BOOM! BOOM!

Deafening roars echoed through the sky above the forest, interspersed with the crisp clang of metal on metal.

An outstanding Wizard Apprentice was usually an outstanding Knight as well.

Su Shouhai and Gong Xinghe were no exception.

Both men possessed the physical prowess of a Peak Grand Knight and were masters of Swordsmanship. They engaged in fierce close-quarters combat the moment they clashed.

Flashes of their blades were punctuated by the occasional blast of Magic.

Su Shouhai, formerly of the Silver Light Legion, was a master of this combat style.

Gong Xinghe, on the other hand, lacked the sharp, militaristic aura and was clearly far less experienced in battle than Su Shouhai.

But when the fight truly began, it was Gong Xinghe who firmly controlled the rhythm of the battle and held the upper hand.

This was because he had mastered silent casting, allowing him to use Magic with such stealth that Su Shouhai was often caught off guard.

Moreover, Gong Xinghe’s casting speed and Magic Power were both clearly superior to Su Shouhai’s.

’Improved Magic?’

Pei Ze stared intently at the fight below, a glint in his eyes.

Gong Xinghe was clearly using an improved form of Magic.

This wasn’t surprising.

Apprentices from a Wizard Clan or those with a Wizard as a mentor mostly learned improved Magic.

Only ordinary Wizard Apprentices with no background would learn the standard versions of Magic sold officially.

And Su Shouhai was just such a Wizard Apprentice, which was why he had stagnated at the level of a Third-level Wizard Apprentice for so many years.

Su Shouhai was most likely going to lose.

Pei Ze quickly made his judgment.

He couldn’t gain an advantage in close combat, and his Magic was being completely crushed. Su Shouhai was no match for Gong Xinghe.

His only hope now was his witchcraft artifact.

He might have a sliver of a chance if he used it.

As if in response to Pei Ze’s thoughts, the Spirit fluctuations around Su Shouhai suddenly intensified. A visible gale sprang up from nowhere, encasing him like a suit of armor.

In that instant, Su Shouhai seemed to transform into a giant with a body of raging wind.

BOOM!

He swung his arm heavily, sending Gong Xinghe flying.

A faint crack was heard from Gong Xinghe as his Mage Armor shattered on impact.

But in the next second, another faint layer of magical light appeared, protecting Gong Xinghe as he landed unharmed.

Su Shouhai hadn’t expected the blow to harm Gong Xinghe. After all, it was obvious that his opponent had more than one Defensive Magical Item.

The moment Gong Xinghe landed, Su Shouhai let out a low shout and charged, smashing toward Gong Xinghe with the force of an untamed hurricane.

With Su Shouhai’s use of his witchcraft artifact, the battle grew even more intense.

The gale around Su Shouhai’s body spun at high speed, its powerful shearing force visible to the naked eye.

A few stones that were accidentally swept into it were instantly ground to dust.

Yet, facing Su Shouhai’s ferocious assault, Gong Xinghe remained calm and composed, countering with Magic.

He dodged attacks while continuously unleashing various offensive spells to bombard the gale around Su Shouhai.

Unfortunately, neither Magic Missile nor the Fireball Technique had much effect on the raging winds.

At the Wizard Apprentice stage, a witchcraft artifact was beyond the scope of what a One-Ring Spell could handle. To counter it, one either had to use other, more powerful methods or meet it head-on with another witchcraft artifact.

"Why hasn’t Gong Xinghe used his witchcraft artifact yet?" Xiao Xi asked with a frown. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Perhaps he’s waiting for the right moment," Pei Ze said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

After a Fireball Technique briefly stalled Su Shouhai, Gong Xinghe abruptly retreated, creating a distance of over a hundred meters. He then raised his hand and pointed at Su Shouhai from afar.

A low whistling sound suddenly arose, as if the air was flowing at extreme speed.

At the same time, Su Shouhai, who was about to give chase, froze. The layer of wind around him visibly shrank by a large margin, and the high-speed gale slowed down significantly, as if it had lost its power source.

"What’s happening?" Xiao Xi asked, startled.

"It should be some kind of Magic that creates a vacuum," Pei Ze said, frowning.

Reminded by Pei Ze, Xiao Xi noticed that the whistling sound had vanished at some point. An area of about a hundred meters around Su Shouhai had become a zone of silence, with no sound escaping. It was as if all the air had been sucked out.

Although the gale around Su Shouhai was formed by gathering wind elements with his witchcraft artifact, it still required moving air to function. In a vacuum, it was naturally severely affected.

Listening to their conversation, Yuan Meng glanced over at Pei Ze, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.

’He saw the key to Gong Xinghe’s Magic at a glance. Mo Weng’s disciple has a good eye and a deep well of knowledge. No wonder he met the standard for condensing a Spirit Crystal at such a young age.’

Pei Ze didn’t notice Yuan Meng’s gaze; his full attention was on the battle below.

The instant the gale around Su Shouhai was greatly weakened, the ground beneath his feet exploded. Amidst the flying dust and dirt, countless Blood-colored Vines shot out from underground, coiling up from his ankles.

In a flash, Su Shouhai was completely cocooned by the countless Blood-colored Vines, with only his head exposed.

These Blood-colored Vines seemed to possess the ability to devour Energy Particles.

As they wrapped around him, the layer of wind shrank again, until it was almost skin-tight.

Even though the vacuum had begun to dissipate and air was flowing again, the layer of wind around Su Shouhai’s body failed to recover.