Whoosh!
The javelin came whistling through the air, followed by a bang as it slammed heavily into the Blazing Gold Holy Shield. The golden shield trembled slightly, erupting with dazzling reddish-gold light, like burning flames.
The surrounding temperature rose sharply. Visible to the naked eye, the tip of the javelin rapidly warped and softened before melting into scorching, glowing liquid metal. Drops fell onto the ground, and when they touched the damp turf, great clouds of white smoke rose up.
A few seconds later, the entire javelin had vanished, reduced to a puddle of molten iron on the ground.
The Energy Shield Richard had raised slowly dissipated as well. Richard calmly looked at Xide, waiting for his response.
He believed that after just this exchange, the other party should have understood his strength clearly enough.
Sure enough, Xide's expression changed. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned pale, glaring as he said, "You're a high-level Wizard!"
"Yes," Richard answered simply.
Xide pressed his lips together. Before this, he had only believed that Richard's concealed strength amounted to no more than a Level 1 Wizard, someone he could barely deal with. But after seeing Richard so easily neutralize his javelin attack, he was certain now—Richard was at least a Level 2 Wizard.
That changed everything.
A Level 2 Wizard was already enough to contend with, or even defeat, all of them. If he was stronger still...
Xide did not continue that thought. He merely pursed his lips and stared at Richard.
After waiting a while and seeing that Xide still had not stated his position, Richard raised an eyebrow. "What? Even knowing my strength, you still refuse to cooperate? Must I use irreversible methods to deal with the current situation?"
Xide lowered his head, then slowly raised it again. Determination