Panic, Slaughter, and Death

The sun rose above the horizon once more. No one noticed any difference in the Saint Rolante City compared to usual. Only the long-time residents would sense it. There seemed to be an unusually large number of paladins patrolling the streets today, their expressions serious and tense as they watched their surroundings. However, this had no effect on the ordinary residents.

"Hey, don't you think the security for this meeting seems unusually tight?"

Not only were the residents puzzled, but the paladins were too. Although they had carried out similar security missions many times before, this one seemed exceptionally strict. Not only were the paladins explicitly ordered to prohibit anyone from approaching the Five-Nation Alliance's convoy, but they were also instructed to be on alert for any suspicious individuals. Including the city's garrison, almost all of Saint Rolante City's troops had been mobilized today to ensure the smooth running of this conference. In the eyes of these paladins, such strict precautions were less about guarding against enemies and more about demonstrating military strength.

What on earth is the Temple thinking?

Complaining aside, the task still needs to be completed properly.

Just as the paladins were about to resume their patrol along the original route, they suddenly saw a tall, thin man approaching with a little girl dressed in elaborate attire. The man appeared very young, no more than twenty years old, but his face was unusually gloomy. In the sunlight, his long, black robes seemed to have faintly visible characters floating on them. The little girl beside him had long, silver-white hair and was as delicate and beautiful as a porcelain doll.

Stop what you're doing, stranger.

The paladins immediately stepped forward, blocking their path, while gripping their longswords tightly at their waists.

"This is a restricted area. No one is permitted to enter. Please leave immediately!"

It seems the defenses here are quite tight.

Li Lin gazed at the magnificent Temple complex before him, forcibly suppressing his inner excitement, and looked at the paladins in front of him.

"Angela? It's the same as the one I ordered, is there no problem?"

"Please rest assured and entrust this to me, Master."

Before the leading paladin could even react to what the two were saying, he felt a chill on his chest, and then something that should have been used to sustain his life was brutally snatched away.

"He's just a piece of trash of this caliber; perfect for killing time."

Gazing at the faintly beating heart in her palm, Angela gently licked her lips, then with a slight exertion, completely extinguished the heart's last resistance. Immediately afterward, the paladin's body collapsed to the ground, his armor striking the hard earth with a resounding thud.

Only then did the other paladins react. They knew that while their purpose was to prevent such incidents, they had never seen anyone dare to openly attack a patrol in broad daylight, especially by a girl who looked as delicate and petite as a doll. This was utterly unheard of.

However, the paladins' arduous training soon yielded results. As the first victim fell, the rest drew their weapons and charged at the two men with shouts. Facing the paladins charging towards him, Li Lin kept his eyes fixed ahead, then walked towards the gate. Angela, on the other hand, covered her mouth with her folding fan, watching the approaching paladins as if they were a pack of harmless wild dogs.

"Please rest assured and leave the problems here to me, Master. Have a safe journey."

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

Without turning his head, Li Lin extended his right thumb, and Angela playfully responded with a V sign. Just then, the paladins, noticing that Li Lin was heading towards the direction they were guarding, immediately parted off to shift their focus.

"Quickly, stop that man! Sound the alarm..."

A paladin who was turning to charge at Li Lin and issuing orders was abruptly stopped before he could finish speaking, as if his head had been choked. Angela, who had appeared above him at some unknown time, had shoved his head into the floor. The pressure was so immense that his eyeballs were squeezed out. After rolling twice on the ground, he was then crushed under a stomp.

"Your opponent is me..."

Angela withdrew her blood-soaked right hand, not even glancing at the shattered corpse that was twitching only due to reflexes.

"... Bring it on, you lowly commoners! See if you are good enough to amuse me."

"Evil monster!!"

With the paladins' roars, holy light seeped from their longswords, enveloping their weapons. Angela let out a cold, cruel, and excited laugh, then transformed into a streak of red lightning, plunging towards the unfortunate lambs.

The attack on the Temple was quickly reported, and the paladins patrolling the area immediately returned to its aid. The fact that the enemy dared to launch a direct attack without fear of their military might was a heavy slap in the face for both the Temple and the paladins. Anger, rage, and a host of other emotions drove the paladins to ride back to their aid.

"Make way, make way, make way!!"

The residents on the street watched in astonishment as the usually mild-mannered paladins suddenly turned violent, urging their horses to gallop past in a rage, creating an atmosphere unlike any other. But just as the residents were wondering what had caused the paladins to be so angry, a faint light suddenly flashed across the sky.

Tiny green lights enveloped the paladins like a torrential downpour, piercing their bodies with sharp green arrows before they could even unleash their divine power. Powerless, the paladins and their horses collapsed to the ground, tumbling and crashing in all directions.

The crowd erupted in chaos. No one knew what had happened. They only witnessed the paladins being pierced by a rain of light and then dying tragically. No one knew what had actually occurred; they simply cried and ran, fleeing this horrible place. Not a single person noticed that on a rooftop not far away, an elf sat lazily, his bow slung across his shoulder.

"Ugh... this is so troublesome. Seriously, why do I have to run so much? I'm not a knight... can't I do something easier? Is there any pay? Why am I working so hard...?"

Kalin grumbled helplessly, while her eyes cautiously scanned her surroundings. Then, her long, thin ears twitched slightly, and Kalin stood up again.

"This time it's the South Gate... Ugh, let's finish this quickly, I'm exhausted."

Muttering tedious complaints, the elf vanished again.

"I believe everyone has already seen our intelligence materials."

Inside the solemn conference hall of the Temple, the representatives of the Five-Nation Alliance were solemnly staring at the documents in their hands. Meanwhile, the vice president of the Mages' Association, sitting in the center, was sweating profusely.

