“Nothing much. Praising your opponent is, in essence, praising yourself. You might indeed be powerful, but today you met me, which is simply your misfortune,” he said coldly.
“Oh? Is that so?” Raymoo casually replied, hands clasped behind his back, smiling.
“Hehe! I know you’re a formidable expert above the Saint level. If we fought head-on, I’d probably be killed in just a few moves. But I’m not so foolish as to challenge someone like you directly. Hehe.” The cloaked man continued his unpleasant laughter. “See all these people around you? They’re still alive, though their consciousness has been taken over by me through a certain method. If they were to attack you, what would you do? Hehehe!”
“What a despicable bastard!… Captain!” Isaia gritted her teeth in fury at the cloaked man. After realizing the people surrounding them, she quickly turned to Raymoo in anxiety.
“I see. So you plan to use them to attack me?” Raymoo nodded slightly.
“Exactly. Among these people are not only adventurers who entered Sandra Forest, but also many representatives from various academies participating in the survival competition, as well as some local nobles from Casares. Hehe! This way, you won’t be able to fight back, right? Well then, before you die, remember my name! My name is…”
However, before the cloaked man could finish introducing himself, his voice abruptly ceased. If someone could see his expression at that moment, they would notice his pupils suddenly constricted, and his entire body was seized by sheer terror.
This was because Raymoo had casually swung his right hand, effortlessly neutralizing the attacks launched by the manipulated individuals, and in an instant, sliced all their bodies into pieces!
Plop! Blood sprayed into the air from the shattered bodies.
“You… you…” The overwhelming brutality of the scene pushed the cloaked man, who hadn’t even managed to reveal his name, to the brink of mental collapse. He stared wide-eyed at Raymoo, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly, only managing to stammer, “You… you…”
“Hehe, what a pity. I really have no interest in the names of trash,” Raymoo said with a chilling smile, slowly approaching the cloaked man.
“Attack! All of you, attack!” Overwhelmed by the immense pressure from Raymoo, the cloaked man finally lost control. Screaming hysterically, he commanded the nearly hundred-strong group surrounding him to charge at Raymoo while he scrambled to escape on all fours.
However, the moment the cloaked man turned around, he heard a sudden series of sounds behind him like tearing cloth. Then, he crashed into a solid object. The cloaked man nervously raised his head, and his terrified expression froze once again on his face. Right in front of him stood Raymoo, wearing a sinister smile!
“In the end, they’re just inferior imitations controlled by drugs. The fun of the game still pales in comparison to the real soul maidens.”
“You… you…” The cloaked man’s head turned like a robot. Before his eyes lay only a horrifying scene of blood and corpses. All 117 puppets he had controlled had been completely wiped out in an instant by this man.
“Monster! You’re a monst…” The cloaked man’s voice was abruptly cut off again. This time, it wasn’t out of fear but because his entire body was cleanly sliced from head to toe into two halves.
“Hehe, you’re right, I am a demon. But it’s still unpleasant to be seen as a monster even by my own kind. Don’t you agree, Isaia?” Raymoo said indifferently with a sinister smile, turning to his female aide.
“Ugh!” Isaia, horrified by Raymoo’s shocking carnage, quickly turned around but immediately felt nauseous, covering her mouth and rushing aside to vomit violently.
“Hmm? Did I go a bit too far this time?”
“Captain! Those people were innocent,” Isaia struggled to lift her head and argued loudly with Raymoo.
“Perhaps,” Raymoo approached Isaia, gently shaking his finger. “Isaia, you’re not fit for this. As a member of the Eagle Guards, if you can’t even handle this level of slaughter, it’s better for you to quit early.”
“What… what?” Isaia looked at Raymoo in shock.
“Hehe… Do you know why the Eagle Guards exist? What kind of things we’ve always been doing? Or why I joined such an organization?” Raymoo looked at Isaia with a half-smile, his tone somewhat eerie. “If you still naively believe this is a pure organization, then escape while you still can. This isn’t a world where a child can survive.”
“Yes, Captain,” Isaia clenched her teeth tightly, forcing herself to stand straight despite the nausea, meeting Raymoo’s gaze without backing down. “Although I don’t agree with all of your actions, as your subordinate, I will mentally prepare myself to bear everything and never let such an embarrassing incident happen again.”
“Is that so? Good then,” Raymoo said, smiling happily.
“Captain, the enemy you just killed doesn’t seem to be part of the Syndicate’s forces,” Isaia, having made her decision, immediately stepped into her role, faithfully fulfilling her duties as his aide.
“Hehe. That’s normal. Even at the grandest banquet, there are always some side dishes. They won’t cause us much trouble but will instead add to the enjoyment of the feast. Well then, let’s go. We need to make up for the time wasted on these trash,” Raymoo said, smiling as he looked deep into the jungle.
Meanwhile, not far from Raymoo’s location, at a distance of just a few kilometers, Zhang Wen and his group also quickened their pace, running deeper into the jungle.
Although a sense of unease lingered in Zhang Wen’s heart, their journey proceeded without any abnormalities. They didn’t even encounter a single one of those troublesome beasts said to be active at night.
“Attention, we’re less than a thousand meters from the target,” after moving through the darkness for a long time, Linoah finally stopped and whispered to the others in the group.
Unlike Zhang Wen and his group, who were preparing to launch a surprise night attack, the group from Moore Academy, having just defeated a team from Almichus Academy, clearly had no urgency to rush forward. After nightfall, they immediately halted their movement and set up camp.
In the pitch-black environment, a thousand meters distance couldn’t prevent Zhang Wen from seeing the firelight from the distant camp through layers of trees. “Everyone, be careful,” Zhang Wen whispered, stepping to the front of the group and leading them forward cautiously.
Soon, the group had approached to within a hundred meters of the enemy camp. Zhang Wen raised his hand and made two gestures. Under the light of the campfire, seeing Zhang Wen’s signal, the others nodded in understanding and quickly dispersed to both sides of the camp as previously discussed.
“Zhang… Zhang Teacher, you… you can put me down now,” as the others quickly moved away from the camp, a hushed and embarrassed voice came from behind Zhang Wen.
