For Rody, who was drinking water, changing his outerwear, and doing warm-up exercises, the birdman deputy leader maintained the utmost restraint. He held his sword, watching Rody coldly.
At this moment, Rody also took a thin sword, slightly larger than a toothpick, and approached the birdman deputy leader cautiously and slowly. Everyone watched him with great tension, feeling that as soon as he made a move, he would probably be sent flying by the birdman deputy leader. Without the powerful mage-king butler watching over, no one would have felt at ease letting Rody duel.
At this time, the only one cheering for Rody was Mittir.
"I'm going to attack now," Rody shouted, but he didn't move forward at all. "Come on!" the birdman deputy leader snorted.
"Cough, I'm really coming now, I'm starting!" Rody yelled again, but still did not advance, obviously very nervous. It was no wonder, a human swordsman dueling a birdman sky warrior was quite a stretch.
"First, wipe your sweat!" the birdman deputy leader sneered.
"Alright, I'll wipe my sweat and then deal with you!" Hearing this, Rody turned around, took out a white silk handkerchief, and wiped his forehead.
"Be careful, be careful!" the sea monsters screamed in fright.
"It's already too late... Human, stupidity is your fatal error!" The birdman deputy leader moved swiftly, getting close before the butler Nicholas could intervene, placing his sword across Rody's neck, and then laughed proudly, "Tell your men to back off, or my sword will drink blood. Don't try to attack; my sword is fast, it only takes 0.1 seconds to decapitate you."
"Don't hurt me, everyone step back," Rody, now controlled, hurriedly gestured for the demon generals and dark knights to back away.
"The butler sir should also step back," the birdman deputy leader said, focusing entirely on Nicholas.
"No, I must stay," the butler Nicholas slowly shook his head, saying, "Let go of my master, and I'll let you leave. Otherwise, you will definitely regret it!"
"Let's do this! We each take a step back. You let the demon generals leave, and butler sir, you stay here alone," the birdman deputy leader negotiated reasonably, "I promise not to harm your master, I just want to leave. So, let the demon generals take my companions to a town 200 kilometers away. As soon as they release all of my companions, I will immediately return your master to you. Butler sir, what do you think of this proposal?"
"I agree," Rody, the master, nodded, leaving Nicholas with no choice but to consent.
The sea monsters couldn't bear to watch anymore, how could a good situation turn out like this because of Rody's appearance? However, since the birdman deputy leader was holding him hostage, they had to comply.
In short, the birdmen were too cunning, and humans were too weak. The original decision to duel was a mistake. The captain of the sea monsters deeply regretted it, feeling that he should have foreseen this outcome earlier. Instead of encouraging the duel at the beginning, he should have stopped it. The human male was not strong enough, and supporting him in the duel was like sending him to his death.
Now, being under the control of the birdman, it was truly a sigh-inducing situation.
The demon generals, taking the birdmen, followed the route directed by the birdman deputy leader, flying rapidly toward the destination.
"Butler sir, don't be nervous, I will release your master soon. I will give you a magical device, you can watch it. As soon as my companions reach the destination, I will immediately release him!" the birdman deputy leader said, while tossing an object to Nicholas.
"Ah!" Just as Nicholas was about to reach for it, he screamed in surprise. A huge silver cross rapidly expanded, and its chains tightly bound Nicholas to it. Despite his strength as a Mage King and Sword Emperor, he found it difficult to break free at that moment. This was the Holy Silver Cross of the Angel Clan, and it was unexpected that the birdman deputy leader would possess it. The sea monsters were stunned by this development, all of them gaping in disbelief.
This birdman was too despicable and cunning, deliberately speaking to lower the butler's guard, then using a treasure to bind his opponent.
"Ha ha ha, the smartest race is indeed our great Winged Race!" The birdman deputy leader, proud and laughing, said, "Humans, oh humans, you are truly foolish! Is there anyone as foolish as you in the world? Ha ha ha, right, you're just like those sea mudskippers, with your slimy octopus brains full of idiocy! Let me tell you, from the beginning, I was already plotting against you. I had already informed my superiors early on, and the Winged Race army is about to arrive! When you fools see the Winged Race's light pillar descending and the teleportation gate opening, don't be surprised, because your defective brains could never come up with a perfect battle plan like mine... Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Despicable!" The sea monsters were so angry they could hardly speak.
"Curse all you want!" The birdman deputy leader coldly sneered, "As the weaker ones, it's natural for you to feel regret and pain!"
