Amongst the eight senior Pacifer's Servants in the formation was Georgios Lamviros, Xander's second-in-command in the old days. As the second strongest person in the Burning Hammer Legion, he had faced countless abominations that could erase a small country with one attack. Nothing could make him sweat. It was, of course, when he still had his ninth Magic Circle.
Standing before Galvin with his fellows, despite being in a Magic Battle Formation, he didn't feel safe. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he thought about the way to beat the Ninth Magic Circle before them. He and his fellows had been one. They knew well what capabilities a Ninth Circle Mage had.
Inspecting his surroundings quickly made him recall what happened a minute earlier. The Formation that Basil created allowed one of them to get out of the formation to fight the enemy and still had his power boosted. Despite so, none of them did that. It was a good choice.
Out of the eight of them, three were outstanding Battle Mages. They could take Galvin's head easily had they still had their ninth Magic Circle. Regardless of their skills in close combat, they attacked Galvin using Spells along with the others. They weren't too well-versed in Spells, but their help managed to make Galvin wary of them.
Saying that they overwhelmed him was, of course, an exaggeration. The most they had done to him was make him sweat. It was a huge achievement for a bunch of Eighth Circle Mages, yet it didn't make any of them happy. How could they be? Each of them was formerly stronger than the brat they were fighting.
Galvin showcased why a Ninth Circle Mage was worthy to be feared soon. After trading hundreds of Spells; he used one of his aces, something that only Ninth Circle Mages could master, Spatial Magic.
The eight senior Pacifer's Servants understood Spatial Magic just as well, if not better than him, but the Magic Circle they had lost forbade them from doing what they knew well. Luckily, they were together on this. Thanks to that, they managed to survive the sphere that erased anything it touched.
"My grandfather still couldn't get over his fear for you lot until the last day of his life. Despite having crippled you himself, he always dreamt about you getting back to the surface and exacting revenge. He killed himself because he didn't want that to happen."
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ Galvin's words were out of the blue, so Georgios couldn't help quirking an eyebrow. "Your grandfather was mental, wasn't he? Who is this grandfather of yours anyway?"
"I don't think you are worthy to know his name but I will tell you because I am going to kill you. I am the descendant of Aluin D'Arch. Today, on behalf of my grandfather, I will put an end to your pathetic lives!"
"Aluin? That bastard?"
Georgios and his fellows involuntarily chortled at the mention of the name. Aluin D'Arch was the good-for-nothing—as they liked to call him—who dreaded going to the battlefield every day. They still remembered how he cried when his feet were cut off. They remembered well how much he hated them for putting him on the front line.
Aluin was by no means talented. He had a chance to become a Ninth Circle Mage but his nature made it impossible for him to ever become one. Georgios and his fellows were sure he remained the way he was until he died. Therefore, it was baffling to know that he had such an ambitious descendant.
"It's a good thing that you don't inherit your grandfather's personality. Your talent is so-so—you would have ended up as a bigger loser than your grandfather was," Georgios spat mockingly.
"This wanker…" Galvin clenched his fist tightly. "Let's see who will laugh in the end."
Georgios immediately noticed the expression on Galvin's face and became serious. As hilarious as the situation was, Galvin was still a threat. They wouldn't be able to defeat him but they couldn't die quickly. They needed to buy time.
"[Sun Hunter]!"
"[Erased]!"
Both parties sent their Spells at each other before teleporting away. The eight former Ninth Circle Mages had their gigantic arrow made out of Mana flying at Galvin rapidly, meanwhile, the Ninth Circle Mage flicked his finger, sending a marble-sized black sphere.
As the two Spells collided, both of them immediately disappeared. A blinding light illuminated the world, obstructing everyone's view. At the same time, hundreds of square metres of land disappeared. No one but the fighting parties that a huge chunk of the ground had been obliterated because of their clash. It didn't make any sound.
When the light died down, the crater was revealed. It was 200 metres deep and 600 metres wide. It was mind-boggling to see so much damage was done by a single clash. The fact that the two parties weren't even serious yet further made the situation worrying.
No one stopped fighting but they got nervous as they saw each party stand at the opposite edge of the crater. Should the worst case happen, all of them would be obliterated in the clash.
"The moment we run out of Mana will be the end of us. Fortunately, this brat is not talented—we can play with him long enough to let Anthony and others finished the Empire's soldiers," Georgios muttered. "Everyone, do your best!"
"Hooh!"
