The lake was as clear as a mirror, the sun hung high, and the chirping of birds and roars of beasts in the forest were endless.
The breeze rustled the leaves in the forest, making a rustling sound.
But Marcus had no mood to appreciate the surrounding beauty at this moment.
Marcus's fingers trembled slightly, and his forehead was faintly sweating; the Stone Monkey opposite him had already woken up.
And, it didn't seem to be very easy to get along with.
The Stone Monkey twitched its body, its nose wiggled slightly, and after looking around blankly, its gaze fixed on the only living thing in the vicinity, Marcus.
Those fiery red eyes were like burning flames, locking onto Marcus, and the surging hostility and aggressiveness within them seemed to materialize into a tidal wave that could engulf him.
It let out a furious roar towards the sky, its voice like rolling thunder exploding on the lake, startling the water into layers of giant waves.
"An A-Ranked Magical Beast?"
"Oh no!"
Marcus instantly felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy, his nerves taut. He knew that a life-and-death battle was now unavoidable.
Marcus's hands moved rapidly, and he chanted a spell. In an instant, the surrounding sand, like ten thousand galloping horses, quickly gathered onto his body, and a layer of solid and glistening Sand Armor instantly formed.
This armor not only tightly enveloped his body but also extended to his limb joints; every minute detail was meticulously protected.
The grains of sand on the Sand Armor seemed like flowing gold sand, constantly shimmering with a strange light, adding a touch of majesty and mystery to Marcus.
Seeing this, a hint of disdain flashed in the Stone Monkey's eyes. It stomped its feet forcefully on the mirror-like surface of the water, and the entire lake erupted as if a giant bomb had been thrown into it, sending up a towering pillar of water.
The Stone Monkey's mountain-like body, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, charged at Marcus with the force of thunder.
Marcus's eyes narrowed, and he dodged to the left like a ghost, his movements fluid and without the slightest hesitation.
While dodging, he suddenly waved his hands forward and shouted, "Sand Wave Impact!"
Instantly, centered around him, a surging sand wave, like a roaring giant dragon, swept towards the pouncing Stone Monkey with a world-destroying aura.
The sand wave was ten meters high, rolling forward, and wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound.
However, the Stone Monkey showed no fear or retreat in the face of this fierce sand wave.
Its iron-hard body directly crashed into the sand wave. With a loud 'boom,' the sand wave shattered like fragile glass upon contact with the Stone Monkey, turning into dust flying everywhere.
The Stone Monkey's unyielding figure was faintly visible in the dust, completely unharmed, its speed undiminished, continuing to close in on Marcus.
Seeing this, Marcus quickly formed hand seals again and urgently chanted, "Sand Substitute!"
Just as the Stone Monkey's giant fist was about to strike him, Marcus's body instantly swapped places with a pile of sand not far away.
The Sand Substitute left in his original spot instantly formed, taking on Marcus's appearance, lifelike.
The Stone Monkey's powerful punch heavily struck the Sand Substitute. With a loud 'bang,' the Sand Substitute was instantly smashed to pieces, turning into a pile of loose sand that scattered to the ground.
Taking advantage of the brief pause in the Stone Monkey's attack, Marcus's hands moved rapidly, manipulating the sand to form a huge and sharp sand sword, which he fiercely swung at the Stone Monkey.
An indestructible rock shield instantly appeared on the Stone Monkey's body. The moment the sand sword collided with the shield, a piercing metallic grinding sound rang out, and sparks flew like countless stars.
"This guy's defense is simply impenetrable!" Marcus inwardly cried out in alarm.
The Stone Monkey, enduring Marcus's attack, began to counterattack. It slammed its hands onto the ground, and several sharp earth spikes instantly shot out, rushing towards Marcus with lightning speed.
Marcus quickly leaped up, continuously flipping and dodging in mid-air, while his sand sword instantly transformed into a sky full of sand rain, shooting towards the Stone Monkey like dense arrows.
The Stone Monkey opened its mouth wide and roared, releasing an earthy-gray shockwave from its center, deflecting all the sand rain.
Marcus's attack didn't stop. He formed hand seals again, and the surrounding sand once again obeyed his call, quickly condensing into dozens of sharp, spear-like sand thorns, shimmering with a cold light.
He waved his arm and shouted, "Desert Cactus!"
Those sand thorns, like arrows leaving a bowstring, flew towards the Stone Monkey with a sharp whistling sound.
Seeing this, a rock shield, thick as a city wall, instantly appeared on the Stone Monkey's body.
The sand thorns struck the rock shield, producing a series of crisp 'clinking' sounds, and sparks flew.
But the impact of the sand thorns was insignificant against this indestructible rock shield; they snapped and fell to the ground powerlessly.
The Stone Monkey gave Marcus no chance to catch his breath, roaring again as it lunged forward.
Its speed was like lightning, stirring up a gust of wind.
Marcus could only continuously use the Sand Substitute technique, swapping positions with the surrounding sand at critical moments, narrowly dodging the Stone Monkey's deadly attacks again and again.
However, each use of Sand Substitute consumed a large amount of Magic Power, and Marcus's Magic Power was rapidly draining away.
His breathing became more and more rapid, and his face gradually turned pale, but his eyes still shone with a determined light, without the slightest thought of giving up.
"No, I can't keep dodging like this!" Marcus gritted his teeth, a hint of resolve flashing in his eyes.
He once again concentrated, mobilizing the remaining Magic Power within his body, and the light on his Sand Armor instantly flared.
He pushed off with his legs, and his entire body shot towards the Stone Monkey like an arrow from a bow.
Marcus rushed in front of the Stone Monkey, raised his right fist, and punched the Stone Monkey with all his might.
This punch contained all his strength, and the light from his Sand Armor also converged on his fist.
However, when his fist struck the Stone Monkey, it was as if he had hit an indestructible mountain, and a powerful rebound force instantly came back.
"What kind of body structure is this? It's too hard!"
Marcus felt a sharp pain in his arm, as if his bones were about to break.
But he endured the pain and swung his left fist again, continuously attacking the Stone Monkey.
The Stone Monkey was enraged by Marcus's sudden fierce attack. It roared and swung its thick arm, sweeping it towards Marcus.
Marcus quickly crossed his arms to block, and a layer of yellow sand condensed into a shield.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, the sand shield shattered, and Marcus was knocked back dozens of steps by the Stone Monkey's blow, his feet carving two deep marks on the ground.
"You're really something, you bastard..."
His arms trembled uncontrollably, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
At this point, Marcus was panting, his Magic Power almost exhausted, but he still stood there stubbornly, staring at the Stone Monkey.
And the Stone Monkey, apart from some shallow marks where Marcus had attacked it, seemed largely unaffected.
"Am I going to fall here?" A hint of despair flashed in Marcus's heart, but this despair was quickly replaced by the unyielding spirit and stubbornness deep within him.
"Don't underestimate me, I am a Mage of Fairy Tail!"
He took a deep breath, once again concentrated, and manipulated the surrounding sand.
This time, more sand was manipulated by him, quickly condensing into a giant sand orb above his head.
This sand orb had a diameter of several meters, its surface shimmered with an eerie light, and it seemed to contain powerful energy within.
Marcus pushed his hands upwards with force and shouted, "Sand Meteor!"