"Do you think the only strong one here is the butler?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night summoned her battle pet, a seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard, startling the birdman deputy leader.
The speed of a thunder system shadow leopard was unimaginable. Generally, when someone sees it with their own eyes, it's their last sight in this world. The birdman deputy leader didn't expect the elf dressed as an ordinary female archer to have such a high-tier magical beast battle pet. He secretly swallowed hard. Thankfully, he hadn't released the hostage, or else his throat would have already been pierced by the shadow leopard...
"I'll release him, don't worry, I am willing to release the butler first, let's talk properly!" The birdman deputy leader was tense, fearing an attack from the shadow leopard at any moment.
"Don't trust this despicable winged birdman!" The sea monsters immediately shouted.
"Release him, we will not listen to any more of your words, you cunning birdman, don't think you can deceive us again with your smooth talk!" The sea monster squad captain said furiously.
At that moment, when the birdman deputy leader was sweating profusely and paralyzed with fear, his savior finally arrived.
A beam of light descended from the sky, and a birdman with pure white wings, tall and formidable, holding a sword, accompanied by a black, six-winged, one-eyed birdman, flew out of the light gate. Behind this four-winged white feather birdman leader, several four-winged grey feather birdmen followed, indicating the high status of this white-feathered birdman male.
"General Xiangtian, and the leader, come quick, we've run into big trouble!" The birdman deputy leader cried out in surprise.
"A seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard?" The white-feathered General Xiangtian, upon seeing the ground, immediately halted his descent, snorted, and rose a dozen meters higher, looking at the female archer dressed High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, and shouted loudly, "Elf royal girl, this matter has nothing to do with you. You should leave immediately to avoid affecting the friendship between the Winged Race and your Elf Race!"
"It's your Winged Race that attacked my friend first, this time, I refuse to stand by." The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was determined not to leave.
"For the sake of our two races' friendship, let's discuss how to handle this," General Xiangtian, unwilling to descend to the ground and take risks, whispered a few words with the black six-winged one-eyed birdman in the sky, then said, "Since you have a high-tier shadow leopard, you must be a member of the Elf royal family. Out of respect for you, we have decided to have our Fourth Prince negotiate with you."
"I just hope your prince won't be as barbaric and belligerent as your subordinates!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night glanced at Rody and surprisingly nodded in agreement.
Three minutes later, two more beams of light descended from the sky.
After one light pillar's gate opened, three white four-winged generals of the Winged Race appeared.
The largest and brightest small light gate opened, revealing a single birdman. He was extraordinarily handsome, dressed in fitting holy armor, emitting a dazzling white light, almost like a real angel. Behind him were the most wings among all white feathers - six in total, and he was the only one standing on a Sword Emperor's halo.
With the appearance of this powerful Fourth Prince, the sea monsters realized they had been deceived again.
The birdmen didn't intend to invite a noble prince for negotiation, but rather brought this powerful Fourth Prince as reinforcement.
"Use the Sealing Sphere to seal this space, so no one can enter or leave!" The Fourth Prince commanded without looking at anyone, as the four Winged Race generals flew to the northeast, southwest, and northwest, connecting a huge spatial magic array with a transparent crystal sphere, eventually shattering the floating sphere.
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"Where are our reinforcements?" The sea monster squad captain panicked but was powerless to stop it.
"I don't know, but the most urgent distress signal has already been sent..." The sea monster squad members looked at each other in dismay, unsure if the reinforcements would arrive in time. Just as the sea monsters were about to despair, at the moment the sky's crystal spheres shattered, the sea surface also flashed with a multitude of lights, like waves or a vortex.
"Sea Monster Squad, you've worked hard, we've finally arrived in time." From within the vortex of light, a six-armed sea creature emerged, her upper body like a young girl's, but her lower half resembling a snake, with a bizarrely shaped tail. She held different strange weapons in each of her six arms. Behind her were a dozen four-armed companions, each a female, dressed in spiky scale armor.
"Winged Race's Fourth Prince, who could it be? It's you, the cunning white-eyed pigeon. Don't worry, I've arrived in time, you won't be slaughtering my people!" The six-armed girl split the waves, arriving next to the Sea Monster Squad, looking at the least Sword Emperor-level Winged Race Fourth Prince without fear, her expression serious yet undaunted.
"Jekaterina Gabor Bidais, the youngest and most promising leader of the Sea Race, haha, I thought it was someone else, but it's you!" The Fourth Prince of the Winged Race sneered, "Do you think you alone can intimidate me?"
