The Water Magician

"Icicle Lance Shower"

"Flame Spear Consecutive Strikes"

The clash of ice and flame spears.

Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands... literally countless spears fly through the air.

They collide, and the light of annihilation colors the surroundings.

"This is amazing..."

The words of admiration slipped from the lips of Robert Pirlo, who was watching from a distance.

In his position as the former king, and as a mage, he had witnessed many magical cannon fires.

He had seen it all—from mock battles to monster subjugations, and even on the battlefield.

He had witnessed magical barrages from thousands of mages.

Yet, the power and density of this was beyond anything he had ever experienced.

This was just a magical exchange between two people.

"It was worth coming to the dark continent."

The emotion on Robert Pirlo's face was joy.

"Indeed... I came to see this spectacle."

Yes, Robert Pirlo had come to witness the magic of the top mages from the Central Nations, Ryo and Oscar.

And now, he was seeing it.

Moreover, the opponent was a duke vampire whose name he had heard in legends.

He claimed to have consumed the grand duke and become a vampire grand duke himself.

"A battle between such powerful beings; if I get caught up in it, I might die."

Laughing, Robert Pirlo said.

He had ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Capitone at a young age and had long been steering the nation as its king.

As king, he would have never been allowed to spectate.

The thought of something happening was absolutely unacceptable.

That was the position of a king.

But now, it was different.

In fact, perhaps due to the power of the magic being unleashed by both sides, a violent wind blew towards Robert Pirlo.

Of course, he was defending with a barrier...

"If just one of those spears were to come my way, this barrier might be pierced."

Robert Pirlo said, clearly delighted.

If Ilalion Baraha or Arthur Velasis were there, they would have called him a "magic idiot."

But...

"Hmph, Ilalion and Arthur Velasis, you two are no different from me."

Robert Pirlo acknowledged.

He knew he was a magic idiot.

At the same time, he knew that the elder mages of the kingdom, who had once fought against him as enemies, were the same.

"They must have wanted to see this spectacle as well."

"The power and numbers of their magic are nearly equal? There's a need to break the deadlock... but of course, weaving through this annihilation light..."

Just as Robert Pirlo muttered that, the situation shifted even further.

Clang.

The high-pitched sound of swords clashing echoed.

"Can you really handle this?"

"Engaging in close combat while weaving through the light of annihilation? A classic combat technique."

Ryo charged in and brought down Murakumo, which Zoltan deflected with his Bloody Sword.

"Is that so?"

"Recently... well, it's been a thousand years, but mages have started to only cast magic. However, in the past, mages wielded swords and were capable of everything from close combat to long-range battles."

"More of a battle maniac than a swordsman."

Ryo was surprised by Zoltan’s revelation of the past tales of mages and their battle mania.

"Mages are stronger than non-mages; that's obvious, right?"

"Even in close combat?"

"Of course."

Zoltan looked at Ryo with pity for his naive question.

Then he said, "You don't know? Perhaps I should show you. Enchant."

"Eh!"

An unexpected spell was cast, surprising Ryo.

Zoltan's sword flashes became even sharper.

Ryo defended himself.

"Just like Sera's Wind Attire!"

Ryo understood.

Wind Attire increases the speed of the sword, but just speeding up the movement of the sword or arm with wind attribute magic doesn't work effectively.

For instance, if you push the sword from behind, it only increases the forward speed.

In extreme terms, it would pull the body forward.

That wouldn't be "swinging the sword."

The body must remain stationary as an axis around which the sword can be swung in a circular motion.

Thus, to prevent the axis from shaking, it must also be corrected with wind attribute magic.

Ryo knew that Sera's Wind Attire was established through extremely advanced magical control, and he understood that others, including himself, could not perfectly replicate it.