Mage's Might

Closing his eyes with a dizzy spell washing over him, Xuan Ye had no mood to check the results after firing two arrows in succession. He immediately reined in his Bloodline Power.

Even so, the powerful dizziness, the mental pollution from that vast mass of dry data, and the countless Li Yangs' crazed Buddhist chanting transforming into Lin Zicong—the Maitreya Buddha wielding the Dragon-Slaying Saber and hacking at his brothers—still made his head throb as if it were splitting apart.

Fortunately, he had already experienced this once before and was somewhat mentally prepared. On top of that, he had successfully connected with his Perception Inner Mansion, greatly strengthening his Bright Eyes and improving his resistance. Absorbing the Essence from that Wraith had nearly stabilized his Perception Inner Mansion completely. That was the only reason he could still stand there.

His tolerance was considerably better than the first time he used it. Otherwise, he would probably have lost his combat ability immediately and been left at the mercy of others.

Even so, after slowly recovering and opening his eyes, he temporarily stopped attacking. Judging by how it felt and how much he could endure, he should still be able to force himself to use it one more time in the short term—but that was something he could only use when his life was truly on the line.

Moreover, as he gradually recovered from the dizziness, the pain from the muscle strain in his arm—ignored earlier because of the even more unbearable sensations—slowly surfaced. His brows twitched violently, and his left eye unconsciously narrowed halfway.

Right now, he felt as if his hand were about to snap off. Forcing out an attack close to the Professional Rank with strength that had not even reached a rank yet—how could he do so without paying a price? Even a casual strike from a Professional Rank expert was not something his current strength could easily touch.

He had already done everything he could. The rest depended on his companions' coordination. With the Azure Wolf's speed, they should have started fighting while he recovered his strength. Why was it so quiet?

That thought flashed through his mind as Xuan Ye raised his head while holding his right arm.

What greeted him instead were only the ghost-struck expressions on the faces of Luo Luoji and the others.

Apart from the chanting that continued to come from Dean's side, there was not the slightest sign of fighting.

The three packs of wolves had actually stopped attacking for the moment. They had begun circling rapidly at a distance that was neither close nor far, leaving Xuan Ye unable to tell what had happened.

Uh, he had indeed killed one of them. Even though he had closed his eyes without checking the result, he knew that much. The results of perfect calculations could not be wrong. Behind what appeared to be a series of coincidences lay causes that had inevitably led to them.

But no matter what, he had risked his life and, at most, killed one of the weakest Subordinate Wolves in the pack. It had not actually dealt the pack a crippling blow. Why had they suddenly changed like this? Weren't they afraid of giving Dean enough time to finish chanting?

They were magical beasts, but their cunning absolutely could not be underestimated.

Meanwhile, Ye Man, who had the lightest workload among them and had been guarding Dean, stopped his usual foolish grin. His expression became extremely strange.

"With the Azure Wolf's reflexes and Dexterity, even a formal Ranger couldn't kill one of the same-rank Azure Wolves with two arrows. Your two arrows were only passable in terms of power, but the result you achieved was terrifying. Was that a Professional Rank archery skill?"

Ye Man's words seemed to voice the doubts of Luo Luoji and the others as well. Although Luo Luoji already knew that Xuan Ye possessed a relatively rare eye-related Bloodline Power, the change before them was still too terrifying. If he could hit the Azure Wolf's eyes, then his own speed would probably also...

The one who had suffered the greatest shock was naturally Blue-haired Aide, who had mocked Xuan Ye several times. His face was filled with disbelief, and beneath his astonishment was a trace of jealousy.

He was merely an Apprentice Ranker who had not even entered a profession! Yet he had been the first to achieve results!

He could actually hit the eye despite the Azure Wolf's speed. If it were him...

Coincidence! It had to be a coincidence! How could a mere weakling possibly threaten him?

At that thought, Aide's face twisted slightly.

"Professional Rank archery skill? Uh, haha, I suppose so. I don't know whether it was a Professional Rank archery skill, though. But why did they suddenly become like this? Aren't they afraid of Dean's firepower? Didn't you say that as long as Dean had enough time, his offensive power would be the strongest among the three of you?"

Seeing that Ye Man seemed to have misunderstood, Xuan Ye was happy to let him keep misunderstanding. He then nervously asked about the doubt troubling him. Being surrounded and circled by that pack of wolves made him feel uneasy.

As for the so-called archery skill, Xuan Ye had learned about it from Luo Luoji during this period. Having physical ability without the corresponding techniques could easily result in a situation like when Xuan Ye had been thoroughly beaten by Gypsy. Combat Skills, archery skills, and the like all had strictly divided levels. So-called Professional Rank archery and Combat Skills were special techniques that could serve as a Professional Rank expert's trump card. Once used, they could reverse the course of battle, and most Professional Rank experts could not master them.

Of course, being mistaken for an archery skill was far better than exposing the characteristics of his Bloodline Power.

On the other side, Luo Luoji answered Xuan Ye's question.

"Magical beasts live in extremely harsh natural environments. When wolf packs hunt prey, they also consider the prey's ability to fight back. Under normal circumstances, if they're merely trying to fill their stomachs, they won't attack a target that threatens the pack's members. Even losing one member is a loss of strength for the pack. It was your arrow that intimidated them and earned this result."

