Zul'jin's surprise attack was quite successful, but that didn't mean he could kill Leylin. Zul'jin tried to attack with a pale dagger piercing Leylin's chest, Zul'jin didn't feel the sensation of steel piercing flesh.
As if Zul'jin had swung a dagger through the very fabric of reality, a sudden burst of oppressive pressure erupted across the battlefield. The air itself seemed to solidify, freezing enemies and allies alike in their tracks. Time appeared to hang suspended, and a chilling silence fell over the chaos.
Leylin's aura suddenly turned colder, a deep and unnatural frost spreading from his core. His eyes, once filled with fiery determination, now gleamed with an icy menace. The arcane energy swirling around him condensed into a razor-sharp, crystalline aura, shimmering with an ominous blue hue.
The battlefield was paralyzed, caught in the grip of Leylin's burgeoning power. The air grew heavy with the scent of winter's breath—biting, relentless, and unforgiving.
Zul'jin's eyes widened in shock as he beheld the mage before him, Leylin, erupting with a power so immense and chilling it seemed to freeze the very air around them.
The overwhelming aura of icy energy radiating from Leylin was beyond anything Zul'jin had encountered before. His instincts screamed that this was a force he could not simply deflect or withstand.
The troll chieftain's jaw clenched tightly, a flicker of fear flashing across his face, quickly masked by his fierce resolve. But deep within, he knew his current strength was insufficient to resist such a formidable magical onslaught.
Zul'jin's mind raced, searching desperately for a way to counter or escape this frozen nightmare, but the oppressive cold and the unyielding power of Leylin's magic left him momentarily paralyzed.
The lynx loa power granted to Zul'jin by Harazzi granted him considerable speed. However, facing the mage right in front of him rendered his agility. Just from a surge of aura, the pressure within the battlefield increased, in a flash the mage suddenly appeared right in front him him.
Leylin's icy aura surged brighter as he seized Zul'jin's head with a swift, ruthless grip. Without hesitation, he drove the troll's massive form down into the ground with a thunderous smash, creating a colossal crater that shook the earth beneath their feet.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, debris flying in all directions. But Leylin was far from finished.
His relentless assault continued, a furious barrage of attacks that blurred the line between magic and martial prowess. Equipped with Beowulf, Leylin unleashed a devastating combo—punches and kicks landing with precision and power, each strike reinforced by icy magic and arcane energy.
Between his brutal strikes, jagged ice pikes erupted from the ground, piercing through Zul'jin's defenses and flesh, each one shimmering with a deadly frost. Flames suddenly burst forth in violent arcs, licking around Leylin's fists and feet, adding infernal heat to his icy barrage.
The battlefield became a chaotic clash of fire and ice, fury and magic, as Leylin's relentless assault sought to crush Zul'jin completely.
The air was thick with the scent of scorched earth, frozen spikes, and the crackling energy of an unstoppable force. Leylin's voice echoed through the chaos, cold and commanding: "This ends now, beast."
Zul'jin struggled in agony on the ground, the loa's power surrounding him completely dissipated. He gasped for breath, blood seeping from his back. After the agony subsided, he plunged his pale dagger upside down into the ground. He had miserably failed.
Despite his grievous wounds and the loss of the loa's power, Zul'jin's fierce spirit refused to be broken. Summoning his remaining strength, he dragged himself across the scarred earth, blood staining his claws and fur. With a desperate, primal roar, he plunged his dagger into the ground one last time, a symbol of his defiance.
Meanwhile, Leylin stood at the heart of the devastation. His figure was calm amidst the chaos, an aura of quiet mastery radiating from him. The others stared in awe—Sylvanas's eyes widened, disbelief etched into her face.
Even Halduron, Lor'themar, Tyr'ganal, and Aminel, who had fought alongside Leylin in past perilous missions, couldn't hide their astonishment at his display of power.
A few seconds later, the others then cleaned up the battlefield, while Sylvanas slowly went close to Leylin and as soon as she came close, the feeling that Aminel felt immediately dispersed.
