Giving It Her All

When Fran saw that off-white figure suddenly appear, her entire mind went blank.

She had been worried that there might actually be a Fourth Order being outside targeting third-tier individuals, but she hadn't expected it to be true.

She originally didn't want to take action, since revealing that she possessed an item capable of dealing with third-tier enemies meant she wouldn't have as much freedom to do what she wanted as before.

Moreover, Nolan clearly didn't want to harm these mages, so Fran thought she could just endure it. But then suddenly a follower of the God of War appeared, who seemed to have mental problems and, more importantly, was completely unafraid to hurt these mages.

Dealing with a third-tier opponent like this is no problem for Fran, especially since her Mental Power has increased significantly, making her elemental weapons even more powerful.

This caused a qualitative change in her elemental weapons. Facing the physical bodies of these third-tier Physical Profession, she could now fully mobilize her Mental Power to severely injure them with a single strike.

However, the Fran resolved the third-order issue so smoothly does not mean that she intends to deal with the Fourth Order.

She had witnessed the power of those Fourth Order Mage before, just like when she faced the Sky Dragon, the aftershocks of the attacks from the four Fourth Order Mage around her had given her a shiver.

She had absolutely no confidence in facing a Fourth Order Mage like this now.

"Just do everything you can to stay alive. My physical and Mental Power are both at the third level, which greatly increases my chances of survival."

"If all else fails, we can always use Divine Descent..."

To think that the Lord of Radiance power could Divine Descent a Fourth Order subordinate for twenty minutes is to underestimate the Lord of Radiance.

However, using Divine Descent would leave a trace, Fran was genuinely afraid that when the Floating City returned, it would attack her as well.

And if she gets discovered, she'll have to come up with an explanation; otherwise, it wouldn't be fun if the mage really hanged her.

Just as Fran's thoughts were racing through her mind, the Fourth Order Profession Holder extended his palm towards Fran.

He simply placed his palm there, and Fran felt pressure—not psychological pressure, but real, tangible pressure.

It was as if the pressure difference in the air had suddenly changed, and it began to compress Fran's body from all directions.

Fran nearly lost her grip on the illusory longsword; the Wind Element rapidly dissipated under the immense pressure, almost causing the elemental weapon to vanish.

This made Fran realize that the main ability of the Fourth Order Profession Holder in front of her was probably the manipulation of Wind Element. Unfortunately, the Fourth Order Wind Element manipulation made it impossible for her elemental weapon to be used effectively.

After weighing the options, Fran decided to cancel the elemental weapon. She feared that if the weapon remained on the field and was seized by the opponent, it would be used against her, which would cause serious trouble.

"Hmm?" Just then, a look of doubt appeared on the face of the Fourth Order Profession Holder. He looked at Fran, as if wondering why Fran was still alive.

Fran felt the pressure on her body continue to increase, and instantly understood why the other person was puzzled.

The reason is simple: the current immense pressure would be something a Third Order Mage simply couldn't withstand.

Third Order Mage's body is no stronger than that of a second-tier Physical Profession, so under such wind pressure, Third Order Mage's body could easily be crushed into mincemeat.

But Fran is different; she has a physical body comparable to a normal third-tier Physical Profession, so she can naturally withstand it.

However, it is clear that Fourth Order Profession Holder is not only capable of crushing the body of Third Order Mage.

Fran felt the pressure on her body increasing, threatening to crush her skin.

She gazed intently at the Fourth Order Profession Holder, knowing that the only thing she could do was to stall for time as much as possible.

Facing Fourth Order Profession Holder, she couldn't even cast spells because the surrounding pressure made it impossible for her to lift her hands, and her mind felt like it was being held down by a jack.

Only five minutes have passed since the alarm sounded, and it's unclear when the Floating City will return.

Fighting this Fourth Order Profession Holder head-on is definitely not the best strategy.

If she really wanted to defend herself, she didn't have any defensive power stronger than the physical body of a third-tier Physical Profession.

However, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she came up with a way to hold out against this Fourth Order Profession Holder for a while.

If this Fourth Order Profession Holder can stay here for a long time, then this method will definitely not work, but unfortunately, this Fourth Order Profession Holder cannot stay here for long.

The Alliance's Floating City is coming back, and this Fourth Order Profession Holder also needs to leave in advance; otherwise, encountering the Floating City head-on will definitely not be a good thing.

So she immediately began to work, overcoming the weight on her body, and reached into her robes, where there lay a very precious item: the Spell Ring of the Blood of the Furnace.

After she put her hand inside, she immediately activated her Mental Power.

The Fourth Order Profession Holder on the other side frowned slightly upon sensing the intense fluctuations in Mental Power here.

Why hasn't this mage transformed into a spiritual being yet?

Although dealing with these mages who can transform into spiritual entities after death would take him some time, he only needed to render them unable to resist; he didn't need to actually kill them.

And this undetected mage, who had no shield, was able to withstand the wind pressure, which was extremely strange. Moreover, he could release mental fluctuations similar to Third-Order Spell under the wind pressure.

