After crossing over to the Saint Cassis Continent, Allen had never once left Outpost County. Most of his time had been spent holed up in the Old Castle, contemplating life.
Most of what he knew about the outside world came from merging with the original owner's memories and from books in the Old Castle.
In his eyes, the cavalrymen in the distance, already suffering heavy casualties and surrounded by flames, were painfully amateurish.
Not only were they amateurish, but even the ambushers hiding in the shadows were equally amateurish.
The disdain on Allen's face made it clear just how little he thought of those unlucky fools trapped in the flames and nearly suffocating.
Noticing Allen's expression, Yorkshire respectfully asked, "Lord Allen, how did you know the Grand Duke had secretly dispatched an elite guard detail to protect you?"
"Huh?" Allen asked, baffled. "That's how all the novels in the Old Castle describe it. What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing!" Yorkshire was speechless.
Were the protagonists in those novels anything like you? Every one of them was a peerless genius who merely needed time to grow. Their wings had not yet fully developed, so naturally they needed protection.
What about you? Why would anyone protect you? To keep you alive longer, so you could have plenty of time later to return to the Royal City and torment the Grand Duke in new ways?
"Who's that man in black in the General Affairs Hall?" The Old Butler quietly approached, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Oh, I think his name is Hels. He's a Water Magus." Yorkshire asked, "Do you know him?"
The Old Butler did not answer him. Instead, he said to Allen, "End this farce quickly. The trouble before us is not the only trouble."
Allen nodded. He noticed Hels inside the General Affairs Hall raising his staff, muttering something under his breath.
Highly sensitive to magical elements, Allen could sense that the Water Elements in the air had become extremely unstable and were continuously gathering in the distance.
Allen looked at Hels with a complicated expression.
After finishing his chant, Hels pointed his staff directly at the wall of fire. The Water Elements gathered in the air became giant waves dozens of meters high, extinguishing the raging flames.
However, only a handful of knights had survived by sheer luck. The others had long become like dried corpses, clutching their own throats with twisted expressions, clearly having suffered terribly before death.
Even the few knights who had escaped were glassy-eyed and struggling to breathe, coughing as though their hearts would tear apart.
"Fire Magic is so overbearing," Allen muttered.
The Old Butler gave a strange chuckle. "Fire Magic is overbearing? My second young master, then you haven't seen Blood Magic or Spirit Magic."
"Stronger than Fire Magic?"
Old Laixi nodded heavily.
"What good is that? I can't use it anyway." Allen curled his lip.
"You want to learn?" Old Laixi looked at Allen with a half-smile.
"It isn't about whether I want to learn. No one's teaching me, and besides, I can't even summon spells."
"Let's put that aside. If I taught you, would you learn?"
Feigning excitement, Allen asked, "Really? Didn't Dina say you only know a little Water Magic? You know Spirit Magic and Blood Magic too?"
Seeing Allen's excited look, the Old Butler adopted the demeanor of an expert and said calmly, "What does Nana know? If I couldn't use them, why would I boast that I could teach you?"
"Great, haha!" Allen slapped Yorkshire's thigh hard.
Yorkshire glared at him. Be happy if you wanted, but why slap my thigh?
"Good!" The Old Butler was delighted as well. Allen was the most talented apprentice he had ever seen. Though he could not cast magic, his astonishing elemental affinity was something others could only dream of. The path of magic was ever-changing; who said spells could only be summoned through chanting?
Old Laixi, finally seeing someone to inherit his legacy, beamed. The more he looked at Allen, the more satisfied he became, like a father-in-law looking at his future son-in-law. He said kindly, "Then when we return tonight, I'll teach you some introductory spells."
Allen asked in confusion, "Huh? Why?"
Old Laixi was dumbfounded. He muttered, "Didn't you want to learn?"
"No. Who said I wanted to learn?"
"Then why did you ask what I could do?"
"Oh, I just wanted to find out what you had up your sleeve." Allen sympathetically patted the Old Butler's shoulder and continued, "You already know it all, so why should I work so hard learning? If anything comes up later, you can just handle it."
Old Laixi rolled his eyes. He felt that young people these days were becoming more and more cunning.
"I didn't hear anything." Seeing Old Laixi's unfriendly expression, Yorkshire hurriedly explained, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Yorkshire was no fool. No matter how inexperienced he was, he knew this old man was anything but ordinary. Besides, Blood Magic and Spirit Magic were despised by orthodox mages, and the Holy See would kill anyone caught using them without mercy.
