A Forceful Kill

Ian darted into the woods, sensing a powerful aura rapidly closing in behind him. His heart tightened.

The pursuer was incredibly fast, and his aura was even stronger than Nolan's had been.

But this time, his opponent was not half-crippled like Nolan had been.

He did not dare flee in a straight line. He constantly changed direction through the forest, trying to use the terrain to shake his pursuer.

But his opponent was experienced and remained close on his heels.

One chased while the other fled. Before long, they had gone several miles deep into the dense forest, far from the main road.

A small clearing appeared ahead. Ian suddenly stopped and turned around.

The Advanced Apprentice pursuing him also stopped, standing thirty meters away as he tilted his head and examined Ian.

He was a gloomy-looking middle-aged man in a dark red robe, with several rings on both hands.

His aura was clearly different from that of Shadowmoon apprentices, and a faint bloody stench seemed to linger around him.

"Why did you stop running?"

The gloomy man sneered. "Hand over the magic stones, potions, and valuables on you, and I can let you die more comfortably."

Ian did not answer. His eyes narrowed slightly.

The Eye of Vigilance hung high overhead, monitoring the surroundings as he searched for any other enemies lying in wait.

"Courting death!" Seeing Ian's wandering gaze and realizing he was being ignored, the gloomy man's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

He raised a hand and pointed. "Corrosive Pierce!"

A thin black line shot forth, carrying a pungent stench as it stabbed straight at Ian's face.

Although Advanced Apprentices could not use Instant-Cast Sorcery, their casting time was still extremely short.

This was a corrosive Darkness-element Wizardry spell with powerful penetration and deadly poison.

"Kryst'thal!"

Ian shouted softly, and the Crystal Energy Barrier formed almost instantly before him.

Pfft!

The black line struck the shield and nearly pierced through it completely before being neutralized by layer after layer of crystal walls.

"Oh? You cast pretty quickly." The gloomy man was somewhat surprised, but he soon sneered again.

"Let's see how many times you can block it!"

His fingers flicked repeatedly as he continuously chanted spells.

One Corrosion Ray after another shot out in an unbroken stream.

Ian kept the shield in front of him, stomped down, and rapidly retreated out of the spell's attack range.

Just as the man's first round of attacks slowed and he prepared a stronger spell—

Ian suddenly halted, then charged forward at high speed.

"I've already experienced your spells. Now, taste mine!"

Before his words had even faded, two deep-blue Frost Rays shot forth.

The rays suddenly separated in midair, curving around from both sides to attack him from the left and right, sealing off his room to dodge.

"Hm?!" The gloomy man froze, even blinking in disbelief.

He had not seen Ian chant anything at all.

"Instant-Cast Sorcery!"

He immediately understood, and his heart turned cold as he realized he had encountered a formidable opponent.

A ring on his hand flashed, and a dark red Blood Shield enveloped him.

Pfft! Pfft!

The two rays struck the shield at the same time, erupting with frigid power.

A thick layer of ice rapidly formed across the Blood Shield's surface, spreading inward and corroding it as tiny ice crystals continued to emerge.

With his vision blocked, the gloomy man grew highly vigilant and hurriedly extended his Mental Power outward.

He watched as the Blood Shield continued to thin, while the chill hindered the circulation of his Magic Power and made it sluggish.

"Instant-cast ice spells really are troublesome!"

The Magic Power in his body began to surge violently.

With a loud bang, he shattered all the ice around him.

"Boy, you've successfully angered—"

Before he could finish, a vast expanse of deep-blue streaks of light flew rapidly toward him.

Freezing air spread madly, and the temperature in the clearing plummeted.

"Ah..." The gloomy man roared in fury, no longer daring to hold anything back.

After activating several more Blood Shields, he formed hand seals with both hands and began chanting a lengthy incantation.

A heart-palpitating dark energy began to gather.

Ian's pupils contracted, and every hair on his body stood on end.

An overwhelming threat of imminent death washed over him!

It was far more terrifying than Nolan's Death Knell!

"I can't let him finish!"

He quickly swallowed a Recovery Potion, stopped conserving Mental Power, and once again frantically activated the Frost Rune.

In midair, one freezing ray after another appeared out of nowhere...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

A series of explosive crashes rang out as the ice around the gloomy man trembled and thickened without end.

The gloomy man's expression darkened as his chant was interrupted.

The Blood Shields around him rose and shattered one after another, while his Wizard Tool rings gradually ran out of power as well.

The ice accumulated ever thicker until it completely wrapped around him, forming a small iceberg.

"I won't die here!"

The gloomy man hardened his resolve. After silently chanting for a moment—

He spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying it over the ice before him.

Sizzle...

The blood seemed to be incredibly hot, quickly melting away all the ice around his upper body.

"Now!"

A fierce glint flashed through Ian's eyes.

He mobilized the maximum amount of Mental Power, and a blazing light lit up at his fingertips.

"Ignis! Maximum Output!"

A Scorching Ray nearly twice as thick as usual burst forth.

Like a crimson meteor, it shot straight at the gloomy man who was about to break free from the ice.

Sensing the fatal threat, the gloomy man frantically urged his Magic Power in an attempt to shatter the ice and dodge.

But there were simply too many layers of ice!

He had only struggled halfway out when the ray arrived!

"No..."

The gloomy man let out a brief scream before the exploding flames and shattered ice blades tore him apart!

When the flames faded, only scattered fragments remained, along with a mess of ice and fire marks.

Ian rubbed his temples and let out a long breath.

What he had just used was a small technique he had recently devised.

Relying on the strength of his Mental Power's condensation, he cast at maximum capacity to increase the spell's power.

"Looks like it worked quite well."

Ian quickly stepped forward, took the rings and valuables from the man, then sped toward Nightfall Town.

As he ran, he used the Eye of Vigilance to monitor his surroundings.

Thinking of the unfinished spell the gloomy man had been casting, Ian still felt lingering fear.

But there was also... an indescribable thrill and exhilaration!

"At least an elite Advanced Apprentice, killed head-on by me! Hahaha..."

He knew the gloomy man had died because he had underestimated him, but it was not simply carelessness on the man's part.

In any one-on-one fight against an instant-cast wizard, without special defensive methods, one would be continuously worn down and remain in a passive position the entire time.

The sheer power of Instant-Cast Sorcery had been displayed vividly through these two battles!

"My strength has already given me the qualifications to survive in this brutal war. I can even hunt proactively!"

Outside Nightfall Town, Ian found a secluded place and dealt with the traces of battle on his body.

After passing through the gates, he returned to Starleaf Apothecary with an unconcerned expression.

After closing his door, he immediately inspected the spoils from this battle.

The gloomy man had more than three hundred magic stones, some intermediate potion ingredients, and several commonly used healing, antidote, and Recovery Potions.

Unfortunately, most of the Wizard Tool rings had been overloaded and damaged. Only one remained usable.

Besides those, there was also a thin booklet—Blood Erosion.

"Not a bad haul." Ian smiled and put everything away.

Although he did not intend to learn Darkness-element Wizardry, he could sell it or trade it to someone else.

He sat down cross-legged and began meditating to recover.

In his mind, every detail of the battle replayed over and over.

He summarized his experience and reflected on his shortcomings.