This made him frown, as he was unusually facing a Third Order Professional.

What made him frown even more was not only that Fran was still alive, but also that a deep red liquid began to well up around Fran.

The liquid formed a deep pit where Fran had just been, like a lump of mud flowing into it, and Fran simply disappeared.

His brow furrowed even more, because he could feel his wind pressure hitting an insurmountable wall, completely blocked and unable to penetrate the red liquid.

No, rather than blocking it, it's more accurate to say that these liquids melt away the wind pressure, preventing it from penetrating at all; they are completely dissolved by these red liquids.

This was the protective plan Fran had devised. She meticulously cut open a portion of her outer skin and incorporated it into the Blood of the Furnace, then let the Blood of the Furnace envelop her.

This way, the Blood of the Furnace outside would continuously dissolve all attacks aimed at her, which was the longest she could think of to survive against this Fourth Order subordinate.

Although the internal Blood of the Furnace would also harm her, as long as her Mental Power didn't control the conversion, the dissolving efficiency was still acceptable for Fran, given her constitution of over a hundred points.

Moreover, she possesses the ability of Proxy, which ensures that she can at least survive the process.

During this process, she didn't feel much pain because the nerves that transmit pain were dissolved. She just felt her body gradually losing sensation, which was still somewhat uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Fran's body on Number Nine Floating City is currently counting down the seconds, and the sound cannot reach Fran; she must count down internally.

Outside the Blood of the Furnace, the Fourth Order Profession Holder looked at the land he had ravaged, and the marks on the ground that looked like they had been slashed by a giant sword.

When he saw that bright red again, he fell silent. He had tried many conventional methods in an instant to deal with the moves used by this Third Order Mage, but without a doubt, none of them were effective.

The Blood of the Furnace absorbs and dissolves almost all conventional attacks, turning them into a pool of red liquid, including the Wind Element he controls.

He realized that if he only used these conventional attacks, he would have absolutely no chance of breaking through such a defense.

He needs to be more serious and use some more powerful attacks, but time is running out.

It's easy for him to activate it, but difficult to deactivate it. With the Alliance's Floating City about to return, he can't afford to use these attacks with so many side effects, after all, it's the price he's paid.

However, even without using these attacks, he could still make the mage regret meeting him if he spent some time.

He could disrupt the terrain and send the red liquid underground; he didn't believe the mage could maintain this state indefinitely.

But that's meaningless, because the Alliance always knows what spells their mages have, right? He can send this Tier 3 underground, and the Alliance can still rescue him.

After much deliberation, the Fourth Order Profession Holder ultimately decided not to continue the attack.

"Excellent, the Alliance mages are truly clever. How many third-tier the Alliance Third Order Mage have escaped from my grasp now?"

He glanced deeply at the pool of red liquid that left him somewhat helpless, then his figure began to blur, moving directly to Chachek's side, who was inserting the hilt of his sword into the abdomen of a mage, trying to extract information from him.

"Your Highness, we should go."

"So fast?"

"Those Fourth Order Mage received the alert that this place was under attack and have already left the Floating City, heading here."

How much time is left?

"Three..." He paused inexplicably, prompting Chachek to say with a hint of complaint.

"Isn't there still three minutes left?"

"Two..."

It seems that in this Fourth Order Profession Holder's worldview, a one-second interval is quite long. Chachek, somewhat speechless, said directly:

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go straight there, ignoring our companions."

A beige figure flashed by, Chachek disappeared from the ground, followed immediately by a deafening crash that echoed across the entire Battlefield.

A black blade fell from the sky and crashed deeply into the ground, causing cracks to spread rapidly for hundreds of meters.

The tortured mage collapsed to the ground, about to fall into the crevice.

A flash of sword light, and the next second, the mage was on the ground.

A tall figure, gripping a long sword, surveyed his surroundings, his eyes blazing with fury.

Eight minutes had passed since the alarm was sounded, and when he arrived, he saw only devastation.

"There are still people who haven't run away." The Fourth Order Mage of the Sword Chant School gripped his sword even tighter, and in a flash, he appeared in front of a follower of the God of War.

The believer was attacking the dormitory where the mages were the most numerous when, before he could even react to the sudden appearance of another person on his face, his body was cleaved in two by a sword.

He flashed past quickly, returning the favor to the lone Third Order Mage just as the Fourth Order mage had treated him.

Fran waited until the alarm had been triggered for twenty minutes before canceling the Blood of the Furnace. She lay in the pit and let Radiance repair her body for a full half minute before regaining her ability to move normally.

"Thank goodness, it's all over." Fran saw the massive Floating City streak across the horizon, and the sound of explosions had ceased, which was enough to indicate that the attack was over.

"But who on earth attacked the Alliance forces, and seemingly just at the exact moment the Floating City was leaving?" She blinked, thinking that this matter was probably not that simple.

"If he's not the master of the Lohan Archipelago, a Fourth Order wouldn't dare to act so boldly, then it must be another power on the continent."