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As Bai En dragged Gu Sen towards the Magic Palace's underground passage, Yuno, behind him, also took action. White wisps of wind swirled around his feet, and a Wind Ark formed, carrying Klaus and Mimosa past the three in front, entering the Magic Palace first.
"The treasures of this Magic Palace will be claimed by us, Golden Dawn!"
"We'll go ahead, Bai En," Yuno said softly without looking back, the Wind Ark created by his wind-creation magic picking up speed.
As the Golden Dawn's figures gradually disappeared, Bai En slowly released Gu Sen at the entrance of the Magic Palace's underground cave. A light breeze blew out from the cave entrance, ruffling their hair, and the light inside the dark cave was dim.
"You mere junior, to treat a senior in the Magic Knights like this! When we return to the Magic Knights, I will expose all your crimes and let everyone judge you!"
Gu Sen, having regained his mobility, grumbled, "It's a pity I haven't received a response from that royal girl yet… But with my handsome face and noble temperament, it must be no problem, right?"
"Nancy, why didn't you stop Bai En? You just let a senior be bullied like that."
"Sorry, senior, I also think your behavior just now was quite embarrassing," Nancy replied with a smile, her small mouth seemingly venomous, "If I had intervened just now, I would have knocked you out and carried you away."
"Eh? You… this…"
As the three spoke, they walked into the cave. Gu Sen snapped his fingers, and flames appeared at his fingertips, the orange-yellow light illuminating the path ahead.
"Shouldn't we speed up a bit?" Nancy, walking ahead, suggested to the leisurely Gu Sen and Bai En behind her, "The Golden Dawn already went in before us. If we delay any longer, the Magic Palace will probably be completely plundered, right?"
"No need to worry. Judging from the attack outside the Magic Palace just now, the Mages from the Diamond Kingdom should also be here. Compared to the scattered soldiers outside, their generals have most likely already entered the Magic Palace. There will definitely be a confrontation then, and we just need to appear at the critical moment," Bai En analyzed the situation.
Gu Sen, beside him, skillfully placed his hand on Bai En's shoulder: "Exactly, it's exactly the same as my idea. This is called 'the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.' Yo, little Bai En, not bad at all."
Bai En silently lowered the hand on his shoulder and asked about something he had been curious about: "Senior Gu Sen, your weapon is very new. I've never seen a weapon like it before."
"Are you talking about this?"
Gu Sen took out the gun from his waist, looked at the blinking Bai En, and, sweeping away his previous mood, began to show it off: "I call it the Firelock. I spent a fortune to have it made. Doesn't it perfectly complement my handsomeness?"
He twirled the handgun with his finger, striking a pose as if self-absorbed.
"Hehe…" Bai En and Nancy couldn't help but smile helplessly at the same time. They hadn't noticed it at the Aqua Deer base, but was this guy really so narcissistic?
"The Clover Kingdom doesn't seem to have such strange weapons, does it?"
"Oh, the town where I was born is by the sea, and the residents often go out to sea to hunt. When I was a child, I went out to sea with my parents and rescued a strange foreigner. That guy always said some strange things, like… 'Thank my Lord' and such."
"He seemed unworldly, even calling magic 'miracles'," Gu Sen spoke eloquently.
"But he wasn't completely useless; the Firelock was his invention. At first, it was loaded with gunpowder, like saltpeter… which is a kind of burning powder. I suggested to him to see if it could be combined with magic, so he modified the Firelock, and it ended up like this."
Nancy was a bit surprised: "A foreigner? Do they really exist?"
She had only read about foreigners in books and had never heard anyone mention them in reality.
"Mmm… mmm…" Gu Sen nodded, "But most foreigners are unreliable, promoting that we believe in their Lord, so they are often expelled… Oh… by the way, there's a rumor that the captain of the Black Bulls is also a foreigner."
"Really?!" Nancy was quite surprised, "Can a foreigner also become a Magic Knight captain?"
"Ever since the current Wizard King took office, he has done many unpredictable things. For example, previously all Magic Knight captains were basically nobles or royals, but now the captain of the Green Mantis is a commoner." Gu Sen spread his hands, indicating that such things were no longer an exception.
During their conversation, shouts came from ahead.
"We're doomed!"
"We're going to be eaten!"
Bai En and the two exchanged glances, then all three simultaneously quickened their pace. The light ahead grew brighter, and the moment the three rushed out of the dark passage, they fell downwards; there was no path ahead.
Inside the vast and bright Magic Palace, water flowed and swirled, and dense magic power dispersed into clusters, floating in the air like stardust, resembling an alternate dimension.
The three rapidly falling individuals did not panic. Nancy waved her hand upwards, her grimoire accompanying her side, and soil protruded from the ground, forming a slope. Bai En adjusted his posture, stumbled slightly, and slid down the slope.
When they safely landed on the ground, a group of people had already gathered there: Yuno and his two companions from the Golden Dawn, Asta from the Black Bulls, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, and the silver-haired royal princess Noelle.
'Yo~ It's quite lively.'
Bai En thought, and the next moment his foot landed on a stone tile on the left. A white magic circle quietly lit up, and countless vines spread upwards, coiling around and enveloping half of his body.
Yuno frowned slightly. Having just rescued Asta from a man-eating plant generated by trap magic, he reached out again, preparing to cast a spell.
"Watch out!" Asta also rushed over, swinging his greatsword.
Zanyan flew out from the grimoire, and a swift slash cut through the vines generated by the trap magic. Bai En's lips curved into a mischievous smile. Zanyan appeared in his hand, and he lightly unleashed two slashes.
The slashes were formless, and the wind whispered softly.
The flying slashes were aimed directly at Asta and Yuno ahead.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Asta, seeing Bai En's sword-swinging motion, stopped instantly. The half-year training period flashed in his mind. 'This… this guy is doing it on purpose!'
'The attack I sensed is a formless slash!'
'Keep breathing, concentrate!'
As the invisible wind in the air swayed around Asta, he suddenly swung down the demon-slayer sword in his hand. A sound like shattering glass rang out on the black sword, and Bai En's slash was cut away.
Compared to Asta, who narrowly shattered Bai En's attack, Yuno, relying on his keen magic sensing, captured the magic and instantly released a rapidly moving Wind Hawk. The slash collided with the hurricane and dissipated with a boom, leaving only a gentle breeze.
"Bai En, you bastard, are you trying to kill me the moment we meet?!" Asta angrily questioned Bai En ahead.
"Sorry, my hand slipped."
Listening to Bai En's explanation, Yuno only found the scene before him remarkably familiar. 'This guy… is getting revenge for the sneak attack last time!'
...