to tremble, and countless tiny pebbles bounced off the ground and floated around the earth elemental.

The next instant, the earth elemental abruptly pulled its hands off the ground and swung them upwards.

Dozens of pebbles of varying sizes flew off the ground, shooting towards the flock of eagles circling overhead with a dull thud.

These pebbles were not thrown randomly, but were precisely controlled by the earth element, with each pebble locked onto a specific target.

The six eagle beasts had no time to dodge and were struck hard by the falling rocks.

The gravel struck the hard iron feathers, producing a dull thud.

Although it wasn't enough to pierce the iron feathers, the powerful impact still caused the eagle beast's body to veer sharply in mid-air, instantly losing its balance and completely disrupting the rhythm of its wing flapping.

The power of the rock-breaking attack lies not in the damage of a single strike, but in the continuous disruption it causes.

Every time the earth element waves its hand, it unleashes a new shower of stones.

The six eagle beasts, covered by the rain of pebbles, struggled to maintain a stable flight posture, their speed and maneuverability were greatly reduced, and they were unable to launch an effective attack.

Both water and wood elements employ different methods.

Just as Cedric said, with these five summoned elemental creatures, he single-handedly held off a total of twenty-seven Ironfeather Eagle Beasts and gained the upper hand.

The five elemental creatures coordinated perfectly, their attacks were well-organized, and each strike dealt severe damage to the eagle beast.

If nothing unexpected happens, it won't be long before we can wipe out all twenty-seven eagle beasts.

It should be noted that these Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts are all third-tier leyline creatures, and among them, they are the strongest in terms of combat power.

Even an ordinary three-ringed monk would have to rack his brains to deal with just one.

Cedric, however, was able to hold back twenty-seven of them single-handedly and eliminate them one by one, demonstrating his strength and skill.

No wonder he always appears aloof, dignified, and confident.

More importantly, he is so skilled at casting the fourth-circle [Elemental Summoning] spell and can control five elemental creatures at the same time.

This is enough to prove that he is not a "pseudo-fourth ring" who has just broken through, but an elite mage who has truly mastered the essence of fourth ring spells.

However, although Cedric managed to hold back twenty-seven Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts on his own, the remaining Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts still numbered far more than half.

Seeing their companions being restrained, they became even more ferocious. However, they wisely chose not to entangle with the elemental creatures, but instead, like a black iron torrent, they rushed towards Cedric, Feng Lin, and their group.

A sharp screech echoed through the cave, carrying a bloodthirsty madness.

Feng Lin took a deep breath, her expression becoming increasingly serious.

She knew it was time for her to take control of the situation.

She raised the purple staff to her chest, and the purple teardrop-shaped crystal at the tip of the staff began to glow, unleashing the spell she had been preparing.

[Hypnotic pattern].

Third-circle illusion magic.

She had only advanced to the fourth ring in the past six months for the sake of the magic competition, and had not yet mastered fourth-ring magic.

However, thanks to the bonuses from the Ascended Ring spellcasting, the power of the [Hypnotic Mark] is beyond imagination.

A rainbow-colored light spread out from the purple crystal of the staff, forming a constantly rotating geometric pattern in the air.

The colors of the pattern constantly change, emitting a soft and psychedelic glow, carrying a strong psychological interference effect.

Within the area covered by the pattern, the gazes of nearly ten eagle-like beasts were firmly drawn to it.

Their bodies froze in mid-air, their eyes glazed over, and they fell into a deep hypnotic state.

These eagles no longer attacked or moved; they simply flapped their wings mechanically, hovering in mid-air, maintaining the most basic flight posture.

Like a sculpture frozen in time, it remained unresponsive to the surrounding battle and the shouts of its comrades.

However, the range of the [Hypnotic Pattern] is limited, and there are too many eagles in the cave.

Even more Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts were able to move freely and continued to pounce on the group.

"Leave these hypnotized Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts alone for now. As long as we don't actively wake them up, they will remain in a hypnotic state for at least several dozen breaths," Feng Lin said in a low, urgent voice, while waving her purple short staff again.

This time, in order to achieve instant casting of the spell, she directly used the spell inscribed and stored in her staff.

Third-circle illusion spell: [Higher Illusion].

The moment the spell was cast, the scene inside the cave began to distort and change.

The first thing that appears is a huge illusionary wall.

