Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-590

That was the final problem the student union had prepared for all the students: a weakened Poseidon. Of course for most of the students, they did not know who their opponent was, as that would require them to constantly fight and constantly collect information. For Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue, they could skip that process, but that benefit did not help them at all because their opponent had leveled up to Gold rank from Silver rank.

The roaring sea god started to condense vapor-like ripples around him, Xiao Lin was stunned for less than a second before he shouted back loudly, "Disperse! Quickly dodge it!"

The rest of them who were still confused listened to their monitor's warning, and dispersed throughout the area as fast as they could. After a few seconds, a greyish black wave of water shot out from Poseidon's hand. What followed was the water at the center of the lake rapidly decreasing. As the master of the seas, controlling the water from a lake like that was not a problem, even while restricted by the world's laws.

The water that had been absorbed shot out again, and large ripples of water in the air shot out in all directions, turning into sharp arrows of water. A few of the physically weaker mages were pierced on the spot, but those that had hid after being warned successfully avoided the attack.

Xiao Lin had seen that technique of Poseidon's before; the power was obviously much weaker than before. If Poseidon had his full power, the water arrows could easily have covered the entire forest, leaving no one with any way to dodge.

However, the water arrows were still not easy to dodge after the decreased power and difficulty. Those lucky enough to avoid the area of attack pat their chests in relief, and could not help but shoot a thankful gaze at Xiao Lin. Just as they prepared to thank him, Xiao Lin's angry shout could be heard again.

"What are you staring at?! Run! Everyone, run!"

"Don't run in the same direction, disperse!"

"Run! Run! Run!"

The others were naturally a little shocked, but they quickly understood why Xiao Lin had said so. That opponent was obviously more than Xiao Lin could handle. If even their monitor could not handle him, then the rest of them definitely could not, so everyone started to frantically run away.

s

"Maybe we should not have come here!" Xiao Lin, who had decided to remain behind and somewhat stall for time, bitterly smiled as he said to Gu Xiaoyue next to him. After all, the one who made the decision was himself.

"No, your decision was right. Try feeling the outskirts of the forest," Gu Xiaoyue shook her head and said.

Xiao Lin shifted his perception away from fully focusing on Poseidon for a few seconds. Then, his expression changed before he laughed.

Even with his level of perception, he could feel the dangers around the forest at that moment. It was different from before; it was a feeling that caused his hairs to stand on end. That meant that the level of the beasts in the forest far exceeded those that they had encountered before. Anna was at least right on that point.

The beast tide was finally here!

It had just arrived in a completely different way. Those beasts had felt Poseidon's power; even if it was just a weakened version, the power that came from the space-time crack still caused the beasts' natural instincts to choose to retreat. So, at that moment, the outskirts of the forest that should have been filled with weak beasts suddenly became the territory of the strongest monsters.

If they had chosen to leave at the very start, they would have encountered those beasts right at that moment. Facing those Epic-ranked beasts, their chances of survival would have been even lower than facing Poseidon!

"So that's the case! This is the obstacle the student union set for us. They're telling us that those who try to avoid fighting with little tricks will only die faster than the others!"

Xiao Lin lamented to himself, but did not change his order.

They still needed to flee, because they were facing a Poseidon that was at Gold rank. Escaping was the only choice they had, but as for whether or not they would be able to survive the last few hours, it would depend on their own skill and luck…

Xiao Lin activated Ruin, and the sword in his hand unleashed his strongest attack at Poseidon: Dragon's Breath Sword Aura!

An immense white energy shot out of the sword. The quality of the swords he picked up from the mercenaries were the same. He had already destroyed one before, and this sword could not withstand the dragon's breath for too long either, and was quickly swallowed in the light of the dragon's breath.

The strongest sword aura Xiao Lin commanded was not all that useful at that moment. If he was facing a Silver-ranked Poseidon, it might be possible, but Gold rank was not something his sword aura could stand up against.

After the explosion, Xiao Lin saw that there was no trace of injury on Poseidon's body. Even if he had already guessed that result, he still sighed before he grabbed Gu Xiaoyue's hands and legs and started to run away without any hesitation.

Gu Xiaoyue struggled a little, but immediately gave up when she heard the sound of panting next to her. During the final moments of his Ruin state, Xiao Lin's speed was not something she could compete with.

Roar!

Poseidon once again shouted. His body had already completely formed, and he looked like a giant emitting a red glow. His sudden burst of speed broke the sound barrier as he rapidly chased after Xiao Lin, who was still in his Ruin state. However, Xiao Lin's dragon's breath sword aura earlier still managed to stall for time.

Even as they rapidly fled, Xiao Lin could not help but feel Gu Xiaoyue's small and gentle hands. When he looked back at the meteor-like figure in the air, he suddenly felt his throat go dry. He had deliberately made everyone disperse as they fled in order to distract their foe and increase their chances of survival.

Yet he realized that he had been thinking too much because Poseidon was obviously rushing right toward Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue!

s

"You run to the right later!" feeling his Ruin state coming to an end, Xiao Lin said.

"No." Gu Xiaoyue rejected it without any hesitation.

"Stop arguing! I'm the monitor!" It was the first time Xiao Lin felt like he had to use his power as a monitor. He grasped Gu Xiaoyue's hands without saying anything, and ruthlessly threw her into some dense bushes to the right of them. Even if he had controlled his strength, he still felt distressed when he looked at Gu Xiaoyue's body flying in that direction, but it was still better than her dying.

After that, Xiao Lin used his last amount of power from his Ruin state to bring out his flame sword aura, attracting Poseidon's attention as he fled frantically.

After his Ruin state ended, a deep sense of fatigue followed, and Poseidon continued to close in. He looked like he could catch up to him at any moment.