"You bet!"
After David's explanation, the battle-focused apprentices all looked at Charlie with admiration. If Colin hadn't stopped him, David might have blurted out Charlie's hidden abilities.
But at that moment, the battlefield saw some changes.
The fishmen leader finally made a move. It somehow produced a crude wooden totem and tossed it into the densest group. The totem released a barrage of silver-white plasma balls, electricity crackling, filling the air with thunderous sounds, enveloping a three-meter radius.
The apprentices within the plasma field one by one collapsed to the ground, convulsing, eyes rolling back, hair standing on end. In an instant, their clothes were shredded and burning. The fishmen weren't spared either, stunned and immobilized - perhaps accustomed to the leader's indiscriminate area-of-effect attacks, the fishmen's lightning resistance was far greater than the apprentices', the plasma only temporarily incapacitating them.
"Lightning Totem!" someone cried out. "Quick, destroy it!"
The appearance of this spell meant a very troublesome fishmen class had joined the fray - the fishmen shaman, and a high-ranking one at that, a master of the essence of nature magic, proficient in lightning and healing.
Charlie nocked an arrow, drawing the bow with fluid speed, hardly aiming before letting it fly.
Bulls-eye!
The arrow pierced through the wooden totem, toppling the Lightning Totem. The electric arcs flickered and faded.
"Nice shot!" the apprentices exclaimed admiringly.
That was a technically impressive shot - fast and accurate.
The apprentices' praise not only drew attention to Charlie, but also the fishmen leader's wrath.
Wuk-ka!
With an angry roar, the fishmen leader began chanting a spell, swinging its coral staff. The spell seemed rather lengthy, and the azure gem at the staff's tip lit up, brewing a glowing red plasma.
In the blink of an eye, a massive plasma ball hurtled towards Charlie...
Suddenly, Charlie felt as if he had plunged into an icy abyss, an indescribable sense of crisis gripping his heart, his eyelids twitching. His chip blared the highest-level warning in his mind.
"Caution! Extremely dangerous energy field approaching!""Caution! Extremely dangerous energy field approaching!"
The bright red glow, unlike the usual pale blue lightning, and the slow speed of the plasma ball's flight - he instinctively side-stepped, evading the impact point.
Charlie sensed a powerful mental lock-on, the plasma ball's trajectory slightly shifting under the psychic pull, a straight line targeting him.
Tracking Lightning Bolt! This must be a level 5 spell!
A guaranteed-hit level 5 spell against a mage apprentice - without high-level magical defenses, it would be a certain death sentence.
The onlookers paled, feeling the noose tightening around the young man's neck, the Grim Reaper descending.
Charlie's expression changed drastically. He snatched a long sword from a gawking apprentice, then shoved those around him away.
"Scatter, all of you!"
Charlie shouted, planting the sword in the rock and discarding his longbow. Taking up his wand staff, he began chanting spell after spell, various auras manifesting around him.
Arcane Shield, Basic Radiant Bulwark, Basic Mana Absorption Shield, Arcane Armor - four apprentice-level defensive spells gave Charlie a glimmer of hope.
In that moment, the battlefield seemed to freeze, most eyes fixed on Charlie.
A water dragon surged from his hands, rushing to meet the Tracking Lightning Bolt. As the dragon's head consumed the plasma, a heart-wrenching crimson lightning bolt shot towards Charlie with blinding speed, then abruptly plunged down, following the dragon's tail into the long sword.
Boom!
A lightning column as thick as a barrel hit the massive boulder under Charlie, flipping him into a somersault. The hundreds of tons of rock split in two, wisps of smoke rising, a clear lightning fissure visible on the side.
"Charlie!" The Gusta brothers cried out, rushing over.
Just then, a clear shout rang out on the battlefield, a shard of ice hurtling towards the fishmen leader - the caster was Qingyan.
"Qingyan, you!" The youth beside her exclaimed.
The battlefield once again descended into chaos.
The fishmen leader's offensive was finally unleashed in full force.
Stone Skin Totem, Scorching Totem, Life Spring Totem, Lightning Bolt, Fishmen Summon, Nature's Healing...
One totem after another was planted on the battlefield, providing the fishmen army with continuous buffs. Simultaneously, spells rained down on both fishmen and apprentices - the mortally wounded fishmen were healed, while the apprentices gaining the upper hand were struck by magic, their protective gear triggered one by one, the tide ebbing and flowing.
In a matter of moments, the battle situation had reversed again.
Instant casting, rapid spell weaving, magic enhancement - the fishmen leader's mastery of the shaman's versatile techniques was on full display.
"D*mn this beast! So annoying!" cursed an apprentice.
