If he met the sword energy head-on, he'd fall right into the trap.
The real strike was the more powerful magic swirling beneath the surface.
'So, after seeing how I defended before, this opponent chose to attack from below? Not only is his power impressive, but his instincts in battle are sharp.'
After a moment's thought, Pete smirked coldly, then pushed off the ground lightly, almost defying gravity as he soared above the sword energy.
Sure enough, just before the energy reached him, it exploded suddenly.
A thick bolt of lightning shot up from the ground, tearing through the ceiling tens of meters above with a thunderous roar.
Stones from the roof shattered and rained down like hail.
Pete, now airborne and dodging the blast, ignored the chaos behind him and flew over Alex, pointing his wand downward.
"Rebuke!"
With a soft shout, an unseen force erupted instantly, much like when he had previously pushed back Andre and the others, but this time the power was focused in one direction and was much stronger.
"Oh!"
Within just a second after casting the spell, the ground beneath them suddenly sank over a large area, as if a giant beast had trampled it violently.
The rocky floor shattered instantly, turning into powdery dust and stone fragments, while thick smoke billowed up from the shock.
Those pressed against the walls watched in disbelief, swallowing hard.
In truth, they had long since stopped fighting.
Who could have imagined that the clash between these two in the center would be so terrifying, their every move capable of leveling the place?
Even though the "split faction" wizards had agreed to fight under Pete's persuasion, it didn't mean they wanted to die.
If they stayed any longer, many more would be crushed in the fallout from this battle.
Seeing this, Andre, who was organizing the clearing of stone debris near the side gate, shouted at the hesitant separatist wizards, "If you don't want to die, help open a path! Don't you realize the silver wand won't really come?
Haven't you forgotten how Pete treated Michelle and Beyer?"
His words made the wizards pause again.
They knew Andre was right.
The hundreds of imprisoned wizards showed clearly that the club didn't care about anyone else's life.
Even Claremont, a loyal servant of Pete for over ten years, had been arrested and forced to betray others.
That alone said a lot about the silver wand's reputation.
But surrendering without a fight would mean a terrible fate.
Seeing their continued hesitation, Andre pressed on, "I promise, in the name of the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement, if you surrender now, I can guarantee you a lighter sentence during the trial. After all, most of you were tricked, coerced, or lured in by Pete.
Though I'm not deeply involved in this case, I can still make you commit crimes and earn merit for it. Your role is vital to keeping the Ministry of Magic running smoothly!
It's far better than dying here."
After hearing this, everyone's eyes immediately brightened.
You have to understand, Andre's reputation was much more trustworthy compared to Pete's, especially since many of these wizards had only been following orders all along, they were more like accomplices than willing participants.
Suddenly, someone from the crowd spoke up first, breaking the murmurs: "I surrender! I'm willing to commit crimes and make amends!"
Everyone turned to see it was Matt, who had been opposing Andre during the hearing.
This guy had clearly been loyal to Pete before, but now he was the first to switch sides.
Matt hurriedly pushed through the crowd and ran toward Andre along the outer wall.
"Master Andre, I'm here to help now. Please don't attack me. I'm just asking you to save me a few years down the line!"
Encouraged by Matt's example, these wizards, who were divided from the start, hesitated and then one by one followed suit.
Even the most loyal diehards to Pete lowered their wands in despair, realizing the situation was hopeless.
Pete, though the most powerful one left, was being held back by Alex and nearly a hundred others.
After Andre finished dealing with these wizards, Pete, still on the battlefield, completed casting his spell.
The raw power of his magic was overwhelming, everyone expected him to tear the ground apart.
When the thick dust finally settled, the scene became clear: right where Alex had been standing, there was now a huge circular pit more than ten meters wide and over a meter deep.
The walls of the pit were smooth and polished, as if carefully crafted.
But in this massive hole, there was no sign of Alex anywhere!
"Tsk, dodged, huh? Not only are you sharp in attack, but your escape skills are top-notch too."
Pete wasn't surprised at missing Alex this time.
Given his opponent's strength, if it had been that easy to defeat him, it would have been too naive to think otherwise.
"Although that's what you said, the spell you just cast was really frightening. I almost didn't even notice it."
Alex's voice suddenly came from beside Pete, who was hovering in the sky.
Everyone turned toward the sound, only to realize they hadn't noticed when an ink-black, high-necked cloak had appeared on Alex, floating about twenty meters above the ground alongside Pete.
The cloak behind Alex spread out like wings, without any breeze to stir it.
Chuckling, he looked at Pete and said, "That spell just now, though it seemed like a powerful control magic, if I'm not mistaken, what you're really manipulating is pure gravity, right?"
Alex had his doubts about the magic Pete was using ever since Pete began deflecting everyone's spells.
The effect reminded him of the "Shen Luo Tian Zheng," an overwhelmingly powerful technique.
After experiencing Pete's attack up close, Alex was almost certain: Pete's specialty, like the Golden Snidget's, was manipulating gravity.
Honestly, this revelation caught Alex off guard.
He never expected such magic, control over gravity, to exist in this world.
It seemed clear now that Pete truly was one of the club's four veterans, with abilities that rivaled the others.
"I didn't expect that, besides your strength, your vision would be so sharp. Alex, among the new generation of wizards, I doubt anyone can surpass you," Pete admitted, though he kept his praise measured.
Quickly shifting gears, he added, "It would be a shame for someone with such a bright future to die here. Have you thought about joining my sect?
I promise you'll make even greater progress with the silver wand."
Alex shot him a mocking glance.
"You can't even protect yourself right now, so don't talk big. Besides, it's in my best interest to help the German Ministry of Magic at a crucial moment like this."
"Then there's nothing more to discuss," Pete replied coolly.