Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Spray Your Faces

Wang Xi chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up.

When he looked up again, he saw the old Warlock glaring at him with a frigid gaze.

"Royal Mage Corps, on my command, cast your spells in unison!"

Bertrand bellowed in a low voice.

The old man’s voice sounded as if he had a ten-year-old wad of phlegm stuck in his throat, dragging out his words in a bizarre, quavering tone.

He raised his Magic Staff, like a commander’s saber, and pointed it at Pinocchio’s position.

More than twenty male and female Warlocks in deep blue robes raised their Magic Staffs in unison.

VMMMM—

All sorts of elements gathered at the tips of their staves—mostly earth and fire, with a few instances of wind and water.

The fluctuations of Magic Power kicked up a great gust of wind.

Instantly, a volley of Elemental Magic—Fireballs, boulders, Wind Blades, and Water Arrows—rained down, blanketing the area where Pinocchio stood.

These were almost all basic Magic, not very powerful on their own. But concentrated like this, the barrage was immense and incredibly oppressive.

"Bertrand, you damn old bastard!!"

The Swordsman Chief, his face flushed red, endured the searing pain of his burns and roared in fury.

How could he not understand what was happening now?

The old Warlock was doing it on purpose, using his authority to settle a private score!

With a dozen or two spells flying his way, he had no intention of continuing the fight. He grabbed his Treasure Sword and dodged back in retreat.

"Thank you for the distraction, Lord Franz."

The old Warlock chuckled.

SWOOSH—

Just then, a jellyfish the size of a human head swam through the air and stopped above Pinocchio.

It then expanded abruptly, like an inflating balloon, forming a hemispherical barrier of water. It crystallized at a visible rate, turning a deep azure that shimmered under the moonlight.

BOOM!!

The barrage of Elemental Magic slammed into the crystalline barrier. To everyone’s astonishment, it only developed a few cracks and didn’t shatter.

"?!"

The entire crowd was stunned.

What kind of Defense Magic was that?!

It withstood a full volley from the members of the Warlock Corps!

"Water Magic? Sugar Magic?"

The old Warlock’s brow furrowed as he muttered with a grim face.

"No, it’s neither of those!"

For a moment, he couldn’t discern what kind of Magic the Warlock had used to erect such a resilient barrier.

"Hmph." But as the Court Mage Master, Bertrand had his pride. He had studied Magic for decades and refused to be outdone by a mere young Warlock. He immediately raised his Magic Staff and hissed, "Purgatory Fire Rain."

In the blink of an eye, a fiery red hexagram-shaped magic circle formed at the tip of his staff, from which it began to continuously spew head-sized Fireballs.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!!

A dozen or so Fireballs shot out at high speed, then split mid-air into seven or eight smaller, fist-sized fireballs each. Instantly, a rain of fire descended from the sky.

BOOM!!

Under the assault of this fiery rain, the azure barrier finally gave way, cracking and creaking.

It finally burst with a loud BANG.

"It’s about time..."

Wang Xi said softly.

His right hand was hanging naturally at his side, his fingers loosely curled around a rapidly spinning, spiraling Water Ball in his palm.

A strong wind blew back his messy black hair, revealing a smiling face.

—「Tidal Blade」—

This was the first time he had used this Deep Green Two Stars Universal Card after its Star Promotion and Enhancement.

The Water Ball Wang Xi had been charging for a while seemed to contain terrifying Energy.

He suddenly raised his hand and flicked it forward.

The Water Ball in his palm let out a sharp WHOOSH and transformed into a spiraling column of water as thick as an arm. In the blink of an eye, it shot across the entire battlefield, spanning over twenty meters and tearing through the crowd.

PSHHH—

A mist of water exploded, spreading everywhere.

Almost simultaneously, it was dyed red with fresh blood.

The old Warlock’s pupils contracted.

He looked down—

only to see that his left arm was gone! Blood was spewing uncontrollably from his shoulder, which had been severed at the root!

The Water Blade was so fast and sharp that he hadn’t even had time to react!

"GAAAH!!!"

