"Follow me onto the island."
Margaret glanced at Colin and the other two, speaking coldly before her body floated up, leading the way toward Gubier Island.
After reinforcing himself with a Steel Temperature Resistance Field and the Mechanical Mind, Colin activated the Soaring and Flying Technique and also rose into the air.
Margaret flew at the forefront, and the three of them followed closely behind.
Looking around, the Wizards who had arrived by ship formed a long line, all converging toward Gubier Island!
"Your Excellency Mayer, are you truly alright?"
The wind howled, and during the flight, Colin heard Sovoc whispering to Mayer during the brief moment before they ascended onto the island.
"I'm fine..." Mayer shook his head, then self-mockingly said, "Perhaps I am just old, no longer of use!"
Colin slightly turned to look.
Mayer's complexion was serene, his eyes clear, showing no sign of the ferocity and anger he had displayed earlier.
Sovoc also carefully observed Mayer for a while, his expression easing.
"Ah... However, during this Alus Association, the most arduous task seems to have fallen upon us!" Mayer suddenly exclaimed.
He then said, somewhat resentfully, "Looking at it now, the test of this Alus Association might just be to have those Apprentices clear the remaining Believers on the island."
"But once we have eliminated all the Believers above the First Rank, for those Apprentices, what difference would this place have from a Secret Realm? It's just a change of enemy, after all; the dangers they face are the same."
"That's not necessarily the case. How can the Divine Believers compare to the rigid Demon Beast puppets in those Secret Realms?"
Sovoc disagreed with a shake of his head, then sighed, "The war is gradually starting, and the new Apprentices need to face the Divine Believers head-on."
This group of preceding Wizards lacked such experience... Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so seriously injured on the Airship.
"That's true," Mayer sighed in agreement, "When coming here, I was thinking of staying after the Alus was over, perhaps earning some Supreme Council points from this war, then heading back to the city to plan for advancement..."
"But now," Mayer shook his head continuously, "I just want to get through tonight safely and then finish the Alus Association early to return to Neustadt City."
Colin just listened on the side without speaking.
He looked toward Gubier Island, where the lights flickered; his expression was silent, and it even seemed a bit aloof, perhaps due to the enhancement by the Mechanical Mind.
The war between Wizards and Divine entities, even though he was in the midst of it now... he still felt it was too distant, not quite real.
But... in truth, it indeed wasn't something for a mere First Rank Wizard like himself to worry about.
Colin shook his head.
"All Wizards, be vigilant of your surroundings!"
Approaching the island, the leading Wizard in the center issued a warning!
"Be careful!"
Simultaneously, Sovoc beside him suddenly cried out in alarm.
Swoosh!
Colin's sharp senses caught a cold arrow flashing with a cold light suddenly shooting up from the diagonal lower direction, thick as a thumb and wrapped in a dark red glow, aimed directly at him!
'Why are they only shooting at me?'
Colin frowned.
But in the next second, even more Flame Arrows came flying, encompassing all four of them!
That single Flame Arrow likely had been released early by someone in panic.
Margaret's expression changed slightly, and the flames around her body suddenly brightened; she explosively increased her speed and escaped the range of the Red Flame Arrows just in the nick of time.
However, Colin and the others weren't so lucky.
Margaret's Flying Witchcraft was at least of the Middle First Rank, her short burst speed lightning fast, on par with an Upper First Rank... Their own Flying Witchcraft was nowhere near that quality.
Even with the enhancement of the Swift Skill, Colin, now slightly faster than Margaret, still found it unrealistic to reach the burst speed that Margaret could achieve.
However, his Soaring and Flying Technique, although merely at the Low Rank First Rank, was praiseworthy for its versatility, allowing both flight and diving!
This was where his agility shone!
The Soaring and Flying Technique made him agile; the Ultimate Knight endowed him with utmost reflexes; and the Mechanical Mind kept him cool as ice!
And with Superbrain, he had integrated all of these abilities, achieving an effect much greater than the sum of its parts!
If one had to say, this was indeed the first time he truly went all out in battle!
And the result… even with the restraint of the Mechanical Mind, he felt a rush of excitement.
It was like a pianist performing at the center of a grand stage.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
This dense volley of arrows, carrying a dangerous aura, shot toward him one after another, obstructing his vision.
Yet Colin remained calm and composed.
In his eyes, this seemingly unavoidable shower of arrows had a detectable pattern!
All he needed was to subtly move his body and appropriately wave the Steel Temperature Resistance Field in front of him.
Then the curtain of Flame Arrows in front of him, as if on cue, swerved around him and shot into empty space.
This all might sound lengthy, but from the appearance to the disappearance of the arrow rain, it was over in just a blink of an eye in reality.
Colin looked around. Many of the wizards who had arrived by the fleet were encountering similar barrages of arrows as they landed on the island.
"Retaliate, target hidden behind the rocks on the beach ahead!"
At that moment, Margaret's voice came from the front as she took the lead and hurled a fireball toward the not-so-distant area.
"Who would have guessed these believers had an ace up their sleeve!"
Sovoc gritted his teeth nearby; the arrow rain was not only numerous but also formidable, almost penetrating his Defensive Witchcraft.
While he spoke, he glanced sideways unconsciously and blurted out,
"Lord Colin, you're unharmed?"
As soon as Sovoc said it, he felt it was somewhat improper and awkwardly added with a smile, "I mean, I'm glad you're not hurt…"
Colin remained silent.
Sovoc continued to look towards another, Mayer.
Mayer had taken an arrow to his upper left chest and, having already cut through the arrow rain, was now grimly tending to the wound with his hand trembling slightly.
"Lord Mayer, are you alright?" Sovoc couldn't help asking upon seeing Mayer's pale complexion.
"It's fine, it didn't hit any organs," Mayer replied, shaking his head as he used witchcraft to extract the arrowhead.
The pain made him involuntarily let out a groan.
Mayer couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Cursed Divine Believers!"
"The ambush clearly indicates that there must also be wizards on the island. I wonder how they did it; at this moment the believers are still able to organize a counterattack!" Sovoc complained in agreement.
Colin said nothing.
On the ship, Ciritha had mentioned that the island's wizards would wait for their arrival to begin the counteroffensive…
In a world where the gap in individual strength was vast, in warfare, it tended to be a king against a king, a general against a general… The higher the rank, the more this held true, it was rare to see the "many ants killing the elephant" scenario.
This was not by design or an unspoken rule… Gods and wizards were mortal enemies in a fight to the death.
But neither side would ever allow their high-rank powerhouses to rampage unopposed among the lower ranks.
Therefore, once a high-rank force entered the fray, there would inevitably be an equivalent or nearly equivalent force to contain and engage it… otherwise, the battle would be completely devoid of suspense.
So, even though the battle above the clouds had been raging for a while, the combat among these lower-rank powers, right now, had just begun.