Feng Lin conjured a thirty-foot-long wall out of thin air in front of herself, Cedric, Gareth, and others.

A ten-foot-high illusionary city wall.

The city wall is dark gray all over, and its surface is covered with sharp thorns and sharp stone spikes. The texture is clear and it looks indestructible.

The eagle-beasts at the forefront were instantly blocked by this illusory city wall. Without hesitation, they instinctively turned to the west.

In their attempt to avoid this seemingly dangerous obstacle, they were completely unaware that it was merely an illusion without any physical form.

But Feng Lin's [Illusion Technique] has far more uses than that.

She raised her left hand, flicked her fingers lightly, and the faint purple illusion light swirling around her fingertips surged again, instantly creating a second illusion to the west.

A gigantic air elemental, several times larger than the one summoned by Cedric, appeared.

Its entire body was pure white, and it was wrapped in violent tornadoes, with howling air currents, making it extremely terrifying.

Although this giant air elemental has no physical form and cannot launch a real attack, it is real in the eagle beast's perception.

Moreover, it contains wind-based energy far exceeding that of ordinary air elements.

Keep in mind that at this moment, the air elemental summoned by Cedric was still displaying its power not far away.

Then suddenly another air elemental appeared, much larger and more powerful. The Ironfeathered Eagle Beast, which possessed considerable intelligence, was instantly stunned and instinctively wanted to retreat, causing its attack momentum to slow down considerably.

Feng Lin's lips curled up slightly, and her purple eyes gleamed with a cunning light.

"It's your turn to make a move," she whispered to Aria and God beside her.

Cedric didn't think much of God and Arya and didn't assign them any specific tasks.

This left Arya feeling rather down.

Whether Feng Lin had considered this point or genuinely needed their help, she took the initiative to raise her request at this moment.

Arya's eyes lit up, and a spark of excitement instantly ignited within them.

She immediately raised her hand, and a rich, light blue wind-elemental energy swirled around her.

Arya's cultivation method is based on the wind element, and the energy emitted by the wind element aggregate here undoubtedly further enhances the power of her spells, making it her home turf.

She gave a low shout, and several sharp, pale blue wind blades condensed at her fingertips.

The wind blade was gleaming, its edges gleaming coldly. With the support of wind elemental energy, it moved at an astonishing speed, shooting towards one of the eagle beasts that was hesitant and confused due to the illusion created by Feng Lin.

She has an extremely strong ability to control herself.

The eagle beast had already reacted and instinctively spread its wings to try to block the wind blades.

However, the wind blade traced a tricky arc and struck the eagle beast's abdomen with pinpoint accuracy.

That was the weakest point of the iron feathers.

The sharp wind blades instantly sliced ​​through the iron feathers, penetrating deep into the flesh, causing blood to splatter instantly.

The eagle-beast that was struck let out a mournful cry, blood splattering everywhere; it was already injured.

Without pausing, Arya waved her hands.

The cyan wind elemental energy condensed into several invisible wind ropes, precisely binding the injured eagle beast.

Although the guy rope has no physical form, it has a very strong binding force, firmly binding it in place and restricting its movement.

Then, she focused her fingertips again, rapidly compressing wind elemental energy, and dozens of tiny yet sharp wind arrows instantly took shape.

They gleamed with a pale blue, cold light, and with the aid of wind elements, they whooshed out, precisely targeting the bound eagle beasts. Each wind arrow was aimed at its eyes or throat and other vital parts, rapidly reaping the eagle beast's "health bar".

This combo was executed flawlessly and smoothly.

This clearly demonstrates Arya's considerable skill.

"Not bad!" Feng Lin said with a compliment while maintaining the illusion effect of [Advanced Illusion].

Gareth, standing to the side, nodded slightly, his expression still calm, but he couldn't hide the approval in his eyes, silently agreeing with Feng Lin's assessment.

However, his mage level was still a bit too low, and it was indeed insufficient for the magic tournament... At the same time, he added his own evaluation in his mind.

Unlike Cedric, he didn't openly reject God and Arya; in fact, he acknowledged their potential.

However, regarding their perception of each other's abilities, they share a similar view with Cedric:

The opponents in the Mage Tournament are not some nobody; they are all elite battle mages carefully selected from various countries, each with formidable strength and unpredictable methods.

