Battle Against a Ninth-level Warrior

Arnold did not remain idle. He silently recited another spell and cast a Fifth-level Warrior Earthshaking Art.

Starting from the ground in front of Arnold, the entire surface began to tremble slightly. Like ripples, the tremors rapidly spread toward Ayed and swiftly reached the ground beneath his feet.

Ayed quickly leaped aside, shifting sideways to evade the Earthshaking Art. He knew he had to find a way to dispel that Gravity Spell, or there would be no way to continue fighting.

Ayed had personally tested the Gravity Spell of an Eighth-level Magus specializing in earth magic before, but their spells only produced eight times normal gravity. Arnold's Gravity Spell, however, was far stronger, reaching around ten times gravity. It was simply absurd.

After evading the Earthshaking Art, Ayed once more approached the range of the Greater Gravity Spell. A terrifying earthy-yellow glow radiated from his entire body, echoing the earthy-yellow glow of the hundred-meter Gravity Space.

Then, the earthy-yellow light emanating from Ayed seemed to merge into the light of the Gravity Space. Immediately afterward, the special energy formed from earth-elemental essence that constituted the Gravity Spell throughout the hundred-meter area was forcibly expelled.

Interesting, Arnold praised inwardly. But I can cast another Greater Gravity Spell whenever I want.

Still, Arnold was not that sadistic. He would wait until the right moment before casting another Greater Gravity Spell.

With the terrifying gravity gone, Ayed immediately tried to close in on Arnold and charged forward again.

Arnold recited another spell. This time, he cast the advanced form of Wind Blade—Wind Blade Soaring Dance.

Countless pale-blue wind elements rapidly formed Wind Blades in the air. More than a hundred large Wind Blades flew toward Ayed at high speed.

Ayed immediately circulated his battle qi, forming an earthy-yellow Battle Qi Shield. A multitude of Wind Blades sliced against the shield, producing sharp sizzling sounds.

Bracing himself against the Wind Blade assault, Ayed continued advancing toward Arnold.

Arnold cast another spell. This time, the magic he used was the Eighth-level Spiral Sphere.

A great amount of earth directly dispersed and surged into the sky, swiftly forming enormous earthy-yellow spherical stones.

Ayed's expression changed again. The moment he saw this spell, he assumed it was the Eighth-level Shattering Stone.

Forty earthy-yellow spherical stones hurtled toward Ayed at an unimaginable speed. Ayed also moved swiftly, preparing to dodge them.

However, Arnold cast another tenfold Greater Gravity Spell at that moment. It could be considered a Sixth-level Warrior spell, which was why he could cast it so quickly.

Once again, the Gravity Spell covered a hundred-meter radius, and earthy-yellow light spread throughout the area.

Again? Ayed grumbled inwardly.

This time, although Ayed relied on his powerful physique to forcibly withstand the tenfold gravity, his speed was greatly reduced to less than thirty percent of what it had been.

Naturally, six or seven spherical stones struck Ayed. His Battle Qi Shield had already been heavily depleted by the Wind Blades, and now the stones, carrying vibrating force, smashed into it. The shield was instantly torn apart, and the stones struck Ayed's body directly.

Ayed had not been idle either. The battle qi coating his greatsword slashed at the spherical stones. Even so, three or four stones still hit him from other angles.

Ayed's physical strength was formidable, already at the level of a Sixth-level Warrior. Even so, the stones smashed him hard enough to make him cough up blood.

What is going on with this Shattering Stone? Plenty of those stones hit the ground without seeming to do much damage, but when they hit me, I can feel a vibrating force inside them constantly tearing at my wounds.

Ayed had originally intended this match mainly as a spar, but after being injured, anger rose within him as well.

The wounds on Ayed's body suddenly became covered in a faint yellow glow, and the bleeding gradually stopped.

"Arnold, you truly are worthy of being a genius. Your Eighth-level magic is incredibly powerful, and it feels different from ordinary magic. I'm going to use my true strength now," Ayed shouted.

Ayed tensed his entire body as fierce winds blew his clothes about. With a series of sharp hissing sounds, earthy-yellow light gradually emerged from his body. Beneath that glow, it was as though the tenfold gravity no longer affected him at all.

Arnold saw only an afterimage before Ayed tore through the air, his greatsword carrying incomparable pressure as it stabbed toward Arnold.

Arnold refused to be outdone and raised Mooncleaver to block. Yet in an instant, Ayed used a technique to knock Mooncleaver from Arnold's hand, sending it flying to the distant ground.

Without bothering to retrieve Mooncleaver, Arnold directly raised an arm to block Ayed's greatsword. Earthy-yellow light flowed over his arm, effortlessly deflecting the force of the blade.

Then Arnold made a slight sweep with his arm, activated the Wind Escape Technique, and swiftly moved to another position to retrieve Mooncleaver.

His swordsmanship was not actually very impressive, since he had practiced for only a short time. Trying to use a sword to fight a swordsman was not a wise choice.

As he silently recited a spell, transparent azure wings unexpectedly appeared behind Arnold. The wings glimmered with blue light, and with a gentle flap, Arnold rose directly into the air.

Sensing trouble, Ayed swiftly slashed at him, but he was too late. Arnold flew twenty meters into the air.

High above the ground, Arnold recited another spell. This time, he immediately used his strongest spell—the Double Greater Gravity Spell.

Centered on the ground beneath Arnold, a semi-elliptical Gravity Space with a radius of five hundred meters and a height of forty meters formed. The twentyfold gravity made Ayed feel as though he were carrying a mountain on his back, and the greatsword in his hand fell directly to the ground.

Panting heavily, Ayed helplessly called out, "I concede."

Arnold immediately withdrew the Greater Gravity Spell and slowly descended.

"You let me win. I know Mr. Ayed still has some very powerful trump cards he has not used," Arnold said modestly.

"Arnold, why is your magic so powerful? I've fought Eighth-level Magi before. Even when using the same spells, their power was nowhere near comparable to yours." Ayed calmed his breathing slightly.

"Probably because I enjoy studying magic. I've made some slight improvements to all those spells," Arnold replied.

After the two chatted briefly, Yale and the guards reached the mountaintop and joined the conversation.

"Watching the two of you fight makes my blood boil. I really wish I had that kind of strength too," Yale said enviously.

"Yale, you're the heir of Dawson Commerce. Your wealth and influence rank among the greatest on the entire Yulan Continent. What more could you possibly be dissatisfied with?" Ayed teased Yale.

"But strength is the foundation," Yale argued. Influenced by this battle, Yale became much more diligent in his training after returning.