Spellcasting Gods

Although there was a two or three-second time difference between the two, they completed the action in almost the same amount of time.

The moment the two arrows collided in mid-air, they burst into dazzling golden sparks, followed by the next second...

The black arrow belonging to the Forsaken effortlessly cleaved Garrick's ordinary arrow in two, piercing his shoulder with a soft thud. In less than two or three seconds, large patches of red swelling and disgusting sores appeared on the skin around the wound.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

Stimulated by the intense pain, the young man couldn't help but let out a miserable cry, and hurriedly gripped the reins tightly to avoid accidentally falling off.

"Damn it!" Zhang Cheng cursed under his breath, raised his hand and cast an instant-cast spell, Flame Impact, at the Forsaken who had just shot the arrow.

To his surprise, the opponent was not blown away by the powerful impact like the previous enemies. Instead, after a flash of red light, the opponent was completely unaffected.

Before Zhang Cheng could figure out what was happening, the last Forsaken, cloaked in black, suddenly accelerated to the front, then pulled out a fiery red staff from his robes and slammed it into the ground.

boom!

Everything within a four-meter radius of him was engulfed by the intense heat and shockwave.

Zhang Cheng felt a wave of dizziness, his whole body spun 360 degrees in mid-air, and finally crashed down, rolling three or four meters on the ground before coming to a stop.

As for the poor horse, it had become a charred corpse, unrecognizable, and was completely unrideable.

"Don't worry about me! Run! Run! Go to Dalaran and report!" Zhang Cheng gave his final order as he struggled to his feet.

He knew perfectly well that the only way to save his life and win the battle was to do everything he could to stall the enemy and get old George and Garrick to call for reinforcements.

Although his confidence had swelled a little after gaining arcane power, he wasn't foolish enough to think he could take on the elite of the three Forsaken at the same time, one of whom was a powerful mage.

"Understood! Please hold on!" Garrick nodded, enduring the excruciating pain.

He undoubtedly knew that staying behind would only cause trouble and wouldn't be of any help, so he ran forward without looking back...

Chapter 0024 A Duel Between Mages

"Want to call for reinforcements? Not so easy! Go, chase after those annoying little rats and take care of them. As for this living mage, leave him to me." With that, the Forsaken, staff in hand, tightened the reins, slowing the deathhorse's speed as it circled Zhang Cheng, its eyes glowing with an eerie red light.

It was obvious that she was the leader of this ambush team, and also a powerful fire mage; the shockwave just now was the best proof of that.

If the horse hadn't taken the bruises, Zhang Cheng believed he would have fared far worse, suffering only minor injuries and scratches; he might have even lost half his life.

Under the threat of death, his nerves tightened rapidly. He dared not be distracted for even a moment, let alone spare a hand to stop the other two Forsaken from hunting down Garrick, Old George, and Little Jenny. He could only hope that the three of them could run fast enough to at least get into Dalaran's warning range before they were killed.

"Heh, what's wrong? Are you worried about your friend?" The necromancer curled his lips, a mocking expression on his face.

It's clear that she enjoys tormenting her opponent's mind before the battle begins, making it impossible for them to concentrate fully during combat.

It's important to understand that battles between mages are not like those between warriors and rogues. Muscle memory can often replace the brain in making judgments, so mages need to observe more carefully to determine what spell their opponent will cast next, so they can prepare defenses and counterattacks in advance.

This means that any distraction can lead to misjudgment. Mages do not have the same robust physique and vigorous vitality as warriors, so misjudgment results in death.

Although Zhang Cheng had only been a mage for a few days, he was very aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. He responded with a cold laugh, "Sorry to disappoint you, they are not my friends. To be precise, we have only known each other for less than two days. There is no deep friendship as you imagine. Even if they are killed, I will not be sad. At most, I will sigh at the capriciousness of fate. After all, mortals will eventually die. I will use my power to make their deaths meaningful."

"Oh? You seem very confident? Haven't you realized the huge gap in strength between us?" The necromancer gently waved his staff, releasing a small vortex of dark red magic.

Through this vortex, even those who do not understand magic can clearly feel the pure fire elemental energy contained within. One of the standards for measuring the strength of a mage is the purity of their own magic power.

Because pure energy can greatly enhance the power of spells.

Taking the Fireball spell as an example, the higher the purity of the caster's magic, the higher the temperature of the flame, and the stronger the shock wave generated by the explosion.

The opposite is true for Frost Arrows. The higher the purity of the magic, the lower the temperature of the Frost Arrow, and the harder the ice becomes, even capable of piercing a shield instantly.

Without a doubt, Zhang Cheng's current magic purity is at most half that of his enemy. According to the game, his opponent's mage level is at least ten levels higher than his, or even more.

