Above the mage!

Chapter 609 The Second Guild Badge

Ella felt a numbness in her arm as the flaming sword was blasted away by a tremendous force.

She was shocked; she hadn't expected Gaode's power to be so astonishing.

The bonuses from [Bull's Strength] and [Heavy Blade+] far exceeded her expectations.

But Ella was, after all, a battle-hardened elite military mage, and her reaction in times of crisis was lightning fast.

Instead of resisting the force of the impact, she shifted her weight and turned her body, using the momentum from the blow that knocked the sword away to spin and move to the side.

The radiant longsword traced a smooth golden arc in her hand, its blade enveloped in scorching holy light, aimed directly at Gao De's unsuspecting waist.

A glint of light flashed in Gao De's eyes, and the agility bonus granted by [Cat's Elegance] was on full display at this moment.

He lightly touched the void beneath his feet, and his figure floated out diagonally like a willow catkin, avoiding the sweeping light sword.

At the same time, the Frost Sword swung upwards, its blade carrying a chilling aura, aiming straight for Ella's wrist.

This sword strike was swift and precise, with an extremely tricky angle. It was precisely by using the momentum guidance of [Heavy Blade+] that it accurately locked onto the trajectory of Ella's spinning sweep, with perfect timing.

Ayla was startled. Without thinking, she hurriedly activated [Devotion Shield], and a pale golden shield instantly appeared in front of her wrist.

puff.

The Frost Sword pierced the shield, and the chilling icy energy collided violently with the holy light energy, producing a piercing sound of energy friction.

The surface of the pale gold shield rippled violently, like the surface of a lake struck by a pebble.

Ella was so shaken by the powerful impact that she stumbled back three steps.

Her lips twitched slightly, and a tingling numbness ran through her wrist.

The power of this sword strike far exceeded that of an ordinary second-ring mage.

But that wasn't what she feared most.

What truly made Ella uneasy was that Gao De's two consecutive moves were seamlessly connected, demonstrating a perfect blend of offense and defense, and were by no means just a last-minute showmanship.

This shows that he has definitely spent a lot of time and energy honing his swordsmanship, and it is a truly solid skill.

This is true.

In order to improve the progress bar of "Adaptive", Gaode once fought to the death with all kinds of desperate people in the bloodiest and cruelest underground fencing arena without using any magic protection, relying only on an ordinary longsword.

The kind of close-quarters combat experience, where blades are at the edge of your skin and life hangs in the balance, is something that even Ella, who has been fighting against creatures of the earth's veins for many years, has never experienced.

"Are you a melee mage?" Ella asked in a deep voice, a serious look appearing in her eyes for the first time.

"Not really, I only know the basics," Gao De chuckled.

He was telling the truth, because he was always adept at both close and long-range magic, and more often than not, he primarily used long-range spells.

But in Ella's eyes, this carried a hint of Versailles' provocation.

Therefore, Ella's gaze turned cold, and her fighting spirit became even more intense.

Gao De ignored the turmoil in her heart, his feet never stopping, his figure closing in instantly like a ghost.

As the frost sword was drawn, it created a cloud of icy mist, aiming to pierce Ella's vital points.

His swordplay was lightning fast and unpredictable, forcing Ella to activate her shield at full power to defend herself.

The situation on the battlefield can change in the blink of an eye.

The mages who were just moments ago discussing and speculating that Gao De was "terrified" by Ella were now in an uproar:
"His swordsmanship is too fierce. In a head-on fight, he is not at all inferior to Warrant Officer Ella?"

"Warrant Lieutenant Ella has been learning swordsmanship from knight instructors since she was a child. Her swordsmanship skills are comparable to those of many knights."

Amidst the murmurs, the sword fight between the two intensified.

Ella's radiant longsword moved with sweeping, powerful strokes, its holy flames scorching the air, each strike imbued with an overwhelming sense of righteousness.

Gao De's Frost Sword is more agile and cunning, with its chilling icy aura freezing the surroundings. Its sword moves are unpredictable and seem to lack orthodox rules, but the timing and angle of its strikes are always just right.

Ayla is clearly a typical combat mage, but most of her combat experience comes from fighting against leyline creatures.

Those monsters possessed incredible brute strength, but lacked finesse.

This kind of experience seems somewhat out of place in pure sword duels.

Gao De's real-world combat experience, honed in the underground fencing arena and capable of being described as "between life and death," came into full play at this moment, with each move hitting the vital points directly and without any hesitation.

