On the other hand, their opponents hadn’t lost a single member.

Even though Pei Ze, the last one remaining on their side, was the strongest of the three, the situation still looked grim.

"It looks like we’ve won again," Zhuang Li said with a smile.

The two Wizards beside him also smiled openly.

Judging from the current situation, the outcome of the match was already crystal clear.

Their opponent was down to a single Wizard Apprentice, who was no match for their three.

Unless that young Wizard Apprentice could pull off a one-versus-three victory.

The corner of the Masked Wizard’s eye twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

Ai Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, "Enough with the unnecessary chatter. Let’s continue."

He turned to look at Pei Ze and said, "Go on. Don’t let us down."

Xiao Xi gave Pei Ze an apologetic look. ’If it weren’t for my weakness,’ she thought, ’he wouldn’t be under so much pressure right now.’

Pei Ze nodded calmly without a word and leaped forward.

In mid-air, the Feather Fall Technique enveloped his body, and he landed lightly on the ground.

By now, the surrounding blood-red mist had dissipated, revealing Gong Xinghe’s figure.

He stood ramrod straight, countless Blood-colored Vines coiling around him. Riding the momentum of defeating two opponents in a row, his aura had reached its peak.

Their gazes met. A cold glint flashed in Gong Xinghe’s eyes as he spoke, his expression icy.

"You’re the only one left!"

Pei Ze ignored him. With a flip of his palm, a Magic Longsword materialized in his hand.

Atop the giant eagle, a mocking smile appeared on Xu Ke’s face.

"That guy seems pretty confident."

Yang Xu said, "The intel report mentioned it, didn’t it? His name is Pei Ze, and he’s the strongest of the three participants from Chenxi City. Not only has he mastered silent casting, but he’s also mastered three types of Elemental Runes."

"You think he can beat Star River?" Xu Ke asked.

Yang Xu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"It’s hard to say. Star River has fought two consecutive battles and used up a lot of energy, and Pei Ze is a tricky opponent. It’s difficult to tell who will win."

"If he wins this, Star River will have defeated all three of them by himself. When word gets out, Chenxi City will be completely humiliated. Let’s see them act so arrogant in front of us then!" Xu Ke sneered.

At these words, a smile also appeared on Yang Xu’s face.

The two of them seemed very relaxed.

The current situation was excellent for them.

Besides, even if Gong Xinghe lost to Pei Ze, the two of them were still waiting. They could just wear the opponent down in a war of attrition.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Pei Ze was the first to attack.

He raised his left hand slightly, and a dense barrage of Magic Missiles instantly appeared, rocketing forward like a violent storm.

This move startled both Xu Ke and Yang Xu, and the smiles on their faces instantly froze.

"Modified Magic!" Yang Xu exclaimed in a low voice.

He had seen many modified versions of Magic Missile, but never one as exaggerated as this.

There were a full twenty missiles—twice the normal amount!

Yang Xu turned his head and met Xu Ke’s gaze.

Both of their expressions had turned grim.

Previously, they hadn’t paid much mind to the intel report about Pei Ze’s extremely high talent for Magic. ’How could he possibly be more talented than Gong Xinghe?’ they had thought.

But now, it seemed Pei Ze’s talent for Magic was not just a match for Gong Xinghe’s—it was superior.

Just a moment after the Magic Missiles, Pei Ze had already unleashed his second spell. A streak of cold, white light shot out like a sharp arrow, precisely hitting a Blood-colored Vine before exploding into a cloud of chilling mist.

The Blood-colored Vine, which had just withstood the bombardment of Magic Missiles, froze for an instant, its surface immediately covered in a layer of frost.

And that was only the beginning. One spell after another was rapidly unleashed from Pei Ze’s hands, continuously bombarding Gong Xinghe.

It was as if there was no interval between the spells.

The speed and power were so great that for a moment, Gong Xinghe had the illusion of being targeted by concentrated fire from Magic Crossbow Cannons.

Using the cover of his Blood-colored Vines, he desperately tried to counter Pei Ze’s Magic with his own, yet he could barely hold his ground.

Yang Xu and Xu Ke were already dumbfounded.

