"Flash." The old man quickly reacted, also sensing Herag behind him, but he made no move.

As Herag's fist was about to hit the old man, the old man still did not use any shield, allowing Herag's fist to approach the back of his head.

Although Herag was a bit puzzled, he couldn't stop at this moment.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Herag lunged into thin air; the old man in front of him vanished.

A tremendous wave of magic surged from behind him, and in the next moment, a massive ice cone struck his back.

Herag was knocked to the ground by the ice cone, rolling over several times.

Pain emanated from his back, but it was nothing serious.

Herag's absolute defense and dark armor, along with his formidable constitution, left him almost unscathed.

Climbing to his feet, Herag gazed at the old man in the air and said, "Spatial defense spell?"

"That's right." The old man sneered.

The old man hadn't dodged at all. As Herag's fist approached, the surrounding space automatically distorted, and then Herag appeared in front of him.

The old man didn't need any shield spell; his innate talent spell was an extremely rare spatial magic that could automatically twist the surrounding space, redirecting all attacks elsewhere.

For someone like Herag, who specialized in close combat, this spell practically rendered the old man invincible.

Herag's attacks couldn't get close; no matter how strong, if it couldn't reach the old man's body, it was meaningless.

Realizing this, Herag stood on his spot, staring at the old man, but still did not strike.

"Ice Rain." The old man amassed a large quantity of ice energy particles in his hand, followed by a shower of ice cones falling down.

Herag's spiritual power was highly concentrated, swiftly dodging these falling ice cones.

His speed was already extremely fast, and with Shenlan's assistance, each step cleverly avoided the ice cones.

Seconds later, the ground was filled with ice cones, but Herag stood unharmed at his original spot.

Herag smiled at the old man, still not taking the initiative to attack.

The old man, seeing his somewhat provocative smile, felt a surge of anger.

But then he realized: "You're stalling for time."

Herag no longer took the initiative to strike, just standing there watching him.

Meanwhile, the old man's attacks couldn't take down Herag in a short time, creating a stalemate.

Herag's intention was clear: to stall for time until reinforcements arrived.

But the old man couldn't afford to wait; he had to quickly seize control of the Witch Array.

If the Cheqi family arrived, even as a crystallization wizard, he might not make it out of the Black Rock Valley.

The old man instantly felt a bit troubled, watching Herag slowly retreating, constantly testing the edges, fueling his frustration.

Without eliminating Herag, he couldn't seize control of the Witch Array smoothly.

But Herag's speed, power, and constitution far exceeded his expectations; as long as Herag didn't engage him directly, it was impossible to take him down in a short time.

The most crucial factor now was time.

"Freeze!"

The old man's hand clenched, and the temperature around Herag rapidly plummeted, a thick layer of ice forming over Herag's body surface.

This was a Level 1 ice magic spell, capable of trapping someone in ice for a long time.

However.

Bam!

Electric sparks flickered from Herag's body, causing cracks in the ice, followed by a faint sound, shattering the ice away. He regained his freedom of movement.

The old man exhaled a breath, as he had anticipated.

Herag's constitution was too high; these binding spells were too weak against him.

The old man weighed his options, then reached out to the ground, retrieving a red crystal in his hand.

Then, he flew directly towards the mouth of Black Rock Valley, abandoning his plan to seize the Witch Array.

With Herag interfering, he couldn't succeed.

He couldn't afford to continue wasting time; otherwise, not only would the plan fail, but he himself might perish here.

Herag watched him fly away, slowly following, keeping a distance behind him.

Seeing the old man fly out of Black Rock Valley, Herag confirmed that he had truly given up on seizing the Witch Array.

"Pretty decisive," Herag thought to himself.

The Moss family must have been preparing for this plan for a long time; abandoning it like this was undoubtedly a great loss for them.

Since the old man had flown out of Black Rock Valley, returning wouldn't be easy.

The Witch Array had identity recognition features; unless the old man used the teleportation Witch Array again, he couldn't enter.

After the old man's departure, Herag headed for the residential district to check the situation.

A scene of corpses lay before him, many houses smashed by ice cones, with a thick stench of blood in the air.

Herag searched through the area, finding not a single living person; everyone had been slaughtered.

Wizard apprentices and Knights were so vulnerable before a crystallization wizard, hardly having any room for resistance.

That Herag survived Marco's onslaught back then was already a miracle.

And it was mainly because Batty arrived in time; if he had been a bit slower, Herag would not have survived.

These people had always worked diligently; entering the Cheqi Family represented a bright future for them.

Who could have imagined that disaster would strike from the heavens, and many were killed by ice cones in their sleep, ending their lives?

In this moment, Herag once more felt the fragility of life; without strength, one could not control their own fate.

Had Herag not possessed enough strength this time, he would have perished at Terry's hands.

Arriving at the mouth of Black Rock Valley, a castle was present, with a few Knights and wizard apprentices surviving.

It just happened to be their turn on duty today, allowing them to narrowly escape disaster.

The old man noticed them when fleeing but was in too much of a hurry to harm them.

"Sir!" They came out of the castle upon seeing Herag.

Herag had already restored his original appearance, wearing a new set of clothes.

"Continue to guard here; reinforcements will arrive soon." Herag checked their condition, finding they were all right, and gave orders.

Seeing Herag granted them a great sense of assurance; with an official wizard present, they felt secure.

They were unaware of the magnitude of the gap between Herag and the old man; after all, both were official wizards, equally powerful.

Several hours later, Blake appeared at the mouth of Black Rock Valley, cautiously observing the situation within.

Although Herag had informed him through the Talisman Stone that the opponent had retreated.

Yet, who could verify whether the person on the other end of the Talisman Stone was Herag or an enemy.

In Blake's estimation, Herag should have already been killed; thus, the person on the other end of the Talisman Stone was likely the enemy, deliberately setting a trap.

Therefore, upon reaching the outside of Black Rock Valley, he didn't rush in but observed for a while with the Cheqi family members.

Herag, at that moment, was standing atop the gatehouse of the castle, and when Blake saw him, he was a bit surprised. Sensing that the control of the Witch Array was still in his hands, he felt much relieved.

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