"Let us go back, though we may have failed in capturing Zul'jin, with him gravely wounded he wouldn't be able to participate in the upcoming battle with the orcs." Sylvanas said. Though she still couldn't believe how the mage in front of her bursted out with power.
The others then quickly went back to take a rest. Meanwhile they quickly recalled a rumor during a battle with the trolls that a certain mage completely wiped the entire unit. They really couldn't forget about the sudden events that happened due to a certain mage.
Late at night, Leylin awoke in his elven hut in Tranquillien. Vereesa was kneeling on the edge of the bed, her pale hand tightly gripping Leylin's left. Feeling the tremor in her wrist, Vereesa immediately snapped awake: "Idiot, you're finally awake."
Finally? "How long have I been asleep?" Leylin asked.
Vereesa shook her head. "Two days," she said. "You've slept for a full two days."
Leylin slapped his forehead, hardly believing he could have slept for two whole days. "Where's the Horde? Where have they advanced to?"
Vereesa shook her head. "Commander Thalorien ordered us to retreat back to Tranquillien. The Horde's orcs have already captured two sanctums in Ghostlands. Their target is clear: Silvermoon City."
"Have they moved west, to Windrunner Village?" Leylin asked worriedly.
Vereesa knew there were townspeople from Darrowshire there, but the townspeople were lucky; the orcs weren't interested in other remote areas of the Underdark.
"No, they're safe now." With a sigh of relief, Leylin got out of bed, took his clothes from the hanger, and was about to leave the hut.
Vereesa quickly grabbed him. "It's still late at night. What are you going out for?"
Leylin said, "You rest first. I have important business with my mentors."
Vereesa wanted to follow him, but she couldn't help these mages. Watching Leylin disappear into the night, Vereesa took off her boots and snuggled into the still slightly warm bed.
"When will this war end?" Vereesa murmured.
Entering the temple in Tranquillien, he found the magisters were still working. Dar'Khan and Rommath were also there.
"Student, are you feeling better?" Nallorath asked with concern.
Leylin nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine, teacher."
Belo'vir knew his student had sensed something; otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed to the temple in the dead of night.
"Student, you sensed it too?" Belo'vir asked.
Leylin walked to the control array ahead. Above this array was an energy network spanning the entire Ghostlands. Between these magical lines, more than a dozen magical energy patterns had vanished into thin air.
"I sensed the outflow of energy. The warlocks of the tribe discovered our runestones; they're using the energy of the Sunwell." Leylin said.
Rommath asked doubtfully, "You mean, orcs can also utilize our magical energy? If so, this isn't just a matter of a damaged magical barrier."
Dar'Khan coldly replied, "Grand Magister Belo'vir, if that's truly the case, then your energy conversion theory must immediately bear responsibility. Your method failed to properly protect the runestone."
Such idiotic remarks completely enraged Leylin, a burst of pressure suddenly erupted which made every magister present felt a sense of death, "Trash! I haven't completely forgotten when you stole my arcane core array!"
The pressure then suddenly increased which made Dar'Khan brought down to his knees, kneeling in front of the human mage he despised. The sudden situation made Dar'Khan completely break into a cold sweat, as what he did was completely exposed and heard by every magister present and the feeling of death nearby.
Rommath tried to resist the pressure brought by Leylin, but it suddenly increased even more making it harder for him to completely stand straight.
"Is this the magister you had high expectations of, Magister Rommath?" Leylin said with a cold voice. But Rommath couldn't even dare to answer due to the increasing pressure. Even Nallorath and Belo'vir were shocked by the changes brought by Leylin. They couldn't believe how Leylin did it, he already exceeded their expectations.
And now both of them were a little worried since these two magisters gave Leylin a bad impression about noble elves in Silvermoon City. Rommath was the leading Magister of the Silvermoon Council.
Leylin then dispersed the pressure that the surrounding magisters felt, ignored both Dar'Khan and Rommath who were having difficulties in breathing and went directly to Belo'vir's side to discuss how to restrict the flow of magical energy within the Ghostlands.