Magus, Part Two

'?'

After seeing the Magus's true face, Li Ye subconsciously tilted his head.

A giant question mark seemed to appear above his head.

'Is this also an effect of magic?'

Li Ye knew that the Magus before him possessed extremely high-level life conversion magic. Who knew if this appearance was her original form.

"Traitors who abandon the Holy Emblem will ultimately receive Holy Punishment!"

The Magus didn't answer Li Ye's question, which immediately made Li Ye abandon the idea of asking peacefully.

The gray-haired Magus felt a gust of wind rush towards her—

Splat!

A cloud of blood suddenly exploded, and a sword-wielding, severed arm flew high into the air.

"Why do you think I bothered talking to you?" Li Ye's sinister whisper sounded in the Magus's ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe, giving her goosebumps.

At this moment, the Magus felt a piercing pain surge into her brain, and scarlet blood instantly dyed the yellow sand!

"Gulp!"

The Magus didn't have time to think. As she was about to escape Li Ye and cast magic to heal her wound!

But Li Ye's subsequent warning interrupted the Magus's final resistance: "Next will be your other hand and legs. Want to try?"

The blood-stained sword tip pressed against the Magus's spine, as if a slight push would pierce her body!

After the exchange, Li Ye was certain that this Magus was no match for him.

She could create Servant-level Chimeras, but her own level was far from that.

"I'll only ask you three questions. If you say one wrong thing, I'll send you to join the other Crusaders—"

Li Ye applied a little force, his sword slicing through the cloak and piercing her skin.

A line of blood slowly trickled down the blade.

At this time, the Magus's attention was mostly occupied by her severed arm. She was doing her best to stop the bleeding, and faced with Li Ye's questioning, she could only purse her lips with a pale face.

"Where did you take my companion?"

Although Li Ye didn't think these people could threaten Nitocris, he decided to find Nitocris first as a precaution.

"She, she was taken into the Barrier—" Under the threat of death, the Magus stammered.

'Not a fanatic. There's room for negotiation?' Li Ye was surprised that the Magus spoke so easily.

Honestly, Li Ye had prepared for the Magus to resist to the death.

Just as Li Ye was about to continue questioning—

"!"

Li Ye suddenly looked up, gazing at the sky.

An extremely violent fluctuation of magic power came from above.

Crack—

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The next moment, the sky collapsed!

The sandstorm swirling in the sky caved in, falling like a waterfall from the heavens.

Forming a azure sky curtain with a diameter of over a thousand meters, centered on Li Ye and the others!

"Miss Nitocris!"

As the sky collapsed, Li Ye once again saw Nitocris's beautiful figure.

Nitocris stood high in the sky, magic surging around her.

Dozens of ferocious specters roared in the sky.

'So it was in the sky!'

Li Ye instantly realized that he hadn't noticed because the Barrier had been moved to the sky, coupled with the natural cover formed by the sandstorm!

Then Li Ye noticed several figures falling from the sky.

The carcasses of monsters identical to the Chimeras he had encountered before fell scattered, and among them were three black-clothed Magus figures!

'Three accomplices. Is that all!'

Without any hesitation, Li Ye decisively unleashed his full power!

The surging crimson magic seemed to transform into the shape of a Red Dragon, instantly engulfing the entire azure sky curtain!

As if a Red Dragon had truly descended!

The gray-haired Magus, who was extremely close to Li Ye, rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot!

Li Ye, completely disregarding the unconscious Magus, stomped his feet.

Boom!!

The ground caved in, forming a deep pit like one left by artillery fire, with vast swathes of yellow sand pouring into it!

Li Ye, rising into the sky like a charging thunderbolt, closed in on the falling enemy figures within a few breaths!

Seeing Li Ye make his move, Nitocris decisively withdrew and returned to the ground.

The next instant—

Mirrors unfolded and layered upon each other in the sky, blocking Li Ye's path of advance!

Almost simultaneously, Li Ye understood the mirrors' function.

The gathered sunlight suddenly converged on Li Ye alone!

This special device, formed by nearly a hundred multi-faceted mirrors, generated heat not through magic, but by simply concentrating sunlight into an immensely powerful and deadly thermal energy!

Crash—

Nearly a hundred mirrors shattered simultaneously. The so-called sunlight was like nothing before Li Ye!

"What?!"

Before the Magus could even exclaim, a sudden shadow engulfed the sky above them.

As their eyes met those pair of pale golden vertical pupils, they naturally noticed the immense magical power radiating from Li Ye—

[Mana Burst]

While surging mana throughout his body, Li Ye also began to charge his attack!

And now, the charge was complete!

Not intending to engage in any dialogue, Li Ye swung his blade without mercy!

The crimson torrent raging across the sky was the Dragon's Breath—a force that destroys all and burns the world—

Crack.

As Li Ye landed steadily back on the ground, he found that all the yellow sand within dozens of meters had crystallized, glittering brilliantly under the sunlight.

Confirming that the Magus were all dead, Li Ye immediately regrouped with Nitocris.

"Miss Nito, how did they take you?"

To ensure similar incidents wouldn't happen again, Li Ye felt it was necessary to gather some information.

Nitocris, looking quite dejected, heard Li Ye's question and her voice rose a few decibels: "Those rude individuals took advantage of my unpreparedness and ambushed me, deploying a small Barrier similar to an Inherent Barrier..."

Li Ye understood what happened next. Within the Barrier, the three Magus engaged Nitocris with the Chimera, but the Barrier was shattered by Nitocris after only a few exchanges.

'The Barrier is secondary, the main issue is this skill to conceal one's presence—'

Li Ye snapped his fingers, realizing the crux of the matter.

The Barrier used by these Magus wasn't particularly strong, but it managed to separate him and Nitocris before they could react. The biggest contributor to this was their technique for concealing magical fluctuations.

Without dwelling on the topic, Nitocris inquired about the dozen or so Crusaders who had disappeared and the gray-haired Magus lying unconscious on the ground.

"Oh right, this guy was with them."

Li Ye briefly recounted what had happened, then asked Nitocris to use her magic to force the Magus awake.

"Cough—"

The pale-faced Magus couldn't help but spew out a mouthful of bitter water, struggling to roll over with his remaining left arm.

Naturally, he saw Li Ye and Nitocris looking down at him.

Li Ye paid no mind to the Magus's furious expression and pointed at him, saying, "Miss Nito, this person appears to be my former colleague. Could you leave them to me for disposal?"

Although Li Ye didn't know this Magus, and his own tenure with the Crusaders had lasted no more than a few minutes, strictly speaking, they were colleagues.