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The transparent flame continued to burn Frieren's magic.
Nangong Ce was right. If it were a normal card, as the magic power was consumed, Burning Sky Flame's burning speed would become faster and faster until the card's magic power was completely consumed—and then it would begin to burn the cardmaker's mental power.
This was also why he regarded Burning Sky Flame as his ultimate move.
The effects of this move when facing demons versus cardmakers were completely different.
You have to know that a cardmaker's cards are all maintained by their own mental power. Under normal circumstances, as long as a cardmaker was contaminated by Burning Sky Flame, their mental power would be quickly exhausted—leaving them at the enemy's mercy.
But unfortunately, this wasn't a normal situation.
Simon and Nangong Ce faced two freaks: Frieren and Russell.
Because Frieren had been practicing magic throughout her long life, her own magical power was extremely terrifying.
Even the great demon who had survived for five hundred years—Aura, the Sage of Corruption—had been like a helpless chick before her, unable to fight back.
In the original work, perhaps the only one who could surpass her was her master: the great magician Serie, who was born in the mythological era.
Not to mention Russell. Since coming to this world, his talent in mental power had far exceeded that of a normal cardmaker.
Both in terms of advancement speed and reserves.
So the combination of the two made Burning Sky Flame seem like it was burning... but not really burning.
Like it was burning, but not.
Seeing this situation, Nangong Ce and Simon both found it difficult to accept.
Nangong Ce said in disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"You were pretending?!"
Looking at the young face of the white-haired girl not far away, he couldn't understand why she possessed such terrifying magical power at such a young age.
Unless...
After catching a glimpse of Frieren's pointed ears, an absurd fact flashed through his mind.
The other party isn't human.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "As long as we can hold her back, we still have a chance."
In Nangong Ce's perception, although Burning Sky Flame's burning speed was very slow now, the magic power burned was a drop in the bucket compared to the white-haired girl's total amount.
But as long as he could hold out, Burning Sky Flame would slowly speed up until all the magic power was finally consumed.
But unfortunately...
Frieren obviously wouldn't give him this opportunity.
Pitch-black beams streaked across the battlefield. The killing magic of the Sage of Corruption had been created to massacre humans.
Although after analysis and study, the Magic Association had named it Demon-Killing Magic, its essence didn't change.
BOOM!
A sharp roar sounded, leaving huge wounds on the earth.
Nangong Ce fled around in a panic, using Five Elements magic to harass Frieren from time to time, trying to relieve his own pressure—but was blocked by defensive magic.
And his owner, Simon, was watching the scene with an unpleasant expression.
After a moment of silence, he whispered. "Vice President, how long will it take you to finish?"
Silence. No one answered his question.
Turning around, he saw that Russell—who had originally been beside him—had disappeared without a trace. Only his two cards were fighting with the spider-shaped card on the field.
However, Simon had no intention of looking for Russell's exact location at this time. He just thought the young man had gone to support his cards.
He was wondering about one thing.
Where's his trump card?
Could it be true, as Sebastian said, that Master Zhang was the one who killed the Emerald-rank demon—and he just took the credit?
The President of the East-Haven Cardmaker Association was extremely annoyed. In his opinion, Russell clearly had a trump card that could kill an Emerald-rank demon, but was still hiding it now. Obviously, he wanted Simon to die!
Russell: Hi, yes.
Simon didn't know that the so-called trump card he was thinking about was the ferocious white spider in the distance.
One of the ones who'd come to assassinate him.
Simon frowned as he looked at Zayne and Luther, who were fighting fiercely in the distance.
He knew he could only rely on himself now.
But when he turned his attention back to the field, the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
Magic circles like floating cannons hovered beside Frieren. Countless small killing magics kept scattering, forcing Nangong Ce to keep moving.
The showy young man flashed and left behind a leaf that was pierced through in an instant.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked up at the white-haired girl floating in the air.
But in his eyes at this moment, Frieren showed a rare smile on her face.
"...What is she laughing at?"
Nangong Ce was somewhat confused.
What's so funny?
Was she laughing at his miserable state right now?
But before he could get angry, he was chased away again by more killing magic.
But the venue was so small, and there were fewer and fewer places to hide.
After taking a short breath, Nangong Ce felt Frieren's aura and showed an ugly smile. "It's already halfway burned. Hold on a little longer—we can win!"
But when he dodged the killing magic this time, Frieren had already predicted where he would land.
Feeling the sudden dangerous aura, Nangong Ce's expression changed drastically. "Not good!"
Golden flames splashed out, trying to resist the killing magic.
However, what Nangong Ce didn't realize was that a transparent flame was hidden behind the killing magic.
Barely avoiding the dark beam of light, Nangong Ce swallowed.
Just as he was nervously guarding against Frieren's attack, the cold voice of the white-haired elder rang out in the moonlight.
