Lynn remained standing in place without any unnecessary movement.
However, deep within his mental domain, Yfgríd had already silently taken root, covering the entire land.
On the surface, it seemed as if Lynn was merely standing there, but if one were to perceive Yfgríd's true form, one would see an ancient tree enveloping him perfectly.
Beneath his feet, the earth was tightly entwined by layers of roots, burrowing deep within, as if even the heartbeat of the land had synchronized with his own.
As for the two apprentices who had attempted to attack him earlier, Lynn hadn't even spared them a glance.
From the soil beside him, roots suddenly burst forth like sharp blades, piercing through the two from their groins to their heads in an instant, leaving them with no chance of survival.
At this moment, Lynn remained alone, clad in a furnace-style wizard's robe, striding forward with steady steps.
Even though he was alone, he was already surrounded by numerous figures forming an impenetrable encirclement.
Each person couldn't help but swallow nervously. They had followed orders to encircle Lynn, yet none dared to act rashly.
They had all witnessed the fate of the two apprentices just moments ago.
Without even knowing what had happened, the two third-level apprentices were instantly killed. Because of this, no one dared to make a move, fearing that they would be the next to be eliminated.
Thus, even as Lynn walked forward alone, he exuded an aura as imposing as a vast army, making it impossible for anyone to stop him.
On the other side, the enforcement wizard, Alder, and the grand wizard, Helen, had already noticed that no one could block Lynn's path. Slowly, they stepped forward.
At his waist, the maple tree whispered again, warning him, "Kid, these people are up to no good..."
Lynn nodded lightly, his expression unperturbed. However, his gaze remained fixed on Alder, a hint of caution flickering in his eyes.
He could disregard everyone else, but he could not ignore this enforcement wizard.
From the maple tree's earlier words, Lynn had learned that the so-called enforcement wizards directly obeyed the orders of the Supreme Council of the Wizarding World, holding an esteemed status.
Each enforcement wizard was exceptionally powerful at the very least, they were invincible within their realm.
More importantly, they had the vast backing of the wizarding world. Their presence was akin to the embodiment of the wizarding world itself.
To attack an enforcement wizard was tantamount to challenging the wizarding world, leading to suppression by the laws of heaven and earth.
Even if one managed to kill an enforcement wizard despite this suppression, they would be marked by the world itself and relentlessly hunted down by other enforcement wizards.
Lynn and the maple tree had come here for the black dragon, but unexpectedly, they encountered this enforcement wizard instead.
Exchanging thoughts silently through Azure Sky, Lynn, and the maple tree ultimately decided to attempt negotiations with the enforcement wizard to see if cooperation was possible.
Lynn's voice was deliberately hoarse, deep, and slow as he said, "I think we can talk."
However, to Lynn's surprise, the enforcement wizard, Alder, dressed in a starry sky-patterned robe, merely sneered coldly, a trace of mockery in his eyes.
With a casual wave of his hand, he spoke in an emotionless tone:
"This man is connected to the spatial anomaly. Whether you can leave this place or not depends on whether you can take him down."
The atmosphere instantly shifted.
First were the surrounding apprentices and wizards. While they obeyed Alder and Helen, their loyalty had its limits they followed the two only because they believed doing so would help them escape.
If they were simply being ordered to die, that was a different matter entirely.
After all, even a cornered beast would fight back. Asking third-level apprentices to throw their lives away? Who's to say they wouldn't turn around and hurl a fireball at their so-called leaders instead?
Because of this, Alder needed to shift their focus.
By pointing out that Lynn was connected to the anomaly, he struck a nerve in everyone's hearts.
This man was the key to leaving this place!
No matter the cost, they had to capture him!
On the other side, the maple tree at Lynn's waist let out a cold snort, its tone turning chillingly sinister:
"This enforcement wizard doesn't know his place!"
The maple tree's voice was low and frigid:
"He has already recognized my identity, yet he's deliberately letting these people test us. He wants to gauge our strength first. If he determines that we're weak, he will immediately strike himself he has no intention of cooperating at all..."
"Kid, since he's acting so arrogantly, don't show him any courtesy. Give him a proper show of force! A relentless hound will only back down when beaten half to death. These enforcement wizards are all the same kind of hound!"
