Roars of slaughter, agonized screams, and deafening explosions converged into a chaotic symphony that echoed endlessly above the battlefield.

  In a massive war of this scale, the strength of an individual seemed insignificant. The true deciding factors were morale, equipment, coordinated teamwork, and adaptable commanding.

  In these aspects, Wizards undoubtedly held a massive advantage over the Turins.

  Setting aside the slave legions used as cannon fodder, both the Silverlight Legion and the Crimson Blaze Legion were equipped with a vast number of Wizards. With Wizards acting as communication mediums—using the Message spell or the higher-tier Whispering Wind—orders could be relayed to any corner of the battlefield instantly.

  The Golem Legion was even more straightforward. Behind every golem was a Wizard issuing commands, and with a single thought, those orders were executed with absolute loyalty.

  Because of this, once the noble infantry and alien slaves at the front lines were mostly depleted and the true core forces of both sides entered the fray, the initially balanced situation began to slowly tilt in favor of Red Maple City.

  The golems swung their massive fists, ruthlessly smashing Church Knights into meat paste with overwhelming force.

  Ordinary Church Knights only possessed the strength of Grand Knights; they were absolutely no match for golems, the weakest of which were equivalent to Tier 1 Legendary Knights.

  It often took dozens of Church Knights just to barely hold off a single Flesh Golem.

  Under the covering fire of the golems, the Legion Knights formed squads and began to systematically slaughter the enemy with cold precision.

  The Winter Frost Priests of the Turin army cast divine spells, attempting to support their comrades. But the next second, a torrential downpour of multicolored spells swept over them, hammering the defensive halos around their bodies until they trembled violently.

  Left with no other choice, they had to shift their targets and begin engaging the Wizards directly.

  The dull, thunderous pounding of hooves shook the earth as the Turin cavalry initiated their charge. They prepared to strike from the flanks, relying on their exceptional mobility and sharp lances to tear through the enemy formations.

  However, they were destined to be disappointed.

  Armored Silverlight Knights and Crimson Blaze Knights intercepted their charge path. Meeting charge with charge, the two sides collided like speeding locomotives. In an instant, a massive mist of blood erupted into the air.

  While the main battlefield raged like a wildfire, the fighting on the flanking battlefields was equally intense.

  The moment the war horn sounded, Pierce had immediately layered dozens of Mage Armor spells onto himself. Without another word, he fused with Silver Star and buffed himself with fifty Earth Runes.

  On a chaotic battlefield, the absolute first priority was protecting oneself; only then could one consider killing the enemy.

  After completing all of this, he finally began to cast spells.

  Magic Missile x5!

  In an instant, over two hundred Magic Missiles poured out like a torrential rainstorm, instantly clearing out a massive swathe of nearby Church Knights.

  To deal with these ordinary Church Knights, there was absolutely no need to use high-tier spells.

  With Pierce's current mental energy level, a single Magic Missile was more than enough to effortlessly eliminate them.

  Even the officers among the Church Knights—those Tier 1 and Tier 2 Legendary Knights—only required a few extra missiles to put down.

  Thus, empowered by numerous Metamagic techniques, Pierce instantly transformed into a ruthless magical turret, frantically unleashing barrages of missiles and rapidly exterminating the surrounding Church Knights.

  The surrounding Wizards watched this scene, utterly dumbfounded.

  "Isn't that number of Magic Missiles a bit too exaggerated?! What's going on?"

  "That has to be Composite Spellcasting, combined with Maximize Spell and Quicken Spell!"

  "Who is that? His strength is terrifying!"

  "Are you blind? That's Pierce!"

  "So it's him!"

  Realization dawned on the Wizards.

  So it was the legendary genius Wizard. No wonder he was so incredibly powerful.

  This spectacle quickly drew the attention of the enemy. Three Winter Frost Priests simultaneously launched a fierce assault on Pierce. In an instant, countless ice blades, ice spikes, and freezing currents hurtled toward him.

