Chapter Sixty-Nine: Is This Really a Mage? (Please Continue Reading)

Although she had briefly restrained the beast of flesh and blood, Jiang Jingying did not let her guard down. Sensing something amiss, she executed a swift sideways roll, instantly crossing more than ten meters to reach the vicinity of the wall.

The very spot where she had stood erupted in an explosion the next moment, leaving a massive crater and a peculiar crossbow bolt embedded in the ground.

All of this transpired within ten seconds. Even Yi Shen couldn’t help but marvel at the fluidity and precision of Jiang Jingying’s movements.

“Get upstairs!” Jiang Jingying commanded Yi Shen coldly.

She herself fired another ice arrow at the beast, then took up a vantage point at a higher location with a better view.

If a battle between explorers at level sixty or above broke out, the authorities would never stand by idly! Explorers at their level could easily cause collateral damage among civilians with the slightest gesture. No matter the circumstances, high-level explorers were strictly prohibited from engaging in large-scale urban combat, which was precisely why the Battle Fish team had intervened following the Black Mage incident.

She needed only to hold out for a few minutes; the authorities would surely send high-level explorers to assist. This was already a violation of the city’s baseline—most likely an assassin hired directly from another safe zone by Anqing.

But Jiang Jingying hadn’t anticipated that the next series of explosions would occur upstairs.

After a brief moment of thought, she leapt from the balcony. Protecting Yi Shen was important, but ensuring Lin Grape’s safety was even more pressing now. The master of the beast was surely still attacking from outside; she needed to draw their attention.

Yi Shen, aware of his unique circumstances, prepared to go upstairs to protect his mother. Yet, as soon as he reached the entrance to the second floor, a wave of dizziness overcame him.

There were other enemies here!

[Frost Barrier]

Yi Shen sensed that his opponent must be some kind of stealth specialist—someone who had struck him with a sap and used disruptive skills. Lacking much experience in fighting high-level explorers, his adrenaline surged, every cell in his body reaching peak activity. He deployed his Frost Barrier, causing a special cold field to envelop his surroundings.

Frost Barrier was a B-rank skill with invincibility effects, usable even while under control, capable of dispelling all negative effects.

The moment he activated it, clarity returned to Yi Shen’s mind, and he spotted a floating black shadow in the air.

This person’s level was remarkably high!

Even without using a detection spell, Yi Shen could feel that this was a high-ranking stealth specialist.

Yi Shen understood that as soon as his Frost Barrier expired, the attacker would strike again.

So, instead of waiting for the barrier to dissipate, he proactively dispelled it, then blinked through the temporary opening, summoning a non-casting mirror image spell around him.

Four or five shadows of Yi Shen appeared in the air; he himself blinked to the end of the staircase.

A sharp crack echoed.

To his surprise, the stealth specialist didn’t attack the mirror images but appeared right where Yi Shen had blinked, as if he had anticipated Yi Shen’s actions perfectly.

He saw Wu Qi’s disdain in the darkness.

Wu Qi’s lips curled into a smile.

He had killed dozens—if not hundreds—of mages, and such predictions had long become second nature. Mirror images were mere copies to most, but to top-tier stealth specialists, they appeared sluggish and predictable.

Dispelling Frost Barrier and blinking was nearly every mage’s habitual tactic. From this alone, he could infer that Yi Shen was a novice!

Wu Qi’s blade sliced into Yi Shen’s flesh.

He was ready to savor the sensation of his knife sinking into flesh.

But the next instant, Wu Qi’s expression froze.

Yi Shen, realizing something was wrong after blinking, used his invincible [Frost Barrier] again to evade!

For most mages, this would be a fatal mistake—a narrow escape.

Yet for Yi Shen, his Mage’s Heart not only allowed his Frost Barrier to operate without cooldown, but also let him ignore the effects of low temperatures and use it without limit!

Unless someone could kill him in a single strike before he could react, Yi Shen could theoretically freeze himself infinitely, remaining invincible!

“Whoosh!”

Yi Shen dispelled the barrier again and blinked once more.

Wu Qi was momentarily baffled—how could Yi Shen perform these actions without any cooldown?

True, some high-level mages possessed skills that reduced cooldowns, but those were at least A-rank abilities. It was hard to imagine such skills in the hands of a young boy.

Yet what happened next was even more bewildering for Wu Qi.

As if fearing a second ambush, Yi Shen blinked, used invincibility, then dispelled it and blinked again, vanishing within seconds as if cooldowns didn’t exist at all!

Within a single second, Yi Shen cast Frost Barrier at least three times and blinked four times!

Wu Qi was utterly stunned.

Something was wrong. What on earth was this?

Was this even a mage?

No cooldowns?

Even S-rank Blink should have at least a ten-second cooldown, shouldn’t it?

Then something even stranger happened.

In the corridor, seven or eight elemental creatures suddenly appeared, and the mirror images Yi Shen had summoned also attacked Wu Qi together!

“Whoosh!”

A barrage of skills rained down on him as if for free.

Wu Qi activated his damage reduction skill, intending to retreat.

But he immediately felt a chill—his body was bound by icy chains.

He activated his control resistance skill, but his body was frozen again the next second, his health continuously dropping.

He recognized this skill—a mage’s freezing ability with a two- or three-minute cooldown that could restrict a target.

But now, Wu Qi felt as if someone were casting such skills on him nonstop!!

“Whoosh!!”

“-602...”

“-291...”

“-391...”

“-299...”

A dense array of damage numbers flashed across Wu Qi’s body.

His total health was over ninety thousand, so each hit wasn’t much individually.

But the frequency was terrifying, and it was still rising, so Wu Qi began to struggle.

“Damn it, what sort of monster is this?”

Wu Qi was nearly cursing aloud.

His damage reduction skill’s time was almost up; if this continued, he feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand the onslaught.

Amidst the barrage of skills, Wu Qi gritted his teeth and sensed Yi Shen’s true location.

Seconds later, Wu Qi’s body became a black streak, arriving directly before Yi Shen, and the spot where he had stood transformed into a dagger!

This was the stealth specialist’s ultimate skill: Shadow Step.

Normally, he would use this only to escape.

But the stairwell was narrow, making escape inconvenient, so he had to see what on earth was attacking him!

Moreover, Shadow Step was an unavoidable skill. Wu Qi was determined to see if the boy before him could withstand an attack from a level sixty-plus specialist!