Watch Your Step-Don't Trip Over an Insect's Thin Legs

"You're really unlucky. I was originally chasing someone else here, but that mouse was running so fast that I completely lost track of it when I got here."

"Luckily, I ran into you."

The young Black Robe Wizard spoke calmly, the corners of his mouth always habitually turning up as he spoke, giving the impression that he was always sneering.

"Oh, there's something I need to remind you of."

Your methods for concealing your strength are quite good, but unfortunately, the flaws at the soul level are too obvious.

Seeing the Black Robe Wizard in front of him making comments, Ronan was stunned and realized where he had gone wrong.

He forgot, he forgot that the difference between a formal wizard and Wizard Apprentice, besides the fluctuation of mental power, is also the degree of purification of the soul, which is an extremely obvious characteristic.

After undergoing a soul purification process, a formal wizard's soul will naturally give off a sense of clarity.

Apprentice-level wizards might not be able to sense this, but wizards of the same level can easily distinguish it with a little attention.

"Having just been promoted, I haven't fully adapted to the change in strength and status yet."

In fact, the function of the Mirror Magical Item fragments is quite limited; they can only replicate the aura, making them rather useless.

It can only be said that everything changed too quickly, and Ronan's preparations for his escape were also hasty, completely overlooking this point.

Ronan simply deactivated the effects of his magical artifact and sensed the aura emanating from the young man in black robes before him. The fluctuations in his spiritual power were incredibly strong, at least three times stronger than his own.

"Call--"

Ronan exhaled a breath of stale air, thought for a moment, and said to the young man in black robes, "Actually, I am quite familiar with Anglie from your Whispering Forest. We don't necessarily have to take action."

Furthermore, I haven't Hoddam Academy for very long and don't feel a strong sense of belonging yet. If possible, I could choose to join you instead."

Ronan spoke very seriously, and it wasn't entirely nonsense; he genuinely considered the possibility of "defecting to the enemy in the face of battle."

For him, joining the Black Robes wasn't unacceptable, especially now that he had no idea where he should go next.

His words stunned the young man in black robes. After a few breaths, he said with a smile, "What a stupid and ridiculous way to beg for mercy. Who told you we are the Whispering Forest?"

Crimson Returns to the Tower!

The young man in black robes chanted and casually rubbed out a blood ball the size of a ping-pong ball, then with a "pop," it exploded in his hand, and countless blood droplets condensed into a red spire pattern resembling upright fangs.

"Can't you even tell the difference between Undead Arts and Bloodline Spell?"

"The Crimson Tower..."

Ronan was slightly taken aback before he realized why Hoddam Academy's main base had been attacked after the battle with the Whispering Forest had lasted for half a year. It turned out that a third-party wizarding force had joined in.

Moreover, this newly joined third-party force is clearly far more powerful than the previous two! "As for joining us?"

The young man in black robes looked Ronan up and down, shook his head and said, "Judging from your unnaturally aged appearance, it must be because you used up too much of your lifespan when you became a formal wizard, right?"

Do you think we would want someone with those qualifications?

Don't mistake the Crimson Tower for some low-level Wizard Land force like your Hoddam. We don't accept just any trash wizard.

The young man in black robes stood high above, looking down at Ronan with an expression of disdain and contempt, as if he were a superior looking down on an inferior.

Ronan's eyes flickered for a moment in response to his sarcasm and mockery, but he quickly calmed down and asked seriously.

"Nash kind of thing doesn't count as garbage?"

The young man in the black robe squinted at Ronan, offering no reply, but his patience was clearly fading rapidly.

Soon, a chilling killing intent emanated from him, and he coldly said, "Alright, your time for last words is over. Time to offer up your head, huh?!"

"Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, the young man in black robes suddenly froze.

To his surprise, Ronan had vanished from his sight, leaving only a crater that had just been blown open, with mud and grass flying everywhere.

Before he could fully unleash his spiritual power to capture the vanished figure, he suddenly seemed to sense something and abruptly turned around—

Behind the emptiness.

He looked up again. His pupils suddenly contracted!

A figure leaped high above his head, back to the sunlight, his gray robe and white hair billowing in the wind, obscuring his face. Only a pair of clear, jewel-like blue eyes and the dark Blue Flame burning fiercely on the staff he held were visible.

