The world around Shang transformed into splintered reality. Of course, a High Mage didn't have the power to achieve something like that, but the shower of clean cuts in the atmosphere made it look like it.
Shang narrowed his right eye, and he focused his Pseudo-Spirit Sense on the area around him.
As Shang continued running, everything seemed to be cut apart, but he never got touched by the cuts.
It was like he was not part of the reality that was cut apart.
When the High Mage saw that, they narrowed their eyes.
They knew what that meant.
By now, Shang had nearly reached the first Mage Tower. His muscles bulged as he readied himself for his attack.
The Mages had thought that the High Mage would take care of Shang, which was why they hadn't readied another Spell.
Sadly, they had been mistaken.
Shang reached the Mana Shield of the first Mage Tower and struck.
WHOOM!
Sword was suddenly surrounded by black flames as it used its power of Entropy.
The shields of these towers were as powerful as the shields of Peak True Mages. If Shang wanted to destroy it in one hit, he needed to use the Entropy Ability of Sword.
And then, Sword hit.
BANG!
The eyes of all the Mages widened in shock as the Mana Shield of the tower broke into pieces immediately.
What?!
How?!
Did that mean that this warrior could destroy the Mana Shield of a Peak True Mage just like that?!
BOOOOM!
The tower immediately broke into pieces as Shang charged through its wall and reached its inside.
The Mages on the top felt the ground collapse, and they tried to escape.
However, Mana Step was only usable on the ground!
They couldn't use it due to the tower collapsing beneath them!
BANG!
Shang's body punched through the upper layer of the tower and appeared between the two Mages.
For a moment, time seemingly froze.
The Mages hadn't expected Shang to reach the inside of the tower this quickly, which was why they hadn't even activated their Mana Shield.
BANG! BANG!
Both Mages exploded into pieces just a moment later as a large sword cut through them.
Due to using Entropy, Sword had transformed from its Colossal Sword State into its Great Sword State.
A moment later, Shang lightly landed on a piece of falling debris.
BANG!
And he shot out of the falling tower, punching through part of the collapsing ceiling.
He was shooting right at the second Mage Tower.
But at that moment, Shang's instincts screamed at him.
Something terrifying was coming his way.
Shang looked to his right and saw a young woman with long grey hair and black robes unleashing a Spell.
This was the High Mage.
Right now, a terrifying cut in the shape of a crescent was flying toward Shang.
The destructive power of this Spell couldn't be compared to the Spells the Mage Towers had unleashed.
As soon as Shang saw the Spell, he slashed toward it.
A wave of hard ice left Shang's sword.
CLINK!
The hard ice was split apart in an instant, barely weakening the Spell.
After finishing the slash, Shang had already readied his left arm and pointed it at the approaching slash.
CLINK!
An icicle left Shang's left hand, which was also cut apart by the cutting wave.
Lastly, Shang barely managed to put the edge of his sword between him and the wave.
In its earlier form, Sword would have been too cumbersome and heavy to perform such a maneuver, but it was no longer in its earlier form.
This was the Great Sword State, not the Colossal Sword State.
The Colossal Sword State was mainly used for defense and rare but heavy counterattacks.
But the Great Sword State was mainly used for explosive offense with still a bit of defense.
CRACK!
As the wave hit, a several-centimeter-deep cut was left on Sword's edge. It didn't quite reach its middle, but it was definitely a brutal cut.
Shang could feel the pain Sword was under, but it could handle it.
But despite all that, Shang managed to survive the cut with only some deep cuts at the sides of his upper arms. The wave had been broken, but its scattered power still managed to graze him.
When the High Mage saw that, her eyebrows rose in shock.
Did a mere warrior just survive one of her Spells?!
BANG!
Shang exploded forward again, but he wasn't shooting at the High Mage but at the second tower.
The Mages inside the tower quickly activated their Mana Shields and tried to jump out of the tower.
However, without their Mana Step, they were just too slow.
More black flames appeared around Sword.
BANG!
The Mana Shield was broken apart just like the first one, and Shang directly shot at the two Mages at the highest level of the tower, completely ignoring the walls.
The walls were nothing but air to him.
Shang reached the first one instantaneously, and some black mist appeared on Sword as Shang's left arm withered by a bit.
Shang's attack was very fast, even faster than before. After all, Sword had transitioned from its Great Sword State into its Saber State.
In the Saber Stage, Sword was fully focused on pure offense and speed.
BANG!
Black lightning exploded off Sword and traveled across the Mana Shield.
CRACK!
The Mana Shield was broken apart in a single attack.
This was only a Mid True Mage, and by using Darkness, Shang could destroy their Mana Shield in one attack.
The two of them were still in the air as the Mage looked with shock and horror at their broken Mana Shield.
An instant later, they could only see Shang's right hand, which was holding his sword, come closer to their face.
BANG!
With a backhand, Shang punched the head off the Mage's body.
Then, he put his feet on the body.
BANG!
And exploded towards the second Mage.
"HELP!"
The second Mage shouted, but Shang had already reached them.
BANG!
Another explosion of black lightning occurred.
BANG!
Then, Shang kicked the Mage, turning them into several pieces that shot into the distance.
WHOOOOOM!
At that moment, Shang felt another terrifying threat approach.
Several gigantic spears of metal were shooting toward him.
It was almost like it was raining spears!
Shang could try blocking some of the spears, but the others would still skewer him.
He was also too slow to evade, and Mana Step couldn't be used in the air.
A moment later, a shower of spears blanketed the collapsing tower with Shang still inside it.
For just a moment, it seemed like the invading warrior was dead.
BANG!
That was until Shang shot out of the dusty cloud of former stone.
At the moment, some Magic Runes were swirling around Shang, and he was uninjured.
Jerald had long since given Shang his present, and it was definitely very powerful.
The new black armor he wore could even protect him from a High Mage's Spell.
Even better, it only activated if Shang was about to receive a severe injury. That was why it hadn't activated when he had been cut by the first wave of cutting metal from the High Mage.
In basically an instant, Shang reached the third Mage Tower.
But at the same time, the next Spell of the High Mage had already appeared.
The High Mage was no longer warming up, and she was even using her Focus now.
Two metallic cuts shot right at Shang.
Earlier, Shang had barely managed to block one of them.
Now, there were two.
From now on, this mission wouldn't be as easy as before.
