The terrifying casting speed and intensity displayed by Pierce instantly drained the color from the faces of Kymon’s and his two companions.

  However, the arrow was already on the string; there was no room for hesitation. Relying on their combat instincts, the three unleashed their final counterattacks.

  Kymon’s’s fingertips trembled as a fresh spell shield coalesced before him, while he chanted rapidly, attempting to construct an arcane shockwave for a counterstrike. Simultaneously, the giant Magma Toad crouching on the ground exerted sudden force. Its thick hind legs gouged two deep pits in the earth as it launched itself like a flesh cannonball, bringing a gust of foul wind as it lunged toward Pierce.

  Caw!

  Mistfeather, perched on Pierce’s shoulder, let out a cry that could pierce metal and crack stone. It did not dodge; instead, it soared into the sky to meet the behemoth, tracing a sharp black angle in the air as it dived toward the toad like a meteor.

  Gurgle—!

  The toad’s massive maw, lined with poison glands, snapped open, and a scarlet tongue covered in barbs shot out like lightning. This mana-enhanced muscle tissue possessed a muzzle velocity exceeding the speed of sound. Accompanied by a tooth-aching tearing sound, it unceremoniously pierced through Mistfeather’s body.

  Seeing this, the tension in Kymon’s’s heart loosened slightly, and a sneer even tugged at the corner of his mouth.

  To contract a fragile crow as a familiar, what a waste of natural resources! A creature good for nothing but scouting couldn't even withstand a single strike from my toad!

  However, in the next second, Kymon’s’s sneer froze on his face, replaced by incredulous horror.

  The crow, pierced by the long tongue, did not spill a drop of blood. Instead, its body disintegrated into a mass of viscous black mist amidst a bizarre distortion. This mist did not dissipate but flowed upstream along the toad’s tongue, moving so fast it left black afterimages on the retina.

  In the blink of an eye, the black mist had closed in on the toad’s face, reforming in mid-air into the crow with eyes like blood.

  Mistfeather emitted a silent shriek, its body transforming into a black arrow that bored directly into the toad’s massive golden eyeball.

  Squelch!

  Less than 0.5 seconds later, the skin at the back of the toad’s head bulged violently before being torn open from the inside by a pair of talons wrapped in the aura of death. Mistfeather, bathed in blood, shot out from the shocking bloody hole and flapped its wings to return to the high sky.

  The massive toad swayed in place for a few moments, emitting a few broken whimpers from its throat, before crashing to the ground. Yellow-white brain matter mixed with blood gurgled down from the wound at the back of its head, instantly staining the surrounding soil red.

  !!!

  Kymon’s stared at this scene, dumbfounded, his mind a total blank.

  The other two initiates were so terrified their hands and feet turned ice-cold. They knew well how many family resources Kymon’s had spent nurturing this familiar—the toad’s skin could withstand ordinary iron weapon strikes, and its venom could even corrode Rank 1 spell shields. Over the past three days, no fewer than 80 to 100 barbarian warriors had died under its tongue.

  Who could have imagined that in a single encounter, it would be instantly killed from the inside by that seemingly frail crow!

  From start to finish, the giant beast hadn't even managed to organize a single effective defense.

  This was simply a massacre!

  Yet the facts were right before their eyes, forcing them to believe. Kymon’s, coming back to his senses, turned ashen, his eyes bloodshot as he glared furiously at Pierce. The death of his painstakingly nurtured familiar meant not only a precipitous drop in combat power but also a heartache that felt like bleeding.

  At this moment, he wished he could tear Pierce into a thousand pieces.

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  Pierce turned a blind eye to that look of pure malice. With a flip of his wrist, the fine steel longsword fell into his palm. With the Azure Gale Breathing Technique running at full speed, he transformed into a cyan blur, charging forward.

  At the same time, Mistfeather, circling high above, shrieked again. Black energy surged around its body, as if opening a portal to the netherworld. Hundreds of translucent Mist-Crows scrambled out from the black energy, diving down to slaughter the three men below, blotting out the sky.

  From a distance, it looked like a black storm cloud pressing down from the heavens, threatening to drown the entire camp.

  "A second spell-like ability?!"

  The faces of Kymon’s and his group changed in unison, the terror in their eyes deepening.

  This crow familiar... actually awakened two spell-like abilities during its growth phase!

  In the Arcanist’s familiar compendium, crows were usually despised for their sole, useless skill: "Crow Swarm Summoning." But all tomes also recorded an iron law: once a crow familiar awakened a second form, it would leap from trash to an invincible "King-tier" existence among its peers.