Even with his fire-protective barrier, he couldn't withstand more than a few of the fire spells fired by his opponent.

Generally speaking, with such a huge disparity in strength, any resistance is futile; it's better to just wait for death.

But Zhang Cheng still has a trump card, a risky card that can directly eliminate the opponent.

His trump card was a silver runestone hidden inside his wide robes. Once the runestone was inserted into the opponent's body and the Violet Barrier was activated, the violent magical energy would completely destroy an undead creature, even a thick-skinned abomination, within seconds.

Seeing that Zhang Cheng neither spoke nor showed any intention of giving up, the necromancer shrugged regretfully: "Alright, it seems you're a stubborn fellow. In that case, let the game begin."

As soon as she finished speaking, her hands burst into a blinding red flame.

Zhang Cheng, who had been waiting for a long time, countered the opponent with a magic spell without hesitation.

Despite the significant difference in strength between the two, the counterattack still worked.

The flames emanating from the necromancer's hand were completely out of control under the influence of a magical turbulence, exploding with a bang. He staggered back several steps, probably unable to cast any fire-related spells for several seconds.

However, she showed no panic. Instead, she laughed and praised, "Fantastic! A brilliant counterattack, but unfortunately, it can't bridge the gap between us. Even if I don't use my best fire magic, you're still destined to lose."

"Stop talking nonsense, dear undead lady. I know Dalaran isn't far from here. If you don't hurry, the archmages of the Kirin Tor Council could teleport here at any moment." Zhang Cheng provoked while subtly moving forward.

His plan was to first shorten the distance between the two to a point where a blink spell could reach, and then, with lightning speed, insert the rune into the maggot-infested mouth of the other party.

You only get one chance!

He had to be extremely careful not to let the other party realize his true intentions.

"Don't rush, living one. I guarantee you'll be a corpse before the archmages of Dalaran arrive. Of course, out of my admiration for you, I've decided to take your body back to Undercity to resurrect you and make you one of us. The Dark Queen always welcomes talented individuals to join the Forsaken." With that, the necromancer slowly raised his right hand.

The pale purple light gathered stronger and stronger at her fingertips, and in the blink of an eye, several orbs of light traced graceful trajectories in the air, flying straight toward Zhang Cheng's location.

Arcane Missiles!

Zhang Cheng recognized the simple yet deadly spell at a glance!

Unlike most spells that require preparation time, Arcane Missiles do not require preparation, but once cast, the mage needs to concentrate to guide it, ensuring that the missile follows the target until it hits.

He was still thinking about how to distract his opponent when he saw this scene. He was overjoyed and immediately teleported to her side, shoving the rune into her mouth: "Rest in peace, lady, I have won this duel."

next second...

The silver runes burst forth with powerful energy, and a small magical barrier was formed in just a few seconds by a dazzling violet light.

Before the necromancer could even react, he was burned by the magical energy and turned into a disgusting, gelatinous mass, emitting a pungent odor.

As for the magic missiles that lost the mage's guidance, they quickly vanished without a trace into the air.

Gazing at his enemy's gruesome death, Zhang Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "Arrogance is a poison, especially for a mage. It seems I must constantly remind myself to remain humble and never make a similar mistake. Thank you, my enemy, you've given me a very good negative example..."

Chapter 0025 Ansrem Ruinvivor

Without a doubt, the necromancer who accompanied him never took Zhang Cheng seriously, always maintaining a cat-and-mouse mentality.

It's likely that in her eyes, taking down a young mage who was far weaker than herself would be an easy task. So, she wanted to add some fun by teasing and tormenting her enemy to gain some kind of mental satisfaction.

Unfortunately, she made a mistake, a fatal mistake.

Zhang Cheng is not a native of Azeroth, so his way of thinking is not like that of a "normal" mage, who is obsessed with using all kinds of spells to defeat his opponents in order to prove that his skills are superior.

His only goal is to kill the enemy. Whether it's magic or swords, they are just means. There's no need to worry about it. He will use whichever is faster and more efficient.

As for the so-called dignity of a monk mentioned in many books, he didn't care about it at all.

Because dignity is something that is reserved for those who survive, or more precisely, for those who ultimately triumph; the losers are forever left with only humiliation and death...

After quickly wiping the wound on his forehead from the broken stones, Zhang Cheng bent down and picked up the staff that originally belonged to the necromancer. He instantly felt a surge of intense energy flowing through his arm and throughout his body, as if he were surrounded by flames.

"No wonder the shockwave just now could kill a strong horse instantly. It turns out this is a staff that can enhance the power of fire spells." He muttered to himself as he casually tucked the staff into his backpack and cautiously approached the motionless Death Horse.

With his own mount gone, he now has no choice but to target the enemy's mount.

