*BOOOM!*
On the silent, moonlit night, a room in the inn—surrounded by numerous Oasis Knights—suddenly exploded without warning. Fierce flames burst through the wall facing the street, surging outward from the room and lighting up both the road and the night sky.
Such a sudden explosion naturally jolted countless residents awake, tearing them from their dreams as the air filled with noise pouring from nearby buildings.
One by one, windows in the surrounding homes lit up—some residents peeked out with magic lamps in hand, trying to see what was happening, while others stayed hidden, too afraid to make a sound, which only made the commotion grow more intense.
"City Hall is capturing troublemaking outsiders! Civilians, clear the area!"
"Clear out!"
"Get back inside!"
As a few bold residents stepped forward to investigate, the Oasis Knights surrounding the inn blocked them, shouting to force them back.
In the end, the residents exchanged uncertain glances but quickly backed away, unwilling to get caught up in the chaos.
*BOOOM!*
Another explosion erupted from the already blasted room, sending the blazing fire surging once more and even spreading outward.
"Put up a barrier! Don't let the fire spread!"
Among the Oasis Knights surrounding the inn, one of them seemed to be giving orders.
Following the order, several Oasis Knights without swords stepped forward, each holding a staff. They began chanting magic incantations, conjuring an invisible barrier that rippled into place, enveloping the entire inn and halting the fire from spreading further.
As for the people inside the inn, the Oasis Knights had already evacuated them in advance.
Now, only the Oasis Knights directly under the City Lord and their targets remained inside—no unrelated individuals were present. Because of this, the Oasis Knights dared to use magic shells without hesitation, blasting the room apart without concern.
After blowing open the room, they retreated from the sea of flames one by one to avoid being caught in the blast.
"Keep throwing! An explosion like that might not be enough to take down those two—especially the man!"
Still not satisfied, the captain of the Oasis Knights shouted the order loudly.
None of the Oasis Knights thought his judgment was unreasonable.
Even though the magic shells they used were powerful magic items developed by the City Hall's magic division—said to be capable of wounding a Sword Master with a single shot—and a concentrated volley could even bring down an expert Sword Master, they did not think their captain was exaggerating.
They already had a basic idea of how strong that young man was.
With a casual strike, he had crushed their captain—who was in the realm of expert Sword Master—and had effortlessly broken the combined attack of several ordinary Sword Masters.
On top of that, he could also use an extremely dangerous magic spell.
For someone like that, being killed by magic shells so easily would indeed be strange.
As a result, several Oasis Knights once again took out magic shells, ready to throw them into the blazing room.
"Twin Maximize Magic – Chain Dragon Lightning."
Suddenly, a cold chant rang out from within the sea of fire, and two bolts of lightning flickered to life at its very center.
"NOT GOOD! SCATTER!"
Seeing the lightning magic, the captain's expression changed drastically before he ordered his subordinates.
Unfortunately, the lightning magic was unleashed even faster.
*BOOM!*
Two long lightning dragons suddenly burst out of the flames, roaring silently as they shot forward at high speed, rushing straight toward the Oasis Knights.
With panicked faces, the Oasis Knights scrambled to dodge, but the lightning dragons moved as if alive—surging and flashing like thunder as they instantly closed in on several fleeing knights.
Some knights continued to dodge desperately, others roared and swung their swords, while a few were caught directly by the lightning dragons.
""AAAAAARGH—!!!""
Those caught directly by the lightning dragons screamed in agony, their bodies wrapped in dragon-shaped lightning as electricity ravaged them from all directions, charring their skin black.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the scene, the captain cursed loudly as one of the lightning dragons chased him relentlessly. No matter how he dodged, ducked, or tried to escape, it continued to streak after him and close the distance.
"GET LOST!"
With no other choice, the captain roared, pulled out a magic shell, and threw it at the pursuing lightning dragon.
In the next second, the pale-blue lightning dragon slammed straight into it.
*BOOOM!*
A violent explosion of flames and lightning erupted from the point of impact, creating a massive blast of lightning and fire that collapsed an entire hallway.
As a result, the weakened structure began to give way, sending rubble and debris crashing down.
"Huft..."
Letting out a faint breath, the captain's shoulders relaxed slightly upon seeing the lightning dragon vanish.
"What are you so relieved about?"
A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"Our matter isn't over yet, is it?"
The moment he heard the voice, the captain's pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints.
