Chapter 913: Unshakable Lightning vs Time Mimic.
“Let’s start all over now, shall we?” Lucas said, his stance shifting as if he were about to dash at Liam, the sight instantly put Liam on high alert, as the memory of their earlier exchange was still fresh in his mind.
[> Mid Tier Spell – Water Barrier <]
Not willing to take any chances, Liam quickly activated a water-element defensive spell, causing a swirling sphere of liquid rise from the ground and enveloped him in a protective shell, forming a circular defence around his body.
This was all part of Liam’s plan, he had already figured out why he couldn’t keep up with Lucas’s speed, and he felt it had to be due to his lightning affinity.
After all, it was no secret that lightning and wind element mages were notoriously fast, and even though Lucas had confessed to only having a low lightning affinity, the crazy training he’d gone through made it so Liam wouldn’t underestimate him.
So, he focused on minimizing his disadvantages.
While he hadn’t found any advantage yet against Lucas, Liam had adapted quickly, knowing one of his disadvantages was that he couldn’t match Lucas’s speed with ordinary measures, so he opted for a stationary defence, one that could react from any angle.
With a circular barrier in place, he’d have at least a split second of warning no matter where the attack came from.
But even as the spell formed, Lucas had already vanished from his view.
This time, however, Liam was able to catch a flicker of movement, a blur of blue lightning streaking toward him, the arcs of energy around Lucas’s body made him slightly visible, even at blinding speed.
“First punch,” Lucas said as his body reappeared before Liam and slammed his right fist into the watery sphere.
A muffled boom echoed as the barrier rippled violently, without pause, Lucas twisted and delivered a crushing left hook to the lower side.
The barrier gave in this time as cracks split through the watery surface before it shattered completely, collapsing under the pressure of Lucas’s strikes, just as the water droplets closed in, momentarily obscuring Lucas’s vision, a sudden sense of danger surged through him.
A sword lunged from within the collapsing barrier, aiming straight for his neck, Liam’s expression was twisted with tension and desperation as he pushed his body out from the water screen.
[> Mid Tier Spell – Time Freeze <]
Without hesitation, Liam cast another spell, despite the backlash energy turmoil he was experiencing from his shattered water barrier, which would normally subside after a few seconds, he still pushed through and activated a spell and it was from the rare time-element.
Temporal energy wrapped around the few meters around them , freezing everything around in slowed motion.
Everything except Liam moved as if submerged in syrupy molasses, even Lucas was affected, though his hand still moved slightly, however it was sluggish—too slow to counter the imminent strike.
Liam drove the blade forward, confident the time freeze would grant him the upper hand, however just before the sword made contact, a sudden arc of lightning surged across the ground, in an instant, the Time Freeze effect dispersed like it had been dispel by a greater power, and Lucas regained full control of his body.
Reacting swiftly, he slapped the blade away with his right hand, as it narrowly missed his neck, grazing his left arm. He gritted his teeth against the pain and immediately followed up with a palm strike, his left hand shooting forward like a trained martial artist.
Bang!
The strike landed on Liam’s chest with deceptive ease, but it carried a charge of lightning.
Liam, who had just begun to retreat, felt the electric current tear through his body, the paralysis was instant, as his limbs stiffened, and though he tried to move, he realized he’d need at least a full second to recover from the numbing effect.
But with Lucas still standing before him, one second felt far too long.
That seemingly casual move from Lucas was already bordering on the level of a spell, just like Alec, Lucas too had begun to show potential of reaching the high ranks with ease, while Alec possessed abnormal mental strength, Lucas had a rare form of Qi that seamlessly fused with his attacks, giving them the subtle impression of high-rank techniques.
After delivering the palm strike, Lucas took a quick step back before launching a powerful roundhouse kick aimed at Liam’s neck.
Bang!
His Qi-coated leg slammed into the side of Liam’s neck, generating a shockwave as the paralyzed mage was sent hurtling through the air, gasps echoed from the Royal Mage Academy’s team as they watched their captain soar toward the edge of the battle ring.
Just before he could be flung completely out, Liam managed to regain control of his body as the paralysis wore off.
[> Mid Tier Spell – Time Freeze <]
Once again, Liam activated Time Freeze, but this time, he wasn’t casting it to slow down others, he targeted himself, allowing the temporal energy to cocoon him. With that split-second advantage, he twisted mid-air and launched himself back into the ring, before the temporal field shattered around him like a bursting bubble.
At that moment, even Austin, who had regained consciousness, was watching the fight, and he was utterly stunned.
Liam’s mastery of time-based abilities had clearly improved, despite having a weaker natural affinity than Austin, the way Liam wielded the time element now left no doubt, he had already surpassed him.
Austin tried to act unaffected, but deep down, a bitter emotion stirred. He clenched his fists, realizing something that sent a chill down his spine.
In their household, the only reason he had been allowed to indulge in arrogance without reprimand was because of his superior affinity, but if Liam continued growing at this rate, their family might begin ignoring him, the privileges he enjoyed could easily be stripped away and handed to Liam.
That fear lit a fire in his chest, as Austin made up his mind that he would train, seriously this time.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Liam—who had just leapt back into the ring summoned the full set of his combat gear.
This time, he wasn’t just using pieces of equipment to support his academy uniform. He was going all in.
Within thirty seconds, he stood fully clad in gleaming knight armour, polished to a mirror shine under the midday sun. A new sword now rested firmly in his grip replacing the other one.
“Let’s go again!” Liam declared, his confidence renewed, now that he had revealed his full Tier 5 equipment set, his abilities surged to a much higher level.
The gear didn’t just enhance his strength and defence, it also amplified his control over time-based spells, making him significantly more formidable than moments before.
“Yeah, let’s go again. I’m actually enjoying this,” Lucas replied, his tone casual yet dangerous as he reached behind his back and gripped the handle of his glaive, the moment he unsheathed it, a metallic clang echoed across the battlefield.
For the first time in the duel, he revealed one of his weapons.
Even Liam had to pause for a moment, the glaive was a masterpiece, clearly crafted by a master forger, its upper blade was broad and heavy, appearing capable of splitting boulders with ease, while a smaller, razor-sharp blade extended from the opposite end.
Lucas shifted into a stance, as he pushed the rest of the lightning in his body and his Qi to flow into the weapon, causing a faint crackle to echo like distant thunder, and a sharp sonic hum pierced the air as energy surged along the blade.
His eyes narrowed, focused and unflinching, mirroring the intensity now burning in Liam’s.
“Let’s finish this,” Lucas growled.
And with that, both combatants dashed forward, weapons drawn, their final clash imminent.