The ethereal mountain peak on the Blue Buff's body radiated an imposing aura, completely enveloping it.
Tore, in his Stone Man form, had a ferocious expression, and his rocky body exuded a fierce aura.
Tore once again swung his fist, which was wreathed in dense grey magic power, carrying a sharp whistling wind as it smashed towards the Blue Buff.
The Blue Buff, without dodging, controlled the majestic ethereal mountain peak and unhesitatingly met Tore's powerful punch.
"Bang!" A deafening roar suddenly erupted, and the intense impact seemed to instantly solidify the surrounding air.
Tore's body was jolted back several steps by the immense recoil, each step leaving a deep imprint on the solid ground.
He roared in anger, then charged forward recklessly again; this time, he clasped his hands tightly together, like an incredibly heavy hammer, bringing down an even fiercer force.
The Blue Buff's ethereal mountain peak trembled slightly under this powerful impact.
Seeing this, Tore's magic power surged like a tide, transforming into substantial grey airflow; the ground suddenly vibrated violently, and several incredibly sharp stone pillars burst out of the earth, whistling as they rapidly stabbed towards the Blue Buff from different directions.
The Blue Buff's single eye flashed, and the ethereal mountain peak instantly deepened in color, successfully blocking the incoming stone pillars.
At the same time, it clapped its hands together, and several mountain-sized boulders flew out from within the ethereal mountain peak, smashing fiercely towards Tore.
Tore nimbly dodged left and right, while simultaneously pushing his lotus palms forward, sending out a surging grey beam of light that whistled directly towards the Blue Buff.
The Blue Buff reacted quickly, deftly sidestepping; the grey beam struck the ground behind it, emitting an earth-shattering roar and blasting out an enormous crater.
At this moment, Tore was panting heavily, and his sturdy stone armor showed shocking cracks.
But his eyes showed no fear; instead, they became even more ferocious.
He stomped his foot, and the ground beneath him immediately trembled violently like waves, a massive crack rapidly spreading towards the Blue Buff.
The Blue Buff moved agilely, pushing off with its legs and leaping high into the air, avoiding the terrifying crack.
At the same time, it attacked from the air, countless needle-sharp stone spikes raining down.
Tore crossed his arms above his head, tightly defending against the rain-like assault of stone spikes.
The stone spikes struck his body, producing a series of crisp and loud impacts.
In his Stone Man form, Tore's defense was surprisingly on par with the Blue Buff's.
Tore continued his attack, bending his legs slightly and pushing off the ground, charging forward rapidly; as he neared the Blue Buff, he opened his enormous mouth, and a destructive grey light spewed forth.
The Blue Buff immediately unleashed its magic power, a dense stream of grey magic energy surging from its body and merging into the ethereal mountain peak on its body, the illusory mountain solidifying for a moment.
The grey light breath was temporarily blocked, but the light of the ethereal mountain peak dimmed considerably after blocking it.
The Blue Buff let out a deafening roar, its magic power instantly erupting with full force; the ethereal mountain peak swelled and grew again, flying out from its body and pressing down fiercely towards Tore with the immense pressure of a collapsing mountain.
At such close range, Tore had no time to dodge and was instantly pressed to one knee, the ground deeply indented under the immense pressure, but he still resisted stubbornly, pushing against the ethereal mountain peak with all his might, trying to push it away with difficulty.
The two thus fell into a tough stalemate, Tore's body trembling incessantly, every muscle enduring immense pressure.
The Blue Buff, however, was nonchalant, its feet planted on the ground, grey magic power transforming into wisps of smoke-like airflow that merged back into its body, replenishing its magic power consumption.
Under this almost astonishing magic power recovery ability, it had no fear of a prolonged battle.
The two only stalemated for a few breaths before Tore let out an agonizing scream, his magic power weakening.
The prolonged high-intensity battle had caused him to over-consume his magic power, making it difficult to continue supporting himself.
The Blue Buff keenly seized this opportunity, increasing the downward pressure of the ethereal mountain peak.
Under the astonishing pressure, Tore could no longer resist and was heavily pressed to the ground, the ground shaking violently with him.
However, Tore did not give up; a hint of determination and madness flashed in his eyes, and his remaining magic power surged wildly again.
"Even if I die, I'll take you with me!" Tore screamed hoarsely, his voice full of ferocity.
His body began to swell rapidly, emitting terrifying magic power fluctuations that made people shudder, preparing to self-destruct and perish with the Blue Buff.
The Blue Buff sensed an extremely dangerous aura, its single eye shining brightly like a scorching sun, all its magic power converging, preparing to meet this final life-and-death impact.
Judging from Tore's actual combat performance, his strength was definitely close to A+ rank.
Just at this critical moment, three massive white magic circles overlapped above Tore's head.
Before he could react, intense Light Magic fluctuations appeared, followed by a dazzling white light, amplified by the three magic circles, like heavenly light piercing through clouds, striking Tore's body.
"Amaterasu - Style 28!"
As the white light dissipated, Ezreal's voice came from afar.
Tore, at this moment, was completely limp and had fainted.
The greatest effect of Amaterasu - Style 28 was to render the target powerless and unable to resist.
Tore's strength was not much different from the Blue Buff's, and a prolonged battle would undoubtedly result in his loss.
Ezreal preferred to capture Tore alive.
After all, a living sacrifice could provide more life force.
The white light on Ezreal's body receded, and he appeared beside the Blue Buff almost instantly, stepping on a cloud of inky blackness.
Within the black cloud were also a pair of eerie green wolf eyes, radiating fierce light, constantly scanning the surroundings.
"Blue Buff, you're lucky; this guy's strength is decent. After he's fused with you, you'll probably improve quite a bit."
Ezreal smiled and patted the Blue Buff's thigh, the black cloud beneath his feet carrying Ezreal floating to Tore's side.
Ezreal raised a hand, and a green light glowed; Tore's body immediately stood up from the ground at an odd angle, then flew uncontrollably towards Ezreal.
Tore's head was held firmly in Ezreal's hand.
Dense green mist spewed from his palm, completely enveloping Tore.
The unconscious Tore seemed to be electrocuted, his body trembling violently, followed by unconscious wails, but in less than two seconds, the intense pain completely plunged him into a state of brain shutdown.
After a while, the green mist slowly receded, Tore's body gone, replaced by a green sphere the size of an eyeball on Ezreal's fingertip.
A philosopher's stone!
This was the first time a living person had been directly refined into a philosopher's stone.
Both the life force and soul force were preserved very completely.
But Ezreal's expression at this moment was exceptionally grim; he suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of Jinkadi City, "Damn it, Natsu and Cana are in danger."
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