Chapter 148: Water Beats Fire, True—but Lightning Beats Water Too!

【Earth Shield】 waved its arms and shouted loudly: "Big brother, go for it! Big brother, you're awesome! Big brother is the strongest!"

【Earth Shield】 looked up in awe: "Big brother, show these arrogant humans what the light of the sun truly means! What it means to burn the sky and boil the seas!"

Flattered by Earth Shield's endless praise, Fireball felt utterly elated.

【Fireball】's flames burned even hotter as it declared proudly: "Hmph, of course! Little brother, watch closely—this is your demonstration of instantaneous evaporation!"

Lin Mo shook his head and said no more.

He slowly raised his right hand.

BOOM—!!!

The previously faint infernal demon silhouette behind him solidified completely in an instant.

Terrifying heat instantly swept across the heavens and earth.

Lin Mo's eyes sharpened, and he swept his right hand forward.

【Flame Storm】!

A crimson tornado of flame, dozens of meters wide, materialized out of thin air.

With devastating rotational force, it slammed violently downward toward the water barrier below!

Immediately after,

Lin Mo swung his arm again.

【Inferno Roar】!

BOOM—!!!

A colossal wave of fire, dozens of meters tall and shaped like a fan, instantly coalesced.

Layer upon layer, each brimming with temperatures capable of melting steel.

It followed closely behind the fire tornado, like a celestial river crashing down from above, striking with unstoppable force!

At this moment,

The five hundred students below, even behind the thick water barrier, felt a suffocating pressure.

It was a fear that reached deep into their souls.

"This… what kind of monster is this…?"

"No wonder that hundred-person squad got wiped out—can a freshman under level 30 really cast something like this?!"

Wang Gang's hand trembled as he gripped his longsword.

"Hold the line!! You must hold the line!!"

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!!!

Fire and water.

In that instant, they clashed violently.

Extreme heat met extreme water, annihilating each other.

A blinding white mist exploded across the sky in an instant.

It was superheated steam, instantly vaporizing the water and engulfing a radius of hundreds of meters.

"Ahh!!"

Behind the water barrier,

One hundred and fifty water mages groaned in unison.

The first-row water mages, slightly lower in level, turned pale and spat out gouts of blood.

The pressure rebounding against them felt like holding back a speeding sedan with bare hands.

Under this terrifying force, the entire water mage formation was physically shoved back three to four meters!

Deep furrows were carved into the ground by their trampled feet.

Crack…

The 【Water Shield】 cast jointly by the one hundred and fifty water mages began to crack.

Several spots had already been burned through by the searing flames.

Scorching air gushed through the breaches, causing those behind to scream in agony.

Yet,

In the end… it held.

After all, it was a combined skill from one hundred and fifty water mages, level 30 to 40, amplified by absolute elemental advantage.

As the final wave of 【Inferno Roar】 crashed against the shattered water barrier and dissolved into a shower of sparks,

The water barrier still stood—firm and unbroken.

Like a broken dam holding back a raging flood.

……

The scorching steam continued to rise slowly.

From within the water mage formation came ragged, relieved breaths.

Wang Gang wiped sweat from his face:

"W-We held it?"

"Hahaha! We held it! We actually held it!"

"Even Lin Mo! Even this insane skill—crumbled before elemental advantage!"

"Brothers! We've won half the battle!"

"His fire skills are neutralized!!"

Cheers erupted instantly across the five-hundred-strong formation.

……

Meanwhile,

High above,

Lin Mo gazed down at the water barrier—tattered, but still standing—and his eyes flickered with surprise.

"Huh…"

"They actually held it?"

"Looks like elemental advantage really does have some weight."

Lin Mo had to admit:

In this world, rules were rules.

Elemental weakness was an objective law of this world.

【Earth Shield】 peeked down, scratched its head, and asked: "Big brother… didn't you just say you were gonna show little brother a demonstration of instantaneous evaporation?"

