Above the mage

Chapter 772 Ice VS Wolf

"Gold comes from the Duchy of Sien, which borders the Northern Frontier, separated only by the Erwinray Mountains."

"During the Middle Ages, some members of the Ace tribe crossed the Erwinaya Mountains, left the North, and left behind a branch of their bloodline in the outside world."

"The Iceborn bloodline of Gaode must have been left behind by those people." Lady Wang Mian's research on magic was not as good as Richard's, but relying on her extensive knowledge of ancient history, she instantly filled in the gaps in the geographical context.

"But over the years, under normal circumstances, the bloodline in the descendants of those Ace people would have long been diluted to the point of being imperceptible."

"He's actually able to awaken a bloodline specialization, and it seems his bloodline purity is extremely high; he's quite lucky," Lady Wang Mian said calmly.

Although the probability of bloodline mutation or sudden reversion to ancestral traits is small, it is inevitable if the base number is large enough.

Lady Wang Mian did not find anything unreasonable about it.

Her tone was flat, without much surprise.

For most people, the extremely pure Iceborn bloodline is enough to make them look at them with great respect or even feel envious and jealous.

After all, the Iceborn mages are one of the origins of mages in the mage plane.

But in Lady Wang Mian's eyes, it was nothing.

Even if the Iceborn bloodline was noble, that was in ancient times.

In this world, the bloodline of the Yanwangmian family is one of the most noble bloodlines among mages.

"This is interesting," Richard said softly, his interest growing stronger.

Both the Iceborn and Wolfborn clans reside in the North and have long been regarded as the two great powers of the North.

The Aesir control the icy lands, while the Vikings roam the wilderness.

The Iceborn are known for their unique ice elemental magic, while the Wolfborn are known for their powerful barbarian combat art and unique berserker magic.

The two sides have always been at odds with each other, and there have been frequent conflicts in the past.

The saying "two tigers cannot share one mountain" is a universally applicable principle.

However, most of the time, thanks to the unique ice elemental environment of the North, the Iceborn have the upper hand over the Wolfborn.

However, if we disregard the environment, it's really hard to say which one is stronger.

Now, surprisingly, outside the Northern Territory, the finals of the Unparalleled Magic Fighting Tournament are once again witnessing a clash between the Iceborn and the Wolfborn.

To some extent, this also seems to verify whether, disregarding geographical environment, the Iceborn or the Wolfborn are stronger.

Although Ellie is no longer a true Northern wolf in the conventional sense, her bloodline has clearly mutated, making her more unpredictable.

In the center of the field, Ellie, kneeling on one knee in the snow, slowly raised her head.

Snowflakes pelted her cheeks, but she was completely unaware.

She was angry.

It wasn't Gao De's cunning tactics and spells that angered him, but rather his own repeated defeats, being repeatedly suppressed and severely injured by a third-ring mage.

The pride ingrained in the bones of an elite mage of the empire was shattered.

Bloodshot veins spread from the whites of her eyes, and in an instant, Ellie's eyes turned completely red.

The dormant wolf nature awakens.

Anger made her stronger.

Anger breeds power; this is a core bloodline trait shared by all wolf descendants.

.

They can temporarily deplete their physical and magical energy through rage in exchange for a surge in all-around combat power.

Even though Ellie is different from the orthodox werewolf clan in the conventional sense, she still retains these basic but core werewolf traits completely.

Her body tensed up suddenly, like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

She opened her mouth and exhaled a long, stale breath.

This breath was not the white mist commonly seen in snowstorms; its temperature was unusually scorching.

It evaporates the surrounding air moisture directly as it passes by, leaving behind a fleeting, transparent trail.

Immediately afterwards, a layer of dark red mucus began to seep out from the pores all over her body.

It was blood, but thicker than normal blood, with a texture like melted amber.

The blood begins to slowly coagulate the moment it comes into contact with air, forming a thin, blood-red film on the skin's surface.

A blood film covered her entire body.

The frozen wounds, enveloped in a blood film, began to emit a faint red glow.

The sharp edges of the ice crystals melted in the red light, turning into equally dark red vapor that seeped into the blood membrane.

Her wounds closed at a visible speed, and the muscles that had been eroded by the cold became full and strong again.

"Werewolf transformation." Richard said softly upon seeing this, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Compared to the Iceborn, the outside world has a much more complete understanding and record of the Wolfborn.

Compared to the Iceborn, who live in seclusion year-round, rely on the extreme cold environment for survival, and rarely set foot in the heart of the continent, the Wolfborn are active throughout the Mage Plane.

Therefore, the bloodline information and battle records that have been preserved are complete and detailed, and mainland mages are far more familiar with them than with the Iceborn.