The two figures intertwined, and the collision of light and ice produced a continuous buzzing sound, with energy ripples spreading out in layers.

The quartz sand on the platform was blown into the air, and many grains of sand were even frozen into ice particles, which were then melted into water droplets by the holy light.

After more than ten rounds of fighting, Ella gradually realized something was wrong.

Aside from Gao De's superb swordsmanship being illogical, how could a magical sword condensed by a second-ring mage be able to clash with a third-ring mage like myself without collapsing?

However, she quickly sorted out her thoughts as soon as she realized something was wrong.

Regardless, Gaode's magical sword is still not as powerful as his own.

"This can't go on!" A thought flashed through Ella's mind.

Although he didn't know where Gao De got such extensive sword dueling experience from, he was a third-ring mage and could completely crush him in terms of level.

This is a battle to defend the dojo, not a swordsmanship exchange.

Victory is the ultimate goal.

Therefore, since I cannot gain the upper hand in swordsmanship for the time being, I will not compete with you in swordsmanship.

Ella had no baggage and made her decision instantly.

Faced with Gao De's sword strike, she no longer parried or dodged as in a normal sword duel, but instead raised the [Pious Shield] to withstand the attack head-on.

At the same time, instead of retreating, she advanced, her body suddenly accelerating, and the radiant sword in her hand, imbued with overwhelming righteous energy, slashed down towards Gao De's head!

This is Ella's tactic.

A direct, head-on confrontation.

How could I, a Third Ring Mage, lose to you, a Second Ring Mage?

This is similar to Gaode's strategy in the fencing arena: trade blows for blows. With [Adaptive], he has nothing to fear, which has led to his repeated victories against stronger opponents.

Now the roles are reversed.

Gao De knew that even with the combined protection of [Armor of Aegis] and [Tree Skin], he would still be injured if he took a full-force attack from a third-ring mage.

He frowned slightly, and without the slightest hesitation, instantly abandoned his advantageous attack.

The agility bonus from "Cat's Elegance" exploded to its maximum at this moment.

Gao De's figure was like a willow catkin swept by a gale, suddenly drifting to the left and narrowly avoiding the slash of the radiant sword.

The moment Ella saw Gaode dodge, a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

She knew she had found the right strategy.

No matter how skilled Gao De was in swordsmanship, he was still only a second-ring mage and dared not confront her head-on.

The scales of victory are tipping in her favor.

Ella, never one to back down, lunged forward again like an arrow released from a bow.

The Radiant Sword drew up a ball of blazing flame and chased after Gao De.

But then Gao De's gaze suddenly sharpened, and his empty left hand rose with lightning speed, gathering a ball of dim yellow energy in his palm.

The energy, like flowing silt, carrying a heavy earth-elemental aura, instantly transformed into a condensed ray that coiled towards Ella. This was the [Earthbind] spell enhanced with the [Sleeping Web] effect!
In the heat of close combat, suddenly switch to normal spells to launch a surprise attack, catching the opponent off guard.

Ella can make variations, and so can God!

At such close range, Gao De seized the opportunity when Ella took the initiative to lean forward, and Ella had no time to react.

However, she did not panic too much.

Because Gao De is ultimately only a second-ring mage, while she is a mid-third-ring mage.

Given this level difference, even if [Earth Binding] hits, its effect is very limited.

—That's how Ella judged it, but reality was completely different from what she thought.

With its maximum power increased by 2 times by [Sleeping Web], [Earthbind]'s binding force far exceeds the scope of ordinary second-ring spells, almost on par with [Earthbind] cast by a third-ring mage upon ascending to ring.

As soon as the dim yellow rays wrapped around Ella's ankle, she felt an extremely strong pulling force coming from the ground.

Like several tough, earthy-yellow vines, they tightly wrapped around her legs.

At the same time, a heavy feeling of falling suddenly gripped my whole body, as if a huge boulder weighing a thousand pounds had been placed on my shoulders.

Completely unprepared, she was jolted by the force of the fall.

His previously fluid charging posture froze instantly, and his body staggered forward uncontrollably, almost falling to the ground.

The flaming longsword in his hand was thus deflected, and his original offensive was completely interrupted.

It's now!

A fierce glint flashed in Gao De's eyes.

He looked down from his vantage point, and with the [Frost Sword] enhanced by [Heavy Blade+], he slashed fiercely down at Ella.

In her haste, Ella could only raise the [Shield of Devotion] to shield herself.

hum!
The sword strike was incredibly powerful, causing the Holy Light Shield to vibrate violently, and its surface light dimmed slightly in an instant.