“Eh?” Zhang Wen was momentarily stunned. Then he realized that his attention had been too focused on the enemy camp earlier, and his hands had unconsciously slid onto the young beauty’s shapely bottom. Worse still, upon realizing this, he instinctively pressed gently on her soft rear again, causing the young girl to emit a soft, delicate moan: “Mmm…”
“Are your feet okay now?” Zhang Wen quickly helped the young girl off his back and whispered.
“My feet are fine now,” the young girl’s face flushed again at Zhang Wen’s question. Fortunately, she was already blushing from the intimate contact between Zhang Wen’s hands and her bottom, so her face turning even redder wouldn’t raise Zhang Wen’s suspicion.
“Good then. Wait here first. Follow me after everything is over,” seeing the imminent battle, Zhang Wen had no mood for flirting with the young girl.
He waved at the girl and then quietly approached a giant tree less than fifty meters from the camp. According to the plan he had made with Linoah and the others, his current task was to wait for Linoah and the others to create strange noises to attract the attention of those in the camp, and then use his speed to launch a surprise attack.
In this way, the people in the camp wouldn’t sense the presence of any badges nearby and would certainly think they were being attacked by a large number of monsters. Once they panicked and became chaotic, Almichus Academy’s victory would be assured.
“It’s about to begin,” Zhang Wen narrowed his eyes, staring at the roaring fire not far away, every cell in his body already adjusted to the most excited state.
Swish! From directly opposite Zhang Wen, on the other side of the camp, suddenly came a rustling sound of trees shaking—this was the signal that Linoah had reached her designated position, the starting signal for their operation tonight.
Rustle…
Then, from all directions around the camp, came continuous sounds of trees swaying. Under the illumination of the bright campfire, countless strange shadows were cast on the ground, yet apart from the eerie swaying of the trees, there wasn’t a single other sound.
Faced with such a bizarre scene, even Zhang Wen, imagining himself in the enemy’s position, felt he wouldn’t be able to remain calm. However, within Zhang Wen’s line of sight, he found to his surprise that the enemy camp remained eerily still, without the slightest movement.
“Could it be that Went accidentally revealed their position? Have these guys figured out we’re coming and set up a trap?” A sense of confusion involuntarily rose in Zhang Wen’s mind, but this thought barely flashed through his mind before being dismissed. Linoah and the others continued making noise, and with the arrow already on the string, Zhang Wen quickly launched into action.
Based on his earlier observations of the surrounding environment, Zhang Wen almost instantly moved to a position close enough to the enemy camp but also difficult to detect.
However, just as Zhang Wen was making his final observation of the enemy camp’s condition, preparing to choose a suitable target for attack, he suddenly halted his movement.
“Don’t come over!” Seeing Linoah and several other girls also preparing to rush over as planned, Zhang Wen immediately shouted out.
Hearing the seriousness in Zhang Wen’s voice, Linoah hesitated and stopped her steps. But several other girls, who were in their rebellious teenage years, weren’t so obedient.
“What’s wrong? Did we fall into an ambush? Zhang Teacher, I’ll help you! Hya!” Amyris, who had long been dissatisfied with Zhang Wen, shouted loudly as well, rushing out from behind the bush where she had been hiding.
With Amyris setting the example, the other girls naturally weren’t willing to be left behind and rushed out from their hiding places one after another.
However, before the girls could even reach Zhang Wen, they all stopped in their tracks, their mouths agape, their voices abruptly cut off like a tape with its sound pinched. Before their eyes was not a group of menacing enemies, but a scene of carnage—corpses torn apart as if by wild beasts.
“Ugh!!” It took only a brief moment before the stench of blood in the air caused all three girls to vomit violently.
“What’s going on?… Ugh!” Full of doubts, Linoah stepped out from the jungle, but upon seeing the horrifying scene before her, she quickly covered her nose and mouth.
After Linoah’s question, the group of six fell into silence. No one knew exactly what had happened.
“They should have died not long ago,” after a while, Zhang Wen said softly, looking at the still-burning campfire.
“Mm,” Linoah nodded slightly, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and suddenly she anxiously waved at the others, “Quickly! Check their badges!” Saying this, Linoah herself rushed to a corpse without hesitation, enduring the nausea, and began searching the body with a frown.
“Linoah Teacher, this is not the time! Shouldn’t we immediately report this to the competition supervisors?” Liana, the martial arts major, angrily shouted.
Whether out of respect for the dead or a girl’s natural aversion to filth, Liana was unwilling to touch those disgusting corpses.
“Follow Linoah Teacher’s instructions,” when Liana sought support from the others with her eyes, Zhang Wen clearly took Linoah’s side.
“Fine! Whatever!” Since both teachers in the team had agreed, the students like Liana had no choice but to comply. The girls reluctantly pinched their noses and began searching the still-bleeding corpses.
Though somewhat unwilling, Liana and the others performed their tasks impeccably. Before long, the team had searched all fifteen corpses at the scene and handed all the found badges over to Zhang Wen.
“How many badges are there in total?” Linoah couldn’t wait and asked urgently, before Zhang Wen had even fully grasped the badges in his hands.
“Sixteen… no, seventeen badges,” Zhang Wen scanned the badges in his hands and quickly gave the exact number.
“Seventeen? So it really is him…” Linoah murmured softly, her face suddenly turning pale.
“Who exactly is it?” Linoah’s last few words were spoken in a hurried and rapid tone. Even with Zhang Wen’s acute hearing, he barely caught what she had said. From Linoah’s expression, Zhang Wen could already tell she definitely knew something. However, just as Zhang Wen had asked that question, he suddenly heard a faint, unusual sound coming from the air.
If it weren’t for the forest’s deathly silence at that moment, or if Zhang Wen’s hearing hadn’t been enhanced by the Spring Water Technique, he absolutely wouldn’t have detected that nearly imperceptible anomaly amidst the soft crackling of the campfire.
The target was Linoah!
The moment he identified the direction from which the sound came, Zhang Wen instantly determined the attacker’s target.
“Watch out! Scatter! Hide inside the tents!” In that instant, Zhang Wen’s already heightened alertness immediately reacted. His actions even preceded his shout. Before Linoah could hear Zhang Wen’s warning, she had already been scooped up by him and was flying through the air as if on clouds.
“Ahh!” Linoah’s startled and furious scream echoed through the forest, but Zhang Wen’s movements didn’t stop for a second.
