The closure of a life-saving passage was enough to shatter the confidence and will of these upperclassmen.
Leon cursed loudly, "What are you panicking for?! So what if we can't teleport? How are we not getting back? Don't you have legs?!"
Charlie couldn't help but cheer for Leon's reaction. They could not allow this news to fester in their minds; it would destroy their courage to resist. Leon, in this critical moment, demonstrated his strategic insight and decisiveness. No wonder Qianjue, the brain of the team, had to play a supporting role.
"This door won't hold. We need to retreat inside; perhaps we'll encounter some professors from the manor," Leon decisively stated, facing the relentless assault of the wraith army.
As the wraiths surged forth, Leon made another choice — one born out of necessity.
Qianjue was busy conveying his thoughts to Charlie. "On the battlefield, a qualified battle mage's most important asset isn't the power or level of the spells you cast, but how quickly, appropriately, and effectively you use your magic. Value every bit of mana and use it to its best effect; that's the fundamental principle." As he spoke, he unleashed fireballs, turning one wraith after another to ash.
Charlie mimicked him, casting fireballs to assist in their retreat. With the chip's help, the destructive power of the fireballs was maximized. The explosions and splashes would inevitably scorch nearby wraiths, effectively producing two fireballs' worth of damage with each one cast.
"Hey! Charlie, you have a good grasp of this!" Qianjue exclaimed, surprised. "Wait a minute! Why are you casting fireballs faster than I am?!"
Charlie smiled slightly but didn't offer an explanation.
As they fought and retreated, they entered the manor through the outer wall, leading to a straight street. The street remained completely empty, the houses lined up neatly on both sides, showing no signs of chaos. Everything was so orderly, as if everyone had mysteriously vanished at the same moment.
The signs of a conspiracy were becoming increasingly evident. Not to mention the potential hidden bosses in the manor, the sheer number of wraiths was already daunting.
"What do we do now?" Vincent asked.
Leon pondered, "We need to find a way to break through!"
Just as Leon finished speaking, pale white runes flickered underfoot, and white mist surged as another Naga let out an angry roar.
Vincent mustered his courage, drew his bow, and shot an arrow that pierced through the head of a male Naga, but it was silent and ineffective.
Leon rushed up to a nearby house, lifted his steel-toed boot, and kicked the door, which splintered and broke apart. "Quick! Get inside!"
It was unwise to battle the wraiths in the open; no one could withstand the barrage of countless wraiths. The group hurriedly dashed into the house, with Leon guarding the door.
Qianjue's expression changed. "This is a wraith summoning array that covers the entire manor. If we don't destroy the array's core, the wraiths will keep coming."
"What do we need to do to destroy the core?"
"I don't know." Qianjue glanced at Charlie and said, "Charlie mentioned he could sense something unusual underground; perhaps the core is down there."
Vincent shouted, "We can't even deal with the wraiths on the ground, and you want to go underground?! Are you crazy?! If you want to go, then go; I'm not going!"
While they debated, Leon's increasingly loud roars echoed from the entrance. Although the walls could block the spears and arrows, the door was wide open, and the most intense attacks fell upon Leon alone. Theresa assisted him but struggled against the torrent of wraiths.
Leon shouted, "What are you all arguing about?! Hurry up and help!"
Staying inside to fend off the wraiths had its pros and cons. The advantage was that Leon stood as a bulwark, but the downside was that they couldn't use explosive fire spells; the room was furnished with wooden floors and wooden furniture, and a single fireball could ignite the entire place.
Without the support of fireballs, the efficiency of taking down wraiths significantly dropped. The four mages could only continuously cast magical shields over Leon, who was the only one clearing the wraiths.
In the face of life-and-death danger, this team, which seemed powerful, revealed their fragile psychological defenses, showing Charlie that they were still just a group of fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds.
Vincent, faced with wraiths, had become completely ineffective, losing the courage to resist and placing all hope on his companions.
Ophelia had always played a supporting role, thriving only in overwhelming scenarios, but in such dire straits, she had devolved into a sobbing little girl.
Theresa was calm enough, but her silence and role as a healer meant she couldn't change the tide of battle.
As the team's strategist, Qianjue thought a lot, but he became ensnared by complex thoughts, especially at a critical moment for their lives. He seemed hesitant and indecisive.
As the team captain, Leon undoubtedly possessed strategic insight, as seen in his emergency judgments. However, he bore the safety of the entire team on his shoulders. Now caught in a life-and-death struggle with the wraiths, he could barely look after himself. The torment of his soul was a constant presence, and managing to hold the door was already a testament to his steadfast will.