Only then did the searing pain hit Bertrand, and he couldn’t help but scream. Shock and fury filled his heart as he staggered backward, clutching his Magic Staff.

’What kind of Water Magic is this?!’

’Right!’

’It’s the Demon Land Turtle’s Talent Magic, 「Tidal Blade」!’

’No, no, that’s not right!’

’This Water Blade was clearly denser and sharper, with far greater lethality and range!’

’How could that young Warlock’s Magic be so terrifying?!’

In just one exchange.

Warlock Master Bertrand lost an arm and retreated in a sorry state. The scene left everyone present completely stunned.

But before they could react, the translucent, high-pressure Water Blade swept through the crowd like the Grim Reaper’s scythe.

HSSSSSS—

"Ah!"

"Aaaah!!"

Piercing screams rose and fell one after another.

The Water Blade sliced through the twenty or so members of the Warlock Corps, dismembering over half of them on the spot. A mist of blood bloomed like fireworks. Some were cut in half at the waist, others were instantly decapitated, and some had just turned when they lost both legs and collapsed...

After the Water Blade dissipated, it left behind a floor of severed limbs. There was hardly a complete corpse to be seen.

A few Warlocks who hadn’t died instantly were lying on the ground, letting out bloodcurdling wails.

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Scopie"?」

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Tarren"?」

「...」

A series of prompts from Kaos appeared in his mind. Wang Xi chose "yes" for all of them.

He had zapped so many Warlocks to death with a single Water Blade, most of whom were Two-Star. Yet among the incoming orbs of light, White Cards were the majority, with Green Cards making up only a third.

’Is it because I’ve gotten stronger?’

Wang Xi couldn’t help but speculate.

In card games, there’s usually a "diminishing returns" mechanic. When a high-level character kills low-level enemies, the rewards are reduced.

He suspected Kaos had a similar system.

Wang Xi quickly reviewed the haul in his mind.

’Six Green Cards, ten White Cards.’

All these Cards came from the Royal Mage Corps. Wang Xi decided to call it the "Warlock Card Pool."

"For the Queen! Die, Warlock!"

"I am Calvin’s sword! Charge!"

Just then, two furious shouts erupted from his side.

Two armored Swordsmen holding Longswords charged at him, completely disregarding their own lives.

Wang Xi glanced at them.

’Calvin’s loyal hounds,’ he thought.

A flash of white light appeared in his hand as he grabbed his pitch-black "Magic Wand" and fired two red lasers.

"Avada Kedavra!"

PEW! PEW!

"Ah!"

"Urgh!"

Before the two Swordsmen could even get within seven steps, they were hit in vital spots by Wang Xi’s Laser Pistol. They cried out and collapsed mid-charge.

Master Wang was a kind soul and couldn’t bear to see them suffer.

He raised his hand and fired a few more shots. PEW! PEW!

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Levi"?」

「Target eliminated!」

「Capture the abilities of "Alek"?」

Wang Xi confirmed.

Two balls of white light flew over and entered the space between his eyebrows.

These were two Two-Star Swordsmen, yet they only dropped White Cards, which further confirmed Wang Xi’s suspicion.

The returns were nerfed!

Kaos wouldn’t let him farm noobs!

’Damn it, it’s forcing me to play in high-tier matches, isn’t it?!’

Wang Xi seethed with anger.

’Why won’t it let me stomp on weaklings? I’m using my own strength to bully the weak, I should get the rewards I deserve!’

’Oh well.’

’Brother Xun was right, a man always becomes that which he hates most...’

Of course, Wang Xi only grumbled internally for a moment before quickly adjusting his mindset.

It’s not like he’d never played in the big leagues before.

A real man should be playing in the big leagues!

THUD! THUD THUD THUD!

Just then, the sound of heavy, dense footsteps approached. Everyone turned to look and was shocked.

A dense mass of figures marched in perfect unison, their steps highly synchronized, surging toward them.

They wore thick armor and carried a Sword, Shield, and Spear. But they all shared one common feature: two red lights gleaming from the slits of their faceplates.

