He Lipu’s whole body trembled uncontrollably.
His legs gave way, and his knees hit the ground hard.
“No, you can’t do this! I am a distinguished royal mage!”
His face was pale, cold sweat sliding from his temples, mixing with the blood and grime on his face, making him look utterly pathetic.
Those eyes that had once been full of authority and wisdom were now bloodshot with terror.
“If I die, His Majesty the King will surely punish you severely.”
“Punish me? Hahaha!”
Di Leike laughed, throwing his head back as if he had just heard the world’s biggest joke.
“Once I kill all of you, what happened here will never get out. Everyone will only know that I, the great Di Leike, am the hero who destroyed the witch and saved them.”
He stopped laughing, his gaze turning icy as he stared at He Lipu, a cruel smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
“As for you, you’ll end up just like them—killed by the Lightning Bees and carried back to their hive as food.”
Di Leike said no more.
Under He Lipu’s terrified gaze, he aimed the red gemstone on his ring at He Lipu.
“Farewell, royal mage.”
He said coldly.
He Lipu’s magic shield shattered with a sound, and the surrounding Lightning Bees swarmed in from all directions.
The violent arcs of electricity instantly turned He Lipu into a charred lump.
“Ah!”
The shrill scream cut off abruptly.
He Lipu’s body twitched a few times, the light in his eyes quickly fading, until he was completely lifeless.
“Hahahaha! So much for the witch and the royal mage! They’re nothing!”
Di Leike burst into loud laughter, the sound piercing through the swarm and echoing across the swamp.
“Next, I’ll just wait for the swarm to disperse and loot their spoils.”
However, just as Di Leike was immersed in the joy of victory and his vigilance was at its lowest…
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several emerald-green vines shot out from the swarm without warning, whistling through the air as they slammed hard against Di Leike’s protective barrier.
“What?!”
His pupils constricted as he immediately turned his head to look.
He saw that where Luo Xiaosu and Aiweila had been, there was now a sphere wrapped in vines.
“Damn it! How? Weren’t they hit by my Forbidden Magic Field? How can they still use magic?”
Inside the vine sphere, Luo Xiaosu was tightly holding Aiweila in her arms, her eyes shut, waiting for the Lightning Bees’ attack.
‘Damn it, is this how it ends? I finally got this chance, and I haven’t even completed my mission yet.’
However, the expected attack didn’t come.
“Huh? What’s this?”
She opened her eyes in confusion and carefully looked around, only to find that countless vines had somehow appeared around them, protecting the two inside.
“Big sister, don’t be afraid. This time, it’s my turn to protect you.”
Aiweila lifted her head.
Her eyes once again shone with golden light, and her long hair behind her also glowed like a stream of golden glass.
With a thought, the vines shot toward Di Leike, layering and wrapping tightly around his protective barrier.
They contracted and squeezed crazily, trying to crush the prey inside into pulp.
“D-Damn!”
Realizing that the other party wanted to crush his protective barrier, Di Leike cursed under his breath and frantically pulled Charging Crystals from his pocket, repeatedly pouring energy into the red gemstone on his ring.
After who knows how long, the golden light in Aiweila’s eyes began to dim.
She felt her magic power was about to run out.
The vines wrapped around the barrier also lost their luster, breaking one by one and falling weakly from midair.
“Huff… huff…”
Di Leike gasped for breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, unable to suppress the smile on his lips, his eyes flashing with a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal.
“Looks like the heavens are still on my side, hahaha!”
He carelessly threw his now-empty pocket to the ground, crushed the last Charging Crystal, and slowly walked toward the two.
“You still dare to struggle to the death? It seems I’ll have to kill you first before I can properly enjoy my spoils.”
Meanwhile, inside the vine sphere.
Luo Xiaosu looked at Aiweila, who had collapsed in her arms due to her magic power nearly being exhausted.
She was still gritting her teeth, stubbornly holding on, trying to squeeze out her last bit of magic power.
‘No… If this continues, once Aiweila’s magic runs out, it’ll be their death.’
Luo Xiaosu’s heart pounded violently.
Her mind raced, thinking of how to survive.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind like lightning.
That night, when she was checking Aiweila’s body, her own magic seemed to resonate with Aiweila’s magic.
The two seemed to merge like water, becoming one.
‘That’s right, how could I forget? My magic and Aiweila’s are originally of the same source. They can be converted into each other.’
Luo Xiaosu looked at Aiweila, who was gradually becoming limp, gritted her teeth, and finally made up her mind.
She cupped Aiweila’s pale cheeks.
“Mmph…”
Luo Xiaosu closed her eyes, aimed at those slightly pale lips, and without hesitation, kissed her deeply.
A stream of clear magic power, flowing through the fusion of their lips and teeth like a trickling stream, surged wildly into Aiweila’s body.
Aiweila’s originally pale face regained its rosy color at a visible speed.
She slowly opened her eyes.
What came into view was Luo Xiaosu’s tightly shut eyes and her face that was so red it seemed ready to bleed.
Feeling the warm, soft touch on her lips, Aiweila finally remembered that what she had eaten in her dream that night was not some small cake at all.
It was her big sister’s lips.
Aiweila closed her eyes again, wrapped her arms around Luo Xiaosu’s neck, and clumsily but passionately returned her kiss.
At the same time, the previously broken vines grew back.
They became thicker and stronger than before, slamming hard against Di Leike’s protective barrier.
“What? How is this possible!”
The sneer on Di Leike’s face instantly froze.
He turned to run, but his protective barrier was violently shattered by the vines, turning into tiny fragments.
Then, he was tightly bound by vines rushing in from all directions, which then tightened with force.
“No… Nooo!”
The shrill scream echoed across the swamp.
Di Leike felt every bone in his body break and be crushed under the vines’ strangling.
“Bang!”
Then, he was slammed heavily onto the ground, his whole body like a piece of mashed meat, lying dead on the ground.
He spat blood, stared at the vine sphere not far away, filled with unwillingness, then his head lolled to the side, and he died.
The swarm surged forward, instantly engulfing Di Leike’s corpse.
In the blink of an eye, the swarm dispersed, leaving only a pile of white bones and tattered clothes on the ground.
Then, countless small white flowers bloomed on the vines.
A gentle breeze blew, and specks of golden pollen scattered, carrying a strange, refreshing fragrance.
The originally aggressive Lightning Bee swarm, upon smelling the flower fragrance, had the crimson in their eyes quickly fade, turning back into a docile light blue.
They stopped attacking and instead gathered meekly, flying back toward the direction of their hive.
On the spot, only the vine sphere enveloping Luo Xiaosu and Aiweila remained, along with the scattered remains all over the ground.