Warlock Apprentice

After Morton’s shout, he felt a rush of wind behind him. Without hesitation, he teleported away. In the instant he departed, massive fireballs, surging energy arrows, and gusts that amplified the flames all furiously swept in.

As these attacks pierced the previous halo of light, Toby let out a piercing, agonizing cry.

A flash of joy appeared in everyone’s eyes.

With such a flurry of attacks, this featherless brute will either die or be completely skinned!

While they waited to savor their victorious spoils, someone noticed something amiss: ”Why is it only screaming but showing no movement?”

”If it had moved again, I would’ve already been dead.” The speaker, the one who had cast the spatial restraint earlier, lay behind everyone, his body drenched in blood, clearly incapacitated and unable to continue fighting.

But at this moment, no one paid attention to his remarks—their eyes remained locked onto Toby.

The attack had kicked up billowing smoke and dust. Due to the energy barrier, they couldn’t discern Toby’s exact condition for a moment. By common sense, after its shriek, the dust should have rolled more furiously, as any injured creature would exhibit frantic movement.

So why wasn’t the dust swirling further? Could it be...dead already?

The ideal outcome, of course, was for it to perish instantly. But was it really that simple? Haley stared at the slowly settling dust in the distance, an inexplicable unease creeping into her heart.

This unease wasn’t solely because of the lack of movement within, but also because of...that unrelenting nameless fire smoldering in their hearts, as though it was quietly burning and threatening to scorch a hole through their souls.

As the nameless fire tormented everyone, straining their emotions to the brink, a motion finally emerged from within the dust cloud.

But what greeted them was not the sorrowful song of a dead snake bird—it was the chilling terror one feels when stared down by the Abyss—

A massive triangular head slowly extended out from the settling dust.

Its cold, vertical pupils remained unchanged, the crown atop its head just as brilliantly vivid, and even the sheen of its scales showed no signs of wear. The only transformation was in the emotion reflected in those vertical pupils.

It was still aloof, yet different from before. Previously, its gaze implied wary alienation; now, it held the cold indifference of something beholding the dead.

Moreover, its attention was fixed squarely upon them.

As the dust settled completely, Toby’s massive snake bird form was revealed. Everyone’s first instinct was to inspect the spot where Morton’s defense-breaking attack had landed—the same place where all their efforts had been concentrated.

Yet, as they locked their gaze on the previously assaulted area, every single one of them froze in stunned disbelief.

Toby hadn’t emerged entirely unscathed; it had suffered damage...if those faint marks upon its serpent scales could even be considered wounds.

Yes, the scales bore marks—the blackened burns from the fire, the sharp gouges from wind blades. But beyond these surface blemishes, there was no evidence of any deeper injury whatsoever.

”What’s going on here?” Everyone’s eyes instinctively turned to Morton. They all knew that the snake bird’s defense was exemplary, so they had focused their combined assaults on the point where Morton had supposedly broken its guard. How did it still appear unharmed?

Could Morton have deceived them?

”Impossible! I clearly succeeded in my casting!” Morton shook his head vehemently, his disbelief far surpassing anyone else’s. He was utterly convinced of his success—moments ago, he had deployed an armor-piercing spell specially tailored for high-defense magical creatures, and its shimmering light patterns signaled its activation. So why did this snake bird look completely unscathed?

Morton’s expression didn’t seem fabricated, leaving one possible conclusion.

The snake bird’s defense exceeded the limitations of their attacks!

As this realization dawned, a shadow seemed to cast itself over everyone’s hearts. Though they had been aware that magical creatures of the same rank were generally stronger than wizards, they hadn’t imagined the disparity would be this enormous!

Despite over a dozen all-out efforts, their opponent remained untouched, while one of their own had been critically injured.

This...”Is this truly a creature we can defeat?”

Such a reflection escaped someone’s lips.

Already consumed by the nameless fire, this sentiment instantly ignited their inner turmoil.

Though they had yet to fully grasp the nature of this nameless fire, it was steadily corroding their will. The moment self-doubt took root, it began sapping them of their fighting spirit—and not just that—it was also eroding their potential paths forward. For once an emotion embeds itself deeply in one’s mind, it is no simple matter to expunge.

Their reactions did not escape Angel and the others’ notice.

Greya watched Toby’s unscathed serpent-scale armor and the mounting self-doubt in the eyes of the crowd, her lips curling slightly: ”This scene reminds me of something.”

”Do you know of the Silver Palm Island incident years ago?”

Greya’s question sent Angel’s heart sinking. The Silver Palm Island incident was not only something he knew about—it was an event he had orchestrated from start to finish.

”I’ve heard about it,” Angel said with a calm, unaffected expression, as though it had nothing to do with him.

”Back then, the entire Wizards’ Realm was stirred. Many organizations sent people to Silver Palm Island, hoping to obtain the suspected mysterious object hidden within the other-dimensional space. Yet no one breached Silver Palm Island—because outside lay a Leviathan Hall guarding it.”

”Leviathan Hall possessed unparalleled defense, halting everyone’s advance. Moreover, it gave the ’thief’ implicated in the Silver Palm Island affair the opportunity to flee.”

”Now, it seems Toby’s defense rivals that of Leviathan Hall.” Greya’s eyes glimmered with uncontained joy.

In *Where is the Magical Beast*, Leviathan Hall was classified as a named sea beast—a formidably renowned magical creature far exceeding the strength of unnamed beasts. As history attests, Leviathan Hall single-handedly repelled countless wizards; today, Toby too had relied on his defense to crush the confidence of more than a dozen wizards.

Though these wizards were of mediocre skill, with the support of the platter-like casting materials, their collective power should have exceeded that of Official Wizards. Yet even under such united strikes, they failed to breach Toby’s defense—a testament to its superiority.

Angel: ”So, you’re saying Toby has reached the level of a named creature?”

Sanders: ”Magical creatures with stronger defenses than snake bird manifestations certainly exist. Toby’s comparison to Leviathan Hall in terms of defense will depend on whether it has flaws.”

During the Silver Palm Island affair, Leviathan Hall’s ability to shock the gathered wizards stemmed not only from mutual mistrust within the group but primarily from Leviathan Hall’s practically flaw-free defense. Breaking that defense required a force surpassing its defensive limits.

If Toby mirrored that characteristic, then its defense might truly match Leviathan Hall’s caliber.

”Of course, its current defense is already terrifying. However, I believe Toby’s snake bird manifestation’s most frightening aspect may not be its defense alone.” Sanders gazed steadily at Toby, speaking slowly and deliberately.