The quill pen in Nikita's hand moved swiftly across the spellbook, lines of rules and formulas flowing onto the blank pages.
She merely cast an uninterested glance at the commotion erupting in the dining hall. To her, nothing was more important than the spell she was preparing.
Of course, if these young people became too unruly, she would not mind having a little snack.
"We have not lost hope," Xiao Xiao spoke again, his tone having calmed. "Since she did not tear us apart immediately, that means we are not her primary target—this is good news. Compared to offense, we freshmen have more Guardian Talismans on us—this is also good news."
"Taking these two pieces of good news together, I believe obeying this lady's decision is more likely to ensure our safety than fighting recklessly."
Low murmurs of agreement rose from the freshmen in the dining hall.
"Watch out!" The red-faced boy did not argue, but shouted a warning instead.
"A very wise judgment." Nikita suddenly appeared beside Zheng Qing and lightly applauded behind Xiao Xiao.
The Bologna-bound spellbook flipped through its pages as it floated at her side. Strands of blood-red light spilled from the pages, gurgling as they cascaded to the floor like a waterfall, flowing into a blood-red hexagram.
Zheng Qing was so frightened he nearly fainted.
He had not seen how the banshee had come to his side at all.
That spellbook had abruptly appeared before him, nearly poking his nose. Zheng Qing could even clearly see the spell formulas, like tadpole script, bubbling as they squeezed out those blood-red ribbons of light.
He staggered backward, putting some distance between himself and the banshee.
Behind the sofa, Xiao Xiao forcefully turned around, his expression unchanged.
But Zheng Qing noticed that the large Black Frame Glasses on his face had become slightly crooked.
The little monk Shi Yuan pressed Li Meng's head hard behind the sofa, but failed to notice Poseidon's little head squeezing out from beneath his armpit.
The banshee smiled at Xiao Xiao.
"Then, Mr. Wise, please fetch your big sister some olive oil from the serving counter. As for everyone else..."
She raised her eyes toward the red-faced boy not far away, and the scarlet in her eyes flared brightly.
In an instant, the entire dining hall seemed to have sunk into a heavy bog. Every movement appeared slow yet distinct in Zheng Qing's pupils.
Xiao Xiao was stepping toward the serving counter, one foot raised but not yet set down.
Behind the sofa, Poseidon poked out her head, opened her tiny mouth, and revealed fine, sharp teeth. Zheng Qing watched the soft fur on the little creature's body slowly bristle.
Not far away, several girls wore terrified expressions, their mouths slightly open and arms raised as though trying to block something. But time seemed frozen around them, and their lifted arms could not even shield their frightened faces.
Only the red-faced boy farther away was still struggling to raise his fist.
He was the only living thing still moving in Zheng Qing's field of vision.
"Ahhh..." A girl's continuous, piercing scream came from behind him, forcibly shattering the frozen space-time.
It was that cobra's owner. That was Zheng Qing's last thought before losing consciousness. A familiar yet strange, violent pain surged viciously into his head. He screamed, clutched his head, toppled to the floor, and began convulsing.
Dazzling golden light burst from around Xiao Xiao. Accompanied by a roar like a dragon's cry and a turtle's bellow, explosive crackling rang out without pause. The talismans on the other freshmen were also activated at that instant, multicolored shields flashing and adding much light and shadow to the dining hall.
Nikita snorted softly, and the scarlet in her eyes receded slightly.
"You cannot even withstand a little pressure." She looked mockingly at the red-faced boy in the distance, who was panting heavily on one knee. He stared at the banshee with a stubborn expression.
Xiao Xiao quietly put away the black leather notebook in his arms, walked around the overturned sofa, and headed straight for the serving counter.
Zheng Qing clutched his head and continued convulsing on the floor.
Li Meng was pinned behind the sofa by the little monk, anxiously stamping her feet. Yet the little monk calmly lifted his robe and shoved the Little Fox, who had poked out her head, back behind the sofa.
"Don't get worked up. Just stay put and think of ways to add a few more protective spells to yourselves," Xiao Xiao called out with his back to the others.
"Big sister only wants clean olive oil!" Nikita put away the spellbook that had finished laying out the formation, picked up her quill pen again, and warned the short boy walking toward the serving counter, "If the oil isn't clean, I'll use the blood of you little darlings instead."
The atmosphere in the dining hall grew even more oppressive. Only the soft sobbing of a few girls remained, along with the thudding of Zheng Qing's head hitting the floor.
Crack! Lightning streaked past not far from the aircraft. Outside the window, rolling thunder drew closer from afar, shaking the heavens.
The blood-colored hexagram on the dining hall floor flickered under the interference of the thunder.
The banshee frowned and looked up at the motionless cobra nearby, its body tied in knots.
"Get over here!" she snapped at the cobra.
The cobra, which had been curled into a ball and playing dead, immediately opened its eyes and rolled with all its might to her feet.
"Have you developed a snake stone yet?" The banshee lifted it by the tail and squeezed its belly.
The cobra raised its head in terror and shook it like a rattle, its bright red tongue snapping wildly about like a rubber band.
"Close your mouth! Swallow that tongue!" the banshee scolded disgustedly. "Stop moving your head!"
The cobra pitifully withdrew its tongue, clamped its mouth shut, and held its neck up without daring to move.
Nikita took out a small silver knife and lightly sliced the cheek pouches on either side of the snake's head. A transparent, viscous liquid slowly flowed from the two thin wounds and ran into the blood-red formation on the floor.
The banshee frowned, finding the venom flowing too slowly.
Before she could even raise her hand, the cobra puffed out its cheeks, held its breath, and rapidly sprayed out the venom from its cheek pouches.
The infusion of venom stabilized the formation, which had originally been flickering and wavering.
At the same time, Xiao Xiao carried a bowl of olive oil to the front of the formation. He directly took out a thick Big Mao brush, dipped it in the oil, and followed the hexagram pattern on the floor to coat it once.
The oiled formation concealed its bloody aura and looked smoother and more natural.
"Just as expected of Mr. Wise." Nikita smiled as she watched Xiao Xiao finish drawing the Magic Circle, then waved him back among the freshmen.
"You get lost too!" Seeing the cobra trembling beside her feet, the banshee kicked it flying and laughed as she scolded, "My formations have never used vermin like you as sacrifices."
After the ball of snake rolled into the small garden at the center of the dining hall, it immediately stretched out and darted behind the artificial rockery.
"Cunning vermin." The banshee curled her lip and looked up at the trembling freshmen in the distance.
After being exposed, fleeing was the only choice.
But that choice had to be understood by the captain.
So she had to bring back a gift of sufficient weight.
Nikita's gaze fell on Zheng Qing, who was clutching his head and convulsing.
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