Chapter 33: Liewata

The wind blew, howling through the night.

The scent of sulfur from the west was carried by the wind to the treetops, swirling around the spiraled fruit before falling from the branches.

A girl in a magic hat reached out and caught it.

“The fruit is ripe.”

She tucked her dark red hair behind her ear and gripped her magic staff tightly.

“Liewata… you should go to Soronwell…”

A defense team member in standard armor couldn’t bear to speak.

The minotaur attacks were becoming more frequent. 

The village would not hold out forever. 

Tonight the fruit was fully ripe, and the minotaurs’ assaults would intensify. 

These next few days were likely the last chance to escape.

Liewata didn’t answer, she stared at the hillside beyond the fence, where a thin line of smoke rose and fell.

That was the dust kicked up by minotaur hooves.

Liewata took a fierce bite of the hot spring fruit, raised her staff, and roared, “Defense team, listen up! Fight!”

“Yeah! Fight!”

All thirty-six defense team members of Hot Spring Village surged out to face the line of minotaurs.

Liewata took another fierce bite of the fruit. 

Just as she was about to charge, a hand tightly grabbed her.

She whirled around, unwilling. 

“Grandma! I have to go! I’m a Fire Mage! I’m the highest level person here!”

“But you can only conjure sparks… that skill is useless against them…”

“I…”

Liewata clenched her staff. 

As a Fire Mage, her fire element affinity was only enough to release a tiny spark. 

That frustration was maddening, but even so, she had to go!

“Grandma, don’t worry. I went to Soronwell and found that person. She will definitely come with her team. So even if my sister can’t bring back adventurers, as long as we hold out these few days, there will be hope.”

The front line war was about to break out. 

Seeing that Grandma still wouldn’t let go, Liewata could only try to gently break free. 

Those wrinkled hands, no matter how strong, could not restrain a young wrist.

“Sorry, Grandma.”

Liewata charged into the battlefield. 

The situation subtly changed.

The eyes of the entire battlefield fell on her at once.

This feeling had appeared often in the battles of the past few days. 

Sometimes she even had the illusion that she was the protagonist of this fight.

Liewata coldly scanned the minotaur herd. 

Those crimson bovine eyes all locked onto her at this moment.

“Damn it! Liewata, get to the rear!”

A defense team member quickly moved to support.

“No! I can lure out their leader! I’ve tried it before!”

Liewata quickly spotted the core target on the battlefield. 

It was an ordinary-looking minotaur, but its eyes held a spark of intelligence. 

The moment it saw her, it began charging.

Liewata immediately retreated, trying to create distance to give the support member an opening to attack.

She had used this bait trick several times before. 

It always succeeded in drawing out a small-scale minotaur leader, and then she would work with the team to kill it.

But this time, something seemed different.

Liewata suddenly turned her head. 

Three more minotaurs were charging at her.

“Damn… why so many!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Liewata’s eyes flickered. 

A message popped up on the Adventurer Panel in her mind.

[Hot Spring Village Area]

[Fairy Tail (2): There’s an even stronger one hiding in the battlefield. Lure it out.]

Liewata was momentarily stunned, but the battlefield allowed no distraction.

An axe slash came down at her head. 

She decisively curled up and rolled on the ground to dodge.

A nearby team member quickly called out, “Liewata, get back! Today’s attack is different from before!”

Liewata remained unmoved, nimbly dodging between the four minotaur leaders, her sharp eyes scanning the entire battlefield.

She didn’t know who sent that area message, but they were right. 

There was indeed an existence higher than the minotaur leaders on this battlefield.

Liewata’s gaze turned fierce. 

She lightly leaped, landing on the flat of an axe that had missed, and quickly spun her staff, pointing in a direction in the air.

Whoosh—

A spark the size of a thumb instantly exploded on a minotaur’s horn.

That minotaur looked ordinary, but its eyes gleamed brilliantly.

“Damned intelligent race! How dare you provoke me, a general!”

That minotaur suddenly burst out with a layer of black miasma. 

The miasma swirled around its body, forming dark spiral tattoos.

Boom!

Liewata felt her body shudder. 

The shockwave from the miasma slammed into her, sending her flying backward uncontrollably.

‘Not good! I’ve lost control of my body!’

Liewata quickly used her staff to prop against the ground, intending to do a one-handed backflip to escape the battlefield. 

But at that moment, she still had aggro from the four leaders.

If she didn’t quickly disengage while off-balance, she would definitely be surrounded.

But! 

It was too late!

Liewata clenched her teeth. 

As four heavy slashes came in succession, she could only try to avoid vital spots, hoping her Level 20 HP bar could withstand the follow-up strikes.

Clang—

Just as the four heavy axes fell, a silver flash streaked across her vision.

