Declaration of War, the Blood-Red Prelude

"Hoo..."

Yali rubbed his eyes, gazing at the deepening night, and yawned.

Things have been really unsettling lately. Yesterday, a terrible earthquake struck; even the Sealing Tower I'm in felt a slight tremor. I don't know the cause, but it seems to have happened in the central region of the continent. All sorts of rumors are flying around, and yet, only a day later, I've been pulled from the reserve team and forced into this damned patrol. Standing under the blazing sun all day, and with dusk already approaching, no one has called me to relieve them. What kind of misfortune have I suffered in my past life?

Shaking his head, Yali gave a helpless self-deprecating laugh as he looked around. It was indeed strange; although the Sealing Tower was usually heavily guarded, today it seemed unusually so. Almost every tower and outer balcony had a guard team standing watch. Not only were there those temporarily pulled from the reserves like himself, but also many regular members. Moreover, since morning, high-level mages had been continuously arriving. Yali roughly calculated that at least twenty high-level mages had come today. What was going on? Did the Mages' Association intend to do something here?

Of course, this was beyond the comprehension of a low-level mage like him, so Yali obediently straightened up and continued his "vigilance." As long as he appeared serious on the surface, these mages wouldn't bother to dig open his head and see if he was thinking about Mary from next door or Layla from the tavern.

However, even so, Yali was still somewhat worried. A strange sense of foreboding lingered deep within him. Although, theoretically speaking, the Sealing Tower could be considered the most heavily guarded place in the Mages' Association, with not only high-ranking mages stationed there but also dozens of Templar Knights stationed there, no one with a brain would want to mess with such a treacherous place.

Thinking of this, the young garrison soldier chanted an incantation, intending to cast one last Eagle Eye Spell on himself. As a low-level mage, he had not yet reached the point where he could identify enemies using area-of-effect spells, but sometimes, visual confirmation was the most important. In the past, many people had evaded magical detection, only to be discovered by low-level mages because they had not cast spells to conceal their bodies, leading to their unexpected downfall.

"Um?"

Just then, Yali suddenly saw a small white dot slowly approaching from afar. With the help of the magic, Yali could clearly see that it was a beautiful, petite, and adorable girl.

How could a little girl be alone in a place like this? Where are the alarms? Why didn't anyone stop her? Is she the child of some high-ranking mage? If so, why didn't anyone report it?

Regardless, it was somewhat unbelievable that such a little girl would appear in the most important place of the Mages' Association in the dim light of day. Yali didn't dwell on it; he quickly rallied his spirits and gestured to his subordinates. If there was any benefit to this tedious patrol, it was the ability to command others and indulge in the thrill of being in a position of authority—even though he was just a lowly patrol captain.

"Excuse me, please stop immediately, miss."

Soon, several fully armed low-level mages, led by Yali, arrived in front of the Sealing Tower and blocked the girl's path.

Please state your name and the purpose of your visit.

Despite his wariness, Yali still shouted, while subtly gesturing to his assistant behind him. Soon, a signal spell was ready.

However, when Yali asked her question, the girl simply raised her head and stared coldly at him with her eyes that shimmered with a faint red light.

"Step back."

"Why?"

A cold, clear voice rang out, yet it carried an unyielding, authoritative pressure.

"I'm not here to find useless trash like you. If you want to take your lives, then get out of here immediately."

Angela her arm to the side and "snap" opened the velvet fan in her hand.

Hey, little girl!

Clearly, Angela's tone displeased the other mages. What a joke! How dare a brat like her speak to them like that? Soon, a burly mage reached out, trying to grab the little girl's shoulders and lift her up. But just as his hand was about to grasp Angela, everyone suddenly saw a blur, a flash of bright red light, and then Angela vanished without a trace.

"Anyone who dares to touch me without permission, except my master, shall atone with their death."

Immediately, Angela's icy voice rang out again behind them. Along with those words, the burly mage screamed in agony. A gaping hole, the size of a bowl, had appeared in his chest, revealing his mangled heart, which was convulsing and gushing blood. The mage desperately reached out, trying to plug the hole, but he only managed halfway before collapsing heavily to the ground.

