Chapter 148: Thunder

Sophia lightly raised her staff, and around her, one after another azure vortices swiftly formed, spun by powerful currents of wind.

“Fifth-tier Magic • Green Serpent.”

The wind conjured by Magic Power was pale blue-green.

Those azure whirlwinds circling Sophia, each two or three meters in diameter, looked like compressed springs wound to their limits.

The instant she released her hold, they transformed into five green Wind Serpents, shooting toward the old man.

The old man, seeing the Wind Serpents coming straight for him, did not try to take the attack head-on.

Instead, he used some unknown Magic and shifted his position.

The first “Green Wind Serpent” crashed into the rooftop, smashing straight through the tiles.

The force it carried sliced through the debris sent flying, turning splinters of wood into sharp needles, all wrapped inside the body of the Green Wind Serpent.

Sophia controlled it, twisting its path so it drilled through the wall and once more attacked the old man, who was darting about in the shadows.

The other Wind Serpents chased after him, surrounding and besieging him.

Wind Elemental Magic—its first tier has but one spell: Control Wind.

With each higher tier, the spells are skills forged from using wind in ever more refined ways.

At least, that was the case up until the seventh tier.

Controlling five Green Wind Serpents at once consumed an enormous amount of mental energy.

Sophia knew her opponent’s intent: to use the sixth-tier’s spiritual strength and Magic Power to drag her into a battle of attrition—a methodical, steady way to win, as the old man faced no pressure to attack.

With a thought, Sophia had two Green Wind Serpents attack the old man from both sides, but with a single Shadow Transfer, he slipped away.

The two Wind Serpents collided, and a violent blast of air exploded, accompanied by a thunderous boom.

The shockwave cracked the stone walls nearby, roof tiles flew everywhere, and a series of sharp crackling sounds rang out.

The old man landed atop a roof, lifting his black, withered staff. From his shadow, another dark pillar shot toward Sophia.

While in the “Control Wind” state, Sophia’s speed was exceptionally agile.

Combined with her second-tier Magic, Wind Sense, she instantly analyzed the attack’s path and dodged the rapidly approaching Dark Shine Magic.

One Wind Serpent spiraled up the dark pillar, lunging toward the old man’s position.

The old man raised a barrier Magic to block it.

When the Wind Serpent slammed into the barrier, it unleashed a gale.

The wood splinters swirling in the wind were sharp as knives, stabbing into the ground and walls.

“What power!”

The old man exclaimed in admiration, though a cold smile lingered on his face.

Sophia glanced toward Ronald, lying on the ground. She summoned another Wind Serpent and sent it flying toward the blond youth.

The old man’s expression darkened.

With Ronald as a target, this battle of attrition could not continue.

The old man hurriedly shifted from the shadows, arriving near Ronald and blocking the fierce, descending attack.

Ronald watched all this, clenching his teeth.

They were both fifth-tier—so why was he so lacking?

Magic Power was one thing; Magic was another.

The talent for cultivating Magic Power and the talent for learning Magic were two separate gifts.

Sophia was not especially gifted in Magic Power, but her talent in learning Magic was at the very top tier.

Otherwise, she could never have mastered five different elemental Magics at once.

In the future, she might learn even more types of Magic, striving to become, like the Elven Saintess Eliv, a true Grand Elementalist.

High above, fiery lotus flowers blossomed around Sophia, crackling like lively little spirits.

First-tier Yuan Magic, Fireball Technique.

Third-tier Magic, Explosive Flame.

Sophia was generous with her Magic Power, firing off low-tier spells at the ground in quick succession.

Though they were just first-tier Fireballs, each was infused with a third-tier spell, causing even greater explosions upon impact.

A wave of heat instantly swept the entire street.

The rain had yet to fall, but a rain of fire came first. In White Stone City, the Enforcers seemed to neither see nor hear anything.

Most likely, their silence had been bought.

Ronald hid under the old man’s defensive Magic, a curtain of dim blackness that blocked the fireball barrage from above.

Yet as he gazed up at the gray-robed woman in the sky, his heart burned with anger.

When did he ever need to look up to others?

And to a woman, no less?

The fireball barrage reached the other side as well, affecting Nina’s battle.

But to call it a battle was generous—it was more like her toying with her opponents, while they struggled desperately to deal with her, never once gaining the upper hand.

As fireballs rained down, Nina found herself a little bored. So this was the extent of their strength?

