The black clouds above the Empress Cobra Zone kept it in perpetual darkness, which didn't help the nervous mood everyone was in.
The soldiers rarely talked since they had to be at the peak of their concentration at all times.
They knew that the enemy would show up. They just didn't know when and where they would appear from.
Sylvia had already shown the power of Susan's Darkness' Veil, and Susan would certainly take advantage of that Spell yet again.
Everyone knew that Susan's entire army would be hidden from view until it was ready to strike.
Whenever that would be.
And worst of all, there was no counter to Darkness' Veil.
Neither Sylvia nor Jerald could come with any kind of Spell or Magic Circle that would be able to feel Darkness' Veil.
This meant that the first attack for Susan and the Council would be free.
They had the initiative, which was a scary thought since she had tens of High Mages following her command.
A concentrated attack of so many High Mages was devastating.
Everyone knew that many people would die during the first attack.
They only hoped it wasn't them.
Hours passed.
Shang kept standing in front of the five Mid High Mages that stood in front of the fortified building.
His right eye was closed, and he kept his focus on his surroundings.
Jerald hovered in the air. Luckily, even though his Flying Spell cost a lot of Mana to activate, it didn't cost a lot of Mana to keep up.
Jerald hovered above the army like a beacon of hope and power…
Or like a target.
The wait was tense.
…
…
…
It felt like forever.
…
…
…
Shang's right eye shot open!
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Suddenly, over 80 High Mages appeared in a half-circle formation behind where everyone was facing!
Even more, nine of these over 80 High Mages were Late High Mages.
The four remaining members of the main Council had obviously also gathered the five of the secondary Council in the Skythunder Kingdom's west.
Darkness' Veil could keep the Mages hidden, but it couldn't hide the fluctuations of Mana.
Shang had opened his eyes when he felt an astronomical amount of Mana basically shooting at a location behind them.
This was the absorption of Mana of over 80 High Mages preparing Spells.
Huge fireballs, storms of icicles, space-cutting waves of metal, gathered bolts of lightning, cutting storms, heavy boulders, all of this appeared in a giant cacophony of destruction above the enemy High Mages.
They had all prepared their Spells in an instant!
It had been so fast that no one had moved from their spot yet. Their bodies were just starting to get into a battle stance.
At that moment, only terror, fear, and anticipation existed in the minds of Jerald's forces.
On one hand, the moment they had feared had arrived, but on the other hand, the torturous wait was finally over.
"Charge!" Jerald's Spirit Sense transmitted to everyone below him.
The warriors' knees angled at the same time.
The Mages were all casting the same Spell.
Then, the wave of destruction shot at all of them.
Even though the wave of destruction looked like one entity, it was actually comprised of many small, targeted attacks.
It looked like a singular wave, but the Spirit Sense of everyone could immediately pick out the very attacks that were targeted at them specifically.
Shang also felt the Spells targeted at him.
Three Council members.
Three Council members were targeting him with their Spells!
Three Late High Mages.
At the same time, it also became apparent who was targeting Sylvia and Jerald, and it also became clear what the Council's strategy for this battle was.
Jerald had five Spells targeted at him, with one of them being a fast and powerful Darkness Spell.
Five Council members were targeting Jerald, including Susan.
Sylvia was being targeted by a fast bolt of lightning, which was increasing the humidity around it to give it a wider range.
This Spell was the best of both worlds. It was as wide as an area of effect Spell, but as soon as something entered the area of effect, the bolt of lightning would home in on the target with a concentrated strike.
This was an opponent that Sylvia would have big troubles with.
And now, their plan was clear.
Sylvia could fight one Council member equally, and the Council had also sent one member to her.
Jerald could fight five Council members equally, with Susan amongst them, and the Council had also sent five members, including Susan, at him.
Shang was not nearly as powerful as Jerald, even with his augmenting Spells.
At most, Shang could maybe win against two Council members.
But they had sent three to attack Shang.
Obviously, they wanted to stall Jerald and Sylvia until Shang was killed.
Then, the three Late High Mages would join the fourth one and kill Sylvia.
Lastly, all nine Council members would focus on Jerald.
Jerald could fight five, but he couldn't fight nine.
But the Council also knew that Jerald would take some of them with him to the afterlife.
Shang focused on the three Spells coming at him.
Shang had barely been able to react to Duke Blastfurnace's attack, and he hadn't even truly seen Sylvia's Spell.
…
But that had been when he hadn't been under his augmenting Spells!
Now, he could discern their characteristics and react appropriately.
A concentrated and massive beam of fire, a morphing column of stone, and a spear of sparking wind shot at Shang.
All the Council members knew more than one concept, and this became clear when looking at their Spells.
The beam of fire looked normal on the outside, but Shang could feel Earth Mana inside it. This meant that the beam wouldn't explode as soon as it hit its target. Instead, it would punch through its target like a blazingly hot spear.
The column of earth had a lot of Water Mana come off it. In comparison to normal earth, this column could flow and change its shape like water while still being as hard and heavy as the toughest rock.
But the most concerning was the third Spell.
The biggest problem for Shang when fighting Mages above his level was speed.
The main reason why he always lost was due to the attacks of his opponents vastly outclassing his own speed.
Nearly Shang's entire defense relied on being able to avoid and parry attacks, and one needed speed for both of these.
And the spear of sparking wind?
Its speed was unreal!
It combined the Wind Element's base speed with the Lightning Element's additional speed.
In comparison to the other two Spells, it didn't have the raw and destructive power, but it more than made up for it with speed.
This Council member was the perfect counter to Shang.
The spear of wind would hit Shang first, with the other two Spells hitting him simultaneously shortly after.
Their plan was obvious.
Shang would need to defend from the first Spell, which would lead him open to a devastating strike right after.
That would be when the other two Spells would kill him.
