“Remember to find me when you get the Black Dragon Queen's blood,” the female angel smiled faintly, drew a circle with her jade hand, and a magic circle appeared in the air, spinning like a wheel. She waved goodbye to Rody, then floated up on her staff and disappeared.
“If I’m capable of getting the Black Dragon Queen's blood, I won’t be worried about the Magic Martial Prohibition,” Rody chuckled to himself, thinking the noise might attract enemies if any were nearby. Seeing the female angel leave, he quickly made his escape. As he approached the dwarf territory from a distance, Rody felt a rush of excitement, eager to shout to Jill, “I’m back!”
But he suddenly suppressed the urge to call out, slowing his pace and walking step by step towards it.
In front of him, Red Hat stood guard at the fence gate with a short spear.
Rody glanced at Red Hat and smiled, raising his voice, “Red Hat Dwarf, I’m so glad to see you. In a month in this godforsaken place, you are the first kind race I’ve encountered. Would you like to trade with me? I’ll exchange your food for my gold coins or magic crystals. How about it, Red Hat Guard?”
“Of course, we warmly welcome such a trade. Please come in!” Red Hat was clearly very enthusiastic.
“I have a companion who was bitten by a poisonous snake. I hid her in the mountains. Do you have any antidote? I'm willing to exchange a gold coin for a bottle,” Rody handed over two gold coins, smiling, “Another gold coin for your food and water, and if you can provide a small cottage for us to rest for two or three days, I’m willing to pay two more gold coins.”
“Antidote, of course, we have. Well, I don’t, but you should go to the chief,” Red Hat made way for Rody to enter.
“My friend is waiting for my help. If possible, please go find the chief and get me an antidote as soon as possible. As for food and water, there’s no rush. We can prepare it once I bring my companion here,” Rody looked back at the forest, a bit anxious.
“Wait here, I’ll be quick,” Red Hat, carrying his spear, ran back to the village. Shortly after, he hurried out with a bottle of antidote, asking, “Where’s your companion?”
“If you could help carry her or call a few friends to assist, I’d be very grateful,” Rody said urgently as he took the antidote.
“Don’t underestimate me because of my size. I’m quite strong,” Red Hat proudly raised his thin arm, “And I can cast ‘Feather Fall’ magic.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Rody led the way, running towards the distant mountains.
“Should I call more people?” Red Hat followed, eager to help.
“No, just casting a Feather Fall spell is enough,” Rody ran faster, soon leaving Red Hat behind. Red Hat chanted an air-based Feather Fall spell, becoming light as a feather. With each step, he leaped ten meters, quickly catching up.
After running about six or seven kilometers, reaching the mountainside and taking a big turn, Rody continued forward.
Red Hat caught up from behind, looking around and asked softly, “Where’s your companion? Where is she?”
“I hid her in the mountain wall. There are too many monsters on the ground; I was afraid it would be dangerous. It was a struggle to carry her up there,” Rody pointed to a distant mountain wall, smiling, “Just go up there, and you’ll see her, a mage from the Great Frey Nation.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
In the dwarf territory, the Bullhorn Tribe Chief and Red Hat, along with others, were confined in a large mushroom house, all silent.
In front of them were a dozen warriors and three mages. One of them, with a faint halo emblem on his clothing, appeared to be an eighth-level Archmage, a super-strong character among the few in the human race.
Sitting quietly, he suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a sharp glint, and said, “Perhaps, we have been deceived.”
“That’s impossible! Pank’s illusion magic is perfect, a novice magic apprentice definitely can't detect it, let alone him, even a magic master can’t see through it! Respected Elph King, please wait a moment, Pank will soon bring back the girl of hope from Felic Kingdom,” a tall and thin magic master said respectfully, “If you’re worried that a novice magic apprentice could cause trouble, then please allow me and Luni to go and meet Pank. I believe, three magic masters won’t have trouble dealing with an apprentice who can’t even cast a small fireball!”
“Gooder, you mages are too proud and stubbornly ridiculous,” a great earth warrior with iron fist insignia snorted, “If we had captured that boy earlier and interrogated him harshly, he wouldn’t have been able to keep silent.”
“I don’t talk to fools,” the magic master named Gooder said with a cold laugh.
“Actually, I can understand everyone's feelings. We all are eager to capture Felic's hope and destroy it. But let's not forget, men from Felic are extreme. Among them, there are the most cowardly and useless fellows, as well as the most stubborn hard nuts. Do you all remember that old man from fifteen years ago? You almost broke him into pieces, but what did you get? Nothing but curses! We tried all sorts of bewitching and mesmerizing magic, to no avail. That's the men of Felic,” said the magic master named Luni, shaking his head, “I dare say, if we capture that novice magic apprentice, he definitely won’t say a word.”