With both arms gripping her waist, Zhang Wen darted like a ghost through the campsite, his direction changing drastically each time his feet touched the ground. His speed was so great that the wind generated by their movement kept Linoah from even opening her eyes. Her ears were filled only with the howling of the wind rushing past.
However, Linoah was ultimately a talent chosen by Mithril. Although she didn’t understand what Zhang Wen was trying to do, she trusted that in the current situation, everything Zhang Wen did must have a reason. Thus, Linoah gritted her teeth and forcibly suppressed her instinct to struggle. Instead, she clung tightly to Zhang Wen like an octopus, allowing him to focus more of his energy on moving without having to worry excessively about her.
Nonetheless, the time during which Linoah was carried by Zhang Wen through the campsite was extremely brief. Almost the moment Linoah had wrapped herself around him, she was suddenly and forcefully thrown forward by Zhang Wen.
Before Linoah could even blame Zhang Wen for his lack of chivalry, she crashed heavily into a tent. The small tree supporting the tent couldn’t withstand the force of her impact and snapped cleanly in two.
The furious beauty angrily threw off the now unsupported tent covering, ready to confront Zhang Wen about his actions, when she suddenly saw Zhang Wen charging toward her at full speed again. Before Linoah could cry out in surprise once more, she saw Zhang Wen suddenly throw a punch directly at her. On his fist, deep-blue battle energy crackled like electric sparks.
“Boom!” A loud explosion erupted no more than half a meter from Linoah’s head. The resulting shockwave stung her face painfully, but she clearly saw that in the center of Zhang Wen’s fist was a steel needle several inches long. The explosion had been caused by the collision of the steel needle with the battle energy from Zhang Wen’s punch.
Looking at the needle’s tip, which had nearly pierced her eyes, Linoah suddenly understood. She hastily looked down and indeed saw, right next to where she had stood moments ago, a steel needle embedded halfway into the ground. Near where the needle had struck, a large patch of once-lush green grass had been turned to charred remains by the battle energy radiating from the needle.
Linoah was instantly drenched in cold sweat, her expression growing extremely complex. She glanced at Zhang Wen, but that brief look contained not gratitude—only the painful humiliation and fury of having an old wound torn open.
“Tch! You actually managed to catch my needle. Not bad, I suppose… Huh? Almace Academy? Strange! You’re not quite like the rumors!” As Zhang Wen slowly lowered his right hand that had caught the steel needle, a girl wearing a white mask emerged slowly from the darkness.
From the girl’s height and voice, it was easy to tell she was about the same age as Garret. In fact, their body types were quite similar. However, this white-masked girl had striking red hair, and her short, energetic hairstyle was completely different from Garret’s.
“Who are you? Why are you attacking us?” Liana, the martial arts student, warily drew her weapon. As battle energy flowed into it, the short handle transformed into a crescent-shaped dagger wrapped in fiery red battle energy.
“How many badges are there in total?” Lenora couldn’t wait for Zhang Wen to steady the badges before she anxiously asked.
“Sixteen… no, seventeen badges,” Zhang Wen quickly scanned the badges in his hand and reported the accurate number.
“Seventeen? So it’s that guy after all…” Lenora murmured softly, her face suddenly turning pale.
“Who exactly is it?” Lenora’s last few words were spoken so quickly and urgently that even Zhang Wen, with his sharp hearing, couldn’t quite catch what she said. From Lenora’s expression, Zhang Wen could tell that she definitely knew something. However, just as Zhang Wen was about to ask her, he suddenly heard a faint, unusual sound in the air.
If it weren’t for the deathly silence that had been maintained in the forest, or if Zhang Wen’s hearing hadn’t been enhanced by the Spring Water Technique, he would never have been able to detect that almost imperceptible anomaly amidst the slight crackling of the campfire.
The target was Lenora!
The moment Zhang Wen discerned the direction of the sound, he immediately realized who the attacker was aiming for.
“Watch out! Everyone scatter! Get into the tents!” In that instant, Zhang Wen’s already heightened vigilance immediately kicked in. Zhang Wen’s actions even outpaced his shout. Before Lenora could hear Zhang Wen’s warning, she was already being carried by him, flying through the air as if on a cloud.
“Ah!” Lenora’s scream of shock and anger echoed through the forest, but Zhang Wen’s movements showed no signs of stopping.
He held Lenora tightly by the waist, moving like a ghost through the camp, and with each step, his direction changed drastically. Zhang Wen moved so fast that the wind generated by their sprint made it impossible for Lenora to even open her eyes. All she could hear was the howling of the wind rushing past her ears.
However, Lenora was, after all, a talent recognized by Mithril. Although she didn’t understand what Zhang Wen was trying to do, she believed that in the current situation, everything Zhang Wen did must have a reason. So, Lenora gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to struggle, instead clinging to Zhang Wen like an octopus, allowing him to focus more on their movement without having to worry too much about her.
But the time Lenora spent being carried by Zhang Wen through the camp lasted only a moment. Almost as soon as she had wrapped herself around him, she was suddenly and forcefully thrown by Zhang Wen.
Before Lenora could even think to scold Zhang Wen for his lack of chivalry, she had already crashed heavily into a tent. The small tree supporting the tent couldn’t withstand the force of Lenora’s impact and snapped in two.
The furious beauty quickly pushed aside the now unsupported tent, ready to demand an explanation from Zhang Wen, when she suddenly saw him charging toward her at full speed. Before Lenora could let out another scream, she saw Zhang Wen swing his fist at her. On his fist, a deep blue combat energy crackled like lightning.
“Boom!” A loud explosion erupted less than half a meter from Lenora’s head. The ensuing shockwave made her face sting, but she could clearly see that in the center of Zhang Wen’s fist was a steel needle several inches long. The loud noise had been the result of the collision between the steel needle and Zhang Wen’s combat energy.
Seeing the tip of the steel needle that had almost pierced her eye, Lenora suddenly understood. She quickly looked down and saw that right next to where she had been standing, there was another steel needle embedded deep into the ground. Around the spot where the needle had struck, a large patch of green grass had been reduced to charcoal by the combat energy attached to the needle.
Lenora was instantly drenched in cold sweat, her expression becoming extremely complex. She glanced at Zhang Wen, but the brief look she gave him wasn’t one of gratitude, but rather of embarrassment and anger, as if an old wound had been reopened.
