The Archmetamagician: The Weave Collapses Again

Anser immediately inspected the detailed information of the octopus-like turret:

[Modified Arcane Energy Cannon, construct, Level 6 arcane turret…}

The magitech artillery specialist had actually integrated large-scale cannons into arcane turrets, abandoning traditional gunpowder and instead using the turret itself to provide arcane energy as propulsion, firing heavy shells with a maximum range of up to 720 meters.

The arcane turret functioned as the firing platform, sacrificing spell-based attacks in exchange for extremely long range and excellent mobility.

’You can even do it like this?’ Anser couldn’t help but admire the artillery specialist’s creativity—flexible application, with practicality as the priority.

This was basically a self-propelled, auto-aiming, auto-firing cannon!

However, it wasn’t unsolvable.

The shells still needed to be loaded manually, and both firing and targeting required nearby artillery specialists to operate the turrets. Kill them, and everything would collapse.

Boom, boom, boom—

The cannon fire grew denser. Most of the arcane turrets remained about two hundred meters away, firing solid shells with high accuracy—each hit on the gate left a crater.

After several volleys, the heavy metal gate had already begun to deform.

The remaining turrets surrounded them, clearly acting as guards.

Iris’s expression turned cold. ”We can’t let them keep firing like this!”

”Relax. Their target is us.” Anser pointed downward at an angle.

Among the arcane turret formation were thirty to forty shell loaders. Dozens of meters behind them stood over a dozen artillery specialists, and around them were several dozen other classed combatants, all watching them like predators.

Given Amn’s meticulous planning, this battle would undoubtedly include magic items such as anti-magic arrows. If the two of them were unfortunate enough to fall into the enemy formation, facing a coordinated assault from multiple high-level classed combatants, their chances of escape would be slim.

But doing nothing was not an option either. Once the gate was breached and the army entered the city, Fort Jacqueline would fall as well.

At best, Anser could cast a bit over twenty Fireball. If he used them all on ordinary soldiers, he wouldn’t have the strength left to deal with those classed combatants—he’d be forced to flee.

He had originally considered using Wall of Force to protect the gate, but its coverage was too small and its duration too short to make a real difference.

After a moment of thought, he mobilized his magic power and focused.

”તત્વજાદુ”

Metamagic: Quickened, Extended, Distant + Conjure Elemental (Earth Elemental)!

With a sonorous and forceful draconic incantation, the ground a hundred meters ahead trembled slightly—then fell silent again.

Iris felt puzzled. If it were anyone else, she might suspect a casting failure. But Anser was different—his stability was terrifying.

The Amnian side also grew wary, even the cannon fire stopping.

Suddenly—

The ground beneath the arcane turret formation exploded. A massive stone creature, over four meters tall, burst out from below. Swinging both arms, it smashed two arcane turrets away almost simultaneously.

The turrets twisted, their barrels bent—clearly unusable.

Before anyone could react, the stone giant twisted its body and swung again. Two stone projectiles, each the size of a human head, shot from its hands.

One struck the furthest turret, snapping off two of its legs with a loud bang.

The other hit a classed artillery operator square in the chest, sending him flying several meters. His chest caved in, blood spraying from his mouth and nose—he was already dead before he hit the ground.

[Target eliminated. Gained 50 experience points]

”An earth elemental!” one artillery specialist shouted in panic, turning and fleeing, abandoning his turret.

The others did the same.

They were half-casters at best, but with the collapse of the Weave, all their abilities were now tied to their arcane turrets. Their personal combat power was pitifully weak.

Besides, turrets could be repaired—dead men could not.

The Amnian combatants in the rear, however, remained composed. Melee fighters advanced steadily, while others drew bows or hurled javelins, launching ranged attacks at the earth elemental.

But arrows and javelins were largely ineffective—at most chipping off small fragments of stone.

The earth elemental ignored everything, smashing the turrets with its rocky fists.

Anser nodded in satisfaction, both surprised and delighted.

Conjure Elemental normally required a full minute to cast. Standard Quickened Spell wouldn’t work—but enhanced metamagic had taken effect, summoning the earth elemental from the elemental plane in just a few seconds.

The elemental probably hadn’t even figured out what was happening before being dragged here. Fortunately, with an Intelligence of only 5, a bit of confusion didn’t matter—as long as it obeyed.

Upon receiving orders, the elemental immediately used its earth glide to launch an attack, demonstrating excellent combat instincts.

Possibly due to the Oath of the Noble Genies, the summoned earth elemental was stronger—Challenge Rating 6, and its duration in the material plane doubled.

On the battlefield, it easily destroyed over a dozen arcane turrets. It specialized in wrecking objects and structures—each punch dealing double damage.

As classed combatants closed in, the elemental suddenly shrank its form and sank into the ground, disappearing.

It possessed a unique sense known as tremorsense, allowing it to perceive enemies even underground.

The Amnian combatants immediately tensed up, spreading out to avoid ambush.

Seconds later—

A distant artillery specialist suddenly felt something strange beneath his feet. Before he could react, a massive hand burst from the ground, grabbing his legs and lifting him up—then slamming him down with a thunderous impact.

With a dull thud, his body sank a foot into the earth. His eyeballs burst, blood pouring from all seven orifices. His flesh went limp.

[Target eliminated. Gained 175 experience points]

The earth elemental discarded the corpse, pulled itself free from the ground, and charged after the remaining artillery specialists.

They scattered in panic—but escape was impossible.

Despite its modest Challenge Rating, the elemental’s Strength and Constitution both exceeded 20. Its mobility was astonishing, and combined with its stone projectile attacks, hunting down fragile casters was like chopping vegetables.

Not only that, it was extremely durable, immune to poison, exhaustion, paralysis, petrification, poisoning, and unconsciousness. It could fight all day without tiring—a natural counter to melee-focused classes.

Even that Challenge Rating 10 werewolf leader from before would have no choice but to flee—head-on, it would most likely lose.

Standing atop the city wall, Anser wore a slightly arrogant smile.

At first, he had intended to summon a draconic spirit, but considering the battlefield conditions, he chose the earth elemental instead—and the results exceeded expectations.

It could only be said—

Class counters truly existed.

A group of classed combatants had meticulously prepared to deal with two sorcerers, tailoring both equipment and class composition specifically for the encounter. But against an earth elemental, all those preparations were nearly useless.

The elemental was weak to thunder—but the enemy didn’t even have a proper spellcaster. It was almost laughable.

Experience notifications flashed continuously in Anser’s mind. In this short span of time, three more artillery specialists had already died.

By now, the remaining artillery specialists had fled too far for stone projectiles to reach, and the pursuing classed combatants had caught up.

Yet the earth elemental showed no fear. Turning around, it engaged them directly. Despite its massive size, it wasn’t clumsy—each punch carried tremendous force. No one dared take a hit head-on; they all resorted to kiting tactics.

Bang—

A warrior failed to dodge in time. Raising his shield to block, he was knocked down by a single punch—followed by another that smashed him into a pulp.

[Target eliminated. Gained 275 experience points]

The others were horrified. Their movements became even more cautious—they would rather not attack at all than risk being struck.

The combatants played to their strengths. With coordination and several high-level fighters, they gradually stabilized the situation.

The earth elemental had more health and armor than a Challenge Rating 9 treant, but its reactions were slow. It couldn’t evade attacks, and damage accumulated quickly—its body soon became pitted and cracked.

Seeing this, Anser immediately commanded it to break through by force. Using stone projectiles to push enemies back, it seized the opportunity to dive underground again.

This wasn’t retreat—

It was repositioning, avoiding encirclement.

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