Wolfification is arguably the trump card of wolf-born mages.

In wolf form, their bodies enter a berserk mode, with all attributes such as speed, strength, stamina, resistance, and recovery increasing.

The price is that in wolf form, the wolf-born mage will enter a state of madness, lose some of their rationality, and be dominated by their primal bestial instincts.

Furthermore, this berserk wolf-like mode depletes the body's physical strength and energy.

Therefore, each time he uses wolf form, he falls into an extremely weak state and needs at least ten days of rest to recover his strength.

"The captain actually used wolf transformation!" In the Holy Empire contestant area, the Holy Empire mage made no attempt to hide his shock.

Before coming to Mithril City as a team, they, like the mage team of the Golden Flower Dynasty, organized a training camp, which included internal mage duels.

In this segment, Ellie effortlessly defeated them all, and none of them forced her to transform into a wolf.

Now, this extremely costly trump card has been forced out by a third-ring mage.

The difference in skill and the pressure of the battle are immediately apparent.

Gao De's pupils suddenly contracted.

His understanding of the wolf race was far less thorough than that of Richard or Ellie's teammates.

However, Mandora's Demon Eye remained open throughout, allowing him to clearly "see" the surging bloodline power within Ellie's body.

Like a boiling red torrent, it was expanding and surging, containing terrifying power.

Ellie looked up.

A thin film of blood covering her entire body formed a slightly grotesque pattern on her face.

The blood film around the eye socket was exceptionally thick, appearing as a dark red that was almost jet black.

This made his eyes, which had turned completely scarlet, appear even more terrifying.

She opened her mouth, her tongue sweeping across the corner of her lips, licking away a trickle of blood seeping from her gums.

The action carried a primal, undisguised ferocity.

Like a wild beast that has just caught the scent of blood, it is pinpointing the location of its prey.

She no longer cares about the cost; she just wants to win as soon as possible.

Gaode's endless tricks and repeated provocations are gradually wearing down her patience.

That super fireball spell just now gave her a clear signal:

If she continues to fight in the conventional way, treating Gaode as a third-circle mage rather than a formidable opponent, she will only suffer more losses.

This time, she will not give Gaode any chance to maneuver or backtrack.

An extremely strong stench of blood emanated from her body, spreading outwards like an invisible curtain.

The smell had a certain indescribable sweetness, like the odor of old blood slowly fermenting in a damp environment.

Most terrifyingly, the plants on the slope beneath her feet, covered in snow from Gaode's [Snowstorm], took on an abnormal dark red sheen the moment the blood mist spread, and then withered and shrank at a visible speed.

Blood poison!

It was the blood poison that had crippled Cedric and Feng Lin's fighting abilities in the previous duel.

Before Ellie's wolf form is activated, her blood poison can only be applied through physical attacks from her claws.

After transforming into a wolf, the blood poison is released in its entirety.

She stood there, and the air within ten feet of her was tinged with a faint dark red glow.

With each breath, visible blood-red particles seeped from her pores and blended into the surrounding environment.

Within this range, any living creature that breathes will have its lungs invaded by the blood toxins.

As long as the skin is exposed to air, blood toxins can penetrate the pores and enter the bloodstream.

This is equivalent to Ellie becoming a walking source of poison.

She doesn't even need to attack proactively; as long as she gets close to the enemy, she can severely injure them with the blood poison she releases at all times.

Ellie's figure disappeared into the blood mist.

Without any muscle tension or pre-starting motion, it started up silently.

Her figure left a dark red trail as she moved at high speed, her whole being like a blood-red hunting arrow coated with deadly poison, ignoring the wind and snow, and piercing straight for Gao De's vital throat.

Fast, too fast!

Ellie, now a wolf, is moving incredibly fast.

As they approached the scene, most of the audience's eyes went out of focus, and they could only catch a fleeting glimpse of the bloody afterimage.

In the blink of an eye, Ellie rushed to within three feet of God, only half a step away from his vitals.

At such close range, the Ice Wall spell simply doesn't have time to be cast.

laugh!

The sharp, venomous wolf claws, accompanied by a whistling sound as they tore through the air, viciously clawed at Gao De's throat.

The blood-poisonous mist wrapped around the claw tip almost touched Gao De's neck skin.

The expected scene of flesh being torn apart did not appear; the claws merely ripped apart a wisp of silvery-white mist that remained in place, leaving nothing behind.

During the precious gap in her dash, God completed the channeling of [Stealth Step+].

Using this teleportation technique, he appeared behind Ellie, dodging the claw attack.

But Gao De was perfectly clear-headed.

【Stealth Step+】 has a limited displacement distance and a fixed casting animation.

