NOVPUBEvery shadow transformed into sharp thorns, their edges keen.
Loren’s expression subtly changed as he gathered air currents to block the attack.
Countless streams of air swirled around him, forming a layer of flowing armor that shaved off most of the thorns, but still, a few slipped through to pierce his body.
Loren grunted, feeling an inexplicable force rapidly draining away.
After Gaiat’s weapon morphed into a staff, the damage had decreased, but the control became even more frequent and troublesome.
The fierce confrontation between Loren and Gaiat in Valhalla Canyon continued, with gusts of wind slashing through solid rock to smithereens, while Gaiat cast deceptive Illusion Techniques, enshrouding the land in a purple haze, making it nearly impossible to discern the real from the fantastical.
Loren clapped his hands suddenly, and in a moment, thousands of sharp bolts of thunderous wind roared out, the fierce air currents carrying a tremendous force, like a divine chariot leading a mighty army charging towards Gaiat.
Gaiat flicked his fingers and countless purple-black chains materialized from thin air, wrapping around the winds like pythons, instantly binding and shattering them into dust.
"Eighth-order Thunder Magic... It’s rumored that the Great Priest is most adept at Light, aside from Wind, but it seems you’re equally skilled with every Element," Gaiat said with a curious smile, "Which Element are you most skilled in?"
In his view, it wasn’t that Wind had chosen Loren, but rather Loren had chosen Wind; among the thirty-one elements, Loren might be proficient in most of them.
Loren kept a cold face, not responding.
He disliked talking to his opponents during battle.
He had to admit, facing an opponent like Gaiat, who was adept in Illusion Techniques and Sealing Magic, put him at a disadvantage.
His aptitude leaned more towards Elemental Magic, which allowed him to counter elements when facing Elemental Magic users, regardless of the opponent’s Attribute.
But with fancy Attributes like Illusion Techniques and Seals, he was really out of his league.
Now the only thing to do was to see which Spells were most effective against Gaiat.
Loren raised his right hand above his head.
A beam of blazing white light burst from his palm, shooting straight into the sky, brightening the entire heavens like daytime, countless dazzling points of light rapidly converging in the air, forming a huge net of light that spread across the valley.
"Light combined with Barrier Magic, as expected, you know quite a lot," Gaiat chuckled.
A purple-black Magic Barrier swiftly formed around Gaiat, blocking the massive net of light.
The two powerful forces collided midair with an explosively deafening roar.
Loren’s veins on the back of his hand trembled slightly as he struggled to maintain the net of light.
But gradually, the collision yet again ended fruitlessly.
"Pity, I know it too," Gaiat murmured.
On the ground, encompassing several kilometers, a Magic Formation formed under his feet, emitting a suffocating aura of terror.
In the Magic Formation, a myriad of purple-black lights swirled wildly, morphing into thick chains like giant pythons, whizzing towards Loren’s grid of light.
The Magic Power was far greater than before, causing even the air to stagnate and the atmospheric pressure to plummet sharply.
Loren stimulated the Magic Power inside him, rapidly forming an air current Shield in front of himself.
In the clash of Barriers, that Shield developed minute cracks, wavering perilously on the brink of collapse.
Loren’s Magic Power burst forth tumultuously, and in an instant, countless dazzling rays shot out from his body, intertwining into a typhoon in midair, with a mighty force heading straight for Gaiat.
The two destructive forces violently collided in the void, unleashing a thunderous noise that shook the heavens and the earth.
Both parties’ Barriers disintegrated in an instant, resulting in the most extensive control cancellation.
Loren gasped for breath.
While Gaiat on the opposite side still looked quite relaxed.
Gaiat, who specialized in Illusion Techniques and Sealing Magic, was fundamentally strong in Spirit. Continuing the battle would most likely exhaust Loren’s Mana first.
Now, the only way was to do his utmost to delay, to use Divine Arts more and Spells less, to buy Juliana sufficient time, then Loren would find a way to deal with Gaiat afterward.
Divine Arts often tapped into the power constituting all things by the deities between heaven and earth, which used up less Mana compared to Spells, but could only be used a limited number of times each day without causing a mental breakdown.
The real challenge was figuring out how to shake off Gaiat.
That relentless control was too troublesome; escaping from Gaiat might be even harder than defeating him outright.
With that thought, Loren took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. At this moment, he didn’t need to ponder too much but to focus solely on preparing for the fight.
Unexpectedly, Gaiat suddenly retracted all his Magic Power and elegantly straightened his crumpled clothes from the fight, looking at Loren with a playful gaze.
"Mr. Loren, do you really think I want to decide a winner with you?"
It was as if Gaiat saw right through Loren’s attempt to stall for time.
He didn’t mind doing as Loren wished.
"What do you mean...?"
Loren frowned, sensing that things were not as simple.
Gaiat’s demeanor was far too composed, almost as if he was toying with his prey.
Could it be... he had ulterior motives?
Loren watched Gaiat’s every move closely.
"Is there a possibility that from the beginning I, too, wished to detain you?"
Instead of answering, Gaiat asked in return, his gaze meaningfully towards the sky, the corners of his mouth curled into a sly smile.
Suddenly, a blinding red light tore through the thick clouds, like a massive comet plummeting down into the canyon.
The impact whipped up fierce winds, causing the trees in the valley to sway wildly from side to side.
