The One He Finally Met Again

When they saw the three enemy mages turned into corpses, everyone on the wall cheered. Only the woman watched the dark clouds before her uneasily, clearly sensing the power within them.

A high-level mage?

She frowned and could not help gently caressing the staff in her hand.

Then, in the next instant, golden light suddenly appeared around the woman. But before she could do anything further, a ring of light shot out of the dark clouds and encircled her. In the blink of an eye, all the light around her vanished.

Dimensional Anchor.

The woman's heart sank. She tightened her grip on her staff; she had very little power left. That Chain Fireball Explosion had consumed most of what remained, and if this continued, she feared she would not even be able to sustain an attack. In any case, her opponent had thwarted her attempt to escape, so she could only continue fighting. As long as she could defeat him and repel this attack, she would still have time to recover. Otherwise...

"I've finally found you."

A cold, aged voice came from the dark clouds.

"Miss, I didn't go to all this trouble just to let you escape. In fact, I originally intended to invite you, but unfortunately..."

"I'm sorry, but I still have something very important to do."

The woman interrupted the aged voice. Her tone remained calm, but it carried an unwavering resolve.

"Please allow me to decline your invitation."

"Unfortunately, you have no right to refuse."

The dark clouds slowly dispersed, and a chill like the icy wind of Hell spread in all directions. The dreadful wind not only extinguished the burning wall of fire completely, but also made the soldiers shiver. Amid it, a tall, thin figure slowly emerged. He was a gaunt old man, with only the faintest trace of life on his aged face. Flecks of light occasionally flickered across his dull magical robe, showing that it was no ordinary garment. Like the woman, the old man held a staff, though his was almost entirely made of withered wood, and even the gem at its tip was dull and lusterless. But when the woman saw the staff, she could not help trembling.

"Kagir's Death Pursuit..."

"You actually know it? You truly deserve to be called learned and talented."

The old man smiled faintly, slowly turning the staff in his hand.

"However, my old friend can clearly no longer satisfy me. I think I should look for a new weapon."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the golden staff in the woman's hand.

"Perhaps we could make an exchange."

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse your proposal."

The woman took a step back, making it look more like an expression of fear.

"Besides, if the King of Shadow Mages came here merely for such a trivial matter, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to help you."

"This is no trivial matter."

The old man shook his head slightly, his expression growing excited as he regarded the woman with amusement.

"You see, for a mage, it can be quite troublesome not to have a suitable weapon. I've always been searching for a weapon worthy of me, but I've never found one. Not until I heard that rumor... Oh, the fall of the Magic Empire was truly a sorrowful thing. After all, before I came to look like this, I was once a resident there. When the Magic Empire was attacked by those villains, I wasn't able to make it in time..."

"Enough talk!"

The woman angrily slammed her staff down.

"I won't go with you. Please leave at once."

"I told you, I'm not leaving."

The old man smiled faintly, looking just like the god of death.

"Besides, you don't have much power left, do you? You've held on through these long years, all the way until now... I've waited very patiently, but now I can't wait any longer. Your power is nearly exhausted. How many of my spells do you think you can still withstand?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you, you scrawny frog!"

Just then, Angela's voice suddenly rang out. The old man's expression changed drastically, and he quickly retreated as the dark clouds swept around him once more. As a mage, he had to protect himself first at all times; only then could he think of attacking the enemy.

"Who is it?!"

A bright red pentagram suddenly appeared in the dark night sky. Several blood-colored flashes shot out of it, tearing through the clouds in front of the old man. In the next instant, Angela's petite figure appeared beside him. The velvet folding fan in her hand had opened, and, shimmering with a dim blue light, it swept toward him along a strange trajectory. A dull shield quickly spread around the old man, blocking Angela's attack. But just as he raised his staff to counterattack the girl before him, he saw a vicious, wicked smile appear on her face.

"You think a fragile eggshell like this can stop me? You're far too naive."

Blue flames erupted from Angela's velvet folding fan, instantly burning away the old man's shield. In the next moment, her fan snapped shut again and struck him squarely in the chest.

"Argh!!"

The old man had never expected his Shadow Shield to be broken in an instant. Completely unprepared for Angela's frontal attack, he took the blow head-on and was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

"You damned little brat!!"

Even so, the old man was a mage who had lived for many years. Even in this situation, he thrust his staff toward Angela, who still intended to press her advantage. The once-dull gem at its tip began to glow faintly green. The light gathered into a deadly ray that shot toward its target. If Angela was unfortunate enough to be hit, she would be reduced to a pile of dust.

A seven-colored, rainbow-like wall blocked the Disintegrate ray aimed at Angela. After helping defend Angela against the terrifying attack spell, the woman had no strength left to spare. Her legs gave way, and she sank to the ground.

