第37章 比一个傻子还要可怕的是什么

The situation had reached a stalemate.

Every time the knights shattered a Water Barrier, the older mage summoned another one. Their longswords were completely unable to harm him. The situation was similar on the other side; because the two younger mages were rather dim-witted, the three of them couldn't do anything to the Paladins for the time being.

However, Benjamin knew this deadlock wouldn't last long.

One look at the older mage's relaxed attitude was enough to tell that he still had a trump card up his sleeve. He was currently just trying to mentor the novices, which was why he only used defensive magic. Once he actually unleashed offensive spells, the two Paladins likely wouldn't be able to hold him off.

If they couldn't hold him off, Benjamin would be the one to suffer.

Although he had started to feel a bit of sympathy for the older mage, this man had stated from the very beginning that he intended to silence them all. Benjamin didn't dare gamble on whether revealing his identity as a mage would earn him mercy. That would be equivalent to handing the initiative over to someone else.

Furthermore, he wasn't ready to turn against the Church.

Therefore, he chose to stand with the two knights.

Having made his choice, he didn't intend to stand on the sidelines any longer—things had reached this point, and even if he hadn't fully developed yet, he had to join the fray; he couldn't just keep spectating.

A plan to break the stalemate quickly formed in his mind.

At that moment, the knights were just launching their second round of attacks against the water bubble.

The instant they swung their swords down, Benjamin moved. He quickly raised his hand and, without anyone else noticing, fired a shot at the older mage without hesitation.

Bang!

The sound of the water bubble bursting mingled with the gunshot, startling everyone.

As for Benjamin, the moment he fired, he immediately rushed toward the thief who was unable to move due to the gunshot wound in his knee. He didn't care what was happening between the mages and the knights; his only focus was to retrieve his stolen money.

The child was caught off guard, and Benjamin snatched the money back in one go.

With the money in hand, Benjamin let out a sigh of relief.

This was the method he had devised. First, with his attack power, it was impossible to penetrate the Water Barrier. While the knights could combine their strength to shatter it, they would still need to land a second strike to injure the mage. But as long as the mage could recast the Water Barrier before that second strike landed, he could block the knights.

This created a balance, and all Benjamin had to do was break it.

He used the shooting interface to calculate the timing, firing the moment the Water Barrier was about to be shattered. The bullet would pass through the instant the bubble broke, hitting the target. The time difference was so minuscule that the opponent wouldn't even have time to chant a spell, let alone replenish the Water Barrier.

A mage without protective magic was nothing more than a mortal, no different from a thin sheet of paper in the face of a bullet. Thus, such a shot, even without enchantment, was enough to change the entire course of the battle.

He had aimed for the older mage's heart, but since this was his first time firing with the intent to kill, and because he felt the older mage was actually quite pathetic, his hand had trembled slightly. It was highly likely he hadn't hit the mark perfectly.

But even if he missed, the man should at least be half-crippled.

In truth, he didn't have the resolve to end the man's life. From start to finish, the only thing on his mind was one goal—getting his money back.

As for the final part of the plan, Benjamin, having retrieved his money, would take advantage of the chaos following the gunshot to slip away. In his estimation, given the older mage's strength, even if severely wounded, he should be able to use some kind of diversionary tactic to escape with his two students.

As for the two Paladins, they would likely give chase. Thus, with no one paying attention to Benjamin, he could continue with his plan to buy a gun.

It was truly a well-conceived plan. After all, the two Paladins were protecting him, and Benjamin didn't want them to get hurt. But since those three were mages like him, Benjamin recalled the final lines of the Bible and hoped they wouldn't just die here.

When he first thought of this plan, Benjamin couldn't help but laugh at himself. Perhaps he just wasn't capable of being like the protagonists in those novels—decisive and ruthless, treating human life like blades of grass.

And so, Benjamin fired, snatched the money, and everything proceeded as smoothly as planned. Screams and gasps came from the mages' side, but no sound of anyone collapsing. He confirmed the bullet had hit and no one had died; it was great, perfect. Benjamin had already turned around, ready to flee.

However, just like every plan he had come up with since arriving in this world, no matter how perfect, something always went wrong.

As he turned to run, several rapid, angry incantations suddenly came from behind him, and the violent fluctuations of magic and elements startled him. He couldn't help but look back.

He saw a monstrous wave rising before the three mages.

What the hell!

What kind of magic was this?

Benjamin had miscalculated the older mage's behavior. Perhaps, after being angered to death by his two students and then getting shot, his rage had reached a breaking point, accidentally triggering a berserk mode. Consequently, he hadn't chosen to use magic to escape, but rather to attack.

Looking at the scale of it, summoning a ten-meter-high wave out of thin air in a narrow alley was definitely a high-level ultimate spell. If this mage could use a Water Barrier so effectively, the power of his ultimate move must be immense.

Facing such a wave, Benjamin felt as if he weren't facing magic, but the vast, boundless power of nature itself; he couldn't even muster the thought of resisting.

Is this... Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu?

Finally, a second before the wave arrived, he summoned his will and used a Water Ball Spell, transforming it into a bubble to protect himself—he wasn't afraid of his identity as a mage being discovered; the two Paladins were standing further ahead and had already been submerged by the surging water. There was no one else around, so no one would know he had used magic.

The second the bubble formed, the giant wave crashed down with a vengeance.

Benjamin's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

"Why are you chasing me?"

"I want, cough syrup!"

Wha, what the hell?

"Bishuiyuan Changrun Tea, eliminate toxins, feel light and easy."

Where is the remote, change the channel quickly...

"With Yuting, love with peace of mind..."

You... shut up!

Benjamin jolted awake, gasping for air, his eyes snapping open as he sat up.

