Chapter 426 - 138: Just a Mission From the Beautiful Mentor (Part 1)

Chapter 426: Chapter 138: Just a Mission From the Beautiful Mentor (Part 1)

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Avril turned around. Seeing it was Master Lianna, she quickly gave a respectful bow. Her voice was filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion, as well as a hint of apology. "Master, it’s been a long time. I’m sorry I’m late and made you worry."

In Avril’s eyes, Master Lianna had a sharp tongue and a terrible attitude, especially toward students of the Undead System. However, she took great care of her Holy Light System students and was genuinely protective of them.

When Avril had insisted on going to the border to join Senior Lynch, Lianna had been the one most vehemently opposed, even threatening to sever their master-student relationship. But now, upon seeing her again, the genuine worry and joy in her master’s eyes were undeniable.

The instructor from the Empire who had been blocking Master Lianna saw the tables turn and naturally gave up trying to stop her.

Master Lianna shoved him aside, strode forward, and grasped Avril’s hands. With tears in her eyes, she looked Avril up and down countless times. "You’ve gotten thinner, and tanner. That place on the border... it’s really been hard on you..."

A hundred emotions churned within her.

Avril came from the Empire’s renowned Holy Light Clan, the Grant Clan. Her status was noble, and her talent was extraordinary.

Originally, as long as she trained step-by-step at the academy, her future achievements would have been limitless. She might have even represented the Empire and become a Quasi-Saint of the Church of Light.

But who would have thought this girl would be "poisoned" by that wretched boy from the Undead System? She’d followed him to the front lines without a second thought to endure hardship, and that had been more than two years ago.

"Master, I’m really alright." Avril let Master Lianna turn her this way and that, smiling with a hint of helplessness. "On the contrary, in Lakefront Town, I learned many things I never could have at the academy."

While Master Lianna and Avril were catching up, the Hurst students who had noticed the scene all gathered around.

Avril’s arrival was like a shot in the arm, greatly boosting the morale of the Hurst Academy students.

The Priests and Holy Knights of the Holy Light Major, in particular, shook off their prior listlessness and rallied as if they had found their champion.

"Avril! You’re finally here!"

"With Avril here, let’s see if those bastards from the Imperial Capital still dare to be so arrogant!"

Lucas, whose attack had been blocked, saw this, and his expression grew dark and uncertain.

He stared intently at Avril, sensing the dense Holy Light aura emanating from her. A grave expression unconsciously surfaced in his eyes.

’That’s not an energy fluctuation an ordinary Tier Two Priest could possess. This girl’s power has most likely reached the Tier Two Middle Stage.’

"Avril Grant..." Lucas narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly. "I didn’t expect the Grant Clan to produce someone like you. What, you want to stand up for that piece of trash?"

Avril turned, handing the injured Allen over to a classmate for support. Only after confirming he was out of the combat zone did she turn back around. Her clear eyes looked at Lucas, her brow furrowed in displeasure. "This is a friendly exchange. We stop when a winner is decided. You went too far."

"Hmph. Who can he blame for his own lack of skill?" Lucas sneered, slamming the end of his scepter onto the ground. "Since you’ve stepped up, you can take his place and continue the fight."

He thought to himself that he, too, was a Tier Two Middle Stage Priest. Furthermore, he came from a prominent family in the Imperial Capital, with a background no less impressive than the Grant Clan’s. Besides, the faculty at the Imperial Capital Academy was far superior to that of the declining Hurst Academy.

Hearing this, a flicker of resignation passed through Avril’s eyes.

By nature, she was quiet and disliked conflict. But in her two-plus years on the border, she had experienced countless battles, big and small. She was no longer the sheltered flower she once was.

She knew full well that backing down against someone so arrogant would only fuel their insolence.

"If you insist..." Avril slowly raised her hand, and a Holy Light Scepter abruptly appeared in her palm. "Then I will see this through to the end. However, if I win, I must ask that you apologize to Allen."

"What shameless boasting!" Lucas laughed in fury. "You? Fine. Allow me to teach you what true Holy Light is."

As he spoke, Lucas made the first move.

"Holy Light: Spear of Judgment."

He swung his scepter, and a spear of light rapidly materialized at its tip. With another flick, the spear shot forward instantly.

The move was both swift and vicious, drawing a round of cheers from the Imperial Capital Academy’s side.

Yet Avril merely fluttered her wings of light, her body rising into the air as lightly as a willow catkin, dodging the spear’s attack in the nick of time.

In the process of dodging, she even had the spare energy to counterattack with a wave of her hand, sending a silvery-white "Holy Light Shock" back at him.

The "Holy Light Shock" instantly grazed past Lucas’s shield, scorching a blackened trench into the ground.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Lucas sneered, tapping his scepter repeatedly. "Holy Light Barrage!"

In an instant, a string of Holy Light Bombs rained down on Avril like a torrential storm.

Avril stopped dodging. She raised her scepter high, and a silvery-white shield of light instantly unfolded above her, blocking all the attacks.

Ripples spread across the shield’s surface, but it remained as steady as a mountain.

"My turn."

Avril said softly. Her wings of light pulsed, her body instantly accelerated, and she shot toward Lucas like a silver meteor.

The latter was shocked and hastily threw up his strongest shield. He was caught off guard, however, when Avril suddenly changed direction at the moment of impact. The sharp tip of her scepter struck a weak point in his shield.