The Venom-Pouched Leopard, upon seeing the enormous raven shadow Sagreles had transformed into, unexpectedly turned and fled.
Its massive body streaked between the dunes at an astonishing speed, nearly leaving behind a blurred afterimage beneath the moonlight.
"Trying to run?" Sagreles frowned, his wand tracing a complex pattern through the air. "Sandstorm Bind!"
In an instant, the ground shook violently. A hundred-meter-high wall of sand rose from the earth and swiftly closed in like a living thing, trapping the beast within.
Sagreles descended from the air, his black robes snapping in the moonlight, and immediately followed with a second spell. "Quicksand Trap!"
A mile-wide stretch of sand instantly liquefied, forming a massive vortex that devoured everything.
The Venom-Pouched Leopard struggled wildly in the quicksand, letting out deafening roars. Its toxic breath distorted the surrounding air.
Hovering in midair, Sagreles raised his wand, ancient runes glowing at its tip. "Eternal Ice Coffin!"
An arctic chill swept outward from him, freezing every grain of sand in its path.
Within seconds, the entire quicksand field had frozen into a crystalline glacier, shimmering with an eerie blue light beneath the moon. Through the ice, the beast's roaring form could still be clearly seen, frozen in that instant.
It was the first time this ancient runic magic had been used in actual combat, and its results were unexpectedly excellent.
Sagreles put away his wand, then took out a crystal bottle and tossed it into the air. It began absorbing the poisonous mist lingering in the air.
To ensure nothing went wrong, he threw out more than ten spare containers in succession. Only after the night sky had cleared and starlight fell once more did he slowly collect the crystal bottles and turn toward the village.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. Other than the faint crunch