Marla stood in mid-air with a disdainful look while gazing below.
She then turned toward the heart of the village, directly beneath her, where a prominent, sole building stood. That was where the strongest of all the villagers resided—a mere late-stage Rank 1.
After she waited for a short while, a middle-aged man came staggering out onto that building's balcony.
Jarvis was walking unevenly with his back hunched. He felt as though he were carrying a mountain while all the air had been sucked out of his lungs, leaving barely any in the atmosphere for him to breathe.
He knew that something major had happened. His assistant and everyone else inside the meeting room had suddenly collapsed, and he had barely managed to retain his consciousness. He was still uncertain if they had all died, but he knew he needed to check outside to see what had truly occurred, as the source was clearly outdoors. That Rank pressure was thick and horrifying, and the culprit had clearly spared him intentionally, since the two other Mana Wielders of the town had collapsed right within the meeting room.
Upon reaching the balcony and gazing at the town, as far as Jarvis' vision went, everything was utterly dead silent. All the townsfolk he could see had collapsed onto the ground; whether they were alive or dead was still uncertain.
Jarvis' face turned ashen. He felt he might just collapse due to the tragedy that had suddenly struck his town. His heart pained so much that tears streamed down his face. He had never imagined that there would come a day when he would be filled with such utter despair.
Suddenly, almost instinctively, his head turned toward the sky.
High above him, two people stood in mid-air as if they were standing on solid ground, calmly staring down at him. Half of their heads were covered with some sort of metal, so he couldn't really tell if they were looking at him or not, but he somehow knew that they were staring right at him. It was an unfeeling gaze, as if he were a mere ant who should be honored to even have the opportunity to glance at them. The pride in their posture and presence was as clear as the bright sky.
Jarvis could only laugh bitterly in his heart. Indeed, he was insignificant; he couldn't even estimate just how strong these two were.
He understood that these two were the culprits behind this disaster. Yet, he couldn't understand: just how had they provoked such powerful beings? No one in town was capable of provoking such monsters—even Bella Noll couldn't!
…So why?
Why had they knocked out everyone in this town and only left him?
Jarvis' eyes grew bloodshot. He no longer cared about his life or death, as he no longer had any reason to live. And so, he wouldn't give in even in the face of death!
Before Jarvis could open his mouth, the woman with the silver mask spoke with utter contempt, "Your trash villagers are still alive, but that won't be the case if I don't get the answers I seek."
Her tone clearly suggested just how impatient she was and how much she disdained to converse one extra word with an inferior creature.
Jarvis took a deep breath but was barely able to pull in any air. His face turned determined, his spine straightened even under the pressure, and he glared up at the arrogant woman. He replied with equal disregard, "I don't know if my people are alive or not, or how many have died. After all, most of them are 'mere' mortals, so why should I humbly answer to you?"
Marla and Arlo were dumbstruck.
They had seen countless powerhouses in their long lives, even ones who could destroy ten times the size of this village, yet none would dare to be this arrogant in front of them, even if those people were more powerful than they were! That was because of their background and what they represented. It couldn't be insulted or rejected! Only a few top powerhouses or those with immense backing might disregard them, and even then, they had to be of equal strength, at least.
This was the first time in their entire lives that a mere Rank 1 had spoken to them with such utter disregard.
For a moment, both of them stood speechlessly, not knowing how to debate with an ant.
Jarvis had taken Eric's teachings deep into his heart. Since those lessons, every morning he would only crawl out of his bed after repeating what Eric had taught him:
Stand tall! Even if the odds are stacked against you, don't lose your backbone!
He knew that Eric, Lyria, and Livy eventually and surely would amaze the world one day. As their hometown's leader, he could not afford to lose his backbone, even if all the odds were against him.
He would speak calmly and as an equal even with the Silvia Kingdom's King! Or at least, he believed he would try.
Marla and Arlo didn't promptly answer, wondering if this Rank 1 was actually a big shot hiding his true Rank from them. So, they thoroughly checked Jarvis from head to toe with their spiritual sense. After a while, their expressions couldn't help but scrunch up in disgust.
This middle-aged man was truly just a mere late-stage Rank 1! Not a single artifact was on his body, and even his spiritual base was pathetic and unstable!
