The Blossoming of Magic

The unfamiliar fluctuations of magic and the army's sudden halt sent the mages behind them climbing out of their carriages one after another.

"Commander Yarman, President Thomas, who are those people up ahead?" the presidents of the five major guilds—Nicia, Goriu, Sidi, Kleberd, and Rosess—gathered around Yarman and Thomas, frowning as they asked.

At Thomas's command, the fifty-odd mages who had come with him had already rushed to the front lines and begun chanting spells to unleash their magic!

As fireballs and tongues of flame appeared behind the merchant, the pursuing Zerglings immediately began suffering heavy casualties.

"Hyah! Hyah!" The warrior driving the carriage had fallen to the rear. But with the earlier wall of fire blocking the way and the mages now coming to their aid, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Pant, pant!" Just then, five Zerglings burst straight out of the ground. One sprang at the side of the carriage, its claws sweeping across the warhorse's head. The horse's enormous head was sliced clean off with ease!

The warhorse didn't even have time to whinny in pain. Its four legs kept running on momentum for two more steps after its head was severed, then it crashed to the ground. The carriage's front end slammed into the earth, and the sudden force hurled the driver violently into the air!

"Ahhh!" Before the warrior could hit the ground, the Zerglings that had burst from the earth leaped high into the air, their claws slashing across him!

"Thud, thud..." The poor man finally hit the ground, but all that remained of him was a heap of mangled flesh!

"Scrape, scrape, scrape..." The speeding carriage continued to skid across the ground on sheer momentum, the two wooden shafts used to harness the horse gouging deep furrows into the earth!

"Louis!!!" The fifth-level mage let out a howl of anguish. He stopped running and charged toward the Zerglings!

"Damn it, has rage clouded his judgment?" Yarman frowned. In a flash, Diamond-level battle aura burst from him. He became a blur as he reached the fifth-level mage, then brought his hand down on the man's neck, knocking him unconscious. The two fourth-level mages behind their leader clearly understood that Yarman had done it for their captain's sake, so neither of them reacted strongly.

The wall of fire died out, and the Zerglings surged forward like a flowing river!

By now, the mages had finished preparing their spells, and one after another they hurled them at the Zergling horde. Magic of every color made the whole area dazzle.

"Boom, boom, boom..." A burst fireball, a size larger than an ordinary fireball, plunged into the Zergling horde and exploded, becoming a huge blaze that engulfed more than a dozen Zerglings. The force of the blast sent over twenty others flying. One of them was hurled more than ten meters before crashing hard into a tree.

The flames came and went quickly. As the blazing explosion faded, the dozen or so Zerglings it had engulfed were left as charred remains. Their armor, which could withstand ordinary sword strikes like iron plating, had been utterly defenseless against the burst fireball. Yet the Zerglings hurled away by the blast showed astonishing vitality. They staggered to their feet, fixed their eyes on the mages, roared, and charged again!

But before this Zergling could take three steps, a white spot suddenly appeared beneath its feet. It was freezing cold, and the chill rapidly spread from under it! Even though the Zerglings didn't understand magic, they could still recognize its power. The creature immediately bent its powerful hind legs, gathering strength before leaping toward the distance!

"Crik, crik, crik, crik..." But before the Zergling could escape, the white spot burst into action even faster. Centered on the spot, an intensely frigid force surged up from the ground, freezing every Zergling within a three-meter radius into an ice statue! The leaping Zergling's head and body had escaped the frozen area, but its legs weren't so lucky. They were trapped fast in the ice.

The Zergling let out two agonized howls. Seeing the white frost creep from its legs up its body, it began to struggle violently. Then came a sharp crack! Its legs, frozen in the ice, broke clean away from its body!

Red fire magic, white water and ice magic, green wood magic, yellow earth magic, and silver lightning magic swept over thousands upon thousands of Zerglings. After just one volley, more than two thousand had died. The surviving Zerglings had learned their lesson. At last, they stopped charging, turned, and fled.

At the same time, in the City Lord's Mansion in Morton, north of the battlefield, Ye Luo watched the scene relayed by the Flying Ant. He tapped the wooden table beside his seat in a steady rhythm with his right index finger. "Thump, thump, thump..."

"My Emperor, these mages are fierce..." Ye Yi pursed his lips.

"So what? Under My Emperor's invincible strategy, they can only meet their deaths!" Ye You flattered Ye Luo with a perfectly serious expression.

Ye Luo looked at the fifth-level mage who had been rescued and was now being helped to his feet by Yarman, Thomas, and the others. A relaxed smile touched his lips. "The plan is already seventy percent complete. Brothers, go get some rest. Tonight, we'll crush the kingdom's First Legion in one fell swoop!"

"You... you're the army of the Keren Kingdom? Wait, I know you! You're Yarman, commander of the Keren Kingdom's First Legion!" The rescued mage had just raised his head, gratitude and grief in his eyes, when he pointed at Yarman in surprise.

Yarman studied the fifth-level mage closely, but couldn't recall him at all.

"It's only natural that you don't remember me. It must have been about twenty years ago. You were still a young man then, and you came to our country to study combat techniques at Frossa Academy..."

"Frossa Academy?" Everyone present was startled. They weren't surprised because Yarman had studied at Frossa Academy. Rather, they had caught the mage's choice of words: our country. He had clearly said our country's Frossa Academy...

Frossa Academy was one of the top three warrior academies in the Saint Paul Empire. If so, this fifth-level mage was actually from the Empire!

"Esteemed mage, I may have been too young to remember you back then. I don't know your name..." Yarman displayed none of the lofty bearing of a legion commander. On the contrary, he treated this mage, whose level was slightly lower than his own, with impeccable courtesy.

Of course, everyone knew this was because of the Empire behind the mage...

"Ulysses. You can call me Ulysses. I can hardly believe you've reached the Diamond Fighter stage in the mere twenty years since we last met!"

Thomas frowned slightly, interrupting their conversation. "Mage Ulysses, we may have to put reminiscing aside for now. The Demon Beasts that were pursuing you were extremely savage, so I'd like to know why you were being chased. After all, an entire Zerg army may already be on the march!"