Chapter 167: Abandonment

“Blink.” The old man quickly reacted, sensing Helag behind him, but remained motionless.

As Helag’s punch neared the old man’s head, he still didn’t use any shield, allowing Helag’s fist to approach.

Though puzzled, Helag couldn’t stop his attack.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Helag hit nothing as the old man vanished.

A strong magical wave came from behind, and a massive ice spike struck Helag’s back.

He was sent rolling across the ground.

Though his back hurt, he was mostly unharmed.

With Absolute Defense, Dark Armor, and his strong physique, Helag suffered little damage.

Helag faced the airborne old man. “Spatial defense magic?”

“Correct,” the old man sneered.

From the start, the old man hadn’t dodged. As Helag’s fist approached, space warped, and Helag appeared ahead.

The old man needed no shield spells; his innate spatial magic automatically warped space, redirecting attacks.

For close-combat fighters like Helag, this made the old man nearly invincible.

Helag’s attacks couldn’t reach him, rendering even the strongest blows useless.

Realizing this, Helag stood still, watching the old man without attacking.

“Ice Rain.” The old man gathered ice energy, sending a barrage of ice spikes down.

Helag focused intensely, swiftly dodging the spikes.

His speed, aided by Deep Blue, allowed him to evade each spike.

Seconds later, the ground was littered with ice spikes, but Helag stood unscathed.

He smiled at the old man, still not attacking.

The old man, irritated by Helag’s taunting smile, realized, “You’re stalling.”

Helag remained passive, simply watching

.

The old man’s attacks couldn’t quickly defeat Helag, creating a stalemate.

Helag’s intent was clear: delay until reinforcements arrived.

But the old man couldn’t wait; he needed to seize the wizard array’s control.

If the Terchy family arrived, even as a crystallized wizard, he might not escape Blackrock Valley.

Feeling the pressure, the old man watched Helag retreat and probe the edges, growing more frustrated.

Without defeating Helag, he couldn’t seize control.

Yet Helag’s speed, strength, and resilience exceeded expectations. Without a decisive fight, he couldn’t win quickly.

Time was crucial.

“Freeze!”

The old man clenched his hand, rapidly lowering the temperature around Helag, encasing him in thick ice.

This first-level ice spell could imprison someone in ice for a long time.

But.

Crack!

Electricity crackled over Helag, cracking the ice, which shattered with a pop, freeing him.

The old man exhaled, unsurprised.

Helag’s resilience made binding spells ineffective.

Weighing his options, the old man retrieved the red crystal from the ground.

He flew toward Blackrock Valley’s exit, abandoning the array control plan.

With Helag’s interference, success was impossible.

He couldn’t waste more time, or he’d die there.

Helag watched him fly away, following at a distance.

Seeing the old man leave Blackrock Valley confirmed he’d abandoned the plan.

“Decisive,” Helag thought.

The Moss family had likely prepared for this plan for ages, making its abandonment a huge loss.

Once outside Blackrock Valley, the old man couldn’t easily return.

The wizard array had identity recognition; without another teleportation array, he couldn’t re-enter.

After the old man left, Helag went to check the residential area.

Corpses littered the ground, houses smashed by ice spikes, the air thick with blood.

Helag found no survivors; all were slaughtered.

Wizard apprentices and knights were helpless against a crystallized wizard.

Surviving Malcolm had been a miracle for Helag.

Barty’s timely arrival had saved him; any delay would’ve been fatal.

These people had worked diligently, seeing the Terchy family as a path to a better future.

Who’d have thought disaster would strike, killing many in their sleep?

Helag felt life’s fragility anew; without strength, one couldn’t control their fate.

Without his power, he’d have died by Terry’s hand.

Helag reached Blackrock Valley’s entrance, where a castle housed a few surviving knights and apprentices.

It was their turn to guard, sparing them from disaster.

The old man had seen them but was too focused on leaving to attack.

“My lord!” They emerged from the castle upon seeing Helag.

Helag, back to his original form in fresh clothes, said, “Stay here. Reinforcements are coming.”

Seeing Helag reassured them; a formal wizard gave them confidence.

They didn’t grasp the gap between Helag and the old man; to them, all formal wizards were equally strong.

Hours later, Brack arrived at Blackrock Valley’s entrance, cautiously observing inside.

Though Helag had informed him of the enemy’s retreat via rune stone, he remained wary.

Brack suspected the rune stone’s user might be an enemy, setting a trap.

He’d expected Helag dead, so the rune stone’s user could be an enemy.

Thus, he didn’t enter immediately, observing with the Terchy family.

Helag stood atop the entrance castle. Seeing him, Brack was surprised.

Sensing the wizard array’s control remained, Brack felt relieved.