"Say something! That's why it's not trash."

A cold, deep voice, along with an intense, chilling killing intent, fell from the sky, aimed directly at the young man in black robes' chest.

The young man in black robes let out a low roar, and his immense spiritual power suddenly unfolded like a force field. A large number of energy particles gathered, and a surging, thick crimson color instantly took shape, then surged upwards layer by layer like rolling waves.

"[[Blood Surge]]!"

The crimson waves accumulated layer upon layer, instantly forming a massive barrier, or like a crimson hand flipped back, ready to slap out fiercely at any moment.

The terrifying crimson light made the young man in black robes with his hair flying wildly appear both evil and powerful.

However, "Bang!"

A muffled explosion rang out at that moment, and the young man in the black robe's eyes trembled slightly.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The muffled thuds continued incessantly.

The young man in black robes finally changed his expression. He had just raised his staff when, before he could cast his next spell, the barrier formed by the large waves of blood in front of him was broken through layer by layer!

A figure wielding two longswords emerged from behind the blood-red light, surrounded by dark Blue Flame, and his entire body was filled with countless mysterious energies.

Riding the momentum of his fall from the sky, he resembled a ferocious bird with its claws outstretched, tearing away layers of blood.

With Master Level proficiency of over 100 in the [Charged Weapon - Power of Breaking Law], Master Level [Basic Swordsmanship], and the calm and collected mind of Master Level under the activation of [[Clarity Realm]], Ronan's eyes were azure. The black longsword in his hand, empowered by the Spell Breaking Flame Spellbreaker, easily tore through the mental energy field around the young man in black robes, closing in on him in an instant.

A pale red energy [Protection] quickly appeared on the young man in the black robe, but it burst open like a bubble in less than a second.

"Pfft—"

The longsword pierced the young, full-bodied, and energetic body of the man in black robes, and with the latter's angry and terrified eyes, it dragged him down and pinned him to the ground!

The instant he landed, Ronan's feet slammed onto the young man in black robes, propelling him upwards. His longsword was already drawn, and beneath his billowing robes, a pale hand pointed towards the young man in black robes.

"[Particle Torrent]!"

In an instant, countless mysterious energies surged in, intertwining to form an unprecedentedly terrifying domain force field.

Forty-five pure black energy particles were generated, forming a torrent that swept downwards with Torrent force. Compared to his apprentice days, Ronan, now a fully-fledged wizard, unleashed this spell with more than ten times the power! "Rumble—"

The forest floor shook violently, and huge bursts of energy, like high-pressure water jets, splashed across the ground, scattering wildly through the forest and overturning large swaths of grass and soil. When all the commotion subsided, the spot where the young man in black robes had been lying was almost completely gone, leaving only a shocking scene of devastation and a large crater at its center.

Ronan stood still, squinting at the large crater, slowly sheathing his longsword at his waist, and said softly:

"Only the dead are the real trash."

After speaking, Ronan took two steps forward and used his mental energy to scan the surroundings, trying to find any trace left by the young man in black robes.

Unfortunately, the [Energy Missile - Particle Torrent] was as brutal as ever, leaving the opponent with almost nothing except some residual bloodstains and flying bone fragments.

"If only I could get his Storage Waist Pouch... maybe I could even find the inheritance of a first-tier spell inside."

Ronan sighed softly, "Even if it's the Black Robe Bloodline Series."

What he wants to do most right now is to arm himself with strength as soon as possible. The feeling of insecurity has made him somewhat "desperate".

Suddenly, Ronan remembered that he had a strange box in his Storage Waist Pouch that he had obtained from Linas, a box that only a formal wizard could open.

Just as I was about to take it out to take a look, "whoosh—"

A sharp whistling sound pierced the air, and a chill suddenly rose from the depths of Ronan's heart.

He instinctively twisted his body, and the sword under his robe returned to his hand. He raised his hand, slashed, dodged, and parried. Several blurry black images suddenly projected spears that passed through the spot where Ronan was standing in an instant. After making a "clanging" sound of sharp objects colliding, they quickly retracted and disappeared. Ronan rolled to the side in a slightly disheveled state, leaning on his longsword and kneeling on the ground.