Stay calm! You must stay calm! The more critical the moment, the more calm you must be!
Charlie flipped through the processing logs in his mind and realized the wraith model had been successfully established.
"Wraith modeling complete; biological characteristics confirmed, wraith scanning function activated."
"Initiate scan," Charlie commanded in his mind.
As the chip began scanning, the map in his mind filled with data about the number and distribution of wraiths. At the same time, the basic attribute values of the wraiths were revealed.
While Charlie was distracted by his thoughts, Qianjue, Ophelia, Theresa, and Charlie took turns casting spells, continually placing magical shields over Leon's head, which were quickly forced back by the relentless Naga warriors. Occasionally, a couple of attacks slipped through the magical shield and struck Leon, eliciting painful roars from him.
Should they concentrate their strength and charge out? Or continue to hold their ground in defense?
Qianjue couldn't come up with a solution. As he watched their mana pools deplete, the situation became increasingly dire. There was no doubt that the moment any one of the four mages ran out of mana was the moment their defense would collapse.
Vincent again asked anxiously, "Captain! What do we do?! Think of a way out!!"
The group couldn't come up with a solution, not even a wrong one. Time was running out, and inaction would lead to their demise; Charlie dared not hold out too much hope for them.
"What's all this noise?! Be quiet!" Charlie shouted, slinging his bow over his back and pulling out his gnarled wooden staff.
Vincent was taken aback by Charlie's outburst and didn't argue back, while Qianjue looked at Charlie in surprise.
Charlie said loudly, "Leon, I'm going to count to three, and after three, you need to move out of the way, understand?! Leon!!"
The loud calls snapped Leon out of his intense battle. He responded with a grunt.
Charlie turned to Vincent and shouted, "You count! Quickly!"
Vincent looked confused, stunned.
"Can't you even count? Count to three, hurry!"
Under Charlie's command, Vincent regained his focus, understanding Charlie's intent; since everyone else was busy chanting spells, they had no time to help. Once the spells stopped, the magical shields around Leon would break, leading to a collapse.
Realizing this, Vincent took a deep breath and shouted, "One…"
At that moment, a surge of disturbing energy flowed from the staff in Charlie's hand.
One fireball might not be enough; Qianjue observed the crowd of wraiths outside with a sense of inexplicable anxiety.
However, the magic flowing from Charlie's hands seemed endless, far exceeding the mana needed for a single fireball.
"Two!" Vincent's voice grew louder, as if he saw a glimmer of hope.
This spell was taking a long time!
That was the only thought Ophelia had. Only Qianjue realized that it wasn't a spell at all. As the fireball in Charlie's hand expanded, his expression changed dramatically.
"Three!"
"Get out of the way!" Qianjue screamed at the top of his lungs.
Charlie drew his right hand in an arc, sending a line of fireballs flying forward, each spaced closely together and scattering towards the door.
In that instant, Leon shoved his shield forward, stepping back one step, and rolled to the side, clearing the passageway at the entrance. The fireballs soared overhead; thankfully, he wore a steel helmet; otherwise, the intense heat might have charred his head bald.
A sweeping line of fire shot out; the wraiths struck by it let out unwilling shrieks, turning to ash. The wraiths' ethereal forms seemed to serve as excellent accelerants, and a row of fireballs collided with the densest cluster of Naga warriors, erupting in a massive fireball in the center of the street, creating a towering mushroom cloud.
Everyone hit the ground, still dazed from the explosion of fireballs, when they heard Charlie shout, "Quick! Charge out!!"
As the mushroom cloud began to dissipate, it revealed a charred explosion site, and the street was eerily empty—a perfect opportunity to escape.
The group scrambled out of the house, rushing toward the outer wall's gate.
At the same time, mist surged from underground, coalescing into new wraiths.
"Don't stop!" Charlie shouted as he threw another fireball, blasting the nearest wraith to ashes.
It seemed that Charlie had discovered a flaw in the wraith summoning array. The formation speed of the wraiths was slow, and they couldn't pursue effectively. Once the team moved, they couldn't form an effective encirclement.
Qianjue was left speechless. "You didn't even chant…"
Charlie shot him a knowing glance, cutting off his words. Leon was clearing the path while the others were too busy to notice the small actions of the last two team members.
As they drew closer to the outer wall gate, Charlie waved his hand again, launching a fireball that incinerated the two Naga warriors guarding the entrance.
Hope for survival was right in front of them, and Vincent couldn't help but let out an excited shout.
However, just as they burst through the outer wall's gate, three figures appeared on the beach, having emerged from the sea. One of them spoke a long string of words that Charlie couldn't comprehend.