“Hmph! So you can catch my flying needles. Not bad… Huh? Almis Academy? Strange! Not quite what I heard in the rumors!” As Zhang Wen slowly lowered his right hand, which still held the steel needle, a girl with a white mask covering her face slowly emerged from the darkness.
From the girl’s height and voice, it was clear that she was about the same age as Carlet. In fact, their builds were quite similar. However, this girl with the white mask had a head of distinctive red hair, and her short, sprightly hairstyle was completely different from Carlet’s.
“Who are you? Why are you attacking us?” Lenna, a girl from the martial arts department, cautiously drew her weapon. As combat energy flowed into it, the short handle in her hand quickly transformed into a crescent-shaped dagger enveloped in fiery red energy.
“Ha, who am I? You’re not qualified to know,” the red-haired girl smirked proudly, then suddenly turned her suspicious gaze toward Lenora, who was behind Zhang Wen. “Hey! You over there, the hussy! Yeah, I’m talking to you! You looked like you knew something earlier. You and that guy next to you, you’re not just ordinary teachers, are you?”
Being first ambushed by a flying needle from a girl much younger than herself, nearly losing her life, and then being called “hussy” repeatedly with such arrogance, even a stone would have been provoked to anger.
But a woman like Lenora, even when furious, behaved completely differently from most people.
After hearing the red-haired girl’s infuriating words, Lenora’s face showed no trace of anger. She smiled slightly, glanced disdainfully at the red-haired girl’s chest, which was far from her own, and then spoke: “Want to know our identities? You’re not qualified either, little girl. If your brother, the Flame Demon Agart, were here, maybe I’d be in a good mood and tell him.”
“Hmph! You actually know my brother’s name! So you’re not just ordinary teachers!” The red-haired girl, after being scrutinized by Lenora’s gaze, immediately clenched her fists in anger, and two steel needles several inches long appeared in her hands.
Of course, while preparing for battle, the girl’s arms instinctively covered her chest. As for her face, the mask made it impossible to see her expression.
“Hehe! I wouldn’t say that. Flame Demon Agart, the third-ranked enforcer of the Assembly. Even in the remote Kasales, he’s a well-known figure. Knowing his name isn’t strange at all. As for Flame Demon Agart’s sister… Hmm? What was her name again?” Lenora smiled nonchalantly, deliberately tapping her cheek with her finger.
“Die, you damn hussy!” Lenora’s cutting words acted like a fuse, causing the already enraged red-haired girl to explode.
The red-haired girl roared, leaping high from the tree, her hands moving at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye. Two steel needles, wrapped in flames, shot toward Lenora like lightning.
“I’ll handle this myself!” As the red-haired girl leaped from the branch, Lenora had already shouted to Zhang Wen. Then, she turned to face the red-haired girl, her demeanor changing completely.
Seeing Lenora at this moment, Zhang Wen began to understand why this alluring woman had earned the nickname “Ice Queen” at Almis Academy! The angry Lenora had none of the seductive charm she had shown when facing Zhang Wen earlier. Instead, she exuded an undeniable coldness.
“Hmph! Don’t underestimate adults, little girl who hasn’t grown up yet!” Facing the steel needles shot by the red-haired girl, Lenora didn’t even show a hint of evasion. With a cold smile, she let out a fierce shout. Then, in front of Lenora, a massive amount of energy instantly condensed, forming an invisible giant shield.
“Materialized psychic energy?” Zhang Wen, keenly noticing the change in front of Lenora, immediately recalled the intense battle between Selene and Luther at the governor’s mansion.
However, Lenora’s psychic energy, after leaving her body, didn’t immediately form a wave of energy to attack. Instead, she controlled it to condense. Although Zhang Wen didn’t know much about the empire’s psychic arts, this single move showed that Lenora’s control over psychic energy far surpassed that of the inexperienced Luther and Selene! Even the energy contained in the psychic wave Lenora created far exceeded Zhang Wen’s expectations!
The steel needles shot by the red-haired girl in her fury, upon encountering the wall of psychic energy Lenora had formed, slowed down as if trapped in quicksand. At the same time, the combat energy on the needles was quickly and silently worn away. Finally, the needles, now devoid of energy, floated eerily in front of Lenora.
“Tch!” Seeing the needles trapped in Lenora’s “psychic wall,” the red-haired girl spat in frustration, and two more steel needles glowing with red light appeared in her hands. “Using the power of a tenth-tier expert with ninth-tier strength… Fighting a high-level psychic in the native stone mining area is really troublesome!”
“Hmph!” While the red-haired girl muttered her complaints, Lenora also let out a cold laugh, extended her right arm, and suddenly swung it to the right.
The psychic shield that had been condensed in front of Lenora shot out like a cannonball, roaring toward the red-haired girl. The steel needles embedded in the shield were also carried back by the psychic shockwave. The powerful force even stirred up a gust of wind, causing the campfire several meters behind Lenora to flicker wildly.
Lenora’s attack almost instantly closed the short distance of a dozen meters between the red-haired girl and the psychic shield. The red-haired girl, however, was also quick. As Lenora swung her arm, she had already sensed the danger of this attack. She spat in frustration again and quickly jumped down from the tree, using a massive tree trunk several people thick to shield herself.
However, the seemingly sturdy tree trunk was as fragile as a sandcastle in the face of Lenora’s psychic shield. The moment the psychic wall hit it, the tree’s branches were pierced by countless small holes from the steel needles embedded in the shockwave. Then, in a short time, the massive force, following the holes that had penetrated the tree, tore it to pieces.
The red-haired girl hiding behind the tree clearly hadn’t expected Lenora’s attack to be so terrifying. Even the massive tree behind her had lasted less than a second under Lenora’s psychic wave before completely collapsing.
“Ah!” Caught off guard, the red-haired girl lost her chance to dodge. As she let out a scream, countless steel needles shot toward her like lightning.
However, just as Lenora’s psychic wave was about to tear the red-haired girl to pieces like the tree, a terrifying, dragon-like flame suddenly roared down from the sky.
Boom! The dragon-like flame swept past everyone’s eyes, roaring between the red-haired girl and Zhang Wen’s group. Everything in its path—the forest, the ground, even Lenora’s raging psychic wave—was instantly reduced to nothingness. Before the flame dragon exhausted all its energy and disappeared from everyone’s sight, it had already melted a trench several meters wide and over a hundred meters long into the ground.