A slight stinging sensation came from my cheek; it was from the cut I had just made.

Ronan raised his hand and gently wiped away the warm blood flowing down his cheek, but his eyes remained fixed on a certain spot directly in front of him.

Something silently emerged from the bushes, and Ronan finally saw what had attacked him.

Those were several thick, dark green vines, covered with many black thorns, resembling grotesque and ferocious pythons, constantly exuding a chilling killing intent.

"This"

Ronan was taken aback, and the next second he saw a slender woman slowly walk out from behind the long vine.

With his seaweed-like green hair, bizarre tattoos covering his cheeks, green eyes, and an aura of madness and resentment emanating from his entire body, Ronan's expression quickly turned ugly.

"Who the hell let this mad dog out again?"

Beneath the blood-stained, murky sky, two figures flew swiftly across the wilderness.

The wind whipped Jerome's short hair, and his hard face was filled with solemnity and worry.

Although his body was being propelled forward by the flying artifact, Jerome's gaze remained fixed on the direction of the academy behind him.

Jerome didn't look away until he was almost at the edge of the forest.

"Hoddam... is finished."

He uttered a heavy sound.

The beautiful witch in a grey-blue robe beside her was dejected, gritting her teeth as she said, "Those lunatics in the Whispering Forest, unable to obtain the Nefa Key themselves, actually leaked the information to the Crimson Tower."

"It's likely that the Crimson Tower received the information themselves; after all, this war has been going on for far too long."

Jerome shook his head, his expression calming down. He looked up towards the forest, sensing the faint energy fluctuations emanating from there, and said, "The Dean alone held off most of the Crimson Tower's power. It seems she's preparing to use the Innocuous Wood. She told us to take Lola away and then head to the Thorn Palace to meet her."

The beautiful witch nodded, then quickly adopted a troubled and helpless expression, sighing, "I'm really worried that neither of us might be able to forcibly take Lola away."

You should know just how difficult she can be when she gets angry.

Jerome thought for a moment and replied, "Then let's wait until she's done having her tantrum before taking her away. Anyway... it won't take long."

The beautiful witch looked at Jerome with some surprise upon hearing this.

"This doesn't sound like something you would say, Jerome. Aren't you always the most loving and supportive of apprentice wizards? And I remember you thought highly of that little wizard."

"Many things depend on the timing."

Jerome said calmly, "These are too extravagant for us who are currently on the run."

The beautiful witch didn't say anything more.

Soon, the two approached the forest and could see Lola's signature vine magic dancing wildly through the trees, with large swathes of trees falling under her terrifying force.

An aura entered their senses.

Suddenly, a violent fluctuation of energy particles emanated from the battle, accompanied by a mysterious aura that was difficult to detect.

The beautiful witch who was approaching sensed this and immediately covered her mouth.

"What do I sense, Jerome?"

It seems to be the aura of a transcendent magical domain!

Am I misperceiving something? And...

The beautiful witch looked on with a surprised and uncertain expression, turning to Jerome beside her in disbelief, "When did this little wizard advance a level?!"

Jerome's eyes flashed intensely, and a few seconds later, he quickly uttered a sound.

"Let's go over and take a look!"

"Clang! Pfft—Sizzle—"

Ronan swung his sword with all his might at a dark green vine as thick as an adult's thigh that lunged at him.

The sword struck the vine, producing a crisp sound like metal clashing, then quickly cut in, with a slight resistance, before finally breaking free. A section of the severed vine fell to the ground, writhing wildly like a living thing.

Damn it!

Although he blocked the attack, Ronan's expression was not good.

He looked down at the longsword in his hand. The narrow black blade, enveloped in a raging, dark Blue Flame, was riddled with nicks on both sides, giving him the feeling that it was about to shatter.

With a proficiency level exceeding 100, the [Charged Weapon - Power of Breaking Law], propelled by the powerful mental strength of a formal wizard, easily shattered the blood spell of the Black Robe Wizard in the Crimson Tower, as easily as cutting through a piece of brittle paper.

However, its power was greatly reduced when faced with the vine magic of the madwoman Lola.

"This isn't a pure first-order spell; the energy particles have a physical basis, making it a strange combination of a magical artifact and a spell."