【Earth Shield】 looked innocently confused: "But… they didn't evaporate, did they?"

【Fireball】 stared, frozen, at the still-standing, broken water wall.

【Fireball】 trembled with self-doubt: "N-No… impossible… this can't be…"

【Fireball】: "I… I am destined to become a forbidden spell! How could these ants possibly block my apocalyptic fire?!"

【Earth Shield】 paused, then said: "Big brother… are you maybe… a little too tired lately? A bit… drained?"

Little Earth's words shattered Fireball's composure completely.

【Fireball】 instantly bristled: "Shut up! How could I be drained?! It's elemental advantage, you idiot!"

【Fireball】 yelled at 【Earth Shield】: "If you're so good, go do it yourself! All you do is stand there babbling—why don't you go break that water shield?!"

【Earth Shield】 shrank back: "I… I really can't… but at least I don't brag."

【Earth Shield】 muttered under his breath: "Didn't you just swear you'd show little brother instantaneous evaporation?"

【Fireball】 shook with rage: "You wait! When we both get physical bodies, I'll burn you first!"

【Earth Shield】 immediately clamped his mouth shut, too terrified to speak again.

「……」

Lin Mo watched the two bickering spirits and chuckled.

"Hahaha! Brothers!"

Wang Gang swung his sword, pointing at Lin Mo in the sky, roaring:

"Now! It's our turn to strike back!"

"All ranged units, listen up! Hit him hard! Bring him down!"

"Let the top student of Dragon Order Class taste the fury of the regular class!"

At Wang Gang's command,

The hundred or so ranged attackers behind, already primed, unleashed their attacks in unison.

A storm of colorful spells surged toward Lin Mo in midair.

Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, arrows…

Filling the entire sky.

Lin Mo looked at the barrage of attacks descending upon him and smiled faintly.

"Little Fire, your turn."

BOOM—!!!

Molten armor instantly enveloped his entire body.

Simultaneously, his 【Flame Wings】 behind him flared violently.

Lin Mo's figure instantly blurred.

Under the near-instantaneous micro-control of 【Fireball Spell】.

Lin Mo was like a storm-piercing storm petrel.

Left dodge, right evade, sudden stop, dive, climb…

Every movement flowed like water, swift as lightning, yet precise to the millimeter.

Those ice spikes and wind blades skimmed past the edges of his battle armor.

Occasionally, a few fireballs or arrows could not be avoided—but none could pierce 【Lava Battle Armor】.

"This…"

Below, Wang Gang stared at the figure strolling calmly amid the torrent of spells.

He was utterly stunned.

Is this even a mage?

This mobility is more elusive than the top-tier assassins!

This defense is more monstrous than the hardest tank!

High mobility, high defense, high burst—all in one… Is this some kind of hexagonal demon lord?

"How… do we even fight this?"

Wang Gang muttered to himself.

Not just him.

The hundreds of students frantically outputting spells also froze for a moment.

Seeing the figure they couldn't hit—and even if they did, couldn't damage—deep helplessness rose in their hearts.

Is this… the power of the number one, who dominated all the SSS-class careers this year?

…

High above.

Lin Mo dodged the final wave of attacks.

He glanced down, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Done?"

"Then it's my turn now."

Lin Mo raised his right hand.

"Water does indeed quench fire—but lightning can quench water too."

"Little Thunder."

"Your turn."

At Lin Mo's call,

【Lightning Strike Spell】 slowly opened its eyes, lightning surging around it.

【Lightning Strike Spell】 glanced at 【Fireball Spell】 in the adjacent skill slot and spoke coolly: "You there, step aside."

【Fireball Spell】 stiffened all over:?

Little Thunder's disdain made Little Fire seethe with frustration.

But it could do nothing.

Because it truly hadn't pierced the Water Shield Array.

BOOM—!!!

Above, deep thunder rolled across the sky.

The sky darkened.