Allen shrugged indifferently. Passing the knights' corpses strewn across the ground, he walked straight to the entrance of the General Affairs Hall. He gave Hels, who had just acted, a strange look before shouting at the onlookers, "What are you staring at? Waiting for your lord to find trouble for you? Hurry up and clean this up."
The crowd erupted in cheers. Like sharks that had smelled blood, they charged toward the bodies, golden light shining in their eyes.
Some stripped rings, some pulled off clothes, some searched coin pouches, and some led away horses. Every face was filled with happiness.
They felt it had been worth putting down their work to watch the excitement today. What they had gained in this short time matched half a month's labor.
When Sakre spotted Old Laixi, he hurried over to greet him, looking every bit like a dutiful grandnephew.
The Old Butler gave him an irritated glance, then looked at the rippling water barrier covering the General Affairs Hall and chuckled strangely.
"Heh heh, you're Hels, right? Very loyal, aren't you? Afraid of disturbing your master's afternoon nap?" Old Laixi said mockingly. "I wonder what your master will think when he wakes up and sees this scene."
Only then did Hels remember that Xiulunte was still sleeping in the office. Because he had cast soundproof Water Magic, Xiulunte probably still had no idea what had happened outside.
Seeing Hels completely stunned, Sakre burst into laughter.
Hels ignored him and pointed at Allen, roaring, "You dare attack the Legion Commander's guards? Don't think Lord Xiulunte cares about some Grand Duke Lotel."
Allen rolled his eyes and said to Yorkshire beside him, "You have to testify for me. Those idiots never announced who they were, and besides, I didn't make a move. They ran into the club themselves."
Yorkshire nodded hard. Hearing Allen put it that way, even he almost believed it.
The Old Butler shuffled up to Hels and said softly, "Hels, Water Magus. In Maple Leaf Village on the frontier of the Duchy of Rothel, nearly a hundred innocent villagers died because they accidentally offended you. Is that right?"
Hels snorted and took two steps back. Several sentries moved in front of him protectively.
"I'm also a Water Mage. My name is Leisi Adolf." Old Laixi continued, "I challenge you to a mage's duel. What do you say?"
"The magical prodigy publicly recognized by Rothel thirty years ago?" Hels's eyes widened as he stared intently at Old Laixi.
Old Laixi smiled and shook his head.
"Where is your magic power? Why are the Magic Power Fluctuations in your body so weak?" Hels asked in confusion. "Could the rumors be true? Because you cultivated other major branches of magic, you fell from Magus to Intermediate Mage?"
Sakre hurriedly stepped in front of his uncle, trying to stop him.
Hels threw back his head and laughed wildly, smug with triumph. "The genius of the Duchy of Rothel? More like a fool. If you hadn't fallen in rank, you might be a famous Archmage by now, wouldn't you?"
Old Laixi's expression did not change, calm as an ancient well.
Hels looked at the Old Butler with pity, then shifted his gaze to Allen and sneered, "A fool of a mage, a fool of a noble. Haha, you two are quite the match."
"Do you accept?" Old Laixi asked again.
Hels felt slightly uneasy, but his curiosity still made him ask, "With your current strength? What if you lose? What if you win?"
"If I lose, would you let me live? Of course, if you win, you know who I am. I can revoke the Duchy of Rothel's wanted order against you."
"Fine, I accept." Cruelty appeared on Hels's face. "Personally ending a mage who might have become an Archmage? Of course I accept. Hahahahaha!"
Just as Sakre was about to stop them, Allen grabbed his shoulder.
"Get lost!" Sakre roared, Battle Aura bursting from his body.
Allen raised both hands in surrender.
"Hmph!" Sakre was about to taunt Allen when Dina walked over with a foolish grin, her thick arm clamping around Sakre's neck.
Sakre felt as if his neck had been caught in iron pincers. He could not release even a trace of Battle Aura. His feet kicked wildly, but the moment he touched Dina, not only did all the Battle Aura in his body vanish, it also felt as though invisible shackles had bound him, leaving him completely unable to move.
Several lackeys turned pale in shock and were about to rush over when Allen said with a grin, "Didn't learn your lesson, huh? Forgot how those idiots just died? My underlings are all hiding nearby right now. Don't worry, Dina won't hurt your master."
Old Laixi gently told the lackeys, "Stand down!"
Only then did the knights remember this old man's identity. They looked at Sakre, dangling in Dina's grasp like a chick, their faces full of helplessness.
Sakre glared at them. He knew these useless lackeys, who only knew how to flatter people, could not be relied on.
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