Chapter 259: Royal Battle [3]
The arena, once a pristine stage for the display of magical prowess, had become a claustrophobic nightmare.
The purple-green smog, a toxic cocktail of Gideon's necrotic miasma and the vaporized rot-water, clung to the mud like a shroud.
It dampened sound, burned the eyes, and, most critically, disrupted the flow of mana.
For a mage, mana sensing was a second set of eyes. Without it, they were blind.
And in the dark, the predators were hunting.
"AAAGH!"
A scream tore through the fog to the left of the Sanctum's crash site. It was cut short by the sickening crunch of a shield impact.
"Hold the line!" Velia Ancrose screamed, her voice cracking. "Barrier formation! Back to back!"
She spun around, trying to find her teammates. But all she could see were shifting shadows in the mist. The mud sucked at her boots, anchoring her in place. Every breath tasted of copper and old graves.
ZZZZT!