A Nature's Healing had nearly undone all his hard-fought efforts, the wounds on a fishmen warrior rapidly closing, the weakened fighter regaining its ferocity.
A level 3 Nature's Healing shouldn't have such astonishing regenerative power - it must have been enhanced by a magic amplification effect. Battlefield healing was always the most sought-after role, unfortunately on the enemy's side this time.
Colin was struck from behind, focusing to fend off the fishmen's attacks.
David quickly helped Charlie to his feet. Upon closer inspection, Charlie's clothes were disheveled, his hair tousled, looking somewhat worse for wear, but his spirit seemed unaffected.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Charlie said, rubbing his leg and wincing, still feeling a tingling sensation in his palm, shaken by the experience.
"Big bro, that was a level 5 spell! And an enhanced level 5 spell at that!! Are you sure you're alright? You got blasted away!" David exclaimed.
Eileen checked Charlie's condition, disbelieving.
Charlie smiled, not explaining. "What's the situation now?"
"Qingyan has drawn the fishmen leader's attention, it's a free-for-all now."
"Alright, everyone get ready! My leg's a bit numb, I just need to rest a bit."
Charlie's quiver was empty, six arrows having taken down six fishmen, three of them fishmen leaders - the first echelon of the fishmen force.
Under the Gusta brothers' protection, Charlie began observing the overall battlefield situation.
Soon, all the data was recorded in his mind: the numbers, injury statuses, individual stats of both apprentices and fishmen. Likely no one understood the battle's trajectory better than him. Following the current data, he could easily extrapolate the eventual outcome.
Charlie warned, "At this rate, we'll lose. You all need to conserve your strength, we need to figure out a way to retreat."
"Understood."
Charlie had a question - this war seemed senseless, why did they have to fight the fishmen all-out? What ulterior motives did the crystal-badged apprentice who led the pre-battle mobilization have?
From the start of the battle, Charlie had kept part of his attention on that apprentice. His expression didn't suggest deep hatred towards the fishmen, yet he constantly incited and provoked the relations between the two tribes, while not fully committing himself.
Charlie asked, "Who exactly is that apprentice with the crystal badge who was just speaking? Why is he the one leading the apprentices?"
David snorted, "His name is Peter, the son of the Duke of Wellington. Rumor has it he's the top potential student in this cohort, taken as an apprentice by Lord Archmage Ferienand. He's considered the most gifted representative of our generation. This guy loves to show off, especially in the public eye."
Colin added, "Don't say he's leading, it's more like he's inciting everyone. Why are we fighting the fishmen leader to the death? That leader has been on the Sogo Tidal Flats for years, and there's never been a large-scale clash between apprentices and the fishmen army before. We just need to temporarily leave the beach and maintain skirmishes, it'll soon retreat to its lair on that small island out at sea."
He pointed to a black speck in the distance, several kilometers away.
With this additional information, combined with what Charlie had witnessed, he could form a basic judgment.
Charlie pondered, "Looks like this is a premeditated action. He's controlling the casualty ratio on the battlefield, aiming to seize control of the situation afterwards.
So he likely has a trump card, the ability to decisively eliminate the fishmen leader. According to the fishmen's nature, once the leader is killed, their army will likely collapse immediately."
Following Charlie's train of thought, Colin's eyes lit up.
"I see, so he's after that thing?"
"What thing?"
"The Sea Agate, a deep sea gemstone with an extremely dense energy density. It can serve as the focal point for composite magic arrays, it's incredibly valuable."
Charlie couldn't help but question, "If it's so precious, why didn't the academy's teachers come to claim it themselves, instead of letting the apprentices fight to the death?"
Colin explained, "That's because of the sea. The waters around the Arcane Circle are near the Void Storms, spawning some exceptionally powerful and intelligent magical marine creatures in the depths. They're extremely dangerous.
Supposedly, these sea creatures have some secret pact with the highest echelons of the Arcane Circle, not interfering with each other.
This fishmen leader may be a descendant of those marine creatures. It's cunning - as soon as it senses an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, it retreats to its lair, and the teachers don't dare trespass into the forbidden sea zone."
"I see." Charlie suddenly understood, lacking the family connections, he was ignorant of many common facts in this regard.
Eileen couldn't help but murmur, "So the academy is willing to let Peter use and betray his fellow students to capture the fishmen leader?"
David speculated, "This may just be his personal action. I believe the academy will weigh the value of ordinary apprentices versus elite apprentices, and make a decision that benefits him. As long as he doesn't go too far, he'll probably be fine - and he himself also deeply understands the rules here."
Charlie couldn't help but sigh, "What a cold-blooded man!"