Andrew sneered coldly. "Mother, don't worry. It's only a ninth-level fighter. I dare say no one below Saint-level is my match! All right, Father is still in danger. I must leave immediately. Yue'er, I don't have time to keep you company this time..."
"I know," Han Yue said. "Go on. We'll get together again when you return."
Andrew nodded and immediately set off with Flame Wolf and Golden Peng.
Howard had said in his letter that they had been ambushed in Mithril City, at the easternmost edge of the Yulan Empire. Mithril City was also the prefectural city in the Yulan Empire closest to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. As for their current whereabouts, Andrew had no way of knowing. They should still have been in Mithril City when Howard wrote the letter. However, since they were being hunted, they had presumably already left.
Andrew had no choice but to head to Mithril City. He believed a battle like that in Mithril City would certainly have left plenty of information behind. These days, with the continent's Saint-level experts staying out of sight, ninth-level fighters stood at the pinnacle. And a ninth-level warrior had taken part in this battle. A ninth-level warrior fighting Golden Tiger would surely have caused a commotion that could not be concealed.
Mithril City lay about three thousand li from the imperial capital and was renowned throughout the continent for its mithril mines. Mithril was a precious magical metal with extremely high magical conductivity, suitable for making all kinds of magical implements. Because of this, Mithril City had become a gathering place for mages and was famous throughout the Yulan Continent.
Desperate to save his father, Andrew dared not waste a moment and hurried along at full speed. Along this stretch of the journey, he pushed Explosive Steps to its limit.
Strictly speaking, Explosive Steps was not a footwork technique suited to long-distance travel. Its essence lay in explosive bursts over short distances. Within a hundred meters, even among Saint-level experts, few could stop Andrew. This was because he brought the explosive power of both lightning and fire Battle-qi to its utmost limit. But when it came to long-distance dashes, Andrew's speed dropped, falling short even of Flame Wolf's.
Even so, he reached Mithril City before dusk. He had covered three thousand li in just over half a day.
Andrew entered the city with Flame Wolf and headed straight for the city lord's residence. He was unfamiliar with the place, and the most direct way to learn what had happened quickly was to find the city lord. If the other party was willing to show him some consideration, all would be well. If not, Andrew would probably end up offending someone again.
Mithril City's lord was no ordinary man, but the Yulan Empire's renowned Duke Dujuan. Duke Dujuan possessed both high rank and great strength: he was a Level 9 Great Mage. Had Mithril City not been so important, the Yulan Empire would not have sent him to guard it. In addition, Duke Dujuan controlled nearly a hundred magic towers in Mithril City. These towers had all been built by experts of the great mage rank or above, and each could unleash extremely powerful magic. Linked together, a hundred magic towers could even unleash a forbidden spell!
Andrew knew all this. Divine Grace Academy had provided a detailed introduction to Mithril City. Under ordinary circumstances, he probably would not have offended Duke Dujuan. After all, the man was a duke of the Yulan Empire, and everyone knew the Yulan Empire was the High Priest's territory.
But thinking of Howard's safety, Andrew could no longer concern himself with so much.
"Halt! Who are you?" A squad of soldiers stopped Andrew as he approached the entrance to the city lord's residence.
"Out of my way!" Andrew kept walking as a layer of blue-green vapor appeared around him, sending every soldier who touched it flying.
Seeing this, the other soldiers immediately formed ranks. Some leveled their spears, some drew their powerful bows, and others raised their massive shields. In the blink of an eye, a solid shield formation appeared, blocking the entrance to the city lord's residence completely.
Unwilling to waste time here, Andrew took a step and crossed a hundred meters as though teleporting, slamming bodily into the shield formation. With a bang, the formation of dozens of men was forcibly scattered by Andrew...
Without stopping, Andrew passed through the gates and entered the city lord's residence. The moment he stepped inside, a blue-green Wind Blade swept past his ear. Had he not been alert enough and dodged quickly enough, that Wind Blade would have sliced his head off!
A Wind Element mage—at least a magus! Andrew immediately judged his opponent's strength, anger rising within him. Trying to kill without even asking a question. How overbearing!
His figure flashed repeatedly, leaving several afterimages in the courtyard.
Whoosh! A blue-green whirlwind appeared in the courtyard, sweeping up everything around it and rapidly enveloping Andrew.
"An eighth-level spell, Wrath of the Whirlwind!"
