Jie Ming snapped out of his awe at the previous attack’s power, nodding with a faint smile.
Under normal circumstances, a wizard’s invasion of a plane was divided into multiple phases.
Beyond the initial intelligence-gathering phase, the two most critical stages were the landing battle’s initial invasion and the current tug-of-war phase.
These two phases were both vital and complex, requiring a delicate balance: demonstrating the wizards’ threat without letting the plane’s natives underestimate them.
The landing battle had already instilled enough confidence in the Flamefrost Plane’s natives, so this round of combat was meant to deliver a crushing blow!
Only by instilling measured pressure and fear could the natives be forced to take the wizards seriously.
Under such pressure and fear, the natives would instinctively muster their forces to their fullest, plunging into a prolonged war of attrition with the wizards.
This required high-level wizards to maintain precise control.
Take the recent attack, for instance. Though it appeared grandiose, every wizard present knew it was executed with extreme restraint.
After all, witchcraft could be manipulated even after being unleashed.With that targeted molten giant spell, a slight tilt of the cannon barrel could have carved a hundreds-of-kilometers-long, tens-of-kilometers-wide zone of annihilation across the Flamefrost Plane.
If the spell’s duration were extended and the barrel’s angle widened, it could have plowed through the entire plane.
Such an act could have erased the molten giant race from the Flamefrost Plane entirely.
But doing so would only force the molten giant King Karamos to detonate the plane’s core in a mutual destruction, achieving nothing.
On the battlefield, the shocking sight of countless molten giants being instantly disintegrated by the “targeted destructive witchcraft” struck like a heavy hammer, pounding the hearts of all creatures on the Flamefrost Plane.
That power, transcending comprehension, gave them their first taste of true fear.
The allied forces of the molten giants and snow beasts, too overwhelmed to continue fighting or heed old grudges, collapsed completely. With unimaginable terror, they fled like a receding tide toward their respective territories.
And this was the “hunting moment” the wizards had long awaited.
On the “Ship” plane, Augustine, the commander-in-chief, issued a calm and resolute order through the magic network: “All units, engage! Pursue the fleeing enemies, maximize the harvest of war resources and live specimens!”
The moment the command was given, Jie Ming, Viola, and the other logistics wizards on standby in the “Ship” plane activated their flight spells without hesitation. Like a swarm of descending reapers, they surged back onto the Flamefrost Plane’s scorched earth.
No longer confined to the rear, they joined the combat wizards, becoming a relentless torrent of death, pursuing the routed soldiers of both races in a deadly chase!
As a third-level wizard, Viola’s powerful magical aura radiated like a beacon in the night, naturally drawing scattered low-level combat wizards on the battlefield.
Their eyes gleamed with reliance and awe, instinctively gravitating toward her, forming a temporary squad of over a dozen members that followed her deep into enemy lines for the harvest.
Jie Ming, naturally, stayed close to Viola, his goal being to capture as many live prisoners as possible for future research.
“These fools dare to pursue us!”
After casually slaughtering hundreds of scattered molten giants, their squad encountered a still-organized remnant force.
This group, led by a fourth-level molten giant general, consisted of several thousand molten giants, including over a hundred second-level elites and a few third-level giants.
The general’s molten eyes burned with fury. Seeing only a dozen wizards, with the highest being the third-level Viola, daring to chase their millions-strong remnant army was an unbearable insult to its pride as a leader!
Fueled by immense humiliation and rage, the fourth-level molten giant let out a deafening roar.
Its voice, accompanied by gushing magma, echoed across the horizon.
Halting its retreat, its now-crimson molten eyes locked onto Jie Ming, Viola, and the others.
“Counterattack! Kill these alien invaders!” it bellowed.
Its massive body, carrying terrifying force, turned like a locomotive and charged straight at their squad.
Behind it, the thousands of fleeing molten giants, ignited by their leader’s fury like a powder keg, roared with renewed vigor, turning back to engage!
After a brief moment of surprise, the wizard squad quickly deployed.
“Ashe, Locke… handle those third-level molten giants!” Viola instructed calmly.