He was now completely within Ellie's melee attack range. There was no need for her to advance any further, and he no longer had any time to cast spells to release a second displacement spell to escape.

Therefore, when Ellie missed her attack and searched for his landing point, God did not choose to run away or retreat.

He quickly activated the spell model, and with the help of Leomon's magical energy channels, he cast three spells in succession to bless himself.

The three blessing spells were completed in less than a breath.

Gao De was surrounded by three distinct halos: a slightly yellow, resilient glow; a copper-red, powerful sheen; and a silver-gray, agile aura.

The three substances briefly intertwined on his body surface before merging into his skin and disappearing.

The Bear's Resilience, the Ox's Strength, and the Cat's Elegance.

This is a blessing for the physical body.

The three-colored halo flashed briefly before seeping into the skin and flesh, leaving no trace of its spiritual light leaking out.

Under the influence of the spell, Gaode's muscles became thicker and more stable.

The connective tissue under the skin gains extra resilience in a short period of time, making it able to withstand higher-intensity impacts.

Grip strength, arm strength, and explosive power have all improved, and the joints throughout the body have become more flexible than ever before, with reaction speed and body coordination improving in tandem.

But this is far from enough.

Dark brown, bark-like veins spread from the neck and arms to the surface of the entire body, hardening the skin to cover the whole body... [Tree Skin Technique].

By this time, Ellie had already located Gaode's position, quickly turned back, and attacked again.

Gao De remained unmoved, focusing intently on casting the spell.

A layer of almost invisible transparent ice film covered his entire body, the coldness contained within but not leaking out... [Armor of Aegasis].

Finally, there's [Mage Armor+], which can reflect some physical damage.

hiss!

Ellie's wolf claws tore through the air, heading straight for his face, the attack ruthless and merciless.

"Too slow!" Gao De smiled slightly as he faced the oncoming crimson claw shadows.

His figure disappeared from the spot again, reappearing where the silvery-white mist had been.

The moment he appeared, Gao De clenched his right hand in the air beside him, and pure, refined ice magic surged and gathered.

A long, straight, and crystal-clear ice sword instantly took shape.

A thin layer of frost and white mist lingered around the edge of the sword, its chilling aura contained and not ostentatious.

【Frost Sword】.

The next moment, the surface of the blade first showed a faint reddish-brown glow.

Then came a very faint hum, which was the vibration caused by the additional gravity being poured into the sword.

Dual weapon enchantments have been applied simultaneously.

【Bloodstained Face】 and 【Heavy Blade+】.

The former gives the ice sword the ability to inflict terrible wounds on the target's forehead.

In addition to the normal hit effect, the holder can create a bloody wound on the target's forehead, causing bleeding damage.

The latter means that each swing of the sword carries an impact force exceeding its own weight.

It is easier to deflect the opponent's weapon when blocking, and it is easier to make the opponent lose balance when attacking, causing greater damage.

As the two blessings were completed, during the brief interval when Ellie turned back again, Gao De raised his left hand, his fingertips pointing in Ellie's direction.

An almost invisible streak of light shot out from his fingertips and adhered to Ellie's body.

【Hunter's Mark+】.

The full set of melee buffs, weapon enchantments, and targeted markings are applied seamlessly, with smooth casting transitions and no lag whatsoever.

But after a series of actions, no matter how fast he cast the spell, Ellie, who had turned back, had already reached him.

A deadly claw strike, imbued with blood venom and wolf-like brute force, was imminent.

Gao De smoothly swung his ice sword diagonally upwards to meet the dark red wolf claws.

It's not a parry, but a sword technique starting stance that uses the opponent's force to deflect their attack.

"clang!"

The moment the ice sword clashed with the wolf claws, a crisp clanging sound exploded in the air.

Gao De's wrist sank, and the enormous impact traveled along the sword to his forearm.

The combined power of the "Bull's Strength" and the "Cat's Elegance" allowed him to barely withstand the force for that instant, though his wrist was still slightly numb.

However, he was not thrown away by the force. Using the momentum of the claw strike, he nimbly slid half a step to the side, perfectly dissipating most of the impact.

With a flick of his wrist, the ice sword's trajectory seamlessly changed direction, dodging the wolf claw's edge. The sword tip, precise and cunning, pierced directly at Ellie's vulnerable armpit.

The angle, the force, and the timing of the move are all impeccable.

This is by no means the crude moves that a mage casually throws out, but rather swordsmanship that has undergone systematic training, with the angle and force of each strike demonstrating a solid foundation.

Outside the stadium, a huge uproar erupted, with a cacophony of heated discussion spreading like wildfire.

In the Holy Empire's player section, Viola, who had been calmly watching the match, finally couldn't help but gasp upon seeing this scene: "Isn't he a turret mage?!"

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