Above the mage

Chapter 749 Stealing a Trick (Part 2)

"You deal with Gaode."

A cool and decisive spiritual transmission suddenly entered Derian's mind.

It was a tactical instruction sent by Olivia through the [Communication] spell.

In a single sentence, the new battle tactics have been finalized.

Olivia, who was locked in a fierce battle with Gareth, still kept a glimpse of the entire arena in her peripheral vision, despite being caught in the heat of the fight.

She had witnessed the entire sequence of events that Gao De had orchestrated, interrupting Delian's attack with a fireball and forcing him to reveal his trump card.

She keenly perceived the fatal flaw in the previous tactics:

They focused solely on head-on confrontations and aggressive attacks on Gareth, completely ignoring the seemingly low-level but actually crucial support core, Gao De, who orchestrated the entire game.

This third-ring mage may seem to be of a lower level, but he possesses extremely strong on-the-spot judgment, spellcasting accuracy, and backup support capabilities.

Every time the defensive line was on the verge of collapse, he relied on precise spell interruption and ice-based terrain modification to steadily lock down Gareth's defensive line.

This extinguished all her opportunities for a breakthrough and indefinitely delayed Linhai City's decisive offensive.

Maintaining the status quo will only result in Gaode providing unlimited support and continuously restraining us.

It would be better to change tactics and have Derian specifically target and entangle Gao De, cutting off the opponent's only support chain.

He would create a temporary one-on-one situation with Gareth, and then overwhelm Gareth with his own combat strength.

Upon receiving the order, Derian's mind immediately sharpened.

This was exactly what he wanted.

The frustration of being forced to reveal his true colors by Gaode Maps had been building up inside him for a long time.

He immediately and decisively shifted his tactical focus, aiming his staff directly at Gao De on the flank.

With a wave of the staff, the [Seven-Colored Jet] burst forth first.

A dazzling, yet deadly, rainbow-colored light exploded from the top of the staff, instantly filling the entire field of vision on Gaode Maps.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—seven colors of magical turbulence collide and rage wildly, with intense light violently assaulting the visual nerves.

It comes with the dual effects of dizziness and confusion.

The attempt was to instantly deprive Gaode of his spellcasting vision, disrupting his smooth magic flow and spellcasting rhythm.

Immediately following, [Secondary Charm to Humans] silently accumulated, and subtle mental manipulation magic entangled the soul, attempting to interfere with Gaode's judgment and decision-making.

Upon seeing this, Gao De's expression turned slightly serious.

The opponent had no tactical baggage and immediately changed tactics as soon as they discovered the weakness, without any hesitation or delay.

He dared not be negligent, and his fingertips rapidly channeled magic, instantly casting a third-level protective spell on himself: [Intelligence Barrier].

An invisible barrier of the soul firmly protects the sea of ​​consciousness, steadily isolating the mental inducement of magic.

At the same time, it stabilizes its own soul foundation and resists the dizzying and disordered effects brought about by the rainbow spray.

Derian's tactical objectives were simple and brutal, yet extremely effective:

The goal is not to instantly defeat the low-level Gaode, but to apply continuous pressure and lock down Gaode's casting space.

This prevented him from focusing on supporting the main battlefield and from carrying out any backup operations.

Gaode, which was being tightly restrained, suddenly felt a surge in pressure.

He had to stay on his nerves the entire time to deal with Derian's relentless attacks, and could not afford to be distracted.

With Gaode completely tied down, the main battleground has completely turned into a one-on-one duel between Olivia and Gareth.

With no worries about the future, Olivia went all out and no longer held back any of her fighting strength.

The water elemental magic surrounding the extraordinary longsword was frantically condensed and layered.

A continuous stream of condensed and sharp water-colored sword energy roared out, repeatedly striking Gareth's protective shield.

Gareth remained steadfast in his defense.

He kept close to Olivia, keeping a close eye on her spellcasting animations and the stiffness of her attacks.

If the opponent makes even the slightest spellcasting move, immediately launch a close-range attack in an attempt to interrupt their spellcasting sequence.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for dozens of rounds.

Finally, Olivia seized the perfect opportunity she had been planning for a long time.

In the instant the sword and hammer clashed, Olivia's extraordinary longsword precisely cut into the slightest opening in the hammer's parry, its blade twisting cunningly as it slashed heavily toward Gareth's hammer-wielding wrist.

In a normal battle, this uncharged melee slash would be completely blocked by Gareth's permanent shield, and would not be able to harm his body at all.

But just as the sword was about to touch the shield, a sudden change occurred!

sizzle.

A fine layer of grayish-white cracks instantly covered the surface of the golden shield.

The originally stable and solidified holy energy barrier cracked and shattered like glass.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a faint sound of magic dissipating.

The protective shield that had guarded Gareth for so long vanished in an instant!

Without the shield to block it, the sword's edge cut through like a whirlwind, fiercely slicing across Gareth's right wrist.

Swish!

