Meanwhile, Lynn and the others were taking a detour toward the castle's underground level from the other side.
Everyone understood how urgent the situation was. Barton, who was injured, flatly refused Buck's support. After tearing his clothes to make a simple bandage, he endured the pain in his back and followed behind the others.
Lynn was still replaying the details of his earlier spellcasting in his mind.
As a basic zero-circle spell, [Magic Missile] was not particularly difficult to learn or use. The real trouble lay in preplanning the flight paths of each missile.
Lynn had not joined Joanne and the others in their first wave of counterattacks because he had been preparing the spell.
Unless he had 071 assist with targeting, controlling twelve [Magic Missiles] at once was already his limit. Their power was roughly equivalent to an upper-tier first-circle spell.
"Are you really Carl?" Buck finally could not help asking amid the silence.
"Of course!" Lynn nodded.
"But when did you master the Herlam Formula?" Joanne was deeply curious as well. She had handed the Basic Magic Compendium to Lynn just over an hour ago. Surely he could not have learned it after reading it a few times?
"Just now..." Lynn answered casually, then suddenly remembered that the original Carl had only studied magic for half a year. That answer seemed a little too high-profile, so he hurriedly explained. "The teacher had explained the principles of that formula to me before. It didn't seem that difficult."
Not difficult? A bewildered expression appeared on Joanne's delicate face. Then why had she spent several months researching it without managing to master it?
Buck and Barton both decided that their mentor Coru must have secretly given Carl extra lessons.
"White Dove, report the enemy's positions and distance!" Lynn changed the subject and looked toward the silent girl beside him.
Though her killing Will was highly suspicious, they had no choice but to rely on her abilities at such a critical moment.
"Enemies are everywhere. They're preparing to surround us," White Dove said timidly, her body trembling nonstop.
"Then where is that Bishop Antioch? Where is he?" Joanne suddenly asked.
"I don't know. My psychic senses can't see him..." White Dove was practically on the verge of tears.
"In that case, find somewhere we can gather as many enemies as possible and deal with some of them first!" Lynn analyzed calmly.
Other than the Archbishop who had yet to make a move, the greatest threat to them was the rain of bolts unleashed by the crossbowmen's volleys. In an open area, after a few rounds of volleys, at least half of them would be dead.
"Are you serious, Carl?" Buck's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets in shock.
They barely had enough time to run, yet Lynn was thinking of gathering the enemies together for a counterattack. It was utterly absurd.
Lynn did not answer. Instead, he glanced at Barton, who was gritting his teeth and persevering despite the blood seeping from his back.
Only then did Buck realize that they had an injured man with them, making movement difficult. Before long, enemies would catch up from every direction. Once they were surrounded, they might not even be able to escape.
"How confident are you?" Joanne asked bluntly.
"That depends on exactly how many kinds of magic you've mastered!" Lynn said decisively.
Under White Dove's perception and Lynn's direction, the guards converging from several directions arrived almost simultaneously, trapping the Wizard Apprentices in a side hall on the first floor of the castle.
A full six guard units were present. Aside from the mysterious Archbishop Antioch, those guarding the entrances and treating the wounded, everyone else had arrived.
Despite their numerical advantage, Aaron, having suffered greatly at Lynn's hands earlier, did not dare let down his guard in the slightest. He ordered the guards to advance in shield-wall and crossbow formations, then cast supporting divine spells together with the other arriving Priests.
[Remove Fear], [Divine Blessing]!
Two streaks of white light flashed in succession. Filled with courage and vitality, the shield bearers once more raised their broad shield wall and marched forward.
Ahead, Buck stood alone before the many shield bearers. He forcibly lifted a counter weighing several hundred pounds from the ground. His already thick arms swelled another size, and with strength beyond human limits, he hurled the heavy counter forward.
"Die, all of you!"
The heavy counter collided with the dense wall of shields, producing a tremendous dull crash.
Immediately afterward, the hard stone floor beneath everyone's feet suddenly caved in.
This was the first-circle spell Joanne and Barton had cast together from hiding—[Turn Stone to Mud]!
The sturdy armor was no longer protection; instead, it became their greatest burden. After the impact, the legs standing on the fine sand immediately lost their balance, and the shield bearers, who had once stood in neat formation, toppled all over the ground...
Though two Wizard Apprentices had cast the spell together, its range was ultimately limited. The crossbowmen in the rear had already raised their crossbows, more than forty gleaming bolts aimed directly at Buck...
Please, hurry up, White Dove!
A drop of cold sweat slid down Buck's forehead as he prayed desperately. This single second was the boundary between life and death!
Fortunately, White Dove did not disappoint him this time. Just before the crossbow triggers were pulled, an indescribable shriek echoed throughout the castle.
[Soul Shriek]
Everyone present felt as though their brains had been struck by a heavy hammer. In that instant, they completely lost control of their bodies.
Friend and foe alike were injured; the strangeness of psychic magic was revealed without question!
Soul Shriek had an extremely wide range, but it consumed an enormous amount of mana. It was forced to stop after lasting only two seconds.
White Dove swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Joanne and the others felt anxious. They had done everything they could, buying a total of five seconds and gathering all the enemies together.
That was enough for Lynn. Pale yellow white phosphorus powder was already floating above his palm, rapidly flaring and expanding into a huge fireball half a meter tall.
The yellow-white flames did not seem particularly special, yet all the Wizard Apprentices and Priests present felt an involuntary shudder rise from the depths of their hearts.
Yet the enormous fireball was not aimed at Aaron and the others. Instead, it flew into the air and broke apart before everyone's astonished eyes. Sparks trailed white smoke as they rained down from above like magnificent fireworks.
Buck's face turned deathly pale. He could not help wondering whether White Dove's [Soul Shriek] had interfered with Lynn's spellcasting.
Flame Magic had always been used in concentrated form!
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