Above the mage

Chapter 737 A String of Four (Part 2)

Before the opponent could break free of his restraints, Gao De had already formed a new fireball in his palm, which roared away with a scorching wave of energy.

The orange-red flames, carrying a violent fire elemental magic, instantly approached the opponent's body.

Just as the blazing flames were about to engulf him, the rune array that enveloped the entire arena suddenly lit up with a dazzling pale golden light.

It was the timely activation of the magic array by the referee mage on the Dragon Eye Tower that protected him from the impact of the fireball and prevented him from suffering fatal damage.

However, the appearance of this rune's light also meant that he had been officially eliminated and had to leave the stage immediately.

The entire process took no more than two breaths, from the binding of thorns to the blast of fireballs, and then to the protective retreat of the magic array—it was so fast that no one had time to react.

Everyone was stunned, and the stands fell into a deathly silence.

The next second, the audience who were originally worried about Gaode suddenly burst into thunderous cheers, while the mages in the Blackrock Principality contestant area who were full of hope just a moment ago instantly felt their spirits plummet.

The excitement on their faces vanished without a trace, replaced by disbelief and frustration. Gao De, on the other hand, remained calm and composed, the magic in his hand slowly dissipating.

Using [Thorns Overgrowth] to connect with [Fireball+] is not a particularly commendable technique.

It's just a basic maneuver to deal with close-range attacks.

However, these opponents were all focused on how to counter his [Fireball+], but they all forgot one crucial thing:

He's strong in [Fireball+], not just in [Fireball+].

Evan is still locked in fierce combat with the captain of the Blackrock Duchy's mage team.

He still maintained an absolute offensive advantage, each strike was incredibly sharp, constantly suppressing Captain Blackstone and keeping him in a passive defensive position.

However, the opponent relied on their home-field advantage established by their expertise in the Watery Realm and showed great resilience.

Use minor spells such as Water Shield, Water Bind, and Water Wall alternately.

While consolidating their defenses, they harassed the enemy with sporadic water arrows and quietly restored their magic power by taking advantage of the water's nourishment, without showing any obvious signs of defeat.

Just as Evan was becoming increasingly impatient, he saw the rune array at the edge of the arena suddenly light up with a faint golden glow, indicating that it had been activated.

He was momentarily stunned, glancing at Gaode's direction out of the corner of his eye.

Gaode's opponent had already been eliminated.

A look of surprise flashed across Evan's face, which quickly turned into deep helplessness, and his lips twitched.

Damn it...

Despite his helplessness, Evan's competitive spirit was completely ignited by this scene.

He was unwilling to waste any more time and directly resorted to some real methods.

A rich blue light emanated from Evan's palm.

Amidst the light, his fingertips rapidly coalesced and transformed, slowly taking shape into cyan claws gleaming with a chilling light.

The same applies to the footwork, allowing for an even greater increase in speed.

This is his most proficient transformation technique, but it's a more effortless, faster, and slightly less powerful localized transformation.

Concentrate power only in the fingertips and limbs, taking into account both speed and explosiveness.

It can launch attacks quickly without consuming too much magic power.

He flashed and instantly broke through the opponent's scattered water arrows. His cyan claws, imbued with rich magic, slammed into the water wall that the opponent had just formed.

With a crisp crack, the water wall shattered instantly under the impact of the partially deformed claws, turning into a shower of water droplets.

Before Captain Blackrock could react, Evan flicked his wrist, and a slender yet condensed cyan lightning bolt shot out from his palm.

Unlike the previous wind blades, this lightning was faster and more concentrated.

At such close range, Captain Blackrock had no time to react.

Although Captain Blackstone had a thin layer of water protecting his body in an attempt to resist the attack, he still groaned and felt his whole body go numb instantly.

The magical power within his body was further disrupted by the power of lightning, instantly becoming chaotic.

This was the winning opportunity that Evan had been searching for.

He struck while the iron was hot, giving Captain Blackstone no chance to adjust his magic or organize a counterattack.

The claws on his fingertips lit up again, and he moved nimbly, launching a continuous, storm-like attack.

Even though Captain Blackrock was skilled in close combat and attrition, and had great resilience thanks to the Watery Realm, he gradually found it difficult to withstand Evan's fast-paced, high-burst close-range attacks, and his defenses began to show more and more openings.

He only lasted less than three minutes before Evan struck him in the chest with a sharp claw!

The referee's voice rang out promptly, signaling the end of the match:

In the second round of the two-player duel, the Golden Flower Dynasty emerged victorious!

Evan withdrew the claws from his fingertips, his magic gradually subsided, and the partial deformations on his body faded away, restoring him to his original appearance.

He quickly walked to Gao De's side and couldn't help but say, "It just so happens that this guy is a mage specializing in water element. He's not too difficult to deal with, but he's really troublesome. If it were a different opponent, I should be able to finish the battle much faster."

