Above the mage

Chapter 748 Unexpected Tactics

After a brief moment of surprise, Olivia's gaze quickly hardened.

She no longer insisted on confronting the strange, indestructible ice wall head-on.

Suddenly, the pale blue aura beneath her feet surged, and her speed increased once more.

With a twist of its body, it transformed into a fleeting afterimage, swiftly moving along the side of the crystal-clear ice wall.

Olivia attempted to bypass the barrier and head straight for the flag platform behind it.

At this moment, the two-way battle across the entire cloud battlefield has entered a white-hot stage.

High in the sky, Derian, who had been saved by Horry, finally broke free from the erosion of the lightning energy.

The lingering paralysis from the Thunderbirds' attack has subsided.

This violent lightning strike was like a bucket of cold water waking him from his dazed state of mind, completely washing away the resentment and anxiety that had arisen from Gao De breaking his spell.

He hovered high above the clouds, his gaze sweeping over the entire scene like that of an eagle, regaining the absolute calmness and meticulousness of an elite battle mage.

We can't let Evan get entangled with us.

The reason they chose to focus on offense in this game is that, in their view, the core of capture the flag game has never been passive defense.

Holding fast to the flag can only guarantee not being defeated, but it cannot guarantee victory.

To win, you must capture the flag and attack!

The Golden Flower Dynasty's flag-defending lineup was nothing more than a combination of three-ring Gao De and four-ring Gareth.

With one auxiliary and one defensive system, it seems solid, but Gaode Maps in the three rings is ultimately a weak point.

Now that the battle situation is clear, he absolutely cannot allow himself to be entangled in Evan's Thunderbird form and become a useless fighting force.

Once he breaks free from the distraction, he can descend into the battlefield and join Olivia's offensive ranks.

This would create a situation where two elite fourth-ring players could overwhelmingly defeat the enemy's first and third-ring players and first and fourth-ring players.

The advantage lies with me!

This tactic of switching between offense and defense and making targeted breakthroughs is a winning strategy that they have repeatedly rehearsed and finalized before the game.

Without any on-the-spot communication, the three of them already had a tacit understanding.

The advantage lies with me!

Horry has already stepped out from the flag platform.

His body was surrounded by a thick, solid, earth-yellow magical aura.

Layer upon layer of [Stone Skin Technique] solidifies the entire body, with fine and solid rock-like patterns on the skin, maximizing the body's defense.

At the same time, the exclusive resistance spell [Protective Energy: Lightning] instantly buffs the entire body.

This method is specifically designed to counter the Thunderbird's lightning power, completely negating the penetrating and paralyzing effects of lightning.

The preparations are complete.

The clouds beneath Hori's feet burst open, and his figure soared into the air like a dragon breaking through the earth.

Without dodging or avoiding, it charged headlong into Evan, whose wings were flapping and lightning was raging in mid-air.

The thunderbird that Evan had transformed into was filled with boundless fighting spirit, its wings flapping wildly, and crackling lightning filled the sky.

They launched repeated, fierce attacks, tearing and slashing.

But Horry's defense was rock solid.

Earth magic naturally counters the spread and penetration of lightning elements, with layers of shields constantly buffering and offsetting the impact of lightning.

[Stone Skin Technique] withstood the blows of flesh and claws, and no matter how fierce Evan's lightning and attacks were, he could not tear apart his absolute defense.

In the blink of an eye, Evan was locked down in the high-altitude airspace by Horry.

All routes of advance were blocked, resulting in a stalemate of one-sided fighting.

Taking advantage of this excellent opportunity, Derian completely broke free from airspace entanglement.

He bypassed the preoccupied Thunderbird Evan, his figure transforming into a purple shadow as he swept across the center of the battlefield, rushing to the front lines to provide full support to Olivia, who was making her attack.

Instead of using large-scale illusions that consume a lot of energy and take a long time to cast, Derian resorted to more convenient and practical spells.

[Slowness Technique] is formed first.

