Chapter Forty-Six: The Earth Collapses (4)

The cold night wind howled, and now and then, one could vaguely hear the metallic clatter of "clack, clack" as if steel frames were grinding against each other. Right beneath Veil's feet, had he been attentive, he would have noticed that the ground he stood upon rose conspicuously above the surrounding earth. The slightly elevated surface was devoid of pebbles, composed entirely of refined clay, and the weeds and wild grasses that grew here were far sparser than elsewhere. There were almost no trees around, and with careful scrutiny, traces left by human hands could be discerned in the landscape.

Most crucial of all, not a single howl from a magical beast could be heard in this area. Though the continent was now deep in midsummer, not even the chirp of a bird or insect broke the silence. Other than the wind’s whistling flight, an oppressive sense of unease hung over the land, as if something unseen were watching them.

Though magicians possessed keener senses than ordinary folk, Veil’s attention was wholly fixed on the two soul masters before him, who likewise focused intently upon him. Thus, it was left to Chelsberg, temporarily ignored at the sidelines, to feel the discomfort and strangeness that permeated the surroundings.

“Ve—” Chelsberg began, intending to warn Veil, but before he could finish, Veil darted forward in a flash, charging straight at the false serpent soul master behind Chelsberg!

“Flame, Crimson Wind!” Veil shouted, and a burst of crimson fire appeared from thin air, scattering into countless red sparks mid-flight. This would be enough to catch the false serpent soul master off guard. The myriad sparks then shot toward him at incredible speed, falling like a shower of petals.

“Hmph, is that all?” The false serpent soul master sneered, dodging Veil’s attack with ease. With a pull of his arms, a great energy bow appeared in his hands, and he drew an energy arrow, ready to fire at Veil. Yet as the sparks landed upon the ground, they suddenly erupted anew, swiftly gathering into a tornado of flame that surged toward the soul master, who was still airborne and had not yet landed.

“Whoosh!” The scorching fire tornado arrived unexpectedly, about to engulf the soul master entirely, when a jade-green flash streaked across the sky like a meteor, rescuing him from the fiery vortex at the last possible moment.

“Damn!” Veil cursed loudly, releasing a flurry of wind blades at the green flash, but to his surprise, the red-armed green lizard soul master was astonishingly fast, able to evade every attack effortlessly. Meanwhile, the false serpent soul master seized the chance to leap onto a tree, using the trunk as cover, and drew his bow to launch a sudden attack at Veil.

“Ice Shield!”

A meter-long energy arrow shot forth like lightning, utterly ignoring Veil’s ice shield, shattering it with ease and burying itself half a meter deep in the earth.

Veil knew well the terror of the false serpent soul master’s ranged attacks, which was why he targeted him first. He retreated a few steps to stand beside Chelsberg, conjuring another ice shield—not to protect the portly earl, but because the soul masters would hesitate to kill him, and Veil’s proximity would force them to restrain their attacks.

Yet Veil failed to anticipate that among the two soul masters, one was a true eccentric—a “madman,” or perhaps better said, a fool: the red-armed green lizard soul master.

Before the false serpent soul master could utter a word, the green lizard soul master transformed again into a jade-green orb of light and shot toward Veil with blinding speed, leaving him no time to dodge.

And if he did dodge, Chelsberg’s fate would be sealed.

“Damn it!” Veil cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth and steeling himself to charge at the green orb.

With a wave of his wand, a pillar of crimson flame erupted into existence, followed by a massive cerulean sphere of water in midair. Fire and water fused instantly, their extremes combining into a dazzling explosion of light that crashed into the green orb. The clash produced an ear-splitting blast.

“Boom!”

Dust and sand swirled; the fierce shockwave stung Veil’s skin like blades. Braving the force, Veil strained to look upward, astonished to find the green orb had not been destroyed by his magic. In the instant of the explosion, the soul master had unleashed his inner force, forming an impenetrable defense that left him barely harmed.

“Haha! Die!” With a snarl, the soul master retracted his energy, forming two razor-sharp claws upon his arms. He used the momentum of his descent to plunge toward Veil, his bloodshot eyes glowing crimson, radiating a chilling murderous intent.

“Madman!” cursed the false serpent soul master, leaping down from the tree and rushing toward Veil at full speed. He did not wish for the earl to die at the hands of that lunatic.

“Earth Shield!” Facing the green lizard soul master’s attack, Veil could only defend in haste. The earth shield was one of the most common and practical defensive earth spells, forming a shield from the land beneath one’s feet. As Veil summoned the earth shield, he inadvertently drew all the clay beneath him up to shape the shield, revealing slabs resembling ancient stone beneath the surface.

But in that moment, none of them had the presence of mind to notice the changes in the ground. The green lizard soul master’s energy crashed down, effortlessly cleaving through Veil’s earth shield and striking the stone slabs below with brutal force.

“Crack!” A sharp sound echoed as, perhaps from age, the slabs had long been riddled with cracks. The soul master’s fierce attack caused those fissures to widen instantly, growing several—or even dozens—of times larger.

“Huh?” The green lizard soul master eyed the widening fractures with puzzlement. Just then, the false serpent soul master arrived, and all four of them now stood atop the stone slabs.

“Bang!!”

Suddenly, the slabs beneath their feet shattered completely and collapsed, bringing the surrounding land down with it for dozens of meters. Before any could react, they felt themselves lose all sense of weight and plummeted into the bottomless pit below.