After all, he initiated the race against Gaode, but ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

He said this not because he was dissatisfied with Gaode's speed, but because he was really frustrated.

"Let me see how tough you are in the next game." In response to Evan's frustrated complaints, Gao De's lips curled up slightly and he chuckled.

"Huh?!" Evan didn't immediately understand what Gao De meant.

Before Evan could figure it out, he saw that Gao De had already walked quickly off the field and headed straight for Fritz, the team leader.

He leaned forward slightly and said something, and after listening, Team Leader Fritz simply nodded slightly in agreement.

"This guy..." Evan thought to himself.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the stadium had reached its climax.

The Golden Flower Dynasty team has easily secured two victories and is riding high on morale.

If the Golden Flower Dynasty wins the third round of the series, they will sweep the Blackrock Kingdom with a decisive 3-0 victory and advance to the quarterfinals.

And this, in everyone's eyes, was inevitable.

After all, it was clear from the first two games that the Principality of Blackrock was not enough to pose even the slightest threat to the Plantagenet Dynasty.

Although Gao De and Evan played two games in a row, neither of them was actually very exhausted.

Evan had been locked in a long battle with Captain Blackrock, and his mana had been slightly depleted, but he was far from exhausted.

Gaode played swiftly throughout the game, and whether it was the first capture-the-flag battle or the second two-player duel, he did not expend too much mana and remained in full condition.

The third round was a series of matches.

As per team leader Fritz's prior arrangements, the four players who applied to play in this round were Gao De, Ailiya, Evan, and Feng Lin. Of course, this was only because the rules of the gauntlet battle required four mages to be applied to play.

Fritz anticipated that he would likely only need two players to participate to easily win this round of elimination.

The rules for the gauntlet battle are clear: from the list of contestants submitted in advance, only four members need to be confirmed, as well as the first member to appear.

The order in which subsequent players compete can be adjusted by each team based on the actual progress of the round-robin tournament.

This also aligns with the practical logic of a war of attrition.

The opponent will inevitably make targeted arrangements of the players and flexibly adjust the order of appearance based on the performance in order to better cope with the battle.

With the short break over, the venue setup was complete.

The referee's voice rang out again, signaling for both teams to enter the arena.

On the Golden Flower Dynasty side, Gao De was the first to appear.

On the Blackrock Duchy's side, the person representing them was a female third-ring mage who hadn't fought in the previous two rounds.

When she saw that Gao De was standing out in the Golden Flower Dynasty player area, her expression immediately showed nervousness.

Gaode Maps is notorious.

Other skilled fighters, no matter how strong, can only exchange a few blows.

But against Gaode Maps, they won't give you a chance to make a move at all, leaving you feeling embarrassed and frustrated.

"Team leader, I'm next." Upon seeing this, Captain Blackstone immediately turned to his team leader and said firmly, his eyes filled with seriousness.

He was the only fourth-ring mage in the entire Blackrock Principality party.

The others would have a hard time winning against Gao De, let alone against Aria.

They had already suffered a crushing defeat in the second doubles match, which was their best chance to win back a game, so they had no hope for this round-robin match.

My only thought is to defeat one or two more players from the Golden Flower Dynasty in this round, so that I don't lose too badly.

In Captain Blackstone's view, Gao De's strength was too terrifying; a third-ring mage was no match for him.

At least none of the three-ring players in their Blackrock Principality team could rival him.

Therefore, he must play in the next game to knock Gao De off the field.

Replacing other players with three rings on the field would be tantamount to throwing away lives and would only increase the chances of defeat.

The leader of the Blackrock Principality naturally understood this, and although his face was full of helplessness, he still nodded and agreed to the Blackrock captain's request to fight.

At the same time, he turned to the female mage who was about to fight, softened his tone, and gently comforted her, "Don't feel pressured, don't think about winning, just try to deplete his magic power as much as possible."

"Alright." The female mage gritted her teeth and replied softly, a resolute glint in her eyes. She took a deep breath and slowly stepped onto the arena.

In this match, the referee drew the Canglang Swamp as their playing field.

This is a battlefield with a mix of multiple elements.

The ground was covered with murky swamp water that reached from the calves to the knees.

The underwater area was covered with thick black mud, and every step would cause the caster to sink half an inch, dragging them along and greatly limiting their movement speed.

Dozens of rocky reefs of varying heights are scattered throughout the waters, their surfaces covered with damp moss.

At the edge of the battlefield, large sections of solidified rock cliffs rise abruptly from the ground, reaching heights of over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

The rushing water cascaded down the cliff face, forming curtains of water that crashed into the swampy waters below, creating a cloud of white mist.

Water mist filled the entire battlefield, blurring visibility and making the water elemental magic in the air even more concentrated.