They stared, speechless, at the suppressed Gong Xinghe, overcome by a surreal feeling, as if they were in a dream.

Coming to his senses, Yang Xu gasped sharply and, with all his might, forced out two words:

"Instant Casting!"

This was a high-level metamagic technique that only Official Wizards should possess, yet it was being used by a Wizard Apprentice!

Unbelievable!

The smiles on the faces of the three Wizards from Red Lotus City vanished. Their expressions turned solemn as they stared intently at the battle below, all traces of their earlier relaxed mood gone.

It wasn’t just Red Lotus City; even the people from Chenxi City were stunned.

Xiao Xi was completely frozen in place, her mouth hanging open, unable to speak for a long moment.

Back then, she had only seen the moment Pei Ze used his witchcraft artifact to kill Meng Wei. Her preconception was that Pei Ze had killed Meng Wei solely because of that Tier One Witchcraft Artifact.

But now, it was clear she had been completely and utterly wrong.

Even without the witchcraft artifact, Pei Ze could have probably blasted Meng Wei to death with Magic alone!

’At least, I definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand such a dense magical bombardment!’

"This is just ridiculous..." Xiao Xi muttered, almost groaning.

At that moment, she was keenly aware of the vast gulf between them.

A flicker of astonishment also crossed the faces of Ai Yuan, Yuan Meng, and the Masked Wizard.

The three of them were already aware of Pei Ze’s talent for Magic, but they never expected him to have already mastered instant casting.

’His talent is simply terrifying!’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The light of Magic filled every inch of the surrounding space, nearly blinding the onlookers.

In less than a minute, more than fifty spells had been unleashed upon Gong Xinghe. Over half of the Blood-colored Vines surrounding him had been blasted apart, and the dozen or so that remained were battered and bruised, looking like a spent force.

Gong Xinghe’s face was ashen. His calm and composed demeanor from moments before was completely gone.

His opponent’s strength was abnormally high. He hadn’t even used a witchcraft artifact, yet he had pushed him into this corner with Magic alone.

Before the match began, if someone had told him he would be suppressed like this, he would have scoffed at the idea.

But now, reality was unfolding right before his eyes.

"Damn it!"

Gong Xinghe gritted his teeth. He suddenly formed his fingers into a blade, swiped it across his other palm, then immediately pressed his bleeding hand to the ground.

A small vine immediately broke through the earth. Its tip opened up, revealing a sucker-like cavity that latched onto Gong Xinghe’s palm and began to greedily suck the blood flowing from the wound.

Gong Xinghe’s face grew visibly paler.

The entire process lasted only a few seconds. During that time, the remaining dozen or so Blood-colored Vines were also blasted to pieces by the spells.

Fortunately, the small vine quickly drank its fill of blood and retracted back into the ground.

The next moment, the ground began to tremble violently. Hundreds of Blood-colored Vines erupted from the earth, whipping about wildly and tearing through the air with shrill, piercing sounds, like a frenzied dance of demons.

’So he’s finally using his ultimate move,’ Pei Ze thought.

He gave a disdainful smile. With a slight turn of his thoughts, the black bracelet on his wrist transformed into a cloud of black energy that shot toward the sky. It grew as it flew, expanding into a thick pillar of black energy that soared into the heavens.

The billowing black energy spread out like a dark cloud pressing down on a city, and countless Fog Crows flew out from within it.

Two days before the match, Wuyu had already completed its sweep of the Outer City.

It had absorbed and converted nearly every crow in the entire Outer City.

Now, the number of Fog Crows within it had long since surpassed five thousand.

When all five thousand-plus Fog Crows were released, they blotted out the sun and occupied the entire sky.

For a moment, everyone’s vision was filled with endless darkness.

"Wh-what is that?" Yang Xu gasped, his gaze fixed blankly on the sky.

Xu Ke didn’t answer. He was also frozen in place, stunned.

’These crows... are they familiars?’

But Xu Ke had seen thousands of familiars, and not one of them had ever given him such a strong sense of danger as these Fog Crows.

Before Xu Ke could figure it out, the dark cloud formed by countless Fog Crows high above suddenly pressed down, pouring toward the ground like a torrent!