Chapter 375 – Benlajet’s Trump Card

“Mana Compression”! This metamagic technique enhanced spells in every aspect. From this perspective, the cost required to cast it—triple the mana—was absolutely worth it.

For instance, the “Chaos Mist” spell Punk was currently casting, empowered by “Mana Compression”, saw its projectile speed increase by at least fifty percent, while the range of the filthy, multicolored mist expanded significantly.

The direct result was—Ben Lajie was hit without any suspense. Although Ben Lajie quickly enveloped himself in a “Flame Body” barrier when the spell rapidly approached, “Chaos Mist” wasn’t an offensive-effect spell, rendering his “Flame Body” utterly useless.

The chaotic mist seemed filled with wildly shifting elements and energies. These colors, tinged with dark radiance, collectively formed a grimy cloud of dust. Trapped within this haze, Ben Lajie soon realized that both his Divination Spells and perception abilities were disrupted by the pervasive chaotic energy surrounding him. The entire spinning sphere of “Chaos Mist” even interfered with his sense of direction and time. For a moment, he couldn’t even determine which direction to break through.

“Cyan, you bastard! Is this all the petty tricks you’ve got?”

To avoid charging headlong into a trap, Ben Lajie had no choice but to curse loudly while forcibly halting the half-constructed spell model of “Flame Jet”. Due to that initially seemingly minor mistake, the overweight old man, having lost his advantage, had fallen into a highly unfavorable position.

“Dammit, calm down, calm down quickly! If this continues, I’ll really die!”

Although his cursing sounded fierce, in reality, Ben Lajie, whose hands were almost trembling slightly, had begun muttering to himself internally while biting the tip of his tongue hard. He knew that Punk’s attacks would follow in less than a second. Any one of them could plunge him into an irrecoverable abyss. Panicking at this moment would only mean self-destruction!

But… fear was never an easy thing to dispel, especially in such a rapidly changing life-and-death game. The difference between a combat novice and a combat expert could be unimaginably vast. It was precisely because of this slight fear and hesitation that Ben Lajie once again, without considering the battlefield situation, instinctively acted according to the theoretical knowledge from books:

“Enhancement Mage Combat Manual” Article 18—When trapped in spells of the “restrict external information reception” type, if unable to break free, one should cast large-scale, high-damage spells to directly destroy the enemy’s information-blocking methods.

Based on this theoretical knowledge, Ben Lajie immediately made what he thought was the correct response.

“Master-Level Evocation Spell—Exploding Flame Shockwave”!

“BOOM”!!The offensive power of an Archmage specialized in evocation is immense. The moment Ben Lajie unleashed his spell, three consecutive crimson waves of flame erupted from his center, sweeping across the surroundings. In an instant, the nearly four-hundred-square-meter area around the portly old man was transformed into a boiling lake of molten lava. The smoke and dust from vaporized rocks even formed scorching tornadoes that shot straight into the sky!

Under such a devastating evocation spell, the highly fragile “Chaos Mist” was quickly incinerated by the fiery storm. In fact, a significant portion of the area around Ben Lajie was now a vacuum. The extreme heat and shockwaves from the flames had even warped space, creating fragile fractures, while the temperature across the entire battlefield soared to over a thousand degrees.

At this moment, bathed in the flickering glow of the molten lava, Ben Lajie stood amidst the flames like a deity of fire, as if even the hardest rock would inevitably turn to ash in the inferno.

However, despite the seemingly unstoppable and grand display, Ben Lajie’s dominance was merely superficial.

In truth, Punk had been waiting precisely for Ben Lajie to cast a large-scale spell. If Ben Lajie’s first reaction had been to burst into flames and charge in a random direction, Punk would have found it troublesome. After all, the one-time trap he had painstakingly set up was intended for Ovakain—using it on Ben Lajie would have been a tremendous waste!

But now…

“Nokani, someone as thoughtless as you is truly unfit to be a mage. Did you really think I cast the ‘Chaos Mist’—a spell with strong shielding capabilities but extreme fragility—just to conceal my whereabouts?”

As he watched Ben Lajie, who had just finished casting “Flame Shockwave,” the magical light in Punk’s pupils began to spin rapidly. In his palm, two fully prepared spells eagerly shot toward Ben Lajie, who was still in the process of releasing his perception.

Indeed, Punk’s initial purpose in throwing “Chaos Mist” at Ben Lajie was to lure the panicked old man into using a spell. It must be noted that the portly old man did not possess the Metamagic – Dualcast technique. In other words, if he used a spell to dispel the “Chaos Mist,” he would simultaneously forfeit his only chance to cast an acceleration spell!

In a battle between powerful individuals, Punk could exploit the brief vacuum period right after Ben Lajie finished casting one spell and before he could construct a new spell model. This window allowed Punk to execute a devastating combo:

“Master Conjuration – Velocity Kinetic Cone”

Metamagic – Dualcast!

“Master Conjuration – Velocity Kinetic Cone”!

Activate the Mage Robe’s Solidification Spell—Anywhere Door!

Three spells and one Metamagic technique—this was Punk’s formidable, lethal combination. Currently positioned to Ben Lajie’s left, the first “Velocity Kinetic Cone” he released traced a pale purple trajectory as it shot toward Ben Lajie from the left.At the same time, the “Anywhere Door” he activated had fully opened, with its entrance positioned to Ben Lajie’s right. Thus, when Punk launched the second “Velocity Kinetic Cone” into the Anywhere Door, the terrifying attack simultaneously shot out from another Anywhere Door exit located to Ben Lajie’s right. The attack from the right then successfully coordinated with the one from the left, pinning Ben Lajie in a pincer assault!

Under Punk’s sudden explosive offensive, Ben Lajie was immediately thrust into a dire predicament.

By this point, his “Flame Rush” spell model was only half-constructed, while Punk’s two “Velocity Kinetic Cones” had already reached the fat old man from both sides. Without the support of spells, evading Punk’s ultra-high-speed attacks with his bulky physique was nearly impossible!

One moment, it seemed he held the advantage; the next, death arrived in an instant. An ordinary person would likely have been frozen in terror.

But Ben Lajie proved worthy of being a Master-Level Caster. At this critical juncture, the previously flustered fat old man instantly calmed down. With almost no hesitation, his mind racing, Ben Lajie immediately abandoned the nearly completed “Flame Rush” spell model. Instead, a rather aged scroll and a glittering necklace in his hands simultaneously erupted with magical radiance!

Cornered, Ben Lajie had finally played his trump card!

(End of Chapter)