Translator: AnubisTL
Watching the lava giant plummet into the magma pool, Jieming gasped slightly, the glow of the Great Light Phase behind him dimming noticeably.
The three predictive, precise strikes had consumed little of his rune-imbued magical artifact's energy, but they had drained his mental energy considerably.
The advanced lava giant proved far more formidable than he had anticipated, not only in raw strength but also in its astonishing combat intelligence, strategic acumen, and adaptability.
Jieming's icy gaze remained fixed on the churning lava lake surface, his vigilance unwavering.
He knew that for elemental creatures like this, falling into the magma pool was no different than falling into the Fountain of Resurrection. The damage it had sustained was minor, and it could resume its attack at any moment.
However, while the giant was submerged, Jieming could deal with the "other" enemies.
In truth, even during the life-or-death struggle with the third-tier lava giant, Jieming's focus hadn't been entirely on the creature before him.
The Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror's spirituality was still too rigid to fight autonomously on this level of battlefield. At best, it could assist Jieming in momentarily channeling more power or neutralizing minor harassing attacks.
On a different battlefield, the spirituality of the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror proved sufficient.
During the battle, Jieming simultaneously fought the third-tier lava giant and used High-Frequency Sonic Suppression to control the surroundings.
The widespread high-frequency sound waves were enough to temporarily immobilize the lower-tier lava giants around the two wizards.
Most importantly, Jieming had the Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror activate the rune-imbued magical artifact on his wrist, using a downgraded version of "lava annihilation" to clear out the gradually accumulating first and second-tier lava giants!
His goal was singular: to ensure the other two wizards wouldn't be swarmed and killed by the horde of lava giants!
Jieming's actions weren't driven by altruism, but by cold, rational calculation.
He knew that even if he focused all his attention on defeating the single third-tier lava giant, he couldn't possibly defeat it quickly.
Trapped in this high-temperature, high-pressure underground cavern, surrounded by endless lava lakes, the giant's energy replenishment was nearly inexhaustible.
In such conditions, taking down a third-tier lava giant—a creature inherently stronger than himself—was nearly impossible. Even a war of attrition would be unwinnable.
His only option was to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements from the Wizard Camp to arrive.
Under this strategic imperative, another critical problem arose: the lava giants were continuously receiving reinforcements.
Fortunately, Jieming's fourth-tier shield ensured his immediate safety.
Rather than letting the situation deteriorate, which could lead to the other two wizards being cornered and killed, causing the entire front line to collapse, it was better to divide his energy while dealing with the third-tier lava giant. By helping to clear out the surrounding lava giants, he could alleviate the pressure on the other two wizards.
This indirectly maintained the overall battle situation, preventing himself from being completely surrounded and overwhelmed.
On the battlefield, he was clearly the only one with the capacity to do so.
After all, the second-tier wizard on the other side was already struggling immensely against the third-tier lava giant, having pushed his weakened second-tier "Lava Annihilation" spell to its absolute limit.
Yet, with the help of a second-tier lava giant that had suddenly appeared from somewhere, the third-tier lava giant had sustained no significant damage.
As for the first-tier wizard, there was no need to even mention him.
He was barely clinging to life, struggling to maintain his defensive spells while constantly evading the onslaught of first-tier lava giants and the aftershocks from the third-tier one.
Without Jieming's relentless barrage of fire and clearing of the surrounding mob, he would have collapsed long ago.
Before Jieming could clear much, the lava lake nearby erupted again, and the third-tier lava giant emerged completely unharmed.
"Tch!"
Seeing the lava giant take no damage, Jieming's expression grew impatient, but he rallied himself to face it again.
Soon, he blasted the third-tier lava giant flying once more.
The colossal lava body tumbled through the air before crashing against the stone wall with a deafening crash.
Using this brief respite, Jieming popped a potion to replenish his mental power and began to more deeply analyze the situation.
Although he had already crushed the magic net terminal and sent a distress signal, he knew that rescue would take time. He couldn't place all his hope in reinforcements.
He began to consider whether it was possible to take the enemy down himself.
In this dire situation, what he needed was a thunderous strike that could turn the tide, even determine the outcome of the battle!
He did indeed have quite a few purchased Fourth-Tier Offensive Magical Artifacts on his person.
Each of these artifacts was a masterpiece, containing immense power. If he could land a precise strike, they could indeed instantly kill this third-tier lava giant.
