I Can Refuse, But You Can't Deny

The appearance of the Grey Dwarves had shocked and stunned the city guards, but it wasn't a crippling blow. The arrival of the Dark Elves, however, was undoubtedly a full-blown "invasion."

"Huh? Kill!" After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, the gorgeously clad Dark Elves, wielding exquisite weapons, didn't hesitate to begin slaughtering the city guards, even without fully understanding the situation.

This wasn't a battle between equals.

Perhaps "massacre" would be a more fitting term.

Although the Dark Elves who appeared in the city were all low-ranking males from Drow society and generally incapable of magic, one must remember that while other races might compete through intelligence and strength, the Drow's internal struggles were a matter of life and death.

Weaklings didn't get to grow up.

They were either sacrificed to the Spider Goddess in various ways or failed their advancements, devolving into monstrous half-spider, half-humanoid beings.

The direct result was that the Drow population was minuscule compared to humans, but their average soldier's combat prowess was significantly higher.

Faced with a shield formation of a dozen human city guards, how do you think a Dark Elf warrior handled it?

With two or three leaps, he was on the rooftop beside the alley, and with a beautiful spinning kick, he sent a large vat, used by citizens for storage, crashing down.

"Ah!"

"Run!"

A vat weighing over a hundred pounds plummeted from the second floor. This was no ordinary soldier could withstand.

They scattered in panic.

The vat shattered, and in the instant fragments flew, the Dark Elf had already closed in.

Their strangely twisted scimitars looked more like the failed works of an undisciplined artist. Yet, these weapons, too exquisite to be called mere tools, easily pierced the city guards' two-millimeter-thick iron armor, ruthlessly reaping their flesh and blood.

Ordinary human soldiers didn't have the luxury of wearing iron armor. While its protective capabilities were far inferior to forged plate armor, it was still too expensive for common soldiers. Only the city guards of the royal capital had such extravagant equipment.

Even with their armor reaching this level of protection, they were easily breached by the enemy. This fight was simply unwinnable.

In fact, only the adventurers who rushed out from the Adventurers' Guild could match these Dark Elf warriors in terms of individual combat ability.

Led by Famite and several other Master Level powerhouses, the high-level extraordinary individuals prepared to intervene.

Only by employing overwhelming force could they immediately control the situation and minimize the damage these otherworldly visitors inflicted upon the royal capital.

Perhaps they harbored complaints and grumbles towards the instigator of all this chaos, but now was not the time for hesitation.

Unexpectedly, all the white clouds in the previously clear sky abruptly changed color.

Pitch-black thunderclouds surged, powerfully displaying the might contained within.

Everything happened so suddenly that a moment of dead silence fell upon the battlefield.

Above the Marad Mage Tower, magical arrays suddenly appeared within the swirling dark clouds. They were neatly arranged in a matrix, like soldiers standing at attention. Within these arrays, formed by tens of thousands of magical runes, bright purple beams of light suddenly shot out.

Lightning descended from the heavens, emitting a dazzling glow.

The brilliant radiance drew the attention of every being in the city.

"Is this the Mage Tower's defense?"

"Impossible..."

"How could it possess such immense power?"

Whether human or Drow, all discussions were drowned out by the booming thunder.

In this world, only the sound of thunder echoed.

The man who had orchestrated this invasion seemed to have snapped out of his daze, tidying up his mischievous act.

It was as if a scepter wielding supreme power was slowly descending from the heavens, striking down the invaders and also chastising the "natives" who had been so stubbornly resistant.

The continuous lightning flashes blinded people's eyes. When the booming subsided, they were astonished to find that most of the Dark Elves who had been rampaging through the entire district moments ago had vanished without a trace. They were like grains of sand swept away by a strong wind, swept from the entire battlefield and disappearing.

This was no exaggeration. Famite personally witnessed a Dark Elf being struck by lightning, turning into something like scorched earth, and then dissipating into the air.

It wasn't that no Dark Elves struggled. A skilled rogue first hid in a civilian house, only to be pursued by a ball of lightning. He then leaped out in terror.

In his final moments, he continued to dodge and weave, attempting to escape the inescapable blow.

Unfortunately, it was futile.

After Lein locked onto him through the system, this guy felt like a bouncing lightning rod to the pseudo-great mage.

Then came the moment to test his lightning resistance on the crown of his head.

Well, the check failed. There was nothing that could be done.

"I, the Lightning Mage, am kind-hearted and benevolent. I'll kill and bury."

BOOM!

The world was quiet.

In truth, at this point, Lein knew he had gone a bit too far.

However, he felt like a child with a new toy, unable to resist tinkering with the Mage Tower.

Fortunately, he had come up with an excuse before causing trouble.

"Ahem! This Mage Tower is a bit tricky. The previous owner left behind some unpleasant 'inheritance.' But I've already eliminated the danger."

As Ganis and his party rode to the front of the Mage Tower, this was the voice they heard emanating from within.

Lein was unaware that as the Madra Mage Tower was the core of the Cervantes Royal Capital's defenses, his voice was also instantly transmitted to the royal palace!

The next second, Ganis and the King of Cervantes' faces turned ashen.

In Lein's eyes, his words were perfectly fine.

He genuinely didn't understand spatial magic. Even if the system thought he did, and the Tower Spirit thought he did, he himself felt he didn't.

Moreover, skills were specialized. He was a Lightning Archmage; it was perfectly reasonable that he didn't understand spatial magic, right?!

From the other side's perspective, it was a completely different story.

Recalling Ganis's message, His Majesty the King regretted it so much his intestines turned green.

He sent monsters and enemies, but they didn't hurt anyone.

Not once, but twice.

What would be next?

It would probably be a group of high-level monsters, right?

What did this mean?

This was clearly a warning to them!

They coveted his disciple, gave money to the disciple, and expected to get the master to work for free.

Where could such a cheap thing be found in this world?

And now, the other party was starting to get angry.

Where did the mere Kingdom of Cervantes get the nerve to mess with a legendary Archmage?

They were courting death, weren't they? Now they'd played with fire.

At this moment, a courtier, over seventy years old, standing beside the King, spoke: "Your Majesty, I may not understand magic, but I understand human nature. Your Majesty, we cannot hesitate any longer."

The King of Cervantes' face twisted in bitterness, but he finally nodded heavily.

Thus, Ganis, who was in front, was suddenly reminded by an attendant: "Lord Ganis, the royal palace has sent a signal."

Three red braziers were lit on the palace gates and city walls, signifying that His Majesty the King was willing to offer everything.

Ganis's expression was extremely solemn. He found Tangs, who had just walked out of the Mage Tower, and asked very tactfully: "Excuse me, if our kingdom wishes for your master to accept a disciple, what should we do to easily win his favor?"

Tangs, with a serious expression, repeated what his master had said before: "Master once said that a king presented him with his entire treasury, but he disdained it, because his children simply lacked the talent."

Ganis immediately understood.

He completely got it.

This was about status! This was about standing!

The legendary Archmage's attitude was simple: "I can refuse it, but you cannot withhold it!"

If you don't give it, it's because you have a bad attitude, and you deserve to be beaten.

If I don't take it, it's because I'm in a good mood, and I don't owe you anything.