Just as Karkaroff was in doubt, he suddenly trembled all over, as if he were thinking about something, or as if he were listening to someone speaking, standing still in a daze. However, the other wizards did not notice his abnormality, but kept urging, "Don't waste any more time, hurry up and leave; if that one catches up, we're all finished."
"Your most important task today is to die here for me!"
As a group of Pure Land Society wizards were about to set off, a cold, yet unforgettable and terrifying voice came from behind them. When they turned around, they found that Thunderbird had suddenly appeared in front of them at some point.
"You… how could you come so fast? Could it be that the spatial blockade of Blue Fiendfyre doesn't work on you?" A Pure Land Society wizard who had just escaped looked at Thunderbird in the distance with an expression of disbelief, stunned.
"Hahahaha!" Thunderbird laughed wildly. "How could my own spell hinder myself? The reason I'm chasing after you is just to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Your foolish leader actually thought he could hold me back, it's ridiculous!" With that, Thunderbird looked mockingly at Karkaroff and the others beside him. "Oh, I didn't expect you to have any fish that slipped through the net. That's even better; I'll just deal with them all at once here."
"Bastard, you are not allowed to insult Lord Seth! Avada Kedavra!" A Pure Land Society wizard, hearing Thunderbird's unbridled mockery of Seth, immediately became enraged and raised his hand to blast a Killing Curse at him.
But how could such a pale and powerless attack possibly harm Thunderbird, not to mention that this wizard's condition had rapidly deteriorated after the previous series of battles? At this point, his spellcasting even lost its accuracy. The pale green magical beam shot out was unusually off-target, unable to even touch the opponent's clothes, and Thunderbird didn't even bother to respond.
"Calling you idiots is probably overestimating you. You don't even know that you shouldn't be affected by emotions in battle. Killing you is simply a waste of time." Thunderbird sneered disdainfully, but still raised his wand. "However, I'll just consider killing you as an after-show. After all, cleaning up trash can also bring me pleasure. Oh, that's right..." Thunderbird seemed to remember something again and suddenly quipped, "Your leader seems to be very good at Explosion Spells, right? Then I'll use his move to send you on your way. That way, you'll also be considered to have died together. My biggest flaw is that I'm overflowing with sympathy, always liking to pity my opponents! Impact Thunderbolt Explosion!"
As soon as the words fell, Thunderbird suddenly raised his hand and blasted out the chain explosion spell that was so imposing in Seth's hands.
*Pity? Do you, a demon, call this pity? It's ridiculous!* The wizard facing the explosion that was directly spreading toward him felt endless despair and sorrow in his heart, even forgetting to cast a spell to resist for a moment. He knew that no matter what, he couldn't block this terrifying attack.
But just at this moment, a figure suddenly darted out, stood in front of him, and quickly cast a seemingly ordinary shield charm.
"Boom!!!"
After a loud bang and a terrifying tremor, the Pure Land Society wizard who was standing there waiting to die found that he was still alive, and he didn't even feel a trace of pain on his body. He, who had been hopeless, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope. He was very clear about the power of this explosion spell, and even just feeling the power generated when the spell exploded earlier could give him some understanding. But now, someone could actually block this terrifying spell?
And the one who helped him withstand this terrible attack was the figure standing in front of him.
"You, name!" Thunderbird looked at the wizard who suddenly appeared and calmly blocked his spell, asking in a cold voice.
"Igor Karkaroff! Deputy Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute. As long as I am here today, I will not allow any of my companions to die by your hand. If you want to deal with them, you'll have to step over my corpse." The one who stepped forward at this moment was Karkaroff, who had been observing from behind. He showed a righteous demeanor, his brows slightly furrowed, looking very imposing.
"Karkaroff, you..." The wizard he saved suddenly felt that Karkaroff in front of him seemed to have become much stranger, and much more imposing. He couldn't help but choke up and want to say something.
"There's no need for sentimental words." Karkaroff slightly turned his face, revealing his distinctly etched, serious countenance. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't reported the Silver Spears to Seth, perhaps today's tragedy wouldn't have happened. Since I can't welcome victory with you, at least I must bring you back alive!"
"Deputy Headmaster Karkaroff!"
"Lord Karkaroff!"
"Igor!"
Upon hearing Karkaroff's righteous words, both the wizard he saved and the others behind him were moved by his sense of responsibility and loyalty.
"But... the strength of this enemy is extraordinary. Even Seth couldn't contend with him. Your going up would only be a futile sacrifice. I think it's better for us to hold him off while you take the injured and escape!" The wizard he saved was not heartless and couldn't help but advise Karkaroff.
