Thunderous Counterattack!
His casting speed was no match for hers. Keep chanting any longer, and he'd be the first one to die. Mo Fan had no choice but to abandon his incomplete Star Chart and let out a sharp whistle for the Gloom Wolf Beast.
The Gloom Wolf Beast read his intent instantly, breaking into a full sprint toward him.
As the beast charged past, Mo Fan seized two fistfuls of its long blue fur and vaulted nimbly onto its back.
"Run — away from the center of the tornado!" Mo Fan shouted.
The beast bolted, dust churning in its wake. A second's more hesitation and they'd have been dragged into the ten-meter suction zone of the Wind Disk: Tornado, which would have ground their speed to nothing.
The Gloom Wolf Beast tore across the arena with Mo Fan on its back. It was fortunate the iron-cage barrier field was large enough — hopefully they could outrun this raging storm.
"Nowhere left to run!"
They had sprinted from the center of the arena all the way to the far edge of the barrier. *Damn,* Mo Fan thought.
He glanced back at the Wind Disk: Tornado — its ferocity barely diminished — and desperately wanted to shout something obscene at Mu Nujiao. Not that she'd hear a word over the roar of the storm.
"*Hmmmm—*"
The Gloom Wolf Beast let out a low rumble, nudging Mo Fan toward the farthest corner of the barrier.
Before Mo Fan could even respond, the beast had already pivoted to face the oncoming Wind Disk: Tornado, its green eyes locked onto it with unwavering intensity.
**RAAAH!**
**RAAAH!**
**RAAAH!**
The Gloom Wolf Beast reared its head and launched three consecutive blasts of Sand Tempest at the approaching cyclone.
Sand Tempest also harnessed wind energy — the beast was trying to use its own wind breath to break the tornado apart.
But Sand Tempest was no match for an Intermediate-Level Wind Element spell. It was like a kindergartner throwing every ounce of their weight against a grown man — utterly, pointlessly ineffective.
"*Errrrrooooooo—*"
The Gloom Wolf Beast seemed to accept that nothing it had tried made any difference. Yet it threw back its head and let out a long, defiant howl.
Before Mo Fan could issue any command, the beast exploded into a sprint — charging headlong to meet the Intermediate-Level spell with nothing but its own body.
"Gloom Wolf Beast!" Mo Fan stared, unable to move.
*It was going to ram the Wind Disk: Tornado itself?*
Mo Fan remembered all too clearly — even the ferocious One-Eyed Demon Wolf, which had once been the Gloom Wolf Beast's equal in strength, might not have survived a full Intermediate-Level spell. If the beast slammed straight into it and was flung back, it might not die outright, but every bone in its body would shatter.
Through the swirling yellow sand, the beast's silhouette grew faster and less distinct.
Then Mo Fan watched, helpless, as the Gloom Wolf Beast drove itself directly into the very heart of the Wind Disk: Tornado...
The impact launched the beast violently into the air, carrying it higher and higher.
Fortunately, the beast's sacrifice had worked. The Wind Disk: Tornado finally stopped advancing, and as the beast was hurled skyward, its force visibly began to wane.
On the far side of the raging wind, Mu Nujiao caught sight of the Gloom Wolf Beast tumbling through the storm.
As the Wind Disk's power finally collapsed, the Summoned Beast plummeted from over thirty meters in the air...
Already dizzy from spinning inside the cyclone, the Gloom Wolf Beast had no way to orient itself during the fall. It was entirely possible it would land headfirst — and a landing like that could be fatal.
"Rise!"
Mu Nujiao thrust her palm upward. Just as the beast was about to slam into the ground, she seized the dying remnants of the wind and shaped them into a small cyclone that softened its descent.
The Gloom Wolf Beast hit the ground hard — bones cracking on impact. Getting back up was going to be nearly impossible.
The Wind Disk: Tornado had come fast and dispersed just as quickly. From the far end of the barrier, Mo Fan saw that the Gloom Wolf Beast wasn't in mortal danger, and a quiet breath escaped him.
"Thanks for going easy on it — but I'm not conceding just yet." Mo Fan's gaze was sharp as a blade as he fixed his eyes on Mu Nujiao across the arena.
He had sensed from the very beginning that this woman was dangerous. His instincts hadn't been wrong.
The Gloom Wolf Beast had spent the last of its strength to deflect that Intermediate-Level attack for him. He couldn't let that loyalty go to waste.
"Then show me what you're really made of," Mu Nujiao said.
Mo Fan quickly recalled the heavily wounded Gloom Wolf Beast into its dimensional space. The beast had fought long enough on his behalf — this woman, he would handle himself.
Mu Nujiao didn't waste a second either. The moment Wind Disk: Tornado dispersed, she was already weaving another Star Chart — the rapid succession of Star Trails flickering around her body made that unmistakable.
*Not a chance.* Mo Fan had no intention of letting her fire off another Intermediate-Level spell.
He shot his palm upward. A single violet Star Trail completed in an instant.
Purple Lightning Seals materialized above his head, and the moment he clenched his fist, they streaked across the arena — still scarred by the tornado's passage — straight toward Mu Nujiao as she traced her Star Chart.
Seeing the Lightning Seals incoming, Mu Nujiao had no choice but to move. The Star Trail she'd been on the verge of completing shattered mid-construction.
Linking Star Motes demanded absolute mental focus from a Mage. The slightest disruption during Control would unravel all progress.
Mu Nujiao was genuinely surprised. Her opponent hadn't tried to meet her Intermediate-Level magic head-on — instead he'd used a Basic-Level Lightning Seal to interrupt her Release. And annoyingly, it had worked.
The distance between them was large enough that Mu Nujiao didn't even need a movement skill to evade the incoming Lightning Seals — a simple sidestep was enough.
But while Mu Nujiao was busy dodging, a web of interlacing Star Trails had already begun to form around Mo Fan on the other side of the arena...
The Star Trails swiftly wove themselves into a complete Lightning Element Star Chart, pulling every thread of energy from the Star Nebula and channeling it all into Mo Fan's body.
His hair stood on end, wild electricity crackling around him. Mo Fan let out a shout, index finger thrust toward the sky — guiding the thunder surging from the Star Nebula into a storm cloud, igniting it into Thunderbolt!
The Intermediate-Level Lightning Element spell took shape — and sure enough, a roiling thundercloud materialized directly above Mu Nujiao.
**CRACK!**
A piercing shriek of electricity, the thundercloud blazing white.
A blinding violet pillar of lightning tore free, ripping the air apart with savage force and crashing down onto the spot where Mu Nujiao stood!
Thunderbolt and Wind Disk: Tornado were utterly different in nature.
Wind Disk: Tornado first evacuated the surrounding air, then formed its coiling cyclone, then swept outward in all directions.
Thunderbolt was ruthlessly direct — down from the sky, clean and final.
Its destructive power couldn't match the wide-area devastation of Wind Disk: Tornado — but land a direct hit, and it was an instant kill. The raw power was terrifying.