Chapter 764: You Dare
A dozen violent explosions erupted, cutting the meteor's size in half, but it still refused to dissipate. Instead, its trajectory was blasted off course, sending it crashing into the distant horizon.
Boom...
The meteor slammed into the ground, instantly shredding a treehouse over ten meters tall into splinters. The blast of flames swept outward, obliterating every structure within a hundred meters—nothing but debris remained...
After the attack, the Third Elder's face was clouded with gloom.
"It seems I still underestimated your strength..."
As he spoke, the unique ripple of an eighth-rank spell began to spread...
Leon frowned deeply. He hadn't expected the Third Elder, who had only recently broken through to Ninth-Rank Title Archmage, to already be capable of casting eighth-rank spells...
Leon acted without hesitation, unleashing the Nullification Rune. In an instant, countless runes materialized above the Third Elder's head, merging into a single arcane symbol that stamped itself onto his brow.
In that instant, at the final stage of the eighth-rank spell's casting, all magical fluctuations vanished. The spell was forcibly interrupted...
It was as if all the Third Elder's magic vanished in an instant.
Having his spell interrupted, the Third Elder let out a muffled groan—clearly suffering. Though Dark Elf Spellmark magic could be cast instantly, it wasn’t truly without casting time.
Each time a spell was cast, the spellmark would first glow, gathering mana. When enough mana was amassed, the Spellmark magic would be unleashed.
For low-level spells, this gathering time was negligible. But with high-level Spellmark magic, the mana required was immense, so the gathering took noticeably longer.
Still, compared to normal spellcasting, this time was almost negligible.
The Third Elder hadn’t expected Leon to actually interrupt his casting. The gap in rank was too wide—normally, a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage would never have his spell disrupted by a mere Ninth-Rank Mage.
But Leon had the Nullification Rune...
With his spell interrupted and his mana bound, the Third Elder's magic surged against the Nullification Rune's power. The rune mark on his forehead trembled, on the verge of shattering...
Yet Leon didn’t seize the moment to attack. Instead, he rapidly chanted an incantation, waving the Doombringer Staff to scatter mana, which formed runes that sank into the surrounding earth.
In an instant, the dormant War Ancient Oaks all began to awaken, one after another.
On the trunks of the ancient trees, towering dozens of meters high, a wizened face emerged. Countless leaves fell in a flurry as the branches twisted together, forming two massive arms nearly twenty meters long.
Thick roots tore up from beneath the ground, supporting the War Ancient Oaks as they rose to stand. Rage filled the aged faces carved into their bark.
With a sweep of its giant hands, the War Ancient Oak sent dozens of the Third Elder's subordinates flying.
Four colossal War Ancient Oaks slowly moved to encircle Leon, shielding him at the center. Nearby, four more lumbered awkwardly toward him, shoving aside every Dark Elf in their path as if swatting away insects...
Any Dark Elf too slow to react was swatted by those giant hands, sent flying with blood spraying, their magic shields shattered to pieces in a single blow...
From the moment the War Ancient Oaks appeared to the instant four of them surrounded Leon, barely two seconds had passed. By then, the Third Elder finally broke through the Nullification Rune's seal—his formidable magic burst forth, and in a flash, hundreds of spells formed in the sky.
The torrent of wild spells surged downward, threatening to drown Leon.
By now, the four War Ancient Oaks closest to Leon had re-rooted themselves, their dense roots piercing the earth to anchor their bodies in place.
Two War Ancient Oaks swung their giant hands in front of Leon. The terrifying flood of spells crashed into those hands—only to be instantly annihilated...
Every spell that touched the War Ancient Oaks collapsed, dissolving into ordinary magical elements and fading away...
When those magical elements appeared before Leon, they were as harmless as a gentle breeze—utterly incapable of causing harm.
The Third Elder was utterly shocked. "You can control the War Ancient Oaks! Quick! Capture them—don’t let them escape!"
In an instant, the Third Elder ordered a full assault. The awakening of the War Ancient Oaks had completely upended his plans.
Meanwhile, the Second Elder and his dozen followers rushed in panic toward the protective zone of the War Ancient Oaks.
The Third Elder's mage legion unleashed a barrage of spells, but as they neared the War Ancient Oaks, every spell was forcibly dispelled.
Not even the Third Elder’s spells could penetrate the War Ancient Oaks’ protection.
The War Ancient Oaks are the Dark Elf Enclave’s most steadfast guardians—aside from their difficulty moving and strict survival requirements, they possess only terrifying advantages.
Legend has it that these War Ancient Oaks are descendants of a World Tree, which once supported an entire plane. The plane’s magic, elements, and life all sprang from the World Tree, and the War Ancient Oaks inherited a mighty gift: magic immunity!
It’s as if they’re friends to all magical elements—every offensive spell collapses on contact, reverting to ordinary magical elements.
Though the War Ancient Oaks aren’t especially high-level, they can still withstand any spell attack below Sky Rank!
As long as you stayed within the War Ancient Oaks’ protective range, any spell below Sky Rank was useless, no matter how many were cast.
The Third Elder’s face was dark as night. Even his personally cast eighth-rank spells only made the War Ancient Oaks tremble slightly—there was no breaking through to attack Leon.
The Dark Elves with Sword Sigils rushed forward, but none could breach the War Ancient Oaks’ defenses. Worse yet, four more War Ancient Oaks had arrived.
These four War Ancient Oaks rooted themselves at the perimeter, beams of light cascading from their crowns. A Dark Elf skilled in swordsmanship tried to charge through, slashing at the tree’s arm with his blade.
Instantly, the Dark Elf screamed—a wound tore through his chest.
"That’s a Thorn Guardian Tree—don’t get close!"
But it was too late. In a flash, a dozen Dark Elves with Sword Sigils were sent flying, wounded. At least half the force of their sword strikes was reflected back by the Thorn Guardian Tree.
At once, all the Dark Elves retreated.
Every Dark Elf knew the War Ancient Oaks’ power, and some special War Ancient Oaks could wield unique abilities.
Thorn Aura!