"Captain, what's happening up ahead?" Luo Rui whispered to Hilman.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Hilman's lips. "That mysterious mage has clashed with the mercenary squad. We just need to watch from here and not interfere." Even Hilman, a sixth-ranked warrior, dared not intervene.
A Velociraptor alone was beyond his ability to handle, let alone the enigmatic mage.
This seven-member mercenary squad was formidable. Five were warriors, while two were mages. Their leader, a burly man with disheveled red hair, rode a pitch-black iron bull. The bull's two sharp obsidian horns gleamed with a metallic sheen, and its crimson eyes revealed its identity—a fifth-ranked magical beast, the Bloodthirsty Iron Bull.
With a snort, the iron bull exhaled two streams of white mist from its nostrils.
Among the mercenary squad were four men and three women. Both mages were female, while the third woman served as an archer. In addition to the Bloodthirsty Iron Bull, another magical beast soared overhead—a massive griffin.
A griffin—a fourth-ranked magical beast!
It bore a lion-like head, and its enormous wings rippled with sinewy strength. For a mercenary squad to possess two magical beasts and two mages marked them as anything but ordinary."Young ones, hand over the De Perro Shadow Diamond." The cold voice of the mysterious mage sitting cross-legged atop the velociraptor rang out once more.
"Great Mage, we don't wish to oppose you. But this De Perro Shadow Diamond... we poured endless effort to obtain it. Its value is a hundred thousand gold coins. Yet you demand to exchange it for seven hundred? Impossible." The red-haired, explosive-haired leader of the mercenary squad declared solemnly.
From afar, standing beside Hillman, Linley finally understood the full situation.
So this mysterious mage sought to forcibly purchase the hundred-thousand-gold-coin-valued De Perro Shadow Diamond with a mere seven hundred coins.
"Is the De Perro Shadow Diamond truly that precious?" Linley marveled inwardly. "Such astronomical value... there must be some extraordinary significance to it. Otherwise, how could even this lofty mage stoop to such coercion?"
Seven hundred gold coins for an item worth a hundred thousand—no wonder the mercenary squad refused to yield.
"Hmph." The mage snorted icily.
"I carry only seven hundred gold coins. That I still offer payment is already mercy. If you persist in this foolishness... not only will you receive not a single coin, but you will also forfeit your lives." The mage's voice grew frostier.
"ROAR—"
The velociraptor—towering over the town's buildings—let out an earth-shaking bellow, its roar vibrating the houses lining the streets."Captain, we risked our lives to obtain this Depeiro Shadow Diamond. How can we simply hand it over to this sneaky, hooded fellow?" A black-robed woman said coldly. As veteran mercenaries, these seven had weathered countless battles and wouldn't yield easily.
The red-haired captain spoke in a low rumble: "Honored Mage, I am from the Kaylor family of the Kingdom of Fenlay—"
The captain sought to pressure him with status.
Alas, powerful mages often held eccentric dispositions and cared nothing for nobility.
"You court death." The mysterious mage snorted coldly.
"Beware!" The seven mercenaries instantly snapped into defensive positions. Four male warriors formed the front line while the female archer drew a powerful composite longbow from her back. The two female mages began preparing their spells.
"ROAR—"
The massive velociraptor opened its maw, unleashing a torrent of flames directly at the mercenary squad.
Where the colossal firestorm passed, the stone-paved road at the town's center buckled and cracked under the blistering heat. Tiles swelled, warped, and shattered, leaving the entire roadway charred and fissured.
"Hold firm!"
The red-haired captain growled as crimson combat aura erupted around him. The three other warriors similarly cloaked themselves in glowing battle qi shields.The red-haired burly man's two-handed greatsword viciously slashed toward the stone wall of a cottage beside the town street. With an earth-shaking "boom," the entire wall collapsed completely. Hundreds of large rocks tumbled to the ground as countless clouds of dust billowed up.
Simultaneously, the Velociraptor's all-encompassing flames engulfed the four warriors. The aura shields surrounding the fighters hissed and sizzled under the assault.
"Hyah!"
The red-haired man suddenly swung his right leg, viciously kicking a boulder nearly half a meter in diameter. The other three male warriors followed suit, each launching massive stones with their kicks. Every rock flew as if launched from a catapult, cutting through the air with sharp whistling sounds as they hurtled toward the mysterious mage seated atop the towering Velociraptor.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"...
Boulders were kicked toward the mage in relentless succession. Within moments, over half the collapsed cottage's stones had been repurposed as projectiles.
Watching from afar, Linley felt his blood surge with exhilaration, fists clenched tightly.
"Incredible! They dare kick massive stones so casually with their bare feet," Linley murmured, awestruck by the human-shaped "catapults" relentlessly hurling rocks. His admiration for warrior combat soared. "But that Velociraptor... it's even more terrifying!"
His gaze shifted to the towering beast. Like a living whip, the Velociraptor's tail lashed out with lightning speed.
"Crash!" "Crash!" "Crash!" "Crash!"...
Every boulder shattered instantly under the tail's strikes, ensuring none could threaten the mage riding atop the impervious creature."Swoosh—" The velociraptor's tail swung without restraint, its arc too wide. As it struck the adjacent stone huts, the hard stone walls crumbled like mud under its force, offering no resistance. One after another, the huts collapsed in thunderous crashes, rubble cascading as dust billowed thickly.
"Roar~~~" From within the smoke-choked haze echoed the velociraptor's furious bellows, punctuated by gouts of colossal flames spewed from its maw.
From the outset, the two female mages had been murmuring ancient magical incantations. Their chants bore no resemblance to the common tongue of the Yulan continent—these syllables were far more complex and dissonant. Though their recitation hadn't lasted long, it now reached its crescendo!
"Armor of Frostguard!"
The twin sorceresses barked sharply. Four beams of white radiance erupted from their forms, each streak coalescing into crystalline, translucent armor that sheathed the four male warriors.
The crimson-haired leader grinned fiercely. With dual protection from the ice armor and his own battle qi barrier, confidence surged within him.
"Attack!" roared the red-haired chieftain.
Almost synchronously, the four warriors kicked boulders skyward—massive projectiles hurtling toward the mage perched upon the velociraptor's back. Simultaneously, they launched themselves upward in explosive leaps, soaring over a dozen meters through the air like arrows released from a bow, hurtling directly toward the enraged beast.