"Ah, you're finally awake." The system's voice came from his mind, sounding quite cheerful.

Benjamin sat there in silence for a moment, catching his breath, then said to the system with utter helplessness: "Next time I faint, can you use a different way to wake me up?"

The digital interface appeared before his eyes once more:

"For manual service, please press zero."

It was pulling that stunt again.

Benjamin couldn't be bothered to deal with the system. Having experienced such terrifying magic, his first priority was to check his own condition: pain radiated from various parts of his body, but it wasn't severe and was bearable. He wasn't missing any limbs, and he could move freely. All in all, he was fine.

This put his mind slightly at ease; he had originally thought he would be seriously injured. It seemed the mage's ultimate move wasn't as terrifying as he had imagined.

However, when he looked at his surroundings, he wasn't so optimistic anymore.

This wasn't the alley where he had fainted.

He was in a place that looked like a warehouse. The lighting was poor, the space was enclosed, and only a kerosene lamp near the far wall provided any illumination. There was nothing else in the warehouse; it felt empty, and combined with the dim light, it gave one the feeling of being in a horror movie.

Benjamin was a bit dazed.

Where is this?

Why did he wake up in a completely unfamiliar place? Had someone brought him here?

What had happened while he was unconscious?

"Hey, why did you wake up so fast?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

Benjamin immediately turned around to see the two young mages, one tall and one short, standing at the other end of the warehouse, huddled together and staring at him with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Benjamin's heart skipped a beat. Did these two bring him here?

Thinking of this, he looked around nervously. Fortunately, he didn't see the older mage, and Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, why aren't you answering?" The shorter one seemed to grow impatient as Benjamin remained silent, shouting thus.

Benjamin was about to answer, but the other one cut him off.

"Don't be like that, I think he might have been knocked silly by the teacher's magic and can't understand what we're saying." The tall one pushed the short one, saying thoughtfully.

"That's right, why didn't I think of that? He really was knocked silly!" The short one immediately wore an expression of sudden realization and said happily.

"What do we do? If he's been knocked silly, who's going to save the teacher?" However, the tall one quickly wore a worried expression and said in distress.

"That's true, what do we do..." The shorter brother's face also drooped, and he said sadly.

The two huddled closer, whispering to each other.

"..."

Benjamin stared at the two of them, completely dumbfounded.

"Hey, you two." After hesitating, he decided to demonstrate his normal level of intelligence, and he also had questions for them. "Did you bring me here? Where is this? What happened? Where is your teacher?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

He should have asked one by one. Asking so many questions at once—given their intelligence, they probably wouldn't be able to answer...

As it turned out, he had worried for nothing.

"Shh, be quiet, you've been knocked silly, you can't talk." The short one turned back, glared at Benjamin, and said fiercely.

"..."

Benjamin had overestimated their intelligence.

"What exactly happened? Explain it to me, quickly." He gave up on communicating with these two and turned to the system in his mind.

"That magic knocked you all out, but after casting it, the mage also fainted. The only ones left with the ability to act were those two idiots." By comparison, the system's voice sounded much more reliable. "Those two idiots discussed it for a while and prepared to take the fainted mage and run. I don't know why, but they brought you along too. They left the two knights in the alley and didn't bother with them."

After listening to the system's explanation, Benjamin thought for a moment and asked: "Where is this? How far did they bring me?"

The system replied: "Don't worry, you're still in the city; this is still Havenlight. They didn't go far, maybe ten minutes away. But this place is quite hidden; it would be hard for others to find it."

Only ten minutes?

Benjamin felt much more at ease. His biggest worry was being taken somewhere far away, but fortunately, he was still in the outer district. And judging by the time, he hadn't been unconscious for long.

The system remembered the way, so he wouldn't get lost.

Thinking this, he stood up and, under the system's guidance, prepared to leave—after all, those two thought he was knocked silly, didn't they?

He had encountered enough trouble tonight; he wasn't even sure if he should continue with his plan to buy a gun.

"Stop! You aren't allowed to leave!"

However, the moment the short one saw Benjamin about to leave, he got anxious again and ran over to block him.

"Why are you stopping me?" Benjamin said expressionlessly.

"Although I don't know what magic you used to hurt the teacher, the teacher is dying now, and only you can save him. Of course you aren't allowed to leave!" The short one said righteously.

"That's right, you aren't allowed to leave." The tall one also ran over to add.

Benjamin was speechless.

Not to mention that he hadn't used magic to hurt the older mage—he had used a pistol, which these two had mistaken for magic, which was enough to make him want to complain. Yet, didn't they both think he was silly? Why did they think he could save their teacher?

What on earth was inside their heads?

"Didn't you say I was silly? If I'm silly, how can I save anyone?" Benjamin countered.

"That's right, he's been knocked silly, he can't save the teacher anymore." Hearing this, the short one paused, and immediately shifted from his urgent state to a dejected one.

"You're already silly and useless, you can go." The tall one also shook his head and said to Benjamin.

"..."

For some reason, after being messed with by these two, Benjamin felt he couldn't bring himself to leave.

Really...

Forget it.

After struggling for a while and walking a few steps away, he let out a heavy sigh and walked back. He felt somewhat helpless and said to the two: "I'm not silly. Where is your teacher? Take me to see him; maybe I can save him."

He felt like a kindergarten teacher; when a child fell, he couldn't help but want to help them up.

The two "children" heard this, looked at each other, and revealed expressions of surprise.

"You must save our teacher, otherwise we'll kill you." The short one grabbed Benjamin and said these words gleefully as he ran toward the back of the warehouse.

"...Oh." Benjamin looked indifferent.

Thanks to Zunhong for the tip~