Boom!
Colin called upon his spirit to launch a Fireball towards the distant beach.
The Divine Believers' ambush had not been detected by the Wizards in advance, but perhaps they acted too hastily—it seemed underpowered and failed to significantly affect the Wizards landing on the island.
Take their group, for instance; only Mayer had been slightly injured… And now, it was their turn to counterattack!
Whoosh!
Yet, it appeared the Divine Believers had not given up, as another volley of Red Flame Arrows rained down on them!
But this time, the prepared Wizards were not going to be caught off guard as they had been before.
The array of countermeasures was dazzling to behold; to say the second volley of Red Flame Arrows had minimal effect was an understatement—it was practically useless!
"Not good, the arrow rain is just a delay—stop them!"
But at that moment, Ciritha exclaimed loudly, her tone urgent.
However, she was too late.
The next instant, a faint red Protective Shield suddenly rose on the beach.
"No wonder so many were lying in ambush here; it was all to construct this defense shield…" Mayer murmured.
The pale red light of the shield cast his pale face in an even more grotesque hue.
"No need to worry, they are just stubbornly resisting," Margaret said indifferently, "We still have companions on the island."
Boom!
The main ship of the grey-blue fleet behind them noticed the anomaly and thunderously fired its Magic Cannons in their direction!
Crash.
The pale red shield shook violently, and the black rocks along the seashore crumbled.
"Coordinate with the ships and continue attacking the shield!" Ciritha shouted decisively.
Gubier Island was a large island with an extremely long coastline, and the Wizards aboard the ships had been assigned their respective areas of responsibility in advance.
This desolate beach cluttered with chaotic rocks was under the charge of Ciritha, who brought these following Wizards from the Alus Association.
Colin, following orders, kept firing Fireballs at the shield… However, to not stand out, he controlled the strength of the Fireballs to the level of a First Rank Lower Wizard, occasionally spiking to the peak of that rank.
The brilliance of witchcraft flickered along the coastline ceaselessly.
The battle momentarily reached a stalemate.
But in their hearts, all Wizards were waiting with bated breath.
About two minutes later.
Rumble!
Accompanied by a loud rumble, a cacophony of noisy voices suddenly came from within the island.
Ciritha's face lit up, and she scanned the surroundings before proclaiming loudly,
"Our companions on the island have started their operation! The shield is on the brink of collapse, everyone put in a bit more effort!"
Swish swish swish!
If one were to look down from high above, they would see the continuous coastline of Gubier Island lit up like fireworks, with bursts of colored lights constantly twinkling.
A few minutes passed, and finally, the pale red shield was breached!
"Wizards who are skilled with the Deep Red Marking Technique, use it to mark the Divine Believers first, and then proceed to behead them one by one!" Ciritha commanded once again.
Swish—
The next moment, countless Deep Red Marking Techniques were released in succession!
It was unclear whether it was the result of a qualitative change brought about by quantity, or if the witchcraft was designed this way from the start.
The Deep Red Marking Techniques almost seemed to converge into a massive group spell, significantly enhancing their potency instantly.
The range they covered alone had nearly quadrupled in size!
The vast stretch of sand in front of Colin was entirely engulfed within it.
Immediately afterward, under the influence of the Deep Red Marking Technique, countless orbs of deep red light floated up like ghostly fires, abruptly appearing above the rocky beach.
The followers who had been hiding behind the rocks in the darkness were now marked with the deep red glow, with nowhere left to hide.
"For this battle, if you slay Divine Followers of Priest Level or above, depending on their specific identity, each one will garner at least ten Council Points from the Supreme Council!"
"Go on, Wizards, free killing time has arrived!"
Ciritha declared finally.
"Council Points from the Supreme Council?!"
The moment her voice fell, the Wizards on the scene erupted into a commotion… There was no Wizard on the Siya Continent who didn't covet the Supreme Council's points!
The next moment.
"Follow me closely!"
Margaret's gaze swept across the area, and with a swift, cold command, she rapidly flew toward a solitary red light on the left.
Colin and the others followed closely behind.
The marked follower, seeing their group approaching, sensed danger and hastily ran toward his companion.
But Margaret was faster, accelerating to intercept him head-on.
Then Colin and the others followed suit and descended.
Colin looked up.
This Divine Believer, with his brown curly hair and black divine robe with dark red patterns, was clearly identifiable as a Priest.
"Sinner!"
Perhaps the battle in the clouds had not yet determined a victor.
The curly-haired Priest, unable to join his fellow followers and without losing his spirit,
sneered angrily and charged at them bare-handed.
Ha!
He bellowed, his bushy eyebrows furrowed, jaw muscles bulging, eyes wide and glaring like copper bells, his face a portrait of extreme fury!
With each step he took, the black robe swelled as if inflated, and then the blood patterns gleamed, his body elongating against the wind. In an instant, he transformed into a towering, furious colossus etched with blood patterns!
