Bennigo, Why Didn't You Tell Me We Had Guests to Entertain Today

Bennigo retreated to the moss-covered stone steps in front of the house, and as the explosion occurred, he pushed off with both feet and rushed rapidly to the other side of the courtyard.

His escape route and the figures emerging from the smoke and dust formed a near right angle of ninety degrees, a perfect attempt to avoid each other.

However, just as Bennigo was about to rush out of the courtyard, he was stopped by an invisible wall of air.

"Bang!"

Bennigo was jolted back two steps by the aftershocks from the invisible wall, his brows furrowing. But before he could even try to break through the invisible wall, a large amount of rune-like light descended from above.

Twisted streams of runic light, like countless colorful tadpoles, cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying their tails.

In just a short time, the originally invisible air wall had already taken on a crystal-like structure.

The entire courtyard was completely covered by an inverted bowl-shaped crystal wall, airtight and blocking out the outside world. The surface of the crystal wall was faintly covered with densely packed luminous rune patterns.

"Da-da-da"

Footsteps approached from the entrance of the courtyard.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the outlines of several figures slowly emerged.

A matching Silver Magic Robe, a glowing [Protection] energy shield, and a young yet cold face within the shield.

"Travis's original intention was to have a proper talk with you first, as long as you cooperated and handed over the Nightmare Tungsten Steel."

The leader among them had long, slender fingers, a well-proportioned figure, and an air of aristocratic arrogance and haughtiness.

He lowered his right hand, which he had been using to cover his mouth and nose, and with a look of disgust, he blew away non-existent dust in front of him. His rare agate-colored eyes coldly fell on Bennigo, and he spoke in a chilling voice.

"But now, I feel that there is no need for that anymore."

As he spoke, he released his own mental energy fluctuations.

The powerful Spiritual Force Field almost distorted the surrounding air, leaving condensed, blocky marks.

This is a sign that a true First Level Wizard is about to step into the second level, and that the liquid spiritual energy is about to condense and transform into crystals.

The strength of the people behind the young man was roughly the same. Except for a young man who was being supported by his companion, whose face was pale and who was frantically gulping down healing potions, the rest of them were almost all only slightly inferior to him.

Bennigo squinted at the group of "rising stars," took a deep breath, and then exhaled a long white smoke ring.

The next second, the pipe he had been holding in his mouth flew out like a bird, piercing through the smoke rings, and instantly flew close to the group and exploded.

"Tear—"

The young man with the agate-colored eyes who was leading the way had already raised his hand and made a gesturing motion in front of him the moment the smoke from his pipe was released.

His fingertips sliced through the air, producing a sound like steel being torn apart, and a blazing crimson line of fire appeared out of thin air.

The temperature of this flame was far higher than that of ordinary magical flames, as if it were generated by burning metal.

The power generated by the explosion of the black pipe was completely blocked by the fire line, and the crimson flames that surged from the fire line even rebounded back, like a twisted monster, spewing scorching heat as it rushed straight down towards Bennigo.

"Boom!"

An invisible force cleaved the surging flames, revealing Bennigo's figure behind the flames, dressed only in a simple white shirt with a floral collar.

His body was ramrod straight, and an invisible aura emanated from him. The black, hiltless heavy sword that had almost killed one of the group earlier reappeared, hovering above his head, domineering and menacing.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the festering wound on Bennigo's left cheek, which resembled metallic rust. With a calm expression, he resembled a wounded and aging lion king. Although his wounded body was festering and infested with maggots, he could still glimpse the majestic and awe-inspiring aura of his former dominance.

"That's not how you use Burning Steel."

Bennigo said something casually, then raised his right hand and made almost the exact same gesture that the agate-eyed youth had made before.

In an instant, the black, hiltless greatsword above his head disappeared, but the agate-eyed youth directly in front of him changed his expression slightly and subconsciously raised his hands.

"Boom!"

"Click—click—"

A massive, crimson metal shield appeared before the youth, creaking under its weight. A black, hiltless greatsword flashed by and returned to Bennigo's side.

The shattered and molten metal cascaded down, revealing the young man's somewhat unattractive face.

"Let's do it!"

The young man gave a low shout, and the people behind him immediately sprang into action, their rapid incantations filling the air.

Bennigo took a step forward without any change in expression, and appeared in front of them like a ghost.

"Whoosh—"

He made a vertical slashing motion, and the black, hiltless greatsword slashed down from mid-air, creating an oppressive wind pressure.

