#371 - Spider Mine (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

Under Anduin's constant pressure, Thunderbird couldn't stand his ground as calmly as before.

Fortunately, as a dueling master, his footwork was excellent, allowing him to retreat backward with considerable agility.

It wasn't that he didn't want to dodge to the sides, but Anduin's attacks were too dense, completely blocking the space on either side, forcing him to parry and retreat awkwardly.

Damn it! Thunderbird felt like his brain was about to explode with anger. He couldn't understand how Anduin, who he had been suppressing all along, had become so fierce in close combat. Anduin's spell power and magic supply were clearly inferior to his own, so why was he the one being suppressed now?

Although Thunderbird was under immense pressure, he remained calm. He was confident that his magic reserves far exceeded Anduin's, and Anduin's high-intensity attack frequency couldn't last long. Once the attacks slowed down, Thunderbird would show him what a true powerhouse was.

But just as Thunderbird was contemplating how to counterattack...

He felt like he had stepped on something.

"BOOM!"

Thunderbird, who was being forced back by Anduin's relentless attacks, suddenly felt a series of violent explosions erupt under his feet as he dodged backward.

Within a three-meter radius of Thunderbird, it was as if a high-altitude bombing had occurred. The accumulated snow and dust, stirred up by the fierce explosions, rose several stories high. The roaring sound waves and shockwaves spread outward like still water struck by a giant rock.

Seeing this, Anduin knew that the trap he had set earlier had worked. In the previous battle, he had used spells like the Raven Spell and shaken the snow off the surrounding pine trees.

This was to disrupt the battlefield and use the ravens and flying snow to obscure Thunderbird's vision, create confusion, and make the originally smooth snow surface uneven.

This was to cover up the several [Magic Spider Mines] he had secretly placed on the ground. These mines were all inscribed with saturated [Thunderbolt Explosion] runes and could be controlled by Anduin to crawl around at will.

Of course, out of caution, Anduin had been moving the spider mines at an extremely slow pace to avoid making any noise, and to increase the chances of success, he had deliberately moved his position, specifically running to the area behind Thunderbird.

But even with Anduin constantly stalling for time, these mines hadn't fully crawled under Thunderbird's feet. Fortunately, Anduin used a wave of counterattacks to force him into the area where the mines were planted.

However, even though all the mines had been triggered, Anduin remained vigilant. He seized this valuable opportunity, wielding the Thunder Whip towards Thunderbird, and with a flick of his left hand, the prepared Spirit Shackles shot out from his sleeve, the open net fiercely enveloping him.

All of Anduin's actions were completed in an instant, and when he felt the Thunder Whip transmit the sensation of wrapping around something, and the flying Spirit Shackles also hit a solid object, he knew his plan had succeeded.

As the smoke gradually cleared, the scene at the center of the explosion was finally revealed to Anduin.

The three-meter radius area where Thunderbird was standing seemed to have been excavated, sinking nearly half a meter. The entire ground was churned up by the explosion, revealing the decaying dead branches, fallen leaves, and loose soil beneath.

Thunderbird was still alive, but he had extinguished the Infernal Blade made of Fiendfyre, and was holding his wand in front of him, using it to prop up a transparent magic shield that was tinged with scarlet light, encapsulating himself by 360 degrees.

Anduin's Spirit Shackles and Thunder Whip were tightly wrapped around the outside of the magic shield, but it was unclear what this magic shield was made of, as it remained stable even under the dual suppression of [Energy Drain Curse] and [Wild Lightning].

Although Thunderbird was still standing, he looked disheveled. His once-smooth face was covered in dirt, his neatly combed black hair was scattered in a mess, and a few strands of blood could be seen slowly sliding down from the top of his head. His face, stained with blood and dirt, looked nothing like his previous arrogance, resembling a beggar who had been beaten up on the street.

His once-pristine magic robe was also torn to shreds by the explosion, revealing his blood-stained arms and thighs, from which blood was still slowly dripping.

Although Thunderbird's appearance was quite miserable, he had fortunately not been directly blasted to death. This was thanks to his extremely keen combat instincts. The moment he stepped on the mine, he quickly realized something was wrong and rapidly contracted his magic power, erecting several layers of human-shaped Iron Armor Charms for himself.

But even with such a quick reaction, he still couldn't completely avoid the explosion. The initial burst of the Thunderbolt Explosion Curse still affected him, causing him to suffer considerable injuries.

Moreover, the series of explosions was incredibly powerful. Anduin probably didn't care that he was actually blowing up a human. Such an explosive yield would probably not be good even for a dragon. The several layers of human-shaped Iron Armor Charms erected by Thunderbird didn't even last a second, forcing him to use the protective magic he summoned, but luckily he used this protective spell, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to withstand Anduin's subsequent series of attacks.

"You bastard, how dare you humiliate me again and again with this trash..."

Thunderbird, enclosed within the magic shield, slowly raised his head. His eyes were now filled with dense blood vessels, his face was ferocious and terrifying, like a demon crawling out of hell. He was clearly beyond furious.

"You forced me to do this. It's been a long time since anyone has made me this angry. Go to hell... Haaah!!!"

Thunderbird roared in anger, then held the wand horizontally.

Then, the slightly scarlet magic shield slowly expanded, its color changing from red to blue, and quickly vaporizing into flames, instantly transforming from a hard magic shield into raging flames. It was as if solid dry ice had been directly exposed to the air, instantly stirring up rolling, scorching smoke.

This smoke, centered on Thunderbird, surged outward, covering the sky and the earth. This terrifying aura even made the people outside the forest tremble with fear.

This even alarmed the Bird Serpent outside the forest, who was being suppressed by Moody and beaten into retreat. He was already barely holding on, but still glanced at the forest in shock.

Could this be the legendary one?