The circus team was led by a dwarf magician.
The academy was led by Hubert's eldest disciple, Pat.
Pat and the magician were both at the late second stage of cultivation.
Pat was accompanied by six advanced apprentices.
The magician had five possessed apprentices and two first-level human demons.
Looking at the lineups of both teams, the magician had a slight advantage.
Pat realized this and cast "Level 2 Natural Ally Summoning" spells, summoning four black bears to join the battle.
The black bears roared and pounced, surrounding the two human demons.
Pat then cast the second-level spell "Thorn Thicket."
With a wave of his hand, a large patch of animated thorns erupted from the ground, trapping the magician and his subordinates within the thicket.
The frightened, possessed apprentice tried to escape the thorn bush, but the moment he took a step, he was entangled by thorny vines.
His clothes were torn, and the thorns dug deep into his flesh, causing blood to flow immediately.
The apprentices around Pat seized the opportunity to cast spells, attacking the enemies trapped in the thorn bush.
Two of the apprentices beside the magician had already fallen.
Facing a critical situation, he no longer held back. He grasped a piece of mica and cast the second-level spell "Flash Dust."
With a wave of his hand, a powerful flash of light erupted in the night sky.
Pat and the others were irritated by the intense light, their eyes piercing with pain and temporarily blinded.
The glowing dust spread across the night sky, and when it clung to their bodies, it was particularly conspicuous.
This effectively marked Pat and his companions with a bright mark.
The magician's attacks were more targeted, making it easier for them to land.
"Just wait, you despicable little dwarf!"
Pat cursed as he pulled out a bottle of potion and applied it to his eyes.
A cool sensation washed over his swollen eyes, relieving the swelling and pain.
Looking around, he saw two of his apprentices had already fallen.
The remaining four were still blinded by the flash.
The magician then pulled out a handful of fine sand mixed with red, yellow, and blue, held it in his hand, and muttered an incantation.
"Alcar!"
The magician tossed the sand, which transformed into a rainbow of light.
Two of the four black bears Pat had summoned were struck, paralyzed on the spot.
The two demons seized the opportunity to counterattack, quickly killing the stunned bears.
The battle situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Pat, with a gloomy expression, continued to cast his summoning spell.
This time, it was the Dire Bats that were summoned!
The Dire Bats, their wings spread out, stretched over five meters.
They screamed and pounced on the human-demon that had just managed to break free, tearing it apart like crazy!
Pat focused on summoning the Dire Bats, one after another, into battle.
Soon, the two demons fell under the siege of the Black Bear and the Dire Bats.
The Black Bear could only linger outside the thorn bush, while the Dire Bats could easily fly over it and launch a fierce attack on the magician's side from the air.
Swish!
A massive black shadow glided over from the sky.
The magician quickly ducked his head!
The Dire Bat snatched away his top hat, revealing his sparsely covered head.
The magician's face was furious, and he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Bang!
The top hat suddenly exploded!
A ferocious bat was killed, but this didn't change the overall situation on the battlefield.
Three more ferocious bats circled in the air, and the magician tried to use "glitter dust" to deal with them.
However, bats have poor eyesight and rely primarily on ultrasound for navigation. Even if they were hit by the "glitter dust," they felt no pain or irritation.
"Haha, you all saw that, didn't you?"
"Relying on unconventional methods and unorthodox practices won't work for a sorcerer!"
"So-called self-taughtness is a joke!"
"Without a systematic academic education and an incomplete knowledge base, magical powers are useless!"
Victory assured, Pat chatted and laughed, instructing the four apprentices beside him.
"That short guy across the way is a perfect example of the opposite."
"He's a decent rank, and his spellcasting is pretty good, but unfortunately, he knows nothing about the anatomy of bats, which is why he made such a foolish move by casting Glitter Dust on them!"
"You're lucky to have received an education at the academy. Compared to other amateur sorcerers, you've already had a head start!"
"So, those from noble families who graduated from academies are inherently superior!"
Pat stood with his hands behind his back, smug and complacent!
Alan sneered at his perverse reasoning, retracted his venom glands, and transformed into his ancestral form!
He staggered into the battlefield, his ogre form, carrying a massive club.
He looked like a passing monster.
Pat heard the noise and turned to look over.
The wariness on his face quickly gave way to contempt.
"I worried for nothing. It turns out it's just a silly ogre."
Even on the other side, the magician, eager to turn the tables, noticed Alan passing by.
The reckless ogre seemed like an easily controlled thug.
The magician rolled his eyes, pulled out a jeweled pendant from his pocket, and shook it at Alan.
"Hey! Ogre, look at this!"
"Oh?"
Alan turned his head at the sound.
Pretending to be dumb, he stared at the swaying pendant in the magician's hand.
Of course, he could tell the other party was performing hypnosis.
First-level "Hypnosis" requires not only spells and hand gestures, but also special equipment.
For example, a pocket watch or a pendulum.
