239 Mana Suppression (1/2)

Of course, Lys was very pleased with Lin Yun's performance.

After all, Fran was a genuine Archmage.

”Merlin never takes risks…” While Lys was lost in his thoughts, Solomon unhurriedly mentioned this.

”Hmm?” Lys paused as he thought about this. 'Yes, Merlin never took risks…'

He carefully considered what he had seen, and realized that this truly had been the case ever since he had first come into contact with that young Great Mage due to the hearing over the Hope Potion a few months ago.

Everything that young Great Mage said, every matter he brought up, all of it seemed absurd, but later on, everyone would always find out that the decision had been made after careful consideration. He was rarely seen taking risks, and it was even more unlikely for him to do something out of desperation.

'Would it be the same this time?'

The fight was still ongoing, and the two sides remained in the same posture, one attacking, one defending. All that had changed was that Fran had gotten up from the ground.

But the experienced mages in the joint exploration team such as Suyass, Solomon, and Lys all knew that this battle had already entered its most dangerous stretch.

Although the young Great Mage had remained on the offensive this whole time and seemed to have the advantage, he was actually walking on a tightrope. One mistake could make him fall into a bottomless abyss. Fran was an Archmage, so if he found the opportunity to counterattack, with the crushing differential in power, he would easily tear his opponent to shreds.

In reality, Fran was also waiting for it.

To Fran, the course of this battle had been quite unexpected...

That sudden Flame Burst completely ruined Fran's rhythm, and it also ruined any semblance of reputation Fran had left, forcing him into acting like a passive punching bag.

But Fran believed that this situation would only be temporary.

As an Archmage, how could he be suppressed by a 9th Rank Great Mage? Every single one of an Archmage's moves would be imbued with formidable mana. A Great Mage wouldn't be able to resist some casually released mana from an Archmage… It was a crushing power.

He only had to endure for now.

As long as the other side eventually made a mistake, he would be able to reverse the tide of the battle and return everything he had endured with interest.

Fran couldn't help sneering as he thought, 'Mafa Merlin, you are truly naive, do you really think that you can contend with an Archmage without that special Flame Burst? This frantic attempt to suppress my spells is ridiculous.

'You are only a 9th Rank Great Mage, yet you want to defeat an Archmage with that power? You are dreaming! How much mana do you have left? How many spells can you cast? Even if you luckily managed to suppress me momentarily, how long will you be able to keep it up for?'

'So what if you can suppress me for thirty seconds? So what if you have the upper hand for a minute? As soon as you make a single mistake, I'll tear you apart. You don't have any chance to win this battle unless you can suppress me from start to finish so that I can't even cast a spell the whole time.

'But is that even possible? Could a 9th Rank Great Mage ever be able to keep suppressing an Archmage? Let alone you, even Suyass wouldn't be able to with such a difference in power.'

Thus, Fran remained calm amidst the continuous bombardment of spells. He kept protecting himself while patiently waiting for his opportunity, a sneer on his face.

But that sneer gradually faded.

Because for some reason, the attacks weren't letting up.

Three minutes had already, passed yet the other side had yet to make a mistake. He was like a machine, accurate and efficient. All his spells seemed to have come from a textbook, making it impossible for anyone to find a loophole.

This felt very uncomfortable.

Fran clearly saw that that the other side didn't try to burst him down; he only used basic spells and didn't even use metamagic.

But these common spells kept coming one after the other, giving Fran no room to breathe. He felt as if he had fallen into a swamp, and the more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

Fran started panicking.

'What's going on? I definitely reached the Archmage realm and that guy is clearly only a 9th Rank Great Mage, so why does this battle feel so difficult? ...Will I lose?' A sudden thought flashed through Fran's mind.

This was the first time it even occurred to him that he could lose this battle.

Fran was scared by this thought.

'How can I lose!?'