Rolling on the ground, Lucian had no time to pay attention to anything else. Instantly, a duplicate split away from his body, wrapped in the same blazing flames that formed a shield — even the monocle he had put on that morning perched over its left eye.
Second-circle arcane magic "Mirror Image," one of the three second-circle spells Lucian had currently constructed within his soul. The other two were "Mechanical Mind" and "Maskelyne's Acid Arrow."
No sooner had the mirror image separated than a sickly green ray descended from midair. No matter how Lucian dodged, it struck him with swift, unerring precision. Escaping the lock-on of a sixth-circle high-level mage's spiritual field — unless one was a powerhouse at the Heaven Knight level!
The clone shattered like glass into countless points of light, yet the sickly green ray did not dissipate. After dimming slightly and drifting off course, it corrected itself and struck Lucian's true body directly.
The thick flame shield surged upward, then rapidly disintegrated into individual crimson particles that scattered around him.
Sixth-circle arcane magic "Disintegrate!"
Just as the remnant green ray was about to hit Lucian, clusters of sunlight-bright flames suddenly erupted, continuously breaking down and continuously expending themselves.
After the delay from "Mirror Image" and the blocking from "Greater Flame Shield," Lucian finally activated the Fire Weaver's bracelet at the very last moment!
Even so, the "Polymorph Robe" on Lucian's body developed patch after patch of blank space, as if portions had been wiped clean from existence.
If not for the layered protection of three spells and one robe, the fate of Lucian's body and soul would have been unimaginable!
Moreover, the power of this Disintegrate was considerably lower than Lucian had expected. After all, Sunfire Ward was only a second-circle spell. By Lucian's estimation, the Polymorph Robe should have been completely destroyed to neutralize it.
"A high-level mage?"
Long experience facing danger had trained Lucian not to dwell on any unnecessary thoughts at this critical moment. With utmost composure, he activated the still partially intact Polymorph Robe.
One after another, mummies wrapped in black bandages and reeking of decay rose from the ground, lunging toward Lucian's crimson-particle shroud at speeds that rivaled an ordinary knight's.
Besides these terrifying undead — immune to fifth-circle spells and below, as well as physical attacks from a Great Knight — there were also ghastly gray-green wights, each capable of casting necromantic spells.
But when the mummies swung their fists and dispersed the lingering, defenseless flames of the Greater Flame Shield, there was nothing inside — Lucian had vanished!
High above, the grim necromancer whose face was hidden beneath a hood let out another soft grunt of surprise. But his spiritual field quickly detected something amiss: "He turned into a mouse and burrowed underground?"
He raised a hand and pointed. The ground suddenly shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Sixth-circle arcane magic "Earthquake!"
The dilapidated carriage toppled to one side, rocking up and down. The rotting corpse of the coachman was shaken to pieces. Yet the black figure that had fallen from high in the sky remained perfectly still, as if devoid of any life force.
Below ground, in the winding network of mouse tunnels, the red-eyed "mouse" that was Lucian felt the earth and rock in every direction crumbling in violent tremors. He realized that if he waited any longer he would be buried alive, so he burst from the tunnel, dismissing the polymorph as he went, ready to activate the "Elemental" ring and gamble everything!
Lucian harbored no hope of shaking a high-level mage's lock by running around. He only wished to buy time — time for Archmage Lavendie and other high-level mages from nearby estates to notice and come to his rescue. The Grand Arcanists were absorbed in studying "Nature's Will"; such a minor matter might not concern them.
At the same time, Lucian finally saw clearly who the black figure collapsed among the carriage wreckage truly was — Felipe of the Pale Hand. And the one who had killed him was also a necromancer!
High above, Traquil's eyes blazed with two points of crimson light that pierced through his hood to show on the outside. He was about to cast the sixth-circle spell "Death Gaze" upon Lucian —
Suddenly, from the chest of Felipe, who had been lying motionless at the side like a corpse, burst waves of deep, dark radiance. Every black mummy and gray-green wight within fifty meters ceased moving, then simultaneously self-destructed — a silent, soundless explosion!
The dark energy produced by the explosions converged into a terrifying longsword covered in countless eerie eyes. In an instant, it cleaved into Traquil.
Felipe was not dead after all. He had concealed himself from both Traquil and Lucian, delivering the most lethal blow to his enemy at the most critical moment.
A seventh-circle spell from the "Immortal Throne" talisman — "Sword of Darkness!"
Not only could it control all nearby undead, but it could also gather the power of death into a longsword. Each strike could bypass most defenses, inflict death energy upon the target, and reduce them by one level — impossible to recover without a special ritual!
Having already fought a fierce battle to "kill" Felipe high in the sky, Traquil had exhausted the Trigger Spell fixed to his body. Moreover, Felipe had previously cast a similar "Sword of Darkness," which led Traquil to believe he had already activated the Immortal Throne's power — and so he failed to dodge this sudden attack.
The dark shadow of the blade seemed to absorb all light. Traquil instantly dropped from a sixth-circle high-level mage to a fifth-circle mid-level mage, and the "Death Gaze" he had been preparing to cast naturally dissipated.
Seeing this, how could Lucian not seize the opportunity? The faint purple gem on his right hand's "Elemental" ring blazed like the sun. Around Traquil, a vortex of black, blue, green, gold, and other colors instantly materialized, swallowing him whole — tearing savagely, ruthlessly ravaging his body, his soul, and everything on his person composed of elemental matter.
Seventh-circle arcane magic "Elemental Vortex"!