Ella's body fell even faster from the shock.

The spectators, who had been murmuring amongst themselves, fell silent, staring at the scene in disbelief.

This scene shocked them.

Ella was actually suppressed like this?!

But the fighting and suppression on the field continued.

Ella was both shocked and furious. She forced herself to steady herself, clenched her teeth, and quickly drew upon the pure Radiant Magic within her body.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, and the holy light energy around her instantly receded, then suddenly spread outwards, and an extreme darkness erupted from her center!
Gao De felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and the bright sunlight vanished instantly.

The entire fighting arena seemed to have been plunged into an endless abyss, with not a single ray of light remaining.

Third-circle Evocation spell, [Deep Darkness].

As a light element mage, Ayla can not only unleash the ultimate power of light, but also manipulate the disappearance of light in reverse.

Moreover, this darkness is supernatural darkness; even those with dark vision cannot see within the spell's area.

This targeting includes Gaode's naturally developed ability to see in the dark and the visual capabilities of Mandora's magic eye.

Within the spell's area, only pure, pitch-black darkness remained.

Ella remained hidden in the darkness, her gaze slightly sharp.

Although she was suppressed by Gao De to the point of her blood surging, the successful casting of [Deep Darkness Spell] allowed her to regain the initiative in the battle.

She could clearly feel the pulling force of the [Earthbind] spell on her ankle.

The yellowish-brown energy rays still tightly bound her legs and feet, restricting her movements.

Now, the first thing to do is to break free from the shackles of [Earth Binding].

The thought had just formed in Ella's mind when she saw that God's expression remained completely unchanged in the darkness.

There was no panic, no tentative exploration, and even his breathing remained steady.

This suddenly filled Ella with a strong sense of unease.

what's the situation?
While Ella was still pondering, God had already made his move.

He raised his hand again, releasing an extremely cold energy from his palm.

The next instant, Gao De swung his left hand forward sharply.

A cone-shaped, pale blue icy mist suddenly burst forth from his palm, and as if it were alive, it swept precisely toward Ella in the darkness.

Wherever the ice fog passed, the air was instantly frozen into tiny ice crystals, making a rustling sound.

A rare second-circle Evocation spell, [Frostbite].

A stream of cold energy was released into the cone-shaped area.

Every creature within range must successfully resist the cold through its constitution, or it will suffer cold damage and be encased in frost for one minute.

Creatures encased in frost have their speed reduced to 0.

Ella's pupils contracted sharply, her heart filled with disbelief and horror.

She couldn't understand how Gaode could pinpoint her location so accurately in complete darkness.
Such a powerful third-circle spell, which even third-circle mages of the same level cannot ignore, why is Gao De unaffected?

Does he possess some special sensory ability that allows him to penetrate the supernatural darkness of the [Deep Darkness Technique]?
Little did she know that darkness was not a problem for Gaode at all.

At the moment when the Zhenbing bloodline was fully awakened, the ancient power contained within it not only strengthened his body and affinity with ice magic, but also endowed him with a unique perceptual ability.

That's a sensing ability that's close to thermal sensing.

At this moment, although he could not see anything with his naked eye, in his world of perception, Ella, who was full of light elements, was like a blazing little sun, so conspicuous and impossible to ignore.

Ella didn't have time to think about it anymore.

She could only exert all her strength to activate the magic power within her body, expanding the defensive range of the [Pious Shield] in an attempt to block the invasion of the icy mist.

However, the focus of [Frosty Mist Bind] is not on damage, but on control.

Ella's judgment was wrong once again.

The reason is simple: [Frost Binding] is not only a rare spell, but also an ancient spell that only Iceborn mages can awaken.

Although Ella was a military mage, she had never heard of or seen this spell before.

"Never let anyone know about your magic."

A cone-shaped mist of ice instantly enveloped Ella's entire body, including the [Shield of Devotion].

Ugh!

Ella couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

The combined bonuses of the True Ice Mana and the Intermediate Ice Protection Body greatly enhance the strength of the [Frostbite Binding] spell cast by Gao De.

Ella's body, along with the [Shield of Devotion] formed from holy light energy, was instantly enveloped in a layer of crystal-clear frost.

The frost was not a rough ice shell, but rather as delicate as rime.

A chilling sensation spread throughout my body.

Both the Earth Binding and Frost Binding effects are active simultaneously!
　These past two days I've been away for training, and all the updates were rushed out by my buddy after he finished training and drove home at night. Wow!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)