"Surround them! Formation Two!"
Under
With Julian's assistance — he was himself at the Crystallisation stage and adept at ambushes — the three Crystallisation stage Wizards inside the formation were immediately plunged into peril.
"Now, it's your turn!"
Seeing that the three Wizards had no hope of escape,
However, at this moment, his smile was probably more terrifying to the two Crystallisation stage Wizards across from him than the grin of a devil itself.
"Hale's Spikes!"
After seeing Leylin's smile and knowing he would absolutely not let them go, the two struck first.
Almost with just a thought, countless black spikes materialized and shot forth at near-instantaneous speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The myriad black spikes rained down like a torrential downpour.
"Useless!" A layer of fine, dense black scales erupted over Leylin's body, a cacophony of clanging sounds filling the air as sparks burst forth endlessly.
The black spikes shattered the moment they struck him, having virtually no effect beyond leaving a few pale marks on the dark scales.
Leylin's own physique was already astonishingly formidable, capable of withstanding first and second tier
Amidst the downpour of black spikes, Leylin seemed to transform into a primordial beast, forging ahead through the storm of sparks without slowing.
This savage, unstoppable advance immediately struck fear into the two Wizards opposite him.
"What do we do?! Think of something, quick!" Hill roared at Fane beside him, cold sweat already beading on his forehead.
He knew all too well how devastating his spells were. Yet the opponent had simply withstood them with a single layer of scales — what realm had his body actually reached?
Could it be that only those legendary Morning Star Wizards — those whose bodies had been reshaped by the power of the soul into the Morning Star Body — could hope to rival him?
"Earth Prison!" Fane was not idle on the other side. Numerous earth-yellow crystals materialized around his body as long and arcane syllables continuously spilled from his lips.
Once his chanting was complete, the ground trembled. The soil cracked open, revealing a crystalline jade structure within.
A cage,gleaming like a gemstone with brilliant light,suddenly descended and enveloped Lawrence.
"Earth Spirits! Heed my command. Bury him utterly in the abyss..."
A flash of joy crossed Fane's face before he cast even more spells. Earth-yellow lights flickered as masses of earth and rock coalesced into larger boulders, burying the cage beneath. Even the ground split open with fissures, as if to swallow the entire prison deep within.
"Well done, Fane!" Hill cheered excitedly from nearby, but then he saw his companion's strained smile.
"Careful! He's struggling inside! I can barely hold it!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each heart-stopping, thunderous impact, the earth and rock heaved, forming massive cracks.
More and more fissures merged together as shattered rock tumbled down. It was as if some terrifying monster was trapped inside, using brute force to warp the entire prison with its struggles.
With every heavy blow, Fane's complexion grew paler, as if he himself had been punched. By the final moments, he was coughing up mouthfuls of blood, his face ashen as a corpse's.
"Seal... seal it!" Blood gushed from the corners of his mouth as Fane managed to force out the words.
Rumble! Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, the massive stone prison was finally dragged into the fissure just before it could be completely destroyed, and the ground slowly closed over it.
"Excellent!" Hill let out a cry of relief, the tension he had been holding finally releasing.
Bang! At that moment, he saw his companion Fane, as if having exhausted every last ounce of his energy, collapse unconscious to the ground.
"Don't worry, partner. I'll get you out of here!"
Various lights flickered in Hill's eyes. Glancing at several dark figures among the Blood Serpent Warlocks not far away, he gritted his teeth and prepared to leave immediately.
"Master Yulian?"
Yulian watched the spot where Lawrence had been buried. "Shouldn't we go help?"
"Don't worry. That fellow never backs himself into a corner. He must have some trump card left!"
Fleur rolled her eyes. "Why are you suddenly speaking up for them? Just moments ago you were nodding along with me about letting things go!"
"I only agreed because I didn't know the guy was a freak!" Yulian grumbled inwardly, not daring to let it show on his face.
"Since Lord Raymond has shown his talent, I'm afraid he'll become the rising star of our organization from now on. His status will be incomparable to what it was before..."
The highest authority in the Ouroboros Ring was held by the three Morning Star warlocks on the Elder Council. Below them stood a host of bloodline marquises and nobles, who shared power among themselves.
But Yulian knew that above these bloodline marquises, there was actually one more special group!
They were the warlock seeds who had reached the Third Stage of Crystalization and held hope of advancing to Morning Star! There were precious few such individuals in the entire Ouroboros Ring — their status second only to the handful of Fourth Stage warlocks. They were provided with the finest resources, with one sole objective: to push toward Morning Star.
