Above the mage

Chapter 740 Next Round Opponent

The moss on the surface of the reef was knocked off by Captain Blackstone, and pebbles flew everywhere.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his robe torn by ice shards and covered with fine wounds.

The skin around the wound was frozen by the power of the Ice Crystal and had previously been burned by flames.

The intense pain, a mixture of hot and cold, made him tremble all over.

What made him tremble even more was that an ice blade was now hovering in front of his throat.

Instead of activating the protective array on the Dragon Eye Tower, Gao De used his unparalleled ice-based control to stop the fatal blow.

After a brief silence.

"Golden Plantagenet Dynasty, Gao Desheng!" The referee's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"He is indeed more durable than others, no wonder he is a fourth-ring mage."

Gao De looked at Captain Blackstone, who seemed lost in thought and nodded slightly, giving a positive assessment.

In this encounter, he not only used the newly acquired elemental species, the Heart of Ember, but was also "forced" to use the abilities of [Stealth Step] and Water to Ice.

[Stealth Step] It's alright, he's used it before in the gymnastics challenge.

But the ability to turn water into ice was the first time he had actually used it in real combat.

This also shows that Captain Blackrock is no ordinary person.

As a fourth-circle water elemental mage, he also possesses the special expertise of the Water Realm.

If it weren't for his clever thinking, this battle would probably have remained deadlocked for a while longer.

"This guy's best spell is clearly fireball, but he also knows ice elemental magic, and his skill in it is quite good?"

In the Holy Empire's player area, Bai Nuode stood with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed, staring at Gao De, who stood calmly on the field, and muttered to himself.

He has always disliked Gaode, feeling that Gaode is a case of "when there are no heroes, a nobody can become famous".

But Gaode's performance just now changed his opinion.

"It's hard to say. He fought his way out of the Gym Challenge. Even though the Golden Flower team kept their members' information very secret, many of the Gym Challenges are public, so we still managed to gather quite a bit of information."

"As far as I know, during his rampage through the gymnastics challenges, he did indeed rely mainly on fireballs to crush opponents of the same level."

"But when he was still a second-ring mage, his main spells were actually ice elemental spells," Beatrice said slowly.

"This is a huge change," another member of the Holy Empire echoed softly, his tone tinged with seriousness. "With the intelligence we have right now, it's practically impossible to determine what he's truly good at."

"Now, do you still think you can crush him?" Just then, Ellie, who had been silently observing the battle, suddenly spoke up.

His voice carried a subtle, almost imperceptible sharpness.

Caught off guard by his captain's sudden question, Bai Nord was initially taken aback, but quickly recovered, his usual arrogance returning as he nonchalantly replied, "Of course! There are differences even among fourth-ring mages. How can a fourth-ring mage from a small duchy compare to me?"

This is confidence, and it is also a fact.

Just like Evan easily defeated Captain Blackrock without even needing to use his special skills.

Defeating Captain Blackrock is a piece of cake for him.

"His heart rate remained completely unchanged from beginning to end." Ellie didn't respond, but simply said something that seemed unrelated to the current topic.

But just that one sentence made Bai Nuode's expression become more serious.

This means that Gaode is in a completely calm and relaxed state during normal combat.

The calmness could perhaps be attributed to Gaode's excellent mindset and composure under pressure.

It may be easy, but that only proves one thing.

Gaode didn't even exert its full strength.

Otherwise, as soon as the intensity of the battle increases, the mana in the body will circulate at high speed, and the heart rate will inevitably increase accordingly.

This is a physiological instinct that cannot be faked.

A fourth-ring Blackrock captain couldn't even match the strength of a third-ring mage like him.

For the first time, a subtle wavering stirred in Bai Nuode's heart.

"He really does have some hidden tricks up his sleeve," Gareth said seriously, narrowing his eyes in the Plantagenets player area.

During French Bulldog practice, Gao De never used his "water-to-ice" ability.

"It's as if you have nothing to hide." Feng Lin, standing to the side, crossed her arms and glanced at him indifferently.

"Yeah, right." Gareth scratched his head and smiled.

"Wow! How come it seems like Gao De won so easily? Evan just fought against the Blackstone captain for a long time!" Arya's face was full of excitement, as if she was proud of Gao De's victory, and she exclaimed this in a carefree manner.

Upon hearing this, Evan, who was still excited about Gaode's victory over an opponent of a higher level, froze instantly, his smile vanished, and his lips twitched slightly.

You can praise Gaode Maps all you want, but why do you have to drag me into it?

This is just bringing up a sore spot!