  Unfortunately, such meager attacks couldn't even scratch the Mage Armor protecting his body.

  Expressionless, Pierce raised his hand to counterattack. A Lightning Bolt snaked out, instantly turning one of the Winter Frost Priests into a charred husk.

  Then, his figure flickered, appearing behind the second Winter Frost Priest like a ghost. With a single punch, he smashed the Priest's head to pieces.

  Seeing two of his comrades die instantly, the final Winter Frost Priest's expression changed drastically. He retreated frantically, trying to put distance between them. But Pierce casually traced his finger in the air, and a profound, snake-like rune rapidly formed. It shot toward the Winter Frost Priest like an arrow. The moment it made contact, it dismantled into countless translucent, spectral snakes that bound him tightly in place.

  3rd-Circle Spell: Sepia Snake Sigil!

  Before the Winter Frost Priest could even struggle free, his head was abruptly blown apart by Pierce, who had suddenly appeared right in front of him.

  Killing three Winter Frost Priests in the blink of an eye—Pierce's ferocious and ruthless display left the surrounding Free Wizards clicking their tongues in awe. They silently agreed that the rumors of him being a genius capable of killing a Rank 4 Priest were undoubtedly true. For him, slaughtering ordinary Winter Frost Priests was as easy as chopping vegetables.

  "Incredible!"

  Gwendolyn was equally tongue-tied as she watched.

  No matter how many times she heard about Pierce's strength, it couldn't compare to the shock of seeing it with her own eyes.

  "It's too early to be shocked. That kid's power goes far beyond just this."

  Enevia hung leisurely on Gwendolyn's shoulder.

  Strangely, whether it was enemy or ally, everyone seemed to intentionally or unintentionally ignore her existence.

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  Even in the heat of battle, the enemies' attacks subconsciously avoided Gwendolyn's shoulder.

  "Don't zone out on the battlefield! Enemies incoming!"

  Enevia's voice snapped Gwendolyn back to reality.

  The young woman narrowly dodged a thrusting lance, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on her back. Recovering her wits, she angrily threw a gemstone, attacking the Winter Frost Priest who had tried to ambush her.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The battlefield was saturated with the blinding glows of spells and divine magic. Ice, fire, and lightning crisscrossed the sky, and deafening explosions echoed endlessly.

  After Pierce displayed his terrifyingly tyrannical combat power, the Church Knights and Acolytes fearfully avoided him. Only Winter Frost Priests, joining forces, dared to engage him.

  Pierce didn't mind. After all, killing Winter Frost Priests yielded far more Merit Points than killing the former.

  For a Free Wizard like him who had answered the Call to Arms, every enemy killed on the battlefield was converted into Merit Points, which could be exchanged for resources after the war.

  A Rank 1 Winter Frost Priest was worth 100 Merit Points. A Rank 2 Winter Frost Priest was worth 300 Merit Points. A Rank 3 Priest was worth 500. A Rank 4 Priest was worth 1,000.

  Even killing the weaker Church Knights and Acolytes yielded Merit Points.

  As long as he survived until the end of the war, the Merit Points he would earn would absolutely dwarf what he could make painstakingly running individual missions!

  As for how the points were calculated and whether any would be missed, the Free Wizards didn't need to worry about that.

  A single Wizard Tower could effortlessly monitor the entire battlefield. The processing power of the Tower Spirit Constructs guaranteed that no miscalculations would occur.

  Therefore, Pierce went all out, fully intending to earn a massive stockpile of Merit Points during this war.

  Opportunities like this didn't come around often.

  Just then, Pierce suddenly felt a bone-piercing chill creeping up his back.

  With a single thought, a mass of silver liquid metal rapidly seeped out from his back, forming a metallic shield that hovered behind him.

  The next moment, countless ice blades slammed into the metal shield with a deafening crash.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Massive cracks instantly webbed across the surface of the metal shield. An extreme cold radiated outward, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet by dozens of degrees in an instant.