“Yes, Felic people would never let a coward guard their hope!” Gooder nodded in agreement.
“But I feel it's wrong to let him leave right under our noses,” the earth warrior couldn't argue, but still disagreed internally.
“Things should proceed as they are, but I always feel something is not right,” the King of Elph said faintly, “If Buck and the Drunken Swordsman haven’t been caught in a day, I can't relax. But for me to chase alone is unlikely. Although there are three magic masters and two earth warriors among you, none of you can hold against any of them until my backup arrives.”
“Elph King, the Blazing Flame King of Camaron and the Sword Emperor, as well as our nation's two Sky Warriors are joining forces to hunt down the Drunken Swordsman. I believe he can't possibly be nearby anymore. Buck is a cunning fellow, but Sage Reze and Norn's Dragon Sword Emperor should be able to suppress him,” Gooder replied respectfully, “If we can capture Felic's hope, then everything will end. Besides, the Virtue Angel is assisting us in the sky. I guess the huge tremor just now was the Virtue Angel bombing Buck or the Drunken Swordsman!”
“Things are not as perfect as imagined,” Elph King sighed lightly, “Actually, I don’t really agree with making an early move against Felic...”
Seven kilometers away from the dwarf territory, on a hillside, Red Hat looked at Rody's smiling face, utterly astonished.
It suddenly turned into a tall and thin magic master, adorned with the six-pointed star, clearly a powerful master of magic. However, facing Rody, a one-star novice magic apprentice, it felt like facing a formidable enemy. Rody, at that moment, exuded an indescribable aura that completely suppressed him. This wasn't fighting spirit or magic, but a kind of pride that looked down on others as if they were nothing.
“How did you see through my illusion magic?” The magic master secretly gathered magic power, ready to strike at any moment, while casually asking.
“Go to hell and ask Hades; he will tell you,” Rody said with a gentle smile.
“You think you, a novice magic apprentice, can defeat me? That’s the biggest joke!” The tall and thin magic master sneered repeatedly, conjured a magic shield to protect his entire body, and prepared a fiery fireball, floating in mid-air, ready to bomb Rody at any moment, smugly humming, “Even if you have a divine weapon, you can't defeat me! You will soon realize the gap between our strengths!”
“……” Rody suddenly turned, broke a dead branch from the roadside bushes, and pointed it at the opponent.
“What do you mean by this?” The tall and thin magic master was utterly baffled.
“Trash talking to trash, that's you!” Rody said with a slight smile, which startled the magic master, then infuriated him. He raised his hand, hurling the fireball heavily at Rody.
Rody slowly closed his eyes, his mental power erupting wildly, creating a rapidly spinning vortex.
The fireball flew into the mental vortex but was immediately reflected back at a faster speed. The magic master, taken aback, dodged, feeling a heavy blow on his back as his magic shield shattered again and again, shocked and horrified. From the ground, a pale green vine broke through the earth, flew up, and flexibly entangled his legs.
“Illusion!” The magic master split into five identical figures, dispersing in all directions. The five figures chanted magic simultaneously, moving as one, making it difficult to discern the real one.
“Utterly boring…” Rody swung his hand, and a mental warhammer harshly struck the figure on the far right. All the figures instantly vanished, leaving only the injured and bleeding tall and thin magic master, horrified, watching Rody. He never expected the opponent to easily discern his real body. Rody pointed behind the magic master, slightly smiling, “When you learn to observe things with mental power in your next life, you won’t make such a low-level mistake. You really thought turning into Red Hat would deceive me!”
“Ah!” The magic master turned his head at Rody's gesture and saw a monster skeleton’s skull with its eerie green eye sockets staring at him. He screamed in pain, his soul snatched away in an instant, turning into a lifeless zombie that collapsed to the ground.
Rody pulled out a poison-coated small dagger and swiftly cut the magic master's throat.
Watching the blood pour out, he smiled faintly, no longer feeling the disgust and nausea he experienced when killing Marcus and Emma. He had grown into a warrior with a firm will, no longer the pitiful child he once was. Although Rody's strength wasn’t the strongest, he felt he was no less than anyone else, especially in terms of intelligence, where he far surpassed others.
“A novice magic apprentice can also kill a magic master,” Rody suddenly turned and smiled towards the sky, “Now, even if you know resurrection magic, you can’t revive him, can you? Virtue Angel, who has been following me from the dwarf land.”