Ian’s gaze hardened. He knew he couldn’t take this head-on.
"Yang Fla!" A bright white ray shot out from his left index finger.
The [Focusing] effect condensed the ray until it was as fine as a needle, while the [Yang Fla] effect imbued the white light with a sacred, golden-red hue!
HISS...!
The ray accurately struck the convergence point of three tentacles directly in front of him, unleashing its high temperature and Purification properties at the sa ti!
AARGH...!
The tentacles let out a pained howl as if they were alive, and the point of impact instantly carbonized and crumbled.
The residual Yang Fla Energy crept up the tentacles. Wherever it passed, the crimson color faded, leaving behind a charred, withered black.
But the other tentacles were already upon him.
"Freeze!"
An ice-blue ray burst from his right index finger. The [Deep Tie] effect didn’t just chill the surface; it madly invaded the tentacles’ internal structures.
CRACKLE...!
Seven or eight tentacles were frozen into ice sculptures less than three feet from Ian, then shattered from their own forward montum.
But there were more! So many more!
"Energy Barrier: Full Open!"
Ian barked a low command. The main crystal barrier instantly expanded to cover his entire body, while the six Floating Crystal Guards spun wildly to block the assault.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG...!
The dense barrage of impacts sounded like a torrential downpour on an iron sheet.
The crystal barrier trembled violently, cracks spreading across it at a visible rate. One after another, the Floating Crystal Guards shattered.
’The gap is too wide!’
A casual attack from an Official Wizard required Ian to use his full strength to defend.
And yet, Blood Leech could unleash such attacks at will, seemingly without any preparation.
KAW...!
Gaga suddenly shrieked from his breast pocket.
It wasn’t through their Soul Link, but a real, piercing caw!
The sound was sharp and ear-piercing, carrying a Penetration Power that struck the very Soul.
At the sa ti, it flew out of the pocket, its body instantly swelling in mid-air to a wingspan of three ters.
Its eyes erupted with a thick, gray light that shot straight toward Blood Leech.
On Eye!
Blood Leech’s movents faltered for a fraction of a second.
He wasn’t frozen, but it was as if he had suddenly been plunged into a state of sluggishness. The Spiritual Link he used to control the tentacles fell into montary disarray.
That one instant!
A cold glint flashed in Ian’s eyes.
"Bipolar: Ice and Fire Spiral!"
His left hand glowed ice-blue, his right a brilliant white, and in an instant, three rays of light were generated.
Three feet from his body, they spiraled and entwined, rging into a single drill of interweaving Ice and Fire that tore through the air, aid straight for Blood Leech’s chest!
This ti, he held nothing back, frantically pouring his fully Vaporized Spiritual Power into the attack!
[Focusing], [Yang Fla], [Deep Tie]—all effects at maximum!
Where the drill of light passed, the air was ionized, leaving the acrid sll of ozone.
Frost ford in its wake on the left, while flas ignited on the right. The bizarre spectacle of ice and fire coexisting made space itself seem to twist!
Blood Leech’s pupils contracted violently.
’This attack... its Power has completely reached the level of a Level One Witchcraft.’
’How could this be an Apprentice?!’
"Blood Leech: Molt!"
He shrieked, and the black robe on his body suddenly exploded, revealing a pale, blood-streaked body underneath.
In the instant before the drill of light struck, his skin peeled itself off like a living creature and flew backward.
PFFT... BOOM!!!
The light drill hit the shed "skin," and the Ice and Fire Energy erupted wildly.
The human skin was instantly blasted into a sky-wide mist of blood, half of it carbonized and charred, the other half frozen into icy slag!
But Blood Leech’s true body had already retreated a hundred feet away. The blood-red patterns on his naked upper body writhed even faster, but his expression was incredibly grim.
He looked down at his chest. Although he had used a Substitution Technique to dodge the fatal blow, the aftershock from the drill’s edge had still grazed him.
A wound of intermingled char and frost marred his left breast. It was a ss of mangled flesh and blood, and one could even see his slightly blackened ribs.
What shocked and enraged him even more was the residual golden-red Yang Fla Energy at the wound. It was like a cancer clinging to his bones, burning away his flesh and Magic Power.
The Purification effect of [Yang Fla] was causing the Bloodline Energy in his body to stagnate.
"Purification properties... Who in the world are you?!"
Blood Leech’s voice was no longer playful, but filled with shocked suspicion and fury.
This kind of Power, which suppressed Bloodline and Dark Elent abilities, was absolutely not sothing a common Apprentice could master.
Ian didn’t answer.
His breathing was slightly ragged. That last attack had consud nearly twenty percent of his Spiritual Power.