"Die, you old, undying frog!"

The red light in Angela's eyes flared, but in the next instant she quickly rolled backward, retreating. With a helpless and indignant expression, she shouted:

"Master! That's not fair!!"

"Since it's a wager, I naturally have to take it seriously."

Li Lin's voice came from behind the old man. Then the old man felt two palms press against his back. When he heard the man behind him softly chanting an incantation, his expression changed drastically.

"You are..."

"I hope you'll remember this."

With Li Lin's gentle, soft voice, a torrent of magical power rushed into the old man's body, tearing at his soul and his flesh.

"Next time, don't take such an interest in other people's belongings."

Then the old man's figure disappeared. All that remained in Li Lin's hand was a dull crystal, floating slowly above his palm. Inside it, a human face could just be made out, howling in anger and wailing in pain. But Li Lin said nothing more. He waved his hand upward, and the crystal crumbled to dust and vanished.

With the old man's death, the forcibly created planar overlap naturally ended. The Shadow Hounds vanished into thin air once more, as though they had never appeared. All that remained were the corpses—they were already dead, and therefore did not need to obey the rules of the planes.

"You're so crafty!"

"I'm a mage."

Li Lin smiled in response to Angela's pouty protest.

"Not a warrior."

"I used magic too...!"

"Now isn't the time to argue over what we used."

Li Lin spread his hands helplessly.

"Don't forget our wager. You have to accept your loss, right?"

As they spoke, the two landed on the wall. Li Lin reached out and patted Angela's head, and the little one took the hint and fell silent, dropping any further discussion of his earlier "cheating." Looking at the woman before him, wrapped in a cloak and supporting herself with her staff, Li Lin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and went to her side. Sensing someone approach, the woman hurriedly used her staff to stand, then bowed slightly to Li Lin in thanks.

"Thank you for your assistance, I..."

She did not finish. The moment she saw Li Lin, she stood rooted to the spot, unable to make another sound. Li Lin reached out and took her small hand, pale from gripping her staff too tightly, and spoke softly and gently.

"I'm back, Nia."

"...Luoxia? Luoxia!!"

The woman stared blankly at Li Lin. Then, in the next instant, she threw her arms around the man before her and burst into tears.

"Where did you go?! Why could I never find you? After all these years, I thought I'd never see you again! Where on earth did you go?! Luoxia... Luoxia..."

"I'm sorry..."

Li Lin held the woman tightly and stroked her hair. Angela watched the scene with interest from the side, then narrowed her eyes and lifted the orders on the two sisters through mental communication, telling them to come to the wall at once to watch the show. She then turned her gaze to the crowd nearby and noticed the young man standing among the soldiers, his face ashen.

"Heh heh heh, pathetic male, you actually wanted to compete with Master for a woman? Trash with no lower limit to its stupidity really is foolish."

After quite a while, with Li Lin comforting her softly, the woman he had called Nia gradually stopped crying and stood upright again.

"Luoxia, I..."

"Miss."

At that moment, the young mayor could no longer contain himself. He pushed his way out of the crowd and stood before them.

"May I ask who this man is to you?"

His face was ashen, and his tone was stiff as he asked. Nia was somewhat displeased by his tone. She quickly moved to Li Lin's side and gently linked her arm through his.

"He's the person I've been looking for, Jieka. I searched for so long, and finally found him..."

"No! He's a liar!!"

The young mayor could bear it no longer and interrupted Nia.

"He's just someone who looks a lot like the person you're looking for. No, perhaps he deliberately made himself look like this to deceive you! Miss! How could you...!"

"Clap... clap... clap..."

The crisp sound of applause rang out at this inopportune moment, startling everyone. They turned to see Angela looking at the mayor with a mocking smile, without a trace of sympathy in it, only cruelty and ridicule.

"Go on, keep weaving your excuses, pathetic human. You're nothing but expired goods to be thrown away after use anyway, so go on barking here like a beaten dog. Your desolate screams are very pleasing to my ears."

"You little bastard-"

The mayor was furious. Just as he opened his mouth to curse her, Angela's gaze suddenly sharpened. The poor boy felt those blood-red eyes staring at him like a venomous snake. Clearly, if he continued, he might not keep his life.

At that moment, Nia slowly spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Jieka."

She calmly looked at the man before her.

"I know how you feel, and I know... everything you've done all this time. But I'm sorry, we can't be together. You're a good man, and you'll find a woman more suited to you than I am."

The young mayor stepped back, feeling as though a heavy hammer had struck his chest. He stared at the woman before him in disbelief, then looked at Li Lin and nodded, his face ashen.

"Fine, very good, excellent...!"

With that, he turned, walked into the crowd, and left without looking back.