Of course, after gaining mysterious fortunes, surging in strength, and stepping into Crystalization, Robin had earned the right to stand on equal footing with them.
And now, Raymond had shown potential that was in no way inferior to theirs — perhaps even superior. Grand Duke Gilbert would surely give him far more attention!
"Looking at it now, the Family Head must have sensed his extraordinary nature the very first time they met. What foresight beyond ordinary mortals!"
Yulian said with genuine admiration, which made Fleur blush.
"You think you can leave? You haven't asked me!"
BOOM! The rock erupted, exposing a massive, gaping hole in the ground.
A dark figure blasted through a shower of rubble, charging out in a straight line.
"R-Raymond!" Hill looked down at Fane, who had crumpled unconscious on the ground, and couldn't even muster the will to cry.
Deep down, he was cursing the planners who had devised the whole scheme. How stupid could you have to be to target a monster like Raymond?
But before he could dwell on it any longer, Raymond — radiating a murderous aura — had already arrived before him.
"My lord! Spare my life..." Hill's voice warped as the trinkets and ornaments on his body shattered open, forming layers of shimmering, multicolored barriers that hovered around him.
"When you dared to ambush me, you should have been prepared to die!"
Raymond's expression was cold and ruthless. With the Morning Star warlocks staying out of the fray — each one held in check by the others — there were fewer and fewer things that could restrain him.
Moreover, since his strength could no longer be concealed, he had to display it with full force — to intimidate any other would-be schemers.
Bang! The black fist crashed forward, shattering the outermost layer of light in an instant. The remaining layers of defense immediately began to teeter on the verge of collapse.
"My lord! I'm willing to reveal the mastermind behind this!" Hill gritted his teeth and threw out his last remaining card.
"Not interested!"
Raymond genuinely had no interest in digging into whoever was pulling the strings. On the eve of war, using assassination and the elimination of enemy weaklings to sow panic was the simplest trick in the book.
He had no intention of getting entangled in that mess, only to end up tracing it back to a Morning Star warlock.
For now, it was more than enough to simply shatter the hand that had reached out toward him.
With that thought, Raymond's expression grew even more indifferent. He ignored Hill's pleas for mercy entirely, and under the other man's gaze of utter despair, he finally tore apart Hill's innate defenses completely.
Bang! A hideous head tumbled to the ground.
What followed was a fountain-like spray of crimson rain.
"As for this one... I'll leave it to Freya!" The unconscious Fein on the ground was no small merit, and Raymond immediately thought of Freya.
After a brief inspection revealed that Fein was merely suffering from spiritual power backlash and exhaustion, Raymond swiftly confiscated all of his spatial items and sealed off his sea of consciousness without hesitation.
With all his magical artifacts and potions seized and his spiritual power sealed, even a Crystallized Wizard like Fein would be unable to stir up any trouble.
"Hsss..."
On the other side of the battlefield, the battle within the Blood Serpent Warlock Corps' formation had also reached its most white-hot climax.
Although the Blood Serpent Warlocks were the elite of Freya's clan and were well-versed in several combined warlock arts, Freya was surprised to discover that the three Crystallized Wizards opposite them also commanded a secret cooperative technique. They had erupted with terrifying combat power, managing to hold on under the formation and her relentless assault.
"Let us go! Otherwise, you will most certainly not want to see the cost of keeping us here!"
The three Crystallized Wizards before Freya had now merged into a single monstrous entity.
The creature was three times the size of a normal human, bearing three heads and six arms, its body covered in flowing black runes — as if the three warlocks had fused into one.
The central head, that of an old man, opened its eyes and issued a final ultimatum to Freya.
"Don't trust him!"
A corner of the Wizard Formation cracked open, and a streak of light shot through to land beside Freya. Lei Lin had arrived.
"Hill and his men are already completely wiped out. You still think you can leave? Dream on!"
He naturally had no qualms about berating his enemies.
"Focus on controlling the Wizard Formation. I'll go to the front and hold them off!"
Seeing the fused Wizard ahead seem to stir with some movement, Lei Lin immediately instructed Freya, then spun around and charged forward.
The Warlock Corps' Wizard Formation was excellent. Its only flaw was the lack of a fulcrum bold enough to face the enemy head-on. Lei Lin saw this with perfect clarity.
And in his hands, the