Rumble!!!
The world seemed to freeze for an instant.
Several seconds later, the surrounding scene finally returned to normal.
What had just happened was like a film suddenly jamming mid-playback.
In the next moment, a massive wave of energy exploded outward in all directions.
At the center of the storm, black flames and silver-white light continued to twist around each other, devouring one another.
Creak...
At the outermost edge of the battlefield, where Marbu had set up the metal prison, the silver-white cage groaned under the strain.
After several minutes, the terrifying energy storm finally dissipated.
Not a single scratch marred Marbu's body — not even a few strands of his hair were out of place. His eyes locked onto Leilin's position as he thrust one hand forward in a grabbing motion. "Kid! Get over here!"
The battered metal cages nearby seemed to obey a silent command, rapidly converging inward.
Leilin's body seized up as several silver-white chains wrapped around him, dragging him involuntarily toward Marbu.
"Go to hell!!!"
Marbu charged forward with explosive force. The spikes and blades covering his body shot out like a rainstorm, each one carrying immense energy — a single spike would be enough to critically wound an ordinary First-level Wizard.
"Falling Star Descent!"
Leilin's low shout rang out as the dark-red glow on his body merged with the black sheen of his scales, releasing a strange ring of light.
Crack! Crack! His muscles bulged, and he snapped the silver-white chains apart with sheer brute force.
Cling! Cling!
Silver-white needles and blades struck the barrier of light, producing crisp metallic sounds and sending sparks flying before being deflected.
"Is this all you've got? How disappointing!"
A flicker of disappointment seemed to flash through Leilin's eyes — and in the next instant, his pupils turned amber.
"If these are all the tricks you have, I'm sorry, but you're going to die here today!"
In the blink of an eye, a strange light erupted from Leilin's eyes, shooting straight toward Marbu's gaze.
Innate Wizardry — Petrifying Gaze!
Marbu's charging figure faltered, and then a layer of greyish-white stone began spreading outward from the area around his eyes.
Buzz buzz!
A ring of milky-white light flickered ceaselessly from an amulet hanging around Marbu's neck.
Under its glow, the stone skin on his face began flaking off piece by piece.
"An amulet specifically designed to resist petrification? And a powerful one at that — it must have cost him dearly to acquire something like this!"
Leilin's expression didn't change in the slightest. In a few swift steps, he closed the distance to Marbu.
The first time Leilin had been hunted by Marbu's clone, he had been forced to reveal his petrification ability in order to turn the tables at the last moment — and in doing so, he had exposed the fact that he possessed petrification Wizardry.
As his mortal enemy, how could Marbu not have prepared for this?
Still, petrification Wizardry had been relatively niche even in ancient times. Now, across the entire South Coast, it had nearly gone extinct. Amulets capable of resisting it were not only extremely rare but mostly found only in ancient ruins.
That Marbu had managed to find one so quickly, Lein could admit to a faint measure of surprise.
But even so — Marbu might have an amulet, yet how could a generic petrification resistance compare to the innate ability of an ancient creature like the Kemosain Giant Serpent?
Though Marbu's body had shaken off the petrification, he had still been frozen for a single, critical moment.
Whoosh! A flash of black light, and Leilin had already appeared directly in front of Marbu, his amber eyes meeting Marbu's head-on.
"Die!"
The dark-red glow of Falling Star Descent condensed into a massive battle axe in Leilin's hand. As if that weren't enough, he pointed a finger at the blade.
Boom!
A colossal ball of black fire instantly engulfed the axe.
"Hah!" Leilin let out a low shout, and a torrent of shadows surged up from beneath his feet, all converging onto his body.
Within the darkness, Leilin's already tall frame swelled further, transforming in an instant into a giant over three meters tall with dark skin.
"ROAR!!!"
The giant roared, the muscles on his arms bulging one after another. Dark-red veins could be seen coiling across them like earthworms.
Like the divine spirits of ancient legends who cleaved mountains apart, the giant raised the great axe and swung it down viciously toward Marbu's neck.
Ssss! Before the blade even arrived, the scorching heat and violent wind erupting from it carried such extreme sharpness that they sliced through the ring of liquid metal guarding Marbu's neck.
Crack!
The black-flame-wreathed axe hacked deep into Marbu's neck, nearly severing his entire head. Black fire spread across his body in an instant.
Marbu's face went blank, and he slowly toppled over.
"Hm?" Leilin's mind stuttered for a moment. This seemed too easy — but even a formal Wizard would not survive having their entire head chopped off!
"Warning! Danger detected! Target still exhibits Life Energy fluctuations!" The Chip's voice rang out at precisely that moment.
Immediately, a blinding beam of white light appeared before Leilin's eyes.