“Lei Meng! Give the order quickly! Otherwise, we’re all dead!”
Lei Meng, whose face was already pale with fear, was jolted awake by this roar and came back to his senses.
He forcefully suppressed his inner fear, staggered to stand steady, and drew the sword from his waist, raising it high.
“All Royal Dragon Eagle Knights!”
His voice trembled slightly with tension, but carried an unquestionable authority.
“Form a defensive formation! Protect the mages! Hold the line! Anyone who dares to flee will face military tribunal!”
With the command given, the soldiers who had been in chaos began to move again.
Heavy shields were thrust into the muddy ground, forming a temporary barricade.
Behind them, several spear-wielders surrounded the mages, each lining up, waiting for the swarm to approach.
He Lipu, seeing the soldiers had regained order, turned back, gripping his staff tightly with both hands, and struck the ground forcefully with the butt of the staff.
The sapphire at the tip suddenly erupted with intense deep blue light.
“Winter’s Breath!”
The moisture in the air instantly condensed.
Countless ice crystals, like a blizzard, appeared before the swarm, forming a mist of ice dozens of meters long.
The Lightning Bees that rushed into the ice mist noticeably slowed down.
Their membrane wings were covered in ice crystals, and their speed immediately decreased.
“Now!”
As He Lipu’s words fell, the chanting of magic behind him rose one after another.
Fireballs and ice cones exploded among the swarm, continuously reaping large numbers of Lightning Bees.
“Hahaha! A bunch of stupid bugs!”
He Lipu, watching the swarm being continuously eliminated, his earlier terror had long disappeared, and a smug smile reappeared on his face.
“Now, let me see where those two witches are hiding.”
His eyes kept scanning the surroundings, and finally, among a pile of Lightning Bee corpses, he saw them.
Luo Xiaosu was at this moment holding her magic wand up, focusing all her power on a Magic Barrier, protecting herself and Aiweila inside.
Outside, countless Lightning Bees buzzed past.
Those that had originally been attacking them were now all attracted by He Lipu and his group.
“Sister, they… they don’t seem to be attacking us anymore?”
Aiweila looked up at the shadows of the Lightning Bees flying past the barrier, tugging at Luo Xiaosu’s clothes.
“What if they get wiped out?”
Luo Xiaosu looked at the group of mages who were continuously unleashing magic, and a smile curved at the corner of her mouth.
“Heh heh, don’t worry. The truly terrifying part is still to come.”
As her words fell, those Lightning Bees seemed to receive some kind of order, immediately splitting into several groups and gathering together.
Electric arcs surrounded their bodies, resisting the low temperature.
They re-launched an attack on He Lipu and the others.
“What?!”
He Lipu, who had been aiming his staff at Luo Xiaosu and the other girl, was greatly shocked.
He had never imagined that this group of Lightning Bees had such high intelligence, that they could break his ice mist so quickly.
The swarm’s attack was fiercer and more organized than before.
They no longer charged to their deaths like headless flies, but divided into several echelons, launching attacks in turns.
One wave of bees charged up, was killed by magic, and then the next wave, taking advantage of the gap between spell casts, immediately rushed into the defensive line.
He Lipu’s face turned grim.
He watched the Lightning Bees, moving like a well-trained army, and for the first time felt a wavering in his heart.
“Sir! What should we do? This can’t go on. The mages’ Magic Power is nearly exhausted.”
“Damn it! Hold on! Their numbers are also decreasing rapidly! All mages, stagger your attack frequency! The rest of you, protect the mages!”
He Lipu gritted his teeth and gave the order.
He was gambling, betting that Luo Xiaosu’s Magic Power could sustain the consumption of the Protective Gem.
However, what he didn’t know was that there was no Protective Gem at all.
All of this was a carefully laid trap by Di Leike to lure him in.
The swarm’s attack and the magical bombardment continued without pause.
He Lipu, supporting his weakened body, hid inside the raised magical shield, staring intently at Luo Xiaosu and the other girl not far away, also surrounded by the swarm.
“You two damn…”
“Hahaha! Lord He Lipu, you really haven’t disappointed me!”
Suddenly, a cheerful laugh came from within the swarm, carrying undisguised pride and mockery, interrupting He Lipu’s words.
He Lipu spun around sharply to see Di Leike standing inside a semicircular protective barrier, slowly approaching.
In his hand, the ruby set in the gold ring emitted a blinding light.
“Di Leike!”
He Lipu’s eyes instantly turned red.
He raised his staff, but trembled from Magic Power depletion.
“You bastard! How dare you scheme against me!”
“Scheme against you?”
Di Leike lightly shook his head with a chuckle, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present, finally landing on Luo Xiaosu.
“He Lipu, you’re too naive. Did you really think she had some Protective Gem? I just wanted to use your hand to lure these two little girls out.”
“Once I take all their magical items for myself, I’ll also possess immense power. Then, who becomes king is still up in the air!”
He Lipu’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
He finally realized how great the ambition of this city lord, who had endured silently in a remote town for so long, really was.
“Hmph! Even if you schemed against him, my Magic Power is still quite abundant. Do you think you can defeat me with just that?”
Luo Xiaosu said coolly, raising her magic wand slowly and aiming it at Di Leike.
The smile on Di Leike’s face froze slightly, then became even more mocking.
He looked back at He Lipu, his tone full of provocation.
“Oh? Quite abundant? It seems you’re not that impressive, He Lipu. I seem to recall you previously guaranteeing that dealing with them would be more than enough.”
Then Di Leike turned and looked at Luo Xiaosu.
“But do you really think I have no other preparations?”
He slowly raised his right hand, showing the ring on his finger to everyone.
“This ruby ring I bought from a traveling merchant years ago. It has the ability of Magic Suppression, as the name implies, it can be directed to eliminate all magic within a certain range.”
As his words fell, he twisted the ring’s face, aiming the scarlet gem at Luo Xiaosu.
“Ding—”
Luo Xiaosu only felt the magic wand in her hand become heavy, as if it had turned into a lifeless piece of dead wood.
And the Magic Barrier around her also shattered, turning into specks of starlight and dissipating in the air.
With the Magic Barrier gone, the Lightning Bees that had been circling around immediately swarmed in, surrounding Luo Xiaosu and Aiweila.
And Di Leike stood not far away, watching the two girls wrapped in the swarm, a victorious smile on his face.
“Hahaha! See? This is the fate of those who oppose me!”
He laughed triumphantly, turning to look at the weakened He Lipu.
“Next, it’s your turn, Lord He Lipu.”