The mysterious red-robed mage (1)

The fire element was like a huge fireball rushing towards Tyler. He had no strength left to dodge, and the other intermediate mage Fennimore could not rescue him in time. Gleson's face showed a mocking yet excited expression.

Mocking, because Tyler had overestimated his abilities. He was not as strong as Gleson, yet he had gambled all his magical power on the move with the right arm of the ancient tree spirit. When Gleson successfully blocked this spell, Tyler's defeat was already certain, and his defeat would lead to death.

However, at the moment when the fire element swung its flame fist and was about to strike, an impossible scene that could not have happened appeared. Tyler, who had been reduced to a pile of mud, disappeared from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Tyler suddenly disappeared, and the fierce attack of the fire element hit the ground completely. This attack, which Gleson had exerted all his strength on, was so powerful that it smashed a big hole in the arena.

Tyler disappeared too quickly, and Gleson was stunned. Then he suddenly felt a chill around him, and realized that his body, including the entire arena, was shrouded in a terrifying cold air. Even the fire element he summoned became dimmer under the influence of the cold air, and its size even shrank a bit.

Gleson was shocked. As an intermediate mage, he was naturally very sensitive to fluctuations in magical elements. The moment he sensed the cold air, he understood that this was not a miracle of seasonal change, but a powerful mage casting ice magic.

The situation was strange, and Gleson's first reaction was to call the fire element back to his side. As he stirred up his magical power again, the restored fire element released a surging heat wave, driving away the cold around them.

It wasn't until now that Gleson widened his eyes and looked forward. He wanted to see who had saved Tyler.

"You!"

Across from Gleson stood a slender figure in red. It was the only member of the Watson Magic Guild who did not wear a mage badge.

Before the duel began, Drogo had warned Gleson to watch out for this mysterious person, but at the time, Gleson had not taken it seriously. Now, the person was still covered head to toe in a hooded red cloak, making it impossible to see their face or age, but Gleson knew better than to underestimate them. The momentary surge of magical power a moment ago had made it clear that this person's strength was definitely not inferior to his own.

"Who are you?" Gleson demanded.

Surprisingly, the person didn't even bother to answer or even look up at her. Gleson felt embarrassed and ignored. "You sneaky coward! Since you've come, I'll make sure you show yourself!"

With a roar, Gleson attacked. Fire elements quickly surged from his body, creating a wave of flames that followed an even stronger Flame Fist attack than the one he had used on Tyler. The fire elements surged towards the person, but they didn't even react.

Gleson couldn't believe it. The person had saved Tyler with their impressive power, but now, facing his attack, they didn't even flinch. Could they have been just putting on a show earlier?

Of course not. If they had no power, they wouldn't have been able to save Tyler from Gleson. As Gleson watched, the Flame Fist hit the person's head, but the expected explosion of skull and brain matter did not happen. The massive fist of fire stopped just a few centimeters away from the person's head.

It wasn't just the fists that stopped; everyone in the arena was amazed to see a strange sight. The flames that leaped from the fire element also stopped with its fists. Those watching were more aware of what was happening than those participating, and even more shocked and horrified was Gleson, the controller of the fire element.

At the same time that the fire element stopped, Gleson found that he could no longer control it to make even the slightest movement. While this situation occurred, the connection between Gleson and the fire element was not interrupted, but the fire element could not respond to any of his commands.

"Frozen! Frozen solid!" Even Gleson couldn't maintain his calm demeanor in this situation. While others may not have noticed, he was well aware that it was in the instant before he was hit that the opponent released their magic. A strong and terrifying coldness froze the fire element completely in an instant.

Although it still looked like fire on the outside, it was now ice on the inside. This was the current state of the fire element!

The frozen fire element was now like an inanimate object. Unless the opponent's magic was broken, Gleson couldn't even dissolve the fire element. In contrast, the magical power consumed by the fire element on Gleson continued.

In just a moment, Gleson found himself in an extremely disadvantageous situation, even though his opponent hadn't launched a real attack yet.

Gleson's experience came into play at this point. He knew that the opponent would not give him the chance to use magic to free the fire element from its frozen state, and would not miss this opportunity to defeat him.

"Fire Spirit Shield." Almost instinctively, Gleson had already formed the Fire Spirit Shield in front of him. This pure act of experience immediately had an effect.

The Fire Spirit Shield had just formed when two icy blades flashing with cold light flew towards him.

Snap, snap ---

Two sounds rang out simultaneously, both striking the fire spirit shield and shattering the ice blades. Despite successfully blocking the attack, Gleson wasn't in a good state. In his previous battle with Tyler, he had already expended a considerable amount of magic power. Now, with his fire element opposing his own actions, his current state was only about sixty percent of his usual capacity.

Gleson retreated four or five steps before regaining his balance. However, the involuntary twitch on his face indicated that he had already been injured in the previous exchange.

Just two ice blades had caused Gleson, who was normally unfazed by Tyler's most powerful spells, to sustain an injury. Even if Gleson's condition wasn't optimal, it was evident that the red-clothed mysterious person's strength was exceptionally formidable.

But what surprised Gleson more than the opponent's formidable magic power was the skill displayed in the previous attack. He was certain that he had not been mistaken - the two ice blades that had been aimed at him were undoubtedly released at the exact same time.

Releasing two spells at the same time? Even in the Mage's Guild, Gleson didn't know anyone who could achieve such a feat. The technique of someone like Drogo, who was able to cast spells in rapid succession, had already amazed him, but that was only due to Drogo's ability to link spells together more effectively - there was still an order of precedence to his spellcasting.

Gleson was so surprised that he couldn't speak, and the red-clothed mysterious person on the other side also let out a light exclamation.

He seemed surprised as well - he had taken advantage of the best opportunity to release two ice blades with both speed and power, yet Gleson had still managed to successfully block them.

However, the surprise did not stop the red-clothed mysterious person, and Gleson believed in pressing the advantage. He appeared to have the same habit.

Just as Gleson regained his footing, the hem of the red-clothed mysterious person's robe suddenly lifted, revealing a white arm. It was a fair arm, smooth like the magic he cast, and it was surrounded by sparkling ice crystals.

As his arm extended, another ice blade appeared, even stronger than the two before, and flew rapidly towards Gleson. And this time, not one, not two, but three ice blades were simultaneously released.

After the previous attack and the threat to his life, Gleson had no time to be surprised. While activating his Flame Shield to block, he also rushed to the side.

Being passively beaten would only result in failure, and Gleson knew that if he wanted to win or even survive, he had to attack. Only by attacking could he change the situation.

With two crisp sounds, Gleson managed to use the force of the ice blades colliding with his Flame Shield to jump to one side, seizing the opportunity to adjust his body posture.

However, Gleson was a mage, not a warrior. Although his movements were agile, they were much slower than the speed of magic. When he realized that he had only blocked two of the three ice blades that were released, the third one was already in front of him.