"Enemy----!"

What was happening before his eyes left Yali almost speechless, but his years of training paid off at this moment. He opened his mouth to shout, but the sound was choked in his throat.

"It's so noisy."

Angela's small hand gripped the young mage's throat tightly, suppressing his voice like an iron rod. Beside her, the other mages had already fallen at the girl's hands. Although some of them activated Magic Shield to try and withstand the attack and buy time, these low-level mages were simply too insignificant in the face of the powerful Vampire Species.

"------!!"

Yali opened his mouth wide, trying to suck in air in vain. His mind was blank, and all he could think of were his mother and sister back home... Finally, he remembered another figure on the grassland, with whom he had made a promise.

"Na..."

His mouth, which had been unable to utter a sound, struggled to utter a final, weak syllable, and the young mage's memories ended there. Death finally robbed him of his last shred of consciousness; after frantically flailing his arms and legs, the young mage became a cold corpse.

"Snort."

Angela casually tossed it to the ground, her cold, emotionless gaze fixed on the corpses. Then, she chuckled softly, extended her right hand, and lightly glided it across the fan. A single drop of bright red blood, too painful to look at, fell and merged into the pool of blood at the girl's feet.

"I hope you can hurry up, don't keep me waiting too anxiously."

Angela muttered to herself, then turned and continued walking towards the towering structure standing in the wilderness.

The foul-smelling blood began to flow slowly, as if it possessed its own will, re-entering the already dead corpses.

His stiff fingers began to bend, and a glaring crimson light flashed in his lifeless eyes.

"Boom!"

The tightly closed gate was struck by an invisible force, shattering with a tremendous roar. This loud noise also alerted the mages inside the tower. Compared to the unaware and panicked guards, these high-ranking mages wore solemn expressions.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.

Accompanied by hurried footsteps, dozens of low- and mid-level mages guarding the Sealing Tower immediately arrived at the hall from which the loud noise had originated. They were fully armed, their bodies wreathed in magical aura, and their hands ready to unleash attack spells at any moment. Years of training had honed these mages into powerful individual forces, but when they attacked together, the damage they inflicted was so great that even high-level mages could not withstand it head-on.

When the fully armed mages guarding the Sealing Tower arrived at the hall, the scene before them left these rigorously trained mages speechless with astonishment.

Inside the clean hall, apart from the broken door panels, there was only a petite girl. There were no signs of a battle, nor any indication that any magic was being cast.

Where are the Templar Knights guarding the outer perimeter?

Where are the mages guarding the outer perimeter?

Almost everyone harbors this question deep within their hearts. For a long time, the strongest guardians of the Sealing Tower were not these mages, but the Templar Knights. They were responsible not only for preventing outsiders from invading, but also for guarding the mages inside to prevent them from stealing from their own comrades. Therefore, these Templar Knights were the strongest of the highest ranks.

But why are they nowhere to be seen?

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Facing the mages surrounding her, the girl chuckled softly, then held up her fingers and counted them off one by one.

"One, two, three, four, five... So many people! I didn't expect there to be so many mages. It seems what Master said was true."

"..."

The girl was strange, so unusual that the mages were at a loss as to how to deal with her. If she had even the slightest hostility, they should have attacked by now. She stood quietly, casually counting heads—what was going on? Moreover, there was absolutely no sign of any defensive spells on her. Just who was she?

"Alright, let's begin."

Ignoring the doubts in the monks' hearts, Angela snapped her folding fan shut.

"You slaves who submit to me, destroy everything before you!"

"..."

A deep roar resounded, not only outside the door but also outside the window. At first glance, it sounded eerily like being surrounded by a thousand troops. What was even more chilling was that although it was a roar, it contained only the mournful cries of death and despair.

"Attack! Attack!!"

Finally, unable to bear the strange atmosphere any longer, one of the mages quickly gave the order. Soon, several pre-prepared attack spells shot out from the mages' hands. Faced with such dense magical firepower, if the little girl did not make any defensive move, then a single round of bombardment would be enough to turn her into ashes.

Fireballs, Chain Lightning, sound waves, and all sorts of forces exploded around Angela, scattering in all directions.