The Arcane Orb before Patrick began expanding rapidly, its color shifting from blue to ocher. As vast amounts of Arcane energy poured into it, the Arcane Orb gradually began shrinking, its color deepening into dark brown. Patrick could now feel the Arcane energy inside it on the verge of bursting forth.
The Arcane Orb flew into the sky, radiating deep yellow light like a miniature sun shining down on the earth. Every elf present turned their gaze toward the immense energy contained within this celestial body of energy.
"Super Arcane Magic: Arcane Mass Point!" Patrick shouted the name of the move.
Suddenly, the celestial body projected countless runes into the air. Magic Patterns hovered overhead, and sets of runic combinations appeared in the air, as though someone had carved runes into it.
Patrick had Ellen maintain her mana output while he devoted all his efforts to controlling his Spiritual Power to constrain the Arcane Mass Point's size. Then he compressed his Spiritual Power, continually shrinking the Arcane Mass Point.
Suddenly, the runic combinations and Magic Patterns in the air were rapidly sucked into the Arcane Orb. The air seemed to fall still for an instant. As the axes hurled by the Trolls flew through the air, the Arcane Orb slowly altered their trajectories, drawing them toward it.
Then the trees began tearing free of the earth's embrace. The ground also split apart and slowly flew toward the Arcane Orb. The Trolls sucked into the sky had no idea what was happening. They flailed their arms and legs wildly in the air, struggling without pause, but it did them no good. They could only watch as they were drawn up to the Arcane Orb, then fell lifeless.
Within moments, the Arcane Orb in the sky had become a huge ball of earth, like a massive meteor, except that this meteor hovered in midair.
Many Amani Axe Throwers and Amani Berserkers were sucked into the air, then buried beneath chunks of earth. This enormous Arcane Mass Point became a floating grave for the Amani warriors. Even the rafts and other equipment the Trolls had prepared were all sucked into the air. Powerful Arcane energy spilled out in all directions. The Troll priests.
An enormous rocky pit appeared in the ground. The entire battlefield seemed to have frozen as everyone looked toward the Arcane Mass Point.
"Th-this, this... this is the great power of the Arcane?" Alleria was utterly shocked.
"..." Hawkspear was completely stunned, as though he had lost his voice, as though he had gone numb. He could neither speak nor form an expression, merely staring at the "Arcane Mass Point" in astonishment.
"By the Sunwell, what am I looking at?" said Ranger A.
"Oh, my heavens," said Ranger B.
"The power of the Arcane. This is the power of the Arcane." The two accompanying mages fell into a state of extreme excitement.
"We need to retreat immediately. Once the Trolls come to their senses, getting away won't be easy." Patrick's weak voice brought everyone back to reality.
"Retreat."
"Then I'll leave the rest to you." As soon as Patrick finished speaking, his vision went black and he passed out. With Patrick unconscious, the Arcane Mass Point went out of control and crashed violently into the ground, throwing the Troll army into chaos.
Alleria led the troops in retreat amid the confusion. Fortunately, the Arcane Mass Point had caused such panic among the Trolls that only a small number pursued them, failing to hinder the troops' withdrawal.
Once they felt there were no more pursuers and received the scouts' report, the group slowed slightly. After all, they had narrowly escaped death, having just broken out of the Trolls' encirclement.
When the East Sanctum came into view, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their taut nerves finally relaxing. They all went to wash up, then drink and eat, or get a good sleep and rest.
Within the barrier, the weather was always fair and sunny. The elves greatly enjoyed the comfortable lives the Sunwell provided.
After washing and tidying herself up, Alleria returned to the Eastern Sanctum Tower to prepare her report. Their thrust into the Life Forest had destroyed, in one stroke, the Trolls' plot to cross the river in the forest's north and attack Farstrider Lodge,
while also killing two Troll priests and a hundred Troll warriors. The Trolls' military plan also needed to be submitted to the Silvermoon Council so it could respond. Relying solely on the East Sanctum as a forward base would mean losing control of the entire Life Forest, and they would be unable to learn the Trolls' intentions in the forest in time.
This was very necessary. Based on the results of this battle, Alleria intended to recommend that the council seize the Life Forest by force and establish mage towers and defensive fortresses there. That way, Silvermoon City would have complete control over all of Eversong Woods, and the Amani Trolls would abandon any thought of invading it.
In her battle report, Alleria specifically mentioned that Patrick had performed outstandingly in the battle and was a gifted spellcaster. The success of the battle had also demonstrated his exceptional command abilities and Arcane talents.
Putting down the battle report, Alleria went to Patrick's room. The scent of Arcane energy now permeated the entire room, coming from the Arcane energy spilling out of Patrick's body. Alleria's face flushed slightly. Every elf was drawn to the scent of the Arcane.
Alleria looked at Patrick, who was still sleeping peacefully. She had originally intended to send him back to Silvermoon City for treatment by the priests, but the priest at the East Sanctum had said that he had merely overtaxed his mind and was not injured. The Holy Light could do nothing for Spiritual Power fatigue, so Alleria had left Patrick at the East Sanctum to recuperate.
Now he could only use his mind to exchange * mental power with Ellen. Recovering from the severe depletion would still take some time.
"...I'm practically dying. I never thought the Arcane Mass Point would take such a mental toll," Patrick said.
His mana had been exhausted, and his entire body had been drained dry. Fortunately, he had used Ellen as a high-capacity backup battery. His mind had also suffered considerable harm, and his head felt ready to split.
[You were the one who insisted on using that move. Although your Arcane Mass Point can kill enemies very effectively over a wide area, your Arcane practice is still immature, and you haven't fully mastered that move either. Besides, the animal god connected to the Troll priest at the time was merely a projection of a divine soul.
If you encountered the actual Dragonhawk god, bear god, or the like, they would simply forcibly seal the Arcane energy around you and sever your mental connection to the Arcane Mass Point. That move of yours would be rendered useless on the spot. A divine soul's large-scale mental manifestation is no laughing matter.]
"So the Trolls' Loa, their animal gods, aren't as useless as they were portrayed in my previous life?" Patrick asked.
[Before the Titans discovered Azeroth, the Troll Giants, the predecessors of the Trolls, already existed. They were tall, powerful, and agile, with great combat strength and astonishing regenerative abilities, and they had developed a highly advanced civilization on Azeroth.
Later, the Old Gods infected Azeroth and transformed a group of Qiraji into the Aqir, establishing the Azj'Aqir Empire.
Soon afterward, the Trolls' great empire of Zandalar and the Aqir's Azj'Aqir Empire began a fierce, prolonged war, which continued until the Trolls utterly defeated the Aqir. This proved that the Voodoo and Loa the Trolls believed in were not so weak and barbaric. On the contrary, they were powerful-powerful enough to defeat the armies of the Old Gods,] Ellen explained.
Patrick was speechless. The Trolls' gods were that formidable, yet the Trolls didn't seem to be doing very well these days.
Before you continue