169: Range Magic

The Gnolls surrounding the three spellcasters, who clearly looked like higher-ups, appeared even taller and stronger, and their equipment was more refined.

They seemed to be higher-tier elite warriors.

Over the past three days, Ryan had encountered various types of Gnolls; besides common Gnoll warriors, there were several different kinds of spellcasters.

He hadn't expected new types of elite Gnoll warriors to appear today.

Among the approximately five thousand Gnolls surrounding them, there were also twenty to thirty spellcasters.

The spellcaster to the direct south appeared to hold a higher position.

Aggressive Gnolls nearby triggered traps set by the Druids and Forest Nymphs.

Activated vines and thorns pulled the triggered Gnolls into the plant clusters, entangling, binding, and restricting them.

There were also poisonous plants that, when touched, burst open with toxic spore powder, poisoning a large number of Gnoll soldiers nearby.

The Young Duke didn't wait; he waved his hand, and the Dragon King transformed into a Pearl Dragon hatchling, flying into the sky.

Last night, Ryan had preemptively consumed one natural pearl, valued at over 500 gold coins, to specify the designated divine and arcane spells for each ring of the Pearl Dragon Scale Armor today.

As the Dragon King ascended, he simultaneously cast the four-ring divine spell: "Wrath of the Sea."

A 60-foot cone of ocean waves surged towards the direct south, knocking down hundreds of Gnolls.

The three Gnoll spellcasters who had not yet reached their intended destination, along with the elite Gnoll soldiers around them, were also caught in the surge.

Where the waves struck, over eighty percent of the Gnolls were severely injured and fell, ten percent were killed, and ten percent of the stronger Gnolls on the periphery were not knocked down but were all wounded.

The Dragon King also spewed a breath of fire towards this group of Gnolls.

A 15-foot wide, 43-foot long cloud of boiling steam enveloped hundreds of Gnolls to the south.

The Gnolls who had survived the impact of the "Wrath of the Sea" divine spell earlier wailed in the boiling steam, and soon, one after another, they perished.

However, the Dragon King did not stop there; it continued to spew the steam cloud, flying a circuit along the Gnolls on the outer edge of the mist.

Beneath the massive volume of steam, the wails of nearly five thousand Gnolls could be heard.

The continuous scorching damage prevented the twenty to thirty spellcasters from casting spells.

Perhaps a true Pearl Dragon needs to regularly ingest large amounts of seawater to perform its next breath attack.

But in an area the size of a town, the Dragon King, having pre-stored a massive amount of seawater, could continuously breathe for over a dozen hours.

Ryan regretted not having figured out this usage sooner.

Owning a Dragon, even a hatchling Dragon, was still a formidable weapon.

It was equivalent to having a nuclear weapon at home.

Two days, and ten soldiers had been sacrificed in vain.

After the Dragon King completed its circuit, it did not stop; it flew south along the Gnoll Team advancing from south to north.

The boiling steam cloud spread southward.

As the Dragon King ascended along the hillside, spewing steam, a massive steam cloud formed a straight line rising towards the mountaintop, engulfing a large number of Gnolls.

Meanwhile, after the Dragon King began spewing its breath, Ryan led his team, enduring the heatwave, to finish off the remaining enemies.

Ryan cast the three-ring divine spell: "Acid Storm" towards the sixty percent of the Gnoll crowd that were still alive after being enveloped by the steam cloud, in the southeast direction.

A 10-foot high, 120-foot diameter cylindrical storm cloud formed above this group of Gnolls.

Thunder rumbled intermittently within the cloud, and bolts of lightning struck the Gnolls within it.

Along with the lightning and thunder came acid rain, corroding the Gnolls' flesh.

The Holy Knights activated "Aura of Protection," riding on horseback, following Ryan as he moved northeast.

Beyond the effective range of the "Acid Storm" divine spell, the Young Duke immediately activated the two-ring arcane spell: "Acid Fog."

Next to the "Acid Storm," within the dissipating steam cloud, a 20-foot cube of acid fog covered over thirty Gnolls, their bodies covered in blisters.

These Gnolls had just thought they had escaped, only for their vision to turn yellowish-green again, seeing nothing.

Gnolls unable to escape suffered 1d6 points of acid damage every six seconds.

Ryan and his group continued to ride forward, activating the four-ring arcane spell: "Corrosive Storm."

An 80-foot diameter Corrosive Storm generated above dozens of Gnolls nearby, with an even more potent corrosive acid mist than before, corroding these tall and strong creatures.

The blisters on their bodies, upon contact with the Corrosive Storm, caused them even greater pain.

At the same time, the ground beneath their feet formed calcified areas, reducing their movement speed by 10 feet.

More and more Gnolls unable to escape were corroded to death.

Five-ring arcane spell: "Extreme Cold Field."

A low temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius enveloped hundreds of Gnolls within a 120-foot diameter area north of the "Corrosive Storm."

Instantly frozen, the Gnolls were unable to move, forced to endure continuous cold damage in place.

Behind Ryan and his group, nearly a hundred cavalry kept a distance from them, firing arrows to finish off Gnolls who had not yet fully died after enduring Ryan's spells for a period.

Ryan continued to run to the easternmost point, activating "Dragon Breath Control" imbued in the Dragon Might Scepter.

He released a 60-foot cone of Dragon breath, harvesting the lives of over 300 Gnolls.

Next, Ryan used another spell imbued in the Dragon Might Scepter, "Roaring Impact."

He unleashed a 60-foot cone of sonic attack, taking hundreds more Gnoll lives.

By this point, Ryan had completed a quarter of a circular arc.

The Dragonblood Sorceress Adeline Silver Ember, who had arrived north of Ryan earlier, cast the two-ring spell: "Snylo's Snowball Swarm" at the next wave of Gnolls.

All Gnolls within a 10-foot diameter spherical area suffered cold damage.

Almost simultaneously with "Snylo's Snowball Swarm" taking effect, the Bard Angel Moon Eclipse cast the two-ring spell: "Cloud of Daggers."

A 5-foot cubed area filled with magically created spinning daggers enveloped the injured Gnolls in front, causing them continuous slashing damage.

Shaman Prima cast "Wall of Ice" to fill the areas not covered by the "Cloud of Daggers."

A 20-foot diameter spherical ice ball appeared in the middle of the Gnolls.

Gnolls struck by the rolling ice ball suffered 10d6 points of cold damage.

Ryan once again reached the northernmost end of the formation.

The Dragon Might Scepter in his hand had transformed into the "Dragon Might Shortbow."

The speed of the white horse running was much slower than the Dragon King's flight speed.

At this moment, the steam cloud to the northeast was gradually dissipating, revealing many injured Gnolls within.

The hissing sound of steam gradually faded, and the wailing of Gnolls in Ryan's ears began to become piercing.

The Young Duke suddenly expanded the mist on the east side, once again trapping most of the living Gnolls on that side in the white labyrinth.

One Gnoll spellcaster was still alive; it seemed to have shaken off the effects of the steam and was preparing to cast a spell.