Andrew dodged again and again. By now, he could see clearly that the Wind Element magus was hiding several dozen meters away. In front of him stood an Earth Dragon Beast, his magical beast companion. Mages needed time to recite their incantations, so they would tame magical beast companions with strong defenses to protect themselves.
Andrew was no longer as angry as before. He soon began to understand that the other party had probably taken him for an enemy. Besides, he had come to seek help from Mithril City's lord. If he really injured their magus, it would be awkward for everyone.
If I want others to take me seriously, I have to show my strength first!
On second thought, Andrew realized this was also an opportunity. He drew the Godslaying Saber and delivered a powerful slash. His movements were already fast, but his blade was faster still. As the saber wreathed in Fusion Battle-qi descended, the powerful whirlwind split in two and instantly dissipated!
"Stop! I'm not an enemy!"
After extinguishing the spell, Andrew moved to the mage's side and placed a hand on his shoulder to demonstrate his strength.
Feeling his movement, the mage stiffened and stopped chanting. Although Andrew could not see the other party's expression, he imagined it could not be pleasant.
"Who are you? How dare you force your way into the city lord's residence?" the mage asked in a hoarse voice.
"I mean no harm. I only want to ask the city lord about a few things." As he spoke, he lowered his hand and stepped back a few paces to show his sincerity.
The mage's hostility diminished considerably, but facing Andrew, he still dared not relax in the slightest. He slowly rose into the air and landed on his magical beast companion, the Earth Dragon Beast.
Only then did Andrew get a clear look at the other party's appearance. He was somewhat surprised, because the mage was actually a woman, and not very old, only in her thirties.
"What do you want to ask about?" the mage asked coolly, looking down from above.
Andrew did not take offense. Behind him, Flame Wolf roared several times at the Earth Dragon Beast, seemingly issuing a challenge. As for Golden Peng, he remained somewhat listless, his injuries evidently not yet healed.
"My father and his mercenary team were ambushed in Mithril City a while ago. They had already captured an Earth Dragon Beast, but their collaborators hunted them down. There was even a ninth-level warrior among them. I believe the city lord's residence couldn't possibly be unaware of such a major commotion."
Speaking of the Earth Dragon Beast, Andrew could not help finding it a little odd. What a coincidence-the other party's magical beast companion was also an Earth Dragon Beast.
"The city lord is away, and I know nothing about what you've described," the mage said icily. "If there's nothing else, leave at once. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Andrew looked at her doubtfully. Her attitude had suddenly changed completely. Was there something hidden behind this? Seeing her behave this way, Andrew stopped being polite as well.
"I'm getting an answer today. You'll tell me whether you want to or not!"
"How dare you!" The mage was furious. A transparent wing appeared behind her-the wind spell Wings of Wind. Flying several dozen meters into the air, she began silently reciting an incantation. Wind Blades about a foot long tore through the air toward Andrew.
Andrew sneered coldly and drew the Godslaying Saber. Flickering saber shadows shattered the Wind Blades. Then he stamped hard, breaking the entire slab of bluestone beneath his feet into numerous fist-sized chunks.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Andrew kicked the small stones into the air with force. They shot toward the mage like cannonballs, whistling sharply through the air.
The mage extended a hand and set up a Wind Shield in front of herself, silently ordering the Earth Dragon Beast to attack. The Earth Dragon Beast charged forward with its enormous body. Before Andrew could react, Flame Wolf had already pounced on it and begun fighting.
For a time, the two sides reached a stalemate. Because the mage was flying, Andrew could do nothing to her. She could not defeat Andrew either.
"Come down now! Your mana won't last much longer!"
Andrew shouted, handling her eighth-level spells with ease. He had been keeping track from the beginning, and she had already cast three eighth-level spells. An ordinary magus only had enough mana to support five or six eighth-level spells. In other words, she had already used at least half her mana.
The mage remained unmoved by his words. Instead, her attacks grew fiercer. Andrew became angry.
"If I can't hit you, I'll kill your magical beast companion first!"
There was a limit to how many magical beast companions a mage could tame. Moreover, the longer they spent together, the better they coordinated, and the greater their fighting strength became. In battle, magical beast companions would often disregard their own lives to protect their mages. Thus, many mages shared very deep bonds with their magical beast companions.
Sure enough, when she saw Andrew charge toward the Earth Dragon Beast, the mage was startled too.