  Pierce turned around and saw that the one who had ambushed him was a tall, gaunt man with a solemn expression. The five snowflake patterns embroidered on his sleeves were exceptionally conspicuous.

  A Rank 5 Priest!

  Sizzle!

  Seeing that the gaunt Priest's attention was focused entirely on Pierce, a Rank 1 Wizard seized the opportunity to sneak behind him for a surprise attack. However, the moment the Scorching Ray he fired touched the Priest's body, it was instantly frozen solid, shattering into pieces as it fell to the ground.

  The gaunt Priest turned his head coldly and pointed a finger. Dozens of lotus-shaped ice crystals materialized out of thin air and shot toward the Wizard like a volley of arrows.

  The Wizard's expression changed, and he raised his hand to release a fireball to intercept them.

  But despite their small size, the ice crystals instantly froze the fireball solid upon contact. Without losing any momentum, they struck the Wizard directly.

  Before he could even let out a scream, the sound of rapid cracking echoed from his body as thick layers of solid ice rapidly encased him. In the blink of an eye, the Wizard was transformed into an ice sculpture.

  Seeing the gaunt Priest instantly eliminate a Rank 1 Wizard with a single exchange, the expressions of the surrounding Wizards changed drastically, and they backed away without hesitation.

  In an instant, a large empty space opened up around the gaunt Priest and Pierce.

  Neither man wasted any words; they immediately charged at one another.

  The gaunt Priest made a grasping motion, pulling a chunk of solid ice out of the void, and threw it onto the ground. A crisp crack echoed as the ice rapidly expanded, transforming into a three-meter-tall Glacial Giant that lumbered heavily toward Pierce.

  Pierce chuckled coldly. A layer of crackling electricity had already enveloped his body, the previous Earth Runes having long since been replaced by Lightning Runes.

  Dense clusters of silver liquid metal seeped from his body. Once detached, they rapidly solidified into dozens of silver spikes. Their chillingly sharp tips pointed directly at the Glacial Giant.

  What was astonishing was that these silver spikes were all wreathed in blazing lightning. Just looking at them made one feel as if their eyes were being scorched.

  Silver Star Fusion + Lightning Runes x50!

  This was already Pierce's strongest combat form, barring the activation of the Body of Silver!

  Screech!

  Accompanied by ear-piercing sonic booms, the silver spikes shot forward like streaks of lightning.

  Dense, blue-and-white trajectories instantly illuminated the void.

  The charging Glacial Giant was instantly shredded and annihilated by the countless bolts of lightning, vaporizing on the spot!

  Without losing momentum, the lightning swept toward the gaunt Priest like a violent hurricane.

  Sensing the torrential energy bearing down on him, the gaunt Priest's expression changed drastically. He cast a divine defensive spell without hesitation. A massive array of ice crystals materialized, wrapping him in layer upon layer until he resembled a giant ice sphere.

  The next instant, the myriad bolts of lightning arrived, striking the ice sphere almost simultaneously.

  The violent, blazing electrical energy erupted, instantly blasting the ice sphere to pieces!

  However, having lost the vast majority of its kinetic energy, the residual lightning was unable to harm the gaunt Priest inside, slowly dissipating into the air.

  But before the gaunt Priest could even sigh in relief, he suddenly realized that Pierce was no longer standing in front of him.

  Crap!

  The moment the ominous thought arose, the gaunt Priest caught a glimpse of Pierce appearing behind him out of the corner of his eye.

  3rd-Circle Spell: Blink!

  The gaunt Priest's face contorted in horror. He immediately tried to turn around and defend himself, but before he could move, Pierce had already raised a hand and pointed it at him. A pale gray magical aura instantly emerged, expanded, and swept over his body.

  The shimmering magical aura instantly froze the man entirely in place.

  3rd-Circle Spell: Hold Person!

