Vol 4. Chapter 161: Lending a Helping Hand

Outer District of Anvika.

Following an earth-shattering explosion, flames soared into the sky. Crimson magical energy swept up scorching fire, surging outward like a colossal tidal wave and engulfing everything nearby in an instant.

The entire street, along with the surrounding buildings, suddenly crumbled apart, reduced to burning ruins in the explosion.

Fortunately, this district had already been almost completely abandoned, and very few residents remained. As a result, no civilians were directly caught in the explosion and killed.

However, the terrifying waves of scorching air continued spreading violently in every direction, striking several unfortunate passersby so hard that blood poured from their seven orifices. They collapsed to the ground, unconscious...

Meanwhile,

At the center of the explosion, within the ruined street, the high-tier defensive spell 'Rex Shield Wall,' which the green-haired girl had painstakingly constructed, finally reached its limit under the furious onslaught of roaring flames.

With a violent shudder, the shield shattered into countless fragments of magical energy that dispersed into the air.

The remaining force of the shockwave sent the green-haired girl flying backward, slamming her violently into a half-destroyed wall nearby.

"Cough... cough!"

A mouthful of crimson blood sprayed from the green-haired girl's lips.

Seeing this,

A red-haired man named Kadila, who had unleashed the flame spell, couldn't help revealing a cruel smile. His pale-red eyes were filled with mockery and contempt.

After using his magical perception to confirm the girl's weakened condition, Kadila's expression grew increasingly arrogant, his delight practically overflowing.

Seeing the once-lofty candidate for Imperial Sovereign reduced to such a miserable state, the man, who had always despised her commoner origins, couldn't restrain his laughter.

"Hahahaha!! Lingluo, I don't care how lucky you are! This time, let's see how you survive!!!"

Laughing wildly, Kadila stuffed both hands into his pockets and swaggered toward the green-haired girl.

The four subordinates behind him simultaneously drew their swords, preparing to hack this candidate for Imperial Sovereign to death.

Meanwhile,

Looking at the blood staining her palms and white robe, and sensing the pitifully small amount of magical energy remaining inside her body, the green-haired girl—Miss Lingluo—could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.

Raising her head to look at the approaching men, whose faces were filled with murderous intent, Lingluo smiled bitterly once more.

She had originally intended to use the high-tier spell 'Rex Shield Wall' to withstand her opponent's fire explosion, then exploit the obstructed line of sight to escape.

Unexpectedly, the shield wall had been shattered almost immediately, and the resulting backlash had left her severely injured...

As expected,

The gap between the Fifth Tier and the middle stage of the Sixth Tier was simply too enormous...

I was far too optimistic just now.

At present, she had less than ten percent of her magical energy remaining, nearly all her magical items had been exhausted, and her right leg was twisted and fractured.

Even if she somehow survived, she would probably be left with a permanent limp...

In short, relying on her own strength to escape now was nothing more than wishful thinking.

"Hehe..."

Lingluo laughed bitterly.

Recently, Yexinlian Royal Academy had been preparing to hold its end-of-term graduation ceremony and the opening of the ranking tournament. Consequently, numerous important figures had been invited to Anvika, the capital of the Crimson Leaf Empire.

Lingluo had originally hoped to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit a certain individual and expand her network of connections...

Who would have thought that before she could even meet that person, she would run straight into an enemy from Saint Lomari...

And, of all times, Pipi happened to be absent...

"Sigh."

After letting out a bitter sigh, Lingluo raised her head with difficulty, panting as she looked toward the red-haired man approaching her with a cruel, murderous expression.

"Kadila, you're a diplomat from the Saint Lomari Empire... Instead of staying properly inside the imperial embassy, why do you have so much free time to wander around this shabby outer district?"

"Hehe? Looks like you've still got some strength left, huh? You can even talk?"

Kadila feigned astonishment, though his eyes remained filled with ridicule.

"You're an envoy sent here by our country, after all. Naturally, I had to come out and welcome you personally. So, are you satisfied with this welcoming ceremony, oh great candidate for Imperial Sovereign, Miss Lingluo~? Hahahahaha!!"

"Was it the Second Elder who ordered you to do this? Or was it the Veldora Family?"

"Sorry, but that's confidential."

"Hehe, I see... Then may I ask how you knew I was here? I clearly took sufficient precautions to disguise myself."

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you that."

Kadila crossed his arms and spoke playfully.

"We've been stationed in Anvika for quite some time, and we've long since developed an intelligence network of our own. Miss Lingluo, from the moment you stepped into Yexinlian Royal Academy, our informants had their eyes on you."

"Every single person who leaves your dormitory is assigned someone to follow them, while perception-type mages analyze their auras. So even if you disguise your appearance and wrap yourself in such an oversized white robe, it's completely useless."

"Every single person?"

"That's right. Including the other two maids who went out today."

Though I have no idea why one of those teams still hasn't reported back...

Kadila muttered inwardly, somewhat puzzled.

