162: The End of Two Bats (Part 1)

The Wizards of Blood Fortress chose to stand by.

Wizard Odysseus received no response from the academy and saw no reinforcements, thus realizing a cruel truth—the academy had abandoned him.

Cursing his colleagues who did nothing but drag their feet at critical moments, Wizard Odysseus was at his wit's end.

Green, leading a large team of over 30 Wizards, had Wizard Odysseus thoroughly surrounded; Wizards from Heart of Plants guarded every direction within a 100-meter radius.

Not rushing for success, Green was like a seasoned hunter, constantly wearing down the strength of the trapped tiger, patiently extracting its sharp claws, gaping maw, steel-whip tail... one by one, all its threatening methods.

Watching his trump cards dwindle and the stored energy of his first-order incomplete guardian Wizard Tool diminish, Wizard Odysseus truly felt that escape was impossible this time, and despair welled up within him:

"I have dominated the Mist Coast for thirty years and forged a great reputation."

"In the past, I overcame countless difficulties. Must I now suffer defeat and perish here?"

"...Odysseus—"

"Odysseus—"

"I'm here..."

"Whoosh..."

A giant Blood-colored Bat suddenly surged from a dark corner, and three streaks of blood-red light flashed, sending three blocking Wizards flying dozens of meters away.

With a few blinks, the blood-red figure darted in front of Wizard Odysseus, its two sharp blood-red claws striking dozens of times a second, tearing a large opening in the Thorn Cage that enveloped Wizard Odysseus, intending to rescue Wizard Odysseus, who was barely holding on with an energy barrier.

This blood-red figure was none other than Wizard Hudson, who had fallen behind.

This series of events happened extremely fast; the many Intermediate Wizard Apprentices and Grand Knights participating in the encirclement had not yet reacted.

But Green reacted immediately.

"Thorn Entanglement!" X2 (Super Magic Technique—Dual Casting)

Sixteen high-strength, resilient magic thorns instantly enveloped Hudson's figure once more.

"Excellent timing."

"Two big fish!"

"First squad, keep casting Thorn Entanglement; cast it continuously. Reinforce any weak points; absolutely do not let the big fish escape."

"Second squad, deploy Spiritual Power interference potions, magic-breaking potions, corrosive potions, all of them..."

"Third squad, guard all critical pathways. I want to create an inescapable net, leaving these big fish nowhere to run..."

"...Bang bang bang..."

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."

"Swish swish swish..."

This newcomer, the peak Wizard Hudson, was extremely active, truly living up to his peak combat power. Continuous claw attacks and an endless stream of Wizardry—Blood Light Slash, Negative Energy Orb, Blood Ray... he even knew Exploding Fireball. He caused such a commotion within the new vine cage that it was utter chaos.

Fortunately, Green was experienced. During the half-year of organized training at the academy, he had undergone many such training sessions targeting peak combat power, and Green had brought enough people.

When Green was underground, he had estimated the enemy would be around 2 to 3 peak combat powers, so he directly summoned 6 combat squads, over 30 Wizards, to serve as nodes for this inescapable net.

Even if another peak combat power arrived, Green could handle it.

Under Green's calm and steady command, even with his high combat power, numerous methods, and fierce struggles, Wizard Hudson, deeply trapped in the magic vine cage, was ultimately unable to break the cage, rescue Wizard Odysseus, or escape. He even got himself trapped...

Green, while instructing everyone to slowly 'reel in the fish' according to the academy's curriculum, also smiled and, as if greeting old friends, spoke to the two struggling Blood-colored Bats:

"So you are the famous 'Blood Fang,' Senior Odysseus. My apologies for not recognizing you earlier!"

"I am Junior Green Anglet; I presume you are not unfamiliar with me."

"Now that your companion has arrived, you are no longer alone. So, this doesn't count as ganging up on you, does it?"

"Hmm, at most, it's a mutual fight."

"Pah..."

Under the energy shield, Wizard Odysseus's expression was somewhat distorted.

"Green, you are truly shameless! A 'mutual fight'?"

"I've said it before, if you have the guts, let's have a one-on-one duel! We are honorable White Wizards, Wizard Green. You are the most brilliant genius of Heart of Plants in a hundred years; you represent the face of your academy."

"Do you want a bad reputation to spread, saying that 'Wizards of Heart of Plants are all cowardly bandits who bully the weak and outnumber their opponents'?"

"I see you are also a Knight; how about we have a fair duel between Knights?"

"If I lose, I will let you do as you please and admit that your Heart of Plants is superior to our Blood Fortress."

"...Oh..."

Green seemed interested and asked faintly:

"Why don't you talk about if you win?"

"If I win, I hope you will spare my life, considering we are both White Wizards. Don't worry, even if I win, I will help promote your name in the outside world. Don't you have the title 'Close-Range Wizard'? But your achievements don't seem to be many. With an old senior like me, who has been around for nearly a hundred years, vouching for you, I guarantee your reputation will soar to new heights."

"That proposal sounds quite good. Interesting."

"Indeed, we are both peak combat powers, figures at the pinnacle of Wizard Apprentice. Who doesn't have one or two Formal Wizard-level trump cards?"

Wizard Odysseus quickly tried to persuade him. The reserve energy in his first-order guardian Wizard Tool was dwindling, and it couldn't be replenished quickly.

Furthermore, in this Ancient Secret Realm, elemental concentration was extremely low, making it impossible for Wizards to replenish their consumption from the environment. They could only rely on potions they carried. Now, to counter the various attacks from the Wizards of Plant Heart Academy, he had to constantly unleash spells, fighting against 10 opponents, which consumed a tremendous amount of energy.

Even though Wizard Odysseus was continuously drinking various replenishment potions, his replenishment speed was gradually failing to keep up with his consumption rate, and both his condition and combat power were rapidly declining...

"Since the fruit of life won't fall to us, why should we fight to the death here? Tearing off all pretenses is bad for everyone, Wizard Green, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suggest this: Wizard Green, quickly make them stop. Let's find a place to talk properly. We can discuss whatever you want."

"Talk?"