  After learning 3rd-Circle spells, Pierce hadn't just optimized them; he had also selected a few highly practical combat spells and inscribed them directly onto his Spirit Crystal.

  Hold Person was one of them.

  Optimized and inscribed, the spell's power far exceeded its ordinary counterpart. Furthermore, it was cast by Pierce—a freak whose mental strength was higher than many Rank 2 Wizards. Its power was so overwhelming that even a Rank 5 Priest was forcefully immobilized for a full second.

  And a single second was more than enough to determine the outcome of a battle!

  Pierce threw a punch, landing squarely on the gaunt Priest's head. The violent lightning clinging to his fist erupted, instantly shredding every divine defensive spell on the Priest's body and completely engulfing everything above his chest!

  By the time the lightning dissipated, the gaunt Priest's head and neck had completely vanished.

  The headless corpse swayed for a moment before collapsing forward with a heavy thud.

  Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether ally or enemy, drew a sharp breath. Their mouths went dry, and they were struck with inexplicable terror.

  A majestic Rank 5 Priest had been killed just like that?

  Almost entirely without the ability to fight back!

  For a moment, the gazes directed at Pierce were filled with unconcealable awe, and even fear.

  Pierce completely ignored the surrounding stares. Expressionless, he withdrew his fist and continued charging toward the other Winter Frost Priests.

  The number of combatants on the flanking battlefields was far fewer than the main battlefield, and the concentration of powerhouses was relatively lower as well.

  There were only a few Rank 3 Wizards engaged in fierce combat with High Priests.

  A High Priest was a tier above a Combat Priest in the Winter Frost Church. They possessed immense power; even against a Rank 3 Wizard, they wouldn't lose ground.

  More importantly, High Priests often wielded Quasi-Divine Artifacts.

  The power a Quasi-Divine Artifact could unleash in their hands far exceeded what Pierce had witnessed from the Rank 4 Priest, Maynard.

  Even Pierce didn't want to face opponents of that caliber right now.

  Therefore, he carefully avoided the areas where those powerhouses were clashing, focusing solely on hunting down Winter Frost Priests further away.

  Unless they were Rank 6 Priests or Rank 5 Priests wielding Quasi-Divine Artifacts, virtually no Winter Frost Priest could last more than three or four exchanges against him.

  For a time, Pierce became a true God of Slaughter on the battlefield. Wherever he went, Winter Frost Priests fled in terror.

  Watching this from afar whenever she could spare a glance, Gwendolyn could only repeatedly label him a freak in her mind.

  "ROAR!"

  An earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from the distance.

  A bone-piercing chill abruptly descended upon the battlefield.

  Crack! Crack!

  Thick layers of solid ice rapidly froze across the ground, and countless snowflakes began to drift slowly from the sky.

  "Domain of Winter Frost!"

  Wizards exclaimed in low voices, their expressions instantly turning solemn.

  But that wasn't all. Accompanied by rolling bestial roars, massive, wolf-like beasts—whose bodies seemed entirely composed of solid ice, looking as if they were carved from crystal—abruptly joined the battlefield, baring their razor-sharp fangs as they lunged at the surrounding Wizards.

  "Winter Frost Behemoths!" Gwendolyn gasped, her eyes going wide. "And so many of them!"

  As the holy beasts of the Winter Frost Church, the Winter Frost Behemoths naturally possessed a terrifying reputation.

  Even their base combat power was only slightly weaker than a Rank 2 Wizard. An ordinary Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizard was absolutely no match for one in a head-on fight.

  And now, buffed by the Domain of Winter Frost, even Rank 2 Wizards would find them incredibly troublesome to deal with.

  With the sudden appearance of five or six hundred Winter Frost Behemoths, the Turins' previously precarious situation instantly stabilized.

  And Pierce, who had been heavily in the limelight just moments ago, instantly became the primary target for a pack of Winter Frost Behemoths