“Mother of Difficult Dragons said it’s enough if Sophia and that Wood Elf take care of things.”

Nina muttered to herself as she channeled a faint golden Magic Power, clearly intending to wrap things up.

As someone attacked, a great blade struck Nina, its edge sinking deep into her petite form.

The wielder was a sweating, burly man.

His face lit up with delight—but in the next instant, the figure he’d struck faded to nothing before his eyes.

Only then did the man realize he’d felt no sensation of cutting flesh.

Hastily, he scanned for the terrifying presence—only to discover it was right behind him, and even…

Nina now stood atop the burly man’s back, her twin short swords gleaming with golden light.

Almost instantly, several faint figures appeared before the other opponents.

Before they could react, the golden sword energy from Nina’s blades flashed across their throats.

The burly man spun around, slashing horizontally with a Magic Power-infused blade.

But his attack only hit air; the glow of Magic Power cut clean through a distant house, slicing it in half.

The sheer power of that blow was evident—had it struck someone, they’d fare worse than that collapsing building.

So powerful?

The man stared at the pair of delicate little boots on his blade, his heart pounding wildly.

What kind of monster was this? An outsider?

Nina stood one foot forward, one back, perfectly balanced atop the human man’s blade.

As he looked up, a series of sharp slaps sounded nearby.

Then Nina’s small foot kicked the man’s jaw.

He was instantly stunned, his grip loosening on the broadsword. Nina landed gracefully on the ground, while the man was sent flying.

It took him a while to come to his senses.

That kick had broken through his defenses, shattering his protective Magic Power completely.

When his daze lifted, he realized he was still alive—but a cold sweat broke out on his back, for around him lay several corpses in pools of blood, all former “brothers” of his.

They were still warm, but soon would be cold forever.

Nina leapt up, landing with both feet on the man’s back, then lifted one foot and stepped on his head, planting a short sword before his eyes.

“Anyone stronger? Tell them to come here and let me kill them.”

……

The man’s heart jolted with fear.

He was about to beg for mercy, but the short sword was pulled free. Before his plea could leave his lips, a flash of Magic Power cut off his last hope—forever sealed in his throat.

Nina looked toward Sophia’s side.

High in the sky, Sophia was climbing ever higher. Though she, a fifth-tier, was up against a sixth-tier, she showed not a hint of fear.

From their earlier probing exchanges, Sophia had discerned that this sixth-tier human Magic user had few ranged attacks.

What’s more, the old man had someone to protect, whereas she did not—so she simply widened the distance, launching spells from above in a magical bombardment.

Whittling him down.

So Sophia continued to bombard the old man’s Magic barrier with wind and fire. That gloomy shield was being eroded, little by little.

And even higher above, the churning clouds grew more violent.

Thunder boomed, white light flashed, illuminating all of White Stone City for an instant. That thunderclap sent a jolt through every heart in the city.

Countless eyes that had ignored the commotion now turned to look.

On the ground, beside Ronald, the old man looked up at the soaring Sophia with an ugly expression—bombarded by Magic, all he could do was hunker down beneath his shell.

When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

It was only because of a certain someone that he was so constrained!

Ronald’s own face was none too pleasant either. At this point, he was dirt-streaked and battered—Nina’s sword strike had not been an ordinary blow, but a true warrior’s skill.

Even though the Black-Faced Knight had shielded him, Ronald still suffered a heavy shock.

Though he possessed fifth-tier Magic Power, he was little more than a paper tiger—how could he endure such an attack?

Never before had his life been in such danger, nor had he ever been put in such a sorry situation.

Ronald’s heart seethed with resentment.

He glanced toward an inn, where he spotted the gray-haired woman crouched at the window, observing the chaos.

He immediately spoke to the old man beside him.

“Capture that woman first. Once we have her, they’ll have to surrender!”

The old man’s narrow eyes twitched, and he shot a vicious glare at the blustering Ronald, then scolded him coldly.

“Shut up. I’ve already informed Eugene—he’ll bring reinforcements soon!” “You…”

When Ronald heard the name “Eugene,” his face went pale.

His older brother indulged him, but his methods frightened all who met him.

Wasn’t there a rumor that even mentioning his name could make children stop crying?

The old man looked at the window, straining his eyes to the limit, but he could not pierce the disguise of the woman crouched there.

The gap—a vast chasm!