But the effect was significant... he had broken through the opponent’s Energy Force Field and inflicted real damage.
More importantly, he had gauged Blood Leech’s true capabilities.
’Not a complete Level One Wizard...’
’He’s one of the ’worst kind of Wizards,’ who used so Secret Technique to forcibly condense an Energy Force Field. In essence, he’s still an Apprentice, his combat power just barely reaching the threshold of a Wizard.’
Though his mind was racing, Ian’s actions didn’t stop.
"Gaga, harass him! Don’t fight him head-on!"
"Understood, kaw!"
Gaga’s body shrank once more, turning into a black bolt of lightning that zipped across the sky above the swamp.
From ti to ti, it would shoot out a Wind Blade or a ray of gray light. Although they couldn’t cause any substantial damage, they forced Blood Leech to divide his attention.
The paralyzing effect of that gray light, though brief against an Official Wizard, was potentially fatal in a life-or-death battle where a mont’s hesitation could an everything!
"You’re courting death!"
Blood Leech roared in fury, his right hand clawing at the empty air!
"Blood Curse: Rotting Heart!"
An invisible wave of a Curse instantly enveloped Gaga.
This was a vicious Curse Art that directly targeted the source of life. Once hit, the victim’s heart would rot and fester within three breaths!
But Gaga’s Spiritual Sense was extrely sharp. The mont before the wave hit, it shot sharply upward.
At the sa ti, a dark red glimr lit up Ian’s left fingertip as the [Spirit Devourer] Rune activated.
A ray of blood-red light shot out, intercepting the curse in front of Gaga.
Most of the Curse’s wave was forcibly devoured and converted. The remainder that touched Gaga only caused its feathers to dim for an instant before returning to normal.
"What?!" This ti, Blood Leech was truly shocked.
’An Instantaneous Witchcraft that can devour a Curse? What kind of bizarre ability is this?!’
And in that instant of shock, Ian struck again.
A Spell left his lips almost instantly. This ti, it wasn’t a ray, but...
"Invisibility Technique!" His figure abruptly vanished from sight.
It wasn’t just visual invisibility; even his aura, temperature, and Magic Power fluctuations were completely concealed!
Blood Leech’s pupils shrank. He frantically scanned his surroundings with his Spiritual Power, but could only catch a blurry shadow moving at high speed!
’So fast! His whole body seems to be covered in a layer of shadow, making the Concealnt effect extrely powerful!’
’To the left!’
His combat instincts made him dodge sharply to the right.
TSS...!
A Scorching Beam grazed past his ear, the high temperature singeing a few strands of his hair and leaving a stinging, burning pain on his earlobe.
It wasn’t over!
"Deep Tie: Rapid Fire!"
HISS HISS HISS...
Four ice-blue rays cut off all his escape routes.
Blood Leech was forced to twist his body. A bloody light flashed on his skin, and a blood-colored Shield materialized.
BANG BANG...!
The ice-blue rays struck the Shield. The Deep Tie effect caused frost to rapidly condense on its surface, making its structure brittle.
And Ian’s true body had appeared like a phantom directly behind him.
He raised both hands simultaneously. His left hand glowed ice-blue, his right a brilliant white. At point-blank range, two rays once again spiraled and entwined.
"It’s over."
The calm voice sounded right beside Blood Leech’s ear.
Blood Leech’s soul nearly fled his body. He frantically activated all his life-saving asures as the blood-red patterns under his skin squird out like living snakes, weaving together into a shield of flesh and blood on his back.
But it was too close!
SQUELCH!!!
The Ice and Fire drill ruthlessly pierced the shield of flesh. The Yang Fla and Deep Tie effects erupted at once!
AHHHHH...!!!
A shrill, inhuman scream echoed across the swamp!
Like a block of ice thrown into a Furnace, the flesh shield was instantly vaporized for the most part.
The drill of light, its montum unchecked, plunged viciously into Blood Leech’s back, right where his heart was!
The Ice and Fire Energy wreaked havoc inside his body. The organs in the left half of his torso were frozen and turned brittle, while the right half was carbonized by the extre heat.
The Yang Fla Energy, like maggots on a corpse, frantically purified the very source of the Bloodline Energy he relied on to live.
"No... Impossible... How could I... die at the hands of an Apprentice..."
Blood Leech looked down, staring at the tip of the light drill protruding from his chest, a swirl of Ice and Fire Interweaving!
He struggled to turn around, his eyes filled with incredulous terror and despair.
SNAP.
Ian placed his left hand on the back of his neck and gave a light tug.
He ripped off the entire head, spine and all.
The light in Blood Leech’s eyes faded completely. His headless body pitched forward, falling into the swamp’s muck, and was quickly swallowed by the filth.
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