Magic Defense

"Whoosh..." "Ah!!!" A Lurker spike pierced through a soldier's thigh with brutal force. The spike stood over three meters tall, hoisting the warrior high into the air. Having already dropped his shield and sword, the soldier shrieked in agony as the tearing sensation in his leg reached a fever pitch. "Squelch!" The spike retracted, and the soldier was slammed onto the ground. However, the wound now extended from his thigh all the way to his waist. Death was his inevitable fate, but before the end, he was forced to endure endless torment.

"Kill me, please, I beg you, kill me, kill me, ah, ah, ah..." The soldier pleaded with his comrades to end his misery. Yet, according to military law, attacking a fellow soldier was the third most severe offense, punishable by death. Even if his comrades felt pity, they were helpless; they could only grit their teeth, look away, and charge forward desperately! Even without looking, the soldier's agonizing wails filled every man with terror.

Just then, Lushute led the remaining mages to the front of the formation and shouted, "Cast magic! Earth Wall, target the ground beneath our feet!" Simultaneously, the yellow crystal atop his foot-long staff flared. With a wave of his right hand, a vast stretch of ground in front of the army was instantly paved with a foot-thick wall of earth!

Lushute's maneuver inspired the other mages. The remaining earth mages followed suit, running at full speed while layering thick walls of earth over the ground beneath them.

Inspired by this, the mages of other elements joined in. The ice mages froze the newly formed earth walls to make them sturdier, while the fire mages scorched the remaining walls. Under the intense heat, the earth walls quickly hardened into brick-like structures, significantly boosting their defensive capabilities!

The actions of this twenty-man squad were observed by Ye Wang from the sky. He relayed the information back to the hive, and the ten Lurkers at the edge of the mine immediately locked their sights on the mage squad.

"Whoosh, whoosh... whoosh, whoosh..." Spikes erupted madly from beneath their feet. However, the scorched or frozen earth walls were exceptionally tough. Although the spikes eventually broke through, there was a 0.5-second delay before they breached the defense. For mages relying on powerful mental energy, that 0.5-second delay was enough to save their lives!

The unannounced attacks turned into delayed ones. The mages kept their mental energy focused on the ground, adjusting their positions the moment they detected signs of a spike. Over a distance of five hundred meters, the mage squad led the soldiers through without a single casualty!

Ye Luo watched the frontline battle via a live feed in his mind. The strength of these mages exceeded his expectations. "It seems I shouldn't underestimate the low-to-mid-level powerhouses of this continent. Ye Di, it's your turn."

Ye Di was not by Ye Luo's side but at the edge of the mine. He heard the command clearly despite the hundreds of meters between them. In the sky, one of the two Overlords floating alongside Ye Wang immediately transmitted the frontline visuals to Ye Di's eyes.

Ye Di suddenly dropped into a half-crouch, his body shifting into his true form—a Stegosaurus-like creature. He drove his tail deep into the earth, his eyes flashing with intense brilliance!

On the front line, a triumphant smile played on Lushute's lips. They had pushed forward eight hundred meters and were drawing closer to the mine. They had achieved this distance without a single casualty. With their wisdom, they had once again proven the power of magic. Moreover, once they took the hive and returned to the capital, Dieter would report the battle, and Lushute would surely receive high praise from the Mage Guild!

War? The Keren Kingdom had been peaceful for too long, so long that even the most elite soldiers seemed to have forgotten the taste of war. In war, death was the theme, but military merit was the climax that drove men forward! Lushute could even feel that upon returning to the Mage Guild, the generous rewards might just allow him to break through to the next level!

"BOOM!"

Suddenly!

A cataclysmic explosion rocked the earth!

Lushute was sent flying in an instant!

In mid-air, he saw the grief-stricken eyes of his companions and the terrified expressions of the soldiers behind him!

Then, the searing pain finally surged from his chest!

His keen perception, which had seemed to abandon him for a moment, only now came rushing back!

A massive spike had pierced through his crotch and exited his chest. In that moment, Lushute could even feel his own spine, now devoid of all sensation...

"How is this possible... Why was there no warning this time? Why was this attack so powerful? Why..."

No one could answer Lushute's questions, for Lushute could no longer utter them. The combination of ice, fire, and earth wall magic was indeed an obstacle for ordinary Lurkers, but for the Level 4 Hero Ye Di, it was no different from paper!

"Boom! Boom!" The spikes released by Ye Di were not only incredibly powerful but also thicker than those of ordinary Lurkers. Each strike shattered the magic-reinforced ground into fragments. After Lushute, two more mages fell in quick succession.

"Mages, retreat immediately!" Dieter, in the center of the army, roared in anguish. Mages were not like soldiers; one in three soldiers could cultivate battle qi, but you might not find a single person with magical talent in a hundred. These men were recruited from the Mage Guild; if they suffered casualties, he would not only have to pay a large sum to their families but also pay a heavy indemnity to the Mage Guild!

Moreover, with the mages' help, they were now less than two miles from the edge of the mine...

"The final two miles! All soldiers, once we cross this distance, we will find those damned magical beasts and tear them to pieces to avenge our brothers! Kill, kill, kill!" Dieter held his broadsword high, his voice resonating across the sky, amplified by his battle qi!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Morale was a strange thing. When soldiers faced unknown dangers, human fear dominated their thoughts. Yet, in a crowd of thousands, one man's bloodlust could quickly infect others, turning those who were moments ago cowardly into paragons of bravery...

Under the threat of death, the final two miles became the climax of the soldiers' struggle. Their general told them that once they crossed this final distance, victory would be theirs. They would not only find the hope of survival but would return to their homeland as heroes!

The soldiers erupted. These men, whose physical fitness already rivaled Earth's special forces, sprinted forward. Two miles was nothing more than the blink of an eye!

In the sky, through Ye Wang's eyes, the ant-like soldiers were charging frantically like a black tide, drawing ever closer to the mine...

At the bottom of the mine, the right corner of Ye Luo's mouth curled upward. It was clearly a smile, yet Angelina, standing beside him, felt a bone-chilling cold...

"Ye Luo, I beg you, please... don't hurt my father..." Angelina looked haggard, gazing at Ye Luo with a pitiful expression.

Ye Luo sighed and nodded imperceptibly. A thought stirred in his mind!

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

As the soldiers who had crossed the death zone looked with joy at the massive, Stegosaurus-like creature within their line of sight, they knew they had succeeded. Without needing any orders, they charged toward the beast, eager to use its blood to honor their fallen comrades. Yet, at that very moment, the soldiers in the lead suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet begin to tremble...