Warlock Apprentice

While Toby was still on high alert, Haley curled her finger toward the people behind her. ”We can’t wait too long. No one comes here now only because they’ve been intimidated by the legendary aura it feigned during its advancement, borrowing heaven’s might. We have to strike before others react. Otherwise, if there’s intervention, it’ll be near impossible to completely sacrifice its flesh.”

Haley’s words immediately garnered unanimous approval from the group.

Toby, who had only sensed the malice emanating from Haley’s group earlier, now fully understood their intent upon hearing her words — they planned to kill him.

From the joy of his recent advancement, Toby’s mood plummeted to its lowest ebb in an instant. An overwhelming surge of irritation and fury welled up within him as he couldn’t help but recall the frustration and grievance he felt during the last stage of his ordeal when the Extreme Resentment Thoughts were prematurely defeated.

In that split second, the elation in Toby’s eyes transformed rapidly.

His gaze turned icy cold, and an aura shift began originating from his eyes. As the aura intensified, his gaze seemed to morph into a deadly weapon.

Everyone who met his eyes felt as though countless swords were piercing into their hearts.

”Is this worm mocking us with its gaze?” ”Its stare is fueling my rage. A featherless beast dares to look down on us?” ”I’ll kill it for sure, rip off its scales, and pull its tendons!”

For a moment, the crowd erupted into chaotic shouts and curses.

Initially, Haley felt the rising hostility among the group was advantageous. But soon, she realized something was off. Their curses grew incessant, their eyes inexplicably red. Even those who were usually quiet had joined in the frenzied verbal tirade. This scene was anything but normal.

Haley cast a puzzled glance at the crowd, then at the Snake Bird. When her eyes locked onto the cold vertical pupils of the creature, an uncontainable blaze of fury ignited within her.

Haley’s strength was ultimately a notch above the others. She quickly realized something was wrong with its gaze. The abnormal behavior of these individuals was undoubtedly connected to it!

Suppressing her own ire, Haley issued a stern warning to the group.

The dozen or so people present were all Official Wizard Level, but during their advancements, they had all relied to varying degrees on the Deep Master’s power. This had left their mental states somewhat unstable. Toby hadn’t even made a move; merely relying on his gaze had thrown them into chaos.

Even after Haley’s warning, though the group regained partial rationality to listen to her, the inexplicable fury in their hearts remained unshaken. Even forcibly suppressing it only transformed it into a debilitating constraint.

Unaware of their internal struggles, Haley took their apparent compliance as a positive sign, quickly fortified her surroundings with a layer of mental defense, and issued her command: ”There’s no time to waste. Kill it now!”

As her words fell, the group of black-robed figures simultaneously pulled out objects shaped like discs. They resembled alchemy works, but rather than aiming them directly at Toby, they hurled them into the space surrounding him.

With their actions, the dozen or so discs floated in the space around Toby. As they stabilized, a flame ignited on each one, forming tiny points of light in the dark void. The scene carried both an artistic beauty and an air of ritualistic significance.

”What is that?” Greya said, ”Looks like it’s affecting space. Are they trying to trap Toby?”

Greya turned to Angel, seeking clarification from him.

A faint gleam flickered in Angel’s eyes. ”I’ve seen those discs before.”

On Manshi Magic Material Street, there’s a shop owner selling spell materials named Marion. Marion, a notorious cheapskate, once infiltrated the Profound Alchemy Association—not to join them, but to smuggle discounted intermediary spell materials for resale.

At that time, Marion obtained a disc from the Profound Alchemy Association and specifically sought out Nail Granny to evaluate its value.

Angel happened to be at the Nail Alchemy House, witnessing the event firsthand. The disc was identical to the ones the group was now wielding, down to the patterns etched upon its surface.

”It’s a type of spell material, one that indeed manipulates space—but not for confinement. Instead, it amplifies their spellcasting effects.” Angel paused briefly. ”The disc carries the Deep Master’s true name imprint, allowing the spell material to achieve maximum effectiveness and enabling them to cast more powerful spells.”

Though Angel spoke of its function, he regarded the group’s overall power as forced and unnatural. With the disc’s assistance, they barely reached the typical capabilities of an Official Wizard, making their efforts seem somewhat insufficient.

The only one truly worthy of caution was Haley herself. Her abilities weren’t artificially boosted by the Deep Master; they were earned through genuine cultivation, making her the strongest among them.

While Angel and Greya hid in the shadows discussing, the confrontation had already started.

Over a dozen individuals attacked simultaneously, employing techniques to immobilize, drain energy, and unleash massive fireballs. Evidently, their coordination stemmed from deep practice; the sequence was a well-honed killing strategy.

Control, weaken, then execute.

If someone like Angel were caught in this setup, enduring the onslaught would be tough. That said, Angel wouldn’t give them the chance to unleash such a coordinated pattern in an actual fight.

Faced with their premeditated assault, Toby remained on high alert.

The reason he got caught was that he was searching for Angel and the others’ whereabouts and noticed their disappearance, which diverted his attention from this group—ultimately landing him in peril.

Upon realizing the space around him had been temporarily confined, Toby began to struggle. Each attempt caused the wizards maintaining the confinement to spew mouthfuls of blood.

”I can’t hold on much longer! Its strength is too immense!” Despite the amplifying discs, the wizard maintaining the confinement groaned under the weight of Toby’s power. Especially when that burning fury still festered in his heart.

”Hold on for two more seconds. Give Morton enough time to break its defenses!” shouted the wizard unleashing the massive fireballs. He was using the fire’s burning effect while Morton prepared to breach the snake’s scales — creating an opening for a potential lethal strike. Combined with their subsequent attacks, a single blow could sometimes end the target’s life.

”Keep holding!” Morton cried out as he approached Toby’s snake-like tail. Extending his hand toward an area of slick, smooth scales, a unique energy pattern inexplicably formed in the air. Once the special pattern imprinted itself upon the snake’s scales, it would temporarily disable Toby’s defenses.

Feeling the imminent threat, Toby ramped up the intensity of his resistance.

His immense strength made the confinement wizard feel as though his internal organs were shifting positions. Yet, through sheer willpower, he managed to buy Morton two more precious seconds.

Just as the glowing pattern in Morton’s hand began to shine brightly, he shouted triumphantly, ”I’ve got it ready on my end!”