Ian's plan was certainly very well-thought-out.
However, neither the young Saruman nor the old Saruman knew any of this.
They were simply awestruck by the power of Ian's magic.
All I saw was...
Accompanied by Ian's casting of the spell.
Wherever the ripples passed, time seemed to be accelerated a million times.
Before the massive, mountain-sized carapace could even strike, its thick shell instantly lost all its luster, becoming cracked like a rock weathered over millions of years. It then turned into falling dust, Silencio annihilating along with the immense Life Force within it.
The shadowy vengeful spirits and their invisible spiritual shrieks ceased abruptly. Their bodies, composed of pure resentment, vanished completely like soap bubbles in the sunlight, without uttering a sound, as if they had never existed.
The fleshy, eyeball-like monster that spewed acid rapidly shriveled and withered, turning into a lifeless pile of ashes while the acid was still in mid-air.
With just a wave of the hand, a ripple of "withering" appeared.
The dozens of terrifying monsters that charged at the forefront with the strongest momentum were completely "wiped out" in an instant, leaving not even a trace behind!
And this is just the beginning.
Ian Prince seemed to find the interference somewhat annoying. He finally stopped trying to break the magic circle, turned around, and faced the ever-growing tide of monsters.
His eyes remained calm and still, but beneath that calm, a chilling coldness seemed to begin to spread, as if freezing one's soul.
He didn't use the " Avada " spells again. Instead, he raised his right hand, his fingers slightly spread, and aimed it at the area where the monsters were most concentrated.
" Fiendfyre."
Black, liquid-like flames erupted from his palm! But these Fiendfyre were completely different from the Fiendfyre Saruman knew. They seemed to possess their own will, instantly transforming into countless raging black Fire Serpent that precisely coiled around the bodies of each monster!
There was no struggle, no screams. Monsters entangled by the black Fiendfyre, regardless of size or shape, were instantly ignited, then, as if stripped of all their very foundation, Silencio turned into wisps of black smoke, devoured by the Fiendfyre, which only made the black Incendio even more fiercely!
The Fiendfyre spread, split, and multiplied like a plague among the monster horde, leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake.
That wasn't all. Ian drew a few more simple lines with his left hand, uttering a few short syllables.
" Space Severance."
" Soul Separation."
" Concept Erasure."
He effortlessly wielded all sorts of magic that Saruman had never heard of, or even could comprehend the principles behind. Space was sliced apart like fragile glass, dividing and crushing hordes of monsters; invisible forces acted directly on the soul level, tearing and annihilating those shadow and spiritual monsters at their very source; and there was even a more terrifying force that seemed to directly deny the very concept of "existence" of certain monsters, causing them to vanish into thin air as if erased from a drawing!
A battle? No, this isn't a battle at all.
This was a one-sided, utter, and overwhelming massacre! A highly efficient "cleanup" of the mad derivatives of R'lyeh City by a Legend fifteen-year-old boy!
Young Saruman and Karg stood frozen behind the giant pillar, witnessing firsthand this soul-chilling scene. Ian Prince's figure appeared so small amidst the horde of monsters, yet the power he displayed was like a vast sea of death, mercilessly devouring any madness that dared to approach.
Every spell he cast was precise, efficient, and without any redundancy, as if the art of killing had become part of his instincts.
His cold, calm expression contrasted sharply with the hellish scene of slaughter before him, creating a profound and shocking effect.
"Oh my god, how can there be such a powerful Wizard? He's practically on par with the gods." Karg's palms were covered in cold sweat as he gripped the sword hilt. He finally understood the meaning of the word "ant." Faced with such power, all his previous bravery and combat experience seemed so laughable and insignificant.
"A powerful Wizard can even trample the gods underfoot." Saruman was plunged into a deeper level of shock and contemplation. He saw not only the difference in power, but also another possibility in the use of magic—reaching the essence, the mastery of the rules. Ian Prince's magic seemed to have transcended the constraints of form.
