There will be two chapters per day for 6 days. Also I didn't upload for some time so this book might be pressed under other books by web novel. So please for this week support me with your Power Stones.
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"Earth Wave: Quaking Fist!" Li Han roared as he used High level 4 magic, his hands slamming into the soil. Instead of simple soil and rock, he sent a localized shockwave of vibrating Earth energy through the mist to disrupt the Fox's footing. Simultaneously, he wove his Plant magic, causing thick, thorny briars to erupt from the ground to snag the Fox's paws.
"Light Wing: Piercing Rain!" Lin Yao counter-attacked with lv.5 magic. His shadow didn't move; instead, he summoned dozens of crystalline feathers of pure Light and sent them racing across the blood-soaked grass like sentient blades, seeking to pin the Fox's tails to the earth with burning brilliance.
The Fox let out a high-pitched, ethereal scream that shattered the nearby ice sculptures. Its tails lashed out like whip-cracks, swatting away the light daggers as if they were mere insects. It wasn't just a beast; it was a Mid-level Monarch's shadow, and it wasn't going down without a feast.
"It's faster than the records suggested," Li Zhu muttered. His eyes glowed with a dark, psychic resonance as he began to construct a High-level Mind Star Constellation. "Lin Yao, keep its vision occupied! Don't let it focus its gaze on Yuzi!"
.....
As the Commander-level Rock-Hided Gorillas lunged toward the formation, Yuzi didn't flinch. He didn't have to. Several High-level mages from the inner circle stepped forward, their hands tracing complex Star Constellations. With a thunderous roar, a Giant's Axe made of pure light slammed into the lead Gorilla, pinning it to the mountain face and leaving the "fodder" to the juniors.
"Ignore the big ones! That's not our fight!" Yuzi's voice rang out, steady despite the chaos. "Focus! Servant and Warrior levels only! Maintain the rotation!"
Yuzi's own hands moved with practiced speed. He was currently a Basic-level mage, but his mastery over the fundamentals was flawless.
"Fire Flare: Burning Bones!" He snapped his fingers, and a streak of concentrated fire hissed through the air, striking a Warrior-level Shadow Wolf right in its open maw. The beast skidded across the dirt, its insides scorched. Before the next one could leap, Yuzi's aura shifted from red to a piercing, frosty blue.
"Ice Spread: Eternal Frost!"
He slammed his foot down. A layer of thick, jagged frost raced across the ground, locking the paws of a dozen Servant-level Imps in place.
"Team 2, now! They're sitting ducks!"
The Mid-level mages behind him took the cue. While Yuzi used his Basic spells to trip, burn, and distract the front line, the Mid-level mages followed up with the heavy artillery. A barrage of Fiery Fists rained down on the frozen Imps, shattering them into a thousand bloody shards.
The battle was a grueling cycle. Yuzi used his six charges of Ice and Fire with surgical precision—never wasting a spell on a demon that was already dying, always aiming for the eyes, the legs, or the gaps in the armor of the Warrior-level beasts.
The hundred Mid-level mages were beginning to breathe heavily. Maintaining Star Atlases while thousands of demons threw themselves at the barrier was draining their mana pools rapidly.
"Sir, they're piling up!" a mage shouted, pointing at a ramp of demon corpses that the others were using to try and leap over the Ice Wall.
"Burn the pile!" Yuzi commanded, his eyes reflecting the orange glow of the battlefield. "Keep the ground clear! If they get a foothold, we'll be buried in seconds!"
He knew his role. He wasn't there to kill the Monarch; he was the anchor. If he and the Mid-level mages failed to hold back the thousands of "small" threats, the High-level mages would be swarmed while trying to fight commander level demons, and the whole mission would end in a massacre.
The air grew heavy, the metallic scent of blood replaced by a cloying, sweet aroma that smelled like rotting lilies.
High above, the Nine-Tailed Phantom Fox let out a mournful, high-pitched trill. It wasn't a physical attack, but a ripple of psychic energy that shivered through the valley. To the elite mages, it was a nuisance; to the Mid-level mages in Yuzi's formation, it was a catastrophe.
The Mental Siege
"My eyes... I can't see the Star Orbits!" a mage screamed, his hands trembling as his half-formed Fiery Fist flickered and died in a puff of smoke.
"Wait, why is Taro attacking me?" another yelled, spinning around to face his own teammate.
The Fox's Phantom Domain was taking hold. The hundred Mid-level mages, already exhausted from the endless swarm, were losing their grip on reality. Some began to see the Servant-level demons as beautiful women; others saw their own shadows rising up to strangle them. The defensive line wavered, and a pack of Warrior-level Bone-Crag Hyenas saw their opening, lunging toward the gap.
"Get it together!" Yuzi roared, but his voice was drowned out by the chaos.
Yuzi felt the mental fog creeping into his own mind—a vision of the valley floor turning into a bottomless pit. He bit his tongue hard, the sharp tang of blood snapping his focus back to the present.
He had basic-level Ice and Fire magic, and he knew he couldn't break a Monarch's illusion with raw power. He had to break it with pain and clarity.
"Fire Flare: Exploding Burning!"
Yuzi didn't aim at the demons. He aimed at the ground directly in front of his own wavering mages. Boom! The localized explosion sent a wave of heat and a deafening crack through the air. The sudden shock snapped a dozen mages out of their trance.
"Ice Spread: Bone Chill!"
He followed up immediately, casting a thin, stinging layer of frost over the hands of his closest teammates. The sudden, biting cold was a sensory anchor.
"Look at me!" Yuzi commanded, his eyes burning with a fierce, grounded light. "The Fox isn't here! It's on the ridge! Your enemies are the Hyenas in front of you! Don't trust your eyes—trust your Star Atlases!"
Inspired by Yuzi's refusal to yield, the mages began to chant again, their voices shaky but synchronized.
"Team 4, wall of fire, NOW!"
Just as the Hyenas were about to leap into the center of the formation, a massive wall of flame erupted, singeing the fur off the lead beasts. Yuzi stood at the very edge of the breach, his Fire and Ice spells weaving together—tripping the fast-moving Servants with frost and finishing them with a well-placed burst of heat.
"Stay in formation!" Yuzi yelled, his chest heaving. "The High-level mages are handling the Fox! We just have to keep this ground clear! If you can't see, close your eyes and use your ears or perception and look into that fox's eyes!"
The Vanguard held. By using his basic spells not just for damage, but as a "wake-up call" for his troops, Yuzi had prevented a total massacre.
.,....,.....
The Nine-Tailed Phantom Fox's attention was momentarily divided, its violet eyes flickering toward the vanguard as it felt its mental dominion being challenged by Yuzi's flares. That split-second distraction was the opening Li Zhu had been waiting for.
To Be Continue....
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