On both sides of the trench, towering flames erupted. In the firelight, a red-haired young man wielding a massive sword had appeared in front of the red-haired girl.
“Flame Demon… Agart…” Lenora gritted her teeth as she spoke the name, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
“How many badges are there in total?” Lenora couldn’t wait for Zhang Wen to steady the badges before she anxiously asked.
“Sixteen… no, seventeen badges,” Zhang Wen quickly scanned the badges in his hand and reported the accurate number.
“Seventeen? So it’s that guy after all…” Lenora murmured softly, her face suddenly turning pale.
“Who exactly?” Lenora’s last few words were spoken so quickly and urgently that even Zhang Wen, with his sharp hearing, couldn’t catch them clearly. From Lenora’s expression, Zhang Wen could tell she definitely knew something. However, just as Zhang Wen asked the question, he suddenly heard a faint, unusual sound in the air.
If it weren’t for the deathly silence in the forest at that moment, or if Zhang Wen’s hearing hadn’t been enhanced by the Spring Water Technique, he would never have been able to detect that almost imperceptible anomaly amidst the slight crackling of the campfire.
The target was Lenora!
The moment Zhang Wen discerned the direction of the sound, he had already determined the target of the attack.
“Watch out! Everyone, scatter! Get into the tents!” In that instant, Zhang Wen’s already heightened vigilance immediately kicked in. Zhang Wen’s actions even outpaced his shout. Before Lenora could hear Zhang Wen’s warning, she was already being carried by him, soaring through the air like a cloud.
“Ah!” Lenora’s startled and furious scream echoed through the forest, but Zhang Wen’s movements showed no signs of stopping.
He held Lenora by the waist, moving like a ghost through the camp, his direction changing drastically with each step. Zhang Wen moved so fast that the wind generated by their sprint made it impossible for Lenora to even open her eyes. All she could hear was the howling of the wind rushing into her ears.
However, Lenora was, after all, a talent recognized by Mithril. Although she didn’t understand what Zhang Wen was trying to do, she believed that in the current situation, everything Zhang Wen did must have its reason. So, Lenora gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to struggle, instead clinging to Zhang Wen like an octopus, allowing him to focus more on moving without having to worry too much about her.
But Lenora’s time being carried by Zhang Wen through the camp lasted only a moment. Almost as soon as she clung to him, she was suddenly and forcefully thrown by Zhang Wen.
Before Lenora could even scold Zhang Wen for his lack of chivalry, she crashed heavily into a tent. The small tree supporting the tent couldn’t withstand the force of Lenora’s impact and snapped in two.
The furious beauty pushed aside the now unsupported tent, about to demand what Zhang Wen was doing, when she suddenly saw him charging towards her at full speed. Before Lenora could let out another scream, she saw Zhang Wen throw a punch at her. On his fist, a deep blue combat energy crackled like electricity.
“Boom!” A loud explosion erupted less than half a meter from Lenora’s head. The ensuing shockwave stung her face, but she could clearly see that in the center of Zhang Wen’s fist was a steel needle several inches long. The loud explosion had been the result of the collision between the steel needle and Zhang Wen’s combat energy.
Seeing the tip of the steel needle that had almost pierced her eye, Lenora suddenly understood. She quickly looked down and saw, right next to where she had been standing, another steel needle embedded deep into the ground. Around the spot where the needle had struck, a large patch of green grass had been reduced to charcoal by the combat energy attached to the needle.
Lenora was instantly drenched in cold sweat, her expression becoming extremely complex. She glanced at Zhang Wen, but the brief look she gave him wasn’t one of gratitude, but rather a mix of embarrassment and anger, as if a scar in her heart had been reopened.
“Tch! You actually caught my needle. Not bad… huh? Almis Academy? Strange! Quite different from the rumors!” As Zhang Wen slowly lowered his right hand holding the steel needle, a girl with a white mask covering her face slowly emerged from the darkness.
From the girl’s height and voice, it was clear she was about the same age as Carlet. In fact, their builds were quite similar. However, this white-masked girl had a distinctive head of red hair, and her short, spirited hairstyle was completely different from Carlet’s.
“Who are you? Why are you attacking us?” Lenna, the girl from the martial arts department, warily drew her weapon. As combat energy infused it, the short handle in her hand quickly transformed into a crescent-shaped dagger wrapped in fiery red energy.
“Ha, who am I? You’re not qualified to know,” the red-haired girl smirked proudly, then suddenly turned her suspicious gaze towards Lenora behind Zhang Wen. “Hey! You, the hussy! Yeah, I’m talking about you! You looked like you knew something earlier. You and that guy next to you, you’re not just ordinary teachers, are you?”
Being sneak attacked by a girl much younger than herself, almost losing her life, and then being called “hussy” repeatedly with such arrogance, even a stone would be angered by now.
But a woman like Lenora, even when furious, behaves quite differently from most people.
After hearing the red-haired girl’s infuriating words, Lenora’s face showed no trace of anger. She smiled slightly, casting a disdainful glance at the red-haired girl’s chest, which was far from her own, and then spoke, “Want to know our identities? You’re not qualified either, little girl. If your brother, the Flame Demon Agart, were here, maybe I’d be in a good mood and tell him.”
“Hmph! You actually know my brother’s name! You’re definitely not just ordinary teachers!” The red-haired girl, after being scrutinized by Lenora, immediately clenched her fists in anger, and two steel needles several inches long appeared in her hands.
Of course, while preparing for battle, the girl’s arms instinctively covered her chest. As for her face, the mask made it impossible to see her expression.
“Hehe! That’s not quite right. The Flame Demon Agart, the third-ranked enforcer of the Assembly. Even in the remote Kasales, he’s a well-known figure. Knowing his name isn’t strange at all. As for the Flame Demon Agart’s sister… huh? What was her name again?” Lenora smiled lightly, deliberately tapping her cheek with an elegant finger.
“Die, you damn hussy!” Lenora’s cutting words acted like a fuse, igniting the already enraged red-haired girl.
The red-haired girl roared, leaping high from the tree, her hands moving at an almost invisible speed. Two steel needles, wrapped in flames, shot towards Lenora like lightning.
“I’ll handle this myself!” As the red-haired girl leapt from the branch, Lenora shouted to Zhang Wen. Then, she turned to face the red-haired girl, her demeanor changing completely.