It is closer to a direct use of concepts such as "death," "destruction," and "annihilation."
It was utterly devastating; nothing could be more succinct.
Within minutes, the terrifying horde of monsters that surged from the void, enough to engulf an entire legion, was swept away by Ian Prince's overwhelming power with a mere flick of his wrist. The plaza returned to deathly silence, leaving only a vast expanse of nothingness, or rather, almost no remnants of it.
And the lingering, unsettling Magic Power aftershocks in the air.
This is the change that occurs after thoroughly studying these polluted lives. It's completely different from how difficult it was for Ian at the beginning. That's why it's said that as long as Wizard studies something, he will definitely conquer it.
"Everything can be analyzed."
Ian Prince didn't even get a speck of dirt on the hem of his clothes. He turned around again as if he had done something insignificant.
Their gaze returned to the enormous magic circle on the ground.
Meanwhile, Saruman and Karg, hiding in the distance, felt only endless chills and a direct understanding and fear of the unfathomable strength of this young Legend.
The desolate silence left behind by the devastating "cleanup" in the square.
More suffocating than any clamor, the lingering Magic Power aftershocks in the air coldly testified to the terror of that one-sided "battle."
Young Saruman and Karg remained frozen behind the collapsed pillar, like two forgotten stone statues. It wasn't until Ian Prince refocused his attention entirely on the magic circle that the invisible, suffocating pressure subsided slightly, and Karg finally regained his voice.
Although the voice was still terribly dry.
The soldier was terrified.
He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, and asked Saruman in an almost breathless mental connection, his tone carrying a hint of absurd fervor he himself didn't realize. " Saruman —you—can you withstand—this kind of Wizard? Even—even a single blow?"
Even Karg himself found the question absurd when he asked it.
But he needed a reference point, a confirmation from Saruman, who was already incredibly powerful in his eyes, to anchor his shattered understanding.
"Ah?"
Saruman's expression instantly became incredibly interesting.
His face, which had been pale from tension and exhaustion, first flushed red, then lost its color, becoming even paler than before, and his lips even twitched uncontrollably a few times.
Well, how should I put it?
Saruman never expected his friend to think so highly of him. His silver eyes were filled with shock, bitterness, self-mockery, and a hint of helplessness in the face of such an absolute disparity.
"Hehe."
Saruman gave a bitter smile, turned his head, and glanced at Karg with a look as if he were a madman. Even the voice transmitted back through the mental link was slightly distorted.
" Karg —are you kidding me?! Withstood one attack? Didn't you see what he just did?"
That wasn't magic; it was mastery over the rules.
"That's—that's the application of phenomena! It's a direct manifestation of the concepts of death and annihilation! I can't even understand the basic principles of his magic!"
"In his presence, my Magic Power and knowledge are so little that I'm afraid I don't even deserve a second glance!" Saruman's voice was filled with a rare and almost collapsing honesty.
Even as a prodigy of this era, he was still quite self-aware. He had always been proud of his talent and knowledge, but everything that the young man displayed at this moment shattered all his pride. This was not a gap that could be bridged by Hard Work; it was a bottomless abyss!
An insurmountable barrier that cannot even comprehend its form of existence!
"Is that so?"
Karg fell silent. Saruman's reaction spoke volumes more clearly than any words. The gap between them and that boy was immeasurably larger than he had imagined. It wasn't something that could be bridged by valor, nor something that could be understood by wisdom; it was an absolute chasm between levels of life and the essence of power.
"That's too bizarre."
The two fell into a long and awkward silence.
Aside from continuing to carefully conceal themselves, they seemed to be unable to do anything. Risk approaching? That would be tantamount to suicide. Turning away? Leaving aside Lina's condition and the slim chance of escape, the deep-seated resentment and curiosity about the " Legend's " actions alone were enough to keep them firmly rooted to the spot.
Therefore, they can only continue to play the role of "ants".
Hold your breath and concentrate.