Clasping their hands, lightning enveloped each of them. A vortex appeared in the sky and it turned dark in the blink of an eye. Galvin looked up and smirked. He couldn't understand why the eight fossils thought the lightning attack they were preparing would be enough to take him down.
Pointing his finger to the sky, an arrow-shaped black matter materialized above his finger. Without wasting any more time, he shot it at the vortex in the sky. Lightning bolts tried to hit it but they ultimately failed. The arrow managed to enter the eye of the vortex and nothing would stop it.
When the Spell was about to take effect—as it was about to push everything away—Galvin was shocked by the appearance of another vortex above him. He tried to teleport but the space around him was sealed. As he panicked, a pillar of lightning descended on him, engulfing him. He managed to surround himself with a Barrier but he still lost control over his body.
Watching it from afar with every hair on their body standing up because of the electricity in the air, Georgios and his fellows gulped in anticipation. Galvin was caught off guard. If he suffered quite heavily from the attack, their chance of defeating him would dramatically rise. They wished that would be the case but it wasn't.
When the pillar of lightning disappeared, Galvin was revealed. At the same time, they lost control over the space surrounding him. Some parts of his body were charred and his whole body was steaming. He looked worse for wear and detached because quite a lot of his nerves had been charred.
Despite his state, however, the eight former Ninth Circle Mages didn't dare to approach. They knew how resilient a Ninth Circle Mage was, so they didn't want to make a fool of themselves and die.
"He seems out of it," one of the senior Pacifer's Servants remarked. "Though, I don't want to take a risk and make sure if it is the case."
"Let's seal the space around him again. We will see how he will react to it," Georgios suggested solemnly.
Extending their hands, the Spellcasters flipped their Grimoires open meanwhile the Battle Mages influenced the space with their Mana. As the Spellcasters chanted their Spells, the Battle Mages' Mana solidified the space around Galvin. When the Spells had been fully cast, the space was completely sealed.
Even if he tried to run away, Galvin wouldn't be able to. This means they could bombard him with all kinds of attacks and he could only defend himself. Given what would happen, Galvin should move by then. He would only kill himself if he kept pretending. He didn't move, which further convinced the eight senior Pacifer's Servants that he was indeed out cold.
They looked at each other before nodding their heads in agreement. It was time to take the risk.
Before they could move, however, Galvin straightened himself. It was disappointing but also relieving at the same time; they hadn't gone there to seal him for nought. The relief soon turned into a frown and wariness the moment they saw his wide grin. One didn't need to be a genius to tell something was going to happen.
Swoosh!
Galvin didn't betray their expectation. Even faster than their eyes could blink, he appeared before them as if he was unaffected by their attack.
"Have you forgotten that sealing someone's space also exposes your space to your enemy?" he exclaimed.
With sweat dripping down the side of their forehead, the eight former Ninth Circle Mages erected the strongest Barrier they had in their disposals. They cursed themselves inwardly for underestimating Galvin's capability; they didn't expect him to be able to do what a few of them could do.
A drill made out of Mana spun before them, digging into their Barrier. Cracks appeared on their Barrier rapidly. They had no way to stop it, so they could only silently wish what would come wouldn't sting much. Covering themselves with another Barrier, they accepted their fate.
Boom!
As the Barrier shattered, the eight former Ninth Circle Mages were blasted away. The impact of Galvin's attack was greater than they expected. They gritted their teeth as some of their ribs were broken. Fortunately, that was the only injury they sustained. Unfortunately, Galvin didn't have any plan to let any of them go.
As the most provocative one, Georgios was Galvin's main target. The former Ninth Circle Mage had seen it coming, so he was ready to face Galvin. He would lose—he was sure about it. Without the aid of the Formation, he was no different from a child before Galvin.
Quick casting everything he had written in his Grimoire; he sent all kinds of attacks at Galvin. Galvin paid no mind to it. He merely swept the air with his hand and the attacks sent at him disappeared at once. Glancing at Georgios afterwards, he teleported before the said former Ninth Circle Mage.
"Keuk!" Georgios groaned as Galvin grabbed his neck.
"Look into my eyes and tell me what you see!" Galvin shouted.
"The great Georgios Lamviros," Georgios answered with a grin.
Galvin gritted his teeth and said nothing. He didn't want to argue anymore. Gathering his Mana at the tip of his fingers, he cast a Spell that would reduce Georgios to ashes. Georgios was ready to accept his fate; however, at that moment, what they had been waiting for arrived.