Seeing Lenora at this moment, Zhang Wen began to understand why this charming woman had earned the nickname “Ice Queen” at Almis Academy! The angry Lenora had none of the alluring charm she had shown earlier when facing Zhang Wen. Instead, she exuded an undeniable coldness.
“Hmph! Don’t underestimate adults, little girl!” Facing the steel needles shot by the red-haired girl, Lenora didn’t even show a hint of dodging. With a cold smile, she let out a fierce shout. Then, in front of Lenora, a massive energy instantly condensed, forming an invisible giant shield.
“Materialized psychic energy?” Zhang Wen, keenly noticing the change in front of Lenora, immediately recalled the intense battle between Selene and Luther at the governor’s mansion.
However, Lenora’s psychic energy, after leaving her body, didn’t immediately form a psychic wave to attack. Instead, she controlled it to condense. Although Zhang Wen didn’t know much about the empire’s psychic arts, this single move showed that Lenora’s control over psychic energy far surpassed that of the inexperienced Luther and Selene! Even the energy contained in the psychic wave Lenora created far exceeded Zhang Wen’s expectations!
The steel needles shot by the red-haired girl in her rage, upon hitting the psychic wall Lenora had formed, slowed down as if stuck in mud. At the same time, the combat energy on the needles was quickly and silently worn away. Finally, the needles, now devoid of energy, floated eerily in front of Lenora.
“Tch!” Seeing the needles trapped in Lenora’s “psychic wall,” the red-haired girl spat in anger, and two more needles glowing with red light grew in her hands. “Using a tenth-level ability with ninth-level strength… fighting a high-level psychic in the primal stone mine is really troublesome!”
“Hmph!” While the red-haired girl muttered her complaints, Lenora also gave a cold smile, extended her right arm, and suddenly swung it to the right.
The psychic shield that had been condensed in front of Lenora shot out like a cannonball, roaring towards the red-haired girl. The steel needles embedded in the shield were also hurled back by the psychic shockwave. The powerful force even stirred up a gust of wind, causing the campfire several meters behind Lenora to flicker wildly.
Lenora’s attack almost instantly closed the short distance of a dozen meters between the red-haired girl and the psychic shield. The red-haired girl was quick too; as Lenora swung her arm, she sensed the danger of this strike. She spat in frustration again and quickly jumped down from the tree, hiding behind a massive tree trunk several people could barely wrap their arms around.
However, the seemingly sturdy tree was as fragile as a sandcastle in the face of Lenora’s psychic shield. The moment the psychic wall hit it, the tree’s branches were pierced by countless small holes from the needles embedded in the shockwave. Then, the immense force, in a short time, tore the entire tree apart through those holes.
The red-haired girl hiding behind the tree clearly hadn’t expected Lenora’s attack to be so terrifying. Even the massive tree behind her had lasted less than a second under Lenora’s psychic wave before completely collapsing.
“Ah!” Caught off guard, the red-haired girl lost her chance to dodge. As she screamed in shock, countless steel needles shot towards her like lightning.
However, just as Lenora’s psychic wave was about to tear the red-haired girl apart like it had the tree, a terrifying, dragon-like flame suddenly roared down from the sky.
Boom! The dragon-like flame roared past everyone’s eyes, sweeping between the red-haired girl and Zhang Wen’s group. Everything in its path—the forest, the ground, even Lenora’s raging psychic wave—was instantly reduced to nothingness. Before the flame dragon exhausted all its energy and disappeared from everyone’s sight, it had already melted a trench several meters wide and over a hundred meters long into the ground.
On both sides of the trench, towering flames erupted. In the firelight, a red-haired youth wielding a massive sword appeared in front of the red-haired girl.
“The Flame Demon… Agart…” Lenora gritted out the name, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
However, someone like Linoah, even when furious beyond belief, reacted completely differently from most people.
After hearing the red-haired girl’s infuriating remarks, Linoah showed no sign of anger on her face. She smiled slightly, lightly casting a glance at the red-haired girl’s chest, which was clearly less developed, before speaking: “Want to know our identities? You’re not worthy of that either, little girl. If your older brother, Flame Demon Agate, were here, maybe I’d tell him if I were in a good mood.”
“Hmph! You actually know my brother’s name! So you’re definitely not just ordinary teachers!” The red-haired girl clenched her fists furiously at Linoah’s gaze, and two steel needles, several inches long, appeared in her hands.
Of course, while preparing for battle, the girl instinctively covered her chest with her arms. As for her face, the mask prevented anyone from seeing her expression.
“Hehe! Well, you can’t put it like that. Flame Demon Agate, the third-ranked executor of the Guild. Even in the remote Kassares, he’s a well-known figure. What’s so strange about knowing his name? As for Flame Demon Agate’s younger sister… Hmm? Why can’t I remember? What was your name again?” Linoah laughed lightly, deliberately extending her finger to elegantly tap her cheek.
“How many badges are there in total?” Lenora couldn’t wait for Zhang Wen to steady the badges before she anxiously asked.
“Sixteen… no, seventeen badges,” Zhang Wen quickly scanned the badges in his hand and reported the accurate number.
“Seventeen? So it’s that guy after all…” Lenora murmured softly, her face suddenly turning pale.
“Who exactly?” Lenora’s last few words were spoken so quickly and urgently that even Zhang Wen, with his keen hearing, couldn’t quite catch what she said. From Lenora’s expression, Zhang Wen could tell she definitely knew something. However, just as Zhang Wen was about to ask, he suddenly heard a faint, unusual sound in the air.
If it weren’t for the deathly silence in the forest at that moment, or if Zhang Wen’s hearing hadn’t been enhanced by the Spring Water Technique, he would never have been able to detect that almost imperceptible anomaly amidst the slight crackling of the campfire.
The target was Lenora!
The moment Zhang Wen discerned the direction of the sound, he immediately realized who the attacker was aiming for.
“Watch out! Everyone, scatter! Get into the tents!” In that instant, Zhang Wen’s already heightened vigilance kicked in. His actions even outpaced his shout. Before Lenora could hear Zhang Wen’s warning, she was already being carried by him, flying through the air as if on a cloud.
“Ah!” Lenora’s startled and furious scream echoed through the forest, but Zhang Wen’s movements showed no signs of stopping.