Even if mages are of the same level, the outcome of a match between them is uncertain.

Not to mention that the mage level is still a whole major level away.

With such a disparity in strength, how can they possibly win?

Just as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Gao De, who had been silent for a long time, finally made his move.

Without any unnecessary movements or lengthy incantations, he simply tapped his fingertip lightly.

A glint of icy blue light shot from his fingertip like a meteor toward the group of Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts huddled together in the cave, bewitched by the [Higher Illusion].

It was moving so fast that its trajectory was almost invisible.

A glint of cold light appeared first.

The moment the cold light touched the ground, the surrounding rock walls instantly twisted and deformed, centered on that point.

The ice layer spread rapidly, and countless sharp ice thorns pierced through the soil.

The ice thorn is pure white, gleaming with a cold, sharp light, and its tip is as sharp as a blade.

The densely intertwined thorns formed a thicket of ice, instantly trapping the six Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts within.

Before the eagle beasts could break free of their restraints, Gao De's fingertips twitched slightly, and he uttered a soft "Explode" in his mouth.

With a series of crisp cracking sounds, the entire patch of ice thorns instantly exploded.

Countless shards of ice thorns, carrying a chilling aura, flew in all directions.

The six Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts within range were instantly struck by the fragments.

Their feathers are strong enough to deflect all the fragments, which then turn into ice shards upon impact.

However, the icy cold air it released instantly weakened the cries of the eagles, caused a layer of white frost to condense on their feathers, and made their bodies stiffen.

This is an ice spell enhanced by Gaode's True Ice Mana and Intermediate Ice Protection Body, so its power is naturally exceptional.

At the same time, the detonated ice spikes turned into a patch of cold ice shards, covering the surrounding area and forming a thin layer of ice on the ground and rock walls.

"How could the thorny thicket have such destructive power?" Gareth, who was on guard duty and had not yet taken action, witnessed the whole thing.

【Icethorns】 is just a very common second-level ice spell.

Even a regular three-ring mage's spell can only have a simple restraining effect.

In Gao De's hands, its power was comparable to that of a fourth-ring mage casting a spell upon ascending to the next ring, and it was able to achieve such remarkable results against a third-tier Ironfeathered Eagle Beast with astonishing defense.

Moreover, in terms of actual effect, it seems to be even better than the one cast by the Four Rings Mage.

Because ordinary mages cannot actively detonate the ice spikes after they are generated to cause secondary damage when casting [Ice Spikes].

Such control is something that ordinary mages cannot possess.

Gareth's idea was actually correct.

Because what Gaode cast was not [Icethorns], but [Icethorns+].

Before Gareth could recover from his shock, God made another move.

Without the slightest pause, it was as if the [Ice Thorns+] he had just done casually.

This time, the magical energy emanating from his body was even more powerful than the previous [Ice Thorns+].

Almost instantly, the spell's effect was unleashed.

In the icy environment created by [Ice Thorns+], Gao De's fingertip touched the ground, and a huge halo suddenly spread out.

Wherever the halo passed, the air froze into tiny ice particles that flew everywhere.

The four Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts within the area were caught off guard and enveloped by the halo.

The icy chill spread rapidly across their bodies, which were already covered with a thin layer of ice, instantly freezing their wings and bodies.

Thick white frost condensed on their iron feathers, making them brittle and fragile, and their bodies stiffened and unable to move.

In the blink of an eye, the four Ironfeathered Eagle Beasts were lifeless, their bodies frozen into ice sculptures, and they crashed heavily onto the ice below.

It shattered into pieces, with ice shards and blood flying everywhere, creating a truly shocking scene.

【Frosty Nova】.

"So fast!" Not only Gareth, but even Feng Lin, who was still casting a spell, was surprised.

She had just noticed that Gaode's spellcasting speed was extremely fast, almost instantaneous.

However, it can only be attributed to the fact that it was a second-circle spell, which was cast with sufficient skill, thus enabling such speed.

However, the current [Frost Nova] is clearly a third-circle spell, and its casting difficulty far exceeds that of a second-circle spell.

How could he cast the spell so quickly, with almost no casting time visible?

Could it be that he possesses some kind of instant casting feat?

Moreover, the strength of ice magic is clearly its ability to control the field.

How come in Gaode's hands it's even more violent than lightning and fire elemental spells?!

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