A ring of dark red ripples exploded in the air beneath their feet.
The ripples expanded outward with Wizard Meltbone at the center, tearing, vaporizing, and reducing the clouds to nothingness wherever they passed.
The gray light membrane on the bone dragon's back shuddered violently, and Ethan felt the bony ground beneath his feet tremble slightly.
Then came the fire.
The dark red cracks covering Meltbone's body lit up simultaneously.
Flames erupted from those cracks—not ordinary red flames, but an incandescent, near-liquid molten fire.
The molten fire flowed down from his body, pooling beneath his feet into an ever-expanding lake of fire.
The lake was expanding.
Starting from beneath the bone dragon's feet, the flames spread in all directions.
Dark red fire clouds surged outward with Meltbone at the center, swallowing the clouds, the sky, and everything in their path.
Wherever the fire swept, the air was vaporized instantly, and space warped violently under the intense heat.
The sky turned from deep blue to dark red, from dark red to crimson, and from crimson to incandescent white.
One thousand miles. Three thousand miles. Ten thousand miles. Thirty thousand miles.
Ethan looked up.
Wherever his eyes could see, there was only fire.
Fire raged above, ahead, and to his left and right. Even the clouds beneath his feet had been scorched into a dark red, magma-like substance, churning slowly in the extreme heat.
The entire sky had turned into a giant furnace.
Meltbone stood in the very center of this furnace, his entire body dripping with incandescent molten fire.
His figure expanded continuously within the flames, transforming from a short, plump middle-aged man into a flame giant over a hundred meters tall.
The giant's facial features were blurry, save for two dark, black flames burning in his eye sockets.
“Hahahahaha!”
Meltbone's laughter boomed from the flame giant's chest, shaking the entire sky.
“Three natives! Come out and face your death!”
Before his voice could fade, Frostfall made her move.
She took a step forward, her light blue cloak sliding off her shoulders.
Frostfall's bare feet stepped onto the bone dragon's head, her ice-crystal eyes reflecting the sky full of fire.
She raised both hands.
Then came the ice.
Centered on her feet, frost spread outward.
A thin layer of ice crystals appeared on the surface of the bone dragon's grayish-white skull, thickening, expanding, and spreading at an incredible speed.
The bone dragon let out a low growl, the eerie green soul fire flickering in its eye sockets, but it did not shrink back.
The frost continued to expand.
Starting from the bone dragon's head, the frost blanketed everything in all directions.
White-blue ice crystals rippled outward with Frostfall at the center, swallowing the fire, the clouds, and everything in their path.
Wherever the frost passed, even the flames released by Meltbone were frozen for an instant.
The dark red fire clouds and icy-blue frost tore at each other wildly in the sky. Plumes of white mist erupted where they collided, only to be vaporized by the fire or crystallized by the frost in the very next instant.
Five hundred miles. Two thousand miles. Fifteen thousand miles. Fifty thousand miles.
Fifty thousand miles of sky were painted with frost.
Frostfall's body transformed within the frost.
Her limbs elongated, her torso twisted, and countless intricate patterns of ice crystals emerged on the surface of her skin.
Those patterns grew outward from her body, weaving a massive ice-crystal silhouette around her.
The silhouette grew clearer and more solid, finally transforming into an ice-crystal phoenix with a wingspan of over ten thousand meters.
Every single feather of the phoenix was composed of pure ice crystals, their edges sharp enough to slice through the air.
Icy blue cold flames burned in the phoenix's eyes. This flame carried no heat; it would only freeze anything it touched into dust in an instant.
The ice-crystal phoenix threw its head back and let out a silent shriek.
Soundwaves rippled outward as visible white rings. Wherever they passed, the air was frozen into solid ice-crystal powder, cascading down from the sky.
In the Sacred City below, the runic arrays that were still active dimmed significantly the moment the soundwaves swept over them.
Blood Bone remained standing where he was.
He did not transform.
There was no flame giant, no ice-crystal phoenix, and no flashy displays. He simply raised his right hand, splayed his fingers, and pressed down toward the Sacred City below.
Then came the crimson.
Starting from behind Blood Bone, the sky was stained with a layer of dark red crimson.
It was not fire, nor was it frost, nor was it any definable elemental energy.
It was pure, unadulterated killing intent.
The crimson surged outward with Blood Bone at the center, swallowing the fire, swallowing the frost, and swallowing everything in its path.
Ten thousand miles.
Fifty thousand miles.
One hundred thousand miles.
One hundred thousand miles of sky were dyed in crimson.
Meltbone's flames burned even brighter within the crimson, and Frostfall's ice crystals became even more translucent.
The three forces intertwined, stacked, and amplified each other in the sky, turning the entire vault of heaven into a bizarre canvas.
Against the dark red backdrop, the incandescent flames and icy-blue crystals clashed, tore at each other, and annihilated one another. Every collision tore open energy rifts that stretched for thousands of miles across the sky.
The bone dragon roared toward the heavens amidst the weaving of the three forces.
Eerie green soul fire erupted from its eye sockets, forming a burning halo around its skull. Its bones creaked, and its massive body trembled slightly under the oppressive aura of three Tier 3 Wizards.
Ethan stood on the back of the bone dragon.
He looked up at the three Tier 3 Wizards unleashing their full power, his right hand clenching involuntarily.
This was the power of Tier 3 Wizards.
This was what a Tier 3 Wizard truly was.
He had witnessed battles between Third-Tier lifeforms on the battlefield before, but that had been from tens of thousands of meters away, through layers of energy shockwaves, and behind the protective shield of the War Fortress.
Now, he stood on the bone dragon's back, less than a hundred meters away from three Tier 3 Wizards.
The pressure of their auras bore down on him, forcing his Wood Armor to activate automatically, causing the runes in his mental sea to vibrate wildly, and making his passive Combat Instinct scream in desperation.
Blood Bone turned his head, his dark red eyes sweeping over Ethan.
A faint, blood-red light membrane materialized around Ethan, shielding him from the overwhelming aura of the Tier 3 Wizards.
Ethan felt the crushing pressure suddenly vanish, allowing him to breathe a bit easier.
“Thank you, Headmaster,” Ethan said.
Blood Bone did not reply, turning his gaze back to the ground below.
In the Sacred City, three figures soared into the sky.
In the Sacred City, three figures soared into the sky.
The Protector Priest flew at the very front, her dark green priest robes fluttering wildly in the turbulent energy currents.
The two Protector Envoys followed closely behind, the dark green patterns on their scales lighting up completely as they condensed a thick barrier of light around their bodies.
The auras of the three could be considered strong even among Third-Tier lifeforms.
The emerald-green glow on the Protector Priest was particularly dense. The crystal at the tip of the staff in her hand was blindingly bright, each pulse stirring visible ripples of energy in the air.
Rate on N.U.
