The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 79, Section 75: The Six Great Nine-Ring Spellcasters of Eldoron

In an instant, incantations echoed across the open space.

Various colored magical lights flashed by.

"The body-holding technique!"

"Weakening rays!"

"Blindness!"

"Web Technique!"

"Rainbow Spray!"

"Sleep spell!"

Both spellcasters unleashed their signature spells, exchanging blows and fighting fiercely.

Both the human and elf armies stared wide-eyed at the duel arena, waving flags and cheering for their respective sides.

"Beat those elven invaders to death! Just like we used to beat up goblins with sticks back then."

"Let those inferior races know that the magic of us elves is far superior to theirs!"

Originally, Lia thought that since human magic was learned from elves, it shouldn't surpass the level of elves.

In a duel between spellcasters of the same level, the elves would definitely have the upper hand.

At the very least, they are evenly matched.

However, the battle situation was somewhat unexpected.

The battle hadn't been going on for long; after a brief exchange, the human mages had already seized the initiative!

These low-level human mages were completely engrossed in the fight, their energy at its peak, showing no sign of fear or fatigue. They had actually managed to temporarily suppress the elves with their fierce and relentless attacks.

"Something's not right. The morale of these human mages is astonishing."

"It's as if we have a deep-seated hatred for each other!"

Lia was very surprised.

Why do they have such an exaggerated fighting spirit?

How could Leah, who had never experienced the hellish life on the surface of Eldoron, possibly know:
"Invaders" is a word that ignites anger in humans.

In the past, these battle mages standing here were just young children who could only fight two-meter-tall orcs with wooden sticks!

They truly experienced an era of extreme poverty and hardship, and once faced a foreign enemy far stronger than themselves, fighting with the conviction that they would die for their cause.

Today, with the power of magic, they can finally have a fair fight against their alien enemies!
In contrast, the Sun Elf army did not have such an exaggerated morale boost.

Their sole objective in joining the coalition was to "rescue Alamir".

Rather than facing a life-or-death battle that would determine the fate of their race.

"This is bad, the situation is very unfavorable for the elves." The elven priest, Guirasser Goldfleck, suddenly turned grim.

In just over ten seconds, three of the elven spellcasters were eliminated, while the humans lost only one.

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the elves, Lia's face turned pale.

As she watched, the sun elf princess's gaze suddenly froze; she had noticed something amiss:

"Wait, that's not right. The key reason is definitely not just the difference in fighting spirit!"

They were using magic, not hacking and slashing with weapons. While sheer fighting spirit can certainly boost one's morale, it's absolutely insufficient to create such an overwhelming advantage!

"Those humans seem surprisingly good at cooperating?"

Leah exclaimed in astonishment.

Upon hearing Lia's words, Priestess Guirasser narrowed her eyes and began to observe carefully:
"It seems that's really the case..."

There were 12 human mages, each with their own role, presenting a completely systematic combat model. Some were responsible for interfering with the opponents, while others were responsible for cooperating with their teammates.

There are also dedicated commanders who can quickly concentrate firepower to eliminate an enemy.

"Spread out, spread out, so that the enemy flamethrowers can't hit two people at once."

"Good heavens! They haven't memorized the wind-generating technique, so they can't disperse the clouds."

"I activated the fog. During the few seconds of spell buffering, I hid in the fog to avoid being locked onto by visual target spells."

“Jack, Eileen and the other two are all asleep. Use a missile to wake them all up.”

"Tom, step back two meters, I'm going to lay down my web."

"..."

The human team worked together seamlessly, and with the advantage of coordinated combat, they completely suppressed the Pokémon teams of the same level.

The sentences they used in the dialogue were naturally not the complete sentences mentioned above.

Instead, they are tactical terms used for rapidly conveying information and involving significant omissions!

However, everyone could understand what their teammates meant by their instructions.

It's as if this process has already gone through countless years of training, making them inseparable!

The battle lasted less than half a minute, and half of the 12-person elf team had already been eliminated.

Among the human mages, only three were eliminated.

9 against 6!

"Damn it, we're completely suppressed by humans!"

"Well, Your Highness Lia? With the battle unfolding like this, is there any hope for us elves?" The elven priest, Guirasser Goldflake, turned to look at Lia beside him.

Clearly, when it comes to understanding arcane magic and magical combat, she is no match for Lia, who is a mage.

"It's difficult, but not entirely impossible!"

Leah looked down at the two sides locked in fierce combat and the various spells fluttering about, and analyzed:
"Although we are at a disadvantage for the time being, the situation is ever-changing. The side with the advantage may also make careless mistakes due to negligence."

"As long as we seize the opportunity and find a chance to control multiple opponents at once, it is not impossible to turn the tide."

