Chapter 455 – Sudden Turn of Events

Aside from certain overwhelmingly powerful trump cards, professionals typically couldn’t achieve one-hit kills against each other. After all, neither Battle Aura armor nor protective spells were mere decorations—breaking through an enemy’s layered defenses often required one or two high-intensity attacks to truly inflict damage.

After Punk’s “Order’s Embrace” neutralized Sorsend’s interception attempt “Touch of Chaos,” the highly penetrating “Velocity Kinetic Cone” directly shattered three layers of Sorsend’s protective spells.

Sorsend clearly didn’t possess Ovakain’s insane fifteen-layer defenses. In fact, this guy only had five layers of protection total. With three layers shattered and only two remaining, if Sorsend took two more “Velocity Kinetic Cone” hits, he’d either die or be severely wounded.

Unfortunately, Sorsend had no solutions for this thorny predicament.

When pre-prepared protective measures were stripped away, spellcasters would find themselves in extremely dangerous situations. Even if they replenished their defensive spells, these newly cast protections would be displayed before their enemies. If these defenses were successfully countered by enemy measures… the consequences went without saying!

Now, facing Punk’s assault, Sorsend had fallen into precisely this awkward state of passive defense due to such circumstances. The Magical Raven Vector had to keep close watch on Kane, leaving the fight against Punk entirely to Sorsend himself.

To avoid being suddenly blown up by scrolls, potions, or magic equipment Punk might deploy, the red-eyed Sorsend had to grit his teeth and repeatedly replenish various defensive spells. Unfortunately, the Punk he faced possessed the vast knowledge of a Grand Arcanist’s memories. Not a single one of Sorsend’s spells went unrecognized by Punk, nor was there any that Punk couldn’t counter.

Thus, after one mistake, Sorsend immediately fell into complete disadvantage.

“Caw caw! I knew things would go wrong! This is trouble, Boss! We might end up waiting for Ovakain to save us, caw caw!”

Vector’s childish voice echoed amidst continuous explosions and roars. The storm of energy had already shattered the cave’s interior space, with elemental tides from countless spell collisions spontaneously creating hail and flames in the air. The entire small oasis collapsed into the cave amid continuous earth tremors.

Though the magic raven’s caws were quite loud, Sorsend currently had no leisure to respond. The old man’s battle with Punk had not only reached white-hot intensity—he consistently found himself in a troublesome inferior position.

That’s right. Not only was Sorsend failing to gain the upper hand, he was being completely suppressed by Punk’s relentless assault.

This reality was probably unexpected by both Sorsend and Punk himself.

While continuously launching spells against Sorsend, Punk could clearly sense that Sorsend’s condition was quite abnormal. For a peak 19th-level spellcaster, the pressure Sorsend exerted clearly fell short of what Ovakain at his peak had delivered.Now, without the “Directional Interference” attacks from the Magical Raven Vector, Punk—a mage who had only recently advanced to level 18—was actually able to hold his own against Sorsend with ease. This situation itself was highly unusual.

“It seems that as the limit of one’s lifespan approaches, a spellcaster’s power noticeably declines, and moreover…”

Quickly casting three “Velocity Kinetic Cones” in rapid succession, Punk swiftly retreated to evade Sorsend’s “Mosa’s Heart of Terror” while carefully sensing his enemy’s physical state.

He could clearly perceive that Sorsend’s mana was becoming increasingly violent and unstable. Although the power of the spells he cast had increased, during this time, Sorsend’s fighting had grown somewhat impatient.

“Is it contamination from Abyssal energy?”

To strike at Sorsend’s psyche, Punk loudly voiced his speculation.

“Contamination? What does a fool like you understand?”

Hearing Punk utter the word “contamination,” Sorsend, who had just been rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to dodge the “Kinetic Blast,” instantly flew into a rage. His reply to Punk carried not only its usual ferocity but also a noticeable tone of arrogance.

“This is the great masterpiece of me, Sosend Jess! One day, I will unveil the secrets of the Abyss. The gates of Legendary have opened for me. I am not like you trash destined to die of old age at the Master-Level. You are only fit to be stepping stones for me.”

As he spoke, the pupils of Sorsend’s eyes grew even more bloodshot. With each spell glowing red in his hands being relentlessly cast at Punk, his voice grew increasingly hysterical within the ravaged cave:

“Fine, I admit it! I have indeed been slightly affected by Abyssal energy… but… I have found a rather effective solution. These chaotic thoughts cannot defeat me. I am the greatest of the great Master-Level Mages, Sorsend!”

“Boom!!”

Master-Level Summoning Magic—Griffin’s Eye.

Roaring, Sorsend hurled the dark green eyeball he held in his hand toward Punk, the muscles on his face twitching spasmodically from extreme agitation.

Without a doubt, Sorsend had once again descended into a frenzied state.

“Caw, caw! Boss, Boss, stop moving around! I can’t get the needle in, caw, caw!”

Seeing his master on the verge of complete frenzy, the magic raven “Vector,” who had been tightly gripping Sorsend’s shoulder, hurriedly fumbled to retrieve a potion and attempted to inject it into Sorsend.

But… Punk would not let Vector have his way.

Master-Level Conjuration Magic—Resist Acid.

Having long been aware of Sorsend’s usual tactics, how could Punk not guard against this summoning spell capable of erupting with corrosive acid? Almost the moment the dark green eyeball left Sorsend’s hand, the “Resist Acid” that Punk had secretly prepared was promptly cast in front of himself.

“Alright, Sorsend, this ends now.”

As expected, the “Griffin’s Eye” exploded upon impact with the “Resist Acid” barrier, the dark green acid rapidly corroding a large pit into the ground.However… not a single drop of these deadly acids touched Punk, while the attack he had prepared in his hand was already primed and ready.

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell—Kinetic Blast”

Metamagic – Mana Compression!

Terrifying kinetic energy was rapidly compressed into a ping-pong ball-sized sphere in Punk’s hand. The small orb, shimmering with a violet glow, radiated an overwhelmingly fearsome aura. Empowered by the metamagic technique, if Sorsend were to be struck by this Kinetic Blast, it would be inevitable for him—already down to his last layer of spell protection—to immediately lose his combat capability.

But… would it really go so smoothly?

As the saying goes, “Weather is unpredictable, and the moon waxes and wanes.” Every Master-Level powerhouse is a tenacious “protagonist” with a tough fate.

The sudden turn of events that followed proved that Sorsend’s painstaking efforts to orchestrate a “three-way confrontation” were indeed wise.

Just as the spellcasting was fully completed, Punk did not choose to aim the “Kinetic Blast” at his target. On the contrary, despite having the opportunity to eliminate Sorsend, Punk almost instantly hurled the “Kinetic Blast” toward his left side!

Because, at that very moment, right beside Punk’s head, a massive, pitch-black dragon head was chomping down at a terrifying, supersonic speed!

Ovakain Acidmaw… had arrived!

(End of Chapter)