The few people standing beside Marius, upon seeing Allen, all gave him a slight bow.
Although they were hired by Marius, they were fully aware of Allen's status and knew they could not afford to offend him.
Seeing this, a look of extreme disdain curled at Marius' lips, and he spat out mercilessly:
"You are nothing but a so-called Max-Level Trash, a waste who can barely control even his own magic!"
"Outside, out of respect for Headmaster Berton, I could still leave you some face."
"But here, on this resource battlefield, what are you? Do you even deserve their respect?"
As he spoke, Marius slowly stepped toward Allen, releasing the full force of his Ninth-tier Senior Mage aura, radiating overwhelming pressure.
As a Ninth-tier Senior Mage, he considered himself powerful and did not even look at Allen, a Fifth-tier Senior Mage, as a threat.
A glint of malice appeared in Marius' eyes as he said with a cruel tone,
"Let me show you properly that some people are not to be offended; some are not to be provoked!"
A cruel smile spread across his face, leaving no hesitation. With a flash, he lunged straight at Allen.
He was determined to handle Allen personally, to humiliate him thoroughly. After all, he thought a Fifth-tier Senior Mage would be easy to deal with.
"Allen! Watch out!"
Camilla panicked upon seeing Marius suddenly attack and immediately shouted a warning.
Allen, however, paid little attention to the charging Marius. He could clearly sense that Marius' magical fluctuations, though seemingly dense, were chaotic and hollow.
It was obvious that Marius had forcibly raised his level to Ninth-tier Senior Mage using a massive amount of magic potions.
His real strength did not compare to that of an ordinary Ninth-tier Senior Mage and was far below the power of Spencer or Hart, whom Allen had already defeated.
On the viewing platform, Hawke's expression changed drastically upon seeing his son actively attacking Allen.
Marius had no idea about Allen's terrifying combat power and still treated him as an ordinary Fifth-tier Senior Mage.
The others watching could not help but smirk quietly.
"Here he is, ignoring his guards and wanting to show off and humiliate Allen personally. How ridiculous!"
"This is it. He's hit a wall now!"
"Just wait, it won't take more than one move before Allen crushes Marius. He's in for a world of pain!"
On the resource battlefield, Allen stood calmly, watching Marius lunge at him with wild ferocity.
He waited until Marius was within a meter before him, then slowly raised his right hand, ready to counterattack.
Seeing Allen dare to meet his full-force strike head-on, Marius' eyes lit up instantly with madness and arrogance.
"You're asking for death…" he sneered.
The next moment, Allen's palm collided violently with Marius!
A terrifying, unparalleled magical force surged through Marius' fist, shattering all his defenses instantly.
Marius froze completely, panic flashing across his face.
"How can your magic be so strong?" he stammered.
Allen looked at Marius' flustered expression and smirked mockingly.
"Am I not the Max-Level Trash you called me?"
"This‘waste' of yours can easily block your full-force strike, so what does that make you?"
With that, Allen unleashed his magic without holding back. A surge of power flowed from his palm into Marius' fist again.
Marius screamed as the overwhelming force violently slammed him backward.
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It was only when the four Ninth-tier Senior Mage guards behind him exerted all their strength to catch him that Marius barely stopped his flight.
Marius stared at Allen in horror as blood kept spilling from the corners of his mouth, sliding down his chin and dripping onto the ground.
He forced himself to stand and, his voice hysterical, shouted at the guards beside him:"Grab him! Get him!"
The guards remained frozen, still stunned by what had just happened. Allen, relying solely on the power of a Fifth-tier Senior Mage, had completely defeated Marius with apparent ease.
Seeing the four guards remain motionless, Marius's anger surged, clouding his mind. He pointed at Allen, his voice hoarse, roaring hysterically:"What are you standing there for? Get him now!"
His humiliation and rage had reached their peak. He had been defeated by the very Max-Level Trash he had always mocked and looked down upon.
And he had lost so utterly and so disgracefully. If word of this got out, who would ever take Marius seriously again?
At Marius's roar, the four guards finally regained their senses. They exchanged a glance. Perhaps it was not that Allen was too strong, but that Marius was simply too weak.
After a moment of hesitation, the guards carefully helped Marius sit on a nearby rock. Then they slowly turned to face Allen. Their voices carried a hint of apology:
"Allen, we are sorry. We are just following orders, acting for pay, entrusted by another. Do not blame us for being ruthless in our actions."
