Ian’s icy tone startled the other three.

Saqi’s pupils constricted slightly, and then he sneered, "A dead man walking, and you still dare to talk tough?"

Before the words had even faded, the three of them attacked at once!

Saqi fiercely swung his Short Staff. The crystal on its tip erupted with a bloody light, and three viscous, blood-like, dark red beams shot out in a triangular pattern.

The beams tore through the air with a strange HISS, and a putrid stench instantly filled the forest!

Barton let out a low roar and slammed his fists together. The light of his Runes flared, and his skin completely transformed into a bluish-gray, rock-like substance.

He stomped his foot, blasting a shallow crater in the ground, and shot forward like a cannonball. His right fist, wreathed in murky gray Earth Energy, flew straight at Ian’s face!

Serra’s figure vanished like a ghost, reappearing to Ian’s left rear.

Her two daggers, one high and one low, traced eerie blue arcs as their poisoned blades aimed for his nape and the small of his back... The angle was cunning, the timing vicious!

A three-pronged encirclement, a perfect kill box!

A sharp glint flashed in Ian’s eyes. He didn’t retreat or dodge, simply watching as Barton’s fist drew closer.

He raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together.

An icy blue light condensed and compressed at his fingertips. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and moisture in the air froze into ice crystals that fell with a rustle.

This wasn’t an ordinary chill. It was an extreme, biting cold that seeped into the very marrow of one’s bones, as if it could freeze the Soul itself.

"Freeze."

The icy blue beam shot out instantly!

Barton’s fist was already less than a foot from Ian, the wind from his punch making the gray robe flap wildly.

A look of cruel satisfaction flashed in his eyes. This punch was powerful enough to shatter Rock!

Then he saw the icy blue trajectory.

"What the—"

The thought had barely formed when the beam struck the surface of his fist.

"CRACKLE...!"

A tooth-aching sound of freezing erupted!

The instant Barton’s right fist made contact with the beam, it was covered in a layer of deep blue, solid ice that shimmered with strange patterns!

The layer of ice spread rapidly up his arm.

Wherever it passed, his Stone Skin, which he boasted could withstand High Level Witchcraft, offered no resistance at all.

He instantly lost all feeling in it, and it became more brittle than glass!

A bone-deep chill frantically invaded him through the frozen arm.

Blood, muscle, bone... everything solidified and became brittle in the extreme cold!

"My Stone Skin... how could this be..." For the first time, terror appeared in Barton’s eyes.

He desperately activated his Runes, and a gray light surged as he tried to shatter the ice...

Ian raised his left hand, aiming at the shoulder joint of Barton’s frozen right arm.

"Scorching Beam."

A bright white beam burst forth!

The shoulder joint, frozen to an extreme degree, had already become brittle. The instant the High Temperature Beam struck...

"BOOM!!!"

The Ice and Fire Interweaving caused a horrific explosion!

Barton’s right arm exploded at the shoulder! It wasn’t severed, but disintegrated from within!

Frozen-solid muscles and bone fragments, mixed with shards of ice and charred flesh, shot out in all directions!

The edge of the stump was half-charred and carbonized, half-draped in icicles. Scorched blood vessels and splintered bone were exposed to the air!

"AHHH...!!!" A heart-wrenching scream erupted from Barton’s mouth.

The intense pain and blood loss sent him staggering backward, his eyes filled with incredulous terror.

’My Stone Skin... was broken in a single hit?!’

All of this happened in a flash.

Saqi’s three blood beams only just arrived.

Ian didn’t even turn around. He spread the fingers of his left hand, and five thin Scorching Beams fanned out, precisely striking the blood beams.

"TSS-TSS-TSS...!"

The bloody mist exploded, its putrid stench seared into a charred smell by the high temperature.

The residual Curse Energy reached Ian’s body, only to be silently devoured by the dark red "Spirit Devourer" Rune in his Sea of Spirit.

Saqi’s expression changed drastically. "Instant casting?! Two different elements?!"

Serra’s dagger was at Ian’s nape!

She had seen Barton’s gruesome state, but the arrow was already nocked.

The poisoned blade cut through the air, its shimmering blue arc about to slice into flesh—

Then she saw Ian’s slightly turned face.

His eyes were calm and rippleless, reflecting her astonished expression.

And, at some point, Ian had raised the index finger of his left hand.

It was aimed at the spot between her eyebrows. No Spell, no charging.

"TSS."