He held Lenora by the waist, moving like a ghost through the camp, changing direction drastically with every step. Zhang Wen moved so fast that the wind generated by their sprint made it impossible for Lenora to even open her eyes. All she could hear was the howling of the wind rushing into her ears.
However, Lenora was, after all, a talent recognized by Mithril. Although she didn’t understand what Zhang Wen was trying to do, she believed that in the current situation, everything he did must have a reason. So, Lenora gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to struggle, instead clinging to Zhang Wen like an octopus, allowing him to focus more on their movement without having to worry too much about her.
But the time Lenora spent being carried by Zhang Wen through the camp lasted only a moment. Almost as soon as she clung to him, she was suddenly and surprisingly thrown by Zhang Wen with great force.
Before Lenora could even scold Zhang Wen for his lack of chivalry, she crashed heavily into a tent. The small tree supporting the tent couldn’t withstand the impact of Lenora’s flight and snapped in two.
The furious beauty threw off the now unsupported tent and was about to demand an explanation from Zhang Wen when she suddenly saw him charging toward her at full speed. Before Lenora could let out another scream, she saw Zhang Wen swing a punch at her. On his fist, a deep blue combat energy crackled like electricity.
“Boom!” A loud explosion erupted less than half a meter from Lenora’s head. The ensuing shockwave stung her face, but she could clearly see that in the center of Zhang Wen’s fist was a steel needle several inches long. The loud noise had been the collision of the steel needle and Zhang Wen’s combat energy.
Seeing the tip of the needle that had almost pierced her eye, Lenora suddenly understood. She quickly looked down and saw, right next to where she had been standing, another steel needle embedded deep into the ground. Around the spot where the needle had struck, a large patch of green grass had been turned to charcoal by the combat energy attached to the needle.
Lenora was instantly drenched in cold sweat, her expression becoming extremely complex. She glanced at Zhang Wen, but the brief look she gave him wasn’t one of gratitude. Instead, it was filled with the shame and anger of having a scar in her heart exposed.
“Tch! You actually caught my needle. Not bad… Huh? Almis Academy? Strange! Quite different from the rumors!” As Zhang Wen slowly lowered his right hand, which held the steel needle, a girl with a white mask covering her face slowly emerged from the darkness.
From the girl’s height and voice, it was clear she was about the same age as Carlet. In fact, their figures were quite similar. However, this girl with the white mask had a distinctive head of red hair, and her short, perky hairstyle was completely different from Carlet’s.
“Who are you? Why are you attacking us?” Lenna, a girl from the physical combat department, warily drew her weapon. As combat energy infused it, the short handle in her hand quickly transformed into a crescent-shaped dagger wrapped in fiery red energy.
“Ha, who am I? You’re not qualified to know,” the red-haired girl smirked proudly, then suddenly turned her suspicious gaze toward Lenora behind Zhang Wen. “Hey! You over there, the hussy! Yeah, I’m talking to you! From the look on your face earlier, it seems like you know something. You and that guy next to you aren’t just ordinary teachers, are you?”
Being first attacked by a needle from a girl much younger than herself, nearly losing her life, and then being called “hussy” repeatedly with such arrogance, even a stone would have been angered by now.
But a woman like Lenora, even when furious, behaved completely differently from most people.
After hearing the red-haired girl’s infuriating words, Lenora’s face showed no trace of anger. Instead, she smiled slightly, glanced disdainfully at the red-haired girl’s chest, which was far from impressive, and then spoke, “Want to know our identities? You’re not qualified either, little girl. If your brother, the Flame Demon Agart, were here, maybe I’d be in the mood to tell him.”
“Hmph! You actually know my brother’s name! So you’re not just ordinary teachers!” The red-haired girl, under Lenora’s gaze, immediately clenched her fists in anger, and two steel needles several inches long appeared in her hands.
Of course, while preparing for battle, the girl’s arms instinctively covered her chest. As for her face, the mask made it impossible to see her expression.
“Hehe! That’s not quite right. The Flame Demon Agart, the third-ranked enforcer of the Assembly. Even in the remote Kasales, he’s a well-known figure. Knowing his name isn’t strange at all. As for the Flame Demon Agart’s sister… Hmm? What was her name again?” Lenora smiled nonchalantly, deliberately tapping her cheek with an elegant finger.
“Die, you damn hussy!” Lenora’s sarcasm acted like a fuse, igniting the already enraged red-haired girl.
The red-haired girl roared, leaping high from the tree, her hands moving at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye. Two steel needles, seemingly wrapped in flames, shot toward Lenora like lightning.
“I’ll handle this myself!” As the red-haired girl leapt from the branch, Lenora shouted to Zhang Wen. Then, she turned to face the red-haired girl, her demeanor changing completely.
Seeing Lenora at this moment, Zhang Wen began to understand why this alluring woman had earned the nickname “Ice Queen” at Almis Academy! The angry Lenora had none of the seductive charm she usually displayed in front of Zhang Wen. Instead, she exuded an undeniable coldness.
“Hmph! Don’t underestimate adults, little girl!” Facing the steel needles shot by the red-haired girl, Lenora didn’t even show a hint of dodging. With a cold smile, she let out a fierce shout. Then, in front of Lenora, a massive energy instantly condensed, forming an invisible shield.
“Materialized psychic energy?” Zhang Wen, keenly noticing the change in front of Lenora, immediately recalled the intense battle between Selene and Luther at the governor’s mansion.
However, Lenora’s psychic energy, after leaving her body, didn’t immediately form a psychic wave to attack. Instead, she controlled it to condense. Although Zhang Wen didn’t know much about the empire’s psychic arts, this move alone showed that Lenora’s control over psychic energy far surpassed that of the inexperienced Luther and Selene! Even the energy contained in the psychic wave Lenora created far exceeded Zhang Wen’s expectations!
The steel needles shot by the red-haired girl in her rage, upon hitting the psychic wall Lenora had formed, slowed down as if stuck in mud. At the same time, the combat energy on the needles was quickly and silently worn away. Finally, the needles, now devoid of energy, floated eerily in front of Lenora.
“Tch!” Seeing the needles trapped in Lenora’s “psychic wall,” the red-haired girl gritted her teeth and spat, two more needles glowing with red light growing in her hands. “Using a tenth-level ability with ninth-level strength… Fighting a high-level psychic in the raw stone mining area is really troublesome!”