The caster holds the watch chain and shakes it at the person.
When the other person's attention is drawn to the swinging pendulum, they unconsciously relax their guard and become more susceptible to hypnosis.
The magician's gold chain, adorned with a magnificent ruby pendant, shimmered with brilliance and beauty, creating a truly hypnotic effect.
With Allen's mental attributes, he certainly wouldn't be hypnotized.
However, Allen still feigned hypnosis, blankly asking the magician, "Why are you calling me?"
"Those guys in green robes across the way are bad guys!"
The magician suppressed his ecstasy and goaded Allen.
"Go over there and beat them all to death with your club!"
"Okay!"
Alan pretended to be controlled by the magician, carrying his club and charging towards Pat and the others.
Following Pat, four apprentices hurried forward.
Two of them swung their "Thorn Whip." Two more were still lagging behind, reciting spells.
With their teacher behind them, they felt confident and eager to demonstrate their skills.
However, before they could show their true abilities, Allen took the lash and swung his staff!
Whoosh—bang!
The two apprentices controlling the "Thorny Whip" were struck by the staff, their flesh and blood flying everywhere!
The other two apprentices, terrified by the bloody and horrifying scene, were instantly disoriented, their spellcasting interrupted.
The ogre's face was covered in flesh, his murderous intent radiating from him!
He carried the blood-stained staff and lunged forward, striking twice more.
All four apprentices' brains were shattered upon contact.
Pat also realized the situation was dire and quickly commanded his summoned creatures to surround Allen.
Two black bears lunged at him with furious force.
Alan curled his lips, holding his club in both hands to meet the blow.
Black bears? They too must die!!
With a bang, the clubs slammed down, shattering the skulls of the two black bears!
In a flash, the bodies disintegrated into chaotic magical energy.
Pat was stunned.
The magician was also stunned.
This ogre...isn't he incredibly powerful?!
The average adult ogre has a Physical stat of 22.
Alan's atavistic form boasts a whopping Physical stat of 24!
With his immense strength, combined with "Bone-Piercing Explosion," a single blow from the club delivered double the damage of "Explosive Palm," plus the added bonus of a "Crush" effect!
How could this even be a wooden club? It's basically a cannon disguised as a club!
Even a bear with thick skin and flesh couldn't withstand a single blow!
Three ferocious bats swooped down from the sky, harassing Alan in turn.
Alan ignored them.
Thanks to his "Iron Bones" ability, the bats' claws couldn't penetrate his defenses at all; it was like a tickle.
Seeing the ogre charging towards him with a blood-stained club, Pat was in no mood to act pretentious.
He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, removed the pearl necklace from his neck, and shook it at Alan.
"Ogre, look here!"
Through the shimmering necklace, Pat also used his "hypnotic" technique.
Alan stared at the necklace in his hand, his eyes glazed over. He asked naively, "What are you doing?"
Pat breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to his face.
He knew this ogre possessed terrifying strength but low mental strength.
That wretched little dwarf could easily hypnotize the ogre, so his own magic power was even greater, so there was no reason he couldn't do it.
Pat pointed at the magician and sneered, "The dwarf and those around him are no good! Go and kill them all!"
"Okay!"
Alan nodded innocently and switched sides!
He took a long stride and charged straight into the thornbush.
The sharp thorns were no match for his "iron bones."
In a flash, Alan had waded through the thornbush.
He grabbed his club and, without a word, launched a barrage!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three possessed apprentices trapped in the thornbush fell one after another beneath the club, faces filled with fear and despair.
Finally, Allen struck the magician with his club.
Puff!
A large puff of white smoke billowed from beneath the club.
The magician vanished into thin air.
Alan lifted the club and looked around.
The white smoke condensed and took shape, transforming into a rabbit that leaped off into the distance.
Alan grinned grimly, raised the club high, aimed at the rabbit and threw it.
The throwing technique he had learned through atavistic meditation came into play at this moment.
The club flew free, striking the rabbit squarely on the back.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The rabbit let out a shrill cry and collapsed to the ground, transforming back into a magician.
This dwarf, a master of illusion, had his spine broken and was paralyzed and near death.
But he didn't hate Allen.
He knew the foolish ogre was merely a puppet at the mercy of others.
The murderer wasn't the weapon, but the hand that manipulated it!
So, the one he truly hated... was Pat!
The dying magician, spewing blood, struggled to form spellcasting gestures.
"Come... ogre... accept this... final 'hypnosis' of mine!"
The magician forced himself to complete the spell, once again "successfully" hypnotizing Alan.
"Ogre... kill that... green-robed beast..."
With his last trembling words, the magician lay in a pool of blood, his breath fading.
"Alright!"
Alan strode over the magician's corpse and, bare-handed, lunged at Pat!
Facing the oncoming ogre, Pat smiled faintly, unfazed.
She calmly shook the pearl necklace and used her "hypnosis" on Allen again.
"Ogre, look here!"