They focused all their attention on the boy who was studying the magic circle, trying to glean even the slightest secret from his incomprehensible actions.
All I saw was...
Ian Prince paced slowly around the magic circle, his movements no longer as casual as before. He would occasionally stop and gesture with his right index finger.
However, his fingertips did not touch the ground, but moved slowly in the void a few inches above the array markings.
As Ian's fingertips moved, they left behind extremely fine, invisible silver trails in the air, as if they were made of starlight and dust.
The energy flow of those trajectories and the ground array created a wondrous resonance and manifestation.
It directly presents the originally obscure energy nodes, flow paths, and interrelationships in an intuitive, almost "visualized" way!
What!
Saruman's eyes widened instantly!
What kind of tactic is this?!
He had never seen any similar detection or manifestation spells in any magical tome! This was no longer a technique; it was practically directly accessing the rules and information inherent in the magic circle itself!
The methods employed by this Legend figure are truly terrifying.
Saruman didn't dare blink even once, afraid that he would miss something if he blinked even once. He watched intently, and then Ian drew his left hand in the air, and several pale blue runes with extremely complex structures, seemingly composed of solid geometry and abstract symbols, were directly generated out of thin air by Magic Power.
They are not static, but slowly rotating and Transfiguration, like living keys, attempting to match and analyze certain constantly changing energy vortices on the magic circle.
"What is all this? I don't understand." Saruman was dizzy from looking at it; he couldn't comprehend the construction principles and operational logic of these runes at all.
At this very moment.
Saruman felt just as lost as Karg.
Admittedly, he could sense the vast amount of information and the incredibly sophisticated manipulation of Magic Power contained within, but he had no idea what it was.
This feeling is like a child who has just learned addition and subtraction suddenly seeing the formulas of calculus in advanced mathematics—utterly bewildered.
Karg squinted, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked into the distance. "What's that boy doing?"
"Heh heh heh." Saruman didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly stroking his mustache. "If I had known, my eyes wouldn't be so big."
Karg suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide open. "You're Wizard too!"
"Simple." Saruman's lips curled into a bitter smile as he glanced at him. "The gap between Wizard is greater than the gap between you and Wizard."
He paused deliberately after he finished speaking.
Karg's face stiffened, his lips parted slightly as if to retort, but he only let out a heavy snort. He clenched his fist and then relaxed it, his shoulders slumped, he kicked a pebble at his feet, and muttered, "----That's really awful."
After a moment of silence, he raised his head again, his eyes filled with a hint of unwilling anticipation, and even leaned forward slightly, "Then you must be able to see something strange, right? Even just a little bit? You are Saruman!"
Saruman finally turned around to face Karg, his eyes deep and unfathomable, but he suddenly sighed and shook his head, "If I could see through you, I wouldn't be standing here wasting my breath talking to you."
certainly.
He still needs to save face.
So he said the only thing he could say.
"He's analyzing the core structure and operating rules of this formation—" Saruman murmured, his voice filled with helplessness, "However, this Legend uses—a knowledge system and technology that I completely cannot understand. This level—is at least—a thousand years ahead of me."
"More than a thousand years ago?" Karg was also taken aback by this range. "Didn't you say he might be from ancient times? This—how is that possible?"
Karg was horrified.
"There's no contradiction," Saruman explained bitterly, his gaze still fixed on Ian's movements. "Perhaps—before the ancient times we know of—there existed an even more ancient and glorious magical civilization, but one that has long been completely annihilated. We all know this is a fact."
"Of course, or perhaps—" He paused, his tone becoming more uncertain, even carrying a hint of a guess he himself couldn't convince himself of, "For true geniuses, the era is never a limitation. They can easily understand and surpass the accumulation of thousands of years of predecessors, and even—create their own path that transcends their time."
To be honest...
Saruman was absolutely right.
Although there have been many brilliant geniuses in history, talents like him are merely pseudo-geniuses who could not transcend their time.
A true prodigy.
The force exerted will not only be directed at one's own era.