"It’s Lord Calvin’s Mechanical Puppet Legion!"

"Excellent! Her Majesty the Queen is saved!"

"The Scarlet Warlock and his servant are as good as dead!"

Many members of the Palace Knight Order and the Warlock Corps secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they were unwilling to admit it...

the pressure from the Scarlet Warlock and his young servant was simply too immense. In just two short exchanges, their side had suffered heavy casualties.

Even both their commanders were grievously wounded.

The arrival of the Mechanical Puppet Legion was like a shot of an invigorating Magic Potion, making them swell with pride, stand tall, and rekindle their will to fight.

At that moment, a tall and burly figure leaped from the distance. Like a giant boulder launched from a catapult, it crossed more than ten meters and landed heavily in the center of the battlefield.

SWOOSH—

BOOM!!

Rubble flew and dust filled the air.

Through the billowing smoke, a two-meter-tall iron humanoid figure slowly emerged, its steps heavy. Its entire body was grayish-white, with rounded breastplates, arm guards, greaves, and pauldrons covered in a striped pattern.

A wind-up key was stuck into its lower back.

On its neck rested a flat, round helmet shaped like an onion. The faceplate was flipped up, revealing Calvin’s grim face.

"Warlock Gai, and Pinocchio."

The man spoke in a hoarse voice.

He glanced coldly at Queen Xianna, who was hiding behind the black-haired young man, and added:

"Tonight, none of you are leaving!"

Wang Xi looked above the man’s head and was surprised.

「γ Defense Onion Armor · Calvin (Scarlet/Four Stars)」

Calvin, who had been an ordinary person, had seen his combat power soar directly to Four Stars after donning this rounded suit of armor.

Furthermore, the entry was surrounded by a Bronze pattern.

He had even become an Elite!

’Is Spring Technology this overpowered?!’

At that moment, the Mechanical Puppet Legion also arrived on the scene, blocking all escape routes. At a glance, there were no fewer than fifty of them, all Two-Star 「δ General-Purpose Mechanical Doll · Assistants」.

After being armored, their combat power was clearly higher than that of a typical Two-Star.

However, Calvin was fuming internally.

He had secretly amassed over a hundred Mechanical Doll assistants in his Magic Workshop, but he had just discovered that his master Key had lost control over them...

’It must have been these two. They secretly destroyed the sub-Keys inside the Mechanical Dolls, causing my plan to fail.’

’Damn them!’

"Lord Calvin, your subordinate was incompetent."

Just then, the one-armed old Warlock, Bertrand, walked over with a pale face, clutching his Magic Staff, and spoke in a low voice.

On the other side, Swordsman Chief Franz also approached Calvin to regroup. On his grotesque face, disfigured by burns, his resentful eyes were fixed on the old Warlock.

The latter, however, ignored him completely.

"As long as you kill these two spies from the Magic Forest, you will all be rewarded. But be careful not to harm Her Majesty the Queen."

Calvin said calmly.

He had gone to great lengths to seize the Stag Kingdom, but he was not without his fears. Sianna’s older sister, the "Ice and Snow Queen" Isabella, was someone not to be provoked.

But Calvin knew very well that aside from her younger sister Sianna, the Ice and Snow Queen cared nothing for the Kingdom.

Therefore, as long as Sianna was not harmed, his plan had a high chance of success...

"Hm?"

Wang Xi suddenly noticed a small pair of hands tightly gripping his sleeve. He turned to see the Queen biting her lip, trying to suppress her nervousness as she looked at him.

Her gaze seemed to ask what they should do next.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

Wang Xi put away his Laser Pistol, gently patted the back of the Queen’s hand, and said softly:

"Since you chose to trust me, I will fulfill my promise and help you resolve this trouble."

"But..."

Sianna took a deep breath and hesitated.

"There are only two of you. Can you really do it?"

"It’s more than enough." Wang Xi flashed a brilliant smile, the same kind as Pinocchio’s. "One of us to protect you, and one to take out the trash."

"Huh?"

Sianna was stunned.

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