But the impact of the lava spheres far exceeded his expectations.
The first lava sphere directly pierced through the first seven layers of barriers, the massive explosion deafening.
Laku was thrown several meters away by the shock wave, rolling over on the ground several times before coming to a stop.
Patty chose a completely different response.
Her body instantly became as light as a feather, her arms spread out as transparent wind membrane wings unfurled from her underarms.
——First Ring: Storm Acceleration!
She darted through the air like lightning, her figure ever-changing and elusive.
Though she successfully avoided most of the lava spheres, one managed to graze her left wing.
The intense pain caused her to lose her balance and plummet downward at an angle.
And Ron’s performance surprised everyone watching.
He didn’t use any extravagant defense magic, nor did he make any intense evasive moves.
Instead, he employed the simplest method, performing minimal evasions.
Every lava sphere rushing towards him miraculously skimmed past him, sometimes just centimeters away.
Throughout the process, his expression remained calm, and he even had the leisure to observe others’ battle situations.
"Very impressive... no wonder he’s from the Crystal Tower."
Salamanda narrowed his golden eyes slightly, showing an intrigued expression:
"A combat intuition based on anticipation... or perhaps some special perception ability?"
Yet he wasn’t surprised by this; such abilities, though rare, were not unprecedented.
What truly interested him was testing the limits of this ability.
"Well then, let me increase the difficulty a bit."
Salamanda gently stroked the armrest of his throne, beginning to unleash the first "surprise" upon the arena.
The rune array beneath the Obsidian Throne lit up, and streams of scorching lava erupted from underground.
These lava streams didn’t erupt randomly; under Salamanda’s precise control, they formed a complex maze structure on the battlefield.
The scorching lava rivers meandered across the ground, dividing the originally flat battlefield into dozens of irregular small platforms.
Each platform constantly rose and fell, while the lava rivers between platforms widened and narrowed, threatening to disconnect or reconnect at any moment.
"Let’s see how you handle this."
Salamanda watched the reactions of the four with interest, eager to see how they would continue fighting in such extreme conditions.
Laku quickly adapted to the new environment.
He discovered that, although scalding, the surface of the lava rivers had begun to crust and cool.
"Solidify Sand!"
This was his race’s talent fortified into a special ability, requiring no casting prelude and consuming minimal magic power.
He scattered large amounts of sand into the lava, rapidly forming temporary bridges to traverse.
Then he began jumping between different platforms, attempting to approach Edwin.
Though Patty’s wings were injured, she could still glide over short distances.
She utilized the rising hot air to gain lift, darting among the tops of the platforms.
Occasionally, she would unleash wind blades, which, though limited in power, proved to be a nuisance.
Facing the siege of three opponents, Edwin didn’t appear strained; rather, he fought with increasing vigor.
——Lava Fist!
His right arm swelled dramatically, eventually forming a colossal fist the size of a house.
Lava flowed over its surface, its core harboring a terrifying force capable of shaking mountains.
He threw a punch, shattering the entire platform Laku was standing on.
The massive shock wave spread out, causing the adjacent platforms to tremble precariously.
Laku narrowly transformed into a sand stream at the critical moment, barely escaping direct impact.
However, his magic power consumption had already exceeded half, and his face turned pale.
At that moment, Ron finally began his counterattack.
Due to the friendly nature of the spar, he didn’t intend to use the excessively damaging "Sound Wave Vibration: Erosion State."
The magic sword in his hand quickly transformed, with its liquid metal reconstructing into a composite bow form.
Golden-red light coursed through the bow, resembling living flames.
As he drew the bowstring, a pure light arrow automatically coalesced at the string.
The arrow’s brightness rivaled that of a small sun, dimming even the lava’s glow in the arena.
——Super Magic: Ring of Brilliance!
It wasn’t just one, but twelve light arrows shot out simultaneously.
Each arrow followed a completely different trajectory: some direct shot, some parabolic, and some spiraled around obstacles.
As his magic power was never a concern for depletion, Ron even added maximum power super magic enhancement.
This comprehensive attack forced Edwin to take it seriously.
He folded his wings in front of him, channeling a thick layer of magma armor into them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Continuous explosions echoed, with each arrow hit triggering immense brilliance and heat waves.
Although Edwin’s magma armor withstood most of the attacks, the last two arrows left scorch marks on his back.
Indeed, the attack with light and heat attributes was almost ineffective against such highly resistant opponents, even with added super magic.
Ron thought privately, pondering whether he should expand his conventional attack methods.
"That hurts!"
Edwin roared, but instead of anger, he was filled with excitement:
"Finally, a worthy opponent!"
A stronger force began to gather behind him, and the temperature of his fiery wings soared.
The temperature of the entire arena skyrocketed by several tens of degrees, causing the air to warp.
"Edwin is ready to use ’Lava Explosion’."
Salamanda reclined slightly on the throne, thinking somewhat discontentedly:
"Forced to use this move so quickly, he’ll need more training afterwards."
"However, this move is almost as powerful as a small volcanic eruption.
If Ron can’t withstand this strike, the fight will likely end."
Just as Edwin was prepared to unleash his finishing move, an unexpected development occurred.