...
"Let's leave the cursing and grudges for later," Rody stretched, yawned, and said, "I've been a hostage here all day, it's time for me to make a few important statements, let's have a round of applause!"
"..." Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at him blankly.
"Who is this human scum? Hey hey, don't you know? I hate humans the most in my life, chop him up and feed him to the dogs, and keep his skull as a bowl for my beloved dog!" As soon as the Fourth Prince said this, it sounded familiar to everyone, as if the birdman deputy leader had already said it once before.
"I'm so scared, what should I do?" Rody, upon hearing this, made the same expression and turned to ask the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night.
"Hey, don't take advantage of the situation!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, seeing this big pervert reaching out for help towards her chest, was immediately angry.
"A seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard? Are you a member of the Elf royal family? And who is this human? What is going on here?" The six-winged Naga girl was increasingly confused, wondering about the man dressed as a butler, bound by the Holy Silver Cross on the ground. He seemed very powerful, but who was he? And the human male with weak strength but big talk, who was he?
What exactly happened here?
She couldn't understand how the elves became friendly with humans and why the Sea Race suddenly started protecting humans. How could two strange humans appear here in the land of the Seven Races?
"Respected Leader, both humans and elves are our friends. The despicable Winged Race suddenly attacked our bay, but this human stood up to stop their evil..." The Sea Monster Squad Captain described the events with great emotion, but the more he spoke, the more confused the Naga girl became. Since when did humans become so just and kind? This was completely different from the legends!
"You mean this butler has the strength of a Mage King and Sword Emperor?" The Fourth Prince was startled upon hearing this. How could it be possible? It was already a stretch to use the Holy Silver Cross to ambush a Sky Warrior, let alone successfully bind a powerhouse with the combined strength of a Sword Emperor and Mage King. But the reality in front of him was undeniable.
The Fourth Prince was equally confused, not understanding what was happening, but he knew one thing - his side had the advantage.
"General Xiangtian, you four attack the elves together, take them down quickly and without harm. Four-winged guards, you contain the Naga female fighters; Captain Heimu, exterminate the Sea Monster Squad and all the sea mudskippers, then assist in attacking the Naga fighters; as for the deputy leader, what’s your name? Never mind, we'll talk about it later! Now, immediately kill that despicable human. I despise him from the bottom of my heart!" The Fourth Prince secretly calculated and found that his side was overwhelmingly powerful. Although his opponent Jekaterina was tough, with the generals joining him after their battle, it might be possible to capture her.
"There are many who hate me and want to kill me, but none have succeeded so far," Rody smiled and said, "Although no one applauded, I still have to announce solemnly that from this moment on, you are all my captives."
"Have you gone mad?" was the first reaction of the Naga girl Jekaterina.
"Why does no one believe me when I finally tell the truth?" Rody said sadly, squatting on the ground and drawing circles, looking pitiable.
"What an idiot, it’s useless even if he doesn’t die, kill him, quick!" The real reason the Fourth Prince wanted to kill Rody was that this human male was eerily handsome, more attractive than himself. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't hide the sour feeling in his heart. How could there be such a handsome human male in the world?
"Do you think someone as foolish as this can restrain me? Can someone as brainless as this play schemes in front of me?" Rody playfully slapped the face of the paralyzed deputy leader, smiling, "In my view, it's a hundred times more ridiculous than an ant trying to steal crumbs in front of me. If it weren't for the purpose of drawing out you big shots, would I need to play the hostage so arduously? But I really didn't expect a Winged Race prince to show up, what a surprise! Don’t worry, I’ll give you VIP captive treatment!"
"What does VIP captive mean?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was confused. Isn't a captive just a captive? Are there levels to it?
"You can ask His Highness the Fourth Prince later, he surely knows very well!" Rody said seriously, causing the Fourth Prince in the sky to be utterly infuriated.
"Kill him immediately, or I will slaughter you all, I swear I will do it!" The Fourth Prince roared angrily.
"Your Highness, please calm down, we will take action right now!" The four generals dived down in fear.
"I like group fights…" Rody slowly raised his hands, skillfully weaving through thousands of sword energies, and landed a punch on General Xiangtian's left jaw. The other three generals' sword energies slashed him into dozens of pieces, scaring the monsters into screaming, but a second later, everyone realized it was just an afterimage. The real Rody appeared above General Xiangtian's head.