"Huh, such crude tricks,"
Margaret sneered disdainfully and gently shook the red crystal bracelet on her wrist.
A bright red blaze shot towards the giant's neck with lightning speed, severing its head before it could react!
Splash!
Blood spurted from the severed neck, and the headless body of the priest took another two steps forward from inertia before collapsing heavily, raising a cloud of gray dust.
"Next,"
Margaret swiftly plucked the Divine Emblem from the robe of the priest and continued to rush towards the next believer.
"That's 10 points just like that..." Mayer eyed the Divine Emblem in Margaret's hand with envy.
However, the battle in the clouds was far from over. The Divine Believers' morale was high, their will to resist unyielding.
They were not only hunting believers; the Divine Believers were also attacking them in return!
"Kill!"
Before Margaret could lead them to their next solitary target, a group of Divine Believers took the initiative to come to them.
"Two priests..." Margaret paused her steps, turned her head back sharply, and ordered, "Assist me!"
"Let's go!"
Witchcraft clashed with Divine Arts!
In the end, however, Colin's group of four First Rank Wizards held the upper hand and emerged victorious.
"Lady Margaret, this..." Sovoc suddenly spoke up.
"Next target," Margaret ignored him, naturally pocketing the Divine Emblems from the two priests' chests, and continued walking to the next location.
"This... the priest was killed by us together. The Supreme Council points should also be shared with us..." Sovoc muttered softly behind her, his voice lost in the wind.
"Sigh... let's go." Mayer shook his head with a sigh and continued to follow Margaret's steps.
Regardless, they were now in the midst of a perilous battlefield... For safety, the group had to stick together!
Colin, for his part, didn't seem to care and simply followed silently.
Following Margaret, they moved across the island, targeting solitary priests.
A group of four First Rank Wizards was not something the common Divine Priests could handle.
However, this did not mean that they could proceed without obstruction.
As they went deeper, Colin and the others clearly felt the journey becoming more challenging and the enemies increasingly formidable.
Boom!
On a street,
a bright orange-red fireball shot from Colin's hand and hit the giant priest on the knee precisely, causing its running motion to falter.
"No!!"
With a loud outcry, the priest was overwhelmed by a multitude of witchcraft's brilliance.
Thud.
Watching the priest's figure fall to the ground, Colin exhaled in relief.
This priest was the most troublesome enemy they had encountered along the way, with formidable strength, probably equivalent to a First Rank Advanced Wizard, especially in speed which was extremely fast, making common witchcraft attacks utterly ineffective.
If Colin hadn't struck the priest's knee at the perfect moment with the help of his Superbrain, the fight would likely have lasted much longer.
Clap.
Margaret stepped forward as usual, took the badge from the priest's chest without any concern, and said coldly,
"Next."
But she had only taken a few steps when she paused, turned back frowning, and said:
"Keep up!"
"Lady Margaret—" Mayer, trailing behind, panted heavily, wiping sweat from his forehead, "We are not as strong as you..."
"Useless!"
Margaret cut him off coldly, then continued on her way.
"..." Mayer seemed startled, a hint of anger flickering across his face.
"Sigh..." Sovoc sighed and patted Mayer's shoulder.
Colin did not speak, but he, too, was somewhat displeased.
Margaret had been taking all the spoils for herself.
In fact, in the last two battles, if not for his covert assistance, the fights wouldn't have ended so swiftly, and who knows, something unfavorable might have occurred.
Margaret, obviously, hadn't noticed this.
Torn between whether to admire his subtlety or... now, Margaret seemed somewhat too eager for quick success.
Boom!
At that moment, a black-robed priest suddenly fell from the sky, smashing into the street, creating a large crater.
Blood spilled from the body, clearly beyond saving.
Several wizards descended in a group, led by a silver-haired wizard.
He approached the crater just like Margaret did, and naturally took the Divine Emblem from the fallen priest's body.
'Looks like Morton's brother?' Colin recognized him.
"Morin?" Margaret said in surprise. She scanned the wizards who had landed and displayed astonishment.
Several of these wizards were acquaintances of hers, Wizards from the Nine Major Schools, just like her.
"Margaret," Morin greeted with surprise, then smiled with an invitation, "Would you like to join us in hunting the Divine Believers? There are a few very strong priests."
"Very strong?" Margaret's brows furrowed.
The hierarchy of Divine Believers was not as clear-cut as that of the Wizards, which is based purely on strength. Instead, it was also related to their level of devoutness.
Priest-level believers generally possessed First Rank power, though exceptions existed with some reaching Second Rank.
"Don't worry, they're still within the First Rank... but judging by their attire, their status is not low. I reckon they're worth at least a hundred points each," explained Morin.
He turned his head towards Colin and the others, displaying a smile, and added:
"Let's take them with us."
"The more people we have, the safer it is."