The young man with agate-colored eyes moved his mouth rapidly, and runes lit up on both sides of his cheeks. He raised his hands, and a black and red shadow shot out from under his robe, forming an exaggeratedly shaped black giant axe right in front of him.

A fierce flame burned on the axe, and the blade was a translucent crimson, as if it had just been taken out of the blacksmith's furnace.

The Flame Giant Axe collided with the hiltless greatsword without any fancy moves. "Bang!"

With a dull thud, the energy particles compressed to their limit at the point of impact rippled outwards in all directions. Bennigo let out a muffled groan, his massive body trembling slightly, but he quickly regained his balance. Almost without hesitation, the instant his black hiltless greatsword was knocked away by the Flame Giant Axe, he stepped on the white waves of the impact and made a thrusting motion forward.

The black, hiltless greatsword spun smoothly as it made a silent, sweeping cut.

The moment it slashed out, the entire longsword silently transformed into a pure silver-white color. Countless mysterious and terrifying auras intertwined on its blade, distorting light and slicing through the air layer by layer, as if nothing could withstand its sharpness. "A Domain of Law?!..."

The young man standing directly in front of the hiltless greatsword showed a change in expression, instinctively stepping back while his hands continued their movements, sending the Flame Giant Axe hurtling back.

At the same time, two figures emerged from behind him, one on the left and one on the right. One of them gushed out a large amount of silver metallic liquid, like mercury, and swam rapidly along the ground towards Bennigo's location.

Several glowing objects flew out from under the other person's robe. These were all high-level magical artifacts that had been activated. Flames, storms, and lightning burst forth one after another. A spherical yellow crystal ball flew into the air, emitting beams of bright yellow light. It landed on the ground and plowed deep marks, continuing to advance forward.

The silver greatsword, enveloped in the power of the magic domain, slashed fiercely into the red blade of the Flame Giant Axe, continuing its unstoppable advance, breaking through walls of fire and storms, tearing apart lightning, and resolutely cutting forward.

Only when it was covered by the yellow crystal ball did the sword tremble slightly, and it seemed to become much stiffer all of a sudden.

"His domain is collapsing and shrinking! He's dying."

The young man's agate-colored eyes gleamed, and a sinister look flashed across his face. Suddenly, the Flame Giant Axe that had been clashing with the silver greatsword exploded.

The explosion produced a blinding flash of light, and the terrifying aftershocks swept everything away.

A muffled groan rang out amidst the chaos, a bright yellow beam pierced the intense light of the flames, followed by hurried footsteps, and finally all the commotion subsided.

"Slap—slap—"

The young man at the head of the group gently smoothed out the slight wrinkles in his robes, brushed away non-existent dust, straightened his collar, and then slowly walked over, stepping over the broken and messy ground.

He possessed an innate aristocratic elegance and composure, and his agate-colored eyes shone with a cold and noble light like gemstones.

"My name is Lin Qi."

He walked up to Bennigo, bent down, and whispered something.

"Did you remember?"

He reached out, seemingly to slap Bennigo's cheek, but upon seeing the large festering sores on Bennigo's left cheek, he quickly withdrew his hand in disgust.

At this moment, Bennigo's chest was visibly sunken, and the floral bow tie on his white shirt was completely stained red with the blood seeping from underneath.

His limbs, waist, abdomen, and neck were all tightly wrapped in a silvery, liquid metal, as if he were being entwined by countless silver pythons.

Beneath the silver surface, there could occasionally be faint sounds, whether from clothing or muscle being torn, that could not be discerned.

Bennigo was like an old wolf just pulled out of a trap, covered in wounds and bound tightly with the strongest thorns and iron spikes. One by one, the "hunters" coldly surrounded him, and he only had the strength to gasp for breath.

The group of young people surrounded Bennigo. A round-faced young wizard manipulated the silver liquid metal, while another had four magical artifacts floating around him, emitting intermittent light.

"Harry."

The leading youth suddenly shouted, and a pale-faced young man walked up weakly.

Didn't he just hurt you once?

A strange silver-white dagger appeared in the young man's hand at some unknown time. Runes shimmered on the dagger, and its blade was serrated, covered with tiny, curved barbs.

He handed the silver dagger to the frail young man named Harry and said calmly, "Then you can dig out the Nightmare Tungsten Steel from his body."

Without hesitation, the frail young man took the dagger, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at Bennigo, who was staring coldly at him.

