Sudden Battle

"Creak! Creak!"

This was the sound coming from a small animal in Punk's hand, covered in a ring of pale blue scales and pink skin. This little monster, with a "pink flower bouquet" growing on its head, resembled a fat fish with frog legs, and its cries were incredibly strange. The little thing was originally a hunter hiding in the mud, exposing only the pink, petal-like tendrils on its head to lure prey. However, the one in Punk's hand was clearly unlucky. As Punk, wanting to pick a flower petal to ease his indecision, reached for a small flower, this little monster unfortunately became its substitute. To be honest, when Punk used Mage Hand to pull out a "little flower" from the grass, only to reveal such a strange creature, he was genuinely surprised.

However, surprise aside, such a mere oddity wasn't enough to stop the agitated Punk from "picking petals." So... this little monster was very unlucky, appearing in the wrong place at the wrong time!

Punk, occasionally plucking off a few "petal tendrils" from the little monster's head, idly recalled the knowledge and spells in his mind... especially the "Night Raid Reward" he'd exchanged from Mainesi. Punk had a faint premonition—this spell would soon come in handy! As for the continuously screaming and desperately kicking little monster with its two thin legs, he completely ignored it!

However, Punk's thoughts were once again interrupted. This was, after all, an escape route, not a leisurely stroll in the woods. Moreover... a wise person once said that when disaster strikes... it's always hard to imagine it arriving so quickly... and so suddenly. The disaster here referred to both natural and man-made calamities, and war was certainly included.

Just as night was about to fall, accompanied by the slow descent of "Chikasa's" brilliance below the horizon, a massive fireball flew towards the team like a flowerpot falling from a balcony... abrupt, yet expected.

Following a warrior's loud roar: "Enemy attack!" A group of professionals from Prince William's faction, clearly having traveled a long distance, appeared in the distance. Their numbers were actually not large, less than half of the "Princess Guard." The enemy, while firing several extremely conspicuous signal flares to notify friendly reinforcements, charged the fleeing team without hesitation. Judging by their frenzied charge, Lunka must have issued some kind of death order with extremely severe punishment, compelling these professionals to charge even though they knew they were outmatched. They uniformly adopted a semi-guerrilla combat formation. Punk believed these guys intended to hold the "Princess Guard" here until other search parties arrived for a pincer attack.

In fact, Punk wasn't surprised by this sudden battle. This was a real escape and retreat, not a "picnic-style" "strategic transfer" like in novels, where there was ample time for treasure hunting, drinking, and even flirting. That wasn't a great escape; that was a paid vacation!

However, in a rapidly changing battlefield, there were always things that would exceed your expectations.

Punk cast a Divination Spell at the fastest speed. His goal wasn't to probe the current enemy's strength but to ascertain the number of approaching enemies. This was more important than rushing into a counterattack, as the professionals currently on the scene were not enough to pose a threat to the entire evacuation team. The main force rushing over at full speed was the real trouble.

"Damn it, is Lunka crazy? Doesn't he care about Konola City anymore!"

When Punk perceived the information obtained from the Divination Spell, his originally calm heart couldn't help but ripple—Lunka had sent out all his professionals! This meant Lunka had abandoned the easily obtainable spoils of war in Konola City, abandoned all his ordinary soldiers, and allowed the vengeful professionals in Konola City to slaughter and retaliate among the ordinary soldiers. All these "sacrifices" were solely to prevent Princess Nasya from escaping to the Kingdom of Dilon!

"This is really tricky. Did this princess steal some artifact? Worth these madmen risking their lives to chase!"

Punk was beyond complaining. Why did it feel like they were about to "fight their way out to survive"? This was nothing like the promised "sneak into the village, no shooting"!

"If this were a novel, the author could be considered a 'torture mainstream' enthusiast."

Complaints aside, the fight still had to happen. As one of the only two mages in the team, it was necessary to take on the responsibility of output and crowd control, especially in a situation that required a quick resolution!

So the question arises, what spell works best in a muddy field?

With his thoughts clear, Punk unhesitatingly activated his Lesser Deflection Field. The attacks from several Apprentice Level archers immediately lost all their effect. Then, standing in the center of the team, he leisurely began to chant the spell incantation. The spell he was about to cast was a highly demanding and relatively obscure Abjuration spell—Tidal Surge!

Casually taking out a small piece of Azure Stone from his mage robe pocket as a spell component for "Tidal Surge," Punk's casting was not as hurried as before, thanks to the numerous "tanks" who would dutifully absorb all attacks attempting to interrupt his casting. He meticulously infused magic power into the spell model. The casting hand gestures guided the immense magic power of this spell to manifest in reality without any blockage or waste. To maximize the power of this spell, which he was not very familiar with, Punk employed almost all the enhancement methods he could use!

After a full three seconds of chanting, Punk's eyes, which had been glowing with azure magic power, snapped open. Streams of blue and white ribbon-like energy converged in his hands. The surrounding air twisted and spun in the faint tidal currents generated by the energy. The pale blue energy storm swirling around him made Punk's mage robe flutter noisily, and stray energy particles danced around him like colorful light butterflies. Illuminated by the afterglow of the sun "Chikasa," Punk, flanked by several warriors radiating various colored battle qi, looked as dazzling and brilliant as a conquering emperor!

Princess Narsya, who hadn't paid much attention to Punk before, was now captivated by his "heroic posture." Her eyes sparkled with little stars, and for a moment, she forgot that she was on a perilous battlefield. The maiden in her prime now only saw Punk's handsome and fair face, which remained so even when largely obscured by his hood. The shadow of the hood, however, only added a touch of mystery to his handsomeness, with his eyes glowing with an azure brilliance due to the abundant magic power.

Perhaps the little princess had previously scoffed at the "love at first sight" described in knight novels, but now... Princess Narsya felt in her heart... that perhaps "love at first sight" truly existed...

Punk, having prepared his spell, was unaware that his unspoken show of coolness had captured the little princess's heart. But even if he had known, he would have simply found it troublesome. Now, his attention was entirely focused on killing the enemy. Whether he was noticed or not was not within his consideration!

Just as the enemy attempted to flank them again, Punk's mind suddenly focused!

The opportunity... had arrived!

Please give me your votes and collections; only with your support can newcomers have books to read!