“Hmph!” While the red-haired girl muttered her complaints, Lenora also gave a cold smile, extended her right arm, and suddenly swung it to the right.
The psychic shield that had been condensed in front of Lenora shot out like a cannonball, roaring toward the red-haired girl. The steel needles embedded in the shield were also hurled back by the psychic shockwave. The powerful force even stirred up a gust of wind, making the campfire several meters behind Lenora flicker wildly.
Lenora’s attack almost instantly closed the short distance of a dozen meters between the red-haired girl and the psychic shield. The red-haired girl was quick too; as Lenora swung her arm, she sensed the danger of this attack. She gritted her teeth again, spat, and quickly jumped down from the tree, hiding behind a massive tree trunk thick enough for several people to embrace.
However, the seemingly sturdy tree was as fragile as a sandcastle in the face of Lenora’s psychic shield. The moment the psychic wall hit it, the tree’s branches were pierced by countless small holes from the needles embedded in the shockwave. Then, in a short time, the massive force tore the entire tree apart along those holes.
The red-haired girl hiding behind the tree clearly hadn’t expected Lenora’s attack to be so terrifying. Even the massive tree behind her couldn’t withstand Lenora’s psychic wave for more than a second before completely collapsing.
“Ah!” Caught off guard, the red-haired girl lost her chance to dodge. As she screamed, countless steel needles shot toward her like lightning.
However, just as Lenora’s psychic wave was about to tear the red-haired girl apart like it had the tree, a terrifying, dragon-like flame suddenly roared down from the sky.
Boom! The dragon-like flame roared past everyone’s eyes, sweeping between the red-haired girl and Zhang Wen’s group. Everything in its path—the forest, the ground, even Lenora’s raging psychic wave—was instantly reduced to nothingness. Before the flame dragon exhausted its energy and disappeared from view, it had already melted a trench several meters wide and over a hundred meters long into the ground.
On either side of the trench, towering flames erupted. In the firelight, a red-haired youth wielding a massive sword now stood in front of the red-haired girl.
“The Flame Demon… Agart…” Lenora gritted out the name, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Roaring furiously, the red-haired girl leapt high from the tree branches, her hands moving at nearly imperceptible speeds. Two steel needles, seemingly engulfed in flames, shot toward Linoah like lightning.
“I’ll handle this myself!” As the red-haired girl leapt from the branch, Linoah had already shouted at Zhang Wen. Then, she turned to face the red-haired girl, her demeanor changing instantly.
Watching Linoah at that moment, Zhang Wen finally understood a little why this seductive woman had earned the nickname “Ice Beauty” at Almace Academy. The alluring charm she usually displayed when facing Zhang Wen was completely gone, replaced by an unmistakable coldness.
“Hmph! Don’t underestimate adults, you immature little girl!” Facing the steel needles fired by the red-haired girl, Linoah didn’t even attempt to dodge. With a cold smile, she suddenly let out a fierce shout. Then, a massive energy instantly gathered in front of Linoah, forming an invisible giant shield.
“Mental energy materialization?” Zhang Wen immediately recognized the change in front of Linoah, recalling the intense confrontation between Selene and Luther at the Governor’s Mansion.
However, instead of immediately forming a mental wave projecting forward, Linoah’s mental energy, after leaving her body, was controlled and condensed. Although Zhang Wen didn’t know much about the Empire’s mental arts, this single maneuver alone showed that Linoah’s precision in controlling mental energy was far beyond the inexperienced Selene and Luther. Moreover, the amount of energy contained in the mental wave Linoah generated far exceeded Zhang Wen’s expectations!
The steel needles fired in the red-haired girl’s rage slowed down rapidly upon hitting Linoah’s mental wall, as if sinking into a quagmire. At the same time, the battle energy on the needles was quickly and silently drained away. Finally, the now powerless steel needles floated eerily in front of Linoah.
“Tch!” The red-haired girl spat angrily at the needles trapped in Linoah’s “mental barrier,” two more needles glowing with red light forming in her hands. “Using tenth-level expert-level abilities with ninth-level strength… fighting high-level mentalists at the raw crystal mine is truly troublesome!”
“Hmph!” As the red-haired girl muttered under her breath, Linoah let out a cold laugh, extended her right arm, and suddenly swung it sharply to the right.
The previously condensed mental shield in front of Linoah shot forward like a cannonball, howling toward the red-haired girl. The steel needles caught within the shield were also propelled backward by the mental wave’s shockwave. The immense force even whipped up a gust of wind around them, causing the campfire several meters behind Linoah to flicker violently.
Linoah’s attack broke through the short distance of a dozen meters or so between herself and the red-haired girl in an instant. However, the red-haired girl was no slouch either. As Linoah swung her arm, she had already sensed the danger of the attack. She spat angrily again, quickly jumping down from the tree, using a massive trunk—thick enough for several people to encircle with their arms—to shield herself.
However, the seemingly sturdy tree was as fragile as a sandcastle before Linoah’s mental shield. The moment the mental wave struck it, the tree’s trunk was riddled with countless holes by the steel needles embedded in the shockwave. Then, in a short amount of time, the tremendous force followed through these holes, tearing the entire tree apart.
The red-haired girl hiding behind the tree clearly hadn’t expected Linoah’s attack to be so devastating. Even the massive tree behind her had lasted less than a second under Linoah’s mental wave before completely collapsing.
“Ahh!” Caught off guard, the red-haired girl had no chance to dodge. As she cried out in alarm, countless steel needles shot toward her at lightning speed.
However, just as Linoah’s mental wave was about to tear the red-haired girl apart as it had the tree, a terrifying, dragon-like flame suddenly roared down from the sky.
Boom! Like a roaring dragon, the flame swept between the red-haired girl and Zhang Wen’s group, right before everyone’s eyes. Everything in the dragon’s path—forest, ground, even Linoah’s violent mental wave—was instantly reduced to absolute nothingness. Before the flame dragon vanished from sight after exhausting all its energy, it had already melted a trench in the ground several meters wide and over a hundred meters long.
Flames erupted on both sides of the trench. Amid the firelight, a red-haired young man wielding a massive sword had suddenly appeared in front of the red-haired girl.
“Flame Demon… Agate…” Linoah gritted out a name, her voice trembling slightly despite her efforts to control it.
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