The pupils of the four survivors constricted sharply; as the mental energy fluctuation, like a scorching sun, swept over them, they appeared incredibly small.
"Soul sublimation, this is the mark of a Formal Wizard-level powerhouse. Impossible, absolutely impossible. The intelligence provided by the Academy for this mission should not have included a Formal Wizard."
Ed's face was pale, his eyes glazed over, and he muttered to himself.
Helid stared blankly at the Wizard who had him so terrified he couldn't move, mumbling, "We're doomed, we're doomed..."
Wilton, though his face had turned pale, still stood resolutely in front of Helid.
Dago's brain worked frantically, analyzing where the path to survival lay.
The blood-red robe... Yes, the Formal Wizard who was attacked by the Academy Dean's airship the night the northern city fell. Under such an assault, his strength could not possibly be completely intact.
It was even possible that the Academy's release of this mission was to sacrifice several small teams to find the Blood-Robed Wizard's healing spot.
"We just need to hold on; the Academy will definitely send reinforcements. But will they still be able to make it?"
Dago thought with a hint of despair.
No plan... At this moment, Dago faced the Formal Wizard, and even a half-step difference was like an unbridgeable chasm between them.
"Yes, this is the expression, the expression I, Flax, a council member of the Dark Blood Council, love the most."
Flax's eerie voice, like an echo from hell, rang out. He slightly raised his Spine Magic Wand and slammed it onto the ground, causing the image of the Blood Leeches above his head to solidify a little.
The blood on Third Street began to boil, gradually transforming into countless wriggling Blood Leeches, forming waves that surged towards the four.
"When my Blood Leeches feast on your flesh and blood, I hope you are just as despairing and helpless!"
Flax said, looking at the four of them with immense excitement.
"Move! He's not at his peak right now; we still have a chance. We must move!"
Dago shouted at the three, knowing that once they were surrounded by the Blood Leech tide, they would surely die.
Raising the Ice Crystal Magic Wand in his left hand, he chanted, and a brilliant blue-violet light erupted in his eyes. He was about to unleash his second The Pinnacle of Art, a transformed skill of the Ice Crystal Technique, which he had diligently cultivated during this time.
"Art of Activated Ice Crystal"
The condensed ice crystals possessed simple "life" and could spread and grow or move briefly according to his predetermined intentions.
Affected by the Formal Wizard's mental energy field, ice elemental particles appeared within a dozen meters of his mental vision, far fewer than usual.
Dago could only grit his teeth, dispel the Ice Claw in his right hand, and control the ice elements stored by the Resonance Art to forcibly cast the "Art of Activated Ice Crystal."
Ice elemental particles continuously gathered at the tip of the ice crystal, forming a walnut-sized ice core that glowed with dazzling blue light.
Flax saw the ice core in Dago's hand, showing surprise at first, then becoming even more excited.
Dago fired the ice core from his Ice Crystal Magic Wand towards the ground. The ice core sank into the ground, and countless ice energies moved underground, forming a spiderweb-like network.
"Rise!" Dago shouted, and a fifteen-meter-high ice crystal chimney, with a base diameter of twenty meters, rose from the ground, enveloping the four of them.
It blocked the Blood Leech tide outside, but the Blood Leeches stuck to the ice crystal chimney, continuously feeding on its ice elemental power, then freezing into Blood Leech crystals.
It was like waves constantly crashing against a lighthouse on a sea cliff, one wave after another.
He knew the ice crystal chimney wouldn't last long, but it could buy them precious time.
Dago gasped for breath, continuously pulling low-level Mental Potions from his storage ring and guzzling them down.
"The ice crystal chimney won't last five minutes. If we don't find another way, we'll all die here."
Ed and Wilton's expressions changed. They realized they were not even as capable as an eighteen-year-old. If Dago hadn't reacted first just now, the three of them would probably be dead already.
Helid's performance was even worse; he was so terrified by the recent life-and-death crisis that he wet himself. Wilton sighed, looking at his unpromising son.
The two of them took out potions to recover and heal.
Five minutes, neither slow nor fast, passed. As the underground ice core's energy continuously flowed into the ice crystal chimney, its height steadily decreased.
When it was down to ten meters, Dago's complexion had improved considerably, indicating his mental energy had recovered significantly.
He said to the three with a grim expression, "Next, I will cast another spell. It has a long casting time and a grand presence. I ask you to buy me one minute of casting time."