Evan silently grumbled to himself, but he was powerless to refute it, so he could only roll his eyes in silence.

In contrast to the bustling activity in other areas, the contestant area of ​​the Blackrock Principality was eerily silent.

The mage leading the group frowned deeply.

He was both horrified by Captain Blackstone's crushing defeat and worried about the two upcoming tag team battles.

The Blackstone captain was easily defeated by Gao De, and the remaining team members had no strength to contend with him.

Turning his head, he saw that the expressions on the faces of his teammates were still etched with horror.

How can they possibly compete with the guy on stage?

Both are third-ring mages, so why is this guy so strong?

Even if Gaode originated from the Golden Flower Dynasty and has better resources and heritage, it shouldn't be this strong.

Not only does it possess unparalleled dominance among its peers, but it also maintains absolute suppression against its own fourth-ring mage, with its dominance remaining undiminished.

No matter how desperate one feels, giving up and admitting defeat is impossible.

In a competition where safety is guaranteed and there is no danger to life, even if you know you are no match, you cannot lack the courage to fight.

He sighed, looked at the somewhat dejected Captain Blackstone who had returned, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly, "The road ahead is long, and it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

Upon hearing this, Captain Blackstone's lifeless eyes flickered slightly, and his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he didn't say anything and just silently walked to the corner of the line.

The team leader shook his head, no longer thinking about it, and turned his gaze to a thin male mage beside him, saying in a calm tone, "Since we're already here, let's just treat it as experiencing the atmosphere of the elimination rounds."

He no longer expects his team to win, so he might as well adjust his mindset and relax.

Since things have come to this, why not treat this ordeal as an experience, and truly feel the gap between yourself and a real genius? Perhaps you can even gain something from it.

The male mage paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously, a determined glint in his eyes: "Alright."

Although I am determined, it won't change anything.

After defeating the only Blackrock captain who could still pique his interest, Gao De was already feeling listless about the remaining two rounds of gauntlet battles and just wanted to finish them as soon as possible.

So he showed no politeness whatsoever, and before the other party could even regain his footing, a deep red flame instantly emanated from his palm.

A fully formed fireball was instantly condensed, carrying a scorching wave of air, and shot out with a roar.

One was sent away.

Immediately afterwards, the last contestant from the Principality of Blackrock took to the stage and unleashed another fully-powered Fireball.

End the battle.

"All four players from the Principality of Blackrock have been eliminated. In the third round of the elimination tournament, the Plantagenet Dynasty emerges victorious!"

Four in a row.

A crushing blow, one through four.

It also includes the popular genre of defeating opponents of higher ranks.

The entire Dragonspine Arena erupted in cheers.

On the dragon claw-shaped platform at the very top of the stands.

This is the VIP area of ​​the stands, where high-ranking mages, nobles, and even high-ranking members of various merchant guilds are seated.

One of the suspended platforms.

A middle-aged monk with a resolute face and a few strands of white at his temples tapped his fingertips lightly on the edge of the table. His gaze fell on Gao De, who was leaving the stage, and his tone was calm but with a hint of certainty: "This kid is not bad."

With his discerning eye, he could naturally see some of Gaode's fundamentals.

To his left was a female monk with a beautiful face, wearing a pure white robe, and appearing to be in her early thirties.

The middle-aged mage was none other than Lake, the military mage of the Silver Dragon Cavalry, while the female mage was Yas, the military mage of the Light Sentinels.

Although the two appear to be much different in age, they are roughly equal in status and position.

"He is a Sea Sentinel Mage. According to tradition, he has priority to join the Light Sentinel." Yas said naturally, her gaze also falling on Gaode.

Upon hearing this, Lake laughed and said, "This kid is good, but he's not at the point where I'd have to compete with you for him."

"What we Silver Dragon Cavalry need are fierce generals who can fight alongside the dragon birds."

This means that, in his eyes, Gao De is not yet considered a formidable player.

Yasi pursed her lips slightly and remained silent.

In her opinion, Gaode Maps is only at a decent level; it's far from amazing.

However, based on his current performance and his background as a Sea Sentinel, he has a high probability of becoming a Light Sentinel under normal circumstances.

It's been a long time since the Sea Sentinels have had a mage enter the Light Sentinels; it would be good if one could enter after so many years.

Their conversation about Gaode ended there, neither particularly interesting nor particularly heated.

"Next is the draw. There's no way to avoid it this round, so we might just draw the Holy Empire," Lake said, changing the subject.

The draw for the quarterfinals is about to begin.

At least in their eyes, this draw was more interesting than any of today's matches.

"Take a look," Yasi nodded.