A powerful punch landed on the back of General Xiangtian's head, sending him crashing to the ground. As he fell, the three generals arrived swiftly, combining their swords in an attack. However, Rody had already teleported beneath General Xiangtian, grabbing his body and slamming it hard into the ground. As Rody neared the ground, he flipped to negate the impact, but General Xiangtian crashed into the sand. Rody stepped between his twitching legs, and everyone seemed to hear something snap, their faces turning pale with fright.
"Don’t be afraid, he's not dead!" Rody casually pulled General Xiangtian out of the sand, trying to reassure everyone.
"Ah..." The sea monsters sweated profusely, thinking it might have been better if he had died.
"You, you, you're a swordsman, right?" the Sea Monster Squad Captain asked laboriously. The human male's ability to easily defeat General Xiangtian, even amidst the combined attack of four Winged Race generals, was beyond comprehension. Was everything he had shown before just an act?
"I'm a one-star novice magic apprentice; I can't even conjure a small fireball, quite pitiful!" Rody replied, bringing up a sorrowful memory and squatting down to draw circles in the sand again.
"Die!" The three Winged Race generals, both shocked and enraged upon seeing Rody stoop, quickly dove down for an attack.
"Why bother with all this fighting? Why not play a game instead?" Rody raised his hand, and numerous elements began to converge in his palm, seemingly about to explode.
"Run... Ahh!" The Fourth Prince, sensing danger, drew his sword to intervene, only to find Rody had vanished under the swords of the three generals, reappearing behind him. Rody roared and slashed his sword fiercely. The Fourth Prince's sword crackled with intense lightning, enveloping Rody with countless bolts guided by the sword energy.
"Nice sword, I like it." Rody elegantly dodged, moving smoothly in front of the Fourth Prince like a fish swimming in water.
"Take my sword!" The Fourth Prince, angered by his previous attack's ineffectiveness, roared.
"I'll try..." Rody moved his hands in a circular motion, finally pressing them together as if holding a ball, sidestepping at the moment the Fourth Prince's sword energy was unleashed. The glowing sword energy, redirected by Rody, spun and thrust towards the three Winged Race generals. They awkwardly dodged, the sword energy slicing a nearly hundred-meter-long rift in the ocean, creating towering waves, like a storm raging on and on.
"My goodness, is this guy even human?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, aware of Rody's capabilities, couldn't help but marvel at his skill.
"Such an odd way to deflect!" The Naga girl furrowed her brows involuntarily.
"Huff, huff..." The Fourth Prince was gasping for air, utterly stunned.
How could a human neutralize his thunder-imbued sword energy? It seemed impossible! Despite the human male's apparent limited abilities, he had neutralized the Fourth Prince's Sword Emperor-level sword energy, which was nothing short of a nightmare.
The three Winged Race generals were even more terrified, having narrowly escaped death by their own leader's sword energy.
...
"Disappointed, aren't you? Don't cry, I have another little gift for you!" Rody, after concentrating for a while, finally produced a colorful elemental sphere in his hand. He gathered wind, fire, water, earth, light, dark, thunder, ice, and spiritual elements into separate, interrelated rotating arrays that merged into one, held in the palm of his hand. Everyone watched, heart-stopped, knowing that if these mutually enhancing and negating elements collided, the resulting chain explosion could pulverize everyone present.
Everyone could never have imagined that a magician would be so crazy as to perform such a dangerous act. However, upon further thought, how could there possibly be a magician who can simultaneously conjure all elements? In this world, apart from gods, nobody could do that, not even the King of Elements. Could it be that the elemental sphere in his hand was just an illusion?
As people were questioning whether Rody was just using it to scare them, he boldly reached into the elemental sphere, dividing it into three smaller spheres. He flicked them towards the three Winged Race generals. The generals, in a fluster, desperately beat their white wings to escape. If hit by such a terrifying object, they believed they would be blown to pieces, leaving not even bone fragments behind. The elemental spheres were not very fast, and the three generals easily dodged them. However, unlike the Fourth Prince's sword energy, Rody's colorful elemental spheres didn't disappear after being dodged. Instead, they circled around and chased after the generals again.
"Damn it, if you're brave, take my sword head-on!" The Fourth Prince, enveloped in fighting spirit and shining with golden light, burst out with sword energy tinged with purple lightning.
"Alright!" Rody agreed cheerfully.
Everyone was stunned. How could he be so foolish? It was impossible, right? The Fourth Prince was also startled, but at the same moment, Rody's fist came flying, striking the Fourth Prince's nose heavily, sending him screaming and retreating through the air. In the distant sky, Rody, holding a giant club, was swinging it as if hitting a baseball. The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was puzzled — why did he run so far to hit someone?