The maple tree's words were deep and cutting. Lynn's eyes flickered slightly, and the corner of his lips curled into a cold smile.
In an instant, the surrounding apprentices and wizards, their eyes burning with urgency, no longer hesitated.
An array of spells was unleashed in a frenzy, causing the energy of the world to riot. Spells interwove as they surged toward Lynn like an overwhelming flood.
"Water Prison Technique!"
Raging torrents gathered in midair, instantly forming a prison meant to entrap Lynn completely.
"Little Sandstorm Technique!"
The wind roared as sandstorms swirled into existence, forming high-speed spinning hurricanes that cut through the air, sealing off Lynn's escape routes.
"Blazing Fire Wall!"
A wall of fierce flames erupted into the sky, its towering form flickering with searing heat, blocking yet another path of retreat.
"Earth's Spine!"
Boom!
The ground trembled violently as jagged rocks surged from below, resembling awakening beasts. Massive earthen walls erupted from all sides, sealing off Lynn's final path.
Earth, water, fire, and wind four elemental forces converged instantly, trapping Lynn in the center like a turtle in a jar!
Given that Lynn was linked to their escape, the ones making the move were none other than four fully-fledged wizards, ensuring he was thoroughly trapped and unable to flee.
Meanwhile, the apprentices and lesser wizards also reinforced the "prison," adding layer upon layer to his confinement.
For a moment, spells crisscrossed, the heavens trembled, and the brilliance of countless incantations merged into a torrent of destruction, surging toward Lynn.
Standing with his hands behind his back, Alder's gaze remained unwavering, observing everything before him with utter indifference.
From the moment Lynn had appeared, Alder had sensed something unusual in his presence.
Unlike the others, Alder alone had seen through the mysteries of the colossal formation that had momentarily shaken the heavens and earth.
That formation had been barely enacted with the aid of a Moonlight Relic, successfully disrupting the fractured [landscape] rules and reshaping them into an entirely new law.
Under this new rule, everyone's cultivation had been forcibly suppressed to the level of a third-level apprentice including the formidable enforcement wizard Alder himself.
The cost of casting such a terrifying spell could only be imagined.
"If you want to cooperate with me, first see if you're even qualified."
Alder's voice rang out coldly, his deep eyes fixed on Lynn, who was heavily surrounded. His tone carried a hint of threat:
"If you can't withstand this, then hand everything over obediently."
Cooperation, by definition, required both parties to be on equal footing, but Alder did not believe that his opponent was currently at the same level as him.
He surveyed the surroundings spells intertwined, lightning crackled, sand and fire swept through the air.
At this moment, though the surrounding apprentices and sorcerers unleashed their magic, they exercised caution, afraid of accidentally taking Lynn's life.
After all, if Lynn died, they would be unable to leave this space.
However, Alder chuckled lightly, furrowing his brow slightly before speaking coldly:
"Don't hold back. With just you lot, you still won't be able to kill him!"
His words caused the apprentices and sorcerers around him to pause momentarily, but they did not doubt the judgment of an Enforcer Sorcerer. Thus, they stopped restraining themselves!
"Thunderstorm!"
Boom! Lightning crackled, weaving together like a torrential downpour, crashing down upon Lynn at the center.
Each bolt of lightning carried destructive power, an unstoppable force of impact.
"Ice Magic!"
Immediately after, several apprentices cast ice magic in unison. A wave of cold air swept through the area, and the temperature plummeted.
Frost coated the ground, the chill biting to the bone.
Combined with the thunderstorm, the ice and lightning interacted, their power multiplying exponentially. The combined assault was devastating, seemingly capable of annihilating everything in its path.
Alder stood at a distance, his sharp gaze fixed on the scene.
At this moment, all kinds of elemental spells erupted simultaneously. Even though the view of what was happening within was obstructed, the sheer reactions between the unleashed elements had already carved deep fissures into the earth.
One could only imagine the devastation at the very heart of the attack.
Even Alder himself doubted whether he could withstand such a relentless assault.
