Chapter 19

When Arran saw the smoking wreck of the building he had been in only moments earlier, he was certain that Master Zhao had died .

Yet in an instant more earsplitting blasts sounded, and although the smoke of the ruined building prevented Arran from seeing much, a sudden wave of fire shot out from amid the ruins, hitting another nearby building and sending scorched wreckage flying in all directions .

“We have to go!” Adept Kadir called out . “It isn’t safe!”

As if to illustrate his words, a bolt of lightning shot toward them from the smoke, striking a tree only a few dozen paces away . The tree instantly exploded with a thunderous crack, and torn shreds of wood went flying everywhere .

Arran and the others immediately started to run, desperate to get away from the destruction behind them .

They had run several hundreds of paces when a huge object crashed into the ground in front of them . It took Arran some moments to grasp that the object had been a building — one of the small cottages that filled the monastery grounds .

Arran came to a halt and looked back . He was astounded at the devastation he saw . Half a dozen buildings had been flattened already, and a thick fog of smoke and dust filled the air .

The sky above them was filled with roiling black clouds, from which fire and lightning constantly erupted . Beneath his feet, he could feel the earth shake and tremble, and a barrage of deafening explosions and thunderclaps assaulted his ears .

Abruptly, a streak of fire burst down from the clouds with a booming roar . When it slammed into the ground a few hundred paces from Arran and the others, several buildings and trees were obliterated in a flash .

The monastery grounds were in chaos . Everywhere Arran looked, he could see lightning striking buildings and trees alike, giant fireballs raining down and consuming all they hit, and masses of rock bursting from the ground .

Arran felt as if he were an ant trapped in a fight between giants . The destruction he saw around him was beyond anything he could have imagined .

It was like the world was ending, he thought .

“I have to save the initiates!” Adept Kadir yelled, and he began to run in the direction of the training hall .

Adept Kadir’s words brought Arran back to his senses . With a start, he realized that not just he and the others with him were in danger — the terrifying destruction being rained down upon the monastery grounds would endanger all the hundreds of people who were there .

Master Zhao had told them to flee and hide, but Arran followed Adept Kadir . He knew that the Academy was there for him, and he could not bring himself to hide while others died in his stead .

As they ran across the monastery grounds, ear-shattering blasts and explosions continued to sound, and the earth kept shaking and rumbling . In the corners of his eyes, Arran could see buildings being torn apart like leaves in a storm .

Finally, they neared the training hall .

Arran’s heart nearly stopped when he saw three white-robed figures walking toward the training hall, where several dozens of awestruck initiates stood, their attention captured by the destruction that was unfolding before their eyes . They were oblivious of the danger that was approaching them .

One of the white-robed figures raised his hand, and instantly, an invisible force smashed into one of the initiates, sending his broken body flying backward .

The sudden attack sent the other initiates into chaos, and they immediately scattered in all directions, some trying to flee while others moved to the Academy mages .

Adept Kadir roared furiously, slashing his hand through the air . At once, the Academy mage who had attacked first was brought to a halt . A moment later, his body was torn into pieces, as if it had been slashed by a dozen invisible blades .

The two remaining Academy mages turned around with a jolt, but already Adept Kadir had unleashed an attack at one of them . It hit just as the man raised his arm to block it, and although the mage survived the attack, the slash of air cut through his wrist . He stumbled back in shock, blood gushing from his arm .

Without hesitating, Adept Kadir sent a vicious attack toward the last unscathed mage . The man blocked the attack with a handwave, then retaliated with a bolt of lightning that crashed into the air before Adept Kadir and caused him to stagger back .

With Adept Kadir locked in combat with the unharmed mage, Arran, Amar, and Jiang Fei attacked the wounded one, who had a stunned expression as he stared at the bloody stump where his hand had been .

Arran’s attack hit first, a massive burst of Wind Essence that struck the dazed mage squarely in the chest . To his surprise, the man only barely stumbled . A moment later the mage was hit by the sword of one of the initiates who had remained to fight .

The man turned and the initiate was hit with a blow of invisible force that sent him crashing into the training hall, his body slumping to the ground . Yet as the mage attacked the initiate, he was struck by the attacks of Jiang Fei and Amar, whose swords cut into his body with furious blows .

Despite the blood that was gushing from his wounds, the mage struck out with his remaining arm . He hit Amar across the chest, and Arran’s friend was sent backward several dozens of paces, finally remaining motionless on the ground .

By now more initiates had joined the fight, and the mage was struck again and again by their swords, oozing blood from at least a dozen wounds . Yet despite his wounds, he fought on, striking down several other initiates .

Unable to harm the man with magic, Arran rushed forward to join the other initiates . He raised his sword, then delivered a desperate blow to the man’s neck . To his shock, it was like cutting into a massive tree — even though he struck with all his might, the blade barely sank an inch into the man’s flesh .

He kept striking the man, over and over, as did Jiang Fei and the other initiates . Yet although the Academy mage had stopped attacking, he still remained standing, as if their blows barely harmed him .

After what seemed like an eternity, the mage finally went down, his body soaked with the blood of dozens of wounds .

Arran turned toward Adept Kadir, and he was relieved to see the man limping toward them . Although he looked severely wounded, behind him lay the lifeless body of his opponent .

He was about to call out to Adept Kadir when he froze in shock . Behind the man had appeared three more white-robed Academy mages, who were rapidly approaching . One raised his hand, and Arran realized the mage was about to attack Adept Kadir .

“Behind you!” he shouted, but he knew he was too late .

Just then, the thunderous noise that had roared through the monastery grounds came to an abrupt halt .

The three Academy mages stopped in their tracks, and it looked as if they were about to turn around . Yet before they could, a massive wave of fire surged toward them . When the fire disappeared an instant later, only three smoldering corpses were left .

A moment later, a lone figure appeared from the thick cloud of smoke and dust that filled the center of the monastery grounds .

Arran sighed in relief when he saw it was Master Zhao .

“Those were the last ones,” Master Zhao said .

As Master Zhao approached them, Arran saw that the man was completely unscathed — not even his clothes bore any signs of the battle he had just fought .