In less than a second, the high-rank rogue not only dodged the Frost Nova but also used Shadowstep to slip behind Jaina.
In a battle between a high-rank stealth class practitioner and an archmage, every move was lethal.
Jaina, who had held the advantage just moments earlier, was now on the defensive.
The poisoned dagger skimmed Jaina's collarbone, thrusting toward her throat.
The fight seemed to have reached a moment of life or death, but in the next second, the tide turned again.
A pale arcane glow flashed, and Jaina instantly vanished from where she stood.
When Jaina reappeared before everyone's eyes, a sharp, frigid spike of ice had already formed in her hand.
Whoosh! Slash!
The ice spike shot from her hand, flying straight toward the high-rank rogue's forehead.
Watching from a short distance away, Rowan felt his heart speed up and slow down as though he were riding a roller coaster. One second, Jaina had been in mortal danger; the next, she seemed to have victory in her grasp, needing only one final strike to kill her opponent.
This was way too intense.
Unfortunately, the ice spike struck a pale purple cloak, which stripped away all its magical power.
In that brief span, Jaina and the high-rank stealth user had outmaneuvered each other several times. When their exchange ended, Jaina's expression remained perfectly calm, displaying exceptional combat discipline.
The high-rank stealth user's surprise attack on Rowan's warship was only the beginning. By keeping Jaina occupied, the high-rank rogue protected the pirates' small warship.
Without the high-rank rogue holding her back, Jaina would already have cast an elemental spell, gathered a vast quantity of seawater, and formed a giant elemental creature to overturn the pirates' small warship.
As Jaina used a detection spell to search for the rogue, two