Chapter 243: Inner Conflicts, A Mission Which Surpasses Expectations
There was an ear-splitting crack as the last bits of energy disappeared from the crane shield guarding Angus' back and it collapsed, as if Ayrin's fist had devoured a chunk of it.
"How?!"
Angus sounded like Stingham as he cried out in shock.
"It's broken!"
"So strong!"
Ayrin's eyes abruptly widened.
He felt a cold wind suddenly push him backwards as Zorn appeared before him and hacked down through the gap created by the destroyed shield with his massive axe.
An explosion rang out as Angus was sent flying diagonally backwards. His body was still completely covered by his armor, but there was now a deep crevice atop it. A bloody foam dripped from under his mask.
"You bastard, you found beating up Rinloran very enjoyable, didn't you?! Now it's my turn!"
Seeing how Zorn seemed able to handle Angus by himself, Ayrin immediately charged towards the Green Snake arcane master facing Rinloran.
Upon seeing the crazed madness burning within Ayrin's eyes, the Green Snake arcane master abruptly turned tail and began to run away.
"Water Dragon!"
But right as he did so, a familiar voice rang out.
"Impossible!"
"This fellow was on the verge of death… how can he use another arcane skill!"
"What bloodline does he have? How can he have such fast regenerative abilities?!" the Green Snake arcane master inwardly screamed as he subconsciously turned his head towards the direction of the voice and saw the water dragon rushing towards him.
"Ah!"
He let out a miserable scream as an immense torrent of water sent him flying back towards Ayrin and Rinloran.
"Blossom, Moon Lotus!"
"Evil Flaming Eye!"
Ayrin and Rinloran immediately seized the opportunity as they simultaneously invoked their skills.
"Agh!"
The Green Snake arcane master burst into a mess of blood and flames as he let out another wretched cry and fell to the ground.
The water dragon followed as it released another stream of water, sending the Green Snake arcane master within five meters of Ayrin and Rinloran.
The Green Snake arcane master, who was clearly a step above even the strongest celebrity fighters in the national tournament, landed face down into mud, completely unconscious.
As the water dragon disappeared, a slightly blackened Stingham reappeared, striking a pose and smugly saying out loud, "How is it? In the end, you were still defeated by the most handsome me!"
"Idiot, why don't you just die already!" Rinloran coldly swore as he saw Stingham's current appearance.
"Fullmetal Storm!"
"Raging Whirlwind!"
"Ah!"
As Zorn roared, Angus let out screams of pain. Before Angus crashed to the ground, he was struck countless times by Zorn's massive axes.
Crack!
The armor covering every part of Angus' body collapsed as an extremely skinny and short figure coughing blood shot out from within and began desperately running away.
"It was a dwarf!" Stingham exclaimed in shock as he saw Angus' true body.
"So fast!"
Rinloran's pupils shrank as he instinctively felt that he wouldn't be able to catch up with Angus.
But right at this moment, Angus' fleeing figure suddenly froze.
"Teacher Rui?!" Ayrin cried out as his eyes widened.
Rui appeared behind Angus, his hand clutching Angus' neck.
"You wish to escape through me? Aren't you are looking down on me a little too much?" Rui coldly sneered.
"You…"
The remaining arcane particles within Angus' body madly spewed out at this moment. But just as his body began to glow brilliantly, Rui exerted strength through his hand.
With a loud snap, Angus' neck was completely shattered. As if his neck had suddenly disappeared, his head flopped down to his shoulders.
"In such a short moment, he was able to gather enough arcane particles in his hand to instantly kill Angus!"
This battle should have been an easy one for the Evil Dragon Followers. But now, both Angus and the entire Green Snake arcane team had been killed, and Zorn, the most powerful Shadowfiend Corps arcane master stationed at this outpost, had been freed up. The situation had completely reversed.
"Retreat!"
Several loud shouts suddenly rang out all across the battlefield.
The sound of air being displaced resonated throughout the battlefield as the Evil Dragon Followers desperately fled back into the depths of the Southam Demon Forest.
"Eh? Just like this, they've lost the will to fight?!" Ayrin shouted as he watched the Evil Dragon Followers run away, his face still full of fighting intent.
"Don't chase them. Our mission is only to defend this outpost until a medical team can come and transfer out the seriously wounded or we are given another mission. Chasing after fleeing arcane masters is not our mission." Seeing how Ayrin wanted to chase after and fight the fleeing Evil Dragon Followers, Rui quickly stopped him.
"Wahahahaha, with my brilliant and godly skilled self here, they shouldn't have come to begin with. Look at them running away, they are scared shitless! Haha, I'm the most handsome!" Stingham shouted in satisfaction.
He laughed wildly and lazily placed his hands on his hips as he watched the Evil Dragon Followers flee into the depths of the Southam Demon Forest.
