Elqi had just stopped for a moment when she suddenly felt her thighs aching, her calves swelling, and her feet wrapped inside her shoes tingling as if an electric current was surging through them.
Because she was breathing so heavily, she felt like her lungs were about to explode, her chest burning painfully, and there wasn’t a single comfortable spot on her entire body.
Elqi only stopped after seeing Rosily block the magical automaton, hoping for a brief rest, but unexpectedly, she heard Rosily’s shouting again at that moment.
She gritted her teeth through the discomfort and turned around.
Then Elqi saw that automaton charging again and was about to curse, but after a half-second freeze, she couldn’t come up with a single swear word in her mind…
I… I… how exactly am I supposed to curse?!
Elqi clenched her staff tightly, holding it before her.
Suppressing her heavy breaths, she began chanting the spell.
As the gem embedded at the tip of the brown staff lit up, her magic was unleashed.
Along the automaton’s advancing path, vines burst through the rocky ground, sprouting rapidly in an attempt to halt its charge.
But the automaton was now surrounded by a faint red glow, like a runaway carriage.
When faced with the obstructing vines, it either barreled through them, smashing everything to pieces, or swung the massive sword in its hands to sever anything blocking its way.
Rosily followed behind but could only manage to harass it feebly.
After the automaton entered its second phase, she realized the previous method to break through its magical shield no longer worked!
Elqi, watching the automaton approach, panicked.
She desperately squeezed every last drop of mana from within her, continuously casting elemental magic of wind and wood.
She tried to make the giant machine stop, but all her efforts were in vain.
When the automaton was just three meters away, Elqi used the final bit of her power to erect a solid wooden wall before her.
After releasing all her magic, she collapsed to the ground, her eyes dazedly fixed on the wooden barrier.
The battle between wood and steel was almost a foregone conclusion…
The steel greatsword smashed through the wooden wall like a force of nature.
Splinters flew and struck the stunned Elqi, carving a thin line of blood across her originally delicate cheek.
The slight sting brought her back to reality.
Elqi stared at the towering automaton before her, swallowing hard as she prepared to close her eyes.
Just then, as the automaton’s giant sword was about to fall, a figure appeared in front of her.
Elqi blinked in surprise at the girl with light golden shoulder-length hair.
Rosily resolutely stood before the automaton.
She gathered all her remaining magic to cast a protective barrier.
Rosily could have used the automaton’s attack on Elqi as an opening to launch a full assault herself, but she chose instead to stand firm in front of Elqi, watching the sword descend with unblinking eyes, staring her opponent down.
If they couldn’t withstand a direct blow, victory was impossible.
Even if she could drag Elqi away, it would still mean defeat.
So why run?
The instant the greatsword came down, Rosily felt something push against her stomach.
She was sent flying backward and collided with Elqi, the two tumbling together.
The automaton’s sword stopped abruptly about ten centimeters above Rosily’s head.
It was a sudden, unnatural halt.
The combat instructor had just pushed Rosily away with his sword sheath and was ready to intercept the automaton’s strike.
But the automaton stopped on its own.
It then plunged the giant sword into the ground, grasping the hilt with both hands, standing still.
Immediately, the magical aura radiating from its body dissipated.
This strange change seemed to say:
All that just now was only to scare Rosily and the others.
“The beasts are still easier to handle.
This thing’s just too dangerous.”
The combat instructor frowned, watching the automaton’s magical energy fully vanish.
After a moment, he let out a sigh of relief and turned toward the two girls who had regained their footing and showed courage in battle.
“You two did well.
Not many freshmen dare face this big guy.
You’ve already surpassed ninety-nine percent of them.
But you’re still a little far from the mark.
Remember not to lose your courage.”
“…”
Rosily supported Elqi’s arm silently.
Elqi’s legs had gone weak from both fright and the exhausting sprint.
She turned her head toward Rosily and saw her staring at the automaton.
Elqi forced a bitter smile and explained the origin of the machine.
“Apparently, this automaton was rented from the West Wind Empire by the lord himself.
It’s a magical training tool for soldiers.
Impressive, isn’t it?
But this kind of thing has actually existed for over ten years…”
The West Wind Empire’s technological advancement was so rapid that many progressive northern lords, who had only just begun to follow in their footsteps, found the empire had already taken dozens of steps ahead, creating a hopelessly wide gap.
“Damn, it’s broken!”
The young man standing beside the combat instructor, after inspecting the automaton, suddenly slumped to the ground with a face full of despair, as if something terribly painful was about to happen.
The automaton was damaged.
Since Rosily stabbed its nape and infused it with sword qi, its internal structure had been destroyed.
Its later movements were only possible because of the purple threads!
Between dream and reality, Antiros retracted her hand.
Enya, standing nearby, finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
“Antiros, be honest.
When I took the entrance exam at Talrond Academy, you were the one who caused that rampaging automaton, right?”
Antiros tilted her head with a bewildered expression, looking like an innocent, harmless little girl.
But as a centuries-old witch, could she really be so pure?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Yet she was playing cute, and Enya didn’t dare say anything.
After all, Enya had recently begged Antiros not to reveal her secret.
If she didn’t let Antiros pass by playing innocent…
Knowing Antiros’s personality, she would never make things easy for her!
Enya turned her gaze away and said in a muffled voice,
“Ahem, well, this is my child…”
“Hm, very much like you back in the day.”
Antiros nodded seriously but teased Enya at the same time.
“Already charming girls at such a young age, just like you.”
“…”
Enya was silenced by that remark.
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