“Magic…”
Luo Xiaosu muttered the spell, her wand about to slide out from her sleeve.
But a childish cry interrupted her incantation.
“Don’t touch my sister!”
Aiweila had lifted her head at some point, her eyes locked onto the guards, a golden light flickering within them.
Her golden hair floated as if moved by an unseen wind, each strand radiating a dazzling golden glow.
BOOM
She raised her small hand, and the ground split open.
Several slender vines burst forth, lashing out at the four guards.
“AHH—”
They barely had time to let out a agonized scream before they were sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the empty space nearby.
For a moment, the noisy city gate fell into a deathly silence.
Kaixi’s hand, which had been about to withdraw his sword, froze mid-air.
His pupils constricted sharply as he stared at Luo Xiaosu and Aiweila.
“So you dare to resist! Attack! Arrest them both!”
After a brief shock, Kaixi’s face darkened.
He raised his sword, pointing the blade at the two, his tone laced with suppressed anger.
“Yes, sir!”
The remaining guards, though fearful, could only steel themselves and charge forward under their captain’s orders.
They formed a battle formation and advanced toward the two.
Facing the wall-like formation, Aiweila remained expressionless.
She clenched her fist, and the dark green vines shot toward the guards.
“Defensive formation!”
Not daring to underestimate those vines, Kaixi quickly ordered the guards to adjust their formation.
The guards immediately raised their shields, covering their bodies completely beneath them.
CLANG
A bone-chilling metallic clash rang out.
The iron shields, the moment they met the vines, were as fragile as paper, instantly dented inward.
WHAM
The immense impact sent the guards behind the shields flying backward in unison, crashing at Kaixi’s feet and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The ones at the front coughed up blood and lay motionless on the ground.
“What?!”
Seeing the vines’ overwhelming power, Kaixi could no longer maintain his composure.
His brow furrowed, sweat beading on his forehead.
He tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes darting over Aiweila, searching for an opening.
Just then, Balun seemed to see a turning point.
He struggled free from the two guards holding him, stumbling forward to the front of the crowd.
Pointing at Aiweila, he shouted loudly.
“Look! I told you they were witches! And there are two of them! If we don’t kill them, everyone in the city will die!”
His words were like a spark landing on dry tinder, instantly igniting the crowd.
The crowd, which had been cowed, immediately erupted.
“That’s right! They’re witches!”
“How terrifying… they knocked out the guard squad with one move!”
“Don’t let them into the city! Kill them!”
“Captain Kaixi! Kill them! Go!”
The roar of the crowd grew louder.
“These fools!”
Kaixi gritted his teeth, his palm sweating as he gripped the sword hilt.
Watching the slender vines waving, he wasn’t confident he could defeat the opponent.
“Aiweila…”
Luo Xiaosu looked at Aiweila in her arms.
The lifeless eyes gave her an eerie sense of unfamiliarity.
She reached out, grasped Aiweila’s slightly raised wrist, and slowly lowered it.
“Big… big sister?”
Aiweila froze.
She turned her head to look at Luo Xiaosu, the hollow look in her eyes gradually clearing.
“I… what did I?”
Suddenly, she felt her strength drain away.
Her legs gave out, and she fell into Luo Xiaosu’s arms.
“Careful!”
Steadying the unsteady Aiweila, Luo Xiaosu looked at her with deep concern.
Seeing that the two’s attention was elsewhere, Kaixi seized the opportunity.
He pushed off the ground, raised his sword high, and brought it down in a diagonal slash with a whistling sound.
“Die, witches!”
As the blade closed to within half a meter of Luo Xiaosu, a slight smirk tugged at Kaixi’s lips.
‘Got them!’
But then, a clink rang out.
The sword was stopped by a translucent barrier that appeared out of nowhere.
No matter how hard Kaixi pushed, the blade couldn’t descend an inch.
Luo Xiaosu turned her head and glared at him sideways, a chilling murderous intent in her eyes.
Her wand had somehow already been drawn, aimed at him.
In the next instant, the purple gem at the tip flashed with a scarlet light.
A fireball shot toward Kaixi with lightning speed.
“Damn it!”
His pupils shrank.
He stomped his right foot and leaped backward to the side, raising his sword horizontally in front of him to block the blazing fireball.
*BANG!
The fireball struck the blade and exploded, erupting in a blinding flash of light.
Dust and smoke billowed, swallowing Kaixi’s figure.
For a moment, everyone held their breath.
The scene was dead silent.
“Cough… cough…”
Before the smoke had fully cleared, a battered figure could barely be seen.
Kaixi knelt on one knee, his left hand clutching his chest, his right hand gripping his sword to support his wavering body.
His once shiny armor was now scorched black.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Kaixi forced himself to stand, panting heavily.
‘Damn it! That witch is this strong!’
He stared at the figure in the distance, watching as she slowly raised her wand again.
‘She’s going to attack again?!’
Every muscle in his body tensed instantly.
His hand gripping the sword trembled violently from overexertion.
He knew deep down that he couldn’t withstand the next attack.
Kaixi closed his eyes in despair, awaiting death.
But the expected attack never came.
Luo Xiaosu only gave him a cold glance, then put away her wand and turned around.
“Aiweila, let’s go.”
She carefully picked up the weakened Aiweila, letting the girl’s head rest on her shoulder.
She cast one last look at the stunned crowd, then turned and walked toward the forest.
Watching the slowly retreating figure, Kaixi was stunned.
A sense of absurdity washed over him.
‘She’s just… leaving?’
Not until the two figures completely disappeared into the shadows of the trees did the last nerve holding Kaixi up snap.
THUD.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed heavily to the ground. His sword clattered to the earth.
He propped himself up with his hands behind him, breathing heavily.
Cold sweat had soaked his back.
“Captain! Are you alright?!”
A few guards finally snapped out of it and rushed over to help him up.
Seeing the two leave like that, the crowd immediately stirred.
“Heavens! That fireball was terrifying! I could feel the heat from here!”
“But Captain Kaixi still blocked it and scared that witch away! Captain Kaixi is mighty!”
“Why did you let her go, Captain? A monster like that should have been killed on the spot!”
Supported by his men, listening to the blindly confident chatter around him, Kaixi’s face turned the color of a pig’s liver, alternating between red and pale.
‘These idiots! Can’t they see I’m at the end of my rope?’
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to chase—he simply couldn’t move!
He had used every ounce of strength just to barely block that fireball.
Kill her?
He was lucky that witch didn’t blow him to ashes with another fireball!
“Shut up! Help me back!”
“Captain, what about these people?”
A guard ran over, pointing at Balun and the others who had been recaptured.
Kaixi was full of pent-up anger, and he glared at them fiercely.
“It’s all because of them that the witches were drawn here! Throw them all in the dungeon!”
Hearing the verdict, Balun and the others’ faces turned pale.
They struggled desperately, but it was all in vain.
Under the drag of several soldiers, they were eventually locked in the dungeon.