[Power of Breaking Law] can easily disintegrate the energy particle arrangement that makes up a spell, but cutting vines requires the sharpness of the spell weapon itself. And the vines that Lola summoned were damn hard. Ronan once again felt the frustration of having power but being unable to use it.

If he were holding a first-tier Spell Long Sword right now, the situation might be quite different.

The time it took him to advance to the First Level Wizard was far too short.

Ronan wielded his longsword, Master Level [Basic Swordsmanship] shone with unprecedented brilliance.

His figure left blurry afterimages in the forest as he dodged and parried the vines that lunged at him like giant pythons, rapidly approaching Lola.

At this moment, the random zero-level spells he had learned were basically useless in combat, except for disrupting the rhythm and consuming mental energy.

All he could rely on were the two great powers he controlled, and his seemingly aged physique that constantly surged with power comparable to a humanoid magical beast! "You've certainly surprised me somewhat."

Lola floated between two White Cedar Tree, with dozens of dark green vines extending from behind her, making her look like a human-faced spider exuding danger and venom.

She stared blankly at Ronan before her, his white hair reflected in her green pupils, as well as the eerie Blue Flame burning fiercely on the longsword in his hand.

"He has advanced one level and also mastered a low-level, obscure power of magic domain."

Lola's expression suddenly turned ferocious, and the dark green tattoos covering her face instantly turned the color of blood. These blood-red runes also rapidly extended and grew wildly on the dozens of vines behind her.

In an instant, the already troublesome dark green vines suddenly expanded and became twice as thick, and the strength and speed of their attack also increased dramatically, like a group of [Bloodthirst] pythons! Lola's face was covered with blood-red vine patterns, ferocious and terrifying. Her mouth opened, and she let out a sharp cry. Her killing intent was almost overflowing.

Dozens of thick, blood-stained vines tore through the air with a terrifying low whistling sound, and after slicing through large swathes of trees like wheat being harvested, they swiftly struck a gray shadow that couldn't dodge in time.

"Bang!"

The gray figure that was chosen instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist, and flew out like a cannonball. However, it broke an old tree halfway through its flight, turned back, and finally rolled awkwardly to Lola's side.

Lola looked down at him coldly, dozens of blood-red vines swaying slightly behind her like tentacles, emanating an unsettling aura.

At this point, she stopped rushing to take action.

"It's a pity. An insect is an insect. Even if it gets a little stronger, it's still so weak that it makes people feel sorry for it!"

"Cough cough."

The person curled up on the ground like a shrimp coughed violently a few times, coughing up large clumps of bloody foam.

He then struggled to his feet and slowly crawled up from the ground.

At this moment, Ronan looked utterly miserable.

His gray robe was almost torn, stained with large patches of dark blood, and his long, gray hair was disheveled, soaked with a mixture of blood and sweat, and stuck to his cheeks and forehead in a sorry state.

Ronan swayed precariously, as if he were about to die at any moment, and the black longsword in his hand was broken in half.

"Insect."

He repeated Lola's words to himself, his eyes gradually shining, a clear, deep blue almost bursting forth.

"Be careful not to trip over the insect's tiny legs!"

After saying that, Ronan grinned, his face stained with blood and dirt, and gave Lola, who had never been so close to him before, a cold yet incredibly bright smile.

"[Energy Missile - Particle Torrent]!"

Countless mysterious energies surged forth, and a vast domain of law suddenly took shape.

As dozens of pure black particles transformed into Torrent, crushing and rolling away, Ronan's dejection and weakness vanished instantly.

"Bang!"

The grass exploded, and the figure wielding the broken sword rushed forward with the terrifying Torrent, carrying flames that burned like a ghostly blue banner, and fiercely stabbed at Lola, whose expression suddenly changed.

"Die! You filthy bitch!"

Just as the cold, frenzied roar rang out, two figures arrived just outside the battle.

Both Jerome and the beautiful witch's eyelids twitched violently upon sensing the two completely different and terrifying forces that erupted in that instant.

"Two or three kinds of Extraordinary Magic Domain power"

"How on earth did he do that?!"

The beautiful witch almost groaned as she uttered this exclamation.