Their task was to protect Marius and assist him in gathering resources. But now, with Marius so badly injured, if they did not deal with Allen and give Marius some form of retribution, no one would dare hire them as guards again.
Completing their guard duties was crucial for obtaining magical crystals, potions, and other resources. They could not afford to ruin their reputation in front of everyone.
Among the guards, the only Archmage, Ebel, waved lightly at a lean guard beside him:"Ryder, you go."
From Ebel's perspective, Allen defeating Marius was likely a fluke or simply because Marius was too weak.
A true Ninth-tier Senior Mage could easily handle Allen without stepping in personally or requiring assistance from other guards.
Ryder nodded and slowly approached Allen, his gaze locked on him, leaving no room for carelessness.
Allen watched Ryder approach and smiled:"No need to come one by one. You all might as well come together."
"Deal with it all at once. Saves time."
Hearing this, the four guards and Ebel were stunned. Allen had the audacity to be so arrogant, daring to face them all at once?
He was only a Fifth-tier Senior Mage. Did he really think he could take on four Ninth-tier Senior Mages plus an Archmage?
Ryder stopped and asked:"You want us to attack together?"
Allen smiled and nodded without further explanation. Then, in front of their astonished eyes, he lightly tapped the ground with both feet and leapt into the air.
Everyone watched, confused and puzzled. What was Allen trying to do? Did floating in the air somehow increase his strength? Or was he merely putting on a show to intimidate them?
But the next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The space around Allen began to violently fluctuate. An invisible pull radiated from his body. Then, the surrounding magical energy started to rush frantically toward him.
Ryder's eyes widened:"The speed at which he is absorbing magic is terrifying! I have never seen anyone absorb magic this fast!"
Those on the ground could clearly feel their own magical energy beginning to stir restlessly inside them.
Allen, hovering in midair, suddenly moved!
The whirlpool of magic surrounding him instantly condensed. He raised his right hand sharply, and at his fingertips, a dazzling blade of light formed.
The blade sliced down rapidly from his hand, aimed straight at Ryder!
Ryder reacted with incredible speed and managed to block Allen's strike!
"Be careful! His power has already reached the level of a Ninth-tier Senior Mage!" Ryder shouted to his companions.
"Do not treat him like a Fifth-tier Senior Mage."
Hearing this, the others immediately tensed, no longer daring to underestimate him. They quickly drew their weapons.
Allen let out a couple of light chuckles. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he swung his arms, launching attacks in every direction, as the magic swirling around him erupted violently once more.
The next moment, a torrent of spells of different elements and forms poured from his hands like a torrential downpour.
Blinding light blades, raging fireballs, massive stone spikes, piercing lightning, and flexible water arrows rained down, dense and continuous, covering the entire battlefield!
Allen's movements were astonishingly fast. The once calm rocky clearing was instantly shattered by the sheer number of spells, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
The ground was riddled with trenches of various depths, and stones and dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.
The terrifying magic waves swept across the entire resource battlefield. Those caught in the center of the magical bombardment were completely overwhelmed by this sudden storm of spells.
Everyone was still stunned by the incredible speed at which Allen absorbed magic, yet now he was surrounded by a deluge of spells.
Each spell was high-level, and the most terrifying part was that none were the same. He wielded all five basic elements: wind, fire, water, earth, and lightning.
There were even several mutated spells they had never seen before, clearly techniques Allen had mastered long ago!
"Damn it! How many spells has he learned?"
"Even if someone studied magic from birth, they could not casually cast this many advanced spells! This defies all logic!"
The overwhelming barrage of spells left Ryder and the others barely able to cope.
Every attempt to block or defend consumed a massive amount of magic, their internal reserves draining rapidly.
At this point, they could not even think about counterattacking. Surviving under such an onslaught, avoiding being hit, was already a stroke of luck.
One mistake, and a high-level spell could strike them. Light injury would be serious, heavy injury could leave them completely powerless.
Allen hovered high above, continuously swinging his arms, unleashing a relentless storm of attacks on Ryder, Marius, and the others with no intention of stopping.
The advantage of this technique was simple: sheer quantity.
The number of attacks was enough to make their heads spin, enough to induce despair, enough to drain all of the opponents' magical energy and completely shatter their psychological defenses.
Fear often comes from a lack of magic, but Allen had no such worry.
The source of magic within him was vast as the ocean, and the surrounding magic continued to flow steadily toward him.
There was no concern of running out of power. On the contrary, the more he fought, the more invigorated he became, and the faster he released his spells.