Countless invisible magical threads, as fine as hair, pierced through the air and silently wrapped around Gareth's limbs and body.

These magical threads do not generate any impact force, but they will stick tightly to the points where the human muscles exert force.

The body movements are constantly dragged, and the rhythm of raising the hand to cast spells is slowed down.

The moment the spell weakens and takes shape, the illusion [Mind Tremor] follows immediately.

The subtle, chilling mental disturbances, like countless icy needles, pierced Gareth's very soul.

This illusion does not create visual illusions, nor does it produce a violent mental impact.

It only breeds restlessness, confusion, and mental disorder at the subconscious level.

It is specifically designed to disrupt the spellcaster's mental state and create fleeting openings in the spellcasting process.

Fortunately, Gao De's tactical foresight was extremely strong. Early in the game, he had already given Gareth a three-ring protective spell, [Intelligence Barrier].

An invisible and intangible barrier of the soul firmly enveloped Gareth's soul, like a clear and solid glass wall, isolating the subtle mental disturbances of [Mental Tremors] from the outside.

Olivia had successfully swum to the side of the ice wall.

She found the perfect angle to flank and break through from behind.

But just as she was about to use the force to lift herself up and clear the ice wall, an unbelievable scene suddenly occurred.

The seemingly solidified and lifeless ice wall, which had been completely shaped, came to life under Gao De's precise magical control.

The sides of the entire ice wall are rapidly stretched, vertically raised, and horizontally widened.

Layer upon layer of ice instantly blocked all gaps around the enemy.

He once again erected an impenetrable ice wall, firmly blocking Olivia's advance.

This brief obstruction was fleeting, buying Gareth the crucial time to make a comeback.

Gareth suppressed the subtle agitation in his mind, cleared his mind of all distractions, and gripped the extraordinary steel warhammer tightly with both hands.

The runes engraved on the hammer suddenly shone brightly with golden light, and a vast and powerful magical force surged out from the hammer, condensing into a blazing golden arc.

He strode forward, his body as steady as a rock, and swept his hammer horizontally with overwhelming force, striking directly at Olivia.

Olivia knew there was no way to avoid it, so she had to temporarily abandon her brilliant plan to capture the flag by going around the wall.

Her wrists moved swiftly, her five fingers gripping the hilt of the extraordinary longsword. The runes on the sword instantly lit up with a shimmering blue light, and she precisely blocked the attack in front of her.

clang!!!

The deafening clang of metal clashing rang out once again.

The magical shockwave spread out in a ring, stirring up a flurry of clouds.

Using the powerful recoil from the collision, Olivia lightly leaped back several feet in the air, landing steadily and once again locked in a close-quarters stalemate with Gareth.

The hard-won opportunity to break through was completely wiped out by Gao De's incredibly resilient ice wall.

But Olivia felt no frustration or anxiety whatsoever.

Her assessment of the battlefield situation was extremely clear.

Even though one wave of attacks was blocked, the overall battle situation still firmly tilted in favor of Linhai City, and the advantage did not change hands.

With his fourth-circle mage background, Derian continuously refreshed the negative spell effects of [Slow], [Mind Tremor], and other spells.

One wave of negative spells after another piled up and continued to wash away the negative effects.

His true suppressive and deadly move is his fourth-ring specialization, [Illusionary Spell Intertwining].

This is a combat specialty that perfectly fits his combat system.

When he applies both illusionary perturbation and spell debuff to a single target, the two negative effects resonate powerfully and amplify each other.

The corrosive power of the spell will continuously erode the target's mental resistance, greatly weakening their illusion immunity.

On the front lines, Olivia quickly regrouped and restarted the stacking cycle of [Sword Singer's Dance].

A perfect loop of sharp swordsmanship, instant-cast low-level spells, and ultimate movement techniques.

Each melee hit reduces spell casting time, and each spell cast increases melee power.

The movement speed and attack speed are stacked layer by layer between alternations.

