Chapter 1813: Spellcasting Covariance and Resolute Strikes

Of course, this was merely the state as seen by Andaluosike, not the primary perception state of Xierdalanna herself; after all, Xia Duo was still unable to directly break through Xierdalanna's mental protection.

At this moment, through the perspective of the Sword Dancer Master Andaluosike, Xia Duo "saw" that Xierdalanna was shrouded in a mass of dim yellow spiritual light, with azure spiritual light surging within; clearly, she was in the midst of some intense conflict.

Combined with the arrogant laughter of that strange Elf from just a moment ago, how could Xia Duo not understand? What previously appeared to be his side stalling the opponent to facilitate Xierdalanna in seizing Permission Level was actually the opponent stalling him, so as to free up energy to first control Xierdalanna, who posed a greater threat to him.

Of course, the opponent's claim that Xierdalanna had already been taken down was also inaccurate; it was more of a rhetorical flourish used for intimidation, as Xierdalanna actually still possessed the power to resist and even counterattack.

But regardless, Xia Duo knew that this strange Elf could now focus his primary energy on him and Puman. At this moment, the alert level in his heart was pulled directly to the extreme.

Sure enough, the next moment he saw the strange Elf standing in mid-air brandishing the Blazing Longsword in his hand. Only this time, the opponent did not swoop over as before; instead, as the longsword swung, he continuously impacted the surrounding Magic Net environment.

Soon, Xia Duo received a prompt from Puman via Mind Link. Too many negative emotions had already appeared in Puman's consciousness: "Lord Xia Duo, shall we withdraw? I am already finding it very difficult to stop the opponent from breaking through the Forbidden Restriction."

What Puman said was exactly what Xia Duo was worried about. That strange Elf was clearly also proficient in the Principles of Magic; he could see that the opponent was not just attempting to counter the Forbidden Restriction that he and Puman had constructed, but was also attempting to construct his own Forbidden Restriction.

The advantage was about to be lost, and a disadvantage was imminent. Xia Duo knew that if he did not make corresponding countermeasures, Puman would very likely retreat prematurely.

After all, Xierdalanna was not one of his own people, and it had been agreed beforehand that they could retreat early if they encountered an irresistible enemy. No one could demand that a Great Arcanist fight to the death, unless she herself was willing.

It was just that Puman's limit for retreat was not the same as Xia Duo's, or at least not the same as his current limit.

Having probed the strange Elf's Spell Breaking Qinen earlier, Xia Duo had initially grasped the Principles behind it. As long as this problem was solved, they could enter the stage of a normal Spell Duel.

"Adding such a covariance to all spells can effectively resist the opponent's Spell Breaking Qinen."

Time was tight. Xia Duo immediately transmitted a relatively complex Element Unit for spellcasting to Puman and even Andaluosike via Mind Link.

Or it could be understood as a special status spell specifically targeting the opponent's Spell Breaking Qinen, only this spell was applied to the spells themselves, rather than to the Spellcaster.

And most importantly, as long as one did not want their spells to be easily disintegrated by the opponent, every spell cast had to have this "small plugin" added to it.

Furthermore, according to Xia Duo's speculation, this Spell Breaking Qinen formed by the fusion of numerous elements and energies should have a relatively basic framework, which made it likely that every Spellcaster applying this Magic system possessed their own exclusive Spell Breaking Qinen.

In other words, the "spellcasting covariance" Xia Duo had found now could only target this current strange Elf Spellcaster; if the opponent changed their own power composition, this "spellcasting covariance" would also need to change accordingly.

Going a step further, Xia Duo could already predict that once such Spellcasters became numerous, it would inevitably have a huge impact on traditional Spellcasters—

Although this highly personalized Magic system was not conducive to the internal communication and development of Spellcaster groups within the same system, it was extremely adept at offense.

This easily triggered "bad money driving out good," making traditional Spellcasters (including those of Elven Magic and Netheril Magic) scramble to imitate it.

Because if one did not imitate, one would likely be unable to defeat the opponent, and if one could not defeat them, one would just join them. After all, not everyone could be like Xia Duo, who could deduce the spellcasting covariance after a simple probe and thus barely bridge a certain disadvantage.

Ordinary traditional Spellcasters, when encountering Spellcasters of a special Magic system like the strange Elf, would easily end up being crushed under the same level (of research depth).

The key was that every time one encountered a special Magic system Spellcaster, one needed to find a new method of targeting them; this was truly too difficult, and it was better to just join them.

But if one joined, not to mention how many hidden dangers there were in a Magic system that used Negative Energy as a key element, the mere fact that it was unfavorable for internal communication made it very difficult for Xia Duo to accept.

The disadvantage to communication here did not just refer to the spells being highly personalized; after all, Magic itself was neutral and objective, and it was nothing more than adding a transformation process.

The key was that such a Magic system made every Spellcaster have their own "personal weakness password." Who would feel at ease communicating with others!

The Netheril Magic System had no "weakness password," and both sides were equal. But the special Magic system used by this strange Elf appeared to have a password for everyone and seemed equal, yet as long as someone exposed their password, that addition and subtraction would cause their strength to instantly lose balance.

From the identity and stance Xia Duo currently occupied, in terms of the whole, this kind of Magic system was unfavorable to the development of Magic civilization, and for himself personally, long-term contact with Negative Energy was not something he could accept.

In short, once this kind of Magic system was discovered by him, it must be resolutely struck down!

At this moment, in addition to the previous agreement to cooperate with Xierdalanna on a surprise attack, Xia Duo had an extra thought of his own: he wanted to figure out the origin of this special Magic system and its spread.

As for the immediate situation, his determination to complete the mission was naturally even stronger.

After telling Puman and Andaluosike the spellcasting covariance targeting the opponent's Spell Breaking Qinen, Xia Duo took the initiative to launch an attack on the strange Elf.

Of course, his attack was not some damage-dealing spell. In battles between Spellcasters, damage-dealing spells actually did not have much significance; the key lay in Spell Breaking and restriction.

Xia Duo's choice was to replace Puman, who was still trying to understand the spellcasting covariance, and resist the strange Elf's destruction of the Forbidden Restriction. Although he was already at a disadvantage, he still wanted to leave this strange Elf behind if possible.

But in actual handling, Xia Duo still had an empathetic experience of the pressure Puman had just been under, even though he had already found the spellcasting covariance for the opponent's Spell Breaking Qinen.

However, this spellcasting covariance was only effective for fully formed spells. If an Element-level Spell Duel began during the spellcasting process, it was actually similar to a normal Spell Duel, but the opponent's Spell Breaking Qinen remained effective.

This forced Xia Duo to expend several times the energy of the opponent to make up for the massive loss of elements during the spellcasting process. Short exchanges were fine, but the longer it lasted, the more disadvantageous it was for Xia Duo.