The three quickly nodded in agreement and stood in front of Dago to protect him.
Dago pointed his Ice Crystal Magic Wand skyward, enduring the intense pain caused by the instantaneous draining of his mental energy. A large amount of air above his head was enveloped and compressed by his mental power.
The air above the ice crystal chimney was drawn out and then rushed back in, emitting a low moaning sound.
"Boom!" When it was less than three or four meters high, the ice crystal chimney collapsed. Outside, a large number of Blood Leeches were frozen into crystals, but even more Blood Leeches swarmed in from all directions on the outer ring.
Ed chanted, drawing a circle in the air with his magic wand. A ring of strong winds expanded from small to large, rolling outwards and overturning many Blood Leeches.
The air at the tip of Dago's Ice Crystal Magic Wand continuously compressed and shrunk, and energy particles surged.
Even Flax felt a hint of apprehension. He raised his Spine Magic Wand and slashed it in front of him. A blood-red scythe instantly formed and flew rapidly towards the three, as if Death itself was coming for their lives.
Wilton raised his magic wand and quickly chanted in front of him. A gigantic energy shield, like a door, appeared, blocking everyone.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out.
The blood-red scythe heavily struck the giant energy shield, and both shattered. However, Wilton knelt on one knee, coughing violently, looking as if his mental energy was greatly depleted.
Flax's expression was somewhat displeased. He tapped the floor again with his Spine Magic Wand, and an invisible ripple spread out. A large number of Blood Leeches began to fly, forming a blood-red giant wave that rushed towards the four.
The scene, which blotted out the sky, instilled a sense of despair deep within one's heart.
Thirty seconds had now passed. Dago held his magic wand high, floated up, and rapidly retreated backward, facing Flax.
Ed's face was filled with terror as he turned and flew backward.
But the young Wizard Helid's legs gave out, and he knelt on the ground, his eyes vacant and his face pale, staring at the surging blood wave.
At this critical moment, Wilton's figure, like a hidden arrow carried by a strong wind, rushed towards Helid, who was paralyzed on the ground.
His shoulder hit Helid's chest with a dull thud, dragging him up with irresistible force.
Helid's boots scuffed erratic arcs on the ground, his toes hitting pebbles, yet he made no sound of pain. Only his collar, pulled out of shape, constricted his neck, emitting tiny, choked sobs.
Wilton's forehead was damp with cold sweat, sticking to his pale, bluish temples. His fingers, which had been tightly clutching his clothes, now curled into a spasmodic arc, gradually loosening, until they finally dropped completely to the ground.
"Son, go back and take care of your mother for me. Don't let her cry anymore."
Wilton grabbed Helid's shoulders, as if he had made a certain decision, and spoke to him with a serious expression.
Then he shouted at Ed, "Captain, catch him for me."
Wilton used all his strength and mental energy to hurl Helid fiercely in Ed's direction, like a cannonball flying straight through the air.
Helid, curled up like a shrimp, saw his father, Wilton, fall heavily to the ground through tear-filled eyes, smiling at him, as if bidding him a final farewell.
Only then did Helid realize what had happened and what was about to happen. He screamed, "No, Dad!"
But it was all over, and there wasn't even time for a proper farewell.
When Ed heard Wilton's shout, he looked back and saw Helid flying towards him. He could only open his arms and catch him heavily, his body swaying in the air.
Then, as the blood wave composed of thousands of Blood Leeches finally crashed down, only one color remained between heaven and earth.
The moment the blood wave slammed into Wilton, it kicked up a reverse mist of blood, which was then swept forward by subsequent waves.
A struggling figure was revealed inside. He only had time to open his mouth as the waves covered his mouth and nose before the Blood Leeches churning in the blood wave poured into his throat. Finally, along with his clothes, he became dark red fibrous matter floating in the blood wave.
Countless iron objects and stones floating in the blood wave collided, making dull, thudding sounds.
Occasionally, un-melted remnants of limbs rolled along the blood wave from the sides of the street, eventually being sucked in and devoured, sinking into this boundless Blood Leech purgatory.
At this moment, Dago floated in the air. He saw a father's love for his child.
Ignoring the surging blood wave, his eyes fixed on Flax in front of the Fifth House. He lowered the high-held Ice Crystal Magic Wand and aimed it at him.
At the tip of the Ice Crystal Magic Wand, a fist-sized Inflammation Core , surging with infinite energy particles, emitted a vast amount of light and heat.