In the next moment, Stingham seemed to remember something as he abruptly turned towards the cold faced Rinloran and said, "Oh yeah, what did you just call me?"
"I called you an idiot!" Rinloran couldn't stand Stingham any longer as he veins emerged on his forehead and he exploded, "You actually fought head on against an arcane master a gate higher than you, are you that pig-headed?! Also, stop shouting that you are handsome every single moment of the day! Just where are you handsome? Even a pig is more appealing to look at than you!"
"You dare! You sharp eared weirdo, stop spouting nonsense! Also, who cares if that person has opened more gates than me, I still defeated him, did I not?"
"Dumbass! If not for the fact that he had already beaten you like a dead pig and assumed you were dead, how could your sneak attack possibly connect?!"
"He was just that weak! How could my brilliant divine handsome self possibly be beaten to the verge of death? Moreover, if not for me, he might have ended up killing you and Ayrin! So why don't you hurry up and worship me! To think that you are swearing at me, the gall!"
"If not for us distracting him, could you have struck him from behind?! To have such an idiot like you as my teammate, it is the biggest disgrace of my life."
"What was that? You think I want to be teammates with you? Did you forget that I requested to switch teams from the start, only that those organizers wouldn't let me?"
“……”
As Stingham and Rinloran continued screaming at each other, their tempers flared even more. If not for the fact that both of them were exhausted and Ayrin dragging Rinloran away, the two might have really begun fighting each other on the spot.
"They are teammates, yet they mesh so poorly together…"
Zorn felt somewhat speechless as his gaze shifted from the angry Stingham to the angry Rinloran, and then the calm Ayrin between them, who was trying to quell the fight. Afterwards, as he observed the battlefield, contrasting emotions and feelings of disbelief emerged in his heart.
"These three strange fellows… this arcane team they form, even a first-class Shadowfiend Corps team is nothing special compared to them."
Complex looks inexplicably emerged in the eyes of Caelan and the others as they watched the three noisy children.
After fighting for their lives, most of them were injured and thoroughly exhausted. Now that the battle had ended, many of them just sat on the ground as emotions of shock and disbelief surged through their minds. They hadn't lost a single person during this fight.
In an enemy raid where they were outnumbered by more than an entire arcane team, they had managed to all survive. This kind of result was extremely rare even in the entire history of the corps.
And it couldn't be clearer who was responsible for this result. It was Rui and the three eccentric children who had come with him.
The strongest members of the opposing force, the Green Snake arcane team, Black Necromancer Gaia, and Steel Ghost Angus, had basically all been dealt with by Rui, Ayrin, Rinloran, and Stingham.
Although Rinloran felt like Stingham's behavior was disgraceful, it was different in the eyes of Caelan and the rest. While Stingham did seem to be a little moronic at times, he had managed to kill the Green Snake arcane master who had snuck into the infirmary by himself and then cooperated with the others to deal with the second strongest arcane master of the Green Snake arcane team after Black Ripper. Aside from his strange tendencies and idiotic catchphrases, his performance was extremely amazing for a new arcane master.
As a teammate, Stingham's antics were indeed wasteful and excessive. Moreover, they were kind of useless during the fight. However, as a corps' arcane master, the results were more important than the process.
"No wonder the Office of Special Affairs allowed these inexperienced academy teams to participate."
As he watched the increasingly noisy group of three, Zorn couldn't help but whisper to the nearby Rui, "So this year's team from your Holy Dawn Academy is already strong to such an extent."
"Zorn, it's been a long time since you have left the Southam Demon Forest and returned to Eichelamar… you must realize that these current teams are even stronger than you imagine."
"I believe you!" Zorn took a deep breath as he smiled at Rui.
"Spit it out! Why have you suddenly launched such a large-scale raid here?!"
At this time, the only medicinal master present at this outpost was already quickly treating the wounds of injured arcane masters. Interrogation of two injured Evil Dragon Followers had also begun. Because of the scale of this war, useful information could be obtained from even the lowest rank Evil Dragon Followers.
"Alright, that's enough. Stop fighting. Why don't you two come eat roasted Evil Toutous with me? They are very delicious," Ayrin suddenly interrupted the screaming Stingham and Rinloran.
"Roasted Evil Toutous?"
Rinloran and Stingham immediately quieted down.
"I wonder how Chris, Moss, and Belo are doing. Oh, and Charlotte, Ferguillo, and Ivan too," Ayrin continued.
These words immediately caused Rinloran to regain his calm.
This was the first day that they had arrived, yet they had already encountered high level opponents like Black Ripper and Gaia. Even an arcane master as powerful as Rui had nearly been killed… just what dangers would they be facing in the coming days?
