"I see you!"
Rip—
Li Ye spun around. The instant that invisible touch dissipated, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow!
Crimson Lightning surged, and the distance of several hundred meters vanished in an instant!
Boom!
The belated sonic boom echoed like a ring across the endless yellow sands.
"What?!"
With a startled cry, there was no time for further words before he was forcefully interrupted.
Li Ye, his face twisted in a feral grin, gave the Magus no chance to speak. He slapped a hand over the Magus's face and smashed him heavily into the ground, then slid forward with him for dozens of meters before coming to a stop under the force of inertia!
The moment he stopped, Li Ye immediately sensed an obscure fluctuation of magical energy. As if tossing out garbage, he grabbed the Magus and hurled him forward with all his strength!
The Magus flew through the air like a puppet with severed strings and plunged stiffly into the yellow sand. By the time he climbed out, he was already dozens of meters away.
Li Ye rolled his shoulders and strode forward.
"I was wondering why I couldn't find you. So you were hiding here!"
As he closed the distance to the Magus, Li Ye also observed his surroundings.
He could confirm that there was no barrier or any other strange construct. To avoid producing obvious magical energy fluctuations, it seemed no other magecraft had been set up either.
So it really is remote-controlled magecraft. Has he been following those Crusaders the whole time?
Then someone really did take Nitocris into a barrier. Otherwise, how could she have vanished so suddenly—could it be an Inherent Barrier?
At that thought, Li Ye clicked his tongue.
Even now, the number of enemies remained unknown. How could so many Magi have been lying in ambush for them?
The news of him obtaining the Holy Grail should never have spread.
After a few breaths, Li Ye closed the distance to the Magus again.
Yet the Magus's face was hidden beneath his hood, preventing Li Ye from seeing his features clearly.
The only thing he could make out was a pair of narrow phoenix eyes.
As he drew closer, Li Ye noticed the hatred in the Magus's gaze. Though he did not understand its meaning, he still sensed the magical energy gathering around the Magus.
He was undoubtedly preparing to cast magecraft.
Clang—
The blade left its sheath, arcs of electricity dancing along its edge.
Li Ye's eyes, which had somehow turned into vertical pupils, met the Magus's with icy indifference. "I'll give you one chance. Or you die now."
Faced with Li Ye's cold words, the Magus chose—
Crackle.
"Magic Bullets, load!"
With a sharp feminine shout, complex polygonal patterns of light instantly appeared before the Magus,
And dozens of formed magic bullets screamed toward Li Ye!
Yin Qi Bullets? Norse magecraft with curses!
Seeing those magic bullets carrying an ominous aura flying toward him, Li Ye immediately thought of the infamous Yin Qi Bullets.
Assuming in advance that they were cursed attacks, Li Ye did not choose to take them head-on. With a swift shift of his body, he pulled away.
When Li Ye turned his gaze back to the Magus, an unexpected sight appeared before him.
The Magus, barely 1.6 meters tall, drew a massive two-meter broadsword from thin air.
A sword?
Holding his own sword in one hand, Li Ye watched in confusion as the Magus drew a Western greatsword.
But the Magus's next action nearly made Li Ye laugh out loud.
The Magus took up a stance, clearly intending to fight Li Ye head-on!
Laugh as he might, Li Ye never let down his guard around the Magus.
Li Ye was certain that the Magus possessed an extremely powerful enhancement spell, one that greatly increased physical attributes such as strength.
That first strike had not necessarily been intended to kill the Magus, but Li Ye had at least meant to render him unable to move.
Yet upon contact, Li Ye could feel that the Magus's body was incredibly tough, like that of a battle-hardened warrior.
The magical energy fluctuation he had sensed then had probably not been from magecraft activating, but from magecraft being forcibly dispelled.
"Do you want me to wait until you've layered a few spells on yourself before we start?"
Li Ye asked very politely.
Naturally, the Magus did not answer. He merely charged silently at Li Ye.
Their figures vanished from where they stood in an instant. Cold Sword Light rang out in crisp clanging bursts, like a violent storm.
Specks of blood swept across the sky.
Only when Li Ye reappeared a hundred meters away, completely unscathed, did the Magus remain standing nearby, his body torn and battered, blood streaming down him.
"You sure you want to fight me in close combat?"
Li Ye rested his sword on his shoulder and studied the Magus with interest.
Li Ye had originally been deeply wary of this Magus, who had hidden in the shadows and remained undiscovered all along.
After all, the unknown nature and threat of a Magus were impossible to gauge. Unlike Lancelot and the others, if Li Ye could not beat them, then he simply could not beat them. He would not even consider the possibility of victory.
But Li Ye had never expected this guy to fire a single feint of Yin Qi Bullets, then directly choose to fight him at close range.
The biggest problem was that this guy's swordsmanship was even worse than Li Ye's before attending Lancelot's little lessons.
"Next time, I'm cutting off your hand—" Li Ye flicked his blade and pointed it at the Magus's sword-wielding right arm.
The Magus simply stared at Li Ye in furious silence, panting heavily.
Li Ye found that deeply confusing. "No, I'm about to kill you. At least give me a reason, will you? Are you really going to keep refusing to say a single word?"
That look in the Magus's eyes actually made Li Ye feel as if he had done something wrong.
It was utterly ridiculous.
"Heretic!"
The Magus finally spoke. The voice, as clear and lovely as an orchid blooming in an empty valley, made Li Ye raise his brows. "You really are one of the Crusaders!"
In this Singularity, Li Ye had never seen anyone other than the Crusaders call him a heretic.
"Why did you attack me?"
Still watching his surroundings, Li Ye saw that no other Magi had appeared and continued questioning him.
"The Sacred Artifact was seized by a heretic like you. What is wrong with us holy disciples taking it back!"
The Magus questioned him loudly, fury in his eyes as if demanding to know why Li Ye had betrayed them.
As expected. These Crusader remnants actually have a way to trace the Holy Grail. It seems they discovered it the moment I took it out of the Holy City!
Li Ye's expression darkened slightly. That meant that unless he wiped out every last remnant, this group would keep their eyes on his precious Holy Grail.
For as long as Li Ye could not use the Holy Grail's power, the risk would remain.
A thief could steal for a thousand days, but who could guard against thieves for a thousand days?
Li Ye asked himself: if he learned that a Holy Grail was loose in the world, he would definitely use any means necessary to take it.
They're too dangerous!
At this moment, Li Ye no longer cared about the Magus's exquisite life magecraft. He was determined to eliminate this potential threat!
"Traitor to the faith! You who have fallen into heresy, how dare you face our Lord!" Seeing Li Ye's attitude, the Magus immediately began cursing him.
"How do you know I used to be with the Crusaders?"
Li Ye's expression turned cold. When he awakened, he had encountered the Lion King. All the Crusaders who had been with him had died, and his identity as a Crusader should have disappeared along with their deaths. No one should have known.
Yet this Magus knew that Li Ye had once been one of the Crusaders.
That forced Li Ye to raise his vigilance to the utmost.
Whoosh—
A fierce wind blew past, dramatically knocking the hood from the Magus's head.
It revealed a young face that still retained a trace of childishness.
A gray ponytail stuffed carelessly into the cloak, exquisite features visible despite the fury on her face.
Without a doubt, she was a girl on the verge of blossoming into adulthood.