This battlefield offers some protection against various elemental spells, but it is uniquely effective against fire elemental spells.

The misty spray can quickly dilute the fire elemental magic and extinguish most of the flames.

At this moment, the referee's voice pierced through the misty spray, resounding throughout the entire Canglang Swamp, and declared firmly: "Round one of the gauntlet battle begins!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the third-ring female mage from the Blackrock Duchy immediately gripped her staff tightly.

The staff instantly glowed with a faint, pale purple light, and the enchanted runes engraved on its body swirled and shimmered with a delicate luster.

Her eyes narrowed, and with a low shout, she fiercely injected the pale purple light from the tip of her staff into the reef beneath her feet, the surrounding swampy waters, and even the pervasive mist.

Fear spreads.

This is an enchantment spell inscribed on the staff, cast instantly.

By relying on the fluidity of the water element, the spell's power can be rapidly spread throughout the entire battlefield.

Any opponent who steps into the spell's range or comes into contact with the water mist or swamp water will have their mind invaded, giving rise to inexplicable fear and mental disorder.

This can affect the formation and execution of spells, and may even cause people to subconsciously avoid areas shrouded in water mist.

In her view, as long as Gaode is under the spell, coupled with the swamp terrain hindering movement and the water element suppressing fire magic, it will be a sure thing.

Even if she can't defeat Gao De, she'll most likely be able to complete the task of attrition assigned by the team leader, and might even be able to seize an opportunity to create a counterattack.

But the reality was far beyond her expectations.

Despite the spreading purplish-black magical ripples, Gao De remained as steady as a mountain, his expression calm.

It wasn't that he couldn't sense it, but rather that his mental strength had already surpassed the upper limit of a third-ring mage and reached the level of a fourth-ring mage.

Enchantment spells essentially rely on mental intrusion to take effect. Faced with his mental strength, which far surpasses that of others of the same level, such enchantment spells would hardly have any effect on him.

The spells that attempted to invade his mind were completely blocked and dissipated by the mental barrier he had created as soon as they approached him.

Gao De raised his eyes, and a faint crimson light appeared on his left palm, with flames rapidly gathering in his palm.

Even though the flames were slightly dimmed by the dense water mist, they remained condensed and exuded a terrifyingly violent aura.

His gaze pierced through the misty water, precisely locking onto the female mage standing on the reef not far away. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, with only one thought in mind: to finish this quickly.

Without any further probing, the fireball in Gaode's palm, carrying a scorching heat wave, was unleashed with a thunderous roar.

The fireball swept across the water, and the water vapor along its path was instantly evaporated by the flames, leaving a clear crimson trail.

Even though it was suppressed by the water element, it still whistled sharply as it hurtled straight toward the female mage.

The female mage was deeply shocked.

Why is my "Fear Spreads" ability having no effect on Gaode Maps?

There wasn't even the slightest bit of control!

In other words, Gaode completely exempted her from enchanting spells!

How is that possible?

She is proficient in enchanting spells and mental attacks, and her specialty is increasing mental strength and enhancing the effects of mental attacks.

Therefore, even though she is only in the mid-stage of the third ring, her enchantment spells can often be easily effective against mages in the late stage of the third ring.

But Gao De in front of her was like an iron plate, rendering her proud magic useless.

In a panic, the female mage quickly waved her staff again, her fingertips pointing rapidly at another rune on the staff, releasing another protective spell that had been pre-written.

A thick, pale purple shield instantly enveloped his entire body and the reef beneath his feet, attempting to withstand the impact of the fireball.

But she soon truly understood why Gaode's fireball spell had become the nightmare of the third-ring mages of various countries.

Her shield was as fragile as paper in the face of Gao De's [Fireball+].

With a crisp crack, the shield shattered instantly, and scorching flames engulfed her figure and half of the reef beneath her feet.

The reef was scorched by the flames and cracked, sending rubble and water flying everywhere.

Fortunately, at the moment of the explosion, the female mage reacted instinctively, leaping away from the center of the blast and barely avoiding fatal damage.

Before she could recover, the second fireball that Gao De had condensed in his palm had already struck, giving her no chance to catch her breath.

Although she reacted quickly enough, the fireball still struck the remaining reef debris at her feet.

With a loud bang, a scorching wave of air blew her away, sending her crashing into the swampy waters not far away, where the mud instantly submerged her knees.

Just as she was struggling to break free of the mud and trying to get up and escape.

The third fireball in Gao De's palm had been fully formed, and it shot towards him with a scorching heat wave.

All she could see was the ever-growing fireball.

Just as the flames and scorching heat were about to burn her, the rune array in the arena lit up again.

A pale golden light enveloped her, protecting her from the swamp and flames.

This is the arena's protective mechanism to prevent players from suffering fatal injuries.

But this also means that she has been officially eliminated.