  To awaken both "Mist Form" and "Doppelganger" abilities at the beginning of the contract was rare even among the collections of official Wizards. Possessing a King-tier familiar was the ultimate dream of every Arcane initiate.

  That lucky bastard!

  Intense jealousy twisted Kymon’s’s face completely. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed the spell he had been accumulating—an invisible Mage Hand carrying a gale force strong enough to shatter rock, slapping viciously toward Pierce’s face.

  The attack methods of Rank 2 initiates were extremely scarce; other than Acid Splash, there was only Mage Hand. Pierce had anticipated this. The moment he heard the sound of breaking air, he did not cast a spell to counter it. Instead, mobilizing the full power of his 21.57 Physique, he swung his sword violently at the void.

  Crack!

  With a muffled sound like a water balloon bursting, the invisible arcane palm was shattered by the sword stroke, dissipating into turbulent air currents.

  Kymon’s’s expression instantly became a myriad of colors.

  Breaking a Mage Hand with an intensity of 5 degrees using brute force? That requires the explosive power of at least a Peak Knight!

  This bastard... not only is his spiritual power tyrannical, but his physique is also this monstrous?!

  Is this guy a monster?

  Before this thought could fully form in Kymon’s’s mind, Pierce’s cold figure had already closed in.

  Raising his hand, an instant Acid Splash accurately hit the spell shield, corroding it completely; immediately after, the longsword slashed horizontally with a tearing whistle.

  Bang!

  The sharp blade stopped three inches from Kymon’s’s throat, blocked firmly by a faint glow triggered from his gray robe.

  A Protective Force Field.

  Even with this final line of defense, Kymon’s was still drenched in cold sweat by the killing intent contained in that sword. He rolled backward in a panic, trying to open up distance, while looking desperately at his two companions.

  One look, and his heart sank to the bottom.

  Those two initiates were now surrounded by layers of hundreds of Mist-Crows. The translucent crows caused no physical damage, but they were constantly tearing at their mental defenses. The two were clumsy within the black mist, struggling even to protect themselves, utterly unable to provide support.

  Damn it!

  Deep regret welled up in Kymon’s’s heart. Had he known Pierce had grown to this extent, he would never have acted as the bird that sticks its neck out at this time.

  But it was too late for regrets.

  Swish, swish, swish!

  Pierce’s sword light was as biting as the winter wind, endless like the tide. Every slash landed precisely on Kymon’s’s casting nodes, interspersed with instant Acid Splash or Mage Hand attacks, making the veteran Rank 2 initiate suffer unspeakably.

  If not for his enchanted equipment worth 800 gold coins, he would have long since become a corpse.

  Pierce remained calm from start to finish, like a precision killing machine, firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle.

  No luggage... he must have a Dimensional Pouch. A ring capable of releasing a shield, and a robe with a force field. Once the charges of these three magic items are exhausted, this battle should be over.

  Slash!

  After dodging another oncoming sword light in a sorry state, Kymon’s wanted to catch his breath but suddenly felt a strange tightness at his ankle.

  He looked down, shocked to find that a patch of dark green vines had drilled out of the mud beneath his feet and was growing madly up his calf.

  Strangle Vines!

  Kymon’s’s face changed drastically.

  Disregarding the potential splashback, he unhesitatingly released the unformed acid ball at his fingertips onto the vines at his feet.

  Amidst the sizzling sound, the plants catalyzed by the Omniscient Eye quickly withered and shrank.

  However, in that split second of delay, the Reaper had already knocked on the door.

  Pierce’s figure closed in like a phantom. Raising his hand, a blast of acid thoroughly penetrated the already teetering force field; then, the blade fell with a cold glint.

  Stripped of all protection, Kymon’s let out a desperate roar.

  Squelch!

  Amidst a spray of blood, a right arm clutching a wand flew high, tracing a miserable parabola in the air.

  "Ah!!!"

  Kymon’s let out a shrill scream, clutching his spurting right shoulder and retreating repeatedly. His foot slipped, and he fell backward onto the ground in a wretched state.

  Seeing Pierce’s bloodstained longsword raised again, the malice in his eyes was Kymoninstantly replaced by terror, and he shouted hurriedly:

  "I yield! I yield! You cannot kill me... according to the rules, killing an initiate will result in disqualification from the trial!"

  Pierce’s steps halted. He looked down from above at the opponent who had once struggled in the mud, a look of undisguised contempt and mockery revealing itself in his deep eyes.