How dare he act arrogantly in front of them and even waste their precious time and effort checking on his rotten old body!
Marla furiously increased her pressure upon Jarvis, which slammed him flat onto the balcony floor as if someone had physically pressed him down.
Jarvis opened his mouth and tried to breathe, but it was as if not a single breath of air wished to enter his body. He helplessly lay on the floor, suffocated and choking.
Marla remained indifferent to Jarvis' suffering and demanded ruthlessly, "I don't care. Answer me, or else..." She suddenly halted.
Both her and Arlo's heads jerked toward the north.
Soon, their expressions turned incredibly solemn.
Before anyone could make another move, within a few moments, an Adventurer team's airship appeared in the skies above Ringwood Town.
Marla and Arlo, who were a little higher in the sky, swiftly noticed that inside the airship were multiple Apprentice Ranks. But soon their expressions turned ugly—especially Marla's—as she noticed a handsome, tall man wearing a feathered hat with a sword hanging from his waist.
Stormborne raised his head toward the two masked individuals with total bafflement.
He had never expected to see two Elipseons in such a remote corner of the continent, and moreover, one was even a Silver Elipseon!
He didn't say anything right away and first checked the situation himself.
His spiritual sense covered most of the village below, and soon his expression turned grim. A spark of anger ignited deep within his blue eyes.
As a Master Rank, he had his bottom line, and that was to never suppress or harm mortals directly under his pressure; even suppressing Apprentice Ranks was unthinkable to him. He held equal expectations, as well as deep hatred, for his fellow Master Ranks if they didn't possess this much maturity.
Two Master Ranks against a village filled with mortals with barely a handful of Rank 1s... If it had been just a single person or a targeted group, it would still be acceptable. But a peak Rank 4 personally taking action to suppress an entire village, which resulted in the deaths of children and the elderly... was unforgivable!
The pressure had already been removed, and Stormborne could estimate that it had been kept at a level just to suppress Rank 1s to the ground; however, it was far too deadly for children below four years old and for elderly mortals. Because of that, it had already resulted in many silent deaths.
Stormborne's eyes were blazing. He would still give the two a chance to explain. If they didn't give him a satisfying answer, then they had better not think of leaving this place unscathed!
He didn't want to unnecessarily provoke such a powerful organization as the Holy Palace; however, he also couldn't disregard his own principles, especially since the Holy Palace had always maintained such a morally righteous and good reputation for so long.
Not only his Celestial Maelstrom, but other powerful people and groups around the world had started becoming cautious of the Holy Palace after a few recent incidents that clearly suggested their involvement. Even though the Holy Palace was never truly 'holy,' recently they were slowly releasing all of their restraints, and this had angered many people; yet, it was also not a place where people could easily point their fingers.
After over ten thousand years of operating, the Holy Palace's power and reach were extraordinary. Without a doubt, it was the strongest organization in the entire world, all other races included. Any individual picking a fight with them, no matter how powerful, wouldn't even know how they disappeared from the world. Just with their wealth, they could send countless assassins after whomever they wished, not to mention their own unfathomable power. This was the reason why most powerhouses could only keep quiet and remain vigilant.
Even so, he was not someone who could ignore the current audacity of the Elipseons in front of him. There was another realization that had struck him after seeing them within the Silvia Kingdom. He realized that his current mission had become even more complicated than he previously thought and probably would end up as another great tragedy.
With his left hand resting over the sword handle on his waist, Stormborne slowly floated upward and reached the same height as the two other Rank 4s.
He silently observed them for a moment, then muttered softly, "One Silver and one Bronze Elipseon." He paused, his eyes narrowing. A wild wind suddenly started churning all around him as his tone became heavier. "Give me one good reason why you dared to attack this mortal village, or else..." He gripped his sword handle. He didn't draw the blade yet, but his meaning was entirely clear.
Feeling the wild wind swirling around Stormborne, Kairos and the others in the airship knew that their captain was enraged for some reason and that a fight might break out. All of them were just Apprentice Ranks and wouldn't even know how they died just from the shockwaves of a Master Rank's battle. Thus, Jasper, who was controlling the airship, promptly pulled the vessel back, stopping only after moving a few hundred meters away from the Master Ranks in mid-air.