"No! I can feel the power of this Silver Spear, and I'm afraid I don't have the confidence to defeat him. But if it's just to block him, I still have some confidence." Karkaroff's eyes at this moment, besides gloom, also revealed a sense of confidence from within.
*Confident to block him?*
The Pure Land Society wizards behind him suddenly trembled. Karkaroff actually had such confidence. Could it be that his strength was actually extraordinary? But in the previous battles, he had always performed adequately, nothing special. Could it be that Karkaroff had been hiding his strength all along?
Yes! It must be like this. Karkaroff, like Seth, being a principal-level figure of Durmstrang, certainly wouldn't be without substance. He probably also possessed extraordinary and powerful strength. The reason Karkaroff had been so low-key before was probably because he didn't want to steal the thunder from the Jacobsen family, and his ability to save Knut at the critical moment also proved that he possessed extraordinary magical perception.
*I didn't expect, Karkaroff, that you would hide so deeply. You are actually a low-key powerhouse!*
Everyone at this moment suddenly had endless associations with Karkaroff, and all his previous actions were given different interpretations. This made everyone look at Karkaroff with not only gratitude and trust, but also a hint of reverence.
"Heh, your tone is quite arrogant!" Thunderbird suddenly spoke at this moment. "Since you are so confident, then let me see your capacity! One chance! If you don't die, these few will live!"
"Come on!" Facing Thunderbird's provocation, Karkaroff took a heavy step forward, then waved his hand backward, signaling the others to retreat. Seeing Karkaroff's stubbornness at this moment, although everyone was still full of worry, out of trust in Karkaroff, they slowly retreated, clearing space for the two to face off.
"Azure Underworld Blade!"
Thunderbird grandly drew his wand diagonally, then, as if pulling a blade from a scabbard in thin air, he drew out a brilliant azure blade of Fiendfyre!
"This is... that Silver Spear's strongest magic!" The wizards behind him immediately tensed up when they saw Thunderbird's action. They were all too familiar with this opening move. Not long ago, a group of them, including Seth, could only barely block Thunderbird's Fiendfyre blade. Now, only Karkaroff was facing the opponent, which made everyone unable to help but worry for him.
And Karkaroff, looking at the azure blade in Thunderbird's hand, which looked incredibly powerful, couldn't help but swallow, but he still forced down the fear in his heart and extended his wand toward the opponent, assuming a stance ready for battle.
"Die!"
Thunderbird roared, then raised the long blade high and chopped directly at Karkaroff. A scorching wave of fire drew a fan shape with a radius of over a dozen meters in the air, and the instantly unleashed heatwave made the current cold environment feel unusually hot. At the same time, it made everyone watching from behind squint their eyes and involuntarily take half a step back.
Seeing such a terrifying long blade of fire chopping directly at him, Karkaroff almost peed his pants on the spot, but recalling the message Alan had sent him earlier, he could only bite the bullet and cast the spell.
"Finite Incantatem!"
A faint golden magical light flashed from the tip of Karkaroff's wand, but the magical aura he released was not only incomparable to the combined efforts of over a dozen people before, but even Seth's solo cast was much brighter than this. So, upon seeing the Counter-Spell cast by Karkaroff, all the Pure Land Society wizards were instantly tense. How could a spell of such weak intensity possibly block the Fiendfyre in front of them?
However, something unexpected happened to everyone. Karkaroff, in front of them, actually managed to firmly resist Thunderbird's azure blade with this Counter-Spell. Not only did he prevent the opponent's constantly surging Fiendfyre from advancing an inch, but he even created a semi-circular protective space around himself.
The Fiendfyre had even rolled and enveloped him in the center, but Karkaroff could still be vaguely seen standing firm within it, using the seemingly weak but extremely resilient Counter-Spell to forcibly push away the Blue Fiendfyre, preventing it from getting close to his body.
However, Karkaroff, who was completely enveloped by the Blue Fiendfyre at this moment, looked bewildered, because he couldn't feel any pressure from this Fiendfyre. He even felt that even if he reached out to touch the flames, they wouldn't harm him in the slightest.
"Don't just stand there in a daze, what's going on with you? Why does the spell you're casting have no presence at all? Don't you know how to make it look more intimidating? Like adding some Lumos to it?"
Just as Karkaroff stood there in a daze, Alan's dissatisfied complaint suddenly came to his ears, clearly indicating that he was also very displeased with Karkaroff's performance.