An intensely condensed, bright white beam pierced the air, burning a trail across Serra’s retinas before instantly sinking into the spot between her eyebrows.

Serra’s forward momentum came to an abrupt halt.

The seductive charm and killing intent on her face froze, and her pupils rapidly dilated.

A small, charred hole appeared between her eyebrows. No blood flowed out; the flesh and bone around the wound had been instantly carbonized.

She didn’t even have time to feel pain before her consciousness plunged into darkness.

The Poisoned Dagger in her hand fell with a CLANG.

"Serra!!!"

Barton’s eyes looked ready to split from their sockets, but the excruciating pain from his exploded right arm made him barely able to stand.

Saqi’s heart sank to the abyss. ’It’s too fast!’

’It’s been no more than three breaths since the fight started, and Barton is severely injured while Serra is dead! This is absolutely not an ordinary High Level Apprentice!’

"Just who the hell are you?!"

Saqi roared as he frantically swung his Short Staff, unleashing a barrage of dark red Blood Arrows that rained down on Ian.

At the same time, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out Essence Blood onto the staff’s crystal, which flared with a brilliant red light.

An even thicker, blood-soaked wave of Curse enveloped Ian, this time aiming to directly cause the Erosion of his life source!

Ian finally got serious.

With a flicker, his figure actually charged forward, straight into the Blood Arrows and the wave of Curse!

In his Sea of Spirit, the "Spirit Devourer" Rune spun wildly, devouring and converting most of the incoming wave of Curse.

The remainder touched his Will Rune Array and melted away like snow in the sun.

His left hand tapped out continuously, and five Scorching Beams precisely detonated the main Blood Arrows.

Meanwhile, he raised his right hand again, aiming at Saqi.

"It’s over."

An icy blue beam and a bright white beam erupted at the same time!

After being fired, they didn’t separate. Under Ian’s exquisite control, they spiraled and intertwined, forming a drill of Ice and Fire Interweaving light that tore through the air, shooting straight for Saqi!

Saqi was scared out of his wits. He frantically activated all his defenses. A Bone Shield flew out from his robes, and the blood-colored Runes on his Leather Armor lit up as he screamed hoarsely:

"No! I serve Lord Blood Leech! If you dare kill me, my lord won’t let you get away with—"

The drill of light had arrived.

"PFFT... RUMBLE!!!"

The Bone Shield was pierced and shattered like it was made of paper. The blood-colored Runes on the Leather Armor instantly dimmed and disintegrated. The drill of light viciously bored into Saqi’s chest!

The Ice and Fire Energy exploded inside his body simultaneously!

His upper body was instantly charred black, while his lower body was covered in thick frost. Then, under the immense force, he was torn to pieces! Severed limbs, mixed with a burnt stench and ice shards, scattered across the ground.

The scream cut off abruptly.

The forest fell silent once more.

Only the rustling of leaves in the wind and Barton’s suppressed, pained groans remained.

Ian slowly lowered his hand and walked over to the dying Barton.

The stocky, iron-like man was now pale as a sheet. Blood gushed from his severed arm, and his eyes held nothing but terror.

"How did you know my location? Who is ’Blood Leech’?" Ian crouched down, his voice calm.

Barton’s lips trembled. "Blood Leech... is a Level One Wizard who holds the Rotting Swamp... Most of what we plunder... we have to hand over to him... in exchange for his protection..."

He coughed up a bloody froth. "You killed Saqi... My lord won’t let you get away..."

Before he could finish, a bright white beam pierced his forehead.

’A Level One Wizard? The Rotting Swamp?’

Ian’s eyes glinted. ’It seems the waters of the Glowing Forest run deep indeed.’

He quickly searched the three bodies. To his pleasant surprise, Saqi actually had a Dimension Bag.

Among Saqi’s remains, he also found a Metal Token engraved with the image of a Vampire Leech.

With no time to inspect it closely, Ian quickly cleaned up the scene.

He used alternating Ice and Fire Beams to clear away the bloodstains and traces, then incinerated, shattered, and buried the remains of the three bodies.

After finishing, Ian scanned his surroundings with his Perception, confirmed there were no other onlookers, and then quickly departed.

Deep within the Rotting Swamp, in a nest built of white bones and mud, a Life Token engraved with Saqi’s name CRACKED and shattered.

In the darkness, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly opened.

"Who... killed my servant?"

A hoarse voice, thick with the viscous stench of blood, echoed through the nest.

A few Vampire Leeches emerged from the mud, slowly squirming in the direction of the Whispering Forest.