In the pitch-black night, only a cold, silver crescent moon hung high in the sky.
Mages, dressed in blood-patterned black robes, stood on flying brooms, looking down at the somewhat silent village below, a chilling wind blowing with boundless coldness.
Bai En and Lily, Uncle Balo's daughter, were chatting animatedly. Fragil, beside them, puffed out her cheeks like a little hamster, constantly shoveling food into her mouth, only occasionally glancing at the two. Seeing that they weren't paying attention to her, she refocused on eating.
"I hadn't noticed before, but what are these colorful sprinkles? They smell so good, sprinkled on the fried meat... It tastes really great."
"Chopped bell peppers... Hmm... That's an edible plant I found outside Hage Village. It's slightly spicy, and when dried and ground into a powder, it becomes very fragrant, and it also enhances the flavor of food."
"Bell peppers? The spiciness is similar to green chilies... but it lacks that fresh aroma. A plant found outside Hage Village? That's truly amazing."
Lily then pointed to the stir-fried mushrooms and vegetables in front of her, "What about this? I tried making it this way before, but it's completely incomparable... Why is yours so delicious?"
Aside from Jackey, Bai En rarely met people who asked how a dish was made. Most just focused on enjoying the food. As a chef, he was happy to answer guests' questions and share how a dish was made; it gave him an extra sense of satisfaction.
Just as he was about to answer, unusual magical power surged from outside the house. Bai En turned to look out the window. Sparks lit up the blurry darkness outside the glass, and an explosion boomed.
The sudden commotion made Lily jump to her feet. She looked at the flickering flames: "Oh no! This is... someone is attacking the village!"
No sooner had her words fallen than the tightly shut wooden door inside the house burst into splinters with a "bang," and a sharp, blood-red spider blade extended in from outside.
The extended blood-red spider blade embedded itself into the gray-black wall, and tiny gravel fell, forming a fist-sized hole.
Two figures in blood-patterned black robes entered the house.
"Who are you?" Lily looked at the two ill-intentioned individuals. The grimoire floating beside her had already begun to slowly turn its pages. Seemingly worried about Bai En and Fragil beside her, she said in a very soft voice: "There's a back door behind the house. You two go first, find my father. I'll hold them off for now."
That sounded quite strange.
Since joining the Magic Knights, Bai En had mostly been the one saving others. Now... for someone else to say that to him, it felt a bit awkward.
"Are you sure you... will be okay?"
"Don't worry, last year I went to the Royal Capital to participate in the Magic Knight selection. Although I wasn't chosen, I'm definitely much stronger than you travelers who just wander around."
"..."
Bai En hesitated, wondering if he should say anything more. The two figures in blood-patterned black robes who had entered the house took off their hoods and started conversing. The one on the left had a buzz cut, slightly dark skin, and a sturdy build. His name was "Monroe."
The one on the right looked younger, with a head of curly hair and a few pimples on both cheeks. His eyes were gloomy, and his gaze, as he swept over Lily and Fragil, was filled with lust. This person was named "Dyuer."
"Didn't the boss say to capture one woman from inside? Now there are two in the house, which one do we take?" Monroe asked Dyuer in a muffled voice.
"Idiot."
Dyuer licked his lips. "Of course, we take both women. I didn't expect to find two beauties in a place like this. It looks like we can enjoy ourselves thoroughly before leaving."
"What about the man?"
"According to the usual rules, he should be killed, but today, well, we'll tie him up first, and after we're done, we'll take him away with the two women..."
The two talked freely, completely disregarding Lily and Bai En inside the house.
Seizing the moment when Monroe and Dyuer let their guard down, Lily took the opportunity to attack: "Flame Magic, Dancing Flame Fists."
The appearance of Flame Magic caused the surrounding temperature to rise. Fist-shaped flames slammed into Monroe and Dyuer from all directions. The flame fists that struck them exploded a second time with "bang bang" sounds.
Scattered sparks flew and ignited.
"It hit!" Lily looked at Monroe and Dyuer, who were engulfed in a sea of fire, a smile spreading across her face. It seemed her sneak attack was successful. Good, next up... "Blood Spider Magic, Spider Blade's Protection."
"Blood Rhino Magic, Rhino's Blood Armor."
Eight blood-red spider blades enveloped Dyuer, and a scarlet hide armor appeared on Monroe. The flames were blocked by their defensive magic, and they suffered no harm.
A long, blood-red spider blade extended from the sea of fire, its sharp, cold gleam slashing towards Lily. Lily dodged sideways. The spider blade slashed down, lightly cutting the dining table and landing on the ground. With a "crack," the dining table split in half.
A deep slash mark also appeared on the ground.
Monroe rushed out of the sea of fire. His heavy "thump-thump" footsteps sounded like a behemoth. His fist, encased in scarlet blood armor, lunged towards Lily's head, the sound of wind rushing into her ears.
"I'm going to die!"
Bai En's magic surged. Just as he was about to make a move, he let out a soft "hmm." He looked up at the wooden beams and tiles on the roof.
A "sizzling" electric current sounded from above.
"Boom!" The tiles collapsed, and a figure wrapped in blue electricity swiftly descended, like a speeding electric arrow. He landed on Monroe's fist, blue lightning and scarlet hide armor continuously colliding.
The downward accelerating gravity caused Monroe's center of gravity to sink, pulling his swung fist down with it, deviating from its original direction. "Tch!"
Monroe snorted and exerted upward force. The figure filled with lightning was lifted into the air. Seizing the opportunity to float, Monroe unleashed another punch, a massive force stirring up a strong wind.
This punch seemed unavoidable.
But... electric arcs flickered in the wind.
The figure wrapped in blue electricity, like a swimming fish in the air, flipped and darted to Monroe's side. With hands clasped, sharp, screaming blue electricity gathered together, and chain-like electrical pulses exploded forward.
"Whoosh, whoosh."
Monroe, struck by the intense electric current, recoiled two steps.
The figure filled with blue electricity landed on the ground, electric arcs flickering in the air. The person revealed was Haddon, the young man who had previously pestered Lily about marriage on the street.
"Don't you dare hurt Miss Lily!"
...'Interesting.'
Watching the boy's performance, Bai En thought to himself. His magic sensing and magical power were both pretty good. Lily had mentioned earlier... he hadn't even obtained a grimoire yet. To be able to repel the enemy at this point was quite impressive.
He had initially thought that he and Asta would be similar on the street, but now it seemed his thoughts were much more subtle than Asta's.
'He's a genius, after all.'
...
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