The continuous praise and the contribution he had made left Xuan Ye secretly pleased. As expected, the combination of his Bloodline Power and cheat was extremely powerful...

"Hmph. Since you're so strong, you'll have to take one more share later. Once we finish dealing with what's in front of us, we'll come help."

Aide spoke with a gloomy face. The sour jealousy in his heart had yet to fade, and he seemed completely unwilling to believe that the person who had caused this result was merely an Apprentice Ranger—especially when it was the very person he had always looked down on!

For him to remain so petty even at a moment of life and death was infuriating. But at a time like this, there was no opportunity for them to argue.

Uh, but why hadn't they left even after being intimidated? There was still a mage chanting over here. Wasn't that a greater threat?

At that thought, Xuan Ye once again carefully observed the wolves' movement patterns. After slowly calculating and examining the parameters under normal conditions, his expression gradually turned grim.

Indeed, the Azure Wolves had stopped attacking, but their circling movement now consisted entirely of irregular evasion. Under such circumstances, even if he still had the strength to draw his bow, he would probably find it difficult to achieve that astonishing initial result.

Moreover, because of their initial charge, they were now quite close to his group. Their angular velocity and distance had reached a delicate limit. It seemed they had just barely entered a range where they could be locked on, yet they also seemed capable of breaking away at any moment!

If even he was not confident enough to hit the target, then Dean...

Sure enough, before long, Xuan Ye clearly sensed Dean's chanting speed slow down on its own. The spell model he was completing with runes in his hands also began to flicker, seemingly nearing the critical point of completion, yet he still lacked the confidence to launch it!

"Looks like you noticed it too."

Ye Man's strange expression looked like that of a constipated husky. Although the stimulation had made his expression bizarre, the fact that Ye Man—a dignified Three-Star Professional Rank expert—had taken the initiative to speak with Xuan Ye, an Apprentice Ranger, showed that he had already acknowledged Xuan Ye's strength and status from the bottom of his heart!

From the moment the situation began until now, none of the other professionals had said a single word to the other Advanced Attendants! They had been completely ignored!

Even if some people did not mean to discriminate against them, they would not waste their precious energy on them!

Only Xuan Ye was an exception!

"Obviously, this pack of Azure Wolves doesn't see us as ordinary food. Some crucial factor has made them willing to pay the price of losing part or even all of the pack to deal with us. And their current distance..."

Xuan Ye nodded and spoke gravely. Although it looked as if they now had time to catch their breath, the sense of threat they received was even greater. What cunning hunters!

Seeing Xuan Ye's expression, Ye Man finally seemed to become a little serious as he spoke.

"If they had maintained the distance from the beginning of the standoff, then once the spell was completed, the attack speed of magic would still be enough to make them suffer casualties even without locking onto them mentally. At that distance, they couldn't build up enough angular velocity."

At this point, he paused. Staring fixedly at the Azure Wolves whose circling movements kicked up clouds of sand, he continued,

"But if they moved a little closer, they would also enter Dean's mental locking range, and then they wouldn't be able to evade attacks easily through speed alone. Yet now, they've precisely stuck themselves at the most delicate point, waiting for Dean's magic to be fired or interrupted."

However, Dean was ultimately only a Mage Apprentice. With scrolls, magic gems, and other casting materials, he could unleash powerful destructive attacks, but he clearly could not control them with such ease.

After slowing his chanting, he used the Azure Wolves' circling to drag out time while they exhausted themselves. In the end, he had no choice but to complete the final few syllables.

"...κατ?συρρο?μπ?λαφωτι??"

As the heavy, profound syllables ended, the complex spell model before Dean, formed with flames created by the burning scroll as its framework and a magic gem as its core, instantly erupted with dazzling red light.

A three-dimensional magic rune array appeared before Dean's hands.

'Boom!'

A fist-sized scarlet Fireball trailing a long tail shot out of the rune array. It struck the afterimage left by an Azure Wolf, then slammed into the sandy ground and exploded with a blast comparable to a high-explosive grenade! Dust soared into the sky! Its power far exceeded the impression given by the Fireball's size!

Its destructive power was terrifying! If that attack had hit just now, then even with the Azure Wolf's defense surpassing that of a Professional Rank human expert, it would have been instantly killed!

Most terrifying of all, as the magic rune array trembled repeatedly, it began rotating—first from stillness to movement, then from slow to fast. Suddenly, it began spewing out a continuous stream of attacks like a bursting confetti egg.

'Rat-a-tat-tat~'

If it had initially been a single rocket-propelled grenade, then now it was a Gatling gun whose every bullet had the power of a rocket-propelled grenade!

"Holy shit!"

Xuan Ye had just cursed when the shockwaves of sand, smoke, and explosions blasted a great deal of grit into his mouth. Wherever that "Gatling gun" swept, dust inevitably filled the air!

No wonder Luo Luoji had said when briefly introducing Rangers that, at the same level, distance, and preparation time, Rangers had faster and more agile reactions. If a mage was really given enough preparation time, who the hell would try to trade shots with him? I bought a damn watch last year!

Was this what a mage was? A mage who was invincible at the same level as long as he had enough room to unleash his firepower?!