Ling Tian's summoned fire spirits formed walls of fire, their surfaces reaching temperatures of over 5,000 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, even a metal rod would melt instantly, akin to dropping a chocolate bar into boiling water, and stone would quickly turn into magma.
These zombie rats, being carbon-based life forms, vaporized upon impact with the fire walls, much like tissue paper thrown into a flame.
During this process, the fire walls not only suffered no loss of energy but actually burned even brighter, fueled by the influx of zombies. This was hardly surprising, as these zombie rats contained no moisture, only abundant dry oil, making them excellent fuel.
Thus, when the old witch returned with her retrieved item, she was astonished to find that two-thirds of the nearly ten thousand zombie rats had been eliminated. The remaining ones were still charging headlong into the fire walls, their bodies sizzling and crackling as they were roasted by the flames.
After another ten seconds, there were hardly any zombie rats left in the entire space, as if they had never appeared there at all.
Ling Tian snapped his fingers, and the two fire spirits were withdrawn into his spiritual realm. The underground space was as if nothing had happened, with only the ground around Ling Tian still radiating intense heat.
"You... you're an elemental wizard..." Sersi stammered, her voice trembling.
"What the hell is that? Old witch, you'd better just die!"
Before Ling Tian could finish speaking, Ali, standing beside him, raised her Remington and opened fire.
"Bang bang..."
A barrage of pellets flew out, startling the Lich Sersi into retracting her head. Although the optimal range for a shotgun was within 30 meters, it was still capable of causing damage at fifty meters.
The Lich Sersi, enraged, raised the item in her hand. Ling Tian, using his Heavenly Eye, saw that it was a staff of peculiar design. The staff was intricately shaped, resembling a serpent coiled around a branch, with a very strange human head at its tip.
In fact, although this head was only the size of a cantaloupe, it was made from the skull of a child. Around the neck of this head were embedded fifteen black gemstones. Each gem was about the size of a grape, and a faint light seemed to flow within each one.
This staff was a magical artifact, or more precisely, a wand! This wand was also one of the collector's possessions. Even the Lich Sersi hadn't expected to obtain such a powerful artifact in Europe, yet she had acquired it effortlessly in America.
This staff could absorb the spiritual energy of the surrounding world, especially in this underground space filled with Yin Sha energy, which even doubled the rate of absorption. The absorbed spiritual energy was stored within the staff's skull and gemstones. Each gemstone could be used to unleash a spell. Within a single day, the energy absorbed by the staff could illuminate a gemstone, allowing for the casting of a spell. Of course, the old witch could also infuse her own spells into the staff for storage. Furthermore, the staff had a spell amplification effect; casting magic while holding this staff required less energy for more powerful spells.
The Lich Sersi raised her wand, chanting incantations. A gemstone on the wand instantly lost its luster. The next moment, a swirling mass of black mist emerged from the staff's skull, then condensed into two black orbs of light, which hurtled towards Ling Tian and Ali!
"Shadow Bolt!"
This was a typical dark magic, a spell mastered by most European wizards. Those struck by Shadow Bolt would suffer severe negative effects, with even the slightest hidden bodily ailment being immediately amplified. For instance, if there was a blood clot in a vein, being hit by a Shadow Bolt would cause the clot to immediately block the vessel, leading to myocardial infarction or cerebral hemorrhage. Alternatively, if there were injuries to the body's capillaries, being hit by a Shadow Bolt would result in severe internal bleeding. Even a very robust and healthy person would become incredibly weak after being hit by a Shadow Bolt, as if they hadn't eaten or slept for days. It could be said that the effect of this magic was extremely insidious, a favorite among dark mages, and arguably the most favored spell among wizards.
Facing the whistling Shadow Bolts, Ling Tian scoffed. He raised his hand, producing two talismans. Ling Tian injected his true essence into the talismans, opened his fingers, and sent two fireballs hurtling towards the Shadow Bolts.
The Lich Sersi controlled the Shadow Bolts, attempting to evade the fireballs. However, the two fireballs, as if drawn by magnets, rapidly adjusted their flight paths.
"Boom boom!"
The Exploding Fire Talismans collided with the Shadow Bolts about ten meters away from Ling Tian and his companion, detonating instantly. The scorching fiery energy neutralized the energy of the Shadow Bolts, causing them to vanish.
"As expected, you are a fire-elemental wizard!" Seeing the fireballs Ling Tian unleashed, the Lich Sersi was greatly surprised. Combined with the earlier fire element, Sersi made this preposterous judgment. Now, the Lich Sersi had completely discarded her initial underestimation of Ling Tian and Ali.
The old witch continued to chant, and the gemstones on her wand began to flash in quick succession. Soon, large masses of black mist erupted from the skull of the wand, coalescing in mid-air into ten Shadow Bolts. At this point, four more gemstones on Sersi's wand lost their luster. The ten Shadow Bolts, having formed above the old witch's head, launched towards Ling Tian and Ali almost instantaneously!
"Heh heh, let's see how you block this..."
Just as the old witch was gloating, believing Ling Tian was surely doomed, Ling Tian produced an entire book of fire talismans. He injected his true essence into the fire talismans and raised his hand.
"Swish swish..."
Over ten fireballs whistled towards the ten Shadow Bolts. Immediately, the sky was filled with firelight and violent explosions. The old witch was completely stunned. She had intended to win by sheer numbers, but unexpectedly, her opponent could also counter her attacks with a similar volume of projectiles! It wasn't just about having many fireballs; the ten Shadow Bolts were flying at different speeds and trajectories. To simultaneously control ten fireballs to intercept these Shadow Bolts seemed almost impossible to the old witch.