*BANG!*
Without the slightest hesitation, the captain stomped down on the floor and dashed through the collapsing hallway.
In response, a flash of lightning struck—not from the thunder dragon earlier, but one brimming with sharp, lethal intent.
*BOOM!*
Following the sound of thunderclap, the flash of lightning shot through the collapsing hallway and, in the blink of an eye, caught up to the captain—dyeing his entire field of vision in azure blue.
"Thunder Breathing - First Form - Thunderclap and Flash."
As these indifferent words resounded, a lightning slash burst forth, striking the captain before he could even react.
*Pu-chi!*
Blood scattered through the air.
"AAAAAARGH!!!"
Struck, the captain let out a howl of agony as a vicious, terrifying slash tore from his left shoulder all the way down to his right abdomen, forming a perfect '\' shaped wound.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Several Oasis Knights—some struck down by the lightning dragon and lying amidst the tattered hallway, others burned black and struggling to rise—cried out at the sight.
"Love Breathing - Second Form - Love Pangs!"
A girl wielding a golden sword suddenly burst out from the sea of flames, her movements swift and feline. She leapt and darted forward, swinging an irregular slash like a supple whip, striking at the Oasis Knights one after another.
*Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!**Pu-chi!*
In an instant, the Oasis Knights who had just begun to rise were sliced open before they could even steady themselves. Blood sprayed out as they cried in pain and collapsed once again, losing all fighting ability.
"Da... mn..."
Cursing, the fallen captain's eyes were bloodshot, but his injuries were the most severe of all—he could no longer stand.
*Click—*
Riezel stood behind the fallen captain, slowly sheathing his sword while gazing down at the group of Oasis Knights with a commanding air.
"Relax." Riezel said faintly and slowly. "I deliberately avoided your vital points—you won't die."
Unfortunately, these words brought the captain no comfort whatsoever.
"Why...?"
Staring fixedly at Riezel, the captain's voice was hoarse and strained.
"After taking that many magic shells, how could you possibly be completely unharmed?"
Whether it was Riezel or Lizbeth, both were in perfect condition—uninjured, and not even a speck of dust clung to them.
"You're asking why?" Riezel glanced at him. "Don't you know there's such a thing in this world as defensive magic?"
Back then, when the Oasis Knights had thrown their so-called magic shells at him, Riezel had cast Force Sanctuary.
"Well, the destructive power of those magic shells wasn't bad—probably on par with 7th-Tier Magic or higher, but breaking through my Force Sanctuary to hurt me? Not enough."
Riezel extended his hand, grabbed the captain from the pool of blood, and tossed him into a nearby room whose exterior was still intact—showing no gentleness despite the man's severe injuries.
"Bring the others too."
Riezel turned toward Lizbeth, who had just put away Moslow, and looked relieved.
"Ah—Yes!"
Lizbeth quickly nodded and began hauling over each Oasis Knight.
It had to be said, the sight of a delicate princess carrying two towering knights—one in each hand—was nothing short of shocking.
However, lifting hundreds of kilograms was nothing to a Sword Master.
Lizbeth might have been small and slender, but her strength was far from weak—in fact, it was monstrous. Otherwise, during her first spar with Riezel, she wouldn't have made his arm go numb with her blows.
Even though the little princess didn't possess Kanroji Mitsuri's unique physique, she had been blessed with overwhelming strength since childhood.
If anyone judged her by her young age, petite stature, and large chest, assuming she was too delicate to harm a chicken, they'd better be careful not to get crushed.
===
*Thud!*
When the last Oasis Knight was tossed into the room and piled together with the rest, Riezel and Lizbeth stepped inside.
"Talk."
Riezel sat down on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, and looked straight at the group of Oasis Knights with an indifferent expression.
"What did you come here for?"
At this question, the Oasis Knights didn't answer immediately. Instead, they all glared at Riezel with undisguised hostility.
"Electrocution."
Riezel raised an eyebrow, extended a finger, and cast a magic spell.
*BIRIBIRI—!*
A crackling surge of electricity rained down on the group of Oasis Knights.
""AAAAAARGH—!!!""
One by one, they screamed in pain, each collapsing to the floor, unable to rise again.
"I have no interest in dealing with that group of knights outside."
Riezel's voice slowly echoed in the ears of every Oasis Knight.
"So, either you tell me yourselves... or I drag you all to the City Hall and have a nice talk with your lord in person."
"Your choice."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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