"Ah, that was truly delicious," Zorn said, patting his round belly and leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. "Kana, are you full?" Zorn asked, looking at Kana, who silently nodded at him.
Zorn straightened his body and sat upright, his expression turning serious as he asked the old man sitting opposite him, still eating, "Old man, is your son not home?" As soon as he asked this, the middle-aged man sipping wine nearby and the woman still serving food to her father-in-law paused. The old man's expression also changed, and just as he was about to speak, the "son" beside him already opened his mouth.
"Haha, Magician, what are you saying? I am his son, and she is my wife…" The middle-aged man quickly interjected, pointing at the woman beside him, hastily trying to prove something.
"Shut up, I wasn't asking you. Old man, you tell me, don't be afraid." Zorn's face darkened as he sternly interrupted the middle-aged man, then turned to the old man with a gentle smile, indicating that they had his back.
"No, no, they are not. My son is at… help… help…" The old man replied, trembling, word by word, seemingly with great difficulty, as if his voice had been sealed for a long time and only now managed to break through.
"Smash~" The woman beside him immediately let go, and the bowl and chopsticks fell to the ground, shattering. The middle-aged man also stopped speaking, his expression shifting from panic to indifference, as he unhurriedly drank the last bit of wine in his hand.
"How troublesome. Why not just kill them? We're almost successful anyway, and now we have to act." The woman no longer pretended, tearing off her apron and running a hand through her hair. Magic surged through her body, and with a turn, her appearance transformed. The formerly virtuous and gentle good wife immediately became alluring, and her eyes turned fierce.
"Alright, old man, I accept your request." Zorn and Kana also stood up, rubbing their hands together, their eyes looking at the two with disdain, like frost in the depths of winter—cold and sharp.
"Kid, don't be so arrogant." The woman seemed unable to tolerate such contempt. A flicker of anger crossed her face as she charged forward, unleashing sound wave magic. This was an attack method using sound as a medium, like ghostly screams reverberating through the air, creating a powerful sonic blast.
"Can you please not shout so loudly? There's an old man here," Zorn's unhurried voice came from beside the old man. Zorn covered Kana's ears with his hands, while Kana covered the old man's ears. Zorn's own ears were protected by small shields. A circle of glowing defensive shields also protected the surroundings.
"When did you…" The woman's pupils constricted, and she stopped her sound wave attack, turning to look in shock at Zorn, Kana, and the old man, who still had smiles on their faces.
At this moment, the middle-aged man's expression also turned serious, and he looked gravely at Zorn and the two others, who still seemed very relaxed.
"Kana, you take the old man inside first. I'll handle things here," Zorn said to Kana with a calm smile.
"Okay, Zorn, be careful then." Kana carefully helped the old man up, leading him step by step into the house.
"Don't worry, it's a small matter, I'll deal with it quickly," Zorn said, as if it were nothing.
"They're really not taking us seriously, are they?" The woman composed herself, realizing that her strength might indeed pose no threat to Zorn. Then she turned to look at the middle-aged man beside her.
The middle-aged man's face was also grim as he looked at Zorn, who still seemed completely unconcerned. He hadn't felt any magical fluctuations from Zorn a moment ago.
This indicated that the boy's mastery of magic had reached its peak, or that his magical level was more than one tier above his own.
Neither scenario was good for them. It seemed they truly had to fight to the death this time, and a strong will to battle surged within him.
A black blade flashed in his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, it was gripped firmly. His body tensed, ready for battle, his gaze fixed on Zorn.
Seeing the two in front of him looking nervous, Zorn also became a bit more serious. Magic surged through his body, and an imposing aura instantly slammed into the two.
"Can you tell me where you've taken these villagers?" Zorn's eyes were fixed on the two, and terrifying golden magic erupted, further pressing down on them.
"Th-this, this kind of magic, how is it possible? My body, my body can't move at all."
Fear immediately welled up on the woman's face. Her legs trembled, and she struggled to stand, wanting to collapse but unable to exert any force, frozen in place.
The middle-aged man was slightly better. He gripped his blade tightly, and a formidable amount of magic erupted from his body, forcibly breaking through the pressure Zorn had exerted on them.
Zorn then withdrew his magic, and the woman immediately collapsed to the ground, instantly losing her combat ability.
The middle-aged man's blade gathered a considerable amount of magic, and with a swing, a cyan-blue slash shot directly towards Zorn.
Zorn, without haste, extended and retracted his hand, forming a sword made of light. With a casual swing, a similar slash directly collided with the cyan-blue one. A sudden burst of wind pressure erupted, sweeping up all the surrounding dust and stones. After a brief stalemate, they canceled each other out and vanished.
"Tell me, where are the villagers? That would save us a lot of trouble, how about it, uncle?"
"No, we're just a little bit away from success, we absolutely cannot give up like this."
"Oh, really?"
Zorn directly released the light sword in his hand, and it slowly floated in the air. As Zorn spread his hands, countless light swords split off, circling around him.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and became even more resolute, gripping the black sword in his hand and moving horizontally in front of the woman who was still frozen in place.
"Hey, hey, uncle, you're making me look like the villain. This is tough for me."
"Don't die, uncle."
Although Zorn said this, his hands still launched the light swords without mercy. Countless light swords shot out rapidly.
"Bang, bang, bang." Countless clouds of dust instantly billowed and flew. Occasionally, a light sword would be struck and Zorn would simply wave his hand to dissipate it.
When the light sword attack ended, Zorn extended his hand, and an even larger light sword formed, angled directly towards the man and woman in the dust.
"Impressive, uncle. To be able to protect your companion under such an attack, your strength must be the strongest in your guild."
"Cough, cough, wow." The middle-aged man propped himself up with one hand on his sword, and covered his chest with the other. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he looked with a grim expression at the giant light sword now facing them.
He truly couldn't hold on any longer. This brat was a monster; just a casual attack had completely depleted his magic, leaving him with no other options.
"We didn't harm those villagers. We just wanted to open the ruins. Those Magicians only extracted magic to use for the ruins' activation."
The uncle stammered out their purpose, quietly waiting for Zorn's reaction. He had no other choice now.
"Uncle, do you think if you had really harmed the villagers, we would still be eating and chatting with you now?" Zorn said coldly.
These words left the middle-aged man speechless for a moment, and he said nothing more.
"Now you have only one choice: release the villagers and come back with us to the Council to receive punishment."
"Zorn, the ruins this time…" Kana suddenly spoke, her voice sounding from behind Zorn.
"Don't worry, it was already dealt with while we were eating," Zorn told Kana casually.
"What?" The middle-aged man was stunned.
At the ruins…
"So strong… you are…" A slender boy, one arm hanging limply, looked at the man in front of him with a face full of shock.
To be continued~
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