Chapter 389: Encirclement
Solitär-Flamme.
According to intelligence, that female mage with black hair and black eyes had followed Rhodes and Serie for years, responsible for handling the daily affairs of the Association.
The specific time of her appearance was untraceable, but someone had boldly speculated that she might be an existence from the same era as Flamme. However, few people acknowledged this conjecture.
But now, as time passed, this speculation became increasingly probable.
After all, the mage named Solitär-Flamme seemed never to age.
A mage who had once studied and worked in the Association, but failed to become a Second-Class Mage in his lifetime, eventually left the Association and returned to the South. Once, while drunk, he inadvertently mentioned:
Thirty years ago, when he saw Lady Solitär-Flamme, she was young and beautiful. Thirty years later, when he saw her again, her appearance hadn't changed a bit.
At first, no one believed it. After all, elves hardly aged, and some special races aged very slowly. What if she belonged to another race?
But as more people probed for information about her, they suddenly realized that the mage named Solitär-Flamme was clearly human.
Subsequently, more evidence began to accumulate.
Someone dug up earlier records. Eighty or even a hundred years ago, there was indeed a mage named Solitär-Flamme in the Association, also with black hair and black eyes.
She didn't age. She must have used immortality magic!
This inference spread like wildfire in the southern mage circles.
Since the existence named Solitär-Flamme could use it, it meant the God-slayer Rhodes indeed mastered complete immortality magic and could bestow it on those around him.
Although they didn't know why he hadn't given it to the Great Mage Flamme, the people blinded by greed had no time to ponder this point, as their minds were filled with the temptation of eternal life.
If Solitär-Flamme could use it, why couldn't they?
"That woman." The old man at the head of the table spoke slowly, his tone carrying a hint of apprehension. "I cannot see through her strength. Her mana fluctuation appears on the surface to be just that of an ordinary First-Class Mage, but such ordinariness is sometimes the most abnormal."
Even for mages of ordinary races, living for a few hundred years would make them Great Mages. Ordinary mages couldn't possibly be their match, let alone a human with superior talent.
Even for existences with better talent like demons, living for a few hundred years would qualify them as Great Demons. Even a First-Class Mage would find it hard to match them in single combat.
"Could it be... she isn't actually human?"
Someone whispered this guess, but it was immediately rejected.
"Impossible." A female mage sitting beside the old man shook her head. Her eyes were a grey-blue hue containing a trace of mana fluctuation—clearly an aftereffect of some elemental magic.
"I have been in close contact with her and even seen her cast magic. She has no characteristics of other races. Moreover, the Holy Magic she casts is difficult for ordinary races other than humans to research deeply."
"As expected, she is human. A human bestowed with immortality magic by Rhodes..." a mage sighed with emotion, his tone full of envy.
In this era, Holy Magic had become a signature magic of the human race.
Legend had it that in the Mythical Era, Holy Magic was mastered by very few races. But the God-slayer Rhodes and the Holy King Norne obtained the original scriptures of Holy Magic from the Sky-Winged through some unknown means and deciphered them.
Then, they compiled the deciphered Holy Magic into the first grimoire of humanity, allowing all future humans to learn this powerful magic.
Other races didn't have this advantage.
Especially since the Sky-Winged left this world, the only way for other races to learn Holy Magic was to learn from humans.
Therefore, seeing the Holy Magic Solitär-Flamme cast and the holy aura on her, everyone naturally regarded her as a fellow human.
They naturally didn't know that the disguise on Solitär-Flamme was personally placed by Rhodes.
That man's magical attainment had long surpassed the scope of mortal understanding. Let alone them, even if the legendary Goddess descended personally, she might not be able to see through that disguise immediately.
But they didn't need to know the truth. They only needed to believe "Solitär-Flamme is human, and she does not age."
And this fact was enough to support them betting everything.
"She stays in the Magic Association and rarely goes out; ignore her for now. How are the arrangements for Serie's other disciples?"
Not only Frieren and Ela, but even Serie's other disciples were within the scope of their plan.
Of course, they dared not touch those still by Serie's side in the Magic Association, but they dared to act against those traveling abroad for study.
"We have mobilized forty-seven Third-Class Mages and six Second-Class Mages. According to the plan, they will attempt to capture them alive first. If resistance is too fierce—"
"Dead or alive doesn't matter." The old man interrupted him. "Alive is better, but dead works too. If Serie cares about these apprentices, even corpses can become bargaining chips."
"Speaking of which, what about the demon beside Frieren?"
Suddenly, someone remembered the demon beside Frieren. After all, if not for her, they wouldn't have had such a good excuse to issue Wanted Orders for Frieren in several kingdoms.
"Just dispose of it casually. A demon mixing with humans is a joke."
Not long after, on a plain.
Frieren stood in the center of an encirclement of twenty-seven mages. Because her mana was leaking out, her white twin-tails rose high, and the overflow of mana concentration around her even caused a faint halo to linger.
"Ms. Frieren," an old man at the front of the encirclement stepped forward slowly, "we have no hostility. We just hope you will come with us."
Frieren looked at him. Embroidered on his mage robe was a badge—clearly, he was a First-Class Mage certified by the Continental Magic Association.
She remembered that every First-Class Mage badge required Rhodes to leave a mana imprint, which would only dissipate upon the holder's death, ensuring the badge couldn't be stolen by other mages.
In other words, the person hunting her down right now had once stood before Rhodes, receiving his acknowledgment and blessing.
"I have no hostility either." She repeated the old man's words. "But you do."
Seeing Frieren showed no sign of giving up resistance, the old man raised his hand, and the encirclement began to tighten immediately.
"Can you fly?" Frieren asked Aura beside her.
"Of course not! I don't have wings!" Aura snapped.
Since learning that they weren't wanted because of her, Aura spoke much tougher, clearly forgetting the scene where she knelt and begged for mercy in front of Frieren not long ago.
"Is that so?" Frieren said flatly. "Then try hard to survive!"
Then she unfolded a flight magic circle, and her entire body flew directly into the sky. Seeing Frieren fly high, many mages in the encirclement also cast flight magic, leaving only some mages who couldn't fly to continue surrounding Aura.
Looking at the dozen mages surrounding her, especially seeing the blatantly obvious killing intent on their faces, Aura's expression froze instantly.
On the other side, high in the sky, the few people who caught up to Frieren first activated a preset barrier spell. Fine golden lines appeared on the sky dome like an inverted giant net, preventing Frieren from breaking out immediately.
Others were responsible for the main attack, but they didn't strike immediately. Instead, they approached slowly, constantly shrinking Frieren's range of movement.
A textbook joint capture formation, usually used against demons, was now being used against her.
Frieren raised her staff slowly, feeling only a sense of trouble.
And the battle entered a white-hot stage in the very first instant.
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