**Chapter 113: Annihilation**
The deafening roar of the collapsing mountain still echoed in their ears.
High in the sky, Jie Ming watched the fleeing streak of blood-red light. Taking a deep breath, he unhesitatingly pulled out another potion shimmering with a lustrous glow and drank it down.
Instantly, a crisp surge of energy flooded his mental sea, dispelling all fatigue and depletion, restoring his nearly exhausted mental energy to its peak.
The Blood Angel now looked far more battered than at the start.
Its blood-red armor bore multiple charred marks from energy bolts. Though divine power rapidly healed them, the constant drain on its divine energy and accumulating wounds darkened its expression.
Furious, it swung its longsword, each strike leaving blood-red trails that tore through the air, desperately trying to break through Jie Ming’s overwhelming energy barrage.
Far off, behind a rugged peak, a group of figures cautiously hid among jagged rocks, observing the apocalyptic battlefield through spells and telescopes.
They were two elegantly dressed native mages, their energy overflowing, accompanied by four or five warriors in fine armor, and a dozen other powerhouses from orcs, dwarves, elves, and other intelligent races.
This was a scouting team sent by the Elosian coalition to investigate the anomaly in the area.“By the heavens… what kind of power is that?!” an elven archmage exclaimed, his voice trembling with disbelief. “They’ve been fighting at this intensity for nearly three radiant hours—why hasn’t that wizard’s assault weakened at all?”
“That’s beyond our reach,” a dwarven warrior said, gripping his war axe, his usually fearless face heavy with dread.
Not long ago, a group of defiant second-level powerhouses who approached to investigate were swallowed by a casual sweep of the wizard’s light, vanishing without even a scream.
In the Elosia plane, what wizards called second-level beings were known as “legends.”
Each was a pinnacle figure who had achieved countless miracles.
Yet, moments ago, they witnessed these legendary powerhouses—whether curious or rushing to aid—face the wizard’s all-encompassing energy barrage with no chance to resist.
Their vaunted battle aura, spell shields, and even life-saving divine techniques were pierced like paper by the relentless flood of light.
Then, these legends, along with their mounts or followers, were obliterated in the blinding radiance, reduced to ash.
Many onlookers had grown up hearing tales of these renowned figures, yet they watched them perish so easily.
This power defied their comprehension.
Aware of the vast gap between themselves and the combatants, they dared not approach, only observing from afar with spells and recording everything to report back to their leaders.
The battle remained locked in a prolonged stalemate.
Jie Ming knew his time was running out.
Of the three metal discs behind him, only the last one still glowed faintly, its energy half-depleted.
After an indeterminate time, the Blood Angel’s movements suddenly slowed.
Its once-swift figure now traced uneven arcs in the air, each wingbeat strained.
A glint flashed in Jie Ming’s eyes—he knew the moment had arrived!
Angels’ bodies weren’t built for flight through wings alone; they relied heavily on magical effects.
This faltering meant its energy was nearing exhaustion!
Jie Ming intensified his assault, the energy barrage growing denser, surging toward the Blood Angel like a breached dam!
The Blood Angel’s heart raced with desperation. It could feel its divine power draining rapidly, like a punctured balloon, unable to recover effectively.
Under normal conditions, its divine power wouldn’t deplete so quickly, and it could replenish by absorbing ambient mana.
But Jie Ming’s rune artifact barrage, while primarily powered by the stored energy in the metal discs, also consumed the surrounding elemental forces during release.
This left the battle area’s elemental “concentration” critically low, offering the Blood Angel no chance to recover.
It was like pulling the rug out from under it!
Gritting its teeth, the worsening situation forced the Blood Angel to abandon its pride.
It relinquished its aerial advantage, landing on the ground to minimize divine power consumption.
This tactic worked.
Though less swift on the ground, it used the terrain to become more agile, weaving through ruins to dodge Jie Ming’s relentless strikes.
This, in turn, made Jie Ming anxious.
The Blood Angel’s agility prevented him from finding a clear shot with his fourth-level offensive artifact.
Despite matching its speed with the Acceleration Rune Artifact, he couldn’t flexibly control the fourth-level artifact like his rune artifacts to land a precise, fatal blow.
Using the fourth-level artifact required focusing mental energy, reducing control over the rune artifacts and risking the Blood Angel escaping his lock.
With his final energy reserves nearing depletion, Jie Ming’s heart pounded.
As the standoff reached another deadlock…
*Rumble…*
A violent tremor shook the sky.
Elosia’s heavens split as if torn by an invisible giant hand, revealing a deep fissure.
The gods’ phantoms, radiating holy and majestic auras, emerged at the horizon, reaching toward the planar rift.
It was the day for the second contribution leaderboard update.
The wizards outside had forcibly torn open Elosia’s planar barrier again!
Sensing the anomaly and the familiar, powerful aura of its god, the Blood Angel’s tense nerves momentarily relaxed.
It instinctively glanced upward, hope flickering in its eyes at being noticed by its deity.
Unlike the Blood Angel, though startled, Jie Ming quickly refocused, ignoring the celestial events.
The moment their mentalities shifted was the opportunity he’d been waiting for!
A surge of mental energy made his eyes blaze. Seizing the Blood Angel’s distraction, he grasped the fleeting chance.
Jie Ming sharply adjusted Grand Radiance, transforming the sprawling barrage into a containment array.
Countless energy bolts ceased bombarding the Blood Angel, instead forming airtight energy walls, caging it and sealing all escape routes!
The Blood Angel snapped back to reality, its handsome face now etched with terror.
It tried to break through, but Jie Ming, even at the cost of overloading his remaining rune artifact array, pinned it down!
“Die!”
Jie Ming roared, thrusting out his right hand!
His killing move was the long-prepared fourth-level offensive artifact.
Light gathered at its tip, a blinding crimson ray igniting with unmatched destructive force, aimed at the Blood Angel’s fear-filled head.
The Blood Angel knew this strike was unavoidable!
It roared in defiance, summoning all its remaining power. Blood-red divine energy surged, forming its strongest defensive shield to meet the lethal ray!
But the outcome was inevitable.
*Sizzle…*
The crimson Converging Ray pierced the Blood Angel’s divine shield like a hot knife through butter, without resistance.
It then struck the angel’s head unerringly.
No explosion, no gore.
The Blood Angel’s once-handsome, majestic head vanished silently into nothingness!
Its body, unsupported, collapsed, dissolving into countless blood-red light particles scattering across the mine’s sky, leaving only a lingering divine energy.
Seeing this, Jie Ming, floating in midair, finally exhaled in relief.
The battle was over!
As the energy bolts’ light and explosion aftershocks faded, the area’s devastation lay bare before all observers.
The once-towering mountain was gone!
In its place was a massive canyon, its edges charred, with molten lava pooling at its deepest center.
The once-lush forest was razed, the scorched earth devoid of life, filled only with rolling dust and the stench of burning.
Sensing the cataclysmic battle’s end, Amy and Victor cautiously emerged from a newly dug tunnel.
Seeing the apocalyptic scene, they froze, pupils contracting, staring in shock.
“This… Jie Ming did this?” Victor’s voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief.
Amy’s jaw dropped, her eyes wide with awe.
Jie Ming’s power far exceeded their understanding of a first-level wizard!
Amid their shock, a massive information stream flooded their minds—the latest contribution leaderboard from Noren Workshop.
They eagerly checked it.