"He's not as difficult as you say," Gao De said softly as he walked away from the arena and returned to the players' area, passing by Evan.

Evan, beaming with excitement, stepped forward, ready to celebrate with Gao De.

Upon hearing this, he paused, his face stiffening.

Immediately, he gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Gao De.

You want to chase and kill me, huh?

Gaode responded with a polite smile.

With the Golden Flower Dynasty winning three consecutive games, sweeping the Principality of Blackrock 3-0, the round of 16 elimination matches has now concluded.

The tense and exciting lottery process followed immediately.

All eyes were focused on the draw table in the center of the arena.

This draw was indeed quite tense.

Unlike the previous group draw, this time, all eight qualifying teams will be placed in the same draw pool.

Any two teams could potentially meet in the next match.

After a brutal selection process, none of the remaining eight teams are weak.

A clash of titans, a dark horse comeback—anything is possible.

Whether they were players, team leaders, or spectators, everyone stared intently at the draw table, their hearts filled with anticipation and trepidation.

They hope their team will draw a weaker opponent, but are also anxious about accidentally running into a formidable adversary ahead of time.

The drawing of lots followed the old rules, with each team captain personally drawing lots on stage.

The entire process was supervised by three impartial monks to ensure fairness and impartiality at every step and to eliminate any possibility of fraud.

The previously noisy audience seats instantly became much quieter.

Everyone held their breath, eagerly awaiting the next round's matchup list; the air itself was thick with tension.

Liu Ying remained as "domineering" as ever, and before the captains of the other teams could react, she stepped forward and headed towards the drawing table.

Without the slightest hesitation, she reached out and pulled a nameplate from the crystal box.

The plaque was crystal clear, with a strange star pattern engraved on it.

A crescent moon is wrapped around dark green vines, the curve of the moon is soft, and the veins of the vines are clear.

However, the entire pattern is incomplete, missing the other half.

The rules of the draw are as follows: the team that draws the nameplate with the missing half of the pattern will be their opponent in the next round.

After Liu Ying finished drawing her lot, Ellie, the captain of the Holy Empire, followed closely behind and became the second person to step onto the drawing platform.

Amidst the intense attention, she didn't even glance down at the nameplate she had drawn before raising it high to display the result to everyone.

Gao De, with his sharp eyes, was the first to notice the pattern on the nameplate in Ellie's hand.

It was a soaring eagle, its claws gripping light, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the crescent moon entwined with vines in Liu Ying's hand.

Clearly, in this round, the Plantagenet Dynasty did not collide with the Holy Empire in a dramatic fashion.

Gao De hadn't reacted yet, but Alyssa, who was beside him, breathed a long sigh of relief and patted her chest, saying, "That was close!"

"Since the goal is to win the championship, it doesn't matter when we encounter the Holy Empire," Cedric said calmly, standing to the side with a cold expression.

In his view, a true strongman is never afraid of any opponent.

Arya's relief was nothing but a sign of cowardice.

Upon hearing this, Aria pursed her lips, completely unmoved by Cedric's words.

Then, another person stepped forward.

He is Raymond, the captain of the mage team of the Rock City State.

Raymond walked to the crystal lottery box, took a deep breath, and slowly reached out to take out a nameplate from the box.

He first looked down and examined it carefully. His originally calm expression instantly turned somewhat grim, his brows furrowed tightly, and his hand gripping the nameplate unconsciously tightened.

However, Raymond was an elite mage after all, and he quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

He raised the nameplate in his hand with a hint of helplessness, accepting the stares of everyone present.

On the plaque, another eagle with outstretched wings was clearly engraved, its talons also grasping holy light.

It perfectly matches the pattern on the plaque in Ellie Warwick's hand, forming a complete "Eagle Holding Light" design.

That means the Rock City Mage Team's next opponent will be the Holy Empire!

A commotion erupted in the audience.

"My God! The Rock City-State is so unlucky, running into the Holy Empire ahead of schedule!"

"This is it..."

""

"What terrible luck! I thought they could take another step forward—"

Everyone was talking about it, lamenting the bad luck of the Rock City-State, which had run into the Holy Empire.

In the Holy Empire's contestant area, Bai Nord curled his lips into an arrogant smile and said disdainfully, "What bad luck, they actually drew us."

Ellie remained expressionless and unmoved.

It makes no difference to her which opponent she draws.

Raymond slowly walked off the draw platform, his expression still solemn, and returned to the player area of ​​Rock City.

He was met with somewhat complicated looks from his teammates.

However, no one complained; they just patted him on the shoulder silently. Then, the other captains stepped forward to draw lots.