The four axe blades suddenly halted in midair. 

The massive momentum crashed against a sapphire blue longsword, erupting into a burst of wind.

The gust blew back silver hair. 

A face with silver hair and silver eyebrows had enough spare strength to turn and warn, “Fall back.”

Liewata snapped awake. 

She pushed off her heels and slid out of the encirclement close to the ground.

As soon as she steadied herself, she quickly rolled to her feet, intending to help that person. 

But then she saw the four war axes fall completely, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Yadana, good job. Reward: two buckets of buttered popcorn.”

Liewata’s eyes narrowed. 

That silver light had actually dodged the slashes and jumped into the air. 

In her arms was a small purple-haired girl, glowing with a water-blue aura.

The little girl suddenly let go and happily dropped to the ground, shouting, “Boss! I have a second skill! Come out! Ada!”

Countless crystalline blue streams surged out, forming a translucent, hesitant body that quickly enveloped Yadana.

“Ah, boss doesn’t have enough MP! The third bucket of popcorn can wait!”

Yadana waved her eight tentacles, looked at the magic barrier on her body that was only eighty centimeters tall—not even enough to withstand a minotaur’s kick—and decisively turned and fled.

“Damn…”

Li Si was speechless, ‘She threw herself into the encirclement and then fled? Is she trying to get me killed?’

Still, Yadana’s Water Blessing was strong.

Li Si locked her gaze on the Minotaur General outside the encirclement. 

In an organized Magic Beast war, killing the leader was always the fastest way to end it.

“Huh? An unclassed warrior?”

The Minotaur General roared, “Kill!”

With an angry roar, the four leaders gave chase again.

Li Si took a few steps back, slipping out of the encirclement. 

Her body landed right beside the Minotaur General. 

In the blink of an eye, her spiked longsword slashed across the Minotaur General.

[Magic Beast Information]

[Magic Beast]: Minotaur General

[Class]: Elite

[Level]: 15

[HP]: 2500/3000

Li Si glanced at the info.

This sword’s damage was decent; each slash could take about 80 HP. 

One set of Basic Swordsmanship could land five slashes. 

A few more exchanges and the war would be over.

However, there was a more efficient method than hand-to-hand combat.

“Damnable warrior!!!”

The Minotaur General let out an enraged roar. 

The huge sound wave nearly stunned the leaders in front into a brief dizziness but that warrior’s figure was gone.

It angrily turned its gaze, eyes blazing with murderous intent, “I will kill you!”

Li Si sprinted, dragging her sword. 

She glanced back. 

With her Agility of 20, these minotaurs couldn’t catch up but she couldn’t run too fast either, or she’d lose aggro.

Precisely controlling the distance, Li Si suddenly stopped at the foot of a hill. 

She turned and waited for the Minotaur General to take the bait.

Roar!

The Minotaur General charged forward. 

In a blink, it was right in front of her. 

Seeing the warrior standing there like a scared fool, it opened its huge mouth to taunt her, when suddenly it saw a strange sight.

Li Si raised her hand and snapped her fingers lightly.

In an instant, a spark ignited in a nearby ditch, setting the ground on fire and rapidly spreading toward the Minotaur General’s feet.

“Huh?”

The Minotaur General looked down at its feet. 

It had unknowingly stepped into a puddle of dark liquid.

That thing emitted an even stronger sulfur smell than the hot spring water.

Boom!

The flame erupted, exploding into a massive fireball at its feet.

Li Si quickly retreated. 

A long-haired girl, Ailin, emerged from the shadows. 

She sheathed her blade and opened a pair of purple eyes. 

In the next instant, her figure flashed into the flames, and a violet flower rapidly bloomed.

Then, a horizontal slash came from the side, cutting into the Minotaur General. 

Then from the left, a cross slash followed in succession…

A chain of five Swordsman class skills struck the Minotaur General. 

By the time the explosion’s embers faded, that HP bar was dangerously low.

Li Si gripped her sword, about to deliver the final blow, when the corner of her eye twitched. 

She revealed a smile.

[Captain Lili Ya has slain ‘Minotaur General’]

[Gained EXP +1500]

[Gained Shared EXP +750]

At the Minotaur General’s feet, a staff had just smashed into its ankle.

“Ah?”

Lili Ya tilted her head. 

She herself hadn’t expected it to hit so perfectly.

“This…”

Liewata stared dumbfounded. 

Everything happened too fast. 

She hadn’t even had time to help, and the general was already down.

She looked at the adventurer who seemed to be orchestrating everything, and saw the panel displayed during the battle. 

She opened her mouth in shock.

[Adventurer Information]

[Name]: Hidden

[Race]: Human

[Level]: 15

[Class]: Warrior

Liewata’s mouth hung open. 

This was just an unclassed Level 15 Warrior.