Now everyone knew that Rody excelled in surprise attacks, especially from behind. But wasn't that location too far?
"Boom..." A blast erupted behind the Fourth Prince, with white feathers flying everywhere.
The Fourth Prince had been prepared for a sneak attack, slashing behind with his sword, but there was no one there. Rody in the distance was swinging his club, sending fireballs flying over, which the Fourth Prince tried to defend against. When the sword energy met the fireballs, it resulted in a massive explosion.
People were astounded by his cleverness. Not only did he outsmart his enemy, but he also cruelly toyed with them. Fighting him was utterly disorienting.
"Damn it, I'll kill you!" The Fourth Prince, charred black, furiously swung his sword at Rody, having lost his reason and determined to fight this human male to the death.
"What did you say?" Rody pretended to listen closely but then struck the Fourth Prince with his club, sending him flying.
The Fourth Prince had barely retreated a few steps when Rody's club struck again, heavily hitting his back, causing him to plummet. However, Rody appeared mysteriously below the Fourth Prince, swinging the club upwards, striking him squarely. No matter where the Fourth Prince fled, Rody was always able to catch up in time and swing his club for a head-on hit. Even as the Fourth Prince tried his best to counterattack with his sword, Rody effortlessly dodged and struck again.
After being hit consecutively more than a dozen times, the Fourth Prince spat blood in frustration.
"Truly worthy of a prince, even spitting blood with such flair, impressive, impressive!" As soon as Rody spoke, all the monsters fell to the ground.
"What kind of person is this guy?" The Naga girl was also dumbfounded, unable to believe that a human could be so powerful. What surprised her the most was that she couldn't see through his strength. Without even exerting his full power, he had beaten a Winged Race Fourth Prince, of the same level as herself, to the ground, infuriating him to the point of spitting blood.
Who is he, really? Why would such a powerful man willingly become a hostage? Could all that had happened before be his pre-planned setup? What could be the purpose of such a cunning and scheming human man coming to the territory of the Sea Race?
"Hey hey, what's his name?" The Naga girl, seeing her subordinates' dumbstruck faces, figured they probably didn't know much and decided to ask the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night. She was his companion and should know something, right?
"Ah, I've been here for quite a while, and finally, someone asks my name!" Rody suddenly appeared in front of the Naga girl, excitedly extending his hands, "Let's shake hands! I've always wanted to introduce myself but didn't, fearing it might be too abrupt. Beautiful lady, I am Rody, known as the charming and outstandingly handsome youth among humans, adored by everyone I meet. But when I came to the land of the Seven Races, nobody likes me. Thankfully, you like me, I'm so touched, I just want to hug you and cry..."
"Pervert, get away from me! Where is your hand going?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night kicked him away furiously.
"Did he just touch me?" The Naga girl was shocked beyond belief, realizing this guy wasn't a human hero but a lecher. He had taken the opportunity of a handshake to touch her chest, which was utterly embarrassing!
"I was just too excited..." Rody denied vehemently, "As a gentleman like me, how could I do such a thing?"
"Gentleman, where are your eyes looking?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night angrily reached for Rody's ear.
"I was just looking at the shell on her chest, wondering how it's different from the star-patterned shell Mittir has. Oh, look, the Fourth Prince is coming!" Rody suddenly pointed to the sky. The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night and the Naga girl looked up, saw no one, and then turned back to Rody, who had already run far away... Both of them sweat profusely.
"No matter how strong you are, you will die. I, I will make an exception and use our Winged Race's most powerful weapon to crush you to pieces! I have never hated a human as much as I hate you, you truly deserve to die! I will never forgive you, even if it means perishing together, you despicable human, die!" The Fourth Prince frantically gathered elements, seemingly preparing for a desperate struggle.
"Don't rush, take your time to gather, I'm waiting for you!" Rody put away the Holy Silver Cross, released Nicholas, conjured a glass of wine, and drank elegantly. Seeing Mittir licking her lips, he shook his head, "Children shouldn't drink alcohol, here, have some bubble gum! Wait, you have to guess a riddle first, are you ready? Here I go!"
"This guy is crazy..." The Naga girl was almost fainting. Doesn't he have any sense of crisis?
"He's not, but almost!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night couldn't bear to look at Rody. She knew he had a plan, but under such circumstances, it was hard to endorse his behavior. The enemy was about to fight desperately, and he should at least show some seriousness and concern, right?