The cold, sharp blade sliced ​​through the flesh, and crimson blood splattered out instantly.

Gareth was in excruciating pain; his muscles convulsed violently, and his wrist snapped back and pulled downwards.

He barely avoided fatal injuries thanks to his powerful physical reflexes.

However, a deep, gruesome wound was still slashed across his entire wrist, revealing the bone.

This sudden and deadly combo was Olivia's trump card combat specialty: [Swift Combo].

The instant you hit a target in melee combat with your sword, you can immediately follow up with an instant-cast slash with spell effects.

The spell level cannot be higher than the user's own mage level.

What she added this time was the third-circle spell [Dispel Magic], which directly removed Gareth's persistent shield.

Gareth was in so much pain that he almost dropped his warhammer, let alone stopped Olivia.

Olivia suddenly accelerated, using the speed she gained to completely bypass the defensive gaps like a gust of wind, leaving the injured Gareth behind.

At this moment, Gao De, the only one in the entire arena with the ability to save the day, is deeply trapped in Delian's relentless attacks of illusions and spells, and is unable to spare any effort to come to the aid of the flag tower.

No one in the entire arena could stop her!

Olivia moved with lightning speed, soaring through the sky and landing instantly on the flag platform of the Plantagenet Dynasty.

Her long, slender fingers reached out precisely, firmly grasping the battle flag of the Golden Flower Dynasty, and steadily holding it in her palm.

Flag captured successfully!

She did not linger in the fight; instead, she turned and transformed into a streak of light, heading back at full speed towards her own Linhai City flag tower.

As long as we return to our own territory and plant the flag securely, we can easily secure victory in this round.

High in the sky, Derian, who had been keeping Gao De in check the whole time, was overjoyed at the sight.

All the pent-up frustration from before vanished.

He quickly cast a spell, constructing layers of barriers to hold off the pursuers.

The third-circle [Darkness] spell suddenly spread out, obscuring the view with a vast expanse of darkness.

This is aimed at Gaode Maps, to block Gaode Maps' view and prevent him from pulling any more tricks.

At the same time, the [Spider Web Technique] takes shape in mid-air.

Large swaths of viscous, silvery magic threads crisscrossed and covered the entire pursuit path.

They wrapped around and dragged him, desperately trying to stop Gareth from pursuing them despite his injuries.

After doing all that, Derian, still not feeling secure, cast another round of [Slow] to lock Gareth's pursuit speed.

He devoted all his efforts to building a defensive network, just to hold off the pursuers and buy Olivia the last few seconds to return with the flag.

In the stands, all the spectators who supported Linhai City stood up and cheered.

The shouts echoed throughout the entire cloud-top arena.

On the other hand, the supporters of the Plantagenet dynasty all looked anxious and their eyes were full of resentment.

In everyone's eyes, the battle was already over.

Linhai City made a strong breakthrough and successfully captured the flag.

The pursuers were completely locked down.

Victory was already within reach, and there was no possibility of a comeback.

But just as Olivia crossed the center line of the cloud battlefield, at the critical moment when the outcome seemed to be completely decided.

A dignified, cold referee's voice, piercing through all the noise, suddenly resounded across the battlefield: "In this capture-the-flag match, the Golden Flower Dynasty wins!"

The thunderous cheers from the audience were abruptly cut off.

The entire venue fell into dead silence.

Derian and Olivia were both frozen in place.

His face was filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Almost instinctively, the two stiffly turned their heads, their gazes fixed on the flag platform of the Golden Plantagenet Dynasty.

Tens of thousands of audience members also moved in sync.

Countless gazes focused on that inconspicuous high platform.

All eyes in the stadium were focused on this.

The next second, a scene that overturned everyone's understanding was clearly seen by everyone.

On the flag platform of the Golden Flower Dynasty, the battle flag that should belong to Linhai City was unfurling in the wind, fluttering loudly.

The Plantagenet dynasty's battle flag, which Olivia was clutching tightly in her palm, now looked incredibly glaring and ridiculous.

The battle flag she fought so hard to break through Gareth's defense to seize turned into a joke.

Deathly silence, utter deathly silence.

High in the sky, Horry, who had been holding off Thunderbird Evan with his ultimate defense, suddenly froze.

The taut, mountain-like magic instantly relaxed and dissipated.

The fine rock texture on the surface faded away layer by layer, and the defensive posture that had maintained the entire battle collapsed.

He stood frozen in the clouds, his composure and calmness vanished, replaced by disbelief and disorientation in his eyes.

He stiffly and slowly turned his head, looking at the Linhai City flag stand that he had desperately protected throughout the entire match.

The place was empty; the battle flag that should have stood there had long since vanished.

Horry's mind exploded with a deluge of questions, swirling and refusing to dissipate.

Throughout the entire capture-the-flag battle, Ewen, disguised as a Thunderbird, charged forward with all his might, but was relentlessly suppressed by him from beginning to end.

