"Ryoma!"
Lily recognized him and cried out in surprise.
"Who are you?!" Scarface roared in shock and anger, "A Magic Knight?!"
Damn it! The intel didn't say there would be Magic Knights here.
"Who cares who he is! Let's all go and kill him!" A person next to him roared, his body erupting with wind magic.
Wind Magic: Wind Blade Dance!
Dozens of green wind blades, covering the sky, swept towards Ryoma.
Ryoma looked at the wind blades, not even bothering to lift an eyelid. He just slowly raised one hand.
"Too noisy."
"Eternal Ice Coffin."
The moment the words fell.
Boom!
A terrifying cold air, a hundred times more intense than before, exploded from Ryoma.
On the ground, thick ice layers spread wildly, like a white tide, instantly engulfing the entire courtyard.
The dozens of sharp wind blades, the moment they touched the cold air, were frozen into ice shards, clattering to the ground and shattering into pieces.
And the four attackers who were about to rush up didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were instantly frozen in this extreme cold current.
Running, casting spells, or in terror... all expressions, all movements, were perfectly frozen within the crystal clear ice sculpture.
The entire courtyard, except for where Lily and Ryoma stood, had transformed into a world of ice sculpture.
The world was quiet again.
Ryoma slowly lowered his hand, walked to the still-shaken Lily, and showed a comforting smile. "Long time no see, sister Lily. Are you alright?"
"Ryoma... I... I'm fine."
Lily looked at the ice sculpture around her, still a little slow to react,
"These are..."
"Just a small problem, already solved." Ryoma said casually.
He turned his head and looked towards the village entrance, his gaze deepening. "Yuno should be back soon, but he might have encountered some trouble on the way."
He turned back to Lily and said seriously, "You and the priest should stay in the church with the children, don't go anywhere. This is the safest place right now."
With these rogues who planned to kidnap Lily, Salim's last trump card was gone.
Then next...
Ryoma's lips curved into a cold arc.
It was time to meet those guys ambushing on the road.
—
Above a forest somewhere on the border of the Clover Kingdom, a group of four was flying forward at a steady speed.
Leading the way was Klaus of Golden Dawn. He pushed up his glasses as usual, his expression serious.
On either side were Yuno and Mimosa and protected in the middle was Salim Hapshass.
"Yuno!"
Salim actively greeted Yuno, moving closer, a perfectly appropriate smile on his face.
"Joining the strongest Golden Dawn at such a young age, and possessing a four-leaf grimoire. Soon your name will spread throughout the entire country."
Yuno just responded faintly, without any extra words. He didn't like such meaningless flattery.
Salim didn't feel awkward and continued to speak to himself, "I heard that the forest ahead often has thieves. This escort mission is truly hard work for everyone."
His tone was full of worry, but deep in his eyes, a trace of undetectable excitement and malice flashed.
Soon.
It was almost at the designated location.
He was already eager to see how this country bumpkin, who had stolen everything that should have belonged to him, would be in a sorry state under the siege of the thieves, and finally die in despair.
The group quickly flew into the forest where thieves were said to be active.
However, the forest was strangely quiet, not even a bird call or insect chirp could be heard. The wind rustling through the leaves only made the place seem more dead silent.
Salim's smile gradually became harder to maintain.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
According to the plan, the desperadoes he hired should have been ambushed here already.
Why was there no movement at all?
He began to grow anxious, constantly looking around, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Klaus noticed the anomaly. He stopped his broom, hovering in mid-air, his brow tightly furrowed. "Strange, why is it so quiet here?"
Yuno also stopped, seemingly on alert.
"Klaus-senpai, something is wrong," Yuno said in a deep voice.
Just then—
Swoosh!
A streak of light shot up from the forest below them, stopping precisely in front of the four, blocking their path.
The newcomer wore a black Magic Knight Squad cloak, with a ferocious black bull's head printed on it.
"Black Bull?!"
Klaus's face instantly darkened as he recognized the newcomer's attire.
He adjusted his glasses, his tone full of displeasure and arrogance. "Are you a member of the Black Bulls? Who allowed you to appear here without permission? We are on a Golden Dawn mission, get out of my way at once."
In his opinion, this was just another rude and disrespectful Black Bulls member, foolishly coming to cause trouble.
However, the figure ignored his shouting.
Ryoma hovered in mid-air, not even glancing at Klaus.
His gaze passed over everyone, falling directly on the noble youth whose face had already begun to whiten.
Salim's heart skipped a beat the moment he saw Ryoma appear. A very ominous premonition instantly enveloped his entire body.
Then, he heard the Black Bulls member, in a tone so bland it was almost cold, announce a fact to him, and to everyone. "Your accomplices, including those who went to the church, have all been frozen by me."
Ryoma's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.
"..."
Klaus's words, which he was preparing to continue his reprimand with, were abruptly caught in his throat.
Accomplices?
Frozen?
So the mission itself was problematic after all.
Mimosa's eyes widened, her face full of confusion and bewilderment.
The moment Yuno heard these words, his golden pupils suddenly constricted.
Almost immediately, he understood the meaning of Ryoma's words.
He slowly turned his head, his face no longer calm, replaced by extreme coldness.
He looked at Salim, speaking word by word, "You also sent people... to Hage?"
Boom!
These words, for Klaus and Mimosa, were no less than another bolt from the blue.
Hage! That seemed to be where Yuno grew up.
Salim's expression instantly changed.
He was finished!
Completely finished!
Not only had the ambush on the road failed, but even his last trump card, prepared just in case to threaten Yuno, had been exposed by this guy who appeared out of nowhere.
"No... I don't know what you're talking about!"
Facing such accusations, Salim let out a hysterical scream.
"I don't know anything! This is slander! Baseless slander!"
Witnesses?
As long as he didn't admit it, those captured thieves were just thieves, how could they prove any connection to him?
He clung to a last shred of hope, preparing to forcibly activate his magic for a final struggle.
"You damn bastard! The reason I couldn't join the Magic Knight Squad, it's all Yuno's fault! Just a lower class person! Why do you have to get in my way?!"
Salim's grimoire flipped wildly, and streaks of lightning gathered around him.
However, he was still a step too late.
Mimosa, seeing the sudden situation, quickly cast a spell.
Plant Creation Magic — Flower of Truth!
Countless vines extended from the heart of the flower, instantly binding Salim, who was about to make his move, securely.
A flower directly attached to his face. Immediately after, a voice emerged from the flower bud, revealing all his conspiracies, word for word.
"It was me... it was me who hired those thieves... I wanted to kill Yuno... that damn country bumpkin, why did he steal my position..."
"I also sent another group of people... to Hage... as long as I catch that nun and those brats... Yuno will be at my mercy... Haha... Hahahaha..."
Salim's forced confession echoed in the forest above.
Klaus remembered his attitude towards Ryoma just now. His face changed from ashen to flushed, finally turning into a hint of shame.