Whatever.

Now that we've caught Lingluo, our primary target, what happened to that other team doesn't matter.

Then,

The red-haired man abruptly shook his head, the last traces of patience disappearing from his eyes.

Clearly, this diplomat had no intention of continuing the conversation.

"Forget it. I'm done talking to you. The embassy's still busy today, you know. I need to finish you off quickly so I can get back to work."

"But don't worry, Miss Lingluo. I'm a very kindhearted man. Considering that we're acquaintances, I'll make sure there's not even an intact corpse left of you."

"Hehe, then I'd really rather do without your kindness."

"Is that so? Unfortunately, you don't get to choose."

With a cold laugh, Kadila slowly raised his hand and waved, signaling his subordinates to step forward and hack the green-haired girl to death.

There wasn't the slightest trace of pity or tenderness toward a beautiful woman in his eyes.

Hurry up and die, you filthy woman!

Only after you're dead can I go back and report to the Second Elder and the others.

Seriously, what a ridiculous amount of extra trouble...

Kadila thought cruelly.

As someone who supported another candidate for Imperial Sovereign and utterly despised commoners, Kadila had always regarded Lingluo as a thorn in his side.

He would have loved nothing more than to eliminate her as quickly as possible.

Originally, however, Kadila hadn't expected this assignment to fall to him.

After all, the Second Elder and the Veldora Family had already arranged numerous deadly traps along Lingluo's route to Anvika, intending to ensure that she would die without even receiving a proper burial.

Yet, to everyone's astonishment...

Although her entire escort had been wiped out, Lingluo herself had somehow arrived at Yexinlian Academy completely unharmed?!!

The news had left Kadila utterly dumbfounded, making him seriously question the competence of the Veldora Family and the Second Elder.

However, before he could spend much time questioning their abilities, the Second Elder had assigned him the mission of eliminating Lingluo.

Not wanting to disappoint his superior, Kadila had immediately begun taking action.

And on the very first day of surveillance, he was delighted to discover that this woman had actually ventured into Anvika's outer district all by herself.

What a heaven-sent opportunity!

...

Seriously, what's so difficult about killing some little Fifth-Tier girl?

Those assassins who failed must all have been complete idiots, right?

Kadila couldn't help complaining inwardly.

However, even as he grumbled, the red-haired man suddenly frowned.

Because he had clearly ordered his subordinates to go and hack Lingluo to death just now.

Yet several seconds had already passed, and those idiots still hadn't responded.

What the hell?!

Kadila bit his lip in irritation.

"Hey! Can't you understand hand signals?! I told you to go over there and chop her to death! What are you standing around for?! Do I seriously have to handle this kind of dirty work myself?!"

As he scolded them, Kadila abruptly turned around to glare at his subordinates.

However,

The instant he turned,

Kadila's pupils suddenly contracted, and an expression of utter astonishment appeared in his eyes.

?!!

"Huh?! Wh-what... What's going on?!"

At that moment,

For some inexplicable reason, the four guards who had been standing behind him, sharpening their blades and preparing to attack, had suddenly collapsed onto the ground?!

Just like that, they had fallen unconscious and were lying completely motionless!

The only unusual thing was the handful of blood-colored butterflies fluttering around their bodies.

For a moment,

The sadistic smile on Kadila's face vanished completely, replaced by a pair of bewildered, beady eyes.

However, before he could figure out what had happened, an alluring black silhouette suddenly appeared directly above him.

?!!

"Who?!"

The sudden appearance of the mysterious figure caused Kadila's expression to change drastically.

An unprecedented sense of danger surged through his heart.

Overcome by alarm, Kadila hurriedly released all the magical energy within his body without reservation, simultaneously attempting to draw his sword and confront the intruder!

Unfortunately,

Before he could even unsheathe his weapon, the girl's slender index finger had somehow already touched his forehead.

The next instant,

An irresistible force descended upon him like Mount Tai crashing down from the heavens.

Under this overwhelming pressure, Kadila could do nothing but stare in abject terror as his body was driven face-first toward the damaged stone-and-steel pavement...

"Boom~"

Accompanied by a tremendous impact, Kadila's magical energy collapsed.

Forced to smash face-first into the ground, his limbs twitched violently for a few moments before he completely lost the ability to move.

He promptly fell unconscious...

--

"Wh-what just happened?"

Looking at Kadila, who had been radiating murderous intent only moments earlier but was now sprawled on the ground like a dead pig, Lingluo was equally dumbfounded.

She had absolutely no idea what had just occurred.

Confused, she could only direct her gaze toward the black-haired girl who had suddenly appeared here like a phantom.

And after sensing Lingluo's gaze, the black-haired girl slowly approached under her somewhat wary scrutiny.

"There's no need to worry. I mean you no harm, Student Lingluo."

"Y-you are...?"

"As for me, I'm your new homeroom teacher. You can call me Teacher Yu~"

The black-haired girl spoke with a friendly smile.