Several second-level wizards immediately rushed out, their rune staves glowing with various lights, precisely targeting their assigned foes.
Viola, without hesitation, radiated brilliant light and charged directly at the fourth-level molten giant general.
Though a clear gap in power existed—wizards were adept at fighting above their level—the molten giants, deemed a formidable combat race by Master Elwin, weren’t easily subdued in a short time.
Viola’s movements were graceful and efficient, her body tracing elegant arcs through the air, each surge of energy accompanied by an icy aura.
Rather than confronting the giant head-on, she relied on speed and foresight, weaving through gaps in its attacks, seeking weaknesses and draining its strength.
The remaining hundred-plus second-level and thousands of first-level molten giants were left to the two remaining second-level wizards and the eleven first-level wizards, including Jie Ming.
As Viola charged the fourth-level giant, she glanced back at Jie Ming, a flicker of concern in her eyes.
After all, under normal circumstances, first- and second-level wizards, despite their superior witchcraft mastery, could dominate same-level creatures, but taking on a hundred was already the mark of an elite.
Yet now, Jie Ming, the other second-level wizard, and eleven first-level wizards faced thousands of molten giants!
This included over a hundred second-level elites.
The odds were staggering, even for wizards. Facing such overwhelming numbers, the pressure was immense.
Every step was like treading on thin ice; a single misstep could mean death.
Especially for Jie Ming, who, despite his research on molten giants, was only a first-level wizard.
Viola even considered drawing a few third-level molten giants to herself to ease the pressure on Jie Ming’s side.
But before she could act, Jie Ming displayed a combat prowess that shocked her to her core!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the moment of Viola’s worried glance, the six “autonomous floating cannons” orbiting Jie Ming like wings sprang to life as if alive, unleashing full firepower the instant they received his command!
Each floating cannon was a miniature turret, its internal lights swirling as it precisely targeted the hundreds of first-level molten giants charging at Jie Ming.
Their muzzles spewed blazing energy beams and missiles, weaving an impenetrable net of firepower!
The charging first-level molten giants were halted by the precise strikes. Their stone bodies were pierced by energy beams, molten blood splattering as they were blasted apart or scattered by the concentrated fire.
The six floating cannons, with astonishing efficiency and perfect coordination, easily suppressed the hundreds of first-level molten giants, even preventing their advance and easing the pressure on the other wizards.
What stunned Viola even more was that, facing such a multitude of enemies, Jie Ming himself hadn’t cast a single offensive spell!
Instead, his focus was on casting high-frequency sonic witchcraft to support his floating cannons!
On Jie Ming’s left wrist was a peculiar bracelet embedded with ten crystal-shaped rune artifacts.
Driven by his mental focus, the ten rune crystals flashed in rapid succession, each pulse releasing a wide-range high-frequency sonic spell from the crystals.
This sonic witchcraft, carefully chosen by Jie Ming, was invisible and intangible yet devastating to the molten giants’ internal structures, particularly their resonance cavities and auditory mineral crystals!
Hundreds of molten giants wailed under the relentless waves of high-frequency sonic assaults.
Their massive bodies trembled uncontrollably, their molten flows disrupted, their movements sluggish and rigid, temporarily losing their ability to attack.
Through continuous sonic suppression, Jie Ming held thousands of molten giants at bay!
Naturally, his indiscriminate sonic suppression made him a prime target for the molten giants!
For creatures instinctively sensitive to sound vibrations, Jie Ming’s actions were tantamount to provocation!
Almost all the molten giants, whether attacking other wizards or suppressed by the floating cannons, instinctively turned their fury on Jie Ming!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Except for the distant third-level giants and the fourth-level general, the other molten giants roared in rage, targeting Jie Ming, the “disruptive source.”
They unleashed torrents of molten projectiles or summoned sharp stone spikes from the ground, bombarding the sky where Jie Ming stood like a relentless storm!
“Careful!” Viola’s alarmed cry echoed from afar.
But Jie Ming showed no intention of retreating.
In everyone’s gaze, he was instantly engulfed by the overwhelming barrage of attacks.