"Impudent!"
The elderly gentleman roared in fury, instantly summoning the magic elements within his body.
That damned brat dared to kill Harlan right in front of him!
But in the very next second, an overwhelming magical pressure crashed down on him like a mountain.
The old gentleman's expression shifted dramatically. He immediately gathered every ounce of magical energy in his body to resist.
Yet the magic power radiating from Joad far exceeded his expectations!
Before he could even react, he was firmly pinned in place!
"An advanced elite mage? How is that possible?!"
An advanced elite mage under the age of thirty—that was utterly unheard of!
Standing nearby, the blonde woman's expression also darkened. She tried to summon her mana to counter Joad…
But she couldn't resist at all and was effortlessly subdued.
At that moment, whether it was Jopell of the Mington Principality, the blonde Mary, or the struggling old gentleman, terror was written across all their faces.
Impossible!
How could he possess such tremendous mana?
It defied all logic!
Joad swept a cold gaze over them. Since he had already been exposed, there was only one course of action—wipe them all out.
He wasn't one to show mercy. He summoned his vast mana once more.
At the same time, volatile thunder elements began surging around his body!
Jopell's expression shifted. In the blink of an eye, he darted toward the portal in an attempt to escape.
But how could he possibly outrun lightning?
Boom!
In an instant, the surge of magical power turned Jopell into ashes.
As for the old gentleman, bolts of lightning struck his spiritual body one after another.
With every strike, his form dimmed further.
His spiritual body was on the verge of collapse.
A twisted expression spread across his face.
"Damn you! If I ever find out who you are, I swear I'll kill you!"
His words were answered only by a flurry of even denser lightning…
Boom! The old gentleman's spirit finally shattered, dissolving into countless specks of starlight.
On the other side, the blonde Mary had already resorted to her last resort in a desperate bid to escape.
She channeled all her mana to her brow.
And then—a blood-red moon rose inside Ilan's Study Hall!
"Hm? A hidden trump card?"
Joad's eyes twitched, a trace of surprise flickering in his gaze.
But he didn't think much of such flashy tricks.
"Let's see how long you can last."
He began chanting a spell, as raging thunder elements slowly gathered in his palm.
Mary's expression turned pale. She could clearly feel how terrifying that thunder element was!
Wait… this isn't possible!
Even an advanced elite mage shouldn't be able to withstand such an immense and pure thunder element!
Unless… unless his magic affinity had reached level 8!
The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
Even Mary—who had seen much in her life—was completely stunned.
And then came the overwhelming fear.
What should I do? Am I really going to die here?
Run—I have to run!
Without further hesitation, Mary channeled all her mana into the blood moon.
"Go—Blood Moon Descent!!"
The moon in the sky radiated a strange and sinister light.
At that exact moment, the thunder element in Joad's hand turned into a bolt of lightning and shot toward the blood moon!
BOOM!!
The violent collision of magic elements annihilated everything around them.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Mary dashed toward the portal with all her might.
Joad didn't chase her.
He had seen through the blood moon's unusual nature. Even if he went all out, he might not be able to kill her—and doing so might expose his identity.
It simply wasn't worth the risk.
"Consider yourself lucky."
Joad withdrew the magic elements around him and stored the puppet back into his storage pouch.
But when he raised his head again to search for the main teaching building, he realized…
It was gone.
Wait a minute—where's the main hall?
Just then, he noticed Harvey standing beneath a tree, applying a magic potion to his wounds.
In front of him lay piles of corpses.
"Looks like Harvey isn't so simple either."
Joad muttered under his breath and walked over.
Harvey looked up. When he saw Joad, a joyful smile appeared on his previously tense face.
"Joad! You're alright? That's great!"
He tried to stand up but staggered due to his injuries.
Joad quickly moved to support him.
"Brother Harvey, you're hurt?"
"Just a scratch. Nothing serious."
Harvey waved his hand, though the sweat on his forehead betrayed him.
Joad pulled a bottle of high-grade healing potion from his pouch and handed it over.
"Here, Brother Harvey. This will help a lot."
Harvey hesitated.
"This... seems too valuable."
"We're family. No need to be so polite."
Joad pressed the potion into his hand.
A trace of emotion flickered in Harvey's eyes. He didn't refuse again and drank the potion in one gulp.
Warmth surged through his body, and the pain quickly faded.
Harvey was stunned by how rapidly his injuries healed.
"Joad, this potion… is incredible!"
Joad simply smiled and looked around.
"Brother Harvey, what exactly happened here?"
Harvey's face turned grim.
"The other principalities suddenly joined forces and attacked us—those from Ilan Principality."
"It seems they wanted… to trap us all here."
"I barely survived the onslaught."
"I just hope Senior Leit is alright…"
Joad frowned and said quickly:
"Let's go find him."
The two of them rushed in the direction where Leit might be.
From a distance, they saw the ruins of a battlefield.
Leit stood in the middle, surrounded by heaps of corpses.
His mage robe was torn and bloodstained, but his eyes remained sharp.
"Senior Leit!"
Leit turned. Upon seeing Joad and Harvey, he let out a slight breath of relief.
"Good, you're both safe."
Joad stepped up beside him, still seeing no trace of the main teaching building. He resisted the urge to ask and instead said:
"Senior Leit, what about the main hall?"
Leit shook his head, regret in his eyes.
"It's gone. I searched thoroughly, but I couldn't find the Ilan Manuscript."
"Worse yet… I sensed an incredibly terrifying magical fluctuation."
"That level of magic… even I couldn't control it."
"I'm afraid the Ilan Manuscript may have already fallen into enemy hands."
Harvey's expression darkened.
"What… what do we do now?"
Leit sighed and said,
"There's nothing we can do. Let's leave this place first."
…
The three of them left Ilan's Study Hall.
The moment they emerged, they felt the tension in the air.
All the factions were gathered outside the portal, eyes locked onto them.
Bachelor Geoffrey hurried over with concern.
"Are you alright?"
Harvey shook his head.
"We're fine, Grand Scholar Geoffrey."
By now, everyone outside had already heard about what happened inside the study hall—from Mary's own account.
Especially the part about a young advanced elite mage—it left them all visibly shaken.
No one had expected that this Rogue Thief Kid could be so vicious!
Whether it was the Pyrothian Kingdom or the Mington Principality, their eyes burned with murderous intent.
"That Rogue Thief Kid… utterly lawless!"
And now that a blood feud had been formed, they had to figure out how to eliminate him quickly!
After all, an advanced elite mage under thirty would be an unimaginably dangerous force in the future.
Just then, Ilan Royal Academy's Geoffrey couldn't help but speak up:
"He's an advanced elite mage—are you really confident you can take him down?"