However, the same problem remained.
There was a significant gap between his own level and the artifacts. Simply activating them required an enormous amount of mental power, which would directly interfere with his operation of the Great Light Phase.
Moreover, with his current strength, activating a fourth-tier magical artifact would take nearly a second.
To mortals, this might seem instantaneous and negligible, but for transcendents, a second was an eternity!
A first-tier wizard like Jieming could use his mental power to manipulate hundreds of different rune-imbued magical artifacts in a single second.
Let alone a transcendent being like the third-tier lava giant before him.
Despite its massive size, the lava giant's unique physiology allowed it to achieve terrifyingly fast straight-line sprints.
While less agile and struggling with turns or evasive maneuvers, its linear charges could still outpace a second-tier wizard's flight spell.
If Jieming dared to activate the fourth-tier attack spell artifact in this narrow underground cavern, under the watchful eyes of everyone, it would be suicidal!
The violent energy fluctuations during activation and the brief pause before the attack would be more than enough for the lava giants to anticipate the strike, easily evade it, and even seize the opportunity to counterattack.
So, was there a spell that could both ensure a faster attack and deliver a one-hit kill against the third-tier lava giant before him?
"Yes, brother, yes..." A sudden idea struck Jieming, and a smile spread across his face.
As the idea took shape, a staff-like spell artifact materialized in his hand.
The black staff was capped with a dull, oval crystal.
This was a second-tier "Lava Annihilation" spell artifact.
It had come from Viola, who had half-given, half-sold it to him.
After obtaining this artifact, Jieming finally believed Viola's earlier claims.
Her self-deprecating remarks about her poor alchemy skills hadn't been false modesty—they had been the truth!
Jieming had secretly analyzed the spell artifact. Its internal rune links were crude and rudimentary, and its energy flow was chaotic and disorganized. It was entirely held together by Viola, a third-tier wizard, who had forced it into existence by brute-forcing it with her massive mental power.
The manufacturing methods were so crude that even Jieming, a first-tier wizard well-versed in alchemy, found them hard to stomach.
Yet, regardless of its flaws, the artifact could indeed unleash a second-tier Lava Annihilation.
The theoretical power of a second-tier Lava Annihilation was theoretically sufficient to inflict fatal damage on a third-tier lava giant.
Of course, given the spell's relatively low tier, killing a third-tier lava giant with a second-tier Lava Annihilation required a precise strike to the giant's core areas.
In other words, it had to hit vital spots like the chest or head.
A mere hit on the limbs or the edge of the torso would only cause massive damage, not a fatal blow!
This was also why the second-tier wizard beside them, though wielding a downgraded version of Lava Annihilation, found the battle against the third-tier lava giant so arduous.
In such a fierce battle, with insufficient firepower, landing a precise hit on the lava giant's core was nearly impossible.
Jieming knew all too well that if the target wasn't effectively restrained, even a perfectly released strike might be dodged by the lava giant, wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"So, I just have to wait for the right moment," Jieming reasoned internally.
He needed the perfect opportunity—a moment when the lava giant would be unable to dodge, perhaps even frozen in place.
As he watched the lava giant rise again in the distance, he prepared for battle and casually tossed his short staff behind him.
A silver light flashed. One of the floating cannons that had been hovering behind him, as if possessing spirituality, actively flew forward.
Under Jieming's control, the floating cannon caught the short staff securely with the side of its metal base.
The instant the floating cannon's side met the staff, the metal base's surface automatically opened and closed, instantly forming a side interface that perfectly secured the staff beside the base.
Jieming had granted the authority to activate and fire this spell artifact to the "Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror" hidden deep within his body.
During the previous battle, Jieming had already discovered that while the "Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror," due to its lack of spirituality, was incapable of complex strategic judgment or handling unforeseen problems, its underlying materials gave it computational and reaction capabilities far surpassing his own flesh and blood.
It could instantly process massive amounts of combat data and identify the perfect moment to activate.
Therefore, entrusting the short staff to the "Five Aggregates Rainbow Transformation Mirror" was the most logical choice.
Next, he needed to stay alert and continue stalling, waiting for that unknown opportunity or for reinforcements to arrive.
However, Jieming was also acutely aware that this so-called opportunity might never come.
After all, the lava giant had demonstrated unparalleled mastery of its liquid form during the earlier battle.
Relying on this single spell artifact to turn the tide was nearly impossible.
(End of the Chapter)
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