Chapter 265 - Thousand Miles of Ice
“H-How… How could that be…?” Under the flash of the faint yellow light, Gryffindor’s smile froze on his face. He suddenly realized the mana in his body stopped flowing. No matter how he tried to stimulate his mental strength by recitation, he could not recall any bit of magical wave.
Gryffindor nearly went crazy on the spot…
F*ck, how could someone who was suffering from Mana Retroaction be able to freeze him?
Unfortunately, he did not have time to think much, because in the next moment, Lin Li already started reciting the Flaming Storm Spell. Flames rose up into the air wildly. The streaks were like fire dragons pouncing towards him viciously. Gryffindor had no choice but look at how the Flaming Storm exploded on his body. The radiant Elemental Shield turned dim almost immediately.
After the Flaming Storm, Lin Li showed no mercy and attacked Gryffindor with a Chilling Touch. The use of one fire element and one ice element magic was so complementary that they were like a rhythmic poem harmoniously written by both fire and ice. It blasted a magnificent elemental storm in the Aurora Square. Gryffindor could only back away from the raging magical waves. The retroactive effect brought over by the Arcane Wall turned the situation around. Gryffindor who was one second away from absolute advantage had become the one who had to deal with the beating.
Gryffindor could not help but keep stepping backwards and make use of unexpected movements to increase the difficulty of casting spells for his opponent to buy more time for himself.
“F*ck, how did he do that?” There were thousands of mages in the audience. Their eyes were open wide after seeing how the young man named Felic had managed to turn the tides. Despite suffering from Mana Retroaction, he could still unleash the two spells with force as though nothing had happened to him…
This time, the old man was really anxious. He was extremely clear what a Thousand Miles of Ice entailed. Even though Aldwin had established four master-level mageweaths, and Felic was armed with an Elemental Shield, it was still the mightiest spell from level-16. If Felic was trapped in it for more than a minute, he would not be able to save himself even he become a divinity.
If Felic were to die here, Macklin would be the first to be doomed. It was not easy to negotiate with Andoine. Who knew what that old man would do if he turned crazy? And the two other fellas in the Pharmacists Guild… Macklin clearly remembered that Grimm Burnside had sent a message to the Guild of Magic before the battle, and it said that President Balbo had some matters to discuss with Mage Felic…
Holy…
God knew how long had Macklin not heard such a formal request from the Pharmacists Guild…
Macklin could use his knees to conclude that Lin Li must have established some connections with Balbo when he was at the gathering. If the fella were to get into any accident, what would the Pharmacists Guild do to them? If the potions that they had been providing to the Guild of Magic for at least a thousand years got stopped abruptly, not to say Macklin, the entire Guild of Magic would become sinners!
“Erm…” Aldwin hesitated. To be honest, it was really difficult for him to make any decision. How would he not know Macklin’s worries? But, both of them were in different positions. Macklin’s concern was on the consequences if Felic were to die. He, however, had to judge the matter as a whole. Aldwin had to weight the impact of his actions as the president.
It would be very easy to stop Gryffindor. But, what would come next? Were they going to continue the battle?
Strictly speaking, his interference in the last round already affected the overall fairness of the finals. He was thankful that Garat for being abnormal just now. The extreme undead energy gave him the reason to interrupt the battle. But, what explanation could he give if he were to do so for this battle? Although Gryffindor was a little extreme in his tactics, he had never gone against the rules from the start. As much as he wished to stop him, he had to think about the fairness of the battle. Or else, how could the battles go on?
Yet, Macklin was not wrong to be that frantic over it…
Felic’s background was really complicated. He was involved in too many things. If anything were to happen to him, it would be very difficult to explain to Jarrosus Guild of Magic.
Just when Aldwin was still hesitating, Sendros and Hoffman stood up from the VIP seats almost at the same time. One took up his skeletal staff, started to recite a spell, and generated some thick black smoke in his palms.
These two people had zero concern for the fairness of the battle. From their occupations and status—one being a necromancer and the head of the Darkness Shrine, the other being a conjurer of dark magic and the decision maker of the Glittergold Trade Union—anybody would know that rules would not matter to them at all. They did not have to care about the Guild of Magic in their daily lives. To them, Gryffindor and fairness would never be as important as a talented pharmacist.
Unfortunately…
The situation changed again just when both of them stood up from the VIP seats.
“C-crack…” Amidst the roaring winds was a crisp sound. Although it was gentle and soft, it was extremely deafening to Gryffindor. It was as though a thunder had sounded right above his head…
Cracks could be seen appearing on the ice sculpture. These few lines were like plague, spreading uncontrollably. In the blink of an eye, they had multiplied furiously like nobody’s business. A crystal clear ice sculpture looked as though it was covered in worms. Then, it exploded instantly. “POM!” The shattered ice flew in all directions, forming vapor in the air…
Gryffindor stared at the scene blankly. He saw how the cracks formed on the ice sculpture, and how it exploded thereafter. He was in disbelief. How could the Jarrosus mage escape from the Thousand Miles of Ice? Did he see a ghost? The temperature of the Thousand Miles of Ice was close to zero degrees Celsius. It would be as tough as steel once it got frozen.
How could a human mage be able to break free from it? At this point of time, it was as though Gryffindor saw a beast escape by prying open his own trap…
“So, Mage Gryffindor, you look very surprised?” Lin Li asked. Although he was standing in the vapor and had many ice shards on his Rune Robe, the smile on his face had never been so bright. The temporal entrapment brought about by the Thousand Miles of Ice nearly cost him his life, but it also allowed him to think through many things.
Gryffindor’s true ability was one of them.
Frankly speaking, Lin Li had a shock when Gryffindor unleashed the Thousand Miles of Ice. He knew very well what a level-16 Archmage entailed. The appearance of the four signature magic spells had become the divider of the abilities of Archmages. To be exact, although they were all Archmages, a level-15 Archmage had no chance to battle a level-16 Archmage at all. It would be better to just surrender immediately…
However…
When the Thousand Miles of Ice was unleashed, Lin Li started to suspect Gryffindor’s true abilities. Gryffindor could have used the Four-element Shields on him from the start. Even if he had Mana Retroaction and the Arcane Wall with him, it would not be any threat to Gryffindor.
There was no choice too. The defense mechanism of the Four-element Shields would be too mighty to counter any attack below level-16. If Gryffindor had that ability, why would he have toiled so hard to cope with Lin Li?
When the crucial stage was over, everything that was abnormal became reasonable at once.
That was right. Gryffindor must have used some method to level himself up unnaturally. Like Cromwell, who raised himself to level-14 using a mystical spell of the High Elves. Lin Li did not have to worry about anything. There was no free lunch in the world. Since Gryffindor broke into level-16 unnaturally, he would have to pay for it.
Hence, when Lin Li walked out of the foggy mist, he was extremely light-hearted.
“H-how could this be…!” Gryffindor exclaimed as he fixed a deadly glare on Lin Li. It was as though someone had fixed his body in cast. He stood rooted to the ground for at least a minute before screaming in agony.
“Nothing is impossible, Mage Gryffindor. Since even roosters lay eggs, how can’t I escape from the Thousand Miles of Ice?”
“You—”
“Stop it. You can leave your words at the cemetery…” Before Lin Li speak finish, he had already unleashed Mana Retroaction.
Almost immediately, Gryffindor started his recitation too. But, before he could recite another word, the mana in his body got disrupted. He felt a strong heat flying towards him. It was a fireball as big as his face, dragging a tail of flame towards him…