A large number of Nether Guardians erupted from the muddy fountain, moving much faster than the corpses.
Several of them charged out instantly, brandishing their weapons and roaring fiercely at Alex.
Without hesitation, Alex rushed forward.
His [Voltbrand] was no joke, his slash cut the lead Nether Guardian clean in half.
But these ghosts were incredibly resilient.
As soon as one was cut down, the others behind quickly blocked Alex's attack, forming a barrier.
More and more Nether Guardians kept pouring out of the sludge fountain, until there were over twenty, nearly filling half the basement.
Despite the overwhelming number, Alex remained calm and thoughtful.
He realized his earlier guess was right: the magic the Phoenix used was a sort of summoning ritual, and the quagmire beneath her feet acted like a one-way portal.
To keep this portal open, the Phoenix had to offer blood sacrifices and continuously feed magical energy into the ritual circle.
Where the other end of the portal led, Alex had no idea.
But if there was no limit, or a very high limit, to how many of these ghostly guardians could be summoned, it could become a major problem.
Alex knew the key to stopping this was to cut off the magic supply to the ritual.
For a centuries-old witch like the Phoenix, magical energy was her greatest resource.
If they didn't act quickly to end the summoning, the number of these cursed creatures would keep growing, turning the basement into a nightmare.
Worse, it could trigger a disaster like a 'Resident Evil' scenario right in the city center.
And the Phoenix would definitely use the chaos as a chance to escape.
Determined, Alex immediately considered how to close the portal.
Directly attacking it might seem like an option, but the magic involved was unstable.
Hitting the portal could either disrupt the summoning and shut it down or make the space even more unstable, possibly enlarging the portal and causing even worse consequences.
He had to find a way to stop the ritual without risking further chaos.
If you want to close a portal like this safely, there are generally two options: either wait for the wizard maintaining the portal to run out of mana or kill her directly.
But the portal that summons the 'Nether Guardian' is quite unique.
It's more like a 'sludge fountain,' with all the monsters pouring out of it.
Right now, the phoenix is completely submerged inside this fountain, and Alex isn't sure if attacking the phoenix directly will destabilize the portal.
Besides going after the caster herself, there's really only one stable way to close the portal, cutting off its space-time channel.
However, that's incredibly difficult because manipulating space and time is complex, and very few spells can directly affect space itself.
Most are designed for teleportation, not for blocking it.
Fortunately, Alex had one such tool.
When he rescued the phoenix from the Nordic transport team, he learned a special rune that could isolate space from the cage used to imprison the phoenix.
He also had a talisman made with this rune for research purposes.
Originally, he planned to develop it further to upgrade his jammer, but because the design is complicated and consumes a lot of energy, he only made one prototype for testing.
To close this portal, it seemed he'd have to use this amulet that could block space.
However, since it was still experimental, its effective range was limited.
At the very least, he'd have to throw it directly into the fountain.
"Does that mean you have to get really close?"
Seeing the layers of 'Ghost Guards' blocking his path, Alex nodded firmly.
"Alright, then let me see what level your guards are at. I'll plan my strategy from there."
In less than a second, Alex calmly ran through his thoughts.
Just then, the roaring Nether Guardians charged at him, weapons raised, ready to attack.
Facing the threatening undead army, Alex remained completely calm.
His body was charged with magical energy, crackling with silver sparks that danced across his skin.
The power surged through him from head to toe, making him look like a god of thunder incarnate.
At this moment, Alex was pouring his full strength into activating his [Thundris Tempest] ability, pushing himself into a state similar to when he had been tempered by storms.
This transformation boosted all his bodily functions.
Physically, it was like activating the "Desolate Thunder" mode, which greatly enhanced his agility and speed, as well as his strength.
Now, he could run faster than a world-class athlete, and his power rivaled that of a giant bear.
Mentally, his focus and perception sharpened significantly.
His control over wild magic and elemental forces grew much stronger, and he found that casting spells in this state cost about 20% less energy.
His spell power also increased between 10% and 20%, and if he combined it with "Desolate Thunder," the boost could reach up to 30%.
However, this state came at a cost.
Although the thunder and lightning had once forged his weapon, the intense infusion of thundris tempest now consumed his magic reserves at an alarming rate.
With less than 1,000 mana ticks left, Alex knew he could only sustain this form for about five minutes.
Because of its overwhelming benefits and serious drawbacks, he reserved this ability for dire situations and had named it [Overload].
Once in [Overload], Alex raised his sword above his head, summoning a cluster of shrinking, swirling thunderclouds that quickly condensed into his signature move, the [Eye of the Storm].
Now empowered by [Overload], this storm was fiercer than ever, with lightning strikes far more frequent and powerful than before.
As soon as the "Ghost Guards" armed with weapons and claws charged at Alex, they were instantly blasted away by the lightning from his [Eye of the Storm], leaving those armored skeletons unable to get anywhere near him.
But simply protecting himself wasn't enough.
Dozens of undead soldiers had already been summoned from the "Sludge Fountain" ahead, each one strong enough to make advancing impossible.
There was no way to get through or attack without dealing with them first.
If Alex got held back by these undead, he'd eventually have to retreat, drained of magic energy.
Meanwhile, this army of undead would pose a serious threat to the nearby Muggle community.
Even more troubling was the risk that the Phoenix might escape in the chaos.
Since they had been targeting the silver wand, if the Phoenix got away, their plan would be completely thrown off.
So, the Phoenix had to be taken care of right here and now.
To reach it, Alex had to break through the undead horde, and he had to be fast.
"Overload, Thundris Sword," he shouted.
With that, Alex, looking almost ghostly and divine, gripped his sword with both hands.