"This is really interesting magic. Thank you very much this time."
Hearing Frieren's voice, Nangong Ce's attention was instantly drawn. "...What?"
"I named it Burning Magic. I hope you like it."
[Magic Analysis]: Frieren can spend a certain amount of time analyzing magic she has come into contact with, and has a chance to successfully reproduce it.
At this time, Nangong Ce noticed that the golden flame in front of him was gradually turning transparent.
Feeling his mana constantly draining away, he was extremely shocked. "Burning Sky Flame?!"
Simon also noticed the abnormality on the field. "How is this possible?!"
There was no doubt—Frieren was using Nangong Ce's Burning Sky Flame.
From appearance to function, exactly the same.
But how was this possible?
That was his trump card!
At this time, even Zayne and Luther, far away, noticed the sudden change on the field.
After seeing the transparent flame that had already climbed onto Nangong Ce's body, a hint of disbelief flashed in their eyes.
They naturally knew this flame was their President's ultimate move. But they'd never expected the opponent could replicate it in such a short time.
This didn't make sense at all.
At this moment, Simon felt this battle was strange everywhere. His own cards were like mice being toyed with when facing the white-haired card—being led by the nose the entire time.
However, unlike the shocked people present, Russell—hiding in the dark—as the card owner, naturally knew more detailed information.
Frieren had indeed succeeded in being a copy ninja. But the problem was it was only because Burning Sky Flame had been burning her that she'd been able to analyze it successfully.
As for the other Five Elements spells, Frieren hadn't copied them at all.
After all, actual combat wasn't like when Kumoko was teaching her, where she could carefully feel the flow of magic.
But even so, its strength had been greatly weakened compared to the original version.
Perhaps through subsequent research she could restore it to original strength, but certainly not right now.
As the victim, Nangong Ce also noticed the strangeness at this time and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Only...
This so-called Burning Magic was originally used by Frieren to attract his attention. The real killing move was the subsequent killing magic that had been charging for a long time.
A magic circle several times larger than the previous ones opened instantly. Without any warning, the huge beam of light pierced the air with a shrill whistle.
BOOM!
Direct hit.
In an instant, Nangong Ce turned to ashes, leaving behind only a bottomless black hole that silently told of his fate.
Simon felt the card belonging to Nangong Ce in his mind go into cooldown mode. His face looked extremely grim.
For a moment, the name really suited the person.
Zayne, far away, saw this scene and felt excited.
There was no doubt—the scales of victory were gradually tilting toward their Spirit Begging Society.
Maybe they could really kill Simon and get away with it today.
As expected of the lord. If he'd gone to participate in the national competition, there might not have been any chance for Russell.
This was what the expressionless middle-aged man thought.
However, Luther, not far from him, wasn't in a good mood at the moment. Zayne could see it, so he could see it too.
But the Society member he was fighting was really troublesome. For the moment, he couldn't get rid of him to support Simon.
But when Luther thought of Simon's previous actions, he hesitated again.
Really—do I want to save him?
The square-faced middle-aged man, with mixed feelings, once again faced the Society member who was equally matched with him.
The scene returned to Frieren. After dealing with Nangong Ce, she didn't choose to support Zoro. Instead, she pointed the tip of her staff at Simon.
In a wild fight between cardmakers, the correct strategy was to kill the enemy cardmaker first.
But what she could think of, how could Simon's cards not think of it too?
"Collapsing Fist—Shock Touch!"
Tiger Slayer left Zoro behind and flashed in front of Frieren.
His eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a madman, and his body was covered with numerous sword wounds.
The next moment, the powerful right fist hit the defensive magic in front of Frieren.
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
A series of shattering sounds were heard. Frieren calmly distanced herself from Tiger Slayer.
As a mage, she certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to engage in close combat with a warrior.
On the other side, after Tiger Slayer left, Zoro's pressure suddenly decreased.
He wasn't like Frieren, who'd only had to face Nangong Ce.
Facing Flame Silence and Tiger Slayer at the same time, it hadn't been easy even for him.
It was better to say that the fact he could hold out for so long under the siege of two cards—one Red quality, one Gold quality—without falling was a symbol of strength in itself.
Fortunately, Frieren had quickly dealt with Nangong Ce and created a one-on-one situation for him.
"It seems my companion is better."
The green-haired young man held the long sword in his mouth with a smile.
Flame Silence glanced at Tiger Slayer, who was already at a disadvantage in the distance, without any expression. Then he looked coldly at the wounded Three-Sword swordsman before him. "The last gasp of a spent force."
"Still talking tough."
"As long as I kill you, the crisis will be resolved."
Hearing this, Zoro's face became dangerous. "If you can do it."
"Santōryū · Ji · Tora Gari!"