<h4>Chapter 401: Withdraw</h4>
Sein had significantly modified his Verdant me Eye spell following the end of the Viridian Venom me World war.
At that time, his primary research focus was on integrating the power of Verdant me into the spell, rather than increasing the number of Sr Eye beams per round.
However, more than ten Verdant me Eyes had materialized in front of Sein at this moment, nearly doubling their previous count.
This dramatic increase was not only due to the Verdant me Heart Rod, which significantly amplified the power of the Verdant me elemental power but also because of a temporary doubling in Sein’s mental focus.
Mental focus was crucial for mages, as it enabled them to draw elemental energies from the surrounding space, thereby enhancing their magic prowess.
For example, a Minor Fireball spell cast by a junior initiate might be only fist-sized and possess limited destructive capability. However, when unleashed by a Rank One, or even a Rank Two mage, the same spell could demolish a city wall.
The energy beams of the Verdant me Eye spell shot out violently. At the same time, Sein also unleashed the power of the Verdant me Eye Mask he wore.
A barrage of nearly twenty verdant me beams were fired toward the dense cloud created by the Rank Two ck mage.
This was just the beginning—at least six more rounds followed, unleashing over a hundred verdant me beams that tinted the surrounding sky green!
Such power was definitely beyond the capabilities of a Rank One mage.
Thatch, positioned on the opposite side of the battlefield, observed Sein’s actions from beginning to end.
Initially, he had been skeptical about Sein’s approach ofyering multiple magic shields around himself, but Sein’s subsequent actions quickly altered his opinion.
Thatch could tell that Sein had just been promoted to Rank One not long ago, given his apparent youth and theck of intensity in his aura.
As a more seasoned Rank One mage, Thatch knew the disparity between them involved not just a disparity in umted knowledge, but also in focus level and other aspects.
Yet, when Sein wielded his magic rod, his focus was boosted to a level close to that of Thatch. Not only that, the Verdant me Eye spell he wielded was a formidable spell that surpassed Thatch’s current capabilities.
Sein had tested the potency of verdant me magic during the internar war.
Although the elemental power wielded by Rank Two ck mage possessed certain corrosive effects, it was clearly inferior to the fruit of Feylis’ research.
Under the relentless assault of Sein’s Verdant me Eye spell, the dense ck clouds rapidly thinned, revealing the obscured figure of a Rank Two ck mage.
He was a gray-haired man d in tattered clothes, bearing visible injuries on his chest.
His appearance was different from the old ck mage Sein had encountered in the underground space of the Monique ck Market. However, they shared the same aura!
This suggested that the Rank Two ck mage possessed advanced disguise skills, and even the face Sein was seeing right now might not be his true appearance.
Although Sein’s Verdant me Eye spell was potent, it was not solely responsible for the disheveled state of the Rank Two ck mage.
The tattered robes and the wound on his chest, which exposed part of his heart, suggested that he had gone through a fierce battle before even encountering Sein and his group.
The ck mage’s emergence caused a Rank One knight, who lost an arm at the beginning of this battle, to emit a cry of rage.
Despite his left arm being reduced to bone, the knight, driven by intense pain and fury, charged at the ck mage, his eyes zing red.
His impulsive nature was typical of knights, contrasting sharply with the calcted calm typically expected of mages.
Although the Rank Two ck mage had been forcefully revealed by Sein’s Verdant me Eye beams, he remained mostly unscathed.
Given this, the smartest course of action for Sein’s group was to fight strategically and retreat when necessary. Attacking recklessly was tantamount to serving themselves up on a silver tter.
As anticipated, the impetuous charge of the injured Rank One Knight yielded no favorable oues.
The Rank Two ck mage fixed his icy gaze on Sein, and with a menacing tone, he spat, “You’ve managed to piss me off!”
He then raised his arm, and a sharp ck arrow shot out with lethal force toward the knight who was charging toward him.
The knight was protected byyers of battle qi, yet the wrath of the Rank Two ck mage rendered them utterly fragile and ineffective.
The sharp ck arrow easily pierced through the knight’s defenses and his body.
A single, fatal blow was all it took—the knight''s forward charge abruptly ended in a tragic fall, a bloody hole marking the space between his eyebrows.
The event unfolded so quickly that Sein and the others barely had time to react.
Since this Rank Two ck mage was capable of defeating a mage of the same rank, eliminating a lower-ranked knight within seconds was hardly a challenge for him.
In terms of strength, he was clearly at the upper echelons of Rank Two. On top of that, his ruthless and aggressive fighting style made him a formidable opponent.
Startled by the ssh of the fallen knight hitting the seawater, Sein snapped back to reality.
In that brief moment of shock, two more ck arrows were already speeding toward him.
Amidst the chaos, the Rank Two ck mage targeted the sole remaining Rank One knight nearest to him.
Though his fury was directed at Sein, he maintained his tactical acumen, refusing to let any nearbybatants escape.
His formidable strength afforded him considerable confidence, bordering on arrogance.
Rather than swiftly killing Sein, the ck mage preferred to torture Sein, interrogate him, and extract the secrets of the Verdant me Eye spell and the mysteries of the verdant me magic directly from him.
Among those on the battlefield, Sein was a more challenging target because he had the protection of an engineer.
In contrast, the other Rank One knight presented an easier mark!
The approach of two ck sharp awns triggered an rm in Sein’s heart. He had just witnessed how they had killed the Rank One knight moments ago.
At this critical juncture, Sein doubted whether his multiyered magic shield and other magic equipment could withstand these lethal projectiles.
He contemted evasion, but the arrow’s blistering speed made dodging seem unlikely.
In this critical moment, Yuri proved her loyalty.
She acted decisively by quickly positioning the two grayish-white mecha units in front of Sein, using them as shields to absorb the impact of the ck arrows.
Although the arrows prated the mecha units, their velocity and force were significantly diminished, allowing Yuri’s shoulder cannon to intercept and neutralize the remaining threat.
Among all the Rank One beings present, Yuri was the only one who could pose a threat to the ck mage.
However, despite being at the peak of Rank One and possessingbat abilitiesparable to those of Rank Two creatures, Yuri was not truly a Rank Two being andcked the sheer power necessary to confront a Rank Two mage alone.
After releasing a barrage of Verdant me Eye beams, Sein felt a considerable drain on his mana.
He recognized the futility of continuedbat with a Rank Two mage, especially at sea where he was uncertain whether the Viridescent Seeds given to him by his mentor could transform into creatures under such conditions.
Nothing coulde from nothing. Thew of conservation of energy was a fundamental principle well understood even by a magic initiate.
During the Viridian Venom me World War, Sein had sessfully used these seeds due to the presence of ample water and soil.
Now, amidst the boundless sea, while water was abundant, soil was notably absent.
This raised a critical question—could hydro element alone catalyze the growth of the nt life these seeds were meant to produce?
With the immediate threat of the ck mage looming, Sein knew he could not afford the risk of seeking an answer through testing.
Grabbing Yuri, who was poised to sacrifice herself to buy him time, Sein made a decisive call.
“Let’s go! We need to retreat first!”