Keep in mind that although the huge magical shield covering the ruins of Dalaran can be seen on the horizon, it is actually still several kilometers away. If you were to walk, you wouldn't be able to get there in less than an hour or two.

Moreover, Zhang Cheng's current physical condition is not very good. He has seven or eight wounds of varying sizes that are bleeding. Although most of them are superficial wounds, they are excruciatingly painful with the slightest movement. He urgently needs to get to a safe place to clean and bandage them, otherwise infection will be a serious problem.

With a try-it-out mentality, he limped over to the Death Horse and reached out to grab the reins.

But before he could catch it, the skeletal horse, radiating shadow energy, suddenly turned around and stomped down hard with its front hooves.

"Damn it! I knew it wouldn't be that simple!" Zhang Cheng cursed through gritted teeth, quickly dodging the horse's hooves.

Just as he was preparing to make a second attempt, he suddenly heard a hearty laugh behind him: "Hahahaha! Young man, if I were you, I wouldn't try to approach a death horse. You should know that apart from the undead, no race can control that thing, so you should just give up."

"Who are you?" Zhang Cheng turned around warily, looking the old man up and down.

He had thick brown hair and a beard, and was probably over fifty years old, but his face didn't seem to have many wrinkles. He wore a violet robe with gold trim and carried a crystal staff that was constantly spinning in his hand.

Judging from his attire alone, he is most likely a mage from the Kirin Tor Council.

“Relax, child. My name is Ansrem Ruinvivor, a member of the Council of Six, and the current administrator of Dalaran,” the old man introduced himself with a slight smile.

Although this self-introduction is very brief, it contains anything but simple information.

According to the basic structure of the Kirin Tor organization, the most powerful members were undoubtedly the six archmages known to the outside world as the Council of Six, including Antonidas, who was killed by Arthas, Kael'thas Sunstrider, the blood elf prince, Krasus, the red dragon, and the famous Rhonin, all of whom were once members.

In the near future, Kalecgos the Blue Dragon and Jaina Proudmoore will also join the team.

This means that anyone who can enter the Council of Six must possess unparalleled magical power; in fact, one could say that each of them is equivalent to an army.

Zhang Cheng could hardly believe that such an important figure could simply leave the protective shield and appear in front of him.

The archmage clearly noticed his surprise, and chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "What, do you think an old fellow like me should spend all my time in the tower, rotting away with those moldy books? No, young man, I much prefer to venture out into the darkness of the mage tower. Tell me, how did you manage to provoke those self-proclaimed Forsaken undead? That they would send an elite squad to hunt you down?"

"You might not believe it, but I stumbled upon a discovery that they are developing a new plague and using the human farms in Hillsbrad Foothills as a testing ground for it. Here, I have some samples and a letter from the mayor of Burnside pleading for help." With that, Zhang Cheng quickly opened his backpack and took out the items he had prepared beforehand, offering them to the mayor with both hands.

"A new plague?" Ansrem Ruinvivor frowned instinctively upon hearing the news. He first opened the letter and skimmed through its contents, then pulled out a glass test tube and cast several detection spells in succession. Finally, his face turned ashen as he roared, "Damn it! Have these guys gone mad? How dare they research such an evil taboo!"

“An evil taboo?” Zhang Cheng keenly grasped the key words.

“Yes! It’s too complicated to explain in detail. You just need to know that although this new plague is still in the experimental stage, its final version will kill everything, including animals, plants, elemental life, and even the undead.” Ansrem Ruinvivor explained, clenching his fist.

With the archmage's prompting, Zhang Cheng suddenly remembered that in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the Forsaken seemed to have unleashed a magical plague that killed tens of thousands of Scourge soldiers in one fell swoop.

Of course, this also includes some friendly forces that were "accidentally" injured.

Clearly, what he's holding now is an early version of this plague.

The thought of carrying such a dangerous bag for so long sent chills down his spine. He quickly took out the bag containing the test tubes and carefully placed it on the ground.

Staring at the dark green gas-liquid mixture in the test tube, Ansrem Ruinvivor sighed helplessly: "Sigh, give it to me. I'll see if I can decipher its components and develop an antidote while I'm at it. Oh, I almost forgot, the three people who traveled with you are safe now. Except for the young man who was hit by the cursed arrow, who might need some time to recover, the rest are all fine."

"They made it safely to the Dalaran security zone?" Zhang Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

Old George's safe arrival in Dalaran signifies the completion of the merchant's ambitious mission, and he will soon have a staff that suits him.

The archmage gently shook his head: "No, no, it was the patrol that found them. Come, grab my arm, I'll take you back to Dalaran right now."

"Anyway, I'm relieved to hear they're safe and sound." With that, Zhang Cheng grabbed the other person's left arm.