However, at this moment, with half of the enemy's forces reduced to zero, the human team suddenly adjusted their tactics:

"Now that we have a numerical advantage, let's switch to a conservative, suppressive tactic!"

"Don't be greedy. Being too eager for success will only expose your weaknesses to the opponent."

"If one of our spells can cancel out one of the opponent's spells, then a 1-for-1 trade is a win."

It's as if, in past training, these human mages had already simulated what tactics to use when they had a numerical advantage and when they were at a disadvantage, and adjusted them flexibly according to the environment!
With the human side seizing the advantage in numbers and further utilizing and amplifying this advantage, the outcome of this magical confrontation became completely predictable.

After the battle lasted for more than a minute, the magical duel finally ended with a resounding victory for the human side!
The seven human battle mages who were still standing woke up their teammates who had been knocked unconscious by enemy magic, and walked back to Eldoron's position in high spirits, discussing among themselves as they went:

"This is way too easy! It's so much simpler than the magical battles we practice. What are we supposed to practice for?"

"I've never had such a lavish fight in my life! When I was a kid, I used short sticks to fight orcs, but now I can use magic to fight elves."

As fellow resisters of foreign invaders, the young mages were finding it somewhat difficult to adapt to the current favorable conditions.

As their comrades returned victorious, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the human side's position.

A barrage of insults and attacks against the elves erupted from the human side's positions:

"I've said it before, these pointy-eared demons are all all bark and no bite."

"So, you pointy-eared demons, do you still dare to fight?"

……

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! How could we elves lose in a magical battle!"

Leah found it hard to accept the truth.

"Perhaps this group of humans happens to be the most experienced in actual combat?" the priestess Guirasser Goldfle beside him speculated.

"After all, we are facing off against the Elven race, which is known for its powerful magic. They will definitely select the most skilled, spirited, and well-trained low-level mages to ensure victory."

"Perhaps...that's how it is..." That was the only way Lia could console herself.

In fact, after the recent failure, and recalling the scene of human mages besieging Alamir that she had seen projected at the banquet, a hint of doubt had already formed in Lia's mind:
Could the training methods and tactical thinking of human battle mages surpass those of the elven race?
But as a proud sun elf, she would never accept such an absurd claim. She automatically deleted the possibility from her mind.

"Yes, you're right. We just randomly selected some elven mages, and we'll probably be facing the group of human mages with the strongest combat skills on the other side."

"Let's have a few more rounds!"

……

Behind the human lines, in a fortress imbued with spells such as [Iron Wall] and [Guardian Rune].

General Saul listened to his subordinate's report.

"Do they still want to continue fighting? It seems those elves are quite unwilling to admit defeat."

"His Majesty was right after all. These new generation of surface mages have been exposed to the most advanced modern magical tactics from the very beginning of their magical studies!"

"Furthermore, they have undergone extensive training in teamwork and simulated many different scenarios!"

"Not to mention, human mages learn the most practical spells. They don't spend their energy mastering those fancy and difficult spells."

This also reflects the difference in how humans and elves understand magic.

Elves regard magic as an art form, just like poetry, sculpture, and painting, and even something to be revered and worshipped.

They would spend a long time exploring, developing, and learning new spells that clearly lacked practicality and could be replaced by other spells.

Humans, however, only care about the practicality of magic.

For humans, magic is simply a tool to help them achieve their goals!

If there's a superior alternative, then there's no need to waste time learning it!

Or only allow specific types of soldiers to learn it, in case of unforeseen circumstances.

General Thor stepped atop the fortress, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, and gazed at the elven army opposite him, his cloak billowing in the wind.

The imperial general waved his hand generously:

"Just hit us."

"Then continue."

"We humans will fight to the bitter end!"

"If necessary, I and other high-ranking mages can also join the battle!"

Under Elian's guidance, General Thor's magical skills also improved by leaps and bounds.

Five years ago, this imperial general successfully advanced to the realm of the infinitely mysterious Ninth Ring of Magic.

Thus, he became one of the six ninth-ring spellcasters of Eldoron. (Gret, the Dragonvein Sorcerer; General Thor; Gut, the Chief Emancer; Helen, the Chief Transmuter; Cassandra, the Chief Prophet; and Khad, the Chief Protector)
This is a level he never reached, even when he died at Gretel's hands in the original history!
On the open field ahead, new teams of human and elven mages are gathering, preparing for the next wave of magical combat.

"In this confrontation, each side has sent out six mid-level mages. There are two third, fourth, and fifth-level mages each."

When both humans and elves focused their attention on the open field where the two armies were facing off.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a bird with emerald green eyes was quietly approaching the floating city high in the sky!

(End of this chapter)