Chapter 702 9: Enemy Execution
Feeling the last vine being destroyed.
Master Ali's face showed a hint of surprise. Those vines were his magical creations, almost an extension of his limbs, so he clearly sensed the terrifying fire magic cast by Losa and the sharpness of the female swordswoman.
"It seems the Losa Princes of the Crusaders have made their move."
"Master, should we retreat for now?"
Dozens of armored cavalry surrounded Governor Magid, whose face showed a trace of worry. He wasn't a delusional madman who, after capturing one castle, would boast about capturing Losa alive.
Even the highest-ranking master in Saladin's council, Shemir, had repeatedly failed against Losa. Governor Adil, King Saladin, each wielded a military might far surpassing his own, yet the winner was always Losa.
He led the vanguard to earn merit and notoriety, not to add more glory to the already renowned achievements of the enemy.
Master Ali pondered: "They only sent two people."
In the battle at Rashid, although he hadn't been present personally, he had heard of the strength of these opposing casters, though he felt a bit unconvinced.
"They say Shemir is the strongest caster in the council, I don't see it that way."
Master Ali showed a hint of disdain: "If he hadn't gotten a head start and obtained that set of Ancient Babylonian cuneiform clay tablets from the Library of Alexandria, a caster like him would mean nothing to me."
Magid laughed along: "Master is right, he just got lucky. Would you like to demonstrate your power?"
Master Ali was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Let's forget it."
Magid was taken aback, good grief, here you are boasting, I thought you were truly formidable.
Master Ali's face was a bit awkward: "I specialize in natural magic, and that Losa specializes in flame magic, which greatly restrains me. I might not be able to defeat him."
"Retreat!"
Governor Magid ordered coldly.
They captured Natawa Castle, though unable to hold it, the first battle was a success, barely enough to report to Adil, but to him, this battle was fought at a great loss.
It was just a small castle, and their spoils, intended to ambush the enemy reinforcements, were left to those "corpses."
He also needed to offer a family heirloom to Master Ali. Though this heirloom was of no practical use to him, he was unwilling to let it be wasted like this. In the hands of a knowledgeable caster, an evil artifact useless to ordinary people could transform into a divine artifact of great value.
Those cuneiform clay tablets gathering dust in the corners of the Library of Alexandria were proof enough of this.
But just then, two dark spots in the sky rapidly enlarged like meteors.
In the blink of an eye, two gigantic three-meter-tall stone gargoyles revealed their true forms before the Saracen army.
"Beware, there are demons!"
"Protect the Governor!"
The Saracen cavalry were somewhat panicked, hastily drawing bows to shoot, but the arrows bounced off the stone gargoyles, unable to harm these rugged constructs in the slightest.
"Why panic, just two construct demons."
Master Ali snorted coldly, gently waving his magic staff. Vines burst from the ground, binding these construct demons tightly. Though they struggled desperately, they couldn't break free.
"Governor, the Franks are catching up! It's the plumed cavalry!"
Master Ali waved his scepter again, and the tall palm and date trees behind him began to tremble, uprooting themselves. The thickest branches transformed into arms, wielding small trees as weapons.
In an instant, dozens of gigantic treants appeared before the Crusaders.
They let out a unified roar and charged with their massive tree spears at the winged cavalry.
Master Ali frowned.
As a natural caster, in the climate of the Holy Land, his combat power was greatly reduced.
For the tallest native trees here were the palm trees, far from being sturdy. Even with his magic power nurturing them, the war treants born were quite mediocre in battle.
If he were in the North, in the mountainous regions with vast primordial forests, he could use his magic staff to spawn war ancient trees capable of battling even high dragons without any significant exhaustion on himself, as he could maximally tap into nature's power.
Were it not for those three "Divine Trees" cultivated by the Losa Princes, which made him covetous, he would never have accepted Saladin's recruitment.
He had always despised those casters serving secular lords.
"Keep retreating!"
"Alright, I'll give the order immediately!"
Governor Magid nodded quickly. Just now, he witnessed Ali's magic firsthand and realized that this unassuming old man possessed such terrifying power, far surpassing the magic used during the attack on Natawa Castle!
Governor Magid was about to say something but noticed that Master Ali's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly raised his scepter.
At this moment, Master Ali felt a piercing chill behind him; every hair stood on end, and the trigger-style magic shields he had set up exploded like fireworks.
A sharp blade had already pierced from behind him.
Without time to look back, Master Ali released his most powerful magic without hesitation.
A brilliant green light shot into the sky, and countless green points of light fell to the earth like fireflies, transforming into huge ancient trees that grew rapidly, enveloping Master Ali within them.
Soon, these trees turned into a wooden dragon woven from vines and branches.
Governor Magid, who was very close, almost got crushed by the sudden appearance of the giant creature, narrowly rolling away on the ground.
His steed wasn't as lucky, along with a dozen of his guards, they were all crushed into pulp by the giant creature.
"That was close."
Master Ali finally had the leisure to sigh.
If he hadn't heard from his fellow travelers beforehand that there was a mysterious assassin among the Franks, and took precautions, he feared he would have died instantly.
"Clearly there's no scent of Demon-Blocking Gold, how could that woman's sword feel even more terrifying than Demon-Blocking Gold?"
The enormous wooden dragon surveyed its surroundings, its powerful spiritual power encompassing every inch of land around it, yet it seemed like everything just now was merely an illusion, as if no one had come to assassinate him.
At that moment.
Accompanied by a series of rumbles.
The war tree people that blocked the enemy burst into flames with a bang, and the knight, riding on a giant warhorse, wearing a golden mask, seemed to emerge from the sea of flames, bathed in fire.
Even Master Ali, who was "driving" the wooden dragon at the moment, couldn't help but feel a deep sense of apprehension when he saw those cold eyes.
"What a terrifying fellow."
"Losa Prince, shall we talk?"
The knight on horseback raised his head somewhat surprised.
"Just one Life Divine Tree, and I'll agree to fight for you!"
Losa's lips curled slightly, revealing some disdain.
Are you kidding me?
Master Ali felt somewhat embarrassed, yet his ominous premonition grew stronger; he knew clearly that an enemy at Losa's level, even without considering attribute restraints, was not easy to deal with.
But to seek the Life Divine Tree, he had to confront him.
There was no room for maneuver, as he sensed that this was his only opportunity to step into the legendary domain.
"You will regret this!"
The wooden dragon seemed to sense Losa's disdain and let out a roar, instantly sprouting countless green stems beneath Losa, covered with dense spikes, entangling Losa the moment they broke through the soil.
With a melodious cry, Eclipse enveloped itself in a layer of eerie green Hellfire, and the entire horse broke free from gravity, leaping into the air.
No need for True Dragon Transformation, Losa raised his hand high, the Spear of Destiny surrounded by golden gleams, with the faint outline of the Red-Black Dragon wrapped around it, emerged like golden lightning piercing the wooden dragon.
The defense magic that Master Ali prided himself on only caused ripples before disintegrating, and even the massive wooden dragon seemed affected by a mighty force, with its spiritual movement becoming rigid and hinting at a tendency to disintegrate.
That was the effect of the Dragon Qi breaking the spell.
Immediately following.
Almost on the heels of the Spear of Destiny, the azure blade imbued with Throat-Squeezing Power pierced through Master Ali's chest.