Iris was startled but not flustered. Calmly, she raised her wand, only to find that the surrounding Magic Power had fallen into a dead silence, making it extremely difficult to mobilize.
"Antimagic!"
More precisely, it was a weakened version of an Antimagic Field—magic effects were not completely suppressed, and magic items were still functioning.
Anser had no time to think. He leapt into the air; while still midair, his hands had already transformed into dragon claws. Crossing his arms, he waited for the metal net to fall, then slashed with force.
A series of metallic clashes rang out. The metal net was instantly torn open with a large gash, and the layer of magical aura upon it shattered at once.
"It's broken!"
"How is that possible—"
The voices of Iris and an unfamiliar man sounded one after the other.
Anser activated the Royal Butterfly Cloak, flapped its wings, and shot out through the opening.
His draconic transformation was different from that of other dragons. Other true dragons relied on Strength, but the attribute added to his claws was his spellcasting ability.
A gust of wind came from behind. Turning his head, he saw Iris riding a flying carpet close behind. She swung her wand, and as the incantation rose with the wind, eight miniature meteors rapidly took shape in succession, circling around her and producing sharp whistling sounds.
'A Quickened fourth-circle Melf's Minute Meteors!' Anser understood at once.
Iris remained expressionless. She pointed her small wand downward, and one meteor shot down explosively.
Whoosh—
With a piercing screech, the miniature meteor smashed into the crowd, landing on the back of one person. It exploded with a thunderous blast, flames and shockwaves sweeping across a two-to-three-meter radius.
The crowd scattered in panic.
Looking at their attire, Anser found it strangely familiar. And this tactic of opening with antimagic—he had seen something like it before.
Without hesitation, he activated the True Sight Ring. A trace of spiritual radiance encircled his eyes, and his vision immediately became transparent and clear.
Sweeping his gaze across the surroundings, he spotted a blurry figure floating in midair, stealthily approaching Iris, who was focused on casting. The distance between them was less than ten meters.
'You bastard!'
Anser cursed inwardly. A flash of silver mist enveloped him, and in the next instant he appeared at Iris's side.
"વ્યક્તિગત"
Innate Sorcery + Metamagic: Quickened Spell, Heighten Spell + Hold Person!
A flash of elemental light flickered. The figure instantly froze in place; the shimmering distortion over its body shattered, and its form was completely exposed to the air.
[You cast Hold Person on the Shadow Thieves Master. Saving Throw Difficulty: Hard (20). The Shadow Thieves Master fails the saving throw!]
Almost at the very moment the Shadow Thieves Master revealed himself, Iris adjusted her target. One miniature meteor skimmed past Anser's body and smashed toward the enemy.
Whoosh—
The meteor struck the Shadow Thieves member square in the chest. With a boom, it blasted him flying—but a layer of translucent shield surfaced over his body, and his injuries were minor.
Whoosh—
A miniature meteor broke away from the star cloud, howling as it gave chase. Iris rode her flying carpet close behind it.
Anser did not rush to cast. Instead, relying on the flight granted by elemental resonance, he climbed higher, moving away from the canopy.
Below, a warrior wearing a horned helmet and carrying a shield jumped onto a tree trunk, tensed his body, and hurled the short spear in his hand with all his strength.
Whoosh—
Anser calmly looked down from above and didn't even bother to dodge, continuing to gain altitude. After flying several dozen meters, the spear ran out of force and fluttered down lightly.
That was the drawback of physical attacks—shooting upward greatly reduced both range and power.
'Ninety meters. That should do.'
He hovered in midair. This distance was relatively safe, and the view was good; any attack aimed at him would have nowhere to hide.
At this moment, the Hold Person spell ended.
He turned his head and saw Iris bombarding the forest below with relentless blasts—apparently that Shadow Thieves member had hidden himself again.
Anser withdrew his gaze. Using the butterfly wings to steady his body, Magic Power surged around him as he locked onto the horned warrior on the tree trunk from afar.
"ફાયરબોલકલા"
Metamagic: Empowered Spell, Seeking Spell + Fireball!
A bright flash shot from his fingertip, slicing across several dozen meters and appearing above the treetops.
The horned warrior was prepared. He stomped hard on the trunk and leapt to the other side, trying to use the canopy and trunk to block the spell's effect.
The flash traced an arc through the air, locked onto him again, and pursued right behind his back.
Startled, the horned warrior curled up midair and turned the shield on his back toward that flash.
Boom—
Blazing flames swept over everything, forming a red-yellow fireball nearly twenty meters across and pulling several enemies into it.
Dead branches, fallen leaves, trunks, canopies… all were ignited in an instant. Flames sprang up everywhere, lingering and refusing to die out, while the heat waves churned the smoke and fire into a roiling surge.
"Ah…"
Several screams rang out—shrill yet stifled.
[…Cowled Wizards Senior Warrior takes 21 fire damage. Current Hit Point: 83/104]
[…Shadow Thieves Elite has died. Gained 175 experience points]
Two ordinary professionals had died, yet the horned warrior closest to the blast was completely unharmed.
'Cowled Wizards?'
Anser focused his gaze, but he could not see the horned warrior at all—only a round shield pressed against the ground, like a turtle hiding inside its shell.
A few seconds later, the great shield spun forcefully, blowing away the surrounding flames, then lifted straight off the ground, kicking up dust into the air.
The shield was braced on top, moving rapidly across the ground. Anser could not see the person beneath it at all—not even a foot was exposed.
"Damn it, a turtle warrior!"
Clearly, this person had extremely rich experience fighting spellcasters. His methods were simple, yet exceptionally effective.
The key was that the material of that great shield resembled the shell of some magical creature—very likely soundproof, heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and nonconductive.
Wind roared through the air as Iris rode her flying carpet back, several miniature meteors orbiting around her.
This should have been the second casting of the spell.
Whoosh—
Iris showed no intention of retreating. With a tight expression, she chased the turtle warrior, hurling meteors at him.
The turtle warrior moved swiftly, using trees and the shell-like shield to block the meteors' impact. Though battered, he did not suffer fatal injuries.
Anser remained directly above him. The die turned slightly, and at last he detected the target's information:
[Cowled Wizards Senior Warrior, Half-Orc, Level 11 Fighter (Champion)]
'The single-target damage of Minute Meteors is lacking—and it also requires concentration.'
It seemed Iris was far from having recovered her normal spellcasting capability. Third- and fourth-circle spells were likely her limit; otherwise, a single high-circle spell would have easily dealt with the opponent.
Anser swept his gaze around but did not spot that Shadow Thieves Master—he had likely turned invisible again.
He descended slightly, locked onto the turtle warrior, and raised his hand to cast a Heightened Hold Person!
This spell differed from Fear. Once cast, it took effect immediately—there was no possibility of dodging it. The premise was that the target could be seen; if not, one could only guess.
As expected, the turtle warrior failed his first Wisdom saving throw. His body went numb, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground, the shield flying out of his grasp.
In the next instant, two miniature meteors arrived in rapid succession, seamlessly connecting as they struck the turtle warrior's torso one after another. Flames burst outward, and his body was smashed into the soil.
Whoosh—
The third minute meteor followed.
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