Vanessa stared at Qin Wei in shock. "Multiple elemental affinities? No, that's impossible. Only the cultivators with the potential to reach the grandmaster stage have the ability to awaken multiple elements. And Master Icarus is just a plainfolk. Did he possess some artifact?"
She clenched her fists, still watching the battle in silence. "Still, the nobleman that this lecherous young lord just offended at is rank-7! He will kill Icarus if he gets serious… I need to be ready to protect him."
Meanwhile, Qin Wei halted for a beat, staring at the group.
Three more guards stepped forward with their weapons unsheathed, and their killing intent was visible to everyone.
The noble in silk robes, face youthful but eyes arrogant, curled his lip and scoffed. "So you are not some trash, after all. But don't think you're some hero now because you knocked down one dog…"
He continued. "I don't know who this wench is to you, but I've taken a liking to her. I'll have her either way." He then glanced at Vanessa, who was standing far away, and commented. "Now that I think about it, the girl with you doesn't seem bad."
At that comment, Qin Wei was irked even more. Originally, he didn't care about the girl. Yes, he would help someone in trouble, but not to the point of sticking his neck out for them. The only reason he acted aloud was just that this was a system event, and an opportunity to earn both money and fame.
With the crowd gathered around, it is the best chance to earn a positive reputation. And above all, Vanessa was watching. She might have embarrassed him earlier, but he was confident that she would intervene if things turned lethal.
But his comment on someone whom he considers a trusted acquaintance made Qin Wei angry just for that moment.
Qin Wei decided to beat them up at all costs. Thinking it through, he shot forward without another word.
Meanwhile, the three guards rushed in together. Qin Wei's eyes flared once more. The world slowed in his eyes.
He saw their blades dance in projected arcs, and he could see them as clearly as the sky on a day.
With a duck beneath the first slash, Qin Wei turned smoothly on his heel and twisted behind the attacker's back, before driving his elbow into the guard's spine.
The second guard came from the left. Qin Wei crouched and swept his legs, then pivoted and drove his fist into the man's gut, sending him into the cobblestones gasping.
The third hesitated a bit, and Qin Wei's palms shot forward at the same time, blasting him away; his body flew midair before he slammed into the ground.
Gasps rang out from the onlookers now forming a circle around the scene.
Even Vanessa blinked in surprise.
The three swordsmen groaned as they got up. Because Qin Wei's physical strength isn't that strong in the first place. Hence, they didn't suffer any injuries.
Taking breaths, they picked up their weapons with ease and lunged forward again. "Raaa..."
This time, Qin Wei didn't retreat.
Instead, he dropped low like a crouching beast, slamming his palms against the cobblestones with a sharp crack.
"Activate, Ground Current Skill!"
At once, a ripple of electric energy pulsed out from his hands and danced across the stone surface. The lightning energy surged beneath the guards' feet, and in an instant, their bodies convulsed and were paralyzed mid-attack.
Their eyes widened in shock as their muscles seized, swords suspended in mid-air. The paralysis wasn't deeply damaging, but for those crucial 2-4 seconds, they were frozen in place, open targets for Qin Wei.
Qin Wei's lips curved into a cold smirk as he stood straight. "Activate, Lightning Dragon Barrage Skill!"
The air shimmered, and with a blinding flash, three serpentine lightning dragons flew out of his body, each one as long as a man, with their bodies filled with crackling arcs of intense electric currents.
"Die…"
With a sharp thrust of his hand forward, the dragons roared and struck.
Each lightning serpent slammed into a target.
"Argh…"
The first collapsed with a scream, shattering his armor apart.
"Jaaaaa"
The second twitched violently with smoke curling from his mouth as he slammed into a cart.
Gggh
The third tried to scream but only managed a croak as an electric current burst through his body, tossing him backward like a rag doll.
As the light faded, all three were seen on the ground in an unconscious state, with their bodies spasming occasionally, charred and barely breathing.
Meanwhile, the street had gone silent at once.
"Dismiss, Heaven's Eye."
Qin Wei slowly exhaled, shutting his eyes. As he opened after a second, his eyes returned to normal, leaving only mild exhaustion in his body.
Watching the scene, the noble who started all this looked beet-red, in embarrassment and anger, while several gazes shifted to him as if they were wondering what he would do. "You… you… How dare you touch my men? Do you even know who I am?" he spat. The nobleman couldn't sense a shred of mana in this mysterious expert's body, and yet his four subordinates were defeated in a matter of seconds. As he couldn't gauge his opponent's true strength, the nobleman could only resort to using his family as a threat.
Qin Wei, however, didn't flinch a bit. Instead, he stared at the man with a blank face and asked plainly. "Who are you?"
Then, a brief pause later, he continued, "And why should I care about your identity when you're forcing yourself on a woman in public? Even if you were an imperial prince, you still deserve a beating."
The crowd, which had quietly gathered from the nearby stalls and shops, murmured in surprise.
A few heads nodded in quiet agreement.
After all, Ashenford was still a cultured place. A noble teasing a commoner girl can be ignored, but such open acts of coercion wouldn't sit well with common folk either, especially when someone stood up for the victims.
But inside, Qin Wei was calculating as he had already deactivated the ocular ability, "I only have two techniques to use. One is the Ripple Drift, which can be used to escape, and the other is the Celestial Sword of Destiny, which can be used to trap the enemies, but I can stop him for 5 seconds. I just hope this noble-looking bastard was as weak as his guards. If he is stronger, I'm done. I can only take the beating and appear noble, depending on Vanessa to save me. That will be enough to earn some reputation in the public, like I'm weak, but I still stood for what was right.
At the same time, Vanessa became tense. She clenched her fists tightly, her gaze was its finest, sharp. The moment this noble makes a move on Qin Wei, she will interfere.