On the other side, Gode and Gareth were on the defensive the entire time, suppressed by Olivia and Derian on both fronts, and were exhausted from defending.

Throughout the entire battle, neither of them crossed the center line of the battlefield.

Everything is under control.

But the flag they had so carefully guarded was lost.

There was no fourth person on the battlefield.

When was it lost? How was it lost? Who stole it?

This confusion also affected the four contestants besides Gaode, and even covered more than 90% of the audience.

Everyone was stunned by this absurd defeat, unable to comprehend how an overwhelmingly advantageous match could have been reversed so drastically in an instant.

The atmosphere was unusually clear on the dragon claw platform high above the arena.

"That must be Gao De's summoning spell?" The Silver Dragon Cavalry's military mage, Lake, narrowed his eyes slightly.

His gaze pierced through the battlefield mist, locking onto the seemingly ordinary young figure below. He spoke in a low voice: "As from the Light Sentinel and the military mage Lake from the Silver Dragon Cavalry are here to watch the battle again today."

As a top-tier military strategist, he also observes the battle from a god-like perspective.

They couldn't possibly be completely oblivious to the details of the game like ordinary spectators, and could fully grasp the winning strategy of the Golden Flower Dynasty.

Beside her, Yas, the Sentinel of Light, nodded slightly, her clear eyes filled with scrutiny and inquiry, her tone tinged with surprise.

"It's him, but I've never seen this summoning spell before, and the summoned creature seems to be a wind elemental, but its strength far surpasses that of a wind elemental. It's quite peculiar."

"This kid knows so many things," Lake couldn't help but sigh softly.

In just one match, Gao De demonstrated an astonishingly wide range of spell coverage.

"Various but not weak, and proficient in everything," Yasi said.

"At least all the techniques he has shown so far are top-notch among mages of the same level, and are truly practical combat abilities."

"What, has your opinion of him improved again?" Lake turned his head and chuckled, his tone slightly teasing.

"Yes." Yass made no attempt to hide her admiration: "Not only does she know a lot, but she's also incredibly cunning. In other words, she's both brave and resourceful, which perfectly matches the style of our Light Sentinel Army mages."

"What a pity, they might not choose you." Lake turned his head to look at the man who had been standing silently beside him, teasing him deliberately.

"Right, Xiao Lai? It's rare for someone as busy as you to take the time to come to the stadium to watch the game. Looks like you're here for this kid too."

Today, there is a third person on this dragon claw platform.

Xiao Lai, from the vanguard of justice.

In response to Lake's teasing, he slowly spoke, his voice deep and resonant: "The Grand Duke has said that if Gao De can maintain his position in the top twenty of the combat power rankings after this Peerless Magic Tournament, he can choose to join any of our three major military mage organizations."

Xiao Lai glanced down at the arena and added casually, "In other words, he also has the right to choose the Vanguard of Justice."

"Of course I have to come and see for myself what level this young mage is that warrants the Grand Duke using his own quota."

"Don't overthink it," Lake said with a smirk.

"He was originally a Sea Sentinel, and with the Grand Duke personally protecting him, if he really had to choose, he would most likely be one of us Silver Dragon Cavalry or Light Sentinels, not you Vanguard of Justice."

Xiao Lai nodded slightly, readily acknowledging the situation.

This is a fact.

From any perspective, among the three major military mage organizations, the Vanguard of Justice ranks the lowest for Gaode.

The reason he came to watch the game today was that he had some free time during a break from his mission.

Moreover, this Musou Magic Fighting Tournament has recently gained considerable momentum and can be considered a decent form of entertainment.

Secondly, it's his personality; even if he knows the chances are slim, he'll take it seriously as long as it's not completely impossible.

"Are you alright?" Fritz rushed over as soon as Gao De, Gareth, and Evan left the field, treating Gareth's injured wrist while asking him what was wrong.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury," Gareth replied instinctively.

Simple skin wounds are nothing to a mage; a single healing spell can almost completely heal them.

After confirming that Gareth was indeed alright and could finish his treatment during the rest period without affecting his participation in the next game, Fritz turned to look at God.

"Well done!" he exclaimed, making no attempt to hide his delight.

As the team leader, he had a complete grasp of every detail and knew better than anyone who was quietly in control of the overall situation and single-handedly created this reversal.

"Is it Gaode Maps?"

Only now, still reeling from the battle, did Gareth and Evan finally snap out of their daze.

The two turned their heads and looked at Gao De beside them with utter disbelief.

Gao De nodded slightly and smiled, "While their attention was focused on the main battlefield, we stole a piece of their territory."

"How did you do that?!" Evan, who was in charge of the surprise attack to capture the flag, couldn't contain his curiosity and asked with wide eyes.

"It's a summoned creature," Feng Lin explained to Evan.

Gaode nodded.

Yes, it was his summoned creatures that carried out the flag-stealing and turned the tide of battle.

More accurately, it's Boeing, the soul of the second-stage storm.

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