Under Alan's continuous pressure, Thunderbird was unable to stand his ground and respond with his usual calm. Fortunately, as a Duel Master, his footwork was excellent; relying on his superior agility, he began to retreat, managing to keep his distance with relative ease.
It wasn't that he didn't want to dodge to the sides, but Alan's offensive was dense, and the space on either flank had been completely blocked. At this point, he could only awkwardly parry and skip backward.
*Damn it!* Thunderbird felt as if he were about to burst with rage. He couldn't understand why Alan, whom he had firmly suppressed earlier, had become so fierce in close-quarters combat. The boy was clearly inferior to him in spell intensity and magical reserves, so why was he the one being pushed back?
However, despite the pressure, Thunderbird remained unpanicked. In terms of magic supply, he was far stronger than his opponent, and Alan's high-intensity frequency surely couldn't last much longer. As soon as the offensive slowed, Thunderbird would show the boy what a true power looked like.
But just as Thunderbird was calculating his counterattack... he felt his heel press into something.
BOOM!
Thunderbird, forced into a retreat by Alan's relentless assault, suddenly felt a series of violent explosions erupt from beneath his feet.
The area within a three-meter radius of Thunderbird looked as if it had been struck by high-altitude bombardment. The fierce explosions kicked up snow and dirt several stories high. The roaring sound waves and air currents rippled outward like water struck by a massive boulder.
Alan, watching the blast, knew the trap had worked. The reason he had used the Thunder Raven Spell and shaken the snow from the surrounding pines was to disrupt the battlefield. He had used the ravens and the drifting snow to obscure Thunderbird's vision, create confusion, and turn the flat snow into a chaotic mess.
This had allowed him to secretly deploy several Magic Spider Mines. These mines were inscribed with saturated Blasting Curse runes and could crawl freely under Alan's direction. Out of caution, Alan had kept them moving at an extremely slow speed to avoid making a sound. To ensure success, he had deliberately shifted his position, drawing Thunderbird directly into the kill zone.
Even with Alan stalling for time, the mines hadn't quite reached the target on their own. Fortunately, Alan's aggressive counterattack had forced his opponent exactly where he wanted him.
Even though the mines had found their mark, Alan did not relax his guard. Seizing the opportunity, he lashed out with his lightning whip. Simultaneously, he extended his left hand, and the Binding Spirit Lock shot from his sleeve, its expanding net flying to envelop the target.
All of Alan's actions were completed in a single breath. When he felt the lightning whip transmit the sensation of coiling around an object, and the spirit lock hit something solid, he knew his plan had succeeded.
As the dust dispersed, the center of the explosion was revealed. The ground where Thunderbird stood looked as if it had been excavated, sinking nearly half a meter. The earth had been churned up, revealing decaying branches and loose soil.
Thunderbird was surprisingly still alive, but his flame blade had been extinguished. He held his wand in front of him, supporting a glowing crimson 360-degree magical shield. Alan's spirit lock and lightning whip were wrapped tightly around the barrier, but the shield remained stable even under the dual pressure of the energy absorption and the wild lightning.
However, Thunderbird appeared extremely disheveled. His face was covered in dirt, his neatly combed hair was a mess, and trickles of blood slid from his forehead. With his skin stained by blood and dust, there was no trace of his former arrogance; he looked like a beggar who had been brutalized on the street. His fine robes were torn to shreds, exposing blood-stained limbs.
He had narrowly avoided being blown apart thanks to his keen battle instincts. The moment he stepped on the first mine, he realized the danger and rapidly contracted his magic to conjure several layers of specialized shielding. Even so, the initial blast had hit him before he was fully prepared, causing significant injury.
The power of the explosion was astonishing. Alan clearly hadn't cared about the survivability of his target; that explosive yield would have likely downed a dragon. Thunderbird's initial shielding hadn't lasted a second, forcing him to use a desperate protective spell to survive Alan's follow-up.
"You bastard... how dare you humiliate me again and again with this trash..."
Thunderbird slowly raised his head from within the shield. His eyes were shot through with blood, and his face was hideous, like a demon crawling out of hell. He was utterly beyond rage.
"You forced my hand. It's been a long time since anyone made me this angry. Die! Haaah!"
Thunderbird roared, sweeping his wand horizontally. The crimson magical shield began to expand, its color shifting from red to blue and transforming into an ethereal flame. It was like dry ice exposed to air, instantly stirring up a rolling, scorching cloud of dust. This aura billowed outward, overwhelming everything in its path. The terrifying pressure made even those outside the forest tremble.
Bird Snake, who was currently being suppressed by Moody and beaten back step by step, glanced toward the forest in shock.
*This... could it be that legendary spell?*