He walked up to Bennigo, raised the dagger, then quickly put it down. He then swiftly pulled a vial of medicine from his Storage Waist Pouch and carefully sprinkled some gray powder from it all over the blade of the dagger.

"Agony Potion can amplify pain by fifty to one hundred times."

The young man named Harry's face twisted into a grotesque grin as he said to Bennigo, "You got off easy. This was originally meant for another bastard."

After saying that, he plunged the knife deep into Bennigo's neck!

"Snort!"

Bennigo shuddered violently, veins bulging on his neck and cheeks, and sweat soaked his hair and clothes almost instantly.

Strangely, no blood flowed from the spot where he was stabbed by the silver dagger.

After the silver dagger pierced Bennigo's body, the runes on the dagger immediately lit up, and then the young wizard Harry, with a joyful expression, gripped the hilt with both hands and pulled it upwards.

During this process, the flesh under Bennigo's neck was torn and rolled up by the fine hooks on the dagger, but what truly caused him pain was—

Some black metallic substances, almost intertwined with his flesh and blood, densely packed like plant roots, were being forcibly pulled out of his body.

Forcibly stripping a Metal Element wizard of their metal magic medium is like forcibly pulling out the blood vessels and tendons from a person's body.

Because of the effects of the Agony Potion, this pain was amplified dozens, even nearly a hundred times, to the point that it was unimaginable how such soul-crushing agony could be.

Bennigo's body went from trembling to convulsing, then to numbness, as large swaths of black metallic material, like a spider web, were slowly torn out of his body.

Harry, gripping the dagger tightly in both hands, had a slight flush on his cheeks from the immense pleasure of revenge.

Young Lin Qi coldly urged from the side, "Hurry up... Travis is waiting for us."

"Immediately."

Harry chuckled, panting, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, which had been produced by excitement and exertion. He then prepared to pull the dagger out completely in one go.

And just then...

"Click—"

A crisp sound, like something breaking, suddenly rang out in the room.

"Whoosh—"

Harry stopped what he was doing, and the others all looked up at the same time, glancing around warily.

"What was that sound?!"

"It seems someone is attacking our Rune Array from the outside!"

The young man, surrounded by magical artifacts, took out a prismatic crystal and spoke hastily.

Everyone could clearly see that the crystal was flashing rapidly with light that flickered on and off, and there seemed to be faint cracks appearing on the surface of the crystal.

"Who would come at this time? This is a second-tier Rune Array!"

The young man carrying the magical implements spoke rapidly, his face grim, but before he could finish, "snap—"

The sound of shattering rang out again, this time louder and clearer.

Everyone found the direction from which the sound came: the courtyard gate directly opposite them.

A long crack slowly appeared on the thick, beautiful crystal wall covered with countless runes.

A clear crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the crystal that served as the control center of the magic array.

Everyone's expression shifted slightly, and surprise flashed in their eyes.

"Harry, hurry up!"

The young man in the lead, Lin Qi, was the first to react. With a sinister look in his eyes, he reached out to snatch the dagger from the wizard Harry's hand.

Just as his hand was about to touch the hilt of the silver dagger, "Snap! Bang!"

"Boom!"

The central crystal in the young man's hand exploded.

Amidst the enormous explosion, something seemed to have been completely shattered.

Before the young men could react, their figures were completely swallowed up by the overwhelming blanket of snow.

A chilling atmosphere filled the entire space, and the deep blue aurora borealis covered the sky. A sense of despair permeated the air. As the [Rage] cold current gradually subsided, Bennigo's dilapidated courtyard was completely transformed into a scene of ice and snow.

Everything was covered in ice and snow, and the temperature was so low that it felt like the blood in a person's body could freeze.

In this glacial and snowy landscape, Lin Qi and his companions, their faces grim, saw through the violently shaking and trembling [Protection] energy shields surrounding them—

At the main gate of the courtyard, amidst the billowing cold air, a tall and upright young man carrying Ice Spear walked slowly.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, blending seamlessly with the snow and ice. The cold wind billowed his long robe, causing it to billow slightly like a cloak.

His handsome face was framed by a pair of exceptionally bright eyes, as blue as stars washed clean by snow in a winter night sky.

The boy walked in step by step through the wind and snow, his gaze passing over Lin Qi and the others, landing directly on the nearly dying Bennigo. He spoke softly, "Bennigo, why didn't you tell me you had guests to entertain today?"