Clash of Spellcasters

"Something's up!" Tregra's ears twitched slightly, and he immediately reached out to stop his companions behind him.

As expected of the Amani elite, they obeyed orders without question; the dozen-strong group fell silent in an instant.

Accompanied by a continuous sound of footsteps, a streak of red lightning suddenly burst out from the bushes not far away.

No! Not lightning—it was a Strider!

An elf, gripping a thick tree branch, held the reins in one hand and controlled his mount with ease. His gray-white hair fluttered in the air, looking brilliant and elegant under the sunset.

Tregra narrowed his eyes, grabbed the stone hand-axe at his waist, and slowly aimed at the galloping elven youth.

However, a thin yet powerful arm pressed down on him.

Turning his head in confusion, Tregra glared at Kergash, his anger self-evident.

"I advise you not to create extra trouble. It took the Master a great deal of effort to find the approximate location of that traitor. If these elves are alerted, all our previous efforts might go to waste." Alisa pressed her exquisite fingers against her lower lip, her sexy tongue playfully swirling over it. Her flirtatious demeanor caused the Amani elites to gulp repeatedly.

"Hmph, maybe this brat is your target." Zul'jin's order was to cooperate with Kergash. Although Tregra was dissatisfied, he didn't have the guts to defy the Warlord of Zul'Aman. After muttering a few words, he tucked the hand-axe back into his belt.

Yet, none of them expected that his words would prove prophetic.

Lanlos, while galloping, seemed to sense something wrong. He yanked the reins, and the Strider beneath him suddenly reared up, stopping shakily in place, while the cripple behind it remained firmly seated on its back.

Turning his head toward the hill behind him, he saw a patch of bushes swaying continuously.

A question mark appeared in Lanlos's mind. Was there wind just now?

"Warlala wuka!"

"Wakilala!"

On a certain coastline of the Golden Beach, Murloc Shaman and their kin scurried back and forth. Sometimes they carried withered branches from the forest, sometimes they picked up handfuls of dry grass from the meadow, or gathered shells and conch decorations from the beach and ocean, building their village in full swing.

That's right, a village. These Murloc Shaman wanted to occupy a place on the Golden Beach.

Sores, hidden behind a reef, spat out the chewed-up medicinal herbs, rolled them into a ball, and lifted his hem to reveal a hideous wound.

The charred skin and flesh were twisted together; even though it had scabbed over, one could almost still smell the scent of roasted meat.

Neither Nicole nor Lanlos was wrong in their assessment of Sores—he was a qualified ranger, but his opponent, that Murloc Shaman, had exceeded expectations.

It wasn't about strength, but the means of concealment.

Sores had never expected that the slightly larger Murloc Shaman would actually be a shaman!

Damn spellcaster, you could at least carry a staff, damn it!

Applying the crushed medicinal herbs evenly onto the wound, Sores's face twisted instantly from the sharp, stinging pain. However, a cooling sensation soon emerged from the wound, allowing him to let out a long sigh of relief.

This Murloc Shaman was very clever; not only did he not wear any ornaments that would prove his identity, but he also hid himself among the other Murloc Shaman. It wasn't until Sores launched a warning attack as usual, trying to drive these Murloc Shaman away, that the beast finally threw a Lightning Bolt.

It was fortunate that it only hit his chest, and fortunate that he was wearing standard-issue leather armor brought back from the army; otherwise, he would have really been done for.

Wrapping the wound simply with linen bandages, Sores spat at the Murloc Shaman who were building the camp. Just as he was about to get up and return to report, he froze in place upon turning his head.

On the nearby coastline, a cluster of bushes was growing stubbornly in the middle of the beach—so abrupt and conspicuous. More importantly, Sores could be certain that at least a minute ago, there was nothing there but sand!

Taken aback, the elven ranger seemed to recall something and immediately looked down. Through the gaps in the branches, he clearly caught a glimpse of brown hair fluttering within.

Ilana? Damn it! I warned her long ago that the most important thing in camouflage is the environment, the environment!

While Sores was frantic, Ilana's clumsy disguise also caught the attention of the Murloc Shaman, who gathered one after another toward the bush that was stubbornly growing on the beach.

If this continues, there's only death. Quick! Run!

Sores gripped the edge of the reef tightly, wishing he could tear it to shreds. However, no matter how agitated he was, Ilana was destined not to see it.

Seeing the enemies becoming more and more dense, Ilana wasn't stupid either. Gritting her teeth, she tore off her disguise in Sores's desperate gaze. Her exquisite longsword left a dazzling silver flash in the air, and accompanied by a continuous tearing sound, scarlet blood splattered amidst the golden and silver radiance.

