At the very moment the Frostspear, radiating a piercing chill, was about to fully materialize and Feliel was ready to hurl it, Sefina’s left hand suddenly whipped forward.
She threw an inconspicuous object she had just snatched from her waist pouch onto the ground in front of her!
*Boom — !*
A dull explosion rang out. It was not the roar of a magical explosion, but rather the sound of gas being rapidly released.
In an instant, a greyish-white smoke, so thick it was almost tangible, erupted from the point of impact at an incredible speed. It swallowed Sefina’s petite figure and the surrounding area in a heartbeat!
It was an improved version of an alchemy smoke bomb.
Anyone who had played FPS games would know the tactic of using smoke to hide from gunfire, and Sefina was no exception.
Furthermore, after Nona’s improvements, the range of the smoke bomb was significantly wider than before.
In the air, Feliel, who had been focused on controlling her magic, suddenly widened her eyes.
Her face was masked with bewilderment and disbelief. Her field of vision was completely severed by the churning, dense wall of smoke!
Below her was a vast expanse of white. Not only was Sefina’s figure gone, but even the outlines of the terrain had become blurred.
‘What… what on earth is this?!’ Feliel was internally terrified.
This was absolutely not any kind of magical effect she was familiar with! There was no Magic Power Wave, no elemental aura; it was as if… it was a purely physical creation?
She had completely lost her target.
The Firebirds she controlled had no idea where to charge, and the Frostspear in her hand, which was nearing completion and had consumed a massive amount of mana, had lost its direction. It was like an arrow without a target.
This was trouble!
However, Feliel was experienced in battle. After her brief shock, she immediately forced herself to analyze the situation calmly.
Using smoke to obscure vision was not an unsolvable problem—Wind Element magic could easily disperse it!
Moreover, while inside the smoke, Sefina would also have lost her line of sight. She was likely taking the opportunity to prepare a powerful defensive spell or looking for a chance to relocate.
She could not let Sefina succeed!
Feliel made a snap decision and immediately cut off the mana supply to the Frostspear.
As it lost its support, the massive ice spear let out a faint cracking sound before shattering into a cloud of ice crystals that dissipated into the air. While it was a waste of mana, it was better than firing blindly and missing.
Next, she quickly pointed her Wand at the roiling smoke below, her mana flowing.
**[Third-Tier Magic — Wind Gust]**
A powerful whirlwind immediately formed at the edge of the smoke, howling as it swept into the thick screen.
Under the force of the wind, the greyish-white smoke began to be torn and churned, and visibility gradually returned.
The smoke thinned rapidly, and the scene at the center was slowly revealed.
Sure enough, that petite blue figure was still standing in the same spot, seemingly having never moved.
However, Feliel’s pupils constricted, and a massive wave of doubt rose in her heart. Sefina had not constructed a single magical defensive Array in front of her! There wasn’t even the simplest Magic Shield!
‘What is she doing?!’ Feliel was completely unable to understand. At such close range, having lost the cover of the smoke, how did she dare to be so arrogant? Was it a trap?
But the opportunity was fleeting! Regardless of what Sefina was planning, she was currently exposed without any defense within the attack range of Feliel and her remaining Firebirds.
This was an opportunity that could not be missed!
Feliel suppressed her doubts and waved her Wand.
The three remaining Flame-wing Birds let out sharp cries, tucked their wings, and dove like three burning meteors toward the newly revealed Sefina from different angles!
Faced with this lethal pincer attack, the Sefina below performed an action that Feliel found even more bizarre.
Not only did she not dodge or cast a spell, but she instead raised her empty left hand, which held a strangely shaped, short rod-like object. She pointed it at… herself?
‘What is that?’
The moment the thought flashed through Feliel’s mind—
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
three crisp, deafening roars suddenly tore through the silence of the forest.
A tiny flash of fire erupted from the tip of the Handgun. three specialized Alchemical Bullets crossed the distance at a speed the naked eye could not track, shooting toward Feliel in a triangular formation!
‘What?!’
Feliel felt an extreme sense of danger the moment she heard those strange sounds!
It was a combat instinct forged from countless life-and-death struggles. She instinctively manipulated the Firebird beneath her feet to perform an evasive roll.
However, the speed of the Bullets was too fast! Even though Feliel’s reactions were incredibly quick, she still failed to dodge completely.
*Splat!*
“Ah—!” Feliel let out a scream of agony as a burst of blood erupted from her left arm near the shoulder.
An indescribable pain instantly surged through her nerves, as if her entire arm had been torn apart. The impact of the Bullet caused her to stumble on the bird’s back, nearly falling off.
Her left hand immediately lost most of its sensation, and blood gushed out, quickly staining her sleeve red.
‘This… what kind of weapon is this?!’ Feliel’s face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down her forehead. Her heart was filled with horror.
There had been no Magic Power Wave, yet the power was so terrifying and the speed was utterly ridiculous! She could not comprehend it at all.
What made her skin crawl even more was that the “Sefina” below, after firing the three shots, still didn’t dodge.
It was as if she had accepted her fate, allowing the three diving Flame-wing Birds to slam into her body!
*Boom—!!!*
three violent explosions rang out in succession. A wave of scorching fire instantly swallowed the blue figure, and a violent shockwave kicked up dust and charred grass several meters into the air.
Only a scorched crater and raging flames remained at the center of the explosion.
‘Is she… dead?’ Feliel endured the intense pain, staring fixedly at the center of the blast.
‘Just like that… so easily?’ This was too abnormal!
With the strength Sefina had displayed and those eerie methods, how could she be dealt with so easily?
‘Wait, no!’
The moment the warning bells in Feliel’s mind began to ring frantically again, she suddenly sensed a massive amount of mana converging wildly behind a large tree not far to her side!
She wasn’t dead!
Feliel whipped her head around, looking toward the direction of the Magic Power Wave. There, behind the massive ancient tree, another Sefina was standing perfectly unharmed!
She held her Ice Wand high above her head, and a massive Array so complex it was dizzying had already been constructed!
‘Clone magic?! A feint?!’
Feliel understood everything in an instant! The one who had drawn her fire in the smoke and even attacked her with a Handgun was nothing more than a decoy Doppelganger!
The real Sefina had used the cover of the smoke long ago to quietly move to a safe position and leisurely prepare her true killing move!
‘I didn’t expect her to know a rare spell like clone magic… I’ve truly miscalculated!’
Feliel’s heart turned cold. She had just been severely injured, and her attention had been completely diverted by the Doppelganger and the Handgun.
At this moment, it was already too late for her to dodge or build a defensive spell of equal strength.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.