Her attacks became increasingly fierce, her swordplay more and more ruthless, and her overall combat prowess visibly increased.

Although Gareth did not know the specific mechanics of the [Sword Singer's Dance] skill, he had keenly sensed the general pattern of Olivia getting stronger as the fight went on, based on his rich combat experience over the years.

If she is allowed to maintain this continuous offensive of alternating sword techniques, it will not be long before her opponent breaks through her defenses again and recreates the opportunity to break through.

His eyes flashed with a sharp light. Just as Olivia finished her sword technique and was about to unleash the [Water Blade] spell, Gareth seized the fleeting opening in the spell's casting animation.

He abandoned brute force and instead used his warhammer to strike precisely, taking advantage of the close-quarters combat distance to sweep it heavily towards Olivia's body.

In close combat, Olivia had naturally already cast protective spells on herself.

Gareth's hammer strike was not charged up and was clearly insufficient in power, definitely not enough to break through the defense.

however.

hum!

The magical energy suddenly exploded.

Olivia's incantation faltered instantly, and the spell that was about to take shape dissipated and missed its target.

A subtle surge of magical energy reversed and irritated her meridians, causing her arm to go slightly numb. Gareth precisely and forcefully interrupted the rhythm of her long-prepared, continuous attack.

Olivia's expression changed slightly; she hadn't expected Gareth to possess such a bizarre ability.

This is where Gareth's third-circle feat, [Spellbreaker], comes into play: when a melee attack hits an enemy who is casting a spell, there is a chance to interrupt their spellcasting.

If the interruption is successful, the enemy will be unable to cast the same spell for a short period of time and will suffer a small amount of magic backlash damage.

In terms of melee burst damage, Gareth, wielding a heavy hammer and leaning towards defense, is far inferior to Olivia, who specializes in charging and killing.

The core competitiveness of melee mages lies in breaking through the enemy's defenses quickly and instantly killing their opponents.

Defense may seem practical, but frankly, it just makes you more vulnerable to being beaten up.

It's effective against flesh-type leyline creatures in the wild, but in a duel between top mages, mere physical defense is unlikely to change the course of the battle.

But with [Spellbreaker], Gareth possesses the core competitiveness of a melee mage.

Once he gets close enough to entangle you, the risk of your opponent casting spells increases exponentially.

From the flank high in the air, Derian, who had been keeping a close eye on the battlefield the whole time, saw that Olivia's offensive was being thwarted and immediately prepared to apply full pressure.

After this short period of continuous harassment, his [Illusionary Curse Intertwining] had accumulated enough layers on Gareth.

As long as we unleash our trump card and work with Olivia, we can surely achieve victory in one strike.

He's about to unleash the [Phantom Assassin] technique.

Fourth-circle spells, without any physical damage, can strike at the target's deepest subconscious fears, creating a unique and deadly illusion that triggers intense mental terror and excruciating pain.

A surge of magical energy rose from Derian's staff, instantly turning the surrounding air cold and stagnant, with subtle mental fluctuations silently permeating the space.

This is a deadly, hidden attack that targets the mind; conventional physical and elemental shields are completely ineffective against it, making it a perfect counter to melee mages like Gareth.

On the flank of the battlefield, Gao De, who had been keeping a close eye on everything and responding to every move, instantly caught the intense magical fluctuations surging from Derian's hand.

Although he couldn't accurately predict what kind of spell it was, he knew from the stagnant and oppressive atmosphere of the space that it was definitely a killing move that could turn the tide of the battle.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gao De raised his hand, and a surge of intense flames suddenly erupted from his palm.

His signature spell, [Heart of Ember - Fireball+], can be instantly charged and formed.

This spell has been tested on Captain Blackrock and is powerful enough to pose a threat to a fourth-ring mage.

Compared to [Spell Counterspell], it is a faster and more direct way to violently interrupt spells:

You either take my fireball head-on, or you obediently give up casting your spell.

