At noon on the eighth day, scouts reported that the beast tide was only twenty li away from the frozen river!
Everyone immediately prepared themselves.
There was supposed to be a coalition of five nations, but one had fled. The remaining four nations contributed a total of eighteen Saint-tier combatants, while the All Souls Magic Academy side had twenty Saint-tiers.
Next, all mages above Tier Seven set off, taking up positions along the frozen river to wait in full battle array.
The reason they only mobilized those above Tier Seven was because only those at Tier Seven or higher could fly, allowing them to escape the floodwaters. The army of four hundred and fifty thousand in the rear remained on standby, ready to join the battle at any moment.
Arriving at the frozen river, everyone gazed out at the plains on the opposite side.
On the horizon of the plains, a black line was already visible—it was the approaching beast tide!
Stretching across dozens of li, a beast tide of this scale could easily steamroll a medium-sized kingdom!
“Everyone, get ready!” Leona ordered.
“Saint-tiers, line up along the riverbank, spaced a few li apart. The rest of you, provide long-range support from behind the riverbank. Do not get close to the water!”
“All academy mentors, make sure to protect the students!”
“Yes!” everyone responded immediately.
Looking at the incoming beast tide, Talia actually wore an excited smile.
“Now this is more like it! Compared to boring ruin exploration, this is way more fun!” Talia spread her hands, condensing a pair of giant rock gauntlets over them as a wild battle intent flared on her face.
Her older brother, Talik, was no exception. Raising his massive fists with an excited expression, the siblings looked as if they were cast from the same mold, both burning with an intense desire for battle.
In fact, his brother-in-law Renomon was the exact same. The two lions made of flame beside him had already begun sharpening their claws.
Then there was Nan, who had both of his blades ready, crackling with lightning.
What a bunch of warmongers.
Zhang Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Then Zhang Ye looked at Lina, noticing that she seemed a bit nervous.
“Don't be nervous. Just treat it as a training exercise. Just perform normally, and don't put too much pressure on yourself,” Zhang Ye said.
Hearing this, Lina nodded. She felt the anxiety hovering in her heart disperse quite a bit under the influence of Zhang Ye's gentle voice.
Since the beast tide would still take a few hours to arrive, everyone first laid down various magic circles along the riverbank.
Soon, the beast tide drew near.
Thirty-eight Saint-tiers lined up along the riverbank, and thousands of mages above Tier Seven, including Zhang Ye, were fully prepared for battle.
The beast tide had already advanced to within three kilometers of the frozen river.
From a great distance, Zhang Ye could see the various magical beasts steadily marching forward.
Leading the charge were mostly wild boar and rhinoceros-type magical beasts, while numerous flying magical beasts circled in the sky above.
“Get ready...” Leona raised a hand, condensing a red magic circle before her. As the ring on her hand flashed slightly, the magic circle instantly turned blue and expanded to more than twice its original size!
The corners of Leona's mouth curved upward as she licked her red lips.
The next moment: “Fire!”
At her command, all the Saint-tiers attacked simultaneously.
Water-attribute Saint-tiers conjured several water dragons that roared as they charged toward the beast tide.
Fire-attribute mages condensed massive fireballs, hurling them like meteors toward the distant beast tide.
Earth-attribute mages tapped their staves, unleashing a rain of stone spikes that shot forth.
Leona was even more terrifying. A blue-flamed Red Lotus Lion, hundreds of meters tall, emerged from her magic circle. It let out a violent roar and pounced toward the beast tide, carrying terrifying blue flames.
Thirty-eight Saint-tier mages unleashed their power together. Instantly, the brilliant light of magic illuminated dozens of kilometers along the frozen river, exploding within the beast tide.
In an instant, the world seemed to tear apart as the very earth trembled!
Everyone watched this scene, their hearts filled with shock.
Was this the power of the Saint-tier...
Tens of thousands of magical beasts at the front of the beast tide were reduced to ashes in that magnificent wave of magic.
Watching this, Zhang Ye's eyes trembled slightly.
So many lives, destroyed in an instant...
Life is just too fragile...
Will I also be destroyed so easily one day?
Will I also be... so fragile?
He could not help but ask himself.
He looked up at the heroic figure of Leona in the sky, and then at Lina and the others beside him, who were equally shocked.
Unconsciously, his fists clenched tight.
No!
I absolutely cannot let that happen!
I must become stronger!
As long as I become strong enough, I won't have these worries, and I can protect everyone!
I must! I must!
I must become stronger!
Zhang Ye's gaze grew increasingly determined. A terrifying surge of mana erupted from his body as countless magic circles gathered around him.
Hundred-times multiplier—Tier Nine 【Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Blazing Flame Lion】!!!
This single spell drained eighty percent of Zhang Ye's mana, leaving him incredibly dizzy, but he wanted to prove one thing—his determination to grow stronger!
A blue lion, incredibly similar to the flame lion Leona had summoned, emerged from the magic circle. It was also hundreds of meters tall. In just an instant, it reached the front of the beast tide and began tearing through them in a frenzy.
Leona's flame lion seemed to sense its presence and moved over to its side. The two blue lions, one male and one female, coordinated and supported each other, actually tearing open a massive gap directly in the beast tide!
Watching this, the fierce light in Leona's beautiful eyes faded, replaced by a tenderness she had never shown to anyone before.
The flame lions' roars snapped everyone out of their daze, and they began to unleash their own powerful forces.
Lina combined her dual pistols, pouring in all her compressed mana. A laser beam several meters in diameter erupted, its power nearly rivaling a Tier Ten spell, instantly piercing through countless magical beasts.
Nan also slashed rapidly with both of his blades, sending a dense barrage of lightning blades slicing through the sky and into the beast tide, triggering a chain of explosions.
Talia swung her fists, and with every punch, a boulder dozens of meters in diameter flew out, smashing heavily into the beast tide.
Paige clasped her hands in front of her chest and floated up slowly. Her beautiful singing voice reached everyone's ears, instantly clearing their minds and increasing their casting speed by over thirty percent.
The beast tide was suppressed so fiercely that it was forced back by a whole kilometer from its initial three-kilometer advance.
At this rate, it seemed like these Saint-tiers alone would be enough to hold back the beast tide.
However, Zhang Ye knew things were not that simple.
Sure enough, once the beast tide's losses reached a certain point, high-pitched roars echoed from the rear, and terrifying figures began to reveal themselves.
The first to appear was a long-armed giant ape with the strength of a Two-star Saint-tier. After the giant ape let out a roar, a translucent shield stretching several li appeared directly above the beast tide, blocking various attacks for them.
However, the shield was quickly shattered under the bombardment of the Saint-tiers.
But it wasn't over yet. More than a dozen other Saint-tier magical beasts revealed themselves at the same time, casting defensive innate magic one after another to forcibly withstand the attacks of the Saint-tiers!
Some even launched direct attacks at the Saint-tier mages from several kilometers away.
A Two-star Saint-tier magical beast resembling a pangolin swept its massive tail, sending hundreds of hundred-meter-long stone spikes tearing through the air, aimed straight at a Two-star Saint-tier mage!
The Two-star Saint-tier mage hastily defended, barely managing to block the attack.
Other Saint-tier mages were also targeted and had to pull back to defend themselves.
With this, the pressure on the beast tide eased, and they began pushing forward once more.
Furthermore, following a massive roar from the rear of the beast tide, a red glow enveloped all the magical beasts. Spurred into a frenzy, they charged wildly. In just a brief moment, the beast tide had pressed to within a kilometer of the frozen river.
At the same time, the battle between the Saint-tier mages and the Saint-tier magical beasts commenced.
Rate on N.U.
