Chapter 226: Magus

Immortal Body was the main perk that any humans and elves alike would receive the moment they managed to break through to the illustrious Rank 6 magician. However, the prerequisite that individuals from each race needed in order to be established as a Rank 6 powerhouse was different compared to the other.

As for the Elves, they had the prerequisite of successfully breaking into the stage 5 of Katra. 

Breaking through the said stage meant individuals had successfully converted their spirit core, where it had become the home to their soul. It also meant that their body had turned into a mere vessel for their soul, an ageless artifact that was continuously tempered by their spirit core.

With the completion of this achievement, the said individual could be considered as immortal among their peers - a figure that stood above others.

The individual who managed to reach such an exemplary and phenomenal achievement would be known as wizards, or their ancient established title, the Magus.

At the moment, the blind elf Elroth was seen standing still, his mouth wide open. His brother's feat of breakthrough to stage 5 Katra should not be possible. After all, the efforts and difficulty one had to go through to break into stage 5 was hundred times harder than stage 4.

Within the entire 7 elven kingdoms, individuals who reached stage 4 were in hundreds, while those of stage 5 could be counted with two hands as they were only dozens in existence. Therefore, it undoubtedly made Janus' achievement extraordinary.

Moments later, Elroth finally awakened from his shock. But the words that came out of his mouth certainly told everyone that he was still shaken by the unexpected revelation.

"How could you have reached Katra stage 5 so fast.. how is it possible?!"

While his body was still in the midst of reforming itself, the Forlorn Prince burst out laughing when he heard the disbelieving tone in Elroth's words.

"Dear brother. If I didn't have at least this level of power, why do you think I would dare to make trouble with Vanyar and Arcadian?  How silly of you, hahaha." He then looked Elroth straight in the eye and with a wicked smile plastered in his reforming face, he said, "Don't worry, my dear brother. I will make Forlorn great again."

Stage 5 Katra; a stage one can dream of, but may never reach. This accomplishment undeniably and immediately placed the Forlorn Prince in the same level as Queen Leena of Vanyar.

As things had turned for the worst, Tristan realized they might have hit the dead end and lost their lives here.

Elroth, fully understanding what kind of being his brother had become, quickly jumped off Chieng's back as he rushed towards the figure whose body almost finished reforming. While in the air, he clasped both his hands together and the surrounding area instantly dropped in temperature with the area around him being affected the most.

[Ice Prison - Tier 5 Ice Spell]

Tristan swore his eyes could see snowflakes manifesting in the area as the spell took effect. Violent yet frigid deluge of energy materialized and rapidly approached the Forlorn Prince. In the blink of an eye, it quickly enveloped Prince Janus and turned the young man into an ice sculpture.

Elroth, who was hovering in the air and maintaining the spell, shouted to Tristan who was shocked by the stunt the former had just displayed. "Quickly leave this place! You will not win against him!"

Tristan could certainly hear the urgency in Elroth's words, and his eyes couldn't help but narrow when he saw the blind elf's facial expression. His body immediately reached for Serene.

This was exactly the reason why Tristan had been sending attacks from the backline. The tactic he set, with the space knight directly fighting the Forlorn Prince while he and Serene launching attacks at the back, was arranged for this exact purpose.

Without slightest shred of hesitation, Tristan immediately rushed at Serene at breakneck speed to grab her before escaping into the woods. 

The initial plan was to leave the space knight and barbarian woman behind, ordering them to hold the enemy at the expense of their life.

However, Tristan himself couldn't believe what he was thinking as at the last moment, he decided to grab Astrid.

It was then that suddenly, multiple large thorny plants emerged in front of him. With his hand full with the two women, Tristan could only choose to dodge to the side. However, it was apparent his reaction was insufficient as more plants grew from the ground and quickly tangled his feet.

Without even looking around, Tristan immediately knew this was definitely the work of the female elder, trying to stop them from running away. Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn't be able to easily get away as these plants were much stronger than the [Entangle] spell normal magician used.

Completely understanding that the situation had turned for the worst, Tristan decided to throw Serene and Astrid over the thorny plants that gradually surrounded them.

"RUN SERENE!! RUN!!"

With his hands freed of their burden, Tristan quickly grabbed the plants that had entangled his legs and splintered them into two with his raw strength. Scorching flames started appearing on his hand as [Heat Touch] was casted, destroying the thorny plants with every passing second.

However, the number of plants around were simply too much that Tristan slowly found himself getting overwhelmed by them. It was clear his two hands weren't enough to handle the dozens of thorny plants. It was at that moment that Chieng, who took out a flamethrower, came to the rescue and burned all the plants.

"Good work, Chieng!!"

But at the same time he was free from the plants' entanglement, Tristan saw a yellow laser-like beam flew through the air and pierced the hovering Elroth like a skewer. Elroth who was shot rapidly fell to the ground.

[Lightning Ray - Tier 6 Lightning Spell]

Another similar laser-like beam sliced open the ice sculpture, revealing the uscatched figure of Prince Janus who currently had his wicked smile on.

"You can't leave yet!!"

Seeing the Forlorn Prince come out of his restraint, Tristan quickly casted multiple [Fireball] and threw them at him.

The notifications of his Blood Essence being spent surged in his mind, but he couldn't care less about it because his survival was at stake at the moment.

'Did I get him?!' Tristan asked himself as the place where the Forlorn Prince was shrouded by thick smoke.

Alas, his hope quickly shattered as he saw Prince Janus walk out of the smoke with a nonchalant attitude and sent the laser-like beam at Chieng. The beam moved so fast that it penetrated Chieng's chest right in the heart and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Chieng!!"