With an astonishingly fast casting speed, a fiery red fireball, carrying devastating explosive heat, crashed down on Derian, who was focused on channeling [Phantom Killer].

Facing the scorching fireball that arrived in an instant, Derian's expression suddenly changed slightly.

He had anticipated that Gaode's reaction speed was terrifying and its judgment in switching targets on the battlefield was so accurate.

In the brief interval between the two lines of combat, it was able to instantly lock onto himself, who was just about to cast a spell. The casting animation of a high-level spell was precise and lengthy, so Derian dared not risk forcing the spell to be cast.

He had no choice but to immediately cut off the magic channeling and shift his body to the right, barely dodging the fireball attack.

The phantom of fear that had already infiltrated Gareth's soul instantly dissipated.

Despite the failed attempt, he felt little sense of defeat.

This was merely a test of pressure, and its failure to achieve its intended effect was not a major problem.

After this test, Derian completely understood Gao De's on-the-spot level and no longer dared to take chances, so he stood still and prepared to cast his spell.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he once again unleashed his signature illusion technique, [Silent Illusion].

This time, he no longer simulated enemy figures to confuse the battlefield, but instead focused all his illusionary energy on himself.

A dozen or so phantoms, identical in form, aura, and spellcasting movements to his own, appeared out of thin air and surrounded his main body in layers.

All the phantoms maintained the same casting posture, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake, and they all shared the same origin.

His intention was extremely clear: to use the numerous illusions of himself to conceal his true form and confuse his target, thus gaining valuable time to cast his own spells.

Previously, Gaud was deeply trapped in the illusion, and only at the crucial moment did he "barely" manage to create ice to stop Olivia. This made Derian certain that it would take Gaud a lot of time to break his illusion.

But he was completely unaware of how much Gao De's Mandora's Eye countered his move.

What appears as a myriad of illusions, indistinguishable from reality to outsiders, is revealed to be as naked as Mandora's piercing vision.

The numerous illusory figures were nothing more than wisps of thin magical smoke.

Only one solid, heavy, and pure magical trajectory was clearly exposed in Gaode's field of vision.

While Derian was hiding in the illusion and recasting his spell, the flames in God's palm blazed brighter once more.

Without aiming or testing, the second [Heart of Ember - Fireball+] was instantly cast.

The blazing, scorching fireball, carrying explosive power condensed to the extreme, precisely locked onto Derian's true form, hidden among numerous illusions.

The flames arrived in an instant, leaving no chance to escape!

Derian's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart trembled violently. He couldn't understand how God had locked onto his true form, but he had no time to think about it.

The confidence on his face instantly turned into a disheveled expression.

Overconfident, he didn't have time to recast the spell and, in this critical moment, could only activate the pre-inscribed life-saving spell in his staff: [Fire Shield].

A layer of crimson, scorching flames instantly covered his entire body.

The formed fire shield can effectively isolate and buffer elemental blast damage.

The next second, the ultimate fireball spell, with its devastating power, slammed into the flame shield.

A deafening explosion erupted, engulfing the entire phantom area in flames.

A violent shockwave of magical energy swept across the area, shattering and annihilating several phantom figures.

Thanks to this protective spell, Derian survived unharmed.

However, the terrifying impact energy carried by the fireball could not be completely neutralized, and the real force was transmitted through the shield to the whole body.

The impact caused him to stagger and his magical power to fluctuate, completely missing the best opportunity to cast a second spell.

The decisive offensive, poised to be launched, was aborted before it even began.

What troubled Derian even more was that the number of spells inscribed within the staff was strictly limited, serving as a pre-prepared emergency trump card.

The brief breaks during the competition were simply not enough to allow for a re-recording.

He had originally planned to keep it in mind, in preparation for a more intense situation in the upcoming matches.

Unexpectedly, in the first capture-the-flag battle, he was forced to use his life-saving spell prematurely.

Moreover, it was forced out by a three-ring spell.

This situation, which felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, left Derian feeling extremely frustrated.

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