"Disgusting Murloc Shaman! Hand over Sores, or I'll make you pay!" Easily wounding several Murloc Shaman who wore no armor, Ilana shouted sternly at the crowd. However, if one listened carefully, they would notice her voice was trembling.

The Murloc Shaman were indeed timid, but they weren't stupid. If Sores couldn't scare them away, Ilana certainly couldn't either.

However, Ilana's sudden appearance and the act of wounding their companions did cause the Murloc Shaman a certain amount of fear. They stood stunned in place for a moment, and both sides fell into silence.

"Danger!" Sensing something, Sores widened his eyes and rushed out of his hiding spot at once, wanting to step forward to protect the girl, but it was too late.

Sizzle!

A deep blue flash suddenly shot out from the crowd of Murloc Shaman, drawing a glaring arc in the air, and arrived in front of Ilana in an instant.

"No!"

BOOM!

Sores's heart-wrenching wail was cut off by the deafening explosion. The elven ranger stared blankly at the lingering electric light and sparks ahead, then turned his head mechanically, looking at the person and the bird that had just rushed out of the bushes, his face full of confusion.

Lanlos let out a long breath. He had to admit, his luck was too good. Both Fireball and Lightning Bolt were small and swift spells; the difficulty of controlling one to intercept the other was no less than shooting a bullet with a bullet.

But he had done it!

Yanking the reins hard, the Strider took a heavy step forward, golden sand splashing everywhere. The mystery and power of the spellcaster made these Murloc Shaman retreat while growling. Even the Murloc Shaman who had just launched the attack was intimidated and chose to hide in the crowd to observe.

"Sores!" Ahead, Ilana, having escaped the crisis, hadn't even had time to express her gratitude to Lanlos when the familiar face appearing in her line of sight filled her with joy.

Just as she made a move, a staff blocked her path at just the right moment.

"Great-aunt, can you take a look at our situation first?" Lanlos whispered, curbing the girl's impulse as his gaze locked onto the Murloc Shaman trying to hide within the crowd.

Upon learning that Sores was safe, Ilana clearly calmed down significantly. Realizing the surrounding Murlocs were letting out impatient, strange cries, she grew tense once more.

"Back up slowly; we have to get out of here." Lanlos never broke eye contact with the Murloc Shaman. His piercing stare, combined with his successful interception of the Lightning Bolt, undoubtedly forced the latter to hold Lanlos's strength in high regard.

And this became Lanlos's opportunity.

"But..." Ilana glanced at the spot where Sores was once again camouflaging himself, her words catching in her throat.

Yet, in the split second of her hesitation, a Murloc similar in size to the Shaman suddenly lunged from the crowd, shrieking as it hurled a spear with all its might.

No, that wasn't a spear! Was it... a fish bone?

Watching a streak of white light hurtling toward him, Lanlos immediately grabbed Ilana's arm: "Go!"

With someone taking the lead, the previously quiet Murlocs instantly boiled over. They snatched up whatever was at their feet, screaming as they pelted the two elves while sprinting forward on their spindly legs.

Ilana was certainly not foolish enough to stand there waiting for death; she followed Lanlos's momentum, flipped over, and sat in front of him. With the weight on its back doubled, the Strider let out a disgruntled whine, but a surge of scorching heat suddenly welled up on its back, forcing it to obey Lanlos's command.

Don't let the lack of lethality in these projectiles fool you; don't forget, there was still a Shaman hiding in the crowd.

"Watch out behind you!"

As they turned, a brilliant blue flash streaked across the edge of Ilana's vision. A Lightning Bolt tore through the golden sunset, flying straight toward Lanlos's back.

Bang!

A crisp shattering sound echoed across the beach once more, but this time, Lanlos did not gamble on whether the Goddess of Luck would stand by his side.

Charred wood chips scattered and flew as blue smoke rose; the staff in Lanlos's hand was now reduced to a mere stump. Although it was a spell, the non-conductive nature of the wood mitigated the vast majority of the damage. While Lanlos's act of blocking with the staff seemed absurd, aside from the explosive force leaving his palm slightly numb, he suffered no injuries at all.

"So long, suckers!" Waving the broken branch, Lanlos was about to give the Strider a little boost, but seeing the sparks flickering on its back, the creature let out a piercing cry with great foresight and bolted forward as if its life depended on it.

Although both sides had two legs, in the blink of an eye, the Strider had carried Lanlos and the girl out of the Murlocs' line of sight.

As for Sores, if he couldn't escape during such a massive commotion, he might as well be dead...