His eyes darkened slightly, and he was just about to order the apprentices and sorcerers to stop. The attack had lasted long enough if Lynn had not fallen yet, then perhaps he truly possessed some ability worth considering for further negotiations.
However, just as Alder was about to speak, the energy fluctuations in the air suddenly shifted!
His pupils contracted sharply as he sensed an abnormal and violent surge of certain elemental forces!
"This is... the aura of the earth... the power of trees…"
His expression grew graver.
At the same time, the ground already scarred and battered by magic remained frozen in some places while still smoldering in others.
But then, cracks suddenly began to form in the earth, as if being torn apart by some terrifying force!
In the next instant
Boom!!
A crimson glow flickered beneath the fractured land, and one eerie, sinister figure after another silently emerged from below!
"Ah!!"
One of the nearest apprentices barely had time to react before letting out a blood-curdling scream. His body seemed to be drained of all strength by some unseen force, and he collapsed limply to the ground, his life extinguished in an instant!
"What's happening?!"
Someone in the crowd shouted in alarm, but before they could turn their heads, another scream rang out.
"Ah!"
Not far away, another apprentice's eyes widened in shock. His body convulsed violently as if his spine had been torn apart by an invisible hand. He crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
And this… was only the beginning.
From beneath the cracked earth, those twisted, darting shadows moved like the scythes of death. With each flicker, they harvested another life!
Within mere seconds, over twenty apprentices had perished!
Their lifeless bodies lay scattered across the battlefield, their faces frozen in expressions of terror, their eyes still open in shock and disbelief.
The crowd that had once surrounded Lynn so tightly was now in utter disarray, fleeing in panic like sheep before a predator!
"What the hell are those things?! Help!!"
Someone screamed hysterically, desperately trying to escape.
Unfortunately, their hopes were naïve.
The terrifying entities that had emerged from the ground were far faster than anyone had anticipated!
Splurt!
An apprentice attempting to flee suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, his face turned deathly pale.
What had impaled him was not a spear, nor a blade but a razor-sharp tree root, piercing straight through his heart. Blood dripped slowly from its bark.
His eyes widened in horror, lips trembling as if trying to speak, but the rapid loss of life left him unable to utter a sound.
Swoosh!
The root swiftly retracted into the earth, before lunging toward its next target!
At the same time, from deep underground, dozens of dark roots shot out like demons from hell, wildly lashing out to reap the lives of the sorcerers!
Cries of agony, despair, and panic filled the air.
The apprentices who had been casting spells moments ago were now nothing more than helpless prey, scrambling for their lives only to find there was nowhere to run!
Alder remained standing in place, silently watching it all unfold.
Yet, as his pupils suddenly shrank and his expression finally shifted
A calm and indifferent voice drifted out from the chaos of fire, wind, and lightning.
"Apologies, I almost forgot about you."
The tone was unhurried as if simply stating an insignificant fact.
But Alder's expression changed drastically in an instant!
Because he had sensed it an indescribable force was surging from deep beneath the earth!
A silent connection had formed between the battlefield of raging elements and the ground beneath his very feet!
Boom!!!
In a flash of lightning-fast reflexes, Alder's body flickered as he instinctively leaped backward!
He turned his head, still reeling in shock.
The spot where he had just stood
A massive, spear-like tree root had violently burst through the ground!
Had he hesitated even for a fraction of a second, his fate would have been no different from the apprentices'.
Alder's heart pounded wildly, his expression darker than ever.
"Moreover… this level of power… is far beyond the apprentice stage!"
His eyes flickered with uncertainty. He was about to stop and reassess the situation, to reconsider negotiating with Lynn.
But at that moment, another voice rang out.
"You're good at dodging… but what about now?"
Before the words even fully settled
Rumble!!!
The earth trembled like a waking beast, shaking violently!
The roots that had been slaughtering apprentices mere moments ago suddenly retracted into the ground, halting their assault.
Yet, Alder's expression only grew graver. In fact… a trace of fear crept into his eyes.
Because he could feel it
Beneath the land in all directions, something terrifying was surging.
Like a river of power pulsing through the veins of the earth.
Countless roots had already hidden in the darkness
And this time, they were all aimed at him.
The prey had changed.
Now, it was him.
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