"There's no doubt that the sealed Seven Ring Spirit Envoys been taken from us, and they haven't shown any resistance. This is something none of us have been able to do before."

"So, based on the Mages' Association's opinion, you believe that the person who took the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys is from the Magic Empire?"

Kudel's Minister of Military Affairs gave a disdainful sneer.

"What a joke! We all know perfectly well that the Magic Empire has perished! It's been a thousand years, a thousand years! Are you trying to say that their ghosts appeared and stole the sealed weapons?"

We didn't say that.

Seeing that things were going badly, the representative of the Mages' Association also turned serious. Since things had already come to this point, they might as well go all out.

"We've simply provided you with all the information available regarding the attack on the Sealing Tower. How you interpret it is up to you."

"What did you say? You cunning creature, who do you think allowed a bunch of despicable, shameless, and insidious evil mages to live on this continent? Maybe you yourselves are the ones stealing from each other? Magic Empire? Hahaha, you wouldn't be thinking of building your own Magic Empire, would you?"

"This kind of joke shouldn't be taken lightly."

Seated on the other side of the round table, the Minister of Intelligence of the Vila Federation, who had remained silent since the beginning of the meeting, finally spoke up, interrupting the Minister of Military Affairs, Kudel.

"In the past, we might have taken it as a joke. But I think everyone here is well aware of the strange events that occurred in the Capital of the Magic Empire before the attack on the Sealing Tower. That disaster turned the entire central region into a catastrophe, and to this day, we still cannot confirm exactly what happened."

"Are you saying the Magic Empire has really returned?"

I didn't say that.

The intelligence minister shook his head. As an official in charge of intelligence management, how could he be so foolish as to give others something to criticize?

"However, Capital of the Magic Empire and the attack on the Sealing Tower were related to the Magic Empire. Therefore, I believe that even if this incident wasn't caused by the Magic Empire, it is still related to them. I suggest that our five nations jointly send an investigation team to investigate these events and draw a complete conclusion before taking any action."

"But at the same time, I also demand that measures be taken against the Magic Association, after all, these mages are also..."

"How could you slander the Mages' Association like this without any basis!"

"However, the facts do prove..."

"But without the help of a mage, how can we investigate these matters related to magic?"

"I suggest..."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became noisy. In fact, no one accepted this conclusion. After all, the Magic Empire had been destroyed for nearly a thousand years. Unless solid evidence was presented, the Five-Nation Alliance would never believe that the Magic Empire could truly be resurrected. On the contrary, many people believed that this incident was entirely the work of the Mages' Association itself. They argued that the preferential treatment given to mages should be immediately revoked, and that they should be made to disappear from this continent completely, just like the mages of a thousand years ago.

"I suggest that the Temple should immediately dispatch Templar Knights to slay these evil mages and prevent them from threatening the peace of the entire continent!"

"How can you say that? Our Mages' Association has been established since..."

In response to Minister of Military Affairs Kudel's words, the representative of the Mages' Association began a fierce rebuttal, but before he could finish speaking, he froze on the spot.

At the same time, the air suddenly changed.

"Yes, someone has cast a barrier!"

"Why?"

Everyone was shocked by the statement from the representative of the Mages' Association. This was a secret meeting, with the highest levels of security and secrecy. How could such a problem have occurred? A protective barrier? Where did it come from? Where are the guards? Why didn't anyone report this?

Just then, the heavy conference room doors slowly opened.

"Greetings, envoys from the Five-Nation Alliance."

Then, Li Lin appeared at the doorway.

"Who are you!"

The sudden appearance of the strange man made everyone present feel uneasy. Who was he? Why was he here? Only the black-clad swordsman stared dumbfounded at Li Lin. As someone who had met him several times before, Dick naturally understood that the appearance of this man couldn't be anything good—although he himself didn't know Li Lin's true identity. However, why wasn't the white-haired girl who was always by Li Lin's side seen?

"I'm very unhappy with my tone towards you..."

Li Lin spoke calmly, glancing at the man who had just questioned him.

"... However, I'll still reluctantly introduce myself. Hello, nice to meet you all. I am Luoxia Cathe Ellan, the thirteenth 'Dominator' among the Arcane Mage of the Five-Nation Alliance. I think you all know now why I'm here."

"Hmph, nonsense!"

Another person slammed his fist on the table and stood up. He was wearing sturdy armor and had a murderous look on his face.

"The Magic Empire has been extinct for a thousand years. Arcane Mage were all wiped out by the Five Heroes long ago. Where did you come from, you imposter? You only know a little magic. Do you really think you are...?"

The man didn't finish his sentence, because at that moment, a large, transparent hand gripped his neck tightly.

"The Five Heroes?"

Li Lin gave a cold laugh.

"You mean that bitch Catherine and her four lackeys?"

"You are not allowed to insult Her Highness!"

"You must not insult our great heroes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone could no longer remain seated; they all stood up and roared angrily.

"What you call heroes, I see as nothing more than barbaric invaders. However, I think we cannot agree on this point."

As he spoke, Li Lin snapped his fingers.

With a piercing scream, the man seized by the Mage Hand was easily decapitated, his foul-smelling blood spurting out and scattering across the surrounding walls and floor. Faced with this unimaginable horrific scene, everyone was speechless for a moment, until the Temple's bishop broke the silence, trembling, and asked a question.

"What... what exactly do you want?"

Actually, I don't want anything to happen either.

As he spoke, Li Lin opened the Eternal Library in his hand and replied casually with a calm and natural expression.

"I just want you all to die here."